Anyone else Disappointed?

[BigZ38]

We could have made one trade. At least bring in a fresh face that could be of some use to our team. This is like on Christmas morning opening a present and getting a pair of socks....it sucks.

[SKIPPER 11]

Yea Im very dissappointed as Im sure you can tell by previous post. You mention Christmas- to some people it is not just Christmas day, but Christmas Season- we still have the waiver trades to go

[Sheffield_&_Waveland]

I wish this team would have went for another right handed starter and moved one of the lefies to the pen. I know we are second in NL in ERA but out of the 5 starters I just don't feel confident when Hill and Marquis take the mound. Hill needs to work on more than just the 2 pitches he has and I think it's going to hurt us down the stretch. We are facing many of these teams in the second half for the 2nd and 3rd time and they are going to make the adjustments and we are going to be caught with our pants down. Just my opinion.

[SKIPPER 11]

Your opinion is definately correct IMO. Marquis has been known to struggle down the stretch. Hill still does not use a change up- why I dont know. Hitters continuosly foul pitches off against him and run up his pitch count. Marshall has been solid pretty much all year but he does not have a dominating pitch. Lily is pure guts and experience, he has pretty decent stuff but not great. Its not like we are running Wood, Prior, Clement , and Z out there.

[Sheffield_&_Waveland]

We really don't have the domination of 03. I think Joe Blanton from Oakland would be a nice fit. I heard the Dodgers were showing interest in him though.

[BigZ38]

Well now I'm pissed. That right handed starter you guys were talking about...yeah he ended up in Pittsburgh in the form of Matt Morris. Even the Pirates did something.

[SKIPPER 11]

Blanton is a national league type pitcher too- Matt Morris just went to the Pirates??????????????

Blanton actually pitched against a couple of my summer league teams back in 1998 and 1999. He played on the same team with Corey Hart- the Brewers RF. We never beat Blanton, but did win 2 out of the 3 series we played vs. his and Harts team.

[Bockstock]

I'll be happy if there is a Zambrano extension.

But seriously, the Cubs have 3 guys in Soriano,Lee,Ramirez who probably at their prime, and then are bunch of filler players and veterans who we don't know what we are going to get from the next year.

Someone like Ryan Church would have at least filled a roster spot as a solid starter for next year while not driving up the payroll.

[mickeyrom51]

We could have made one trade. At least bring in a fresh face that could be of some use to our team. This is like on Christmas morning opening a present and getting a pair of socks....it sucks.

Hendry is counting on Cedeno and Murton.A big mistake IMO.

[NeifiPerezMVP2007]

Well now I'm pissed. That right handed starter you guys were talking about...yeah he ended up in Pittsburgh in the form of Matt Morris. Even the Pirates did something.

WWHAAATTT???? How does that work? Oh well, Morris is not the same as 04.

[NeifiPerezMVP2007]

Hendry is counting on Cedeno and Murton.A big mistake IMO.

Yeah. Murton has done nothing but let us down this season :mad: .

[roenick99]

Well now I'm pissed. That right handed starter you guys were talking about...yeah he ended up in Pittsburgh in the form of Matt Morris. Even the Pirates did something.

Just curious to know who ANY starting pitcher we might have traded for takes a spot from?

[Sheffield_&_Waveland]

Just curious to know who ANY starting pitcher we might have traded for takes a spot from?

I stated in the thread farther up that I would have liked to see them go after a right handed starter and move either Hill or Marshall to the pen. Preferably Hill for the reason that he needs to work on a change up because just using a fastball and curve causes some concern. Your thoughts.

[BigZ38]

Marquis or anyone else that struggles. Marquis mainly though.

[ryno4ever]

I had said earlier that I would have liked to have seen us get a long reliever/spot starter (like Glendon Rusch). I think down the stretch, someone like that may be handy.

[roenick99]

Marquis or anyone else that struggles. Marquis mainly though.

An 8-6 record is struggling? Look at his stats he could easily be 10-6 with run support. Thanks for taking the bait. So then you were ready to trade Zambrano in April and May? Not sure what you have against Marquis other than he used to be with the Cards.

[CubsFan23]

I would have liked to have seen a lefty added to the pen. But overall I am not suprised. The Cubs have played real well lately, and I do not think Hendry or Lou wanted to mess with the chemisty of the team. I think our bullpen will be fine, if Kerry comes back and pitches well.

[BigZ38]

An 8-6 record is struggling? Look at his stats he could easily be 10-6 with run support. Thanks for taking the bait. So then you were ready to trade Zambrano in April and May? Not sure what you have against Marquis other than he used to be with the Cards.

Let's see here.....I'm a huge fan of Zambrano and I knew what he was capable of so....No way in hell did I want him traded and if we did we wouldn't have a shot. Marquis was well overpaid I don't think there is any hiding that. After the first half of the season he isn't that great. I'm not the only one that has a problem with him. You could look back at any previous threads and posts and see that everyone has grumbled about him.

[SKIPPER 11]

Let's see here.....I'm a huge fan of Zambrano and I knew what he was capable of so....No way in hell did I want him traded and if we did we wouldn't have a shot. Marquis was well overpaid I don't think there is any hiding that. After the first half of the season he isn't that great. I'm not the only one that has a problem with him. You could look back at any previous threads and posts and see that everyone has grumbled about him.

I agree BigZ38. Z and Marquis are different. You may not know this but Sandberg never hit in April. Just think if we would have given up on him early in a season. Marquis cant be classified in the same category with Z- Z is known to be a stud. Marquis was left off a postseason roster for a guy by the name of Jeff Weaver. His record 8-6 is nice though and he has provided us with innings and experience. To say though his record could be 10-6, it could also be the other way around. Our offense has bailed him out a couple of times too. Not to ruffle any feathers here, I obviosly did that enough last night, but Marquis is hit or miss and had given up 6 runs in 3 of his last 4 starts going into last night. He pitched pretty well last night though and got us a W

[ryno4ever]

One thing about Marquis, though, is he has kept us within striking distance in just about every game he has pitched in. I can think of only one where he was completely blown out early. Maybe it is luck on his part that he has gotten run support in most of his starts, but my main concern is him giving up home runs right and left, which he has been pretty good at keeping the ball down and relying on the sinker to get a lot of ground balls.

[roenick99]

Let's see here.....I'm a huge fan of Zambrano and I knew what he was capable of so....No way in hell did I want him traded and if we did we wouldn't have a shot. Marquis was well overpaid I don't think there is any hiding that. After the first half of the season he isn't that great. I'm not the only one that has a problem with him. You could look back at any previous threads and posts and see that everyone has grumbled about him.

I am not trying to single you out, you are just the only one that piped up. I know you aren't the only one that has a dislike for him. I don't get it. You say he was "well overpaid"? By what standards? My opinion is that ALL of these guys are overpaid. Right now Zambrano is overpaid with his current salary. It is ridiculous. What exactly are you expecting from Marquis? If you are looking for 20 wins then I wish you good luck in your quest, but it is wishful thinking. He was signed as a #3 or #4 starter depending on what management realistically considers Rich Hill. Based on the current market of starting pitchers, he falls right in line with the market. He is less than we were going to pay for Meche. Meche has a better ERA and 20 or so more innings pitched. Worse record. Marquis is on pace for just under 200 IP and if he wins 12-14 games, then that is what is to be expected from a good back of the rotation starter. Is this not sound logic or does everyone think we should have five 20-game winners pitching for us? It is not realistic and I am not sure who people would have rather had in his spot. Zito, Schmidt, or Jason Jennings? These are all names tossed around here last offseason. Where are those guys now? I would rather have had Meche, but he didn't want to sign with a playoff team. I still don't understand that. All in all, my point is that he is doing a pretty decent job and is right in line of expectations. Could he do better in some of his other starts? Definitely! I think last night was a big game for us coming off a loss and he stepped up, provided a quality start and picked up the win. It is not the first time he has done that. What have ya! I can't make you like the guy, but you'd be hard pressed to find a better replacement at this point, especially with the guys we could have had...

[BigZ38]

Well if you talk to my dad everyone in major sports is overpaid. And when you look at it.....Who honestly is worth that kind of money? But I guess Hendry wanted to bolster the starting rotation and Marquis was his way.

[roenick99]

Exactly! I agree with your dad. I would SO take the league minimum!!

[CubsFan23]

I would play for meal money.