jersey cubs fan

Yeah, I don't accept that she's part of the Cubs org. I believe she's just a typical all is well writer who fails to utilize any sort of objective analysis to inform her opinion. And the people who run mlb.com thought she'd be a great mouthpiece for the website. But if she were writing for the Daily Herald, she'd probably say the same stuff.

theriot is good enough at ss if we improve a lot at rf and cf. In theory, Murton in RF instead of Cliff and Pie 2008 instead of Pie/Pagan/Jones 2007 SHOULD be a big improvement, but I have little confidence that a) the Cubs will be smart enough to do it and b) that Murton and Pie will be what they should be just because we're the Cubs. What? Neither of those things should be a big improvement. At best, they will be minimal improvements, but more likely than not, they will be a net unchanged, which means, if they stick with Theriot the offense will continue to disappoint.

any bat that's a good bet to outperform Theriot/Cedeno at SS, Jones/Pie in CF or Murton/Jones in RF.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-071022hawks,0,7422622.story?coll=chi_tab01_layout Will wonders never cease? Rocky is trying to get home Hawks games on TV this season. It's amazing that this truly qualifies as big news with this franchise. They've got so far to go to become a legit presence in the league, but at least they have a strong history to build on. I might actually buy the center ice package midseason if it looks like they will stay competitive and show some more games on tv. When I did have it a few years ago, there were too many games that I couldn't see, thanks to the Hawks keeping half their games off the air and many teams keeping multiple games off tv.

Moronic. 5-fold? Winning? Let's have a look at Texas' record while ARod was with the club, Roz. Explain to me how the dynamic would be any different with the Sox. It's identical. ARod would be *ALL* they would have. And they'd lose. Not necessarily. ARod, Konerko, Dye and Thome could be a solid core for a couple years. Texas's record doesn't say a thing about what would happen to another team that took him on. Texas didn't make a mistake by paying ARod, their problem was wasting millions on much lesser players and having no pitching. But you are right, I don't see them getting $1.5b in revenue off of ARod.

You can't seriously call RF an automatic out this year. Second highest team AVG in the NL, highest team OBP in the NL. RF was lacking, but it was in no way, shape or form an automatic out.

Because of his SLG? I've got to disagree. I'll tell you what, you take 05 Freel (.271/ .371..371) and I will take 07 Soriano (.299/.337/.560) as my lead off hitter. Which team will score more runs? Soriano's obviously... So would 30 points of OBP be worth 200 points of slugging? Of course not. Nice false choice. False choice? I did exactly what you're saying....replacing Soriano with a better OBP but not as high SLG. You see if you choose an = (or similar OPS) where the difference in OBP is 30 points you're going to find that their EqA is higher than Sorianos. We have to keep Soriano's EqA higher by 10 or so points, otherwise you're saying we should bat a superior hitter ahead of him which is what we should do. We SHOULD NOT replace him with an inferior overall hitter who has a higher OBP. We'd hurt our run output. You are replacing Soriano with Freel. That wasn't the request. It's a false choice.

I don't want to get rid of DeRosa, I think they should consider trading him if somebody gives up value. He's basically an average hitter (probably will be right around 100 OPS+). He's going to get paid $4.75 and $5.5m the next two years. Not overpaid, but not cheap either. He will be 33 and 34 the next two years. I believe it would be possible to get similar production at 2B by using a platoon of Theriot and Fontenot. DeRosa was a nice player this year. He took a small step back from his career year last season, and will probably continue to do that the rest of the way, but he's definitely somebody they can win with. Anyway, back to the money. You clear away Jones, DeRosa and Dempster, and you've cleared $15m in payroll for 2008 (plus $5.5m for 2009). And each one of those guys is tradable. Jones bounced back, hit for average late in the year (despite a horrible season), has a decent reputation, played CF and RF, and has only 1 year left on the deal. DeRosa was a nice all around player who can fill a middle infield spot and contribute to a team in need of offense. Dempster has the "closer" label and he's "been there". He hasn't been that good, but overall, as a reliever, he's been pretty solid. I would rather take my chances that Abreu would give me significantly above average production in RF (115-125 OPS+) and the other spots would get filled, than keep spending $5m on replacable guys. I don't see 2-3 years as getting in the way as much as 2008 payroll specifically.

The Cubs are going to need an upgrade somewhere. Yes you can gamble on some youth, and you should. But not in RF. If I'm settling for potential sub-par production somewhere, I want it up the middle of the field. Pie in CF, or Theriot at SS. RF is really the prime spot for an upgrade this offseason. Trade Murton and get good value in return, as he is a solid commodity for the Cubs. SS is the prime spot for upgrade this offseason. Since you are all but guaranteed to have the worst SS production in the league if you stick with Theriot, almost anybody would be an improvement. On the other hand, Murton is at least a good bet to be average, if not slightly above. But I agree that if the option is available, you take Abreu to at least solidify one spot, and strongly consider dealing Murton in another deal (possibly finding a competent SS to replace Theriot - or maybe one who can platoon with him from the left side).

Because of his SLG? I've got to disagree. It's a misuse of his skills, and not ideal. But all in all, it's not that big of a deal. If they had some regular .380+ OBP guys around, wasting away in the 7/8 hole, I'd be upset. But given what they had, it didn't matter all that much. Personally I'd rather they keep Soriano there than have Hendry go out and find another leadoff hitter to take his place. What matters most is having the right 8 guys in the lineup, and that's where the Cubs struggle most.

He could be a help, but I can't imagine his cost will be worth whatever improvement over Murton he'd provide, if any.

There's room for flexibility there though. If they can move Jones, Eyre or Dempster, and DeRosa, they'd be moving similar money. You may be able to replace DeRosa's production with similar numbers out of a Theriot/Fontenot platoon at 2nd. Plus, you may be able to pick up a pretty solid performer after dealing those contracts. You could either keep Murton around as a bench guy who lets Abreu rest on occasion, or go ahead and include him in a deal the cuts payroll. The thing about Abreu is that if he were to become available, it would mean the biggest spender, NY, is out of the bidding. The Mets are already really crowded in the OF. Philly isn't going to take him back. I don't believe Boston would make a serious play for him, unless they move Manny. So, a significant amount of the league's bigger spenders probably wouldn't even get in on the betting, plus, the Dodgers already have about 7 OFers for 3 positions, and I'm not sure a guy like Coletti would be at all interested in Abreu.

Tejada isn't ARod, but it's not like he doesn't walk. The way the Cubs can fix their offense is by getting significant improvements at their worst positions, and SS was their worst position, along with C, last year. Tejada and Soto could easily eclipse the production from their respective positions, and, barring major setbacks elsewhere, that would significantly improve the offense. You'd probably be able to talk about a top 5 lineup at that point. If you are getting top 5 pitching and top 5 hitting, you are going to have some nice success.

Considering all the other guys they might end up losing, I believe they will keep him. However, if they do resign Jorge, Mo and ARod, he could become available. And if that were the case, I'd put him atop my wish list, even if he isn't the same player he was when I fell in love. Abreu in right would allow you to settle for mediocrity at shortstop and have a very stable lineup. I'm guessing they will put more effort into getting starting pitchers, being willing to sacrifice a little offense to get it done, but I've been guessing that for a couple years and have been wrong.

Probably not much. The Cubs haven't shown a lot of faith in him, banishing him to the minors without cause at times and hesitating to give him anything more than middle relief duty. Plus, he is just a reliever with a limited repertoire. He's the type of guy you need, but not all that hard to find. Most every team has one or two. There's no way I would talk about giving up a lot for him. I do believe he would be a solid asset to include in a bigger trade, just not as the centerpiece.

Each row of seats is slightly lower than the one behind it, if the current front row is as low as you can go before fans suddenly can't see what's going on, they need to go lower to fit another row. At least, that's what I've been understanding.

Are you that sold on Prior next year in the rotation? Or am I missing your 5th? Zambrano, Lilly, Hill, Marquis and Marshall are the Cubs 1-5 as things stand now. Gallagher, Hart, Prior and maybe a couple others are competing for the 5th spot, and if they trade one of the top 5, another spot might open, but trading both Gallagher and Hart doesn't really do a thing to the Cubs starting rotation.

The Blackhawks can't score. For all the talk about the defense, and who was going to step up, the problem, just like the Cubs, is they can't score. Granted, it's got a lot to do with Havlat, but it's more about a general lack of talent from top to bottom. Stat wise, Lang, Toews, Kane and Seabrook are the only guys who have done anything this young season.

Do you trust Hendry to know what a solid bat is? No, but it's still the best option.

The dude who got kicked in the head didn't really get kicked in the head, even though the announcer claimed he was scraped by the bottom of the cleats. freaking fakers.

Is this Adu's debut with the big boys? Looks like he's making a positive impact.

finally something happens.

I would trade either, or both, in a trade that would net the Cubs a solid bat.

The Rockies had the best record in the NL since the middle of May you know... Im just saying.. In that case I stand corrected- I'm probably like many others in that I've been totally preoccupied with what the Rockies have done since the middle of September that I've largely overlooked their prior performance. The best record from the middle of may is almost entirely because of the finish though. They went 58-45 between May 21 and September 15, when the streak began. That's good, but it's only a .563 winning percentage. The Yankees went 63-41 during that time, a .606 W%. The Cubs went 57-50. In fact, the Rockies season record closely resembled the Cubs, up to that late stretch when they pulled way ahead.

I just found the FSC on my office TV, I'll have to throw this on later today. Always good for a post lunch distraction.