Outshined_One

Actually...this is starting to make me want no part of Crawford. IsoD Patterson: .041 Crawford: .031 BB/PA Patterson: .048 Crawford: .043 AB/HR Patterson: 31.1 Crawford: 65.4 #P/PA Patterson: 3.41 Crawford: 3.37 Pass on Crawford. While I think Crawford would be a bit of an upgrade over Patterson due to various issues with Patterson and the fans as well as Patteron's strikeouts, I'm not seeing significant evidence here that indicates the Cubs should give up the talent needed to acquire Crawford.

Ah, let's use career stats for some of the more indepth stats... #P/PA Crawford: 3.37 Pierre: 3.42 G/F Crawford: 1.58 Pierre: 2.67 SB% Crawford: 82% Pierre: 74% BB/PA Crawford: .043 Pierre: .061 Um...is it me or would the Cubs be replacing Corey Patterson with a slightly more patient Corey Patterson with less power if they got Crawford?

Crawford vs. Pierre (Per ESPN) over the past three years... ABs Crawford: 1900 Pierre: 2002 AVG Crawford: .293 Pierre: .303 OBP Crawford: .324 Pierre: .354 SLG Crawford: .427 Pierre: .378 OPS Crawford: .751 Pierre: .732 K Crawford: 267 Pierre: 115 BB Crawford: 88 Pierre: 141 HR Crawford: 31 Pierre: 6 SB Crawford: 160 Pierre: 167 CS Crawford: 33 Pierre: 61 This could use some more tweaking...

Nope, it wasn't a bad dream I had last night when I first read about the signing. :(

What irks me the most is that we all know what's going to happen next. The Cubs will set up a situation where Neifi and Cedeno will compete for a position (either SS or 2B, depending on Furcal and Walker). Cedeno will look a bit shaky in Spring Training, causing Dusty to "platoon" him, saying that he and Neifi will split SS duties, with Cedeno facing lefties and Neifi facing righties. Of course, early in the season, Neifi will go on a tear, causing Baker to play the hot hand and using Cedeno sparingly off the bench. However, when Neifi regresses to the norm (again), Baker will either (A) state that Neifi needs to ride out his slump with more reps or (B) start Cedeno regularly for about two weeks, but since Cedeno will have had few ABs and is still a rookie that needs to get into a groove, he will be inconsistent at the plate or on the field and will promptly be benched for most of the rest of the season, then traded for some useless bench player for pennies on the dollar. Seriously Hendry might as well ship Cedeno out while he has value now. With Baker and Neifi prominently involved, I do not see any realistic way he can win the starting SS or 2B job unless he comes in like Murton and hits the holy crap out of the ball. Cedeno's confidence will be shot, he won't get regular playing time, and will basically regress. Then everyone can point at his failure as another example of the Cubs' inability to develop a position player. Most of the people in this group will then advocate trading the minor league hitting sensation du jour (I'm going to guess Felix Pie) since he will never, ever, ever, ever amount to anything since he's a Cubs positional prospect. The more I think about it, the angrier I get.

My avatar is what I wish would happen to Neifi. Pikachu needs to lay the smackdown on him, imo. As for my sig, its hilarity will cheer me up somewhat in this dark time. :(

Only one image can adequately sum up everyone's feelings. http://img466.imageshack.us/img466/3020/spideyscreamnoooooo2ba6bk9bv.gif

Welcome aboard!

He's had well-documented problems with Jeff Kent in LA. Now, whether you think that falls on Bradley or Kent is another matter altogether...

In the hands of a competent manager, Neifi is a decent bench guy to have around. He's always had solid defense. When he has been used in a limited capacity, his bat is also decent (I read that on Desipio, but I can't remember which article). However, we know what Dusty likes to do with Neifi. I want Hendry to Dusty-proof this team, so that means I don't want Neifi anywhere near this team next season.

Thome would come cheaper than Overbay in terms of what the White Sox would have to give up. The Sox have managed to get a good amount of playoff revenue to play around with in this offseason, so they potentially could afford to add Thome's salary. Thome is problematic. He turns 36 some time next season and is well past his prime. He's had some injury problems that are troubling. When he's healthy, he's one of the best sluggers in baseball. I don't see the White Sox trading Chris Young, as much as the Philles would likely covet him. The Phillies need young pitching with some experience, so McCarthy fits the bill pretty well. The White Sox also have some intriguing pitching prospects (Liotta, Gonzalez, Tracey) who could make an attractive package. Interestingly, while looking up Thome, I found a news story from the Minneapolis Star Tribune that had a Thome to the Twins rumor floating around. Hmmmmmmmmmmm...

This Felix Hernandez kid must be the second coming. I knew he was highly touted, but I recall Baseball American saying they would take Felix or Prior for the career, this is the same site that said Prior would definitely win a Cy Young or two this decade. Based on what I've seen of him, the Doc Gooden comparisons are legit. If he can stay healthy throughout his career...wow.

If this is true... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Yet somehow they managed to be one of the hottest teams in baseball in the second half and managed to knock the Yankees around on a regular basis. What an odd team. Other than Huff, who do they end up trading?

The Rays boy wonder Andrew Freidman was discussing a 6-year deal with Baldelli before it was put on the back-burner until the GM/Manager searches were complete. I wouldn't be surprised if he signs a long-term deal in Tampa this winter. Let's see. In TB's outfield, the potential guys who could be seeing action there next season includes: Delmon Young (depending on what ownership decides) Jonny Gomes Joey Gathright Rocco Baldelli Aubrey Huff Carl Crawford Interesting. Combine that with the talk that they might move BJ Upton into the OF and the fact that Elijah Dukes could do well enough in AAA to merit a callup at some point next season, they have a decidedly bizarre (yet enviable) OF situation.

I call Billingsley!

I saw this trade on another board referred to as "Typical Kevin Towers dumpster diving." Needless to say, now we know what to say when Jim Hendry's "lemons" turn out to be rotten. :D

DKWG, as much as I enjoy battling with ya, that post was directed more towards the sentiment I've seen in this thread and elsewhere around NSBB. Also, I am legitimately giddy about next season thanks to Pawly and Veal.

Glad to see the faith everyone has in this organization to develop players. As we have seen in the past, guys like Carlos Zambrano and Mark Prior are nothing but complete and utter failures. How many Top 100 prospects do the Cubs have in their system now? Off the top of my head... No Questions Felix Pie -Typically ranked in the Top 25 in most Top 100 lists. Mark Pawelek -Still has only scratched the surface, but is incredibly mature and developed for his age. I'd say Top 50. Few Questions Angel Guzman -Yeah, yeah, we all know about his injuries by now. His ceiling still remains one of the best among young pitchers in baseball. Top 75 seems apt, given his ceiling. Sean Marshall -Kinda strange not hearing anyone batting his name around again. He's easily forgotten for whatever reason, but he's produced quite well everywhere he's gone. Top 75, imo. Rich Hill -If you don't want to count him as a prospect any more, that's fine. But the fact remains that he pretty much blew away all minor league competition and has one of the best curveballs in all of baseball. He was not given much of a chance in the majors, but if he hones his change he could end up a good #2. Top 75. Matt Murton -Again, you might not count him as a prospect any more, but you can't deny that he's incredibly advanced at the plate and could become a very good everyday LF. Top 75. Could Be In, Could Be Out Donald Veal -Shhhhhhhhhhhhh... He's my sleeper for next season's breakout pitcher. He could crack the Top 100 on some lists based on his performance down in Boise. Ryan Harvey -Didn't have the breakout Brian Dopirak-like year everyone expected of him, but still put up solid numbers to go with jaw-dropping power. He still is a five tool guy last I checked and is still young enough to improve on his game in big ways. Ricky Nolasco -You want production? Check out his numbers the past 2 years down in the Southern League. He might not be an impact guy, but he's a solid workhorse with great control. If he can finally settle into AAA and produce like he has down in AA, he'll have a very nice future. Renyel Pinto -See: Ricky Nolasco, only replace "great control" with "great stuff he has yet to fully harness". Scott Moore -He displayed all of the five tools a third baseman needs prominently...except for defense. Apparently he can iron out these issues with time, but we'll see about that one. So, what does the above list signify? Well, the Cubs may not have the combination of depth and impact talent that teams like Anaheim and Los Angeles have nor might they have the sheer number of high quality impact young players that teams like Milwaukee and Seattle have, but the Cubs do have solid depth with some guys who could have good futures in baseball. Yeah, it hurts that guys like Pie, Marshall, and Guzman all battled injuries, but to reject these guys outright by saying the Cubs should just trade them all away because they'll never amount to anything? That's just pure lunacy.

BA wasn't very specific on this, but both Billek and Holliman are already pretty much fully developed from a physical standpoint. They were collegiate pitchers, so their age is already somewhat advanced. Also, as T2E mentioned in his excellent analyses of the Cubs' draft picks, both of them project to be in middle relief. The Cubs won't surprise anyone if they fast track those two.

If you can improve the team, you make the trade. Now, I remember Tim being a fan of the idea of trading Zambrano for Abreu (was it a year ago or two years?), but something tells me he might be backing off of that sentiment at the moment. Let's face it, Zambrano is arguably either #2 or #3 on the list of most talented young pitchers in baseball (behind Felix Hernandez and/or Mark Prior, depending on your perspective). He's a workhorse. He has an arsenal of devastating pitches. He's an extreme groundball pitcher. He's insane. He's one of the best hitting pitchers in baseball this side of Mike Hampton; and a switch-hitter with power from both sides of the plate at that. He has a history of success. The only thing holding him back in most people's eyes is how healthy he'll be down the line. In other words, he is quite possibly one of the most coveted players in baseball. He's a special player. The Cubs should do everything in their power to keep him on this team, imo. Would I trade him? There are incredibly few one for one deals in which I'd give thought to trading Zambrano. Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Vlad, Felix Hernandez, are in that group. Were Abreu a few years younger, he also would be in that group, imo. But right now? No. It would require one heck of a package to get a deal done with the Phillies. Abreu, Utley, Myers, and some prospects would be a good starting point, imo.

I'd be all for a trade that would benefit this team in any way, even if it involved Derrek Lee. As much as people love being pessimistic on this board, the NL was quite weak this past season. Heck, if the Cubs had a competent manager, they could have actually nabbed the Wild Card slot. No one's doubting that this team has plenty of talent and potential. Even if Wood goes down again, Prior and Zambrano are two of the best young pitchers in baseball today. The Cubs have a lineup that is potent and could do damage. But, trading Lee away would immediately remove one of the most important pieces of that lineup. What's more, while Lee is a very good offensive threat, he is also an excellent defensive first baseman who makes our middle infielders look waaaaaaaaaay better than they already are. We can find plenty of guys out there who are good offensive threats at 1B (and have one in our system in Brandon Sing), but who can do both? That's a bit harder to find. So, I'd only advocate trading Lee if we got a true impact bat out of the deal. We're talking an elite-level hitter who could put the Cubs over the top. Otherwise, I would not do it.

If he ever made the Houston or St. Louis rotation, I wouldn't complain...

In all fairness, if Carlos had made that behind the back between the legs toss to DLee for the out, I don't see any way Z wouldn't have won this award. That particular play would have been on highlight reels for decades to come, imo.

I was unaware Paul Sullivan lives in Sugarland.