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       #Post#: 35129--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Next GM for the Cubs
   DIR By: StrikeZone
       Date: September 26, 2011, 5:23 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: CurtOne link ---
       >
       > Ron, some of this is groupthink, especially when you can come
       up with a blogger, "expert," or columnist who agrees.  Several
       boards I've seen Barney dismissed as the least of the Cubs'
       problems and posters scoffed at who press it.  Maybe it has to
       do with what the Cubs can control; Barney is an easy target over
       the real disasters dooming the Cubs to many more years of
       frustration.
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       And those would be Alfonso Soriano and who else, exactly?
       Marlon Byrd, signed thru 2012.  Ryan Dempster, signed thru 2012.
       Carlos Zambrano, signed thru 2012.  Aramis Ramirez, signed thru
       2011.  Carlos Pena, signed thru 2011.
       I don't see doom for many more years.
       I know that the groupthink from the mainstream media is that the
       Cubs have a ton of long-term contracts that are handcuffing them
       for the better part of the next decade but that's simply not the
       case.
       The truth is that most of the long-term contracts will be off
       the books at the end of 2012.
       #Post#: 35131--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Next GM for the Cubs
   DIR By: Jes Beard
       Date: September 26, 2011, 5:30 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: StrikeZone link ---
       >
       > Darwin Barney is not faster than Ryan Theriot.
       >
       > In 2007, Theriot had 28 steals in 32 attempts.
       >
       > Barney's best stolen base total in the minors was 11.
       >
       > Barney is certainly a better defender than Theriot and
       probably a better base runner (base stealing and base running
       are two different things) but he most definitely isn't faster.
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       I don't know which one is faster, but looking at SB totals does
       not determine speed.... and if it DID, Barney would get the
       edge, at least based on CURRENT speed.  Barney is 9-2 in steals
       this year and Theriot is 4-5.
       #Post#: 35139--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Next GM for the Cubs
   DIR By: CurtOne
       Date: September 26, 2011, 6:16 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: StrikeZone link ---
       >
       > And those would be Alfonso Soriano and who else, exactly?
       >
       > Marlon Byrd, signed thru 2012.  Ryan Dempster, signed thru
       2012.  Carlos Zambrano, signed thru 2012.  Aramis Ramirez,
       signed thru 2011.  Carlos Pena, signed thru 2011.
       >
       > I don't see doom for many more years.
       >
       > I know that the groupthink from the mainstream media is that
       the Cubs have a ton of long-term contracts that are handcuffing
       them for the better part of the next decade but that's simply
       not the case.
       >
       > The truth is that most of the long-term contracts will be off
       the books at the end of 2012.
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       We normally agree on a lot, SZ, but we've differed on this
       topic.  Z remains an albatross even though he's not around.
       Our minor leagues are not developing more impact players like
       Castro.  For a system supposedly deep in pitching, there's not
       much.  I see a turn=around, but soon ain't attached.
       #Post#: 35140--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Next GM for the Cubs
   DIR By: craig
       Date: September 26, 2011, 6:16 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: StrikeZone link ---
       >
       > ..Marlon Byrd, signed thru 2012.  Ryan Dempster, signed thru
       2012.  Carlos Zambrano, signed thru 2012.  Aramis Ramirez,
       signed thru 2011.  Carlos Pena, signed thru 2011.
       >
       > I don't see doom for many more years.  I know that the
       groupthink from the mainstream media is that the Cubs have a ton
       of long-term contracts that are handcuffing them for the better
       part of the next decade but that's simply not the case.  The
       truth is that most of the long-term contracts will be off the
       books at the end of 2012.
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       Absolutely.  Contracts will be coming off at a very rapid pace
       and the next GM will have a very free budget with which to work.
       Alf is the only notable current contract that will be a
       liability beyond next year.
       I think the "doom" view, though, is that there is little
       confidence that we have anything much coming up through the
       farm.  In a sense we might be something of a big-market
       expansion team.
       Need to create some assets.  We can buy some players, but having
       a clean budget slate and spending it all on free agents isn't
       necessarily an easy or efficient road to success.  If Castro,
       Soto, Cashner, Marshall, Samardz,Colvin, and Barney all
       blossomed into high-level players, some of them stars, that
       could be different.  If Vitters and Jackson and McNutt and
       Lemahieu or Flaherty are poised to become cornerstone long-term
       asset regulars, that might help, too.
       But I think the concern is that not too many of those guys will
       be really solid regulars, and we'll be waiting for a lot of guys
       who were signed this year as teenagers to develop before we get
       good.
       #Post#: 35141--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Next GM for the Cubs
   DIR By: jacey1
       Date: September 26, 2011, 6:52 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       just name barney as the new GM...problem solved
       #Post#: 35150--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Next GM for the Cubs
   DIR By: Jes Beard
       Date: September 26, 2011, 7:41 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: craig link ---
       >
       > I think the "doom" view, though, is that there is little
       confidence that we have anything much coming up through the
       farm.  In a sense we might be something of a big-market
       expansion team.
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       That's one of the reasons that aside from the very high ceiling,
       very young players (Castro and Cashner), I would look to move
       most those who were on the opening day roster for prospects.
       #Post#: 35151--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Next GM for the Cubs
   DIR By: Cubsin
       Date: September 26, 2011, 8:04 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       If I were the new GM (and I'm sure most of you are glad I'm
       not), one of my priorities would be to identify and hire the
       best minor league coaches available, with particular emphasis on
       pitching coaches. I believe good instruction can not only get
       players to the big leagues sooner, it can make them better
       players when they get there.
       #Post#: 35174--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Next GM for the Cubs
   DIR By: StrikeZone
       Date: September 26, 2011, 11:19 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       One aspect of the Red Sox winning in 2004 that gets overlooked
       is the acquisition of a player no one else in America wanted --
       Kevin Millar.
       The Marlins had him traded to a club in Japan and when the Red
       Sox heard that, they stepped in, worked out a deal for him and
       next thing you know, "Cowboy Up" is on t-shirts and Millar is a
       folk hero.
       Non-tendered free agents and guys like Millar of 2004, whose
       club no longer wanted him, could go a long way to correcting the
       problems of the Cubs for 2012.
       Also, turning the Cubs around is a process that doesn't need to
       happen overnight but it doesn't necessarily need to take years
       and years, either.
       When I hear/see/read about how the Cubs should pass on a big
       free agent like Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder because they're
       "more than one player away," it just annoys the hell out of me.
       I'm pretty sure that those guys are looking for more than a
       one-year deal.
       Finally, they're going to add another wild card team next year,
       according to reports, and that means that a team could
       potentially make the playoffs with the fifth-best record in the
       National League.
       And that is certainly attainable in 2013 if not in 2012.
       #Post#: 35183--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Next GM for the Cubs
   DIR By: CurtOne
       Date: September 27, 2011, 12:15 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: StrikeZone link ---
       >
       > When I hear/see/read about how the Cubs should pass on a big
       free agent like Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder because they're
       "more than one player away," it just annoys the hell out of me.
       >
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       See?  I told you we agreed more than we disagreed.
       #Post#: 35191--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Next GM for the Cubs
   DIR By: Eastcoastfan
       Date: September 27, 2011, 6:56 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       What do you think about the Cubs taking a run at Ellsbury?  He's
       been unreal this year.
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