Bruno7481

Jimenez is a whining malcontent who couldn't even hit in AA last year. There was reason he was exposed to waivers mid-season and nobody claimed him.

Well, being a teacher myself, here is my philosophy. I can't make my kids smarter or more successful. They have to do that on their own. What I can do is help them along the way by pointing them in the right direction and giving them the information necessary to succeed. It is then up to them to take full advantage and use of the information. I've had some really smart kids, but I don't take credit for it because they did that on their own. The kids that struggle I try to help them as much as possible. But again, its not my fault if they don't study and/or turn in homework. Rothschild doesn't pitch, he coaches players on how to pitch. I've seen the man work firsthand, he knows what he is doing. You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but I think I have a little more firsthand knowledge of his teachings and work than you.

Well, maybe he could do as little as he does now and be an improvement on dusty. As little as he does now? Please enlighten me into what he does and doesn't do. How do you know? I've been lucky enough to have a college teammate play for the Cubs the past couple of years and have heard nothing but great things about Rothschild's teachings and preparation. He is one of the better pitching coaches in the game today. I don't know how anyone without any knowledge of the situation could make that kind of statement.

I know he's 87 years old. :lol: He wasn't offered arbitration by the Braves. I know the Cubs just signed Mabry so there may not be a need. I just thought he could be a pretty good pinch hitter. He could also be Dustyproof. He's not going to play 1B over Lee. Again, with Mabry on board I don't think there is a need. Just thought maybe the old man could be a good bat off the bench.

The reason he was DA'd was the signing of Howry. That makes the team better. *I hope* :D Of course, and he should. I just think Macias was the least of the Cubs problems the last couple of years. He got a lot of heat from people on here, but he was hardly the problem. Thats all.

Big deal, Macias is gone. The way some on here are acting you'd think the Cubs just traded him for Pujols. He's gone, doesn't really make the team any better.

So now you all have redeuced yourselves for mocking Macias' desire to play for his country in the WBC? Get over yourselves. Yes, he's sucked for the Cubs. But if he wants to play and he makes the Panama team then good for him.

Don't want to spoil everyone's fun, but this thread is crazy. Those two guys aren't going anywhere. Sure they may be available for the "right price", but who isn't? They aren't going anywhere, and especially not for Pie, HIll or Cedeno. Quit touting the Cubs minor leaguers like they are sure fire HOF candidates. I still have the tase of Choi, Hill and Cruz in my mouth. Those guys might turn out to be pretty good, chances are, based on past results, they won't be all that special. Zambrano has ben the biggest find for this organization and he wasn't hyped to the extent as some of these past and present prospects.

[quote name= Wilkerson in CF' date=' please. Forget Gathright and Pierre. I hate Pierre. Gathright's not horrible, but if we're going to give up a ton of talent, let's get someone that can produce at the ML level, since we're going to lean on them to set the table for Lee and Ramirez. I realize Wilkerson had a power drop, which may/may not be b/c of RFK, but he lead off for a good portion of the year. He probably wasn't trying to demolish the ball, just get on base.[/quote] Hitting for power isn't a result of "trying to demolish" the ball. Good hitters take the same approach every time up. If you try and "demolish the ball" your going to mess up your swing. Power happens as a result of your approach and execution, not be swinging as hard as you can. That said, I'd welocme Wilkerson on this team.

Honestly, how do we know Hendry showed no interest in Giles? If this was reported, or Hendry commented I apologize, this is an honest question. Just because it was written about doesn't mean he wasn't interested. Hendry could have called Giles and Giles could have simply said, "Hey, I appreciate the offer but I'm not interested in moving to Chicago."

Eliminate Eyre, Howry, Rusch and Neifi and there's plenty of cash for those three. Which is the point we were making in the Howry thread that you fought against. OK, I see your reasoning. But what would the bullpen be then? Pretty much the same as last year's? I'm not proclaiming Eyre and Howry to be saviors, but they improve the pen. I'm not sure how much Furcal and Giles would help if the Cubs still had Novoa, Wuertz and Van Buren working meaningful innings late. Many act like Giles is dying to come here but the Cubs just aren't interested. He may have no interest in coming to Chicago, whether the Cubs have the money or not.

Eliminate Eyre, Howry, Rusch and Neifi and there's plenty of cash for those three. Which is the point we were making in the Howry thread that you fought against. OK, I see your reasoning. But what would the bullpen be then? Pretty much the same as last year's? I'm not proclaiming Eyre and Howry to be saviors, but they improve the pen. I'm not sure how much Furcal and Giles would help if the Cubs still had Novoa, Wuertz and Van Buren working meaningful innings late.

In other words, Steve Stone coming up to here himself talk. "Hey everyone, I know baseball, I want to be a GM... Look at me... I look good...real good" Hmmm, sounds like many of the posters on here as well.

People aren't upset at having Howry. People are upset at having Howry, Eyre, Neifi, and Rusch instead of Giles, Cedeno, Novoa, and Hill. I'd love to have Giles as well, but bringing back a bulpen with Novoa and Hill would be asking for the same problems they had last year.

His OBP and OPS aren't high enough for most around here :P

Injury issues aside, I'm surprised Boston was able to get Beckett so cheap. I know they are assuming Lowell's contract, but still. Great move by Boston. After seeing what Florida got in return for Beckett, if the Cubs go after Pierre or Castillo they better not give up all that much. I feel sorry for Dontrelle. Maybe he'll demand a trade back to Chicago :lol:

Eyre last year at SBC 33IP 26H 13BB 31 K's 4.01 ERA .220 BA On the Road 34.2 IP 22H 13BB 34K's 1.30 ERA .180 BA He can pitch outside of SBC. I know its just one year, but the numbers show that he's effective outside of SBC as well.

Are you comortable with Hill as a reliever? I'm not. Novoa was all over the place last year. Wuertz has his moments. Koronka???? Based on past experience the Cubs have 3 guys i'd classify as "reliable-to good." Those being Dempster, Williamson, and now Eyre. I liked what I saw from Ohman last year, but it has just been one year. Rusch does seem like he's caught in the middle. I think Eyre is a good addition. I think he's more effective and reliable than Mitre, Hill, Koronka, Novoa, and Wuertz.

I've been of the persuasion that the bullpen should have been the final focus after lead-off, shortstop, and the gaping hole in rightfield. We have a number of arms for the pen. But if I were going to gamble three years on a reliever, Dotel please. First off, I second your "Dotel please" Secondly, your thinking is good in theory - but it has somewhat resulted in our bullpens the last couple years. Isn't it possible that we could take care of all of these 'problems' in a somewhat similar timeframe? I know watching Eyre sign a contract might keep him busy, but not so busy he can't call Furcal up and tell him to c'mere. I will admit that our bullpen wasn't good last season. But I also think throwing FA dollars at a bullpen, other than a few select guys, is never a great idea. We've thrown a lucrative three year deal at the bullpen two of the last three years and it hasn't helped. It's very difficult to predict the success of a reliever from year to year. Who thought Eyre was a great reliever before this past season? How quickly does a guy become lights out in the pen only to flame out the year before? Given the nature of the bullpen, I'd address it, but not with long term big money deals unless it is for someone that has proven to get it done year in and year out. Dotel fits that description. Wagner does as well. Eyre does not. Why not bring back the Farns? He's had more good seasons than Eyre. I think you get bullpen help whenver it make itself available. Putting together a sold bullpen to go along with the starters could relaly improve this team. IF the startes stay healthy and pitch to their potential, a strong bullpen would really shorten the game for opponents. B.J. Ryan is a closer, so is Wagner. I'd love those guys, but they aren't going to come here. Dempster is the closer. I'm tired of watching the Cubs blow game late. Will Eyre stop that all by himself, of course not. But I think he helps.

I've been of the persuasion that the bullpen should have been the final focus after lead-off, shortstop, and the gaping hole in rightfield. We have a number of arms for the pen. But if I were going to gamble three years on a reliever, Dotel please. I'f Im going to give a reliever 3 years I'm going to give it to the guy who's proven he can throw in 70+ games, not a guy 4 months removed from TJ surgery. I think over the course of three years, Dotel will prove to be the better signing. At least Dotel hasn't had only one good season. That may be true, Dotel certainly has the better "stuff." But who knows what kind of "stuff" he'll have now. I'm all for the Cubs giving Dotel a shot, but not 3 years coming right off of TJS.

I've been of the persuasion that the bullpen should have been the final focus after lead-off, shortstop, and the gaping hole in rightfield. We have a number of arms for the pen. But if I were going to gamble three years on a reliever, Dotel please. I'f Im going to give a reliever 3 years I'm going to give it to the guy who's proven he can throw in 70+ games, not a guy 4 months removed from TJ surgery.

All this talk about how this money could have been spent on Giles. Who knows Giles even wants to come to the Cubs? I'd love him, just like everyone else, but we don't know where he wants to play. If he has told the Cubs he's not interested, what is Hendry supposed to do? Like always, I'll jusdge the offseason in march, not the middle of november. Eyre will help, yes they are paying him a lot of money. But the Cubs need bullpen help, and he will help. Hendry has made some bad moves, but I think calling him an idiot and an embicile is a bit overblown here. I'm not his biggest fan, but I certainly don't think he's a moron either. I'm sure he knows this team has holes, outfield, bullpen, SS. He's addressed one, I don't think he'll completely ignore the other two.

The Cubs need bullpen help, Veteran bullpen help. There's that dirty word, veteran. The bullpen sucked last year, it was full of mostly young guys. I'm not against having young guys in the pen, but not all of them. Novoa was very inconsistent, same with Wuertz towards the latter part of the year. I love my boy Todd Wellemeyer, but he's unpredictable as well. Ohman did a pretty good job. Assemble a pen with a mix of youth and veterans. If Williamson bounces back, Dempster continues his good work this could be a pretty good bullpen. With the starting staff like the Cubs have (lots of strikeouts, lots of pitches), they will be used often. Eyre will help this club in an rea where they need help. Its no secret the Cubs were looking for veteran bullpen help. You can argue the length and terms of the contract, but he will help. Thats all I'm concerned about now.

The agent is just doing his job. Maybe somebody will give Furcal that kind money, I doubt it though. What do you expect the agent to say?

You should care what his SLG is. SLG isn't just driving runners in, it's the ability to get around the bases without the help of your teammates. The more you can do that, the more likely you are to score. That's why Walker with a .350/.450 OBP/SLG is more valuable than Pierre putting up .365/.390. Sure Pierre steals more bases, but if we include that(which is unfair to begin with because a double is more valuable than a single and a steal) then his OBP should be deducted for his CS%. In addition to all of this, Pierre is coming off of the worst season of his career. Even at his best Pierre isn't great. He'll put up a decent OBP, but some of that is mitigated with his average to mediocre SB%; he is terrible at hitting for extra bases. He's not a good defender. I can probably name a half dozen players off the top of my head that could be or are available that would be as good or better options(Bradley, Michaels, Crisp, GMJ, Cameron, Giles). He shouldn't be a top priority. An average player doesn't put up 200 hits a year. I'm not saying Pierre is the best option out there. I'm saying he would help this team. I wouldn't say he isn't a good defender, yeah he has a weak arm. But he pretty good range in CF. a 74% SB% is mediocre? He still gets 50+ a year. Take your example about getting to second base, scoring position. Pierre had 19 doubles and 57 SB last year, in his down year. So he was responsible for gettin into scoring position 76 times. Walker had 25 doubles and 1 SB. Do the math, Pierre gets in to position to score a lot, I didn't even include his triples. I'm not trying to compare Walker to Pierre because they are totally different players, just used him as a refrence point. I think Pierre would be a good addition because of the reasons stated above. The Cubs have been terrible at scoring runs unless it comes form a HR. Getting Pierre, or guys like him would improve this offense.