CuseCubFan69

Nope. He will be granted a fourth year of options due to the time missed to injuries. Wow, I didn't know MLB did that, but that's cool. Phew. Maybe he went out drinking the night before with Spier? This is good news. I was wondering if the Cubs had him sit the bench because he was injured.

20,000 will never happen. What will/is starting to happen, though, is that ticket sales are dropping. And so is actual attendance, which hurts concession and merchandise sales (and is linked to television ratings, which suuuuuck). The Tribune has motivation to fill the seats, especially since they're spending the money, but Hendry isn't putting a product on the field that will do that. Only winning will actually fill the seats. The Trib spent over $10 million to increase capacity and they're barely filling any of those extra seats on a semi-regular basis. As others have pointed out, opposing fans now have the opportunity to buy tickets because the team sucks so much. Same with tourists. Those groups are going to keep attendance relatively high regardless of the team, but Wrigley Field isn't going to be fully packed. Hendry may not care about that (like he doesn't care about acquiring good players), but the Trib does. I see what you're saying Jon and I'm not telling anyone not to go and I do understand why people do. I'm just sick to death of seeing teams like this year in and year out.

If anyone thinks that having 20,000 people in Wrigley for each game won't get the Tribs/Hendry's attention I think you're wrong. I don't consider this a bandwagon move but one of neccesity. How many times has this team even been in contention for the playoffs in the MacPhail era? It isn't working and it's time for a change and if fans continue to go in the 40,000 and support the Cubs that's fine but get used to going and backing the lovable loser team that they are. Unlovable actually. I understand it's Wrigley and it is the most beautiful stadium out there IMO but what incentive does the Trib have if it's jammed pack full to make a change?

I say let Lee pinch hit until the season is over. He'll be ready by spring. Then, we can see that the injury hasn't really healed and he'll be Woody part 2. Besides...this will give Baker another excuse if Lee is out for the rest of the year and Hendry can give him a chance with the horses in 2007. This organization is built on excuses so let's let them run with them.

The Walker thing was poorly handled by just about everyone involved. The same can be said about Sosa, Patterson, Farnsworth, Bellhorn, Wood pitching in relief, etc... I don't want to harp on past history. We know why Dusty wants Maddux around. He thinks Maddux can be part of some resurgence that will make Dusty's season look a lot less bad than it currently is. This is important to Dusty for future revenue and contract considerations. I don't have a problem that Dusty is saying these things. I have a problem with the fact Dusty is still here to say these things. But, then again, I also have a problem with the fact the guys with the power to remove Dusty are also still here. Hendry seems to be spending a considerable amount of time evaluating Dusty's status as manager. Which is a crying shame, since this is the time Hendry should be evaluating trade opportunities to improve the team in the future. No one is calling on the Cubs. Is Hendry not answering phones? Teams are working trades as we speak, and Pierre is still leading off, team scapegoat Todd Walker is still splitting time with others at 2nd base, Williamson is still in the bullpen, Nevin is still patrolling the outfield, etc.... Nevin's value is dropping by the day. He'll be a Type C free agent, along with Scott Williamson at season's end. Maddux is potentially the only Type A free agent leaving this team at season's end, and there's no guarantee he'll play again. And the Cubs definitely won't offer arby. Hendry should have removed Baker prior to this trading period to remove anything from interfering with improving this team beyond this season. If any of the players listed above are still here as of August 1st, Hendry will have failed once again in his most important duty as GM. That is unacceptable. Wow, I got all that from a Dusty quote. Weee doggy you do get a lot out of a Dusty comment! It's too bad Maddux has to go because he's the only good coach on the team.

Homer J. Simpson votes for Queen....or does he?

Maddux is one of my 2 favorite pitchers ever along with Jenkins. I have to say I think the Cubs should respect Maddux and do whatever he wants, he's earned it IMO. But, if he has given the ok for a trade than Hendry has to work one out. Anything Baker says is just an annoying humming sound to me and I no longer pay attention to him.

Look Dusty..the more you play Theriot, Cedeno and Murton the more you can use the excuse of playing young guys was the reason you lost.

Yes! Instead of going for the impact player, Hendry will pay less for the cheap OF, when he could've had Abreu, with power, OBP who takes a walk now and then! Yeah, it's so much easier saying "Well we had Burnitz and other guys like that to pick from and that's why we struggled." That gets the excuse out there and that's the problem with Hendry, he has no vision but plenty of excuses. Plus, if he takes a chance he might get fired. Safe moves like Jones and Burnitz have gotten him an extension.

The Cubs have no OF's waiting in the wings in the minors so going after Abreu would make a lot of sense but I'm sure Hendry would rather just wait around and see who wants to sign on the cheap at the last minute.

I was listening to Mike & Mike this morning and they said that these 2 guys have the most combined wins of any pitchers that have faced each other since something like 1911 or so.

While Jones was yelling at Sullivan Hendry went into his office to evaluate the situation and will have an answer in 3 or so months. But first, he has to figure out if he is going to put the cream in before the sugar into his coffee. Please be patient and continue your support for the Cubs until a decision is made.

Why would the Cubs get on this? There are a lot of bad players to overpay out there and Abreu or Burrell would go against that tradition. I hope Hendry is doing something other than saying no comment or whatever about Baker because this team is not very good.

I just keep telling myself that the Cubs are just showcasing these guys for trades....yeah...that's what I keep telling myself.

Its a good idea. I'd take either WM Pena or Crisp. I think they want Crisp for CF and Pena for RF for next year though. Nixon is a FA, right? Well maybe Williamson, Dempster, and a prospect gets it done. Wouldn't Pierre be a good fit too or do they have another CF?

I agree and I like for a team to have a nice balance of OBP, speed power, defense and pitching. I think many of us on here disagree on what percent we put on those values. I really don't think that anyone just thinks you can have some high OBP guys that can't do anything else and still win. I think it's just the values we put on them are different. That being said I think we can have discussions like this and disagree on how to imploy them but still repect each other at the same time. I disagree with posters all the time but I respect their views and opinions because I want to hear why they fell that way. Some have changed some things I've felt strongly about and on some some subjects I feel even stronger about them than I did before.

You don't think that Theriot could possibly be a better answer than Cedeno? If he could do a 270/350 and play good D would that beat out a Cedeno?

I think posters have different ways to voice their frustration and IMO we have stopped a lot of the name calling like Dumpster and the like. It isn't a perfect site, as I don't think anything is, but I think it's a very good one and I truely enjoy being on here. What I find that is ironic is that you like OBP and the younger players but they are often the first things you mock or voice your displeasure with. My father also died without seeing a Cub title. He was a Yankee fan but I know he would have enjoyed my day in the sun.

When Bobby Cox recieves a callup, assuming the player didn't have to travel overnight, he will start that day. His philosophy is that the best way to get over the anxiety is to get him 4 or 5 ab's asap. That way, you aren't forced to send a guy up there in late/extra innings in a critical situation because you have no one else on the bench. My favorite case was Franceour striking out his first 3 ab's and then hitting the game-winning HR in the 8th inning of his first ML game last year. It depends on where they project him as well. If either Baker or Hendry assume Theriot to be a utility player in the future, his role will be more situational. Someone with the ceiling of Francouer and to a lesser case Johnson will have more of a chance to assume a starting role quicker b/c of their projection. Funny little story on David Wright. He signed and was sent to Kingsport (Appy League) with a couple of other rookies. 1st day in BP he was taking BP and for the round of BP was told to hit line drives into short RF, most of the rooks couldn't hit the ball out of the cage and he was hitting the base of the RF wall. Despite the amazing BP shows for someone just out of HS who just signed as he sat for the 1st 3 days and followed the every move of the coaches in the dugout. Well, the assistant for Joey Cora (who was the manager at the time) mentioned if they should play doubles in and Joey said we don't that * in rookie ball. Later on in that inning, Wright went to the assistant coach and asked why they didn't play doubles in. Although it's a diff. circumstance, it's not too unusual. Dusty just called me and asked who the heck David Wright was. Theriot is exactly what you said but so is Perez. I just want to save the Cubs some money.

You didn't offend me I just didn't understand what you meant by the flaming. I understand what you're trying to say about the young players and I've been as guilty as any about trying to give these guys a chance. If you've seen the Cubs throughout the years which I'm sure you have you'll see all these has been or never was vets flooding their rosters throughout the years. I just want a change but a quality young player change not just a young player change and I thought Hendry was that GM that would do so. I don't think there are any absolutes in baseball when it comes to picking or putting together a team. I think a lot of posters think one is way is better than another like OBP for example but again I think that many of them think other sources could be used to help make a team better too. Yeah, there are many on this board that sway towards a certain thought sure they do but not everybody agrees on how OBP is broken up like slugging and others. Personally, I'd like to see a good debate and that adds to the board as well as to my enjoyment.

I thought that Kelton might have been a decent 4th OF and I liked both Cruz and Z and didn't want either traded and may I add Willis to that too. Alou would have been a decent 7th maybe 6th hitter but this team needs and needed more. Little did I know Hendry would do nothing to improve that situation. Look, I agree with you on a lot of what you say. It's just sometime things get really carried away here with the comments. Everyone was on Alou in '04 because the great god Stone was ragging him. I thought Cruz had terrific stuff and have been disappointed in what he has done with it. Last year, nobody really wanted the Cubs to re sign Nomar because we had Murton, who might develop into a pretty good player yet. It just gets hard to take many of the threads seriously with the vindictive posts about about people(players). Look at this year, Jones was being trashed and still is here occasionally. He started slow, but he changed leagues, sometimes it does take a player a bit to adjust, but there was no mercy here. People want time for their favorites to develop but if they don't like someone, he better not go 0-4. Take it for what it's worth, flame away, but many old time posters have disappeared because of it. And the people I know in baseball do not take most of this seriously. I only know a handful, but that is their opinion. Flame away? I don't understand that phrase or maybe I don't understand why you said that. You just said some things that had some valid points and IMO that's the type of posts I'd rather see than some of the posts you've put out there. Why can't you do that instead of the I told you so type posts? If you have a point, please just make it without trying to rub posters faces in it.

Hendry is a fool. To get draft picks he'd have to offer arbitration. And Pierre would probably accept. I am on record as saying that Pierre will get an extension shortly after July 31. I don't think Hendry has any idea what his next move will be. He's a random idea generator. The bitter part of this pill is that Pierre is considered a type b free agent and Hendry offers arb and then Pierre wins and gets 9.

I thought that Kelton might have been a decent 4th OF and I liked both Cruz and Z and didn't want either traded and may I add Willis to that too. Alou would have been a decent 7th maybe 6th hitter but this team needs and needed more. Little did I know Hendry would do nothing to improve that situation.

Yeah, and if Neifi could keep up his April 2005 stats I'd want him back as well. The point is Pierre is not going to keep this up. He's going to finish the year mediocre, like has in every year but one in his career. It doesn't matter what he's done since June, what matters is what he's done in his career, the past couple years, and this year, and in turn what he is likely to do next year and over the course of his theoretical contract. Odds are he will not be that good next year, or any year after. I'm sure you've said this but when a guy with a low Isod goes into a slump he doesn't help the team but a guy that has a high Isod can at least help the team by getting on base. When Pierre slumps he has almost no value other than speed, which can't get him on base but if he can steal almost 100% effective and take the extra bases he adds something, not much but something. I can't even say his D would still be there as he hasn't thrown a runner out in many many moons.

Does anybody here have any faith that Hendry can make any kind of pay/performance calculation? If Hendry decides to keep Pierre he will pay what he needs to. Hendry will sign Pierre to 2/15 contract, maybe with a third-year buyout to make it essentially 2/18, and Hendry will tell you it's a bargain based on what the Yankees paid Damon last year. As a matter of fact, it's a guarantee that Damon's name comes up at the press conference announcing the extension. By the way, Abreu is the next Johnny Callison. Let's stay away from this one. Holy heck...Johnny Callison? I haven't heard that one in a while. Abreu wants a big time extension if he accepts a trade in which he has a full no trade. IMO there are ways to fix this team out there...many ways and Hendry has to take one of them and not do the goofy things he's done in the past 3.