daske17

Where's my Glendon/Neifi/Macias three-pack? I demand satisfaction!

But on the other hand, the Cubs would be the best team in the league when it comes to defense contracts? And isn't Hendry big on defense?

I'd be very happy for a couple hours and then things would be pretty much the same as they were before. Wow, really? For me it would create a before/after point in my life. The BCWWS and ACWWS eras. I bet it wouldn't. I'm guessing the extreme happiness would last longer than a couple hours. But my life would pretty much be the same within a couple days. Look at Red Sox fans. They talked about the lifting of the big monkey and all that, but they are all pretty much the same now. yeah, but there isn't that same sense of urgency for another WS title now. Granted Red Sox fans are never happy unless they have something to complain about after years of setting that standard. From most of the Red Sox, and White Sox for that matter, fans that I know, there's a sense of calm now when discussing the idea of the post-sesason.

Lovely. That's all we need. Rupert Murdoch approving payroll and personnel decisions. It worked out SO well for the Dodgers. :roll:

bowden fleeced both the rangers (for soriano...was he the gm then?) and the reds (for lopez and kearns). his team was operating with a significantly lower payroll than the cubs (and playing in a tougher division), and the nats won more games than the cubs. i'd probably rather have hendry than bowden, but it's not unthinkable that someone would rank him ahead of hendry. i don't know why hendry gets any kind of credit from anyone. since he's taken over the losses have increased each year (despite an increasing payroll) and the farm system has gone in the toilet. so he traded for ramirez and lee...what's that gotten him? Two words: Christian Guzman. Anyone GM who gives that player a four-year contract ranks towards the bottom. All things being equal, at least Hendry only gave Neifi a two-year contract.

Oh come on. It's not like the money isn't there for ownership to spend. The Cubs may have overpaid for their talent, but judging the past few years, they've needed to. He didn't cry boo when Detroit overpaid for Magglio, Pudge, or Troy Percival. It's the nature of the beast. In times of flush cash, owners will pay it out. And if they can't get players at market price, they'll have to overpay for talent. If he wanted to rag on anyone it should be teams like the D-Rays, Marlins and Royals who have consistently cut payroll while readily accepting the MLB's dole.

Epstein has been pretty good. Got them a WS ring, and he signed all the available FA's this year that I wanted the Cubs to sign. Hendry is where he deserves. Those bottom tier GMs are pretty bad. I don't know about all that now. Hendry may be bad, but is he worse that Jim Bowden or J.P. Ricciardi? I'd put him somewhere between 15-17 personally. Hendry is bad, very bad. Any monkey can sign players through FA if they have the available funds to do so, and Soriano didn't come cheap either. Well, if that's the case, then Omar Minaya shouldn't be listed as high as he is. He seemed to throw nothing but money at Beltran and Pedro, traded for Delgado while picking up most of the tab, and had his minor leaguers already in place before becoming GM. I'm not saying that Hendry is the best GM ever, I just don't believe he's as bad as ranked.

Epstein has been pretty good. Got them a WS ring, and he signed all the available FA's this year that I wanted the Cubs to sign. Hendry is where he deserves. Those bottom tier GMs are pretty bad. I don't know about all that now. Hendry may be bad, but is he worse that Jim Bowden or J.P. Ricciardi? I'd put him somewhere between 15-17 personally.

With friends like those... who need Christian Guzman?

From an objective point of view, sure. But if his hometown team that's suffered through his steroids scandal isn't willing to take a chance on him, will anyone else in the league? I guess the overall question is: despite his ability, will there be a market for Bonds with the stormclouds over his head?

Let's play worst case scenario for Bonds: the Giants don't sign him, leaving him a free agent. Do you think there's a team willing to take on the freak show that's turned into his quest to hit 756?

Yeah, I don't care how drunk I am, there's NO WAY I'm messing with Paul Liddell. Marcus Giles on the other hand. . .

There have been a couple of articles I've read that give conflicting reasons for why the Giants haven't signed Bonds yet. Some contend that with his most recent amphetimine failure, the Giants are looking for a way out of the agreement. Others have said that several free agents the Giants agreed to in principle have yet to formalize their contracts due to some specific language the Giants want to put in there. Either way, the NY Timestoday posted an article proposing that the Red Sox could sign Bonds if the Drew contract goes south.

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: Oh sir, you're not from around here are you? :wink:

Wow, it's kind of amazing that Hendry's having so much trouble trading this guy given that contract. Perhaps he's not as intent on trading Jones as rumor suggests. That would be good news. I agree unless Jones is hurt and we don't know about it. And/or other GMs think Jones isn't likely to repeat is 2006 numbers. Which is understandable. Or GMs know that Hendry is willing to trade pennies on the dollar as it gets closer to have a final roster set and are waiting him out. I bet Baltimore already has their "going nowhere in a hurry" prospect list ready for Hendry's perusal.

I would be shocked if they gave Prior more than 1 year at this point. There's no reason to offer it, unless he's willing to take peanuts in the 2nd year. Maybe they offer him an incentive-laden deal similar to Wood and Miller? I don't see the point. They'll sign him to a one year deal worth about the same as he made in 2006, possibly a little less, but likely a shade more. He's not a free agent whom they need to entice to return. He is under their control, and their only obligation is to offer a contract no less than 80% (or similar) of what he made last year. Apologies all around. I thought he was a free agent after the 2007 season.

I would be shocked if they gave Prior more than 1 year at this point. There's no reason to offer it, unless he's willing to take peanuts in the 2nd year. Maybe they offer him an incentive-laden deal similar to Wood and Miller?

You think he's been given a free pass? From every article I've read about future HOFers, he's always been listed with McGuire and Palmiero as people who have the steroids scandal looming over them. In fact, I'm convinced that he'll receive the same level of media attention when his chance at the HOF comes up as McGuire did, and his testimony to Congress (or lack thereof) will receive the same spotlight.

I'd like to know this as well. Is he (Jones) that upset with the coaching change? Upset with the (early season) fan treatment? What's the deal? Something is weird about this whole thing. A part of me thinks Hendry needs to tell him to suck it up and deal with it. Sullivan wrote in his column yesterday that it was a combination of factors. The fans were a primary reason for his displeasure, given his 0-13 start to the season and his mom getting the business for defending her son in the stands. And anecdotally, Jones preferred Baker as his manager and that was one of his reasons for coming here. He supposedly wasn't happy the Cubs canned Dusty.

I'm not a proud man, but I'd like to relay this story. Picture it, Halloween 2005 in the Lincoln Park area. I'm dressed up like Capt. Jack Sparrow and stumble my way into the men's room. I'm doing my business when I notice cash sitting in the urinal to my left and the sink to my right. I'm not one to stop mid-stream for money (it was a long night of drinking), but I make a note to grab it ASAP. In comes a lady who was tired of waiting in line for the women's room. She does her business and goes to wash up. She notices the cash that I've laid claim to in my mind. Me being the enterprising lad that I am don't even pretend to stop the flow I got going on, look at her and say, "I call dibs." The final total that I absconded with? Seven dollars. I even washed off the cash from the urinal before putting it in my pocket. Suffice to say, I voted for five dollars.

For most teams, that would be true. But this franchise has been more than happy to give lots of times to guys who deserved nothing more than a NRI to ST. You had the recently released from SF Neifi Perez, and the released in ST Glendon Rusch. Then you had a handful of other NRI with no upside guys, like Rey Ordonez, Tony Womack, Enrique (he knows how to play in yankee stadium) Wilson, that all got playing time. In the big picture, it probably doesn't matter, but when this team signs worthless NRI guys, there's going to be a natural negative reaction out of fear that they'll actually play. But let's also keep in mind that we were all fretting about the ST invite that Maquis Grissom got, and that turned into nothing.

If that's depth, the Nationals are swimming in a shallow pool.

Hey Bruce - if you are willing to give us some interesting insight, who were some of the worst when going through tough times? Who were some of the nicest players to deal with, and who were some of the toughtest? I understand if you don't want to touch that, but it would be real interesting to know from a fan's perspective. Dempster always has been one of the best, if not the best. Murton was fine, and I never had one problem with Jacque Jones, although he could get a little defensive. He usually had a smile. Barrett is terrific, and Derrek Lee is the same win or lose _ quiet but very gracious. Zambrano has been good to deal with. The most impressive thing I ever saw with him was when he volunteered to serve as interpreter for Juan Mateo. I remember when Carlos could barely speak English. He did a great job as interpreter, and I told him so. I wasn't a big Phil Nevin fan. He always carried the "I'm a jock and you're not" persona. Some of that rubbed off on Ohman, who can be very engaging at times. Prior and Wood seemed to go into shells a little bit. I suppose you can't blame them for not wanting to talk about injuries every day. Over the years, I've gotten on really well with most of the guys. Who was the guy who threw a ball by some media members' head? Stynes? What about the former media relations person? I was listening to the score the day they said she was leaving, and Boers/Bernstein were going off on her talking about how everybody in the media felt she treated them like crap. Stynes threw a ball at a Tribune reporter back in 2002. True to form, he missed. The Cubs' media-relations director left at the end of 2006, but I got along just fine with her. I'm sure the way the media guys are treated depends a lot on the attitude they bring to the clubhouse. If some writer or reporter is a jerk and coming in to put a negative spin on everything the player or the team does, he/she will be treated negatively. If you are a fair and balanced reporter and show some respect, respect will be given to you. That might explain why Bruce gets along well with most of the Cubs. I would guess this is especially true in dealing with the over-the-top egos that many professional athletes (and reporters) possess. I'd ask how Mariotti would be treated in the clubhouse, but we all know he doesn't leave his the Sun-Times building.

I don't I've made myself clear, but it doesn't have a yes/no box. The Hall tabulates votes based on percentages (with players needing 75% to get in). If you receive 100 ballots, and 99 of those ballots have a X next to the name, the player gets in with 99 percent of the vote. What this guy has effectively done is become that one vote that prevents unanimity by sending it in blank.

I don't think this is considered an abstention. Had it not sent in his ballot, it would be. However, since he sent it in with no names, it's an effective "no" vote for everyone on the ballot.