cubfan1955

Dusty said: Dave Dombrowski said: Personally I think Neifi can help a team that uses him correctly. Something Baker isn't capable of doing.

This is great news but not completely unexpected since Hendry traded for his little brother (Izturis) to NOT get on base from the 2 hole.

cubs.com is listing todays pitcher as Ryan O'Malley. 7-7 with a 4.08 ERA at Iowa.

Maybe Jim can bring back Jose Macias for a few million a year too! :twisted:

Could Wood even be ready to throw by next year? I'd hate to depend on him in any way and you have to shake Baker off the roster if you're going to get Weurtz to close. I'll sign off on that move. :twisted:

I'd like to give Kerry Wood a shot at the closer job. Although at a reduced price from what he is making this year. Trade Dempster and we'd still have Wuertz around if it didn't work out.

Bye Carlos...nice knowing you. :cry:

Why? Do we not have a minor league first baseman in the whole system?

I doubt a trade would be needed. I think he'll pass through waivers and be available for the minimum with the Astros paying his contract. I think his contract goes through next year. I wouldn't mind him as a platoon partner for Jones in right or center. if only management was creative enough to use a veteran outfield platoon or creative enough to move both to center. That would not be right for us to get him for nothing. We should still give them Neifi. :lol:

NO OFFENSIVE CLUE!!!

The Cubs have had lots of opportunities today but their average with RISP is abominable. :shock: Jim...get on that will ya?

If I get the team I posted I can live with Izturis. :D

Bob thinks DLee and Blanco saw something Marmol was doing, like tipping his pitches, back in the 2nd inning. The he just had like a 5 pitch 3rd inning. What is Rothschild doing?

So was it a bad snap on the extra point or did the Cubs block it?

No matter how many times you read that...it's still funny. :lol:

Not that I think it's a great idea to do it, I just think there is a GM out there that will give it a go at those dollars. And if that team makes him a closer and he's great then that guy is going to look like a genius. If it doesn't work out, oh well, he just has to say "we tried". I think Ned Colletti would do just to stick it to the Cubs again. He seems to enjoy that.

I know a couple of million dollars is a lot of money but to think Kerry Wood is going to come back to the Cubs for a $1 - $2 million a year contract is pretty unrealistic. Think of your own job. Would you stay if they offered you a 80% - 90% paycut? There is probably even some rule in the player association against it. And this crap that Kerry owes the Cubs or their fans something is BS too. He tried. He pitched hurt last year out of the pen when Hendry and Dusty were still fantazing about jumping over several teams at the end and winning the wildcard. The Cubs have made a heck of a lot more money off of the Kerry Wood phenomenon than they've paid to him. Some team will take a flyer on Wood for $5 - $6 million along with incentives for a couple of million more and if the Cubs don't offer that much you can say goodbye to Kerry. He's going to do what is best for him and his family. He's been pretty loyal to the Cubs but that only goes so far and understandably so.

The problem is...we need both of them plus another front line pitcher. Unless the Trib raises the payroll up to $120 million or so we're in deep doo doo in 2007...yet again. I think any deal for Tejada and Baltimore would want Z. That just can't happen. I'm not so sure. The NL just stinks and it'll prolly be the same next year. If we add another starter and a Soriano or Lee, we can compete with anyone in the NL. I really believe that...Of course we need to stay healthy... I don't think the NL can be as bad next year. I think we'll need to replace 2 of the 3 bats of Cedeno, Murton, and Izturis to have a chance to keep up.

The Trib decide to buy a championship: Cedeno, Murton, Hill and CASH to the Marlins for Cabrera. Hendry signs Lee, Soriano, Schmidt, and Zito. Prior is healthy all year. Wood comes back and becomes a dominant closer. Print the playoff tickets. Pierre CF Soriano 2B DLee 1B Cabrera RF Aram 3B CLee LF Barrett C Izturis SS Z Prior Zito Schmidt Marshall/Marmol/Guzman (One) Bench - Jones, Soto, Neifi, Pagan, Nevin, and bring in one more guy. BP - Wood, Howry, Eyre, Ohman, Weurtz, Dempster

The problem is...we need both of them plus another front line pitcher. Unless the Trib raises the payroll up to $120 million or so we're in deep doo doo in 2007...yet again. I think any deal for Tejada and Baltimore would want Z. That just can't happen.

Carlos Lee isn't perfect but he's one of the two best options available as a free agent. There is no way Hendry can pull off a trade and do better than either (Soriano). I think you are getting greedy and holding out for the perfect player that isn't going to arrive.

We want you to stop writing writing loaded sentences like the one quoted above. Tell me what to say so I can jump on board with this "Cubs suck, Hendry sucks, everyone sucks" bandwagon. What I said above may have been loaded, but in response to 1908 it was absolutely right. How was it absolutely right? You've been misrepresenting my statements all night and then discrediting them. You said offensively he is atrocious. I feel and still do, that he can improve on his #'s yet because it doesn't fit into your projections or a calculation, he is terrible. I disagree. Better yet, compare those #'s to other 8 hole hitters in the NL and I'd argue he'd be just fine. Factor in what his defense brings and I like him at short and in the 8 hole. Pardon me, I left the other Izturis discussion for work earlier on Tuesday so I may be out of the loop on a few things. Did Dusty Baker get fired today? I ask because he must have if you think Izturis is going to batting 8th on this team. He's going to carry that .300 OBP as a #2 hitter just like Neifi has for way too much time the last two years. I would be okay with Izturis playing SS and batting 8th if we get Soriano to play 2B and CLee to play LF. Murton and Jones platoon in RF. Sign Zito and somehow get Prior healthy for a full year. I'm doubting all of that happens though.

Maybe Steinbrenner made an illegal under the table proposal to Neifi. We should get ARod as compensation. :twisted:

And Ronny won't improve too?

I think those that are somewhat happy with this deal are happy for 2 reasons 1) Yes, a 711 OPS is not that great-but it's about average for a shortstop-average OBP, slightly below average slugging for a shortstop. Combine that with his great defense, and you have a pretty good shortstop. 2)If the choice at short is Izturis or Cedeno, Izturis is a much better player. He is better offensively, and much better defensively. He won't be nearly the hole that Cedeno has been in the lineup-so this is an upgrade in talent. Now we'll see if Hendry can find the offensive player to play at second to go with him. How is Izturis better offensively than Ronny? In Izturis first full year in the majors he hit .232 with a .253 OBP compared to Ronny this year at .255 BA and .280 OBP so far. In his 2nd full season Izturis hit .251 BA and .282 OBP. I really believe Cedeno will progress enough to top that next year. Izturis has already had his career year and has regressed since then although I will give you he's been injured.