Backtobanks

We could offer a combination of Mitre, Rusch, Williams, Guzman, Hill, Welly, etc. I'm all for developing players, but it isn't often that a young, cheap, power-hitting OF becomes available. We would have a lot of available money to fill in the other holes if we can go young and cheap in the OF. I'm not sure those guys appeal to the Rangers. None of those, except maybe Guzman if he's healthy and he hasn't been, have the ceiling of the Rangers top three guys in the minors. With Danks and Diamond on the way, the Rangers will be looking more for a high ceiling guy or a player who has proven himself in the majors. I wouldn't count Rusch as we don't know if he'll even be with the Cubs next season. Williams might fit the bill, but the Rangers may feel they can do better than him in FA. I love the idea of getting Mench, but I don't think we have the players the Rangers would want to acquire him. In the Rangers eyes, Mitre is no better than C.J. Wilson. Wellemeyer isn't better than Matt Roney. Diamond is a better prospect than anyone on that list. Danks is struggling a little in AA this season, but he could contribute in Texas very soon. Dominguez is a lot like Mitre. He does well in the minors but has gotten lit up at the majors. I don't see the Rangers giving up a hitter of Mench's caliber in order to acquire a pitcher similar to one they already have. I understand the desire to get Mench. I have the same desire for a lot of players...namely Brad Wilkerson. I just don't think Mench is a realistic possibility for the Cubs unless we build a package around Zambrano which we won't. You're right about some of those pitchers may not be better than their own prospects, but their prospects haven't proven themselves yet. Also, if they are going to trade him, we might be able to offer more than most teams in the way of pitching. If they sign a decent FA pitcher added to their own pitchers and prospects supplemented by 2-3 good young arms from us, they might be ready to contend.

The Cards called up a rookie to pitch Tuesday so LaRussa can line up his pitchers for the Cub series. If LaRussa had been paying attention, he could have used the rookie against us and saved his real pitchers for some other team.

I can't speak for others but my feeling is the kid is hitting 400 and has a 500 OBP so let him get a chance to prove he does or doesn't belong. The Macias types have already proved that they stink so let Murton play for the rest of the season and see what happens. Have you seen the production of Lawton, Hollandsworth, Macias, & Burnitz lately? They can't hit, can't catch (except Burnitz), and can't throw (except Burnitz). That's why Murton deserves a chance.

We could offer a combination of Mitre, Rusch, Williams, Guzman, Hill, Welly, etc. I'm all for developing players, but it isn't often that a young, cheap, power-hitting OF becomes available. We would have a lot of available money to fill in the other holes if we can go young and cheap in the OF.

The only team desperate enough to be interested in those guys is the Cubs. These are the kind of guys that Baker would be asking Hendry to pick up for the Cubs.

"The Rangers could trade OF Kevin Mench this month, says the Newark Star-Ledger. Texas had been working on a three-year contract extension with Mench but pulled its latest offer off the table, increasing speculation that it might be about to deal him. " (CBSsportsline Rumor Mill) Jim, here's your homework for this month. It might be too late for this year, but there's always 2006 and beyond. An outfield of Mench, Pie, and Murton looks good for many years to come.

I blame Baker and Hendry for this not the players. Macias and Perez were never that good and for them to be put in this situation proves that Baker has no clue and if they (Baker, Macias,Perez) remain Hendry should leave the GM post as well. I'd keep Perez as an extra Inf but no way ever should he get the PT he has been getting. I'd just release Macias unless the Cubs get enough talent so he wouldn't play more than once every 2 weeks. But that's the point, the Cubs have enough talent so he doesn't have to play (Murton). Perez was brought here with the intention of being the extra infielder and has played because of Nomar's injury and Baker's reluctance to play Cedeno.

More radical ideas by you posters: play Murton, recall Patterson, put Burnitz in CF, etc. You guys are so predictable because you want outfielders playing the OF.

I get a kick out of people who blame Macias or Perez. It's not their fault that they're put in positions where they have no hope of succeeding. Macias is not a CF and should not be the first bat off the bench. Perez is a substitute SS with a horrible lifetime OBP and should never be batting above 7th in a lineup or playing for more than 2 games in a row. I know people will jump all over me for this, but a case could be made for both of those guys when you compare them to the players holding the same positions on other teams. Compare Macias to the 25th player on other team's rosters and compare Perez to the backup SS on other teams. Looking at them from that perspective makes you realize that the real problem has been the way they were used and the frequency that they were used. Blame Baker with an assist to injuries.

Where would our payroll be next year with Murton, Pie, Patterson, and someone like Kearns as our OF's. Add to that D. Lee, Walker, Cedeno, and Aram with a sub in the $1 million range. Barrett & Blanco catching a pitching staff of Wood, Prior, Zambrano, Maddux, Williams, Ohman, Dempster, Wuertz, Welly, with another 2 pitchers at a total of $5 million. We could bring back Nomar at about $4 million and a Hollandsworth/Burnitz/Grieve/Stairs kind of sub/pinchhitter for a few more million. After getting out from under Sosa's contract, Nomar's contract (or greatly reduced), maybe Burnitz', and Remmy's, we could field a pretty competitive team for a whole lot less money. Who knows, we might save money on Baker's salary too. Also, I think that a lot depends on the rest of this year with Maddux because he might decide that he doesn't want to tarnish his reputation by being a below-average pitcher for another year. Maybe he will decide to take some kind of settlement and retire.

If the Cubs continue playing like this, they will have a better shot at all of those August & September waiver deals. Maybe, they could find someone to help for next year cuz they won't need it for this year.

Sadly the louder they get, I'm afraid the ears (in Cubs management) still don't care. That may be true, but sometimes a disgruntled fan base can make some noise. Hopefully, Dusty will be booed at this year's Cubs Convention. Hopefully, Dusty won't be the manager in January.

Nomar said they haven't bought a home in the Chicago area :oops: I would only take Nomar back for another 1-year deal, this time for 1/2 as much. If we signed him for $8 million to prove he was healthy and he missed 1/2 the season, I would say "you weren't healthy, you weren't worth the investment, so now you have to take a pay cut. We like you, but we have to cut our losses." The if he regains All Star level, you sign him to an extension. I can't see anyone offering Nomar more than a $4 million contract for 1 year. Of course, if he hit .350 for the remainder of this season it might be a different story (but it ain't gonna happen).

I predicted this yesterday under "Hairston's Replacement (Dusty's Boys)". Just what we need another over-the-hill player. Does anybody really think we're a real contender when we look at every other team's rejects? Let Murton play LF, put Burnitz in CF, and Lawton in RF at least until September, so that you can start to make some decisions about next year (Is Murton a starting OF?, Should we resign Burnitz and Lawton?, etc.). It's bad enough that we're not going to get to the playoffs this year, but Hendry won't have any idea about the OF next year and whether Cedeno can be counted on to be the starting SS in 2006 or 2007.

I do think that a lot of this is made up. Cubs underperforming so Baker might be gone, so what team might want him, etc. These rumors remind me of the trade deadline: Cubs need a LF so they're close to getting Dunn, Floyd, Kearns, Huff, etc.

Prospects have to uses: to play for your team or to bring players in a trade to help your team. With Dusty as manager, we can eliminate option #1. The problem is that everyone considers the Cubs to be contenders and the Trib has given them $100 million payroll, so there is the pressure to win right now. Hendry has been very vocal this year about wanting the kids to play, but has had to work with Baker's desire to have a veteran team. I didn't think the Tribune would fire Baker and eat part of his contract, but I'm starting to believe that Baker might be fired after the season because of the club's poor showing and his reluctance to allow some of the kids playing time.

To answer the one question, yes he would have to be an off season deal and there would be a lot of teams after him, but Texas needs pitching and we have pitching. I agree that Texas wouldn't want to get rid of him, but they have a ton of young hitters with no pitching. If they ever want to compete, I would think that somebody has to be traded for pitching. I dont disagree with you that they need pitching but I think they would be much more likely to trade Dellucci or Adrian Gonzalez because he is major league ready but stuck behind Teixiera at first. They could get decent pitching for either of those 2 guys and keep Mench. But would Adrian Gonzalez get you the pitching you need? As we have found out the hard way, a prospect is just that until they prove themselves in the majors. Mench has proven himself.

While we're talking about Dusty's boy, don't forget Marquis Grissom is available.

To answer the one question, yes he would have to be an off season deal and there would be a lot of teams after him, but Texas needs pitching and we have pitching. I agree that Texas wouldn't want to get rid of him, but they have a ton of young hitters with no pitching. If they ever want to compete, I would think that somebody has to be traded for pitching.

Following that headline on a contract extension (3 years/$12 million), maybe the Cubs could make a trade in the off season for the pitching-hungry Rangers. Mench would look good playing next to Pie for the next 3-4 years. Not only would they look good, they would be reasonably cheap for those 3-4 years.

I guarantee that the Yanks would claim him if no one claimed him before them. I can't believe he would get all the way to the White Sox. Also, I can't believe that the Reds would let him go for nothing (just salary) when they could certainly work a deal in the off season and receive some players in return.

And let's not forget that the reason everyone loves playing for Dusty is that he'll never get on their case for messing up. Just once, I'd like to see him go crazy (tear up the dugout, smash a water cooler, etc.) over something stupid the Cubs did on the field.

What they're good at is the next topic in Baseball Discussions: "Fingerpointing and Frustration"

Actually, Houston has a better PITCHING STAFF as a whole, at least the last month they have/do. Their lineup leaves alot to be desired, even compared to ours. One thing they do do, however, is they play fundamental baseball. Something Dusty must not believe in, because our fundamental's have sucked total arse the last 2 years. I agree exactly with you.. that's what sets apart from being a playoff team every year is the damn fundamentals. We can't bunt.. we can't hit and run.. we can't run bases.. To make a run at the WC, the Cubs have to have a streak of winning 8-9 in a row, or something like 17 out of 20. I've seen optimistic posters who wonder why other teams can do it and not the Cubs. I agree with you, the manager is a problem, no fundamentals (what you stated plus we can't cover 1B on a ball to the right side and we can't perform a simple rundown-- both taught in Little League), can't adjust to pitchers they haven't seen, can't play "small" ball, can't steal a base, can't have consistent efforts from hitters, bullpen, and starters, etc. Does anyone really think we can get on a long winning streak with Maddux, Hill, and Williams at the end of our rotation?

Well, let's start with Neifi. His problem is basically Baker has used him wrong. He has a terrible OBP and was used at the top of the lineup for much of the year. I do agree that he has down okay when you consider that he is a 2nd string SS. Unfortunately, he has had to start all year. Putting Burnitz in CF is okay in an emergency, but he doesn't have the speed and range to play CF everyday and especially in a big ballpark. Until Patterson returns or Pie is ready, Hairston needs to be in CF. As for Damon, I think he will be looking at 3-4 years and $28-40 million and the Cubs are committed to Pie by 2007, if not next year. As for the bullpen, let's hope Woody is okay. Remmy is over the hill, Novoa is still inconsistent, and Dempster has been good, but scary at times. If Lawton, Nomar, Wood, and Williamson all contribute the way we hope they will, I think the Cubs have a good shot at the Wild Card.