Barret Makes Pitch for C Lee

[fibro]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/cst-spt-csep29.html

[badgercub]

If the Cubs give CLee the 5 years and 75 million he has been rumored to be looking for, they will regret it. CLee is not a 15 million dollar a year player.

[soccer10k]

Where do you get 5/75 for $15 mil a year from?

 

He probably would want a five-year deal that pays at least $10 million to $11 million a year.

 

From the article.

[badgercub]

Where do you get 5/75 for $15 mil a year from?

 

He probably would want a five-year deal that pays at least $10 million to $11 million a year.

 

From the article.

 

I believe a saw it in the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel not too long ago. Even at 10 -11 million a year, that is a bit high for a guy with a career .284 BA, Sub .340 OBP, and a career OPS of .831. He is not an elite player. He is consistently good, but not a great player. I am not saying I wouldn't want the Cubs to get him. But we wouldn't even pay Moises 9 million a year and he put up comparable numbers to CLee. I would love to have him for about 8 million or so for 3 years.

[daske17]

I don't know if he's going to be a free agent at the end of this year or not, but the Cubs need to seriously think about picking him up because the guy does a lot of damage here.

 

As Matt Murton gets thrown under the bus by someone other than Dusty. . .

[badgercub]

I don't know if he's going to be a free agent at the end of this year or not, but the Cubs need to seriously think about picking him up because the guy does a lot of damage here.

 

As Matt Murton gets thrown under the bus by someone other than Dusty. . .

 

I don't really think that is throwing someone under the bus. Now if he would've said Mabry should be starting over Murton that's a different story. Barrett is just saying it would be nice to have Lee's bat in the lineup. They are two different types of players, Murton doesnt' have the power that Lee has.

[fibro]

Where do you get 5/75 for $15 mil a year from?

 

He probably would want a five-year deal that pays at least $10 million to $11 million a year.

 

From the article.

 

I believe a saw it in the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel not too long ago. Even at 10 -11 million a year, that is a bit high for a guy with a career .284 BA, Sub .340 OBP, and a career OPS of .831. He is not an elite player. He is consistently good, but not a great player. I am not saying I wouldn't want the Cubs to get him. But we wouldn't even pay Moises 9 million a year and he put up comparable numbers to CLee. I would love to have him for about 8 million or so for 3 years.

 

 

I would not let a couple million a year stop me from signing C Lee. The Trib has the money that should not be a big issue in this. Who else can you get to play left that is a s good an option and costs you nothing in the way of trading other players?

[soccer10k]

Where do you get 5/75 for $15 mil a year from?

 

He probably would want a five-year deal that pays at least $10 million to $11 million a year.

 

From the article.

 

I believe a saw it in the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel not too long ago. Even at 10 -11 million a year, that is a bit high for a guy with a career .284 BA, Sub .340 OBP, and a career OPS of .831. He is not an elite player. He is consistently good, but not a great player. I am not saying I wouldn't want the Cubs to get him. But we wouldn't even pay Moises 9 million a year and he put up comparable numbers to CLee. I would love to have him for about 8 million or so for 3 years.

 

Agreed on the contract and length. I don't want to play him more than $10 mil a year and definately don't want him signed for 5 years. Give him a team option for the fourth year. But not five years.

[goonys evil twin]

I would not let a couple million a year stop me from signing C Lee. The Trib has the money that should not be a big issue in this.

 

It's not a matter of whether the trib can afford it. It's a matter of whether or not the Cubs can field a good enough team with that big of a chunk given to somebody who isn't all that special. The White Sox didn't win much with a very cheap Carlos Lee. The Brewers haven't won anything despite having an affordable Lee and possibly more talent than the Cubs have had. Hendry has not shown any ability to efficiently manage his funds, which tells me he wouldn't be able to fill out the roster properly if he spends $12m on Lee.

 

If Jim dedicated 5 or 6 roster spots to young guys who make nothing but can give you the same thing that Neifi, Rusch and others give you (if not more), then overpaying for a solid but far from spectaculiar Carlos Lee may not be a bad idea. But I don't see that happening.

[HoopsCubs]

I would not let a couple million a year stop me from signing C Lee. The Trib has the money that should not be a big issue in this.

 

It's not a matter of whether the trib can afford it. It's a matter of whether or not the Cubs can field a good enough team with that big of a chunk given to somebody who isn't all that special. The White Sox didn't win much with a very cheap Carlos Lee. The Brewers haven't won anything despite having an affordable Lee and possibly more talent than the Cubs have had. Hendry has not shown any ability to efficiently manage his funds, which tells me he wouldn't be able to fill out the roster properly if he spends $12m on Lee.

 

If Jim dedicated 5 or 6 roster spots to young guys who make nothing but can give you the same thing that Neifi, Rusch and others give you (if not more), then overpaying for a solid but far from spectaculiar Carlos Lee may not be a bad idea. But I don't see that happening.

 

Goony,

 

Would you give Alfonso Soriano 5 years and $50M?

[badgercub]

Where do you get 5/75 for $15 mil a year from?

 

He probably would want a five-year deal that pays at least $10 million to $11 million a year.

 

From the article.

 

I believe a saw it in the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel not too long ago. Even at 10 -11 million a year, that is a bit high for a guy with a career .284 BA, Sub .340 OBP, and a career OPS of .831. He is not an elite player. He is consistently good, but not a great player. I am not saying I wouldn't want the Cubs to get him. But we wouldn't even pay Moises 9 million a year and he put up comparable numbers to CLee. I would love to have him for about 8 million or so for 3 years.

 

 

I would not let a couple million a year stop me from signing C Lee. The Trib has the money that should not be a big issue in this. Who else can you get to play left that is a s good an option and costs you nothing in the way of trading other players?

 

Will you be saying the same thing when at the end of the contract you are paying an aging CLee the kind of money you will be paying him for less than average production? The guy is starting the downside of his career and has only posted an OPS above .850 once in his career (not including what he has done this year) His ave year for homeruns is right around 30. So you either think that after the age of 30 he will continue to get better or more realistically you look at it and say he is a good consistent player that is entering the downside of his career, you should expect more closer to his career numbers the next couple years and then a decline. You wanna pay a guy whose skills are most likely in decline that kind of money and give him that many years?

[fibro]

I would not let a couple million a year stop me from signing C Lee. The Trib has the money that should not be a big issue in this.

 

It's not a matter of whether the trib can afford it. It's a matter of whether or not the Cubs can field a good enough team with that big of a chunk given to somebody who isn't all that special. The White Sox didn't win much with a very cheap Carlos Lee. The Brewers haven't won anything despite having an affordable Lee and possibly more talent than the Cubs have had. Hendry has not shown any ability to efficiently manage his funds, which tells me he wouldn't be able to fill out the roster properly if he spends $12m on Lee.

 

If Jim dedicated 5 or 6 roster spots to young guys who make nothing but can give you the same thing that Neifi, Rusch and others give you (if not more), then overpaying for a solid but far from spectaculiar Carlos Lee may not be a bad idea. But I don't see that happening.

 

What are the options besides CLee for left that cost you nothing in the way of players. I am not saying he is a great option but may the best available. I do not believe 10 mill is to much the five years is a little bit long though.

[goonys evil twin]

 

Goony,

 

Would you give Alfonso Soriano 5 years and $50M?

 

On my ideal team? No way. On a Hendrified crap team that has to make due with what they got..........., probably not. If he's my second baseman, and I can't find any other help elsewhere, then I'd think about it. But he's nothing special as a corner OF. He's just a faster Carlos Lee.

[Tracer Bullet]

Where do you get 5/75 for $15 mil a year from?

 

He probably would want a five-year deal that pays at least $10 million to $11 million a year.

 

From the article.

 

Not sure what paper they're referring to, but this is from his player profile on Y!:

 

Jun 28 The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports Milwaukee Brewers OF Carlos Lee denied a Chicago newspaper report that he was seeking a five-year, $75 million contract in free agency.

[bdutts]

I would not let a couple million a year stop me from signing C Lee. The Trib has the money that should not be a big issue in this.

 

It's not a matter of whether the trib can afford it. It's a matter of whether or not the Cubs can field a good enough team with that big of a chunk given to somebody who isn't all that special. The White Sox didn't win much with a very cheap Carlos Lee. The Brewers haven't won anything despite having an affordable Lee and possibly more talent than the Cubs have had. Hendry has not shown any ability to efficiently manage his funds, which tells me he wouldn't be able to fill out the roster properly if he spends $12m on Lee.

 

If Jim dedicated 5 or 6 roster spots to young guys who make nothing but can give you the same thing that Neifi, Rusch and others give you (if not more), then overpaying for a solid but far from spectaculiar Carlos Lee may not be a bad idea. But I don't see that happening.

 

They also didn't have near as good of a pitching staff when Lee was there as opposed to last year (and this year, too).

 

Having said that, I wouldn't overpay for Lee, either.

[Fro]

"I don't know if he's going to be a free agent at the end of this year or not, but the Cubs need to seriously think about picking him up because the guy does a lot of damage here,'' Barrett said. "I have never seen a player do as much damage in one park as he's done, other than Vladi in Philadelphia.''

 

Barrett forgets what Carlos Beltran did at Wrigley in 2004. (2.057 OPS ) :shock:. After all the pundits saying "The Cubs need to sign Beltran, he absolutely loves to hit in Wrigley", he had a .607 OPS in 2005 at the park.

 

Lee only has a mere 1.250 OPS so far this year at Wrigley. His numbers previous to this year at Wrigley are in line with his career OPS.

 

We need to get a big bat for next year... Lee would fit the bill.

[goonys evil twin]

What are the options besides CLee for left that cost you nothing in the way of players. I am not saying he is a great option but may the best available. I do not believe 10 mill is to much the five years is a little bit long though.

 

It's not that I'm adamantly opposed to Carlos Lee. I just disagree strongly with people who insinaute he's a no brainer. My baseball related attention span has shrunk a lot this year, so I'm not sure what is available. But I wouldn't have a problem trading assets to fill a corner OF spot. While it's nice to only spend cash, and keep players, when signing a free agent, you have to look at the other costs. Are you trading for a guy with only a couple years left on a deal who won't kill you financially down the road? Are you trading for a guy from a team that would be willing to take back some garbage like Rusch or Neifi that is already killing you? There's a lot more to look at than just, he's the biggest name corner OF free agent, let's get him.

[Mizzou]

Poor Murton.

[fibro]

What are the options besides CLee for left that cost you nothing in the way of players. I am not saying he is a great option but may the best available. I do not believe 10 mill is to much the five years is a little bit long though.

 

It's not that I'm adamantly opposed to Carlos Lee. I just disagree strongly with people who insinaute he's a no brainer. My baseball related attention span has shrunk a lot this year, so I'm not sure what is available. But I wouldn't have a problem trading assets to fill a corner OF spot. While it's nice to only spend cash, and keep players, when signing a free agent, you have to look at the other costs. Are you trading for a guy with only a couple years left on a deal who won't kill you financially down the road? Are you trading for a guy from a team that would be willing to take back some garbage like Rusch or Neifi that is already killing you? There's a lot more to look at than just, he's the biggest name corner OF free agent, let's get him.

 

I just look at CLee as a good option then you can use the players you would trade to fill left to fill some other hole and there plenty of holes to fill.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Bobby Abreu is my friend.

 

287/449/474

 

I wonder how much it would take to get him. His traditional #'s are a bit lower than normal -- 287 Avg and only 8 HRs. I'd take him over Carlos Lee anytime.

[ManCrushOnNomar]

Bobby Abreu is my friend.

 

287/449/474

 

I wonder how much it would take to get him. His traditional #'s are a bit lower than normal -- 287 Avg and only 8 HRs. I'd take him over Carlos Lee anytime.

In my MVP 2006 game I traded Jacque and Glendon for him, and he's the leading MVP candidate for me right now.

 

Back to reality - I love Bobby Abreu. Granted he is on the down side of his career, he's still better than most options.

[Tracer Bullet]

Poor Murton.

 

If you're Murton, wouldn't you rather say you lost your LF job to Carlos Lee, coming off a career year, rather than Phil Nevin...who lost his DH job in Texas (to a rookie).

[CubinNY]

What are the options besides CLee for left that cost you nothing in the way of players. I am not saying he is a great option but may the best available. I do not believe 10 mill is to much the five years is a little bit long though.

 

It's not that I'm adamantly opposed to Carlos Lee. I just disagree strongly with people who insinaute he's a no brainer. My baseball related attention span has shrunk a lot this year, so I'm not sure what is available. But I wouldn't have a problem trading assets to fill a corner OF spot. While it's nice to only spend cash, and keep players, when signing a free agent, you have to look at the other costs. Are you trading for a guy with only a couple years left on a deal who won't kill you financially down the road? Are you trading for a guy from a team that would be willing to take back some garbage like Rusch or Neifi that is already killing you? There's a lot more to look at than just, he's the biggest name corner OF free agent, let's get him.

 

I just look at CLee as a good option then you can use the players you would trade to fill left to fill some other hole and there plenty of holes to fill.

 

Carlos Lee will be a hugely overpaid player who won't produce like he's paid.

 

We've been down this road before.

 

That written, it wouldn't shock me one bit to see the Cubs sign him. They like guys who can hit their pitching; trouble is once they come to the Cubs they aren't hitting against the Cubs any longer.

[frostwyrm]

CLee was good in 2004 and is having a real good year in 2006 but the rest of his career isn't particularly impressive and he'll be 31 next June so he'll be pretty old at the end of a 4 or 5 year contract. I say let the Yankees overpay him.

[Backtobanks]

If the Cubs give CLee the 5 years and 75 million he has been rumored to be looking for, they will regret it. CLee is not a 15 million dollar a year player.

 

Personally, I can't think of too many guys who are worth 5 years and $75 million. Unless the Yankees get the CLee fever, I can't see him getting that much or that many years.......maybe 3 years and $40 million.