CubfaninCA

I'd love to place bets w/ some of you guys. :)

Um I think Juan Le Pierre is more in jeopardy than Murton. Jeopardy of what? Losing his job? He's been the centerpiece of their offsesaon. He's their ideal candidate for the much coveted speedy leadoff man. Dusty is on record stating that he will play the guy with the bigger contract because that is why the guy got the contract. Couple that with his history of favoring older players, and all the positive things he has to say about older players, and that Murton was one of the few guys who Dusty openly criticized by name in the press, and it's pretty safe to assume that Murton will be the odd man out of the current OF. Playing time. Gotta love the obsessing over Hendry gutting the team by dealing Prior & the speculation over Grissom in LF. Can't wait to see what's next. Can't you maintain a freaking discussion without using crap like "paranoia" and "obsessing"? What is this compulsion to constantly backhandedly run down other posters and their opinions? Jesus Christ its annoying. You make some interesting arguments, but I never take them seriously because you seem more interested in engaging people like me or Goony and simply being contrary than really staying on the merits of the discussion. LOL @ me being contrary. The argument that Grissom will play over Murton is contrary to common sense and basically hyperbole.

I wasn't optimistic about Nomar, Patterson & Wood being the keys to the season, and give me til February to make judgement on the offseason. I'm just not one to jump to negative conclusions. Pierre, Howry & Eyre are nice pickups, but the ballclub needs more. Obviously.

Can't this same argument be made for why they traded for Lawton in the first place? Can't this same argument be applied to the fact that when Nomar and Walker were hurt, Cedeno got sent back to the minors so the Cubs could play Enrique Wilson everyday in his place? Lawton was brought in to address the obp problem. Of course, obp has never been addressed according to some theories. (Getting Pierre to play over Patterson & pursuing Furcal don't count either.) Lawton was @ .370 or so at the time of the trade, so you can't blame the clubs. And Murton > Cedeno

Um I think Juan Le Pierre is more in jeopardy than Murton. Jeopardy of what? Losing his job? He's been the centerpiece of their offsesaon. He's their ideal candidate for the much coveted speedy leadoff man. Dusty is on record stating that he will play the guy with the bigger contract because that is why the guy got the contract. Couple that with his history of favoring older players, and all the positive things he has to say about older players, and that Murton was one of the few guys who Dusty openly criticized by name in the press, and it's pretty safe to assume that Murton will be the odd man out of the current OF. Playing time. Gotta love the obsessing over Hendry gutting the team by dealing Prior & the speculation over Grissom in LF. Can't wait to see what's next.

If the Cubs were so intent on playing vets over Murton, they wouldn't have traded Lawton. If Murton's not in the lineup, it's because the Cubs trade for someone like Luis Gonzalez, Huff or Floyd. Been lots of paranoia recently....

The Cubs try to land Cliff Floyd in the blockbuster Manny deal. Murton gets sent back to Boston & Walker to the Mets. ;)

Um I think Juan Le Pierre is more in jeopardy than Murton.

Good usage of stats.

Well, I can see Dusty using Grissom against lefties he's had success with over his career, but I still think that Jones will get a good number of starts versus lefties however.

Neither Hairston or Mabry is close to being a "good enough" 4th OF. Who's your ideal 4th OF? Murton? This team is so far beyond what could be considered ideal, that I don't know who my ideal 4th OF is. The best thing would be to find a big corner OF bat, and have Jones as the 4th guy. But since that isn't going to happen, I'd rather find a good OF bat and have Murton platoon with both corner OFers and get 300-450 AB. They went into the offseason in desperate need of an impact bat, and they still need one. Murton's my preference as well. I have a feeling Hendry's looking to upgrade in LF and hoping that Floyd becomes available. I'm still of the opinion that Manny's holding up some secondary deals.

You haven't forgotten who manages this team, have you? And his affection for aging veterans? If Grissom is signed I guarantee he'll at least be in a LF platoon. Yes, and Prior will be dealt on New Years Eve. People will believe anything nowadays.

Neither Hairston or Mabry is close to being a "good enough" 4th OF. Who's your ideal 4th OF? Murton?

That's what I put my money. No big deal... Seriously, is there a trade, free agent signing that would upset you? I applaud your optimism, but I'm curious if there is any move that the Cubs could make that would have you join me on the ledge? Trading Prior or Z. I've said all along that pitching wins, and I don't have a pessimistic attitude cause I think Prior will bounce back, which will be huge. If one of those guys is dealt, I'll lose a lot of interest in the team. Considering what Grissom did last year, I can't see him signing for much. It's just a move to see if they can catch some lightning in a bottle.

No, it's can't be solid, unless you define solid as able to take the field most days. That OF is brutal, possibly bottom 5 in the league, maybe worse. It's definitely going to be below average. And that's not solid. It doesn't matter if 1B and 3B are powerful, they aren't good enough to offset crappy OF production. So Pierre & Murton will suck.

That's what I put my money. No big deal...

That may change soon. As the AL East gets stronger (Toronto looks good), Tampa is a few years away yet, Baltimore, meh..... Teams like Cleveland and Oakland will have a shot at a wild card once again. Didn't Anaheim make it via wild card the year they were in the Series? Hmmm think so. I can see Boston slipping. They should have kept Pedro. NY spends too much to do so.

Angels > A's The Cubs need a 5 hitter & a #3. fine, they're one of the better teams in the west. plus, they have this thing called the wild card now. in any event, the a's are better than the cubs, and i think it'll take more than prospects to get him. the only reason i want him is to spin him for tejada. The AL Wild Card's reserved for either Boston or New York. I'd prefer the Cubs spinning Zito for Tejada too, but I'll take Zito, if they can't spin him.

Angels > A's The Cubs need a 5 hitter & a #3.

Way to leadoff w/ a home run first post.

Where were the Trib higher ups when a lot of money was being handed out to a crappy ballplayer? 15m is what they gave a crappy ballplayer just last week. Jones is a classic Cub signing. Essentially, sign a guy hoping he can return to past glory. See Kal Daniels, Maldonaldo, Hundley, Nomar for more. I'm sure one of the elder statesmen Cub fans could come up w/ one heck of a list of such signings. Howard Johnson anyone? LOL. Forgot him. Jeff Blauser..

I would imagine you would agree that we can't go into the 2005 season with this for an outfield: (assuming Patterson will be traded) Jacque Jones Juan Pierre Matt Murton Jerry Hairston John Mabry That might be one of the worst outfields ever assembled. You must really be down on Murton to make that assessment. That outfield won't be great, but can be solid. It's just not a conventional outfield w/ at least one power hitter tho. However, few teams have a 1b and 3b as good as the Cubs. I do agree with you. The power we get at 1B and 3B helps make up for the lack of your more traditional power corner OF. The key to the whole thing is where Murton hits, and how well he does. Agree about Murton, and Barrett's one of the best hitting catcher's in the NL. This offense won't be spectacular, but can be solid. The pitching is the key, and lots of money has been spent on it.

I agree. Especially if we don't have to break up the rotation. He's not the impact bat we want, but I think he can make an impact. The 1 & 2 hitters not getting on was a big problem, but Lee & ARam getting stranded by Burnitz was a big problem too. So you want Soriano's .309(including ridiculous Ameriquest splits) OBP to rectify that? He'd be worse in that sense. I'm more concerned w/ slugging in the 5 spot and driving in the guys who had obps of .418 and .358 last year. I'll take career .500 slugging over .435 any day of the week.

Where were the Trib higher ups when a lot of money was being handed out to a crappy ballplayer? 15m is what they gave a crappy ballplayer just last week. Jones is a classic Cub signing. Essentially, sign a guy hoping he can return to past glory. See Kal Daniels, Maldonaldo, Hundley, Nomar for more. I'm sure one of the elder statesmen Cub fans could come up w/ one heck of a list of such signings.

I would imagine you would agree that we can't go into the 2005 season with this for an outfield: (assuming Patterson will be traded) Jacque Jones Juan Pierre Matt Murton Jerry Hairston John Mabry That might be one of the worst outfields ever assembled. You must really be down on Murton to make that assessment. That outfield won't be great, but can be solid. It's just not a conventional outfield w/ at least one power hitter tho. However, few teams have a 1b and 3b as good as the Cubs.