WrigleyField 22

No. I'm pretty sure I read from something Bruce posted(I think) that the point in trading Tejada would be to gain pitching depth. If they dealt two pitchers and got two back, although stronger they wouldnt have as much depth.

I take that back. Make it A lot of money plus another decent prospect.

Probably would be more like : Pierre Jones Lee Tejada Ramirez Niefi Murton Cedeno BLEH! Cubs using Neifi at catcher? Oops My mind thought one thing and my hands another sub Barett for Cedeno

I would trade do the following deal incling Prior (while not making it complete fantasy) Prior Hill/Guzman Murton extra Bullpen arm low level prospect FOR Tejada Roberts Mora Bedard A little cash

Its because a Cardinals fan could never really know true pain. Only us poor Cubs fans.

Probably would be more like : Pierre Jones Lee Tejada Ramirez Niefi Murton Cedeno BLEH!

No, not only will Hendy ruin the future with guys he signs, but also by giving away stud pitchers who will haunt us for years as we see cy youngs rack up

Just to clarify. WhenI said Hendry has more of an idea of whats going on, I meant like behind the scenes. He has a good idea of whos REALLY available, who is a desired trade chip from other teams, and who isn't all that valuabe. Not to mention he probably has access to many sources to find out what is really going on (like knowing why a guy had a down year, reasons fans would't be aware of) Stuff likthis probably helped with Barrett- or just dumb luck, I don't know- SOME people on message boards could do just as well , assuming they worked their way up to learn the ropes, and then were given this "privelaged" information. Most of us couldn't. Not that we can't point out deficincies, but factoring in everything. Many GM's with jobs can't do this.

Whos the best playerin the draft? We'll just tel him to demand some ridiculous amount with the guarantee we'll pick him up at 13. Probably illegal, but I'm for it!

Heh, I just realized that with a three year deal, Jones will contribute to our suckage until 2008- just long enough to extend our streak past 100 years. 101 years later... 2009 baby!

I agree that Pie should stay the whole year in AAA unless he asolutely dominates there until about July. And by dominate I don't mean just a high average and lots of doubles, HR. I'd like to see stats that show he isn't just having a year long lucky streak. IsoP BAIP OBP that doesn't seem attatched to his BA-for instance, he hit about .300 .350 this year. If he hit .330 .380 that would't really show that he as any more patience. Along with any other stats that I don't even know. If Pie was ready in August say, what kind of line would you be pleased with to begin? I'd say I'd be happy with .250 .320 .430

I just want someone to guarantee that if these terrible moves somehow work and we pull a White Sox, that they wil be here to remind me and anyone else that basically no one trusted Hendry, and rightfully so, and that it was luck. Because if next seaon is a success I wold be too overcome with happiness to remember the terrible moves.

Bruce, why is Hendry still set on moving Walker? If he were the trade chip for a rightfielder, I could understand...but that spot is filled. What beneift could the Cubs get from trading him? Is there something about him that we don't know, or is Hendry that clueless? Boy would I love to hear a candid answer tothat question. I always give candid answers, both here and in the newspaper. The Cubs, as Goony mentioned, are stressing defense, for better or worse. They don't seem to like the way Walker plays the position compared with other second baseman. There are pitchers who've also voiced concern about the defense behind them. The Cubs feel, again right or wrong, that if the defense can turn the double play instead of extending the inning, their pitchers will have a better chance. I, too, am dismayed by the Cubs' seeming lack of emphasis on OBP and OPS. From an offensive standpoint, Walker certainly would look good in the No. 2 spot. And for the money _ and considering what they spent for a lot of mid-level guys _ Walker is an absolute bargain. Walker might annoy them with some of his comments to the media from time to time, but that really has no bearing on them not wanting to keep him. It's interesting to note, however, that Walker has worn out his welcome with other teams.If he does go, I'll miss him, not only because he provides provocative and juicy quotes. He's one of the best guys I've dealt with. That is interesting to hear. I suppose it possible there is a reason no one wants him. Can't imagine what that reason is.

Pierre's career stats: .310 .353 .320 .673 .327 .378 .415 .793 .287 .332 .343 .675 .305 .361 .373 .734 .326 .374 .407 .781 .276 .326 .354 .680 Two bad years. Three good ones, and a pretty good rookie year(51 games only) Hasn't missed game in three years in Florida, and put up two 150+ seasons in Colorado. Pierre adds a lot of positives. He is not perfect, and yes, if you looked at numbers there may have been some better options, there may not have been better options. Some of the options were definately available, others we don't really know. I don't know if I would have gone the same route as Hendry, but I know a lot less about what is going on than him.

The biggest thing that will keep us from improving drastically is the fact tht Lee is not likely to return to last years numbers. He still is a good hitter, but unless we get a capable number 4/5 hitter, and make sure Jones stays 6 or lower, the regression of Lee will ofset many of the improvements.

On the topic of International signings, did we ever get a new Pacific Coast Scout. Finding guys like Ryu and Choi is valuabl to the farm as well.

But, you can argue in a sense that the Cubs got that #1 pick back, and then some, when they acquired two former #1 picks for Hawkins (Williams, and Aardsma). Aardsma probably won't pan out, but Williams seems like a fair return for Hawkins. What I would like to see is that 2nd through 4th round money put back into players from the international market. I've been disapointed in the Cubs efforts to sign impact players from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela the last couple of years. I'm not sure if that is Wilken's responsibility, or if that falls more on the scouts in those countries - Ortega & Serra. Whatever the case, I hope the Cubs use that money to find the next Felix Pie, Ronnie Cedeno, or Carlos Zambrano. I'm sure its not even and issue of having money from the draft class. The signing bonuses that are handed out to high roung picks should be more than enough to cover the cost of a project from Latin America, so much so that with or without those picks we should be trying to find the next Carlos Zambrano.

Last year the Cubs ranked 16th in the NL in OPS from CF. Florida was 15th. Wow. I didn't realize that Pierre was the only offensive output on the Marlins! Besides, it was a bad year last year, he is likely to rebound IMO. And also, his OPS isn't as important as his OBP. He needs to get on base. He has the speed to score from first. Anything extra just makes his job easier. Some of these new-fangled fans are dangerous. A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. They read a couple books about sabermetrics etc. and all of sudden everything boils down to someone's OPS. Pierre's OBP and ability to disrupt pitchers rhythms are his primary attributes. I don't care if the guy doesn't hit a home run all season. Well, you guys are real class acts. New fangled fans? Okay meat. If you don't think OPS matters, fine, Hendry and the Cubs don't seem to think it matters much either and we've seen the results of their theories. Pierre was pretty much the Marlins only CF last year, and he sucked. Corey was not the only Cubs CF. Their overall production from CF sucked, but Florida's wasn't much better. If you replaced FL's CF production with the Cubs, they'd have still sucked as a team. This is why people think Pierre is only a slight upgrade. People actually take the time to investigate this sort of stuff and don't just base their opinions on conventional wisdom, cliches and myth pushers of a bygone era like Joe Morgan. Oh crap. I just realized I misread that original post. I didn't see that "CF", so thought you meant team as a whole. My mistake. Sorry But I still stand by my other statements. OBP is more important than OPS out of leadoff, and I believe Pierre will rebound fromhis down 2005 season. And although this statement may seem ironic considering my sig, Pierre's speed should help him. (my sig is in reference to someone like Jones that offers speed, but not OBP)

Our first pick is in the top half though, so hopefully they pick up an impact player. Someone who will be ready in a few years to come and make an impact, at any position.

Well after the events of last night I feel too bad for myself to feel bad for Edward anymore, so I present: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/snetsrak43/eddy.jpg

Last year the Cubs ranked 16th in the NL in OPS from CF. Florida was 15th. Wow. I didn't realize that Pierre was the only offensive output on the Marlins! Besides, it was a bad year last year, he is likely to rebound IMO. And also, his OPS isn't as important as his OBP. He needs to get on base. He has the speed to score from first. Anything extra just makes his job easier.

I don't get people saying Pierre is only a slight upgrade offensively. Is he overratd? Yes, but he is way better than Patterson was for us this year, and what he would likely be this year. Pierre is a good player. Don't judge him on one poor year. That being said it probably wont be enough to turn around this team. White Sox type pitching will change this team. I predict 82 wins. Also remember that Perez was actually good to start the year, and there is no way Lee matches his numbers from the first half. Its quite possible he will start out slow like normal. Combined with possible slow starts from Cedeno(since he is still inexperienced) and Wood missing early on, we may see a team that improves later in the year.(under a new manager ) At this point even if we got Tejada,I would only predict about 86-89 wins. The reasoning: Tejada would hit 4/5 allowing Dusty to put that "speedy" Jones in the two spot.

IM STUPID!!! Thanks for noticing sweetpeteman!

Beuerhle Carl Everett

And he can play 3B in a pinch, as well as a coner OF spot. Do it.