cubsfan26

I really like this move. Baker is a perfect example of low risk, high reward type move. He's put up big numbers in the minors and had a solid season for the Rockies last year. With our issues currently at 2b. Adding Baker is worth a shot and if he hits even close to the way he did last year. He could be a short term answer at 2b.

As long as they didn't give up anything of good value. I think adding Baker is worth a shot. If he hits like he did last year he could be a asset to the team. I know I like his power at 2b over Miles, Blanco or Scales. People always say the Cubs have won under Jim Hendry because he had money to spend. Well this season he doesn't have money to spend. So he's gonna have to make little moves like this, and add a few players who might be unproven but have some upside. Just hopefully we didn't give up anybody we will miss to get him. I remember there being a market for Baker this spring but he was never traded. Hopefully his stock went down now that he was hurt and the Rockies don't have a spot for him on their bench anymore.

Not going to be easy after the 4 year deal without eating big bucks. Why would the Cubs have to eat big bucks? The going rate for guys who pitch 200 innings, strike people out and have era's below 4 is between 11-13m these days. Dempsters probably gonna end up with numbers like Lilly had in 07-08(which is quality number 2-3 starter). So if we did trade Dempster(which we won't), I don't see why we would have to eat salary. Unless he has a drop off in production he's not really overpaid. Now if he can start pitching like he did in 08 again he will be very underpaid actually. But I don't expect him to pitch that good and I don't think the Cubs did either.

Hendry needs to try to inquire about guys there's no doubt about that. I never said Hendry should just sit back and not try to fill the hole. I'm just saying in this postion it's very hard to fill that hole and have it make sense. So I don't expect anything to get done at this point in the year. If you could get Branyan for a guy like Kevin Hart you make the deal. But if the Mariners want something like Wells and a good prospect I think it's too much. Wells has pitched great so far, but I know his potential is 5th starter/long guy. The problem is I think the Cubs really need a guy to fill that role right now so I don't like giving up Wells. Unless were adding another starter and putting Marshall in the pen. You're "go with what we got and suck it up" comment made me think you were opposed to even attempting to fill the hole. Sorry. That's the way I interpreted it, too. Sorry it came off that way, it was more to the people saying Hendry is busy eating big macs instead of adding a new 3rd baseman already. I was trying to explain to them that when you have a big injury at this time of the year and expect that guy to still come back your pretty much screwed. Just like the Cubs were in 06 when Lee got hurt. Lets just hope that Ramirez is able to recover lot better then Lee did in 06.

I know which I'm actually pretty happy about. Right now one of this team issues is not having that long guy to eat up innings and keep the game close when the Cubs are only behind by a run or two or tied. Last season we had that with Lieber early in the season and Marshall in the second half. That allowed us to come back and win a bunch of games. This season there's been like 3-5 games when we were in the game until Patton, Cotts, Samardzija and Fox let things get out of hand. Sundays game with the Astros was another example of that with Ascaino giving up two runs and then we saw the Cubs comeback in the 9th. So when Zambrano comes back I'm hoping Wells or Marshall will be able to fill that role and hold teams down for a inning or two and allow the offense to come back.

Hendry needs to try to inquire about guys there's no doubt about that. I never said Hendry should just sit back and not try to fill the hole. I'm just saying in this postion it's very hard to fill that hole and have it make sense. So I don't expect anything to get done at this point in the year. If you could get Branyan for a guy like Kevin Hart you make the deal. But if the Mariners want something like Wells and a good prospect I think it's too much. Wells has pitched great so far, but I know his potential is 5th starter/long guy. The problem is I think the Cubs really need a guy to fill that role right now so I don't like giving up Wells. Unless were adding another starter and putting Marshall in the pen.

I'm sure he would still have a spot, but he wouldn't get AB's or Hoffpauir wouldn't get AB's when that happens. With his contract he's a guy you need to play alot. There's only so many AB's at 1st, and corner outfield spots to go around. If the Cubs thought Wigginton can be solid at 2b and Fontenot keeps struggling then it might be realistic. But again I don't think the Cubs have given up on Fontenot yet.

Some of them very well could be realistic. Think what you wanna think but Ramirez isn't gonna get replaced with a player like those guys at this point of the season. Unless Hendry has to give up prospects that people won't like him giving up for them.

Supply and demand right now your gonna have to give up something good for one of those players. Teams know the Cubs have a problem and don't have reasons to trade those players. So the asking price is gonna be higher then it should be. In July or even August those guys will only cost a average prospect. Because teams with holes at 3rd will have alot more options with more teams out of the race and cutting salary.

Were gonna have to give up decent talent to even get Wigginton or Branyan at this point of the year. Wigginton is signed for next year as well, and wouldn't have a spot on the team when Ramirez came back due to Hoffpauir and not really being able to play good defense at 2nd(is horrible at 3rd to). Branyan probably makes more sense because after he's back you can just use him as a pinch hitter and still play Hoffpauir over him. But again he makes very little money, and it's still early in the season. The Mariners aren't just gonna give him away unless they get something of value. Ray Durham might not be a bad idea and it's worth a try. But at the same time he's old and hasn't played baseball since last year and by the time he's ready to produce Ramirez might be on his way back already. We can't sign Durham now and expect him to be a effective hitter for at least a month and he might have to go in the minors to get himself ready.

Sounds great despite the fact that were not gonna get those players for nothing. Where either gonna have to take on a high salary or trade away quality talent that will stop us from making other moves. It sucks but fans just need to accept the cards that were dealt. Until Ramirez comes back were gonna have Fontenot, Freel and Scales over there and who knows we might add another bad back up 3rd. But guys like Huff, DeRosa, Wigginton, Mora, Beltre, Blalock and others aren't realistic.

Seriously? So you're saying that when a team expecting to contend loses one of its best hitters for what could very realistically be 2.5 to 3 months, they shouldn't look to fill that hole? I have heard 1.5 to 2 months(Ramirez had the same injury before and came back after 6 weeks) and if it happens this early in the season it's not much you can do. Teams out of the race might be just droping salary so you might get some average veteran to fill that role. But teams right now aren't giving away 3rd baseman and you can't go trade good propsects when Ramirez is coming back. Like I said before the Yankees had the same issue with A-Rod and the Mets would have the same issue with David Wright if he got hurt. When a guy gets hurt early in the season and is scheduled to come back you can't really do much. Sure if the Orioles wanna give up Huff or Wigginton or the Indians wanna give us Mark DeRosa for Kevin Hart and other crap in the minors. Then sure fill the hole, but teams at this time of the year just aren't giving away players for nothing. So like I said your just stuck and have to deal with having crap, unless you get really really lucky.

Those guys are versatile but they will all play postions in which Hoffpauir will need to get AB's at. So if there not at 3rd you would be taking away playing time with Hoffpauir by playing them. Right now if anything Hoffpauir should be getting more playing time instead of less.

Everybody but Helms or Crosby doesn't really make much sense. Because were do they play when Ramirez comes back? If Ramirez was gone for the season then adding one of those guys might be a good idea. But the guy is coming back in a month or a little after that and were not gonna have a spot for those guys then and just gave away quality talent to get those guys. When a team loses it's star 3rd baseman you just need to suck it up and go with what you got.

Why is anybody considering Hendry will trade for a good everyday 3rd? Ramirez will be back in early July, and then what do we do with two 3rd baseman? It doesn't make sense to add a quality 3rd baseman with how much talent it will cost. When a team loses there star 3rd baseman for a 4-6 weeks there just stuck. You either pick up guys on the waiver wire, go to the minors or trade crap for crap(like Hairston for Nevin in 06). The Yankees had to use Cody Ransom at 3rd and the Mets would have the same problem if David Wright got hurt. This is just a bad thing that happen and we gotta suck it up and accept it. Not come up with crazy trade ideas that don't make sense.

I don't expect it to last that long. But this is the kinda thing that happens for good teams. They get unexpected performance from guys out of nowhere and it helps them have a winning record. Hopefully Randy Wells can do the same for us out of the bullpen.

yeah but the team has a 20-14 record with a lot of things going wrong. ramirez has been hurt, lee has been as bad as he can possibly be, soto has also been terrible, bradley has been hurt and/or bad, harden and dempster havent been great, the bullpen has issued way too many free passes. offensively the cubs have one of the worst BABIP in baseball, and they have a .295 BABIP against despite the lowest LD% in baseball. i'd argue that the cubs' luck or performance versus expected has been a net negative, and they're still 20-14. so yeah there are things to worry about, but thinking that this is an average or worse team - which is what a lot of people were saying - is silly. Yeah the fact that were playing this well with so many players underperforming should tell us that when these players do start to play better this team is going to be really really good. I'm sorry but any person who feels this team is bad or even average at any point this season just doesn't understand baseball.

Thats just because fans were overreacting WAY more then they should have been. Right now the Cubs are 20-14 and one game ahead of the 19-15 record they had last season after 34 games. Last season team had issues as well, but probably not as many and this season team has had a tough schedule. This team is good and will be in the playoffs and my opinion of the team has never changed. Too bad so many people bash this team when things go bad for a stretch. It's easy to worry about this team. People don't think Dempster can repeat. Soto may have a sophomore slump. Lee is worthless. There's a good chance that neither Bradley and Soriano will be healthy enough to play 130 games. Ramirez may not even come back this season. Fukudome started well last year and crashed. Nobody likes Theriot for some reason. Zambrano is hurt. Harden will get hurt. There is no middle bullpen. Marmol and Gregg have been less than ideal to this point. There are plenty of worries. It's just easier to forget them when they run off a 10-3 stretch. You can have those same worries just about any team in baseball. Overall you gotta look at the talent and the track record of these guys and know it's very rare for everything to go wrong in a major league season. Most of those worries won't be a issue just like they aren't in most major league seasons. I felt the same way about this team right now as I did when they were 10-11 or 16-14. A 162 game is a rollercoaster ride filled with a bunch of good and bad stretches of games. I don't know how some fans make it through a 162 games with the way they act during the bad stretches. Even last seasons team had plenty of stretches were they looked horrible or bad. This team is very talented and knows how to win in the regular season. They will be in the playoffs and I would still feel the same way if they go 2-4 next week. But in my opinion this team still hasn't played it's best baseball and is gonna go on a major roll at some point. But yeah there a good team and will have 90 plus wins again. Unless of course this is just one of those odd seasons when everything just goes wrong but thats not something people can predict.

Thats just because fans were overreacting WAY more then they should have been. Right now the Cubs are 20-14 and one game ahead of the 19-15 record they had last season after 34 games. Last season team had issues as well, but probably not as many and this season team has had a tough schedule. This team is good and will be in the playoffs and my opinion of the team has never changed. Too bad so many people bash this team when things go bad for a stretch.

Hard to believe huh? 3-2 roadtrip Yeah from Cubs fans reactions you would think this team is 10-21 and in last place. Instead were 17-14, either 1.5 or 2.5 games out of first and only 1 game off our pace after 31 games last season. We've won 7 of our last 10 too...but I think the reason everyone feels deflated like we've just come off a long losing streak is losing Ramirez. Really took the wind out of everyone's sails. Yeah Ramirez is gonna be a big loss, but we can get by without him if Bradley and Soto start to hit. Lets not forget we also lost Soriano for 5 weeks in June last year when he was our hottest hitter. Bradley looks like he's coming around, but Soto has to get back on track still. I personally still think Lee is gonna come back and hit 280-290 with 15-18 HR and have a OPS around 800-810 but thats just me. Fontenot has been really streaky but his numbers will be there to. Having Fukudome not drop off like he did last year is also a big key. But I really don't think the bullpen is in all that much worse shape then it was a year ago. Lets not forget we had Wood blow 3 of his first 7 saves with a 5.14 era, Howry with his 7.04 era, Wuertz with a 4.81 era and Kevin Hart was getting bombed as well. Plus we had Rich Hill just sent to the minors and Ted Lilly getting bombed. Not to mention Soriano was hitting 169 even though he was about to get red hot. People keep remembering the final team of last year and are forgetting that they didn't have injuries and other issues. They just fixed most of those issues for the most part or other guys played better. This team will be fine just alot of bad things are happening at once so it feels alot worse.

Hard to believe huh? 3-2 roadtrip Yeah from Cubs fans reactions you would think this team is 10-21 and in last place. Instead were 17-14, either 1.5 or 2.5 games out of first and only 1 game off our pace after 31 games last season.

Cubs Win!! Nice job by Greggg against the last two hitters. He needs to pitch like he did against Hart and Braun all the time. That getting ahead in the count and messing around is killing him.

Gregg needs to stop messing around when he gets ahead in the count. It seems like he gets 1-2 or even 0-2 and throws crap trying to get the batter to chase. He needs to just finsh them off more often instead of messing around.

I still think Dempster will be ok, even though his numbers aren't great. Sure he won't be anywere close to the starter he was last season but I don't think he will be anywere close to as bad as he was from 01-03 either. But I think 07-08 Ted Lilly type numbers is very possible out of Dempster. Tonight he pitched well until the 7th when Lou kept him in when he was over 110 pitches and in his last start he did really well. He also had a few starts when he had some bad luck. Like in the D-backs game when they got a few cheap off him him and the Cubs played bad defense and let three runs score in the first and then Marmol got bombed and let one of his runs score. That game could have easily been a quality start same goes for that Cardinals game when he got squeezed a bunch. When you look at 08-09 Dempster after 7 starts he walked less guys and has striked out more then he did last year, and pitched the same amount of innings. Right now he has walked 19 and striked out 41. In 08 after 7 starts walked 23 guys and only striked out 36. The difference is Dempster has been much more hittable(teams only hitting 248 off him though). He has allowed 41 hits this season and has given up 6 HR's. A year ago at this time he only allowed 29 hits and gave up 3 HR's. So I think the increase in hits is partly due to some bad defense and bad luck. But the increase in HR's is a little upsetting and one of the main reason his era is at 4.98. Even though two of those came tonight when Dempster was out of gas. Overall though I'm not really worried about Dempster yet. The guy who pitched from 01-03 was just really inconsistent. When he was on he could have really good starts. But when he was bad he would give up 7-8 runs in 3-4 innings and get bombed. That was the reasons for the high ERA's and in none of Dempster starts this year did he really get bombed. Everyone of them just has been the same 2-4 runs in 6-7 innings and he's been lacking those 6-8 inning 0-1 run games he often had last year. Overall I think things will even out and he will end up with a high three or low 4 era. As for the rest of Hendry offseason moves, I still think Bradley will be fine. Soriano was hitting 169 after 66 AB's a year ago and had a great season despite playing only 110 games. Bradley will get hot and still put up strong numbers. Kevin Gregg has been better lately and I still think he will get a good amount of saves and have a era in the mid 3s when it's all said and done. I also think Heilman will be alright in the long run, but he really needs to get his control back. I even think Miles will play much better at some point. Right now I really believe the worse move Hendry made in a long time was releasing Chad Gaudin for nothing. We could have really used him in long relief right now and Hendry was a idiot to dump him for nothing after a bad spring. Giving up on Vizcaino when he pitched well at the start of the season and for most of spring training was also a pretty stupid move. Eating 4m to watch Samardzija and Fox get bombed sounds like a great idea. So I was ok with most of Hendry offseason moves and I understood them more then most. But since spring training started Hendry has made a few really stupid decisions. Hopefully the Freel trade works out better then releasing Gaudin and Vizcaino has.

Yeah Dempster pitched well tonight and pitched good in his second start in a row. There's no way Lou should have brought him back for the 7th with over 110 pitches. It was pretty obvious that he ran out of gas and gave up back to back HR before getting taken out. We really miss having that long guy right now. Last season we could go to Lieber or Marshall to eat up a few innings and let the bats come back. This year we had to go to Patton, Samardzija, Fox and others in close games that we were losing and those guys let the games get out of hand. Releasing Chad Gaudin was probably Hendry worse move in a long time in my opinion. As for Dempster I never expected him to repeat last seasons success. But I do think he will end up putting Ted Lilly like numbers up for us when it's all said and done. Dempster has had some bad luck in a few of his starts with getting squeezed on some pitches and teams getting cheap hits off him due to poor defense. But there's nothing he's done to make me think he will be Dempster 01-03 starter.