jersey cubs fan

In the past, I'd agree. I think a hiring like Epstein alone would be enough to get the fan base extremely excited. He'll get fans like us amped up because of the obvious reasons, and his success in Boston with the championships and the drought will get the casual fans excited. In the past, and in the present. Your manager is wearing the uniform, in the dugout every game and answering questions from the press on a daily basis. He is non-playing face of the franchise, and that is obviously what Florida was going for when trading for Guillen. GMs are more important, but they generally do not sell tickets, and they do not need to be traded. You offer promotions and money, not prospects.

One guy said something like that, and he was clearly joking because he said we'd give up Garza and Castro. Yes I was joking about Garza and Castro. But if Ozzie Freaking Guillen netted 2 supposedly top 5 prospects, then why wouldn't Boston want compensation for Epstein? I don't know about compensation for GM's, but a good GM is certainly way more valuable to a team than Ozzie freaking Guillen. Even if he has an option year, why would Boston just release him if they knew he would probably get an offer from the Cubs? Your GM is more important, but your manager is who you sell to the ticket buying public.

It'll be difficult to see them better than GB/Det, NYG/Phil, TB/ATL/NO. 3 of those teams will win their divisions and 2 more for WC. They have to go 2 of 3 vs Det, TB, and Phil while beating Minn to have a shot at the WC. While its not a must win, they'd have to win the next month to be in the picture. I don't think it's all that difficult to see them better than TB/ATL/NYG/Phil. None of those teams have played as tough a schedule as the Bears so far. I'm not saying the Bears are for sure better, but I don't think it's difficult to see. It's not tough to see them as better than any one of that group, but they have to be better than all of them, plus have a better record because a loss this Monday would mean 3 NFC losses very early in the season.

Bears go from 6.5 point favorites to 6.5 point dogs as they travel to Detroit. The Lions are probably going to rape the Bears through the air. The only way to stop them is for Glass Joe to get injured back there, otherwise it is going to be a shootout and the Bears don't do shoot outs. I still think this is a huge game, even if many chalked it up to a loss going into the season. 2-3 virtually eliminates them from the division, since they would have losses to both undefeated leaders. And while it remains possible the NFC North could sneak in 2 wild card teams, the odds would be against it. Plus, that would be three NFC losses already, killing them in tie breakers. 3-2 keeps the division in play and keeps them in the heart of the wild card chase.

What a brutally ugly performance by everybody but Forte and Hester. The optimist in me thinks that was a purposefully stupid game plan so as to not show anybody anything to have on tape. The defense was awful. Although I've felt for a long time they stand no chance of stopping an offense that tries to throw the ball. Luckily Rivera is as big a coward as Lovie or Carolina may have pulled off the upset.

A D is high for a guy who posted a 4.82 ERA and 4.34 xFIP and an .848 OPS? Combining offense and defense for Z he was a 1.9 WAR player after missing the last month or so of the season. I'd grade him as a C if his blowup didn't lead (rightly or wrongly) to him being suspended for as long as he was. He didn't get a D. He's at a C+/B- (better than Dempster, Garza, Soto, Russell) And why are you assuming away something that actually happened? You cant really downgrade him because of the idiots he works for who decided to make a big deal out of a not big deal.

MAKE IT COUNT

COVER YOU WHORES

I'm going to lose so much money on this team

This is a high school game

With the way the Bears D has played today, you take the points and make them get a TD to win. You mean that mistake prone weak defense letting cam newton school them?

Marts say f u to all this run hungry Neanderthals.

Just because you are putting arbitrary time delays into your scenario doesn't defend your absolutely incorrect assertion that there is no benefit to doing it now or potential risk for waiting. There is an obvious risk and absolutely no benefit to wait. So quit pretending otherwise.

I'm not calling it a hindrance to the GM search, but rather a potential hindrance to the new manager search if a potential manager takes a job elsewhere while you are pretending Quade is still your manager in the meantime. Quade is not a tradable commodity nor a potential asset in 2012, so there is no comparison there. He's a worthless sack of hairless skin who cannot be a part of this coaching staff next year if they have any interest in winning, so why go through the charade of waiting for the new GM to fire him. There is no benefit to waiting, there is potential harm.

castro's value is at SS. so, not until he's old should we move him to third. His maximum value is at 1B, but it would not be outside the realm of possibility for him to hit more than enough to be a great 3B. Ramirez hit 12 HR in his first 550 major league PA spread over 3 seasons from age 20-22. Granted, he was more of a power threat in the minor than Castro was, but Castro was still very young and developing.

The guy they just drafted, Baez, may have to move to 3B eventually. But like Castro, I think they should, and will, try and get as much out of them as possible at SS.

Link or explanation as to why you're saying this? http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/7950802-573/cubs-will-make-run-at-theo-epstein-for-gm.html Not sure he's really saying much.

There's really no benefit to firing him immediately either. He's not hurting the team by remaining as manager right now since the season is over and there's not going to be a managerial search until the new GM is hired so his being around isn't impeding that. I agree with CCP that Ricketts is probably waiting for the new GM to fire Quade and hire someone else to give that new GM a chance to evaluate Quade along with other candidates. There is a benefit to firing him immediately. You let it be known very clearly that the manager's spot is open for the Cubs next year, to lessen the risk of letting the right guy go someplace else. There is nothing to be gained by keeping him, because he is a completely incompetent moron with absolutely no clue. You can let the new GM be the guy who fires him, but that's just a disingenuous gesture. Not to mention it burdens the new GM with an unnecessary deed. Just clean house and let him work on hiring people from day 1 instead of having some false "evaluation period". You don't think the manager position would come up in any talks with a potential GM? Yeah, it would come up, but ceremoniously keeping Quade around for the GM to officially axe after he is hired is just foolish and pointless. There's nothing to be gained by keeping him, and there is risk to holding on throughout the GM search.

There's really no benefit to firing him immediately either. He's not hurting the team by remaining as manager right now since the season is over and there's not going to be a managerial search until the new GM is hired so his being around isn't impeding that. I agree with CCP that Ricketts is probably waiting for the new GM to fire Quade and hire someone else to give that new GM a chance to evaluate Quade along with other candidates. There is a benefit to firing him immediately. You let it be known very clearly that the manager's spot is open for the Cubs next year, to lessen the risk of letting the right guy go someplace else. There is nothing to be gained by keeping him, because he is a completely incompetent moron with absolutely no clue. You can let the new GM be the guy who fires him, but that's just a disingenuous gesture. Not to mention it burdens the new GM with an unnecessary deed. Just clean house and let him work on hiring people from day 1 instead of having some false "evaluation period".

He was below .500 and failed to guide the Yankees to the playoffs for the only time in a 2 decade stretch of dominance by that organization. Torre won a WS in his first season with the Yankees. I have been impressed by exactly nothing Girardi has done. He's had a half dozen hall of famers and an incredilby dominant payroll to work with. And yet he still managed the only Yankees team not to make the playoffs since Clinton's first term. I have absolulely no idea how you could possibly pretend he is a premier manager if you insisten Francona is not.

The thing about Francona's time with Philly is that was a team with three players (Abreu, Rolen and Schilling) and absolutely nothing else. Rolen and Abreu both essentially started their careers under Francona, who came in after the team had back to back sub 70 win seasons. Philly was an also ran in the payroll department at the time, living out their final years in the crappy vet. That was the Ed Wade era (with Ruben Amaro Jr. as assistant GM) and a good half decade before Gillick came in and helped turn it all around. Philly fans complained that Francona was too nice to players and they needed a fiery jackass like Larry Bowa to come in and yell at Rolen and Abreu to make them better.

Jeez I dunno. Not him though. I guess Girardi, Bochy, LaRussa, Scioscia, Maddon He just doesn't seem like one of those guys that you have to go after if he's available, so if I see that Tito and Theo are having a disconnect, I don't eliminate Theo from who to go after, I eliminate Francona. How the hell is Girardi premier but not Francona? Dunno, never had a losing season as manager? He's been a manager for 5 seasons, 4 of them with the New York [expletive] Yankees. His 1 seasons with Florida was below .500 and his 1st season with the Yankees was the only time in 15 freaking years that the Yankees didn't make the playoffs.

There is no such thing as a premier manager. I like that his teams are incredibly patient and regularly lead or among the leaders in walks taken. Granted, that is a Boston philosophy, but he's been a part of it. He's managed 10 playoff series and won 7 of them. I think he will be a calm and rational voice in the clubhouse and not the net negative that Quade and Baker were, or an indifferent goof like Piniella became. Yeah I have no problem with what he's done in Boston and I wouldnt be upset if he was our manager. The reason for my original message was responding to whoever implied that if Francona and Epstein couldnt work together they'd hire Tito and Friedman instead. I'd rather hire Theo and another manager instead. It's not like Friedman is a step down.

That is a SLG heavy OPS which is much less valuable. Byrd is essentially the same player at much lower price. While his contract makes him look worse than he is, you can't just ignore the contract and pretend he's better than he is. He's a highly paid veteran corner outfielder and he did a horrible job at fulfilling that position.