The Chicago Cubs..Please Just Go Away!!!

igotid88

Did Zambrano really retire?

SPEEDY MCCREADY

Mr. Zambrano will never pitch for the Chicago Cubs again....

Thank fucking God....

81

what a clown

81

upon further review, perhaps they should try him out at first.

pureoc

Can Ramirez and Soriano retire with him. I think those two are more worthless than Z is. Love the fact the media is ripping A Ram a new one, hustle to first on EVERY HIT you fn bum!

mca47

If only the Cubs traded Z like I said they should...3 years ago!!!!


What a bum!

I hope he doesn't retire. I actually hope he goes to a team in the division and he sucks and goes nuts for their team!

81

Carlos Zambrano went on the offensive Monday, filing a grievance through the players union for his 30-day stint on the disqualified list and telling Comcast SportsNet he doesn't "understand" general manager Jim Hendry's harsh disciplinary action.

"He's always been good to me, but this one, it makes me sad," he told CSN's David Kaplan on "Chicago Tribune Live."

it makes me sad when zambrano is sad

Cliffy6745

Jim Hendry fired.

Indifference71

Cliffy6745 wrote:

Jim Hendry fired.

Only 2 years too late. It's about time Ricketts did something.

Cliffy6745

Indifference71 wrote:

Cliffy6745 wrote:

Jim Hendry fired.

Only 2 years too late. It's about time Ricketts did something.

Agreed. I am sure there was a collective sigh of relief from Cubs fans.

Indifference71

Cliffy6745 wrote:

Indifference71 wrote:

Cliffy6745 wrote:

Jim Hendry fired.

Only 2 years too late. It's about time Ricketts did something.

Agreed. I am sure there was a collective sigh of relief from Cubs fans.

Yeah I would imagine. I'm a white sox fan and I've been wanting them to fire Hendry...he just killed that team with some AWFUL contracts.

mca47

Cliffy6745 wrote:

Jim Hendry fired.

Awesome!!!

Still not sure why anyone ever thought Hendry was worth a damn?

81

mca47 wrote:

Cliffy6745 wrote:

Jim Hendry fired.

Awesome!!!

Still not sure why anyone ever thought Hendry was worth a damn?

other than the Milton move, he didn't do too many really bad deals. yeah, in hindsight the soriano deal is lookign bad, but at the time, everyone loved it. aram was beloved before he stopped caring. if they would have done the zambrano deal a year/year and half earlier everyone would have loved it. everyone was in love with fukodome for a while as well.

but at the end of the day, the team quit about 2 years ago and they've not cared since. they don't have any fire in the belly.

they need to clean house on the field, but it's been tough to do with the contracts that they have unless they trade the player, send cash and get low prospects back.

Johnny Abruzzo

81 wrote:

yeah, in hindsight the soriano deal is lookign bad, but at the time, everyone loved it.

Really? At the time I was thanking the higher power that the Phillies didn't sign him.

81

Johnny Abruzzo wrote:

81 wrote:

yeah, in hindsight the soriano deal is lookign bad, but at the time, everyone loved it.

Really? At the time I was thanking the higher power that the Phillies didn't sign him.

this is the cubs tho. they are dying to win and willing to try anything to get there.

i could be wrong.

Johnny Abruzzo

81 wrote:

Johnny Abruzzo wrote:

81 wrote:

yeah, in hindsight the soriano deal is lookign bad, but at the time, everyone loved it.

Really? At the time I was thanking the higher power that the Phillies didn't sign him.

this is the cubs tho. they are dying to win and willing to try anything to get there.

i could be wrong.

Maybe delusional Cubs fans were happy about that signing, but I don't think rational baseball fans thought it was a good contract.

81

yeah...i didn't the contract thoughts back then, but from what i could dig up, baseball people thought it was generally too much, but that there was potential for it to work. obviously not. i'm guessing the cubs sale helped drive that price up. tribune didn't give a shit, outside of fielding a decent squad to get a new owner excited.

mca47

Johnny Abruzzo wrote:

Maybe delusional Cubs fans were happy about that signing, but I don't think rational baseball fans thought it was a good contract.

I remember hearing about the Cubs getting Soriano and thinking "Oh, ok...that's pretty cool"....then I saw the contract and got instantly mad! Most Cub fans I know when through that same thought process.

Wobbie

from espn.com

The Chicago Cubs can be fixed. Just don’t be fooled by their recent stretch of 14 wins in 19 games. This isn’t a good team and probably won’t be a good team in 2012. Crack an egg, mix in some butter and start from scratch.

Bring in an experienced general manager.
Buster Olney reported Sunday that three possibilities to replace Jim Hendry are Yankees GM Brian Cashman (his contract expires at the end of the season), Billy Beane of the A’s and Tampa’s Andrew Friedman. While the trendy thing might to hire a young 33-year-old Ivy League grad, the smart move is to hire one the three guys above, who are not only fluent in advanced metrics but would come with the job security and patience required to rebuild the franchise.

Pay big bucks for the best scouting director, scouts and player development people you can hire.
The revolving door of signing mediocre veterans hasn’t worked. Giving playing time to guys like Xavier Nady or Carlos Pena aren't solutions; they’re caulking on a broken dam. The Cubs need to start thinking like the Red Sox and Yankees, which means: Develop your own talent and, if you sign a free agent, make sure he’s a star.

The last Cubs' first-rounder to develop into a star was Mark Prior, drafted in 2001. The Cubs had three other top-10 picks since 2000 and drafted high school hitters Luis Montanez, Ryan Harvey and Josh Vitters, none of whom developed as expected. (Vitters still has time; as he’s currently in Double-A, hitting .283 with 12 home runs, but just 17 walks). The last first-round hitter that developed into a solid major leaguer was Doug Glanville, drafted in 1991. The Cubs’ player development system has been broken for a long time. Compare that to the Red Sox, who developed Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and now Josh Reddick this decade. The Cubs have spent 20 years drafting athletes; the Red Sox have spent a decade drafting baseball players.

Realize that you’re stuck with Alfonso Soriano, but that you need a real left fielder.
Soriano is making $19 million each of the next three seasons. That money is spent, a sunk cost regardless of whether Soriano gets 600 at-bats or 60. Next season, that total should be closer to 60, not 600, as Soriano is now a one-dimensional player who pops the occasional home run but brings nothing else to the table, most notably the ability to get on base -- among 188 major league players with at least 350 plate appearances, Soriano’s .281 on-base percentage ranks 181. That’s unacceptable for a left fielder.

Go after Prince Fielder, not Albert Pujols.
Fielder is four years younger, provides the left-handed power bat the Cubs need, and despite his girth is one of the most durable players in baseball, having missed just 12 games in six seasons. He may not be quite as good as Pujols, but he won’t cost as much and is arguably less of a long-term risk. Put it this way: I’d rather have Fielder for seven years and $154 million than Pujols for eight years and $225 million.

Recognize that Starlin Castro is a good player, but maybe not a franchise hitter … and maybe not a shortstop.
By that, I mean a hitter who will grow into his power and move down to third or fourth in the order, as many project for the 21-year-old. On the bright side, of 18 hitters since 1980 to accumulate at least 800 plate appearances through their age-21 season, Castro ranks behind only Alex Rodriguez with his .304 batting average. But with just 10 home runs in 992 at-bats, his power numbers are near the bottom of the list. That doesn’t mean the power won’t come -- it just means we don’t know if Castro is more likely to develop like Edgar Renteria or Gary Sheffield. More problematic has been his play at shortstop. I’d give Castro another year there, but down the road the Cubs may be better off moving Castro to second base and finding a better glove for shortstop.

Trade Marlon Byrd.
Byrd is a nice player who has hit .295 since 2007, but he’s not a big star and he turns 34 later this month. Byrd is signed for $6.5 million for 2012, making him an attractive trade option for a team in need of a center fielder. Byrd is unlikely to be around when the Cubs are good again, so getting something for him before his aging curve kicks in is vital. Give prospect Brett Jackson, currently tearing it up in Triple-A, a September audition and then the center-field job next season.

Yes, Darwin Barney is scrappy and “Kunane” is one of his two middle names. But don’t love him too much.
Cubs fans like Barney, but he’s the kind of disposable middle infielder that second-division clubs give starting jobs to, not championship teams. Even if he hits .296 again -- and that is unlikely -- Barney has no power and doesn’t draw enough walks for a guy with no power. He’s OK as a stopgap, but it’s a big mistake if he’s still the starting second baseman in three years.

Dump Carlos Zambrano.
Like Soriano, the money is a sunk cost. At this point, Zambrano just isn’t good enough to warrant the headaches he creates. Put him in on waivers the day the season ends and just eat the money.

Be patient.
Don’t try to fix this in one season. The Cubs have been patching it together year by year for too long. It did all come together with a 97-win season in 2008, but that type of scenario is rare. Jim Hendry was never willing to bite the bullet and rebuild, but it’s time. Be patient, give the new GM the same resources as Hendry, and there’s no reason the Cubs shouldn’t turn into a consistent winner like the Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies or Cardinals.

Oh, and quit blaming the *&*(#!@ goat.

81

[speedy]Castro is a super star in the making[/speedy]

i didn't watch the game last night, but i read in the paper today, he had his back to the ball on a pitch.

would have been a field day had the SS been plunked in the back on a liner. and in other news, Quade didn't know about it...he was too busy managing the game to watch what is happening on the field