Bradley gone! Thank god. Maybe we'll go after a new outfielder now.
It sounds like the Cubs are actually getting $9 million in cash along with a worthless overpaid pitcher Carlos Silva from the M's. All-in-all, the Cubs actually end up saving about $5 million dollars total on the deal AND get rid of Bradley. Sounds like a good deal to me. I don't care how terrible Silva is or how awesome Bradley is next year with Seattle. The Cubs HAD to get rid of him this offseason. Hendry should still probably be fired for signing Bradley 1 year ago.
Should be interesting to see if the Cubs go after somebody now in free agency. You would think they'd have to acquire an OF and maybe a middle infielder. Not sure who the 5th starter would be either.
Silva would look good on the Bears O-line.
Great deal for the Cubs. It really does not matter what Silva does. An expensive nothing is much better than an expensivve negative (Bradley). I am going to have to start following the Mariners. I am waiting for the first time Ichiro, in Japanese, tells Bradley what he is going to kick.and then proceeds to kick it.
Hendry did a good job fixing a huge mistake. This doesn't excuse his poor choices over the past couple of years. But at least he made the best of it. Got far more than I ever thought he would. I thought they were going to have to eat the contract completely.
Considering what is available for the outfield I wouldn't mind seeing them give Sam Fuld a shot. Orlando Hudson or Felipe Lopez would look good at 2nd base. Lopez is younger
The bullpen is a mess.
Agreed on Orlando Hudson. I think Orlando Cabrera would be a good free agent pickup as well at SS. Even though they are both a little over-the-hill, they'd be nice 2 or 3 year fillers in the middle infield. They both are huge upgrades defensively and moderate upgrades offensively. Need a CF though. I heard they were talking to Johnny Damon who might not be back with the Yanks after they signed Granderson.
Xavier Nady signed with the Cubs today. This is a good deal. He's coming off Tommy John surgery and is an injury risk, but its only a $3.3 million deal. There is no downside here like with the Bradley deal. If Nady sucks or gets hurt, we won't be paying $10mill/year for the next 3 years. He's a sleeper to produce big at a bargain price. The Cubs are due to get lucky with a free agent pickup.
Nady missed virtually all of 2009. He's played in the cold spring weather (Pitt. and NY) and produced. He's 31 years old, still in his prime. Hitters typically come back unaffected from Tommy John surgery.
2008 .305 25 HR 97 RBI
2007 .278 20 HR 72 RBI
2006 .280 17 HR 63 RBI
I'm guessing that Lou will use some sort of platoon to start out between Fukudome and Nady in RF. Kosuke is due $12.5 million next year and has slugged .379 and .421 in his 2 seasons. Nady has slugged .450, .475, and .510 his last 3 full seasons. Good move by the Cubs to give us an extra bat and some depth at a weak position.
There is nothing wrong with Nady. If there is someting wrong with his elbow he will not be signed. He still has to pass a physical.
I just do not know where he fits on this team. If they wanted a 4th RH hitting outfielder why didn't they just keep Jeff Baker, [font=Verdana]I meant Jake Fox[/font], I must have still been irrritaed about Baker being the 2B at the moment. He is cheaper. He has more power, can catch, and play 1B.
I wish it would have been a bullpen pitcher or an infielder. Bullpen= Joke. They have lost 2 pitchers from last year and have added nothing. Jeff Baker is the everyday 2B = Joke. The injury prone positons on this team are the corner infielders. Still no real backup infielders which are a lot harder to find then outfielders. Bench = Joke. This team has alot of holes at the moment and a limited budget. They just spent most of what they saved in the Bradley trade on Nady. I think the money could have been better spent.
Wow! You make the team sound like we're the Pirates. This team has been in contention for 3 years straight and will do so again. We didn't make drastic improvements, but the offseason isn't over and I haven't seen other teams in the division making huge acquistions. As a Cubs fan since 1980, this is the best 3 year stretch I've witnessed. I can't wait for the new season to begin.
They are not the Pirates by any stretch. They are not even close. But they are also not even close to be contenders for a World Series as currently constructed. The team has admitted they do not have a lot of money to spend. Hendry has the team wrapped in bad long term contracts. We have never had a farm system worth speaking of. So where is the talent to win a World Series going to come from. They will contend for the Division. They might even win it. But for me that is not good enough. Just like all the Pro Teams I like I expect them to contend for a Championship. In my opinion the is no other objective in Pro sports except Championships. This has been true since Free Agency began. There is no rebuilding anymore. Maybe a year but other than that its win or lose. We live the second largest sports market in the country. If we do not compete every year I think it is a shame. I think it is a shame my home teams suck in the so called 3 Major Sports. If it was for the 2005 Sox it would be an embarrasment. Wow, that hurts a little to say out loud. :)
The Blackhawks this year are awesome. Unfortunatly for Hockey it is the redheaded stepchild of so called Major Sports Teams. But I like to watch it.
Back to The Cubs. Just like I have said for the past 2 years. They have talent but they are a poorly constructed baseball team. They have enough talent to win a division. The division is weak. That means they have a shot at the World Series. I do not think they will get to a World Series this year. They have too many holes and I do not see how they can fill them all with no little money to spend and spending what you have in the wrong places. They do not have the talent in the farm system.
Clark,
Any team that makes the playoffs in baseball has a chance to win the World Series. Nobody gave the '05 White Sox or the '06 Cardinals a chance heading into the playoffs, but guess what? You just need to play well for 11 games at that point which requires getting a few players hot. Its much more difficult to play well over the course of 162 and make the playoffs.
you wont see Dan and myself agree to often, but this time we do. The Cubs have talent,(man that hurts) and that division is weak. If they can get to the playoffs, and actually win the 1st round, they do have a World Series shot. But can they get by the 1st round is the true question. I would count on 102 years though. ;)
But on a different note...
Dan? Are you crazy?? No team in the Central made any big moves????? Signing Holliday in St. Louis for that many years was HUGE! And how do you think those pitchers will like seeing Pujols, Holliday, Ludwick??
And I would say more like 2 and a half years in contention for Chicago. After July they were never in contention. ;D
I said nobody made made huge acquisitions. The Cards had Holliday last year, hence its not a new acquistion.
I know that anyone has a chance when they make the playoffs. That is simple Baseball 101.
But the Cubs have proved 2 years in a row that this lineup gets owned by good pitching in the playoffs. How have they changed except for getting rid of Edmunds and Derosa? I am not trying to say they were saviors or anything. But they put up good numbers and those numbers were never replaced. They have gotten worse not better. This Cubs team is really no different then the 2 teams that got swept out of the first round of the playoffs 2 years in a row. If anything they are more right handed, have a weaker bullpen and bench. Overall they are not as good as those 2 teams. If you think that is a plan for success so be it. I disagree.
I would also have to disagree with no one making big moves. I believe the Phillies think they got better. I do not even agree with the move. But does it get any ballsier or bigger than what they did.
I do not care how many division titles the Cubs win. They need to win a World Series. This is not the way to do it. I personally think it is pathetic to stand pat and think the rest of MLB got worse.
didn't see a lot of people mentioning the Cubs picking up Marlon Byrd to play CF. With the exception of Soriano's hops - the outfield looks pretty good defensively. At least if Soriano botches the play he has a rocket arm that is deadly accurate.
Soto showed up at the Cubs convention 40 pounds lighter. I'd say that he's ready to perform.
I really like the Cubs signing Chad Tracy to a minor league deal. I guess he has been bitten by injuries, but I think he's a better random attempt at a backup at 3rd than Corey Koskie was last year who had to retire again after feeling more side affects of his concussions.
The bullpen does scare me - and the two people that I heard as prospective veterans that the Cubs were interested in (Chan Ho Park and Kiko Calero) don't woo me any. Grabow/Marmol should be a good 8/9th inning, but they need someone reliable for that 7th.
At least the hitting coach is someone that is known to be good, not some guy that who knows how he's going to be or if he'll be able to help.
I'm not fond of Jeff Baker at 2nd base, but to me that's the only position player that leaves me wanting more. I have no idea how he's going to turn out. I really wish we could have kept DeRosa.
Let's hope Lilly misses minimal time with no ill affects, and this should be a good year.
Quote from: Mike Clark on January 27, 2010, 01:10:50 PM
I
I would also have to disagree with no one making big moves. I believe the Phillies think they got better. I do not even agree with the move. But does it get any ballsier or bigger than what they did.
Again, I said nobody in the DIVISION made any huge acquisitions. I don't believe the Phils switched to the NL Central this year.
I heard Soto was 40 lbs lighter and that shocked me. Either he was way fatter than I realized or he was on steroids. Lets hope he was just a fatass.
The key this year is staying healthy overall and getting Soriano and Soto to bounce back to 2007 form. We were 5 above .500 last year and had 3 everyday guys (Soriano, Bradley, Soto) have unusually long stretches where they were just automatic outs. Aramis missed half the year and did not get to 500 AB's for only the 2nd time in his last 9 seasons. He's 31, he should be fine this year. It seems likely that we'll improve on last year offensively.
Dan,
My mistake. I did not read carefully. I am coming from the point of winning a World Series. I think just looking at the division is a little short sighted. This teams needs to win very soon. They are not getting any younger. I do not hink they have gotten any better and others teams have. They have actually gotten worse over the past 3 years.
Maybe they are not in the division. If they make it far enough the Cubs are more than likely going to have to play the Phillies to get to the World Series.
I guess we just have different expectations from the team. Don't you want them to do everything they can to win a World Series as soon as possible? Its not they have a good farm system and are building for the future.
Pitner,
Soto losing 40lbs is kinda scary to me given the recent PED history in baseball. I hope he just got his fatass in shape like Dan said.
Byrd - I would rather the Cubs have spent that money on Orlando Hudson instead of Byrd. Switch hitting, 4time-Gold Glove, All-Star, 2B. Not much power but I do not think the Cubs are lacking power except from the left side of the plate. Bryd doesn't address that issue just like Bradley didn't. Maybe they can still get him. But they have a lot of holes to fill with very little money according to the Cubs.
Quote from: Dan Michler on January 27, 2010, 10:54:43 AM
I said nobody made made huge acquisitions. The Cards had Holliday last year, hence its not a new acquistion.
I see your point, but Holliday was only signed thru the end of the season. To resign him, long term was a big acquistion, to Cardinal fans. As long as Pujols doesn't get mad that Holliday's contract was bigger than his, and want out. But being that everyone that goes to St.Louis, sees the greatest fans in baseball everyday, and most are content on finishing their careers there.
Quote from: pdga#7648 on January 27, 2010, 03:14:45 PM
Quote from: Dan Michler on January 27, 2010, 10:54:43 AM
I said nobody made made huge acquisitions. The Cards had Holliday last year, hence its not a new acquistion.
I see your point, but Holliday was only signed thru the end of the season. To resign him, long term was a big acquistion, to Cardinal fans. As long as Pujols doesn't get mad that Holliday's contract was bigger than his, and want out. But being that everyone that goes to St.Louis, sees the greatest fans in baseball everyday, and most are content on finishing their careers there.
There is no way Pujols will ever leave St. Louis in his prime. The mere fact that I want it to happen so much will stop it from happening.
lol. That's not nice Dan. Why would you want him out of St. Louis? He has said he wants to play his entire career there, but he has to be a little upset that Holliday signed the highest Cardinal contract of all time. Being that Pujols is 1 of the best ever, 1 would of thought nobody would touch his last contract. But this just proves St.Louis wants to win now. Pujols said go get players to help us win, or he would want to go elsewhere.
Could you imagine him playing 81 games at Wrigley as a Cub? He would hit 90 HR's, with probably 50 landing on the road out there.
QuoteI heard Soto was 40 lbs lighter and that shocked me. Either he was way fatter than I realized or he was on steroids. Lets hope he was just a fatass.
Soto was smokin dope and eatin food all last off season. Sounds like he got his shit together.
I could see Geo going from 220 to 180 or something and that being a healthy drop (I don't know what the actual numbers are). Hopefully his endurance is up. I have a rookie card of his that I should have sold after he won the ROY but I stupidly held onto it. He better have a comeback year :)
Does Holliday have Boras as his agent? If he does, that's why he's paid more than Pujols, and there's no reason in this world why he should be paid more than Pujols. *check* yes, Holliday's agent is Boras. Screw you Boras.
I do see that Pujols is a free agent in 2 years though, you better believe that if he's staying in St. Louis that they are going to have to pony up at LEAST $20mil/year, and I wouldn't be surprised if they have to go up to $25 mil on a backloaded contract. *sigh* if I could just have one of those millions... but I digress.
Hudson still isn't signed, so maybe the Cubs have hope (doubtful though) - he's not too old either, just turned 32 last month. He looks on track to sign with the Nationals (WHY???) and it's unfortunate that the Cubs couldn't get Matt Capps either - he also chose to sign with the Nationals so that he could close out some of their 50 wins that they'll get in 2010. He could have been a good setup guy in a bunch more than the number of games he'll get into for the Nats...
Hi Everyone,
Just checking to see if anyone has heard any rumors about when the Cubs regular season tickets might go on sale. I thought we usually heard by now. Want to make sure i didn't miss it.
Patti
???
Quote from: patti9103 on January 28, 2010, 01:53:17 PM
Hi Everyone,
Just checking to see if anyone has heard any rumors about when the Cubs regular season tickets might go on sale. I thought we usually heard by now. Want to make sure i didn't miss it.
Patti
???
Patti
Last year they went on sale 2-20. The announcement was made 2-3. Check their website next week for an announcement. If you want better food and better ball consider Sox tickets. ;D Hope all is well in Texas.
Thanks for the info Dave. I'm trying to set up a couple of trips to Chicago area this summer and need my Cubs fix. And if it works out I'll be able to go to IOS #3 in Oswego while I'm there. Looking forward to playing up there again. See YA'LL in June.
Patti
If you want better food without having to suffer through a trip to US Cellular, go see the Cubs play in Milwaukee.
Quote from: Dan Michler on January 28, 2010, 03:47:14 PM
If you want better food without having to suffer through a trip to US Cellular, go see the Cubs play in Milwaukee.
Dan- Have you been to US Cellular?
Quote from: Tom McManus on January 28, 2010, 05:12:30 PM
Quote from: Dan Michler on January 28, 2010, 03:47:14 PM
If you want better food without having to suffer through a trip to US Cellular, go see the Cubs play in Milwaukee.
Dan- Have you been to US Cellular?
Yes, I have.
Got my copy of Vine Line today which states that individual tickets go on sale Feburary 19th.
Wow, Thanks for the info for the ticket sales!!!! Looks like the cubs are out of town when I'm there. So probably will have to go to MKE to see them in June.
why go to US Cellular just to see a team hope they can hit a bunch of home runs as they slowly attempt to "run" around the bases. I did enjoy going to see the Indians vs White Sox and witnessing a Cleveland grand slam that landed near our area. K Wood also came in for the save. It was a perfect game for me.
To be fair- the food and seating area was great, but I'll take the north side team please :)
Quote from: Tom McManus on January 28, 2010, 05:12:30 PM
Quote from: Dan Michler on January 28, 2010, 03:47:14 PM
If you want better food without having to suffer through a trip to US Cellular, go see the Cubs play in Milwaukee.
Dan- Have you been to US Cellular?
Major League stadiums I've visited:
Wrigley
US Cellular
Camden Yards
Coors Field
old Indians
old Tiger Stadium
Skydome
Astrodome
Busch
Royals
old Milwaukee
new Milwaukee
Three Rivers
Veteran's Stadium
Oakland
Metrodome
Fenway
Candlestick Park
In my opinion the White Sox missed the boat when they built US Cellular in '91. The new wave of ballparks started with Camden Yards in '92. If you throw the Cell in with all the other parks built since '91, I believe it comes in dead last in terms of aesthetics. Look at Camden, Coors, PNC Park, San Fran, etc... These stadiums really take your breath away when you first walk in. I don't get that feeling from US Cellular. The facilities are fine and all very practical, but I don't think this is a destination stadium for fans across the nation. This is obviously just my opinion, but its an opinion based on firsthand data. I rank Coors Field #1. Its not like US Cellular is a total hole or anything. There is nothing
wrong with it. Its just not what I would call breathtaking. Its fairly bland, similar to the old Comiskey. Clearly, they could have done more if they had the fore-sight of those who built Camden.
I saw a concert last year at the new STL stadium. It's pretty awesome and very similar to Coors.
Ozzie publicizing that he now has a Twitter account so he can speak to his fans.
Lou says he doesn't know how to Twitter, won't be learning how to Twitter, and isn't a Twitter kind of guy. He's a baked potato and steak kind of guy. Ha! Gotta love Lou.
Lets just say I'm glad Lou is on our side.
Ozzie may be an idiot, but I am pretty sure he brought a Championship Ring to Chicago ;)
The Cubs #1 prospect and Top 25 prospect in all of baseball, Starlin Castro, seems to have done everything he can possibly have done at this point to prove he's ready for a shot at the Cubs starting SS position. He's hitting .545 through his 1st week of spring training after playing almost every day this week. He hit in A ball, AA ball, and was the MVP of the highly regarded Arizona Fall league last year. I realize he just turns 20 this year and has made a lot of throwing errors, but I'm hoping the Cubs give him a chance sooner rather than later. The Rangers had SS Elvis Andrus up at 20 years old last year with great success. Why not take a chance? We can move Theriot to 2B which is his more natural position. What is there to lose? If we don't try Castro, we are stuck with Jeff Baker or Mike Fontenot or Blanco (injured) at 2B. Not a lot of upside there. We can always send Castro back down if things don't work out. I refuse to believe that would mess up a player's development if he is truly destined to be a great player. My guess is the Cubs hold off on putting him on the Opening Day roster, but perhaps we'll see him on June 1st if he keeps hitting and we still have no options at 2B. God knows the Cubs are way past overdue on finding a long-term position player from their own system.
On a sidenote, I'm excited to be leaving for Arizona tomorrow. Going to see some Cubs spring training and play a lot of disc golf this weekend. Good times.
Unfortunately I think we will not see Castro till June. The Cubs will want to save a year on his arbitration eligibility. It a shame but it is the business of baseball.
The day I set aside to watch a game got rained out. I hope you have better luck. AZ has already had their yearly allotment of rain so they do not need anymore. According to my local sources that is.
Have fun!
Castro just keeps on hitting. 2 more hits and a jack yesterday. Tyler Colvin was 2 for 4 to lower his batting average to .533 this spring. He's another one that I expect to get the call this summer to add some depth to our weak outfield. Lou has spoken very fondly of Colvin in press conferences.
Is Soriano's contract the most depressing contract in baseball right now?
We've got him locked up through 2014. He makes 18MM this year.
Other contenders:
Vernon Wells through 2014 making 18MM per year.
Carlos Lee makes 17MM through 2012.
Barry Zito makes 18MM through 2013.
There is really no other realistic contender for this title as most of the other really bad contracts from before the recession expire this year or the next (Fukudome's 12MM is finally over in 2011!).
With as bad as Soriano has looked, I give him this award. His top end right now is to become an average hitter with terrible defensive skills. And we will be paying close to 20MM for that for this season, next season, the season after that, the season after that, and finally 1 more season. Really looking forward to these next 5 seasons in left field. What does Hendry have to do to get fired around here? Its like that episode of Seinfeld where George drags the World Series trophy around the parking lot but can't seem to get fired. Hendry has put together a solid resume with the Soriano, Bradley, and Fukudome contracts. Not to mention he gave Jeff Samardzija 10 MM so he wouldn't consider playing football. Somebody explain that one! And saying goodbye to Mark DeRosa was also an excellent idea. If these new owners value their money, they might want to find somebody else to spend it.
Quote from: Dan Michler on April 20, 2010, 06:54:07 AM
What does Hendry have to do to get fired around here?
If these new owners value their money, they might want to find somebody else to spend it.
Burn the pictures.
I do not think he will be around next year. He will be leaving with Lou.
Some rumors I have heard call it the John McDonough syndrome. Just follow the money trail. Not saying that all the Blackhawks signings are going to be as bad but they have spent lot of money on long term contracts since he has been President of the Hawks. Contracts that are unheard of in the NHL. Just like the ridiculous contracts the Cubs are stuck with. Can not say for sure because it is all inside the front office. But from the outside looking in it is fairy obvious.
This team is doomed in the near future. So sad.
finally, fans are starting to open their eyes.
and, not as sad as the last 101 years have been. I mean 102 :D
Quote from: Dan Michler on April 20, 2010, 06:54:07 AM
Is Soriano's contract the most depressing contract in baseball right now?
We've got him locked up through 2014. He makes 18MM this year.
Other contenders:
Vernon Wells through 2014 making 18MM per year.
Carlos Lee makes 17MM through 2012.
Barry Zito makes 18MM through 2013.
There is really no other realistic contender for this title as most of the other really bad contracts from before the recession expire this year or the next (Fukudome's 12MM is finally over in 2011!).
With as bad as Soriano has looked, I give him this award. His top end right now is to become an average hitter with terrible defensive skills. And we will be paying close to 20MM for that for this season, next season, the season after that, the season after that, and finally 1 more season. Really looking forward to these next 5 seasons in left field. What does Hendry have to do to get fired around here? Its like that episode of Seinfeld where George drags the World Series trophy around the parking lot but can't seem to get fired. Hendry has put together a solid resume with the Soriano, Bradley, and Fukudome contracts. Not to mention he gave Jeff Samardzija 10 MM so he wouldn't consider playing football. Somebody explain that one! And saying goodbye to Mark DeRosa was also an excellent idea. If these new owners value their money, they might want to find somebody else to spend it.
How do you think Soriano feels? 18 mil will cure a lot of the blues, but it must stink to know you are getting paid that much money and you are putrid.
Quote from: Dan Michler on April 20, 2010, 06:54:07 AM
Is Soriano's contract the most depressing contract in baseball right now?
We've got him locked up through 2014. He makes 18MM this year.
so you get to watch that gay hop before every catch for 4 more years? maybe he gets 2 M per inch on the hop???
Quote from: Tom McManus on April 20, 2010, 10:01:09 AM
How do you think Soriano feels? 18 mil will cure a lot of the blues, but it must stink to know you are getting paid that much money and you are putrid.
You would think he'd feel bad, wouldn't you? You would think it would make him open to suggestions from the team's batting coach on ways to improve, such as using a lighter bat (soriano uses the heaviest bat in the league) or opening up his stance. He has repeatedly refused to even test out these suggestions.
You would also think it would make him want to work hard to earn that 18MM and get back to where he was, right? From most accounts, Soriano likes to stay out late and is not usually one of the first ones to arrive at the ballpark.
Certainly he'll at least hustle and give 100% when he's on the field? Not even close! He refuses to lose the 'hop' either during a catch or after swings that he
thinks are homeruns. He doesn't put in the time to improve his embarrassing fielding skills and last night he hit a fly ball to deep center that he thought was leaving the park. He loped all the way to first before seeing the ball hit off the wall and then reaching 2nd standing up after the ball got away from the CF on the carom. He would have reached 3rd with 1 out had he decided to run on contact.
The point here is, I could give a shit how Soriano feels about his disgusting play. Work hard and play hard and maybe I'd respect him. Make 18MM and half-ass it and you can go fornicate with youself.
If I were this Philly security officer, I'd have this framed photo the size of my living room wall hanging up in my house.
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/13341892/phillies-fan-tasered-by-police-after-running-onto-field?tag=headlines;headlines (http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/13341892/phillies-fan-tasered-by-police-after-running-onto-field?tag=headlines;headlines)
Milton Bradley(notes) has asked the Seattle Mariners management for help in dealing with personal issues and is not likely to play much in the coming days.
Bradley was not in the starting lineup on Wednesday night against Tampa Bay, a day after he left the stadium following his benching by manager Don Wakamatsu.
General manager Jack Zduriencik says Bradley met with Wakamatsu and Zduriencik on Wednesday morning and told the pair "I need your help." Zduriencik says the team will do whatever it can to help Bradley.
Bradley told the Mariners management that his issues have put him in a position where he can't compete the way he expects and that "It's been a long time coming."
I love that 'its been a long time coming' when Bradley has been a Mariner for all of 1 month. Who would have guessed that this trade would go poorly for the M's? Oh wait.....
Sweet Lou, should be, and probably will be fired before seasons end! He is terrible! Terrible coach = terrible team. To be swept by the Pirates, says it all!!
Quote from: pdga#7648 on May 07, 2010, 06:21:48 AM
Sweet Lou, should be, and probably will be fired before seasons end! He is terrible! Terrible coach = terrible team. To be swept by the Pirates, says it all!!
There's an informed opinion....blame the manager. When Lou won the 1990 World Series, was he a terrible manager? Obviously not, since terrible manager = terrible team, according to your formula. As one who watches a lot of Cubs baseball, I've seen nothing that Lou has done to cost us games.
Lou did not assemble a defensively woeful team. Lou has nothing to do with Aram's .140 average or Lee's .220 average. Lou has done a good job of inserting guys off the bench who have gotten hot.
Blaming the manager 29 games into the season is just dumb. Its 29 out of 162. Looong way to go. Is it concerning that the bullpen has struggled to hold any kind of a lead? Clearly. Will Aram and Lee most likely bounce back from slow starts as they have throughout their careers? Probably. Do I think the defense sucks? 100%. Will we still finish above .500? Bet on it. Are we going to the playoffs? Too early to call........every team in the big leagues will have a rough patch at some point this year. Baseball is about patience.
Patience?????? how many years has he been the manager Dan? He had a great team 2 years ago, and choked in the playoffs.
And if it is not his job as a manager to help the team win, who's is it? He has nothing to do with his stars hitting .140 and .220?? Cmon you fool! sit their ass on the bench to open their eyes, or send em to the Peoria Chiefs to work on whatever is not right. Don't get swept by the worst team in the NL Central for 12 straight years, and just sit on your fat ass then get mad at reporters. He is like the rest of the team, PATHETIC.
A good manager, or even a decent manager, does not, for any reason, move his BEST starting pitcher to the bullpen. He needs 35 starts out of his #1. If he doesn't beleive in him, how does #2-5 go out to the mound with any confidence?
And you brought up the 1990 Reds he won the World Series with? 20 years ago, Lou probably cared about managing, and had something to prove as a manager. He did that. He has nothing to lose now. He can just sit there on the bench, shake his head, and have no worries.
The Cubs need an entire new everything... from the GM, to manager, to new stadium, and most of all, a new fan base. Cause the one they have now, has to be the worst in baseball! I have never seen any fans boo the home team more than the Cubs. But 101 years of losing baseball must be sour to swallow?
And if you really beleive that they may have a chance at the playoffs, you really are a fool. No way in hell! 102 will be true!
Patience??? how many years has he been the manager Dan? He had a great team 2 years ago, and choked in the playoffs. Kind of like the Cardinals last year, eh?
Cmon you fool! sit their ass on the bench to open their eyes Aram and Lee have sat on the bench multiple times this season.
send em to the Peoria Chiefs to work on whatever is not right Yes, lets send them to the minors. Is this your first year following baseball?
A good manager, or even a decent manager, does not, for any reason, move his BEST starting pitcher to the bullpen. He needs 35 starts out of his #1. If he doesn't beleive in him, how does #2-5 go out to the mound with any confidence? So Aram and Lee should be benched or sent to the minors for sucking, but Zambrano should be rewarded for sucking? I'm not following Doug. Gorzelanny 2.48 ERA 1.10 WHIP Silva 2.90 ERA 1.00 WHIP Dempster 2.95 ERA 1.03 WHIP.........yes clearly our rotation is suffering because of this move :rolleyes:
Cardinals were not a great team last year, just a good one.
Ok, the benching didn't work on several occaisions, something else needs to be done. Move to AAA, not necessarily the Chiefs.
Not my 1st year, I actually remember the 1982 World Champion Cardinals. But I know a failure when I see one, and LOU is!
And you mentioned 3 of 5 starters in a rotation. What are their W/L records? What are the other 2 bozo's #'s? Zambrano has a better chance at dominating a game as a starting pitcher, more than he does for just the 8th inning. Poor decision Lou.
And I wouldn't expect a Cub fan to see the reality. You see what your heart wants you to see. Losers year after year after year! I hope 1 day for your sake you actually get to see them win it all, but I'm sure no Dr. will invent a drug for you to take to live that long. Sorry buddy. You can always come over to the Cardinals side. We accept all fans, and know how to win World Series titles.. Just 1 rule before you are allowed. Just admit the CUBS suck, and your in! It's clear too see, must be as easy for you to admit! ;)
Starlin Castro 3 run jack! Welcome to the big leagues!
nice start Randy Wells. how many outs did you get?
1-0 good guys!
Quote from: pdga#7648 on May 28, 2010, 02:10:10 PM
nice start Randy Wells. how many outs did you get?
1-0 good guys!
Uh, he didn't get any outs, Doug. Geez, didn't you pay attention to the game?
lol, yes I did, and loved it.
no better time for the Cards bats to get hot, than against the Cubs. Cubs should win tomorrows game, facing a pitcher making his major league debut, but good luck facing Wainwright on Sunday.
not very hard to see who the ONE individual from the Cubs will be on the All-Star team.
Silva is looking awesome. He is in total control almost everytime he takes the mound. very impressive.
I read this article today and laughed.
http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/news/story?id=5275860 (http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/news/story?id=5275860)
I'm not taking either guy's side on that argument. I agree with Stone from the standpoint that I've been waiting to see Colvin play everyday for quite some time. Its definitely a tough situation for Lou with the outfielders we have. Stone should atleast suggest who he thinks Lou should sit instead of just saying Lou doesn't know how to handle young players.
Does he sit Soriano who is slugging .544 and leading the team with 10 HR and who we are paying $18MM/year for the next 4 years? Sit Marlon Byrd who is hitting .333 and leading the team in RBI's and is an excellent fielder? Obviously neither of those would make any sense.
So then you are left with Fukudome. We've waited 2 years with Kosuke after giving him the big contract which still has another year left on it. He looks like maybe he's starting to get the hang of baseball in the U.S. as his batting average and slugging percentage are both well above his marks from the past 2 seasons. Still, his ceiling is probably about a 20 HR guy with a decent on base percentage and excellent fielding. He's a major league caliber player, but Colvin has alot more potential and Kosuke isn't getting any younger. Its a tough call and its possible its not Lou's decision alone on whether Kosuke gets everyday playing time or not. Not fair for Steve to say Lou doesn't know what he's doing based on that.
If it were my decision, I'd start Colvin/Byrd/Soriano on a daily basis and have Kosuke play the role of filling in for Soriano in defensive situations late in the game. Either way, it doesn't change the complete lack of production from Lee/Ramirez which is the real reason for the Cubs failures this year. If Lee gets it going again like last year, I'm on board with trading him while he has some value. Colvin is a natural athlete and could probably pick up the 1st base position quickly. Then we'd have spots for all 4 for the remainder of the season. I'd also like to see Cashner in the rotation by the end of the year to see how he does.
CHICAGO (AP)—Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella announced Tuesday that he will retire at the end of the season, ending an often colorful career that included 18 years in the majors as a player and another 22 as a manager.
The 66-year-old Piniella said he was looking forward to spending more time with his family.
"I've grown to love the city and the fans but at my age it will be time to enter a new phase in my life," Piniella said in a statement released by the team.
Announcing his retirement now, Piniella added, gives the team time to find a replacement.
only took him 4 years to realize the CUBS cant win
Ryne Sandberg should probably be their 1st choice. But knowing the Cubs, they will probably give it to Trammell. Or call up Steve Stone as the new GM, cause in all honesty, Hendry needs to go as well!
There wasn't a Cardinals thread so I figure it'd be fitting to put this here. Houston we have a problem. Please stop scoring runs!
being just .5 games out of 1st, the Cardinals can afford to lose a few by lopsided scores. .5 games is not 14 games back, like the SCRUBBIES!!
If you miss the playoffs by 1 game you might as well miss by 15
dont worry. The Cardinals will not miss the playoffs by any games!!
clean house
go young
the fans will still pack the place
new owners better figure that out quick
I would have dealt Lee, Fukodome, Soriano, Zambrano, Ramirez
Quote from: airspuds on August 04, 2010, 03:59:26 PM
I would have dealt Lee, Fukodome, Soriano, Zambrano, Ramirez
Reality check. They did have a trade set up for Lee. He invoked his 5/10 year no trade privilege. Which I thought hurt the Cubs and was selfish on his part.
The rest have no trade clauses in their contracts. Not to mention the ridiculous amount of money tied up into those contracts.
Needless to say they are stuck with these players for the remainder of their contracts. Unless Zambrano and Ramirez have a remarkable turn around. Even then the Cubs would have to eat so much money in those contracts they would not be able to sign anybody worth while to replace them. They are stuck with Fukodome and Soriano.
Hendry took a huge gamble years ago to try and win a World Series and now the Cubs are going to pay the price for a few more years.
This website does a good job of describing the ludicrous contracts.
http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/chicago-cubs_112114177768677294.html
Quote from: Mike Clark on August 05, 2010, 09:07:16 AM
http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/chicago-cubs_112114177768677294.html
I like that Soriano gets a $75,000 bonus if he wins a Gold Glove. I'll bet Hendry had to think hard about that one. ::)
Ha! That is a good one Damon. They might as well made it a 1 Billion dollar bonus if he wins a Gold Glove. I think that money is safe!
I got my driver's license renewed the other day and saw the next renewal date was July 2014 and my first thought was that my daughter will be 4 years old at that time which made it seem really far off and then my next thought was that I'll still be watching Soriano play for the Cubs. Unreal. Its going rough watching that dude for 4 more years.
I found the part of Soriano's contract the stated he must donate $25,000 to both United Way and Cubs Care annually very interesting. You would think when paying someone that much money you wouldn't have to make that part of the contract. He is the only one with that stipulation in his contract. Pathetic!
It was amazing at the game Tuesday night when he made 0 effort for the short fly ball and then Byrd got a deep diving catch on each side in a few innings later in the game. Soriano is definitely a bum. Only thing that would make watching him worse is to hear the White Sox broadcaster hyping him up with all his worthless commentary. YES I SAID IT! haha
Quote from: Dan Michler on May 07, 2010, 07:26:31 AM
Quote from: pdga#7648 on May 07, 2010, 06:21:48 AM
Blaming the manager 29 games into the season is just dumb. Its 29 out of 162. Will Aram and Lee most likely bounce back from slow starts as they have throughout their careers? Probably. Do I think the defense sucks? 100%. Will we still finish above .500? Bet on it. Are we going to the playoffs? Too early to call........every team in the big leagues will have a rough patch at some point this year. Baseball is about patience.
well let's see.
Aram and Lee bounce back? nope
Defense sucks? you are 1-2 ;)
Playoffs? Really?
Rough patches? which one you pin pointing?
Patience? How thin is yours?
5th place now.... in case your focusing on The Bears and football already?
Strasburg needs Tommy John surgery according to articles I've read today. I have felt your pain x 2 Washington (see Prior and Wood). Not good for baseball in Washington either, as Strasburg had boosted attendance and brought hope for the future. Nothing they could have done though. Its possible his arm was overused at a young age like Wood's was in high school. Or its possible that its just genetics. Human arms are not meant for throwing hard overhand pitches.
Hopefully his comeback will go better than Wood's. We'll see, but coming back after this surgery often involves changing your delivery like Kerry Wood had to do with his slider. His slider was never nearly as devastating as it was before the surgery. It sucks to see yet another bright future get dashed so quickly.
I hate to say it but I knew this kid's arm would unravel eventually, just never though it would happen his first year. I'm sure throwing 100+ mph (supposedly) for 3 years in college and all the innings he piled up there probably didn't help much. Experts and pitching coaches stated before he was drafted that there were problems with his delivery. Don Cooper specifically said that it looked similar to Wood and Prior's.
Quote from: pdga#7648 on August 04, 2010, 10:41:28 AM
dont worry. The Cardinals will not miss the playoffs by any games!!
Cards shutdown by Jeff Samardiza. That is brutal. Cubs 6-4 versus the Cards this year. Cards 7 games back and on life support with about 15 games left. Wasting yet another vintage Pujols season and a Cy Young caliber season by Wainwright.
once again, I do agree.
PISS POOR!
but actually the Cards have 20 games left.
I think I remember Philly having a 6.5 games lead in 1980 something, with only 12 games to play, and they didn't win the division.
The FAT LADY is warming up her voice, but not singing yet, like she has been for your loveable losers since June!
Cubs now 8-4 against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2010. Are you still holding out hope that the Cards will make this 8 game deficit disappear Doug?
Also, you pointed out earlier that the Cubs should fire Lou because of their poor record against the Pirates this year. Is it not just as bad for the Cardinals to be getting their butt kicked by the next-to-last-place Cubs this year? The Cardinals have just totally collapsed. Houston may actually pass them in the standings.
August 14th they were 65-49 coming off a sweep of the Reds and pulling to within 1 1/2 games of 1st place. Since then they have played 12 games under .500 compared to the Reds 5 games over .500. All the key elements have been on the field this whole time..Carpenter, Wainwright, Pujols, Holliday....so who else can you blame besides LaRussa?
I have to point this out because if the Cubs had gone through this incredible late season debacle, you'd certainly be letting me know about it! :D
I have watched the Cubs back to back nights for the first time all year. I'm glad Big Z is looking so good. I'm hoping he can win out so we can send his a$$ out of town. The cousins from the other side of the family are coming up next Friday for the game. Can't wait to ride them about the total collapse.
Quote from: Dan Michler on September 16, 2010, 05:11:51 AM
Cubs now 8-4 against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2010. Are you still holding out hope that the Cards will make this 8 game deficit disappear Doug?
Also, you pointed out earlier that the Cubs should fire Lou because of their poor record against the Pirates this year. Is it not just as bad for the Cardinals to be getting their butt kicked by the next-to-last-place Cubs this year? The Cardinals have just totally collapsed. Houston may actually pass them in the standings.
August 14th they were 65-49 coming off a sweep of the Reds and pulling to within 1 1/2 games of 1st place. Since then they have played 12 games under .500 compared to the Reds 5 games over .500. All the key elements have been on the field this whole time..Carpenter, Wainwright, Pujols, Holliday....so who else can you blame besides LaRussa?
I have to point this out because if the Cubs had gone through this incredible late season debacle, you'd certainly be letting me know about it! :D
Larussa is not the problem. The middle relief pitching we don't have is the problem. And Pujols, Holliday can't hit for shit. Wainwright, Carpenter, and Garcia couldn't lose through July. Now the 3 can't win a game to save their season. I can't put my finger on 1 thing, cause it's a number of things. Yes, we folded. Very hard to swallow since us St. Louis fans are not use to this, we usually win. But no matter how bad we played this year, we are still 10 games better than the Cubs overall, and it's only been 4 years since we last played in a World Series, not 102 :D
If the Cubs want to win, they better sign Joe Torre as the new manager!!!
and, you got to go back and reread what I was saying about LOU. He had alot of talent the last 3-4 years and the best record in all of baseball, and couldn't win. Tony has Pujols, and 2 pitchers Wainwright and Carpenter. And usually always fighting for 1st in the division, and making the playoffs. Hard to win with 3 guys, like it was for the Cubs to win with 9.
The Cards have alot of work to do this offseason.
#1 goal = Sign Pujols for the rest of his career.
#2 resign Larussa( Pujols already said he wants Tony as his manager for entire career( Pujols reason = Tony is all about winning. You may not agree with a decision, but it is intended for team to WIN) Alberts main goal!
#3 Get some middle inning pitchers.
#4 get some infielders. Ryan, Schumacher aren't the answer. And Molina needs a good backup. His tank is empty since September started.
#5 Fire the GM. He has no clue.
Heard something on the news tonight of rumors of Ozzie being considered as manager on the north side. If that ever happens i'll never root for the Cubs again.
Quote from: CEValkyrie on September 25, 2010, 08:29:50 PM
Heard something on the news tonight of rumors of Ozzie being considered as manager on the north side. If that ever happens i'll never root for the Cubs again.
I'm fairly certain they only discussed it because it is amusing to think about. I think Ozzie's consistently erratic behavior has assured the fact that the Sox are going to be his last major league managerial position.
My thoughts are that the Cubs are either going to throw a ton of money at a high profile guy like Torre, Girardi, or LaRussa; or they are going to go with Sandberg. If I was handicapping this, I'd give Sandberg a 63% chance at ending up with the job right now. I'll give Torre 7%, Girardi 6%, LaRussa 3%, Bobby Valentine 1%, Dusty Baker 0.00001%, and the field 19.99999%.
Another not-so-memorable season in the books. The only play I'll remember is the one where Soto had a base stealer dead to rights at second base, but for some reason Castro pulled his glove up well before the runner arrived. As I was commenting on the strangeness of the play, my wife went into labor.
My personal picks for the awards if I had a vote (which I clearly should due to my vast wealth of baseball knowledge).
AL MVP - Miguel Cabrera.
He slugged .622 with 38 HR in one of the worst hitters parks. Hamilton a close second. Hamilton slugged .633 with 30 HR in a great hitters park on a great hitting team. He only played 130 games to Cabrera's 150. Neither is gold glove material. Cabrera's team went nowhere and Hamilton's won the division. Very close call, but to me Cabrera's season was too monstrous to ignore. Had he played for a winner, it would be no contest. He certainly did his part.
NL MVP - Albert Pujols
This is another really close race. Votto slugged .600 to Pujols .596. Votto plays in the better hitter's park. Pujols played 159 games to Votto's 150. Pujols with 42 HR to Votto's 37. Votto 16 SB, Pujols 14. Votto .424 on base to Pujols .414. Pujols led the NL in RBI. Votto's team ultimately defeated Pujols' team. Both play a solid 1st base. To me, Pujols is still the most valuable player. Without him, the Cards go from 2nd place to 5th place.
AL CY - Felix Hernandez
To me this shouldn't even be close. By far the best pitcher in the AL. League leading 2.27 ERA, league leading 232 K's. 249 IP. Just 70 walks. Absolutely dominant. Record was 13-12, but he had the College of Lake County girls volleyball team hitting behind him.
NL CY - Roy Halladay
2.44 ERA. 21 Wins. 250 IP. 219 K's. Just 30 Walks! 9 complete games and 4 shutouts, including a perfect game. His 3rd straight season of 9 complete games. Unbelievable. Too bad for Wainwright who probably should have won the award last year, but some of his votes were siphoned over to Carpenter and Lincecum walked away with the award. Wainwright with 20 wins 2.42 ERA. 213 K's. 56 Walks. 230 IP. 5 CG and 2 shutouts. Another awesome year, but he should unanimously be voted just the 2nd best pitcher in the NL.
Mike Quade is the new Cubs manager.
I'm sure many were pulling for Ryno, but this was probably the best decision. Quade spent more time managing in the minors than Sandberg and got 3 years of experience under Piniella on the big league level. Sandberg sounds like he's dejected and ready to move on to another organization, but hopefully he'll stick with it and be the best man for the job the next time around.
After going with more high profile managers with previous success the last 3 times (Baylor, Baker, Piniella), I'm happy the Cubs have gone with someone looking to succeed on the major league level for the first time. Hopefully Quade brings an energy to the clubhouse that has been lacking for quite some time.
hopefully Sandberg would be willing to do a bench coach role or something for a little while to continue to prepare instead of moving on to a different team. I would not have said Quade before, but he did a great job to finish out the season. The way they were playing I didn't expect the Cubs to come even close to 70 wins, much less the 75 or whatever they had at the end.
Quote from: Dan Michler on October 19, 2010, 10:26:51 AM
Mike Quade is the new Cubs manager.
I'm sure many were pulling for Ryno, but this was probably the best decision. Quade spent more time managing in the minors than Sandberg and got 3 years of experience under Piniella on the big league level. Sandberg sounds like he's dejected and ready to move on to another organization, but hopefully he'll stick with it and be the best man for the job the next time around.
After going with more high profile managers with previous success the last 3 times (Baylor, Baker, Piniella), I'm happy the Cubs have gone with someone looking to succeed on the major league level for the first time. Hopefully Quade brings an energy to the clubhouse that has been lacking for quite some time.
sorry to be THAT GUY again, but you said it yourself about Baylor, Baker, and Lou. 3 very good managers, that knew how to win. It's not the managers fault( again, you said it yourself a few pages back, about players slumping not Lou's fault) but the GM is the one who needs to go. Until then, the Cubbies will continue to be the Loveable Losers they have been your entire life!
But good luck to Quade. But Ryno deserved it.
same for the Cards. GM is a el douche. Letting Jocketty go was a HUGE mistake for St. Louis. He only need 2 seasons to get a poor Cincy team to win that division. Something the Reds hadn't come close to doing in 15 years.
TheRiot ends up with the Cards as their starting SS.
if he hits better than .212 then he will be a + for us. Ryan's defense was probably better, but Theriot can put up solid offensive numbers.
Hawksworth didn't do crap for us.
I saw that go by on the ESPN ticker last night and laughed. I am so glad I don't have to watch Theriot play another season in Chicago.
Not sure why anybody would put this guy in their starting lineup at the major league level. Below average range, well below average arm, basically zero power at the plate (just 19 of his 158 hits last year went for extra bases!), and he refuses to take a walk (pedestrian .320 OnBase% last year). Have fun St. Louis!
I seem to recall Lou Brock was a Cub that struggled, but when he got to St. Louis what happened? Oh yeah, only became the all time steals leader(until Ricky broke it) Everyone dreams of playing in front of the best fans in baseball. Theriot will have his best year ever as a Cardinal!
and if I really wanted to, I'm sure I could go back to all Dan's Cub Threads, and find some talk about how good Theriot is.
Just a Hater being a Hater since Ryan will now be playing on the team that is his favorite teams nemisis> Hilarious
Quote from: pdga#7648 on December 01, 2010, 07:36:45 AM
and if I really wanted to, I'm sure I could go back to all Dan's Cub Threads, and find some talk about how good Theriot is.
Just a Hater being a Hater since Ryan will now be playing on the team that is his favorite teams nemisis> Hilarious
I've bitched about Theriot constantly for 2 solid years, my wife can confirm this. Nobody wanted Castro to come up quicker than I did.