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TheDude

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  1. TheDude
    Ditto. The lack of news on this makes me really nervous. It's likely the Matsuzaka saga is delaying the Ramirez signing, if any. That's another big money investment. Naturally fans want both guys, but I'm sure Hendry wants to see who won the bid before commiting money anywhere. I've also read that serious talks won't take place until next week, when the organizational meetings take place. That's ridiculous. If Hendry can't multitask (which he's shown no ability to do in the past) he shouldn't be a GM. There's payroll enough to retain Ramirez at market value and sign other players, so one shouldn't have anything to do with the other. Also, if Hendry is stupid enough to let ARam get to the open market because he wants to wait til organizational meetings, he's going to get himself fired, because we will not win a bidding war with Anaheim or LA. Once again, you put the whole ordeal on Hendry. There is little doubt in my mind Hendry is working both situations. You'd be a fool to think otherwise. Ramirez wants to test the free agent market. That's why he demanded an out clause in the first place, and that's why he excersied it. This situation is not going to be resolved by saturday - and that's on Ramirez, not Hendry.
  2. TheDude
    Organizational meetings are going on right now. If the deal doesn't happen by Saturday, Ramirez is free to negotiate with other teams AND a resigning counts against the Cubs' quota of A/B signings. If ARAM isn't signed by Saturday night, there's little chance he will be signed IMO. If organizational meetings are going on now, then I meant the GMs meeting in Naples. I don't think anybody really anticipated the Cubs signing ramirez within the exclusive window. The guy opted out for a reason - he wants to hear offers. Ramirez's agent even had a comment about this dragging on to the winter meetings in the Sun-Times today.
  3. TheDude
    Ditto. The lack of news on this makes me really nervous. It's likely the Matsuzaka saga is delaying the Ramirez signing, if any. That's another big money investment. Naturally fans want both guys, but I'm sure Hendry wants to see who won the bid before commiting money anywhere. I've also read that serious talks won't take place until next week, when the organizational meetings take place.
  4. TheDude
    This thread grows faster than I can keep up with, but in case it hasn't been thrown out there, Buster Olney has a nice summary of the process, even touching on the high bid and trade option. link
  5. TheDude
    I like the move for Cleveland. I was really hoping they put in a better show last year. They have so much young talent, I can't help but root for a team that put it all together the right way.
  6. TheDude
    Ryan Howard hit a broken bat homerun to dead center field last year. I can't remember where though, but it was double-take worthy.
  7. TheDude
    I should have also noted he is a left-handed pitcher. Ishii wasn't terrible his first two seasons. he was slightly better-than-average with a walks and pitch count issue that spiraled out of control the last two years. Igawa's Japanese numbers indicate better control than Ishii, with an average of 55 walks per year for the last five years (remembering around 200 IP per year).
  8. TheDude
    I don't see that as much of a relevant career decision for a single guy with no kids. Zito will likely follow the money and his numbers also likely look better in the National League.
  9. TheDude
    I don't know a much about him, but I know he is not a power pitcher. He relies on changing speeds a lot and moving around the strike zone. He has a career era of 3.15 in 7+ seasons and has averaged right around 28 starts and 200 innings for 5 straight years. I don't know how well strike out totals translate, but he threatens 200 Ks each year, and crossed it a few times, which means his career K/innings ratio is just under 1 in Japan. I did find it interesting that 2001-2003 were stellar years for him, but 2004-2005 were off-years. 2006 saw a return to those earlier numbers.
  10. TheDude
    Hendry doesn't like long term deals. Moreno probably wouldn't blink at throwing a 7 or 8 year deal at him. I believe the no longterm deals order came from MacPhail, who as president, would have the team's longterm interest at heart more than a GM. It also primarily applied to pitchers, not hitters, due to the higher risk of injury.
  11. TheDude
    Wouldn't this be true for any of the names discussed? I think the idea would be fishing for a back-of-the-rotation starter at a cheaper price that might surprise and be better than expected.
  12. TheDude
    Lots of Japanese players have been discussed over the last two weeks. Thought I would throw out one more. link Igawa has not yet been posted. But he is a fairly young guy (27) and appears to be viewed as a cheaper fall-back option to Matsuzaka.
  13. TheDude
    I think this is a very good move. Piniella knows this guy, trusts him, and he brings the right philosophy to the table. This is the kind of the hitting coach that might turn around Ronny Cedeno, if Cedeno gets a bench spot this year, or has to start due to injury. He's also the type of guy Murton should thrive under.
  14. TheDude
    Yes you do need stellar pitching to win it all. The Cardinals were the exception, beneficiaries of a Tigers defense that collapsed. But to your point, if it costs 80 million for 5 years of Matsuzaka, that's seems like an extreme gamble.
  15. TheDude
    according to Buster Olney's blog, Schmidt isn't committed to Seattle: Fingers-crossed still.
  16. TheDude
    My thoughts exactly. That was option ZZZ.
  17. TheDude
    How in the world does this make Hendry look stupid? The scouting is relevant either way. Lots of players overseas weigh this decision heavily, as it completely turn their lives upside down. It is a shame the player won't come over viw FA, but I don't see how that's Hendry's fault.
  18. TheDude
    That's actually pretty much the definition of reactive, not pro-active. Reactive looks at what was bad last year and then tries to fix it. Proactive has a bunch of internal options lined up to fill holes before they become holes, that way you don't have to spend big on middle relief. Pro-active goes out and acquires a stud before he becomes a stud, or signs a player that fills a need that will come up soon, as opposed to one you've been having for years. Reactive is seeing your team lose a game because of the bullpen then going out and signing middle relievers. So I guess Hendry gets big credit for Lee, Ramirez, and Barret, per the bolded part of your quote? Those were also elements of my original post on the matter. The middle relivers text was sniped from that original post. Here's the bottom line - I didn't introduce the use of 'pro-active' or 'forward-thinking' into the discussion. The claim was that Hendry isn't either of these terms with specific regards to Japanese players, and I want to know why folks think this way.
  19. TheDude
    Based on what? His history of signing mediocre players. Name me the last signing of Hendry where you said "Wow, that was proactive. Hendry was really a step ahead of everyone else with this one." That is exceptionally selective memory on your part. Every year Hendry has made a proactive attempt to fix the bullpen through FA, with names like Hawkins, Howry, and Eyre. All three were solid, proactive signings to fix an annually ragged bullpen. Alfonseca wasn't the best acquisition, but at the time (without the value of hindsight), he was expected to be solid. that's not forward-thinking at all. that's looking at the list of available FA middle relievers, picking the one with the best era the previous year, and then throwing a bunch of money at him. that's the definition of playing it safe...there's no advanced philosophy at work there. Thanks for quoting only half my post and omitting all the other examples, that's a fine way to present a case. The question posed was to list acquisitions that made you think the GM was proactive, and I answered it. The Cubs bullpen was a major issue in 2005 and the GM went out and addressed it immediately the next year. That is pro-active in my book - identify the problem and waste no time addressing it. The challenge before that was to suggest signing/posting a Japanese player was too forward-thinking for the GM. I answered that as well, and my answer went completely ignored, probably because there isn't a valid counter argument that will stand up to scrutiny. Folks can continue to pick one example out of the context of the enire issue if they want to, but it does nothing to answer the original question and my original response - why is signing a Japanese player too forward-thinking for the current GM?
  20. TheDude
    Ok, I'll play along. Insert Roberto Novoa. Yep, no drop off there. I guess the Cubs should just trot out a bullpen full of Novoas so that Zambrano can leave every game in the 7th inning with a 2-run lead and lose. Now that's forward-thinking!
  21. TheDude
    Besides, signing relievers is not proactive. It's going straight to the used car lot while everybody else is looking for new models. It's not much of an accomplishment to come away with the premier middle relievers on the market. Middle relievers don't win you baseball games. They help you not lose them. But the Cubs have had lineup and rotation weakness for a while now, and Jim ignored both to solidify a secondary unity. I don't agree with this assessment. Signing middle relievers can be as you described, but the Cubs signed the premiere middle relievers available in each of the years we're talking about. These are all guys who had stellar numbers at the time of signing with closer potential. That helps you win.
  22. TheDude
    Based on what? His history of signing mediocre players. Name me the last signing of Hendry where you said "Wow, that was proactive. Hendry was really a step ahead of everyone else with this one." That is exceptionally selective memory on your part. Every year Hendry has made a proactive attempt to fix the bullpen through FA, with names like Hawkins, Howry, and Eyre. All three were solid, proactive signings to fix an annually ragged bullpen. Alfonseca wasn't the best acquisition, but at the time (without the value of hindsight), he was expected to be solid. Hendry's acquisition of the core of this team for the past two years was proactive, including Lee out of the blue, Barret for an aged Miller, and Ramirez for nothing. Garciaparra was a proactive acquisition as well. Every GM has good moves and bad moves, which are conveniently measurable by fans after the fact. Hendry is no different. Multiple news sources noted that Hendry increased his scouting in Asia shortly after the all-star break of the 2006 season, and the Cubs have been rumored to be interested in several different Asian pitchers this offseason. I hardly think looking at a position player in addition to known pitching scouting is suddenly 'too forward-thinking'.
  23. TheDude
    Based on what?
  24. TheDude
    Wells is also going to be 28 next season, and if you believe/subscribe to the theory of the 28 year old player, then next year projects as Wells best year for his career. I can dig Wells in CF next year, but not at the expense of Hill.
  25. TheDude
    But he is a solid gamble for a team looking for starting pitching depth. Given his usage out of both the bullpen and his desire (and upside) to start, Heilman is a far better swing-man than Rusch, and a better option to start than pulling up random guys from the minors. If it doesn't cost much in talent, then pursue him.
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