August 1, 200421 yr http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stor...yson&id=1850117 I totally agree with him on the Marlins. 1. Marlins It may have been viewed as some kind of fluke when the Marlins made all the right moves this time last summer and turned them into a World Series parade. But after their flurry of eye-popping moves this time around, it's now clearer than ever: Larry Beinfest is one of the best general managers in baseball. "All he traded was his fifth starter (Brad Penny), a platoon guy (Hee Seop Choi), a bench player (Abraham Nunez) and two minor leaguers (Bill Murphy and Travis Chick)," said one NL front-office man. "And he got the best setup man in the league (Guillermo Mota), one of the best catchers in the league (Paul Lo Duca), a decent fifth starter (Ismael Valdez), a starting right fielder (Juan Encarnacion) and a useful arm (Rudy Seanez). And he got the Dodgers to pay them to take their best player (Lo Duca). How 'bout that?" "I didn't know Larry too well when he got that job," said another NL executive. "But that guy does some tremendous things. He's a very creative guy." The Marlins didn't do the standard we'll-trade-you-some-prospects-for-a-rent-a-player kind of deals. And in the end, that's why they succeeded while others grumbled about the state of the market. They thought outside the box, traded players they didn't have to trade and came away filling every hole they had. Nobody did it better.
August 1, 200421 yr I like this part... And another scout, asked to compare Loaiza's stuff to Contreras' stuff, said: "Not only does Contreras have better stuff. It's two grades better. Contreras has No. 1 stuff if he can ever figure out a way to be more consistent. If I'm the Yankees, I wouldn't feel real good at all about running Loaiza out there in October. He's a guy who has had one good year. And it just happened to be his contract year."
August 1, 200421 yr I totally agree with him on the Marlins. 1. Marlins That's my team right there baby! Go Marlins! Here's to kicking the Cubs ass in the playoffs again this year!
August 1, 200421 yr I hate to say it, but the Cubs have to be the biggest winner. They got Nomar for nothing.
August 1, 200421 yr I hate to say it, but the Cubs have to be the biggest winner. They got Nomar for nothing. But, but....Brandon Harris, y'all. rolleyeyes.gif Nomar is a ginormous offensive upgrade and the way rangeless Gonzo has been fielding this year, even the ever-brutal Nomar is no big downgrade if any. Cubs are something like 50-11 when scoring 4 runs or more, so those who do not see how this move may benefit them should watch baseball a bit. But Nomar's value is also in his name. He keeps the Cubs in the headlines, and imagine how many Boston-Nomar fans have temporarily became Cubbie followers for the summer. It seems all Chicago is talking about right now is Nomar and Mia. Sooner or later, all that popularity and attention translates to money, money, money, payroll, payroll, payroll, success, success, success. Hendry is earning his paycheck here to say the least. Not giving up Clement was big.
August 1, 200421 yr The Cub friends I know are most upset about losing Francis Beltran. That kid's apparently got some nasty stuff and was being groomed as their future closer. And minor league uber-geeks were pissed at losing the A-ball lefty, Jones. I don't know s*** about him, so I couldn't say. Brendan Harris has already been tried as a C, 3B and 2B, so I don't know what type of prospect he is.
August 1, 200421 yr The Cub friends I know are most upset about losing Francis Beltran. Cub fans are useless morons. That explains it.
August 1, 200421 yr My friends who like the Cubs are not of the beer-swilling, bleacher-crawling, lawn-pissing, fight-starting frat boy asswipe variety. They understand baseball, and they don't start s***. We go back and forth in a good-natured way, but by no means would I lump them in with the bandwagoners who yell GO CUBS and then can't name more than 4 players. The fact that they know enough about the Cubs to be upset about losing a young arm with potential sets them apart from the alcoholic f***heads, IMHO.
August 1, 200421 yr My friends who like the Cubs are not of the beer-swilling, bleacher-crawling, lawn-pissing, fight-starting frat boy asswipe variety. They understand baseball, and they don't start s***. We go back and forth in a good-natured way, but by no means would I lump them in with the bandwagoners who yell GO CUBS and then can't name more than 4 players. The fact that they know enough about the Cubs to be upset about losing a young arm with potential sets them apart from the alcoholic f***heads, IMHO. If you think Hawkins is a bad closer, Beltran would make Koch proud. Harris is a schlub. Jones is 19yo, is far from dominant in A-ball and is already having arm problems. He has a good arm? So did Corwin Malone and Lorenzo Barcelo. Sometimes you have to let go of some talent, big deal. Long after your friends are celebrating Cubs winning back-to-back World Series, nobody is gonna care. In fact, nobody is gonna care even if Cubs lose in the first round. And why should they? Hendry and Tribune Co have only just began, so it's not as if they're putting their eggs in the 2004 basket - there are gonna have truly awesome teams on the North Side in 2005 and 2006 and beyond, Beltran or not.
August 1, 200421 yr That said... If Nomar thing backfires big-time and Cubs have a mother of all meltdowns.... Then all the better.
August 1, 200421 yr That's my team right there baby! Go Marlins! Here's to kicking the Cubs ass in the playoffs again this year! What makes you think the Cubs are going to the playoffs this year?
August 1, 200421 yr What makes you think the Cubs are going to the playoffs this year? Scary unstoppable talent that is just beginning to get healthy and gel? Weak WC competition? Let me guess....that's why they play the games.....it's not about talent but chemistry.....curses....yadayadayodayoda rolleyeyes.gif
August 1, 200421 yr Author Scary unstoppable talent that is just beginning to get healthy and gel? Weak WC competition? Let me guess....that's why they play the games.....it's not about talent but chemistry.....curses....yadayadayodayoda rolleyeyes.gif That scary unstoppable talent is 10 games out of 1st place. They've had all their big guns back "Prior, Wood, Sosa" and still have played inconsistent baseball. I wouldn't call the wc competition weak. The Dodgers and Marlins have improved. The Braves are still the Braves. The Padres and Giants will be there to the end. It's gonna be a dog fight for that wildcard.
August 1, 200421 yr My friends who like the Cubs are not of the beer-swilling, bleacher-crawling, lawn-pissing, fight-starting frat boy asswipe variety. They understand baseball, and they don't start s***. We go back and forth in a good-natured way, but by no means would I lump them in with the bandwagoners who yell GO CUBS and then can't name more than 4 players. The fact that they know enough about the Cubs to be upset about losing a young arm with potential sets them apart from the alcoholic f***heads, IMHO. IMHO, there are as many great Cub fans as Sox fans. The Cubs have done a better job of marketing to the casual fan who sees a baseball game as an opportunity to drink too much, piss on lawns, and in general be asses. I do not follow the Cubs too closly but landing Nomar seems like a great move. We'll see if it is too late to save this season.
August 1, 200421 yr That scary unstoppable talent is 10 games out of 1st place. They've had all their big guns back "Prior, Wood, Sosa" and still have played inconsistent baseball. I wouldn't call the wc competition weak. The Dodgers and Marlins have improved. The Braves are still the Braves. The Padres and Giants will be there to the end. It's gonna be a dog fight for that wildcard. Perhaps you're not understanding the "just beginning to get healthy and gel" concept. You probably think Macias, Goodwin, Rusch, Mitre, Harris and Ordonez are still their starting players. Common mistake. Braves and Dodgers are winning their respective divisions. Marlins, Giants, Padres are their WC competition, and they aren't going anywhere - Cubs are too close to them and have an overwhelmingly talented team.
August 1, 200421 yr Author Perhaps you're not understending the "just beginning to get healthy and gel" concept. You probably think Macias, Goodwin, Rusch, Mitre and Ordonez are starting players. Common mistake. Braves and Dodgers are winning their respective divisions. Marlins, Giants, Padres are their WC competition, and they aren't going anywhere. lol. Wait a 2nd. I know who this is. This has got to be Brando. Nobody on a White Sox board jocks the Cubs the way you do. Do you want me to pull up some old threads of you saying the Cubs had the division on LOCK? This was like 2 months ago. And here you are again, except this time it's the Cubs have the wc on lock. lol
August 1, 200421 yr Whatever happened to Brando? His incessant half-empty ideas finally got him the boot? Most. Negative. Ever.
August 1, 200421 yr Author Whatever happened to Brando? His incessant half-empty ideas finally got him the boot? Most. Negative. Ever. Brando=Reesdi He had me fooled until he started jockin the Cubs.
August 1, 200421 yr Brando=Reesdi He had me fooled until he started jockin the Cubs. Good observation. The styles of writing are strikingly similar between reesdi and Brandofan. If its truly him, our comrade still has half a month of suspension to serve.
August 2, 200421 yr Scary unstoppable talent that is just beginning to get healthy and gel? Weak WC competition? Let me guess....that's why they play the games.....it's not about talent but chemistry.....curses....yadayadayodayoda rolleyeyes.gif As a sox fan you should know that talent doesn't win. The flubs have great starting pitching, an inconsistant offense(nomar will help, but they'll still be very inconsistan) and no closer which makes their overall bullpen weak. The flubs will ultimately choke down the stretch and not make the playoffs this year, imo.
August 2, 200421 yr Why'd Brando get suspended? And, who cares about the Cubs? We f***ing got Jose Contreras!!!
August 2, 200421 yr As a sox fan you should know that talent doesn't win... See there's your problem right there, you assume I am a Sox fan. Not nice.
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