Now is time for another change

by cubs2410 on Jul 23, 2008 9:07 AM CDT Comment 37 comments

I am not in panic mode, but I believe we now see some glaring weaknesses that need to be corrected or add depth to the situation in case we see these problems again in Sept.

I have a man crush on DeRosa as much as the next guy, but now is the time for Hendry to do all that it takes to make the Roberts deal work. DeRosa will be our first sub and will still be able to start 3-4 times a week giving dome a rest in rf against lefties, can spell ramirez and lee when they go through their slumps, etc.. he can play 6 posiitons, he will find playing time. I am not sure what Baltimore wants but I think we need to do something along the lines of marshall, cedeno, and a mid-level prospect or two. If I am Jim Hendry I would ask about the availability of Sherill. We saw in the all star game he can go two innings. I think maybe we can unload Howry, start thinking about next year- he wont be back, and we might have to get rid of Ascanio or another prospect. I know we are giving up a lot, but if we want to win it this year I think we have to make the moves. We never know about the new owners, etc.. we have the green light, lets go for it.

So we send Marshall, Howry, Cedeno, and two prospects for Roberts and Sherill.

I am not done making moves yet-

I still think we need another righty in the bullpen

I would like the trade of Taschner and Wynn-(cf backup-in case edmonds and johnson injuries linger- also would be a great bench player) - not sure what we would have to give up- maybe we could give them Pie, Wuertz?? some low level prospect?

If we cant get Sherill- then we need to do what we can to get Mahay

Also, if we can't get rid of these guys with trades then send Wuertz and Eyre away to AL teams for pitching prospects

That gives us a Lou's lineup of Soriano, Roberts, Lee, Ramirez, Edmonds, Soto, Fukudome, Theriot. Although I would prefer a lineup of Roberts, Theriot, Fukudome, Ramirez, Edmonds, Soriano, Lee, Soto

Bullpen would be Lieber, Cotts, Gaudin, Tashchner, Sherill/Mahay, Marmol, Wood

Rotation of Z, Harden, Dempster, Lilly, Marquis- Lieber and Gaudin can spot start if injury, or maybe Smardjia?

Bench would be - DeRosa, Fontenot, Ward, Blanco, Johnson, Wynn

I know that makes 26, so maybe we go with only 6 relievers?

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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I've always liked the thought of picking up Winn from SF...

....super sub off the bench during the stretch. Give him the starting CF job next year.

I’m not so sure you’re offering enough to Baltimore, though. Those are the O’s two best players and we’d just be giving them our scraps.

Nobody cares about your fantasy league team

by carmen_fanzone on Jul 23, 2008 9:23 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Agreed.

IF the Cubs are to add a reliever, it would be a LH setup man like Mahay or Marte, not a closer.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Jul 23, 2008 9:23 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sherill is just a dream

thats why I say if I am Jim I would ask about him, every game I have watched this year he has looked nasty, especially at wrigley. I know he had a rough spot in the season but I think we could get him. I believe this is his first year as a main closer. He is used to being a setup man.

by cubs2410 on Jul 23, 2008 9:38 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Think about what you're saying here.

The Orioles got him pretty cheap. He’s been lights-out, as you say. He made the All-Star team. Why on Earth would they trade him?

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Jul 23, 2008 9:54 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh, please.

The Cubs have piled up an excellent record, save for the last week, with the roster they have. Don’t need TTSNBN.

Also, please tell me why the Orioles would want or take Bob Howry?

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Jul 23, 2008 9:23 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

hopefully because

Andy signed Bob and knows his track record. and knows that a new place with Bob being the closer would re-invent himself

by cubs2410 on Jul 23, 2008 9:36 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Andy didn't sign Howry.

Hendry did. MacPhail hasn’t been Cub GM since 2002.

There’s no way the Orioles would be interested in Howry.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Jul 23, 2008 9:37 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

my bad

time has gotten away from me, I thought Andy had only been gone 3 years

by cubs2410 on Jul 23, 2008 9:39 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Andy's only been gone a year and a half

but he wasn’t the GM for those last few years.

''Listen, losing Soriano is no box of chocolates.'' ~Lou Piniella

by JohnM on Jul 23, 2008 10:46 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Giving up a lot?

Marshall, Howry, Cedeno and maybe Ascanio and someone else for Sherill and Roberts? Other than Marshall who of that group is doing well enough for the Orioles to even want them?

I suspect any O’s deal would also have to include Ceda.

by rlpete on Jul 23, 2008 9:27 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

So let me get this straight...

1) You want to send three starters AND two prospects to get a Mitchell report 2nd baseman and some reliever.

2) You want to have a lineup with Soriano 6th and Lee 7th? You would put Edmonds ahead of both of those guys? And Fukudome 3rd???

Sigh… I have a new respect for Al. I just get to pick and choose the threads I read. Al, I’m sorry to be a pain sometimes. I’ll really watch it from now on.

Think of how stupid the average person is, and remember, half of them are stupider than that!

by DaBard on Jul 23, 2008 9:33 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

thats why I am not Jim Hendry and get to sit here daydreaming

after I look back, lou’s lineup would get more power, but mine would have more runs, Lee wouldnt be able to ground into so many double plays batting 7th

by cubs2410 on Jul 23, 2008 9:35 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

By that logic we should bat Lee behind the pitcher.

Steve Phillips on his computer use as Mets GM, "I played solitaire on my computer in my office."

by Tate491 on Jul 23, 2008 11:52 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

soriano

will be back tonight fwiw

Dear SBnation, We need our own server here at BCB seeing how its became very slow due to enormous amounts of traffic. P.S. Impeach Bud Selig!!!

by cubsluver22 on Jul 23, 2008 9:40 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO GO BACK ONTO BCB...

...THE RETURN OF THE BRIAN ROBERTS TRADE DIARY!!!

“I am so f’ing scared…”

Nanika Ga Okoru!

by dat cubfan daver on Jul 23, 2008 9:45 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

lol

Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden. Now that's a pair of Aces.

by sue369 on Jul 23, 2008 9:54 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

moar funny pictures”/>

"Remember each day this year, where you were, what you were doing, who you were with, how you felt as the Cubs win their way through it. Because if this does turn out to be the promised land we have all been waiting for, you will want to remember, savor, cherish every moment..."

by CubsBullsBears on Jul 23, 2008 9:57 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Where's our stats guys? Is Roberts THAT much better than DeRosa? I'm gonna guess...NO

Evey Hammond: Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici. V: By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe.

by dtpollitt on Jul 23, 2008 10:07 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Based on the picture above,

they may be equal with the female population that gets giggly for stubble.

PC load letter!?!? - What the f*** does that mean!?!?!

by N Oakley on Jul 23, 2008 11:02 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

First and for most

we need D-Lee and Ram to start playing like they have played before

we don’t need Bobby Howry (if he starts to pitch better then great, but let him go)

Lou’s problem (criticize me if you want but i don’t care because i know i’m right): Don’t mess with something that works. One day you have theriot leading off and fukudome hitting 6th, it’s hard enough having to play without Soriano, so stick that same lineup out there. Play reed johnson, mark derosa’s defensive abilities are terrible in the outfield.

This is the lineup that should have been out there every game soriano was out there:
Reed Johnson (when he was healthy)
Ryan Theriot
Lee
Ramirez
Fukudome
Soto
Edmonds
DeRosa

Stop playing derosa out in left or right. just play him in his normal position. His playing in the outfield cost us one game and just tore the cubs bullpen. Linecum’s out into a triple and the game against san fran where he misplayed a ball in left and marmol had the bad outing. (not sure if that was the game but who cares)

Moving fukudome around is just stupid. he’s trying to get accumulated with MLB baseball and lou’s making it harder on him.

Fontenout has been playing great but everytime the game is on i see him starting. not a good idea.

by lexmarklover on Jul 23, 2008 11:08 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

So...

Fontenot is playing great, but starting him is not a good idea?

by CubsBullsBears on Jul 23, 2008 12:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Benching DeRosa

seems extreme to me. He needs to play second base.

"We expect to win. We go out to win. So we're just living up to our own expectations." Derrek Lee, 5/29/08

by drewishdrewid on Jul 23, 2008 11:35 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

DeRosa himself said he has been exposed a bit in the OF since he has been out there basically every game since Soriano went down.

His value out there is maximized when he only goes into the OF once or twice a week

Missouri Tigers 2008 Cotton Bowl Champs

by nji232 on Jul 23, 2008 11:42 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

absolutely.

"We expect to win. We go out to win. So we're just living up to our own expectations." Derrek Lee, 5/29/08

by drewishdrewid on Jul 23, 2008 1:45 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mark Derosa has been quietly having a great offensive season.

He should be in the lineup as often as possible, despite the defensive shortcomings in the OF.

Steve Phillips on his computer use as Mets GM, "I played solitaire on my computer in my office."

by Tate491 on Jul 23, 2008 11:55 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

how about we send down HoffPauer

and bring up Pie, and then we, you know, have a replacement OFer!

"We expect to win. We go out to win. So we're just living up to our own expectations." Derrek Lee, 5/29/08

by drewishdrewid on Jul 23, 2008 1:46 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sadly, Felix just hurt his ankle. Not sure how badly.

Nanika Ga Okoru!

by dat cubfan daver on Jul 23, 2008 1:59 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I wouldn't say he's having a "great" season offensively...

I’d say it’s solid, but not great. The .372 OBP is solid, as is the .818 OPS. But neither is what I’d call great. He’s above average offensively for a 2B, probably average for an OF.

by SouthernCub on Jul 23, 2008 2:49 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

If the cubs are gonna improve their offense

which position is it gonna be?
not 1st, 3nd, C, LF, RF, prob. not SS,

that leaves you with CF and 2B. If you were to get a CF what would you do with the platoon of Edmonds/Johnson. That would be such a slap in the face if the cubs released edmonds after what he has done for them. Johnson has played pretty well for them this season.

2B is tough cause you have derosa who is hitting well this season and fontenot who is suddenly getting hot.

SP and RP are the most need even though the offense has struggled.

If you could get an AJ Burnett for nothing (there still have been rumors) and fill that 5 hole then kudos to Jim.

We need another RP. Ron Mahay is a good pitcher. No in love with Marte. I don’t want Howry to pitch anymore but if he’s on then our bullpen is great.

by lexmarklover on Jul 23, 2008 12:12 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Starting pitching is not the issue...

With the addition of Harden, our starting rotation is formidable (even with Marquis/Marshall at #5). SP is definitely not the issue, a nice left-handed RP would be nice though.

by CubsBullsBears on Jul 23, 2008 12:40 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Meh, I think the starting pitching...

...is pretty much fine as is. I guess another bat couldn’t hurt, but I don’t see the centerfield situation changing, and I kinda doubt another bench guy would make that big of an impact.

Nanika Ga Okoru!

by dat cubfan daver on Jul 23, 2008 12:42 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Speed - I would love some speed!

I know a lot of you are tired of hearing about B. Roberts here at BCB! I grew tired of it back in March, myself. But, I think something that would help DLee & ARam is some speed in front of them. With Soriano and B-Rob at the top, you put pressure on the defense and on the pitcher. This makes the pitcher more prone to mistakes – thus giving DLee and ARam a much better chance to hit ‘mistakes’. Speed never slumps and this team needs some speed. Again, the Cubs are a station to station team. You see what happens when they aren’t hitting home runs. When you add a speed guy – you can more easily manufacture runs. – Do I think the Cubs will get Brian Roberts – No. But, I sure would like to see it happen.

by jselinger24 on Jul 23, 2008 12:25 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I think it was Billy Beane who said

“once you feel like you have to make a trade, you’re screwed”. I’m not saying that hendry won’t pull some players in down the stretch but I think we’re going to have to come out of this current tailspin with the players we have.
Plus, Soriano coming back has got to help. I don’t necessarily expect him to hit four home runs tonight, but it didn’t seem like it took him long at all to get back on track after his last DL stint. It would be great to see him break out this weekend but, personally, I wouldn’t mind if he saved it up for the Brewers next week either.

by bluekoolaide on Jul 23, 2008 12:39 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

The only area I could see in which a trade is reasonable...

might be the bullpen. With Howry struggling, it appears Piniella only trusts Marmol and Wood. But there are several guys who could potentially get the job done down the stretch (Wuertz, Gaudin, Samardzija, etc) that it may not be worth it to make a move.

Realistically though, there isn’t really a position in which we can make a trade:

LF – Soriano is coming back
CF – Edmonds/Johnson has been a reasonably productive platoon
RF – Fukudome is struggling but he’s making too much money to be benched and he could always turn it around
3B – See Fukudome, and in his case you know he’ll turn it around
SS – As long as he’s getting on base at a .400 clip, he’s staying right where he is
2B – DeRosa is doing fine there (when he’s there and not in RF). Roberts is better, but will cost too much
1B – See Fukudome/Ramirez
C – We aren’t going to find anyone better than Soto

SP – Zambrano, Harden, Dempster, Lilly, and Marquis, with Marshall, Lieber, and maybe even Hill in the wings. Too much is invested to make a move here, and frankly the rotation is fine.

by SouthernCub on Jul 23, 2008 2:59 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Totally agree.

A bullpen upgrade is the only possibility I see, though I’m not sure what trading pieces Hendry really has left at this point.

Nanika Ga Okoru!

by dat cubfan daver on Jul 23, 2008 3:18 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Right...

I don’t see Hendry scraping the prospect barrel to trade for a bullpen arm. Especially since it would be for a guy to be more or less a middle reliever. But that’s the only possible trade I could see happening.

by SouthernCub on Jul 23, 2008 3:22 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

In my opinion, the real changes that need to happen...

Numbered but in no particular order:

1. Soriano gets healthy and returns to Soriano form.
2. Wood gets healthy and returns to Wood form.
3. Fukudome makes whatever adjustments are necessary – when Theriot is outhitting your RF, that’s a problem. No offense to Theriot (who’s defying the odds with his .400 OBP), but Fukudome needs to be doing better than a ~.785 OPS.
4. Ramirez needs to get back on track. I’m not too worried about this one.
5. It’d be nice if Lee could regain his form from the second half of last year.

1 should happen very soon. I’d expect #2 to happen fairly soon. Yesterday may be evidence of #3 beginning to happen. #4 could happen as soon as today. I’d like to think that #5 will happen, but Lee’s 2008 stats are currently almost exactly equivalent to his career norms, so who knows?

If/when at least four of those five happen, and if we stay otherwise healthy, I think we’ll be just fine. It’s frustrating to see the current struggles and injuries. Hopefully the struggles end soon.

by SouthernCub on Jul 23, 2008 3:29 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs