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the dude
Joined: 17 Dec 2007
Posts: 578
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 Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 4:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Altman'sAdvisor wrote: | | IH8SIU wrote: | His argument about Jayskers is so wrong it's almost a crime (Don't want to get into it, just making a point  ) |
Cheapshot. Don't let him get away with that, dude. |
It's unwise to rattle the tiger cage. But don't you worry. I'm taking IH8's advice and am going to be blogging for the new pay site. My first piece is a 10,000 page manifesto on why Jayskers are actually better Jay fans than non-Jayskers. It's very profound, convoluted, enlightened, and by the end of it, you'll be a libertarian vegetarian Akron fan. Don't ask how -- it just happens. |
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marquettebluejay
Joined: 16 Jan 2007
Posts: 411
Location: Bromaha
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| Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 8:38 pm Post subject: |
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| JaysLifer wrote: | I actually liked the acquisition of Bradley, and still do, because he provides a personality that can spark a team to catch fire. All he wants is to win and, frankly, this team hasn't always seemed to have that desire in the past. Bradley has certainly started off slow, but his track record shows that it is only a slump and he'll turn it around.
As for the whole lefty-righty debate, I'm not really sold on Hendry's justification. However, if that's their m.o., trade away the declining Lee and use Hoffpauir as the regular 1B. He needs a break? Guess what - you still have DeRosa to use at 1B. In that situation, you don't even lose a lefty bat because Kosuke can take the OF spot left by DeRosa.
In all honesty, I think Hendry should have left one of the best run-producing offenses in Cubs history alone and concentrated on putting together a major league bullpen instead of the crap they have now. |
Definitely, all he cares about is the team winning. That's why he never talks about himself or draws attention to himself.
What track record? He's only played one (kinda) full season, and he batted .267 with 19 and 67.
Go Brewers. I was at the three game sweep of the Reds this weekend. |
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Jaybird
Joined: 14 Sep 2005
Posts: 2217
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| Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 8:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Bradley led the American League (you know, the good league) in on base pct. last season, at .436. His slugging % was .563, and his OPS was .999. He beat Ibanez in every category. And he's a switch hitter. I didn't much like the signiing myself because the guy's an unguided missile. He acts like he was raised by wolves. But knowing what he knew in December, I don't see that Hendry can be blamed for going after Bradley. Of course, I wouldn't blame Hendry either for trying to get rid of him next December. |
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JaysLifer
Joined: 05 Jan 2007
Posts: 1048
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| Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 3:03 pm Post subject: |
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| marquettebluejay wrote: | | What track record? He's only played one (kinda) full season, and he batted .267 with 19 and 67. |
Do you do any of your own research or do you just basically cut and paste whatever the dude posts?
Coming off of last year, Bradley was one of the top 5 position players available in free agency last offseason.
| marquettebluejay wrote: | | Go Brewers. I was at the three game sweep of the Reds this weekend. |
Cool? |
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the dude
Joined: 17 Dec 2007
Posts: 578
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| Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 3:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Jaybird wrote: | | Bradley led the American League (you know, the good league) in on base pct. last season, at .436. His slugging % was .563, and his OPS was .999. He beat Ibanez in every category. And he's a switch hitter. I didn't much like the signiing myself because the guy's an unguided missile. He acts like he was raised by wolves. But knowing what he knew in December, I don't see that Hendry can be blamed for going after Bradley. Of course, I wouldn't blame Hendry either for trying to get rid of him next December. |
Bradley had a very good 2008 season. I'm not arguing with that.
"But knowing what he knew in December, I don't see that Hendry can be blamed for going after Bradley." See...that's where I disagree wholeheartedly. Hendry KNEW that Bradley was as big of an injury risk as there is in MLB (track record to prove it), and is borderline schizo. I think it's okay for me to hate the signing and others to like it. We'll see how it works out.
He is starting to hit the ball a little better (he's creeping toward .225), so hopefully he'll come through. |
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Jaybird
Joined: 14 Sep 2005
Posts: 2217
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| Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 4:34 pm Post subject: |
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But remember what else Hendry had to factor into his personnel moves last winter. Fukudome was a mystery man. He could blossom in '09, after an '08 shakedown cruise. Or he could prove once and for all that he was a one-continent wonder with no clue how to handle Major League pitching. So, the Cubs needed a lefthand-hitting outfield insurance policy, and that somebody as fragile as Bradley could be considered an insurance policy shows you how worried they were. Anyway, the Cubs were way too righthanded on offense last season. They thought that was actually their biggest vulnerability.
Also, Bradley looked like a perfect "bridge" for their lineup. He has enough pop that he could drive in guys like Soriano and Theriot if they reached ahead of him. Yet, that ridiculous OBP of his made him a perfect tablesetter candidate for guys like Lee, Ramirez and Soto.
And every free agent is going to have some downside. Ibanez had age, for one. Bradley, of course, has health issues, physical and otherwise. I don't quarrel with your numbers or your viewpoint (although that "42" for games played in his rookie season isn't really fair, since he wasn't called up until July that year). But, to fill a need, GM's sometimes just have to say a novena and roll the dice with a free agent signing. |
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marquettebluejay
Joined: 16 Jan 2007
Posts: 411
Location: Bromaha
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| Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 8:20 pm Post subject: |
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| JaysLifer wrote: | | marquettebluejay wrote: | | What track record? He's only played one (kinda) full season, and he batted .267 with 19 and 67. |
Do you do any of your own research or do you just basically cut and paste whatever the dude posts?
Coming off of last year, Bradley was one of the top 5 position players available in free agency last offseason.
| marquettebluejay wrote: | | Go Brewers. I was at the three game sweep of the Reds this weekend. |
Cool? |
You don't have to do research to realize that Bradley is overrated. Oh, and imagine that, he's hurt again. And I'd put Manny, Tex, Dunn, Hudson, Ibanez, Abreu, Furcal, and Blake all above Bradley in last year's free agency, so top 5 is a stretch IMO. You can't base Bradley's worth as a player on one all star year, much like people do for Dempster, also grossly overrated.
And, yea...it was really cool. I thought I'd mention the Brewers' success on this thread, since it is the Crew's thread. |
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the dude
Joined: 17 Dec 2007
Posts: 578
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| Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 8:21 pm Post subject: |
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Just watched Mr. Bradley leave the Cubs game with -- you're not going to believe this -- an injury. Imagine that!
Did Raul Ibanez leave his game with old age???
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Jaybird
Joined: 14 Sep 2005
Posts: 2217
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| Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 9:54 pm Post subject: |
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| the dude wrote: | Just watched Mr. Bradley leave the Cubs game with -- you're not going to believe this -- an injury. Imagine that!
Did Raul Ibanez leave his game with old age??? |
No (and it'd be a shame if he did, this being his 37th b'day and all). But he'll leave the game eventually because of "old age", and the likelihood is that he'll leave years before Bradley. For better or for worse, the Cubs didn't sign Bradley for one game, one month or even one season. They gave him a three-year deal, if I'm not mistaken. A 3-year contract for Ibanez would take him well past his 39th birthday, and a deal like that for a guy that age seems like a riskier investment to me.
But not that the Cubs didn't try. Something else you have to realize about Hendry's options last winter is that Ibanez had an offer from the Cubs, along with a bunch of other teams. But Philly was his first choice. He's pals with Jamie Moyer (makes sense since they're around the same age), and he wanted to play for the WS champs, since he's in, well, the twilight of his career. The Cubs never really were in the picture. They signed Uncle Miltie a good month later.
Yeah, watching Bradley limp off the field tonight while Ibanez plays on (damn him) didn't do a lot to bolster my argument, but remember, I conceded earlier that Bradley isn't exactly Cal Ripken and, anyway, anything that happens in one game is too small a sample size to prove much of anything. Otherwise, next time Bradley goes 3 for 3 (before he pulls a hammy and has to leave the game) and, that same night, Ibanez goes o fer, can I claim that Bradley is clearly the better player?
I laughed out loud at that Marquette fellow's observation that Bradley is "overrated". By who? Who rates him too highly? He gets worse press than bin Laden.
But as baseball fans, surely we can all celebrate the news that the Phillies called up a pitcher tonight with a potential Hall of Fame name. I'm now hoping that one Antonio Bastardo has a long, lillustrious career. And, if he makes it to the Hall, he certainly won't be the first Bastardo to be enshrined there. |
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taa71458
Joined: 29 Nov 2008
Posts: 503
Location: Brookfield, WI
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the dude
Joined: 17 Dec 2007
Posts: 578
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| Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 9:35 am Post subject: |
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Old players can still take at bats, while injured players usually don't. So, I'd disagree that Ibanez would have been any riskier. But, if Ibanez didn't want to play for the Cubs, I'll concede that Bradley was a decent next option for them. I still didn't like the signing, however, and never have.
The fact that Bradley got a 3-year deal, when he's NEVER played in triple digit games during any consecutive 3-year stretch in his career bolsters my argument, in my opinion (imagine that!!), that it was a terrible, terrible signing.
Hopefully, he's not out long. I haven't seen any updates, but honestly, if he plays in 110 games this season, I'd be shocked. If he ever plays in 120 games during a season during his 3-year deal, I'd be equally surprised. I guess that's why I don't think it's worth $10M/per.
Oh, Ryan Braun is a good player. (Since this is a Brewers thread, I thought I'd throw that in there.) |
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the dude
Joined: 17 Dec 2007
Posts: 578
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| Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 1:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Jaybird wrote: | Otherwise, next time Bradley goes 3 for 3 (before he pulls a hammy and has to leave the game) and, that same night, Ibanez goes o fer, can I claim that Bradley is clearly the better player?
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Last night wouldn't have been a good time to pull that card out, considering he went 3 for 5, with 2 HRs, and 5 RBIs. Two months into the season, Ibanez is *GASP* the leading Triple Crown threat in all of MLB. Parker Brothers, meanwhile, is day-to-day (but aren't we all?) |
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