Splendid Splinter

The best thing out of all of this... Milton Bradley had his 2nd ejection in 3 days with Seattle in spring training no less.... AWESOME Seattle gotta love that crap....

AND????? Trade him for Marlon Byrd/prospects? Don't really have an opening in the OF unless someone gets a season ending injury...

Also... he said that he would hardly ever get out of his home in Chicago... Is this the same place where the landload sued Bradley for NOT paying his rent? come on....

This is great... This guy gets booed a BUTTLOAD and it looks like he doesn't let that bother him. Way to go Sori... You did suck last year, but you're alright in my book. At least he can handle the pressure or bitch about it or complain or blame it on other things...

If Soto can hit this year, Cubs can try to go after Mauer and put him at 1B... probably not the best option, but it's an option though.

How about we keep Cashner at AA and let him try to become a much more valuable starting pitcher. If he stood a good chance of becoming a quality starter, I'd be in favor of that option. But I don't see it happening, and don't have a problem with letting him relieve now. I second that. If he can become a good starter, then leave him in the minor but he would be a killer reliever if he doesn't pan out as a starter. Really, I'm still hoping Thomas Diamond will be lights out in ST so he can be our 5th starter. Anyway, with Lou saying that... I'm scared for our pitching prospects. I hate seeing them going back to forth from starting to relieving unless you specifically say "he's going to help our bullpen this year, but next year he's going back to starting"

Baker is the one that should be mad. Fontenot's LH bat will find more time at 2nd than Baker if Castro is starting at SS. BUUUTTT... BUTTT.... Baker will go into his "Mark DeRosa SUPER UTIL role" when that happens.... either that or we trade one of the MIs when Castro is called up so we don't have like 6 MIs on the team.

It's not like we have awesome OF prospects who are sure to be highly productive in a 2-week bench stint. Dubois has had marginal ML success in the past and isn't a butcher in the field (to my knowledge) so bringing him up for a short stint due to an injury would be ok. There are preferable options, I'm sure, but not significantly so (unless I'm forgetting somebody). If Hoff doesn't make the 25 there's a much better option right there. And Chad Tracy... Kevin Millar even... There's other options before Dubois. Heck... I even call Colvin before Dubois. Dubois should never see the Cubs bench ever again.

andrus was .298/.366/.425/.791 at home and .238/.294/.325/.620 on the road. playing half his games in a hitter-neutral park he would've been worse than his .267/.329/.367 line. I could be wrong, but didn't Wrigley rank better or very close to Arlington last year? Also I think the NL Central has better hitter parks than the AL West, I don't have the numbers but I would think Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Houston, and STL all rank better than Oakland, LA, and Seattle. I'm pretty sure Wrigley been better the past couple years than Arlington. Like you said, the NL Central division is better overall in hitters park. What's the worst park in the NL Central? PNC? Even then, PNC is pretty neutral or maybe a touch pitcher park. Since 2003, Wrigley have been a good hitters park with last 2 years being the friendliest (108 PF for hitters multi years in 2009). Arlington have been a touch below Wrigley since 2004 in comparsion but still a good hitters park (104 PF multi years in '09). I don't know how much of a difference if the park factor jumps from 104 to 108 in a single year. Park factor probably isn't a good stat to go by, but it's something. Compared to AL West where it's Texas (hitters park), LA (neutral), Oakland (great pitcher park), and Seattle (great pitcher park)... Castro probably wouldn't put up Andrus home line, but he would have a better away line to even things out IMO.

Also Starlin Castro. Elvis Andrus, who had a lesser bat coming into the majors last year compared to Castro, was pretty respectable last year for a 21 year old light-hitting prospect. If we rush Castro, hopefully Rudy can help keep him afloat those first few months. Here's a question for us to ponder......If we were pretty certain that Castro would put up Andrus' line of .267/.329/.367 in the majors in 2010, would we want him in the majors or not? Honestly... it depends on which Theriot you're talking about... 2008 NO, but 2009 I think I would take Andrus's season over Theriot's.... Andrus was WAAAAYYYYY better defensively than Theriot plus he was a very good basestealer on top of that (33/39 for 84.6%). So if Castro can have a season similar to Andrus's (touch better or worse but have same defense and baserunning/stealing), then I probably would want him in the majors. The problem is... Lou will have to leave him at SS so he can play through his ups and downs. He can't bench him or send him down to the minors, which is probably what Lou would do. I'm on the fence though. Also Andrus went to the majors from AA the year before so I think Castro can make the jump and be fine. I think Rudy can really help him at being a good contact hitter in the MLB. I mean, heck, if he helps Andrus go .267/.329/.367, I can't see Castro doing any worse than that IMO. Really I think Fukudome could really benefit having Rudy as his hitting coach. Fukudome needs a guy who works on technique and mechanics that would help him be more consistent on every at bat.

Seriously... I remember that game. How the heck did Dusty kept Prior in the game after that collision??? ugh... Prior's 2003 gamelogs is just sickening... Only 4 games under 100 pitches and 7 more under 110 so 19 starts were 110+ and 5 of those 125+ (4 of them in the last month of the season)... I know people complain about pitch counts and pitchers need to pitch more/go deeper into the game (I'm one of those guys)... But in Prior's case... they needed to limit his pitches for like 2 years and let him get used to 100 pitches and keep him fresh then after that, let him go and pitch 110+ a game. I'm all about a heavy workload, but don't do that when they're in their first couple years... esp. when you had a bonafide stud like Prior. Just like Dwight Gooden as well. But again... with Prior's inverted W arm motion, people pretty much knew that he was going to get injured eventually and that it was a matter of time. Of course all of his injuries didn't help and actually made his mechanics worse, but I really wouldn't be surprised that if Prior stayed healthy and injury free with the Cubs that he probably had a TJS (or two) by now or even his career was over. A good example of what Prior's workload/pitch count should've been... Look at Lincecum's 2009 gamelogs and see his pitch count per game... That's AFTER a little over a season and half under his belt. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?n1=linceti01&t=p&year=2009

Is there any SP, reliever, or 2B the Cubs haven't been linked to? Felipe Lopez??? I haven't heard about him and the Cubs... Not yet anyway.

You can't compare Theriot to other start shortstops salaries around the league and say it's reasonable. Theriot is on his first year of arbitration. Players nowadays are asking WAY too much right off the bat (there are exceptions to this who do deserves their pay raise: Lincecum/Howard/etc...). Theriot is asking 1/3 of what Ryan Howard got in his first year of arbitration. Theriot is, at best, a touch below average player who does nothing special and cubs got depth underneath him. You have to compare him to other shortstops with their first year of arbitration. It didn't help the fact Orlando Cabrera got 3 mil from the Reds. Most of the shortstops in the league were probably signed as FAs. Does anybody know what Stephen Drew asked for or got in his first arbitration year? Heck, if I was Hendry... I would have Felipe lopez on speed dial right now and see if he would be willing to take than what Theriot is asking for. Plus when Theriot moves to 2B, his value goes down as well because of defensive value from SS going to 2B is less and his offense will be even worse compared to other 2Bs around the league... I rather sign Felipe Lopez for a 3 mil/1 yr deal and just trade Theriot for a prospect of some kind... Lopez can play SS until Castro is ready and probably can get him for cheaper than what Theriot is asking for. Plus, Lopez is YOUNGER than Theriot.

Cabrera is good on defense, but he took a nosedive last year... I figured it probably the start of his decline and lost a step on D, but I'm not totally sure because I didn't really get to see him this past season.

Hahaha yeah like 10 years ago... (actually '03 was his best year but still... long time ago) I rather have Theriot than Cabrera... They're about the same offensively, but Theriot is better defensively and Cabrera is going to decline as well... Cabrera last year defensively fell off the cliff and was HORRIBLE (-13.7 UZR/150) Theriot UZR/150 last year was 8.3 so you can compare the 2...

Vance Wilson had 2 TJS... He's the only one I know of for sure... I think Jay Payton is another (he's similar to Nady that he had his first in the minors and I want to believe that Payton had a TJS this past year as well, but I could be wrong on that), but Vance Wilson is the only positional player I know with 2 TJS. I think he has a minor league deal with the Royals this year. also... I read an article about Vance Wilson about when he got his 2nd TJS and he asked his doctor on what are the chances of the TJS to be successful and the doctor said something like 10%-25% after the 2nd one... although in the article, it mentioned that Wilson had more than just TJS when he got fixed, it sounded like he completely blew out his elbow both time (like he torn a different ligaments on top of TJS) and he did it within a year as well instead of like Nady where it was like 8 years apart)... I'll have to find the link somewhere... I think Nady has at least a 25% chance to be successful after his TJS... If that's the case... I don't know how Nady will pass his physical and hopefully Hendry is still talking to Dye/Gomes/etc as a backup plan...

Yeah i agree... Give him a minor league deal with an invite to ST... If he doesn't make the team, either release him or see if he's willing to play AAA to see if his hitting stroke comes back... He could make it as a 5th OF instead of Fuld though if Fuld were to make it on the bench. If it came to that, who would you rather have? Fuld or Byrnes (considering the $ between the 2 is minimal)??? Heck... I wouldn't mind him (or anyone really) getting a minor league deal... the more people trying out for the team the better IMO. basically the more the merrier you know? It gives the Cubs some competitions and options as well. I'm a big fan of "lets just throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" deal.... It can't hurt anyway...

Trade Fontenot for a bag of balls??? I mean if say... Castro gets called up in June and Theriot move to 2B, what gonna happen to the bench then? Drop Blanco and have both Baker and Fontenot on the bench? I think Baker will end up with the 2B job at the start of the season... Baker is more valuable than Fontenot as he can play more positions as well. They got too many guys that plays the same positions or can play it. None of the IFs can really play 3B over a period of time so Cubs really do need a backup 3B in case if A Ram do get hurt again this coming season. I hope Tracy does play well in spring training that he's on the bench... Right now if Tracy can hit again, I would have Nady/Hill/Blanco/Tracy with the last spot going with Fontenot/Fuld probably as the bench. Either way... it's now a nice thing for the Cubs that they actually got some depth on their bench and be versatile if needed with the bench. I'm actually shocked that Hendry made 2 good signings in a single day... When was the last time that happened?

EDIT: same post as the one above...

This is from BR Bullpen about TJS... "The chances of a complete recovery after the modern surgery are estimated at 85 to 90 percent. Rehabilitation takes around 12 to 15 months for pitchers and about 6 months for position players." Nady's elbow should be fine by the start of the season as it's been 6 months already. I look at a couple other sites and it has the same timeframe as this one so I imagine it's reliable. I like this signing though. I had a feeling it would be between Nady or Dye. Fangraph prediction for Nady in 2010 is basically an .800 OPS player and a touch below average defense or his 2007 season. I'll take that for the 4th OF/backup 1B.

If Castro wasn't on the 40 man roster, couldn't he been picked in the Rule 5 draft? Just curious because I thought you had to be off the 40 man roster in order to drafted in Rule 5. I don't know all the rules in Rule 5 so maybe someone can help me out here? Yeah I don't think he'll be called up till Sept. as well, but I can see if Blanco really struggles... Castro could be called up to be on the bench and slowly ease into the SS starting spot. Also wait to call him so we can have another year for arb. instead of him being a super-2. I think he will start in AA as well. Cubs AA team will be something to watch this year. I'm hoping to see at least 1 game this year early.

I think he picked the 2nd half because that was more in line of what Harden actually does (compared to his career) and that his first half was more of an outlier or flukish. Myself though, I mostly look at the whole season first and see if there's anything flukey about it. Like it wouldn't surprise me if Harden pitch like 150 IP and has a 3.20 ERA with the Rangers. That's a hard thing to replace that could've been on our roster still (assuming that he could've still been had at the time). That's the thing with Harden. I don't think you'll see another 4+ ERA season from him in awhile. It's almost better odds that he'll put a 2-something ERA than a 4+ ERA season. Anyway, even if you look at the whole season, Harden had a bad year for him and still be better than any of the options we have now. I'm just saying though. I don't think pitching is going to be that big of a problem for Cubs. There's always Jon Garland out there as a FA who can solidify the back end of the rotation for the Cubs or they can always trade for a SP during the season if something doesn't work out. I think the pitching will be fine if Fontenot/Soriano/Soto all at least improves their numbers a little bit. They got enough pitching that they can just throw everything at the wall and hope something sticks. I'm in the minority that I hope Thomas Diamond got his stuff together/keep his control in check and be a dark horse candidate for the rotation.

He hasn't logged much time in the OF the last couple years, but what information we do have suggests he would be far better defensively out there than Dye or Gomes. Yeah that's what was my thinking... If we were gonna get Dye/Gomes, why not Branyan? Because he can't be any worse. He would've replace Hoff on the bench (and also gives us that power bat that we lack on the bench), but figuring out who else would be on the bench, I realize that Fukudome wouldn't be able to platoon with anyone (unless it's Baker) so that route wouldn't exactly work out well unless we could get the 5th OF to be RH... Out of the RH 4th OF options we been looking at, I like Gomes/Baldelli the most for that spot. Both of them are 28/29 so essentially they're in their prime.. Dye is too old and I think he's gonna fall off the cliff and decline badly. Nady will be asking too much money and wants to start still. Out of the sources/articles on Gomes... he been saying the right things about the Cubs (doesn't everybody pretty much?) which makes me think Cubs will probably sign him as he is one of few guys who isn't looking to start a lot of games, very willing to take a 1 yr deal, and willing to move LF/RF, but also take GB at 1B. Question to anybody... Whenever Castro gets called up, who's gonna get called down to AAA or even maybe released? just curious as to who you guys think it is... Does Blanco still have options? I know Fuld does, but I don't think he will be called down though.

Mike Fontenot as the only viable backup shortstop? Is there someone he's forgetting? It will probably be Hoffpauir instead of Branyan, but I have a hard time seeing another backup infielder making the team right out of camp. Oops... forgot about Blanco then yeah.. my bench would be Branyan/Fontenot/Hill/Fuld/Blanco... basically it would be Branyan replacing Hoff's role while also being the 4th OF as well- all in one move... The only problem is we wouldn't have a RH OF to plattoon with Fukudome... Cubs don't have any RH OFs in the minors who is close to being ready or come in to replace Fuld? No wonder they're looking for RH for the 4th OF cuz the rest of the bench will be LH...

"Now I may be an idiot, but there is one thing I am not sir, and that sir is an idiot." Seriously... I think of Hendry every time I hear that... hahaha