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Billy K • 18 hours ago Report Abuse
43 Replies- Brock Landers • Report Abuse
Yea, that Nate Shierholtz signing has been terrible. Also getting Almora and Soler in our system and building it to a top ten farm system. He has no idea. That Jim Hendry and his bloated contracts with no trade clauses were great. Maybe you should go follow him and watch the Yankees instead
- MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
Trading Sean Marshall for Travis Wood, a young arm with years of control left was a bad idea? Trading an injury risk like Cashner for a power-hitting first baseman in Rizzo was a bad idea? And dig a bit deeper - look at the prospects the Cubs picked up for Maholm, Dempster and Soto.
Sure, not everything the Theo regime has done has turned to gold (Ian Stewart and Concepcion are the two big ones that come to mind) but I like the direction this club is heading. Be patient, man! - DEA • Remove
What was there? A weak farm system and a glut of bloated contracts with no-trade clauses. Rizzo doesn't have huge K totals; just recent numbers, but 18/12 walk/K ratio in June. The Dempster deal was the only one that was goofed at first. Billy, I can relate to your frustration, but a rebuild was necessary. Maholm was brought in as trade bait from the start, Soto never lived up to the hype from after his rookie year and they had Welly and Clevenger coming up anyway. You have reason to be jaded, but I think you're a bit too cynical.
- MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
Wow, settle down there, Billy the Kid! No need to start firing that six shooter this early in the day!
Let's see here....Theo did not completely destroy what was already there, because there wasn't anything to destroy except for a pathetic farm system and a parent club saddle with enormous contracts to guys like Soriano, Zambrano and Marmol. So your fist point was pointless.
Do you have any facts that "Getting an All-Star from your own minor league system is less than a 1% shot..." Do you reeally have ANY DATA to back that up? No, I doubt it.
Soler injured himself. How can that be anyone's fault??
The jury is out on Rizzo, I admit. But you've already tagged him a future Adam Dunn. I see a player who hit 27 homers, 90 plus RBI and .270 in one year (over two half seasons) with the Cubs, and I like where that's going. But, I know, you've already looked into the future and have seen that he won't ever be an All-Star.
I don't listen to Chicago talk radio; It doesn't come in on my Florida stations. But I'll take Travis Wood any day over Sean Marshall. - Bob Bob • Report Abuse
billy K - So if I'm reading your post right, you would have rather us kept Cashner (who has JUST started pitching again since we traded him), kept Dempster and then NOT resign him again (I assume this is what you'd want, considering he's well over 30 and isn't really that good, kept Zambrano (I mean, afterall, he WAS an allstar once), kept Marshall, (because you build teams around long relievers, not starting pitching). Is that all? It's fans like you who are just so pessimistic and love questioning every move that really drive me crazy. How can you honestly say that these moves were the wrong moves, and were "completely unnecessary". I don't care what the "chances" are of prospects developing into all stars, the fact is we were a last place team with old veterans and bloated contracts before Theo, and now we're a last place team but young team with more potential and more financial flexibility. The right move is to trade Gregg for younger pitching, end of story.
- MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
And what do you mean "All busts or out of baseball" in reference to last season's trades?? The key pieces in those deals, Christian Villanueva and Arodys Vizcaino, are two top prospects still in the organization! They've barely been here a year and you're already calling them busts??
- DEA • Remove
I'll take a "might-be" prospect over a "has-been" veteran every day of the week too. First, there's at least the potential that they'll be good. Second, and more important, they're way cheaper; Demp and Soto were making a ton of money between them and Demp sure didn't come cheap for the Red Sox. WGN showed a split of Rizzo's first 161 games with the Cubs and the numbers were pretty darn good.
- Rick • Report Abuse
Virtually every move?!?!?!?! Even the Dempster deal wasn't bad. Did Dempster turn into a Cy-Young winner in Texas? No. Did we get amazing players bacl, not really, but we didn't lose anything. You can't say a guy has screwed up virtually every deal and not cite one failed move. Soler has a stres fracture. He is only out because it does him no good to try to come back early. Take your time, heal it up right, and be ready to go next season. All Theo has done so far is build a farm system with some EXTREMELY legit young players. In the future you are gonna see Castillo-C, Rizzo-1B, Almora-2B, Castro-SS, Bryant-3B, Soler-RF, Baez-converted to LF, and Szczur-CF. Thats a damn good line-up. They have some good young talent on the mound too. Smardzija, Wood, the Cuban kid they signed whose name I can't remember. All they need is a legit ace, and a couple relievers worth their weight in charmin extra soft. Russell could develop in to our long term closer. I'd say outside of Edwin Jackson, Theo really hasn't made a bad decision.
- Bob Bob • Report Abuse
"Minor league GM" - yeah that definitely makes you qualified to bash a pro GM who's methods have been proven to produce World Champions. Clearly, if you had any knowledge of baseball beyond some bumfuck town in country USA, you'd be somewhere besides commenting on yahoo about moves you have no control over.
- MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
Billy - I'm "coming back" with Vizcaino because that's the freaking guy they got in the trade! What do you want me to do, say we traded for Mike Trout's twin? Look, we got some decent players by trading away guys that had no fute with the team.
And what the heck does this statement mean?? "ANY team who throws a few bucks at free agents can compete without a complete overhaul of the system, which sets you back a minimum of 7 years."
HUH? I think the Dodgers and Angels held that theory last year...how's that going for them??
And I already said the Ian Stewart (and Gerard Concepcion) acqusitions were failures. I'm not saying everything Theo did was remarkable.
And just by claiming you were a minor league GM for 14 years doesn't actually mean you HAVE any data - that you did NOT provide. It just means you are a FORMER minor league suit who apparently couldn't even hack the minors. Don't even pretend that's some major accomplishment! If you spent 14 years languishing in the minors, perhaps that's because you were part of the 99% that couldn't make it to the bigs. - DEA • Remove
I don't see Wood being traded, given that he's only going to hit arbitration next year and won't hit free agency until 2015. That's a commodity to hold onto. I agree with you that it's incredibly unlikely that any team would ever field a squad comprised solely of their own farmhands. And you're right that only a small % of kids will even get a cup of coffee, let alone become All Stars. That's exactly why you need to stock the farm with as many highly-touted players as you can. I've got some serious questions about your GM claims though, if only for your somewhat juvenile responses.
- Rick • Report Abuse
Rizzo is terrible? Get real. He had a slump this past month. Find me a player who hasn't had a slump. Stewart was signed to a super low one year deal for the sole purpose of not having a good answer at third base past Valbuena. a 1 year contract is nothing. You obvviously aren't even a Cubs fan. No TRUE Cubs fan would bash every legit player we have at the minor league level. We have 2 players, and almost a 3rd, voted to the future's league. Soler won't play due to a stress fracture, but Milton Bradey? Get over yourself. You know nothing of baseball. Btw, Patterson played over 10 quality years. Not every player turns in to a superstar, some turn in to quality players, valued for defense instead of offense. Castro is not trade bait. Everything you have said so far screams that you are someone who is just looking to hate on the cubs. Get in line buddy. We've endure way worse than anything you can throw at us you sad pathetic little turd. True Cubs fans don't trash every player on the team. True Cubs fans believe and bleed red and blue. You are just sad, sad, sad.
- MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
LOL!
"Probably every one of you in Chicago knows my name," Billy K.... More - MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
Kenney ranks just ahead of Alderman Tunney as one of the biggest idiots in Wrigleyville. I wouldn't compare myself to him.
And a comment like "You couldn't do it" - when none of us here really knows what "it" is - confirms exactly what DEA said. Your juvenile responses cast serious doubts on your claims of being any kind of professional at all. - Bob Bob • Report Abuse
Billy - I never claimed to have any, but I also don't go around telling other people how to do a better job when the results for 100 years of doing it the way you'd rather have haven't worked. Why not start over and try and emulate the Cardinals or teams like that and try our luck building from within. As for steroids, weren't other teams doing it? Oh no, that's right, it was only the Red Sox who used steroids. My mistake!! What about the 2007 World Series too with Lester anchoring the rotation, he came from the minors... And oh, did I mention that I'm actually also a minor league GM from just outside Sioux Falls...yeah we work with all the big league clubs, I'm pretty important too...definitely a household name out here in South Dakota. Please.
- MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
Billy, I didn't come on here touting my sports credentials outside of sitting on my behind and watching the Cubs for 40 years. What do you want me to say?
And you are getting bashed, as you put it, because you're one of those anonymous bloggers who come on here claiming to be some insider with an advanced degree and nations of fans and so on. We've heard (and read) it all before. If you're some great Chicago voice that we should acknowledge, then how about providing a little bit more evidence than "Billy K., former minor league GM". See where I'm getting with this? - DEA • Remove
Just a thought, but it seems strange to me that a highly paid media member would be slumming it on a Yahoo comment board, posting comments that border on trolling. I'm not casting aspersions (well, I guess I am when you get down to it), but your behavior here seems to belie the claims you make about your employment. For all I know, you might be Bruce Levine or Patrick Mooney or something, but this all just smells funny.
- MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
So now you've slipped into the "beilieve it or don't" mode. You spent the last half hour claiming to possess such great knowledge on MLB because of your years in minor league ball and your inside sources. But I ask for evidence and all of a sudden you don't care?
Ha ha! Uh, you're right! I CAN'T DENY that you've put some thought into this! "This" being the creation of a fictitious life where you're at a party in a tux, sipping on a martini, and baseball executives from across the bigs are begging you, "Oh, please, Billy K., give us some advice on running our team. Who should we throw billions at so we can have a chance at one of the coveted Wild Card spots?" - MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
Billy K., I'm anonymous because there's nothing to be gaines from knowing my identity! I have NO credentials that can began to stack up to the ones you (pretend) to have.
(And I don't want to lose the job I do cling to. So that's another reason to remain anonymous. Heh.)
Just take a moment and reread your own comments from start to finish. This is a message board where a free exchange of ideas is welcome. Sure, it can get testy at times, but there are really no rules to abide by - WITH THE EXCEPTION OF CLAIMING TO BE AN INSIDER THEN PROVIDING NO EVIDENCE TO BACK IT UP.
You just don't get it, though. - MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
"I'm currently AT Miller Park watching the Cubs lead 7-0," Billy K.
LOL. I can see it now: Billy K., famed writer, blogger and former minor league GM, slamming his fists against the wall in the Miller Park press box. "Darn it, people! This lead has nothing to do with Theo! Nothing at all to do with Theo, I says!" - MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
Bob Bob, was that goldfish a former minor league GM? It would at least have to have those credentials to be considered a worthy blogger.
- DEA • Remove
I have been to some minor league games and once started up my own website, though I was never highly paid by a local media outlet. Also, was the inclusion of the Cubs/Brewers score supposed to add credence to the claim that you're there? I'm not doubting that your'e there, but putting the score in there was unnecessary. And it's true that while this in an anonymous board, that applies to those of us who've not thrown out claims about our identity. If you want to remain anonymous, you don't go around throwing out claims and clues about your true identity. But if you're going to use them to tout your wealth of knowledge on the subject, you actually undermine yourself by remaining anonymous. If you don't want people to know who you are, you don't say anything. But you can't throw out claims and then not back them up, because that makes them seem like little other than empty claims.
- MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
Billy K - DEA pretty much just answered your first question posed to me. (Cool...because for a second there I thought I did throw out some b/s!)
Now, for your comment "Believe me, I don't go on the air saying Rizzo is terrible too often. (even though he is)", that makes me wonder, are you a sellout or just a liar?
Perhaps you only tell the all us idiots out there what we want to hear because you are afraid of stepping out on that scary limb and sharing your deep knowledge of the game.
Take a stand. If Cub fans are generally dummies like you believe, isn't it the responsibility of the expert journalists like you to save us from ourselves? Or are you to scared? - Bob Bob • Report Abuse
Well see Billy, here's the thing. Last year was Theo's first year with the Cubs. He got rid of high priced veterans for young talent while freeing up money to spend on free agents when this team gets closer to contending. Not every prospect will pan out, as you pointed out with Corey Patterson and Felix Pie, but some do. Kerry Wood, despite his injuries, was still pretty successful at the big league level. Aaron Hill, while we traded him for Aaramis back in 2003, he's still playing and producing, and he was another highly touted prospect. Patterson wasn't as good as we hoped, but he wasn't bad either. Angel Pagan, still playing, was another Cubs prospect. Theriot, Prior, and Nolasco were all Cubs prospects at one point who went on to produce. From everything opposing scouts have been saying, Soler and Baez are going to be good players and while we didn't trade anything to get them, we're slowly starting to get rid of the players who would potentially block them. The point is, after 1 and a half years, it's WAY too early to say Theo / Hoyer have been failures. We needed to reboot dramatically, not do what we did after 2006 and spend $200 million on Soriano and Marquis. THAT didn't work, and has left us with a black hole in left field. Why not try it a different way, the way we're going right now? What would you have done differently, if you, as qualified as you claim, were in that position?
- MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
Hey, if someone is from Boise then they're sitting right on the brink of the Cubs' budding farm system. You should appreciate that, Billy K! I bet the Boise Hawks GM knows a thing or two about the Cubs farm system, too!
See, now you're passing up a major business opportunity. You already have our attention (I mean, in a ha ha kind of way, but it still counts) with all your comments on this blog/message board, whatever it is. You'd be doing yourself a favor by telling us where we can flock to to get such valuable insight on the Cubs if you told us who you wrote for!
Oh, wait. You don't write the "truth" as you actually know it. Way too scared. OK, I guess I'll just keep reading the Chicago Trib. - Bob Bob • Report Abuse
I do agree with you on the Garza thing last year though...pretty mad they let him pitch that last time and of course he got hurt.
- MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
By the way, the game is in the 8th inning.
See? I'm at Miller Park, too!!! - MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
"My first job is to keep my job. There isn't anyone who covers the Cubs who can tell real truth to Cubs fans or you get attacked like this," Billy K.
... More - MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
Oh my God....
Billy K is actually Jay Mariotti, resurrected from the dead and washed up sports writers' graveyard, and he has come to feed on the blue blood of The-worshipping Cub fans everywhere! - Bob Bob • Report Abuse
I never said Henry did anything wrong, I was just proving a point that prospects do in fact pan out. As for Soriano, don't lump everyone into the "you guys"....I also don't think Ricketts overpaid for the Cubs, unless you also think Forbes is complete bs, the Cubs are valued right now at a billion, which is $200 million more than what Ricketts paid for them. So while not a huge margin of profit, once the renovations are completed and more revenue is brought in because of that, that will jump even more. Not to mention the new TV contracts and possible TV station the Cubs will have...in 5 years I wouldn't be surprised if they're valued at over $1.5 billion. As for Henry, yeah he drafted them and that's great, but he also then traded those guys for older veterans in the "make the playoffs next year but not for the next 10 years" mode. THAT's what I want to get away from. You still haven't said what you would have done differently if you were in Theo's shoes by the way. You just keep saying that he's done a bad job. Also, we signed Soler, didn't trade, so if he doesn't pan out, really doesn't matter all that much, we gave it a shot and other teams were just as interested.
- MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
"And, that's honestly one reason why it doesn't really bother me what is said here," Billy K.
Uh, don't even pretend that's true. You have the thinnest skin of any journalist I know, which is why I seriously doubt you're a journalist....at an actuall publication that has employees and... More - Bob Bob • Report Abuse
And as far as ambiance goes, I'll take improved bathrooms, (really don't like peeing in a trough) better food kiosks, a replay scoreboard (yes even I, a traditionalist would like to see a replay of a close play if I'm sitting near the field), and more advertisements to boost revenue. I'm a proponent of capitalism and believe an owner of a business can make any improvements they want to boost profits. I'm tired of the "public" saying they have rights to protect Wrigley when Ricketts is using $300 million of his own money to make improvements to a building that hasn't been remodeled while I've been alive. Wrigley will still keep it's ivy, still keep its iconic scoreboard, but it's time to move into the 21st century.
- DEA • Remove
Totally agreed, Bob Bob. Wrigley is my favorite place on Earth, but never once have I thought, "Man, I'm glad I don't have a nice big video board upon which to view a replay of that close play. I'm much more content watching one of the intermittently-placed televisions covered in guano."
Also, I had a buddy in elementary school who claimed to have a garage full of motorcycles and a trunk full of Playboy magazines, more than enough for all his friends to share. But then when we asked to come over, something always came up. Now it's very possible that he did have any kid's dream house, but when you throw things out and then can't or don't back them up, it leads to disbelief. I don't necessarily mind sharing my name and other details, but then again, I never posted my credentials as collateral for my POV. I'm not Dave Haugh or G-Dub, I'm just a normal dude and a Cubs fan who wants to see Wrigley and the Cubs renovated. - MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
I'm torn on the video scoreboard, but I don't mind it. These renovations aren't going to ruin the ambiance. There were those claims about adding another level and adding lights, but we've all found it in our hearts to keep being Cub fans.
- MushA Ring DumA Do • Report Abuse
You know someone is kind of a d-bag when they finish a conversation with "great day to be me." I doubt there's anyone that actually believes this guy is an executive or media member other than him.
... More - Bob Bob • Report Abuse
Those are 2 guys who we should have kept, I agree. But you're wrong about LaHair. He was awful after April last year and made the all-star game because of it. If he were better than Rizzo, another team in the US would have signed him and he wouldn't be in Japan. Even so, those are minor moves and Colvin has been inconsistent and missed a lot of time over the past 2 seasons. None of the things you've claimed or argued have you backed up though and I must say, if you work for the Cubs, I sincerely hope someone re-evaluates how you've been doing because all this has shown me is that I may be more qualified to do your job than you.
- DEA • Remove
So he said he gets on here to see what us normal folks think of his views. Wait, don't you get comments on your blog? Also, only real journalists or beat writers have to reign in their views. If you are an "expert," paid to provide insight and opinion, you don't get fired for being critical of local teams. Do you think Dave Haugh gets on Yahoo comments to see what people think of him, like a princess sneaking out on the streets in peasant clothing? Also, no professional would call people dummies or jock sniffers, regardless of whether they felt those things merited saying. Finally, no one outside of children and socially inept people trumpet their job, income, or possessions in order to prove superiority. Finally, I'm no expert on minor league front offices, but I was unaware that minor league GMs really had any substantive personnel responsibilities or talent evaluation duties. The big club's FO makes all the decisions and moves, while the guys in the minors operate essentially as middle managers. That's not meant to diminish the folks actually working in those roles, but they're not nearly on par with the big league guys. Sory for he diatribe, but this silliness has just been bothering me all night.
