Beer Kaese

Trade them all at max value as quick as possible. Turn it and fill the holes with cash. We are a big market team. Soto lost a lot of trade value last year but hopefully we make that up with Garza. At this point Soto is a bit above average and on the verge of expensive. It he starts hot we could get some real value in return. Marmol is due 7 and then 10 million. If he has a good first half someone will pay but if not it's just another escalating Hendry blunder. Dempster can be be turned (if he pitches well) but you are not going to get high potential in return unless a team is desperate. A gone Byrd is a given.

Trade them all at max value as quick as possible. Turn it and fill the holes with cash. We are a big market team.

I don't think it's a 3 to 5 year rebuild. 2012 is lost for sure but 2013 you have Z and Dempster off the books and you've had time to assess the prospects you've acquired. I see an exciting team in 2013 and a contender in 2014.

I'm a Big Z fan but I think with the Cubs playing poorly and sinking in the standings it would take one bad outing by Z for the whole "hold him for more value" idea would go up in flames. I wish him well but it had to be done. Oh, great article Rob.

Dempster had an exceptional year in 2008, but it's not like he fell into complete mediocrity after that. 2008: 2.96/3.41/3.69 ERA/FIP/xFIP - 8.14 K/9, 3.31 BB/9 - 5.2 fWAR 2009: 3.65/3.87/3.76 ERA/FIP/xFIP - 7.74 K/9, 2.93 BB/9 - 3.7 fWAR 2010: 3.85/3.99/3.74 ERA/FIP/xFIP - 8.69 K/9, 3.50 BB/9 - 3.4 fWAR 2011: 4.80/3.91/3.70 ERA/FIP/xFIP - 8.50 K/9, 3.65 BB/9 - 2.8 fWAR Going by ERA, he's gotten worse each year and was pretty bad in 2011. However, the peripherals say something completely different. His WAR has gotten worse each year, but it's still pretty respectable and his K/9 and BB/9 have remained pretty consistent. He's not a guy I'm building around, but he's not a guy I'm looking to dump for nothing either. He's peaked and is in decline and I hope he has another great year in the final year of his contract to we can get more than he is worth going forward.

Dempster had a rocky year last year, but a large part of it was bad luck and bad defense. His peripherals were pretty well in line with the rest of his career, so there's plenty of reason to believe he could rebound entering next season. How good will he be beyond 2012 however? I don't know, but it's not all that outlandish to think he could be a decent middle of the rotation guy going forward. I hope Dempster does do well so we can trade him from something good. He had a career when he started that flippy glove gimmic. I've seen enough. Dempster to the Dumpster for whatever we can get.

I'm glad you are not the GM. I wouldn't go into the season thinking "one more guy". Why? I'm suggestin that we sign Fielder who would be a guy to rebuild around going that route and simply playing wait and see for 6-7 months on a potential fire sale when much of what we have would have the same trade value, in some cases more depending on who needs what. Do you think Soto and Soriano batting 4 and 5 is a contender? I don't.

I'm glad you are not the GM. I wouldn't go into the season thinking "one more guy".

Even if we trade Garza, I think offense is what is going to (likely) keep us from contending in 2013. If we get serious about winning by then, there will most likely be elite FA starting pitchers to bid on. We'll also have the option of bringing back Dempster if he looks like he has a couple years left, or we could wait out Edwin Jackson and try to get him on a team-friendly deal this offseason. While there are plenty of high end, or potential high end, pitching options out there, there's nothing apparent on the offensive side outside of Prince and, depending on your view, Cespedes. We could get lucky and there could be a team offering a young, elite offensive talent for something less than a king's ransom, but barring luck I don't see this offense being all that good by 2013. As the 2010 Giants showed, you don't have to have a great (or even good) offense to make the playoffs and the World Series, but we're going to have to build a really good pitching staff in a short period of time to make up for what is looking to be a pretty pedestrian offense in 2012 and probably 2013 as well. Dempster? Are you serious?

There's no reason it should take that long. We've looking at 12, where we have no chance (realistically). It's unlikely that we have a team, on paper, heading into spring training that most view as a series contender in 13. That puts it at 14/15. It's not to say that the 13 team doesn't exceed expectations it's only to temper expectations of a quick turn. It boils down to this, show me the pitchers. If we trade Garza and get a high ceiling near major league guy (and them some) and we trade Z before he melts down (again) ... show me the pitching and then I'll buy into 13.

I suppose we can get carried away with the shrinking payroll a bit but there is a method here. The escalating contracts and aging core that was the 07/08 success imploded. It's time to clean house and get the maximum high level minor, potential turnaround and spring training competition to begin to lay the foundation for the next run. The Farm system lacks players with the potential of being special. Trade whatever you have (except Starlin Castro) and fix that problem. Bring in players who are not expensive yet that have the potential of having a good year and, if they do, decide if they fit the plan or flip them for younger and better players near the deadline. Then, make sure you have six starting pitchers on your 40 man roster at the beginning of the season. I haven't felt this good about the Cubs since 2009 and I think they can exceed the success of 07/08 around 14/15.

Cuban sucks. Just look at the Mavs. I hope to god that over hyped piece of human garbage doesn't end up owning my team. I'll find a new team or sport. F Cuban.

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I don't know, this lineup stuff is getting old. The Cubs starters (Soriano, Pie, Fukudome, Ramirez, Theriot, DeRosa, Lee and Soto) are not ideal for lineup construction. Me, I start with the #3 hitter. I want OBP and SLG. That limits the choices to Lee and maybe Fukudome. Then I look at the cleanup guy. I'm looking for SLG with OBP. If Lee bats 3rd then Ramirez bats 4th. If Fukudome bats 3rd then I could see Lee and Ramirez as interchangable 4th and 5th in the lineup. I could also see Fukudome leading off, he's supposed to be an OBP guy who runs well. I thought about this the other day: Fukudome, DeRosa, Lee, Ramirez, Soriano, Soto, Pie, Theriot. I'd like to see that for a while and see what happens.

Just who is he?

I think this is kinda ridiculous. You wrote it yourself-this is Spring Training. The whole point, especially with players a manager has never seen before, is to try various things out and see if they work. Piniella said himself: "I might drop him back down to the two-spot and see what happens." It sounds like he's tinkering with things to see what works best. The last time I checked, that's the point of practice games. Why not? I'd much rather have a manager who tries things (ESPECIALLY in Spring Training) to see what might work best over a manager who is so wedded to his stupid philosophies that he refuses to try anything new. I think his quote here is telling: "Maybe the three-hole might be asking a little much too soon. We might drop him to the two-hole, and he might be more comfortable there." I don't think this has anything to do with "protection," or anything else we flippantly label "old school." I think it has more to do with the fact that Piniella probably believes that Fukudome is trying to drive the ball too much, thus expanding his strike zone, instead of remaining patient and trying to simply get on base. Putting him in the #2 hole might be a way to allow Fukudome to re-establish those facets that make him a good hitter. Most importantly, however, I think an Allen Iverson quote is probably the most important to remember for some perspective here. Practice? You're talking about Practice... Not the games. Practice... Back at the convention Lou talked about hitting Fukudone 2, 3 and 5. When pressed he came up with this lineup: 2007/2008 Soriano/Soriano Theriot/Theriot Lee/Lee Ramirez/Ramirez Floyd/Fukudome DeRosa/DeRosa Soto/Soto Jones/Pie You have to wonder, when put on the spot in January, how Lou could come up with such a lineup. In a couple weeks the extra players, fodder for a 9 inning game, are pushed out and we get our first real look at what the team might look like.

Bruce is correct. I can post as http://www.paolicheese.com/cheese/38 without a problem and I make one heck of a salami sandwich. If I made a name out of commenting on other people or posting original information I should and would use my own name, unless I was outing high level crooks. I've said it before .... blah, blah. I saw Yearly Kos on CSpan. Kos himself said it was about choice in what news you choose to consume. I would add that with choice comes responsibility. In my opinion most blogs are not acting responsibly, they feed on the dark part of our nature. The only Cubs blog I read is The Cub Reporter. If you missed http://mvn.com/mlb-cubs/2008/01/25/bigfoot/ on Leiber's injury you missed excellence in blogging.

I don't think anyone can clearly say exactly what the Cubs have in Cedeno. Sure, he got plenty of at bats in 2006, but he had just turned 23 years of age. During his age 24 season, he got limited major league at bats and absolutely tore up AAA. Now that he's basically fully developed, it's worth the risk to give Cedeno the job and see if he can outproduce Theriot. Personally, I think he can. He has more power and is a better defender and I think he can hit for better average, which should help him match Theriot overall in OBP. The Cubs have a perfect spot for him to bat, which is 8th. This would also prevent Lou from playing Theriot and batting him 2nd. DeRosa is currently the best option (excluding Fukudome) to bat 2nd. We pretty much agree then. I like Fukudome 3rd and 5th depending on the whether we're facing a lefty or righty. Without looking in depth I'd think keeping Ramirez 4th and flipping Lee with Fukudome would be the way to go but I haven't looked at the splits. When Hendry was asked about not producing a position player at the convention he didn't offer Theriot. I think that short is an open position. There is no question in my mind that Theriot lacks range and he has no power to make up for that weakness. That makes him a utility player, spot starter, pinch runner and freaking cheap ... for now. I think it's interesting that they ran Ronny out to center to give him another way to get at bats even if Theriot starts at short in April. I mean, think about it. If Cedeno hits in a part time role in center and Theriot lacks range and power, it opens the door. ".. it's worth the risk to give Cedeno the job .." I want Ronny to take the job away with superior play. He can do it in March or, if he's the RH option in CF, he's got more time.

I think we're over doing the Theriot bites thing. The fact is Theriot would be an excellent utility infielder. The problem is Cedeno hasn't hit. So shouldn't we take the position that Cedeno sucks and because of that a utility guy is starting at short? Back to the topic. Lou said at the convention that he's thought about batting Fukudome 2nd and 3rd as well as 5th. He just doesn't know and how could he?

It may be polically incorrect but it is spot on. That's why I want mods to determine it's fate. It's spot on? I am not going to be a part of a fiery political debate, I just try not to get involved in those, and I'm sure you know this already but there are obviously other reason than these for why someone would vote for Obama. Which is why I said that I enjoy your humor, but its misguided. I love politics. I love a Presidential election way more than a superball. (the NFL sucks!!!) The last Monkey pimping "change" was William Jefferson Clinton. In my opinion he would have lost in 92 without the help of Perot. How about this; shove your change, I want folding money.

Beer Kaese is an aged brick cheese.

worst case, in two weeks we've baseball to talk about

It may be polically incorrect but it is spot on. That's why I want mods to determine it's fate.

kill it if it's too hot

I doubt it.