Mark_R

He's been absolutely awesome, no doubt.

And his OBP for June?

Wow he's even less deserving than Carlos Beltran! Cardinal fans should be up in arms about the selection of Scott Rolen to start in the all-star game. Imagine Al Hrabosky pining for THAT spot.

There are so many big mook OFs with the instincts of a cow that sounds like talk radio bs to me. Here's what ESPN says about his D: "Speed is Podsednik's game-he's among the fastest guys in baseball. He's a reliable, and sometimes spectacular, center fielder, covering the considerable gap between Jenkins in left and the team's 2004 right-field combo of Brady Clark and Ben Grieve. Podsednik also throws well." It also says this in the scouting report: Plays A Deep Center Field And Is Only Average Out There; Does Not Read Balls As Well As When He Is In Rf The only thing is that his speed can REAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLY make up for some bad jumps out there. He does get to a lot of balls anytime I see him.

You would be correct.

What's funny is that Vernon Wells is a better defensive CF than Jim Edmonds though he'd never get a chance out there.

Si.

Len just said that Lee is in the lead by about 40,000 votes!!! My one vote was the turning point of it all. :bowdown:

I voted once and was bored with the process.

This is like White Sox fans, some care more about the Cubs failing than the Sox winning. This seems like the case here.

No.

Dunn could be the player to provide the protection Dusty wants behind Ramirez. That means that Walker could move back to the top. Walker at number one or two does solve the OBP problem ahead of the bashers. While Dunn may only be hitting .243, his ability to take a walk make up for that. He gets on base and it doesn't matter if you do that with a walk or a hit. Dunn hits second on this team. Anywhere else is a waste. Walker Dunn Lee Ramirez Burnitz Barrett Patterson Cedeno Burnitz is more than adequate enough protection for Aramis. Chances are Dusty would never see it that way :roll:

Why are people projecting so many off days for people? We're 4 games from the All Star Break. Our guys will get their rests then.

I agree with the rest of your post, but come on. I doubt there are any Cub fans who like seeing Corey fail just so they can boo him. If it was in jest, I apologize in advance.....

Why not wait until he actually does something to warrant that first comment before making it? Since signing that deal, he's been bad when "healthy" too. And part of a contract is staying healthy to perform. And I totally agree with you about that last comment you made.

Maybe because they're thinking about performance going forward, not what they have produced? Dunno. A(nother) DL Stint from Wood and constant mediocrity from Maddux? That's what I'm anticipating.

Matt Clement and his 8.5 million dollars (compared to Greg's 9 million) say hi. I love Clement, but for him to put up 30-33 wins in the past two years, he'd have to win between 21-24 games this year. While it's possible, it's not likely. And he has also never won over 15 games in his career. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to keep Clement more than anyone, but paying Maddux 9 million isn't a huge catastraphe Next year it will be. When you have all these guys eligible for rotation spots for FAR less than Maddux will be making, I don't see why having him can be a good thing for this ballclub.

Matt Clement and his 8.5 million dollars (compared to Greg's 9 million) say hi.

Starting Enrique Wilson.

I agree completely. Good post At what point do you stop just saying "he'll be fine"? I don't know who has been trying to bury him for 5 years now. In the past he'd have a bad game or two, but not like he has over the past year and a half. Down the stretch last year he had an ERA over 4. He didn't "come through" then. I am guessing he's got a great month in him still this year, maybe two. But you don't pay $9 million for a month or two of great work. You pay for the season. Regardless, you can't pull him from the rotation. The only way he doesn't get the option picked up is if he continues to suck so bad he keeps getting pulled in the 4th inning, or he gets injured. And obviously neither of those is a good thing. So maybe he'll retire, or they can trade him in the offseason. Or, they'll just have to find a way to work around that wasted $9 million salary next year. Again if your picking on one then the other has to be mentioned as well: Kerry had a 4+ era for the 2nd half as well (Maddux was 3.48 post-all star). He didn't come through either. The Cubs are paying Wood for 2 or 3 good months at the same (next year more) level as Maddux. Wood's $12 mill next year might be a wasted $12 million as well. I doubt people have been happy with the way Kerry has played during his current deal. Too much missed time.

The option works both ways though. If a player isn't performing up to what he should be, and there are better alternatives to him down the stretch (and if there aren't, pitch Maddux and let us be upset about the money again next season), why should he be entitled to have to the option vest? The pitcher to attain the option has to hold up his end of the bargain (pitch well) as well.

It would be classless for the Cubs to sabotage Maddux, and I think there's about a zero percent chance they will. It would be one thing if the Cubs legitimately have five starting pitchers better than Maddux (since the team is in a pennant race they need to use their five best starters, regardless of who they are). As long as Maddux is one of the five best, however, the Cubs need to pitch him regardless of the option. First, from a competitive standpoint, using the pitchers who give them the best chance to win this year is more important than avoiding the option next year. Second, intentionally sabotaging a player to avoid an option would likely make playing for the Cubs seem very unattractive to potential free agents. Who'd want to play for a team that will give you a vesting option, only to sabotage it if they later decide they want to avoid the option? The bottom line is that the Cubs gave him the option, now they need to live with it. It has happened in football before, I'm sure. And when Wood and Prior are healthy, can't a LEGIT case be made that Rusch and Mitre are pitching better than Maddux to drop him out of the rotation? I don't have an issue with Maddux's performance as a "number four" starter, I have an issue with Maddux pitching like a number four starter for nine million dollars.

I wonder if Andy Pratt can pitch a QS in a simulated game.......

What is the attraction about the Big Mac? I'd only get mine with the burger (still ugh), cheese (meh), and the bread. Seems kind of a waste.

I'll assume that was directed towards me. (too lazy to see if anyone else has posted numbers on the first page) I'm not sure where you're going with that though. Corey played less than half a season in 03. Putting up his numbers in that year makes it look like he has regressed. I'll assume you forgot that he was hurt in '03. I'll also assume that you don't believe that '03 couldn't have had an effect on '04, especially at the end of the year. So I'll assume that your statistical analysis although accurate, does not tell the whole story. As warp wrote, we all wish Corey would be hitting better. But a bad Corey is still better than most CFers in the league. Very doubtful. From an overall standpoint, maybe. But from a hitting standpoint, that's really way off. Now if you were arguing based on production compared to price, I'd be more inclined to agree.