Could always have a case of elephantitis..lol

Questions?

Is wood going to be the same as he once was?

Will Ryan Dempster improve as closer?

What kind of impact will the two new middle relievers we signed have?

How good is Cedeno?

Does Felix Pie come up this season or next?

If he does come up, what happens with Pierre and Jones?


"I never liked Texas, though," Heard said of A&M's rival, the Longhorns. "They were always uppity, and I was raised not to act like that."

Kellen Heard-Fightin' Texas Aggie

My $0.02:
Is wood going to be the same as he once was?
The million dollar question. He's never lived up to his hype, but hopefully we'll see some signs of his old self this year. He probably won't be ready to go until at least May, so the Cubs can't count of him for much, if anything.
Will Ryan Dempster improve as closer?
He looked pretty damn good to me last year. I will be anxious to see how he does over a full season in the closer role.
What kind of impact will the two new middle relievers we signed have?
Hopefully, they will solidify the bullpen, but we thought the same thing about LaTroy Hawkins when he was signed.
How good is Cedeno?
I think he will be a good one. I just hope Dusty Dumbass plays him everyday.
Does Felix Pie come up this season or next?
Barring injuries, Pie probably won't be up with the Cubs this season (except for a September call-up). He's still a year away.
If he does come up, what happens with Pierre and Jones?
Pierre stays in CF & leads off and Jones sits his ass on the bench.

--Wood showed he could be good when healthy in a few starts last year. Is he healthy? Who knows, and I'll be a pessimist here and say probably not.

--Dempster didn't blow many saves (I think two), he doesn't have to improve too much, but I'd appreciate it if he'd make those saves less dramatic.

--Those relievers literally can't be any worse than what we had last year. Definite upgrade.

--I'd assume with Pierre and his injuries, Pie would be a next year thing. If Pierre is bombing, maybe this year.

beaten

I'm not an optimist in regards to Woody either. I say the Cubs should not depend on him being back and being an everyday starter. If he comes back and is lights-out than that will be a pleasant surprise.

There's been a fair amount of Zito talk out there still. What might it take to bring him over? Do we want him enough to take a chance on him? He's had one incredible year and the rest have been up and down so it would be somwhat of a gamble. Overall he's still a solid pitcher and I wouldn't mind seeing him pitching in Cub pinstripes.

Zito would be a helluva an addition to the staff, A HEALTHY Prior, Zambrano, and Zito are a fierce combo. But who is Hendry willing to give up?


"I never liked Texas, though," Heard said of A&M's rival, the Longhorns. "They were always uppity, and I was raised not to act like that."

Kellen Heard-Fightin' Texas Aggie

I'm almost certain it would probably have to include a prospect since that seems to be what Billy Beane has gotten in return for most trades recently. It'll be very interesting to see if this develops any further.

- Going into last season I finally let reality reach my non-willing brain that Wood is just a hyped up, hard throwing #3 starter....will he get back to that level, I think so....will he live up to original expectations, I don't think so

- I agree with oldstyle in that Dempster was solid last season. If you factor out the games he started, his numbers were solid:
57 G, 58.1 IP, 46 H, 12 ER, 1 HR, 53/27 SO/BB, 1.85 ERA

- I think the new setup guys will be good. I'm actually quite excited about Howry who has been incredible since having TJ surgery in '03. Regardless, they're both an upgrade.

- I like Cedeno but I'm not completely sold on him being an everyday big league starter. Even including his spectacular season at AAA in '05 his career minor league BA is still just .254 with almost a 3-to-1 SO/BB ratio and a SLG of <.370. I like that we have some insurance at middle infield incase he falters.

-We'll see Pie in September, barring injuries.

-If he's up before that it means that either Pierre or Jones are hurt or pulling a Corey Patterson.

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Check out "Texas A&M & Baseball In No Particular Order"
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[This message has been edited by AgRyan04 (edited 1/5/2006 9:10p).]

I'm ok with Wood not being the ace he was for one year and being a 3rd starter. I just don't want his arm to fall off, and I'm going to be afraid forever that his arm is going to fall off. They were saying last year that the cause of the current injury was his arm motion and that he's changed that. Hopefully that works, and as a Cubs fan, I'm willing to believe it until it happens otherwise.

Well, Corey Patterson is semi-officially gone. According to Rotoworld, the Cubs sent him to the O's for a minor leaguer. Hey, at least we got something. Hopefully this is cemented by tomorrow. Cubs fans rejoice.

According to the Trib, the minor leaguer isn't near the Orioles top prospects. I have a bad feeling about this one.

I just found out from bullard's inside source that the player is actually Sammy Sosa.

...apparently Corey Patterson is a big fan of Balitmore's supermarkets.

[This message has been edited by bluestainedivy (edited 1/6/2006 12:24p).]

The only name I've heard speculated about who we'd get in response is Val Majewski. He's just getting back from shoulder surgery so apparently that's set him back a year. I'm not too impressed with what I've read about where he is right now. The O's article sounds like they're trying to put a positive spin on it.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/M/val-majewski.shtml

http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20051021&content_id=1256571&vkey=news_bal&fext=.jsp&c_id=bal

O's top ten prospects according to the "Orioles Hangout":

http://www.orioleshangout.com/2005/farm/Top10_2005list.htm

He shoulda gone to the As. He could have been part of a larger package for Zito.

I just looked at Eyre's Home/Road splits from last season when he pitched for SF:

Home: 33.2 IP, 26 H, 15 ER, 1 HR, 31/13 SO/BB, 4.01 ERA, .220 BAA
Road: 34.2 IP, 22 H, 5 ER, 2 HR, 34/13 SO/BB, 1.30 ERA, .180 BAA

I love reading that

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Check out "Texas A&M & Baseball In No Particular Order"
at tamu-and-baseball.com

Like Ryan, I'm not to sold on Cedeno although I'm not necessarily a skeptic. He's doing well in his Venezuelan winter league which is a far cry from the majors but still is a good sign. This does give me a little more confidence in him.

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060106&content_id=1291937&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc

I don't expect Cedeno to be a huge producer from the plate. I expect solid offensive numbers and great defense.

Well today it's looking like the Patterson deal is not set yet as had been reported. I guess it could either be that the reporters jumped the gun on the story or in typical fashion the O's management is slow on making a decision. I've seen word that the Nats, BoSox and Rangers are interested with names like Soriano and Ryan Church being thrown around.

Since Patterson sadly hasn't gone anywhere, here's the newest projections on his potential new homes. The managers of all these teams would be crazy to give up anything for him.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2006/01/four_teams_afte.html

Also, mlbtraderumors.com says Tejada "backed off" his trade request.

http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/story/2006/1/7/141231/8441

more pics of the bleacher construction

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Check out "Texas A&M & Baseball In No Particular Order"
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Ag Ryan, after your dig at us Astros fans I thought I would come over to see all of the exciting Cub news.

Boring!



Full Speed Ahead - Fire At Will - Gig'em

Looks like single game tickets go on sale Feb 24th. Since the Astro fans don't seem to buy them until after the all star break, anyone want to get some tickets together for the games at the juice box?

[This message has been edited by Macpappy99 (edited 1/8/2006 9:17p).]

quote:

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Ag Ryan, after your dig at us Astros fans I thought I would come over to see all of the exciting Cub news.

Boring!

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Kind of like the astros offseason and offense.

test

Test on your own damn thread, rookie.

Hey Tim, when were we planning on going up to Wrigley this Summer???

How about ALL summer? My neighbor wants to go, too.

Soriano to the Cubbies? Jerome Williams, Corey Patterson, and Todd Walker all gone?
http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/cst-spt-cub09.html

quote:

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Going, going: Patterson just about gone

January 9, 2006

BY MIKE KILEY Staff Reporter

The Cubs could trade center fielder Corey Patterson as soon as today, most likely to the Baltimore Orioles or a National League team that has entered into the negotiations.

The Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox appear to be long shots to get involved again at the 11th hour, although they've talked to the Cubs about Patterson.

Even if their ties with their first-round draft choice from 1998 aren't severed by today, the Cubs still expect to deal Patterson within the next two or three days. -- marking him as the latest in a long line of position players who didn't pan out and were traded, including Hee Seop Choi, Bobby Hill, Kevin Orie and Brant Brown.

This week promises to be busy for Cubs general manager Jim Hendry, who plans to address in a day or two the remaining fallout from the Miguel Tejada distraction. Hendry will be part of a Cubs Caravan on Wednesday and Thursday that stops at various Illinois sites. And he will end the week at the annual fan convention at the Chicago Hilton and Towers, so questions about Tejada and Mark Prior are bound to hound him every step of the way.

Now that the Orioles and Tejada supposedly have reached common ground after chilly relations for much of the winter, it falls on Hendry to explain his role in the behind-the-scenes negotiations. Look for Hendry to emphasize that he was only doing his job by exploring whether he could get Tejada and pitchers Erik Bedard or Daniel Cabrera.

Hendry will insist that he never would've traded Prior for Tejada in a one-for-one swap, but he was responsive when Baltimore asked him about Prior as part of a potential deal. If he had a chance to get a superstar shortstop, as well as a quality pitcher such as Bedard or Cabrera, for Prior and whatever else the Orioles might have accepted, Hendry simply was doing what any GM would have in those circumstances.

Some critics have slammed Hendry for the very thought of trading Prior and his potential, but it appears both of them will put their best face forward on this matter when they appear at the Cubs Convention on Friday.

Patterson, 26, not only hit bottom last year with a .215 average in 126 games, but also looked totally lost, struggling mentally on offense and defense. It was a major reversal from his solid play in 2003, when he hit .298 in 83 games before a left knee injury ended his season.

As Patterson leaves town, Hendry will stress this week that shortstop Ronny Cedeno is a new rising prospect to watch. If the Cubs had acquired Tejada, Cedeno would've started at second base, but now the double-play combo for 2006 appears to be Cedeno at shortstop and Neifi Perez at second.

Cedeno finished fifth in the Venezuelan League this winter with a .355 average and 28 RBI in 45 games. He had nine doubles, four triples and two home runs.

Cedeno and a revamped outfield of Matt Murton in left, Juan Pierre in center and Jacque Jones in right will be the new additions to a lineup that brings back top sluggers Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez, as well as Perez and catcher Michael Barrett.

Jerry Hairston is projected to back up Perez at second. Hendry continues to have trade talks about Todd Walker, whom the Cubs will try to move before spring training begins next month. Walker said at the end of last season that he wouldn't be happy in a bench role.

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http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-060108cubs,1,731497,print.story?coll=cs-cubs-headlines

quote:

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Prior staying put, but Patterson …
Cubs' outfielder may be traded this week; Walker also on block
By Paul Sullivan

January 8, 2006, 8:46 PM CST

After being asked incessantly about Sammy Sosa's status at last year's Cubs Convention, general manager Jim Hendry and manager Dusty Baker were gearing up for a virtual rerun at this week's affair at the Chicago Hilton and Towers.

Just substitute Mark Prior for Sosa and it's déjà vu.

But Miguel Tejada's latest declaration out of the Dominican Republic—that he prefers to stay with Baltimore instead of being traded "somewhere where they want to win"—should end the rumor of a blockbuster deal involving Prior and Tejada.

Though no offer was put on the table and the two sides never were close to a deal, rumors of trading Prior refused to die.

Now that Prior figures to be a Cub this season, the next players on the hot seat are Corey Patterson and Todd Walker, both of whom could exit very soon. Patterson is expected to be dealt within days, with Baltimore, Washington and at least two other teams reportedly interested.

Hendry declined to discuss rumors concerning Patterson but conceded Sunday, "There's been a lot of interest in Corey in the last week."

The Cubs are hoping to get one or two prospects for Patterson or a disgruntled player another organization is trying to shed.

The Nationals may be trying to trade recently acquired second baseman Alfonso Soriano, in whom the Cubs had interest when he was with Texas.

The Cubs, though, would have to include at least one pitcher in such a deal, and Jerome Williams appears expendable.

The Cubs can't expect to get much for Patterson. His trade value plunged in 2005 after he struggled at the plate and earned a demotion to the minors.

As it now stands, the Cubs' outfield will be Matt Murton in left, Juan Pierre in center and Jacque Jones in right, with John Mabry and Jerry Hairston as backups.

Veteran Marquis Grissom was invited to spring training on a minor-league contract but is not guaranteed a roster spot.

Though the Cubs aggressively pursued Rafael Furcal and Tejada to be their starting shortstop, the job will go to Ronny Cedeno, who was pegged to move to second if Furcal or Tejada had come aboard.

Cedeno hit .355 in 169 at-bats in the Venezuelan Winter League this off-season, matching his average at Triple-A Iowa last year.

Though he received only 80 at-bats in limited action for the Cubs in '05, Cedeno hit .300 and played solid defense.

Now the only question is who will start at second. Walker, who hit .305 and is a career .290 hitter, still is on the market and probably will be gone before spring training.

If Walker is traded, that presumably leaves Neifi Perez and Hairston as the second-base platoon, unless the Cubs acquire someone like Soriano.

Though Tejada is off the Cubs' radar, Hendry isn't done running up his phone bill.

"I'm always looking to get better," Hendry said. "Obviously if there are good people around and available, we'll look into it. But with the improvement of Cedeno and Murton, if the team we have today is the one we'll wind up with on Opening Day, we'll be fine."

Do Cubs fans feel the same way?

Hendry and Baker will find out this weekend.

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[This message has been edited by Old Style (edited 1/9/2006 1:43p).]

Patterson for 2 minor leaguers.
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-060109cubs,1,1891507.story?coll=cs-home-headlines

quote:

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Cubs trade Patterson to Orioles
The Associated Press

January 9, 2006, 3:24 PM CST

Outfielder Corey Patterson, once projected as the Cubs star of the future, was traded to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday for a pair of minor leaguers: shortstop Nate Spears and left-hander Carlos Perez.

The 26-year-old Patterson hit .252 with 70 homers in parts of six major league seasons with the Cubs, appearing in 589 games. He was the Cubs' first-round pick and third player taken overall in the 1998 amateur draft.

Patterson tore a knee ligament midway through 2003 during a breakout season, when he batted .298 with 13 homers.

He started 111 games in center field for the Cubs last year, struggling with .215 average and just 13 homers in 126 games. The Cubs demoted him to Triple-A Iowa to work on his batting stroke, and he played 24 games in the minors before returning.

Patterson was booed loudly and often at Wrigley Field and became expendable after the offseason acquisitions of Juan Pierre and Jacque Jones.

The 20-year-old Spears spent last season at Baltimore's Carolina League affiliate at Frederick, Md. The left-handed hitter batted .294 with 30 doubles, six triples, six homers and 41 RBIs in 112 games.

Perez recorded his first career double-digit winning season last year, going 11-8 in 27 starts for Class A Delmarva . The 23-year-old worked a career-high 151 1-3 innings and struck out 146 while walking just 61.

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Spears has spent 3 years and the minors and Perez has spent 5 and the only experience they have past A ball is one inning pitched by Perez were he gave up four hits and four Earned Runs. I suppose I should probably not be holding my breath for them to make an impact in the majors, huh?

Good guess. It's not like we gave up a future Hall of Famer like Sammy Sosa, though.

The Cubs are now apparently showing some interest in Barry Zito. I wonder who the A's would want for him.

Would Zito be the #3?