I still don't really get this
Ok, so the Cubs have been doing better, but they're still not doing great, and I'm confused about a couple of things.
Why can't Piniella stick with one batting order? The top three spots in the batting order, for the most part now that Pie is up, are set, and when Ramirez is healthy, the top 4 are set. But why would you move around all of the different hitters? And why would you bat Jacque Jones anywhere but 6th or 7th? Or even Michael Barrett for that matter? Neither of them are hitting as well as they should be, so why would you want to exploit that by putting them in the 4th spot? That spot should go to Cliff Floyd, who should be in the lineup rather than Jacque Jones, and that's how it should stay. And remember when Piniella hit Jones 2? What the hell was he thinking? I just get sick of seeing a new batting order every single day, and it's just baffling.
Now that Murton has been sent down, which still seems pretty illogical, that should make roles just a little bit clearer. Floyd, Pagan occasionally, and Jones will share time in right, but I would hope that Floyd and Pagan get the bulk of the time. Remember how everyone said that signing Cliff Floyd would be a mistake unless they moved Jacque Jones? Well, now it's completely come to fruition. Everyone is playing out of place in right, except for perhaps Jacque, but he's sucking the most of everyone. I still don't see why Floyd needed to be signed in the first place, since Murton proved he can handle playing everyday last year. Baahhh. Still upset at this situation.
But, anyways, why do we still have Jacque Jones? What are we possibly looking for in return? There's one area that we need help at, and it's bullpen. And even that hasn't been too bad of late. Maybe it just took two months for everyone to get into bullpen mindset. Everyone except Eyre or course, because fatty just sucks. Are we looking for another major league caliber position player? We definitely don't need another outfielder, and we have an excess of middle infielders as well. So what do we want? Catcher? First baseman? It seems like those guys would just be wasting a roster spot. So we have to trade for a minor leaguer. I would be fine if we took a risk on a young guy with a live arm, and possibly not a lot of potential, just so we could get rid of Jones. I mean, there you at least have a chance that the kid could turn into something good. With Jones you just have a lot of inadquate play, and there's really not space for it on this team.
Now, about that bullpen. What the hell is going on out there? Why do we need 13 pitchers? We should have traded Scott Eyre when we had the chance, assuming we did have the chance. Sean Marshall has been amazing, and Rich Hill has been solid too (he can't get run support), so we are obviously doing a better job of developing pitchers. Speaking of, Marmol is doing well out of the bullpen also. We need to waive Eyre or something, because if we're not going to use him, it's worthless to have him taking up a roster spot. But remember Neal Cotts? What the hell happened to him? Did I miss something?
Anyways, here's what I would like to see happen. We package Jacque Jones, Cesar Izturis (who is now out of a job) and Scott Eyre and send them to someone who will give us a reliever in return. I would also say that as much as I hate to do it, Murton should be traded. I would love to get Saltalamachhia from the Braves, and I think we may have something they want, although I'm not sure what it would be. Starting pitching? Murton/Jones? Bullpen guys we have no use for but they may be able to coach?
Also, back to another concern I have. Now, I'll admit, I'm too lazy to look up injuries or anything, but what happened to the guys we had up earlier in the year? I mentioned Neal Cotts before, but what about Ronnie Cedeno? He had a great spring. Is he really sucking in AAA? (Fine, I'll check.) Nope. No he's not. (Neal Cotts however, pretty much is.) He's not hitting to the tune of .389 like a certain other player recently recalled, or even .340 like a player who was also recently recalled, but he's hitting .319. There's really no spot for Ronnie on the roster, so why can't we package him in a deal also? He could easily have a spot on another team looking for a little infield depth, and we just don't have room for him, what with having 4 utility infielders as it is.
Anyways, I guess there's really no point to all of this, except to question whether or not this team really has any direction. Deals should be being made to solve the problems. I realize that with the sale of the team pending, the Cubs, regardless of what they may say, are probably pretty limited in spending, so they're not going to be able to take on much more salary. But if the Cubs are waiting to find the perfect deal for Jacque Jones, they're probably not going to find it. I would have found it, though, because my perfect deal for Jacque Jones is ANYTHING.
So there are players to be moved, and this is really the first time in a while that the Cubs can be sellers with their glut of reasonably talented players. Hopefully Hendry can get off his ass and do something, but that remains to be seen.
Why can't Piniella stick with one batting order? The top three spots in the batting order, for the most part now that Pie is up, are set, and when Ramirez is healthy, the top 4 are set. But why would you move around all of the different hitters? And why would you bat Jacque Jones anywhere but 6th or 7th? Or even Michael Barrett for that matter? Neither of them are hitting as well as they should be, so why would you want to exploit that by putting them in the 4th spot? That spot should go to Cliff Floyd, who should be in the lineup rather than Jacque Jones, and that's how it should stay. And remember when Piniella hit Jones 2? What the hell was he thinking? I just get sick of seeing a new batting order every single day, and it's just baffling.
Now that Murton has been sent down, which still seems pretty illogical, that should make roles just a little bit clearer. Floyd, Pagan occasionally, and Jones will share time in right, but I would hope that Floyd and Pagan get the bulk of the time. Remember how everyone said that signing Cliff Floyd would be a mistake unless they moved Jacque Jones? Well, now it's completely come to fruition. Everyone is playing out of place in right, except for perhaps Jacque, but he's sucking the most of everyone. I still don't see why Floyd needed to be signed in the first place, since Murton proved he can handle playing everyday last year. Baahhh. Still upset at this situation.
But, anyways, why do we still have Jacque Jones? What are we possibly looking for in return? There's one area that we need help at, and it's bullpen. And even that hasn't been too bad of late. Maybe it just took two months for everyone to get into bullpen mindset. Everyone except Eyre or course, because fatty just sucks. Are we looking for another major league caliber position player? We definitely don't need another outfielder, and we have an excess of middle infielders as well. So what do we want? Catcher? First baseman? It seems like those guys would just be wasting a roster spot. So we have to trade for a minor leaguer. I would be fine if we took a risk on a young guy with a live arm, and possibly not a lot of potential, just so we could get rid of Jones. I mean, there you at least have a chance that the kid could turn into something good. With Jones you just have a lot of inadquate play, and there's really not space for it on this team.
Now, about that bullpen. What the hell is going on out there? Why do we need 13 pitchers? We should have traded Scott Eyre when we had the chance, assuming we did have the chance. Sean Marshall has been amazing, and Rich Hill has been solid too (he can't get run support), so we are obviously doing a better job of developing pitchers. Speaking of, Marmol is doing well out of the bullpen also. We need to waive Eyre or something, because if we're not going to use him, it's worthless to have him taking up a roster spot. But remember Neal Cotts? What the hell happened to him? Did I miss something?
Anyways, here's what I would like to see happen. We package Jacque Jones, Cesar Izturis (who is now out of a job) and Scott Eyre and send them to someone who will give us a reliever in return. I would also say that as much as I hate to do it, Murton should be traded. I would love to get Saltalamachhia from the Braves, and I think we may have something they want, although I'm not sure what it would be. Starting pitching? Murton/Jones? Bullpen guys we have no use for but they may be able to coach?
Also, back to another concern I have. Now, I'll admit, I'm too lazy to look up injuries or anything, but what happened to the guys we had up earlier in the year? I mentioned Neal Cotts before, but what about Ronnie Cedeno? He had a great spring. Is he really sucking in AAA? (Fine, I'll check.) Nope. No he's not. (Neal Cotts however, pretty much is.) He's not hitting to the tune of .389 like a certain other player recently recalled, or even .340 like a player who was also recently recalled, but he's hitting .319. There's really no spot for Ronnie on the roster, so why can't we package him in a deal also? He could easily have a spot on another team looking for a little infield depth, and we just don't have room for him, what with having 4 utility infielders as it is.
Anyways, I guess there's really no point to all of this, except to question whether or not this team really has any direction. Deals should be being made to solve the problems. I realize that with the sale of the team pending, the Cubs, regardless of what they may say, are probably pretty limited in spending, so they're not going to be able to take on much more salary. But if the Cubs are waiting to find the perfect deal for Jacque Jones, they're probably not going to find it. I would have found it, though, because my perfect deal for Jacque Jones is ANYTHING.
So there are players to be moved, and this is really the first time in a while that the Cubs can be sellers with their glut of reasonably talented players. Hopefully Hendry can get off his ass and do something, but that remains to be seen.
Labels: cubs, Hendry should do his job, I don't like Jacque Jones
posted by Jtrouble at 9:25 AM
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