AFCubsFan

Looking at his numbers, it doesn't appear that he has much pop left in his bat, but his OBP and AVG look good last year. I think he has decent value as a backup for the corner IF and he should be cheap. He only made $850K last year. I'm not sure if the Cubs would prefer a lefty over him though.

First of all, take Cedeno and Murton out. They are too young, Dusty will not play them. He may give them some inconsistent playing time at first...but they will be benched. Mabry and Neifi will take their spots in the lineup. Also be on the lookout for a replacement Macias. There has been a lot of talk about Walker not being on the team next year...I'm inclined to believe it. I wish the team would keep Walker, but I'm not sure that's going to happen. I believe Dusty is prejudiced against him because of his name "Walker." You don't walk runs in, you hit them in. It's called hitting, not walking. I don't look for much improvement from this position. Our real lineup: Pierre Neifi D Lee ARam Mabry or the Mystery RF Same as above Barrett or Mystery 2B Same as above There is a chance the Mystery 2B and Neifi could switch places in the lineup. We also don't know that any of the players you mentioned for RF will actually be a Cub on opening day. So...yeah...the lineup is disgusting right now. The good news is that the best and easiest options are gone....I mean...that it's only December and there's still time for improvement. Oh, you should also factor in DL time for ARam and his annual groin injury.

This is the best news ever. If I ever have something crappy happen to me in the future, all I'll have to do is remember that Macias is no longer a Cub and I'll feel a rush of joy.

Don't you think trading Walker away would put Neifi at 2B and increase the odds of signing Macias AGAIN.

I'm a radio/TV broadcaster in the Air Force and my goal is to call MLB games after my military career. I look forward to reading some of your answers for those looking to get into MLB broadcasting. I have some different types of questions about how you handle the job. I think preparation is the key to any type of good broadcast. How much time do you spend and what do you do to prepare for a game? What game situations are the most challenging for you as an announcer and how do you handle them? What are some of the things you learned during your first season with the Cubs? Who is your favorite Cubs player to interview and why? What is the hardest MLB ballpark to call a game in? Why? What is your favorite MLB ballpark? Do you have a favorite as a fan and a different favorite as an announcer? What's your favorite city to visit? Why and/or what do you do there when you're not calling a game? How do you cope with the hectic travel schedule? How do you spend your time on the road? Thanks for visiting the site and answering some of our questions. Keep up the great work in the announce booth!

I appreciate that Hendry has done his best to build a winning team. He has actually pursued some "name" players for us. However, I don't think he should get another injury pass. The Cubs came into the season relying heavily on Nomar to offset a loss in OF production. They were also relying on Wood and Prior to stay healthy. How realistic is this? When is the last time Wood, Prior, or Nomar had a healthy season? It's a fantasy world. The only question I have is who should be fired: Hendry, Baker, or both? Is the talent>than the team's record? If so, Dusty should be gone. Is the payroll>than the talent? If so, Hendry should be gone. In regards to the payroll question, a lot of that money was in contracts that Hendry didn't make so I don't think he deserves all the blame. Now we're gearing up for the offseason. What positions to the Cubs need to fill? Is TWalks contract up? If so, the team needs 3 OF's (unless CPatt deserves another chance), a starting SS, and a starting 2B. That's just in the starting lineup. Some are saying the team should have an extra $30 mil to spend in the offseason. That's great if they spend it wisely...but I get the feeling they'll overpay for mediocrity and continue to neglect some of the team needs. They will also not know which rookies deserve shots at bigger roles because those rooks won't see enough playing time...even with the team out of it this month. In my opinion, Dusty should be fired. They could turn it into a promotional day at the ballpark. He stands in the way of success. The team has develped a poor attitude and he contributes to the problem. He's an excuse maker and the team follows his lead. We need to know which rookie players deserve a shot before we enter the offseason, that won't happen with Baker at the helm. The organization should also evaluate Henry's plan for this offseason. If it doesn't look good, fire him now. It's better to do it now instead of waiting until he commits the Sosa savings to new bad contracts.

I used MLB.TV for a couple years while I was stationed in Germany. There were times I had a lot of trouble with it blocking up and losing the feed. Then I got rid of Norton Antivirus and switched to ZoneAlarm for my firewall and antivirus program...I hardly ever had any problems after that. Last year I even I got a new computer and ran the video out to my new 61 inch TV...it exposed some of the weakness of the signal, but overall it looked good enough. It also carried all of the hard to get WCIU games! I'm actually a little frustrated now that I have the MLB Extra Innings package because I don't get as many games as I did before...of course, the picture quality on Extra Innings is better though.

I don't want to see a Hill for Kearns trade at this point. I think the team would be better off seeing what younger OF'ers like Murton can do before they give up a prospect for a struggling OF who isn't even playing for a major league club right now (the Cubs already have one of those.) Kearns would just block the kids that are already blocked by sub-mediocre players. Teams can play younger players and win. Put Murton in LF for a while, see what he can do, don't jack with his playing time, then adjust if he isn't performing up to expectations but the team still has a good chance at the deadline. Otherwise, leave him in for an extended tryout. It would be helpful to the club in the offseason to know what kind of talent they have before they overspend on a FA OF flop. Even the Yankees have been known to play some home-grown talent. If Dusty can't comply, fire him. The team obviously thinks it has a problem because it's looking for an OF. It's in their best interest to see if they already have that OF in house before they look for outside help.

So he got to play one full game, got pulled in his second game (the Dubois treatment), is out today and the soonest he could possibly get another start is Thursday...I don't see how these rookies don't succeed with all this regular playing time.

I'm on! He's looking good in his first game...looks like he's patient, uses all fields, agressive on the basepaths, and should be a fun player to watch. I also dig the name: Murton. That's a pro name right there.

Walker also hit the snot out of the ball...it was just one of those days for him. Hairston-Walker-Lee is definitely the best top of the order for this team. Brenly even made some comments about the bad decisions of Neifi and CPatt in the 1 and 2 spots (although I'm not sure he called them by name.) Bob said that putting higher OBP guys like Hairston and Walker in those spots would result in more than 100 more baserunners in the season. Better yet, those baserunners would be on for D Lee, ARam, and Burnitz to drive in. I know it's common sense, but it was refreshing to hear. Maybe Bob will get run out of town for offering a valid opinion.

That was my ballot. I think fans need to remember that the game determines homefield for the WS...so fans really should pick the guys performing the best to give their league a better chance at winning. I think the voting process is a joke. It's a matter of time before a team's fans figure out how to hijack a vote and vote in the worst possible playeres for the opposing league.

Now Jay Marriotti is catching on: http://www.suntimes.com/output/mariotti/cst-spt-jay22.html

I wish Macias' father had pulled it out.

Isn't he 1 for 13 now?

Dusty is the greatest managerial mind in the history of baseball! Dusty knows things that no one else knows. Everyone else on the planet can see "stupidity" in most of the moves Dusty makes, but Dusty Baker isn't everyone else. He is the one and only...the alpha and omega. His managing insight tells him that playing Macias is the best play to make. And even though the results are almost always bad, Dusty knows what he is doing. He makes moves that nobody else makes. Why would you hire someone to make the same decisions a majority of sane people would make? Dusty does it his way, and even when the team loses, it's good to know they lost it "the Dusty Way." Thank you Dusty, for saving the Cubs. You are the only worthwhile thing in all of Chicago sports. Sammy was afraid and not worthy to be in your presence. Sure, he helped save baseball and carried the Cubs on his back for years...but apparently he wasn't worthy to hold your toothpick. I know Dusty is the master at creating a positive atmosphere. Somehow, his brilliant mind didn't think Sosa was important enough to work through problems with. I'm sure Dusty made the right call. Dusty is brilliant, after all. He and he alone led the team to the almost World Series in 2003. Forget about Houston choking their season away in the end. Actually, don't forget about that...Dusty orchestrated it. He actually managed the Brewers using his powers of telepathy to make sure they'd win when he wanted them to. Injuries were the downfall of 2004. I know some people would like to blame Dusty for those. Look, if you think the injuries of Prior and Wood were due to Dusty overusing and abusing them in 2003 you're wrong. Sure, you can use things like "numbers" and "historical facts," but what do those prove? Nothing! I know Prior threw 130+ pitches in his last 2 starts of the 2003 regular season, I know he was left in during the blowout against the Braves in the NLDS, but it means nothing. Pitch counts and other statistics are just a bunch of fancy "numbers" designed to bring Dusty down. And don't cry when Zambrano gets injured. I know it's predictable that it will happen given the pattern of his use...but don't blame Dusty. It's not his fault. Blame Sosa, Stone, Chip, the umpires, the fans, the trainer, the media, the GM, Dick Pole, Larry Rothschild, Bob Brenly, Len Kasper, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Don Zimmer, Pedro Martinez, Dick Clark, Bin Laden, Paris Hilton, Oliver North, John Shoop, and/or George Bush (Sr and Jr.) Blame anyone but Dusty. Dusty is smart.

maybe it hurt your brain to make up something so idiotic. thats not how dusty thinks The theory would certainly justify his choice of pinch hitters and spot starters. I'm just looking at it from every angle even though the real reason for his decisions is one of the following: 1) Dusty is an idiot 2) The only stat that matters to Dusty for a bench player is Years Old 3) 2 kind of goes back to 1...Dusty is an idiot Well last year when Sammy went down, why didnt he chose Goodwin to start instead of Holly? Goodwin had the lower OBP so by your stupid logic of Dustys moves he would have started Goodwin. Way to use one instance to try to prove your point. Why is everyone so sample size stupid these days, its really getting annoying. You're right, I should eliminate option 2 and stick with "Dusty is an idiot."

maybe it hurt your brain to make up something so idiotic. thats not how dusty thinks The theory would certainly justify his choice of pinch hitters and spot starters. I'm just looking at it from every angle even though the real reason for his decisions is one of the following: 1) Dusty is an idiot 2) The only stat that matters to Dusty for a bench player is Years Old 3) 2 kind of goes back to 1...Dusty is an idiot

I've figured out the Dusty logic on the worst players getting the most AB's off the bench. The following isn't a Dusty quote, it's just an attempt to understand the way he thinks. See if you can follow as I break down some Dusty logic. If a player's OBP is .250, that means, on average, he gets on base once every 4 AB's. A player with a .350 OBP would, on average, reach base every 2.9 AB's. You always have to bring the players with the lowest OBP off the bench first, because they need more AB's to get their hits. You have to get them all the AB's you can. That way, they're always getting closer to getting a hit. The higher OBP guys don't need the AB's. They require less AB's to get hits, so you have to give them less AB's. It's simple math. You can ask Dick Pole. Wow, that hurt my brain just thinking about it!

Is zz Dusty? If so, is coming to NSBB and trash talking people who disagree with him a bad managerial move?

See, again you are exaggerating. I'm not talking about the grand scheme. I'm talking about one play in one game where getting the bunt down and the runner over for your 3-4-5 guys to knock in is a success. Neifi did it. He didn't hit a home run, but that's much harder to do than get a bunt down, which is still hard to do. The ability to bunt a player over wins and loses a lot of games, I don't know who would disagree with that. I'm sure there are several pitchers on the bench who could have come in to lay down a sac bunt. The sad thing is that some of the pitchers may be better hitters than Neifi if given the same amount of AB's in their careers.

I don't care if Neifi went 12 for 12 and hit an 8 run homer, putting him in over Hairston was stupid. I really dont see how you can defend this. That is the silliest thing I've read in a long time. It shows you just think stats are the end-all be-all. You really must think that because you have a book full of stats you are qualified to be a professional baseball manager. Your statement just defies basic understanding of the practicalities of a 162+ game baseball season - practically nobody plays 162 games a year, as the manager you have to decide when to pull the string on a bench player. What are your stats for that? Oh, you'd just play your best players 162 games a year, cuz there's no stat for 'tiredness'. Even in the hot Wrigley summers. Like the '69 Cubs. God, it's not as simple as you believe it to be. Sometimes Perez over Hairston is the right move. God, the arrogance of the stat worshippers.... Hairston Jr must be very tired since he's been so overused. Same with Dubois. Or maybe their tired from the switch to daylight savings time. Maybe they're tired from actually being successful batters in the past. It takes a lot out of a player I guess. Neifi and Macias wouldn't understand. They normally get the advantage of never having to run the bases.

From Rotoworld: http://fantasybaseball.rotoworld.com/content/playernews.asp?sport=MLB&lastline=139784

He's keeps the clubhouse happy and gets players with players with big egos to work together. He helps everyone get along and he gets the most out of his players. Those are some of the main reasons the Cubs hired him. Look how happy he kept the clubhouse last year. Look at all the suspensions and ejections. Look at all the fights the Cubs picked with everyone. Oh wait, I suppose everyone was ganging up on the Cubs...just like everyone gangs up on Dusty. It's plain to see that Dusty's attitude is rubbing off on the team. Dusty did a great job dealing with last years problem players...he did nothing. Hendry had to get rid of them (including a future 1st ballot HOF'er.) There were a lot of bad attitudes from the players on and off the field last year and Dusty didn't seem to do anything about it. As far as keeping people fresh, I guess that explains the burnt out Cubs in the 2003 playoffs. Even if the team made the WS, the bullpen was dead. It also explains the meltdown last year. Look how much the fans dislike Macias and Perez. I don't think it's so much a problem with the players as it is a problem with the way Dusty uses them. Macias should be the emergency guy. If someone goes down late in a ballgame and there are no other players on the bench who could possibly field that position, that's when you use Macias. That is Jose's greatest attribute. He's the "oh crap, we need a body at that position and no one else on the bench has played there before" guy. Neifi accomplishes the same thing as Macias, except he plays fewer positions. I have no idea why Hendry has both of them on the team, and I have even less of an idea as to why Dusty plays them so much...especially in pinch hit roles. Or worse yet, as the #2 hitter in the batting order. Dusty should be fired plain and simple. The Cubs would easily have the money for a better bench and a CLOSER if: 1) Dusty didn't have a 4 year deal worth $14-15 million and 2) They weren't paying so much of Sosa's contract while he plays for the O's. By the way, if Dusty could do the main thing he was brought in to do (keep players happy and help them get along), Sosa would still be with the team and that would have freed up a lot of money to use elsewhere. To sum it up, Dusty is the wrong manager in the wrong place at the wrong time. He wasn't hired for his in game management, he was hired for the way he handles and motivates players. He has failed on both sides and it's past time for him to go. Give the top payroll in the NL to some of the former Cubs managers and I think they'd do better. Baylor almost managed a team full of not much to the playoffs in 2001. Riggs took a team of nothing to the playoffs in '98. Give either of them a payroll like this and they would be dangerous (it takes a lot for me to say I miss Baylor.) I know the managers don't decide how to use the payroll, but I don't think they'd mess up using the players on the roster as badly as Dusty.

Thanks to everyone for their convention reports. You guys did a great job for those of us who couldn't make it.