YearofDaCubs

Actually, having said that, and now having actually seen the details on Delgado's contract, I'm not so sure. I knew it was a $52m/4yr deal that Delgado signed with the Marlins last year. But I didn't realise it broke down like... 05: $4m, 06: $13.5m, 07: $14.5m, 08: $16m, 09: $12m mutual option vs $4m buyout provided Delgado doesn't involve himself in 08 MVP voting (in which case he gets a guaranteed $16m in 09). The money that they've sent to the Mets actually only covers the difference in state taxes, so the Mets are still on the hook for $48m/3yrs to a guy that'll be 36 by the time the deal's up. Ouch. The Marlins effectively got one superb year from Delgado (.301/.399.582 in 616 PA) at the cost of $11m and then traded him before his contract got ugly and he got old. Clever. The only thing that's not so clever is the haul they commanded from the Mets. Petit really doesn't have that much by way of stuff, and Jacobs' numbers look scarily like Jason Dubois'! That contract kind of makes you think twice about signing Giles toa 4 year deal then considering he will be 36 come 2007.

There are positives but we just see it differently. I personally think the opposite of you. The failures have outweighed the positives. IMO the past two years have been failures and it's not just one thing it is several. We have a terrible manager, we have injury prone players that we've had issues with. We also have had clubhouse issues as well. Sure, Hendry made some nice trades and improved the team and what not but at the same time obviously he hasn't improved it enough because we haven't made the playoffs recently. Overpaying for mediocre talent in Rusch and Perez doesn't help. I wasn't so keen on Eyre but he will improve the bullpen. I do like the Howry signing because I believe he can be really good for us. I would have liked to have seen BJ Ryan or Wagner instead but realistically 10mil for Wagner is more ridiculous than 2.5 for Perez.Now that Eyre has been signed to me it seems that signing Rusch is redundant. I think if we didnt resign Perez and Rusch I would've been a bit happier but overall it's still early and we still have several holes to fill. If I feel that Hendry has done enough this offseason I will be very happy with the offseason and be positive going forward about our future in 2006.

Podz was on fire until he got hurt. I would gladly take him to be our CFer.

I would have liked to have seen at least one of Greenburg and Fontenot on our bench but I think there's a chance none of them are even in the Cibs org after Rule 5.

I would love to have Castillo. I wanted him when he was a FA a couple of years ago. Somebody mentioned he has had leg problems but I dont know nothing about that. We trade for Castillo put Cedeno at SS which is fine with me but if that happened I would like a trade for Bradley and a good RF to happen as well.

Whatever buddy. I guess 4th place in the division is good enough for you. Whatever buddy. I guess boiling a very complex thing like the results of a baseball team and a GMs tenure down to the single, most negative result tells the whole story for you. There's more to it than that. You write this paragraph about how some of us are unsatisfied with the job Hendry has done and it is because he has lead us to higher expectatons. Is that a bad thing? Maybe there is a reason why we haven't won in almost 100 years. Fans like you see nothing wrong with the way this organization is run top to bottom. We have missed the playoffs the last 2 years when we had one of the highest payrolls. There is a problem there. To me it tells me the person putting this team together is not doing a good job. Hendry the past two years has FAILED. YOu said defining success is winning, well guess what we haven't won squat the past two years. Now that the bullpen is set, give me a good RF. bench, and a leadoff man and I will gladly say that Hendry has done a wonderful job of setting us up to have a successful 2006 season. Until then there is no question that your boy Hendry has failed the past two seasons. Slow down, killer. Who are you responding to? I didn't write any of those things. mhuber did. I just thought your response to his post didn't consider the points he was making and was remarkably unfair. No one is happy with a 4th place result, okay? ok there killer, i think my post above should make it clear to mhuber then about what I think about Hendry. As for you, keep being optimistic about everything. You are entitled to your opinion about this organization and I am entitled to mine. 2003 was a fun year while 2004-2005 were depressing. Let's hope 2006 is more like 2003. Although we overpaid for the 2 RP I actually like the Howry signing. Obviously, it's still early but like I said before if we can get a good RF, bench, and leadoff hitter I will be happy with what we've got. Now I'm "optimistic about everything". This is laughable. Is putting words in other people's mouths all you've got? mhuber made some cogent points in his post, as did I in his defense. But you never responded to them. Instead, it seems you heard a viewpoint that was different from your own and immediately stopped considering the validity of what either of us had to say. You seemingly assumed that we were either "happy with a 4th place finish" in mhuber's case or "optimistic about everything" in my case. Neither are what we claim to be nor are they accurate descriptions of what we wrote. So it reads like a mixture of a personal attack and putting words in our mouths and not a response to what was actually written in the post. As for my viewpoint of Hendry, I'm just reserving judgment until he actually fails to improve the Cubs offense before being angry at him as if he already has. I'd say I'm showing restraint and perhaps trying to understand things at a more complex level. But, then again, maybe I'm just a simpleton who is always "optimistic about everything" Hendry does. No, you're wrong. MHuber clearly stated that he disagreed with this team not having success with a top 5 payroll and as far as I'm concerned the only way to define success is if you make the playoffs which we did not do the past two years. Can these signings affect other transactions right now? It sure as heck can. We still have many holes to fill and considering Hendry is looking to upgrade, SS, OF, bench, and SP It can. That's fine reserve your judgement but if I see something I don't like I will be vocal about it. I don't know what your thoughts were on last year but I knew we were not good enough to be a playoff team even though so many people thought we were and I was catching flack about it. I will not reserve judgment on anything. If Hendry makes a good move which I think he has done with Howry I will commend him. If he resigns Perez, and Rusch to ridiculous contracts and overpays for mediocre talent I have the right as a fan to call that garbage out.

Abreu? HECK YES!!!!! :D :D =P~ I said this yesterday, I have a gut feeling we will have either Manny, Abreu, or Dunn in the outfield in 06. If we do then we are money.

Whatever buddy. I guess 4th place in the division is good enough for you. Whatever buddy. I guess boiling a very complex thing like the results of a baseball team and a GMs tenure down to the single, most negative result tells the whole story for you. There's more to it than that. You write this paragraph about how some of us are unsatisfied with the job Hendry has done and it is because he has lead us to higher expectatons. Is that a bad thing? Maybe there is a reason why we haven't won in almost 100 years. Fans like you see nothing wrong with the way this organization is run top to bottom. We have missed the playoffs the last 2 years when we had one of the highest payrolls. There is a problem there. To me it tells me the person putting this team together is not doing a good job. Hendry the past two years has FAILED. YOu said defining success is winning, well guess what we haven't won squat the past two years. Now that the bullpen is set, give me a good RF. bench, and a leadoff man and I will gladly say that Hendry has done a wonderful job of setting us up to have a successful 2006 season. Until then there is no question that your boy Hendry has failed the past two seasons. Slow down, killer. Who are you responding to? I didn't write any of those things. mhuber did. I just thought your response to his post didn't consider the points he was making and was remarkably unfair. No one is happy with a 4th place result, okay? ok there killer, i think my post above should make it clear to mhuber then about what I think about Hendry. As for you, keep being optimistic about everything. You are entitled to your opinion about this organization and I am entitled to mine. 2003 was a fun year while 2004-2005 were depressing. Let's hope 2006 is more like 2003. Although we overpaid for the 2 RP I actually like the Howry signing. Obviously, it's still early but like I said before if we can get a good RF, bench, and leadoff hitter I will be happy with what we've got.

Whatever buddy. I guess 4th place in the division is good enough for you. Whatever buddy. I guess boiling a very complex thing like the results of a baseball team and a GMs tenure down to the single, most negative result tells the whole story for you. There's more to it than that. You write this paragraph about how some of us are unsatisfied with the job Hendry has done and it is because he has lead us to higher expectatons. Is that a bad thing? Maybe there is a reason why we haven't won in almost 100 years. Fans like you see nothing wrong with the way this organization is run top to bottom. We have missed the playoffs the last 2 years when we had one of the highest payrolls. There is a problem there. To me it tells me the person putting this team together is not doing a good job. Hendry the past two years has FAILED. YOu said defining success is winning, well guess what we haven't won squat the past two years. Now that the bullpen is set, give me a good RF. bench, and a leadoff man and I will gladly say that Hendry has done a wonderful job of setting us up to have a successful 2006 season. Until then there is no question that your boy Hendry has failed the past two seasons.

Whatever buddy. I guess 4th place in the division is good enough for you.

Who cares who they give up. They just won the WS. Their fans could care less what prospects are moving as long as the team is improved.

Levine just reported the WSox have no interest in Pierre...

Pinto and two others for Pierre? Little expensive but whatever as long as Pierre is one of the pieces to get us out of mediocrity. I still want to see some power in the OF more so now than ever.

Sounds like the deal is pretty much official. Phillies will be paying for half his salary :shock:

Now you know why people were complaining about the Perez and Rusch signings.

Manny, Huff, Dunn, Kearns????? That one is for us to guess and Hendry to know. He has to be setting himself up for something because he paid a lot of cash for these guys and seems intent on trying to Dusty proof the pen with Vets. I'd like Abreu, Dunn, Giles or Manny. I consider Kearns and Huff as second tier OF's. I would also like one of those guys to be able to crush righties. Floyd should be our backup plan. I'm not opposed to Floyd being here but his injury history is terrible. We still need to upgrade our 1-2 positions. Seems like Floyd's an ideal guy for the Cubs. He has a 1 year left on his contract @ $6.5 mil. He's a LH bat who can bat between Lee and ARam. His health is a concern, but that makes him perfect for this organization. I'm just not sold on Floyd. His numbers are decent, but everytime I see him he just doesn't impress me. Don't know why. Maybe I'm just really stuck on the Manny,Abreu,Dunn idea. When I think of an "impact bat", those 3 come to mind real fast and real often. Floyd should be our backup plan. I'm not opposed to Floyd being here but his injury history is terrible. We still need to upgrade our 1-2 positions.

Hmm. $6m/yr locked up in 2 relievers? Whatever, I was resigned to this a couple days ago. If Hendry signs/trades for an impact OF, all will be forgiven, in my eyes, anyway. Lot of $ but heading into spring training you gotta like Eyre, Howry and Dempster a lot better that Remlinger, Hawkins and Borowski. With Williamson healthy I believe we will have a very good bullpen.

Hmm. $6m/yr locked up in 2 relievers? Whatever, I was resigned to this a couple days ago. If Hendry signs/trades for an impact OF, all will be forgiven, in my eyes, anyway. Yeah, that and a leadoff hitter, the removal of Macias and all will be forgiven.

I voted NO because #1 the fans still want him to play #2 he hasn;t regressed to the point where you or he can finally say he is retiring. The man can still play and it would be a travesty if he was benched. The Packers will not bench him though. When Favre is ready to step down as QB is when he retires.

That's the kind of thinking I want to see. That is the kind of thinking that will get us back into the playoffs but instead we ended up with Burnitz.

Could that even happen? I just can't see the Cubs moving anywhere.

Let's hope this means the end of Macias on the Northside.

Exactly.

there's that double-standard term again. okay, you're right, white people have been just as oppressed as black people here in america, and it's a terrible, terrible travesty that white people have to put up with all of dave chappelle's jokes and negative stereotypes portraying white people as weiners. one might consider it one of the worst crimes in the history of man! Yeah, well all I know is if a white manager had the same comments that Baker did about black people taking the heat/sun better than white he would be fired. The world isn't perfect and like it or not there are double-standards out there as well as racism and prejudice.

BJ Ryan (aged 29, turns 30 in December) June 19th 2002 (something of a turning point in Ryan's career apparently, all bad before, all brilliant ever since...) through present day 243 IP, 181 H, 11 HR, 104 BB, 316 K, 2.59 ERA, 2.67 FIPS Scott Eyre (aged 33, turns 34 in March) May 1st 2002 (date Eyre claims he started taking medication for ADHD) through present day 229 IP, 200 H, 16 HR, 101 BB, 188 K, 3.03 ERA, 3.79 FIPS Bob Howry (aged 32, turns 33 in August) April 1st 2004 (date Howry made return from elbow injury/general crapiness with Red Sox) through present day 115.2 IP, 86 H, 9 HR, 28 BB, 87 K, 2.57 ERA, 3.43 FIPS The trouble with Eyre and Howry is that their peripheral numbers do not point to them being able to keep their ERAs down where they are now, as the FIPS indicate. Almost all of their successes have been driven by limiting hits without limiting balls in play. Precarious, particularly in Howry's case, as we're only talking about 115.2 innings. Howry has at least done a fine job of avoiding home runs and walks, but he hasn't struck enough guys out of late. Eyre's strikeout rate is similarly unspectacular, but he's putting runners on base at a damaging rate. And both Eyre and Howry are older, and therefore bigger risks, short-term and long-term. In other words get ready for some bloated ERAs from both.