Jump to content
North Side Baseball

TheDude

Old-Timey Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,983

  • 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 TheDude

  1. TheDude
    Yeah, just what we need - our new leadoff hitter on the shelf with 3 broken fingers. Pierre is the best bunter in the business. I'm sure he knows what he is doing, unorthodox or not.
  2. TheDude
    he honestly can't be surprised when people say he doesn't like young players. his quote about how ST is for the young guys doesn't make any sense at all. Why not? ST is for the young guys - they are trying to make the team and play. Aging veterans are looking to make the team with the expectation that they can extend their careers and contribute off the bench. You don't want the young guy making the team and then not playing, because then your hurting his development. Grissom is a known quantity at this stage. Theriot (just throwing out a promising young name) is not. I think Baker makes sense here.
  3. TheDude
    Who the flip is Brian Corey? There are a number of other pitchers I expected to hear from before this guy (whoever he is).
  4. TheDude
    That's correct. Sooned to be out of the inning, without another run scoring. No Debbie Downer today! Murton scores!
  5. TheDude
    All spring training games now have a DH. It's going to be curious to see how this affects the pitchers when they do bat in the regular season. Given how bad many Cubs pitchers have been at laying down sac bunts, I wonder if they could use the practice. It makes sense though. A coach wants to analyze as many at bats that matter as possible, especially when you have a camp full of hungry kids waiting to prove themselves. I'm sure that teams are setting aside extra work for bunting (at least I hope).
  6. TheDude
    Get use to the sound of that Cub fans. No thanks. Grissom won't make the team and Neifi won't get enough at bats to make me care.
  7. TheDude
    Has anybody read this book? It came highly recommended to me by a friend as the first publication he has read that puts legitimate qualification on defensive stats. As a huge fan of the impact of defense on the game, I was curious if anybody around here has read the book.
  8. TheDude
    Actually, IIRC we were significantly better in close games last year than in 2004(when we had a better record). It makes sense that losing teams have a respectable record in close games - they can't generate enough ofense to win anything but nailbiters (generally speaking). The team still has to improve its close game record. I know many folks don't put stock in it, but others do. Interesting Read [edited to fix link and finish thought]
  9. TheDude
    A thread about a Dusty quote and there isn't yet a chicken little post involving the words "Neifi", "starting", and "batting 2nd"? Anyway, Dusty does make some interesting on field calls that aren't textbook and have backfired. He isn't the best manager at calling for or utilizing small ball (I think he turns to it too soon sometimes), and that can cost some games. The Cubs need to improve their close-game record if they expect to improve this year, and that starts with Dusty's in-game management in close games.
  10. TheDude
    Because they're hockey players and if they can walk they'll play. :D Actually, isn't olympic hockey a lot cleaner than NHL action? I haven't had a chance to see any games this olympics but it seems to me that they don't hit as hard, they don't get into fights and there aren't any dirty players there. In a sense, these guys are actually less likely to get hurt than they would during the NHL season. It's a little cleaner. Big hits that are clean in the NHL may draw a penalty in the Olympics. I saw Tkachuk (normally a big hitter) pull off several hits in the Olympics for fear of a light whistle. But regardless, the WBC is, at worst 6 games, and at best 8 games. Players likely started preparing a month earlier for these few games. I'm just not buying the injury line.
  11. TheDude
    The difference being the hockey players are already in shape as it's the middle of the season. The pitchers especially are nowhere near where they need to be. I think that's why more people would be in favor of doing this at the end of the year when guys may be tired but are at least accustomed to the workload. I don't know. If I am a professional athlete preparing for an event such as the WBC, I certainly wouldn't show up out of shape and unprepared to represent my country.
  12. TheDude
    I'm not taking shots at anyone in particular here, but the injury talk/concern about the WBC amongst fans and the media is so overblown that it's become kind of absurd. The NHL is on a break so that all the best in the world can play in the Olympics. Hockey fans and the media want to see these players play, and there isn't nearly half the injury concern sentiment in the media or amongst the fans. And it's hockey, where injuries are significantly more probable than baseball. Even on the teams that get to the finals, these guys are playing what, 8 games?
  13. TheDude
    There is a lot of overreaction is this thread. Dusty stated as well that he expects Walker has the lead for starting 2B. Both Dusty and Hendry stated that Cedeno has the lead for the starting SS. Both stated Murton has the edge in LF. I don't understand why people place so much weight on one Dusty quote over another. Neifi is not the projected starter. Is it really so hard to hold off on the complaints and incessent whining. Nobody will fault anybody for a whine festival if Nefi ends up taking the starting job from from somebody and then hitting 2nd. But for the time being, that's not the stated plan of either the coach of the GM.
  14. TheDude
    Trading Murton for Soriano is a terrible idea. On the other hand, I disagree with people's attempt to devalue Soriano based upon sabre-happy stats. You can win the argument against some fans, but it won't win the argument against the folks that matter - GMs. GMs are not going to devalue Soriano right now. So the notion that Soriano is a "bad contract" is a grassroots fans-in-love-with-Beane idea that isn't supported by the GMs in the league. Soriano can't be had for a bad contract and low-level prospects. (Note I don't want Soriano, just disputing prior claims).
  15. TheDude
    He is also a poor writer:
  16. TheDude
    If he bam, bam, bam, let him play at the end of last season, maybe the breaking in period is mostly over. Dusty let Hollandsworth, Dubois, Hairston, Gerut, and Lawton all have a chance before bam, bam, bam, giving LF to Murton. That makes Murton 6th in line, or 'Plan F' in Dusty's scheme. Only a giant ego like Dusty Baker would pat himself on the back when his Plan F succeeds in the dying moments of a failed campaign. There are legitimate reasons to dislike Baker. You don't have fictionalize the truth to make your point. None of Hairston, Gerut, or Lawton were permanently ahead of Murton (who came up in what, July?), and Murton had more ABs in LF them all of them combined. Anybody who walked into last ST saying Murton was the plan A or even B was an extreme longshot.
  17. TheDude
    Absurd. Anyway, like Vance, I've predicted Walker will play 2B as the primary if he is retained.
  18. TheDude
    Weaver's deal should best Byrd's deal. Their numbers are nearly identical, with Weaver producing more K's and only a slightly higher ERA. And Weaver has been more durable in his career. I don't see any reason why Weaver wouldn't get at least Byrd's money and years, but logic doesn't always/usually apply in baseball.
  19. TheDude
    My wife looked up a photo and made a sour face, and I could swear I actually heard her heart break. She used to drool over him when we watched Sox games (she's from Boston). Take it for what it's worth.
  20. TheDude
    I don't get it. Why not have just kept Byrd instead? [edit - changed tense to past]
  21. TheDude
    I've read more than one "insider" report that says Hendry really wanted Zito, but Oakland wasn't fielding offers. If both Maddux and Wood come off the books next year, I could see one similarly priced big name acquisition (and then internal raises to pitching) plugging those budget holes.
  22. TheDude
    Don't forget Rusch will be given a job just because he's a veteran lefty. So it's probably just 2 spots to fill. Maybe by next season a better lefty option comes along. Hendry (if it is still Hendry) likes pitching, so I ahve a feeling he'd open his wallet for a quality lefty and leave Rusch in the pen.
  23. TheDude
    Nor is it even true.
  24. TheDude
    I find it fascinating that fans think they have any inkling of how much work or preparation Hendry does. Don't you think you should have more than just the tip of the iceberg showing to make that sort of judegment?
  25. TheDude
    Then why disagree with trading the most qualified of the pitching youth (Williams) as part of a package to get a bat? I realize this is slightly out of thread context, but we've disagreed in recent weeks on whether or not to use Williams as a trade chip at his current value - with you stating he has more value to the team than as a trade chip.
×
×
  • Create New...