WAR EAGLE!!! 0 Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 I am pumped about the Cubs preseason this year. It looks like Hendry had one plan and that was to get FUKUDOME in which he succeeded. The only real question mark I see is the CF position with Pie. He never really produced last year offensively. He is not going to need to it seems this year as I think he will probably be batting 8th. Soriano Theriot Lee Ramirez Fukudome DeRosa Soto Pie Looks like a good line up to me!!! I will be interested to see what Soto does being the man this year also! He had a great end of theseason last year hitting! Also, as far as pitching, Dempster may be back in the rotation with Howry, Marmol and a rejuvinated Wood in the pen! I am excited about the year!!! What does everyone feel about the job the front office has done this year with your favorite team? Jarhead...it's going to be wierd seeing Edmonds in a Padre uniform...and also, what's the word on Rolen? Those are the guys that made me like the Cards...now if they just get rid of Pujols, I can actually go about hating the team... Oh and by the way..as always...the braves suck..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUJarhead 70 Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 It will look strange with Edmonds gone, but I understand why they did it. I didn't understand why they signed him to a 2 year deal after 06, I expected them to exercise the option in 07 and let him retire. Same thing as this, I guess. Rolen wants to be traded, but due to his healt, the Cards can't get a whole lot for him, so they won't trade him. I expect if he's healthy, he'll be happy in St Louis. From what I can tell, Rolen got mad at LaRussa for benching him while he was batting .220 and hitting for no power. I don't expect much from St Louis this year. Carp's out all year, and I think Mulder is a sinking ship. All we really have in the field is Pujols and Rolen (if healthy). Outfield, we've got Duncan, Ankiel, Shumaker, and who ever they plug in (Colby Rasmus from AAA?). Sad when Duncan is the most experiences of all of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAR EAGLE!!! 0 Posted December 24, 2007 Author Share Posted December 24, 2007 It will look strange with Edmonds gone, but I understand why they did it. I didn't understand why they signed him to a 2 year deal after 06, I expected them to exercise the option in 07 and let him retire. Same thing as this, I guess. Rolen wants to be traded, but due to his healt, the Cards can't get a whole lot for him, so they won't trade him. I expect if he's healthy, he'll be happy in St Louis. From what I can tell, Rolen got mad at LaRussa for benching him while he was batting .220 and hitting for no power. I don't expect much from St Louis this year. Carp's out all year, and I think Mulder is a sinking ship. All we really have in the field is Pujols and Rolen (if healthy). Outfield, we've got Duncan, Ankiel, Shumaker, and who ever they plug in (Colby Rasmus from AAA?). Sad when Duncan is the most experiences of all of them. What's the word with any aquisitions? Are they not going after anyone this year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuburnChopper1 0 Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 They brought in a second baseman, but it's been very quiet for the Cards. Kind of frustrating to be honest. I figured they'd be making some moves after convincing Tony to come back. We'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowegl 4 Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 The Cubs are never gonna win a world series until they improve that pitching staff. Id say the best they can hope for this year is a division title. And in the central right now thats not saying much. They can add whoever they want to the lineup, but baseball begins and ends with the pitching staff. As far as the braves go, they should be much improved getting Glavine and Hampton. Should be a pretty solid staff. They are probably better off without Andruw. Should be a good race with Atlanta, NY, and Philly. I dont think the nationals or marlins are gonna contend at all. All said, I think whoever makes it from the National League is probably playing for 2nd place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUJarhead 70 Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 There are articles this week in the St Louis paper concerning the communication that (didn't) take place between Eckstein and the new GM. Basically, the Cards signed Izturus, the SS from the Pirates, to a one year deal. Apparently this was while Eckstein was flirting with the Mets on a 3 or 4 year deal, which never happened. In a panic, the new GM signed Izturus, and then Eck signed with Toronto for a one year deal. As with the Edmonds deal, I'm a bit frustrated by this, but again, I understand why it happened. No way was Eckstein worth a 3 or 4 year deal, and Brenden Ryan, the backup SS, isn't quite ready to play 150 games, so I can see why they signed Izturus. The Edmonds trade does open up some possibilities though. We've now got some extra payroll that we can work with. We absolutely need starting pitching. And with 4 viable outfielders, Duncan, Ankiel, Rasmus, Shumaker, I think we can trade one of them (of the 4, I think Duncan has the most trade value, but would they trade the pitching coach's son?) for a pitcher, if we're willing to take on some of the salary. I just think the market is pretty thin for starting pitching out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAR EAGLE!!! 0 Posted December 24, 2007 Author Share Posted December 24, 2007 The Cubs are never gonna win a world series until they improve that pitching staff. Id say the best they can hope for this year is a division title. And in the central right now thats not saying much. They can add whoever they want to the lineup, but baseball begins and ends with the pitching staff. As far as the braves go, they should be much improved getting Glavine and Hampton. Should be a pretty solid staff. They are probably better off without Andruw. Should be a good race with Atlanta, NY, and Philly. I dont think the nationals or marlins are gonna contend at all. All said, I think whoever makes it from the National League is probably playing for 2nd place. Are you talking about the same pitching staff who last year was 2nd in ERA in the league, first in fewest hits allowed, 2nd in fewest runs allowed, 2nd in ER's, and first in strike outs? All with young pitchers in Rich Hill, Carlos Marmol and Shawn Marshall all pitching in their first full year? If that is the staff you are talking about, I disagree... By the way, 4 of 5 starters for the Cubs last year had ERA's under 4....that's not bad. Plus, I think the plan is to get Dempster back in the rotation so that should give another dependable starter. I will say this though...those numbers are skewed because of what Lily did last year. He was the ace of the club last year and I am not sure if the Cubs can depend on that type of production again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUJarhead 70 Posted December 25, 2007 Share Posted December 25, 2007 He was the ace of the club last year and I am not sure if the Cubs can depend on that type of production again. With the watered down NL Central, it might not matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrnfanatc 6 Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 The Cubs are never gonna win a world series until they improve that pitching staff. Id say the best they can hope for this year is a division title. And in the central right now thats not saying much. They can add whoever they want to the lineup, but baseball begins and ends with the pitching staff. As far as the braves go, they should be much improved getting Glavine and Hampton. Should be a pretty solid staff. They are probably better off without Andruw. Should be a good race with Atlanta, NY, and Philly. I dont think the nationals or marlins are gonna contend at all. All said, I think whoever makes it from the National League is probably playing for 2nd place. Are you talking about the same pitching staff who last year was 2nd in ERA in the league, first in fewest hits allowed, 2nd in fewest runs allowed, 2nd in ER's, and first in strike outs? All with young pitchers in Rich Hill, Carlos Marmol and Shawn Marshall all pitching in their first full year? If that is the staff you are talking about, I disagree... By the way, 4 of 5 starters for the Cubs last year had ERA's under 4....that's not bad. Plus, I think the plan is to get Dempster back in the rotation so that should give another dependable starter. I will say this though...those numbers are skewed because of what Lily did last year. He was the ace of the club last year and I am not sure if the Cubs can depend on that type of production again. They didn't get it at the end of the season last year even from Lilly. Just sayin... I don't think moving Dempster into the starting rotation is a good idea though. I know he was just coming back from surgery, but his last stint in the starting rotation was miserable to say the least. I am pumped about the prospects for the Cub offense this year. I think Pie will be a quality centerfielder by mid-season with the playing time he needs to get the feel of the majors. If D-Lee can get back into form, Ramirez gets the power numbers back to where they were prior to last season, and the others contribute like they have been, Fukudome (I will never get used to seeing this on paper...) should be the missing cog offensively. Now, if we can just get Prior and Wood healthy again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAR EAGLE!!! 0 Posted December 26, 2007 Author Share Posted December 26, 2007 Now, if we can just get Prior and Wood healthy again... They didn't pick up Prior's option. He is available to sign as a free agent somewhere else... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrnfanatc 6 Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 Now, if we can just get Prior and Wood healthy again... They didn't pick up Prior's option. He is available to sign as a free agent somewhere else... I guess I can officially get rid of the Prior bobblehead then. I really think I may have jinxed he and Wood. Those were the only two bobbleheads our family in Chicago could get for us...Wood and Prior. They got them right before the '05 season began. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAR EAGLE!!! 0 Posted December 26, 2007 Author Share Posted December 26, 2007 Speaking of Prior, he just apparently agreed to terms with the Padres. I woud be interested to see what kind of contract that is going to be considering his health issues. I would have liked Prior to sign with the Cubs to show a little loyalty to the team that brought him up. After all, he has been on payroll for the last 2+ years and hasn't played at all. That is why I have mega respect for Wood. He has been very loyal to the Cubs even though there are probably other teams out there that would be willing to take the risk on him for a multi year deal. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?i...ce=MLBHeadlines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUJarhead 70 Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 If the Pads don't make any noise this year, will their GM get fired? Taking a big chance on Edmonds and Prior, I think. I figured Prior would have signed a one year deal with Chicago, just to show that he was healthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrnfanatc 6 Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 If the Pads don't make any noise this year, will their GM get fired? Taking a big chance on Edmonds and Prior, I think. I figured Prior would have signed a one year deal with Chicago, just to show that he was healthy. Especially after getting 2 years of pay for rehabbing. The last few years with Prior reminded me of the Shawon Dunston days anyway. He just needed a few more years to develop... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAR EAGLE!!! 0 Posted December 27, 2007 Author Share Posted December 27, 2007 If the Pads don't make any noise this year, will their GM get fired? Taking a big chance on Edmonds and Prior, I think. I figured Prior would have signed a one year deal with Chicago, just to show that he was healthy. And Maddox too...at some point, he is going to get rocked. He is what...43?...and signed a $10m deal right? That's a lot of money for an aging pitcher... ...or maybe I am just bitter the Cubs traded him 2 years ago.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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