don_kessinger_was_good

I really don't get all the Walker love. He's not even in the top half of 2B in baseball. He's better than Neifi, but that's not much to hang your hat on. I rate these 2B as definitely better than Walker (in no particular order): 1. Chase Utley 2. Jeff Kent 3. Marcus Giles 4. Jose Vidro (if healthy) 5. Mark Loretta 6. Robinson Cano 7. Brian Roberts 8. Luis Castillo 9. Ryan Freel And these 2B as at least as good as, and likely better than, Walker too: 10. Craig Biggio 11. Adam Kennedy 12. David Eckstein 13. Rickie Weeks 14. Ray Durham 15. Alfonso Soriano 16. Orlando Hudson 17. Tad Iguchi 18. Ronnie Belliard 19. Keith Ginter 20. Placido Polanco So, where's the interest in Walker again? I see maybe Texas (if Kinsler isn't ready), maybe Toronto, maybe Pittsburgh as destinations. He's going to need to be dumped for a mid-level prospect.

Does anyone know if Miller still has the stuff (i.e., velocity on fastball and snap on breaking pitches) since the injury? I will wait and see what happens, but IMO stockpiling injured pitchers isn't really a formula for success in the short term and is quite a gamble in the long term. But it's a cheap gamble, what's wrong with that at the margin? The total at-risk investment on Hendry's part has been what, $1MM for the first three combined, and now a $1MM for Miller? The price goes up if the option is picked up, but this is chump change for a team that can pay Neifi Perez $3MM a year.

Bengie Molina: 295/336/446, 15 HR, 69 RBI, 41/27 K/BB, IsoP 110 Michael Barrett: 276/345/479, 16 HR, 61 RBI, 61/40 K/BB, IsoP 134 A bit bigger difference than I expected, but not much, and entirely in IsoP. Wouldn't Molina's better defense cancel out Barrett's slightly better slugging? I'm not anti-Barrett, I'm just thinking of trade currency and ways to improve the OVERALL team here.

So far, this strategy has worked out well: Ryan Dempster off of injury: Excellent. Chad Fox off of injury: Not so good. Scott Williamson off of injury: TBD. Wade Miller off of injury: TBD. The few million a wealthy team like the Cubs spends on these deals is well worth it, it's an option pricing view of players which I like. I don't understand why other well-heeled teams like the Yankees, Sox and Phils haven't tried this approach themselves. By my assessment, if EITHER Williamson or Miller works out, the strategy is a success. If both do, it's gravy.

Nice deal. He makes Glendon Rusch awfully expendable come June 15th.....

I do not believe Neifi Perez will get more than 30 starts in 2006. And so long as Lugo is acquired, Perez will NEVER bat above 7th in the order when he does get those starts, so he won't cause as much harm down there. Even if Cedeno is successful, he IS a rookie for all intents, so I don't see the Cubs starting him in more than 125-130 games no matter how well he plays. And I can live with that.

For Yadier Molina yes. LOL. I like the idea of Bengie Molina but really, if we're going to sign an offensively challenged catcher with great defense and game calling skills why not just let Blanco get the majority of the starts and trade Barrett? Just a thought, I don't seriously think the Cubs would consider it. How is Bengie Molina offensively challenged? His numbers are almost identical to Barrett's. Or are you saying the NL Silver Slugger at catcher last year is offensively challenged? I'm confused.

Exhibits A, B and C: Kerry Wood, Greg Maddux, and the $16MM bullpen. Combined, that's more than Tampa and Pittsburgh's entire payroll. Note though that if Wood and Maddux don't return, Jones drops to $5MM last year, if you expunge Rusch and Neifi, and you don't renew Williamson let's say--all of which are possible, and Jones might even get thrown overboard--that's a whopping $30MM return of payroll, $35MM if you get rid of Jones.

If other teams view Barrett as someone worth acquiring, and I'm not sure they do....but we know some of the Cub pitchers are unhappy pitching to him, at the least. Bengie Molina is looking for a home, and his numbers are positively Barrett-esque. They are equals in offense, while Molina offers better defense. If someone were interested in Barrett in a trade, would you move him and sign Molina? It would probably entail a $2MM or so increment to payroll (Barrett makes 4, Molina is looking for 6), but if Barrett helped you get a player you want elsewhere, maybe it's an option that should be considered. By my count, the following teams might be looking for a starting catcher: Phillies (Lieberthal is finished?), Pirates, Dodgers (Navarro not ready?), Toronto, Detroit (time for I-Rod to DH?) and Texas.

Weaver is one of those guys just like Matt Clement--maddeningly inconsistent. He can go out there one time and be lights out, and the next, it's batting practice. Still, a .500 pitcher that can give you 200 IP is not awful, and if he gets to pitch in front of a quality bullpen as it appears we will have, then he might do pretty well. Cubs have the money, so yeah, so long as it's a short term deal I'd sign him. When Millwood overreached (via Boras) a couple years ago he settled for a one year $7MM deal if I recall, Weaver is going the same route and Boras will support that. If he has a good year, he'll make it up next time around.

If Jerome Williams is the key Cub in a Julio Lugo trade, as I suspect he will be, then I would welcome a Jeff Weaver signing on a one-year deal with second-year option to get him to sign. We have by my estimation a good $7MM in unspent money yet. As noted several times above, Weaver is a reliable innings eater with a respectable WHIP and some upside. I like whoever made the analogy with Matt Clement, I think it's a good one. At this point, I don't think the Cubs are PLANNING on ANY starts from Wood. Looks to me like he's headed down the Dennis Eckersley career path, and maybe at this point that's the best thing for Kerry. I sure don't see him in a Cubs uniform in 2007, that's for sure.

Have the Cubs really screwed Walker? I know picking up his option was a security blanket, for the team, but in doing so he has been guaranteed a job next season at 2.5M. Had he been forced into FA, he might have been relegated to NRI status or to take a million or more dollar paycut as a backup. Teams don't seem to be very interested in his services. I believe he would have been better off as a FA. First, while there doesn't seem to be a market for him now, but had he been able to shop his services at the outset of FA, I think he would have found a job...likely for more than 2.5 million. I firmly believe that Hendry held on to him too long while he waited out the Furcal machinations. During that time, teams looking for a second baseman or DH looked elsewhere. I think early on Walker may have landed in K.C., Texas, St. Louis, or with the Mets. I still don't know why the Walker for Mike MacDougal trade never took place. If you need evidence both teams were serious about it, just look at the fact that we ended up signing Howry and Eyre, and KC ended up signing Grudzy. So why didn't the Cubs and Royals close the deal?

Jerome Williams and Roberto Novoa or Todd Wellemeyer for Julio Lugo. Todd Walker for Nick Markakis. Pierre, Lugo, Jones, Murton, Lee, Cedeno--six of the eight Cub starters could really run the bases. I'm sure they'd have the post-WWII team record for team SBs, for what that's worth. They'd be exciting to watch at least. Lugo stole 39 last year. Baltimore has given us chump change in trades twice now, it's about time they give us some quality back. If they want Walker, we want Markakis. A 2007 Cub outfield of Murton, Pie and Markakis would be sweet.

Wow, what a disturbing set of transactions by Boston. They are very quickly heading down the path of the Mets and Yankees, and that will really limit their options later. When you have no more young players left, your only choice is to be in the free agent market every year, which naturally means your payroll will just keep going up up up. As for the specific players in these rumored moves: I just can't see Cleveland giving up Rafael Betancourt for Jason Michaels. Betancourt is worth MUCH more--I'd argue he's the 2nd best setup man in baseball right NOW. Arthur Rhodes, that is different. Besides, even after moving Crisp, why does Cleveland need Michaels, anyway? Franklin Gutierrez is ready to play. His ceiling is higher than Michaels, and he's much younger. Crisp for Marte AND Mota? As recently as 12 months ago, Marte was rated the #1 hitting prospect in baseball. Meanwhile, Crisp is just OK, and isn't likely to get better than he is now. You get Mota for free! Man, why can't our organization be more like the Indians of late, I love what they're doing. What an exciting young team if they nail down Marte. Were I the White Sox, I'd be getting very nervous.

I think if you asked most regulars here, we'd split the difference and give Hendry a C. Myself, that's how I'd grade him. I liked and supported the bullpen moves from the beginning, because I'm tired of poor bullpen depth being such a perpetual team weakness. Now, it ought to be a team strength, with Dempster, Howry, Eyre, Williamson, Wuertz and Ohman all capable relievers. You can argue Hendry overpaid for these guys, and that knocks down his credit a little bit, but not much. He had plenty of money to spend. I also supported bringing in Juan Pierre from the beginning. I understand the hesitation since Pierre had such a down year in 05, his arm stinks, and he has no power--so if he's not on top of his game, he is not a good addition. But his numbers in 01, 03 and 04 suggest he is capable of being the best leadoff man the Cubs have had in a long time. I even supported the decision to let Nomar go. He's a shell of his former self, but we all remember the all-star and batting champ. The guy is so brittle you just can't put your eggs in that basket again. So based on these three things, pretty good. But.... The Rusch and especially, Neifi signings? Unsupportable. Those were two of Hendry's first three off-season moves! Absolutely ridiculous. Failure to nail down the Furcal deal. He was ours for the taking if Hendry had simply closed the deal with a solid offer, but he tried to nickel and dime him (after literally throwing money at Neifi), that gave LA a chance to get in the game, and we know the outcome. If Hendry would have closed the deal while LA was still without a GM..... The Jones signing stinks. He was likely viewed as the best of a set of poor alternatives (eg, Wilson, Encarnacion, Burnitz, Hidalgo), but Hendry wouldn't have been in that position if he'd worked out a deal for a corner OF last year. And though at the margin, giving away Jermaine Van Buren really rubs me the wrong way, not because of JVB's ceiling so much as because it illustrates yet again Hendry's mismanagement of, and poor decision-making related to, the 40-man roster. JVB had trade currency, it should have been used. So, overall grade C. Not good enough for a team that was 5 outs away two years ago, has a $100MM payroll, and is installing 1800 new seats this year (and raising ticket prices in general).

Walker and Roberto Novoa for Nick Markakis and Vaj Majewski, please.

So basically, for the same three pitchers sent to Florida for Juan Pierre, plus the money spent on Jacques Jones, Hendry instead could have Aubrey Huff and have signed free agent Kenny Lofton. Lovely. Huff >> Jones Lofton = Pierre Huff + Lofton = $8MM (approximately) Pierre + Jones = $12MM (approximately) So even better, he'd have had $4MM in extra cash, which could have been used with the $7MM in spare cash he still has unspent, to sign AJ Burnett. Yep, Hendry should be fired.

Mota is interesting, but if I can trade for any member of Boston's staff, it'd be Papelbon. That kid is nasty. Aramis Ramirez and Jerry Hairston for Andy Marte, Dustin Pedroia and Jonathan Papelbon. I'll include Jerome Williams if Boston includes Kelly Shoppach and a AA pitcher.

If Soriano made Todd Walker money, or even Bobby Howry money, I might be interested if the cost in players were modest. As bad as he is, he's a better slugger than Walker and he can run, versus the poorer OBP. But at $10MM or, if he wins his arby case (unlikely!) $12MM??? Gimme a break. No one will touch him. As disappointed as I am in so many moves Hendry has made, even he won't go down this path. And Bowden is a real idiot, as if his past moves weren't evident enough.

Hate Neifi? No. Hate Baker? Yes.

Again--if JJ bats only against RHP, he's perfectly adequate, though uninspiring. Still, there's nothing objectionable about a 340-350 OBP and 825-850 OPS, I'll take that. The problem is that the manager and general manager are too pigheaded to recognize the need to platoon this guy, but like with the misuse of Remlinger and Neifi, that is all on management, you can't blame the player for that. And to someone above, yes, I agree that JJ will never be in Chicago the entire three years, Hendry simply felt he needed to give him three years to get a deal done. The deal was structured with a signing bonus, so in years two and three Jones only gets $9MM combined. If you eat a couple million of that, you should easily be able to move him this coming winter if you want to.

Hildalgo > Murton in Baker's eyes... I don't think even Dusty would do that at this point. Everyone recognizes Murton has earned the job, even Baker. The sad part is how cowered and frightened we are of our own manager's stupidity, this is simply unsustainable and why I am convinced, no matter how good or bad the Cubs are in 06, that it will be Baker's last year here.

What's annoying to me is that instead of Neifi, Mabry and Grissom for the bench, the Cubs could have/should have Mark Sweeney, Richard Hidalgo and Russ Branyan. Yet more bad decisions on role players from the addled mind of Jim Hendry.

If Dusty were agreeable to it, I would be very supportive of a true RF platoon between Jones and Hidalgo. Combined, they would make for an above league average RF in both offense and defense. Nice. And yes, Hidalgo > Restovich > Grissom > Jones against LHP.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzito! Adam Dunn is a free agent too, but everyone seems to think he's 100% guaranteed to go home to Houston. Not that it matters for us, as we saw how far our $40MM in new money went this winter. :roll: But Maddux + Wood alone is $21MM. Pierre, Blanco, Hairston, Williamson, Walker and Ohman are not under contract for 2007 (roughly $14MM). Neither is Lee ($9MM), though you'd imagine that will get addressed long before this time next year. Aramis can opt out of his contract if he chooses to; if he does, that is $10.5MM in yet more money. I wish we had some way of acquiring Andy Marte in case Aramis does in fact leave....