To me it seems if you have Jason Marquis on your roster...you go to the playoffs. Every year of his career right.

Yeah, he was riding the big Braves train before the big red train an then that stupid blue train (I'll shove that conductors hat right up Plesac's ass).

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Theo Epstein seems to navigate them and still win.

Im not sure its the not having a spending limit as it is having a plan.

To this point, though, have they bit the Cubs yet? I'd say no. They haven't cut payroll, they just have to be more creative in how they address their problems where in the previous few seasons, they simply kept were able to add-on with no restrictions.

Sort of my point in the previous post, but, let's be honest here, having the ability to spend large amounts of money is an advantage (whether you spend it wisely is another matter). Point being, in previous years, it was probably easier for Hendry to simply sign Soriano and others, trade prospects for proven players, etc. Now, it's more of a challenge to keep the payroll in check, and add-on in more creative ways.

As long as Ramirez stays healthy, this should not hurt that much. But if Ram gets hurt, rather than having DeRo go over to 3rd and Fontenot taking over at second, it will probably be Cedeno at third. Thats a downgrade for sure.

But so far Hendry has gotten this team not only into the playoffs, but to the point of winning back to back Central titles, with the best record in the National league. I think he deserves a little trust. He's definitely not done yet.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Come on guys, am I reading this right? Everyone is crying in their towels over the likes of Jason Marquis and Mark DeRosa? Please. It's not exactly like the Cubs have pissed away Brandon Webb and David Ortiz for God's sake.

Marquis and DeRosa are interchangeable parts (at best, in the case of Marquis). There's no telling right now whether their replacements next year will be any better or worse than those two will perform next year (what they did in past years is meaningless as of today).

The Cubs may well regress next year, but if they do, it will be because their big three hitters are not quite the primetime players many people think they are, they have an untested closer, they may not get a repeat performance out of Dempster, and guys like Harden may not stay healthy.

If they regress just because they lost Marquis and DeRosa, it will be a major upset.

(By the way, I like DeRosa a lot, but a wise GM knows that it's best to get rid of a player a year too early rather than a year too late. Not to be mean, but a lot of sentimental Cub fans tend to never heed that wisdom.)

That statement is true UNLESS you're trying to win the WS this year. I don't see the Red Sox, Yankees or Mets trading productive players for shitty minor leaguers.

I see your point, but one has to assume that Hendry either a) doesn't think these minor leaguers are shitty, b) is going to use the DeRosa $$ for a different player who he thinks can outperform DeRosa next year, or c) he just doesn't have the $$ to keep such players.

I would have no problem with DeRosa being here next year, but my gut just tells me we've seen the ceiling with him. Could be wrong.

Anything you say after that is pointless. Ramirez won't stay healthy. Neither will Soriano or Lee. Every team has injuries they must overcome if they are going to win. That is why Derosa was such a vital part of this team.

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'Why doesn't the fattest man in the world become a hockey goalie?' - Steven Wright

Yes - I took it for granted during both seasons when the biggest free agent signing in team history played 150+ games. No major injuries at all....Oh wait, that didn't happen?

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what have the Cubs won with ANY of these guys? That's right, nothing. I'm as big a fan of DeRosa as anyone, but this is not a World Series team right now, and some major surgery needed to be done. Hopefully this is not the last move. I do think DeRosa gave us his best years and is on the way down.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Agreed. What Hendry has effectively done here is traded DeRosa for a switch-hitting version of the same player, but whom makes less money, and he got three prospects (even if marginal) for his trouble. I don't see the problem. Maybe DeRosa will have a better year in 2009 than Miles. Maybe not. We'll see.

I like DeRosa too, it's just that we can't look at this trade as some kind of negative indicator of his production here for the last two years. He clearly was a productive player. But the real question is, who will be more productive next year, DeRosa or Miles? Time will tell. And even if Miles is slightly less productive than DeRosa, it's a wash, given the freed-up money and the chance of getting something from the prospects.

What Hendry has effectively done here is cut payroll so he can pay the ridiculously backloaded contracts he signed guys too. The '10 and '11 off seasons will be even more interesting in that regard.

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The same player?? DeRosa hit more HR's last year than Miles has hit in his entire career.

That's truuuuuuuueeee.....

But he can switch hit and the Cubs need lefties. And he might be better defensively. And we'll see how many HR's DeRosa hits next year. 2008 is history. And we have to wait and see what happens with the extra money and how the prospects turn out (or are used in trades).


And Frank you may be right, the days of the Cubs spending money like water could be nearing an end, as well. We'll see.

It's impossible to say what will happen with reguards to payroll at this point, as the new owner has not yet been determined. With the payroll topped out, the Marquis and DeRosa deals had to be made to clear room for guys like Bradley, who will be added. I would have preferred Abreau, but Bradley is younger and probably cheaper to sign. I don't think the wheeling and dealing stops with Bradley either. I believe all this salary shuffling and Hendry's mimor league acquisitions, are all leading to something else. Whether that might be Roberts or Peavy or someone else that has not yet been identified.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Wait, you can spend water?

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Losing Marquis is more of a concern to me than Derosa. You are losing depth in the rotation. Marquis was a decent 5th starter who stayed healthy and I liked Marshall as a swing man. But now the question is can Marshall make 30+ starts and have an ERA around 4.50? I am still not sure. And who starts for Harden or Zambrano when they need a day off?

I certainly would have liked to keep Derosa but this team needed to clear some salary and Derosa was the most expendable. Plus Derosa probably wasn't going to get much playing time in the outfield with Bradley's signing and if the Miles/Fontenot combo can hit .275 and pop 12 HRs or so, then you haven't lost too much offense and your lineup becomes much more balanced between lefties and righties. If Fukodome has a bounce back year, lets say .280, 15 HR and 70 RBI and and Bradley can hit his career avg which is .280 and knock 20 HR then your offense becomes much more tougher to pitch to.

And even if Ramirez gets hurt, between Soto, Soriano, Lee and Bradley, you should still have enough offense to get you thru.

Plus the rest of the Central haven't exactly improved, so we have that going for us.

someone bemoaning the loss of Marquis? Huh?

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Marquis drove me crazy, I had the <cough> honor of attending a Cub game against the Brewers in late April last year when the Brewers hit Marquis like it was batting practice in what might have been the coldest game of the year.

But he did have two years of over .500 records. Anytime you lose a starting pitcher you should be concerned about the domino effect. Sure Marshall takes over, but who replaces Marshall role? and if Samardzija becomes a starter then who replaces him in the bullpen?

Lets not see a repeat of the sox in '04 when what, they won 3 games from their 5th starters. Felix Diaz anyone?

For all the whining and crying that was being done about how "bad" Marquis was, if this scenario does happen for the '09 Cubs, fans will be crying about trading away Marquis for nothing.

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Marquis was a easy target, but for a 5th starter, he did ok, maybe a bit overpaid, but he did his job. I dont want to waste the time, but Marquis had a winning record with the cubs and won a few big games, so if we are talking 5th starter, I would take marquis over quite a few out there.

We can go over a million stats, number and everything else.

I think DeRosa was a guy who did not fold under pressure as a hitter. This is a trait that needs to have some more weight.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

He only folded when he had an easy ground ball come his way along with 2 or 3 other Cubs.

This time the Cubs have really done it! Have the lost their minds completely? Mark DeRosa is clearly one of the most sought-after players in baseball, and to have him and trade him - unbeleiveable! This is going to go down as one of the worst trades ever, maybe worse that Brock-Broglio! The Cubs are now a 60 win team without DeRosa! His excellence cannot be replaced, his shadow will be far to large to be able to fill! He is an up-and-comer, last year was no fluke! It was his coming out party! Great things are in his future! Now he will lead the Indians to World Series glory, just as he did the Cubs! I heard he took a lot of extra grounders this off-season, trying to improve his defense EVEN MORE, which is hard to imagine!

And don't get me going on this Jason Marquis business! How can they let this guy go? He was a wonderful pitcher with a bulldog-like personality! You can't just go around trading away your 5th starter! They are hard to find, especially one with a pedigree as distinguished as his! He will be sorely missed!

This team is in disarray! Everyone needs to FUCKING FREAK OUT right now because this lineup is now way TOO balanced! After the quick exit last season, everyrone cried "we need BALANCE" and now they went out and got balanced, but they are TOO balanced! Too much balance is bad, dont you all KNOW that??!! Luckily the Cubs have Bradley because he is very UNBALANCED!

OH MY GOD THIS TEAM IS TERRIBLE HORRIBLE AND SHITTY! THE CUBS ARE DOOMED! THIS TEAM CANT WIN!

PANIC! PANIC!! PANIC!!!

AAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

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

BigFan I have to respectfully disagree. He blew his oppurtunity with the bases loaded against Ariz and his HR against the Dodgers was a wind blown pop up that even he couldnt believe got out.

His versatility is good but has become extremely overrated to me

then they're morons.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Marquis is the definition of a 5th starter