CubsWin

Same here. I'm not sure why some people are under the impression Hill can't get righties out... it's hard to rack up those kind of K numbers if you're only effective against southpaws. Did you read the posts in this thread? Who are you responding to?

It bothers me when people respond to something that was never written. When did anyone in this thread suggest that Hill be turned into a loogy? It seems you want Hill to remain a starter. So do I, but with Jerome Williams still the 5th starter and doing quite well, the Cubs bullpen needing some help and Hill being the best Iowa has to offer, you've really only got two options. Leave Hill in Iowa and let him start or let him help the big club in the bullpen. Sorry, but thems the facts unless Hendry deals one of the 5 starters. Not only did I say nothing about him being a loogy, but as far as I can tell, no one else in this thread was recommending that either, so I don't know who you are referring to when you say "people" and why you would bring up that criticism in this thread. In fact, I wrote that Hill's AAA numbers suggest that he should be quite effective against righties as well, so whats the deal?

I sort of break even on tools vs. performance. I favor ceiling a bit more than current level of performance, and I tend to value the age of a prospect and the rarity of talent at his position a bit more than others, it seems, so my list goes: 1. Pie 2. Harvey 3. Hill 4. Cedeno 5. Moore 6. Dopirak 7. Marshall 8. Murton 9. Pinto 10. Pawelek 11. Gallagher 12. Reed 13. Nolasco 14. Patterson 15. Petrick

The man seemingly has figured it out. In 6 starts at AAA, he is 3-1 with a 3.66 ERA. In 39.1 IP, he has allowed 27 hits and 10 walks (thats a WHIP of 0.94) while striking out 59 (thats 13.5 Ks/9) and holding opposing batters to a .185 batting average. His ability to get a strikeout when needed by itself is enough reason to have him in the major league bullpen. I don't have his righty/lefty splits, but if he is putting up these numbers while starting and averaging over 6 innings per start, then that must mean he has been able to get righties out, as well as lefties, with some regularity, at least at the AAA level. Lefty relievers are a valuable commodity. Certainly Rusch can be moved to open a permanent spot for Hill. But until Hendry can trade Rusch, why not send down someone like Mitre who has struggled lately and bring up Hill. I know that gives the Cubs 4 lefties in their bullpen, but who cares what side they throw from so long as they can get guys out. And Remmy might as well be a righty anyway.

Let's keep it civil, okay? Is ridicule really the best choice here? Someone who values the ability to put the bat on the ball with some consistency doesn't deserve to be ridiculed on a classy board like this one. Plus, the argument that great pitching has been known to take advantage of a guy who is prone to strikeout and that a team will face a lot more great pitching in the playoffs is a very sound and logical one. I'm still in favor of trading for Dunn, but he does have his weaknesses. To talk about them and inquire into whether they can be exposed during the playoffs is a worthwhile discussion, isn't it? I'm sorry, but I still can't believe people use the argument that Dunn might struggle against elite pitching to knock him down. Pretty much every single MLB hitter is prone to the great pitchers. That's why they're the best pitchers. And for what it's worth, Dunn has excellent career numbers against Roger Clemens. I'd be ridiculed on this board if I were to say, "Yeah, Mark Prior is good and all. But sometimes when he faces an elite hitter, he gives up a hit. I just don't know if I want him pitching in clutch situations because of this!". You completely missed the point and instead responded to something that was never written. No one said that Dunn might struggle against elite pitching simply because the pitching is elite, I merely stated that it is valid to note that elite pitchers may be able to take advantage of a guy who is prone to the strikeout more so than someone who isn't. If a guy strikes out a lot, like Dunn does, it is logical to conclude that he has got some holes in his swing that pitchers know about and try to exploit. It is also logical to conclude that the better a pitcher is, the more able he would be to exploit a batter's weakness. And the dominos logically fall from there. No one was saying that Dunn would struggle any more than the next guy against elite pitching simply because those elite pitchers are really good. It was Dunn's propensity to swing and miss that lead one poster to wonder if that weakness would likely be exploited by the better pitchers in the game. I don't know the answer to that, but I certainly don't think it is stupid, silly or otherwise to inquire into whether a guy who strikes out a lot might be prone to doing more so as the quality of pitching he faces gets better. If anyone has any insights into that question, I certainly am all ears. And, again, just so no one gets confused, I am all for the Cubs acquiring Dunn.

I like keeping the lefty Walker in the 2 hole to break up the right-handers Hairston, Lee and Ramirez. Plus, we don't really know how well Nomar will be seeing pitches when he first comes back. It may take him some time before his OBP is as good or better than Walker's. I would start Nomar out in the 6 hole and see how he performs. I would also try to space Burnitz and Walker out in the line-up. Having the only 2 lefties in the line-up batting side by side makes it all that much easier for the opposing manager to shut them down for an inning if he has a dominant loogy. My line-up would look like: Hairston Walker Lee Ramirez Burnitz Garciaparra Barrett Murton Of course, Nomar isn't supposed to be back before the trade deadline has come and gone, so the line-up could look like: Hairston Walker Lee Dunn Ramirez Burnitz Garciaparra Barrett Good to great OBP in the top 5 spots with the potential for the 6 and 7 hitters to have OBPs around .350 or higher. Plenty of power throughout the line-up. Good righty/lefty balance through the heart of the line-up. Not too shabby...

Let's keep it civil, okay? Is ridicule really the best choice here? Someone who values the ability to put the bat on the ball with some consistency doesn't deserve to be ridiculed on a classy board like this one. Plus, the argument that great pitching has been known to take advantage of a guy who is prone to strikeout and that a team will face a lot more great pitching in the playoffs is a very sound and logical one. I'm still in favor of trading for Dunn, but he does have his weaknesses. To talk about them and inquire into whether they can be exposed during the playoffs is a worthwhile discussion, isn't it?

Even with Ramirez locked up for several years and performing at an all-star caliber level? Moore was drafted as a SS, but hasn't played there regularly in a long time. The Cubs future at 2B is much less certain than their future at 3B. Thats why I think keeping EPatt is a good idea. He also has shown the ability to get on base which the Cubs could use right now. Pinto is a lefty that can get it up there above 90 mph. He might be the only Cubs lefty that can do that now that Sisco is gone besides Pawelek who is several years away. Both Hill and Marshall rely on their curve. Pinto is dominating AA at the moment, plus the Cubs have enough attractive right-handed pitchers to where the lefties shouldn't be missed.

Just my conspiratorial mind at work, but I wonder if this move has any bearing on Murton's future. It seems that Luis's presence in West Tenn would make it more likely that if Murton is demoted it will be to AAA Iowa. Does this move say anything about the likelihood of Hendry having found a deal that he likes, and it involves Murton?

You simply can't make those statements with that level of certainty, just because Mike Piazza had a similar injury. No one knows what we'll get from Nomar. You don't think he'll produce much. Some people think he could be a huge boost. I think he can produce close to the same level he did with the Cubs last year. But to say that "he'll be a small role player at best" and "he won't be much of an offensive threat" like you're working with Nomar on his rehab is simply off base. My wife is a D.P.T. and whenever we're discussing injuries like this, the first thing that always comes out is "Every person is different" and that you can't make a diagnosis from 1,000 miles away when you've never seen the athlete. Nomar's body could be able to handle the injury better than Piazza did. They have different swings, play different positions, different body-types and likely were/are in different shape. The fact is that right now, no one knows what Nomar we'll be getting. Not even you. The physicians and trainers working with him right now are the only ones who have an idea as to how ready he'll be and where his body will be in 2.5 weeks. Extremely well put, hawkeye. I find it odd when posters feel it is necessary to make statements of certainty when their opinion is what they have to offer. Goony's opinion is welcome and founded in some logic, but to make statements of certainty only weakened his argument in my eyes. I agree, no one knows what kind of performance the Cubs are going to get out of Nomar if/when he returns. Goony might be right, or other more optimistic posters might be right. If someone had posted right after the Cubs had lost their 8th in a row that they would win the next 4 straight, how many of us would have agreed? You never can tell what is going to happen in this game.

I would make it priority number 1 to acquire Dunn and David Weathers from the Reds. Dunn's Ks and defensive liability would not have me give up someone like Pie to get him and, if possible, I would like to hang onto Hill, Marshall, Pinto, Pawelek, EPatt and Cedeno, just because middle IFers and LHPs are so hard to find, but I would give up just about anybody else in the minor league organization. If some combination of Murton, Dubois, Patterson, Greenburg, Mitre, Rusch, Wellemeyer, Soto, Koronka, Leicester, Bartosh, Van Buren, Lewis, Fontenot, Sing, McGehee, Craig, Nolasco, Ryu, Shipman, Connolly, Moore, Dopirak, Richie, Fox, Petrick, Wylie, G. Johnson, Montanez, Fuld, Harvey, Gallagher and others can get the job done, I say do it. If they want Jerome Williams, I'd likely say yes, but I would pull back names like Gallagher, Harvey, Moore, Dopirak, Van Buren, Soto and Petrick. A package of Williams, Murton, Wellemeyer and Sing or Murton, Gallagher, Nolasco and Moore should certainly get the job done. Or am I miscalculating what the Reds are going to get in return from teams like the Cards and Astros?

If this is true, this may actually be a smart thing for O'Brien to do. Play off the fear that one of these teams may get him, thus increase a bidding war. But as a Cubs fan, I would be learly of entering a bidding war for Dunn. If it is accurate that O'Brien is trying to trade Dunn within the division, then I would be leery of not getting into a bidding war.

At first glance, I thought the same thing, but something tells me that the Braves are going to have a very difficult 2nd half. Call it a hunch...

Every game that Dusty Baker has managed in a Cubs uniform has been with the assumption that they were in a playoff hunt. Yes, contrary to popular perception, the games in April count just as much as the ones in August. And Dusty has chosen his line-ups according to who he thought gave his team the best chance of winning that day. I'm not certain that Dusty thinks the Cubs are out of it yet. Personally, I doubt it. But if he does, I wouldn't be surprised to see him play the youngsters. Its all a matter of whether you are playing to win now or win next year. I'll believe it when I see it, but Hendry did say "hopefully they will give us a spark". I'm assuming he knows that it is pretty difficult to give a team a spark while sitting on the bench, so maybe we can pull some meaning from that statement.

For Luis's sake, here's hoping he won't be an "active Chief" for much longer...

Where else should the Cubs spend their money? Who do you want? Who is going to help the Cubs more than a lead-off hitter with a very good OBP?

Hey, somebody's thinkin'! There is no reason I can think of not to take a well-intentioned run at signing Damon to a 3-year contract with a mutual option on a 4th year if he will accept such an offer. The Cubs need table setters, badly. He is the best one on the market. There is no reason why Damon couldn't play CF for one or two years until Pie is ready, assuming that Corey is gone by next year, and then switch to LF. Damon can lead-off and lead-off well, that is worth a lot especially to a team with the OBP problems and the plethora of sluggers the Cubs have. Open your minds, people. Let's see if the Cubs can't get this guy to sign a 3-year contract.

Ron, Thanks again for agreeing to share your knowledge with us at NSBB. Your patronage to this site as enriched it greatly. For me, Murton, Pie, Sing, Aardsma and Marshall are the most likely to become major league contributors of the players currently on the D-Jaxx roster. How would you amend that list? And, of the D-Jaxx not listed above, who would you say has the highest ceiling and who is the safest bet to become a major leaguer? Thanks again.

That isn't true. Gammons either got bad info or was just making a false assumption. First of all, I have read quotes from Von Joshua (West Tenn hitting coach) that said that Pie still has a lot to work on and that right now he could play in the majors but that rushing him would stunt his growth. Secondly, the Cubs have taken their time with Felix. They aren't going to change that now. The earliest he is going to be up is next year and I wouldn't expect him up before mid-season. Good enough reason to trade for Kotsay. :wink: TXCubsFan, I respect your opinion so could you (or anyone else who care to chime in for that matter) tell me why you think Kotsay would be the best man to acquire. He's not great at getting on base. He is not great at stealing bases. He is a good CF and is hitting better than Corey is now, but aren't there better OFers available in a trade than Mark Kotsay?

Are there any whispers of promotions after the all-star break? I would think that players like Nolasco and Pinto would be candidates.

Wow, it really is true. Whereever this guy goes, he wins. And when he isn't there...

Much too small of a sample size to draw any conclusions. About the only conclusion that can be drawn is that just as the Cubs bats got hot in the beginning of June, they have gotten cold at the beginning of July. I still would like to see this line-up with the exception of swapping out Perez for Cedeno and getting Dubois in there as much as possible even though Holla has been doing pretty well as of late. I believe if Dusty sticks with this line-up for a week or so, we will see the Cubs break out of this slump and start winning some games again.

Yes, Hoops, that was an interesting article. It mentioned the standard the Cubs are looking at Kotsay and Wilson stuff and the standard "the Devil Rays and GM Chuck Lamar are difficult to deal with and must 'win' every deal they make." But there was nothing standard about this quote. Really! You could've fooled me. Ramirez

Pawelek gave up his first earned run of his professional career today. Yet another bust of a 1st rounder for the Cubs. The dude is 0-2 for crying out loud! What a loser!! Just kidding, of course. In 5 2/3 innings, he has struck out 12 batters and walked 4. Thats a nice 3-to-1 ratio, but more impressive is the Ks/9. He is on pace to average striking out over 19 batters a game. I think Kerry Wood struck out 20 once, but has never come close to averaging that! In all seriousness though, it nice to see that Pawelek is making them miss down there in Arizona.

If Dubois is moved - and every trade on the board seems to suggest that - Hairston becomes the primary RH bat on the bench. Could argue that he's that already. I like Jason, but I'd rather have Hairston than Dubois on our bench. Burnitz and Holla aren't great options in center, so Hairston is the backup in CF, as well. Any trade involving him would need to add or move someone to the bench. Also, Ford's numbers aren't appreciably better than Jerry's. Afraid we don't have much major-league ready stuff to offer from 3B. I think Kelton would be a decent right handed bat off the bench. And what gives you that idea? Is it his .321 OBP in AAA? Or his .427 SLG? And those are his best numbers ever at this high of a level. I sure hope you were kidding...