CUBZ99

Here comes Pierre :D

If I was Nomar, I'd tell Hendry and the Cubs to go jump into Lake Michigan. Why? Hendry paid big for Nomar twice and Nomar let the Cubs down. He shouldn't have any animosity toward the Cubs, let alone Hendry.

With Walker already signed and pretty much a sure bet to have a .350ish OBP, and Cedeno ready to get a shot, why are the Cubs so desperate for a SS in the first place? I under stand Furcal is a top of the order guy, but with Lugo why bother?

He better lock Pierre up long term without Pie waiting in the wings. BTW can Dunn play RF? I thought he was not defensively gifted?

Benson seems like exactly the type of pitcher that Hendry would covet. Your use of the word covet is a natural segue to the inevitable mention of Anna Benson that must ensue. :lol: :lol:

Benson seems like exactly the type of pitcher that Hendry would covet.

How many more games before the AFL is over? And does anybody how impressive EPATT's .300ish Avg is in the AFL? Does his showing warrant a promotion all the way to AA to start the season?

Is this still Bruce Miles Q & A? If so, the Mets are reportedly shopping Benson and Trachsel(sp?). Do the Cubs have any interest in acquiring Benson? Seems like I heard a couple years ago when he was still with the Pirates that Hendry was close to getting him.

But can he catch the ball??

I feel sorrier for us Cubs fans, who have to put up with a managment team that's apparently so abysmally stupid that it thinks Neifi Perez is more productive and valuable than Todd Walker. I don't think anybody in the Cubs organization was hiding the fact that they wanted to trade Todd Walker this winter. I'm not saying that I agree with it, but you couldn't watch a game on any channel where the announcers didn't mention how bad the Cubs wanted to improve defensively on the infield. Neifi as awful as he is offensively, does represent an upgrade defensively. However committing to Neifi, puts Hendry a position in which he must try to score big with a SS, CF, and RF. Otherwise the Cub's already low scoring offense is going to be in worse shape. Neifi played 150 games last year. He's at best treading water defensively, since he had a career year defensively. The Cubs were very good defensively this past year, 3rd in the NL in DER if memory serves. I don't want to pick a fight with you over your use of Stats, but this maybe on of those times that your citing of stats is useless. Anybody who watched a game last year knows that the Cubs were not good defensively. Just as anybody who watched the Cubs last year knows that Neifi played a good to great defensive SS. I agree that Neifi was a poor signing but to say Neifi is treading water defensively is utterly ridiculous.

I feel sorrier for us Cubs fans, who have to put up with a managment team that's apparently so abysmally stupid that it thinks Neifi Perez is more productive and valuable than Todd Walker. I don't think anybody in the Cubs organization was hiding the fact that they wanted to trade Todd Walker this winter. I'm not saying that I agree with it, but you couldn't watch a game on any channel where the announcers didn't mention how bad the Cubs wanted to improve defensively on the infield. Neifi as awful as he is offensively, does represent an upgrade defensively. However committing to Neifi, puts Hendry a position in which he must try to score big with a SS, CF, and RF. Otherwise the Cub's already low scoring offense is going to be in worse shape.

Assuming that Hendry signs Furcal, Burnett, and BJ Ryan then trades for Pierre and Abreu, I think it could be a good offseason for the Cubs. :lol:

Hendry is becoming more like Dusty every day. On one hand he says that he wants to win and that it was his responsibility for losing last year, then he goes out and starts signing the very players that, in part, were responsible for the horrible season. I'm not saying that Neifi is a horrible player, but to sign him to a 2 year deal for anything more than 25th man money is ridiculous (Same as Rusch). You can't improve unless you actually make changes to the team that you already had in place. I realize that he has the remainder of the off season to fix the team, but so far this offseason is not going so well.

I can't wait to see what Hendry paid Perez. ](*,) ](*,)

Mench's numbers make him look like a right handed Burnitz. Why would the Cubs need to give up a prospect along with Walker to get a worse player?

Baldelli has also hit .289 and .281 in his 2 seasons. He's a much better hitter than Patterson. And you have ridiculously high standards if you call the seasons Baldelli had at 21 and 22, respectively, crappy. He is not entirely crappy, but i'm guessing you would want more out of your RF than what he has shown to date. Yeah. But what does that have to do with anything? His point was that the Cubs don't need a player like Badelli. His comparison may have been a little bit of a stretch, but it doesn't change the fact that the Cubs should try to do better than Baldelli.

Baldelli has also hit .289 and .281 in his 2 seasons. He's a much better hitter than Patterson. And you have ridiculously high standards if you call the seasons Baldelli had at 21 and 22, respectively, crappy. He is not entirely crappy, but i'm guessing you would want more out of your RF than what he has shown to date.

Neifi has no business on our baseball team ever. You can find someone better, cheaper, younger, or all of the above really easily. He never should've been signed in '04, he never should've been retained, and we shouldn't be talking about bringing him back. I understand that is how you feel. I'm asking why. I don't understand how he could be considered to be so utterly worthless. Can you help me understand? Neifi is utterly worthless offensively. This season, as bad as he was, is one of (if not the) best of his career. Neifi should never be an option to start for a period of time, he's too terrible on offense. This is a catch-22, because Neifi's only value is playing good defense, which is mitigated when he's in a bench role. Cubbieinexile articulated this point very well earlier. Neifi isn't young, he has little to no upside. His production can be replaced very very easily. The only way he should be on a team of the Cubs' caliber is if they are absolutely ravaged by injuries(Think Nomar and Cedeno going down for the season) and he should be brought in as a backup to some other alternative(trade, younger signing, minor leaguer already in the system, etc.). Just to make sure I'm understanding you. You are saying that offensively, he worse than almost every other back-up SS in the major leagues, thus being utterly worthless. And that his above average defense doesn't count because he would be coming off the bench. He is also older and has no upside. Did I miss anything? / Yes, Dusty Baker seems to think he is one of the Best SS's ever. ](*,)

Neifi has no business on our baseball team ever. You can find someone better, cheaper, younger, or all of the above really easily. He never should've been signed in '04, he never should've been retained, and we shouldn't be talking about bringing him back. Exactly, Neifi is a good fit on a small market team looking to go cheap and nothing more.

THANK YOU =D> This thread is overrun with overreaction. it's called speculative emotional venting after a ridiculously disappointing and frustrating season. come down from the pulpit. Its one thing to speculate. Its another thing to trash our team based on stuff that hasn't been confirmed by anyone other than a guy who most agree isn't very reliable. That said, if JH does sign him to a 2 year deal, trash away. I agree that he's a backup and should only get a one year deal. The fact that anyone in the Cubs organization is even considering bring Neifi back for 2 years, is cause for concern. It is one thing to give the benefit of the doubt to an organization that is known for making smart moves, but we are talking about the Cubs, and Hendry has made a slew of bonehead transactions in the past year.

Hendry cannot be that dumb. Right?? 8-[ Hopefully there is no rush to sign him and Neifi is showered with offers to start elsewhere. Hendry brings him back and I quit. I don't need this crap. I don't deserve this crap. I have stuck around for 20 years of this crap and I just can't take us employing Neifi Perez for a third straight year. This makes me really want Furcal and a trade for Soriano(obp aside) I cannot handle antoher year of Neifi. I'm sure that Neifi is going to be asking for $3M+ a year too, which makes it worse. With Hendry's recent signing of Rusch ($3M over 2 years) for insurance purposes, this seems like Ken Rosenthal could have a scoop. Either Hendry has a greatly increased budget or he is considering blowing it to basically bring back the same sub .500 team.

Hendry cannot be that dumb. Right?? 8-[ Hopefully there is no rush to sign him and Neifi is showered with offers to start elsewhere.

The Rays boy wonder Andrew Freidman was discussing a 6-year deal with Baldelli before it was put on the back-burner until the GM/Manager searches were complete. I wouldn't be surprised if he signs a long-term deal in Tampa this winter. Let's see. In TB's outfield, the potential guys who could be seeing action there next season includes: Delmon Young (depending on what ownership decides) Jonny Gomes Joey Gathright Rocco Baldelli Aubrey Huff Carl Crawford Interesting. Combine that with the talk that they might move BJ Upton into the OF and the fact that Elijah Dukes could do well enough in AAA to merit a callup at some point next season, they have a decidedly bizarre (yet enviable) OF situation. Too bad that they will still be almost 30 games below .500 again.

The trib is not spinning Burnett. Davhern said that ESPN 1000 said that Hendry is pursuing him. Also, with the Cubs staff already and Burnett not being a huge name, why would it benefit the Cubs to lie about pursuing him? Seems like the interest has been serious ever since Dusty mentioned his name back in Sept.

So did the Marlins waive the right to negotiate with Burnett? I know that they already said they won't sign him.