jersey cubs fan

I think that booth will be awful. Greenberg can't do play by play and Golic's analysis is extremely "duh" type stuff.

It's beyond absurd. It's ......... I don't know, what's a word for beyond absurd? I was seriously disgusted with that lineup, so completely impotent. I had to laugh when Len and Randy and Paul talked about the team's willingness to sacrifice offense since they think they have enough. My lord, this is pathetic. A $100 million franchise with holes everywhere and absolutely nothing in the minors that can make it better for another 2-3 years, at least. I don't understand how Len and Paul can justify glorifiying the "amazing" play of the cajun connection. Fontenot has been good, but Theriot has played like the 25th man that he is. I did get the feeling that Len and Bob felt like shredding Jacque when the camera would focus on him after his pathetic at bats, but I guess they decided to be restrained.

I don't normally say stuff like this, but I'm pretty sure Jacque Jones has completely stopped trying.

I would agree. Floyd is not a big-time run producer right now, but he's not a black hole either. Also, trading for a RF means that Murton cannot come back up and contribute later in the season, and I think he can team up with Floyd again to stabilize RF after the break. SS needs to be upgraded-I'm just not sure how many options there are around the league to be able to do that. Those things go hand in hand. SS is the bigger problem, with bottom of the barrell production. But RF is way down the list as well. Floyd is no guarantee to be a full-time producer, and while Floyd/Murton might stabilize the position, the Cubs need more than stabilization. They need production, ASAP. Floyd and Murton are both LFers. And it may be hard to find a real SS. So barring the sudden collapse of the Yankees and ARod trade, or about face by the Orioles and Tejada trade, the Cubs may have to get themselves RF help. During the offseason Meph showed that a marginal upgrade from Izturis to Lugo (obv not Lugos #s so far for this season), would be a bigger upgrade than Soriano provided us. While I agree it will be hard to find a really good SS, it will be harder to find a RF who would provid us a greater marginal value than upgrading at SS. I fear Hendry will go after Griffey. Like I said, SS is the preference. I'm not sure they can find one though and RF would be next in-line (both short-term and long-term).

The Mets/Yankees/Red Sox threesome has a lot of the same elements.

I would agree. Floyd is not a big-time run producer right now, but he's not a black hole either. Also, trading for a RF means that Murton cannot come back up and contribute later in the season, and I think he can team up with Floyd again to stabilize RF after the break. SS needs to be upgraded-I'm just not sure how many options there are around the league to be able to do that. Those things go hand in hand. SS is the bigger problem, with bottom of the barrell production. But RF is way down the list as well. Floyd is no guarantee to be a full-time producer, and while Floyd/Murton might stabilize the position, the Cubs need more than stabilization. They need production, ASAP. Floyd and Murton are both LFers. And it may be hard to find a real SS. So barring the sudden collapse of the Yankees and ARod trade, or about face by the Orioles and Tejada trade, the Cubs may have to get themselves RF help.

B/c this is baseball. There are things you dont talk about in public or go on record for- just like in the Army. This is one of those no-no subjects. Upper management in baseball is very much an old school closed society. Additionally, the Union will probably file a grievance over this. So there will have to be a lot of legal maneuvering and other shenanigans going on that Baseball would not have had to deal with. I bet that after a short lived mini controversy, nothing much comes of it at all.

RF has been a huge problem. Full-time Floyd might improve it, but it has not yet been proven. Floyd is not lock to produce, not with his injury history and lack of production last year. Plus, he's not even playing full-time, as Jones is still getting a look now and again. And they need him to not play full-time, because if he does, they will be paying him far too much money than they should.

I don't see why the league, or Selig, would care about this. The union, Juan Gone and his agent, different story. But I don't see Bud doing anything.

I'll try.

I think I'm leaning a little toward the positive on this trade, but the timing of it is a bit of a bummer. With Ramirez hobbled, Lee about to serve suspension and the Cubs in a stretch leading up to the Milwaukee series where I really want them to make a run, I don't like giving up the offense. And like him or hate him, Barrett was hitting in June.

Speaking of... Where did you hear this as he hasn't pitched in the minors yet? I've heard this speculated from a few people. He was a P/OF and many teams were split on whether he'd be on the mound or hitting, though I think more teams liked his hitting. I have no clue what the Cubs brass think about him pitching vs. hitting but he easily could convert to the mound. I think it's funny that what's his name is ridiculing people for posting conjecture, then he decides it's a foregone conclusion this guy is going to pitch. Pretty much every statement about the kid is about what he has done in the minors. That's not conjecture.

The only argument I can see for this is money. If the ownership issue has frozen the budget at its current value (more or less), then freeing up Barret's money might be one of the only ways to add salary in a trade for an upgrade. There was no money freed up by getting rod of Barret. The Cubs paid for most of his remaining salary. It sounds like they saved about $800,000.

When Vance gets the tickets, we don't go second class. Hell.... we were sitting in the second deck, weren't we ??? looked like last row too.

I wouldn't say it hinges. I would think there's a better chance Hendry realizes they need offensive help now that Barrett has been replaced for defensive purposes. And hopefully he realizes that SS and RF are the two biggest need spots for that improvement.

Shouldn't be a problem. It's not like they have a conga line in front of him. Blanco will hopefully be Rusched out of the league.

I highly doubt he's gone at the end of the year no matter how he progresses the rest of 2007.

I wouldn't say worthless. You need one, obviously. The backup catcher starts more games than the backup at any other position. I'd rather have this guy backing up than Henry Blanco. But I do think the Cubs will give him a lot more playing time that he likely deserves, at least for the next few months.

Personally I wouldn't call this pure anger. If you ask me, it was one of the calmest trade threads ever on this board. Most people were resigned to the fact Barrett was going, not a lot of people are ecstatic about the deal, but there's only been a couple people who've gone ballistic. Bowen's been a mediocre producing catcher in his pro career who is having a good 2007 but probably won't sustain the numbers. He'd be a nice cheap backup for a team with a good starter, but he's probably not starter material himself, at least in the long haul, but he'll be stable defensively. The kid whose parents were desperate for a name that started with K has some physical ability but hasn't done jack squat as a pro (600 OPS in rookie ball and sub 600 in low A ball).

I think everyone on this board with any baseball sense has agreed that the argument you stated above is moronic. Did that come out wrong?

Depth, and 2008. They don't have a franchise catcher right now. But they do have another capable body. I think they like Hill in the short-term, but I don't think they'll put up with his non-existing offense for long. Soto and Bowen are probably the two best catchers on the 40 man roster now. Hopefully by 2009 Donaldson can throw himself into the mix.

Are they? I don't think Burke talk has been the focus. He's largely inconsequential.

He wouldn't necessarily be getting bigger. As he got older the bulk probably slowed him down. He's not small again.

The more I look at it the more I think this is a Jim "I like tools" Hendry moment. Last year in the Arizona Fall League he played in 45 games, k'd 56 times and put up thses numbers: .209/313/.294/.607 Not too different from this year and in Arizona!. I hope the Cubs send him back to Boise. Maybe he just needs a good hitting instructor. That was the Arizona Rookie League. You'd hope an 18 year old coming out of high school wouldn't be over his head there.

Generally speaking you're right, such a blanket statement isn't all that accurate. However, for guys in the low minors to strike out so frequently, it's a huge warning sign. Major leaguers who produce good numbers but strikeout a lot are perfectly acceptable. Minor leaguers who K a lot put up a red flag. Minor leaguers who K a lot and don't produce worth a crap are really big red flags.