vance_the_cubs_fan

Nice to see that they're finally mentioning the right names except Perez. If we could move them and get some decent you players in return I'd be pretty happy. There's also a blurb about the Cubs and Marlins being interested in Willy Tavarez right above that. LINK Why isn't Pierre on that list?

NO!!!! Why involve the Padres?? And Howry for Vazquez or Garcia I would not do. I would demand Broadway and Fields in return for Howry. Do you know Kottaras? I sure know the cubs have Barrett and a slugger in Jake Fox in the minors. Barrett is under contract for only one more year. It would be nice to have an heir apparent. Fox may develop into a good catcher, maybe better than Kottaras, but Kottaras rates much higher currently. In Sickel's 2006 Prospect book, he rates Kottaras as a B+ prospect. Sickels didn't include Fox in the 2006 book. Kottaras is a year younger than Fox and has already advanced to AAA and even has a Future's game selection in his resume'. While Fox was putting up a 313/383/574 line at single A, Kottaras, while being nearly a full year younger, was putting up a 276/394/451 line at AA. Kottaras is also viewed to be better defensively behind the dish than Fox is generally viewed. Fox likely projects to have more power than Kottaras, but Kottaras has a higher ceiling and higher liklihood of reaching that ceiling than Fox does. Jake Fox's exploits in single A at a year older than Kottars is now should not have much if any affect on whether Kottaras would be a good acquisition. I dont see Kottars getting traded anyways. If he is so damn good why would the Padres deal him? Specially when Piazza is about done. It's quite likely that Kottaras wouldn't be dealt. The Padres would deal him for the same reason lots of teams deal good prospects at the deadline, to acquire the piece that they believe either gets them to the post season or makes the difference once they have gotten there. The Padres are going to need one more starting pitcher. The NL West is winnable, but all the teams are very close. Right now, four games separate the top from the bottom of the division. Furthermore, the NL as a league is weak. A major acquisition could mean the difference in a World Series appearance or sitting home completely. The Padres may see this as an opportunity and may be willing to give up a player with Kottaras' future if they get a player they see as making a difference. Would they think a starting pitcher like Garcia or Vasquez is that difference? I don't know. It depends on how they value each of them. I don't think it is out of the realm of possibilities though. Of course, what I'm reading now is that the Padres are focused on getting a third baseman right now. They might not be dealing for a SP until that need is met.

Incorrect. He has been good for 2 wins above what would be expected of a replacement player, and WARP takes defense into account. This team is horrible, and has been for the last 2 years, therefore, this argument is invalid. Walker is not a quality all around second basemen and his position on the field requires more defense than he's capable of providing. In 2003, he batted .283 for Boston in the regular season and .349 in the playoffs (.313 in the ALDS and .370 in the ALCS) yet they let him leave in favor of Pokey Reese because Walker ended that year as the worst 2B in the ML at turning the DP. While Reese wasn't the best available player he was more versatile (played both SS and 2B) and more defensively sound than Walker. This proves that even an offense-oriented team, like Boston, realized that they were better off having a more defensive player at 2B than someone like Todd Walker. They didn't need a guy like Walker and if the Cubs are going to improve they need to find someone at 2B who will field accurately and consistently (you can hide someone who's defensively challenged at 1B or LF but not 2B). As I mentioned earlier, he's actually more of a liability now that the team has cut the infield grass. I disagree completely. And furthermore, if cutting the grass exposes your second baseman, then was that really a smart move?

So, who's turn is it?

I think I know what the bigger joke is and it's not this thread or Todd Walker.

NO!!!! Why involve the Padres?? And Howry for Vazquez or Garcia I would not do. I would demand Broadway and Fields in return for Howry. Do you know Kottaras? I sure know the cubs have Barrett and a slugger in Jake Fox in the minors. Barrett is under contract for only one more year. It would be nice to have an heir apparent. Fox may develop into a good catcher, maybe better than Kottaras, but Kottaras rates much higher currently. In Sickel's 2006 Prospect book, he rates Kottaras as a B+ prospect. Sickels didn't include Fox in the 2006 book. Kottaras is a year younger than Fox and has already advanced to AAA and even has a Future's game selection in his resume'. While Fox was putting up a 313/383/574 line at single A, Kottaras, while being nearly a full year younger, was putting up a 276/394/451 line at AA. Kottaras is also viewed to be better defensively behind the dish than Fox is generally viewed. Fox likely projects to have more power than Kottaras, but Kottaras has a higher ceiling and higher liklihood of reaching that ceiling than Fox does. Jake Fox's exploits in single A at a year older than Kottars is now should not have much if any affect on whether Kottaras would be a good acquisition.

Here's Steve Phillips' take on the trade:

Gary Gillette chimed in today in his chat.

Then, depending on what those four players bring to the table as far as slugging, mix them in the 4-8 spots (4-9 if you're in the AL) in the order. Nobody expects every player to put up a .350 OBP. However, the leadoff hitter is the guy batting ahead of the heart of the order. Even if he's not leading off an inning, he's still batting in front of the guys that you pay to drive in runs. Might as well put a guy that gets on base in that spot to increase your chances of having someone on when the big hitters come up. The problem is, many of your top OBP guys are also your top slugging players. There are not enough #1 and #2 hitters left over to put up a .350 OBP for every team. Pierre is a little under that, but he makes up for the difference in OBP with the problems he creates on the basepaths. If Pierre was at his career average (approx. .350 OBP), I could accept it. I'd like it to be higher, but I could accept it. As it stands now, he is currently 75 points behind Kevin Youkilis and has 27 more stolen bases. Pierre has also been caught stealing 10 times, while Youkilis hasn't been caught in five attempts. Brady Clark has an OBP of .379 and only two stolen bases, and I'd prefer him at the top of the order over Pierre. There is no way that Pierre's speed can make up for that big of a difference in OBP. What if he follows his career average and has a .320 average after the break? His OBP should be around .350 then-would you re-sign him? The only way that I would re-sign Pierre is if he signs for less than 4 million per year and I can use the extra to pursue a slugging 2b ala Soriano or go after a really big time outfielder with the rest. Pierre is a one trick pony and frankly, he isn't doing that trick very effectively this year.

You make a good point with some of the lesser tier players he's acquired. But the fact remains, the minor league teams and big league rosters are dominated by guys who do not walk. This problem has gotten worse under Hendry's watch. So the notion that a couple trades where he got a patient guy indicates he's coming around on the walks issue just don't hold up. well there's also the acquisition and quick assention of Murton, the signing of Lee, the better discipline of Barrett, some of the draft picks he's made, getting the Blue Jays ex-draft manager. not a water tight case, but certainly enough evidence to discount the "Hendry doesn't value walks" argument. I think Murton's assention was a result of his high BA and not his patience. While many of us noticed the plate discipline, I think Hendry noted that he carried a 400 BA well into the season at West Tenn. Barrett's plate discipline is more a result of his maturation into a better hitter. I don't think Hendry noticed OBP as he did the "tools" Barrett has had as a part of his reputation since he was a first round pick back in 1995. Hiring the Blue Jays draft manager was likely made because of Wilken's reputation for drafting first rounders who've made the majors moreso than any philosophy of walks. Yes, there are some hitters on the Cubs who've been good at getting on-base, but I think it was other skills that made Hendry target those guys rather than their patience or OBP. I don't think either of those skills is something Hendry values.

perhaps an illustration is necessary. in the argument of Pierre or Wilkerson, nobody who advocates Wilkerson will give an ounce of credit to Pierre for his superior defensive range. that aspect of the game just doesn't matter. when those same people come on and rant about Jones, suddenly defense is a huge part of the game that has to be taken into account to point out how much he sucks. I don't think SABR-inclined people don't think defense matters, it's the degree to which it matters. In fact, defensive metrics are viewed somewhat as the final frontier for those that are inclined to look at them. They're just more difficult to assess than the offensive metrics and are more debated in the conclusions. Stats such as VORP and WARP try to take these measures into account. In your Wilkerson vs Pierre situation. It's not that Wilkerson's defense doesn't matter, it's just that Wilkerson proponents likely believe that it doesn't discount enough from his offensive contributions to be a detriment. The same is likely of Pierre. The problem with Pierre is that he brings very little to the table offensively besides a mediocre OBP and some stolen bases.

Good work Vance. I'll take it. Thanks. I'm also not opposed to making a trade for a RF bat so that the risk of Sheff at 9 million isn't necessary. But by having Matthews, Sheff, Murton, and Jones with DeRosa on the bench i think there is some depth there. Also Pie in AAA also adds some depth. Another advantage, at least at the top of the order is there would be two switch hitters. After that the line-up gets very right-handed in the middle, but I still think it would be an improvement over this year's version.

If he wants to sell his music, shouldn't he want to play in Detroit or is he not a Motown kind of guy?

Is this one even going to be close?

This one is closer than I thought it would be.

I miss Moises. But I miss Kent most of all.

He actually took full responsibility for it. Link

The Team Formerly Known as Around the Joe Horn selects Joey Galloway, WR Tampa Bay.

We should just DFA him. He has no place on this team. He's always running his mouth and no team in MLB would have him at secondbase.

Thanks for the link, Jon. Unfortunately they don't have the date that Cowboys tickets are going on sale. Are you sure the Cowboys are selling individual game tickets this year? Their website only has ticket packages. Right now, they're trying to get fans to by a pre-season game ticket by linking it to a single game. If I have to, I'll use Ebay for my ticket needs. I got a decent deal on some seats there last year.

Regardless of his bat, my dad has suddenly decided to hate Barrett all because of the Pierzynski punch. That punch made me love him ten times as much as I already did.

Personally, I don't think this team has done anything to earn a day off.

And for all Walker's fault he's third in OBP for this team, behind only Lee and Barrett. Yeah, for a team struggling in OBP, let's get rid of Walker. Only a genius could come up with that idea. I don't have a problem trading him since he'll be a FA and our GM isn't bright enough to keep him around, but anyone who thinks this team's struggles have much if anything to do with Walker is deluding himself.

Mmm. That would require scoring runs against a soft tossing lefty. That's quite a stretch. Well if we get swept by the Stros, I can't imagine Baker being here much longer than that. It would boggle the mind! We have a mind-boggling GM.

Teeeeheheheeeeeee. You think you could even TALK to a GM?!?!?! They ride around in FLYING CARS and pee liquid GOLD and converse only in Latin SIGN LANGUAGE! They know ALLLLL!!! Please tell me who you think the great Todd could play for. The Cubs. About the only team he could. Hopefully, not for long. I'm just glad you're not GM then. And considering there's not many people I'd fear worse than Hendry running the team, take it for what it's worth.