vance_the_cubs_fan

Enjoy the vacation, Bruce!

except that the Yankees were rumored to have gone after Giles should the Matsui dealhave fallen through The new rumor is they'll still go after Giles even with Matsui in the fold.

That's the most ridiculous thing I've read all day. Wilkerson as a bench player...OML....that's funny as hell. he only hits .250 OBP is not the only thing that makes a good leadoff or nuber 2 hitter. He needs a low number of strikeouts, a decent batting average in the 275, and a good OBP. Wilkerson only achieves one of the three. Lets say you have Wilkerson batting second and Furcal batting first. Would you want someone who strikes out 150 times a year batting behind Furcal. Would we not complain about his inability to advance the runner? I'd rather have a guy who bats 285 with a 330 OBP with a low number of strikeouts batting second. The reason being that he would be more likely to advance the runner. I think we are overvalueing OBP because of how bad the top of our order was last year. We can't forget their are other things than OBP involved in making a good top of the order hitter. I also said in a later post that I may have exaggerated just a bit and that I just believe Wilkerson is not the best fit for our offense. The fact is Wilkerson is the perfect fit for this team. He's a left-handed bat that gets on base. If we sign Furcal, he won't be needed to hit lead-off. We also wouldn't need him to hit second either. Walker, Murton, or Cedeno could hit in that spot. Wilkerson would be ideal in the fifth or sixth spot in the order. If we don't sign Furcal and fail to get another hitter capable of hitting lead-off, Wilkerson isn't a poor option to do that. Not making outs is the most important thing a hitter can do, and Wilkerson does that better than most of the other options the Cubs have considered. Lets not get carried away. Wilkerson gets on base at a decent clip, but also strikes out a ton, has little speed and has a lower BA than Neifi Perez. He is a decent option, if the Cubs can't land Pierre or Furcal, or even if the Cubs land both Pierre and Furcal. If the Cubs land Furcal, Wilkerson is a better fit than Pierre. In fact, Wilkerson is a better fit than Pierre regardless of any other moves.

That's the most ridiculous thing I've read all day. Wilkerson as a bench player...OML....that's funny as hell. he only hits .250 OBP is not the only thing that makes a good leadoff or nuber 2 hitter. He needs a low number of strikeouts, a decent batting average in the 275, and a good OBP. Wilkerson only achieves one of the three. Lets say you have Wilkerson batting second and Furcal batting first. Would you want someone who strikes out 150 times a year batting behind Furcal. Would we not complain about his inability to advance the runner? I'd rather have a guy who bats 285 with a 330 OBP with a low number of strikeouts batting second. The reason being that he would be more likely to advance the runner. I think we are overvalueing OBP because of how bad the top of our order was last year. We can't forget their are other things than OBP involved in making a good top of the order hitter. I also said in a later post that I may have exaggerated just a bit and that I just believe Wilkerson is not the best fit for our offense. The fact is Wilkerson is the perfect fit for this team. He's a left-handed bat that gets on base. If we sign Furcal, he won't be needed to hit lead-off. We also wouldn't need him to hit second either. Walker, Murton, or Cedeno could hit in that spot. Wilkerson would be ideal in the fifth or sixth spot in the order. If we don't sign Furcal and fail to get another hitter capable of hitting lead-off, Wilkerson isn't a poor option to do that. Not making outs is the most important thing a hitter can do, and Wilkerson does that better than most of the other options the Cubs have considered. I concede the point that Wilkerson is a good player. But I stand by my opinion that I don't think he is a number 2 hitter, which would not make him the best fit for this team if we sign Furcal or trade for Pierre. I'd rather have walker batting two than Wilkerson. We don't need a "number two" hitter. We need guys that get on base, which makes Wilkerson the perfect fit for this team. As I pointed out, we have plenty of guys who can hit second. Bat Walker there, bat Cedeno there, bat Murton there...I don't care. Wilkerson fits fine in the sixth spot...he fits fine in the seventh spot...he fits ok in the fifth spot...especially if his power returns. He's a better hitter than half the guys we batted up and down the order last season. Even with his poor numbers in 2005, he was a better hitter than Burnitz who we used in the fifth spot. Wilkerson's ability to walk and get on base is exactly what this team needs. He's a perfect fit. He may not be the perfect fit for a number two hitter, but I don't think a number two hitter is that desperate a need of this team.

That's the most ridiculous thing I've read all day. Wilkerson as a bench player...OML....that's funny as hell. he only hits .250 OBP is not the only thing that makes a good leadoff or nuber 2 hitter. He needs a low number of strikeouts, a decent batting average in the 275, and a good OBP. Wilkerson only achieves one of the three. Lets say you have Wilkerson batting second and Furcal batting first. Would you want someone who strikes out 150 times a year batting behind Furcal. Would we not complain about his inability to advance the runner? I'd rather have a guy who bats 285 with a 330 OBP with a low number of strikeouts batting second. The reason being that he would be more likely to advance the runner. I think we are overvalueing OBP because of how bad the top of our order was last year. We can't forget their are other things than OBP involved in making a good top of the order hitter. I also said in a later post that I may have exaggerated just a bit and that I just believe Wilkerson is not the best fit for our offense. The fact is Wilkerson is the perfect fit for this team. He's a left-handed bat that gets on base. If we sign Furcal, he won't be needed to hit lead-off. We also wouldn't need him to hit second either. Walker, Murton, or Cedeno could hit in that spot. Wilkerson would be ideal in the fifth or sixth spot in the order. If we don't sign Furcal and fail to get another hitter capable of hitting lead-off, Wilkerson isn't a poor option to do that. Not making outs is the most important thing a hitter can do, and Wilkerson does that better than most of the other options the Cubs have considered.

I don't have a problem pursuing bullpen help, per se. On the other hand, I wish we would fill other needs before throwing arms at relief pitchers considering our system is full of promising relief arms.

A little on Pierre for a Dallas Morning News Rangers Q&A. A couple of things I found interesting. First this -> This is why many of us want a better option than Pierre, especially if we're going to give up Hill. Second point--> Could the Marlins be asking for Cedeno and Hendry needs to wait until he signs Furcal first?

That's the most ridiculous thing I've read all day. Wilkerson as a bench player...OML....that's funny as hell. he only hits .250 His OBP is 350 in a bad year! He consistently gets on base at 100 points higher than his average. He makes fewer outs than almost anyone the Cubs had on their team last season. He may not be an all-star, but he's certainly not a bench player. That's ridiculous.

Wilkerson puts up decent numbers, but doesn't his incredibly high strike out numbers bother you at all? I'm just not sure its the best idea to get a guy that would have led the Cubs in Strike outs last year and expect him to be your lead off hitter or bat near the top of the lineup. I'm not saying that he is a bad option, but I hope that Hendry goes the Furcal/ Pierre route before settling for Wilkerson. I'd prefer Wilkerson in the five or six hole. If we sign Furcal that's exactly where he could and probably would bat. On the other hand, his OBP is high enough to use him in the lead-off spot if we need him there.

That's the most ridiculous thing I've read all day. Wilkerson as a bench player...OML....that's funny as hell.

Wilkerson would be a much better option that Pierre. If you acquire Wilkerson and miss out on Furcal, Brad can lead off just as you'd expect Pierre to do. On the other hand, if you acquire Wilkerson and then sign Furcal, Wilkerson can hit second, fifth, or sixth much better than Pierre would.

Could that also be a reason for Pierre's slide?

I'm talking about Wilkerson. I don't understand the love affair. Maybe using "a lot" was an exaggeration, but there are definitely better options out there. For center field? He had a down year and still was above average for a CF, and better than other options like Pierre. He's still only one year removed from an .874 OPS, which is outstanding for a CF. He plays average defense, he's still young and relatively cheap. There's not much downside, considering even if he stays at last year's down level he's about as productive as someone like Pierre was in their best years. In addition, Wilkerson has routinely put up an OBP 100 points higher than his batting average. This guy has an amazing knack for drawing a walk.

Can someone fill me in on everyone's love affair for Wilkerson? I've seen him play, I've seen his stats, and I walk away from him with no fondness. I don't get why, when there are a lot of better options available, everybody is salivating over an average player. Wilkerson had a down year in 2005 and still managed to hit 248/351/405. His batting average and power dipped, but he still got on base at a 350 clip which shows his ability to draw a walk. From 2002-2004, he hit 257/368/456. For a CF that's respectable production. I still believe if you get him healthy and out of RFK he will get on base at a 360 or better average and still hit 30+ HR's. He would be a very good CF and better than average as a RF. He's only 28, so he'd fit well within the core of young position players the Cubs have acquired. Also, since he's coming off a year in which he struggled in the power department, he might come cheaper than he would have after one of his better seasons. I like the prospect of buying low with him.

That's actually pretty siginificant. Word was that Hendry wasn't going to discuss dollars until he knew Furcal was comfortable leaving Atlanta. Kinzer was to sit down today with Furcal and discuss his comfotability with each team, mainly Cubs and Braves. This likely means Furcal has said if the Cubs are the higher dollar, I'm willing to go to Chicago. This is all inference, but I think it's a correct one.

Why don't you see a trade with Cincy? They need cheap, good pitching. We have cheap, good pitching. We can give them quality or quantity. Because Cincy is too stupid to realize that we match up pretty well as trading partners. That's why... Do they? I don't think the Cubs have a A level pitching prospects required to get Dunn. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the Cubs have a lot of B and C guys. Guzman was an "A" level prospect until his injury woes. He's not there now, but he definitely has the stuff and potential to be a staff ace.

It appears the negotiations are down to the Cubs and Braves. My guess is Furcal's agent wants to see how much more the Cubs need to offer to keep him from the Braves. I suspect we'll see a resolution to this saga fairly soon. Do you believe a Furcal decision will really start the ball rolling for this Cubs offseason? Moreover, I believe a Furcal signing is a key to keeping Perez out of the Cub 2006 lineup. Yes, I believe a lot of moves are waiting on the Furcal signing. I think the Cubs are holding onto Walker until then as well. Right now, we're looking at a MI of Neifi/Cedeno and Walker, but if Furcal is signed, Walker will then get moved. I also think Furcal lets Hendry know where to proceed in the outfield as well, and it also tells him how many dollars he has to allocate to other resources. A lot hinges on this one signing, because it is clear that Hendry has made it his offseason priority.

More Yankee interest in Giles.

Here's an article on the Furcal negotiations. It appears the negotiations are down to the Cubs and Braves. My guess is Furcal's agent wants to see how much more the Cubs need to offer to keep him from the Braves. I suspect we'll see a resolution to this saga fairly soon.

:shock: That isn't correct. Anyway, arguements could be made either way. You're right. Arguments can be made on both sides. But considering Arod had as good offensive numbers as Papi, it's wrong to assume that someone who says Arod is the rightful MVP did so on the defensive issue alone.

I think it means he likes guys who can catch the ball.

If we get Pierre for Sing and Nolasco, I'll be pleased, and I'm not that big a fan of Pierre.

If it's done, who have we given up?

If we get Pierre and win a World Series, I hope they don't let him rap. That would be just brutal.

I should have told him I was a Berkley student. :shrug: