brinoch

Forgot about Petrick's injury... no need to put him on there, then. Upon reflection, it makes sense to not protect him. Hagerty, as well, I might protect, I might not. It depends on his injury. In terms of the bullpen, I really think we need to cut it down to 6 pitchers next year and look for something like: 1. BJ Ryan 2. Ryan Dempster 3. Will Ohman 4. Mike Wuertz 5. Glendon Rusch 6. Roberto Novoa Admittedly, this is dropping/trading Wellemeyer, Leicester and Mitre since they are out of options. But, with Prior, Zambrano, Maddux, and Wood presumably in the picture as well as Rusch, Williams, Hill, and Mitre in competition for the 5th spot, I can't see how Sergio makes the cut unless Williams and Hill are traded. I could see Mitre and Williams traded in some form of a package to someone like Texas, Washington or Tampa for an OF like Mench, Huff or Wilkerson.

Here are some 40-man thoughts and ramblings... Right now, the 40-man comes to 42 because Wood and Fox are on the 60-day DL; however, after the season's over, you can't hide them on the 60-day DL any more. Here are the members of the 40-man who are under contract, or controlled by the Cubs for 2006: 1. Adam Greenberg - OF 2. Corey Patterson - OF 3. Matt Murton - OF 4. Ryan Theriot - IF 5. Aramis Ramirez- 3B 6. Richard Lewis - 2B 7. Derrek Lee - 1B 8. Mike Fontenot - IF 9. Ronny Cedeno - SS 10. David Aardsma - RP 11. Angel Guzman - SP 12. Rich Hill - SP/RP 13. John Koronka - RP/SP 14. Jon Leicester - RP/SP 15. Greg Maddux - SP 16. Sergio Mitre - SP/RP 17. Roberto Novoa- RP 18. Will Ohman - RP 19. Renyel Pinto - SP 20. Mark Prior - SP 21. Russ Rohlicek- RP 22. Jermain Van Buren - RP 23. Todd Wellemeyer - RP 24. Jerome Williams - SP 25. Kerry Wood - SP 26. Michael Wuertz - RP 27. Carlos Zambrano - SP 28. Michael Barrett - C 29. Henry Blanco - C 30. Geovany Soto - C On Oct. 15th, I believe the following players are FA's and off the 40-man roster, although the starred players have some form of an option: 31. *Jeromy Burnitz - OF (goodbye) 32. Ben Grieve - OF 33. Nomar Garciaparra- SS 34. Neifi Perez - SS 35. Jose Macias - IF 36. Scott McCLain- 1B/3B (not 100% sure about Die Hard) 37. Jerry Hairston - 2B/OF 38. *Todd Walker - 2B (likely to be exercised by Cubs) 39. Chad Fox- RP 40. Ryan Dempster - RP 41. *Glendon Rusch - SP/RP (likely to be exercised by Rusch) 42. *Scott Williamson (goodbye) I think the Cubs should remove these 3 players from the 40-man: 1. John Koronka - RP/SP 2. Richard Lewis - 2B 3. Russ Rohlicek- RP I think the Cubs should find a way to keep these players: 1. Ryan Dempster - RP 2. Nomar Garciaparra - SS 3. Jerry Hairston - 2B/OF Decisions need to be made on these players. Some, or all, of these players will be traded: 1. Jon Leicester - RP/SP 2. Sergio Mitre - SP/RP 3. Corey Patterson - OF 4. Glendon Rusch - RP/SP 5. Todd Walker - 2B 6. Todd Wellemeyer - RP 7. Jerome Williams - SP The roster, then, would have these spots available: Outfield 1. Adam Greenberg - OF 2. **Corey Patterson - OF 3. Matt Murton - OF 4. - OF 5. - OF 6. - OF Infield/Utility 7. Ryan Theriot - IF 8. Aramis Ramirez- 3B 9. Derrek Lee - 1B 10. Mike Fontenot - IF 11. Ronny Cedeno - SS 12. - SS/2B/3B/OF? 13. ** - 2B 14. - 2B/OF 15. - 1B 16. - 3B Pitchers 17. David Aardsma - RP 18. Angel Guzman - SP 19. **Rich Hill or Sergio Mitre - SP 20. **Jon Leicester or Todd Wellemeyer or Jerome Williams - SP/RP 21. Greg Maddux - SP 22. Roberto Novoa- RP 23. Will Ohman - RP 24. Renyel Pinto - SP 25. Mark Prior - SP 26. Jermain Van Buren - RP 27. Kerry Wood - SP 28. Michael Wuertz - RP 29. Carlos Zambrano - SP 30. ** - RP/SP 31. - RP/SP 32. - SP 33. - SP 34. - SP 35. - SP 36. - P 37. - P Catchers 38. Michael Barrett - C 39. Henry Blanco - C 40. Geovany Soto - C

Agreed. Just say no! And Helton would be a fine LF, methinks.

He also might lose a step with that ankle injury. I think he's overpaid at $10.75M, but I could see it happening. I'm not enamored of him, however.

He's going to sidearm the ball to the cutoff man? I think Nomar's only value to this team is at SS. It's a position where it's hard to find good offensive players, so I'd be willing to take the risk. At RF, it probably wouldn't be very hard to find a player who can outproduce him and play at his natural position. This offseason, it will be difficult to find any OF's who can out-produce Nomar. Simply put, there aren't many free agents available on the market; its a very weak class. Moving Nomar to the OF isn't a tremendous solution to the production problem, but it could be a part of a good solution. Moreover, I think it's very possible that Nomar will take a "lesser" contract figure to play another year in Chicago -- even in the OF. And for the record, I really don't care how he gets it to the cut-off man, so long as he *hits* the cut-off man. ;) Using Nomar is a stop-gap to get you to the really good 2006/2007 free agent winter. As for Furcal vs. Cedeno vs. Walker, I think we have a good, cheap player in Cedeno, and that's not something to sniff at. We can't afford, even with the funds available, to have expensive players at every position. It's important that we have cheap yet solid production from at least one everyday position -- and we have two possibilities with Murton and Cedeno. Prior and Zambrano aren't going to be cheap anymore, so we need to replace that. With Walker, what's there to complain about? His offensive production far outweighs his supposed defensive short-comings. Personally, if he can do it, I'd love to see Murton given a chance to learn CF, hold it until Pie steps up, and then transition back to LF or be replaced by someone like Carlos Lee or Adam Dunn in 2008 (the Reds can't afford him, more than likely). Something like: 2006: Garciaparra-Murton-Giles 2007: C. Lee/Murton-Pie-Giles 2008: C. Lee/Dunn-Pie-Giles 2009: C. Lee/Dunn-Pie-Harvey

Thanks for the catch, I mistakenly put in his career OBP. Whoops! Sorry about the nitpicking. It's just the .329 OBP in the middle of the lineup was making me angry. People with OBPs that low MUST BAT FIRST! Jeez, you people never learn! :wink: Anyway, I really like that lineup, brinoch, with the exception of Hairston in CF. He's so bad defensively he haemorraghes away a lot of what little offensive value there is tied up in his OBP. For a utility guy, he's great; for a second baseman he's probably about average all told; but he's simply not good enough as an outfielder. I don't really have an alternative solution though. The only other thing is that I would really like to see Matt Murton in the lineup. I hugely doubt that Nomar in CF has any legs to it, but Murton (LF), Walker, Lee, Ramirez, Giles, Nomar (CF), Barrett, Cedeno, pitcher, forget about defence, that's just :twisted: . Well, there's always the Murton to CF possibility. You could send him to Winter Ball to give it a whirl; I doubt he'd be any worse defensively than Hairston. He might have the speed and defensive ability and his arm is better than Hairston's, I think. There's always a chance that Corey screws his head on straight, as well. My guess and hope is that Pie stays in AAA next year for more seasoning, and that will necessitate a stop-gap for a season -- which probably means that a free agent like Johnny Damon or Preston Wilson is out, and lending credence to the in-house Hairston/Patterson stopgap. I suppose you could try batting Cedeno first and carry Patterson 7th in the lineup, dropping Barrett to the 8th spot. Personally, I'm not a fan of Hairston, all in all. His defense is shakey, and he's an injury risk. But even I have to admit that Patterson is looking more and more like a complete bust for the Cubs. There's a chance that the Cubs go with Hairston until Pie is ready mid-season (not that he'd get a chance to play or anything...).

This is a good point. And, having played baseball and still playing soccer as a keeper, I can relate to what you're saying about defense (as you can as well). You know what you're capable of, physically and positionally. But, sometimes you're off your game, or you're just completely stopping everything. A little bit of luck and a little bit of confidence can make a difference. In soccer, the rest of your defense plays a pretty big role -- but so does the pitcher in baseball. If everything is placed correctly, you look great. Likewise, in soccer, if your defense is positioned correctly and covering the various angles, you look brilliant. (Or if your defense deigns to *listen* when you are calling out a far post run, or trying to place the wall... Have I recently mentioned that my team doesn't listen well?) I'm convinced people in a wall take the job too seriously. That is they take on the mental capabilities of one when they are in one. Left means left. All of you. Move to the left. Right would mean to the right, you know the whole right and left thing? And, by the way, I'll tell you when to stop, don't stop after moving three inches to the left. When I call stop, it also means that you don't join the wall on the right and screen your keeper. Moron, go cover someone on a run.

Johjima. ;) He's a free agent after this offseason, he's 4 months older than Barrett, and his numbers last year roughly equate to .315/.373/.533 in MLB. I think I'm done with believing those rough equivalents. Iguchi's equivalent was .311/.358/.474 last year and he's hit .279/.347/.440 this year. Not perfect but not bad either. I understand they hold some merit, and that Japanese players should be considered, but I refuse to get on another bandwagon for these guys. I also have some serious questions per the language barrier. Perhaps if they signed Matsui and he came in from LF everytime the pitcher and catcher wanted to speak, it would be easier. That's something 1908 and I had a conversation about maybe a month ago. It's a concern of mine, definitely, but apparently Johjima has been able to get beyond the language barrier since it's all "baseball talk". I hope that's the case, though I still have question whether that can be the case.

I think being overweight is something that you can overcome as a player, but why would you want to? Take Livan, for example. He has some serious knee problems -- which are probably seriously enhanced by his weight. Any injury -- or even a minor mechanical flaw -- can balloon into a real injury problem for an overwight player. Additional weight, strength obviously, can be asset in baseball, but definitely not when it's fat.

This is a good point. And, having played baseball and still playing soccer as a keeper, I can relate to what you're saying about defense (as you can as well). You know what you're capable of, physically and positionally. But, sometimes you're off your game, or you're just completely stopping everything. A little bit of luck and a little bit of confidence can make a difference. In soccer, the rest of your defense plays a pretty big role -- but so does the pitcher in baseball. If everything is placed correctly, you look great. Likewise, in soccer, if your defense is positioned correctly and covering the various angles, you look brilliant. (Or if your defense deigns to *listen* when you are calling out a far post run, or trying to place the wall... Have I recently mentioned that my team doesn't listen well?)

I really want no part of Kearns' one-year wonder-esque high BABIP from 2002. This season, even after his time in AAA, he has an OBP of .332 and an average of .245. That's way too Burnitz-like for comfort. Presuming Adam Dunn is unavailable, I might be interested in Griffey -- even as injury prone as he is -- for a corner OF. Otherwise, I have no interest in any Red OF not named Adam Dunn. And Weathers looks like one of the English Hanoverian Kings: squat and ugly with bulging eyes. No thanks. :lol: ME THROW BALL... Anyway, I know aout Kearns but he plays solid defense and has pretty much raked in Wrigley for his career-(maybe I'm just haunted by the homerun last year....basta....son of...) anyway-any other options we could get for that package? Hill+Williams+Welly should net us a good player to man RF-any ideas? So did Blauser... ;) As for RF... I think there are a lot of options in terms of trade. Personally, I'd look for someone who is expensive, nearing the end of their contract, and from a team likely to want to shed salary. Texas is an option, certainly, as would be Cincy. Manny Ramirez would be nice. :)

I really want no part of Kearns' one-year wonder-esque high BABIP from 2002. This season, even after his time in AAA, he has an OBP of .332 and an average of .245. That's way too Burnitz-like for comfort. Presuming Adam Dunn is unavailable, I might be interested in Griffey -- even as injury prone as he is -- for a corner OF. Otherwise, I have no interest in any Red OF not named Adam Dunn. And Weathers looks like one of the English Hanoverian Kings: squat and ugly with bulging eyes. No thanks.

Thanks for the catch, I mistakenly put in his career OBP. Whoops!

Personally, I'd like to see the Cubs move Garciaparra to LF, if he can make the transition. Then play Cedeno at SS, keep Walker at 2B, and sign Giles for RF. Let one of Patterson/Hairston/Murton/Pie win the job out of ST (probably Hairston with Pie a late season call-up, I hope). That gives us lots of financial room to sign bullpen help like Wagner, Ryan and such. CF Hairston (.338 OBP, 2005) 2B Walker (.358 OBP, 2005) 1B Lee (.420 OBP, 2005) RF Giles (.429 OBP, 2005) 3B Ramirez (.358 OBP, 2005) LF Garciaparra (.368 OBP, 2005) C Barrett (.345 OBP, 2005) SS Cedeno (.356 OBP, 2005) Rotation: Prior Zambrano Wood Maddux Williams/Hill Bench: C Blanco OF Murton OF Patterson OF/PH Grieve IF Fontenot IF McClain (ie anyone but Macias and/or Perez) Bullpen Wagner/Ryan (closer) Dempster (8th) Ohman (loogy) Rusch (longman, 2nd loogy) Novoa (6th/7th) Wuertz (6th/7th) The beauty of Garciaparra in LF? You don't need a backup SS like Perez. If Cedeno goes down, you have someone who can slot in immediately -- with Murton ready to go in LF. I also wouldn't object to an outfield trade using pitching (Williams?) should Giles prove to be not available. However, going into next season with Jeromy Burnitz or an equivalent player is simply unacceptible. Additionally, there's always a chance that someone attractive is non-tendered. Any way you slice it, though, we need a steep OF upgrade. Not a 2B upgrade.

Is it me, or does David Weathers look like one of Britain's Hanoverian Kings?

Yes, and the irony is amazing. I bet Walker is at fault and missed a sign there, since it can't be Dusty's bad decisions that hurt the Cubs or anything.

Sacrificing? What the heck is going on here? [can't watch game]

Valentin didn't hit a soul-crushing double to score three runs? Hmmm... maybe we finally got the book on this guy, then. [/sarcasm]

New Orleans will be rebuilt because it, and surrounding environs, has the 5th largest port in terms of export cargo in the world. It is aboslutely critical to oil imports, refining, and farm produce in the Midwest. As I recall, New Orleans and South Louisiana is the largest grain port in the US by a tremendous margin -- something like 56% of all grain exports go through NO. Where there's a port of that magnitude, there will be a city.

I'll lay odds that a lot of it is the air.

That is correct. Please don't label, insult, or generalize about groups of posters. I think he meant fans, in general, and not necessarily posters, but the principle holds. Thanks.

Something tells me that won't be an issue. If the Cubs fail to make-up any ground before September, and they keep running out the likes of Burnitz & Co. everyday, then perhaps the Cubs fans who still think this regime is doing well will change their mind. If the argument is you can't use kids when trying to contend, then what would be the defense for not using kids when you can no longer pretend that you are contending? They make too much money to sit the bench, dude.

Sure it does. We need 12 pitchers and Murton makes the least amount of money.

I'm getting more and more jaded with the Cubs' philosophy and management, as an organization. It's really hard to watch them and root for them. I'm spending a week in Belize. The last thing I care about missing is the Cubs. Compare this to 2004 when I was out of town for several months on business and managed to watch nearly every game. And 2003 when I was in Costa Rica for a week but still managed to catch 3 games. I don't like the lying, I don't like the projecting, I don't like the veteran fetish, and I really don't like the excuses. And yet that's what we see on a daily basis. Oh, and those pesky 8 game losing streaks, too. Quite frankly, I'd like to see us jettison Perez, Macias, Burnitz, and Hollandsworth and replace them with Cedeno, Fontenot, Murton and Greenberg. Let's see what happens with a little youth.

His awesomeness is immeasurable.