Madtown343

He has no more chance of making the Cubs rotation than he had making the Brewers. Cubs have rotation numbers: Garza, Dempster, Maholm, Wells, Volstad, Samardja, T. Wood, Rodrigo Lopez. I'm surprised at the timing. Had he been waived at the end of ST when teams were all trying to get down to 25, he wouldn't have been claimed. Sveum and Bosio knew him so they had nothing to lose claiming him. He's a longshot to make their roster. If he does it will be in the pen. Notice I didn't say immediately, I said this season. I firmly believe they are going to sell high on Garza. Samardja has plenty of work to do to prove he can pitch more than an inning with his control issues, watch for Marmol to struggle to close as well and J eff will be the # 1 internal pitcher to fall into that roll of the future. That's two out of your list of locks. The rest? Journeyman to say the least. Dempster, Volstad, Travis wood should stick because of contract or youth in woods case. Other than that 4-5 in their rotation is wide open and if DD pitched for them last year, like I said I could easilly see Frankie winning a spot in that rotation at some point this season.

Hind sight is 20-20, but I do wish we would have spent the 1.5M on Keppinger. He would look good as backup middle infield right now.

I could see him winning a starting job in Chicago this season. He was likely our 9-10 option. Nice to be so far above what the Scrubs are right now. I would love to have a Pirates type beat down on them this season and next before Theo does start to build a future with his adventitious resources.

What I can't understand is who is Braun protecting? His image is looking worse to outsiders with this real story stuff. What could be the reasoning for not letting everyone go wow and get over it? These things always leak, but it may not be for years.

I think if a team blew you away with an offer for Morgan I would move him. Otherwise Logan can benefit from a first half at AAA.

Yea that list of names is more than underwhelming... Has EY Jr ever even played SS?

How do feel about 4 pitch strikeouts or 1 pitch pop ups? That might be the biggest difference between the two offensively. At least gonzo's AB works the pitcher a little more... More HR, much better defense, and more experience with winning. gonzo>>>YB

Completely agree^ I still would like to see Braun start to hit the ball a little.

First off why compare Izturis to YB. Izturis is on a minor deal trying to make the team as the 24-25th man. Not getting 500 ab's and playing everyday at ss. Second why is gonzo likely to be no better than YB when statistically he is better overall as a player, and helps the team in infield defense where they were their weakest in 2011. You base your opinions on what you feel and that's fine. Just don't be upset when people look at stats and history to refute your feelings. I added Izturis in because 1. People were mentioning getting him last year instead of Yuni. 2. Izuris is mentioned as playing a role in this year's team. Not to upset you with the use of stats but if Gonzo is such a defensive whiz why has he posted a negative defensive rating in 5/12 big league seasons? I don't like WAR as a stat but Gozo's last 3 years are 0.6, 3.4, 1.1 compared to -2.1, 0.9 and 0.5 for Betancourt. Everyone once in awhile Gonzo puts up a year like 2010, but most year's he is a 0-1 WAR player just like YB, neither are good players. And Gonzo being 35+ isn't going to make his outlook suddenly improve. It's probably 50/50 on whether or not he will even be a positive on the defensive ratings given his age and track record. I am thinking you should have stuck with your feelings argument, because attempting to pick stats to prove your point actually looks worse. Gonzo was near the top of the league in defensive runs saved last year, and that is the same stat that GoGo was also near the top of for CF. I put some weight into that as well as the opinions of players, and Powell who said beyond statistics he is impressive defensively. As for offense, you are right my expectations are fairly low. However, his power could translate to 20ish HR at miller park, and he has some winning experience. Offensively we improved as much as possible at 3B, and defensively we improved as much as possible (Barmes already signed). How can that not seem like a huge positive over YB?

First off why compare Izturis to YB. Izturis is on a minor deal trying to make the team as the 24-25th man. Not getting 500 ab's and playing everyday at ss. Second why is gonzo likely to be no better than YB when statistically he is better overall as a player, and helps the team in infield defense where they were their weakest in 2011. You base your opinions on what you feel and that's fine. Just don't be upset when people look at stats and history to refute your feelings.

I have seen that too. If Hart misses time, and Luc continues to develop into a hitter with great contact and strong OBP tools he showed in the minors I can't see him never moving up the lineup. Spring stats should always be taken with a grain of salt, but I do think Lucroy has the skill set to develop into a more influential bat in the order. If and when that happens I think he forces his way out of the 8th spot in one way or another.

If he is not signed by opening day, I think our chances of signing him are significantly hurt. He is unusual, but he is human and the numbers being floated about Cain and Hamels in FA will not make it easy to resign for less than value. I tend to believe mark and Doug know that and feel that too. If there ever was a time to ask a player how much will make you happy to play in a place you have indicated (honestly) you enjoy this is it. Zack is brutally honest, and appreciates honesty. I think approaching it in a way he understands is the best way. What number makes you happy, and will still allow this franchise you 'love' stay competitive for the duration of your contract?

Honestly, I think his perception by the average fan will end up being significantly higher than Yuni. Even Yuni with his once a week highlight defensively seemed to fool people of his defense. I can't explain how many times I would be in a discussion and someone would defend his defense based on that fact that he made a great play... I think gonzo will make many more of these and provide above average defense the rest of the time. Offensively people are in love with HR. if gonzo's mid teens power in ATL translates to 20+ in miller park, people will overlook the high k numbers. Additionally if Lucroy hits like he believes he is capable of that allows gonzo to hit 8th and expectations for that spot are generally low to begin with. Even if his actual production is only a slight improvement over Yuni 2011, I think perception will be of a major upgrade.

I agree with most here. I still wonder what he meant by the 'real story' and what he thought he would accomplish by saying that to the media. Cheater/not one thing we have learned is Braun is extremely well spoken and seems to always say the right thing at the right time. What could be the motive to saying that the truth is there in a story we don't know yet, and may never know? I still can't wrap my head around that because it seemed to hurt his image and up until now he has been exceptional and making his image look as clean as possible...

Braun and Aramis have combined for 1 hit and the offense has shown some nice Potential from other spots. Those two will contribute once the games count and this offense will start to look a little deeper than some may have thought

If its closer to 3 weeks, aoki, gindl get more at bats now and Hart should still be ready for opening day...

Players usually are, but Hart sounds like he thinks he will get enough ab's to be ready for opening day.

Agreed 2013 rotation of: Yo Grienke Peralta Narvy Either a vet, or another young arm. Fiers?

Go back and read it. Soriano actually said something along the lines of he can take my sample home for a week and nothing would show up in my urine...

I think the Monday morning is the most troubling, what took until 1:30 for something this pertinent...

Agreed and why can't they come up with a system that removes all bias. In the same respect that any credible experiment has a double blind, why can't mlb have the drug testing double blind.

I'm clean and have no interest in peeing in a cup right now...

Saw that. Not sure what it meant either. I hope Braun talks first and then Carroll's article reaffirms much of what Braun says...

Really not sure how I feel about this...

Braun has used everything in the past as fuel and I expect the same. The guy will need to be patient though because being over aggressive to prove people wrong and potentially be pitched around more often without Prince could lead to more prolonged slumps.