CUBZ99

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/260181,cst-spt-cubnt16a.article Does it really even matter how long it takes him to warm up? Of course it does.

Anyone else catch the little blurb in the Sun Times that said Prior took more time to loosen up than any other the other pitchers in his group? http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/260181,cst-spt-cubnt16a.article

There are plenty of people calling him a selfish prick (or similar) and questioning his loyalty (to the point of ridiculousness, IMO). All for expecting to be paid the same amount as someone who is performes below his level. To each his own, I guess. We'll see what happens. I'm sure there are some people on the board who were hoping that Zambrano appreciated the Cubs and truly wanted to be a Cub for a long time. I think from a fan standpoint, it is easier to cheer for a player that truly enjoys playing for the team you root for rather than a guy that is simply looking for the biggest payday. And yes, there are more things involved than money regarding a contract extension. There are many examples of players that signed home town discount deals for below what they could have gotten on the open market. In the NL Central alone, Carpenter and Oswalt could have possibly made much more on the open market than the deals they signed. Wood could have made more signing with another team this past off season. I don't blame a player for being soley about the money, or wanting to get the biggest payday he can get. But I can see why many fans would be or are upset over a player only concerned about money.

I saw JK pitch in Iowa last year, and he seemed to have lost his plus velocity that made him a prospect in the first place. On the day I saw him he was working in the 86-88 range for most of the game, and his stuff was not fooling anyone on the other team.

That's not a flaw. In fact the situations are perfectly analogous. The only reason the Cubs would deal Zambrano is if they can't (or won't) pay Z what he is going to demand as a FA. At that point, their choice is between taking the players he could be traded for, or taking the draft picks when he leaves. Same exact choice the Royals had with Beltran. Another good comparison is the Randy Johnson for Freddy Garcia, John Halama, and Carlos Guillen trade. And Johnson was notably better then than Z is now. I think some people here are overvaluing what Z should fetch on the trade market. Like I said in that other thread, I would be ecstatic with Jared Weaver and Howie Kendrick...although that is purely speculation on his potential value. 1 yr of Bartolo Colon for Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips. Cubs could include Jones and get quite the package from the Angels.

I think we are all forgetting that Marquis had more wins than Z over the last 3 years. :wink:

What is the natural progression for a baseball broadcaster? Is it similar to minor league players?

$4.3 MM for Corey Patterson? Seems like a bit much, even in this market.

Where is unfounded optimism? I've yet to see anyone comment that Hill had a shot to be anything but a 24th or 25th man. Hill has a career (.343)OBP 45 pts higher than Neifi (.298) and over 50 pts higher than Tomas (.298). That is hardly anything to scoff at. As far as his glove is conerned, with Izturis and Derosa, I'm sure that he is not going to be coming in as a defensive replacement very often. His OBP and speed may be a nice addition to the bench.

If this transaction did happen, I'm pleasantly suprised with Hendry. IMO Hill is a better option than Tomas Perez as the 25th man on the roster. BTW does anyone know why Hill has never gotten a shot at being a starter? His OBP is not bad for a middle IF.

I heard conflicting reports about his velo - I think a lot of that had to do with his sporadic mechanics. He needs to stay consistant with them to keep his velocity up. I think it will help that Boise pitching coach is going to be at Peoria this coming season. Callis didn't answer my Petrick question in the chat. :( But he answered the Samardzija cap question. :D Come on, you can't tease us like that without giving a short explanation. :D Oh, and another waste of time question: And from someone who doesn't follow the Cubs closely but asks questions in a prospect chat: I wish Callis would have answered 3 serious current Cubs questions instead. At least he didn't go on about Jessica Alba. :evil: Thanks, I thought you meant "cap" as in ceiling, not "cap" as in baseball cap. :lol:

Hendry has been on the record in the past stating that he would reserve part of his payroll in order to fill holes mid-season. I wonder if he abandoned that practice this year accounting for the slight increase in payroll. As last year proved, you can't always rely on being able to acquire a player through trade mid season.

I heard conflicting reports about his velo - I think a lot of that had to do with his sporadic mechanics. He needs to stay consistant with them to keep his velocity up. I think it will help that Boise pitching coach is going to be at Peoria this coming season. Callis didn't answer my Petrick question in the chat. :( But he answered the Samardzija cap question. :D Come on, you can't tease us like that without giving a short explanation. :D

Wow, three players from last year's draft in the top 10. Is that the product of a great draft or an indictment on the Cubs farm system as a whole? Also, not great news on Pawelek. I was almost certain there were reports that he finally regained his velocity once he got back in shape? Will be interesting to see how he progresses this year.

You are correct. For some reason I thought they were both there at the same time for a short period. But, it doesn't change the fact the Dodgers took Hendry for a ride on that deal. I agree that Hendry probably got taken to the cleaners on the Maddux deal, but there is no way to find out until we see what a healthy Izturis is capable of. Sometimes Hendry's hunches pay off, like with Barrett. Sometimes they don't, like with Pierre, Neifi, Hairston. If he plays gold glove SS this year and has a .330ish OBP I think the trade will look much better.

So the rumors of his return in velocity were unfounded? I was hoping maybe he could figure it out in the bullpen.

20/20 hindsight? Are you kidding me? It was Tim that suggested Daisuke. I wanted Schmidt. I would have been fine with Daisuke, but I wanted Schmidt, Drew, Lugo and whatever pieces and parts Hendry could get. There is nothing hindsight about what I wanted going into the offseason. I think Hendry did alright. However, I'm not sure if he did enough. He spent money like crazy. But, spending money like crazy isn't going to win you a World Series. Spending money on needs while focusing on the direction of the club is what builds a winner. This team has no direction. None. They spent 136m for an outfielder and they have no idea where he's going to play. They spent how much on Marquis, and there is no guarantee he'll be better than the 8th or 9th best rotation option in 2007. They haven't extended the most important player to this team, Carlos Zambrano. They really gambled with DeRosa. He's been strictly a super sub, which would have been a great thing for him in Chicago, but Hendry gave him starter money and a starting job. I hope it works, but it's quite a gamble. He doesn't have a clue what to do with Jacque Jones. Great, they went out and spent a bunch of money. But, they didn't go out and spend it with any direction. BBB -- you and Tim make some real valid points, and I agree with your final analysis, however, your assumptions have to be based upon the fact that Hendry could have signed any of those players. 1. Daisuke -- According to reports Hendry bid Approx $20MM for a guy that has a lot of mileage on his arm and no MLB experience. Who would have guessed that the winning bid would have been $51MM and how many people would have been calling him an idiot for spending a minimum of $51MM on an unproven pitcher? Also, lets see how Daisuke works out before we all hail Boston's efforts in obtaining him. It is possible that he may not be anything more than a #5 starter, in which case Boston severely overpaid. 2. Schmidt -- Who wouldn't have loved to see him on the Cubs? I have seen no indication at all, that Schmidt was even interested in coming to the Cubs. From all reports, he was only interested in signing with a west coast team (SF, Seattle). According to Kaplan (WGN), Schmidt's agent wouldn't even give Hendry the time of day. You can fault Hendry for a lot of things, but you can't fault him for Schmidt not wanting to play for a team not on the west coast. 3. Drew -- Did the Cubs even have a realistic chance with Drew? It is possible that he had his mind made up to go to Boston no matter what. 4. All others (Lugo, etc...) -- It is not beyond imagination that players would rather play for a team they feel is better. I know us fans like to think that every player in baseball would love to play for the Cubs , but that is not reality. Sometimes there are things beyond any GM's control. It is possible that Hendry did the best he could, with what he had to work with. Soriano was a huge addition to the offense and a major upgrade over Juan Pierre. Lilly was an upgrade over most of our starting pitching from last year, and in the NL could turn out to be a bargain. Ward and Floyd signings helped shore up a pathetic bench from last year. Overall, the offseason wasn't tremendous, but it wasnt' a complete failure either. If anything, this offseason proved that you probably can't go out and buy World Series team. You must be able to produce some of your own talent.

How do you know that for sure? No offense, but I doubt Hendry tells reporters all the deals that he's discussing. OK. Believe what you will. I think my track record holds up pretty well. I guess it does, and I wasn't questioning your integrity. I was just asking how you knew for sure to make such a declarative statement. Has Hendry flat out told you that he has zero interest in Ichiro, or is it that you haven't heard anything regarding possible talks? Because there's a big difference between the two. I'm told by Cubs people that there have been no discussions. Let's break it down. Ichiro is an extremely popular, if not iconic, figure in Seattle. The team has Japanese ownership, and Seattle has a large Japanese population. Run this by your public: "We're trading Ichiro for Jacque Jones, a prospect you've never heard of and a player to be named later. Yes, that Jacque Jones, a pitcher you've never heard of and a player to be named later." Can you imagine the reaction there? If the Mariners are indeed looking to trade Ichiro _ and I'm told they'll try like hell to get an extension done _ they're going to ask for a whole lot more than that in the beginning. Not to mention the Cubs would be stupid to trade one of their better pitching prospects for a one year rental. Especially after an off season where they had to overpay severely for mediocre pitching. Bruce, beside the bullpen and the last person in the rotation....are there any starting positions up for grabs? (2B, SS) ??

Maybe I'm crazy, but isn't Gallagher one of the best pitching prospects in the system currently? The numbers he has put up in the minors to date have been very impressive and he has been putting these numbers up at a pretty young age. With the increase in his velocity, I would rate him as a better prospect than Marshall and considering he is only 1 or 2 years away, I wouldn't trade him for a 1 year rental.

Why did they even have to add Shark to the 40-man? That seems short-sighted as now he has only 3 option years left. Had he not been added to the 40-man, he'd have some time for that to happen. I'm not saying that I agree with it, but supposedly he is on the fast track, and at least one report stated that the Cubs believe he may contribute to the major league club next year. I'm amazed at the confidence they have in him.

Is every member of the 40 man roster invited to Spring Training?

Are you sick for real, or just that upset the Cubs signed Floyd? :P

The news keeps getting better, according to the AP Floyd's contract could be big: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-cubs-floyd&prov=ap&type=lgns

=D> =D> =D> I guess since Muskat has not asked you to remove derogatory posts about her we can continue calling her Muskat. Maybe we can mix it up a little, like God Muskat damn. . btw - I have reason to believe that Carrie's been here in the past. OTOH, I'm pretty sure it's not worth God's time to see what people are saying about Him here. And I'd hope that He's got a pretty thick skin about such things. I've never understood why He would be put out by mere mortals using his name in vain, anyway. It seems so petty. If you were all powerful, would you care?!? Wow. You would care if you took the time to make it one of the first three of the ten commandments. :P Good to see that the board is attracting a broad spectrum of viewers. I agree with the others, name calling is not necessary, but it is a sports message board and it is not unexpected. Back to the Topic: Now the Trib is reporting that Floyd will probably start in LF. :cry:

and people who alter neifi's and juan's names to make fun of them are also lame. I agree 100%. And I hope that you defended them just as vigorously. Generally, on a sports message board, it is not uncommon to see people give players, writers, GM's, etc. dumb nicknames.