TheDude
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Everything posted by TheDude
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Goony is absolutely correct. This article has nothing to do with racism. Now, had Joe Morgan claimed that MLB was actively suppressing interest/entrance into the sport for black athletes, or some other similar claim of MLB activity, then maybe someone can bring up racism. But this is just a retired black athlete commenting on the state of his race/culture in the modern game after noticing the Astros are the first World Series team in over 50 years to not have a black player.
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The Cardinals can be tricky. Last offseason everyone thought they would decline, especially in starting pitching, because of very tight money concerns. Then they turned around and traded for Mulder at 6.5 mil, who figures to only get more expensive.
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I wonder if a team in need of a catcher and a solid starter would pursue both Jojima and a starter from Japan. Johjima definately has a future in MLB with those kind of numbers, but it might take a few years for him to establish himself as a caller. I'd suspect he will try to learn English if he does come to the big leagues.
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Wagner to test FA market
TheDude replied to Schwarber Fan's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
This is a misstatement. Even despite all the health concerns in the starting rotation, Cubs starters pitched just shy of a 1000 innings in 2005, good for 11/30 in MLB. Anytime you can get 1000 innings from your starters, you're doing well. If (always a big If) Wood, Prior, Maddux, and Zambrano remain healthy, we can expect each of them to provide 6,7,6,7 averages per start for 2006. Williams is also a horse. Or the buzz is the last starter will be another innings eater. The rotation for 2006 should easily go deep in most games. -
Unfortunately for you, historical data shows otherwise. April in Chicago averages low 50s, while May averages 60. There are days that are colder, and the first week of April is commonly in the 40s. If you are from Houston, that's cold, because they enjoy 70's on average in April and May. And with a dome, Houston never worries about the rain.
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It affects me, for sure. I grew up primarily in Arizona and Florida in the years before either state had baseball teams. Coming home from school as a kid, I could count on watching Cubs games in the afternoon with basic cable, as we were a pretty low income family. The only other team available to me was the Braves on TBS, but they played mostly night games. I have 30 years of Cub-fandome in my blood, despite having never lived in Chicago, or even closer than 10 hours away. The Cubs were the team available to me as a child and it stuck. I have met several people in my life with similar experiences. So my opinion is biased, but clearly I think reducing the public cable games on WGN to the more expensive TV packages ultimely reduces the range of appeal for kids who grow up in markets that have no team. Had I grown up in an era of Fox or Comcast pay packages, I would not have become such an avid Cubs fan, and would probably be a Braves fan :(.
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I'm not sure rain and 40 degree weather is a home field advantage. By and large the White Sox play their games in the heat all year long. It was pretty nice in Chicago earlier in the playoffs, these last couple games were the first really bad ones. I don't see any team having an advantage in that situation. In football cold weather teams play most of their season in cold weather, and have an advantage over domed or warm weather teams because those teams may not be used to the weather, or built to play in that weather. But there is no real style for hitting a homerun in 40 degree weather. It's an advantage for sure. The club plays ball in April and May and has experience in those conditions. Houston rarely sees those conditions, unless on the road for a short series. My bottom line: Home field advantage is perceived as critical by the franchises themselves. Let them make their own decisions for their home games.
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I rememebr this summer when Cuban said he'd like to own the Cubs....I about fell out of my chair. Big time payroll does NOT equal a good team ala this year's Cubs. I wouldnt mind Cuban being the owner, but you need quality playes, not just big time money players. I think the prevailing thought is that Cuban would be more apt to put pressure on his GM to go after amrquee players. If Cuban had been the owner over the last few years, the Cubs may have been more active players in talent like Tejada, Guerrero, or Beltran.
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That's exactly what my wife would have done. She's from Boston. A classy lady until you wrong her. I really don't think it's cool to equate entire fan-base to one goon's actions, even if it is the Nth instance of one goon over the years.
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Wagner to test FA market
TheDude replied to Schwarber Fan's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
Dempster is not a set-up man. He is typically not the kind of pitcher you want to bring in with men already on base. He needs to start an inning. Occasionally a closer has to come in with men already on, but generally speaking, closers can start the 9th. Signing Wagner makes no sense whatsoever. -
This would be good a solid deal. I wish people would stop using only the 2005 stats for Pierre as a reason not to go after him. He just turned 28, so it's not like he won't return to 2003 form. Giles had an off year in 2004 (for him) and at his age I would expect 2004 to have marked his slow decline, but he bounced back. People get on Hendry for not ever buying low. Here is a chance to buy low and fill a major offseason priority (leadoff hitter).
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The reasons for Giles to not leave San Diego had been discussed ad nauseam. I don't think many people held out more than a dream's chances for Giles to come to Chicago. Maybe Hendry knew Giles wasn't going anywhere, and that's why he never stated he was going to pursue him? I'm glad this is approaching an end, because Giles name has stifled every other discussion about offseason priority.
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Sorry, but you are saying something. You can't start a thread smearing someone's name, then back off the claim and say you're not. So at this point, you are going to figure any player having a moment worth remembering in their career is in on steriods?
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Any Interest in Dotel?
TheDude replied to vance_the_cubs_fan's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
I don't think it's a mistake to take chances on guys like that with creative contracts (Dempster). It's a mistake when you rely so heavily on guys with recent injuries, and don't have a decent backup plan. This is a contradiction to your other notion that Hendry is directly responsible for not improving the Chiacgo Cubs in 2004 and 2005 partially because of signing too many high-risk injury contracts, isn't it? -
Article About Patterson On Cubs.Com
TheDude replied to Buford T Justice's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
I don't recall anybody ever doubting Corey's work ethic, aside from the resistence to Winter Bal. Most complaints stem from the fact that Corey has an inability to take what is practiced into live games. That's a mental issue, not a physical or desire problem. -
Any Interest in Dotel?
TheDude replied to vance_the_cubs_fan's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
Williamson was once electric also. How's that worked out so far? I'll pass on the project pitchers this year. People knock Hendry for taking on too many injury risks and poor management, so why repeat this mistake? -
They got the to NLCS because the rest of the division was fairly weak. 88 wins doesn't put the Cubs even *close* to winning the division, and the wildcard shouldn't be a goal. If the Cardinals had been as good in 2003 as they have been the last two years, the Cubs would have been watching the playoffs from home that year too... The 2003 Cardinals were not noticeably different than the 2004 or 2005 Cardinals. The acquisition of Mulder is about the only appreciable difference. The emergence of Carpenter replaces the loss Williams (18 wins in 2003), and Grudz, Eckstein, Walker, Molina isn't exactly a landslide upgrade over Cairo/Hart, Renteria, Drew, Matheny.
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That's a bit harsh considering the offseason hasn't even started yet, isn't it? The offseason started October 2 after the game. Resigning all the coaches was a decision made in the offseason. That's the only thing that's been done, and it was a terrible move. I suppose because the support coaching staff all re-signed 1 year deals does make it an offseason move, but honestly, it weighs with so little significance that it is practically irrelevent and a non-story. So the whole support coaching staff re-signed with one year contracts? The Cubs weren't expected to make any imminent coaching moves this offseason, and I'm pretty most folks expect Dusty's end to be the time for various coaching changes. The re-signing of Dempster is the only thing that could be construed as an offseason transaction of significance made by the Cubs so far, and only with a little imagination, and it was a pretty solid move. So if we want to count Dempster, then the team is off to a good start. If we don't want to count Demspter, then the team has yet to make any real moves.
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That's a bit harsh considering the offseason hasn't even started yet, isn't it?
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Why shouldn't they? That's exactly how you keep people happy. If you have built a successful organization that goes out and wins year in and year out, and you owe part of that success to the person who is being contacted, why not give that person the freedom to go out and see if they would like to increase their salary or take the success to another team or for whatever reason that person wishes. If he stays, it just says that much more about what you've accomplished. If he leaves, you'll have a hard time replacing him. I don't see any reason why he would want to leave. Offer away, but it doesn't mean he'll accept. Then why bother having contracts? I understand it is a gentlemen's reward, or whatever, but I can see no conceivable reason why the Braves would willingly make their own organization weaker without any compensation, and without furthering the career of the man walking away.
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I don't care who wins. I'll be happy for either team, as it will be a longtime coming for both. I cared a lot about the playoffs just long enough to see the Yankees and Cardinals eliminated. How sweet. Hopefully it is sweep either way, so we can get down to offseason business involving the team that matters.
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Actually I read somewhere (or heard on a radio broadcast) that the Cardinals are very seriously interested in Giles to replace a retiring Walker. I've been angry ever since I heard/read that tid bit. Because if Giles wants a ring as his top priority (over dollars or other personal reasons), St. Louis is more attractive than Chicago for non-biased folks like us.
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How would you like Lofton at 2/$6m, along with Wilson for 2/$10-14m? Because that's probably the type of people Hendry thinks would help this team. How do you know what Hendry thinks (assuming that's a typo), and yes, I know you said "probably"? Just basing it on his history of overpaying for mediocrity, and ignoring the BB/OBP problem on this team. Lofton, in theory, isn't a bad option. But if Kenny gets more than 1 year, or more than $1-2 million, and he's guaranteed the CF/leadoff job, no matter how he performs, it's a bad move. I actually think it would be kind of interesting to have Corey/Kenny/Greenberg battling for CF. But that would only be acceptable if they go big in RF. And going off Hendry's history, I'm not certain he'd solve that RF problem with an impact bat. Hendry has been really high on Pie, and even accused of trying to rush him by many on these boards based on his plan to promote Pie to the bigs had he not been injured this year. I doubt very much Hendry would sign Lofton to a multi-year contract given that Pie would have to regress seriously to not be the CF targeted for 2007. If Lofton is in Hendry's sights, it is for one year.
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I'm not sure I understand why the Braves would allow this. I understand allowing other teams to talk to personnel when the position available is a promotion and allows the person to further their career. But this would just be a lateral move. Why would the Braves allow their heralded pitching coach to make a lateral move to a competitor?