Talking Cubs in 2005

[oharewx]

this guy also picked the flubs to win their division so i wouldn't get too excited

[Realist]

Originally Posted by oharewx

this guy also picked the flubs to win their division so i wouldn't get too excited

To be honest, I recently re-assesed the flubs talent and I think that (I'm so sorry to say this) they may be also "under the radar" too. As much as we've improved, you can't take away from the fact that the flubs have unloaded so-so Sosa and Farnsworth. Those guys were total bums and helped to sink their ship the last few years. As a Sox fan I'm really gonna miss those guys.

It really is a very well thought out and researched article though. ESPN will never hire this guy. He never once mentioned the Yankees or Wrong Sox. He's toast.

[34 Inch Stick]

I take the opposite view of the Cubs. I think they will desperately underachieve. Alou absolutely kept that club going for the first two months of the season and he is gone. Merker was their best left handed reliever in a weak bullpen and he is gone. The outfield situation is going to blow up in their faces. The number 5 starter will be a problem all year which will put a strain on the aforesaid weak bullpen.

They may get 65 wins out of their starters. On the other hand they may get none from their relievers.

[Realist]

Originally Posted by 34 Inch Stick

I take the opposite view of the Cubs. I think they will desperately underachieve. Alou absolutely kept that club going for the first two months of the season and he is gone. Merker was their best left handed reliever in a weak bullpen and he is gone. The outfield situation is going to blow up in their faces. The number 5 starter will be a problem all year which will put a strain on the aforesaid weak bullpen.

They may get 65 wins out of their starters. On the other hand they may get none from their relievers.

Gawd I hope you're right. I really hope my "addition by subtraction" theory falls flat on its face.

[Ol' No. 2]

Originally Posted by 34 Inch Stick

I take the opposite view of the Cubs. I think they will desperately underachieve. Alou absolutely kept that club going for the first two months of the season and he is gone. Merker was their best left handed reliever in a weak bullpen and he is gone. The outfield situation is going to blow up in their faces. The number 5 starter will be a problem all year which will put a strain on the aforesaid weak bullpen.

They may get 65 wins out of their starters. On the other hand they may get none from their relievers.

The Cubs need to find a league where they only play 6 innings. I agree. Unless the 2003 Borowski steps out of a time machine, their bullpen is going to absolutely kill them.

[tebman]

Originally Posted by Ol' No. 2

The Cubs need to find a league where they only play 6 innings. I agree. Unless the 2003 Borowski steps out of a time machine, their bullpen is going to absolutely kill them.

There aren't many things that would be more fun to watch. You think the addled sportswear-clad crowd will stick around for the ninth inning after the bullpen gives up 4 or 5 runs?

- tebman

[PAPChiSox729]

Originally Posted by Realist

To be honest, I recently re-assesed the flubs talent and I think that (I'm so sorry to say this) they may be also "under the radar" too. As much as we've improved, you can't take away from the fact that the flubs have unloaded so-so Sosa and Farnsworth. Those guys were total bums and helped to sink their ship the last few years. As a Sox fan I'm really gonna miss those guys.

It really is a very well thought out and researched article though. ESPN will never hire this guy. He never once mentioned the Yankees or Wrong Sox. He's toast.

All this team has going for them is a very, very good starting staff and good corner infielders. The middle infielders are question marks, along with Barrett and the entire outfield. Their bullpen is just atrocious. The two questions that will hang over the Cubs all season are: a) how many games can the starters win and b) how many games will the bullpen blow. I believe the answer to both questions is a lot.

[StillMissOzzie]

Originally Posted by tebman

There aren't many things that would be more fun to watch. You think the addled sportswear-clad crowd will stick around for the ninth inning after the bullpen gives up 4 or 5 runs?

- tebman

It might take them that long to figure out that Sosa is not in RF anymore.

SMO

[HebrewHammer]

I just don't see a team with one of the worst OF's and bullpens in baseball doing much of anything. Any injuries to that IF or rotation and they are sunk.

Watch, Sham-ME carries the O's to the series and they start "The Curse of the Boom Box."

[HomeFish]

Two things I want to point out immediately:

1) They have one of those converted starters as their closer. I don't know the guy's name, nor do I know what sort of pitcher he is, but I am wary of him. A lot of mediocre starters have turned into decent or even dominating closers.

2) The accursed ones have deep pockets and have a lot of farm teams in the lower echelons of the NL. They can always trade for new superstars midseason.

[DrCrawdad]

Originally Posted by HomeFish

Two things I want to point out immediately:

1) They have one of those converted starters as their closer. I don't know the guy's name, nor do I know what sort of pitcher he is, but I am wary of him. A lot of mediocre starters have turned into decent or even dominating closers.

2) The accursed ones have deep pockets and have a lot of farm teams in the lower echelons of the NL. They can always trade for new superstars midseason.

Hopefully midseason the Cubbies will be buried as they were last year.

GO CARDS!

[PAPChiSox729]

Originally Posted by HomeFish

Two things I want to point out immediately:

1) They have one of those converted starters as their closer. I don't know the guy's name, nor do I know what sort of pitcher he is, but I am wary of him. A lot of mediocre starters have turned into decent or even dominating closers.

2) The accursed ones have deep pockets and have a lot of farm teams in the lower echelons of the NL. They can always trade for new superstars midseason.

Eric Gange comes to mind. But I really don't see Dempster turning into a closer of Gange's caliber (or anywhere near for that matter). I think the second point is more likely to happen. Either way, the Cubs need to add more then a good closer to have what I would consider a decent bullpen.

[Ol' No. 2]

Originally Posted by HomeFish

Two things I want to point out immediately:

1) They have one of those converted starters as their closer. I don't know the guy's name, nor do I know what sort of pitcher he is, but I am wary of him. A lot of mediocre starters have turned into decent or even dominating closers.

2) The accursed ones have deep pockets and have a lot of farm teams in the lower echelons of the NL. They can always trade for new superstars midseason.

They may have money, but it's pretty clear they're not going to let Hendry spend any of it. His hands were tied all winter, and I see no reason to think they're going to give him a big bag of cash come July. Last I heard they had the highest payroll in the NL. Unless they can get someone for free, they're going to have to make do with what they have.

[StillMissOzzie]

Originally Posted by Ol' No. 2

They may have money, but it's pretty clear they're not going to let Hendry spend any of it. His hands were tied all winter, and I see no reason to think they're going to give him a big bag of cash come July. Last I heard they had the highest payroll in the NL. Unless they can get someone for free, they're going to have to make do with what they have.

Is that true - the sCrUBS payroll is larger than the Mets, even after they sprung for Pedro and Beltran? Or is it including the $15-16M the sCrUBS had to sent to Baltimore to take Sosa off their hands?

And Dr Crawdad, while the sCrUBS were buried by the Cards in the NL Central, their hopes for the post-season wildcard were still alive up to the final week or so of the season, so I don't think "buried by midseason like they were last year" is accurate.

SMO

[DrCrawdad]

Originally Posted by StillMissOzzie

And Dr Crawdad, while the sCrUBS were buried by the Cards in the NL Central, their hopes for the post-season wildcard were still alive up to the final week or so of the season, so I don't think "buried by midseason like they were last year" is accurate.

Well the Cubbies were buried at midseason and had no chance of winning the NL Central two years in a row. They had a chance though for the consolation prize, the Wild-Card but blew that and finished in third place. This of course after all the talk of how with Wood, Prior, Clement, Zambrano and Maddux were the best staph ever assembled in the history of baseball...

The Cubbies lost their best offensive weapon from '04, Alou, and also kicked out Sosa. And very few people are commenting on the loss of Clement. Oh well who cares about Matt Clement when you've got Glendon Rusch.

Everyone talks about how the Sox lost offense with Lee & Magglio leaving. Well, I believe the Cubs offense lost more than the Sox and no one is really talking about the Cubs hobbled offense.

The guy who played the most games for the Sox in RF was Joe Borchard. So basically the Sox are replacing Borchard with Dye. That's an upgrade, not a change to the clubhouse or an 'addition by subtraction,' as Cub fans are proclaiming.