sammy fuld vs andres blanco.......who makes more sense for the cubs?:

i know this site loves blanco; he should start, blah, blah, gonna hit .280 etc, but really.......his lifetime ML avg is .252 in less than 400 at-bats.

in 8 seasons of minors he hit .256.

not sure how this translates to .280 or even .260.......

so how does it hurt to see if fontenot can play SS?

baker or fontenot won't come out of games late for DEF?

now let's talk about fuld.....he of the .287 avg in the minors.

better hitter than blanco, better pinch runner and helps the team more by replacing soriano in LF late in games than would blanco replacing the 2 2b.

keeping fuld would ensure he could back-up CF and not force fukunuts over there either.

(plus tracy or Hoff could make the team and provide LH pop off bench,)

granted, fontenot does worry me as the back-up SS, but there is some sense to it.

(in the end though, fuld has 1 more option, blanco does not...........but as lou said castro would play if theriot on DL............)

and as much as everyone assumes blanco gets picked up off waivers........who says.........

just sayin.

Kaplan...while addressing a question about a new RHP set up guy...

"You never know,...looking at Cleveland,

word is they'll want tomove Kerry Wood this season....if they eat enough of the contract and we give them a prospect or two...maybe Kerry comes back as a setup guy...you never know!"

7:10 pm...for those interested Lou Pinella will be on Sportscentral WGN AM

720 in a few minutes with Kaplan.

Good interview with Lou...

Suzy, did you hear how he pronounced Xavier Nady's last name?

Neil, I know it wasn't right...because I did a double take...but I can't remember exactly what he said....made me think

of Harry though.

It was a great interview...Millar really does sound great...Impressive that these guys are in the weight room at 7:30 am.

It's hard not to get excited listening

to that, Neil.

He called him "Naggy" or "Nagy" I have not figured out how to spell it yet.

Millar was great as well.

Hendry was on XM today and talked about all the guys getting there early. He said Rudy is there by 7:30am working in the cages with the guys. Hendry said it is great to hear balls being hit when he gets out of his car first thing in the morning.

I agree about the excitement. This time next week, I will be out there.

Neil...have a great,great time next week.

Here are projections/predictions ...

http://chicagocubsonline.com/archives/2010/02/2010predictions.php

http://chicagocubsonline.com/archives/2010/02/cubspecota2010_1.php

http://chicagocubsonline.com/archives/2010/02/cubsprojectedof.php

How did those Baseball Prospectus and all the other "Experts" predictions of the last year go. I don't believe people were picking the Cards to win that many games and the Cubs to only win 83. The Brewers were "predicted" to win more games as well.

That is why they play the games, but until the games begin and we have actual standings and stats, we will all continue to debate projected numbers and standings.

The beauty of this time of year, nobodys opinions are wrong yet.

I just can't imagine keeping Fontenot (and thinking he can fill in at SS in a pinch) and not keeping Blanco.

Apparently I'd really get along with both ARAM and Theriot. They're both realistic. Look at this:

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

"The division got stronger," Aramis Ramirez said. "Everybody got better -- St. Louis and Milwaukee. We're going to have to battle to get back to the top. ... We had a lot of injuries, we had a lot of guys that didn't perform the way they used to. We've just got to get back and do what we do. Look at the back of everybody's baseball card. If everybody (hits to form), we're going to be all right."

The Cubs feel they've improved this offseason.

"Maybe so, but (the Cardinals) got better, too," shortstop Ryan Theriot said. "They added a few pitchers, and obviously with Matt (Holliday) and Albert (Pujols), in the middle of that lineup, they're going to be tough."

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/02/cubs-projected-to-finish-below-500.html

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

Baseball Prospectus picked the Cubs to finish below .500, and 9 games back of the Cards. They went on to say that Soriano's days of being a solid producer are long gone, and that the Cubs have too many old playersthat are getting injured now.

I'm not posting this to be all negative, I'm simply posting it to show that even the players are realistic. I listened to the podcast, and I have to disagree with what Jim (TP) I believe it was that said the Brewers really didn't get better.

The Brewers landed a solid lead-off hitter in Gomez, and essentially didn't give up much in Hardy, because they were planning on starting with Escobar at SS. They also signed Zaun, who is a solid catcher, Capuano (coming back from injury), Doug Davis, John Halama (who was out of MLB for awhile, but was solid in the past, and coincidently is the cousin of my wife's boss), Randy Wolf, and Latroy Hawkins.

Those are all very solid, capable MLB players they landed.

We finished just above .500 in second place last year in a very disappointing season, and we've essentially just added:

Silva, Byrd, and Nady.

That's essentially the only players we added that are guaranteed roster spots. Tracy is on a minor league deal, and from all I understand, appears to be out of the picture altogether before spring training even starts. He, along with Nady, are both injury prone.

It certainly seems that we didn't get better, but I could be wrong.

wow..............

gomez is a solid lead-off hitter......he of the career .292 OBP..........and as U told me i don't understand all the "fancy" stats as i wear cubs goggles......but get real.

and capuano last pitched in 2007, halama in 2006 and doug davis has 28 wins last 3 yrs combined......

so other than randy wolf how did they get better..........and gregg zaun is a solid catcher........since when.

pleasssssssssssse......get your anti-cubs goggles off.

the cards added brad "over 5.00 ERA " penny and lost joel 15 wins pinero.....

kept holliday and lost ankiel, derosa.

their OF back-ups are craig allen, nick stavniah, and IF back-up is julio lugo.

their closer is 36!!

they ain't better.........

(check the last time chris carpenter has 2 good yrs in a row???......he's 35).

reds are better..........but they have dusty......

cubs players missed over 500 games combined last yr and finished 7.5 games out and added nady, bryd and tracy(not sure where U are reading he's already not gonna make the team........they haven't even played a game yet.......but hey be negative.......pleaseeeeeeee

and got rid of bradly, miles, and gregg.

sure ain't worse and probably better......same team that won 97 games in '08.

nah..........my goggles have me blind.....but then again all these fancy stats confuse me........

Aaron and Rip...I agree with you both...

not to mention the Reds will not be a cakewalk this season.

However...I do in fact believe we HAVE the talent...and most important the desire and hunger to win.

But the X factor will be Lou...how he manages this season and his (and management's) true desire to win at all costs.

Here's what I mean...

1) If Soriano is stinking out the joint like he did last year...how long will

Lou stay with him as opposed to bringing up a Snyder/Colvin/Jackson...whomever has the hot hand....to take his place.

2) If Castro is hot in AAA...and we're just so-so at 2nd...how long do they wait to move Theriot to second and dump either Fontenot or Baker?

3)There will be great pressure to give Silva the fifth spot...or Gorzo/Shark.

If they are noit doing the job...there's 2 guys I'm pretty sure are almost ready to contribute in big ways...Coleman/Diamond...maybe Cashner.

Tracy/Lahair...etc.

The talent is here...it will come down to the will of the organization to sit the big contracts and give way to productive youth...IN A TIMELY MANNER.

No goggles here...I realize with youth

it's high risk/high reward....and most of these moves probably won't happen...

but Lou can't sleep through this season

if we are going to win.

But the hunger and almost-ready youth

are our strengths...I hope Lou doesn't just settle.

Aaron, I'd say we're better, but the question remains: "How much better?"

Nady is an upgrade over Bradley/Funko.

Byrd is an upgrade over Funko in CF.

Silva, well, he's an upgrade over the batboy. Wait, I take that back. The batboy can run better. He's not an upgrade. We'll see if he makes the team out of ST. Same with Nady, too. I can't see how he makes the team if he cannot throw but 120'. Forget RF with that wing.

So, we're not much better!

The numbers can be added up at the "40 man roster tab(top right)...or Cots.

The thing is,we really don't know what Ricketts hard number is...or what they have in mind for another reliever...although we can assume there is at least Chan Ho Park's salary available.

Guys...thsat don't make the team might be released or traded.

The short answer is...if they really wanted Felipe Lopez...they could have him. BUT??????????????????????????

One question...

Anybody have a hard definitive line on what our payroll number is this year... I would guess that the team budgeted with Theriot's 800K in mind.... is that available???

Does Felipe Lopez fit into what little room we have left. I know I am kinda beating this to death, but MLB Network constantly raves about the guy, and most former teammates I have heard deny his character issues.

To me he is a stop gap that solidifies our middle infield for 2010.

Thanks and Go Cubs Go!!!!

Suzy ... thanks for the "plug" on the 40-man roster tab.

Levine reported on Tuesday that the Cubs' payroll is at $144 million right now ... his exact words were, the Cubs have $144 million committed to the payroll for this season. And that is it, no more room right now. The only way they can make changes is through trades.

Baseball Prospectus estimated the Cubs Opening Day payroll would be $138 million.

As for the 40-man roster tab, please keep in mind that I have not seen what the 0-3 men (or automatic renewals) will make this season. So right now I would think Levine's number is pretty close.

But I think Suzy's original point is most interesting...what does this mean for Blanco if Lou is going to "just stick the kid in" or whatever he said. I mean are they not going to carry a backup for SS on the roster until Theriot gets hurt? Something doesn't make sense. But I agree that it points toward a bench bat rather than a defensive bench seat.

Let's give up the Lopez talk. It is quite clear, even if the Cubs had the $$ that they are not interesting in Lopez. Whether the rap of being a poor clubhouse guy is true or not, i think it is obvious that they are not willing to take the chance. Plus he is over rated. Light hitting, losing his speed...to similar to in house options...and probably with less heart and desire to really impress (like a rookie). I don't think Lopez brings that much, not enough to make a difference.

Per Carrie Muskat's 02/24 Blog on Cubs.com Lou Piniella said the follwoing about Theriot/Castro

"The positions on the field are pretty well taken except we're not exactly sure what we're going to do at second base," Piniella said. "If [Ryan] Theriot were to get hurt, which we don't want obviously, we'll just put the kid at shortstop and let him play."

She states that "the kid" is Starlin Castro"....

To me this is the first thing that Lou has said that remotely resembles that Castro has a chance.

Now Theriot has been pretty dang reliable...148,149,154 games played in '07, '08 and '09. So that makes this type of scenario unlikely...

BUUUUUUTTTTT.... it is nice to know that if the worse case scenario occurs with Theriot that Castro has shown Lou enough not to languish in the minors. I am not proposing promote the kid now by any means, but I do want to see him impress and how he carries himself at camp will go a long way in showing us, the casual fan, if he is for real "for real", or what we are used to and just "For hype".

Cloy...Great minds read alike...although we have different takes.

Besides your obvious point...to me, it also said he is really committed to Fontenot being on the team.

If Lou is comfortable playing "the kid" in an emergency situation...it means Castro has impressed him already...and we can assume he is "indeed for real"...

although not close toa finished product.

Lou also said yesterday..."that the special ones arrive quickly"...referring to Castro.

Reading an article on Kerry Wood...I noted that he arrived in the majors at age 20 also.

That being said...he should still start in AAA...and we can hope to see him

mid-season sometime.

Sounds like Blanco is on the bubble....

Lou: "If Ryan Theriot were to get hurt, which we don't want, we'll just put the kid at ss and let him play." - Muskat at Cubs.com.

He's seriously going to take a look at

Fontenot at backup ss....in order to make room for another offensive bat.

Blanco's out of options...he'd be scooped up in a nano second...and I firmly believe he'llhit .270 - .280

this season.

But what do I know?

Jinx :)

I think it is also worth noting that not every one of those players has to (or is expected to) make it to the ML squad to improve the product on the field. Having a larger number of prospectsBin the lower levels makes it easier to make some trades for proven talent. Combine that with a couple who do succeed and make to Wrigley and the farm will finally be where it should have been all along.

I just read an article on the Red Sox that got me thinking.

In the article (FoxSports/Morosi)...Morosi speculated that the Red Sox battle for the fifth starter spot would come down to Bucholz/

Wakefield/and DiceK.

Morosi felt Bulcholz would win the job...

which might leave the Red Sox open to trading Dicek or Wakefield.

It's hard to imagine Wakefield away from the Red Sox...but DiceK is an interesting thought.

The point of my post is that our inhouse options aren't up snuff...there should be other options out there via trade.

Thoughts?

I'd be surprised if Hendry trades for a starter.

I hear the sentiment on the board about the prospects that are overhyped and probably wont make it. But I am still optimistic that the system is making strides. in 2011 and 2012, we should start seeing some turnover in the roster and when some of these guys start graduating to the majors they will give the payroll the flexibility it needs to fill the holes in other places.

and to be fair, the Cub's are not the ones ranking their prospects or farm...the hype is being created by others. We as fans obviously want to believe.

No Papelbon?

Gee, I thought Hollis Greene had already

spoke.

Hollis Greene needs a new arm.

It is very nice to read that the Cubs have some very good lower level prospects. On the other hand David F's post yesterday was a sober read about how the Cubs' have puffed their prospects in the recent past. Here's a copy of it:

"Your 2011 line-up not nearly as good as the line-up we dreamed of 6-7 years ago ...

1B Hee Sop Choi

2B Bobby Hill

SS Willie Montenez

3B David Kelton

OF Nic Johnson, Corey Patterson, Felix Pie

With a rotation of Wood, Prior, Cruz, Zambrano and Guzman.

Point is ... I think if 2 of the prospects you mention for become above average regulars in 2011, we'll be very lucky. 3 would be extremely unlikely. Beyond that, I just don't see it."

And Scouts.com, in a link posted by Neil just two days ago, said that the Cubs only have "a few" true position prospects in their entire system. (I think they take a brighter view of their pitching prospects). The few are Castro and Vitters, and Castro is only 19 and very unproven at this point. I hope the puffing by the press and others does not ruin him.

David Kelton! Managed 22 ML AB with 3 hits, 2 2Bs, 1 RBI and 8 K. He tore up the lower levels and hit the wall at AAA. He was a .320 hitter in AA, but became a .265-.280 hitter in AA and couldn't make the jump.

Face it: the Major League Level is really MAJOR LEAGUE. Tough to get here, and as Lou says, its even tougher to stay. Ask Bobby Scales. That's what Lou said about Bobby last season after his first game where he had a game winning hit.

sorry ripster, but U have your Montenez mixed up.

willie montenez(actually) montanez was a former 1b for the phils(of the bowa-boone-michael jack schmidt era of the 1970's) and ex-brave; decent pop who batted left hand.

lou montenez is the SS U are talking about; he the number 1 pick of the cubs from the miami area mistakenly compared to a-rod for talent and being from the same area............he is now an OF w/ another ex-cub farm legend......felix pie in baltimore.

anyone notice how high castro is ranked compared to vitters........?? is he really this good? or has vitters fallen?.......or is the national media hyping castro like they are cubs fans?

Cubs 1967...Vitters got off to a slow start and had someminor injury problems that affected his performance.

He also had a low walk rate and showed little plate discipline (although it's

said his he has the capability of hitting almost anything....and had a high contact rate.

He did finish strong...but was shut down

early in the AFL because of a minor hand injury.

The consequence is that his prospect ranking dropped.

However, many still feel he is the best raw talent in the Cubs system.

Castro, on the other hand, excelled at all levels...although in a very small sample at the beginning of AA...he had

a small "adjustment period" where he slumped...but still finished strong at both AA and AAA.

Total abs at AA and above = 151.

Rip, In principle, I agree with the sober assessment...but a team is also

composed of many role players and unforseen guys that step up and grab the brass ring.

(Wells/Fuld/Theriot/Fontenot/Blanco etc.)

With better talent evaluation and a

now better talent base...it still bodes well for the future...IF the Cubs continue to strengthen the minorleague system.

I believe moves such as Maddux and

Jaramillo will help in the talent evaluation/developement side.

It's all going to be on Ricketts shoulders to stand by his words...and at this point...I believe he will...

accountability is the key.

Rip - Unfortunately, you are probably right on, about how many will truly make it. That is the case in every organization, and why prospects get traded for established players. All organizations try to pump up their prospects, to make them more valuable chips, in the trade market. That is why Baseball America and others put together lists, to try and give a ranking to the players.

But did you have to pop the bubble already!!

This really excites me. They say the talent is in the lower levels, but we also have contract problems now. In a couple years, those contract problems start going away. Keep going after the young talent and it is going to be a fun ride in the next several years!! And with the new owners really pushing the minors, I think it is only going to get better!! GO CUBS!

Are you a yooper eh?

Former yooper and troll here.

upper peninsula?

Off topic question... But does U.P. stand for Union Pacific?