mhuber92211

I know Reed is tempting and all but Why Reed when Pie is a year away?

Gotta love the "tag-Team" pictures. For some reason wrestling seems to always make me laugh. Anywho, I think that I must not value the marginal prospects as much as others. There was such a catch 22 argument for the last couple of years about the 40 man roster that no matter what someone that had value was going to be left off. IMO, the organization made a decision that signifies that Macais at the time of the JVB trade had more value. I can't fault this position considering the number of pitchers like JVB that were already in the system and the lack of positional depth. It made sense to keep Macias at the time until the Mabry and Pierre decisions were made. I would imagine that if thos transactions hadn't been made Macias would have been tendered and then DFA'd once a different role player was identified. Yes Macias is a poor choice but at the time was the only choice available until a better one was acquired. Obviously Hendry understood that the area needed improving and once it was, cut ties. I realize that many are looking at this transaction as an indicator of Hendry's roster management but in reality his apparently poor management has resulted in the loss of 1 player. I am able to accept that considering the additions that He has been responsible since. I think that it is well known that I am one of the few Hendry supporters on this board and I know that its an uphill battle but one that I am comfortable with the side that I have chosen. Perhaps its the area in which I live. This way i can compare to the "hometown" teams rather then the team that is local being the only control group. FOr me Cubs baseball is rarely spoken about around here. Therefore I can listen to the bashing of the Dodgers, for example, and compare notes and say "wow, in comparison to what else is out there, Hendry has done some strange things but has really overall done a pretty good job".

50.) The Cubs will be in first place after April thus creating such a positive movement within NSBB that the board will never go down again!

I would rather see Hill In the rotation but meh...

Well that was in 164 AB's of an injury season... Last year he hit .302 (225 AB) at a higher level. A Judy, A-ball hitter is not equal value for the minor league reliever of the year in AAA. Period. Someone like huber can spin that all they want. It's a bad baseball decision yet again from Hendry, who has done this repeatedly during his tenure. You really have got to be kidding on this. How does a PTBNL need "spin"? Anyone know who we got for Leicester from Texas yet? I mean that right there will clearly be a shining example of Hendry's tenure. Why? Well becasue Leicester was actually somewhat talented and showed some sort of promise in the big leagues until he was inexplicably turned into a starter. Now I think that in order for that to be successful we need to get back Danks right? So we should have gotten more for JVB huh, like a prospect in to the top 25? Where was JVB ranked by BA? As for the "minor league pitcher of the year", who was that last season? How did JVB do in the big leagues at the end of the season? In reality this is barely a blip. JVB is nothing more then a ST invite that the Cubs actually got something back for. Just for that Hendry should be applauded.

doesn't he have to be signed first?

Geez, listening to this one would think that JVB is the 2nd coming. Guys he was a minor league cast off that the Cubs picked up off the scrap heap. If he even appears in a boston game this year it will be out of nesacity and not choice. JVB's mechanics are some of the worst that I have ever seen in person. When i watched him in Arizona last ST he got rocked both times and is the perfect example of organizational filler. To use the loss of JVB as a reason to fire a GM is a laugher. Yes lets fire a GM because his PTBNL wasn't good enough! :D

I was wondering if others have this problem. Currently there are some posters that others can see their post count and rank and possibly avatar but I can't. For example, I see none of Goony's and JC information other then just the username and for Willis and Poudre I see just their username and location. I have checked and it appears that no one is ignoring me (thats good!) and I have all of it turned on because I see other's stuff. What am I missing?

Walker is NOT gone and there is no deal where he is rumored in recently. Therefore Walker is still a Cub and still can be considered a top 5 offensive 2B. As far as the CF comment how many CF are better then Pierre?

I am actually for this trade. Before I lose everyone again (since I actually like the Jones acquistion) I think we have to take a step back and realize what we would be getting. We would be left with a top 5 in baseball offensive infielder at all positions. Add that to a top 5 catcher, top 5 CF and we have a pretty strong lineup. Yes we would be trading a top tier pitcher but this is something that can be recovered from, both interally and via trades. Personally, I think that by offering a player of Prior's caliber it shows that Hendry is not afraid of making a big deal. Look at the Nomar trade from Boston's perspective. Their GM traded away one of the faces of the franchise and got better based on what they recieved. It is entirely plausible that even though we would be trading a valuable player, we are recieving quality in return. What I would like to see is a Prior/Hill/Brownlie trade for Tejada and Bedard. Then a subsequent trade with Boston where Patterson and Cedeno would be exchanged for Clement & Graffino. That would solidify our rotation more and allow for a return of apopular player both to the fans and to the rest of the rotation.

Correct, however setting him up to fail is also conrtibuting to the player not suceeding. All i am saying to to give Jones a chance before condeming the transaction.

Uh, .415 SLG? Giles last year in a pitchers paradise had a line of: .301/.423/.483 His OBP is better than the SLG of the guy you prefer at 7m. And, it only takes 1 Brian Giles to fill that hole rather than 2 guys to do the work of 1. Put Giles back in the hitter friendly NL Central and watch his SLG go back over .500 easily. He's been over .600 SLG twice in his career and in the NL Central. I am speaking of expectations for Giles as the next 3 years take him to the decline of his career. If we can use expectations to poorly judge Jones then we should at least be fair and say that it would be expected for Giles to decline more the next 3 years then exceed his previous career norms. My point was that you can pay 2 players 5 million less and get effective numbers. The ultimate question is if Giles' production is worth the difference between the 2 situations. One of the arguments have been that $5 million is too much for Jones. Then the train of thought would then say that the 7 million dollar difference is worth it for the production difference that you would get from Jones to Giles. I disagree. I would love to see how many runs difference just the Pecota projections for the 2 players are. Then we can see how much each run would cost and then it would be a better gauge. If adding Giles over Jones would mean 100 added runs, then each run would equal $70K. Is it worth it in this scenario? Did the Cubs lose the division last season by 100 runs?

Hypothecially, If you could pay 7 million dollars per year for the next 3 years to 2 players that would result in an average line of .280/.350/.400 from RF or pay 12 million dollars to an older player per year for 3 years and have him put up a line of .280/.380/.415 who would you rather take? To me the argument for Giles this offseason was that he was head and shoulders above what else was available and he would immediately impact one of the sorely lacking aspects of the current team (OBP). But instead of paying 12 million for him, Hendry paid half of that (even less in acutal salary and not bonus) for a younger, lesser player who would be easier to move or replace should the opportunity arise and if put in a strict platoon would be nearly as effective given the right partner (Mench). I personally would chose what the Cubs did and might complete then giving Giles 12 million.

Why not? I've never swung the bat for the Cubs, I'd recommend giving up on me before I ever do. Darin Erstad has never swung a bat for the Cubs, I'd give up on him before he got the chance to. There has been plenty of recorded history on Jones. It would be irresponsible to ignore all that and think some such of magic dust would change things if he came to the Cubs. Jones sucks, and he's going to suck for the Cubs. But I'm sure some faction of the media will adopt him and we'll be forced to hear about what a great job he's doing and how he saved the team and how smart Jim Hendry was to get a player like him. But the point that you missed is that you would be playing for the Cubs, therefore, by default, I would root for you to do well and not just say because your history sucks that you will suck for the Cubs too. I'm not one to ignore the history, but we all know history is subjective. Jones has talent and is a solid ballplayer. If you knew for sure that he would be in a strict platoon would there be any issues? Or is it how much he got or the number of years? A RF platoon that results in .280/.350/.400 is entirely possible and I would take that for a 7 million dollar salary (estimated cost of Mench and Jones).

Hahahahahaha, ok, go ahead and explain why you think it was a good signing. Go for it. There are some positives to the acquitison. One of them being that we can't say that Hendry hasn't done anything lately :P Seriously though, while I admit some misgivings about Jones, I will refuse to give up on him before he even swings the bat for the 1st time in a Cub uniform. Like it or not, Jones is a Cub now and I will root for him to do well as i would for anyone who plays for the team. Would I rather have had Huff, surely. However was Jones the worst option? Nope. I am happy that we have the hole filled and if Jones a platoon player with someone like Mench then I think that it is a very good transaction. Considering that Mench is a very real possibility I don't see that this is too far fetched. 5 mil a year is nothing. Next offseason if there was a FA OF that was better then Jones then I doubt the Cubs wouldn't be intereted to sign him. Besides at the salary he makes (minus the bonus) Jones is a VERY movable player midseason. If it doesn't work out, trade him and start over with a better FA class to choose from. But if Jones reverts back to his previous numbers then it would be an excellent signing. What is Jones' Peacota projection?

For the record I voted yes. Also for the record, I am a Cubs Fan :D

Isn't John Mabry pretty similar to Perez? Other then the fact he hits LH too.

I thought they non tnedered Ross NOT Olivo. Who is their backup catcher now if both of them are gone?

Just out of curiousity, if Lidge is the "closer" type that the Phillies need, wouldn't Williamson be someone that they would be interested in? Hear me out for a moment... Lidge is a top closer in this league and WIlliamson is not, granted. However, if Philiadelphia can fill more then 1 need "adequately" as opposed to 1 need extraordinary, which is better to do? Its kind of like the Herschel Walker deal in football. Not nessacarily quantity over quality but killing 2 birds with 1 stone.

Simple question, Like it or not?

You know its bad when Fred is not looking for a silver lining.

Josh Barfield can leadoff

Klesko is not going to 1B now with Gonzalez being acquired. The Pads won't have too many OF shortly. This deal today is a precursor to a Dave Roberts to Boston for Wells.

I think that this is one of those "no-brainer" deals in that it is maximizing the value of Guzman. One of the complaints towards Hendry's tenure is not trading high and I think that Guzman has reached what he can offer. He has had back to back lost seasons and isn't strong enough for a role in the rotation until at least mid year this coming season after not pitching much this past season. He hasn't had any sustained efforts in higher levels of competition and this is most likely his make or break year. If he breaks out then great for us but if he doesn't then his prospect value is Welly's level instead of the slightly below blue chip value he is now. The downside to this is if he turns out to have the breakout year and is another Willis. This leaves the question on whether or not Huff is worth the risk. Personally, with the holes on this team and the depth of starting pitching and Guzman's history, I think that this is a deal that must be completed.

Hypothectically, how many years of patience would Hendry earn if the team won the series next season? For a moment consider that Hendry continues to ake "questionable" moves but ends up winning the world series in 2006. The next offseason he makes some even less popular moves. How would we react? I understand that we haven't won anything yet, but I think in order to understand our desires and how we critique transactions, we need to better understand our expectations. Obviously the expectation is to make and win the world series, but even with a 100% approval rating, the world series is not guaranteed.