btw folks...I'm having technical difficulties...and may not be able to post for as week or 2...if you don't see my posts...just means my computer is in the shop.

I think I am going to watch True Blood, I missed it last night.

I love this site! I really don't have a lot to say because Aaron pretty much sums up most of what is going through my head most of the time...lol! I still like DLee though and think he still brings a lot to the table. He's got a great glove and still has a great bat. I just want to get Hoffpauir back up and see Fox, Hoffpauir, and Fuld play everyday for a few weeks and see how we do. I think, like most do, that we will be pleasantly surprised with the results.

problem with Hoffpauir is that Piniella destroyed him by putting him on the bench for so long. We'd see him pinch hit, he'd fail, and Piniella would bury him on the bench again. Hoffpauir was so damaged by that, that right now, he's barely hitting over .200 at AAA. It takes awhile to get your swing back when the only game action you see is pinch hitting 2-3 times per week, and starting once every 2 weeks. It's simply not fair. It's like when Fuld was hot, Piniella sat him, then he plays, and his bat is cold. Then he sits some more. It's why I said earlier, guys like Piniella, Baker, and Jerry Manuel are likely goners in a few years. We won't see the likes of them managing any MLB teams in the future. Why? Because they're committed to veterans to a fault, and teams will never get over the proverbial hump because of their insistence on playing veterans even during season long slumps (which Soriano, Gregg, and Bradley have had). His insistence on Gregg remaining the closer cost us 5 games. I say 5, because while he blew 6 games, Piniella should've known after the 1st one, because, as I recall, his ERA was somewhere around 6+ at the time, and even in games he didn't get a blown save, he ended up putting the game out of reach for us. But, anyhow, I got curious, because I remembered Piniella winning a championship in 1990 with the Reds. Want to know some stats? Along with ages?:

(age-hr, rbi, avg, obp)

C-Oliver-24-8, 52, .231, .304

1B-Benzinger-27-5, 46, .253, .291

*Hal Morris (took over)-25-7, 36, .340, .381

2B-Duncan-27-10, 55, .306, .345

SS-Larkin-26-7, 67, .301, .358

3B-Sabo-28-25, 71, .270, .343

LF-Hatcher-29-5, 25, .276, .327

*Braggs (platooned with Hatcher, Davis)-27-6, 28, .299, .385

CF-Davis-28-24, 86, .260, .347

RF-O'Neill-27-16, 78, .270, .339

rotation:

(age-wins-losses, ERA, IP)

Tom Browning-30-15-9, 3.80, 227.2 IP

Jose Rijo-25-14-8, 2.70, 197 IP

Jack Armstrong-25-12-9, 3.42, 166 IP

Danny Jackson-28-6-6,3.61, 117.1 IP

*Charlton and Mahler picked up some starts too, and here's their stats

Charlton-27-12-9, 2.74, 154.1 IP

Mahler-36-7-6, 4.28, 134.2 IP

They also had the lights out closer tandem of Randy Myers and Rob Dibble (27 and 26 yrs old respectively)

So, back then, he had a very young roster, and he won it all, and yet, now, he's insisting on playing veterans...I just don't get it....this has to be a directive of Hendry.

Aaron thats a string of solid posts and I noticed Adam Dunn is missing!!! Are you getting tired of him? I prefer him over Bradley and Soriano but thats not a great achievement.

If you had to take over the cubs today as GM what would you do? In a realistic way with theese two rules; 1-Soriano and Bradley stay in the Team[because there is no way to trade them] 2-You cannot add payroll.[but you can get rid of any other Cub] Theese are the rules because I think they might be true come Winter time.

Here's what I'd do:

1)let Gregg, Heilman, and Johnson walk

2)DFA Miles

3)notify Soriano and Bradley that their everyday jobs are on the line, and they better show up to Spring camp in the best shape of their lives

4)fire Rothschild and Piniella and go hard after LaRussa and Duncan. Plan B would be to gauge interest of Brenly. If he doesn't want it, then bring up Sandberg, and try to pry Maddux out of retirement. If not, then go after Kerrigan. If he won't leave the Pirates, then go after Rick Peterson or Leo Mazzone

5)trade Ted Lilly, and take those prospects, and either use them in a bigger trade, or keep them to replenish the system

6)trade for Adam Dunn. yes, I said it...Adam Dunn is hitting close to .290 this season, which has always been the knock on him. He should also put up 40+hr, 100+RBI, 100+walks, .400+OBP YET AGAIN this season. He's got one year left on the deal, so it allows for future flexibility if he doesn't work out. This does NOT add payroll, because Lilly would be leaving. In fact, if you traded Lilly, and let Gregg, Heilman, and Johnson leave, and obviously the contracts of Vizcaino, Chad Fox, Neal Cotts, and Gaudin also come off the books, so between all of those guys, you'd have $27 million combined off the books. Add Dunn, and you have $17 million left...and your next move would be to....

7)Re-sign Rich Harden at $10-12 million/year for 3 years. Face it, he's still young, and we need him because he's athletic, and worked out hard in the offseason to stay healthy.

8)Add Starlin Castro to the roster. Sure, his defense is suspect, but his bat is a plus, and he could sub at SS and 2B for us, eliminating the need for Miles, who will have been DFA'd

9)trade Fukudome to the American League to either Toronto or Tampa, where his slash game is more suited for a dome, where squibbers get through to the outfield. Pay $8 million of the remaining $24 million contract.

10)The following replacements would take place:

Gregg=Andrew Cashner

Heilman=Esmalin Caridad

Miles=Castro

Johnson=Fuld

Lilly=Gorzelanny

Fukudome=Micah Hoffpauir

*Fox replaces Soriano in LF, who goes to the bench. Fuld replaces Fukudome in CF and the everyday lineup. Hoffpauir replaces Bradley, who goes to the bench where he belongs

11)trade Lee to the Angels straight up for Brandon Wood or Sean Rodriguez.

12)trade prospects, or Fontenot, or extra relievers like Marshall for someone like Chris Davis or Mitchell Moreland of the Rangers organization. Both are 23 years old. Both can play multiple positions (1B, 3B, LF, RF for Moreland, and 1B and 3B for Davis), and both are very powerful. This gives us a MLB ready option for Lee, and sets us up for the future.

Anyway, that's the changes I'd make. Ideally, you'd trade Soriano for Zito straight up, and you'd give Bradley to whomever would pay half his salary. But I understand what you were saying---both are very unlikely to be traded.

very nice!so we would have;

Fox LF

Fuld CF

Dunn RF

Hoff-Davies 1b

Aramis 3b

Theriot 2b

Starlin Castro SS

Soto C

Harden SP

It is a good starting point, keeping in mind Soriano and Bradley are on the bench. Defense might be shaky but Fuld could pick up the slack out there...while Aramis will probably have 300 errors throwing to any other than DLee. But I'd trade DLee too.

**Harden is a must sign, though I must say he will be expensive.

Bradley might be tradeable if he finishes the year strong[which is a big possibility as nothing counts at this point and this donkeys are stat workers] I hate Milton he has a shit in his shoulder and his daddy never kicked his arse on time!

Great, the Rockies are on fire.

The thing that keeps them out is Lou doesn't know if they can produce every day. However, how will you ever know if they don't get a chance? Fuld and Fox should play almost everyday from here on out. Lou should tell Soriano to "pull" a hammy so he has an excuse to play them.

That's what I keep wondering all year long. There's no reason that Soriano and/or Bradley should have been allowed to play as long as they have when we had available in house options to replace them with. Money should never matter...it's all about winning. And like Aaron said...it had to been from Hendry, because no manager could ever just sit back and watch the mess that has happened this year. If Lou did do that, then he definitely does not have the "desire" to win that he keeps talking about. We, as fans, are the ones getting screwed here...everyone wants to see Fox and Fuld play to generate some excitement for this team and maybe get a few more wins. Somewhere along the way the fans, who basically pay for every players salaries, got completely ripped off. When it seems that management doesn't care, it's really hard for us to care.

I'm rooting for Rebel Riding at Peoria.

With a name like that...he has to be tough.

At some point, I suspect the Cubs will have to write off Soriano...No one will want him...and unless a miracle happens...he can't really benefit a team anymore....Amazing.

Aaron,

I TOTALLY agree with you most of what you are saying .... playing the young guys vs. the old veterans .....and that Hendry made some horrible moves in the winter .....Lou looks old and tired.....Hendry spent like a drunken sailor, etc.

But, but, but let's be clear on something. This year's failure is not just Hendry's fault alone. Some things happened that were not his fault that really hurt us this year. Except for Lee, Theriot, and Lilly, everyone has underachieved this year, and by a WIDE margin. The players have to take some responsibility, too.

Example: Are you going to blame Soto's horrendous year on Hendry ?? C'mon, the guy came in overweight and was smoking dope. These guys are professional ballplayers paid to do a job. As I have said before, he seems to fly under the radar for some reason. But to me, his failures are as bad as Soriano and Bradley, if not worse.

What about ARAM's injury ? That was a killer. That is not Hendry's fault either.

I am not defending Hendry, becuase all his moves in the winter were absolutely brutal and we all said so at the time, but this year's failures was a total organizational breakdown from top to bottom, not just Hendry. The playes HAVE to be accountable more than anyone.

And i get the fact he has saddled this team with brutal contracts over the next 4 years. Yes, yes, yes. Totally agree.

But I still don't think Ricketts will clean house right away. That's my guess. I could be wrong, but that's my gut feel.

Grant....I think Griffey will retire at the end of this year--from a wonderful career.

Here's a stab at top prospects today ranging from older players (who are not yet regulars) to the youngest: Fox, Fuld, Hoffpauir, Jay Jackson, Cashner, Flaherty, Brett Jackson, Kyler Burke and Dae Eun Rhee. I think they will all be on somebody's 25 man roster for extended periods.

Most rankings (as you likely know) have Vitters and Cashner as the top prospects. Most top 10 or 15 lists after this season will likely include names like Hak-Ju Lee, Starlin Castro, Brandon Guyer and LeMahieu, and I like them too. Chirinos may make some lists.

It's always a high risk proposition to predict with much certainty anybody whose at AA or above--let alone A and lower. But we do have some projectable talent in our system.

It's also very necessary to remember that guys like Randy Wells and Geovanny Soto were never ranked in the top 15--unless Soto was after his call-up year in AAA. I think one of the guys like Barney, Colvin or Snyder could be a pleasant surprise like Wells has been.

I also notice that I don't have Gaub and Stevens on the last (unranked) list. Gaub is coming on very strong. We may end up with a lefty surplus. But surplus means trading chips, and that's good.

I noticed that I left Vitters off my first list.

I waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaant my two dollaaaars!

_Eight games back...[sigh] you know how hard it is to fall 8 games back in the standings in less than two weeks?

_I hate it when Aaron is right, no offense pal! You were right from the get go...But Adam Dunn Still Sucks, funny he woulda fit right in.

_Larry Rothschild has Man Boobs to go with the John Travolta hair...there I said it!

_Only real team player on this team is that Gatorade machine dude.

_That Soriano-Zito Swap is looking better and better each day. Giants are crazy[they also signed Renteria] but Soriano is not leaving any time soon. Bradley is easier to move...as long as we eat 50-60% of the contract.

_The Cubs are home run hitters but can't hit home runs in big parks. LOL!!! what a joke!

_I'll play the veterans, I guess we will be seeing Chad Fox a lot more in September than the real Fox!

_For all those Blanco lovers...remeber Blanco=great defense, no bat.It don't matter the first name. AAA is where Cedeño and Pie used to rock!

_We need a short stop, I would love Tejada-Jeter type guy. But maybe a Sept call up shows up like Starlin DeJesus Castro or Hak-Ju Lee who is not ready but is hitting the ball pretty good

_Damn this season is 2004

eating 50-60% of soriano's contract is the starting point. You will have to go a lot higher than that.

You might find some sucker to take it if you go to 90%. MAYBE.

No one's going want to pay that stiff $9M /yr (50%) over the next 5 years....

no way, no how. Would you ? :-)

thats why I said Milton's contract might be easier to move while Soriano will be a Cub for ever.

hey guys who do u think our top prospects r as of 2day and off topic but do u guys think Griffey will play next season?

Despite my bud, Aaron's, saying that many of us haven't realized for a long time that this team won't win so that he can repeat his long-held case that they can't--and the amusing ends that he goes to scuttle my man, DLee, he does identify several solid prospects for the future.

My take would be that Theriot and Soto have a better chance to be a middle infielder and catcher for us in two years than the prospects named. Casto's unacceptably large number of errors have gone unnoticed, and LeMahieu may prove a better all around SS. I do especially like Jackson and Burke and want Vitters to find the bat he had at low A Peoria. We may have a better catching prospect or two than Castillo.

Because I don't think Lou has totally lost it, I read a little less into his "play the veterans" comment than some. It could be his way of denying that we are out of it for those fans that want to hear that to say nothing of ownership. And it speaks to the usual custom of not throwing the veterans under the bus. My guess is that we will see a lot of Fox, Fuld, Baker and Hoffpauir the rest of the way. Soriano's knee problem is likely to be recurring, and Bradley may need some rest because "he's played (poorly) in a lot of games."

I want to believe that Marmol's retiring Ethier (especially) and Manny in yesterday's 9th inning were career changers for him. At least way more important than just two key outs. I think he learned that he can back off just a bit from what he was doing (overthrowing) and still gets outs with a lot better control--against top hitters. The Dodgers best clutch hitter, Ethier, fouled off pitch after pitch before Carlos got him on the last of a few 3-2 strikes. The ultra-dangerous Manny didn't come close and struck out. Marmol has always been a fearless warrior, and now he may have learned the best way to get his job done.

Hey Neil,

I have an off-topic question for you.

Whatever happened to that movie "We Believe" ??

I would have thought it would have been out by now.

Thanks for all the hard work. You do a great job.

Joe S,

Good stuff.....I agree with 99% of what you said...

except no thanks on Juan Pierre. I'll pass on paying $10M to a guy who can't throw better than my grandmother (and she's 6 feet under). No thanks. I think Fuld would be a much better alternative than Pierre, for a fraction of the cost.

Also, you said this weekend in response to one of my posts that you have no doubts (i'm paraphasing) that Uncle Lou is coming back. You still think so ?

I disagree.

As much as I wish you were right, I think he's coming back. UNLESS Ricketts comes in and cleans house, but I don't think that will happen right away. I think he gives these clowns one more year. Unfortunately.

man I hope you're wrong....when you said "these clowns", were you referring to BOTH Hendry and Piniella, or just Piniella and his staff?

If you're the new owner, and you just watched the current GM put together a team like this over the last few years, and have the abysmal offseason that he had, missing on absolutely 100% of his acquisitions, then how could you not fire the guy?!? Hendry has handcuffed the team for the next 2 years, and beyond. Soriano, Miles, Fukudome, Bradley, Dempster, and even Lee (relative to his position counterparts) are bad contracts, representing $68 million worth of dead weight contracts for next season, and only Lee and Miles ($15 million combined) come off the books after next season. So, for the next 2 seasons, we have $53 million committed to 4 guys that aren't worth their salt when better options exist internally in our minor league system, which I've already mentioned some of them. Temporary replacements that would cost $400k, include Bobby Scales, Brad Snyder, Doug Deeds, Micah Hoffpauir, etc. We simply don't need any of those guys in order to win ballgames. The only one that even comes close to that assumption right now is Derrek Lee, and if you'll recall, Lee isn't the most clutch hitter in the world either. So is he really worth it?

Anyhow, the way I see it, is if Hendry is still in charge of this team, we will see more trades of Ceda for Gregg, only it will be like Josh Vitters for LaTroy Hawkins, or DJ LaMahieu (next season after he's eligible to be traded) for Miguel Cairo. I mean, that's the type of GM he is. He has been riding the gravy train after landing ARAM for far too long. Great, you landed us a young, up-and-coming hitter from a team that had no direction, and was trading veterans left and right (and still is...though, now, unlike in the past, they actually care about who they get in return...oh, and by the way, Hendry hired on the mastermind-Littlefield-behind those ill-advised trades from the Pirates perspective). Is it any wonder that young GM's like Epstein, Byrnes, Friedman, Williams, Beane, Daniels, Moore, Shapiro, Reagins, are going after young talent via trade/free agency/farm system than the old guys like Hendry, Colletti, Towers, etc. The older GM's tend to dish out misguided contracts to aging veterans that had career years. That's not to say that the younger GM's don't make mistakes either, it's merely pointing out that the older GM's are more likely to do so, because they believe in the unwritten code that veterans deserve the benefit of the doubt (which is also why managers such as Piniella, Jerry Manuel, and Dusty Baker will soon be in the unemployment line over their refusal to bench veteran players that are underperforming).

I have said it many many times ad nauseam, but post steroids era, we CANNOT expect anything out of hitters over the age of 33 years old. It just doesn't work that way...and never did before. Ryne Sandberg starting breaking down at age 34, though he had the broken hand, the personal problems with his wife, etc. that contributed to that. Dawson, who was an exceptional athlete, which contributed to his longevity started his regression at 33, then at 35, came back to have a monster season, and at 36, had a very good one as well, but then fell off, which is what Bill James said could happen where veteran players drop off at 33 or 34 yrs old, then they might have a decent season, then completely drop off, which is exactly what happened. Joe Morgan, the guy we Cubs fans love to hate, dropped off in production at 34 yrs old, then came back at 38 to post a decent season. I could go on and on. Injuries started catching up to Frank Thomas, former football player and excellent athlete in the mold of Dawson when he was 33 yrs old, then he came back at 35 and 38-39 to post very good numbers, but he was a shell of his former self, never hitting .300 again. It just won't happen anymore folks.

I believe you will start seeing teams aggressively promoting players like the White Sox did with Gordon Beckham. That, in fact, was the way teams used to handle their player development. They'd draft a guy with significant potential, and they'd elevate him immediately to see how he'd handle MLB pitching, or MLB hitters (if it was a pitcher). Teams knew that they had a finite period of time to get the most out of their players, so they thought that by shuttling them to the majors immediately, and get them acclimated to the pace of the game, they'd be better off for it in the long-run. It's why you didn't see guys going up and down all the time. Once you made it, and proved you were good, the team would stick with you, even in bad times while you were still young, and if you didn't bounce back, you were often traded for a change of scenery. Nowadays, a guy like Jake Fox will be bounced up and down the system, filling spots of injured veterans, and getting pinch hits now and then, and before you know it, by the time the veteran players' contracts are up, he's 30+ years old, and his usefulness has run out.

I don't think teams can afford to pay veterans the contracts they're receiving anymore, which is why you saw the likes of Grudz, Clark, Sexson, Durham, Easley, Alou, Gonzalez, Payton, Dave Roberts, Stewart, Jenkins, etc. on the outside looking in, because teams thought, "why would I spend $4-5 million/year on a player like that, when I can get the same type of production from a 20-24 year old player, who is getting valuable on the job training for the future?"

GM's like Hendry take a look at Aaron Miles, and jump out of their chair, saying, "he's a veteran, battle tested guy, coming off a great season. he will add valuable experience to the team" Really?!? First of all, he was merely adding a veteran to simply add a veteran. He was NOT looking at production. If he did, he'd realize that almost any minor leaguer he had could fill Miles' stats of a .280 avg, .320 OBP, 1-4 hr, 30-40 RBI, and for $2 million less than he is paying for Miles. This is NOT an observation after this season...it was taking into account his historical stats...which aren't that great. But you get my point, right? Team are going to start evaluating veterans this way: Can I survive without them? If so, what are my internal options, and do I have a back-up plan if they don't pan out? (here's what I mean by that...below)

Let's say, for instance, the Cubs were super high on Starlin Castro (which they obviously are). If Castro was in high A last year as we went into the offseason, and had a similar season to what he's having now, a good GM would look at that, and have him go to the Arizona Fall League, then make a judgement for next season. He'd see that we had Bobby Scales, Tony Thomas, Nate Spears (who lit up AZFL pitching), and Andres Blanco all ready to make contributions...and, ironically, all producing similar to what Aaron Miles would offer...AND all would make $2 million less.

If you fast-forward to this offseason, we have those same players, along with Ryan Flaherty, DJ LeMahieu, Darwin Barney, Marquez Smith, Matt Camp, all primed to make waves in Spring Training of next year to stake claim on a roster spot.

We have Brad Snyder, Hoffpauir, Deeds, Fuld, Fox, Adduci, Colvin, Wright, Burke, Campana, Jackson, etc. ready for starting spots or bench roles at the MLB level. All we need is guys like Soriano, Fukudome, Bradley, and Reed Johnson to vacate roster spots to give them on opportunity. Like I said before, I'd be VERY satisfied with an OF of Fox, Jackson, and Burke. I'd be satisfied with Fox, Fuld, Hoffpauir, or Fox, Fuld, Snyder. I really could care less. This brings you to the question. Are we really better off with what we have?!? That is precisely the question that any good organization will ask itself as it evaluates the performance on the field. My answer (and I hope all of yours as well) would be a resounding "NO!!!!!!" Are we better off with Soriano vs Fox? Are we better off with Fukudome vs Fuld? (the only real close one we have). Are we better off with Bradley vs Hoffpauir? Are we better off with Miles vs Blanco? Are we better off with Fontenot vs Baker? Are we better off with Soto vs Hill? Are we better off with Gregg vs Marmol at closer? And so on and so on.

Folks, if this team hasn't already made you vomit profusely, then this revelation will have you calling for Soriano's head immediately, along with all the leadership on the team:

...i'm actually going to post this in a separate post, because this one's too long...

from Rosenbloom:

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/rosenblog/2009/08/piniellas-not-sure-of-his-future-but-soriano-sounds-sure-the-cubs-are-dead.html

*****************************************

So, if Piniella was concerned about his standing after failing with a bad team in Tampa, there might well be utter panic over the issue now that he’s taken a big payroll team to two playoffs and failed to win one stinkin’ game, thanks in part to his own bonehead decision in the opener each year.

Or, if not panic, then there’s resignation in his attitude just short of an actual resignation in a season where he admitted he had no answers and is reduced to looking for a “magic formula’’ and “magic dust.’’

A manager with no answers who resorts to wishing for fairy-tale qualities sounds like a guy you’d fire and pay off with a handful of magic beans.

But let’s get to the real story and the most damning thing to come out of talk of Piniella’s alleged return: the rank stupidity coming out of Alfonso Soriano’s mouth. Get a load of this:

‘‘He’s a great manager. I like seeing that he’s coming back. Two out of three years going to the playoffs isn’t bad.’’

Two out of three years going to the playoffs isn’t bad, Soriano said. The Cubs already have gone to the playoffs for two years, so the $136 million left fielder who remains homerless in August is essentially saying his team is done this year. Dead. O-vuh.

Piniella was asked whether his players have quit on the team and the season, and he said to ask the players. OK. Fine. There you go, Mr. Manager With No Answers, one of your players offered one of the most embarrassing answers.

Yeah, Soriano’s probably right, but no, he’s definitely not one of the people who should be intimating that when his team is eight games back, it’s also six feet under.

I would laud Soriano’s honesty here if I thought he knew what he was saying. But I don’t believe that. I believe it was a slip. It just came out that way -- came out in a way as pathetic as his season.

And in a way as pathetic as this Cubs season. Two weeks ago, they were tied for first place. Now they’re so far back that even if they won every game for a week and the Cardinals lost every game, the Cubs still wouldn’t even be tied for first.

*****************************************

and this, folks, pretty much ends our season. We already knew this team had no heart. If this doesn't get Soriano benched for the rest of the season, I don't know what will

Aaron, just a note to your several posts...don't forget...ARAM can opt out of his contract after next season...if he so chooses.

I'm going to bide my time and see what happens at this point...The key is going to be how Ricketts plays it...

Word is he is pretty conservative...BUT

any new owner likes to make an intitial

splash...and he will do something to keep the turnstiles rolling.

I just hope he does the right thing.

I don't know where you got the "conservative" from. From everything I heard, the Ricketts family wants to bring a winner to the Northside immediately, which is precisely why they consulted with the Boston Red Sox before, during, and after making the bid. They knew it'd been a long time for the BoSox before they won a championship, and they wanted to see what it took to bring one to Wrigleyville. I think maybe the "conservative" approach might stem from him cutting dead weight contracts like Soriano, Fukudome, and Bradley, and ushering in some homegrown talent as the Red Sox did their second time around. They might even employ the same strategy the Red Sox had the first time around (though I think that window has closed, given the playoff exits the past 2 years, and the disastrous 2009 season). If you'll recall, in the BoSox curse breaking championship in 2004, they already set the building blocks for that 2 seasons prior, bringing in the likes of Damon, Ortiz, Millar, Mueller, Arroyo, but the pieces that put them over the top were Orlando Cabrera, Dave Roberts, Foulke and most importantly, Curt Schilling in 2004.

By my calculations, the best chance for us to have won a championship was in 2004 or 2005, but Hendry blew it. Obviously, he didn't know the formula for success at that point, and obviously he didn't plan for injuries to Wood, Prior, or Clement that derailed those chances. But in 2003, the formula was set, when we acquired ARAM, Lofton, and Grudz, and it was Alou's second season with us, then in 2004, we got Lee and Nomar, Maddux, Hawkins, and Mercker. The best move Hendry could've made at that time was to retain Lofton, and especially Juan Cruz for pitching depth, but he let both of them go.

I don't know if any of you are following what I'm trying to say here...but it's this....our window has effectively closed, which is why we need to clean house right now. Lee, Soriano, Fukudome, and Bradley absolutely must go in order for this to happen. We have a solid core of guys like ARAM, Theriot, Baker (he's done well enough to warrant inclusion), Fox, and Fuld, and you could even include Soto, because even though he sucked this year, and showed up fat, and out of shape, he still showed us last year that he can really hit MLB pitching well, provided he's in shape. I could also see guys like Z, Wells, Harden, Gorzelanny, Caridad (because of his live arm), Guzman, and Marmol in the discussion as well for a solid base to start from.

But we absolutely have to rid ourselves of the guys I mentioned, because they earn $53 million combined, and their stats aren't worthy of that compensation, and furthermore, they can be replaced by internal candidates that offer the same, if not more in production for $400,000. Which would you choose? Even if we have to eat salary, it'd be wise to do so, in order to free up the roster space, AND kick start the rebuilding process without really missing a beat. Keep in mind that next season we have the following expiring contracts:

Gregg-$4.2 million

Johnson-$3 million

Harden-$7 million

Heilman-$1.625 million

Cotts-$1.1 million

Chad Fox-$575,000

Gaudin-$2 million

Vizcaino-$4 million

*Cotts, Fox, Gaudin, and Vizcaino essentially haven't been a part of the team this whole season, but keep in mind, their contracts still add to the total, and they come off the books next year. That represents almost $24 million coming off the books for next season. The only guy worth resigning might be Harden, and he'll run you about $10 million/yr, so you'd have about $14 million to play with if you kept the status quo. If you got someone to take on Soriano, Fukudome, Bradley, or Lee, and part of their contracts, you'd have even more. Next year's crop of free agents looks abysmal.

I'm listing only the ones worthy of consideration:

C-none

1B-Nick Johnson

2B-Orlando Hudson, Felipe Lopez, Iwamura (if his option is declined)

SS-none

3B-Figgins

LF-Holliday, Crawford (if extension declined-unlikely or if he's traded-likely)

CF-Ankiel

RF-Abreu, Kearns (reclamation project), Vlad Guerrero, Jermaine Dye. In the case of Vlad and Dye, I'd only do one year deals with incentives because of age. Abreu I might do 2 yrs because of his physical condition, and his high OBP. As I've also mentioned in the past, power hitters almost never age well, but the speed, OBP guys age better. Frank Thomas, though he had significant power, also had over .400+ OBP seasons, just like Abreu, and they both still put up decent stats past age 33. Guys like Hudson and Figgins, whom rely more on speed also age better, because they can slap the ball already, and don't have to learn a different way to hit when they're not driving the ball (like power hitters). Guys like Derrek Lee do not age well, because, as we've seen this year, they've always been fly ball hitters, and the balls he normally knocked out of the park in his late 20's are now warning track fly outs. Same for Soriano. The bat speed leaves, etc.

That's why, as I said, when we had ARAM and Lee both in their late 20's in 2004, that was probably our best shot at winning it all, because we had the same relative team structure that the BoSox had in 2004 when they won it all. In 2007, they changed their structure with the likes of Ellsbury, Youkilis, and Pedroia playing major roles on the team while they still had Manny and Ortiz. If we're going to win next year, we'll have to do it with ARAM, Fox, and guys like Snyder, Hoffpauir, Castro, etc. I know I sound like a broken record, but we're simply just way too old, and the free agent market has nothing to offer but a bunch of 30+ year olds, so, like I said, if we're going to get anywhere next year, it's going to have to be internally, and with trades for young, up-and-coming players. If I were the Cubs, I'd look into the possibility of trading for Adam Lind or Travis Snider of the Jays, and give them pretty much anyone outside of the prospects I mentioned earlier for them. I'd include Jay Jackson, Cashner, etc. for them, and maybe one of the infielders I mentioned like Tony Thomas, or Darwin Barney. We have a need to get younger, and we have to start this offseason.

Aaron,

The "conservative" tag I got on Ricketts

was from mainstream media re CONJECTURE

of his management style....So nothing is in stone...but they say he is not impulsive and very measured in how he operates...going through a 2 plus year sale process...would make me measured also...

It is my hope that both as a fan and potential owner...he has already done a lot of evaluation already...and he can hit the pavement walking...as opposed to crawling.

I agree the key things we have to do is get younger...with talent.

According to Cots contracts...the Cubs

have committed 113.825M to 9 players in 2010:

Soriano 18 M (4 more years)

Z 17.875 M Thr 2014

ARAM 15.75 M (can opt out

after 2010)

Lee 13 M Final year

Demp 12.5 M 2012

Lilly 12 M Final year

Fuko 13 M 2011

Bradley 9 M 2011

Miles 2.7 M Final year

* Does not include incentives/arbitration

Shark or this year's minimum/just over

minimum players.

* Does not address 5th starter

* " " " 2nd/short

* " " " bullpen

* " " " bench

Shark's contract wasn't broken down year by year...but 10M total through 2012.

If you say 2 mil for Shark...and assume a payroll of 130 M (Round figure)

That leaves 14.175 M for the other

15 guys on the active Roster PLUS

filling in however may guys on the 40

man roster they carry at minimum.

(400K ea).

Now I'm sure payroll will be a little higher than $130...but still...it illustrates our problem.

With Boston and NY set already at DH

for next season...who's going to want Soriano at even 5 M per year?

He really appears to be just about done as a servicable player.

Fuko and Bradley might be traded if we

pick up 50% of their salaries...but even that will be tough to accomplish.

I agree with you re Lee...But I don't

know if a) Lee will waive the no trade.

b) If the Cubs will be bold enough to trade their top producer this seaon.

I would like to see our entire starting outfield dumped...in favor of the youngsters...But that might be too big of a chunk for Ricketts to bite off,

Either way...the very best Christmas present a Cubs fan could get this year

...is Soriano dfa'd/retire (due to knee).

Thanks!!

The Juan Pierre line was a joke....I completely agree Fuld should be there....

I do think Lou will step down. I think Ricketts will be fair and allow him to retire rather than be fired. I think it's a bit odd that Lou suddenly chimes in to confirm he's in for next year just as the team finally announces the sale...

I'm still betting whatever the reasons...Lou will not be managing the team next year.

Ah, gotcha. I should have known the Pierre thing was a joke. :-)

Oh well, here's hoping that you are right on Lou !!!

I'm tired of watching the same old

garbage that he puts out there each day. Soriano, Bradley, Miles.

and I know I'm preaching to the choir.

If you think about it, he could care less about the future of this team and maybe trying to develop some young talent. Either way, at the very most, he has 1 more year. There is no way he comes back after 2010 if decides to come back. So he is going to play the veterans, which makes us all sick to our stomachs.

So it is better that he go home to Tampa and stay there. We need a fresh young manager like Ryno or maybe Brenley...or how about Greg Maddux ? At the very leas,t we should get him for pitching coach.

Well, this season has been over for quite awhile now, and I get the impression from a lot of Cubs fans that they're surprised by that fact.

In fact, in Spring Training, when Lou was saying, "the bat speed of our big boys is slow" (and they were already into like week two or something of ST), I knew it'd be a long year, and I said it then. And sorry to get off on a tangent, but those that think Derrek Lee will hit 100 RBI this year...I'm sorry, but the likelihood of you winning the lottery is better than Lee getting to 100 RBI (obviously I'm exaggerating a bit...not too much though). In 13 MLB seasons, Derrek Lee, and his $13 million salary has only ONE season of 100+ RBI. He's sitting at 83 RBI right now with 40 games remaining. If you did the math on that, he would end up with 27 more RBI (equivalent of current RBI/game, which now sits at .68/game, which averaged out over the next 40 games would amount to 110 RBI). His career average RBI totals in September are right around .56/game for a total of 22 over 40 games, which would still put him over 100 RBI. However, when uncovering this, you must take into consideration the OVERALL likelihood, which is a 7.7% chance that he will get to 100 RBI (1 out of 13 seasons thus far). Why am I mentioning this? Well, it's because I'm painting a picture of how pathetic this lineup really is.

Right now, Lee is leading our "team" (obviously I'm using quotes, because we don't actually play like a team):

Lee-83 RBI

Soriano-52

Theriot-48

Fukudome-46

ARAM-38

Fontenot-36

Fox-34

Bradley-31

Soto-29

Almost every team in the league has at least 2 players over 60 RBI at this point. We have 1. In fact, most teams in the league have 4-6 players over 50+RBI at this point. We have just 2. If you were to include Fontenot and Soto in the everyday lineup equation, we'd have 4 players hitting .250 and under (2 hitting .224 and under) and 4 with OBP's .324 and under (2 with .302 and under).

If Lou wakes up from his coma and uses the following lineup, we'd probably win a lot of games down the stretch, but his decision-making is so awful, it has made me watch right around 5 out of the last 20 games:

Fuld-CF.283 avg, .397 OBP, 9 walks vs 7 K's

Theriot-SS.299 avg, .349 OBP

Lee-1B.292 avg, .373 OBP

ARAM-3B.316 avg, .384 OBP

Fukudome-RF.274 avg, .388 OBP

Fox-LF.305 avg, .355 OBP

Baker-2B.321 avg, .374 OBP (with Cubs)

Hill-C.225 avg, .308 OBP (avg higher than Soto's .217, while OBP is lower, but Hill handles our pitchers FAR better than Soto)

Essentially you take all the bad apples out of the lineup/defense in one swoop. I just don't understand why he doesn't commit to the young guys. They've FAR outperformed the veterans. Even in Hoffpauir's limited playing time, he still out-hit Bradley AND Soriano. I just don't get it. It's almost like Muhsin Muhammed's comments after he left the Bears, when he said, "good wide receivers go to Chicago and die"...It's almost like "good young players go to the Cubs to die". They rot on the bench from mis-use, or under-use. Mis-use, would be Piniella taking everyday players like Fox and Hoffpauir (Hoffpauir especially), and using them as a pinch hitter. Under-use would be Piniella calling someone up like Fuld, then not playing him at all (as he did when he was first called up).

Anyway, that's enough of my rant, and I'm sorry that was a lengthy ramble...I don't have small snip-its today, but I do have some fairly good news for all of you. If the season ended today, and I could compose a MLB roster out of just our minor league guys, or recent call-ups, it'd look like this:

C-Robinson Chirinos-.294 avg, .395 OBP, 11 hr, 48 RBI (combined high A and AA)

1B-Blake Lalli-.321 avg, .375 OBP, 5 hr, 45 RBI

*honorable mention-Rebel Ridling-.303 avg, .352 avg, 15 hr, 89 RBI

2B-Ryan Flaherty-.273 avg, .337 OBP, 19 hr, 72 RBI

*honorable mention-Tony Thomas-.263 avg, .350 OBP, 10 hr, 39 RBI

SS-Starlin Castro-.301 avg, .346 OBP, 3 hr, 43 RBI (combined high A and AA)

*honorable mention-DJ LeMahieu-.321 avg, .371 OBP, 0 hr, 22 RBI in just 28 games (combined short season and low A)

3B-Jake Fox-.359 avg, .425 OBP, 26 hr, 87 RBI (combined AAA and MLB)

*honorable mention-Josh Vitters-.289 avg, .320 OBP, 17 hr, 61 RBI (combined low and high A)

LF-Ty Wright-.290 avg, .346 OBP, 8 hr, 54 RBI

*honorable mention-Brandon May-.500 avg, .640 OBP, 0 hr, 2 RBI (yes, I realize this is a small sampling, but he was a recent late signee from the draft 36th round, but the Cubs saw him play in the Cape Cod League, and loved him, and offered him 8th round money to sign. He plays 2B, SS, and the Cubs were trying to convert him to catcher, but he's playing LF right now...if any of you recall when I was doing the draft recap, that I said I loved this kid. I thought he had a power bat. At the time, I wondered why we didn't go after one of his teammates as well, who had an even more powerful bat, but I was happy with the pick, and now he's showing why, even though in just 4 games, it's a VERY small sample size)

CF-Sam Fuld-.283 avg, .378 OBP, 2 hr, 33 RBI (combined AAA and MLB)

*honorable mention-Brett Jackson-.328 avg, .427 OBP, 6 hr, 34 RBI (

RF-Kyler Burke-.307 avg, .402 OBP, 41 doubles (yes, you read that right), 2 triples, 13 hr, 76 RBI, and 12 SB

Folks, RF isn't even close. At 21 years old, he was acquired 2 years ago at age 19 in the Michael Barrett trade with San Diego. He struggled initially with plate discipline, but this is his first full season outside of short season ball and he is a tremendous talent, and I hope we see him in the next few years, just like LeMahieu, Flaherty, Jackson, Castro, and Vitters.

A team like this, would excite me:

C-Welington Castillo (great arm, but his bat regressed this year)

1B-LeMahieu (at 6'4" he could handle the switch)

2B-Flaherty

SS-Castro

3B-Vitters

LF-Fox

CF-Jackson

RF-Burke

bench: Colvin, Campana, Tony Thomas, Ridling, Robinson/Clevenger/Castillo/Brenly

That's the team I want to see in 2 years. I really think that Burke, Jackson, Fox, LeMahieu, Castro, and Flaherty have the chance to become starts. The jury is out on Vitters. He doesn't seem like he can handle upper level pitching like he did in Peoria. If he dominated like Castro has on his way up, then I'd be more optimistic, but I just don't know right now. In 2 seasons, we will have Lee, Bradley, and Fukudome off the books. We can opt not to extend Theriot. This essentially means we will have openings at 1B,2B,SS,CF, and RF. ARAM could slide over to 1B if necessary to make room for Vitters, and by then, hopefully we will have rid ourselves of the awful Soriano contract.

So, despite all of the bad contracts that we have, we still can look forward to 2012, when nearly all of the roster will be turned over, and these young guys should be ready to make their mark (some as early as next year like Castro, Thomas, and maybe even Brett Jackson)

Aaron...no disagreements here. But it takes a GM/Manager that are committed to the internal development, and providing steady playing time to the youngsters. So many times our up and comers just languish, and we have all the history to show that.

That's why the organization needs new, younger, and fresh minds at GM and Manager to change the face of the franchise. That's where we missed out on Girardi for example.

If you look back on Pinella's history this is his recurring track record. He can't figure out how to win, and then he crawls into his own cacoon, alienating everyone and ignoring the obvious around him. When he says he's never been fired, it's because he's always bailed ahead of that potential event.

JoeS and SuzyS ... Good posts.. thanks for the laughs..

Here's a great, pointed article in today Tribune from Rick Morrissey...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-24-morrissey-aug24,0,5411110.column

And if you weren't nauseated enough with Pinella, here's some wonderful snippets from his postgame yesterday:

"I said that I was going to have to play my veteran players," Piniella said. "They're going to have to get it done. I'll get [the kids] in as much as I can, but I'm going to lean as much as I can on our veteran players here and see what they can do and how far we can go."

"Fox is hitting .305 with nine home runs and 34 RBIs in 151 at-bats. Bradley is hitting .250 with nine home runs and 31 RBIs in 316 at-bats. But Piniella doesn't believe Fox can play right field at Wrigley Field, so Fox has to settle for spot starts in left and at third base."

Can you believe this? Fox can't play RF is the new Lou excuse. The kid goes 4-4 yesterday, and Lou can't find an everyday spot of him. I didn't know we already had a gold glove in RF making $10m a year.

In a poll on the same Tribune site, 88% of respondent readers felt Fuld should start in place of Soriano everyday and Fox should start in place of Bradley.

Everyone gets it...but our damn manager.

This is becoming not only sad, but quite comical now.

I heard that kid in "Better Off Dead" did eventually get his 2 dollars. Maybe he could school a couple of the Cub players on tenacity and persistence.

In the wee hour pomderings...

Sometimes, there are different standards

of success...

I will consider this season a success if:

1)The Cubs can admit their mistakes

2)DO SOMETHING ABOUT THEIR MISTAKES

2a)Give Miles back to LaRussa so he can screw them up.

2b)Trade Soriano to the Jamaican Bob sled team or any other non relevant pursuit.

2c)Give Milton Bradley his WALKING PAPERS.

2d)Schedule Kevin Gregg for the next

shuttle LAUNCH. He'd be ideal for a space experiment to see how far the ball

can travel.

2e)Relocate Heilman to Wisconsin where

the G. Heilman Brewing company can make use of his Ball HOPS.

2f) Send sweet Lou on an extended PR tour of Stateville (the penitentiary

nearby my locale)...where he can

mutter to his heart's content....

"WHAT DID I DO?" over and over again.

2g)Make Lou write on the blackboard

100 times..."I WILL NOT PINCH HIT

MILES/I WILL NOT PINCH HIT MILES...

2f)Have Jim Hendry finish off his contract working for the Division of

Unemployment...so he learns the value of a contract...and ask if he wants an extension.

JoeS. - the decision to trade Rafael

Palmeiro was a choice between Raffy

or Grace. Raffy made it easy when he

"played" with Sandberg's wife.

Similar to the reasons why our famous "Harry" had to leave St. Louis.

I hear Geo Soto and Jenny Craig are about to become an "item".

Kevin Youkilis(sp?) of the Red Sox quote:

"To be successful, a ballplayer has to forget yesterday's game. You don't want to travel down that road if you can't"

...on the day the Red Sox pummelled the

Yankees 14-1 after losing 17-11 the day before.

Does that mean the Cubs have memories like elephants?

In the silver lining department:

- All's well that ends Wells...what a great season Wells has had.

-Aaron Rowen vs Sam Fuld?

- Mr. 4 for 4 Fox...where did he come from?

- The Gee Gee Boys have done well...

Grabow and Gorzelanny.

- Mr. Hoffpauir needs to play everyday somewhere...although his #'s are low now

he should have hit the DL for "splinters

on his ass syndrome."...another reason for Lou to mutter "What did I do?"

Be sure to check out the Community Blog....Neil was kind enough to post some pictures I sent him of my daughter Abby's first Cubs game which occurred here in San Diego last week. Thanks Neil.

I understand why Fuld's parents named him Sam. Helps explain the big S on his chest.

Dude...the walls in the major leagues don't give way buddy.

Seriously if Sam Fuld and Jake Fox dont start every game the rest of the season then Lou should be FIRED for the first time in his career.

When Randy Wells gave my daughter a baseball at a recent Padres game as she waited along the centerfield fence...I had to double check to make sure it wasn't Kevin Gregg since usually it's his balls that sail so easily over the outfield fence.

Jay Johnstone where are you? We need some humor around here. This $hit is not funny anymore.

You know something went wrong when Theriot has two less homeruns than your "left handed hitting savior" Milton Bradley. And Theriot has 7.

It's scary when out of all the switch hitters on the roster..Koyie Hill, Milton Bradley and Aaron Miles....Carlos Zambrano is the best of all of them.

Would Carlos win a left handed hitting homerun contest with Milton Bradley?

Carlos has 3 homeruns in 52 AB's while Milton has 9 homeruns in 315 AB's....hmmmmm

After watching Soriano's defense the last few years..who here wouldn't DIE to have Juan Pierre back?!?!

Is Soriano the most disliked Cubs player since....Todd Hundley??

The two of them have alot in common. A few monster Seasons during Steroid era's and then a downfall. I'm not saying either of them juiced. I'm just saying.....

Jake Fox has almost IDENTICAL stats as Aramis Ramirez this season...yet Fox can't play on a regular basis?

Sam Fuld was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 10....he plays the game with an intensity like someone else who has type 1 diabetes....Mr. Santo.....

What kind of press conference would Lee Elia hold if he were the manager this year instead of Lou? Those would be entertaining.

Is Lee Smith doing anything these days? We need a lights out closer and havent had one since he left!!

The refusal to play young kids drives me crazy.....but then again in the 80's...we traded away Joe Carter....and Rafael Palmeiro....

I think Geo Soto is on the Hector Villanueva diet plan....

Speaking of Geo...he has as many homeruns this year as fatties he smoked during the WBC.....

Soriano makes George Bell look like a gold glover....

Be a toss-up as to where Kevin Gregg ranks as worst closer for the Cubs...he definitely gets tied to the names of Latroy Hawkins and Dave Smith forever....

Heck...I might even take Candy Maldonado or Kal Daniels in LF or even Glenallen Hill....ahead of Soriano....

Even Luis Gonzalez wasn't this bad to watch out there...

"Oh Henry" where have you gone??

Maybe Soriano should lose the batting gloves and start urinating on his hands....

Hell...Randall Simon moved around better than Soriano!!

If any year we should have had MICKEY Morandini on our team...it should have been this year. Lou has gone GOOFY on us....

Read somewhere we have led the MAJORS in strikeouts every season since Larry Rothschild has been pitching coach! That's Awesome!!!!

Read somewhere that over the course of that same period we blew out the arms of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior...and Carlos Zambrano hasn't been the same the past couple years either. That Sucks!!!

I think the last time Carlos Zambrano threw anything and hit his location was his uppercut to Michael Barretts Jaw.

Bob Brenly noted the other day in regards to Soriano's free swinging that "he would have been hit by the pitch if he batted lefty"

I'm waiting for the day that Soriano swings and misses....on a pickoff throw to first....

I think I heard fans calling for Jacque Jones to come back.....

Exactly what is Ed Lynch job description with the Cubs these days??

Jim Hendry might want to rewrite that job description...while he still has the power to do so....

Somehow Aaron Miles has managed to almost equal his AB's (146) with his batting average (.178). Sweet.

Mark DeRosa, please wipe that smile off your face.

And we gave him a 2 year 4.9 MILLION dollar contract??? For this?

Suddenly Jim Hendry has a plethora of voice mails from middle infielders who guarantee they could match that production....I've heard the names Paul Noce and Mike Brumley tossed around....

This just in from the "stick it to Jim Hendry" files.....Jason Marquis is 14-8 with a 3.58 ERA playing for COLORADO....oh and by the way he thanks the Cubs for the almost 1 million in salary we are paying for this year....

Did you know Soriano actually has a $75,000 clause in his contract for a bonus for a Gold Glove??? At least Hendry has a sense of humor.....

I thought I just saw a shooting star...then realized Kevin Gregg was pitching again....