jersey cubs fan

He wants more lefties in the lineup and with Soto, Soriano, Lee, Aramis and Theriot entrenched at their positions, 2b is one of the few spots where he can do that. I'm not saying I agree with it, but that is his rationale. I could be hallucinating, but I seem to remember Hendry saying this exact thing, before Derosa was traded (or was it someone attributing it to Hendry?). So I was not in the least bit surprised when he was traded. It was guaranteed. He did say that, but the extra lefty in the lineup is Bradley in LF and Fontenot at 2B instead of DeRosa in LF and Fontenot at 2B. It has nothing to do with Miles. From everything I have seen Miles was brought here to play against RH, as an insurance policy in case Fontenot can't handle the more regular playing time and to replace some of the versatility DeRosa had in his ability to play so many different positions. Bradley is not an extra LH bat. The Cubs had Fukudome and Edmonds in the OF last year. They aren't anymore lefthanded by adding Bradley while losing Edmonds. And how much of an increase in PA do people think Fontenot is going to get? He was already up near 300 PA last year. I see very little chance for him to get past 400-450. Taking DeRosa out and adding Miles is what the Cubs have done to become more left handed than they were last year.

SEC quarterbacks make more money than 5th round practice squad guys.

philly-pittsburgh would be big ratings. there's a reason that pittsburgh has been seemingly playing at 4:15 or on sunday/monday night all the time. they've got a big fan base and are a high profile team. the eagles are also a high profile team, pretty much like the rest of the nfc east. pittsburgh-philly would have the best storylines and get the best ratings, and you're right, arizona-baltimore is the matchup that the nfl would least like to see. The Eagles are probably the lowest profile team in the NFC East. There just aren't that many Eagles fans outside the Delaware Valley. The Steelers, however, might be the 2nd most popular team in the NFL nationwide, and, unlike Dallas, they have far less animosity built up toward them. Philly is big enough, and with McNabb/Westbrook, have enough star power to satisfy viewers. But ads are bought and paid for already. They aren't waiting to see the matchup before selling those bad boys. The country is still going to watch. This isn't the World Series.

He's a lumbering QB, like Bledsoe, but he isn't half the passer Drew was. I like Leftwich, but again, the problem remains the Bears offensive line. A guy that moves as poorly as Leftwich with that slow delivery is going to get killed, and turn the ball over far too frequently. He'd be a better backup than Grossman was this year though.

It's funny to see an Eagles fan on here defending Andy Reid. Eagles fans absolutely hate the guy. They passionately hate Andy Reid and McNabb. They bitch about them both at every opportunity, whether it's during an NFC championship losing season, or a non-playoff season. I'm talking blue collar sports talk radio types, white collar wall street types, male, female (especially female), young, old, etc. They hate Andy Reid and McNabb. 3 non-playoff seasons in 10 years (compared to Lovie missing 3 of 5), 6 double digit victory seasons, 10 postseason victories. He may screw up the occasional call, but his team wins and has enjoyed terrific success. They've operated with an injury plagued RB and no receiving threats, and win year after year.

Bringing in a name dl coach could also be indicative of the team hoping that coaching will make the difference rather than 1st round talent.

Trading DeRosa was more about making room for Aaron Miles than saving money. Hendry's absurd infatuation with left handedness over actual production is what motivated him on that move. That's a pretty ridiculous suggestion. There's no way the Cubs traded away Derosa because they wanted Aaron Miles that badly. The Cubs saved money from trading Derosa, and didn't use it all on Miles. They clearly did it to free money for a starting pitcher. They saved $2m. That will barely help in the search of a pitcher. The primary motivation was getting more lefthanded, which they accomplished by replacing DeRosa with Miles. Bradley replaces Edmonds, they aren't getting more LH that way. The #1 goal of Hendry this offseason has been to get more LH, and the only way they've done that is by replacing DeRosa with Miles. You are naive if you think my statement is ridiculous.

Who cares? We can outspend you to make up the rest of the gap. Sure we have Soriano longterm, but in 3 years, Lee, Ramirez, Lilly, Fukudome, and Bradley will be off the books. If they are old and not effective we will sign more people. It might not work out and we might make the wrong decisions, but I'm not going to sit here and assume that the Cubs will be horrible in 3 years because our core will be out of its prime years. They are going to have to develop some bats in that time because there's very little chance they will be able to sign all the guys they'd need off of free agency.

Trading DeRosa was more about making room for Aaron Miles than saving money. Hendry's absurd infatuation with left handedness over actual production is what motivated him on that move.

ESPN says Marinelli is taking bears d line job, and asst head coach. As bad as he was as a head coach in detroit, it's nice to actually have some NFL coaches on this staff. I'd bet his son in law takes LB job.

It probably has a lot to do with the fact that he's got marginal stuff that has kept him in the bullpen, and relievers tend to be inconsistent, with limited shelf life on their effectiveness.

I agree it was a good goal.... BUT it should NOT have been a goal. it was called NO GOAL on the ice. Smyth DID make a kicking motion putting the puck in the net... there was NO conclusive evidence that he didn't. it's a subjective matter on what a "kicking motion" is and it needs to be ratified by the NHL. He did make a "kicking motion" but he didn't raise his skate above the ice. If the initial call on ice was GOOD GOAL I wouldn't have argued it... but the fact is was called no goal, it should have stayed that way. Does the NHL have the indisputable visual evidence rule? Or can they just call it how they see it on review?

You are ignoring the Dusty factor. Two of these guys will probably die this year.

Your quoting and/or statements are extremely confusing. Thanks for the input. Well why are you writing both sides of the story?

Your quoting and/or statements are extremely confusing.

We're the Park Ridge Cubs now, didn't you get the memo? let me put it another way, what the eff did hendry ever do to deserve have a street named after him anywhere? Generally managed a baseball team to a level of respectability previously unknown during a period of time when the state was being run by a corrupt fan of that team.

what are some teams bolded?

Prefer him enough to give up "premium pitching"? Maybe...but I think those teams are probably nuts. I guess it depends what sort of premium pitching, and what type of team. A lower market team with pitcher approaching free agency might be interested, especially if they had no offense but decent pitching. Some teams refuse to give out longterm deals to pitchers, but will sign position players.

It's a fair point. However, there's got to be multiple teams that would look at Dunn, with all the strikeouts, low average and no playoff appearances, and prefer a guy like Fielder who is pre-free agency, has 30 points in average and 30-60 fewer strikeouts.

No. I think his name is Jim Anixler. I like that Ricketts is a fan, I'm sure he would put money into the team, but I worry that he is a dumb fan. Dumb Cubs fans have some awful ideas about what this team needs. He seems like the best option at this point anyway. Fans can really screw up a team.

Not really. It would be tough for him to qualify as "very good" if he doesn't match 2008.

People have been factoring in the great DeRosa dropoff for 3 years now. It hasn't happened yet. I think he's earned a little deference at this point. He's 33, not 38. Earned a little deference? He had a career year at 33 and will be 34 this season. You don't just assume he's going to maintain those 2008 numbers that were out of line with his norm. And the "great DeRosa dropoff" is an exaggeration. People aren't forecasting him falling on his face. It's about pulling back from career highs.

I'm still wondering what qualifies as missing significant time. Does he have to play 140 games this year to prevent year 3 to be an option? Is it 400 PA? Anyway, I like the terms and structure of the contract, and I like what Bradley has said.

They've done all already and haven't gotten to 90 wins in 4 years. They need more Pujols, average-osity and luck to get to 90.

See I think he'll fail, but Redick is a dick and is complaining about playing time by the way. I don't think Tebow will do well in the pros, but he's a nice guy so I'd feel worse for him than JJ Redick failing....But I understand your take on it What makes you think Tim Tebow is a nice guy? He comes from the Jay Cutler, Philip Rivers, Jake Delhomme school of completely bitchy quarterbacks, only without the requisite ability to throw footballs.