Fare thee wellMr. Miles examines Hendry's lefty obsessionFrom the Daily Herald:--Bradley is a switch hitter who led the AL in OBP and OPS last year. Cubs people made sure to stress the OBP thing with me, knowing full well I've been their harshest critic on that stat for a few years. Hendry's heart was in the right place on that count with Kosuke Fukudome last year, and despite his horrid second half, Fukudome wound up with a .359 OBP after flirting with .400 early in the year. --Fukudome bats lef

Ken Davidoff delivers a new and exciting statistical analysis of a player's worth that is only slightly less useful than the landmark Phil Rogers plus-minus system.It involves health and happiness and the remarkably simple measures of "yes" and "no," but it only seems to apply to players with nine-figure deals. Here's how Davidoff describes it:In honor of the recently arrived new year, let's use two measures of evaluation for these players: Health, and Happiness. "Health" will cover actual health

So, Colin weighed in below with his thought on what the lineup *should* be, so I thought I would go ahead and suggest what I believe the lineup *will* be.  The lineup constructed below is based on a combination of indepth analysis, pop psychology, and Ovaltine.  So, without further delay:Alfonso SorianoMike FontenotAramis RamirezMilton BradleyDerrek LeeGeovany SotoKosoke FukudomeRyan TheriotNot bad, eh?  Okay, so, my reasoning is as follows:Piniella doesn't really give a damn who leads off.  He k

I'm covering territory already looked at by Goat Reader Harry Caray and Goat Rider Colin* but I just can't help myself.  At the end of March, Lou and Jim are going to have some decisions to make as the Cubs are looking exceptionally deep right now in almost all facets.  Let's take a look at how things might look (with players who are on the bubble in italics)(*in my defense, I wrote this last night before bed, which means that technically speaking, in a roundabout way, I sort of beat Colin to the

After half an hour or so of noodling around with things, I came up with my proposed lineup for the team given current personel. I'm tired and exceedingly lazy so you're not getting a lot of in-depth analysis or, for that matter, a consideration of a center field platoon. Special thanks to Rally for his projections.This is based on who I think will be playing. If for some reason Aaron Miles ends up our starting second baseman, I'll be too busy drinking acetone to update this. So, without further a

I will start by saying I think this is by far the best site on the net for Cubbie baseball discussion. I have learned so much about our system from top to bottom thanks to the blogs and discussion on goatriders. I have been telling all my fellow Cubbie Blue Bleeders about the site and they enjoy it as well. (OK did I suck up enough??") Here are just a few thoughts I've had concerning the team and the state we are in RIGHT NOW.First the lineup as I see it right now:1. Soriano2. Fontenot3. Lee (I s

The cubs roster is starting to take shape.  The Team has made several moves (some good, some not-so-good, some debatable) and has a big one left to make (Milton Bradley).  My question is, what are we going to do with all of the guys we have that are out of minor league options?Felix Pie has been a hot topic for years now.  However, if the cubs do in fact add Milton Bradley, it will give us 974 outfielders.  Bradley, Kosuke Fukudome, Alfonso Soriano, Reed Johnson, Joey Gathright, Micah Hoffpauir,

I for some reason just can't seem to understand this immediate need to throw $30M+ at a right fielder.I don't see Milton Bradley as the answer to any of the lineup's problems, as Bradley has only been able to play in about 60% his teams' games since he came into the big leagues and he spent one full season (last season) as a DH.  If everyone is so unhappy with Fukudome, his performance and his contract, I don't see how adding another player with just as many unknowns to a similar contract is a go