vance_the_cubs_fan

So he K'ed batters at a higher rate, but also walked them more and gave up more hits after the injury. He gave up HR's at about the same rate. It seems if he might have missed more in and out of the zone...so it could have been a control issue.

I still miss Jason Dubois. :cry:

Willie McGee has his ballot posted now.

This one will complete all the returnees to the ballot. (Tomorrow, I'll start posting the new players on the ballot.)

Murphy was one of those players I loved to watch play. He has two consecutive MVP's to his credit as well. He had a four year peak 1982-1985 that was very good, but he declined pretty rapidly after that peak. His career line of 265/346/469 is just not impressive enough. Had he been able to extend that peak of his career, he might be worthy, but he flamed out too quickly. He made seven all-star appearances and won five gold gloves to go along with his 2 MVP's. He was likely the best player in the NL for the years 82-85, but after that he lived primarily on the reputation from those seasons. Hitters most comparable to Murphy are: Joe Carter (901) Duke Snider (880) * Don Baylor (875) Ron Santo (875) Gil Hodges (873) Ruben Sierra (866) George Foster (865) Jack Clark (862) Luis Gonzalez (861) Ellis Burks (859) Only one of those is a HOF (though Santo and maybe Hodges should be). There's a lot of guys, who at least for a period of their careers, were considered feared hitters. What I think that list has in common with Murphy is that many of those guys like Murphy weren't good enough, long enough. Murphy is a great player that just isn't quite HOF caliber.

Dale Murphy is up.

Next up, 2-time MVP Dale Murphy.

Around the Joe Horn Drew Bledsoe (QB- DAL) Eli Manning (QB-NYG) Matt Hasselbeck (QB- SEA) Larry Fitzgerald (WR-ARI) Deion Branch (WR-NE) Joe Horn (WR-NO) Laverneous Coles (WR-NYJ) Tiki Barber (RB-NYG) Rueben Droughns (RB-CLE) Corey Dillon (RB-NE) T.J. Duckett (RB-ATL) Antonio Gates (TE-SD) Dallas-DEF Giants-DEF Jeff Reed (K-PIT)

Apologies -- I misunderstood my source. Kielty was indeed offered arbitration, as was Byrnes (the only A that wasn't was Boccachia, as vance said). That said, it'd be nice if a deal for Byrnes or Kielty could be worked somehow - either would be a good fit for the Cubs. Byrnes was not offered arbitration by the Orioles. Link We are free to sign Byrnes, but not Kielty.

I thought Hicks was hesitant to hand out long-term deals to pitchers after Chan Ho Park. I have a feeling this signing has disaster written all over it.

While Hendry may see Walker as third, I have a hard time believing he won't start for Dusty if he's still on the team. My guess is Dusty will start him against all righthanders. I don't see Dusty giving Hairston a lot of at bats over Walker. I could see Perez getting starts over him, but I have a feeling what will most likely occur is that Cedeno rides the bench and against righties Perez will be at SS and Walker at 2b. Against lefties, Cedeno will likely start and either Perez or Hairston will man the other infield position.

Here are the secondbasemen that I'd probably take over Walker: 1. Giles 2. Utley 3. Castillo 4. Roberts 5. Kent I'd not be dissapointed with players like Figgins, Freel, and Loretta. If I knew Vidro would be healthy, I might would be interested in him as well. But looking at that list, we failed on getting Castillo. Kent may be available, but it's doubtful. No one else on that list is available. So, that makes Walker the best available secondbasemen for the Cubs. He's certainly more valuable than the players we currently have for the position, so trading him unless we get something of value is stupid.

If the Cubs start Perez over Walker at 2b it will show just how inept the management of this team really is.

I was looking over the list of players not offered arbitration, and I didn't see Kielty on it. He's also still showing on the A's roster. According to ESPN, the only Athletic not offered arbitration was Hiram Boccachia. So, did I miss something, or is Kielty still the property of the A's?

Maybe...but I didn't feel like tabulating it. With the individual polls, I can see who gets 75% and we also have a separate thread to debate each candidate's credentials.

Can you name 10 2B that are better than Walker, or were last year? Offensively or Defensively? Total package.

See the thread in baseball discussions as to how it will work. We'll have a poll on every player that will appear on this year's ballot. Certainly, many won't receive any or much support...but they'll all have their chance.

Dave Conception ballot is now up.

Here's some info on Conception:

See my post in baseball discussions. We're included everyone currently on this year's ballot. You think the case for some of these guys is weak, just wait until we have the ballot for Gary Discarcina. :P

Just curious, but what would you say of Larkin? (He's not eligible for another five years...but I see him as similar to Trammell.)

At one time, Mattingly was viewed as certainly headed for Cooperstown. Injuries shortened his career, dampened his production, and derailed those chances. It's unlikely Mattingly makes it this year or ever for that regard. Mattingly has one MVP to his credit and finished second one other time and fifth in the voting another time. He has six consecutive All-Star appearances to go with 9 gold gloves. His career rate stats of 307/358/471 look good but lack the power most would expect from a HOF 1b. Though even though he lacks the power in his career rates, he had three consecutive seasons in which he was either first or second in the league in SLG %. At his peak, Mattingly was very good, and he really only had one poor season. Unfortunately for him, and his HOF chances, that peak didn't last long enough and his career was too short for him to pile enough counting numbers to persuade a lot of voters. His most similar batters are: Cecil Cooper (934) Wally Joyner (907) Hal McRae (900) Kirby Puckett (895) * Garret Anderson (880) Will Clark (879) Tony Oliva (872) Keith Hernandez (862) Jim Bottomley (860) * John Olerud (858) There's two HOFers there, but that list isn't that impressive. I see a lot of really good players, but none that really inspire me as HOF. Unless I'm willing to call Cooper, Clark, and Hernandez HOFers (and I'm not), I really can't make a case for Mattingly. Had Mattingly had 3 more seasons like his 1984-1987 seasons, then he likely gets in. As it is, he is among the very good players that aren't quite HOFers.

Don Mattingly's ballot is now posted.

On Donnie Baseball:

Dave Parker's ballot is now up.