TheDude

Unfortunately in the eyes of the organization Neifi is not a defensive replacement, he is an everyday top-of-the-order player. Except that Hendry stated in his own words to the contrary. I don't think this move is exactly exciting or promising for the team. 2.5 million for a back-up is not smart economics at all, especially considering the prime off-season target (Furcal) isn't a SS that needs a back-up late-innings. It makes me think Neifi is there to be a back-up 2B, and his worth is only about 800k in that role. But people are so far beyond crazy with pages and pages of over-reaction with this that it is clear that the Neifi-factor is carrying far more weight in relevence than it actually deserves. So Hendry has a history of over-paying for bench players. It's not that big of a deal.

Is it really over reacting to a pattern that repeats itself? I agree with you that it's only November but Hendry is continuing to do things the same way he always has and is expecting different results. Examples?

This is absurd. Of course the man has a plan. I don't think GMs are in the business of revealing their hands before the time comes. He has stated clearly in general terms that he wants pitching and defense to be the core of this team, and all of the signings and major rumblings point to this as being true.

Free Agents can officially sign with new teams Friday (maybe it's Saturday). So I expect the weekend or Monday to heat up.

I can't recall ever reading so much over-reaction in my life.

This is the dumbest thiing I've read in a while. Our suckitude had nothing to do with a mediocre offense, a pitching staff in shambles, 3/4 of the season without Nomar, and a moron with a toothpick in his mouth. No, it all came down to the fact no player would police the team. That was the "something" that was missing. That cost us 30 games in the standings. Funny, I don't see where Carrie Muskat claims any of those things you are saying. Don't take things so literally. My point is, finding a guy who can police the clubhouse should be about priority 598 this off-season. However, the article assigns a fair amount of significance to that as a "need." There's no reason to put any emphasis on filling intangible holes when the team is riddled with very real ones that can be addressed. I just found a lot of irony in the fact that "the dumbest thing" you've read in a while wasn't actually written by anybody other than you. However, to your point, I agree and disagree. I agree that Muskat seemed to indicate that leadership was a missing element that prevented the team from having success, and that it is a misguided assessment, mostly because the 2005 Cubs roster didn't need policing. But I disagree that it has such a low priority. The Cubs look to be a young team again this year and it would be nice to have a leader on the team. 4/5 starting rotation could be under 30. 7/8 of the daily lineup could be under 30. I'm not suggesting it's a top priority, but if you consider two (mostly) equal candidates, let the leader quality have some weight and value in the final decision.

Why? Any CF is just a stop-gap rental for Pie. No reason to think big at the only position out of which the farm is expected to produce an all-star.

I don't think there will be nearly that many changes involving bigger names in the daily lineup. I expect really only 2 large acquisitions - RF and SS. I expect Cedeno and Murton to get shots at the starting roles at 2B and LF. It makes sense for the Cubs to pursue an upgrade in CF, but not a long-term upgrade, so I expect a stop-gap like Lofton. However, I think you are very close with your assessment of the starting rotation, bullpen, and trading chips.

Not exactly. It's more like executive Spring Training. Many of the trades that take place at the Winter Meetings in December start at the GM meetings taking place now. Some trades take a few weeks to work out behind the scenes and there are conveniently 4 weeks between the two events.

This is the dumbest thiing I've read in a while. Our suckitude had nothing to do with a mediocre offense, a pitching staff in shambles, 3/4 of the season without Nomar, and a moron with a toothpick in his mouth. No, it all came down to the fact no player would police the team. That was the "something" that was missing. That cost us 30 games in the standings. Funny, I don't see where Carrie Muskat claims any of those things you are saying.

I'm not nearly as hard on Dusty as most around here, but I hope he paid attention to the fact that both ROY winners this year (and half the top 3 vote getters in each league) are the sole products of managers willing to gamble on rookie replacements for the "veteran" that went down with injury. Had Murton or Cedeno had the playing time, it's entirely possible either of their names might have surfaced as top 5 vote getters.

Yes. Winter meetings are in December.

Change Pie to another prospect. IMO, the only three position prospects with any chance of playing for the Cubs in the next two years are Pie, Murton, and Cedeno [edit] - so the Cubs should keep all 3 IMO[/edit]. Do the Cubs have any 3B prospects worth their salt? Ramirez isn't going anywhere outside of Chicago and the Phillies may be looking for a 3B that might be MLB ready in the next couple years.

Burnett's in Toronto getting courted by the Blue Jays. It's a good fit for him I think.

What's wrong with keeping RC and TW? Platoon them at 2B, and on days when RC starts, Walker is your best option off the bench.

You do not trade Lee now. For a team trying to improve it's offense, how the heck do explain trading away half the offense? Trade Lee and the team doesn't improve, regardless of the returns - all you've done is ditribute his value across multiple positions, when you can keep his value and fill the positions anyway. If Lee regresses anywhere, it will be in AVG with a corresponding slight drop in OBP. I do not believe the HRs and 2Bs will drop.

I'm not upset at all by a 22 ranking. I think it has more to do with the Cubs are more unknown than other teams. This team is only fractionally composed...is even half the 25 man roster known? You can't justify a pre-season ranking this early based on speculation of a Giles or Furcal improvement. But if those things happen, then the team becomes more known, and the ranking improves.

And people seem perfectly willing to add JD Drew as well. I don't get it either.

I really want Furcal, but agree that those 3 don't necessarily excite me into thinking we'd be contenders. However, I look at Furcal as having the Lofton-catalyst effect of a few years ago, allowing us to mix small ball with the long bal. no small ball, plz. So you like futility in tight games games then? Being able to play different styles of baseball when the need arises is how you win.

I'd say they had a brain cramp. Either that, or they're really underrating Nomar and Furcal, considering they have guys like Kenny Rogers and the Farnz on that list. Nothing against Farnsworth. Wish we still had him, but when you round out the top 20 free agent list with those guys, it pretty much says everything you need to know about that year's free agent class. I think it says more about the writer's ability to read a FA class honestly. The writer has 6 closers on the list (well, closer candidates anyway)! Not very solid analysis at all.

I'd guess a low media AL team with about 5 mil to gamble with on a DH.

NY Daily News points out some of the reasons why Furcal is seriously interested in looking at the Mets 2B job: (1) With Pedro and Reyes, there is already a Dominican presence on the team, which is very important to him (2) Furcal and his agent probably want 4 years and $40M (similar to Renteria), and the Mets are probably only one of 2 teams in the NL (other being the Cubs), who can afford to pay him that amount (3) he has family in NYC I don't recall Minaya's nationality, is he also Dominican?

I don't put much stock in these reports. We've had reports saying that the Padres, Cardinals, and Cubs are all the front runners. This guy is going to make bank somewhere.

I don't get this one. The Mets already have Reyes to satisfy the role Furcal plays both in the field and in the lineup. The Mets don't need another Reyes, especially not at a 30+ million dollar contract. They need a solid defensive 2B that puts the ball in play on offense with respectable AVG and OBP. Someone like Adam Kennedy.

No sir. Cubs fans would be frustrated again and blame Hendry again for relying on too many injury prone guys when Wood, Prior, Drew and Ramirez all spend time on the DL next year.