Outshined_One

Harvard Law, Kellogg MBA, worked for a sports agency for a few years prior to joining the White Sox. Fantastic reputation as a negotiator. Basically, he's the kind of guy who seems like he won't overbid or overpay for a player. He has a really strong grasp on the business side of baseball, which I agree would suit him for Kenney's job, but considering he also has training as far as asset valuation, risk assessment, and structuring complicated transactions go, he has more than enough training and experience take on a GM role. Supposedly he also is a believer in advanced sabremetrics. Evaluating Hahn based on the White Sox notoriously thin farm system is not something I'd really recommend. The White Sox have spent the least on draft bonuses of any team in MLB over the past five years (I linked an article in this thread a few pages back) and they've also clamped down significantly on their international signings ever since their bonus skimming scandal a few years back. Plus, even when KW gets prospects, he's been more likely to trade them than bring them up with the team. The knock on Hahn has been a lack of experience talent evaluation/scouting. However, if he's brought on board as GM, I have no doubt he'd bring in people who could fill that void.

So, do you consider Paul Sullivan a complete buffoon as well? He also had some negative comments on Kenney. Is this real life? Is this just fantasy?

Detroit has a bunch of pitchers who've fit that bill over the years. They have done an incredibly awful job of rushing their top pitching prospect (Porcello, Miller, Oliver, and Turner all come immediately to mind) to the point that it's clearly been a detriment to those guys. If the Cubs can somehow trade Zambrano for someone like Porcello, I'll proclaim our new GM a miracle worker.

I'll just copy what I posted. Prior to the draft, there were a number of scouts who praised Vitters for his eye at the plate and plate discipline. Even after he was drafted, there was a lot of discussion about how Vitters did a fantastic job of laying off pitches outside of his zone and that the walks would come naturally. Unfortunately, be it because of the Cubs’ aggressive hitting philosophy or because of Vitters’ own approach, the walks have not materialized yet. Vitters has done a very good job of not striking out, but a sizeable chunk of his on base ability has actually come from HBPs. He has 7 so far on the year. In reality, Vitters did not have plus plate discipline or a great eye at the plate. What he had and continues to have is excellent plate coverage. Vitters has such a quick bat that he can make contact with pretty much any pitch thrown his way. Unfortunately, because he is so aggressive, that means he will often chase after pitches that hitters with good plate discipline would know not to chase. Thanks to his plate coverage, instead of whiffing on pitchers’ pitches, he either fouls them off or makes weak contact for an easy out. I think that’s been a large part of his struggles and part of the reason why his power hasn’t been as evident as it should be. Rather than wait for his pitch, he instead makes contact with bad pitches. In fairness to Vitters, I don’t necessarily think his plate coverage is a fatal flaw. Starlin Castro has had tremendous success this season in large part because of his otherworldly plate coverage ability, despite a lack of walks. Castro and Vitters are different players, but it goes to show that this ability can be a tool at the major league level. Given how many hitters have gone through the Cubs’ system with low walk numbers, Vitters’ lack of plate discipline is a problem that may not necessarily lie with Vitters. If the Cubs clean house in the front office (namely Oneri Fleita) and bring in better hitting coaches who advocate better approaches than the current crop, I think Vitters could really shine.

I love the fact that Crane Kenney is getting blamed for Soriano's bloated contract. He wasn't even Team President then; that sucker was on Sam Zell and John McDonough.

I don't think it's a stretch to say we have the absolute worst media of anywhere in the country. Gordon Wittenmeyer gets in on the fun. Link Seriously, this Hendry apologist crap needs to stop.

Box Scores Iowa lost 4-0 Box Score CF B. Jackson 0/4, 2 K LF L. Montanez 1/4, 2B (19), Assist (Home) RF B. Snyder 0/4, K C W. Castillo 0/2, BB SS DJ LeMahieu 0/3 1B M. Spencer 0/2, BB, K 3B M. Smith 0/3, K 2B R. Flaherty 0/3, K PH M. Gonzalez 0/0, BB PH S. Moore 0/1 SP J. Jackson 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, WP, 6-2 GO-FO RP J. Berg 1+ IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, WP, HBP, 2-1 GO-FO RP HW Chen 1 perfect, 2 K RP R. Coello 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 1-0 GO-FO Tennessee lost 3-2 in the 11th Box Score CF JH Ha 2/5, R, K, SB (5) 3B J. Vitters 1/5, K 1B R. Ridling 1/4, BB, RBI SS J. Lake 2/4, R, 2B (8), E (17, fielding) RF N. Perez 1/4, K 2B N. Samson 0/1 SP B. Raley 6.1 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, WP, 7-7 GO-FO RP M. Hatley .2 perfect, 1-0 GO-FO RP R. Dolis 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 5-1 GO-FO RP M. Carrillo 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, HR, HBP, 0-2 GO-FO Daytona lost 7-5 Box Score CF M. Szczur 2/5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 HR (4) 2B L. Watkins 1/5, 2 K LF G. Rohan 3/5, R, 2B (8) 1B J. Bour 0/4, BB, K DH M. Cerda 2/4, RBI RF A. Abreu 1/4 SS E. Soto 1/2, R, HBP C C. Noble 0/3, RBI, K PH E. Crawford 0/1 SP J. Antigua 6 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, HR, 7-5 GO-FO RP A. Kurcz 1.1 IP, 0 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, HBP, 2-1 GO-FO RP F. Batista 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2-2 GO-FO Peoria lost 6-2 Box Score CF T. Easterling 2/4, PO (2B) 2B R. Silva 0/3, RBI 1B R. Jones 1/4, RBI, K 3B D. Geiger 0/3, HBP C S. Burruel 0/3, BB, K, E (4, throw) LF J. Andreoli 1/4, R, K DH B. Klafczynski 1/3, BB SP A. Kirk 4.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, HR, 3 WP, 6-3 GO-FO RP R. Garcia 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 1-2 GO-FO RP R. Pichardo 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 1-0 GO-FO Boise lost 4-1 Box Score 2B Z. DeVoss 0/4, K LF PC Chen 1/3, BB, R 3B W. Contreras 1/3, E (21, fielding) 1B R. Cuneo 1/4, RBI, K, E (2, fielding) RF R. Golden 0/4, K C Y. Cabezas 0/3 SS W. Darvill 3/3, 3 2B (10), E (12, fielding) CF O. Zapata 0/3, K SP A. Reed 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, HR, 2 WP, HBP, 10-3 GO-FO RP C. Richardson 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 HBP, 4-0 GO-FO RP SM Jung 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, WP, 1-1 GO-FO AZL Cubs lost 6-5 in the 11th Box Score CF KM Na 1/5, BB, R, SB (9) 2B P. LePage 2/3, RBI, CS (1), E (1, fielding) 2B M. Hernandez 0/2 1B R. Shoulders 1/4, 2B (1), K PR DY Kim 0/0, R C N. Rosario 1/4, RBI, K, HBP, PB (4) 3B G. Amaya 1/4, R, 3B (8), 3 E (15, fielding, throw x 2) RF G. Gonzalez 1/4, R, RBI, Assist (Home) SS G. Lockhart 1/5, K, SB (1, E (1, fielding) LF G. Schlecht 2/4, BB, RBI, K SP G. Hicks 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, HBP RP H. Simpson 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 2-0 GO-FO RP C. Greathouse 3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 5-1 GO-FO RP R. Hartman 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 3-1 GO-FO RP Y. Sanchez 3.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, WP, 5-3 GO-FO OVERALL: 0-6 :(

How in the hell do those articles indict Crane Kenney? Rogers basically paints a portrait of Kenney as this bogeyman hiding in the shadows who somehow has influence in the organization and handles "business". The closest he comes to specifically mentioning how Crane Kenney meddled in Jim Hendry's affairs was this: All he said is that Kenney's hands were all over the deal. He didn't say that Kenney ordered Hendry to bump the offer. He didn't say Kenney went over Hendry's head. Cripes, he didn't even mention John McDonough's and Sam Zell's involvement in the Soriano deal, which actually was very well substantiated. Rogers' article is a nebulous hatchet job. Cowley pulled the same crap: Who said these things? Couldn't Cowley at least pull some unnamed source out of his rear, rather than making these broad assertions about Kenney? I keep seeing these article painting Crane Kenney as some sort of meddling buffoon who was largely responsible for this team's failures. However, I haven't seen a single article that does any of the following two basic, simple things: 1) Provide instances with specific information about how Kenney meddled in the running of the Cubs. 2) Provide sources who claim that Kenney interfered in Jim Hendry's job. What in the hell did Crane Kenney do to piss these people off? Are these sportswriters simply incapable of admitting that Jim Hendry's failures as Cubs GM were due to Hendry's bad decisions? I just don't get the bile.

Oh man, that would be awesome just to hear what Kaplan/Stone/etc say I'd love to see who bashes Beane for writing Moneyball.

Imagine how productive he would be if he showed leadership and wasn't so lazy all the time.

I was all excited because Ryan Williams fell to me in my dynasty league's rookie draft a few days ago. Dammitsomuch.

Adding onto a previous point, here's a list of team total bonus expenditures in the MLB Draft from 2007-2011: Link The White Sox rank dead last by a large margin at a little over $18m. Of course their farm system sucks.

What exactly do you mean by "winning tradition"? The Rays have never won a WS and the Braves' last one was in 1995; at least the White Sox won back in 2005. Plus, the White Sox have only had two losing seasons since 2000. I'll grant you that they've only made three playoff appearances since 2000, but it seems kind of strange that you'd discount the White Sox like they haven't done anything of note recently. Also, regarding the White Sox farm system, the White Sox do not spend a whole lot on the draft or international signings. That really puts a damper on a team's ability to build a farm system. Plus, let's not forget Kenny Williams' propensity to trade prospects rather than building his teams from within.

I tried to read all of the thread and jubilation but had to stop at this post. Well said and a much better summary than any other blog or writer so far. Thanks. In fairness to Hendry, I also forgot to list 2007. That was a fun year.

Nobody said that. As far as trading for a franchise OF goes....Justin Upton >>>> Matt KemP. I'm not as big on Kemp as maybe I should be. I feel like he's a COF about to be paid like a CF. I know he was rumored to be available earlier in the year, but given his recent breakout, I have a difficult time seeing the Diamondbacks trading him. I'd love to have him, but I'm not sure how the Cubs could get him.

Also, to add to the discussion, I have a question for everyone here. Realistically speaking, which players in this system could you see as being a #1 prospect in this system down the road? Setting aside Brett Jackson (who seems to be the consensus #1), I came up with five players. 1) Matt Szczur 2) Javier Baez 3) Jeimer Candelario 4) Dillon Maples 5) Marco Hernandez I'm curious to see what everyone else thinks. To me, those five all seem to have the combination of polish, hype, and upside that would merit them being ranked as the #1 player in the Cubs' system down the line, should things proceed as hoped.

Let's see if I can make some sense of this system. Things are pretty damned murky at the moment. Here's my crack at a Top 20. 1) OF Brett Jackson - Still a believer, thinking the Ray Lankford comp is merited. B+ 2) OF Matt Szczur - Despite the recent struggles, I think he'll come around. B 3) IF Javier Baez - This seems about right. Excited to see what he can do. B 4) 3B Josh Vitters - Handling AA reasonably well, still has a good ceiling. B- 5) P Trey McNutt - Injuries hurt, needs a strong finish to the season. B- 6) OF Jae-Hoon Ha - Confusing player, but has an intriguing ceiling. B- 7) C Welington Castillo - I think he's a backup, but he keeps producing. C+ 8) P Dillon Maples - Iffy read on him, need to see some in-game results. C+ 9) OF Reggie Golden - Good debut, but Ks, average, and weight worrying. C+ 10) P Nick Struck - Not sure about the upside, but he could crack the 2012 rotation. C+ The rest I'll do without grades. 11) SS Marco Hernandez - Love love love what he's doing. Major breakout potential. 12) 1B Dan Vogelbach - Great pick, hope he stays in shape and can hit for average. 13) IF Ryan Flaherty - Higher on him than LeMahieu, has good power. 14) P Dallas Beeler - Recent reports have cooled me on him, but I'm still a fan. 15) P Robert Whitenack - Leery about TJS, hopeful for full recovery. 16) IF DJ LeMahieu - Not sold on him as more than a utility player, still useful. 17) P Dae-Eun Rhee - Fascinated with scouting reports. Iffy production a concern. 18) P Ben Wells - Usually doesn't make it through the 6th inning, but tools are there. 19) IF Gioskar Amaya - Intriguing toolset, wonder if he can develop power. 20) IF Jeimer Candelario - If he's legit, he could be #1 on this list in two years.

Honestly, I hope he ratchets up the douche factor, gets 10 World Series rings (with the Cubs), and shoves it in the faces of all those people.

That OF would not be good. I like Jackson's future, but I don't think the Cubs should count on him next season to put up better than a .750 OPS. Given his propensity to strike out, I get the feeling he'll need time to adjust to major league pitching and will go through plenty of growing pains next season. Byrd's a fine player, but he loses some value when moved to a corner spot. As for Colvin...egh. He's better than his current numbers indicate, but I don't think he'll ever hit enough and walk enough to merit being a full-time starter at a corner OF spot. As a left handed power hitter who can spot start in all three OF spots and come off the bench, he's fine. As a full-time starter in the OF, I have my doubts. If Soriano gets traded, this team will need to bring in a free agent or make a trade. Matt Kemp would be ideal. Andre Ethier would be good.

Rick Hahn would be a great choice, but I'm not sure it would be a great PR move to take a guy from the White Sox to turn around the Cubs. I think Ricketts will have a long list of excellent choices, so a connection to the crosstown rivals might hurt Hahn's chances. Ricketts would be a complete and total moron if he decided not to hire Hahn on the basis that Hahn works for the White Sox.

How much does it matter to have left-handed hitting and left-handed pitching for a team's success? Why? What should be a hitter's goal in an at bat?

Box Scores Iowa lost 11-10 Box Score CF B. Jackson 3/5, 2 R, 2B (9), 2 K, 2 assists (Home, 2B) SS M. Gonzalez 0/4, K RF/LF L. Montanez 0/2, 3 BB, R LF B. LaHair 1/4, R, 2 RBI, K 1B S. Moore 2/4, BB, 2 R, RBI, K, E (15, throw) 3B DJ LeMahieu 3/4, R, RBI 2B R. Flaherty 2/4, BB, R, RBI C C. Robinson 0/3, R, RBI, K PH M. Smith 0/1 PH/RF M. Spencer 1/2, R, 4 RBI, HR (1), K SP N. Struck 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, WP, Balk, HBP, 9-1 GO-FO RP C. Smith .2 IP, 4 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, HBP, 1-2 GO-FO RP HW Chen 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HR, 1-2 GO-FO RP J. Gaub 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1-0 GO-FO Tennessee won 7-4 in the 11th Box Score CF JH Ha 1/5 3B J. Vitters 0/4, BB, K 1B R. Ridling 3/4, BB, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 HR (19) SS J. Lake 1/3, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (6), HBP RF N. Perez 1/4, 2 K, CS (2) SP L. Suarez 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 3 WP, HBP, 10-1 GO-FO RP K. Rhoderick 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, WP, 1-1 GO-FO RP J. Stevens 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 3-1 GO-FO RP J. Beliveau 1 perfect, 2-0 GO-FO RP O. Martinez 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1-1 GO-FO Daytona lost 8-5 Box Score CF M. Szczur 1/5, K 2B L. Watkins 2/5, RBI, K, E (15, throw) LF E. Crawford 0/5, K 1B J. Bour 2/5, 2 R, RBI, HR (22), 2 K 3B M. Cerda 0/2, 2 BB, R RF M. Burgess 1/4, R, 2B (23), E (4, fielding) SS E. Soto 3/4, R PH G. Rohan 0/1 SP J. Lorick 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 2-2 GO-FO, E (7, throw) RP E. Figueroa 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 2-3 GO-FO RP B. Ebinger 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 3-1 GO-FO RP J. Serrano 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 3-2 GO-FO RP K. Smit 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1-1 GO-FO Peoria lost 6-2 Box Score CF T. Easterling 1/4 2B R. Silva 1/4, 2 K, E (10, fielding) 1B R. Jones 2/4, 2B (32), E (11, fielding) 3B D. Geiger 1/4, 2 R, RBI, HR (1), E (10, fielding) C M. Gibbs 1/4, RBI LF J. Andreoli 0/4 DH J. Morelli 1/3 SP B. Wallach 4.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, WP, 8-4 GO-FO RP R. Lopez 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, HR, 2-3 GO-FO RP Y. Gonzalez 1 perfect, 1-2 GO-FO Boise won 7-3 Box Score DH Z. DeVoss 0/1, 4 BB, K, SB (12), PO (2B) LF PC Chen 2/5, RBI, 2 2B (14) 3B W. Contreras 2/5, 3 R, RBI, HR (1), E (20, throw) 1B R. Cuneo 2/5, R, 3 RBI, 2B (4), HR (4), K RF R. Golden 0/4, BB, K, CS (2) SS W. Darvill 2/4, BB, R, 2B (7), K, E (11, fielding) 2B B. Zapenas 1/4, R, 2 RBI, HR (1) CF O. Zapata 1/4, R, 2B (3), 2 K SP J. Rosario 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, HR, WP, 10-2 GO-FO AZL Cubs won 7-3 Box Score LF KM Na 2/4, BB, R, K, 2 SB (8), PO (1B) SS G. Lockhart 2/5, 3 K 2B M. Hernandez 0/4, BB, R, K, CS (7) DH DY Kim 0/3, R, 2 K, HBP 3B G. Amaya 3/4, R, 3 RBI, 3B (7), SB (10) 1B R. Shoulders 0/3, BB, K C N. Rosario 2/4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B (5), HR (3), K RF G. Gonzalez 1/4, R, RBI, 2B (5), 2 K, SB (4) CF T. Martin 0/4, 2 K RP A. Paulino 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 1-2 GO-FO RP L. Villalba 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 2-2 GO-FO RP F. Pena 3.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 2 HR, 2 WP, 1-3 GO-FO RP Y. Negin 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 1-2 GO-FO RP A. McKirahan 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K DSL Cubs 1 Canceled DSL Cubs 2 won 10-6 Box Score CF J. Baez 2/5, 2 R, SB (32), CS (10), Assist (1B) SS C. Penalver 1/4, R, K, E (16, throw) 3B J. Candelario 0/3, BB, R, RBI, 2 K, E (17, fielding) 1B X. Batista 0/2, 2 BB RF D. Arcila 3/4, 2 R, RBI, K, SB (7) RP A. Mejias 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 4-0 GO-FO RP A. Colinas 1 perfect, 1 K, 1-0 GO-FO OVERALL: 4-3

I wonder if this was what the Ricketts announcement was going to be, or if there's still something in the offing.

Nightengale Bruce Miles also had an article about how Hendry likely would be retained. Whoops.

Agreed 100% with 1, 2, and 3. I'm 50/50 on #4. Wilken has been hampered in the past by budget constraints and this team has had a lot of issues with player development, so I'm willing to give him a bit of a pass on his drafts prior to this season. However, the number of high quality players that have come from his drafts has been noticeably lacking in this system. Off the top of my head, Brett Jackson is pretty much the highest rated and best-regarded prospect his drafts have produced so far. That's really not saying much in his favor. I feel like the Cubs could improve on Wilken. It'd be nice to keep him, but I wouldn't be sad to see him leave.