The time has come to execute a plan to build for the future with this team. The Cubs are going nowhere in 2010 and yet there are some young players (Colvin, Castro, Soto, and Cashner among them) to build around. It's time to procure more young talent to go with their young core. Derek Lee and Xavier Nady are rumored to be desired in trade....gone! If they are not going to extend Ted Lilly, it would make more sense to trade him as well and get a prospect that might help in a year or two. I can't imagine anyone claiming Carlos Zambrano, but I would expose him to a waiver claim, just in case a team were foolish enough to pick him up, like the Sox did with Alex Rios (who's playing much better this season, but still paid too much for his production). Blow the thing up and build for the future....NOW!!

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Go Cubs!!!!

They have a team that desperately needs a 1st basemen whose contract expires this season in the Angels, who also have a decent amount of guys that have used all 3 of their options or at least 2 of them that they need to part ways with sooner or later. Its an easy match, get it done and then move on to moving the next guy on the list which could very well be lilly. I would also not mind them dumping the riot off to the rays for sean rodriguez.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

This thread is about a year and a half late.

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Actually, if Lee and Ramirez were hitting as you would expect them to hit, this team might be contending, in what has been a less than stellar division. I gave them no chance to contend coming out of spring training, based on the weak bullpen, but with as mediocre as this division has been, had the 2 big guns come through as expected, they would be right in the division race.

But Lee and ramirez have NOT been good and they are NOT in contention, so now it's time to make some moves.

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Go Cubs!!!!

this team is in contention...we're one 5 or 6 game winning streak away from being right there

we have superior talent than anyone in the division

i say give it a fair shot until aug 1 or even later

remember a couple years back when the Rockies were a .500 team on September 15, then won all but 1 or 2 games to get to the World Series?

and to me we have more talent pitching-wise than they did

I dont get all the uproar...even last year we were in it till September, and still ended up 5 games over .500 with all the injuries and distractions

when ur second-biggest problem (the first being Lee and Aramis's slumps) is which 5 of 7 pitchers to put in the starting rotation, ur a darn good team...no reason to panic

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lol, believe me i used to be as pessimistic as anyone, until Piniella came along...he has a way of avoiding that...the smartest manager we've ever had

for some reason now I view it the other way... Even when we lose, we still look good...we are the volcano swell that's just always ready to erupt, and when it does look out

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this. better late than never, however.

You were doing well.


Lou's handling of our bullpen and lineup this year has been an absolute joke.

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Team Cutler.

oh my.

Are You Frank Cozstanza's doppelganger?

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Wow. Who woulda guessed that Lou Pinella would be a CSFMB member?

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

agreed...to me, that's why we haven't been consistent...when he quits doin that stuff, then i believe the talent will shake itself out and the hitters will get better and more consistent..as it is, it seems like he feels more pressure than ever because he wants to show the new owner that he's "trying stuff"...as if ballplayers are some interchangeable electronic parts...even Lee has expressed surprise and disappointment at the lineup shuffles...he's always been given time to sort himself out before this year

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Let the record show that I said that Ricketts should clean house the day he bought the team. The longer he puts off firing the 3 stooges, the farther away the Cubs are from re-building the organization. Show some leadership & get rid of these fuckers & promote Sandberg from AAA.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

The fact that they have already brought up colvin, cashner and castro tells me that they are in fact going to try to dump as many overpaid for their current talent vets as they can and go young. For the first time in forever they may actually develop a long term plan instead of the 1 year plan they have had every year for the past 15 years. Aram, Z, and lee should be gone asap, lilly as well if he will bring a good return. Soriano is staying and I think Dempster stays as well. I just want to see a long term plan not this 1 year bullshit that never works.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

the problem now is that the big money guys on the team that are tradeable are off to bad starts, minimizing their value. ramirez, lee, lilly, zambrano (if he waived his no-trade) all have been poor. they wont get the value for lee now that they may have been able to after last season.

they may have waited too long.

The first part of this statement is untrue. As for the 2nd....where is the PANIC! button when you need it!

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Whistler is fucking crazy, man! This team is DONE! Superior talent my ass! They fucking BLOW!

PANIC! PANIC!! PANIC!!!

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IT IS OFFICIALLY TIME TO PANIC!
DO NOT REMAIN CALM!
DO NOT MOVE IN AN ORDERLY FASHION!

I find it amusing that the people on this board are being told not to panic when its quite obvious that a goodly amount of Chicago Cub fans are deserting this team regularly. The "sold out" Wrigley Field has quickly become the half or 1/3 empty Wrigley Field....not scoring runs and bad defense will do that to ya.

Im not panicing though....you need to give a fuck to panic.

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I used to be a Cubs fan, now I just hate baseball.

During the winter I strongly suggested trading Lee, as he was coming off a good season and with just 1 year left on his contract, there likely would have been some interest. That would have freed up 14 million that could have been used on bullpen help, while Nady and Hoffpauir could have platooned at 1B. Lilly is still a guy that teams will be interested in and if Lee can have a good stretch, teams will remember how well he did last season after the first 6 weeks and might deal for him too. They just won't get as much as you might hope for. Ramirez and Zambrano-forget it.

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Go Cubs!!!!