to hear from you, lboros. i’d be the first to agree on mcclellan. he was tested last year in some tough situations and responded in a big way. you give a good young arm (that’s making 390k) a chance and the rewards could be great. i have little interest in old, overpriced stop-gaps.

LB I hope all is well with you. Last September I wrote a fanpost about how the Cards will most likely do very little this off season, and why would they do anything else. They found a SS, desided on Kennedy over Lopez, and look to make in house fixes to the pen. Another arm via trade or FA would be nice. I for one wouldn’t mind Pettitte.

 A move during spring training might be forth coming if Duncan proves healthy. I expect the opening day outfield to be Schu, Rick and Ludstick. Barton and Mather on the bench and Ramus in AAA. If Duncan is healthy then he is on the bench and one of the bench guys is moved. Ricky to be moved later once Rasmus is promoted. The infield is set. I would like Freese to get a shot at backing up the corners and we have several competing for the MI back up spot.

 So another starter would be nice, but other than that this team is ready to compete

Finding an lboros post on a cold mid January morning is like finding a Christmas present you happened to miss 3 weeks ago. Very cool.

Thanks for the guest post! Hopefully they become a bit more frequent (though DanUp and the boys are doing a finejob in your absence). Could we hope for one or 2 every month or is that too greedy?

I agree that if its between Looper, Garland, and Wolf, we might just be better to allow McClellan take over that spot. Then again, maybe something will develop once Ankiel starts looking a lot more intriguing to some of those who lost out on Dunn/Manny/Abreu. There still is a few weeks before pitchers and catchers report.

First things first…great to hear from you LB!

Secondly…I’m still holding out hope on Sheets. If the Mets sign Perez, there just doesn’t seem to be much of a market for Big Ben. His stuff is as good as anybody on our staff, and his injury history (though abundant) isn’t the type of stuff that leads to 20IP over two seasons. He also had a mostly healthy 2008.

The main thing about him is he is the one guy out there who could make us contenders for the division rather than the wildcard. If he gets us there we all know how important dominant pitching can be in October. I know it’s a risk, but if there’s someway to do it for NO MORE THAN 2/$30M with an option I think the upside is to great to pass up. All that being said I won’t be on here with a rant WHEN some other team signs him to a 1/$12M deal the end of March.

I don’t know exactly what rip in the fabric of time and space has landed me in this nightmare of an alternate universe, but just to be clear, in no world in which t here is a just and merciful God would Gooch be a Cub. Since I believe there is such a Being (and that he’s a Cardinal fan), I reject your reality and substitute it for one of my own. D.GOOCH

Sign Ben Sheets.

IMO, Carp’s health issues are preventing the Sheets signing. Could it be a case where if Carp was healthy and pain free for January/February, the team will pull the trigger on Sheets? Sheets replacing Carp makes the team better than Thompson replacing Carp, but Sheets replacing Piniero with Carp in the rotation makes the team a WS threat. FO might not want to committ the $15mm to become Wild Card contender with long odds to make or win the WS. Just trying to think like Mo.

Who is this person that everyone speaks of?

3 great things to start the day off.

I LOVE me some Lboros!!!

Thanks for the post. Hope to hear your thoughts again soon.

I love the perspective, although I also love Ben Sheets….unless me sign him and he gets injured, in which case I will shoot myself in the foot.

and yet, so taguchi has two world series rings in the last three years! he just might be the one sitting on the bench to bring a series to the cubs. oh, nooooooooo!

“they didn’t lose anyone of consequence off last year’s team”

They lost Looper and expecting another 3 win season out of Lohse is a questionable assumption. The rotation looks weak to me and an area that could implode in rapid fashion. The Cardinals have done nothing to address that.

nice to hear the light of reason! so this begs the question, what to spend some money on if not starting pitching. I suppose replacing McClellan in the bullpen? nice Anchower shout-out, also like that guy in accounts receivable from the old Onion days, what was his name?

I enjoy the regular posts, but it’s great to hear from the Godfather of Viva El Birdos once in a while.

And Albert… thank you so much for being born and wearing the birds on the bat…
Happy Birthday!!!!!!!

Reading LBoros again has brought into sharper focus what it is that I like so well about his contributions. In addition to the tremendous insight, his facility with stats, and a singular writing style, what I find remarkable and (if you’ll permit me) great about our friend LBoros is the balance he brings to his analysis.

Today’s post is, without a doubt, the best defense of the Management’s approach to the off-season that I’ve read. It’s good not because it’s right—it may not be. It’s good because it is plausible and well supported.

It’s pretty easy to nit-pick about management’s moves. It is also hard to know what management is thinking because, for strategic reasons, management can’t simply put its cards on the table.

But the ability to discern what may be the subtle calculations and judgments Mozeliak and company are making is, well, remarkable.

I mention this because it’s a good exercise. When management isn’t making the move that’s urged in some fan petition, the knee-jerk reaction is to criticize. “They are tightwads!” “Tony’s an idiot.” It takes more discipline and effort to ask, “What is the best baseball case that can be made for management’s approach.”

But in the end, asking this question and finding plausible answers is much more edifying.

Good to read you again :)

as I often do around town over the years. he was in his usual Cubs regalia, this time with fancy cubs scarves adorning his neck (tackle box informs me that he has a movie coming out, looks like he upgraded his uniform for the winter). it’s like two opposing forces, the biggest Cardinals fan in Chitown running into the biggest Cubs fan. except I don’t walk around in a baseball uniform. I got off that train as soon as possible, don’t want to get his bad luck.

You really helped me make a lot of sense of this offseason. I agree that it doesn’t make a lot of sense to sign Sheets. We all know how good he is, but there are too many negatives with that. One thing you didn’t touch on was the market for our third base prospects. I think that Freese and Craig probably have a lot of value with a team like Minnesota, who can’t afford Ty Wiggington or other 3rd baseman. Minnesota has a an excess of young starting pitching, which is what we need and they would probably give up one of those guys in the right deal.

and he also got a younger Chris Carpenter back healthy a year removed from any surgeries. We can’t say the same thing this year.

of good insights, is worth the effort just for the phrase “seal in mediocrity.” I’m going to shamelessly steal that image from now on. I think my Orioles could use that as a marketing slogan: “Your Orioles: Sealing in Mediocrity since 1999.”

(BTW, their big slogan for 2008 was “This Is Birdland.” I’m thinking this year they should go for something like: “The Beer’s Always Cold and Our Guys Promise to Show Up On Time Every Day.”)

but interesting article by Andy Clark of the Department of Philosophy
Washington University
St. Louis, MO

http://consc.net/papers/extended.html

I try not to do that again

a very well-written opening thread, and I for one am especially grateful for the lack of acronyms.
My cold day in January thoughts include:
I don’t know why many folks are lukewarm on (or even ’cool’) to the idea of re-signing Looper; he seems to be exactly what we need to stabilize the rotation…biggest point, he’s healthy and seems to be the kind that will stay healthy.
The more I consider Ankiel being peddled the more comfortable I get with it; and the reverse with Luddy… I hope it is not him that goes.
I’m trying — really trying — to swallow the idea of Kennedy being our primary 2ndbaseman.
I have a hunch the relief pitching (established closer or not) will do a turnaround and again be a strength this year.

no matter how permanent or temporary it may be…

I do have to admit that I had to do a double-take when reading the post. I don’t usually look at who wrote the article on the front page every day. I try to guess who it is by what is written. It is not too difficult (usually). However, when I saw the lower case and the writing style, I immediately went to the top to see if it really was you writing it. It’s a happy surprise.

anyone see today’s get fuzzy in your local paper? no? here it is

is there, like, a button that goes down to the oldest unread post? I could scroll down to the first yellow box, but a button would be much easier. Little help!

It’s great to read another post from you lboros. Hope all is well with your family, and you.

I’m not that concerned about the offseason either. I’m not sure exactly why, but I think it is one part some confidence they are going to find some solutions late, one part an understanding of how the economic worries may change these markets (as well as a re-accessment of my priorities….I’m going to try to only get worked up about things that are within my control), and then an assurance that the prospects that show themselves ready are going to get a chance soon enough. I think the real panic would have set in if they traded Rasmus, or something of that nature.

I hope I don’t prove to be the schmuck with my head in the sand, but I’m pretty calm about what’s happening this offseason. Or I guess to put it more accurately, what isn’t happening.

What a fine day.

vivaelbirdos once again gets to read the always calm and logical words of mr. borowsky, and the cause of rigid capitalization is significantly weakened. fine post, sir.

its always good to hear your perspective.