Another Chicago Cubs Offseason (1 Viewer)

[Mookie Blaylock]

I see more reasons to not like what they have done this offseason than to be upbeat about the upcoming season.That said, Bradley could have a huge impact on the offense. I hope Soriano is treated like the #5 hitter that he is.I like...TheriotLeeRamirezBradleySorianoSotoFontenot####udome

They won't put two leftys back-to-back like that at the bottom of the order. It makes it too easy to bring in a lefty reliever at the end of games and force Lou to empty the bench. I think the hotter of the two leftys (Fontenot and Kosuke) will flip-flop between the top and bottom of the order. I like the flexibility they have now. I know the Derosa deal left a bad taste in most everyone's mouth, but in my opinion they are now faster and better defensively - except for Bradley. If they stay healthy they'll contend again. Now let's see them go get some more pitching...

 

[Oh Yes!]

I see more reasons to not like what they have done this offseason than to be upbeat about the upcoming season.

That said, Bradley could have a huge impact on the offense. I hope Soriano is treated like the #5 hitter that he is.

I like...

Theriot

Lee

Ramirez

Bradley

Soriano

Soto

Fontenot

####udome

They won't put two leftys back-to-back like that at the bottom of the order. It makes it too easy to bring in a lefty reliever at the end of games and force Lou to empty the bench. I think the hotter of the two leftys (Fontenot and Kosuke) will flip-flop between the top and bottom of the order. I like the flexibility they have now. I know the Derosa deal left a bad taste in most everyone's mouth, but in my opinion they are now faster and better defensively - except for Bradley. If they stay healthy they'll contend again. Now let's see them go get some more pitching...

any news on rich hill?

 

[Mookie Blaylock]

I see more reasons to not like what they have done this offseason than to be upbeat about the upcoming season.

That said, Bradley could have a huge impact on the offense. I hope Soriano is treated like the #5 hitter that he is.

I like...

Theriot

Lee

Ramirez

Bradley

Soriano

Soto

Fontenot

####udome

They won't put two leftys back-to-back like that at the bottom of the order. It makes it too easy to bring in a lefty reliever at the end of games and force Lou to empty the bench. I think the hotter of the two leftys (Fontenot and Kosuke) will flip-flop between the top and bottom of the order. I like the flexibility they have now. I know the Derosa deal left a bad taste in most everyone's mouth, but in my opinion they are now faster and better defensively - except for Bradley. If they stay healthy they'll contend again. Now let's see them go get some more pitching...

any news on rich hill?

This is the most recent item I found with google: --LHP Rich Hill presents the Cubs with legitimate worries. Hill began the 2008 season as the Cubs' fourth starter, but he was sent to the minor leagues in early May, and he didn't return. The command problems that mysteriously derailed his 2008 season continued in Venezuela during winter ball. Hill was 1-2 with a 6.86 ERA. He struck out 16 but walked 23 in 21 innings. Hill remains on the 40-man roster, but the Cubs have not mentioned his name all winter, and he appears a longshot at best to even work his way into the picture come spring training.

Link

 

[boubucarow]

I see more reasons to not like what they have done this offseason than to be upbeat about the upcoming season.That said, Bradley could have a huge impact on the offense. I hope Soriano is treated like the #5 hitter that he is.I like...TheriotLeeRamirezBradleySorianoSotoFontenot####udome

They won't put two leftys back-to-back like that at the bottom of the order. It makes it too easy to bring in a lefty reliever at the end of games and force Lou to empty the bench. I think the hotter of the two leftys (Fontenot and Kosuke) will flip-flop between the top and bottom of the order. I like the flexibility they have now. I know the Derosa deal left a bad taste in most everyone's mouth, but in my opinion they are now faster and better defensively - except for Bradley. If they stay healthy they'll contend again. Now let's see them go get some more pitching...

Fontenot and Kosuke both hit just as well against lefties last year. If Fontenot is the type of hitter he was last year, he could hit #2 no problem. Same if Kosuke bounces back. But otherwise, I would want my top 6 hitters to hit in the top 6 spots in the lineup. Lee gets on base the most consistently of any Cub and would fill the bases for Ramirez and Bradley. Soriano is the typical all or nothing type of #5 hitter and his hot streaks would be more beneficial with higher OBP guys like Ramirez and Bradley in front of him. Keep in mind that Theriot while was a good leadoff man last year aside from his horrible base stealing but his lack of true plus speed, lack of range at shortstop, and his lack of power make him expendable if he takes a dip in batting average more than any Cub aside from CF. Fontenot or Kosuke would be viable leadoff men in that case if they both still get on base 35-40% of the time. Defensively, Theriot is probably below average at short, Ramirez regressed a bit last year, and we probably have two left fielders and one right fielder in our outfield at best. Barring injury or a bullpen breakdown, centerfield unless Kosuke rebounds or Pie finds himself this year is probably the position that will need to be addressed the most come trade deadline.

 

[Wrigley]

I'd really like to see a line up something like this

Theriot/Miles®

Fontenot(L)

Ramirez®

Bradley(L)

Lee®

Soriano®

Soto®

####udome(L)

OBP at the top, with a nice balance of Lefty/Righty

Sweet Lou would never have the balls to try this........but it would work.

 

[Sweetcan]

How bout this line-up:

Roberts (s)

Theriot/Miles ®(s)

Ramirez ®

Bradley (s)

Lee ®

Soriano ®

Soto ®

####udome/Johnson (l)®

That's Brian Roberts.....Can we go out and get an actual lead-off hitter to complete this line-up please? Theriot is best hitting second, 22sb and being caught 13 times just doesn't get the job done at the top of the order.

 

[boubucarow]

We all agree on one thing. Soriano is not a leadoff hitter and I will have a hard time respecting Piniella as a manager if he puts him up there again.

 

[Oh Yes!]

We all agree on one thing. Soriano is not a leadoff hitter and I will have a hard time respecting Piniella as a manager if he puts him up there again.

i dont think lou thinks hes a lead off hitter either. but soriano does, and thats all that matters.

 

[Spartans Rule]

We all agree on one thing. Soriano is not a leadoff hitter and I will have a hard time respecting Piniella as a manager if he puts him up there again.

It's a great move by Piniella to have Soriano bat first.Statistical studies have shown that batting order is not nearly as important to run production as people think it is. But it's very important to Soriano's run production, because if you don't lead him off he'll piss and moan like a spoiled child and underachieve.Overall, the Cubs will score more runs with a good power hitter at the top than with a mediocre power hitter in the "right" spot.

 

[Sweetcan]

We all agree on one thing. Soriano is not a leadoff hitter and I will have a hard time respecting Piniella as a manager if he puts him up there again.

It's a great move by Piniella to have Soriano bat first.Statistical studies have shown that batting order is not nearly as important to run production as people think it is. But it's very important to Soriano's run production, because if you don't lead him off he'll piss and moan like a spoiled child and underachieve.Overall, the Cubs will score more runs with a good power hitter at the top than with a mediocre power hitter in the "right" spot.

Overall, the Cubs will score more runs with a good power hitter at the top than with a mediocre power hitter in the "right" spot.

No.....Pissing and moaning or not, Soriano averages about 75-80 extra-base hits a year playing a full slate of games no matter where he is in the line-up....I wouldn't call that "mediocre power." 1-5 cub hitters will have higher OBP than him and therefore the cubs will score more runs with his bat in the 4-6 hole, if they can fill that void in the lead-off spot. Gimme Roberts

 

[MrPhoenix]

I'd love if Soriano became a #2 or #3 guy. He doesn't have the OBP for a leadoff guy and he doesn't run as much as he used to. More RBI's would be just swell for my fantasy squad.

 

[Spartans Rule]

We all agree on one thing. Soriano is not a leadoff hitter and I will have a hard time respecting Piniella as a manager if he puts him up there again.

It's a great move by Piniella to have Soriano bat first.Statistical studies have shown that batting order is not nearly as important to run production as people think it is. But it's very important to Soriano's run production, because if you don't lead him off he'll piss and moan like a spoiled child and underachieve.Overall, the Cubs will score more runs with a good power hitter at the top than with a mediocre power hitter in the "right" spot.

Overall, the Cubs will score more runs with a good power hitter at the top than with a mediocre power hitter in the "right" spot.

No.....Pissing and moaning or not, Soriano averages about 75-80 extra-base hits a year playing a full slate of games no matter where he is in the line-up....I wouldn't call that "mediocre power." 1-5 cub hitters will have higher OBP than him and therefore the cubs will score more runs with his bat in the 4-6 hole, if they can fill that void in the lead-off spot. Gimme Roberts

Soriano has a career OPS of .893 when leading off.His career OPS in the 5 spot is .824, and his highest at any spot other than leadoff is .833 in the 6th spot (in an insignificant number of AB).He wants to lead off and he plays better when he does. Piniella understands this.

 

[Sweetcan]

We all agree on one thing. Soriano is not a leadoff hitter and I will have a hard time respecting Piniella as a manager if he puts him up there again.

It's a great move by Piniella to have Soriano bat first.Statistical studies have shown that batting order is not nearly as important to run production as people think it is. But it's very important to Soriano's run production, because if you don't lead him off he'll piss and moan like a spoiled child and underachieve.Overall, the Cubs will score more runs with a good power hitter at the top than with a mediocre power hitter in the "right" spot.

Overall, the Cubs will score more runs with a good power hitter at the top than with a mediocre power hitter in the "right" spot.

No.....Pissing and moaning or not, Soriano averages about 75-80 extra-base hits a year playing a full slate of games no matter where he is in the line-up....I wouldn't call that "mediocre power." 1-5 cub hitters will have higher OBP than him and therefore the cubs will score more runs with his bat in the 4-6 hole, if they can fill that void in the lead-off spot. Gimme Roberts

Soriano has a career OPS of .893 when leading off.His career OPS in the 5 spot is .824, and his highest at any spot other than leadoff is .833 in the 6th spot (in an insignificant number of AB).He wants to lead off and he plays better when he does. Piniella understands this.

I understand the following point:

He wants to lead off and he plays better when he does. Piniella understands this.

However just because his OPS is higher(and he's happier or whatever) in the lead-off spot does not necessarily translate into more runs for the team. All it means is statistically he has had more extra-base hits leading off. What matters most in determining maximum team runs scored is sticking your high OBP guys in front of the high OPS guys. Theriot, Lee, Ramirez, Soto, ####u, R. Johnson all had higher OBP and lower OPS than Soriano last year (Ramirez had a higher OPS by .005). So Soriano's .898 OPS is wasted batting first. According to your stats .824 and .833 for Soriano in the 5 and 6 hole....not too shabby, actually Lee's OPS was .823 and he hit 3rd driving in 90. The cubs don't really have a big problem hitting the ball as a team so this is all just for argument's sake.If I'm the Sweet Lou, tough #### if my player prefers hitting 1st instead of 5th or 6th if he produces more runs in the middle to help my team win games.

 

[Oh Yes!]

dammit, the cubs traded my homeboy pie. sent him to baltimore for LHP Garrett Olson and RHP Henry Williamson.

 

[Sudoku_in_the_Bathtub]

Will be bummed if the Pie deal doesn't lead to Peavy. (Padres have been linked to him a number of times)

If not, not too thrilled what they got in return. Was thinking we'd be getting Brian Roberts if we ever dealt with the O's.

 

[Wrigley]

dammit, the cubs traded my homeboy pie. sent him to baltimore for LHP Garrett Olson and RHP Henry Williamson.

Cubs took it in the ### this trade(insert Limpys joke here).Nice to see them just giving away talent.

Truth be told, Sweet Lou never liked the guy...........and now he's gone.

 

[Sweetcan]

Hendry said this about Garrett Olsen:

"We felt we had a chance to add some pitching here," Hendry said. "You can't have enough people in the mix. The left-hander [Olson] is an interesting guy. He probably was a little quick to the big leagues last year. If he was with us here, he would've been in [Triple-A] Iowa."

I guess "interesting guy" means unproductive....Olsen started 26 games had 132 innings pitched and gave up 168 hits! He K'd 83 while walking 62 all with a MOLDY 6.65 ERA!

I'm not saying Pie was worth a whole lot, but at least he brings above average speed and defense to the table. Hendry just traded him for arguably the worst starting pitcher in the major leagues last year!!!

This is the second horse#### trade made by Hendry this offseason (DeRosa)......Jeff Stevens, John Gaub, Chris Archer, Henry Williamson, and Garrett Olson all had DAMN WELL better be on the Padres wish list. Otherwise MLB needs to test Jim Hendry for pot.

 

[MrPhoenix]

Hendry said this about Garrett Olsen:

"We felt we had a chance to add some pitching here," Hendry said. "You can't have enough people in the mix. The left-hander [Olson] is an interesting guy. He probably was a little quick to the big leagues last year. If he was with us here, he would've been in [Triple-A] Iowa."

I guess "interesting guy" means unproductive....Olsen started 26 games had 132 innings pitched and gave up 168 hits! He K'd 83 while walking 62 all with a MOLDY 6.65 ERA!

I'm not saying Pie was worth a whole lot, but at least he brings above average speed and defense to the table. Hendry just traded him for arguably the worst starting pitcher in the major leagues last year!!!

This is the second horse#### trade made by Hendry this offseason (DeRosa)......Jeff Stevens, John Gaub, Chris Archer, Henry Williamson, and Garrett Olson all had DAMN WELL better be on the Padres wish list. Otherwise MLB needs to test Jim Hendry for pot.

There is truth in what Hendry is saying. He might have been rushed.He had about 22 starts in AAA before being called up to the show, hardly a full season. Before that, he got 14 starts in AA after 17 starts in high-A.

His track record in the minors is good, albeit limited. Still, the Cubs got raped here. Pie still has upside. Not sure about Olsen anymore.

 

[pantagrapher]

Cubs might get own channel.

 

[Wrigley]

Cubs might get own channel.

This would be ####### awesome.

 

[Sweetcan]

Cubs might get own channel.

This would be ####### awesome.

Sorry babe, my remote now.....and always

 

[Wrigley]

Cubs might get own channel.

This would be ####### awesome.

Sorry babe, my remote now.....and always

I would never leave my mantuary.

 

[Wrigley]

Cubs Trade Olson(get Heilman)..........guess getting Peavy is not going to happen

 

[harryhood]

Cubs Trade Olson(get Heilman)..........guess getting Peavy is not going to happen

so did the trade basically equal Felix Pie for Aaron Heilman? Does that sit well with Cubs fans?

 

[Wrigley]

Cubs Trade Olson(get Heilman)..........guess getting Peavy is not going to happen

so did the trade basically equal Felix Pie for Aaron Heilman? Does that sit well with Cubs fans?

no, but I thought they kind of gave Pie away anyway.

 

[pantagrapher]

Cubs Trade Olson(get Heilman)..........guess getting Peavy is not going to happen

Oof. Not quite the payoff I was expecting.

 

[Statorama]

Cubs Trade Olson(get Heilman)..........guess getting Peavy is not going to happen

Oof. Not quite the payoff I was expecting.

Heilman would do very well in San Diego's spacious ballpark...

 

[Oh Yes!]

well this should put us over the top

 

[Bluesbomber]

Kenny Williams said the Cubs appeared to be the best team in the NL this season over on WS.com.

 

[Wrigley]

Kenny Williams said the Cubs appeared to be the best team in the NL this season over on WS.com.

#### Kenny Williams!!!!

 

[Limp Ditka]

Kenny Williams said the Cubs appeared to be the best team in the NL this season over on WS.com.

#### Kenny Williams!!!!

..............and his World Series ring.

 

[Wrigley]

Kenny Williams said the Cubs appeared to be the best team in the NL this season over on WS.com.

#### Kenny Williams!!!!

..............and his World Series ring.

Good one, I forgot about that.

 

[Oh Yes!]

Kenny Williams said the Cubs appeared to be the best team in the NL this season over on WS.com.

#### Kenny Williams!!!!

..............and his World Series ring.

Good one, I forgot about that.

and #### his damn son who came up from the sophomore team to start at tailback for me for a few games in hikeschool. wasnt even good

 

[Wrigley]

Kenny Williams said the Cubs appeared to be the best team in the NL this season over on WS.com.

#### Kenny Williams!!!!

..............and his World Series ring.

Good one, I forgot about that.

and #### his damn son who came up from the sophomore team to start at tailback for me for a few games in hikeschool. wasnt even good

you forgot, car stereo stealing son.

 

[Wizards of Oz]

Kenny Williams said the Cubs appeared to be the best team in the NL this season over on WS.com.

#### Kenny Williams!!!!

Wow....even in the off-season Cubs fans can't resist trash talking the White Sox.

 

[Oh Yes!]

Kenny Williams said the Cubs appeared to be the best team in the NL this season over on WS.com.

#### Kenny Williams!!!!

Wow....even in the off-season Cubs fans can't resist trash talking the White Sox.

ok good one. :fart:

 

[Wrigley]

Kenny Williams said the Cubs appeared to be the best team in the NL this season over on WS.com.

#### Kenny Williams!!!!

Wow....even in the off-season Cubs fans can't resist trash talking the White Sox.

ok good one. :fart:

Just giving the facts.Um, why are the Cubs just giving away players?They received a bag of balls for both Rich Hill and Mike Wuertz.............I just don't get it.

 

[jagbag]

Um, why are the Cubs just giving away players?They received a bag of balls for both Rich Hill and Mike Wuertz.............I just don't get it.

Hill couldn't throw a strike ( I still wonder how he got so ####ed up), and Lou has no patience for that. I believe the PTBNL is based on how well Hill performs this season.The better he performs the better the prospect. Not a bad deal at all in my eyes.Wuertz is out of options I believe, and there's a good chance he wouldn't have made the team.He's a guy you just can't trust, you don't know who you're going to get when you call on him.Sometimes he's unhittable and the next day the SOB can't get an out.A couple years back though, the guy was lights out. I'm tired of living in the past though.

 

[joefootball]

I like what the Cubs are doing. Players out of options are being traded for prospects to try and replinish the farm system that is lacking. I agree Pie, Hill and Wuertz may have not made the team anyways so might as well get some youngs guys and see who pans out. I still dont htink Henry is done there is alot of good players out there on the cheap and he has a few more trading chips.

 

[Wrigley]

Single game tickets go on sale at 10:00am

 

[Oh Yes!]

Single game tickets go on sale at 10:00am

:subscribe:

 

[Wrigley]

Virtual waiting rooms suck ###

 

[Oh Yes!]

Virtual waiting rooms suck ###

yep, been staring at this ####### thing since 10

 

[Wrigley]

Virtual waiting rooms suck ###

yep, been staring at this ####### thing since 10

Got 3 games4 tix to each Cub/Card Sunday game, and Bleachers to a Sunday PIT game####### waiting rooms suck.

 

[Bluesbomber]

Nice score on the Cubs - Cards Wrig's. I know many of my Central Il. Cub fan friends would be jealous.

 

[Wrigley]

Nice score on the Cubs - Cards Wrig's. I know many of my Central Il. Cub fan friends would be jealous.

Can't miss Cubs/CardsI go on a yearly pilgrimage to STL, with a bus load of other Cub fans, for the series down there......always a good time.

 

[Oh Yes!]

Nice score on the Cubs - Cards Wrig's. I know many of my Central Il. Cub fan friends would be jealous.

Can't miss Cubs/CardsI go on a yearly pilgrimage to STL, with a bus load of other Cub fans, for the series down there......always a good time.

yeah unless you get black out drunk and wander around east stl

 

[Sweetcan]

Someone please tell me the game is on DirectTV somewhere?!?

 

[Oh Yes!]

as posted in ST thread

 

[Limp Ditka]

as posted in ST thread

Who'd of thunk it?