Yes, but this is really going to tie Dusty's hands. I mean, we are down to having only FOUR 2nd baseman. We may need to import Jose Macias back from Japan!
Speaking of Dusty (and not wanting to start a thread just for this), did you hear the tepid support that Hendry gave him on Mike and Mike this morning? His quote was "I'm not going to fire Dusty tomorrow. I need to give him a chance to work his way out of this." Go Hendry!
Nevin can fill in at first while DLee is still out, putting Walker back to second. We've got six games left in AL parks, so he'll be able to DH in those (being a better option than anything currently on the bench).
Originally posted by JavaYes, but this is really going to tie Dusty's hands. I mean, we are down to having only FOUR 2nd baseman. We may need to import Jose Macias back from Japan!
Originally posted by Sec19Row53Speaking of Dusty (and not wanting to start a thread just for this), did you hear the tepid support that Hendry gave him on Mike and Mike this morning? His quote was "I'm not going to fire Dusty tomorrow. I need to give him a chance to work his way out of this."
Yes, I was driving to a meeting when I heard this and was yelling at Mike & Mike to follow that up with "you say you're not fire him tomorrow, so how long does he have to turn this around?" I certainly sensed from Hendry's comments that Dusty won't be making it through this season.
Mike & Mike aren't the most hard-hitting of journalists, but the FSR team was on commercial, so I was listening.
Originally posted by Sec19Row53Speaking of Dusty (and not wanting to start a thread just for this), did you hear the tepid support that Hendry gave him on Mike and Mike this morning? His quote was "I'm not going to fire Dusty tomorrow. I need to give him a chance to work his way out of this."
Yes, I was driving to a meeting when I heard this and was yelling at Mike & Mike to follow that up with "you say you're not fire him tomorrow, so how long does he have to turn this around?" I certainly sensed from Hendry's comments that Dusty won't be making it through this season.
Mike & Mike aren't the most hard-hitting of journalists, but the FSR team was on commercial, so I was listening.
Living in Chicago I would be very very surprised if Dusty didn't survive the season. Theoretically the full team should be in place by early July, so they'll let him try for the miracle run in the last few months of the season. If somehow they go on a huge tear, they'll talk extension. Otherwise they'll jettison him.
All this could be moot if the Trib's bond rating keeps dropping and they have to cut payroll to around 60M or so.
Originally posted by WhitebaconCan't be worse than playing Tony Womack, Neifi Perez, or Jerry Hairston on a daily basis. This is to say nothing of Freddie Bynum.
Not to kick Cubs fans while they're down, but...Nomar Garciaparra is playing some great baseball with those Dodgers, eh?
By deciding to go with the rookie at short (and whiffing big on Furcal), we really didn't have a spot for him (and by that time, we'd told him basically to hit the bricks), short of him being a Super-Sub. Had Hendry been able to forsee the Derrek Lee injury, I'm sure he would have worked something out. I wouldn't have minded seeing him at short, Cedeno at second, and letting Walker go, but with our luck, I'm sure Nomie would have had a gruesome injury that would have kept him out until August.
Been rooting and hoping against hope for the Cubs since about 64 or 65, when I was old enough to understand baseball. Looking back, the Cubs have never made good decisions, never. That '69 season where they swooned, they had no center fielder, no great leadoff man, and really, only two decent pitchers. '84 was one of the only years where they made a move that was successful, in season or out.
This year is typical of the Cubs. Very weak up the middle, except Barrett, they get a decent CF and RF, but settle for lifetime utility players at vital SS and 2B positions. They almost trade what I consider their best prospect for a young star, Murton, and still wil, I expect. They only have two position players under 25 and 4 over 35. Their pitching is terrible but they went for none of the available decent free agents or made any trades. Their minor leaugues are awful, with especially bad pitching.
They need some major rehabbing at the organizational level, but that is never going to happen as long as suckers like me continue to watch and root for them even when they suck.
We'll be back right after order has been restored here in the Omni Center.
By deciding to go with the rookie at short (and whiffing big on Furcal), we really didn't have a spot for [Nomar]
We could've put him in LF or RF (with Murton playing the other) and dealt with defense later. I'm Jacque Jones' only fan, but I have no problem admiting the defense would be the same, and the bat would seem to be better. Yea, it'd be Nomar playing out of position again, but he's used to it by now.
All this could be moot if the Trib's bond rating keeps dropping and they have to cut payroll to around 60M or so.
Is this the new 'they're totally going to sell the team and then we'll get Real Awesome Owners!!!!' theory? Because I know the newspaper business ain't exactly hopping, but they haven't even hinted at hinting at such a thing.
Originally posted by thecubsfanIs this the new 'they're totally going to sell the team and then we'll get Real Awesome Owners!!!!' theory? Because I know the newspaper business ain't exactly hopping, but they haven't even hinted at hinting at such a thing.
You know, Cubs, I don't believe they were any better or worse when Phillip K had the club. They need someone who needs to make some money at this - or at least not lose. Trib could do this, but, obviously, I don't have a solution, other than finding an Epstein of their own.
We'll be back right after order has been restored here in the Omni Center.
Originally posted by thecubsfanIs this the new 'they're totally going to sell the team and then we'll get Real Awesome Owners!!!!' theory? Because I know the newspaper business ain't exactly hopping, but they haven't even hinted at hinting at such a thing.
Merely responding to the fact that the last two weeks have been, shall we say rather tumultuous financially for Tribco. Bond ratings lowered across the board (one service dropped them three notches at once, one away from junk bond status), announcement of willingness to sell other non-core assets, and attempting a 2 billion share buyback plan. All of this still with a nearly 1 billion tax bill hanging over their head. It would not surprise me in the next few years, now that the Nats have established a floor price with their sale, to see them quietly explore what the market would bear for a Cubs sale, not when Tribco is having these difficulties and you could be looking possibly at a $750 million sale there if they can get the right hype around it. The other side of the argument is if they don't sell, and TRB continues to bleed money, how long until some beancounter points out that Wrigley fills nowadays regardless of quality, so why keep spending so much on the team. FWIW, these aren't just my Sox-oriented thoughts. IvyChat has done an excellent jobn of chronicling the financial ramifications of all of Tribco's latest travails.
IvyChat has done an excellent jobn of chronicling the financial ramifications of all of Tribco's latest travails.
And they've been tilting at the windmill of "the Tribune is going to sell" for months (if not longer), until it the Tribune happen to make it plainly clear they had absolutely no interest in doing that. The blog seems to do things backwards - figure out the point it wants to hammer, and then find any partial fact (or percieved fact) and magnify it like it's a huge thing. Come to think of it, I'm shocked they don't have a two hour slot on the Score.
I promise to drop this right now, because neither side is provable; either they do spend moneor they don't, and we don't know till it happens.
IvyChat has done an excellent jobn of chronicling the financial ramifications of all of Tribco's latest travails.
And they've been tilting at the windmill of "the Tribune is going to sell" for months (if not longer), until it the Tribune happen to make it plainly clear they had absolutely no interest in doing that. The blog seems to do things backwards - figure out the point it wants to hammer, and then find any partial fact (or percieved fact) and magnify it like it's a huge thing.
Chuck has been railing on it over at the fantastic BleedCubbieBlue for at least a year. 1060West also does things very similar to IvyChat.
It was kind of tough watching him get shalacked all over the yard every time out this season. I think he made the right decision... I always thought he was a class act. I actually met him about ten years ago at a Red Lopster.