tommyo@ihuxw.UUCP (Tom O`Connor) (12/17/85)
I have to stop and wonder about Dallas Green`s latest moves to bring the Cubbies their 2nd divisional title in 3 years. WIthin a week he has traded 2 young, exciting and enthusiactic ballplayers with low salaries for two older veterans, who may have trouble getting into the starting line-up. Now I know a lot of people screamed when Hall and Carter went to Cleveland for a certain Rick Sutcliffe, and things worked out great, but being a long-time sufferer, it looks like the Cubs are doing the old "mortgage the future, win one right now" ploy. Dave Owen for Cub alumnus Manny Trillo really baffles me. Manny has really lost it the last few seasons, at the bat especially. Owen has never really had a long chance to show all his stuff, what with Ryno and Dunston holding down the middle of the infield. Trillo supposedly will give Ryne a day off from time to time, and be competition for Cey at 3rd. I hope I`m wrong, but Trillo may be the latest Larry Bowa (can`t hit their weight, especially in salary!) Billy Hatcher for Jerry Mumphrey also surprises me. The Cubs are DEEP in the outfield, with Matthews (a big ?? for `86), Dernier and Moreland starting, and Bosley and Dayette good backups. Mumphrey can`t hit from the right side well, and doesn`t want to platoon. Hatcher is ready for the bigs, and should show the Dome crowd some excellent speed, (which, according to TSN, they want to improve on). But a mere two words make this trade scary for me --- Lou Brock! The Cubs REALLY need middle relief. Look at last year! Don`t tell me it was just the loss of the regular starters. The middle relief was the pits! Brusstar, Sorenson, Frazier, Fontenot - ugh! Maybe some of the youngsters that were up last fall can fill in, like Merideth, Patterson or Baller. The Cubs NEVER should`ve let Bordi go - he DID the middle relief job great in `84, and got the major screws with the playoffs (left off the roster) and subsequently traded. Ah, I do LOVE to talk baseball a week before Christmas!
mykes@3comvax.UUCP (Mike Schwartz) (12/28/85)
Manny Trillo had some fine years in Chicago, and although he is not a great pure hitter, he is capable of teasing us Cubs fans with a .320 batting average at the All-Star Breadk. However, you can expect him to end up at about .220. Food for thought: Bench Ron Cey and shift Ryno and Dunston left one position each. This would make room for Trillo at second, and would represent a 1000% improvement over the Cubs' infield defense in '84 when they won it all. Don't get me wrong, Ron Cey is a great man to have on any team, and I do not think he is over the hill or too old. Ryno can handle shortstop as well as anyone the Cubs have, probably as well as 99% of National League shortstops. Dunston is a fine prospect, but his erratic fielding at shortstop really hurt the Cubs last year before everyone got hurt. Third base would be a great spot for his arm, and there is nobody in Chicago's future there. Dallas Green, if you can hear me, please reconsider signing Kirk Gibson. It is true that salaries are out of hand, but if anyone is worth the bucks, it's Gibson. With Gibson in right, the Cubs could get away with playing two outfielders (Dernier can cover left and center by himself). With Gibson batting third and Durham cleanup, and Sandburg and Dernier, and Jody and Moreland, there are no easy outs. Lots of speed, including Dunston, and then you got either Cey or Trillo. A fine team to go with the best starting rotation in all of baseball. And please don't trade Dernier, because he may be the only center fielder in baseball capable of playing with Sarge on one side and Moreland on the other - the man covers ground out there like Omar Moreno used to, and anything hit in the air out there he catches. I am not forgetting the Sarge. He along with Sandburg and Durham are the only real superstars that the Cubbies have in the field. Jim Frey is the greatest field manager ever, and is a pro at dealing with the press. He knew that to win with the Sarge and Moreland that the Cubbies would need DEFENSIVE help in the late innings, just like in '84. Billy Hatcher did a fine job last year, but he would only platoon with Dernier at best. If the season were to start tomorrow, the Cubbies could win it all if: 1. Sarge hits like he hit in '84 2. The starting rotation pitchers get 30 starts apiece and go at least 7 innings. 3. Leon Durham finally comes in to his own (he should hit about .320 with 30+ homers, 100 RBI, and 30+ stolen bases, every year). 4. Dernier plays 150 games in center field. I see another scenario possibility for the Cubbies, too. Moreland might get moved to third, benching Cey, and giving the Cubbies an outfield of Sarge, Dernier, and Mumphrey. I don't mean to be so critical of the Penguin, but he did not really have a typical Ron Cey year last year. He certainly did better with both hands bandaged in all of '84 than he did in '85 after surgery. But I can't recall any National League 3rd baseman who did much better last year... it was a poor year for 3rd basemen in the NL, tho. /mykes
morrism@ecn-aa.UUCP (The Music Man) (12/30/85)
In article <306@3comvax.UUCP> mykes@3comvax.UUCP (Mike Schwartz) writes: >Food for thought: > Bench Ron Cey and shift Ryno and Dunston left one position >each. This would make room for Trillo at second, and would represent >a 1000% improvement over the Cubs' infield defense in '84 when they won >it all. Don't get me wrong, Ron Cey is a great man to have on any team, >and I do not think he is over the hill or too old. Ryno can handle >shortstop as well as anyone the Cubs have, probably as well as 99% of >National League shortstops. Dunston is a fine prospect, but his >erratic fielding at shortstop really hurt the Cubs last year before >everyone got hurt. Third base would be a great spot for his arm, >and there is nobody in Chicago's future there. > Simpler solution: Put Trillo at 3rd base. He has alot of experience from San Fran at 3rd. This may be a reason that we traded Owen for Trillo. Granted. When Ryne came over to the Cubs, he was a SS. But he has picked up so well at 2nd it might be better leaving him there. Dunston might have been bad last year. But he has been surviving on physical ability only. Now he has learned about SS, he should do better. Well, we will se in Spring. -morrism- Mitchell J. Morrison Hacker/Programmer/Consultant at Large UUCP: {decvax, ihnp4, seismo, ucbvax}!pur-ee!ecn-aa!morrism USPS: 902 S. 9th St. Lafayette, IN 47905 Ma Bell: 317-423-2054 or 317-742-5259 (both voice) I say, do, and think what I want. So flame me, nobody else. "Life is a virgin. Bitches are easy."