TheDude
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Everything posted by TheDude
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Rooting against your team doesn't bring about any change. If change is going to happen, then it happens in the offseason, otherwise it would have happened already. At this point in the season, what is important is that Cedeno, Murton, and the young pitchers get opportunities to develop at the big league level. Good to see the kids in the field today, but I'm really shocked Rusch is starting the game. Just can't believe that one.
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I think we, as the fans of this organization, have earned the right to overreact by watching this team everyday in the hopes of a meaningless victory. Oh - and Z has been one of the constants, not getting hurt. This does not happen everyyear, but it could be "his year" Yes, actually it does happen every year. Heavy arm is common and Zambrano has experienced as much in the past seasons as well.
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This happens every year, what's the surprise? There is a lot of overreacting in this thread.
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Marty Brennaman's Thoughts
TheDude replied to CubbieRich's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
Yeah, it's tough to imagine that .950 OPS and .390 OBP being useful to anyone. I'm not the biggest Dunn fan myself, but team construction must be balanced. Dunn and Lee in the 3-4 is the ideal make-up for a team. It legitimizes a Pierre style lead-off hitter and allows development of a player such as Cedeno at the bottom of the lineup where he has thrived, or Pie next year if/when Pierre departs. Dunn is a fit and a need for this team. -
How to stunt a young player's growth. by Dusty Baker
TheDude replied to RegulusBlue's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
I like Murton myself, but would like to see him used as a trading chip for a more traditional LF threat. Murton is a better fit for a team like the Reds, Rangers, or even the White Sox, and could probably develop approrpiately in those environments. I do think it is a bit ridiculous to claim that Murton is getting the Dusty treatment these days. -
I think the Cubs are best off dealing Maddux, Walker, Pierre, and Wood to contenders, though if Wood continues to miss starts or struggle the willingness to gamble on him probably disappears. Walker has value for the dollar unlike any other Cub asset, and that should raise the value of the return prospect. Pierre hopefully has value to a contender. I just hope his value doesn't fall to reserve speed man for a contender, ala Dave Roberts to the Sox in 2004.
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Homeruns are up all across baseball. Why? You could argue that the hitters are cheating, but there is an equally viable argument that states it's due to lack of pitchers cheating. Afterall, the majority of positive tests for banned substances thus far has occurred in pitchers, not hitters.
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Walker has only signed two such deals in his career, so I don't know that 'bread and butter' is quite accurate. At his current age, he may be looking for a solid 2 year deal next year.
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You must have had different baseball coaches than me. Either that or different football and basketball coaches. We worked awfully hard in baseball, but it was nothing compared to the running and conditioning with the other sports. I watched a few wrestling practices in HS and had a couple of friends on the wrestling team at Iowa (under Dan Gable) and those were by far the most intense. Never seen water polo, but I'm guessing you gotta be in decent shape to tread water that long. Amen to that. I don't see any issues with Dusty's quote either. I don't think there is any doubt that the demand for conditioning is greater in other sports. That's not to say there aren't athletes with self-motivation in baseball to achieve the same level of fitness, but the minimum expectation in baseball is lower for certain.
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Olney said nothing of the sort. Reading helps.
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Olney basically throws out several qoutes from GMs or scouts he talked to regarding Wood or Prior's perceived value at those respective levels. A few examples:
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Why do we want Wood to be of high value? If he's low value, then we can re-sign him much cheaper in the offseason since he's not going to get big bucks from these teams that view him so poorly. If he's got a high value, we just lose a high value guy to another team. He's got a NTC so he's not going anywhere. Hendry gets nothing but flak for relying on oft injured players to stay healthy. So why would he re-sign Wood if his value was low? You want Wood's value high so that you get as much for him as possible come the trade deadline. Players with NTCs have waived them in the past, so it is worth exploring and really pretty silly to dismiss outright.
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link GMs around the league are suggesting Wood and Pior are worth only B prospects at best, some even said C prospects. That is way less than anyone around here would predict, so here's hoping at least Wood puts on a good show the next couple months to raise his value.
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The better solution is to remove the DH from the AL and baseball altogether.
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we have no value!
TheDude replied to neely crenshaw's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
For what it is worth, Cubs players are popping up all over the rumor mill. ESPN Insider's summary page for this morning lists three Cubs (Pierre, Walker, and Williamson) as drawing interest/rumor for trade deadline movement. The Cubs do certainly have value. -
Because he isn't a center fielder.
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I checked back and Zambrano only gave up two hits :lol:. Come on Dempster!
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I've seen enough already. Zambrano hit my supreme frustration button already and my holiday weekend doesn't need start like this.
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Bloody hell. Can't the team just put the best guys on the field for a change? Come on Zambrano. 2-hitter. I'm calling it.
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Why? One has to expect his end-year numbers will aggress to the career norm (or at least 2005 if not career norm). In order for that to happen, he should go on a several week tear at some point. Why not wait until closer to the deadline to see if he hits that hot streak, which increases his trade value?
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I doubt very much the Cubs will trade Jones, but Hendry would be negligent to not even explore a Jones trade with Detroit. Detroit is in need of left-handed pop. They only have one left-hander and one switch-hitter in their daily lineup, both with little pop. I'm sure Jones could fit in with the Detroit outfield of Monroe, Granderson, and Ordonez.
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I can't be the only one that noticed he said the Cubs are both terrible and suffered injuries. I don't have a "burn everyone" mentality, but someone should definately be held to some standard. So I dislike the -everyone is to blame but not anyone specifically- line from Kurkijan. I think the hitting and pitching coaches are far more accountable than Hendry though. Teams can win with toolsy complimentary players if coached properly. It may not be the favorite philosophy of this board (understatement of the year?), but it isn't necessarily destined for failure like this team demonstrates.
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Now that the easy part of the schedule is over...
TheDude replied to WindyCity's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
They will post a .500+ record over these 42 games. :o -
YES, Cubs now last in MLB in OBP, SLG
TheDude replied to TruffleShuffle's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
The Cubs aren't getting any extrabase hits. It's unbelievable how many singles this team generates. Also dead last in Total Bases, not to put to fine a point on it. -
Considering how little Wood has pitched over the last year, it's clear he has no endurance right now. He needs to get back into pitching shape.