Blow up the Cubs

have you even looked at russells numbers in a relief role?

Reliever CHC
1
01.62 14 0 0 0 0 1 16.2 13 4 3 2 1 4 1 11 .213 1.02 0.74

plus, im not even sure he has a full year in the bigs yet.

hes a young, cheap, lefty reliever that can throw strikes. why get rid of him?
 
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DuffMan said:
A large part of that is the huge price tag the new ownership group paid to purchase the club, and a large part of that is due to the large payroll. The Cubs may not be able to keep spending like this even while drawing 3 million fans per year. I wouldn't be suprised at all to see the Cubs reduce the payroll to around 80million once the big contracts of Soriano and Rami come off the books.
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Regarding payroll, what I would like to see is the Cubs focus more on having a strong farm system and bringing up their own talent so that they can win with a smaller payroll, and supplement with a good signing here and there.

Just look at the Rays, who have won the AL East 2 of the last 3 years with a payroll a fraction of what the Cubs are spending, without going out and spending big money on free agents. Yet they are still more competetive than the Cubs in recent years. Tampa's team is mostly home-grown talent.
 
hawkfarmer said:
The cubs are absolutely horrible this year, and I know they had injuries but they are just bad.

That team needs to get blown up, although I don't think that it is possible as I'd like it to be given their stupid contracts they gave out.

Starting pitching:
Zambrano- has 1 more year on his contract (2012), says he wants to be a cub (he has no trade clause so he's stuck)-has an option in 2013, not sure if player or team option.
Dempster- has 1 more year (2012). Somebody might want him actually as he is a veteran and can do it. Potential trade
Garza- He's young and has good stuff, I think he can be a 2 or 3 starter for a few years (and he's cheap for now)
Wells-Was pitching well in spring and had a good first start then injured. He's a talented 4 and is cheap keep him
Cashner- He is good. Is he a starter, don't know. Is he the next Kerry Wood, I don't know. I hope he is good and can do it as a starter. He has good stuff, keep him, SP or BP he can contribute.

1B
Pena has one year on his contract, he's playing better, but let him go

2B
Barney- He is young and talented, I like his game and he is a heady player
Baker- He is talented and cheap. I think the cubs could trade him as he is having a good year and is a talented player at many positions
DeWitt- I'd say trade him but don't see his value

SS
Castro- Is good, going to get better, still young and learning. If he can find a spot in the lineup and stay there I think it will do him some good.

3B
Ramirez- Not having a bad year statistically but no power, hasn't since the wrist injury. He's off contract this year and I think the cubs go another direction. maybe vitter is ready

LF
Soriano- Never going to get rid of that contract as much as I would love to. At least he's a good clubhouse guy. Only 3 more years everyone

Colvin- Needs to be in Triple A for a while until he can figure it out, not sure he ever will, but not trade material anymore. His .086 average is amazingly bad. I think it's the sophomore coma, not slump.

CF
Byrd- He has 1 more year after this season, he's not horribly expensive and is a good player. I think the Cubs will keep him and then be done with him after 2012. However, if he comes back from the injury and can still play he could be good trade bait, but the injury is a big deal.

RF
Fukudome- Done after this year. That is all

C
Soto- I think he's a good player. This is tricky though. I could see him getting traded if Castillo gets better at handling a rotation. He'll be around in 2012 though. Castillo is new backup as he passes Hill up.

RP
Marmol- No brainer you keep him
Wood- Only had a 1 year contract, I think he might retire
Grabow- Highly overpaid and is done after this year. gone
Marshall- Good big lefty reliever, he stays
Samardzija- Has an option for 2012, I think he has to go
Russell- young, cheap, has promise. keep him around


2012 lineup (from current club)

SP
Zambrano
Dempster
Garza
Wells
Cashner
Unfortunately Nothing changed

1B- ?
2B- Barney DeWitt (Baker gone to trade)
SS- Castro
3B- ?
LF- Soriano (Colvin at Iowa)
CF- Byrd (can't get traded due to injury)
RF- ?
C- Soto/Castillo

RP
Marmol
Marshall
Russell
Lots of young guys


In 2013 I think this is where it blows up. I also think Quade gets fired, though I lik him

SP
Garza
Wells
Cashner
hopefully a new ace

1B- ?
2B- Barney DeWitt (Baker gone to trade)
SS- Castro
3B- ?
LF- Soriano (Colvin at Iowa)
CF- ?
RF- ?
C- Soto/Castillo

RP
Marmol
Marshall
Russell

IMO that is a good core to add some FAs, and hopefully some guys keep developing in the minors.

I hope that it blows up with some trades this year, but it may be more of a let the contract expire kind of deal with Hendry. Who knows who he'll sign next year anyway.
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Would agree Cubs have had injuries, but team was not very good from the start if we did not have any injuries. This offseason Cubs will finally have some money too spend and will totally start fresh. This season is going to be another long summer on the north side!!!
 
OK ok ok, I'll admit Grabow is way overpaid, but Samardjaza isn't.

Hendry is pretty awful. I don't mind the contracs to Z, Pena, or even Fukudome, but the Soriano contract has to be one of the worst in the history of baseball.
 
DuffMan said:
OK ok ok, I'll admit Grabow is way overpaid, but Samardjaza isn't.

Hendry is pretty awful. I don't mind the contracs to Z, Pena, or even Fukudome, but the Soriano contract has to be one of the worst in the history of baseball.
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Soriano's contract ranks right up there with Mike Hampton, Denny Neagle and so far Joe Mauer's.
 
DuffMan said:
OK ok ok, I'll admit Grabow is way overpaid, but Samardjaza isn't.

Hendry is pretty awful. I don't mind the contracs to Z, Pena, or even Fukudome, but the Soriano contract has to be one of the worst in the history of baseball.
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Ok I agree with you. On samardzija, the reason I didn't like the contract was the no trade clause for a guy that never had done anything. Minor leaguers don't usually get those contracts.
 
hawkfarmer said:
Here's an article about how bad hendry is. Also a few notes how the manager plays a small role in a teams success (so true), and how overpaid Grabow is (yes it is stated by not only me).

Forget Quade, look at Hendry's record - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN
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That's actually not a very good article. For one thing, a GM has very little say in who a team drafts. That's the job of the scouting director.

For another, signing Pena for 10 million isn't a bad deal.

If the Cubs fire Hendry, I'd be ok with that. I think the Soriano contract alone would justify that. Firing him alone won't solve anything though. The Cubs will have to replace him with a quality GM. That's easier said than done.
 
Clark said:
That's actually not a very good article. For one thing, a GM has very little say in who a team drafts. That's the job of the scouting director.

For another, signing Pena for 10 million isn't a bad deal.

If the Cubs fire Hendry, I'd be ok with that. I think the Soriano contract alone would justify that. Firing him alone won't solve anything though. The Cubs will have to replace him with a quality GM. That's easier said than done.
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Didn't say it was well written. I agree with both the article and you on Pena. I think it has turned out well and I liked his upside, but if he had another sub .200 season everyone would be calling it stupid, the risk is what makes it "dumb" for Hendry.

I don't know who the Cubs get to replace him, maybe Maddux. And I believe Hendry along with Fleita have a big say in the drafting of players.
 
hawkfarmer said:
Didn't say it was well written. I agree with both the article and you on Pena. I think it has turned out well and I liked his upside, but if he had another sub .200 season everyone would be calling it stupid, the risk is what makes it "dumb" for Hendry.

I don't know who the Cubs get to replace him, maybe Maddux. And I believe Hendry along with Fleita have a big say in the drafting of players.
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Keith Law wrote a very good piece about this very subject (GM's role in the draft) before this years draft. Until that point I assumed that GM's at least picked the first player, but he said in fact they didn't. He said the only real say a GM has is the ability to hire/fire scouting directors.
 
Clark said:
Keith Law wrote a very good piece about this very subject (GM's role in the draft) before this years draft. Until that point I assumed that GM's at least picked the first player, but he said in fact they didn't. He said the only real say a GM has is the ability to hire/fire scouting directors.
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That was an excellent article by Law. The ESPN Baseball Today podcast (which Law is on a couple of times a week) also covered this. I did not know a lot of the details described by Law as well.
 
DuffMan said:
BTW one thing that is getting overlooked here, especially with Jon's argument. Yes the Cubs draw well, but they are also one of the dozen or so teams in MLB that are operating at debt levels above what MLB considers ideal. There are a few other large market teams in that group, the Mets and the Dodgers, both of whom have had troulble meeting payroll and are essentially broke.

A large part of that is the huge price tag the new ownership group paid to purchase the club, and a large part of that is due to the large payroll. The Cubs may not be able to keep spending like this even while drawing 3 million fans per year. I wouldn't be suprised at all to see the Cubs reduce the payroll to around 80million once the big contracts of Soriano and Rami come off the books.
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Hendry says that the debt load is not an issue. I am not sure I believe him.

Chicago Cubs: Cubs GM Jim Hendry shoots down rumors - chicagotribune.com
 
It might not be a huge issue, provided the owners are willing and able to infuse the team with millions of dollars of cold hard operating capital so the team can operate. However we've seen with the Mets and Dodgers what happens when owners are not able to do that.
 
I have said before I don't have a problem with Pena for one year and that is still the case. As the article said, at least he can take a walk. The Cubs plate discipline is beyond awful.

I have no love or attachment to Hendry, but to be fair he was told by ownership at the time to raise the payroll in order to inflate the value of the franchise. The Soriano contract was a part of that.
 
WhiteThunder said:
I have said before I don't have a problem with Pena for one year and that is still the case. As the article said, at least he can take a walk. The Cubs plate discipline is beyond awful.

I have no love or attachment to Hendry, but to be fair he was told by ownership at the time to raise the payroll in order to inflate the value of the franchise. The Soriano contract was a part of that.
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I agree on Pena. I wasn't sure what he would produce this year, and so far we're getting about what I expected - low .200's average with a few HR. And true, Pena does at least get on base some. But even if he was a complete flop, you're only obligated for one year. A 3-4+ year contract and I would have been steamed at that signing, though.

Hendry has made some horrible moves since he inflated the payroll, though. Letting Mark DeRosa go and picking up Milton Bradley is the one that comes to mind first.

I also was never really sure if I agreed with trading Ted Lilly.. No, he's not a franchise player, but he was pretty consistently solid and he didn't miss starts or start dugout brawls. For those reasons, he was one of the most valuable pitchers the Cubs had on the team IMO and I wasn't sure I wanted to see him go just yet. That said, I haven't followed Lilly since he left, so am not sure if he's still productive or not.
 
Today is Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Today in
Sports History
1964 - The St. Louis Cardinals traded Ernest Broglio for Chicago Cub Lou Brock.
 
And this is why you never know in baseball ...

Cubs beat Yanks 3-1 today with Doug Davis (0-5) starting the game and giving up 1 run in 7+ innings. Who would have guessed that?
 
woodyk1 said:
And this is why you never know in baseball ...

Cubs beat Yanks 3-1 today with Doug Davis (0-5) starting the game and giving up 1 run in 7+ innings. Who would have guessed that?
Click to expand...

The corpse of Freddy Garcia only giving up 3 runs was a minor miracle as well. Was the wind blowing in at 50 mph?
 
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