Jump to content
North Side Baseball

don_kessinger_was_good

Verified Member
  • Posts

    1,496
  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Profiles

Joomla Posts 1

Chicago Cubs Videos

Chicago Cubs Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

2026 Chicago Cubs Top Prospects Ranking

News

2023 Chicago Cubs Draft Picks

Guides & Resources

2024 Chicago Cubs Draft Picks

The Chicago Cubs Players Project

2025 Chicago Cubs Draft Pick Tracker

Blogs

Events

Forums

Store

Gallery

Everything posted by don_kessinger_was_good

  1. I would like to see data on the Glenallen Hill homer; Sosa's bomb off the camera box; and going way back, Dave Kingman's moon shot onto Kenmore Avenue.
  2. If Cedeno had never played in the big leagues and he was posting his AAA numbers that he's doing this year--he would have ENORMOUS trade value. Unfortunately, everyone knows what he's done at the big league level in his two stints with the Cubs, that tags him as a "4-A" player. Net result-->very little trade value. If he can get to the majors and have a strong run for two-three months, then things will change; he is still very young, and SS is a need position for half the teams in baseball. The best scenario is for the Cubs to leave Cedeno in Iowa all year, let him put a full season of good numbers on the board, then call him up in September and see if he can translate the success to some big league pitching. If so, he may become a valuable trading chip in the offseason. Or maybe the Cubs will even choose to stick with him.
  3. That's a good idea to start another thread on another series of trade what-if's, I'm sure it wouldn't have fit somewhere in the other 7 trade threads you've initiated on the first page of the forum. :roll:
  4. Ick. Brown has a .310 slugging percentage. Pop? Geezus, what the hell do you expect for Cesar Izturis? Brown is having a craptastic year. He also posted an 800 OPS the previous two years. He's a RH Jock Jones in that regard, but with the upside that he's (1) a better defender, (2) hits RH, (3) and can run the bases some. It would be a small incremental improvement, isn't that progress?
  5. Shields He's been hit VERY hard of late and lost four in a row. He has looked better overall than Kazmir though, I'll grant you that. His WHIP is outstanding to go with those K's. Fantasy players must love him.
  6. Here's a different one to chew on. Again, we're not talking all-stars here, but pieces that can potentially help. Emil Brown, KC, as the RH bat with some pop that Lou wants for his bench and to platoon with Floyd. In fact, I'll bet you could even get KC to take Izturis off our hands in exchange. Brown makes $5MM this year, Izzy makes $4MM. KC most certainly would not start Izturis; Tony Pena Jr. has done OK at SS and has a little upside; our old friend Mark Grudzielanek is due back soon at 2B. But they could use him as a reserve.
  7. Tampa is going nowhere, they are getting worse by the day. They have absolutely NO pitching other than Kazmir, and even he's not exactly lighting the world on fire. But they do have some bats...hard to see Crawford or Young going anywhere, but what about Gomes? He does play RF, he's been hurt, but he was a monster in 2005. And though he's struggled some this year, he has his OPS pushing .800.
  8. Vitters isn't exactly a budding scholar or future Nobelist. I think there is zero chance he opts to go to college.
  9. Considering how bad Floyd is defensively in right, dealing for Dunn might upgrade our defense. For someone that has such a man-crush on Dunn, you are either extremely myopic, or you just don't watch the ballgames. Dunn is the WORST defensive outfielder I've seen in a long time. A one-legged Cliff Floyd is still a superior defender to Dunn on his best day. And Dunn is a one-dimensional zero with declining peripherals. Total yuck. Now, you want to talk Junior, I'm on board with that idea. And I love the Marshall + Murton idea. But enough of the Adam Dunn lust, I want no part of him.
  10. They have zero use for Izturis, but Eyre could be interesting. I wonder if Eyre/Jones/prospect could get us Gagne/Lofton? That would interest me greatly. Why not just throw in Teixeira while you're at it? Sheez... Gagne has high value, but Lofton could be had. The problem? Once again, salary. Lofton is signed through next year, and supposedly the Cubs cannot take on any salary based on recent news. If you can't dump Jones for money that's already on the books, I don't see how the Cubs can ADD salary for money that is not. Besides, if we're going to go for a veteran CF, let's think big and go Junior, not Kenny. I think it would be very interesting to move Lee up in the order and have a 1-2-3-4 of Sori, Lee, Jr and Aramis, with Floyd and DeRosa right behind them. That's a LOT of lineup punch.
  11. Were salary considerations not the stumbling block given the pending sale of the Cubs--as it seems to be--the logical move would be to acquire Junior and put him in CF. He may not stay healthy, that is true, but if you're going to roll the dice, he would be the best move of players that are likely available. Pie just isn't ready for ML pitching, and Pagan is only useful as a reserve OF (he's fine in that role, but he is another guy that simply does not produce when used everyday). And of course, I have no desire to see Jock in CF. The question I have asked before, no one seems to know other than speculation--what kind of relationship, if any, does Junior have with Lou? I believe Lou and Griffey Sr. are good friends, but other than that.... Marshall + Murton for Junior?
  12. Dude, Lenny Harris saved us in 2003, dude. He comes to play, a real veteran asset. Dude.
  13. I do not bemoan the trade of Michael Barrett one whit. But after seeing a month of Bowen and Koyie Hill, we really need to find a catcher that can at least hit a LITTLE. These two couldn't hit their way out of a wet paper bag. It is really a shame that Geovanny Soto picked the absolute worst time for his sake to get hurt, because he would surely have gotten a shot here. Soto is at least as good defensively as Bowen (I realize that's not saying all THAT much), but he can certainly hit better. Maybe we could re-acquire Damien Miller from the Brewers (ducks)....
  14. I've seen Meche pitch in person three times now at the K this year, and he has been absolutely terrific. He never gets ruffled on the mound, always composed, and has very good stuff. Frankly, the surprise is not that he's been doing so well in KC, the surprise is why he couldn't do the same in Seattle. A very talented pitcher.
  15. This year's FA signings were terrific other than the $$ given to some of these guys, but that's the market, I guess. The one exception is that the extension for Henry Blanco was ill-advised, and now the Cubs are stuck with that contract. Going more than one year for a 35 yo backup catcher-->not smart.
  16. Because the pitching in AAA absolutely SUCKS. Seems like most teams anymore put their best pitching prospects in AA, and when they're ready, promote them straight to the bigs. Not an absolute rule, of course, but it's happening much more frequently than in the past. The net effect is that the quality of AAA pitching is significantly diluted. Look at the Cubs recent young pitching promotions as one example. For all practical purposes, Sean Marshall, Carlos Marmol, and Billy Petrick made the jump straight from AA. Only Rich Hill and Mike Wuertz saw significant AAA time in the minors. And look at the Cubs minor league rosters right now. Until Sean Gallagher's recent cup of coffee in Chicago, for which he earned a roundabout promotion from Knoxville to Des Moines, the Iowa staff "featured" the likes of Les Walrond, John Webb, Ryan O'Malley, JR Mathes and Ben Howard; yikes. Meanwhile, AA has had Sean Gallagher, Donnie Veal, Billy Petrick and Mark Holliman, amongst others.
  17. My thoughts exactly. Trading for a half-year of Gagne seems redundant with Wood on the roster. Right, because Wood is giving the Cubs so many IP right now.... :roll: I don't think the Cubs need Gagne though; a hitting catcher and a RH outfielder with power (i.e., not Matt Murton) are the most pressing needs. I wouldn't mind a reserve IF that can hit, too. I can live with one of Theriot or Izturis for the bench, but not both.
  18. If you DFA a guy, you then have 10 days to actually trade him. Given the importance of this 10 game stretch leading in to the ASB, I think Hendry needs to DFA Jock tonight to free up that bullpen spot. Having enough relievers for Lou to be able to win games is much more important than either (a) Hendry saving face, or (b) trying to be "nice" to Jock Jones. Jones has already seen that no team in baseball will pay more than the ML minimum for his services, so he cannot be insulted any further. If the move was made, I think you bring up Rocky Cherry. Not that he warrants the promotion given his lousy work in Iowa, but the alternative is Rapada, who should only be used against lefties (Clay is a true LOOGY). Lou needs someone that could pitch 2 innings if need be, and that person is Cherry more than Rapada. [Aside: Gallagher cannot be recalled so soon, beyond the fact he never should have been brought up in the first place. Unless I am forgetting someone, there are no other pitchers in the minors currently on the 40-man.]
  19. I'm late to this, but I'll play, having not looked at any of the other lists besides those that appeared on this last page: 1. Jose Reyes 2. Johan Santana 3. Jake Peavy 4. Alex Rodriguez 5. Albert Pujols Almost: Justin Verlander, Justin Morneau.
  20. Related to the SS question: I am pretty sure Fontenot has played some SS in Iowa. DeRosa would indeed seem to be the more logical choice, given his big league (and minors) experience at the position, but I think Fontenot is a possibility, as well. Frankly, after watching both of them the last few weeks, I don't care WHICH combination they choose, so long as a Fontenot/DeRosa DP combo is the outcome. I love their bats, their style of play, and.....(wait for it)....grittiness.
  21. Holy cow, $6.6MM?? That's paying ALL of Jones' salary thru next year above the ML minimum. Cripes, as bad as Jock is, he's worth more than the minimum for crying out loud. Hendry can do better than this.
  22. Considering in recent years, teams playing right at .500 ball on LABOR DAY are right there in the wild card, I'd say the Cubs are certainly competitive if they improve their play just a little bit. If they can get to .500 at the ASB, then they'll be setup for a second half run just fine. Of course, they need to execute to make that happen, but it is very doable.
  23. Since Cedeno seems to be so very 4A, I think the wisest strategy for the Cubs would be to trade him--right now, when his value is as high as it is likely to get. Some team will overpay for his AAA numbers. Of course, we know Hendry has no appreciation for the concept of sell high, so it'll never happen.
×
×
  • Create New...