don_kessinger_was_good

Here's a new idea. Mark Prior for Miguel Cabrera. Straight up. Trading Prior necessitates signing someone like Millwood or Byrd, but the Cubs have the $$ this offseason. Cabrera-Lee-Ramirez 3-4-5 gives me goosebumps. And Miggy is a lot cheaper than the FA outfielders, just like Prior is cheap for starting pitchers. Then, you drop the bomb on the league and sign Brian Giles TOO. Again, Cubs can afford it if they're not bringing back Nomar and Burnitz. Murton, Giles, Cabrera, Ramirez, Lee--I think our offensive problems would be over. :-)

I like the looks of Millwood and Byrd. I'd be OK with Weaver if the price was right. Why not sign both Millwood AND Byrd, and trade Mark Prior straight up for Miguel Cabrera. Would the Fish do it? Would you??

Sammy Sosa will be fondly remembered by Cubs fans years from now, years after they've long forgotten who Dusty Baker and Jim Hendry were. Cut Sam some slack.

What's with all the Castillo love, I don't get it? If you're going to trade for an external 2B, for crying out loud make it Marcus Giles, not Luis Castillo. And forget about Lowell, he's done. If Florida wants us to take a bad contract off their hands, the extra player we demand is Miguel Cabrera, not Luis Castillo. Otherwise, tell the Fish to go swim with themselves.

Dream on--Nathan is one of the three best closers in the AL, you don't trade that for an injury-prone 2B with no defense who's already had a stint in Minny. However, something like Walker for Jesse Crain, Juan Rincon or JC Romero, that could happen, and we do need some 7th-8th inning help. I'd do Walker for any one of those three guys no problem.

Kind of like message board policing, which is both childish and stupid. Aren't there some spelling errors and typos somewhere you can get excited about next?

Tribune articles are pretty clear--including right from Hendry--that Patterson is finished here. Thank goodness. Hendry is also quoted as already thinking about Pie for 2006, which I think is a terrible idea, but he cites as support the jump from AA to the bigs that many players are making anymore. He is obviously smitten with Murton, and cited him specifically as an example of making the jump. But he was also thinking of Francouer since he mentioned Atlanta, and we all remember Cabrera from 2003. Another good thing? It sure sounds like Hendry intends for both Murton and Cedeno to be starters for 2006. Allowing him to spend his $100MM budget (that number was specifically mentioned) on "a leadoff hitting shortstop (Furcal!), a power-hitting corner OF (Giles!), and a 200 inning starting pitcher (Millwood, Burnett and Morris were mentioned)." No mention of Walker, so looks like I was right there, he's gone. But for the specific topic here, say goodbye to K. Patt, and IMO, good riddance. What a bust.

I think it's pretty much unanimous, then. Everyone wants to resign Nomar. Lemmings are not fung, mang.

Cubs fans need to grow a spine. I mean, seriously. Why put up with such mediocrity? It's an absolute disgrace. Think about this: I've been watching baseball--and the Cubs--since I was old enough to understand the game. 1970 was my first season where I really was cognizant of what was going on and years later, remember things. 1969 I just recall bits and pieces, I was a little guy. So OK, 35 years of big league baseball. In that relatively brief span, do you know that EVERY non-expansion team has won a pennant but for the Cubs and White Sox? I mean, it's freaking ridiculous! Of the other 30 ML teams not to win a pennant, you've got Houston (expansion 62), Montreal/Washington (expansion 69), Colorado (expansion 93), Tampa (expansion 98 ), Texas (expansion 69), and Seattle (expansion 77). That's it. Even the freaking Milwaukee Brewers have won a pennant! And a World Series title? Of the pennant-winning teams over the last 35 years, only the Brewers, Giants, Padres and Indians couldn't win the whole enchilada at least once. Even the KC Royals have a title to their credit. So I'm tired of the hand-wringing and oh-wells. It's a disgrace that a franchise as old and proud as the Cubs suffers this degree of repeated mediocrity. We have a right to demand success on the field and in the front office. When we see a problem, we have a right to demand it goes away. Get rid of DFB.

For goodness sakes, you should really get over the Nomar love. He is an absolute BUTCHER in the field, I mean, I don't know when I've seen a worse defensive player. Add in his fragility, and why do you even want to go down that path? Put me down for Furcal and Cedeno.

Hahaha, what a picture-perfect ending for this sad sack team. 2003 was a long LONG time ago. Back to mid-90s mediocrity, just like that.

I remember when Mark Prior was actually a great pitcher, the most exciting pitching prospect to hit the big leagues since Dwight Gooden. Could that really have been just three short years ago? Very disappointing. Prior and Wood == busts.

Cabrera, Hafner, Oswalt, Wright, Mark Teixeira, Chad Cordero, Jason Bay, Jake Peavy are all criminally ignored by the Red Sox/Yankees media elite.

1. Baker 2. Baker 3. Baker 4. Baker 5. did I mention Baker?

No one has talked about Jerry Hairston Jr. He's under the Cubs' control for 2006, do they keep him? Personally, I like JHJ as a "super-sub" for 2B and the OF. I certainly prefer him to Neifi for the bench. For those wanting backup in case Cedeno fails, I think JHJ is perfectly fine for that job. Between JHJ, Fontenot and Theriot, you'd have all the infield positions two-deep at a minimum, except for 1B. So whatever reserve OF you go with for the bench needs to be able to play some 1B on occasion, someone like Orlando Palmeiro or John Mabry as examples.

1. Don't bring back Nomar, Perez or Macias. 2. Trade Walker. 3. Give one of the middle infield spots to Cedeno, the other to whichever of Atlanta's two middle infielders you can get: Giles via trade, or Furcal via free agency. 4. Fontenot and Theriot would be my reserve/utility infielders.

WAIT TIL NEXT YEAR!! AGAIN!!!!!!!!!! Wheeee...............I love being a Cub fan. See you for the winter hot stove talk, folks. Time for a break from the bums for a couple months til then. What an ugly year.

Patterson has been fairly good for a CF in the past?? LOL!!! He's had one fluke six week stretch of good baseball in a 5-year career. The opposite holds true for Pierre because already in his career--he came up to the big leagues the same time as Patterson! (2000)--he has three times put more than 200 hits up in a year, three times put an OBP of 360 or better on the board out of the leadoff spot, and EVERY year (including this one) put 45 or more SBs on the board. He had an off year. The evidence suggests he's capable of much more, unlike Patterson.

Santo posted better offensive numbers than Madlock in an era that was tougher to hit in. Santo walked. Madlock didn't. Santo hit for power. Madlock didn't. Santo was a gold glove defender. Madlock was not. It used to really, really piss me off when the media would reflectively state that the "Cubs haven't had a legitimate 3B since Ron Santo" Bill Madlock was a pretty darn good one. And, to a lesser extent, Ron Cey was decent for a couple years. That said, Bill Madlock can't sniff Ron Santo's jock. Madlock didn't walk? 40-50 BBs not huge, true, but he compensated by being one of the toughest guys to strike out in his era. In his three Cub years, Maddog struck out just 39, 34 and 27 times. OBP? 374, 402, 412. And while he was no huge home run hitter, Madlock finished in the Top 10 three times in his career in SLG, that's not too bad for a line drive hitter. And he could steal some bases. And his defense was not a liability, though he was not as good as Santo, granted. For his overall game, I still take Madlock at his peak over Santo, but it's not like I'm dissing Ronnie, I did rank him #2 after all.

If you're going to get rid of Nomar, make it Cedeno/Walker. Walker can lead off, and we wont overpay for a leadoff hitter like we would with Furcal. Walker is another bad defense guy with no speed. No thanks. We can easily afford Furcal, and he adds a very needed dimension to this team, just as Juan Pierre or Kenny Lofton will in CF. And it's not like we can't afford Furcal with over $40MM to spend. Considering Cabrera got 8x4 and Renteria got 10x4, I think 9x4 should be just about right for Furcal, and I'd pay it. Shoot, we paid Nomar + Walker $10.75MM in 2005. Considering Cedeno will make the minimum, anything at 10/year or below for Furcal and you're actually saving money. Also note--Patterson got $3MM for 2005. That money pays for Kenny Lofton in all likelihood. A modest $3MM more gets Juan Pierre. So just for the sake of argument: For a net $3MM payroll increase, you go from Patterson, Nomar and Walker to Pierre, Furcal and Cedeno. Or for no net change in payroll, substitute Lofton for Pierre. Are you kidding me? I do that so fast it makes your head spin. OBP, defense, speed please. And yes, I know Pierre's defense is sub-par, but his leadoff abilities compensate.

I don't want Nomar back. What's so special about his 267 BA, 309 OBP, and 739 OPS?? Not to mention his atrocious defense, his age, and his fragility. I'll take a pass. Give me a Furcal/Cedeno middle infield next year, thanks.

Murton, Lofton or Pierre, Wilkerson would look pretty nice, too. And a lot cheaper, leaving tons of $$ for the likes of Furcal, Ryan and Burnett.

Greatest Hitters? 1. Splendid Splinter 2. Cobb 3. Babe 4. Barroid 5. Gehrig Honorable mention--Speaker, Hornsby, Musial, Lajoie and Gwynn

Over an extended period of time, you have to go with Santo #1. If the filter though is just the best 3B with the Cubs regardless of tenure, then Madlock is my #1. He was my favorite Cub as a youngster, it STILL kills me the skinflint Wrigleys let him go. Gee, all he did was win two consecutive batting titles, yeah, let's trade him for Bobby Murcer. :roll: 1. Madlock 2. Santo 3. Ramirez 4. Hack 5. Harry Steinfeldt (from the championship teams) That would be my list.

1-Juan Pierre or Kenny Lofton, CF 2-Rafael Furcal, SS 3-Brian Giles, RF 4-Derrick Lee, 1B 5-Aramis Ramirez, 3B 6-Matt Murton, LF 7-Michael Barrett, C 8-Ronny Cedeno, 2B That's a World Series-caliber daily lineup there, with OBP, speed and defense. Shoot, 6 of the 8 starters could easily steal over 20 bases. The incremental cost would be maybe, MAYBE $20MM. We already have 4 through 8 at roughly $24MM. If you offer Furcal 9MM (Cabrera got 8, Renteria got 10), Giles 11MM (Drew money), Lofton 3MM (cheap option) or Pierre 5MM--you've got your everday lineup set at just under $50MM. The bench guys are cheap. Most of the bullpen guys are cheap. Wood + Prior + Z + Maddux = roughly 29MM. So you'd still have at least $15MM to re-sign Dempster and sign one stud FA reliever like BJ Ryan.