XZero771679666304

I know it's small sample size, but I get FSN Arizona down here, and Jackson doesn't look that impressive. Having seen a bit of both, Murton looks a lot better at the plate. His numbers are nowhere near what Murton has put up, and he didn't jump two levels like Matt did. He may have more power potential, but I don't think that is worth aquiring him for. I'm not saying Jackson isn't a great prospect, but I question any opinion that says he is far better than Murton. Jackson's minor league numbers are better, but Matt has looked far better at the ML level in a comparable number of AB's, even if you consider Matt's good luck on many of his hits.

He should get a lifetime contract, but his impending MENSA presidency might impede him in his duties.

IMO, Jackson and Murton are the same player. Having both seems redundant.

Patterson has been in the league for long enough to recognize pitches.

Is there a catching coach Baker can blame that on?

Gameday made that ball look like it was down Kenmore street. Was it that long?

Yeah, Rusch was fading badly in the last few starts before he was removed from the rotation and stank in his first couple back in it. I'm not sure if he would have won more than 1 or 2 more games if he had been in the rotation the whole time. IMO, the Cubs really should have traded him in July, when he had some real value to a team desperate for a LH starter. A real missed boat.

I don't think the city has to be rebuilt in its' entirety to maintain the port. Most of the city was built in a terrible place, and it would be a mistake to restore in its entirety. This is the worst, but not the first time New Orleans has been badly flooded, and there is a reason for that. And it won't be the last. And even if it were rebuilt, it would never be the same. I say salvage the Quarter and the higher areas that are still intact, but the destroyed areas should be razed and relocated. Sometimes you have to divorce yourself from sentimentality when making decisions like this. If not, this will all happen again at some point.

I think only one of Murton/Cedeno will be in the Cubs long term plans. I don't feel good about it, but I really think that is the case.

I think the feeling among the Cubs brass is that Nomar can't play SS anymore, and that Walker has defensive deficiencies and may be their best trade chip. Hoops Glad they've seen the light on Nomar. & Walker Can Nomar play any position though?? I think Nomar can still play short. REmember, he hurt himself at the plate, not in the field. And I'd be willing to substitute defense for his bat. The last thing I want is a good-field, no-hit SS like AGon there again. I'm actually curious to see if Nomar could play LF. I think it would actually be easier on his groin and hammy, since it requires less quick lateral movement than SS or even 2B. Since Hendry has made it clear he wants to get a leadoff guy and imrove the IF defense, I really believe he is going to sign Furcal. I would like to see Cedeno play, so I would like it if he played second and Nomar played LF. I also believe Hendry may well trade for and extend a corner power bat rather than sign a FA.

Did the Cubs play Detroit twice? I know the Tigers were at Wrigley in early June of 2000. I was there to see Aguilera pick up his 300th career save. Aguilera's 300th save? Oh how I envy you! Hopefully we'll get a Johan Santana - Carlos Zambrano game for a battle of the Venezuelan superstars. I enjoy a good matchup as much as anybody, but I'd just as soon miss Santana altogether.

According to Gameday, you are right: Hairston Neifi Lee Burnitz Nomar Walker Barrett Patterson Williams

I could write a dissertation on how flawed FPCT, ZR and RF are. They mean next to nothing. I posted this a couple months ago in a debate about Lee vs. Pujols:

By just a smidge, and it's completely in line with his OBP in every year since 2000. True, but I think my point about the lack of alternatives still stands. I'd much rather pay Furcal a bit too much to post a .350 OBP than end up with a fiasco like this year.

I put the most stock in what my eyes tell me, and they tell me that while Jones may be a shade worse in the field than he once was, he is still the best in the NL. He still easily gets to balls that others either can't or barely get to, and there's no other CF I like to see less in the field against the Cubs.

No, those plays aren't reflected in the metrics, and everyone overlooks them when Jim flings himself at a ball or goes over the wall to bring one back. Jim is the ultimate style over substance fielder...well, maybe second to Jeter. I don't think anybody ever said that Edmonds has never made a mistake in the field. What fielder hasn't? As for "style over substance", you're free to think what you want, but you're wrong. What's ironic to me is that most of the Cardinal rivals think that the Cards' pitchers would be pretty "ordinary" if they didn't have such a great defense behind them. But then when we talk about the great defense, we hear is that Edmonds is "style over substance", Eckstein can't throw, Pujols has no range, Nunez is a scrub, Walker is old, etc. etc. etc . So which is it? Are Cardinal pitchers benefitting by playing in front of a terrific defense, or aren't they? I don't recall saying Pujols had no range. I said Lee had better range, but that's far from a detraction. I never commented on Nunez (he is good defensively), and Walker is old and Eckstein has a weak but accurate arm. You guys have always had good defensive catchers. As for your pitchers, they have been pretty good regardless, and I don't recall ever saying the were only so because of the defense. And I am sorry to tell you that most of Edmonds' rep has been built on the dives and flops that the highlight shows love, and at least half of which were totally theatrical and unnecessary. I have seen enough of Jim to know what he is all about. He doesn't have anywhere near the range or arm of a guy like Jones. He gets great jumps and makes solid throws, but his range just isn't that great and his speed is average at best among CF's. And everyone has seen him slow down a step to position himself for dives he doesn't need to make, and I have heard other Cards fans here admit that. And even when he does go full out and lay out for a ball, it's usually on balls that a guy like Jones could have just run under. As for diving on balls over his head, that is unnessary in the same way diving into first is. On a ball over your head, you will always have a better shot if you run full speed and catch the ball over your shoulder. Always. Jim does that stuff because either A) He is too dumb to realize he is making plays harder than they need to be or B)He does it to look good. I say it's the latter. And the media eats it up. Now I'm not saying Jim isn't a good CF, because he is. What I am saying is that he isn't the defensive wizard that many STL homers and the guys at ESPN want everyone to think he is. His flair for the "dramatic" has caused him to overrated in much the same way Jeter and guys like Eric Byrnes have. And he certainly doesn't deserve the GG if it is at the expense of a guy like Jones, or even Beltran.

No, those plays aren't reflected in the metrics, and everyone overlooks them when Jim flings himself at a ball or goes over the wall to bring one back. Jim is the ultimate style over substance fielder...well, maybe second to Jeter.

There's absolutely no reason for the Cubs to spend big money on a closer. What they need are set-up guys. Signing Burnett and Furcal wouldn't be a bad idea though. wood would make a great lights out 2 inning setup up guy imo. Maybe, but it would be hard to rationalize paying your setup guy 12 million.

Yeah, beating the Cards is nice, but it has the feel of winning a consolation game in a tournament you thought you had a chance of winning. :cry:

how do you figure furcal will make nomar money? nomar will probably get less than he did this year, while furcal will probably get a four-five year deal for at least 8 mil/year. a .344 obp out of your lead off hitter is not all that good. i'd rather re-sign nomar and keep walker. cedeno is the primary backup at 2b and ss, keep hairston, don't bring neifi back. .344 isn't great, but it's below his career average. But more importantly, you have to look a the alternatives. Dusty won't hit Walker leadoff, or he would have done so this year. Hendry has set getting a leadoff man as a priority, as well as defense. I can't see anyone else on the team as a canditade for leading off (you could say Cedeno, but you know Dusty will have none of that. And I would be stunned if Hairston is back), and I sincerely doubt Hendry would block Pie by bringing in a CF like Pierre. IMO, Hendry will target Furcal early in the offseason, and I would be surprised if he isn't a Cub in 2006. (not that I am advocating it)

Eh. I give the Cubs their due. The Cards have been pretty successful against every other team with the AAAA lineup. The Cubs simply have the Cards' number this year, regardless of who they send out there, it seems like. Don't get me wrong, I love to see Matt Morris get monkey-spanked every time he faces the Cubs. I'm just questioning whether the Cubs would have such a good record if they weren't pitching to Nunez, Luna and Molina. And his point was that the Cards with Nunez, Luna and Molina have been doing a pretty good number on the rest of the NL, even after the rash of injuries. Either way, I'll take it.

Excellent point, Chief. I don't think there's a player out there with better baseball instincts than Pujols, both in the field and on the bases. That may be true, but Derrek is no idiot, either. In the past two years, I can count the mental mistakes Lee has made in the field on one hand and still have a couple of fingers left over. And Albert is not perfect. I seem to remember him spacing out and whiffing on a throw in the last Wrigley series. Kind of like when a reciever starts thinking about running before he has actually caught the ball, IMO. Regardless, both are great defenders. Who called Lee an idiot? I'm pretty sure that I posted earlier in this thread that Lee is the better defensive player. No one did, nor did I intend to imply that. Chief was saying Albert had great instincts, and I was trying to say Lee did as well. ("Lee is no idiot, either") I apologize if it came across as beligerant.

Excellent point, Chief. I don't think there's a player out there with better baseball instincts than Pujols, both in the field and on the bases. That may be true, but Derrek is no idiot, either. In the past two years, I can count the mental mistakes Lee has made in the field on one hand and still have a couple of fingers left over. And Albert is not perfect. I seem to remember him spacing out and whiffing on a throw in the last Wrigley series. Kind of like when a reciever starts thinking about running before he has actually caught the ball, IMO. Regardless, both are great defenders.

I've seen Edmonds look pretty bad on balls hit over his head a few times the past few years, and that's just against the Cubs.

I'm not a big Buck fan on national broadcasts, but he's tolerable. Last night, however, I was reminded just how terrible he is. The other guy actually seemed alright. But Buck is just awful. He's a homer, much like Santo, but unlike Santo, he tries to portray himself as some sort of all knowing god of baseball knowledge. At least Ronny (who I do not like listening to) is brutally honest with his work. You're joking, right? Brutally honest? Here's one little tidbit from Santo (from another thread): "Neifi has had a stellar, stellar season. I haven't seen anyone play a better shortstop. He'll be back next year." Hrabosky is horrible. I can hardly stand to listen to him. Buck is one of the best, easily (heck, the guy has won for Emmy's). He's smooth, unbiased, and informed, whether he's doing football, baseball, whatever......... Buck is smooth and informed, but calling him unbiased is a real stretch. He keeps it in check in his national broadcasts, but a bit slips in here and there. And Santo is honest about what he feels, which is often wrong. I love Ronny, but he is horrible.