CuseCubFan69

That a wonderful thing for him to do. I hope he helps with the insurance costs too.....kidding!

I need them to lose so the Big East still has a chance but I just can't root against them! Yeah, it should be interesting. I've seen a couple bowl projections that have Arkansas getting the automatic SEC bid and the Big East getting both Louisville and WVU in BCS games. ETA: If you want 2 Big East teams you should also be hoping for Nevada to take down Boise State. I want the title! I wish The Big East gets a chance to play some SEC or Big 10 teams in the bowls. Do you think the good old boys would still give the Hogs credit if they whip up on LSU and Florida? That stupid preseason poll has really hurt them.

Why the heck did the ref blow the whistle when the ball was in the End Zone? That is a huge mistake to assume it was going to be downed.

I need them to lose so the Big East still has a chance but I just can't root against them!

Not that I've heard. The pitching market has been slow in taking shape. That makes sense. I don't think I'd want to be the first starter signed unless it's a mega huge deal because it seems like the money getting tossed around is getting crazy and it depends on who sets the bar.

this is comical. in any given year the Big East would be on par with the Big Ten or SEC if they added those two power programs. if the Big Ten added Notre Dame, they would be hands down the best conference in the country. It's people like you that vote in the coaches poll. You assume everything before they even play. I prefer to let them play and see where it goes.

But what if the money allocated to 15 M, who do you go after Schimdt and get another cheap SS/go with one on the team or Lugo and a 7-9 Million dollar arm?

How similar would they have to be for defense to tip the scales, just out of curiosity? That's why they have a plus/minus system in hockey and I think somebody posted something simular to that before because I asked the same exact question.

Where did that come from? Are you serious or kidding about their schedule? That Harris kid is pretty good, a lot better than I thought previously. Cuse, I placed a wager on them playing a really bad UNCC team and I loved Cuse at home minus 13. Only won by 12 :( I was really rooting hard for them in 03 in that final four as I was a huge 'Melo fan. They are always a hard team to judge in the beginning of the year. We definately are not dominate and have too many turnovers so far this year against average competition to really be a good team, plus Mookie (Watkins) their starting center was out with an injury. Sorry you lost money on them.

He's still not addressing the walk, which is the core of his OBP problem. He doesn't respect the walk as an offensive weapon. Agreed. The Cubs (Jim Hendry) still see the offensive problem as having to do with a failure to hit in the clutch / hit with RISP / as a straight hitting problem vs an on-base problem. Someone linked to a Dan Fox chat at Baseball Prospectus the other day. He received a lot of Soriano questions and, while answering a question about the Cubs' philosophy on free agents, he referred to a joint Baseball Digest / Bleed Cubbie Blue Blog interview with Jim Hendry this past August. Fox then wrote: You can read the full BP writeup at the link above. The Cubs were last in the NL and 29th out of 30 MLB teams in OBP last year ... so, sorry, Jim, you didn't manage to get too many guys on base. It's true that the Cubs needed to get more slugging, and Soriano should certainly help in that respect. But the quote reflects a continued tendency to dismiss OBP as strictly a function of hitting and to downplay the importance of getting on base as a function of scoring. His philosophy has not changed despite the Tribune opening up the wallet. They went out and signed Soriano and DeRosa because they hit, not because either has a demonstrated ability to get on base consistently. I'm not knocking either player ... but the OBP has to come from somewhere and Derrek Lee can't do it all by himself, as we saw in '05. I'm glad that the Tribune Co. is ramping up spending. But if the Cubs are to ever be consistently good, there has to be a fundamental change in how the front office views OBP. They have to start finding guys who can get on base, whether those guys are obtained through free agency or obtained through drafting / signing players into the farm system. They're trying to outspend their mistakes right now, but that can't last forever. Or Hendry gets a guy that hits and oh by the way knows how to get walks too. I'm also worries about Lee's health. What happens if he can't come back to his previous form? Also, his little girl is going to take a toll on him which is completely normal, I want a banger that can play the corner OF's that could play first too.

Plus that Murton has to be better on defense and a better baserunner. I just don't know how happy Floyd would be if he was the guy that was only getting 250 AB's, that is if he were healthy. Another thing that BbB pointed out that I'm worried about is Lee's health. What if he can't go back to his previous numbers and is a 25/280/340 type guy from here on? I would like some insurance for 1st too this year. I do not want to see a Mabry type there again for any amount of time.

That's not Wisconsin's fault. The Big 10 has a 2 year rotating schedule that determines who is on/off the schedule. Some teams will always play each other (OSU and Michigan, PSU and MSU) but others rotate on and off. In 2005/2006, PSU did not play Iowa or Indiana, and the next 2 years, they don't play Minnesota or Northwestern. Heck, a few years back they went 2 seasons without playing Michigan. I also doubt the Big 10 is the only team that does this. Even more of a reason for them to schedule a couple of decent teams out of conference. They knew ahead of time they were not playing OSU and should have to make their schedule harder than it is. As I said, the Big East and the Pac 10 might be the only ones that every team plays each other. I think it's just plain wrong not to play all the teams in your conference. Imagine if Dallas didn't play the Eagles or the Giants in any given year?

I think Jones is a better player than Mathews overall. I as well. Not to mention that Jones is making what, six mil next year? Matthews wants 3/39. JONES I agree but IMO Jones and a lot of players that are his age that are signed for 2 or more years are going to piss and moan because of the money being thrown out right now. He missed his money by being a free agent a year early and I'm curious on how he'll react to it, especially if the fans continue to "get" on him.

Where did that come from? Are you serious or kidding about their schedule? That Harris kid is pretty good, a lot better than I thought previously.

They are in a conference and since the Big East is so terrible ND wouldn't even have to play their starters all year. Why not just make the Big 10 the real Big 10 and have Penn State and ND join the Big East. Not sure you pull Penn State out after 13 years in the conference. Whatever will become of the storied Land Grant Trophy game? And from my own biased perspective, I wouldn't want Penn State to have to deal with the BS that WVU, Louisville, etc. have this year. "Yeah, PSU is 10-1, but who did they beat? Pitt? South Florida? Rutgers?" Forget it. They have the recruiting power to hang in the Big 10 and I like the challenge Are you serious? ND and Penn State plus what's already in the Big East? In any given year it could be the top conference in college football. I do think that big rivalry game Penn State vs Michigan St is a good as it gets. Way better than a Pitt/Penn State game. Also, if Penn State were in the Big East this year they would have had anywhere from 2 to 4 losses in the Conference alone. Lets see how those 3 teams can sustain it over more than 2-3 years (UL, WVU, RU). Louisville is all about Brohm. Take him away and its nothing special. Sure they have a very good offensive coach but what else do they got. They havent recruited a high profile QB since Brohm. Sharp decline coming in my estimation. Rutgers, waay to early to tell. WVU has a mickey mouse offense with 2 very special players, how sustainable is that system in the long run? Their defense is poor. Wiscosin, Iowa, Purdue have shown they can at least sustain consistant success. UM and OSU have never had as strong programs as both they have right now. The backup QB for Louisville is the guy that ripped Miami apart and he was the QB against Kansas St. They have a very good system in place, trust me. WV has went undefeated a couple of times over the last 15 years and has always been solid. Rutgers, I agree that it's too early but as I've mentioned before they are a sleeping giant because of the area they are in. Let's not forget that Michigan went 7-5 last year either. I forgot about Leflors a couple years back. He was pretty good. I dont doubt Petrino can turn talent, they rely on the QB so much for success at that program thats what im trying to say. Im only going off what ive seen them recruit at that position and this guy you are refering to may turn out good but coming to UL he wasnt as highly regarded as Brohm. Rutgers has a lot of upside because of Jersey, i wont dispute that, its just too early to tell. Oh we remember 7-5. Heck they could of been 10-2 just as easily as 4-8. They replaced the DCord and you see what happened. They had the horse just not the right jockey. People think UM has always had this great talent and its not really true. They've had a few great playmakers through the 90's but they were never as talented as OSU was. They are just as talented as OSU is and now appear to be equal on recruiting. OSU now has a great coach they didnt have in the 90's and are still getting the same talent. I mentioned Wisconsin earlier and yesterday they just accepted their 2nd straight Citrus Bowl bid. Barry Alvarez was 8-3 in bowl games with 3 Rose Bowl wins. Wisconsin is so underappreciated as a football program its not even funny. I've always thought Wisconsin has had good teams but what bothered me this year is that they didn't beat anyone that was good, well really good, and they also scheduled 4 patsies out of conference. Also, not playing Ohio State is just plain wrong. I like it when all the teams play each other like the Big East and Pac 10 do.

They are in a conference and since the Big East is so terrible ND wouldn't even have to play their starters all year. Why not just make the Big 10 the real Big 10 and have Penn State and ND join the Big East. Not sure you pull Penn State out after 13 years in the conference. Whatever will become of the storied Land Grant Trophy game? And from my own biased perspective, I wouldn't want Penn State to have to deal with the BS that WVU, Louisville, etc. have this year. "Yeah, PSU is 10-1, but who did they beat? Pitt? South Florida? Rutgers?" Forget it. They have the recruiting power to hang in the Big 10 and I like the challenge Are you serious? ND and Penn State plus what's already in the Big East? In any given year it could be the top conference in college football. I do think that big rivalry game Penn State vs Michigan St is a good as it gets. Way better than a Pitt/Penn State game. Also, if Penn State were in the Big East this year they would have had anywhere from 2 to 4 losses in the Conference alone. Lets see how those 3 teams can sustain it over more than 2-3 years (UL, WVU, RU). Louisville is all about Brohm. Take him away and its nothing special. Sure they have a very good offensive coach but what else do they got. They havent recruited a high profile QB since Brohm. Sharp decline coming in my estimation. Rutgers, waay to early to tell. WVU has a mickey mouse offense with 2 very special players, how sustainable is that system in the long run? Their defense is poor. Wiscosin, Iowa, Purdue have shown they can at least sustain consistant success. UM and OSU have never had as strong programs as both they have right now. The backup QB for Louisville is the guy that ripped Miami apart and he was the QB against Kansas St. They have a very good system in place, trust me. WV has went undefeated a couple of times over the last 15 years and has always been solid. Rutgers, I agree that it's too early but as I've mentioned before they are a sleeping giant because of the area they are in. Let's not forget that Michigan went 7-5 last year either.

Who have the Cubs talked about as being the 4th OF?

How was Maddux's velicity last year, did it fall from previous years?

He's still not addressing the walk, which is the core of his OBP problem. He doesn't respect the walk as an offensive weapon. Just making pitchers throw more pitches would be better. I understand that usually ties in with walks but if the Cubs just have better pitch recognition and a solid plan when they go up to the plate things will be better. How many pitches per AB did Soriano see compared to the average hitter?

I agree but is that enough production? It may be but IMO Jones could be moved for a pitcher and the Cubs could sign a Roberts or Lofton. The problem with Roberts is that he would be in Pies way if it was a long term contract. If Jones can pull off playing a decent defensive center field, he is (rather easily) a better offensive option than Roberts or Lofton. I agree but would Jones be worth more if he brought a good pitcher in a trade and a Roberts in CF? For example Jones and Marshall or Roberts and a decent 3 starter?

Link The whole article discusses position shifts in the OF. Interesting, that's the thing I was wondering about.

I agree but is that enough production? It may be but IMO Jones could be moved for a pitcher and the Cubs could sign a Roberts or Lofton. The problem with Roberts is that he would be in Pies way if it was a long term contract.

I remember Tims idea a while back about moving Jones to CF. The Cubs may do so if they can't move him. What I'm wondering is would the Cubs be better with Jones in CF and Soriano in right or Soriano in RF and a Lofton type guy in CF or Soriano in CF and another big banger in RF? With that last question I have to wonder who would put up better numbers than Jones that would be worth it? I think either Jones or Soriano in CF would be above average but would either of those two guys be better than average in right?

They are in a conference and since the Big East is so terrible ND wouldn't even have to play their starters all year. Why not just make the Big 10 the real Big 10 and have Penn State and ND join the Big East. Not sure you pull Penn State out after 13 years in the conference. Whatever will become of the storied Land Grant Trophy game? And from my own biased perspective, I wouldn't want Penn State to have to deal with the BS that WVU, Louisville, etc. have this year. "Yeah, PSU is 10-1, but who did they beat? Pitt? South Florida? Rutgers?" Forget it. They have the recruiting power to hang in the Big 10 and I like the challenge Are you serious? ND and Penn State plus what's already in the Big East? In any given year it could be the top conference in college football. I do think that big rivalry game Penn State vs Michigan St is a good as it gets. Way better than a Pitt/Penn State game. Also, if Penn State were in the Big East this year they would have had anywhere from 2 to 4 losses in the Conference alone.

IMO Schmidt has his offers and will mull them over the Holiday weekend with his family.