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jersey cubs fan

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  1. You have to wonder if the release of Jones is being delayed because it would be an outright admission of a mistake by Hendry, and thus a reason why they might hold back funds for a further move. If he's going to waste millions on a guy like Jones, why give him another few million to play with?
  2. Not a good first impression. Weird timing, I wonder if he heard he was drafted before going up there.
  3. I don't think I'm going out on a limb by saying I think the Cubs have focused heavily on college players under Wilken's drafts. What are we at this year, Vitters and 7 college guys?
  4. Reyes is definitely the poster child for overly aggressive speed guys who flip a switch and really turn things around. But I don't know if I trust the Cubs to wait out the 4 years it took him.
  5. Murton had an isolated patience of .065 when he was first called up. It's not perfect, but it's proper discipline. Ramirez had a .061 his first year. Lee was over .100 in his first limited duty, and .085 in his first real season. Felix is at .010 right now. That has to improve dramatically. Agree, that's dismal. However, he does look more patient than Patterson, for whatever that's worth. I've liked what I've seen, and remain excited. But that is a big concern.
  6. About veterans grumbling, I definitely think Jones is in this group, the reports of him asking for a trade last year and hating being a Cub have been too prevalent. Floyd has spoken up in the media a little, but I don't think he's a real big complainer. But with the structure of his contract, it wouldn't surprise me. I find it hard to believe that Izturis is in this group though. He's young and hasn't been an established everyday player in 3 years. I don't think Barrett is complaining about playing time, although I do think he's clashing with Lou. Some of the relievers are probably a little annoyed. Dempster because of the whole rotation/closer debacle (and the fact that his one bad game caused such a stir), Howry and Eyre because of anger at their own performance and probably a bit about their usage. And I think Ohman is always in a foul mood. But it's not out of the ordinary for pitchers, especially relievers, to have a testy relationship with their manager, especially one that was a position player.
  7. Murton had an isolated patience of .065 when he was first called up. It's not perfect, but it's proper discipline. Ramirez had a .061 his first year. Lee was over .100 in his first limited duty, and .085 in his first real season. Felix is at .010 right now. That has to improve dramatically.
  8. I just don't understand why so many people have perpetuated the myth that the Cubs would have no LH bats if they dealt Jones. First, Floyd would end up getting the majority of his time. Also, Pie would be the everyday CF with Jones gone. You have the switch hitting Izturis playing in at least half the games. Ward is on the bench, Pagan is a switch hitter and so is the temporary backup catcher.
  9. Rotoworld I would definitely take a 2nd rounder for Brown.
  10. I don't want to make it sound like I'm calling out Jenkins in particular, but it seems to me like lots of older ex-players like to think they should be handed major league coaching jobs with little to no coaching experience of their own. There's nothing wrong with throwing your name into the ring for consideration, but I've heard more than one comment from guys who seem to think they are above working with minor league teams to go up the ladder.
  11. It looks to me like the Cubs are skimping a bit on draft costs by going with some relatively easy to sign players and avoiding the higher ceiling tough sign guys they used to look for. (PLEASE NOTE, THIS IS NOT ME RIPPING APART THE GREAT TIM WILKEN'S DRAFT, IT IS MERELY AN OBSERVATION AND OPINION ABOUT THE PLAYERS DRAFTED) By all accounts, a team that is being put up for sale by a corporation going through an ownership transition isn't going to pour a ton of cash into upgrading the product. If you could put $10,000 worth of work into a house in order to get an extra $20,000 on the price, you will. But I don't think any potential Cubs buyer is going to pay any extra money for a team because of a few fancy prospects. That being said, does anybody have any idea of how this is affecting the international scouting and signing process? Typically you hear you can sign 30 Latin American players for the price of a top American draft pick, but there is also the occasional big money signing from down there (or Asia). I haven't heard much of anything about the Cubs international signings in quite some time, has anybody else? Are they out they doing the same things they've been doing for years? Is there a hiring freeze going on with the sale under way? Have they shifted any draft money overseas?
  12. Really???? I don't see why. He should be ready for Boise this season and peoria next. We'll see. He'll be ready for Peoria even if he spends all of this summer at Mesa. I bet if he signs quickly, and Lansford gets a July promotion that Vitters finishs the 2007 season in Peoria....just a thought... If he's hitting well enough to justify that move, it would be great. But I'm just hoping he hits well enough to justify a spot in Peoria all next year. I don't want to see any Ryan Harvey type, low average, 4:1 K:BB ratio with OPS being propped up by some power, and doing it in short season ball a year after being drafted.
  13. That's a huge red flag for me. The guy isn't going to learn plate discipline with the Cubs, and he isn't going to handle those pitches against pros. If we have another 4:1 K:BB guy on our hands, he won't help at all. its a real red flag when a prospect is compared to vlad guerrero.... It's a red flag to me when people talk about a guy's ability to hit a pitch thrown anywhere. The reason is that Vlad and very few others have been able to carry over that skill into major league success. If they think he can hit all sorts of pitches, that means he swings at all sorts of pitches. And aggressive free swingers don't exactly flourish in the Cubs system. Having the ability to hit anything is nice and all, but if you're confident in your ability to do so, major league pitchers are likely to exploit that. It makes me think of guys like Pedro Felix and Ty Wiggington, guys who may be halfway decent in the counting stats, but are brutal in the rate stats thanks in large part to free swinging low walk taking approaches.
  14. I'm mixed on Culpepper. I predicted he'd be terrible last year, but I'm not sure he's done. His game was very much reliant on his body in general, and legs in particular, obviously not to the extent of Young or Vick, but much more so than Grossman. I question his ability to fit in with the Bears, because I'm not sure he's ready to accept backup duty right now. Plus, his drop back and chuck it deep skills don't exactly fit in with the Bears system. I don't see him ever returning to the ability to gain 400+ yards on the ground. And he's always been a turnover and sack waiting to happen, but he does have a solid completion percentage and rating. All in all, I think he'd probably be a better backup than either Griese or Orton, with the potential to provide much greater spark to the offense. But I don't see them cutting Griese at this point and I'm not sure he'd be too keen on signing up for that gig anyway. I think he's got to be a dome or warm weather QB on a team with big deep threats. Maybe the Rams or Detroit.
  15. How dare you criticize. Vernon Wells man. Vernon Freaking Wells!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I really wanted to get some bats, but this is kind of getting ridiculous.
  16. He's not safe financially, I just think he's a relatively safe bet in the way that a lot of people have talked about him being a likely reliever. Not caring about his k/bb is foolish. It matters, no matter whether the Cubs have told him to work on it (which probably isn't the case). I never said I wanted Harveys and Dopiraks. I said it looks like Wilken is drafting guys who are good bets to make the majors, but not necessarily good bets to be stars. I haven't graded this draft. I wasn't pining for some high school kid with huge batting practice power. If anything I want to stay clear of that type of high risk high reward player. What I was doing is analyzing Wilken's picks.
  17. This nonsense again? I like how everytime people question a move by the Cubs they are being illogical pessimists. The first reaction that some posters had (the ones Tim was referring to) was to judge Donaldson very harshly based on a few blurbs about him, which in some cases was the first posters had even read about him. That is pessimism. I make no argument about pessimism regarding any other moves except on a per item basis. That is not pessimism, that is expressing a reaction to the first news you see. If the first stuff we saw was great, we'd have been much more positive. Your labeling of people as pessmists is just flat out ignorant. If people are expecting/wanting one thing, and they see something different, their first reaction is never going to be oh great this is awesome. Pessimism is predicting a bust no matter who a player is. Some people were anti-Vitters a long time ago, not knowing whether or not the Cubs would draft him. And there were a few names people wanted with the 2nd pick and the Cubs went in a completely different direction. That's it.
  18. This nonsense again? I like how everytime people question a move by the Cubs they are being illogical pessimists.
  19. I'm not judging a draft. I'm characterizing the type of pick. It looks safe to me, rather than extremely high upside. And I'm not saying I hate the idea. It just appears to be part of the strategy. But Samardzija has been a lot worse than just "not lights out". And Colvin's pathetic k/bb suggests trouble.
  20. I'm not bashing them myself. But I'm reading stuff about this guy being a potential backup catcher who tries really hard and plays the game the right way. I'm not claiming any sort of expertise, rather relying on others. And it seems to me the Cubs took cheaper, lesser caliber players. Not necessarily bad players. And to be quite honest, getting guys who are likely to contribute in the majors is not necessarily a bad thing.
  21. What makes you think we would take him if he did? It's a shame Samardzija didn't like football more, maybe we could have put the money he got into this draft. That wouldn't have happened. The money would have been a problem this year with the impending sale whether the team went above slot with several guys last year or not. Oh I know. I am just really pissed that we have to be a value team this year when we had a chance to get an elite college catcher, and then a couple first round talents slip to us and we have to take another slot money pick. Just one of several things to remember for all the people that thought an ownership change would definitely lead to bigger and better things.
  22. You mean guys like Vernon Wells and Michael Young? Oh, and not to mention Nomar, who he wanted but was overruled on at the last minute. Nope, Wilken can't identify special talent. I'm talking about his strategy with the Cubs. The 2 guys he drafted last year weren't really thought of as likely stars, and neither is off to a start that suggests star potential. And both of today's picks are of the non-star caliber. I never said he couldn't identify special talent. Identifying it, and drafting it aren't the same thing though.
  23. Interesting. In other words, the clubhouse is not fine. Just because he feels it's unwarrented complaining doesn't mean there isn't complaining. How many teams that are 5+ games below .500 aren't going to have a few complainers? It's probably idiots like Jones and Izturis doing the whining. You know, guys who really shouldn't feel entitled to starting roles anyway. That's all fine and dandy. But just because they shouldn't feel entitled doesn't mean they aren't. If guys are getting pissed, and fights are breaking out, there are issues.
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