CubfaninCA

Exactly! I'd say the same thing about Cedeno. i agree with both of you. it appears that these players just know how to play without having to think too much. ballplayers, billy beane would call them. i could live with murton in left and cedono getting siginificant time in the middle infield spots, preferably backing up nomar and walker. murton also provides a cheap option that affords us the luxury of spending big in right field, centerfield, and getting another sp and reliever. i think the only possible way that we don't land giles is if giles simply does not want to play anywhere other than crappy southern california. we have the most money to spend and hendry knows that he has work to do. Why is Southern Ca crappy?? The chances of the Cubs giving Giles enough money to leave SoCal is slim and none.

Can see Konerko ending up in Boston, and perhaps Burnett too. My guess is that the Cubs stick their nose into the Manny trade talks w/ NY and try to get Cameron or Floyd. Perhaps they could get both for Murton, Patterson and Walker.

The Cubs don't have the cajones to do it, but Kerry, Walker and Patterson could probably get it done.

Wow. This suprises me. I would rather hace Hendry then either of these 2. DePo has run the Dodgers into the ground and although their minor leagues have been upgraded, I am unsure of how much credit goes to DePo for that since he has only been around for 2 drafts. DePo's trades have been highly questionable, and his FA acquistions have been overpaid and questionable. JP has been unspectacular yet solid. He did give Koskie a longer term deal then I would have wanted if I were a Toronto fan considering he already had options there. I am firmly on the Hendry bandwgn. He has made smart baseball moves, most of his trades have worked out and he has given the modern Cub fans more to hope and believe about both in the Majors and the minors in a long time. To me the biggest glaring issue with his reign is the Sisco loss. If all we are questioning is the loss of a middle reliever then I think he has done well in his years, especially considering some of the controversial moves he has had to make (Sosa). How so?? Is it his fault nearly the entire team's been hurt?? He signed two guys who would look really good in Cubbie Blue (Kent and Drew). He made a good trade to get Penny, and he didn't overpay Beltre and let Finley walk. Yes it is. When you sign guys like Drew who are always hurt and expect them to be a big part of your team, it should be no suprise when they get hurt. So Gagne's injury was predictable too?? His injury really hurt. He's their leader.

The Yankees over the past 10 years is a good representative of the importance of pitching. Their hitting has gotten better, while their pitching has declined. The Yankees won titles when they had Wells, El Duque, Pettite and Clemens pitching strong.

Wow. This suprises me. I would rather hace Hendry then either of these 2. DePo has run the Dodgers into the ground and although their minor leagues have been upgraded, I am unsure of how much credit goes to DePo for that since he has only been around for 2 drafts. DePo's trades have been highly questionable, and his FA acquistions have been overpaid and questionable. JP has been unspectacular yet solid. He did give Koskie a longer term deal then I would have wanted if I were a Toronto fan considering he already had options there. I am firmly on the Hendry bandwgn. He has made smart baseball moves, most of his trades have worked out and he has given the modern Cub fans more to hope and believe about both in the Majors and the minors in a long time. To me the biggest glaring issue with his reign is the Sisco loss. If all we are questioning is the loss of a middle reliever then I think he has done well in his years, especially considering some of the controversial moves he has had to make (Sosa). How so?? Is it his fault nearly the entire team's been hurt?? He signed two guys who would look really good in Cubbie Blue (Kent and Drew). He made a good trade to get Penny, and he didn't overpay Beltre and let Finley walk.

So you think that Neifi Perez (assuming he is/was the best-defending SS around) is more valuable than Manny Ramirez? Should Ozzie Smith be considered the best player of all time instead of Babe Ruth? 'Cause if you think that defense is that much more important than hitting, you pretty much have to answer yes to both questions. How did you draw that conclusion?? Pitching makes up most of that 60-70%.

Do the Mets need pitching?? Their team ERA is 3rd in the NL. Seems they need a 1b, c, and 2b. I can't see them giving up an asset like Cameron unless they get a bat back.

My guess is that Manny ends up w/ the Mets. Perhaps the Cubs can help facilitate a deal between NY and Boston and get either Floyd or Cameron though. Recently read that NY and Boston may swap Beltran for Manny. Altogether, the Trib probably doesn't have the guts to make a deal for Manny. They'd rather put their money into injury prone players. How about both Floyd and Cameron? Is that possible? walker murton lee aram floyd nomar cameron barrett Perhaps, but I think the Cubs would have to give up Walker.

Hunter & Radke for Walker, Patterson, Rusch, Mitre and Wellemeyer. Radke's due $9 million next year, so Minny saves over $10 million in all and can restructure their team. It's not like the current team is winning anything, and Radke will be in the last year of his contract. Probably have to give up more though. Mitre and Welly don't count as much.

Use Rusch as trade bait. In hindsight, Baker should have left him in the rotation all year.

My guess is that Manny ends up w/ the Mets. Perhaps the Cubs can help facilitate a deal between NY and Boston and get either Floyd or Cameron though. Recently read that NY and Boston may swap Beltran for Manny. Altogether, the Trib probably doesn't have the guts to make a deal for Manny. They'd rather put their money into injury prone players.

Lots of things in play with Burrell. He's a monster contract, but the Phillies may not need to move it, which means that you aren't likely to get him for cheap because of money. This year has been a big resurgence for him, can he keep it up? Can you be positive enough in that decision to make the investment in his behemoth contract? Also in consideration, he's not a great fielder this year, but has been average to slightly above average in the past. He's another RH power bat, which would guarantee the heart of the order being RH(not really important but throwing it out there). IMO, the circumstances add up against going after Burrell, but I certainly wouldn't mind him on the team. Just took a quick look @ Phillies payroll. They owe Burrell, Abreu and Thome a combined $42 million in 2007. That's A LOT of money, especially considering Thome's decline. They may be looking to deal Burrell, since Abreu's too valuable and no one probably wants Thome.

Will throw this name out there... Pat Burrell. Please no mention of Abreu. Ain't happening!!

I was advocating a A. Jones trade last offseason *pats myself on the back* However, w/ him blowing up this year, I can't see Atl dealing him.

If that's the strategy, then why play, and why pay for Hunter? I don't buy that they can't get better OF offense. Why can't they get Giles? Why can't they trade for an impact bat? They can, they should, and they should not settle on $10million stop gaps. They should indeed. However, this is the Cubs we're talking about. You've been a fan for quite some time right. You know how it goes. Doubtful Giles falls into the Cubs lap like Andre Dawson or signs a three year deal like Alou. I have more hope for Manny than Giles actually. Another person I could see them going after is Cliff Floyd, however, they may be content w/ Murton in lf.

Corey's going to produce, but probably not in Chicago. Too bad the fans have got on him so bad. They should lay off some. He's young. What do the Mets need that the Cubs have??

Hunter and Pie in the same OF in 2007 would require immense production from the LF. Both are likely to produce, at best, mediocre CF numbers, neither will be a credible RF. It's not just Corey and Neifi that has killed team OBP. Team OBP has sucked for years because the Cubs never address it, anywhere. Your lineup is still likely to have bottom half OBP. It's not just the worst players that struggle, it's the fact that the better ones are still usually just above average. Don't count on Lee at .420 next season. Your lineup is basically adding Furcal and Hunter to this team, which will cost a ton of money, and make it tough to address any pitching problems. I don't see enough likely improvement to justify the cost. I think that's a wild card contender at most. They need to make a 95+ win team. Well, it's not like there's a ton of options for the outfield. Realistically, the Cubs aren't getting Giles or Dunn or Sheffield or Berkman or Manny or Griffey or Huff. There's just not a lot out there. Just have to hope that Murton & Pie are the real deal and get some other stop gaps in the interim, such as Nomar.

If it was a 3 year salary at $10 million per year, the Cubs would have to pass. However, it's one year, w/ an option for 07, w/ a $2 mil. buyout, iirc. Perhaps the Cubs could resign him to something more reasonable and go w/ Pie in rf?? Given the poor free agency crop this offseason and the Cubs available fundage getting Hunter for a year is a reasonable move. Also, would hope they could get a little more if it's Walker and Patterson for Hunter. Perhaps a pitcher. This lineup should be able to crack the top 5 in runs (they're only 13 runs out of 5th actually)... Furcal, Cedeno, Lee, ARam, Nomah, Hunter, Murton & Barrett. Just have to hope Murton's not a flash in the pan and Cedeno doesn't turn into Corey Patterson. What has killed the Cubs team obp is 900 at-bats by Patterson and Neifi. Ouch!

i don't think you should add high priced players with low-obp's to correct the team obp problem. it doesn't make sense. we could have burnitz, who already puts up numbers close to hunter's. stick burnitz in center and spend the money elsewhere, which would probably make up for the difference in defense. we don't need obp monsters at every position, but hey, where are the other "monsters", i see lee with an obp over .400 and two guys over .350, one of which might not even be back next year if we trade him for hunter. we don't have much obp, which is what we need to address this offseason, hunter gives us nothing that we don't already have. LOL @ Burnitz in cf. How many games will it take before Zambrano strangles him for his inadequacy. Cf's an important defensive position.

Unless they roll the dice w/ Pie or Patterson and risk a .630 ops, there's not a lot of options for cf. I guess they could always trade for Mike Cameron. He makes $8 million next year and then's a free agent. Preston Wilson's probably not going to sign a 1 year deal. Griffey won't be availabe. Damon ain't coming to Chicago. Altogether, there just aren't a lot of good cf's out there.

It'd take a pretty decent comeback for Finley to post even a .700 ops next year. He's got all of .013 points of obp on corey. And he's FORTY. if the cubs trade for finley ill commit suicide You do realize Finley's been hurt all year, after crashing into the wall in the 2nd game of the season. Just bring back Hairston, as the utility man. So long Macias.

Which would you rather have, Hunter in CF and Cedeno at 2B, or Patterson/Greenberg/Murton/Hairston/Trade target in CF, and Walker at 2B? I take Walker + whoever. What other cf's will be on the block?? Please don't say Griffey. Won't happen. I would take Finley & Donnelly for Maddux and Rusch tho. Finley could have a comeback year and it's a salary wash. Might not take a whole lot to get Finley and iirc Washburn & Byrd will be free agents, so Anaheim may need to add a pitcher and Maddux lives 25 miles from the ballpark.

There's more to baseball than obp. The Cubs need someone who can do something in cf, and they need to upgrade their defense. Hairston's a utility man and Patterson's ops is around .600 and he may never turn it around in Chicago. Yes Hunter's overpaid, but he'd be a nice stop gap in cf and a nice 6 hitter. A team doesn't need obp monsters @ every spot in the order. Unless you have the budget of the Yankees or Red Sox it's unrealistic. If it's Walker & CPatt for Hunter, so be it. Put Cedeno @ 2b. Nomar in rf, Murton in lf, and sign Furcal. People should be happy that the kids get a chance. Speaking of unrealisitic, it's 1 in 100 that Giles comes to Chicago. See Carlos Beltran for more. I hope Giles signs really early to ease the agony.

How about Murton, Hunter and Nomar in the OF. Lee, Walker, Furcal and Ramirez in the IF. Barrett @ C. This lineup should produce some runs and be top 5. Furcal, Walker or Cedeno, Lee, ARam, Nomar, Hunter, Murton, Barrett Of course, doesn't sound like Walker will be back.