CuseCubFan69

With Hendry doing everything he could to trade Walker you would think it might have occurred to him to play Nomar at 2B and Cedeno at SS. Even if he couldn't trade Walker it would have been a pretty good luxury to have Walker coming off the bench. Then when Lee got hurt Nomar could have moved to first with Walker playing 2B. That would have been much more attractive then the Neifi, Hairston, and eventually Nevin 3 headed monster. Also I would not have minded having Nomar in the outfield. Like you said, his throwing couldn't be any worse than Pierre and Jones hitting 9 irons to the infield. And as bad as this team is we could have used Nomars bat and it would not be difficult to find a spot for him to play when Lee came back. Of course when he went on the DL at the beginning of the season there would have been a lot of "I told you so" flying around. Hindsight is always 20/20 I suppose. When he went on the DL this spring I thought for sure his career may be over or at the very least being an impact player but he is playing like the Nomar of old and I wish him well. I also think since the push was defense Hendry wanted the defensive studs Jones/Pierre since they've played the OF before out there and of course their added speed so IMO OF wasn't even an option for Nomar. Add to that the need for a lefty power bat bat. Yeah, a good hitter hits anyone but Hendry is old school and that lefty power bat was something he coveted.

Could you please give us some examples? Thank you.

It can be tough to find but when someone says they still have pain or can't get loose you have to keep looking to find out why and for Gods sakes not throw him out of the pen.

Minimum of 7 to be a vet or a stud for 5 years in the book according to Dusty. All else are kids and not worth playing, investing time or teaching the game to. They do help with excuses though.

IMO this guys ego is WAYYYYY bigger than his skills as a manager. Dusty please go prove us wrong and manage the Yanks or some other vet/horses team and I bid you good luck. If you leave now it'll give you a chance to look around and negotiate a deal with a team and since you are a proven winner you should have no problems doing so.

IMO the Yanks or Red Sox may give him billions.

I agree. I know he's made a lot of money but he is still a competitor and wants to be out there pitching. IMO the Cubs and Kerry will reach a middle ground and he'll be signed for next year. But before that...he should pitch from the pen until the Cubs are mathmatically out of contention. Sounds like what a lot of people thought about Nomar last year and Hendry kicked him to the curb like a cheap prostitute. I agree but in defense of Hendry..this hurts to write...where would you put Nomar? I think the ease of physical strain at first is what is helping him and no way he would move Lee from there. Second would have been tough and maybe that's why Hendry was trying to move Walker to put Nomar there. IMO no way could Nomar play right or left with his arm angle but after watching Jones and Pierre throw I suppose it couldn't be any worse!

My biggest Off Season needs: New President New GM New Manager High OBP guy to lead off Power 30-40 270/350 HR guy in the corner OF or a Tejada/ARod type middle infielder Starting pitcher if and only if the Cubs make the moves to do the above. If not I'll go with the young guys. LF - Murton/Jones CF - High OBP Dude maybe Freel RF - Power 30/40 HR guy 3B - ARam SS - Cedeno 2B - Walker 1B - Lee C - Barrett Order: Freel/High OBP type CF Walker 2B Lee 1B Abreu/Cabera type RF Ramirez 3B Barrett C Jones/Murton LF Murton might hit second against some lefties Cedeno SS Bench: Fountain 2b/3b, Theriot, Blanco or Soto and Stairs type hitter/fielder maybe Pagan if they go to 11 pitchers. Pitchers: Z Prior Marshall Schmidt/Willis/Zito type pitcher Guzman/Hill/whoever steps up/Wood Marmol Closer Howrey Eyre Wuertz Novoa Ohman 2 Minor league relievers I traded or released everyone else on the Major roster. Maddux, Williamson, Perez, Nevin, Dempster, Mabry and Pierre were traded for whatever Hendry could get and added/flipped for the power hitter and or high OBP guy. If Pie proves he can hit then adjusts will be made or he got sent in the Tejada deal along with other prospects like Cedeno. I think with some of the vets and some of the guys in the minors Hendry has the tools to make a very good 2007 team. Again, the direction to win or go young is fine but this sticking in the middle with horrible fill ins like Perez is not the way to go at any time unless all you have is Neifi to play SS or 2B and he hits 8th. If the Cubs move Cedeno for Tejada and since Perez is already signed I don't have a problem with him hitting 8th and playing second as long as the other starting 7 are strong. I'd prefer Walker. The bench helps keep this team inexpensive as do the added relievers. If I go young: Lofton or AAA type CF until Pie is ready Murton LF Trade Jones and get another fill in for RF Ramirez 3b and if he opts out offer arb or deal him by 2006 deadline and put Fountain there Cedeno SS Theriot 2B Lee 1B Soto C Trade Barrett for the best available young talent Pitchers: Z (If he wants out because of the youth movement trade him but I'd like it if he stayed) Prior (Same as above) Marshall Guzman Hill or who ever steps up Marmol Closer Weurtz Novoa Any other young guys and trade Eyre and Howry now. I think with the trades the Cubs could get some very good prospects to fill in the blanks.

He was incredible and he went from that to below average so fast it was surprising. You could just see him get burned out but he was a horse even Dusty could ride in his prime. I consider Hershel Walker and Bo Jackson 2 runners who I thought were fast and big. Both couldn't stay healthy enough or keep that speed and that's why I think guys like Brown, Payton and Smith to last because they had decent speed but they could always find holes and it usually takes more than 1 guy to bring them down. Sanders is like Brown in the mystery of what if he stayed.

Good point. They beat the SEC champ in SEC country with a young team so they must be a little above average. That's one game, not a whole season. In college football sometimes that's all you get. Since many SEC teams won't schedule power conference teams what makes them the wonder they are?

Good point. They beat the SEC champ in SEC country with a young team so they must be a little above average. Plus...if they played in the SEC they could play 3 tough out of conference teams like Tennessee Tech or Cleveland State instead of Virginia Tech or Marshall.

The Daily is pumping for a LA team to Z! Yellow journalism at its finest. Of course if the Dodgers or Angels want to give the Cubs their top 5 prospects Hendry ought to think about it. If those 5 are overall top 50 guys that is.

You should be ashamed of yourself for making CCR a 14 seed. I never want to hear Derwood complain about the selection commitee ever again! :D

The solution is simple. Jones shouldn't have started in the first place against a lefty.

The Dodgers are offering Kemp, Billinsgley and Izturis for Maddux, Williamson and Aramis? Somehow I find that hard to believe, given the Dodgers don't want to give up either in a potential Willis trade. I wonder what they would give up for Cabrera? That's the route I'd go if I were the Dodgers. I saw Izturis play here and he has a nice glove and range but a bit of a free swinger with no power and IMO Cedeno is just as good.

Wuertz must have said something nasty like "Coach, if walks by pitchers are so bad why don't you want our hitters taking walks?" "Have a nice time in Iowa dude".

Which is exactly why he needs to be fired next week.... whether or not that happens, is another thing entirely. This will be one of the slowest weeks in Cubdom. He's needs to be gone now is right. Hendry picked the wrong guy at the wrong time and this mistake will haunt the Cubs until he is removed. I agree that Baker is reacting to the pressure but that's what bugs me even more. He is just thinking of HIMSELF and not the team. Why would the players not follow his lead and do the same? He's a very nice man but I do not want him around as the manager for the Cubs for another day. What I'm worried about is if Hendry is now worried about his job and he'll get some clown in there that is also in a "must win mode" and this team will suck for years. Hendry hasn't traded the farm yet but I hope he doesn't get to that point and the Cubs can him after he does because I don't trust him anymore when it comes to making deals.

His ERA jumped from high 3's to 5 flat in one outing. Ouch. That's why stats are misleading. He stays in for 9 runs and they blow up his numbers.

I agree. I know he's made a lot of money but he is still a competitor and wants to be out there pitching. IMO the Cubs and Kerry will reach a middle ground and he'll be signed for next year. But before that...he should pitch from the pen until the Cubs are mathmatically out of contention.

I'm with you there brother. I think the Cubs could get a nice haul for Maddux, Williamson and Ramirez and Izturis is not part of that haul.

Why not compare the Romans vs todays USA to see who would a war between the 2? You're also dealing with what if's and I'm talking about players playing against the competition of their day. I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree because we see things 2 different ways on how to compare players from different era's. I think I can do a little better than a wisecrack about your sig. it just occurred to me that you said this earlier which is it? take a comparison through time or isolate on the way they played against the competition. you seems to want the best of both arguments. despite what you say, Mikan was completely dominant. scoring and rebounding titles up the yang, as well as rings. so why are you so quick to discount his greatness? Mikan was great there is no doubt about it. My comparision is that Brown is still considered one of the greatest RB's while Miken is below many big men when he is compared to them. If you asked the question...who is the greatest big man in basketball history who would be among the top 3?

Z Prior Marshall Hill Guzman With Marmol as the closer.

Yes, please no Type A middle relievers this year. That would really make me annoyed. My guess is a player that hit well in the clutch in 2006 will be the chosen one. Some 275/310 hitter that for some miracle hit 310 with runners in scoring postion.

Finally a Baker strategy I can agree with!

And given a weak FA class, I doubt it will help the Cubs improve dramatically. Looks like we'll probably have to hope the Cubs are one of the worst 15 teams so their pick is protected again (of course this isn't even an issue right now). If the Cubs are one of the 3 worst does that effect the second round in any way or is it just the first round? In terms of protected picks? Just the first round (and top 15 picks, at that). Yes...protected picks. Thanks Raisin. If this is a strong draft I'd hate to see Hendry get some below average free agent and lose the 2nd and 3rd round picks.