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vance_the_cubs_fan

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Everything posted by vance_the_cubs_fan

  1. Relative to what he had to work with in terms of inexperience, I'm not sure how you cannot see an accomplishment. Managing what amounted to a Class AAAA team into playoff contention after a horrible start is worth consideration. That was a very talented team. It wasn't a AAAA team, it was just a very young major league team. They also had benefit of one of the most talented hitters in the game. I'm not saying Girardi didn't do anything with them, but I don't think he's distinguished himself either. Now if the team tanks under Gonzalez, then maybe we'll have more info to deal with. And just because Girardi was good with a bunch of rookies, doesn't mean he'll succeed in Chicago with a veteran-laden team. The situations aren't comparable.
  2. He managed a team to an under 500 record. I still fail to see the accomplishment.
  3. Holy crap! That would be horrible!
  4. George Washington, about 15 million of them per year, gives the Cubs the best chance of keeping Aramis. Will the Cubs go that high?
  5. Man...I'm going to miss it. My nephew has a football game. Either way, congrats!
  6. C Barrett- 4.5 million 1b Lee - 13 million 2b – Durham -5 million (2/10.5 million contract) SS Izturis – 4 million 3b Ramirez- 13 million (4/52 extension) LF Murton- 350 K (est) CF Jones 13 million RF Jones- 4 million SP Zambrano- 10 million (est) SP Schmidt (4/45- structured 10,11,12,12)- 10 SP Prior 4.5 million (est) SP Hill 350 K SP Miller 2-3 million? Bullpen: Dempster (5 million), Howry (4 million), Eyre (3.5 million), Ohman (1 million- est), Wuertz (350 K), and Aardsma (350 K) Bench: Soto- 330 K Theriot- 330 K C. Wilson (2 year 7.5 million contract)- 3.5 Pagan – 350 K Moore - 330 K That's near a 100 million payroll. There's still some flexibility there to add to Zambrano's figure if needed. Dempster might also be moved to create some financial flexibility.
  7. You're still counting on Prior or Miller to be healthy April 1st and exceeding the payroll. Did you lock Zambrano up? Probably the best line-up yet, but your rotation ends up schmidt and Z and pray for D. You're strongly discounting Hill. I think the money is there to lock Zambrano up as well. I'll crunch the numbers and be right back.
  8. I wonder if I could a Dusty Baker signed ball, that read "Vance, I'm sorry I F--ed up the Cubs."
  9. I'm thinking about it.... :-k
  10. I'd try to trade Marshall and others (possibilities include Mateo, Novoa, Aardsma, Marmol, Harvey, Dopriak) for Andruw Jones. I'd then sign Durham for second. 2b Durham LF Murton 1b Lee 3b Ramirez CF Jones RF Jones C Barrett SS Izturis I'd then pursue Schmidt as a starting pitcher, giving me a rotation of: Zambrano, Schmidt, Prior, Hill, and Miller or one of the rookies. My bench would be: Pagan, Moore, Theriot, Soto, and Craig Wilson if I could get him. The bullpen would be Dempster, Howry, Eyre, Wuertz, Aardsma, Ohman, and Ryu. I think that team could come in at or near 100 million. The key move would be getting Jones for CF.
  11. It could be one of his first intelligent revelations. Now, if we could get him to recognize OBP.... :-k
  12. I'll say it again, Jim wants Bowa. And that scares the bejeebus out of me! (BTW, did anyone hear Bowa's anti-Moneyball rant on Baseball This Morning XM 175 sometime during the 2005 season?)
  13. Andruw is much more available than Wells. Toronto is now talking about keeping Wells this season, with or without an extension. Atlanta has a lot of money tied up in Jones and knows they aren't likely to keep him beyond this year. JS is a shrewd GM and likely will try to get something for him instead of letting him walk. How much he can get remains to be seen. I think the Cubs would have a good shot at him as the Braves would want some of the Cubs young pitchers. I do think the Cubs could work a deal for Jones without giving up Pie.
  14. I think most focus on the offense, because we have a number of young pitchers who, if they mature, could form the backbone of a successful staff. They weren't ready this year, but our prospects of filling out a strong rotation internally are much greater than filling out the line-up internally. We have an ace in Zambrano. Then, there is Prior. What we will get from him is unknown, but he must be accounted for. After those two, there's Hill followed by the litany of young arms in Marshall, Mateo, Guzman, Ryu, and Marmol. That's a lot of arms for a few spots. Do we need to add some pitching? Yes, I think we do. I'd like to add one big time pitcher and one big time position player. I think both are needed.
  15. Funny, I could swear I saw his autograph on that picture in Caesar's Palace in Vegas a year and a half ago. I want Nolan Ryan's autograph on that. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/laserena06/baseball/nolanryanfoundation_1912_914785.jpg $50 from the Nolan Ryan Foundation Yep. Getting Ryan to sign it is the easy part.
  16. You'd have to trade for Wells before you could sign him. He's not a FA.
  17. Sac bunts don't work. At least not all the time, and in fact, most of the time they just waste outs. They are used because people think they work. It's held to be a useful practice in theory. That long held belief is why they are used. Research has proven otherwise. In many fields, long time practices are now proven wrong based on research. However, like in baseball, it takes a long time for those practices to be modified or eradicated. In fact, baseball is probably slower to move than most other fields because the access to the decision making positions is limited and often held by those resistant to research. In my personal field, I could name a number of long held practices that research is beginning to question or disprove outright. Yet, many old timers still swear by these practices and thumb their noses at the research. Sounds a lot like what happens in baseball.
  18. I'm starting to think Hendry wants to hire Larry Bowa. He has managerial experience, understands the city, and brings fire and determination. Kent Help US!
  19. I think Jaramillo will be staying. Some have rumored he could be in line for the manager's job. Saying all that, I'd love it if we could get Jaramillo to be the hitting coach here.
  20. Hendry could be waiting for the Yankees to be eliminated so he can talk to Larry Bowa.
  21. Good point, Goony. Everyone is quick to call Sosa a "juicer" based on speculation and circumstatial evidence. Interesting that there is more circumstantial evidence pointing to Clemens as there is Sosa. If Sosa is crucified, why not Clemens?
  22. No...no...no to Showalter. However, Texas might be a good place for Dusty to land.
  23. Agreed. Thom Brennaman and Steve Stone would make a great combination in the broadcast booth. Been there, done that. Let's not do it again.
  24. That's based on the average situation though. The run expectancies with a below average hitter at the plate would be different. This is coming from somebody who thinks that sacrificing with your 2 hitter is crazy though. If you feel the need to sacrifice with your number 2 hitter, then the team is basically saying that the number 2 hitter is a significantly below average hitter-which begs the question of why are they batting them number 2 then? I agree with what you are saying. Sacrificing with the pitcher is fine. Sacrificing with the number 2 hitter, not so much.
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