CubfaninCA

Wow and some say the Yankees overhype prospects. It's amazing how some turn 2 1/2 to 3 toolers into Wade Boggs, Sandy Kofaux and Manny Ramirez. Last I checked DuBois was batting 9th w/ Cleveland btw.

Giles is a typical Trib move. 3 years and 27 million. I can see them signing him ala Alou a few years ago. People are pipe~dreaming if they think the Cubs will trade for or sign Dunn. Cincy's nearly impossible to deal with, and no way will the Trib give Dunn over 5 years. See Carlos Beltran for more. Someone will probably give Dunn 7 and 110.

Go 7 & 3 vs. Houston and the Cubs pick up 4 games right?? The Cub starting pitching needs to pick up the slack.

This just shows the importance of good defense. The Cubs are subpar, if that. People want to obsess over the [expletive] walk ad naseum, and the bullpen. This team's defense and starting pitcher has not been very good either.

Can only hope so. Just give him a cozy front office job. Maddux is still decent, but not worth what he's paid. Williams and Hill can do what Maddux does for a lot less. Has Maddux done less than would have been expected when the Cubs offered him this contract? Overall, I think he has performed about as well as could have been expected, so he's held up his end of the bargain? Do the Cubs now wish they hadn't offered him as much? Maybe, but that's not the point. They offered him a contract, he signed it, and he has lived up to reasonable expectations for his performance under the contract. The Cubs need to hold up their end as well. A 4.67 ERA in the NL = not living up to his side of the deal. Jerome Williams can give the Cubs that at a quarter of the cost. Maddux has had a great career and should bow out gracefully. Hopefully, he can win it all in a Cub jersey this year. His last year in Atlanta he had a 3.96 ERA. What do you think would be a reasonable expectation would have been in 2003 for his performance 2 years later at age 39? For what he make, 3.75. I don't care what he did at Atl.

Peoria's high A ball right?? I'll get fired up when he pitches in a 5 major league games w/out getting hurt. Just a matter of time. Sorry.

Can only hope so. Just give him a cozy front office job. Maddux is still decent, but not worth what he's paid. Williams and Hill can do what Maddux does for a lot less. Has Maddux done less than would have been expected when the Cubs offered him this contract? Overall, I think he has performed about as well as could have been expected, so he's held up his end of the bargain? Do the Cubs now wish they hadn't offered him as much? Maybe, but that's not the point. They offered him a contract, he signed it, and he has lived up to reasonable expectations for his performance under the contract. The Cubs need to hold up their end as well. A 4.67 ERA in the NL = not living up to his side of the deal. Jerome Williams can give the Cubs that at a quarter of the cost. Maddux has had a great career and should bow out gracefully. Hopefully, he can win it all in a Cub jersey this year.

LOL @ Cincy.. Maybe if the Sox give them 6 prospects, they'll let Griffey go.

Can only hope so. Just give him a cozy front office job. Maddux is still decent, but not worth what he's paid. Williams and Hill can do what Maddux does for a lot less.

Both Wood and Maddux have no trade clauses, and if Maddux doesn't get the necessary innings for his auto vest, that will most likely mean the Cubs have failed in the wild card attempt. By the way, it's a pretty poor free agent class, so don't be surprised if the Cubs operate on a $85-90M payroll in 2006, and that expand that to the $110M level in 2007. My guess is that they bring back Nomaah and Lawton. Maybe bring back Nomah w/ another 1 year deal. Then go after Giles pretty hard, and perhaps a starting pitcher. I really can't see them moving Maddux, but I bet they try to deal Wood. Jmo but I think all this stuff about making him a reliever is a way to get him to waive his no trade clause.

I'm not sure if I want Murton as a starting OF in the future, but the fact is that right now he's our 3rd best outfielder, and that includes Patterson. I figured "small sample size" would be applicable?? Guess not when it's a prospect who shows a little something. :o

oops

Murton's 4 for 14 vs. righties. I'll wait for him to get a few more ab's vs. righties before annointing him Wade Boggs.

Put Griffey in the 4 hole and go righty, lefty, righty. Do you think Patterson would pass waivers??

Hairston's bat is only useful if he's leading off, which won't happen anymore, and regardless of how good Patterson's defense is, he can't even hit minor league pitching at the moment and his defense won't even come close to making up for that. Patteron's had more success in the majors than Murton, and the league could catch up w/ Murton at any moment. I'm not giving up on Patterson yet. I'm not giving up on Patterson either but I still think it's ridiculous to call him up now and sit Murton. Patterson > Murton This board is getting fired up again about a guy who's not that special. Patterson's speed, defense and power are better than Murton's. Sure Murton takes some walks and slaps singles, but this is his first time around the league. Patterson was a .800 ops guy a few years ago. He was an .800 OPS guy. Then the league figured out you don't have to pitch to him to get him out. Until Patterson shows he can put the bat on the ball (which he hasn't at AAA) and not to swing at pitches he has no chance of hitting, Murton>>>>>Patterson. All his speed and power doesn't amount to squat when you approach AB's like was before his demotion. Murton may not be a superstar, but I'll take a guy who has a clue at the plate, thanks. >>>>>????? Some have absolutely lost their minds over a guy w/ 34 major league at-bats. If he lifts a ball to the warning track, I might get excited.

I was just responding to neely. Imo DuBois is a 2 1/2 tool guy. Kinda like the current great hope, Murton. Ok Murton's a little better, but he's getting WAY overhyped.

Would this be the worse defensive lineup in baseball?? Lee - good fielder Walker - subpar Nomah - just back from injury so don't expect much Aram - subpar Murton - ok I guess Burnitz - worse fielding cf last year. Ever watch Edmonds steal doubles and triples to end rallies?? Lawton - subpar Barrett - alright, I guess. You gotta field, pitch and hit to win games. The Cubs would do 1 of the 3. People really overvalue Cub pitching. It's not that good. Whereas the Cubs are 5th or 6th in runs scored. The Cards are good for more reasons than they take walks and have Pujols. That team has a good defense, which helps the pitching.

Hairston's bat is only useful if he's leading off, which won't happen anymore, and regardless of how good Patterson's defense is, he can't even hit minor league pitching at the moment and his defense won't even come close to making up for that. Patteron's had more success in the majors than Murton, and the league could catch up w/ Murton at any moment. I'm not giving up on Patterson yet. I'm not giving up on Patterson either but I still think it's ridiculous to call him up now and sit Murton. Patterson > Murton This board is getting fired up again about a guy who's not that special. Patterson's speed, defense and power are better than Murton's. Sure Murton takes some walks and slaps singles, but this is his first time around the league. Patterson was a .800 ops guy a few years ago.

Hairston's bat is only useful if he's leading off, which won't happen anymore, and regardless of how good Patterson's defense is, he can't even hit minor league pitching at the moment and his defense won't even come close to making up for that. Patteron's had more success in the majors than Murton, and the league could catch up w/ Murton at any moment. I'm not giving up on Patterson yet.

Corey won't be a Griffey, but can be a Andruw Jones type. The Cubs should just give up turning Corey into a 1 or 2 hitter. Dusty telling Corey he can be another Lou Brock doesn't help matters either.

So who you going to bench for Murton?? Lawton or Burnitz?? I highly doubt Prior, Maddux and Z will appreciate either Burnitz or Lawton butchering plays in cf. A team that fields a subpar defense deserves to fail. But I think some people favor defense at the expense of the offense. With Lawton and Nomah, 1-7 will be pretty dang good. The Cardinals are good for more reasons than taking walks and having Pujols, Carpenter and Edmonds. That team can field w/ the best of them.

I agree with this.. but did I miss some kind of report where Dusty or anyone said that Nomar would be hitting 2nd? At this point it would make more sense to leave Walker at the 2-spot (although his numbers admittedly have been better in the 6th spot) than to stick Nomar in the 2-hole right away... Just wondering if you heard something or if you were just speculating... I haven't heard anything. Just assuming that Nomah will be at the top of the order. Dusty loves his vet stars.

Since some small sample sizes are being thrown out there, I'll throw this out. Patterson's ops batting 7th is .869. That's in 33 at bats.

So who you going to bench for Murton?? Lawton or Burnitz?? I highly doubt Prior, Maddux and Z will appreciate either Burnitz or Lawton butchering plays in cf. A team that fields a subpar defense deserves to fail.

Since Lawton and Nomah will most likely have the 1 and 2 spots, I'd much rather have Patterson in cf. Even though Patterson has REALLY struggled this year, him and Hairston have near identical slugging %. I'll put my money on the 25 year old w/ 68 career homers giving me more production in the 8 hole than Hairston. Who knows, Patterson could catch fire. I"m not ready to put a fork in the guy like some.