Filed under General
In your mind, what is the move Jim Hendry needs to make or not make? What should be the priority and who would you suggest we go after? Be realistic in your assessment. Keep in mind that if we bring in someone new, roster moves need to be made to bring them in and fit them into the 25 man and 40 man roster. I’ll try to chime in throughout the day if you guys take this and run with it, with my opinions on your suggestions. To get you started, I’ll throw out two names for you. What are your thoughts on bringing in Jermaine Dye and Corey Patterson?
I’d say NO to bringing CP back.
But a big YES to starting pitching help.
I’d really like to see some bullpen help, and maybe a bonafide CF.
Bring back Kenny Lofton!
No CP please. Nothing to do with him as a player, I just don’t want to see Korey Komments anymore.
Dye – yes..
C.P.. eh, not so much.
I think Jermaine Dye is a move that the Cubs should look at. But Kenny Williams might be real hesitant to help the Cubs go to the playoffs.
Also a new starter might be good. I read the Cubs were looking at Grienke (sp?) from KC. Which seems like it would be a great move. His ERA is 4.5 in the AL which could translate to high 3′s in the NL. I wish they could make this work.
Griffey is also a name that is thrown around which would be great but is highly unlikely because of his contract.
Greinke has been relief for the Royals this year, and the Cubs could use one more arm from the bullpen. But I also think he was a starter for a while. The big problem of course is what teams want to trade a good arm?
i think our starters are rotation is fine.
Z is a 1
lilly is a 2
Hill and Marshall are 3/4
and marquis is a 5.
i really dont want to bring wood back, i think him and prior are cancers.
i would like the Nat’s closer Cordero.
with Jones playing better, he will be easier to trade
I’ll throw a quick name out there for you:
Dontrelle Willis.
Think he could be dealt? I know he’s pitching horribly, but he’s still the man.
If anything, he could be a huge improvment at the 3/4 spot.
If we bring in a pitcher, it’s going to be Grienke or Steve Traschel.
Dontrelle won’t hit the market, so don’t hold your breath on that one.
Our rotation is OK at best.
Calling Woody a cancer is just ignorant. It’s not his fault. If he could come back on his own accord and help out in the bullpen in the fall that would be outstanding.
Cordero is overrated by many.
Why do you think he won’t hit the market? Just wondering. I was just throwing it out there.
Wood is anything BUT a cancer. If that’s how you view him, it’s the opinion of someone that has no clue how a Major League clubhouse works. Players root for each other when they’re struggling and injured.
Dontrelle won’t hit the market because of the fact that he’s huge in Florida. They’re working on a new stadium deal and need to keep the fan base happy. Trading Willis or Cabrera will never happen. Those two will be part of their plan.
I think we need:
1) An every day outfielder, either in center or right. (Griffey, Dye, Lofton, a long slow death, Patterson. In that order)
2) One or two arms in the pen.
3) Another starter.
What is Griffey’s contract?(The thought of Pie playing between Griffey and Soriano has me all giddy inside, so I am pretty certain it MUST happen)
Who would you give up? For what?
I understand that. The boos he got yesterday just got my wheels turnin. Just friendly discussion.
Wouldn’t mind Traschel, though.
I don’t see the Marlins trading much this July. They are waiting for a new crop of kids to season and mature, and losing one of only two quality veterans (Willis and Cabrera) would be injurious next year. The Cubs need to look hard for RF and ss this month. Jones and Izturis certainly aren’t the answers. I’d love to believe Fontanot and Theriot are the middle infielders of the future, but that’s still a long shot. Another solid relief pitcher would be nice, too.
Is Wood a cancer?
It was difficult being a Cubs fan the last 3 years. It was not the loosing, but the overall putrid attitude. Wood and Prior were definite parts of that.
It was a revelation to me in April that I liked this team, that even though they were not having success, I liked the way they were playing.
Joe, are you saying that if Wood comes back he will fit into the new Cubs?
I guess I have doubts about that.
Griffey or another RF that bats Righty!
I know it’s a long shot, but I’m still in love with the idea of picking up Adam Dunn. Soriano could move to right…
"What are your thoughts on bringing in…Corey Patterson?
Uh, punching you uncontrollably in the face?
No thanks. I think the morons in the bleachers are throwing enough trash on the field as it is, thank you very much.
I don’t know about Wood being a cancer. In a perfect world, he will make his comeback in early Spetmeber and provide a huge lift to our bullpen.
The culture surrounding Wood is different now. No one is hanging playoff hopes on him but I would like to think we still respect what he has accomplished. Anyway,
Corey Patterson – pass.
Kenny Lofton – I would like to talk about that some more. He was such a spark in ’03, could he do it again?
players do root for each other when they are injured. But its no suprise how well the Cubs are doing when they stopped relying on Prior and Wood to make starts. I guess its just me but if i was some rookie making the league minimum busting my tail every dayand wood was on the DL all year collecting 5 million a year, i wouldnt be to happy.
Maybe a cancer was a little harsh, but i do think he will mess with the team chemistry. I dont think he should be given a spot just because of his name.
It’s funny that you call Wood a cancer, because in every single article I have ever read he has been called a clubhouse leader who really helped the team. And losing him to injuries was a blow not only to our rotation, but to the clubhouse atmosphere.
The only people who are jealous of the kind if paychecks he collects on the DL are the fans and possible a couple of the players who are at minimum.
What was Wood supposed to do when he got injured…be a nice guy and opt out of his contract? I don’t think guys making league minimum are complaining too much, they are probably pretty satisfied with their $380,000/year.
The Cubs aren’t a tee ball team coached by Kerry Woods’ dad – I think they look at more then just the name, probably some statistics.
John:
I am from West Central Ohio, so I get plenty of chances to see the Reds play. I am telling you, we do no want Dunn. He strikes out more than Soriano, and he is absolutely the worst outfielder I have ever seen. I am serious. Watching Dunn play the outfield would make us want to relive the glory days of J. Jones and his glorious worm burners! Yes, Dunn would hit some homeruns, but he is not the answer. He belongs in the AL as a DH.
To everyone else,
Why are so many people wanting another starter. We have a rotation where none of the starters have a losing record, and the highest ERA of them is 4.03. I think most teams would be very happy with this. We have two YOUNG lefties, who will only get better, and we have Marquis and Lilly locked up for the next couple years. All we need to do is lock in Z to his contract, and we can be set with a pretty good rotation for the next 2-3 years. I am very happy with this.
The only move I see that could make is if we can unload Jones and get an everyday CF to finish out this year and make our run (Lofton). I would love to see that.
As far as the bullpen, I am confortable with Marmol, Howry, and Dempster (will be back soon, hopefully). Eyre is a waste of a roster spot, Ohman is very shaky. Mabye we should make a move to pick up a solid lefty out of the bullpen, as long as we don’t have to give up a ton to get one. I don’t know who would be available out there, do you Joe?
Also, I see that we just dumped Izturis on Pittsburgh for a PTBNL, and called up Jake Fox. Not sure where the Cubs are going with this. I figured we would jettison Izturis after the season, and keep his glove around for those games in late September and early October.
Octavio Dotel and Brad Lidge are probably the hottest relief names out their.
My personal first priority would be a starting RHP. For a couple of reasons.
1. I am not convinced that the rotation hasn’t over achieved a little in the first half. Z had it rough for a while, but Lilly’s numbers are the best in his career. Hill and Marquis both proved in the first half that mental and physical fatigue might be an issue. Last year Marshall had some second half issues. He hasn’t had to pitch as many innings this year, but I think it’s still a concern.
We’re going into the long hot part of the season, in a stretch run. The old saying, "You can never have enough starting pitching" keeps ringing in my head.
2. IF the Cubs could acquire a proven quality RH starting pitcher I think Hill or Marshall could move to the pen and help there. Eyre has proven his worth and Lou has lost confidence in him. A quality lefty who can take care of mid-long relief, situational matchups, and maybe even spot starts to keep the staff fresh would be great.
Two birds with one stone.
CF/RF and SS are valid concerns (in that order) but also I think we can’t have it all. An upgrade in the outfield would be nice, but the depth and versatility in the infield gives Lou a lot of options that even spread into the outfield with DeRosa. So I don’t think SS is a big issue at the moment.
My $.02 anyway.
Brian, you seem to be the only voice of reason on this board. Dunn is a strikeout machine who really should be a DH in the AL b/c of his issues with the leather. Griffey is an injury waiting to happen, and I think we’ve had enough experience with that sort of player over the last 4 years. And I really, really, really don’t understand why getting another starter would be a priority right now. We’ve got one of the best 5-deep rotations in baseball. Maybe Marquis isn’t that great, but is Traschel really any better at this point in his career? Why pay two contracts to get the same production that you’re getting from one? I think we should call up Ronnie, play DeRosa everyday in RF and let Pagan go every day in CF. The only thing we might have to look outside our system to get is another left-handed arm for the bullpen.
(Joe: Just out of curiosity, was the Patterson question intended as a joke to stir up comments, or were you serious? That .666 OPS that he has this season may symbolize more than the fact that he’s a crappy hitter. Cubs fans would eat him alive.)
why did they call up fox and not give Cedeno another chance… Isnt he ripping AAA pitching?
(Brian: I just re-read your post and realized that you said the EXACT same thing about Dunn being a DH. I missed that the first time around. Sorry.)
Prof Y needs to check his stats before getting excited about Ronny "Iron Hands" Cedeno. He’s got 9 errors already.