SABR Gamer

Ichiro? No chance. He's only played here for 7 years. No chance? I think Ichiro is a lock if he retires tomorrow. I would second this, idk what Mizzou is thinking, Ichiro is a lock.

Hey man, thanks for stealing my sig and putting it in your avatar ;) All credit goes to you, it's a sweet picture thingy, if you mind I will remove it, but I like it, and if with your approval I would like to keep it.

God hates us all.

Darn, well then we should sign him as a free agent in 2 years.

I agree completely. Hendry has been trying all offseason to acquire Roberts (1-leadoff hitter), and reportedly has been after Bedard, Burnett, and Santana (2-top 3 pitcher). It's time to move to our third most pressing need, a closer. This feels exactly like it did with the Bears this year when they traded away Thomas Jones because we had Cedric Benson ready to go at runningback. Just because we have "options" at closer doesn't mean they will work. Dempster, Howry, and Wood have all had chances to look good in the 9th, but haven't done so consistently. Marmol could get a chance but he is unproven. Go out and get proven guys whenever they are young and available. Nathan is a perfect example of that. Sign him long-term. Trade him down the road. The Cubs have money - they are near $120 million this year, but should be giving Minnesota someone like Dempster and/or Marquis in this trade. That would free up money for this year. Yep, we should do Marquis and Dempster for Nathan, I think that ought to be enough right?...... Why can't I be as smart as you?

Can wrigley23 be banned? So much wasted thread space from his meaningless posts and arguments inspired by them. Bleh anyway....we don't need Joe Nathan, especially at his price tag.

Yeah, I just made this thread out of frustration. I'm just sick of hearing this Roberts BS, and nothing happening. I just have a dream that we could get Khalil, which would make me very happy.

Wow, I sure hope so, because our pitching is better than those two teams. If that happens, we would be the best team in the NL.

Why don't we just use that offer to get Jimmy Rollins? Our lineup will be super awesome then! Because the Phillies wouldn't take that offer, thats a horrible offer, but for some reason, Toronto has a thing for both Dempster and DeRosa, so them plus a solid pitching prospect may be enough for an injury prone #2. If thats not enough add Ceda. A starting 2B, a piece of poop, and 2 good minor leaguers for an injury prone #2 seems fair. Toronto has a thing for guys under contract for some time. While dumping a guy who has a 99.9% chance of opting out of his contract at the end of the year. Thanks for the info. I wasn't aware of the opt-out clause that Burnett has. If we got him, would you guys extend him? Lots of talent, but still a risk.

Can we kill this thread? And since there is so much crap in here, I thought it would be a good place to waste a post for this.... 200th POST, YEAH!!! I'm a big man now....right.

wrigley23 ftl, your posts give me the same feeling as the Cubs.com message board Anyway, getting Theriot away from the top of the order by any means, is a good thing.

That would be impressive, but it's not what I meant. Poor English on my part. My bad.

Thats not why they want him, they want him cuz he can hit lefty and steals bases, two qualities that Jimbo is in love with even though steals aren't worth much, if anything at all, and the lefty part is less important in my opinion than just flat out getting the best player you can period. And just because of who you are, no offense, I think I believe its even less likely that Roberts would lead off, now that you have assured it.

Why don't we just use that offer to get Jimmy Rollins? Our lineup will be super awesome then! Because the Phillies wouldn't take that offer, thats a horrible offer, but for some reason, Toronto has a thing for both Dempster and DeRosa, so them plus a solid pitching prospect may be enough for an injury prone #2. If thats not enough add Ceda. A starting 2B, a piece of poop, and 2 good minor leaguers for an injury prone #2 seems fair. I sensed a bit of sarcasm in his post. Obviously, but it seems it was sarcastic as if to say, yeah fat chance that Toronto would accept that, even though there is a reason that I proposed that trade, I wouldn't just put a trade scenario where we give up crap (Demp) as a key part of the trade to get a #2 starter without a reason.

Sarcasm or are you serious? Because if your serious, then wow. Because you know, an average fielding SS, that doesn't get on base and can't hit for any power is so much better than a SS, who is good at defense, and gets on base just as much outside of PETCO as the guy we have, and can hit 25+ jacks, any day of the week right.... Name - OBP, SLG, OPS, OPS + Theriot - .326, .346, .672, 72 Greene* - .322, .519, .840, 123 *outside PETCO EDIT: My sentence was really screwed up, I was trying to say that the crap guy is much better than the good guy any day of the week right.....

Why don't we just use that offer to get Jimmy Rollins? Our lineup will be super awesome then! Because the Phillies wouldn't take that offer, thats a horrible offer, but for some reason, Toronto has a thing for both Dempster and DeRosa, so them plus a solid pitching prospect may be enough for an injury prone #2. If thats not enough add Ceda. A starting 2B, a piece of poop, and 2 good minor leaguers for an injury prone #2 seems fair.

I think I'd rather have Greene + Theriot than Theriot + DeRosa. Greene hits like a machine on the road, he would be a bigger impact than DeRosa, and he brings D to a more important position. If your not happy with that anyway though (and I don't like having Theriot as a starter either) you could use guys like Veal, Colvin, Ceda, etc. to trade for a good 2B (Even Roberts, I gotta believe that would be enough, maybe, idk.) 1. Soriano ® (30-40 HR) 2. Roberts (L) (10-15 HR) 3. Lee ® (25-35 HR) 4. Ramirez ® (30-40 HR) 5. Fukudome (L) (15-20 HR) 6. Greene ® (25-30 HR) 7. Soto ® (15-20 HR) 8. Pie (L) (10-15 HR) I was going to bat B-Rob 1, but I had to be realistic, and I doubt Soriano will be anywhere but leadoff...so yeah. I would also prefer Rammy in the 3 spot, but in the eyes of Lou, and the MLB respect code or whatever Lee has earned the right to have that spot as long as he wants it, so again...yeah. Also, knowing that Jim and Lou have a thing for the whole R/L/R/L stuff, Soto could move to 8 and Pie to 7, but I'd think and hope they put Soto closer to the middle of the lineup where he could drive people in, even though, with this team, he may be able to do it from the 8 spot. This is a pretty powerful lineup.

I feel the same way, it really bothers me. So they would rather have Eyre, Dempster, or Cotts or someone coming in, in the 6th or 7th with 2 or 3 men on, 0 or 1 outs and a 1 or 2 run lead, and then use Marmol to start the 9th with no one on base (AND THE HITTERS ARE THE SAME, THEY DONT DRINK MAGICAL CRANBERRY JUICE BEFORE THE 9TH TO MAKE THEM HIT BETTER!), rather than use Marmol in the jam and the other guys in the less important/less threatening situations? Okay then.

Why can't we just flippin be wise and get Greene and Burnett and call it an off season. I really would like to hang on to Pie, and the more I think about Brian Roberts and realize that the Cubs could get Greene for maybe even less, the more I despise the idea of getting Roberts. Hendry is an idiot if he is even thinking about parting with Pie to get Roberts. Who are the replacement options? Lofton? Byrd? Fuld? Crisp? I don't know about all of you, but I believe that there is a great chance Pie performs as well as any of those options, and a good chance that he greatly out performs them. With those guys, you basically know what your going to get, it's decent, but nothing great, and think about the defense you lose. With Pie you have a guy who, even if he doesn't perform to his potential, could match their production, and you KNOW you will get outstanding defense, and then a decent chance that he could become a very good offensive player. On the Greene part, we would be replacing our by far worst position with a guy who smashes balls outside of the pitchers heaven that he plays half of his games at, and will make an already outstanding defensive team pretty much ridiculous on defense. Think about that team defensively, Fonzie is above average, Pie is a stud, Fukudome is supposed to be near GG quality, Lee is Lee, Rammy is above average, and Soto is above average, the only weak spot would be EP at 2B, but I think he would be adequate and he would really be the only guy who was in the lineup for his hitting alone. Add Greene and I can't think of any other team in baseball as good on D as the Cubs. Plus the dramatic difference of Greene in the lineup instead of Theriot would have a big impact, and then Theriot could play "Super-Sub" where I think he could make a decent contribution. Then you add Burnett and the pitching staff, that was the second best in the NL last year, would be improved. My only question then is who plays second base? Although, regardless of who is playing second I like the team better then than now. TRADE 1 CUBS GET: Khalil Greene PADRES GET: Matt Murton, Ronny Cedeno, Sean Marshall, Kevin Hart TRADE 2: CUBS GET: A.J. Burnett BLUE JAYS GET: Mark DeRosa, Ryan Dempster, Sean Gallagher The Cubs would then be: 1. Afonso Soriano (7) 2. Felix Pie (8)* 3. Derrek Lee (3) 4. Aramis Ramirez (5) 5. Kosuke Fukudome (9) 6. Khalil Greene (6) 7. Goevany Soto (2) 8. Eric Patterson (4)** Mighty fine lineup right there, every guy could be a "tough out" and every single one can put up solid HR numbers. B. Ryan Theriot (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) B. Daryle Ward (3, 7, 9) B. Sam Fuld (7, 8, 9) B. Jake Fox (2, 3, 7, 9) B. Henry Blanco (2, 3) 1. Carlos Zambrano 2. Ted Lilly 3. A.J. Burnett 4. Rich Hill 5. Jon Lieber LR. Jason Marquis/Neal Cotts MR. Jose Ascanio MR. Scott Eyre MR. Michael Wuertz SU. Bob Howry SU. Carlos Marmol CL. Kerry Wood Then if you want, make some sort of deal for a good 2B using Colvin+______(Veal?) (I guess Roberts, but because of Angelos and MacPhail I'd rather just deal with another team, where we might be able to get a better player for the same or less as those knuckle heads want for Roberts) and send Patt down, or use him as the 4th out fielder. I think that would could win it all with this bunch. I'd be happy if this happened. *You could put him 8th, but I kept fighting with myself not to put him there. I know people say that "protection" is meaningless, and I would say that is probably an accurate statement, but confidence isn't meaningless (it's actually pretty huge, mental approach is a large part of hitting), and I would have more confidence batting between Lee and Soriano than next to the pitcher, and if Felix can live up to his potential he would be a very good fit in the two hole. That .410 OBP he posted in IWA last year would be mighty fine in front of LeeRamFuk, even if it drops 50 points because of the level change, it would still be .360 :D. **Swap with Pie if you prefer, and I know that it's unlikely a guy with 8 ML AB would start, but I'd still take him over the alternative. I don't think Tyler will ever be an impact player in MLB. I don't know about his mental makeup but if he doesn't have thick skin, I think he's going to have a rough time with the fans complaining about his K's (Yeah people are idiots because a K is almost a better out in certain situations, but they would rather see guys use that last swing to slap the ball to the SS or 2B than trying to actually drive it). He just has bad plate discipline and never takes walks, plus there is no room for him in Chicago with Pie hopefully becoming a fixture in CF, Soriano being signed til he's 5,371, and Fukudome just signing his 4 year deal. I would take advantage of his value now before he comes up here and does something stupid like walking 1 time in 80 PA.

Well... If he's in the AL, that's one more round he has to get through before we'd face him, and thus one more chance for his team to get knocked out. Plus, if we do face him and manage to get lucky enough to win when we face him, at least it'd be for the Series and not just the pennant, but I digress. Yeah, that's a reason but it still seems like people are making it a bigger deal than I would have imagined. Plus I would be surprised if whichever of those two AL teams had him didn't make the World Series. I think the Mets are more beatable than the other two even with Santana, ehhh maybe not if Pedro goes back to how he used to be (but he still is injury prone), but if you added Santana to one of the Yanks or Sox, then I would not be very optimistic about my chances.

As long as anyone is going to talk about how much of a grind the NLCS is gonna be, why the hell would it be any better than the Yanks or Sox, if they had gotten him then the only difference is that were playing him on series later. Cubs VS. Mets GM 1 Zambrano VS/@ Santana GM 2 Lilly VS/@ Martinez GM 3 Hill VS/@ Maine GM 4 Burnett* VS/@ Perez GM 5 Zambrano VS/@ Santana GM 6 Lilly VS/@ Martinez GM 7 Hill/Zambrano VS/@ Maine/Santana We know AL will have home field because of Bud's idiotic home field advantage ASG BS. Can we please get rid of this rule? Cubs VS. Yankees GM 1 Zambrano VS/@ Santana GM 2 Lilly VS/@ Wang GM 3 Hill VS/@ Hughes GM 4 Burnett* VS/@ Chamberlain GM 5 Zambrano VS/@ Santana GM 6 Lilly VS/@ Wang GM 7 Hill/Zambrano VS/@ Hughes/Chamberlain Cubs VS. Red Sox GM 1 Zambrano VS/@ Beckett/Santana GM 2 Lilly VS/@ Santana/Beckett GM 3 Hill VS/@ Schilling GM 4 Burnett* VS/@ Matsuzaka GM 5 Zambrano VS/@ Beckett/Santana GM 6 Lilly VS/@ Santana/Beckett GM 7 Hill/Zambrano VS/@ Beckett/Santana/Schilling I'm not saying Beckett > Santana, its just what the BoSox would probably do. Jesus Christ, these series would all have superb pitching. So pretty much no matter where he went, that team owns. Not really anything significant changes for the Cubs if hes in the AL instead of the NL, so I think that people getting worked up about that is silly. You tell me though....Meph? Ping? Bruce? Anyone of our many baseball gurus? * I can dream right? Insert Gallagher/Marquis/Lieber/Marshall/anyone

whats your gamertag? im rusty but id be up for a game

Haha, maybe I am letting my favoritism influence what I say, but I really hope the guy does well, and if he doesn't oh well, but just wish him the best, not the worst.

Come on guys, I'm hoping Theriot will be fine, and I think there is a good chance he will be. He has been working hard this off season to improve his stamina and that should allow him to play like he did in April and July for more of the year than how he played in September. Ryan is also a really nice and cool guy, so it really shows how classless some of you guys are when wishing injury on the guy. If you don't want him to play, then just hope Ronny outplays him, not that he sucks enough to get benched, I would rather have two guys that are good than two guys and one that just sucked less than the other.

I wish they would bring those back.