TheDude

Definitely not going to happen, he's the cubs version of kirk hinrich. Management likes him too much and wont deal him. Even if Starlin bats .500 in spring training and makes the big league club, the cubs would then shift theriot to 2nd. I dont like theriot either and i think his range and noodle arm costs us on defense but i dont see the cubs trading him away. I can't agree that it 'definitely' won't happen, except in the context of today. I think Tim maybe jumped the gun at this point, as this is much more a reality in July or November of 2010. But production and promise will trump heart. If Castro shows in 2010 at whatever level he plays that he is the SS of the future, then Theriot's days are numbered no matter how much heart he brings. The only way I see Theriot sticking should Castro emerge is by moving to 2B full-time. But the smarter move is to shop him at the deadline or next season. If you wait another year, you'll really get nothing in return for Theriot. His primary value lies in his production/cost ratio. That changes with every year of arbitration. At this point, he's still an attractive option to small market teams. Next year...not as much. I agree. But the front office has to weigh that against the ability to win in 2010. Do they trust either Blanco or Castro to reach league average production at SS? Probably not. The 2010 lineup has few high-predictability-production players compared to many fingers-crossed-production players that I doubt they remove Theriot right now. But if Castro is the real deal and shows it during ST and the first half of 2010 at any level, then maybe it's enough to consider a mid-season move of Theriot.

Definitely not going to happen, he's the cubs version of kirk hinrich. Management likes him too much and wont deal him. Even if Starlin bats .500 in spring training and makes the big league club, the cubs would then shift theriot to 2nd. I dont like theriot either and i think his range and noodle arm costs us on defense but i dont see the cubs trading him away. I can't agree that it 'definitely' won't happen, except in the context of today. I think Tim maybe jumped the gun at this point, as this is much more a reality in July or November of 2010. But production and promise will trump heart. If Castro shows in 2010 at whatever level he plays that he is the SS of the future, then Theriot's days are numbered no matter how much heart he brings. The only way I see Theriot sticking should Castro emerge is by moving to 2B full-time. But the smarter move is to shop him at the deadline or next season.

As I already stated, Hendry could be entirely diplomatic in an apology and make statements only about his own judgment and job, and it will still be interpreted by many players as an insult or attack on the player in question. People will read between the lines and read further than the intent. It's simply bad business. It's bad business to cut unproductive players because it might hurt their feelings? That's dumb. Teams do it all the time. You don't hold onto a guy because you are afraid of insulting him. Not sure if you misread the conversation or what, but cutting Miles has nothing to do with my posts. Fwiw, I agree with what you said. Just confused as to why it was said as a response to me.

As I already stated, Hendry could be entirely diplomatic in an apology and make statements only about his own judgment and job, and it will still be interpreted by many players as an insult or attack on the player in question. People will read between the lines and read further than the intent. It's simply bad business.

I'm sorry but this is a foolish thing to write. Managers, in any career, should not be in the habit of throwing current or former employees under the bus, especially not publicly. If Hendry were to come out and say "I made a huge mistake, signing Aaron Miles was a waste of resources that could have been better spent elsewhere, and I apologize to the fans" then he is effectively insulting Miles as a player and professional. He would be burning bridges with that player, the player's agent, other players represented by the agent, and potentially the player's peers from former or future teams (who may decide not to consider the Cubs organization based on it's management's actions and words). You think black athletes had the Reds high on their list 20 years ago? Hendry is a businessman and he isn't going to single out a bad contract because it singles out the athlete's performance and disrupts the baseball family. Even if his intention is to fault himself, he is still effectively saying in public 'that guy wasn't worth the money' which is easily interpreted by the player and his peers as 'that guy sucked.' The only public apology a man in his position will make is if he gets caught snorting coke off a prostitute or some other perceived debauchery.

Speedy is an interpretation and probably not completely accurate to what the Cubs front office desires. I just chalk this up to Pierre hang-over around here. I'm sure Hendry takes 30/35 SB and generally smart base running any day of the week, despite merely above-average speed (which reflects Jeter and his 2009 numbers).

That's actually a good thing. It ensures a short-term deal for a team that desperately needs short-term deals. Cameron isn't going to give you stud numbers, but his physical conditioning has shown a shorter decline curve than you'd expect out of a 34+CF.

Extra Innings is a joke compared to MLB.TV here in Florida. Brighthouse charges $169 and provides zero HD channels. Nor do they have WGN HD. Meanwhile, MLB.TV was $109, has nearly all games on HD, and no commercials. Both blackout the Marlins and the Rays, which is just absurd. Miami is 250 miles away from me. When I lived in DC, they didn't blackout Mets games (230 miles away) or Philly, etc. Not everyone has the funds to build an htpc, but if you're a movie, music, and sports junkie like I am, it's the best $500 investment you can make. Streaming HD games from MLB.TV looks pretty solid on an LCD, with only the occasional pixel problem. Far better experience then Extra Innings, and cheaper.

Yes, that Houston run was pure luck. And poor defense compounded yesterday's loss. Why is that Soriano always makes his worse defensive plays in the 8th or 9th inning? Braun, who is brutal himself at LF defense at times, was able to make the same play Soriano did not just a few innings earlier. The moment the ball touches the bat Soriano takes one step in, it's driving me nutty.

I don't want my #2 hitter to move runners over. I want him to get on base and drive runs in. If your offensive philosophy is to waste outs having your #2 guy just get your leadoff man into scoring position, you're doing yourself a disservice. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but the odds of scoring a run with a man on 1st and 0 outs is a lot higher than a man on 2nd with 1 out. well, your odds of scoring runs also greatly increase when you have your highest OBP guy hitting 2nd rather than 8th. Ryan Theriot 2008 OBP: .387 Adam Dunn 2008 OBP: .386 Who do you want getting more at-bats? That isn't a great example, as the correct answer is Theriot in front of Dunn. Dunn is far more likely to drive in Theriot and himself. Dunn in front Theriot yields the same OBP, but less Runs. Don't mistake my commentary as an opposing viewpoint to the overall discussion. I just think this example is actually counter to your argument.

The guy just wants to cement his legacy. Win a WS with the Diamondbacks, the franchise's first. Win the important one with Boston, breaking the 'curse'. Then go to the Cubs and win one, breaking that curse as well? Dude is looking for his HOF pass, because his regular season numbers won't get him there.

You have to be careful to distinguish between proclamations made here and what's been said by the team. Folks around here have a tendency to assume the worst, and many people here openly believe Miles will eventually be the starter (based on nothing more than gut). Belief in cyber-reality is stated as fact (as I just did - that irony isn't lost). Then it gets repeated in a few dozen threads. But the organization hasn't said much other than to say that Fontenot has earned the opportunity to win the job everyday based on his play last year. I've seen quotes to the effect that Miles will be tried at 3B, SS, 2B, and the OF this spring. Bottom line is Lou doesn't hand many non-fully established players an everyday job outright. He believes in the power of positive competition between teammates and sometimes his expectations carry a short-leash for results. We won't really know Miles' role until May or June probably.

I like the other article better.

Still the best leadoff option on the team.

Hendry probably could have had his pick of the litter 3 years ago. That's the gamble you take. Either you play them and hope they develop, or you trade them while they have value. You can't have it both ways. Obviously hindsight says trading Hill and Cedeno for Roberts last year would have been a good deal for the Cubs, but who would have guessed that Hill would destroy his own value? Pie never had full-time shake. The Cubs should have traded him last year when they acquired Edmonds to maximize his value.

Awful. I could see trying him at #4 or even #5, but #6 is just pissing away AB's. Lee is natural 2 at his age/skills. Bradley and Ramirez are a natural 3-4. Soto and Soriano are more or less interchangeable at 5-6 (if consider Soriano's natural age 33 decline and Soto's age 25 rise). You're welcome to disagree, but calling it 'awful' is reactionary and discredits your contribution. By stating 'pissing away AB's' your basically saying Soriano is measurably and obviously better than any of Bradley, Ramirez, or Soto at 4 or 5, and that simply isn't true. Soriano likely produces the lowest OPS of the bunch in '09, if only by a small margin (I expect all 4 guys to be in the .860-.900 range).

Soriano hits 6th. Now we need Lee to accept the #2 spot and the lineup takes shape.

Another 'what could have been' for the Cubs. It's amazing to think that the Cubs have had 3/4 of their homegrown starter stars' (Prior, Wood, Zambrano, and Hill) careers altered by injuries and oddities. All of these guys at their peak were #1/#2 starters.

Heilman is a gamble at 5th starter, but several guys similar to his career progression have made the transition. There are a lot of guys with good stuff that struggle as starters in their mid-20s, have decent to excellent success in relief, and convert back to effective starters after a few years of maturity with pitching. Heilman is either going to be Marquis redux, or hopefully more like Dempster, Looper, Wellemeyer, Duchscherer, etc. I do think he is a better bet in '09 to be successful than Olson would have been.

If Gregg maintains what he's done the last two years, he'll be a slight downgrade from Wood. Wood 2008 - 137 ERA+ 1.085 WHIP Gregg 2008 - 125 ERA+ 1.282 WHIP That is why Wood makes $6 million more. Anyway, Marmol gets first crack at closer. Gregg is likely a set-up guy. Those numbers are solid for a set-up guy, 7th or 8th inning.

Gregg doesn't need to improve. He needs to maintain. And pitchers do not adhere to the age 27/28 bell curve. The fact that Gregg is 30 is irrelevant for a relief pitcher needing to maintain prior years production. Further, Alfonseca is a bad comparison and has nothing to do with Gregg.

That's what I was thinking when I saw this thread too. I wonder if Lo Duca and Bradley would clash. They already have in the past, during an interleague series between the Dodgers and Indians. They were teammates for half of 2004 in LA.

I'd rather have Brian Roberts.

I heard a blurb the other day on ESPN about the Cubs converting Samardzija back to a starter in ST. Can't recall who it was, but I think it was in the Cubs segment of 30 teams in 30 days going on right now.

Probably not. The guy in baseball that I'd call closest to Marmol in terms of results in '07 and '08 is Brian Fuentes, though Marmol's K/9 rate is still better. If you just look at '08 it's Grant Balfour. Marmol and Balfour are the only two guys with a WHIP under 1.0 and k/9 over 11. Both have extreme FB ratios as well. Balfour's always had the K rate, but in '08 he cut his walk rate in half and it yielded stud results. The bottom line is that Marmol has almost been in a class of his own when looking at the past two seasons. Juan Cruz is not in his class, or even the class below.