PackLandVA

After watching the craziness in the 9th inning of the Cubs game, I'm still not certain if the game was protested or not. Regardless, I'm wondering how protests affect the outcome of a game. Suppose the umps made the wrong call in the 9th, but failed to score a run and still ended up beating the Sox 2-0. If the Sox protest was validated by the league, what happens? Do the Cubs lose the game? What if an incorrect ruling by the umps directly affected the outcome? Thanks in advance to those in the know!

I'm not suggesting trading DLee. I just don't think the Cubs have much veteran talent to get them youthful talent.

I don't know how many years he has left on his deal, but compared to Soriano and Rammy, isn't he a bit underpaid? He'll command a ton down the road. He's about the only player on the team that would net young talent. I'd hate to see him go, and they really have no viable replacement. But if the Cubs want to make some trades and get any real value in return, who's expendable?? Doesn't look like they have much other than some of their own young (and mostly unproven) talent.

I know this would never happen, but..... ...what about trading him for some solid talent and then (wink, wink)re-signing him to the big FA contract. The Cubs still get Z as their ace and improve the team dramatically with some young talent and/or prospects. There's no guarantee a team that picks him up in a trade is gonna be able to sign him.

Maybe the Cubs are in the process of making a trade for a fifth starter. Maybe Guzman to the pen is in effort to groom him as a closer.

Good call. They tried to give a few of those games away, though. Hope they keep rolling when the competition gets tougher.

I agree with Cedeno. But like I said, Len Kasper basically stated he thought it would be an OF. I'd give serious consideration to Daryl Ward. Can he be sent down or would they have to release him?

I don't know if this was discussed anywhere. I didn't really see it on the board. Delete/lock this thread if it's discussed elsewhere. Last night during the game, Len stated Angel Guzman would be up for a spot in the rotation when the Cubs hit Pittsburgh. He said the Cubs were going to stick with 12 pitchers, meaning a position player would be moved. Len when on to say that he believed it would be an outfielder because of the logjam with regard to playing time. He said they could move an outfielder because guys like Theriot, DeRosa and even Cedeno could play in the OF if necessary. If Len's thoughts are true, who goes. I don't see them sending down Pie because he's actually been playing pretty well. He's coming around at the plate and his D is solid. So that leaves Ward (1B backup), Floyd (not going anywhere), Jones and Murton. Is there a taker for JJ? Can they trade their only everyday lefthanded hitting starter with any power? If Floyd is able to play 1B, it seems like Ward would be the odd man out. Personally, I think I'd drop Ronny to the minors so he can get more ABs. I'm not thrilled with Izturis, but he does bat from both sides of the plate (not that it's better to suck at the plate from both sides rather than just one) and is a pretty good defender. And I'd keep Theriot as the starter at SS. So who's it gonna be?

They can cut his salary up to 20% from this year, but no more if they want to keep his rights. And I'm fairly sure he'd still be eligible to file for arbitration if he doesn't like what the Cubs are offering. What are the odds of him actually winning an arby hearing if he's been hurt not just this entire season, but basically for the past 3 years. As long as the Cubs wouldn't lowball him too much, I don't think they would have a shot in hell of losing in arbitration.

I apoligize for not reading all 14 pages of this thread. Hopefully this hasn't been addressed already. But if Prior is not good enough/ready to be in the rotation, what do the Cubs do with him? Does he go to the pen? Can he be sent to the minors if he's healthy? Can they say he's on the mental Dl and therefore needs rehab? What are the Cubs options while still keeping him a Cub?

I heard Dan Plesac comment during the game that he remembered early in his career watching Bob Welch pitch in ST. Said Welch was awful to a point that Plesac almost felt sorry for him. Plesac went on to say that Welch ended up winning 20+ games that year. I know, I know, wins aren't a good barometer of how good a pitcher pitches. But I doubt he sucked that much during the year and still won 20. ST is for players to work on things. None of the stats really matter. Too often, the hot hitters in spring take a big crap once the games matter and vice versa. Same can be said of pitchers. Hopefully Prior is "working on things" and when the games count, he'll put it together.

I'm just wondering if it was really exhaustion, or if we're gonna find out in a couple of weeks that Hendry really has a bad shoulder!

So are you all saying it stands for a "lefty-one-out guy"? :P Thaks, makes some posts I read a lot clearer!

Seen it mentioned a bunch. What the heck does it mean??? Sorry for being uninformed, but please define. Thanks. :)

Why trick him. His numbers batting leadoff are superior to anywhere else in the lineup (statistically speaking) over the course of his career.

Soriano's career numbers batting leadoff are quite a bit better all around than batting in the middle of the order.

This was the worst team in the NL last year. Does adding Soriano suddenly make the Cubs "a winner?" John Wooden said, "Don't mistake activity for achievement." No, Soriano doesn't make the Cubs a winner. But inactivity, like last year, proved to make them a team without depth, and consequently, a loser. Had they stopped after signing ARam, I'd agree that one player will not make them a winner. But they didn't. In addition to adding a mangager that I think can do a better job than Dusty, they went and got other players. Soriano should be another bat that they clearly needed after last season. And there's no indication they'll stop after the Soriano deal. I don't kow how good the team is gonna be, there's still plenty of holes, mostly in pitching. But I like that they're trying to do something that appears positive (at least to me).

Last year, many fans were up in arms about Hendry's inability to bolster the club. About the only good thing regarding his inactivity in the off-season was that it pretty much sealed Dusty's fate as the Cubs manager beyong 2006. I don't know if theese moves are gonna make the impact i want it to or not. As of now, though, I'm glad Hendry is sticking to his word of being a major player in the off-season. History will tell if these signings are any good or not.

As a Cubs fan, my yealry baseball quote...unfortunately: Wait 'til next year.

I really don't know the answer to this. But I'm sure it would cause him to miss at least a couple of starts because of it.

I believe it's "dictated" strategy that few managers will shy away from for fear of it backfiring. It's the same reason managers no longer will bring the stud closer on in the 8th. Years agao, it wasn't uncommon for a reliever like Bruce Sutter to pitch 2+ innings. But nowadays, the reliever is almost never brought in until the 9th. Sometimes you need to coach "outside" the box!

Those NL East teams can't ALL keep winning. They'll continue to play each other through the end of September. And I think there is no clear cut favorite. They'll all beat up on one another without anyone separating. So if the Cubs can put together a hot streak to close the last 6 weeks, its very realistic they could hop over all of those teams. Houston not only won a bunch of games last year, but they jumped over 5 teams the last month, and just one team in their division (the Cubs :evil: ).

How prophetic was that thread title? Only one dinger allowed, but hit a plenty off him the entire outing! Ouch!

Since those players being placed on waivers doesn't seem to be common knowledge, my question is this: Is it more known when a player(s) is claimed and subsequently pulled back? Or is this information generally guarded as well?

I loved Stone as the Cubs color guy in the booth. He's incredibly knowledgeable. But I have to say, I'm really tired of the whole Cubs/Stone/Baker saga. Give it a rest Stoney. Your smarter at baseball than Dusty. Must you keep reminding everyone? Let's talk about something else rarely broght up in the national media. How about Bartman? :roll: