SAY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't mind sinking $3 million into the 3 headed monster of Neifi F'n Cesar Cedeno, but they're going to put around $7 million into them next year.  This is just another example of quantity over quality, which is pervasive w/ this organization.

I am more concerned with our new rotation of

Prior, Zambrano, Marmol, Marshall and Hill.

And I now finally have a signature.

Glad to see the Cubs get a fireballer for Walker too.

The seasojn is over and has been over since Lee got hurt and was absically over when Hendry didnt get SP insurance last winter for Prior and Wood.
Lets find out if Hill and Guzman are major leaguers.

If not, then we will finally know and can act accordingly.

thats just plain dumb.

 It's still 1,000,000 degrees outside.

I'm supposed to go to the game tonight but that was just unbearable. Here's hoping it cools a little bit.

 And since when did all Cub fans move to Kansas City and start whining about salaries? 4 million in baseball terms is relatively cheap. Julio lugo is going to cost at least twice that  and the  the guy playing SS who's never hit .300 costs  three times that. 4 million is relatively cheap to solidify the most important infield position.

 Aren't we a major market team?  I thought we were.

 And done.

 ANND Dun....

 ANNNND......DoNe.

 Seriously. This is hot even for Chicago. And I have to complain about something because we just swept the overrated Cardinals and Hendry made a good move ( my opinion) and I like to bitch.

 I know. I'll go to Wrigley and bitch about the price of beer.

Go Cubs.

its just too much to comprehend how anyone here can be the least bit stoked about adding ANOTHER low OBP low OPS, former gold glover, expensive middle infielder

you will see what a career OPS in the 600's is and just how inept this player truley is

the hate level for him will be teh same as for neifi and ronny

The problem comes when you also have a light-hitting second baseman and a light-hitting left fielder. Should those issues be resolved, Izturis could be a valuable commodity, and a legitimate starter. Cedeno makes the major league minimum, so it's not as though he's entrenched as the the starter next year at second (if only we had a left-handed second baseman with a little pop...just kidding).

Use the remaining season to find out if Cedeno, Therior or Fotenot can be your second baseman next year, and if they aren't the answer, Castillo, Loretta or Kennedy could all be relatively inexpensive acquisitions.

Hendry must find a power-hitting corner outfielder or next season is over.

He also must sign a front-line starter, and i think he will. If Baker is back you can bet on Schmidt. For a general manager who seems to be fairly preoccupied with pitching, I don't see him going into the season with Z, maybe Prior and Marshall/Marmol/Hill et al as the back end.

But this isn't a huge list (One starter, a corner outfielder, and maybe (but probably not) a second baseman.

Back to my original point. This isn't a bad trade. A rental of a 40 year old pitcher with a losing record and mediocre to below average ERA, regardless of the name on his jersey, for a quality defensive middle infielder isn't bad.

shark week on discovery will have to do

For 13 Million dollars a YEAR that Furcal gets, you may look up that Juan Pierre, our consolation prize in the above "Out-GM'd" scenario, is having a remarkably similar year in most catagories.

They BOTH sucked for the first 60 days of the season.

Look it up...  

I would not say that Hendry "Screwed the Cubs..." out of anything.

Cedeno is friggin' 15th out of 16 National League shortstops in FP as of today!

Most of you think we got a "bag of balls" for the "great" Greg Maddux. I loved Greg - he is one of my favorite all-time Cubs - I have been a fan for 40+ years - but an effective consistent player he is not.

Except at fielding his position of course.

This is a FAIR TRADE and we got a player of value for Greg based on the circumstances.

My position is backed up today at least by Steve Stone, Bruce Levine, and Dan Plesac - who have ALL liked the value the Cubs got back.

This is a small piece of the 2007 product that I think will be much improved PROVIDED Hendry brings in a solid #2 pitcher.

A team MUST have a solid QB at the most important position player on the diamond - shortstop.

Izzy is only 26!

In 19 Years, the Great Ozzie Smith had a lifetime "OBP" of .337, and had lows of .260 early in his career, and .280 in 1995.

So I guess he is the worst in baseball ever and a sack of shit too?

Not that I want to compare the two, but your arguments on this importance in trade for a real solid MI for a while, the Cubs made a solid move since they had nothing of interest to offer the Rays or Nats.

It can't be just injuries...

Maybe he's just really bummed because Mad Dog is gone.

5 IP 3 ER? 110 pitches?

Brenneman, who kind of annoys me, was just laying out his big old case for why Brandon Webb is so obviously better than Big Z. All the more reason to rough him up tonight, which can still happen, despite the not-so-grand slam Prior just gave up.

Am-ram slugs a two-run jack and Jacque just took a walk to the League Leader in SO/BB ratio. There is plenty of hope left in this game.

But tell me everyone, how do you feel about Mark Grace's all-but-complete-and-total defection to the Diamondbacks?

What did we get in return for a washed up 41-year-old pitcher?  Just last years NL all-star and 2004's gold glove at short!

For 2004 and 2005 Itzurus was the NL's best glove at SS.

By the way, SS is a DEFENSIVE POSITION! You want strong defense up the middle (SS, 2nd, Catcher and CF). With Itzurus at SS and Cedeno at 2nd (a much easier defensive position for him), a definite upgrade over Walker's defense, the Cub's infield is set.

Any offense out of your middle infielders is a plus. That's up to Hendry to address in LF.

This was a great trade for the Cubs. Maddux (after his 5-0 start) was one of worst pitchers in baseball since May. I'm here in San Diego and the L.A. faithful are ripping the Dodgers for this trade, as they should.  The Dodgers just sent the best SS in the NL for the last two years, to the Cubs for a washed up 40-year-old pitcher. He's a Hall of Famer, no doubt, but he's done.

And the Cubs didn't get "prospects" that may or may not do anything; they got the best defensive SS in the NL. He's only a 26-year-old kid that can set our infield for years to come.

Yeah, right. Don't give me the best glove at his position for an over the hill 40 year-old!

Geez. You know, living out here in San Diego, I constantly berate these fans on their talk shows for being such ignorant, myopic, longing to be led fools; but you guys take the cake.

An established YOUNG gold glove All-star for a washed up and done 40+ year old pitcher and you guys and gals are whining? Priceless!

With ignorant fans like you, this team (just like San Diego) doesn't deserve a championship. (The White Sox don't count as the umpire HANDED them two games in the Angels series and one game in the Astros series.)

I agree with those who say Maddux was fading. Except for Saturday, he's seldom looked good the last three months. And he was mediocre last year. He seems to get tired after 70 pitches. I'm afraid he's going to be one of those players who keeps on playing until no one will put him in a uniform (a la Steve Carlton or Rickey Henderson). He loves the game too much to ever quit, even though he's a shadow of his former self.

I'm also not sure how good an influence he was on the club. I'm certainly not saying he was a bad influence, I'm just saying he wasn't influential enough. No doubt he's one of the smartest players ever to play the game, but it didn't appear to me that he was passing on any of his knowledge to the younger Cub pitchers. He's a quiet man, kind of like Sandberg in that regard. Definitely not the team leader we needed him to be.

All that said, I wish he were staying. Maddux on the Dodgers just doesn't seem right (neither did Maddux on the Braves). I hope the Cubs get him back next year, either as a once a week starter or a coach, or both. He belongs here.

1. Ceaser Izturis is Neifi Perez. His career line of .260 BA, ..295 OBP and .339 SLG is beyond horrible-- his slugging would make a nice BA but sadly thats not the case, FURTHER a great stat indicator for offense is OPS and here we see a STUNNING .634 line

People make big noise about his 2004 GG All Star campaign but if you take the time to look into that season he was ranked below average on defense by Baseball America and his career best .330 OBP ISNT GREAT or even good .330 is the standard baseline number

So he CANNOT hit

2. "Best Shortstop in the Game" Jim Hendry and his angry twin Kurt might have you belive this nonsense but once again get past the verbatim and look at the facts-- his rating of 101 is ONE point above the average 100 rating from baseball america-- Neifi Perez was 14 points better last year and hit better as well---- Izturis has a great reputation as a defensive whiz BUT it isnt as great as adverstised and his horrible bat offsets any advantage you gain
3. His Contract---- unlike Cedeno who is contract controlled Izturis gets paid over 4 million dollars next year. Now that not a HUGE amount but consider that Cedeno gives you the same production AND that next year we will be commited to over 10 million to players like Neifi and Glendon and now Izturis and you have money that could be sent to improve the team in FA spent on two identical players and the worst pticher on our roster. Guys I cannot stress this enough-- our payroll has shrunk twice now and commited a combined 7 mill plus to Neifi and his twin in Izturis is Madness and you will regret it this offseason when we need to sign some names. ESPECIALLY if Aramis exercises his option which Will Carroll has indicated we will-- Our most likely target Carlos Lee will commanded a big money deal if we wish to keep Ramirez i dont see how we can fit BOTH of them-- therefore once again you have Derek Lee and one other bat- the same situation as this year and that hasnt worked out too well huh?
4. He isnt replacing Ronny--- Ronny is moving to second base- therefore you have the worst hitting middle infield in major league baseball. Only a fool uses that standard middle infield is for defense argument-- that may be the sterotype but it DOES NOT need to be your reality, sadly it is now ours.
5. Finally, in the next two months we will start numerous rookies some who have already spoke of the benifits of having a HOF pitcher next to them. You cannot quantify this effect so i wont try and judge how important it will be but through the years countless rookies have sung the praises of having maddog around,

wonderful

It's good to see Neifi out there at second and batting second.

Good job Jimbo. Way to strengthen the team you moron.

Oh look it Glendon and on his second pitch it's out of the park.

Good job Jimbo getting rid of Maddux.

By the way, it's too bad we need a 6th inning reliver every time Prior pitches. I'm just stumped as to what's wrong with him, and I'm getting less and less hopeful he can ever find the skills he once had.

If you do not even give credit that Juan Pierre is AT LEAST "decent " in center field, it shows you know nothing about baseball.

I'll admit that he does not have a great arm, but usually can flag down anything hit his way.

How stupid you appear with statements like these.

You may go back to bagging the groceries now, I'm sure you have customers getting angry while you take the time to post...

My apologies!

Not to mention that earlier today, people were discussing how much Howry and Eyre were having to pitch and worrying about their arms. Well, even if Maddux "sucks" (sacrilege!), he at least eats up innings. Having him pitch six innings is a better alternative than another guy who will top at at three innings, especially when you've got two or three guys who all ready have that problem. This will hurt the bullpen in the short term.

And as far as the idea of Hendry botching this season to improve draft position...baloney. First off, in baseball you don't look to improve your big-league team by the draft...with three levels of minor leagues, it's a given that it's going to take time to develop players. Very rarely are there guys in the draft who can make an immediate impact in the bigs.

If Hendry was really worried about draft picks--and he's not, since he just further proved today that he prefers "retooling" with vets over getting quality young guys---he would have kept Maddux and let him walk at the end of the season. I could be wrong on this, but I think we would have gotten a draft pick as compensation if Maddux walked. Instead, Hendry gets another middle infielder who's a younger carbon copy of the guy we don't like now.

So in the short term, this deal hurts us, and it doesn't look overly promising to me in the long term.

And Glendon has just given up another home run.

Anyway, I hope they just keep him in the rest of the game to get pounded. I've had it with Dusty's revolving door bullpen, using 6 relievers a night. Make Rusch go until we need a pinch hitter for him.

How times have changed.

Jimbo it's called DFA! And while you're at it do the same to Dusty and yourself.

shut the !@#$% up brenneman, his name is Cedeno, he was safe, and he was playing aggressively.

Good news, howeve. Now They can put Izzy at SS and start Neifi day after day.

And this guy is REALLY good.  Seriously.

Jim Hendry clearly has no idea how to evaluate talent or plan toward building a winner.  Cubs fans are only a strained quad or pulled groin from seeing Vinny Castilla at 3B.

It's too bad the Cubs will suffer no penalty at the box office for this, since the fans are more into the Cult of Cubs than into demanding an actual plan to put a winner in the field.

"Hey!  Hey, buddy!  Four more Old Stlyes here!!  Hey, is Mark Grace up yet?"