CubsWin

Well, that's a fine bit of tough talk, but do you have anything to back it up? You don't know that nobody wanted Jones this offseason. It's just as likely that the Cubs didn't want to trade him until they could find a CFer that they liked. I agree that the A's aren't likely to trade for Jones, but then again, no one is claiming that they would. The trade being discussed in which the Cubs would get Blanton from the A's has Murton going to Oakland not Jones. And finally, if you truly think the Cubs should simply release Jones, then we will have to agree to disagree. Among all qualified major league RFers last season, Jones ranked 7th in OPS. He's not the greatest RFer out there. But he has enough value to avoid being cut without getting anything in return.

Yeah, considering the amount of holes the Cubs had to fill (if they wanted to remove Prior and Wood from the equation completely) signing Schmidt with his injury concerns and for that kind of money looked foolish when a consistently healthy Lilly was costing only 10 million per season. Did I just write "only 10 million per season"? Something is very, very wrong here...

Who told you this? Some guy or do you actually have a worthy source? Moving Barrett to the OF is a terrible idea. With Pie on the horizon and 3 other OFers already on the roster, the Cubs can afford to move Jones and not get an OFer in return. Making Barrett an OFer and replacing his bat at catcher with Zaun's makes no sense.

I like what I found out today. The sharply hit gapper for his first hit and RBI. Scoring with ease on Lee's single. The strong and accurate throw from center to cut down the runner at home and keep the score tied. It was a great debut. That said, he still hasn't shown me that he's as ready as he can be. I would like to have seen more time in AAA with the excellent IsoD he showed in the first 11 games. He didn't draw a walk today. And even if he did, I'd still need to see more games before we can judge whether he is indeed "ready". Here's hoping that during those games, he proves that he is.

I agree, but, after what Pie's done the last two days, we might be getting there. :lol: I'm joking. Of course, it's going to take more than half a month for Pie to work out his plate discipline issues, but I just found it funny that here we are debating his batting eye and he goes and walks 5 times in two games. He has now walked 8 times in 29 ABs in the first half of April. A year ago, he walked 8 times in the entire month of April over 83 ABs. (He actually walked 10 times, but 2 were intentional.) His current OBP is .526 and his IsoD is .112. I know, I know. It will all even out. I just makes me laugh.

yes, plate discipline I agree. That is the most glaring weakness to his game. He needs to get a lot better than the 3-to-1 K/BB ratio he put up last season if he is going to fulfill his hype. In 83 ABs last April at the same level, he struckout 15 times or once every 5 1/2 ABs while walking 8 times or about once every 10 ABs. In his 261 2nd half ABs last season, after he figured things out, he struckout 49 times (still about once every 5 1/2 ABs) and walked 19 times (about once every 13 1/2 ABs). We'll have to wait and see, but through 25 ABs in the first 7 games this season, he has struckout twice (once every 12 ABs) and walked three times (once every 8). Fairly meaningless numbers due to the sample size, but all we have to go on at this point. I don't think he can be called "ready" just yet. I need to see more consistent plate discipline over a larger sample. K/BB ratio isn't the only or best metric for tracking a player's batting eye. If some of the more saber-minded fans on this site can provide better metrics, we can get a more accurate picture of Pie's plate discipline and track his performance better. If he is able to get his K/BB ratio down to a true 2-to-1, it would be the first time in his career.

At some point this season, the Cubs will likely call up Felix Pie. He is off to a very fast start this season with a hit in every game he has played. Through 5 games he is batting .474/.524/.684. He's only had 19 ABs, plus, Felix is known to be a fast starter, so clearly he will cool off. But how much? He started strong last season going .301/.368/.494 in April. But then he stopped seeing fastballs when teams figured out that he couldn't hit the breaking ball. He struggled mightly in May and June batting .227 with an OBP under .300 and a SLG under .400. Some worried that the Cubs prized prospect would top out at AAA, but he rebounded with a very strong 2nd half after apparently making the necessary adjustments to hitting the breaking ball. He had a good spring and made Piniella at least think about keeping him. Is he ready now? Is the only thing keeping him in AAA the current depth in the Cubs outfield? Or does he legitimately still have things to work on? If so, what do you think they are?

Just why do you think he is such a solid player for our 25th player? Why is it every released player is sooo much better than what the Cubs have? Oakland certainly isn't that deep to release quality roster prospects. pretty much i dont care who our 25th man is because they dont play that much anyways. my whole point was i think we are stunting cedeno's development by making him ride the pine when he could be playing at iowa. Cedeno showed vast improvement working with Lou and the Cubs coaching staff this spring. His ability to hit situationally improved as well as his plate discipline and ability to take/draw a walk. Having him continue to be coached by those guys might continue his development despite not starting everyday. Also, Lou has stated that he wants Izturis to get regular rest and start about 80% of the games. That means Cedeno will start about every 5th game or so. When you consider the possibility that Jacque Jones will sit against more lefties this season and that his likely replacement in RF will be Mark DeRosa, that means that on those days Cedeno will either be the first reserve infielder off the bench or starting at 2B over Theriot for some reason. Cedeno will definitely see less playing time with the big league club than he would in AAA, but he appears ready to be a contributor at the major league level, he should get more playing time than many other reserve SSs due to Izturis's injury history and Lou's desire to keep him fresh and healthy, and Cedeno has responded very favorably to the major league coaches, so his growth should be stunted less than many of us might think.

How about that, Cubs fans, Matt Murton is batting 2nd against a right-handed pitcher. Welcome to the Lou Piniella era!

I'll take it!

Me too. He loves him enough to bat him second against a right-hander in Aaron Harang. Murton at the top of the order makes a lot of sense. It will also get him a chance to get to the plate 6 times in a game. That will help get him his 600 PA.

The point is that now we can compare a complete spring training with the one that came before it, and at least have some numbers, admittedly flawed because they are spring training stats, that support what Lou himself is claiming. Namely, that he and his staff have managed to teach patience and strike-throwing in just a couple of months. Some on this board have stated that patience can not be taught. Lou seems to think otherwise and the early, though flawed, numbers support his statement.

Have they really? And if so, to what extent? Besides Daryl Ward who looks downright out of shape or injured, the Cubs do look to be "in shape". Wood, Zambrano, Dempster and Eyre all lost some weight. Prior isn't back to being himself, but technically he's "healthy". Wuertz is in the same boat. Ward looks injured or just terrible. Wood is wood, or should I say glass. But besides those guys, Lou is right, the Cubs stayed healthy this spring. Last spring, the Cubs gave up 3.58 walks per game and drew only 2.80. This spring those numbers are basically reversed. They have given up 2.89 walks per game and drawn 3.71. We've all seen the improvement Ronny Cedeno has made in hitting to right field to advance the runner and being more selective. He has drawn 11 walks in 55 ABs while last spring he drew only 4 in 55. Is Lou telling the truth? Have the Cubs actually made these improvements? Can veterans be taught new tricks? Can patience and throwing strikes be taught and taught so quickly? Or is it that Hendry has brought in some guys, both FAs and from the minors, that through more strikes and drew more walks and were more patient? I'll believe more when it happens during the season as well. But comparing last spring's numbers to this spring's is all the imperical data we have at the moment.

What makes Walker more valuable than Ward? Ward had the better year last year by far. Before that, Walker had the better years-but if Ward regresses back to his usual year and Walker keeps declining, then Ward will likely be slightly better. Both can play 3 positions-Walker the 3 in the infield, Ward the two in the OF and 1B. What is there to justify eating a million by dropping Ward and signing Walker? Please read what I wrote. I said, pretty clearly, that it was worth considering. I did not say that Walker was better than Ward. You should always look to improve your team, and if Walker is an upgrade, then it might be worth it. I remember Walker being really bad as a pinch hitter for us though. I don't see the value in him right now for us. There are no guarantees of Ward repeating last year. Pinch hitting numbers aren't very reliable in predicting future performance. Just got back from ST, and the only player who looked bad, and I mean like not ready to contribute bad, was Ward. He looked injured and/or out of shape. Either he is simply not ready to start the season physically due to lack of training or there is something wrong with him. His numbers this spring reflect what was undeniable to the naked eye. Here's hoping that he's okay. If he's not, and the Cubs pass on Walker, Floyd should be able to fill in as the back-up 1B, but it would be nice to have more than one lefty bat off the bench. If I'm Hendry, I'm having a talk with the trainer about Daryl, opening up a bottle of wine and thinking long and hard about whether or not to swallow my pride and contact Walker's agent.

Wilken = draft day god Can't wait to see what he can do with the 3rd and, what is it now, 48th(?) picks. Boy do I want Wieters. Just out of need. Samardzija and Veal (with Pawelek and Gallagher in tow) are a nice group of arms. Adding a catcher like Wieters would sure be nice. Another arm wouldn't hurt, but... Isnt there some question as to Wieters can catch at the major league level? Thats the only thing remotely negative I have heard about him. If that's the only negative, I'll take it. Defense can be improved, but good hitting catchers the likes of Wieters are rare. With Barrett's future with the team uncertain and no standout prospects in the organization at that position, Wieters would make a lot of sense with the 3rd pick.

I don't see anything wrong with the chance to get to face major league batters. Sure, he gets more game innings in Iowa, but he doesn't get the same challenges at the plate. My concern is that as the 4th righty option and the long relief option, Guzman's innings will be severly limited. He will be dependent upon one of the starters blowing up in the early going (though with this rotation that might not be all that unlikely) or waiting his turn behind Howry and Wuertz. Now if Wuertz is sent to Iowa, and Lou goes with a 6-man pen, then Guz would likely see enough innings for it not to hurt his development as much. Also, if Guzman had shown that his control problems or pitch-tipping problems have been solved (and by control problems I mean getting too much of the center of the plate, walks have never really been a great concern with him) then limiting his innings but having him face major league hitters might be a good idea. But, all of last season and much of this spring, Angel has been hittable at the major league level despite really good stuff. That seems like a situation that would be helped by first dominating at AAA and then being called up.

I heard that on ESPN 1000 but it wasn't Guzman, it was Wuertz they were talking about. Oh well... So did ESPN 1000 say that Wuertz beat out Cherry and that Cherry is definitely not making the team? Novoa was already optioned to AAA. Wood is on the DL. Assuming all three lefties make the team, Wuertz would be the third righty and the final piece of an 11-man staff. But Lou is still considering whether to go with 12, so by my calculations, Cherry is still in play and its down to him or Guzman or neither. That's if the report that Wuertz has made the team is accurate...

Wilken = draft day god Can't wait to see what he can do with the 3rd and, what is it now, 48th(?) picks. Boy do I want Wieters. Just out of need. Samardzija and Veal (with Pawelek and Gallagher in tow) are a nice group of arms. Adding a catcher like Wieters would sure be nice. Another arm wouldn't hurt, but...

The Cubs still have Fontenot? Why did I think he left as a FA? I sure hope Moore sees a lot of time at SS, but it will probably be Rojas.

Last time I saw him take BP was two years ago before he headed to Daytona. I swear he hit more balls over the fence than short of it. Heck, he hit more balls that landed across the street than he hit short of the fence. And that was just to right field. Oh, how I would love to see him recapture that in the games. I've not yet given up on him. Howard took a long time to get his stuff together, too. Were you refering to Ryan Howard? With all due respect (and honestly I respect your knowledge of the Cubs minor league system), Howard never had any down years like Dope has had. Howard always had a good BA and his power was consistent throughout his minor league career. We can only hope Dope makes a comeback this year--especially his power #'s. I just don't see where he fits within the Cubs system once he does establish himself again. I agree that Howard is the superior player to Dopirak, but then again, no one, including Tim, is saying otherwise. Just that they have similarities. Both firstbasemen. Both big guys, 6'4" and over 230 lbs. Both have hit for huge power numbers in the minors. And both have/had all-star 1B blocking them at the big league level. Now, clearly, Howard's numbers were consistently better, but he was a year or two older than Brian at each minor league level and Dopirak has been set back by injuries. Again, I'm not saying that Dope is as good as Howard, but at age 20, Brian put up .307/.363/.593 at Low-A while Howard, at 22, put up .280/.367/.460 at the same level. Howard progressed at the next level while Dopirak didn't, but again, he was older when he got there. The next year, Dope looked great in spring training and was ready to take on AA at age 22, but got injured in the first game, came back a little too soon and then re-injured himself working out. So his AA numbers from last season are not indicitive of what he can do. All that said, the point I think Tim was making was simply that Howard didn't really see a lot of ABs at the major league until he was 25 and had his huge breakout season when he was 26. Dopirak is 23 going into this season at AA and doesn't turn 24 until December. So, Dope's got time. As far as where he fits in the Cubs system, it's first base and only first base. Yes, the Cubs have Derrek Lee. But the Phillies had Jim Thome. Howard saw his first big chunk of time in the second half of '05 when he was 25. If Dope follows the same time line, he would have all of this year at AA. All of next year at AAA with a September call up and half of '09 in AAA as well before being called up for good. Who knows what the Cubs' needs will be by then. That's not so much my concern as how Dopirak will perform in the next 2 1/2 years at those higher levels. Probably not as well as Howard did, but you never know.

You're right - so does that make Ronnie our backup-backup middle infielder?? In what situtation do you see him playing?? It's generally a good idea to have 2. I'd imagine it's a better idea to carry an extra outfielder than an extra middle infielder. Most of the playing time that player is going to get is going to be pinch hitting, so it's probably a good idea to have a better hitter. Perhaps, but if you count Floyd, Theriot and Ward, the Cubs already have three guys on their bench that can play the outfield. When you factor in that DeRosa can, and likely will, move there to platoon with Jones against some lefties, the Cubs pretty much have the OF covered. If they went with Pagan, then Theriot would be the only infielder on the bench and DeRosa couldn't platoon with Jones. Cedeno or some other middle infielder who is better is the way to go. I would love to see Cedeno in AAA because I think he has figured some things out and could really thrive in Iowa this season. Cedeno putting up great numbers for a full season in AAA will give the Cubs the confidence to let Izturis go at the end of the season. Despite his rookie season, I still think Cedeno can be a good major league SS. He's still young enough.

I don't know, at this point, if the Cubs really have any excess relief pitchers. Whether Guzman is put in the bullpen or sent to AAA, the Cubs certainly aren't thinking of trading him. Cotts hasn't looked good this spring, so trading him now wouldn't be smart. Cotts also has options left, so if they had to, and it doesn't like they do, they could send him to AAA. Wood could start the year on the DL. Ohman has made the team. That leaves Cherry who has never pitched in the big leagues. Despite how well he has thrown this spring, I doubt the Cubs could get much of anything for him by trading him now. However, if he makes the team and pitches well in the first 2-3 months of the season, that could change. The timing isn't right for the Cubs to dump one of their relievers. When Wood proves he is ready and the Cubs have more of a chance to see what's up with Cotts and the Guzman question is answered, then the Cubs will the necessary information to see who is an "excess" reliever.

I think clearly he can. It depends, of course, on how the other options for starters perform and how he performs at AAA. From the reports I have been reading, his velocity is what it was last season, he was just behind the other pitchers due to shoulder soreness, I believe. If Miller isn't getting the job done, I suspect Guzman will move into the rotation. If he fails, my guess is Marshall is next in line of the guys that are ready right now, but by that time, Prior might have made some strides. It will be interesting to watch...

Some things never change. Sammy Sosa is arriving at HoHoKam for the first time this season on March 21st. That's about the same time he would arrive there when he played for the Cubs. :wink:

Anybody see Prior throw today? According to the Cubs.com report, he had better command of his breaking pitches, threw 45 of his 68 pitches for strikes and sat in the 85-88 mph range with his fastball.