Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Lee Smith, Hall of Fame?

I'm going to say no. Baseball Reference has great statistics that put an individual in place against other hall of famers. Lee Smith only has one out of four possible stats that could put him the Hall of Fame. For that reason, I would vote no. I'm already skewed by my Cubness anyway.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

The Most Unnecessary Cubs Story Ever

I went to Cubs.com today, as I always do and I read the main story by Marc Jimenez. Jimenez wrote of the Cub prospects in the Winter Leagues and how they are doing. Answer: Not so hot. Six of the Cubs mentioned in the article have not played in the month of December. Long story short: Angle Guzman- OK, Felix Pie- Brian Anderson.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Ted Lilly in the Fold with Daryle Ward

I already commented about Ted Lilly, but today it was made official. The Cubs showed good financial judgement for once by giving him more many down the line, making the contract look less now and probably more in line with other starting pitchers in 4 years. I like this deal for the fact that they are not blocking somebody in the minor leagues that is potentially as good as him now. They also did not outbid many other teams seeing that Miguel Batista got $9 million from Seattle.

I also like the Daryle Ward signing for $1 million. He is a major upgrade over Todd Hollandsworth and at least provides a left handed bat against the right handed closers in the National League (Lidge, Wainright).

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Give it to Jim

Jim Hendry signed a starting pitcher just before he got an angioplasty. Cub fans should not be poking fun at this guy for a long time. He has delivered a bunch of talent while batteling a heart ailment. I haven't commented on any of the Cubs offseason moves, so I will start with Ted Lily. The Cubs paid a lot for Lily, but the contract is backloaded so more will be paid in the future when his salary might be in line with his previous production. I don't know if I should be happy or dissapointed that they outbid the Yankees for him. I'm happy because the Cubs put together a better package than the mighty Yankees. I'm dissapointed that the Cubs were competing with the Yankees seeing the pitchers the Yankees have gone after the past couple of years (Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown). What the Cubs have proved is that this offseason they were willing to overspend to get players that they wanted. They should be given some recognition for doing something different.