beowulf28

If you're saying what I think you're saying, I disagree Bruce. Our payroll, in and of itself, is not the problem. We've given too much money to the wrong people, I know . . . but spending $26 million more isn't going to make problems go away, especially if you're just trying to catch an AL team in the Payroll Standings. But, really, other than that, great article. I think he's right on, on all counts. And there's probably more...as Bruce said, he just picked 5 areas that needed to be blamed. The payroll is larger than many clubs' payroll, but it needs to be larger to get the top-teir player that the Cubs need. Also, I think Mr. Miles was correct in putting part of the blame on Michael Barrett. Barrett was selfish for what he did. He's probably the second best hitter on the club, and he effectively took the bat out of his own hands with the stupid punch he threw. Who could count on Henry Blanco having a career ten games?

Hendry could have gotten creative with his money and trades. Had he signed Millwood for example, it would have freed him up to trade Prior in a deal for Tejada or Abreu. Instead he settled for Jacque Jones. True again. He just doesn't seem to be a guy that wants to make that big leap. But, if he did trade Prior a lot of fans would of went nuts on him and that would put more pressure to win. These safe little moves got him an extension. And to be honest, I'm not sure I'd have favored trading Prior even with Millwood in the fold. Hindsight is 20-20. I'm also not getting paid the big bucks to run this team either. There were bats available this offseason. The Cubs had players to get them had Hendry spent wisely and been a little creative. When Hendry came aboard and was chosen the GM I thought this: -This guy knows the minors inside and out and will be great for future growth. -He was an ex-coach so he knew what to look for in a manager -I'm not sure about his player movement ability but the Hundley deal was a stroke of genius and quite creative I thought at the time. Now: -Infatuation with toolsy players and old baseball sterio types. -Horrible choice of manager for what the team had. -Wierd love for overpaying below average players -Always looking for the lightning in a bottle Right on, Cuse! :cry:

Maybe I'm hard headed but to me there is no way anybody can justify Baker still being manager of this team, no way. At least, maybe Neifi won't be playing as much if Dusty's gone. :shock:

Thats what I'm afraid of too.. Me three! :cry:

=D> Congratulations, Nomar! Good luck in the ASG! :D

It's a massive stretch to call this a waste of payroll a la Rusch or Neifi. Like you said, it's a million dollars...pretty much chump change for these teams. It's a gamble, but hey, it's not big loss. Trying to prop it up like it's some kind of disaster is ridiculous. The biggest problem is that Hendry only made a few stopgap moves in the offseason instead of really stepping things up...had he done those big moves, the Miller deal would have looked fantastic. But even so, it's nowhere near being a waste like Neifi. I'd take Neifi being used correctly for 2.5 than waste 1 million on a guy that won't pitch for you. I'd take Neifi...to the airport!

I don't know about that, but I do know his OBP is .440; his SLG is .467; his BA is.286; and his OPS is .908. I would certainly want his left-handed bat at Wrigley, and his arm (I'm sure he has a great arm) in RF. Of course, Hendry won't do it.

ARod's got a great OBP. I don't think it can happen, but if it can, Hendry needs to do it! :lol: But to be clear, I like Aramis, and would rather have him unless someone much better came along.

I don't get the play the kids talk. Who do we have that's not playing who should be playing? I'm all for playing kids if and when they're ready and if they're good. Hill, Dubois and Choi were not as good as many of us thought, and not to turn this into a Murton thread, but I was fooled. i don't think he'll be as good as I thought he would be. Just ask yourself this: If we didn't trade for Nomar, do you think Murton would be playing everyday for the Red Sox? Brenly is a bad in-game manager. No one remembers game 5 of the 2001 NLDS when he called for a suicide squeeze in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth. Womack bunted through it and a runner was caught between third and home. That would've gone down as one of the dumbest calls in post-season history, but Womack then singled the game winning run home from second. I want the Cubs to get a guy who knows how to win and has won before. The first thing a manager will have to do is convince Hendry that OBP and OPS are important stats and take the word "toolsy" out of Hendry's vocabulary. I agree. If the kids are ready, great! If not, can't it hurt them to be brought up before they're ready?

Start with Andy MacPhail. Or, maybe he'll take the job of Commish. Or was that just a rumor? :cry:

.629 ERA. Yep. Won't be long now.

Yes! Our Angel has come to save us! *crickets* Ok, lame joke, I know, but at least there's one less 2B on the roster that we have to worry about, though I would have felt much better if it said PEREZ officially DFA. Neifi, Womack. What's the difference? Neifi's OBP:.299; Womack's OBP: .342...not sensationally better; but better anyway. Womack gets on base more than Neifi or Pierre.

It's Hendry's responsibility to make sure they ARE in a position to win next year. It's unreasonable for him to expect fans to be patient for two or three more years after he allowed what looked like a perennial contender to deteriorate. He created the problem; it's up to him to fix it right away. Any moves made need to be with the idea of winning next year, not in two or three (or even longer) years, and if they don't win next year he needs to be held accountable, contract extension notwithstanding. Exactly! :D

I'm going to get flamed for this, but here goes: I don't want a bunch of over-priced, over-hyped, and over-the-hill geezers. But I don't want a team of just the kids, either. I want a GOOD blend of both. I want the kids who are big-league ready to play; not kids who are rushed to the bigs...like Corey Patterson was. And I don't want the once-standard old geezers like the Cubs have done in the past...even the recent past. I want veterans who are around 30-ish, who can be around for 4-6 years; however long it takes to win a pennant...and, hopefully, a World Series. I'm not sure if JH is capable of putting that together, but that's what I want. The Tribsters have the money, I'm just not sure if Hendry has the ability to put together a team of high OBP, high OPS hitters. Forget looking for clutch hitting, we need to get people with speed combined with people with power, AND high OBP! That's what we need, IMHO. Sorry if I've reiterated anyone's post, and I hope I didn't come across as angry. I'm just frustrated with this team, this team's philosophy, and the upper management...including ownership. Thanks! :)

My sympathies and prayers are with you, Shavo. And my prayers are with Peter Gammons for a full recovery.

What?? Lee?? Zambrano??? They are the cornerstones of our team! Why should we trade them? And like someone else already said, We're not like the Marlins or Nationals who need to dump salary and start from scratch with all young guys. Don't forget, not all minor leaguers are ready at the same time. To dump all our players...espescially the core of our team like, Lee and Z would be huge mistake! BTW, sorry if this sounds too harsh! I had to respond as soon as I read the first part of this post. Reading is Fundamental Sorry, I just read the bolded names and responded. I think, in reality, nobody is really untradable.

I don't get it. Do we have one now? Apparently not. Hendry was too busy(doing what?)to be in Minnesota and watch his 18 games below .500 team get swept by the Twinkies. Maybe Chuckie Cheese had some special week-end buffet he couldn't pass up. But MacPhail was there in the Twins box being chummy with Tom Kelly and GM Terry Ryan. MacPhail is juicing his contacts hoping to lineup a job this offseason because he knows he's on his way out. The speculation is that MacPhail is in line to take over for Selig as Commish in 18 months. I think Steve Stone said that MacPhail is doing exactly what the Tribune company wants him to do, and that's why he'll be the Cubs' President for quite a while longer. :cry: Gee, I hope Stoney's wrong this time around.

Hi Len. Thanks for stopping by. This year is very hard to take. Both you and Bob are great broadcasters, and we hope you guys stay around for a while...hopefully long enough to witness and call a Cubs World Series win! :shock: Boy did I get carried away!! :D

Exactly! If I hear another person, on the Boo Ya network, say "The Rocket" I'm going to puke (Roger Clemens anyone?). He's not a savior and I hope the Astros don't make the playoffs. What he said! :wink: she :wink: Oops! Sorry! :oops:

I'm the opposite. I pulled for the Sox because I don't like the Astros...never have, never will. I have cousins who pull for them--they're from Texas--but the real reason is that I don't respect Biggio (because of the armor he wears on his arm), Berkman (crybaby), or Phil Garner. I don't hate the Cardinals, I respect them.

If Dempster would be dealt, could Wood be a possibility for closer?

What?? Lee?? Zambrano??? They are the cornerstones of our team! Why should we trade them? And like someone else already said, We're not like the Marlins or Nationals who need to dump salary and start from scratch with all young guys. Don't forget, not all minor leaguers are ready at the same time. To dump all our players...espescially the core of our team like, Lee and Z would be huge mistake! BTW, sorry if this sounds too harsh! I had to respond as soon as I read the first part of this post.

Thats ridiculous. I believe Raws strategy is the best. I agree with both RTDG and Rawaction (and whoever else said that we HAVE to be sellers is ridiculous!). I'm also afraid that Hendry won't trade Pierre and Jones for the same Roast does. His pride. But one of the sports writers from, I think it was the Sun Times, said something to the effect that the Cubs don't need to be sellers, and basically said that they could be buyers, but for next year. Trade some--or much--of what we have for young players and really good veterans, play them the rest of this year. That way, we establish the core of the 2007 Cubs, and just add whatever else would be needed. BTW, I didn't read the article, I heard about it on the Score.

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/3070/threestoogess6qn.jpg I like it! Sointenly!! :D

Exactly! If I hear another person, on the Boo Ya network, say "The Rocket" I'm going to puke (Roger Clemens anyone?). He's not a savior and I hope the Astros don't make the playoffs. What he said! :wink: