vance_the_cubs_fan

I decided to compare Neifi's stats as you would like and this is what I came up with. Out of qualifying SS's, Perez ranks 13th of 20 in BA, 18th of 21 in OBP, 10th of 20 in SLG, and 14th of 20 in OPS. Considering he played way over his head in April and early May, his career numbers indicate those rankings will continue to drop. Neifi may not be the worst offensive shortstop by the end of the season, but he's going to be close. I don't blame Perez for this. It's who he is. He's a defensive substitute. Our problem is that we had a manager that hit him for a large portion of the season at the top of the order. That's inexcusable. Hopefully Nomar returns soon and healthy, because I've had my fill of Neifi.

While I'm not certain whether I would want Lofton or not, wouldn't he be a cheaper and better bet than Juan Pierre?

I agree. Last year, he was susceptible (sp?) to the inside pitch on his hands. This year, he's driving those balls hard. I think that unless pitchers can find another weakness, he will have a couple of years well above the career norms he had going into this season.

He's likely one of them, though it's becoming evident there may be more... :scratch:

If you remove all punctuation and just make your posts into one long, run-on sentence, you will be my new favorite poster. This expert agrees.

I seem to recall getting swept by a Braves team that had 10 rookies on its roster. I also recall that 4 Braves rookies were in the starting batting order for the last game. I posted this in another thread, but the words of Bobby Cox deserve another mention. That is just the opposite of what Dusty has said publicly. If Cox were manager of the Cubs, Dubois would have been left in for a stretch of games, regardless. Murton would be out there everyday, and likely hitting second. Cedeno would be playing too.

So, how would everyone feel about taking another round of Kenny Lofton? His numbers aren't bad this season. He's currently hitting 335 with a 398 OBP. I'm not sure if the Phillies are in a selling mood, but if they are, Lofton shouldn't be too terribly expensive. What's everyone's thoughts on this?

Just remember...if the Cubs are getting blown out, don't be afraid to run onto the field and tackle Pujols. We'll all be proud of you. I don't think the wife will let me...but I'll take that under advisement.

I'm all about blaming players who get hurt. :roll:

Jeff, The attendance problems the Jaxx have had are common knowledge, and there are many rumors about the team moving. Do you think the team, being a Cubs farm team, would do better in an area that wasn't so pro-Cardinals?

There's so much I could say in response to this, and yet this post says enough in itself.

What's interesting about this is that Dempster was moved to the pen while Wood and Prior were both still injured. I thought, and still do, that at the beginning of the season that Rusch should have been the fifth starter and Dempster the closer. The Cubs did this about six weeks too late in my opinion. That was Dusty's call and not Hendry's.

Ribbie, Can you pitch? We need some bullpen help and I was wondering if you'd be willing to give it a try. I think seeing a ball thrown from a large bear would give you an advantage over the hitter. So, what do you think?

Ribbie, Are you content to stay a AA mascot or do you aspire to be called to the big leagues some day?

I'll be at all three games. I'm going to try to not get arrested.

I was going to refute the four points in the original post, but others have done it as well if not better than I could. I don't hold today's debacle against Dempster. That's not an easy situation to get out of. Until today, he had only blown one save. The bullpen has been a sign of weakness, but had Dusty began the year using Dempster where Hendry had envisioned him, I think we might be in a much better position. Dusty's irrational loyalty to letting Hawkins close is not Hendry's fault. I think it was clear from offseason statements who Hendry felt should be the closer.

Ribbie, Do you ever do birthday parties? How far would you travel and do you do tricks?

Ribbie, Several years ago the Mariner Moose broke his ankle while roller skating behind a four wheeler. Do you have any clauses in your contract that prohibit you from reckless behavior?

Nah....I chipped in because I voted about 500 times and I know how much time that took, and I think you voted at least twice that. You rocked, Vance. :) BTW, after Paul voted for Pujols once, I went back and voted another 25 times for DLee to invalidate Paul's vote. I'm a good mom but not a saint by any means LOL. 500 times!!! I did 750 on the last day alone. :P

I'm not in favor of any trade that includes Todd Walker unless we're getting Arod, Vlad, Abreu, or Miguel Cabrera. I'm exaggerating, of course, but why trade one of the top three hitters on the team?

Back to the question of this thread, I would still rather have Dunn than Murton. He just brings more to the table. That being said, we have Murton and don't currently have Dunn. We need to begin using the tools we have properly. Murton should be playing 3/4 of the time regardless of who is pitching. Secondly, Murton is a contact hitter who does the little things right. He is patient and is willing to hit the ball the other way. As much as I was happy to see Todd Walker in the the 2 spot, he has more power than Murton. I'd make a line-up shift. Hairston Murton Lee Ramirez Walker Barrett Burnitz Perez

What's wrong with this is that rookies often contribute on contending teams. In 1995, the Braves called up a thirdbaseman named Chipper Jones from AAA Richmond. He had only previously received 3 ABs in 93 as a September call-up. The Braves let him play 140 games in 95 en route to a division championship and WS championship. In 1996, the Braves gave playing time down the stretch to 19 yr old Andruw Jones. In 2000, the Braves turned to a 22 year old to be their starting shortstop. If my memory is correct, they won the division that year too. In 2001, the Braves gave 68 starts to a 23 yr old secondbaseman named Marcus Giles en route...to what? You guessed it, another divisional title. In 2004, the Braves turned to a young catcher, Johnny Estrada who earned a trip to the All-Star game and once again helped the Braves to a divisional title. Also in 2004, the Braves allowed rookie Adam LaRoche to play over 100 games. This year, Cox has stuck with rookies even when they struggled. I think this commitment to allow the best from your young players to play every day is a prime reason the Braves have been as good as they have been. I think Dusty could learn a lot from Bobby Cox who has an entirely different philosophy about the kids than old Dusty. Dusty feels that unless the kid comes up and plays superbly right away, he's best served by watching and waiting his turn. Cox believes that if a kid has played every day in the minors and all his life, the only way to assist him in suceeding so he can help the team is to let him play everyday. I think history has born out whose approach is more successful.

I'm not a huge fan of Pierre. He's basically Willie Wilson. That being said, I wouldn't be opposed to acquiring him if the cost wasn't too terribly high. I'd give Wellemeyer for him.

I don't think Soriano would be open to a position change, and we don't need an upgrade at secondbase. Also, our secondbaseman is better than Soriano.

Why oh why did I have to become a Cub fan ??? 5 freaking runs....man oh man!