Backtobanks

I agree completely. One of Hendry's faults is that he lets the manager handle the day-by-day on field issues and he has said this many times. Everyone wanted Hendry to sign Beltran, Benitez, Percival, trade for Dunn, Wagner, Huff, etc. Every one of those players have been totally overpriced and wouldn't have made a difference this year. This year has been a disaster, but if anyone is going to get us out of this mess, I think it's Jim Hendry. I think there will be some settlement with Baker and he will leave to go to greener pastures with both the Cubs and Baker saying good things about each other. Of course, both sides will be glad that Baker is out of Chicago. I do think there will be a lot of changes during the offseason. I think the Cubs might reach some kind of settlement with Maddux for him to retire. I think Maddux has too much pride to hang around as a below-average #4 or #5 starter and tarnish his reputation. As you said, the real problem is Baker and his philosophy clashing with Hendry's. If Baker had given the kids a chance and used Dempster as closer from the beginning, our record might not be any better, but at least we would have a plan for next year. Unless Baker changes his philosophy, the Cubs go into next year with questions about 2B, SS, LF, CF, RF, #3,4,& 5 starters, bullpen, and Murton and Cedeno's ability to play in the majors.

If the Reds would accept this trade, Dunn would have been a Cub back in July.

He followed the fat lady by about a week.

Well at least we could see what the kid can do (or not do) without there being any real ramifications for the team if he does badly. I don't think too many people are thinking in terms of getting back in the race at this point. Now is the perfect time to test our kids out, so we have a better idea of what we have to work with going into the offseason. It would be the prudent thing to do. I agree, play Murton for the rest of the year. According to Stone, Burnitz won't be back, so let Murton play everyday. If he does okay, you have a cheap, young OF with a decent OBP. If another young OF (Mench, Kearns) becomes available in the offseason, you package Murton with some pitching to obtain the player you want. Having him sit for the rest of this year doesn't answer any questions about the future.

But Rogers will be back tomorrow, will the Cubs?

I don't understand why people get locked into the stereotype of a corner OF has to hit for power. You need some speed, some guys with a high OBP, and some power. If you get the power from a non-power position (like Sandberg), obviously you can get by without power at one of the traditional power positions. The Red Sox seem to be doing okay with Mueller at 3B (a power position) and the White Sox seem to be doing fine with Posednik in LF (a power position). You just need to balance out the lineup with speed, OBP, and power.

Are you trying to say that Baker didn't use him properly? All of us in Cub nation know that Remmy is a LOOGY.

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.