XZero771679666304

Yeah. FSU returning the kickoff for a TD would be a real kicker, too.

Eh, the deal struck me more as Ibanez being a throw in becase of salary and Reed being the real value in the deal. This deal minus the trading for Clement part would have been great before giving a spot to Jones. OF- LF-Ibanez CF-Pierre RF-Reednot sure he has the arm for it, but whatever 4thOF-Murton 5thOF-Mabry If you COULD do Hill,Patterson for Reed that would be nice Who's the backup CFer? Hairston

Agreed.

Micheal Robinson is one tough SOB, IMO.

UConn goes down to Marquette, 94-79. Overrateds UK and OK win squeakers.

Pretty obvious that he found her during the "supermarket bagboy" days, not the "NFL MVP multimillionaire" days. He met her at a country western bar in Cedar Falls when he was playing at UNI. Needless to say, Cedar Falls isn't a hotbed for hot women.

Yeah, and Quinn's sister looks like she might once have been Quinn's brother, if you know what I mean. She wasn't horribly ugly. And while she is no supermodel, I will say that I hope for her sake that she really likes Hawk's personality and the millions that he will make in the NFL, because looking at that face on him could get old really fast. Not horribly ugly, but a long and masculine face. Kinda scary, IMO. At least Sarah Wood looked good.

Yeah, and Quinn's sister looks like she might once have been Quinn's brother, if you know what I mean.

Speaking of WV, did anyone else hear that they have another trapped miner situation there?

I would never have known....... :lol:

True. I think Illinois will get better as the year goes on, though. Especially if Randle starts playing to his potential and being more aggressive.

And those 2 things are only in the same sentence, because illiniguy had to bring up the IU/ISU game for no reason. It had nothing to do with the discussion going on at the time. Heck, he brought up Duke for an unknown reason too. And perhaps you should re-read and show me a spot where anyone has talked down Illinois. The only thing is Sully completely going off the deep end because of a Clark Kellogg column. Hell, I called U of I a potential Final 4 team in this thread and you personally talked them down and said that they haven't played anyone. IG brought up the IU/ISU game to detract from Duke's schedule, saying that playing IU wasn't a true challenge because IU couldn't beat a mediocre team. I don't necessarily agree with that, but he did bring it up for a reason.

I think the schedule had to be softer this year. No because there is less talent, but because the team has 3 new starters and a different dynamic. The team went from small to big, and there was going to be a period of adjustment as they learned how to play together. Last year the starters were all used to each other, and operated well enough to play top teams right away.

I would not expect this year's total LF production to be significantly better than last year's total LF production. The Cubs LF put up .265 .319 .418 last sesaon, and while I would hope Murton can do better, somebody else is going to get a lot of time, and will probably drag down the number. If Murton gets the lion's share of the PT, I think it is perfectly reasonable to expect at least a .050 boost in OPS from LF. If being the operative word. I think it's far from certain that Murton will put up an .800 OPS. Well, if .319 + .418 = .800, then I wouldn't have made that statement. I think an OPS of .785 is perfectly reasonable to expect, and far more conservative than some others here have predicted for him. He put up a .907 OPS in 2005, and if you subract his bloop and nub hits, I think .785 is a realistic guess. A bit of fuzzy math on my part about the .800, but .785 would exceed my expectations. What would you expect?

I would not expect this year's total LF production to be significantly better than last year's total LF production. The Cubs LF put up .265 .319 .418 last sesaon, and while I would hope Murton can do better, somebody else is going to get a lot of time, and will probably drag down the number. If Murton gets the lion's share of the PT, I think it is perfectly reasonable to expect at least a .050 boost in OPS from LF. If being the operative word. I think it's far from certain that Murton will put up an .800 OPS. Well, if .319 + .418 = .750, then I wouldn't have made that statement. I think an OPS of .785 is perfectly reasonable to expect, and far more conservative than some others here have predicted for him. He put up a .907 OPS in 2005, and if you subract his bloop and nub hits, I think .785 is a realistic guess.

I find it amusing that some people are so pessimistic about everything (even signings that have yet to occur). I disagree that the team isn't improved over last year. Also, it's speculation to say that people will be "disappointed when the season goes down the drain." The way some people are talking, there's no reason to watch the games because the outcome has already been determined. I tend to be neither overly critical nor overly optimistic but I will say that my inital post in this thread was not well received. It's one thing to disagree (this is a messageboard afterall) it's another thing to imply that a poster doesn't know what she/he is talking about (or more accurately that they haven't been paying attention) when, in fact, I haven't missed one Cubs game in over 5 years. If you haven't missed a Cubs game in oer 5 years then you surely know how much of a dissapointment 2004 and 2005 was. Since last year our team has not improved by much. I believe our inconsistent offense was our biggest problem last year and truthfully speaking I don't see an improvement in offense. We lost Nomar and gained Pierre. That's basically what I see. Our bullpen should improve with the moves Hendry has made and we definitely can't count on our starting rotation to be 100% healthy. I will say there is more things to be pessimistic about than there are is optimistic. Let's be honest. Replacing Nomar with Pierre is a net gain. Nomar gave us next to nothing due to his injuries, and what he did give he gave in garbage time. I think it is hard to overstate just how much someone with a respectable OBP at the top of the order will improve the team. Also, Murton playing from the get go will have to be a marked improvement over the Holla/Dubois/Lawton crapfest we watched for most of 2005. And Cedeno will be a large offensive improvement over Neifi. Let's look at it this way: Pierre >> Patterson Cedeno >>> Neifi Lee = Lee (expecting a slight decline) ARam = ARam (if he stays healthy, even better) Jones = Burnitz Murton >> Holla/Dubois/Gerut/Lawton Barrett = Barrett Second base is TBD I still don't see it as a big improvement considering Pierre had a down year last year and we are counting on two rookies whom we don't know what we will get from them start for us. I would have liked a better option in RF for us than JJones and I would have been a much happier person to be honest. Using the money that was given to Rusch and Perez go towards another starting pitcher would have been nice too. I'm not going to read too much into Pierre's 2005. If he had 2 seasons of decline I'd be concerned. And there is no way Murton and Cedeno could be as bad or worse than their 2005 counterparts.

I would not expect this year's total LF production to be significantly better than last year's total LF production. The Cubs LF put up .265 .319 .418 last sesaon, and while I would hope Murton can do better, somebody else is going to get a lot of time, and will probably drag down the number. If Murton gets the lion's share of the PT, I think it is perfectly reasonable to expect at least a .050 boost in OPS from LF. If being the operative word.

I find it amusing that some people are so pessimistic about everything (even signings that have yet to occur). I disagree that the team isn't improved over last year. Also, it's speculation to say that people will be "disappointed when the season goes down the drain." The way some people are talking, there's no reason to watch the games because the outcome has already been determined. I tend to be neither overly critical nor overly optimistic but I will say that my inital post in this thread was not well received. It's one thing to disagree (this is a messageboard afterall) it's another thing to imply that a poster doesn't know what she/he is talking about (or more accurately that they haven't been paying attention) when, in fact, I haven't missed one Cubs game in over 5 years. If you haven't missed a Cubs game in oer 5 years then you surely know how much of a dissapointment 2004 and 2005 was. Since last year our team has not improved by much. I believe our inconsistent offense was our biggest problem last year and truthfully speaking I don't see an improvement in offense. We lost Nomar and gained Pierre. That's basically what I see. Our bullpen should improve with the moves Hendry has made and we definitely can't count on our starting rotation to be 100% healthy. I will say there is more things to be pessimistic about than there are is optimistic. Let's be honest. Replacing Nomar with Pierre is a net gain. Nomar gave us next to nothing due to his injuries, and what he did give he gave in garbage time. I think it is hard to overstate just how much someone with a respectable OBP at the top of the order will improve the team. Also, Murton playing from the get go will have to be a marked improvement over the Holla/Dubois/Lawton crapfest we watched for most of 2005. And Cedeno will be a large offensive improvement over Neifi. Let's look at it this way: Pierre >> Patterson Cedeno >>> Neifi Lee = Lee (expecting a slight decline) ARam = ARam (if he stays healthy, even better) Jones = Burnitz Murton >> Holla/Dubois/Gerut/Lawton Barrett = Barrett Second base is TBD

Um I think Juan Le Pierre is more in jeopardy than Murton. Jeopardy of what? Losing his job? He's been the centerpiece of their offsesaon. He's their ideal candidate for the much coveted speedy leadoff man. Dusty is on record stating that he will play the guy with the bigger contract because that is why the guy got the contract. Couple that with his history of favoring older players, and all the positive things he has to say about older players, and that Murton was one of the few guys who Dusty openly criticized by name in the press, and it's pretty safe to assume that Murton will be the odd man out of the current OF. Playing time. Gotta love the obsessing over Hendry gutting the team by dealing Prior & the speculation over Grissom in LF. Can't wait to see what's next. Losing playing time? Yeah, right. The only sure thing going into 2006 is that unless he gets injured, Juan Pierre will start every game. Grissom can barely play CF anymore anyway.

I agree. Especially if we don't have to break up the rotation. He's not the impact bat we want, but I think he can make an impact. The 1 & 2 hitters not getting on was a big problem, but Lee & ARam getting stranded by Burnitz was a big problem too. So you want Soriano's .309(including ridiculous Ameriquest splits) OBP to rectify that? He'd be worse in that sense. I'm more concerned w/ slugging in the 5 spot and driving in the guys who had obps of .418 and .358 last year. I'll take career .500 slugging over .435 any day of the week. I'd take Soriano only if it meant Neifi went to being strictly a bench player. If adding him means pushing Cedeno out, I don't see how it makes our offense any better.

I would imagine you would agree that we can't go into the 2005 season with this for an outfield: (assuming Patterson will be traded) Jacque Jones Juan Pierre Matt Murton Jerry Hairston John Mabry That might be one of the worst outfields ever assembled. You must really be down on Murton to make that assessment. That outfield won't be great, but can be solid. It's just not a conventional outfield w/ at least one power hitter tho. However, few teams have a 1b and 3b as good as the Cubs. I do agree with you. The power we get at 1B and 3B helps make up for the lack of your more traditional power corner OF. The key to the whole thing is where Murton hits, and how well he does. I think he'll do all right, but Dusty's not bright enough to bat him in the 2 hole. This is the way I think things will pan out: 1.Pierre .290/.350/.710 2.Cedeno .280/.330/.750 3.Lee .300/.390/.950 4.Jones .270/.320/.790 5.ARam .300/.350/.920 6.Murton .280/.360/.790 7.Barrett .275/.340/.775 8.Perez .250/.280/.650 :evil: All in all, considerably better than what we had last year. Hopefully Jim decides to keep Walker, or at least acquires a decent 2B so we can take Neifi out of the equation.

My only point is that Walt has done a far better job of it in the past. This group is as bad as ever, with a relatively low ceiling.

So if obesity and pitching abillity are separate from one another, why did you bring up weight in the first place? "Good" is arbitrary. His career OPS of .790 is almost 40 points better than the 2005 NL 2B average. Let me make a comparison, here: Derrek Lee has a career OPS of .865. NL 1st baseman this season posted an average OPS of .843. Before last season, what had Derrek Lee done that made him such a great player? He had surpassed the NL average in previous seasons, but never by a significant margin. So what separates Lee from Spivey, in regards to their production from their position? Before his breakout season, Derrek Lee was roughly a league-average 1st baseman, offensively. Without his career year in Arizona, Junior Spivey is a league-average 2nd baseman. Let's check out some signings this offseason: - Neifi Perez (.681 career OPS) gets $2.5 million per year - Abraham Nunez (.640 career OPS) gets $1.7 million per year - Mark Grudzielanek (.721 career OPS) gets $4 million per year Do I have to continue? I consider $1.5 million for a career OPS of .790 a bargain. If you argue that, then you're just doing that because Spivey signed with the Cards. Hell, even if you say his one good season skewed his numbers, he's still on par with the average 2nd baseman. Why am I not angry that we're paying $1.5 million for an average 2nd baseman on this market? Jocketty is not the type of GM that makes stupid moves (OK, he did sign Tino Martinez...). Ponson must have done a good acting job if he hasn't turned around his act. I'm not saying that Walt can't make bad moves, but it's extremely hard to believe they he would give Ponson $1 million if he was still the man he was in 2004 and 2005. I could be wrong. I hope I'm not, but yes... I could be wrong. Ponson did get a DUI, and as a result, he entered drug rehab. He now sees a therapist once a week. He's supposedly cut down his weight. That's the latest information I've heard about it, and until I hear otherwise, the news is more good than bad. Cardinal management was clearly convinced that he's content on turning it around. Otherwise, it's not likely they would take a flyer on him. OK, that's true. But still: the only thing I have seen about Reyes being prevented from entering the rotation was a snippit by RotoWorld. Who knows? If Ponson works out, maybe we'll use him in the rotation, and if he works up through July, we'll trade Marquis? In the meantime, Reyes might pitch out of the 'pen. It's what we did with Dan Haren, and he turned out fine. Spivey is INCONSISTENT. His career OPS is .790, but how many seasons did he have where his OPS was within .005 or better than that? One. One good season out of 5. Castillo's career OPS is .726, and how many seasons was he within .005 of that , or better? Six, and all but one season since he became a regular. Subtract Spivey's best year, and his totals go in the crapper. Subtract Castillo's, and you barely notice. Add to that Spivey is a walking injury. As for Lee, his career OPS is .864. His OPS' since he became a regular? .875, .820, .872, .860, .887 and 1.080. Consitency, gotta love it. Your comparisons are skewed and inapplicable. Comparing Spivey to Castillo is just silly.

Damn the information that is actually pertenant, huh? :lol:

Castillo has zero power. None. Spivey vs. Castillo is an example of the name attached to the player. If Castillo didn't win Gold Gloves (but was still great with the leather) and if he hadn't had like a 30-game hit streak, no one would think he is as good as he is. He's the type of player who the media hypes, but who's numbers really don't back it up. He had a 5.30 ERA in 2004, and a 6.22 ERA in 2005. Don't you think those skew his career numbers? While it's not OK to dismiss them, the fact the he has had trouble with his life and alcohol undoubtedly had a drastic effect on his numbers. Fortunately, the Spivey signing almost all-but-assures that Miles will be playing in AAA or on another team. I'll take my chance with his 3.57 ERA; more importantly, his career GB:FB ratio is 2.00, exactly. That's the thing that was most intriguing to Walt, in my opinion. Also, if I remember correctly, righties over the course of his career have hit .227 off of him. He'll share the set-up role with Rincon. The Orioles, who drafted him in the first round, Steve Stone, who called him a potential batting champion, and many scouts throughout the league disagree with you. This is from a scouting report at the beginning of his career: Larry Bigbie is one of those players how has the tools but has never put it together. It's pretty widely-accpeted that he has great potential. It's unlikely that he will fulfill the huge expectations he once had. However, for 900K, I will take a chance. Kinda like that Patterson fella... Lefties have his .217 against him in his career. La Russa loves the match-ups more than anyone, and he'll love having Looper and Rincon in the set-up role. Yep, he does. Bad signing. The offseason isn't over. But, regardless, the core of our team -- Mulder, Carpenter, Rolen, Pujols, Edmonds, Molina, Izzy -- is still there. That's what's most important. I'm not saying the rest of the team doesn't matter, but these guys we signed don't need to be All-Stars. Some of them have to the potential to be very productive, though. No, Spivey is the type of player the media hypes, and whose numbers don't back it up. Spivey is like a 2B version of Soriano, only not as good. Spivey is inconsistent, and his career numbers are skewed by his one great season. Castillo hits for higher average, and walks more. I'll take the OBP, especially on your team. As for Ponson, his last 2 years don't skew his numbers as much as the 5.27, 4.71, 4.82, 4.95 and 4.09 ERA's befor his two good years. If anything, his good numbers skew his numbers. Ponson has been bad a whole lot more than he has been good. 5.27, 4.71, 4.82, 4.95, 4.09, 5.30, 6.22 VS. 3.77 and 3.75. What is skeweing what now? You are being Far to kind to Sid. As for Bigbie, a lot of players have great scouting reports early in his career. More recent scouting reports are far less flattering. From ESPN's 2004 scouting report: Apprently his inability to translate that "unlimited potential" is causing some doubt. Apparently the Orioles didn't think to much of his potential, since there apparently was no room for him in an OF of Gibbons, Newhan and Matos.