Has the 2006 Payroll Been Slashed?

[stitchface]

if hendry can't get a fair deal, he shouldn't make moves just to make moves. Come July it may be nice to have some open payroll space. Its certainly too early in the offseason to say he won't be making any moves. typically the winter meetings establish trading partners and the deals get worked out later.

[stitchface]

Hendry has done a pretty good job avoiding bad long term commitments like Sammy's contract that created last year's mess. He doesn't seem to learn with relievers but otherwise, the cubs should have some flexibility over the next few years. No reason to make a bad move now that kills us for the next six years.

[BigbadB]

Sure they're deep and good for the regular season when everyone's going 5 man rotation, but when the rotations are narrowed down in the postseason these rotations don't cut it. Boston has a possible #1 in Beckett, if healthy. Schilling may be a bigger question mark than Wood. The rest are #3's & 4's. The Yankees are counting on a couple of guys well past their primes (Johnson & Mussina) and a couple injury prone guys (Pavano & Wright) and some kids.

 

If this is what they're going to war with next year, they're tossing a bunch of money don' the toilet. As they say in Boston, bohk it.

 

Well, they are stuck with the decisions they made. Are they going to sit Mike Mussina and his 19m price tag on the bench in favor of someone like Millwood? No. They'll go to war with that group.

 

The difference between them and the Cubs is those teams have depth. Where they are weak, they are strong elsewhere, so they can be weak here and there like Bubba Crosby in CF. With Cedeno and Murton (two virtual unknowns production wise), you can't afford to have a weakness elsewhere. I'm not so sure it's a good idea to even start two rookies until I've seen more of what they can do. That does not mean Neifi F. Perez gets the nod, however.

 

It's not too late. Hendry could pull a miracle out of his butt and save the offseason by landing a combination of Huff, Wilkerson, Floyd, Green, etc...

 

If he can do that, he will have a competitive team. I don't know if it will be playoff caliber, but it will be competitive. At least do that since the opportunity to land impact players was on the bus Hendry missed.

[CubfaninCA]

Hendry has done a pretty good job avoiding bad long term commitments like Sammy's contract that created last year's mess. He doesn't seem to learn with relievers but otherwise, the cubs should have some flexibility over the next few years. No reason to make a bad move now that kills us for the next six years.

 

Well, that's plausible, but the Maddux deal is nothing to write home about and I can't fault the Cubs for signing Sosa for 4 years. Altogether, yes he hasn't bogged down the franchise w/ any horrible deals like the AGonz deal.

[stitchface]

Sometimes the best deals are the ones you don't make. Maddux is a bad contract but maddux does contribute to the team. Its not the albatross of JD Drew or Thome if they can't stay healthy. I said pretty good in any case.

 

Don't get me wrong, I think Hendry is a pretty poor GM. I just don't think we should be in a hurry to spend that extra money if there is nothing worth spending it on.

[CubfaninCA]

Sure they're deep and good for the regular season when everyone's going 5 man rotation, but when the rotations are narrowed down in the postseason these rotations don't cut it. Boston has a possible #1 in Beckett, if healthy. Schilling may be a bigger question mark than Wood. The rest are #3's & 4's. The Yankees are counting on a couple of guys well past their primes (Johnson & Mussina) and a couple injury prone guys (Pavano & Wright) and some kids.

 

If this is what they're going to war with next year, they're tossing a bunch of money don' the toilet. As they say in Boston, bohk it.

 

Well, they are stuck with the decisions they made. Are they going to sit Mike Mussina and his 19m price tag on the bench in favor of someone like Millwood? No. They'll go to war with that group.

 

The difference between them and the Cubs is those teams have depth. Where they are weak, they are strong elsewhere, so they can be weak here and there like Bubba Crosby in CF. With Cedeno and Murton (two virtual unknowns production wise), you can't afford to have a weakness elsewhere. I'm not so sure it's a good idea to even start two rookies until I've seen more of what they can do. That does not mean Neifi F. Perez gets the nod, however.

 

It's not too late. Hendry could pull a miracle out of his butt and save the offseason by landing a combination of Huff, Wilkerson, Floyd, Green, etc...

 

If he can do that, he will have a competitive team. I don't know if it will be playoff caliber, but it will be competitive. At least do that since the opportunity to land impact players was on the bus Hendry missed.

 

Well, if the Cubs spent like the Yankees, they'd have depth too. They can make multiple mistakes, and have multiple injuries, and yet cover it up w/ more spending.

 

Boston's a more valid point, but they spend about $20 million or so more. Their depth does allow them to absorb injuries a lot better than the Cubs. My basic point about Boston is that they have a ton of moves to make too and Cub fans should just be a little more patient, as benchmark organizations still have lots of work to do.

 

Wilkerson, Green, and Floyd are pretty reasonable alternatives for RF. Not so sure about Huff. Tampa's a crazy organization.

[stitchface]

so when are you going to play cedeno and murton? If they had played last september, you could say its too small a sample size. or they'll wear down over a full season. Unless you get a viable option, you might as well give them a shot and if they fail go shopping at the deadline.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

Hendry has done a pretty good job avoiding bad long term commitments like Sammy's contract that created last year's mess. He doesn't seem to learn with relievers but otherwise, the cubs should have some flexibility over the next few years. No reason to make a bad move now that kills us for the next six years.

 

Hendry offered Furcal 5 years at 9M+/year. Furcal, the second tier SS.

 

Hendry has tried to make bad moves. We're lucky others have prevented him by making worse (Colletti).

[CubfaninCA]

Sometimes the best deals are the ones you don't make. Maddux is a bad contract but maddux does contribute to the team. Its not the albatross of JD Drew or Thome if they can't stay healthy. I said pretty good in any case.

 

Don't get me wrong, I think Hendry is a pretty poor GM. I just don't think we should be in a hurry to spend that extra money if there is nothing worth spending it on.

 

True about deals you don't make.

 

By hitching his wagon to Dusty for another year, Hendry's done enough to get canned, if this team falters again. However, he's been far from awful. If my recollection is correct, the team he inherited in the middle of 2002 has no position players, besides Patterson, left. Things could be A LOT worse. Say what you will about luck, but Lee, Ramirez, Barrett and Murton were very nice pickups. Too bad Baker tends to get in the way w/ his bizarre lineup cards.

[SeldomSeen]

 

You act as if all Hendry needs to do is wiggle his nose people will take the Cubs garbage and give them a star as well. It takes 2 to tangle.

 

As for the Red Sox, the Sox have a ton of moves they still need to make. As for the Yankees, they should never miss the playoffs when they outspend everyone by a far margin. Not making the World Series should be a major disappoint for that franchise.

 

But it only takes one for a malapropism. :P

[BigbadB]

Hendry has done a pretty good job avoiding bad long term commitments like Sammy's contract that created last year's mess. He doesn't seem to learn with relievers but otherwise, the cubs should have some flexibility over the next few years. No reason to make a bad move now that kills us for the next six years.

 

Well, that's plausible, but the Maddux deal is nothing to write home about and I can't fault the Cubs for signing Sosa for 4 years. Altogether, yes he hasn't bogged down the franchise w/ any horrible deals like the AGonz deal.

 

Signing Jacque Jones for 3 years would be AGonz Part Deaux! That being the case, you don't go anywhere near a deal like that.

 

Hendry definitely isn't a "big" gamble man. He could have gotten involved in the Vladmir Guerrero sweepstakes and he could have gotten involved in other big deals as well. There was NO excuse for not attempting to get Guerrero. If Guerrero came to Chicago, one of Alou or Sosa played 1st base or got traded. San Fran would have been happy to take Alou for the last year of his contract.

 

It's called being the big player. The Mets are the one's going after Manny Ramirez, and we are hoping for their spare parts (Floyd) if that deal goes down. We should be the team standing right next to the Mets asking about Manny, not Anaheim.

 

Speaking of Manny, wouldn't Boston just love a package of prospects like the one's we are offering Baltimore for Tejada?

 

Get creative and make something happen. Tons of money, some trade commodity and players that are available in trade. Don't sit there and do nothing.

[stitchface]

Hendry has done a pretty good job avoiding bad long term commitments like Sammy's contract that created last year's mess. He doesn't seem to learn with relievers but otherwise, the cubs should have some flexibility over the next few years. No reason to make a bad move now that kills us for the next six years.

 

Hendry offered Furcal 5 years at 9M+/year. Furcal, the second tier SS.

 

Hendry has tried to make bad moves. We're lucky others have prevented him by making worse (Colletti).

 

but, to his credit, he didn't go crazy to outbid LA. Though a 3 year deal might have been a good option.

[CubfaninCA]

Hendry has done a pretty good job avoiding bad long term commitments like Sammy's contract that created last year's mess. He doesn't seem to learn with relievers but otherwise, the cubs should have some flexibility over the next few years. No reason to make a bad move now that kills us for the next six years.

 

Well, that's plausible, but the Maddux deal is nothing to write home about and I can't fault the Cubs for signing Sosa for 4 years. Altogether, yes he hasn't bogged down the franchise w/ any horrible deals like the AGonz deal.

 

Signing Jacque Jones for 3 years would be AGonz Part Deaux! That being the case, you don't go anywhere near a deal like that.

 

Hendry definitely isn't a "big" gamble man. He could have gotten involved in the Vladmir Guerrero sweepstakes and he could have gotten involved in other big deals as well. There was NO excuse for not attempting to get Guerrero. If Guerrero came to Chicago, one of Alou or Sosa played 1st base or got traded. San Fran would have been happy to take Alou for the last year of his contract.

 

It's called being the big player. The Mets are the one's going after Manny Ramirez, and we are hoping for their spare parts (Floyd) if that deal goes down. We should be the team standing right next to the Mets asking about Manny, not Anaheim.

 

Speaking of Manny, wouldn't Boston just love a package of prospects like the one's we are offering Baltimore for Tejada?

 

Get creative and make something happen. Tons of money, some trade commodity and players that are available in trade. Don't sit there and do nothing.

 

True about Jock.

 

I highly doubt a Hall of Famer and egomaniac like Sosa would have moved anywhere for Vlad. Seems like Vlad wanted to play RF and play in SoCal for either LA or Anaheim.

 

Do you think the Trib would even let Hendry get involved w/ Manny, and does Manny even want to come to Chicago??

 

As for Tejada, have to agree about getting creative.

[BigbadB]

True about Jock.

 

I highly doubt a Hall of Famer and egomaniac like Sosa would have moved anywhere for Vlad. Seems like Vlad wanted to play RF and play in SoCal for either LA or Anaheim.

 

Do you think the Trib would even let Hendry get involved w/ Manny, and does Manny even want to come to Chicago??

 

As for Tejada, have to agree about getting creative.

 

Sosa's skills were declining. He wasn't a RFer anymore. He would have been fine in LF for his final years (didn't realize the next year would be his last at that time) while Alou either played 1st or more likely got shipped off to San Fran for Durham or Alfonzo, etc...

 

I don't know what Vlad's deal was, but with only 1 year remaining on Alou's deal and Sosa obviously needing a switch to LF, and the long term ramifications of Vlad if they could figure out a way to land him, they should have tried every avenue.

 

Not sure if they'd let him get involved with Manny, but I would hope they would. As crazy as it might sound, I do like Tejada better. The contract is better and he plays a more difficult to fill position. At least I thought it was more difficult to fill. Maybe RF really is the hardest position to fill. :D

[CubfaninCA]

True about Jock.

 

I highly doubt a Hall of Famer and egomaniac like Sosa would have moved anywhere for Vlad. Seems like Vlad wanted to play RF and play in SoCal for either LA or Anaheim.

 

Do you think the Trib would even let Hendry get involved w/ Manny, and does Manny even want to come to Chicago??

 

As for Tejada, have to agree about getting creative.

 

Sosa's skills were declining. He wasn't a RFer anymore. He would have been fine in LF for his final years (didn't realize the next year would be his last at that time) while Alou either played 1st or more likely got shipped off to San Fran for Durham or Alfonzo, etc...

 

I don't know what Vlad's deal was, but with only 1 year remaining on Alou's deal and Sosa obviously needing a switch to LF, and the long term ramifications of Vlad if they could figure out a way to land him, they should have tried every avenue.

 

Not sure if they'd let him get involved with Manny, but I would hope they would. As crazy as it might sound, I do like Tejada better. The contract is better and he plays a more difficult to fill position. At least I thought it was more difficult to fill. Maybe RF really is the hardest position to fill. :D

 

Have to agree that Tejada's a better pickup than Manny considering the age, attitude, position and money. I guess we should root for Anaheim to get Manny, which most likely takes them out of the Tejada sweepstakes. The Cubs would have the inside track then, with Baltimore not wanting to deal w/ Boston, and with LA, both NY's, Atl and St. Louis set @ SS.

[stitchface]

don't forget the white sox.

[HoopsCubs]

don't forget the white sox.

 

Kenny still has Garland, Uribe, Cotts, and a prospect available to deal.