vance_the_cubs_fan

Three times zero is still zero. We have a deal here!

Could that spectacular prospect be Pie or Cedeno now that the Red Sox are apparently going in another direction as SS? My guess is that they are asking for pitching....but maybe Cedeno. I can't see the Rays having much interest in Pie. With Gomes, Crawford, Baldelli, and Young on the way...a CF isn't much use to them. If they think they'll have to shift Upton to third or the outfield, they may want a SS, so I could see them asking for Cedeno.

The Boston Herald is reporting that physicals are the only thing holding up the deal.

There was speculation that he had a slightly torn laburm (?) but that rumor was refuted by the Braves. I think the Red Sox planned to keep him but when Damon flew the coop they were forced to act. I think you're right. In fact, I head an interview with Larry Luchinno (prior to Damon signing) where he stated that after giving up Hanley Ramirez in the Josh Beckett trade that they liked the idea of bringing in Marte as a way of replacing the loss of a top prospect. I think the Red Sox had every intention of keeping Marte, but like you said, the need for a centerfielder has forced their hand considerably. I guess I'm just curious as to why the Braves ever traded him? Was it a bad move by them, to get Renteria? Boston trading him, at least to me, makes more sense. They have Lowell, and after Lowell, I'd imagine they'd go with Youkilis. As you have said, they needed a CFer, so they used their assets to fill a void, probably overpaying a bit, but that's okay for a team like Boston. I just don't understand the Braves reasoning. I think there were a number of reasons the Braves traded him. 1. Chipper Jones is back at third and has indicated he has no intentions of moving back to the outfield. 2. I'm not sure trying Marte in leftfield was an option the Braves wanted to try. 3. The Braves seemed to be very uncomfortable with Betemit as an everyday shortstop. Considering Boston is paying enough of Renteria's salary to make him a 6 million a year SS, I think the Braves felt this was a good move to make.

yeah, his 1.17 whip last season (9th in the NL, right between zambrano and beckett) was awful. ugh, i wish he were dead. Away from Dodger park his OPS against rises to 810 and his whip is 1.25. While this is not 'top 9' by any stretch it is still decent, and a lot better than what we have at 4th/5th. More importantly I'd hate to see the Astros, Cardinals, or even the Brewers get Weaver. We could sign him to an incentive laden contract and then trade some of our other starters for other needs. Every team could use a Williams, Rusch, or Hill. We could sign him and also not trade anyone. Rusch could go to the pen, and I believe Williams has options. I know Hill could be sent to Iowa for another season. If we sign Weaver, our rotation looks like this: Zambrano Prior Wood (if healthy) Maddux Weaver We have Rusch, Williams, or Hill to fill in if Wood isn't healthy or if any member of the rotation has difficulties. If someone loses a starter in the spring, then the market for one of the Cubs could reach a level that the Cubs actually get some value in return. Signing Weaver to a one-year deal would be a very good move indeed.

There was speculation that he had a slightly torn laburm (?) but that rumor was refuted by the Braves. I think the Red Sox planned to keep him but when Damon flew the coop they were forced to act. I think you're right. In fact, I head an interview with Larry Luchinno (prior to Damon signing) where he stated that after giving up Hanley Ramirez in the Josh Beckett trade that they liked the idea of bringing in Marte as a way of replacing the loss of a top prospect. I think the Red Sox had every intention of keeping Marte, but like you said, the need for a centerfielder has forced their hand considerably.

Sosa is a convicted cheater "cork". McGwire is not. As far as McGwire being "one-dimensional", I believe he's won one more Gold Glove than Sosa has, and his career OPS+ is 34 points higher than Sosa, and his career on-base-percentage (not a power stat) is 50 points higher than Sosa. McGwire was no more one-dimensional than Sosa. There are a few key points I'd like to make. 1. First Sosa "claims" that he used the corked bat by mistake. Does that explanation lack plausibility? Maybe....but the fact that they checked some 72 other bats that he had and found no cork at least lends some credibility to his story. 2. Second, am I to assume that since Sosa used a corked bat he was more likely to use steroids? Some might make that jump, but couldn't I also assume then if McGwire used andro he was more likely to use steroids. 3. While Sosa's use of cork and subsequent story about it could cause us to disbelieve his denial of steroids, we don't even have such a denial from McGwire. So while he credibility may be higher than Sosa's, his inability to lay that on the line seems to be a tacit admission of guilt. 4. Sosa, unlike McGwire, at least has the mark in his favor that he has undergone two seasons in MLB when he hasn't tested positive for steroids. His drop in production might lead one to believe he was on them and is now off of them, but at least we know he is clean now. Comparing Sosa to McGwire isn't going to help him. While both will face their challenges, Sosa at least has maintained his innocence. McGwire has tacitly admitted guilt.

Don't think I can make it. I'd love to, but with my trips to see the big league team...Jackson, MS may be the only minor league action I can get to.

"How does a Mexican lose the ball in the sun?"

I've heard him tell this story or ones like it on the Jim Rome show. Great radio!

I think teams' reluctance to trade for Walker has more to do with the fact that they didn't want to give up the players that the Cubs were asking for. For example, I think Seattle wouldn't mind having Walker, but weren't going to trade Ibanez to get him. K.C. might have chosen him over Grudzielanek. I'm fairly certain the Cardinals would have taken him over Spivey. Walker would have a job.

Personally, I think that Hendry felt Walker would be the chip to acquire an outfield bat. It's well known that Walker was shopped for Ibanez and Bradley. I think Hendry felt he could address relief pitching through FA but wanted to address the outfield in trades and planned on using Walker. When teams didn't bite on those deals, he was left with the option of signing Jones.

Hopefully Bhogg can get us out to a 10 game win streak to start 2006.

Have the Cubs really screwed Walker? I know picking up his option was a security blanket, for the team, but in doing so he has been guaranteed a job next season at 2.5M. Had he been forced into FA, he might have been relegated to NRI status or to take a million or more dollar paycut as a backup. Teams don't seem to be very interested in his services. I believe he would have been better off as a FA. First, while there doesn't seem to be a market for him now, but had he been able to shop his services at the outset of FA, I think he would have found a job...likely for more than 2.5 million. I firmly believe that Hendry held on to him too long while he waited out the Furcal machinations. During that time, teams looking for a second baseman or DH looked elsewhere. I think early on Walker may have landed in K.C., Texas, St. Louis, or with the Mets.

Here's the latest on the Bagwell situation. It appears that the Astros are prepared to file the insurance claim. Basically, Bagwell has no say. The doctors will make the determination. There's discrepancies as to whether Bagwell could file a grievance through the PA. Also, my source in Houston believes that once the claim is filed, the Astros have plans to make a move to acquire a "big" bat. He has no idea right now who that bat might be. He is thinking something at SS.

I just want to add, that for most of us, we didn't need Moneyball to help us recognize statistical analysis. Moneyball was published in what....2003? Considering The Hidden Game of Baseball has been around since 1985 and Bill James's abstracts before that...many of us have been reading this stuff for a long, long time.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again. Trading Walker for anything that doesn't upgrade the talent on this team is an assinine and defenseless move.

It appears the team willing to relocate for the highest bidder will take it's show to North Carolina. Link

Purusing Jayson Stark's Extra Innings Rumblings, there were lots of interesting tidbits. Abreu wasn't (isn't) likely to waive his no-trade clause. That's interesting since he's been mentioned in a number of deals. Anyone want Mota? Weaver May Sign One Year Deal And a little update on Sammy:

Exactly how is "clubhouse" measured? Last year Neifi was 9th out of 11 qualified SS in OPS. He has a .681 OPS for his career. In short, his OPS sucks. He should not be an every day player and he should not be making 2.5 mill/year. And furthermore, when you do suck that badly, you should sign autographs, dammit. If Derrek Lee or Mark Prior don't want to sign...fine by me. They've earned that right. But scrub replacement level shortstops should sign the G**D*** autograph! :) What's important is that you are not bitter. Never!

I'd have to go through my scorecards (yes, I'm so nerdy that I fill out scorecards for every game I go to), but I could have sworn that Dusty had Neifi lay down a sac bunt in the first inning of a game last season. I don't want my #2 hitter sacrificing in the first inning of a game, so I don't care if JH can do that well or not. you see, i like when neifi bunts for some reason. Me too, but that comes from the realization that Neifi is so likely to make an out, at least when he sac bunts it's a productive out.

Exactly how is "clubhouse" measured? Last year Neifi was 9th out of 11 qualified SS in OPS. He has a .681 OPS for his career. In short, his OPS sucks. He should not be an every day player and he should not be making 2.5 mill/year. And furthermore, when you do suck that badly, you should sign autographs, dammit. If Derrek Lee or Mark Prior don't want to sign...fine by me. They've earned that right. But scrub replacement level shortstops should sign the G**D*** autograph!

I haven't read the whole thread however does anyone here agree with this? I think it's pretty unfair and crazy. I think it's fair to call this whole thing a witch hunt. Fair or not, that's the reality. And it isn't just here, that's just the way life is. There are reasons that certain players are suspected. Many writers believe, rightly or wrongly, that players who supplemented their careers with performance enhancing drugs, whether legal or not, do not belong in the HOF. So, when they encounter a player who they believe or suspect has done this, they are going to want answers before allowing that player admission. It may not be fair, but it is reality. And yes, because some players were never suspected, they will get by with much less scrutiny. I have alot of trouble basing a guy's HOF eligibility on terms like "believe" and "suspect". As do I...see my first post where I said I'd reluctantly cast the vote for McGwire. But to some voters, that's all they need. In their minds, McGwire's testimony was an admission of guilt. Obviously, you see that differently as do many others. But to some, he had a chance under oath to at least state his own defense and didn't. Different people will take that to mean different things, but if more than 25% of the voters believe it to be a way of dodging the question, he'll miss enshrinement.

I haven't read the whole thread however does anyone on NSBB agree with this? I think it's pretty unfair and crazy, this whole thing is a witch hunt. edit - Vance, I'm not saying you agree with this. Well, as I said in my initial post in this thread, I'd reluctantly cast the vote for McGwire. I'd prefer the HOF isn't tainted with steroids, but with the information I have I can say conclusively (even though I do believe he did) that McGwire took performance enhancing drugs, just as I can't say it conclusively about Sosa or Juan Gonzalez or others. So, while I'd be reluctant to let those possibly "juiced" up players in, without more information, I'd go on numbers alone. But as I just said earlier, fair or not...sometimes we have to deal with reality. Reality says if those that have suspicions surrounding them want any chance at the HOF, the best course is to provide as much info as possible.

I haven't read the whole thread however does anyone here agree with this? I think it's pretty unfair and crazy. I think it's fair to call this whole thing a witch hunt. Fair or not, that's the reality. And it isn't just here, that's just the way life is. There are reasons that certain players are suspected. Many writers believe, rightly or wrongly, that players who supplemented their careers with performance enhancing drugs, whether legal or not, do not belong in the HOF. So, when they encounter a player who they believe or suspect has done this, they are going to want answers before allowing that player admission. It may not be fair, but it is reality. And yes, because some players were never suspected, they will get by with much less scrutiny.