spooky1

I've got Derek Lee in my Fantasy League and he has all of 2 stolen bases. His batting average is down at Wrigley too.

jobu

the cubs play earl weaver's brand of baseball. rely on the 3 run homer. i think lee is trying too hard. he needs to stop pressing and let things come to him.

kutulu

The cubs are not set up for small ball. By the way, Lee really isn't under-performing much at all. His numbers right now are .273/.362/.427 vs career numbers of .264/353/.465. His average and OBP are actually up vs a drop in slugging.

present_future

News flash, nobody steals bases anymore. Ever since home runs have become the trend in baseball, many players are trying to beef up to increase their power, while decreasing their speed and mobility. Look at Sammy Sosa. He used to be a 30-30 guy, and now those numbers have become a little more lopsided, more like 50-5. The bottom line is most fans would rather see a home run than a stolen base.

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Blu2e354

The only guy who is a real threat to steal is patterson and swings for the fences everytime.

soccerchamp76

<b>C</b>ompletely
<b>U</b>seless
<b>B</b>y
<b>S</b>eptember

Sorry, I could not resist the urge. I apologize

__________________
Brian Griffin: Ah, if my memory serves me, this is the physics department.
Chris Griffin: That would explain all the gravity.

Kurant

If your relying on Lee to get you stolen bases, you might want to find another first baseman. He only stole 51 bases in his first 6 years in the majors. 18 last year. 2 this year.

For fantasy purposes, Lee is sucking the fat one.

I play in 3 leagues, and I have him in 2. In both he's benched, but one is behind Pujols.

I'm also a Cubbies fan, and I hated getting Derrick Lee then, and I hate it even more now. Pudge would have been a much better investment, but hindsight is always 20/20 I guess. I'm also one of the 3 Cubs fans on the planet, maybe in the universe who thinks they should start shopping Sosa. He's a big impact on that lineup, but he's also a huge downer when he's swinging at 65mph change-ups in the dirt.

Goddamn Cubs. Everything will be fine with Grudz/Prior/Sosa and Wood get back.

EDIT: Everything would have been better if Alex Gonzo doesn't bobble that double play ball to end the 8th inning last year.

grayman

Wow Kurant! Not only do you understand that the Cubs would be better off without Sosa, but you also don't blame last year on Steve Bartman or a curse? I think you are far too rational to be a Cubs fan.

By the way, Present_future is right. I remember back in the 80's when Vince Coleman and Ricky Henderson would be competing for the league lead in SB's with each getting around 100. Now, the league leader usually has about 30 or 40.

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kutulu

Are Cubs fans blaming Baker for the injuries to Prior and Wood?

bellzboy

Pitching and the 3-run homer. Frankly, I would rather see small ball.

Oh, and go White Sox!

soccerchamp76

Well he is a meatgrinder, moreso than our pathetic manager, LaRussa.
Letting Prior pitch that much last was just insane.
Rookie year: 107.1/pitches a start
2nd year: 113.4/pitches a start
3rd year: arm trouble, coincidence?

__________________
Brian Griffin: Ah, if my memory serves me, this is the physics department.
Chris Griffin: That would explain all the gravity.

Kurant

Come on..

Only an idiot would blame Steve Bartman for the Cubs losing that game. How do you even know Alou makes the catch? You don't - it's all speculation. I'm not calling you an idiot, unless your a Cubs fan who blames ANYTHING on Steve Bartman.

No, it's not rational, it's common sense and any Cubs fan who says otherwise, well, isn't a Cubs fan. Not every Cubbies fan needs an excuse. The only excuse is Alex Gonzo, a pretty good fielding SS bobbled and ball and missed the double play to end the inning. No one is to blame but them.

Sosa, well, yes, I've thought that for a long time. His discipline was outstanding, possibly the best hitter in baseball for like 3 years. Now, he's back swinging at pitches in the dirt, at his head, it's ugly. He's also like 35 years old, it's time to shop him while he's still worth somthing. Most cubs fans will tell you the homer he hit to tie the game in game 5 (I think game 5) against the Marlins justifies what he's worth, but well, to me it doesn't. Caring about somthing other then your self image and hitting 60 jacks a year. How about, getting on base.

kutulu

Are you kidding me? Sosa has always been swinging at pitches in the dirt. Look at his K totals. He averages 159 per year. He's a great hitter but he's not even close to the best NL hitters like Todd Helton, Albert Pujols or Bonds.

Trading him would be a good thing as far as long term planning goes but any smart GM would pass since he has health issues now.

Kurant

I don't know how many Cubs games you watch, probably not many. Sosa didn't swing at things he swings at now. He's always been aggresive, swinging at pitches high in the zone, or outside. Very little inside or low pitches did he swing at.

In the 4 years where he hit 66, 64, 63 and 50 (I think 63, maybe 62, correct me if I'm wrong) he struck out alot being very, very aggresive, and swinging at anything just outside the zone, or high. Not today. His discipline from then (what it was, which really wasen't much) is far worse then it's ever been. He swings at anything, literally anything. With no one behind him hitting well until 2001, he didn't have a choice. He had the green light everytime he was at the plate. Now, he doesn't have to do that, but he still does. There is a difference between aggresive hitting, and not having a clue at a plate.

And that's exactly what I meant about not giving a shit about anything, except his 60 jacks a year.

Your right, any smart GM would. However, I think the Cubs could benefit greatly from the value Sosa still carries. I won't argue anything about the hitters you've mentioned, but Sosa was one of the best hitters in the NL, in baseball from '97-01' when he had the green light at every at bat, now, he just lacks discipline, and lacks understanding that there is a team behind him.

Get rid of his ass.

EDIT: Just a funny story I have to tell. I was in the grocery store last week talking to my wife, who's also a Cubbies fan about Sosa going on the 15-day DL for sneezing, and there happend to be people behind me who were also Cubs fans. I said, "They need to trade Sosa's sorry ass" and the people behind me almost crucified me for saying it. The guy was literally getting pissed off, was almost scary.

Kurant

goddamn double..

Kurant

blah stupid lag.

kutulu

For the most part I only see them when they play the DBacks or if I have nothing else to do on a Saturday and I see it on WGN. I guess I was picturing him swinging at a Johnson slider. Despite your criticizm of him prior to going on the DL he was still hitting .291/.385/.590. He can still be productive but he'll decline every year.

The site I'm looking at shows that you have him next year at 17M and an option for 2006 for 18M with a 4.5M buyout (that's a huge buyout). He can still be very productive over the remaining length of his contract but ideally if you traded him you could get huge prospects for him and it would set you up for the future better. However, with such a huge $ amount attached to him it would be difficult to find buyers without absorbing a substantial chunk of the salary. The Yanks and the Sox are the best bets to be able to afford him. The Yanks have almost nobody in their system and although I don't know too much about the Sox's system, my guess is that with all the recent trades they are depleting their system quickly. Overall it might be best to let him ride out his contract (go for the buyout in 2006). Trading him would not go well with the fans.

Kurant

Yeah, your right. It woulden't go well, obviously shown by the lack of intrest for winning by Cubs fans in line at the grocery store.

Fans in Chicago would be furious if they let Sammy go. Too fucking bad I say. Send his ass to the AL.

kutulu

Sammy is also a 10/5 player so he can veto any trade. Therefore, your trade options are limited to teams that HE would choose to play for. I really doubt he'd go anywhere that wouldn't have a damn good shot at a world series title. The AL teams that would have a shot are the Angels, A's, Red Sox, and Yankees. The Angels might be able to afford him, but they have Gurerro in RF. Maybe Sammy could DH for them but their payroll is already above 100M. Beane would never take on Sammy's contract. The Yanks could use him and they could afford it but they can't offer anything in return. That leaves the Red Sox. He could make a huge impact there, but again could they afford that extra money? Also what could you get in return that could help your team right now?

jobu

Ever since the Cubs signed Sammy to his first big contract I have been calling for him to leave. At the time, without doing any research, I think it made him the 3rd highest paid player in the game. There were easily 10 players that would have been more deserving and a better fit for the Cubs than Sammy. When he first came to the Cubs he had a very limited English vocabulary. WGN decided to do an ad for the Cubs featuring Sammy where the only thing he said was “I love to hit the home run.” To me that phrase has summed up Sosa’s career. The only thing he has improved upon is his power hitting (which has been continually questioned because of the steroid issue). His defense has always been below average and he used to have a very good arm. The only problem was that he had no control and the ball usually ended up in the seats. He has always been a selfish player. He refuses to give himself up and move runners into scoring position, he won’t shorten his swing with 2 strikes, he has caused problems in the clubhouse with his music, and last year he refused to go down and take a rehab stint in the minors. When he came back he struggled so badly that it led to his corked bat incident (an accident so he says). Sounds like a team player to me. Sammy’s biggest problem is that he tries to pull everything. It used to be that all you had to do was throw a curve low and away and you either got him to whiff or hit a chopper to short. During his years that he was hitting everything out of the park he stayed with the outside pitch and drove it to right. When he gets hot he definitely is one of the best sluggers (sluggers not hitters) in the game, but over the last 2 years he has reverted back to his old ways. Trying to pull the curve ball away and chasing the high fastball. That being said, since the team has gotten better Sammy seems to have tried a little more on defense but is still a free swinger. The time to trade him was about 2 years ago. He is 35(so he says), but he still has a couple of good years left in him. Trading him now will only get you prospects. Not a bad thing if you are a competitive franchise but the Cubs aren’t. Also, Sammy is a 10/5 guy, so getting his approval will almost be impossible. With the Cubs it is always wait till next season. Well, next season is now and in the end the Cubs are a better team with him in the lineup than some prospect. So I say keep him and try to win with him.

As far as Lee is concerned, I always thought it was a mistake that the Cubs signed him. Even though he has an excellent glove and does take walks, he still strikes out 100+ a year. Add that to Sosa, Gonzalez, Ramirez and Patterson and you end up with very little production. Look how the Cubs win, either they score 10 runs or no runs. With their pitching staff, they should have put together a team that produces runs. That way they could be in every game. Sorry for the novel but this just touched a nerve with me.

kutulu

Prior had his first start of the year today. Pitched one hell of a game. 6IP, 2H, 8K. I was really impressed that Dusty pulled him after throwing 85 pitches, it was the right thing to do. How long will it be though until he starts leaving him out there for 120 pitches again?

spooky1

Trading Sosa might be fine as long as there is a suitable player to put in the outfield. If he's traded and Hollandswoth goes in it would be a significant drop in production.

djtestudo

Trade him to the Sox for Ordonez straight up. Sosa stays in Chicago, and the Cubs get a guy they can rely on for 6-7 years.

__________________
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bellzboy

I thought the same thing. I seriously thought Dusty would leave him in longer, he was pitching so well. If the Cubs are in the playoff hunt at the end of the year, which they will be, expect him to be out there for 140 pitches every game again. SO bad for a 23 year old coming off an elbow and achilles injury...

kutulu

Prior should NEVER be throwing 140 pitches, he shouldn't throw 130 either. 120 every once in a while is fine but Dusty needs to keep himself in check. Although he's young, he has 1st ballot HOF written all over him. The only thing standing in his way are injuries. He's missed time in each of his first 3 seasons due to injury. There's warning signs all over the place on him and if Dusty reverts back to 130+ pitch outings he needs to be hanged. Look at what he did to Jason Schmidt as an example.

As long as he stays healthy he should end up #2 on the all time strikeout list.