UK1679666180

Yes, that was just Kenney reaching for a positive spin on an overall disappointing farm right now.

Same here. I wouldn't go in person though. I see enough sporting events in person where it's outside and under 35 degrees.

Him swinging for the fences is fine, with his uppercut swing it's not about shortening up his swing or slowing down his bat as you'll still get strikeouts and lazy fly balls regardless. He's not going to change his bat angle to make more contact and change everything mechanically with two strikes and screw up his swing. I've mentioned this in the past, but I want to see him more aggressive early in the count, he takes too many strikes early in the count and unless he is a severe guess hitter and guessing wrong, he's watching too many pitches that should be driven, given his talents.

I'm watching the preview shows right now, My TV viewing is in the stages of taking a dramatic change.

http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2008/12/8/684681/bcb-interview-crane-kenney I love the fact Flieta is excited about Eljaua, hopefully Eljaua can have similar success as Oneri did in that role before handing it to Serra. They were in much need of a brand facility in the DR as it was legendary how poor thier previous facility was, I've been critical of their Latin American scouting program for years amd it appears they are on the right track. I bolded the last part b/c I disagree with it (beyond the Chicago Cubs obviously) b/c it's more about high end talent rather than a collective group with marginal to fringe talent that might not be age appropiate for the level they are at. Obviously, if you're only a fan of Daytona, Iowa, Boise, etc. and not the Chicago Cubs, that doesn't apply.

http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3753459 Bobby Dickerson is the new manager of Iowa and they retained the same coaches (looking at Joshua).

TB still needs a DH like Burrell or Dunn and a closer to maximize their talents going into '09. If they do that, it'll be a fun race. Toronto will likely finish under .500 b/c of that division, but would be the 2nd best team in the NL central and likely around 85 wins.

He was finally healthy last year for STL and made significant improvements defensively compared to when he was on the Cubs. Balt. overspent on someone who has similar value has Everett, but losing teams have to go overvalue to get even role players occasionally.

That's like an inverse order of talent. And do you really want to give Lowe the same amount of money as Peavy? Peavy is going to require more than money. If Peavy was a FA, he would be 1st on my list. With that said, given the rumors of what it would've req'd to obtain Peavy, Lowe and salary difference. is prob. worth the extra money spent as well as keeping the farm from going bad to one of the worst. Which would be worse for the farm, giving up the pick or giving up crappy prospects? If Vitters is included, then the farm would take a worse hit b/c there likely won't be anyone signable with the talent of Vitters in the btm 5 of the 1st rd.

That's like an inverse order of talent. And do you really want to give Lowe the same amount of money as Peavy? Peavy is going to require more than money. If Peavy was a FA, he would be 1st on my list. With that said, given the rumors of what it would've req'd to obtain Peavy, Lowe and salary difference. is prob. worth the extra money spent as well as keeping the farm from going bad to one of the worst.

I would prob. rank in order of how I would like to see the Cubs address it. Lowe Sheets Peavy If Sheets struggles in the FA market b/c of health concerns, he might be the better bargain if he gets the fewer years and dollars per.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewc1hixzYPY It's too early to judge anyone's off-season so far, maybe except NYY and maybe the White Sox and STL (although Greene is a marginal move while what the Sox have done with their farm system has been outstanding IMO). If it's Feb. 15th and the roster looks the same I will agree with you.

Hugh Hollins disagrees. But that was an amazing flop, all jump shots should be followed with a fall so they can go to the line.

I would agree that Gathright is a better bargain at 800K than what Abreu will likely command simply b/c Abreu has no range and like other OF options that struggle defensively to remain in the OF, unless he becomes a DH Abreu will be a severe defensive liability. As bad as Abreu was defensively last year, how much was it a fluke? He'll be bad defensively regardless but will he be bad enough to where he's again one of the worst RF'ers in the past 5 years? I think his offensive capabilities could outweigh his defensive liabilities to where he becomes league avg. in RF similar to '07. It doesn't make sense as far as comparing Gathright and Abreu given age, salaries, expected roles, positions, etc.

I guess I just take issue with the fact that you guys here seem to think that GMs, people who get paid millions of dollars for their expertise and have moved up through a system of professionals, are wrong and you're right. That they undervalue a guy like Adam Dunn and you have the correct value figured out. Did you ever stop to think that maybe it's not the GMs undervaluing Dunn, but you guys over valuing Dunn? Just stop and think about it as a possibility for a second. using the "gms know better because they are gms" argument is a copout. what about when sabean gave zito 126 million? what about 2/40 for andruw jones? 5/50 for gary matthews jr? 5/50 for juan pierre? 8/126 for soriano? do you agree with all those contracts? you have to, because you just said we can't question gms' intelligence Yes or no, you know better then an average baseball GM? Who said that we did? B/c they know more than me. Yes or no, have you agreed with every move the cubs have ever made? No. But I'm man enough to admit that I'm not in the position to say they were wrong... at least until hindsight. You just did admit you haven't agreed with every trade the Cubs have made, regardless of being a fan or a member of a front office, you are going to formulate an opinion of whether one team got the better end of a trade regardless of baseball background, it's human nature. That opinion is likely based on your baseball ideals and whether you've been following the game for 50 days by reading the back of baseball cards, scouting for 50 years, or creating baseball statistical formulas for the last 25 years, you're going to form an opinion on the game. It's not about right or wrong, it's about creating logical reasons why you agree/disagree with a roster move and discussing it on those merits. No one is saying they are smarter or would do a better job than a GM.

I guess I just take issue with the fact that you guys here seem to think that GMs, people who get paid millions of dollars for their expertise and have moved up through a system of professionals, are wrong and you're right. That they undervalue a guy like Adam Dunn and you have the correct value figured out. Did you ever stop to think that maybe it's not the GMs undervaluing Dunn, but you guys over valuing Dunn? Just stop and think about it as a possibility for a second. using the "gms know better because they are gms" argument is a copout. what about when sabean gave zito 126 million? what about 2/40 for andruw jones? 5/50 for gary matthews jr? 5/50 for juan pierre? 8/126 for soriano? do you agree with all those contracts? you have to, because you just said we can't question gms' intelligence Yes or no, you know better then an average baseball GM? Who said that we did? B/c they know more than me. Yes or no, have you agreed with every move the cubs have ever made?

I guess I just take issue with the fact that you guys here seem to think that GMs, people who get paid millions of dollars for their expertise and have moved up through a system of professionals, are wrong and you're right. That they undervalue a guy like Adam Dunn and you have the correct value figured out. Did you ever stop to think that maybe it's not the GMs undervaluing Dunn, but you guys over valuing Dunn? Just stop and think about it as a possibility for a second. Were Chan Ho Park, Adrian Beltre, Soriano, Driefort, A. Jones, Pierre, etc. good signings? You're acting as if the decisions made by GMs are fool-proof b/c they are baseball-lifers. Why did 28 GMs overlook Carlos Quinten last year? Have the Cubs ever made a move that you disagreed with?

If Dunn put up those numbers in the Hump dome, he would've had the better offensive season. If Morneau would've hit in Cincy & AZ, he would've likely had a higher OBP and SLG than Dunn. Defensively, Morneau is a plus defensive defender and Dunn is fringe at best.

Morneau is an above avg. defender at 1B, which is an underrated defensive position, IMO. It's odd to try and use one of the best hitters in the AL to try and show how limited the value is of Dunn. I can't believe how bad of a hitter Morneau is.... Who's better him or Pujols? Please stop avoiding the question. I didn't ask you to compare the two for value. You guys are claiming that OBP and HRs are without a doubt under every circumstance the best possible stats to go by. I just showed you a guy, Morneau, that had a worse OBP and less HRs then Dunn. All I'm asking for is your judgment on who had a better offensive year. Is that a reason to be a wise guy about it? I never said that. I said from the get go, that if you want to knock Dunn down a few pegs using a limited sample of hitting with RISP is a poor way to do it. Why would someone go with just HRs and OBP? There are better stats to use, I wouldn't use those stats only to judge a hitter but I also wouldn't say the Cubs shouldn't sign Dunn b/c he has .225 avg. w/RISP. Personally, using OBP and Hrs is a much better barometer of a hitter than batting avg. with RISP. I don't think I was being a wise guy, I just fail to see the logic in comparing who was better between Morneau and Dunn, which you're not factoring Park Factors, which if Dunn had put those same numbers playing the full year in Minn. he would likely have had the better numbers. While Morneau had better numbers while having the lower OPS it was b/c he hit in a much more difficult park to so in compared to the GABP and Chase like Dunn.

Gathright would be fine as the 5th OF'er or CF in Iowa, he has Pierre's arm but can cover alot of ground. If the Cubs trade Pie, he'd likely assume the role of defensive replacement/pinch runner.

Morneau is an above avg. defender at 1B, which is an underrated defensive position, IMO. It's odd to try and use one of the best hitters in the AL to try and show how limited the value is of Dunn. I can't believe how bad of a hitter Morneau is.... Who's better him or Pujols? I would take Morneau for what it's worth, if Dunn wasn't so passive, I'd probably take Dunn if only based on offense b/c they are similar and a little more aggressive Dunn would make up for that.

Put him and Harden on Maddux-like pitch counts, be content with 5-6IP (80-90 pitches), keep a 7th bullpen guy to help eat innings, and hope for 165-175IP for each of them.

Well, we're all about the same age. I know, I'm about the same age too. Just can't believe people remember the horrible 1995 finish and were too young to remember the fun 1994 finish. I enjoyed Raymont Harris. I still despise the Redskins of the mid to late 80s. D. Williams, Gary Clark, Monk, Didier, D. Green returning the kick for the TD. Edit:Bukie beat me to it.

Yes, Dunn is more agile and still has a decent arm.

Morneau had 333 ABs with runners on and Dunn only had 217ABs, I think the fact Morneau had 116 more ABs indicates that the guys in front of him did a much better job of getting on base.