2007 Chicago Cubs

[stpitner]

So what do you think of picking up Pinella?  I think it's good because that means that the Cubs are ready to win NOW, not just hope they can rebuild steam 5 years from now.  I say take advantage of D.Lee in his prime now, get another good bat and a couple starters that are pitching well, and you're good to go.

I like the pick up of Alan Trammell as the bench coach.  I think he'll provide more for the team than Dick Pole was.  Larry Rothschild is back, I'm glad about that.  He did a good job with Rich Hill and I read some quotes from Bob Howry about how Rothschild helped him out quite a bit.

I don't know who I would like to see as the hitting coach.  I just want it to be someone that provided no information on how to help out Corey Patterson since none of that advice ever worked.

Who do you think will be back?  Pierre? Ramirez?  I like Matt Murton, but unfortunately he doesn't have enough pop in him right now to be effective enough.  Picking up someone like Soriano in left would be amazing.  If Pierre stays the Cubs HAVE to have a good 2nd hitter because you can't have Pierre get on and then the next guy up swing at the first pitch into a double play before Pierre can steal a base.  Theriot has good promise as a 2nd place hitter (dare I say ... Sandberg-ish?)  only time will tell on Theriot.

[CEValkyrie]

I'm a Cubs fan and i'm not looking forward to 2007. We have the exact same needs as we did last year. Maybe the Cubs wills spend this 110 Miillion that is rumored to get a few guys. It still won't fill the void of what we need.

CF--Pierre will be gone so we'll need a CF.
LF-- Murton sux.
RF--Jones is ok but strikes out a shit load.
SS--Just like last year we need a Shortstop. Cedeno is terrible! Oh yeah! Had we signed Furcal in 2006 Lee would not have been run over and injured the whole damn year.
2B--I really have no clue how good our 2B is. I quit watching games last year.
1B--Lee is a stud
3B--Aram is gone so we'll need to fill his shoes.
C--Barrett--One of the better hitting catchers in the NL.

The pitching staff is ridiculous.  The only decent pitcher we have is Z. No other pitcher was over .500 for the Cubs last year. 2nd in wins was 6 games. What a JOKE!  Prior & Wood are no more. My prediction is that Prior will pitch less than 50 innings next year that that's a long shot. His shoulder is done.  He'll be ready to go by the end of May. We'll be outta it by June anyway so it will be perfect timing for him to pitch several games and go on the shelf again. Dempster was just awesome last year and should blow double digit saves.

So we need RF, SS for sure. Possibly CF & 3B. We also need at least 2 starting pitchers and a closer. It's not going to be good. Hopefully the division gets really bad.

[Dan Michler]

I'm a Cubs fan and i'm not looking forward to 2007. We have the exact same needs as we did last year. Maybe the Cubs wills spend this 110 Miillion that is rumored to get a few guys. It still won't fill the void of what we need.

CF--Pierre will be gone so we'll need a CF.
LF-- Murton sux.
RF--Jones is ok but strikes out a shit load.
SS--Just like last year we need a Shortstop. Cedeno is terrible!
2B--I really have no clue how good our 2B is. I quit watching games last year.
1B--Lee is a stud
3B--Aram is gone so we'll need to fill his shoes.
C--Barrett--One of the better hitting catchers in the NL.

The pitching staff is ridiculous. The only decent pitcher we have is Z. No other pitcher was over .500 for the Cubs last year. 2nd in wins was 6 games. What a JOKE! Prior & Wood are no more. My prediction is that Prior will pitch less than 50 innings next year that that's a long shot. His shoulder is done. He'll be ready to go by the end of May. We'll be outta it by June anyway so it will be perfect timing for him to pitch several games and go on the shelf again. Dempster was just awesome last year and should blow double digit saves.

So we need RF, SS for sure. Possibly CF & 3B. We also need at least 2 starting pitchers and a closer. It's not going to be good. Hopefully the division gets really bad.

don't worry cubs fans!  Brett hates the cubs and seems to enjoy them sucking.  don't let his negativity get you down, I'll post why we are going to be the best in the NL in 2007 a little later.........

[stpitner]

Valid points.  A couple comments though.

CF --- If they are increasing the budget, they could have enough to get Pierre back.  It just might cost $11-$12 mil, hopefully Pierre liked it enough to stay.
LF --- They have to get a player than will knock in more than just 62 runs.  Murton just isn't the answer right now.
RF --- I'm hoping that a good hitting coach will help improve Jacque.  He strikes out less than Sammy (eg. Sammy in '03 struck out once every 4.05 plate appearances, Jacque in '06 - 1 in 4.89 appearances)  It's definitely a stat to improve, but Jacque tied a career best in homers (27) and he's more of a gap hitter anyway (31 doubles compared to Sammy 22 doubles in '03).  I like Jacque's lefty bat too.  I didn't like how he didn't keep his head in the game on some throws home as well as running some of the bases.  Let's hope a new coaching staff helps that out.
SS --- I doubt Cedeno will keep this job as long as Cesar Izturis comes back healthy.  Izturis is a GREAT shortstop, and would be a great #2 hitter or a good hitter around the pitcher to keep the bottom of the lineup strong.
2B --- Theriot reminds me of one of those "pesky" players (Podsednik in '05, Pierre and Luis Castillo in '03).  He won't always hit for power, but he can hit the ball out and he's up there always thinking and playing hard.  At the game I went to at the end of the season I think he hit 2 homers and was just awesome.  The biggest question for him is how can he hold up over a full major league season?  He hit .328 in 53 games for the Cubs last year.
1B --- D.Lee rules. 'nuf said
3B --- It will hurt if Aramis goes.  I could see Hendry pulling this out though (especially if allowed to drop more cash on this season).  Without Aramis, the Cubs would have to look for something (and Arod is really not the answer).  I just don't know where they would go.
C --- I hope Barrett's feeling better after that foul ball to the crotch.  Henry Blanco (aka. Hank White) is a stellar backup too.

Starting Rotation - *sigh*  Yay for Zombie.  That dude's a horse.  Rich Hill is going to rock next year.  I just hope he doesn't forget what he learned in the 2nd half of the season when he goes into next season.  Sean Marshall probably could use some time in AAA.  Everybody else needs to go back to the minors and get that farm system back in better shape.  I doubt the Cubs can land Zito unless Hendry bows to the insanity of Scott Boras (I can't believe the money he makes teams shell out for players... craziness).  I don't know who else the Cubs can pick up, but they need to get at least 2 guys.  I don't know if Maddux will come back or not, but if he is good for another 15 wins like he was this year, then of course he's welcome back.  One guy to not forget about is Wade Miller.  He was starting to look pretty good in his last couple of starts.  Hopefully he can get himself to stretch out to more than just 5 innings.  As far as Prior, it's up to him to show the Cubs what he can do, and until he does, he can't be counted on.

Bullpen --- I feel bad for Demp.  It's just like that putt that looks fantastic and then blows right through the chains or pops out.  You feel like there was nothing wrong with the putt yet it still doesn't succeed.  Same story for demp.  It seemed like no matter how good of a pitch it was, they were still whacking it.  If the offense isn't as shaky and there isn't as much pressure on the bullpen to get it done, Demp will be fine.  The pen was definitely overworked last year.  Eyre and Howry? Studs.  Wuertz was getting it done too.  I'd like to see a better lefty-specialty guy other than "oh-man".  I wouldn't mind seeing Wood take the controls for the 7th or 8th (depending on where Howry is at), leave Eyre as the lefty specialist, and leave Dempster to do his job.  Confidence in your offense really helps the bullpen.


That's my review of the team... some agreements and definitely some disagreements.  I'd like to see an upgrade to the bench too.  I don't want to see two average players platooning an outfield position.  i want to see an above average or better player out there every day.  The two platooners are better off from the bench.

The central division already stinks, look at what the reds did and then houston at the very end.  Someone needs to take advantage of the weakness, and hopefully the time the Cubs will do something about it (and not have to worry about Furcal running to first base! - at least, not until the end of May this time lol)

[Dan Michler]

Okay people.  2006 was a frickin nightmare, but its over!  2007 is a fresh start and all I'm sure of with Piniella is that he's NOT Dusty Baker!!!

I wouldn't be too negative about next year until you see what offseason moves are made.  The Cubs DO spend alot of money.  More than any other NL team except the Dodgers.  We have alot of freed up money this year and there are a ton of bigtime guys that are looking for new homes.  I expect to see multiple significant moves made by the Cubs this offseason.  So atleast wait until March before you give up on next year

1B- D Lee baby!  hopefully a healthy 2007 will bring .300 30 100
2B- Theriot had a good September, but there are free agent possibilities here, Izturis could even end up playing 2B.
SS- Izturis is as good as it gets at short.  Cedeno's spot is obviously gone.  If we were to make an Arod deal, maybe Izturis moves to 2B.
3B- Aram is not necessarily gone.  We have to restructure his deal or he can option to test free agency.  I like Aram, I hope he stays, but we can win either way.
C- Barrett.  No problems there, he is on the upside of his career.
LF- Murton hit .297.  Little power.  I hope we get somebody else.
CF- Pierre was one of "Dusty's boys", I agree he is not coming back next year.  We'll need a new CF.  Felix Pie has been a big prospect in our system for a few years, maybe he'll finally get a chance at some point next year.
RF-Jones is a functional RF who doesn't make alot of money.  He plays solid defense and has speed.  We could move him to LF if we find a decent hitting RF.

Pitching...........Well we got Zambrano and Rich Hill.  After that I'm not really confident about much except for a couple bullpen guys (Howry).  But if you look at the NL, who has a really solid pitching staff top to bottom??  The Cards are in the W.S. right now with not much besides Carpenter.  I think if we get a solid starter (please dont' sign Zito), and if somebody steps up and closes games next year, we'll have one of the better staffs in the NL, with a really good #1 in Big Z.  The best thing about Z is he never gets hurt!!

Prediction:  The Cubs win the World Series in 2007.................................................................

[CEValkyrie]

I guess that is what pisses me the most about the Cubs in 06. The season was clearly over by the all star break. WTF were there no minor league OF's brought up to play. Why was Mabry allowed to stay in the lineup eating up 200 ABs when some young kid could have been evaluated in the big league at 1st base or OF.

[stpitner]

I don't think Pie is going to cut it.  Just a gut feeling, but I can tell how the cubs wanted to keep him back just in case they needed a bargaining chip.  With bringing up ALL of the minor league pitchers that were of any worth every other team in the world got to see how bad (or good in the case of Marshall or Hill for portions of the season) they are.  Their value has really diminshed.  Sure the cubs still have guys down there like Brownlie and Pawelek, but they are a couple years away from coming up to the majors.  Any move by the cubs to pick up a stellar outfielder or a someone to fill a hole created by Aramis (man I hope he stays) might require moving Pie.

Going to miss that 1.000 fielding percentage that Pierre had last season if he goes... didn't have to worry about any Ron Santo's classic "Oh NOOOOOO"'s with pierre out there (and yes, I know brant brown was playing left field not center).

I like the idea of Jones moving to left with picking up a heavy duty right fielder.  Maybe keep Jones in right and pick up Carlos Lee for left?

[Dan Michler]

I don't think Pie is going to cut it. Just a gut feeling, but I can tell how the cubs wanted to keep him back just in case they needed a bargaining chip. With bringing up ALL of the minor league pitchers that were of any worth every other team in the world got to see how bad (or good in the case of Marshall or Hill for portions of the season) they are. Their value has really diminshed. Sure the cubs still have guys down there like Brownlie and Pawelek, but they are a couple years away from coming up to the majors. Any move by the cubs to pick up a stellar outfielder or a someone to fill a hole created by Aramis (man I hope he stays) might require moving Pie.

Going to miss that 1.000 fielding percentage that Pierre had last season if he goes... didn't have to worry about any Ron Santo's classic "Oh NOOOOOO"'s with pierre out there (and yes, I know brant brown was playing left field not center).

I like the idea of Jones moving to left with picking up a heavy duty right fielder. Maybe keep Jones in right and pick up Carlos Lee for left?

carlos is definitely a premier free agent this year.  i really like him and he can run and play the field.  soriano is also out there to be had.  i don't like the fact that he doesn't take a walk, but the guy can flat out hit.  40/40 in a pitchers ballpark is impressive.  How about we sign Ortiz, move Lee to RF, then trade for Manny   might as well sign soriano for CF then and we'll sign Aram but then trade him for Arod.  then we'll also pick up jason schmidt to solidify that rotation.  i guarantee brett would be back on board for 2007 then!! 

[Chainmeister]

Coming from the other side (go Sox go!) I am optimistic about the Cubs for 2007 and 2008.  The team will spend money.  This off season will make or break Jim Hendry.  The Cubs will have a tough time trading for talent as they really do not have much with which to bargain.  However, they can carefully work the free agent market.  Also, they might be able to move any of their players with the exception of Lee and Zambrano and hope to get young but unproven talent.  They will need a balance between young players and established ones.  If Ramirez is a Cub next year he will either be sulking from day one or have the best year of his career.  He will dog it one time and have his behind handed to him by Pinella.  That will be the last time he will dog it. Dustydaze are over. With the right mixture the Cubs can hope to win 80-85 games in 2007 and then make their move in 2008.  However, its is really Hendry's game now.  It should be interesting.  If he fails to bring in new players, and lots of them, there should be a revolution.  If successful, Hendry will have more Cub fans like Dan.  If he fails, there will be more pissed off Cubs fans like Brett.  Regardless, Pinella will insist that they give a full effort every day.  They will compete in every game even if they have no pitching. I think 2006 was the low  point.  The Tigers low point was 2004.  Who knows...

In the meantime, I like the idea of A Rod in a Sox uniform.  Can't wait for opening day!

[Bruce Brakel]

All it tales is two or three good players to turn an o.k. team into a championship team.  Look at the Tigers. 

[stpitner]

And then if you have a team of all good players they are bound to choke in the first round of the playoffs (money can't buy everything Steinbrenner!)

[Dan Michler]

3B--Aram is gone so we'll need to fill his shoes.

You should always listen to me, Brett doesn't know what he's talking about 

ARAM staying baby!

[Tom McManus]

I don't think Pie is going to cut it. Just a gut feeling, but I can tell how the cubs wanted to keep him back just in case they needed a bargaining chip. With bringing up ALL of the minor league pitchers that were of any worth every other team in the world got to see how bad (or good in the case of Marshall or Hill for portions of the season) they are. Their value has really diminshed. Sure the cubs still have guys down there like Brownlie and Pawelek, but they are a couple years away from coming up to the majors. Any move by the cubs to pick up a stellar outfielder or a someone to fill a hole created by Aramis (man I hope he stays) might require moving Pie.

Going to miss that 1.000 fielding percentage that Pierre had last season if he goes... didn't have to worry about any Ron Santo's classic "Oh NOOOOOO"'s with pierre out there (and yes, I know brant brown was playing left field not center).

I like the idea of Jones moving to left with picking up a heavy duty right fielder. Maybe keep Jones in right and pick up Carlos Lee for left?

carlos is definitely a premier free agent this year.  i really like him and he can run and play the field.  soriano is also out there to be had.  i don't like the fact that he doesn't take a walk, but the guy can flat out hit.  40/40 in a pitchers ballpark is impressive.  How about we sign Ortiz, move Lee to RF, then trade for Manny   might as well sign soriano for CF then and we'll sign Aram but then trade him for Arod.  then we'll also pick up jason schmidt to solidify that rotation.  i guarantee brett would be back on board for 2007 then!! 

Is this going to happen o great fortune seer?

[stpitner]

After signing for 5-years there's no way Aramis is going anywhere in a trade.  I liked hearing that Jim Hendry said the Cubs were very interested in acquiring Soriano.  Even though Soriano is great at leadoff, just think what it would be like if he had Pierre ahead of him and make those 40 homers even more special.  I'd love to see Pierre stay, even at $10 mil a year.  If they want a championship, I say go for it.  The free agent market is great this year and they can get what they need.

Consider this lineup: Pierre, Soriano, DLee, Aramis, Jacque Jones, Barrett, Izturis, Theriot, pitcher spot

Sounds good to me.  Hopefully now that Soriano has had a year in Left field he can cut down on his 11 errors that he made last season at that position (certainly better than the 20+ error average he had per year at 2nd base!)

[stpitner]

Wow, completely unexpected move by the Cubs today.  The picked up Mark DeRosa on a 3-year deal to play second base.  No more thoughts of platooning Cedeno and Theriot at second, which I think is going to be great.  Get a solid guy for each position instead of swapping in and out two players that may or may not do good.  I like Theriot, but DeRosa has proven himself more.

DeRosa hit in the #2 hole for Texas last year, I think that's going to be a good fit for him again this upcoming year.

This signing is definitely a kind of message that Jim Hendry and Lou Pinella are definitely going to try to make a run at it next year.  It will certainly be nice to see who they pick up in the pitching department!

[Dan Michler]

I don't think Pie is going to cut it. Just a gut feeling, but I can tell how the cubs wanted to keep him back just in case they needed a bargaining chip. With bringing up ALL of the minor league pitchers that were of any worth every other team in the world got to see how bad (or good in the case of Marshall or Hill for portions of the season) they are. Their value has really diminshed. Sure the cubs still have guys down there like Brownlie and Pawelek, but they are a couple years away from coming up to the majors. Any move by the cubs to pick up a stellar outfielder or a someone to fill a hole created by Aramis (man I hope he stays) might require moving Pie.

Going to miss that 1.000 fielding percentage that Pierre had last season if he goes... didn't have to worry about any Ron Santo's classic "Oh NOOOOOO"'s with pierre out there (and yes, I know brant brown was playing left field not center).

I like the idea of Jones moving to left with picking up a heavy duty right fielder. Maybe keep Jones in right and pick up Carlos Lee for left?

carlos is definitely a premier free agent this year.  i really like him and he can run and play the field.  soriano is also out there to be had.  i don't like the fact that he doesn't take a walk, but the guy can flat out hit.  40/40 in a pitchers ballpark is impressive.  How about we sign Ortiz, move Lee to RF, then trade for Manny   might as well sign soriano for CF then and we'll sign Aram but then trade him for Arod.  then we'll also pick up jason schmidt to solidify that rotation.  i guarantee brett would be back on board for 2007 then!! 

Is this going to happen o great fortune seer?

No........That post was obviously sarcastic........I don't really believe we are going to get arod, ortiz, manny, and soriano this offseason.  however i did believe we could get Aram back................which we did!

[Dan Michler]

i'm expecting them to acquire 1 good starter. maybe schmidt or zito.  after getting aram back i have a feeling we aren't going to get Soriano as well.  but maybe Carlos Lee, in which case we would still need a CF.  i still think there is like almost no chance Pierre is coming back.  i'm also happy about derosa cuz it makes me feel pretty secure that we won't see much of cedeno next year.

[CEValkyrie]

I am shocked that Aram is back . I really thought he'd go for more money. Why would he want to stay with such a bunch of losers. Maybe he thought he wouldn't get it since he's labeled lazy & injury prone. This does mean he'll be on the DL all of 07.

What a fantastic signing of Mark DeRosa, NOT! $13 Million for a guy who has a career high of 135 games played and a .273 BA. Why not just keep Perez if you wanted a glorified utility man.

I love this quote from Hendry. He sounds confident in that signing.
"Our people really like him. We liked him a lot when he wasn't an everyday guy. We look at him in the second base situation as a quality guy there. We're hoping he can do the job for us."

[stpitner]

I am shocked that Aram is back . I really thought he'd go for more money. Why would he want to stay with such a bunch of losers. Maybe he thought he wouldn't get it since he's labeled lazy & injury prone. This does mean he'll be on the DL all of 07.

What a fantastic signing of Mark DeRosa, NOT! $13 Million for a guy who has a career high of 135 games played and a .273 BA. Why not just keep Perez if you wanted a glorified utility man.

I love this quote from Hendry. He sounds confident in that signing.
"Our people really like him. We liked him a lot when he wasn't an everyday guy. We look at him in the second base situation as a quality guy there. We're hoping he can do the job for us."

*sigh* the years of badness have worn you out Brett   He only played 136 last season because he was on the DL at the beginning of the season with an ankle injury.  After that he was pretty much an everyday player with the occassional day off.  He also hit .296 last year with career highs in a number of categories.  I think he committed a total of 5 errors last season (an important stat) because only 1 of those were at 2B (3 at 3B and 1 in the outfield).  So he's good defensively, and he has a little bit more pop than Theriot.  He also had 40 doubles last year, which is also huge because when the wind is blowing in at Wrigley, you want a gap hitter and not a home run or else swing-and-a-miss-strike-3 player.  The highest number of doubles by a Cub last year was Aramis with 38 and then Pierre with 32.  DeRosa and Barrett are also good friends, and I know Barrett works hard at trying to do his best.  Expect the same from DeRosa.

News just broke that Hank White (aka. Henry Blanco) just signed a 2-year deal with the Cubs.  That's really good news!  Best backup catcher in the league.  Hopefully he can help Barrett out some more with nailing guys at second.

[Dan Michler]

Is there something strange about him saying he hopes DeRosa can do the job for us?

Don't pay attention Scott.  Brett is from the Jay Mariotti school of sports watching.  Live in a town and bash all the sports teams in that town whether they are successful or not.