Benchwarmer

Jed Hoyer was on with Kapman on CSN @ 5PM. Said the team needs to grind out more at-bats, take more walks, give up fewer walks and throw strikes. Pleased with team's atttitude of not giving up. Sveum is not being judged by wins, as he admits they gave him a flawed team. Castro will stay at SS, although he noted mental lapses. Future is based on getting young pitching. Not ruling out FA in coming years, but noted many are in their 30's and they perceive them as on the down hill of production. Would not put a year on when the team will be competitive. Clarified his responsibilities and said he deals with GM and agents on deals. Theo is his boss. Theo is his boss. Hendry would never sit down and have questions asked of him on CSN. I like the new FO group, but it will be a few years before we're competitive.

Said it last year when Ricketts extended Wilkens and Fleita before Theo got here. It was a bad decision on both. Tommy just can't help himself to micro-managing. Let them go elsewhere and screw up someone else's system.

Soriano went from $9 mil in year one to $13, 16, and then 18 each year following. Pretty standard backloading, I think. I don't think averaging the differences (as benchwarmer did) is very accurate either, because it eliminates the fact that the White Sox did have a higher payroll than us 5 of the past 7 years. Even if Hendry had huge advantages in other seasons, that still doesn't change the fact that Kenny had advantages in most of the past 7 seasons - that's significant. And the backloading in the 2006 offseason wasn't that dramatic - I already addressed Soriano and Lilly jumped from 5 to 7 to 12. If you want extreme backloading, look at Cliff Lee going from $11 mil in 2011 to $21.5 mil in 2012. That's a far more dramatic jump than anything Hendry signed in his tenure. The fact the WSox won a WS and spent $91 million less to do it is quite significant. You had years where the Cubs spent 38M and 39M more and still did not win. Which GM would you want? Hendry was terrible at drafting young talent, developing young talent and bidding against himself for vet contracts. He wasted alot of $$$$$.

@thekapman has no more insight than anyone else. Guess bringing donuts and polishing the GM's shoes won't work this time. I like the FO approach, no leaks, no trial balloons, no media pals.

Show your work. Here you go. Format: Sox/Cubs/Diff. 2011 129/125/(+4) 2010 108/146/(-38) 2009 96/135/(-39) 2008 121/118/(+3) 2007 108/99/(+9) 2006 102/94/(+8) 2005 75/87/(-12) 2004 65/91/(-26)

I have this rock, which keeps tigers away...interested? I suppose you're gonna want my signed Mia Hamm jersey in return? BTW..Since '04, Cubs have outspent WSox by approx. $91M. That's $10M+ per year. I've got a bracelet that protects you from sharks in Lake Michigan. No deal.

Many people don't consider 'just making the playoffs a success' like you do. They did win the WS and that's still something we can't say. The failure of Hendry still hangs over this club and will until we dump Soriano, etc... I'm no fan of Kenny but he's managed on a smaller budget and is apparently a better judge of value than Hendry ever was. I've bolded the incorrect parts of this, just to save time. And again, Hendry-built Cubs teams made the playoffs 3 times. In that same timeframe, the White Sox have made the playoffs twice. They're basically the same GM. Same GM? One has a WS ring and is still employed. The other..outside looking in. You're incorrect again.

Ninth straight win. When Votto was hurt, everyone said the Reds would go down. Looks like they're looking for a lead-off hitter/CF and not a rental. Wonder if DeJesus + pitcher gets us Hamilton(2nd baseman in waiting).

Many people don't consider 'just making the playoffs a success' like you do. They did win the WS and that's still something we can't say. The failure of Hendry still hangs over this club and will until we dump Soriano, etc... I'm no fan of Kenny but he's managed on a smaller budget and is apparently a better judge of value than Hendry ever was.

Kane's been called a 'purse-carrier'. He hangs back waiting for someone else to dig the puck out and flip it to him. If he's not scoring(and he's not) then his value to the Hawks is diminished. The Hawks can maybe get alot for him, doesn't hurt to ask the question. Maybe Buffalo would overpay?

I am so on board with this lawsuit. I know the blackout rule is supposedly protecting the local team's advertisers and hometeam, but that's crazy. If a Cubs game starts at 1:20 and there are no other games until 7PM EST, which franchise is losing money or fans because of telecasting the game? CSN shows more games than WGN and if you're a CSN subscriber, aren't you paying for the privilege to watch the Cubs anyway. Bud is wrong on this. Don't try to sell me a MLB package, when I could care less about the Mariners, the Rays, etc..

He's not a 2-way player and never will be. He doesn't play defense at all and of course his scoring has dropped for 2 years. Not saying they should dump him, but see if someone will overvalue him and we could get some players. Kane's scoring dropped this year because he was asked to play center rather than wing. That was a huge adjustment for him, and naturally affected his scoring. But his defense was much improved -- when Kane started in the defensive zone, 54% of the time, play ended in the offensive zone. That's 37th among forwards in the NHL. For comparison, Toews was 13th with 56.2% and Sharp was 14th with 56.1%. For a guy you say isn't a two-way player, that's really damn good. I didn't have that stat to back it up with, but that was just my feeling from watching him at center. Sure he had his lapses, but for a guy who isn't a natural center, that's understandable. But I saw a whole lot of instances where he busted it to make a strong defensive play. The way the Hawks play you can't have a shy, tentative winger who is afraid of going in the corners. Kaner just hangs back too much. He's not a center but heard that Stan Bowman is pushing Q to leave him there. Big mistake. Oh well, time to get to Lawrence some time-get some Joe's donuts.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--brand ... s-say.html Not with his bad knees. Wasn't he forced to retire two years ago because his knees were shot. Who are these league sources anyway-his agents?

I didn't hear any Chicago accent there I think what he's hearing is a lack of a terrible jersey or ny accent. No, seriously, she's got a very strong Chicago accent that is obvious to anybody who is not in the midwest, at least compared to your typical tv personality who do their best to eliminate any regional accent so as to further their career potential. The terrible Jersey accent is actually south jersey, which is a philly/delaware valley accent, and it is abominable. Staten Island/Long Island is a much stronger land of accents around here. I was actually surprised when I first started meeting Jersey people who didn't really have noticeable accents. Kustok sounds like a slightly toned down version of all my female cousins. She does alot of work with CSN and the Hawks. She does have a monotone voice and could stand a voice coach. Tragic about losing a parent. Her brother played QB at Northwestern and she's dating another former Wildcat QB. The Cubs used to be sponsored by Bert Weinman Ford on tv and Linn Burton would do live commercials from the WGN studios of Addison. There's your Chicago accent. Immediately following the game, they'd switch live to WGN again and Debbie Drake would do exercises for the ladies. Do a YouTube search for her and you'll find a great Chicago accent, amongst other attributes.. No wonder my Dad would yell at Jack Brickhouse to hurry up with the post game.

He's not a 2-way player and never will be. He doesn't play defense at all and of course his scoring has dropped for 2 years. Not saying they should dump him, but see if someone will overvalue him and we could get some players.

At what point do you shop Kaner around? He's pretty much a one dimensional player and will always be that because of his size. He avoids the corners, avoids contact, he's not scoring much and he doesn't move without the puck very well. Other than that, the girls like him. If only he had 1/4 the heart of a Kris Versteeg. The Hawks need more scoring, but also need to shore up the defense. Too many shots on goal given up the last couple years. Seabrook and Keith can't play 40 min. a night.

I've heard that Paxson is pissed that Deng didn't have his surgery sooner and still wants to play for GB in the Olympics. I see both sides, but to play for your adopted home country is a once in a lifetime dream. Next year will be tough for the Bulls to make the playoffs. Pax hasn't addressed what the team has needed for years, an inside scoring threat. Don't know what the draft will bring, but unless you get another scorer they will struggle to score.

Here's a real good job with Boston. Good luck! Marketing Director - Boston Red Sox (Boston, MA) POSITION OVERVIEW: The Director of Marketing will report to the SVP/Marketing and Brand Development and will oversee branding, advertising, social media and fan clubs. In this critical role, the incumbent will partner with cross-functional teams throughout the Club on all phases of marketing plans and brand creative. This role will be responsible for managing and motivating a team. RESPONSIBILITIES: Advertising/Brand: • Drive and manage the organization’s brand strategy, advertising and marketing, including the implementation of all brand marketing campaigns. • Develop annual business and marketing plan with strategies and key metrics to drive brand and revenue growth where applicable. • Create metrics and conduct research to measure the effectiveness of the Red Sox brand in-advertising and marketing campaigns. • Provide strategic direction to outside agencies that are involved in annual campaigns. • Coordinate and oversee brand consistency across multiple departments including Communications, Creative Services and Public Relations. Integrate brand strategy throughout all of our collateral material, organization messaging, Speaker’s Bureau, website, email, broadcasting and social media platforms. This will include all internal and external messaging. • Manage key internal relationships with Ticketing, Corporate Sales, Ballpark Entertainment and IT to create events and activities that drive lead generation for new sales and value enhancement for existing partner relations. • Develop and activate the plans to facilitate the corporate partnership promotions keeping in mind brand and ticket sales objectives. • Create annual marketing and promotional calendar so that key departments can work together to execute year-round fan outreach objectives keeping the team relevant 365 days 24/7. Website/Social Media: • Oversee the content for all social media platforms, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. • Help assist traffic-driving efforts for website. • Identify benchmark metrics for redsox.com and Red Sox social media outlets. o Oversee website development and all video content in concert with MLBAM. o Develop and implement all relevant mobile marketing initiatives for the Brand in concert with MLBAM. Fan Clubs: • Oversee the development and sales of the Red Sox Nation and Kid Nation platforms. • Develop strategies and promotions to increase fan club memberships and enhance Red Sox brand. CHARACTERISITICS / QUALIFICATIONS • The successful candidate will be a proactive, collaborative and responsive team leader who combines a strong creative acumen with an analytical background to enable the Red Sox to meet or exceed brand goals. • Bachelor’s Degree is required. MBA is strongly preferred. • 10+ years experience in brand marketing role with strong focus on B2C marketing. • Minimum 3 years of experience in a strategic and creative marketing leadership role managing a team. • Must be able to work nights/weekends to attend Red Sox home games and events. • Thorough knowledge of digital media, including website and mobile communications. • High energy individual with a strong sense of urgency to deliver results. • Confident and assertive with an ability to effectively influence others. • Strong verbal and written communication skills. • Excellent Excel and PowerPoint skills.

Here's a job wit the Nationals for everyone. Good luck! Director, Community Relations - Washington Nationals (Washington, DC) Summary: Reporting to the Vice President and Managing Director of Communications and Brand Development, the Director of Community Relations directs all efforts related to the organization’s community relations goals. The Director works with all internal departments and key external stakeholders to position the organization as a “valued corporate citizen”. The Director ensures that the WNBC is proactive in addressing critical local issues while maintaining a visible and positive community presence by performing the following duties. Essential Duties and Responsibilities: • Develop the cornerstone programs and mission for the WNBC Community Relations program. • Increase community outreach throughout WNBC’s target market, including Maryland, Virginia and surrounding states in addition to Washington, DC. • Expand WNBC’s partnership with the Department of Defense to increase the team’s reach to military installations both locally and worldwide. • Engage the neighborhood surrounding Nationals Park in order to facilitate a harmonious relationship with WNBC’s immediate community. • Create, execute and manage all of the organization’s community relations programs. • Collaborate with Marketing, Corporate Partnerships and MLB to develop and implement cause-related marketing efforts for Club marketing and corporate partners. • Work with Ticket Sales to develop opportunities for community organizations that make the best use of fundraising opportunities for partner organizations while maximizing revenue for WNBC. • Manage ticket and memorabilia donations for non-profit organizations. • Manage inventory of autographed memorabilia for contributions to charitable causes. • Coordinate the development and production of a Nationals Community Report. • Perform any other duties as assigned by the VP, Communications & Brand Development. Education, Experience, Skills, and Abilities: The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Required: • Bachelors Degree. • Seven (7) plus years experience in community programs and/or corporate philanthropy. • Broad knowledge of community programs and organizations, and methods involved in developing community relations programs. • Proven ability to create and sustain effective outreach programs. • Experience in outreach to community groups. • Experience with company website content management required. • Strong problem solving skills required; must be a strategic thinker. • Strong diplomatic and interpersonal skills. • Strong leadership and people development skills. • Outstanding written and oral communication skills. • Strong organizational and management skills. • Confidence in making sound business decisions and outlining “next steps”. • Confidence in presenting plans and projections to senior management. • Experience developing planning tools, budgets, projections, etc. Preferred: • Masters degree preferred. • Working knowledge of all Microsoft Office products. Supervisory Responsibilities: Directly supervises assigned staff members. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing tasks; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees while addressing

I'm with you. There was a discussion on CSN about how much Soriano means to the players and clubhouse(not on the field) leader. With all the placeholders and dead wood gone in the next year or two, who will mentor Rizzo, Jackson, Vitters(?), etc.. on being a ML? Castro looks to be the only every day player left for 2014.

Impressive stolen base #'s already this year. Wonder if we could pry him lose with a Dempster+ package.

Didn't the WSox trade for Peavy when he was on the DL? So Demp's situation certainly wouldn't stop a deal today. So is the deal that we pick up most of his remaining salary and get a better A-AA player back.

Admittedly it's not much better than ours. Maybe Hawk is still the GM and he was terrible.

I'll throw the White Sox into the mix. Humber is struggling, Peavy is up and down and Danks is coming back from the DL. Chris Sale has been strong, but I believe he's on an innings count and they could shut him down in September. Dempster would be their #2-3 automatically. Don't know their minor league system but we should be able to get 2 good ones back.

Theo and Jed are playing it right. No one is untouchable. You see what level of interest is there for Castro and you evaluate what you can get back in return. Seems better than the old regime who had untouchables and wouldn't listen about moving them. Admittedly it would take a strong offer, but you listen.