Nomar to the AS game...

[Cubzfan64]

For what it's worth, I'm glad to see Nomar taking advantage of the opportunity LA gave him and putting together a "comeback player of the year" potential season and getting into the AS game.

 

All I can say is I wish he would have done this for the Cubs :(

[Too Tall]

a .426 OBP would look nice in the 2 hole over Nefi [expletive] perez..

[texascub]

Nomar would look nice in the lineup, but where would he play in the field? He can't play SS anymore, we've got Ramirez at third, Lee at first, and he didn't seem too interested in the OF.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Nomar would look nice in the lineup, but where would he play in the field? He can't play SS anymore, we've got Ramirez at third, Lee at first, and he didn't seem too interested in the OF.

 

How do we know he wasn't interested in the OF? I heard he was quite open to playing in the OF.

[Rob]

Nomar would look nice in the lineup, but where would he play in the field? He can't play SS anymore, we've got Ramirez at third, Lee at first, and he didn't seem too interested in the OF.

 

The way I remember it, we didn't seem too interested in him in the outfield.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Nomar would look nice in the lineup, but where would he play in the field? He can't play SS anymore, we've got Ramirez at third, Lee at first, and he didn't seem too interested in the OF.

 

He could have played RF, LF, 1B, 3B, 2B, SS. A healthy Nomar is better offensively than nearly our entire team.

[BigbadB]

Nomar would look nice in the lineup, but where would he play in the field? He can't play SS anymore, we've got Ramirez at third, Lee at first, and he didn't seem too interested in the OF.

 

He could have played RF, LF, 1B, 3B, 2B, SS. A healthy Nomar is better offensively than nearly our entire team.

 

Agreed. Instead of Neifi and Rusch, the Cubs could have had a good player and played him all over the place.

 

2 bad players does not equal 1 good player. Ever.

[Mizzou]

Come on, get real. Nomar was never going to sign with the Cubs to be a utility guy. I wanted him back this year, but I completely understand Hendry's reasoning on not offering him a contract.

[BigbadB]

Come on, get real. Nomar was never going to sign with the Cubs to be a utility guy. I wanted him back this year, but I completely understand Hendry's reasoning on not offering him a contract.

 

Who said he would be a utility guy?

 

Nomar in LF is >> Murton, Nevin, Pagan, Bynum or anyone else they've stuck out there.

 

Nomar in RF >> Jones. Move Jones to left field.

 

Nomar at SS >> Cedeno

 

I sacrifice defense for offense everytime.

 

If it turns out Nomar would end up being a utility guy, use him to trade to a team that could use his talents properly.

 

I wanted him back and I'll never understand Hendry's reasoning behind not offering him a contract. If he wanted 10m, I could understand it. At 5m, Nomar is a steal, even if he only ends up playing half a season.

[Mark Priors Calves]

I'm happy for Nomar.

[Big Fergie J]

=D> =D> =D> for Nomah !!!!

 

Congrats.

[Mizzou]

Come on, get real. Nomar was never going to sign with the Cubs to be a utility guy. I wanted him back this year, but I completely understand Hendry's reasoning on not offering him a contract.

 

Who said he would be a utility guy?

You did in your previous post when you said they could have signed him and "played him all over the place."

 

I wanted him back and I'll never understand Hendry's reasoning behind not offering him a contract. If he wanted 10m, I could understand it. At 5m, Nomar is a steal, even if he only ends up playing half a season.

He gave him a one year deal in '05 to prove that he could stay healthy. What happened? He got injured three weeks into the season and was out til what, August? What was he supposed to do, give him another one year deal to see if he could stay healthy again, and run the risk of flushing another 6-10 million down the drain?

[JackBauer]

Hafner and Liriano both got snubbed. What a joke.

[CubsBullsBears]

Sign him to play OF. Don't sign Jones. When Lee breaks his wrist: Move Walker to 1B, put Hairston in RF, and have Nomar play 2B

[Soul]

Capuano is certainly good enough to be there too. But nope.

 

AJ shouldn't have gone over Liriano. I heard a bunch of Sox fans had their computers running all night long with a voting macro. Rolled up thousands of extra votes.

[Too Tall]

Hafner and Liriano both got snubbed. What a joke.

 

Liriano should have been on there.. he has crazy numbers. 9-1, 1.99 ERA, 94k's to 20 BB's in only 81 IP.. How does a guy like Buehrle get selected (I think he got selected and not picked by Ozzie right?) with 9-5, 3.86ERA, 51/28 k/BB in 116 IP?

[BigbadB]

Come on, get real. Nomar was never going to sign with the Cubs to be a utility guy. I wanted him back this year, but I completely understand Hendry's reasoning on not offering him a contract.

 

Who said he would be a utility guy?

You did in your previous post when you said they could have signed him and "played him all over the place."

 

I wanted him back and I'll never understand Hendry's reasoning behind not offering him a contract. If he wanted 10m, I could understand it. At 5m, Nomar is a steal, even if he only ends up playing half a season.

He gave him a one year deal in '05 to prove that he could stay healthy. What happened? He got injured three weeks into the season and was out til what, August? What was he supposed to do, give him another one year deal to see if he could stay healthy again, and run the risk of flushing another 6-10 million down the drain?

 

Yep. You take that chance with anyone you sign. Did you see Nomar after his return from injury last year? He looked pretty good. What's he doing now? Playing great. He's even stealing bases like he never had an injury.

 

6-10m? Try 5m. That was the quoted price to stay in Chicago. He's getting 6m from the Dodgers. The Dodgers felt he was worth the gamble. Hendry didn't. Hendry is the one with egg on his face. And I can't make excuses for it. As far as playing all over the place, the point I was trying to make was he could play wherever you put him. He'd likely have his own position somewhere, just have to figure out what works best for him and the team. Cleveland was going to stick him in the outfield, and Nomar sure would have looked better in LF for Cleveland than Hollandsworth is turning out. All these other teams had Nomar's injury history. Someone was going to take a chance on him. Who better than the team that he felt he betrayed by being injured during much of his tenure here? It was clearly quoted in nearly all the local papers that he wanted the opportunity to come back and give the fans what they expected of him.

 

Heck, the Dodgers took a chance on Nomar AND stole away Hendry's one true love.......Furcal. The Dodgers also nabbed another guy I wanted to see the Cubs grab......Kenny Lofton. Depth. Bench help.

 

The Dodgers have built up a solid core and they have a great opportunity to be very good for a long while. A nice blend of veteran leadership and solid young up and coming prospects along with good role players mixed in between. The Cubs? Not so much. The organizational philosophy and poor decisions are going to haunt this team for years.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Number of innings played by Nomar at a position where we don't currently have Derrek Lee: 0

[BigbadB]

Number of innings played by Nomar at a position where we don't currently have Derrek Lee: 0

 

Number of innings he's been needed at another position? 0

[Mizzou]

BBB,

 

Do you really think that Nomar would make a decent outfielder? With that sidearmed throw? I think that he'd be a nightmare out there. Especially with Hendry's defensive minded offseason, there was no way Nomar was going to play the outfield. The Cubs felt that he was done as a SS, and had Ramirez and Lee holding down the fort at the corner infield spots, so unless they wanted to sign him to play second base, where we already had 3 guys signed that played that position, they really didn't have a spot for him. And while 5 million might have been throw around to stay in Chicago, do you honestly think that he'd choose 5 million to play for the Cubs vs. 6 million plus incentives up to 10 million to play in LA? I don't. I don't care how stand up of a guy he is, I'll never believe that he would have taken the Cubs offer (which there never was) of 5 million rather than taking LA's offer which has the potential to be double what the Cubs would pay.

 

I love Nomar, I'm glad he's having a great season. He deserves it. I wish it were for the Cubs, but this is one of Hendry's decisions that I can understand. Again, I don't agree with it, as I wanted Nomar back this year (to play short) but I can't get upset with Hendry for not bringing him back.

 

And I'm with you on Lofton. I wanted him to be our primary CF this year (I realize he wouldn't have been able to play everyday). 39 years old and he's still playing great ball. And he hasn't fallen off of any cliffs either, which I read that he would SO many times this past offseason.

[RonnieWooWooSanto]

Side note: Nomar just hbp for the second time tonight. He was hbp three times on Tuesday. Geez.

 

What is the record for hbp in a week?

[ChiCubsFan]

Hafner and Liriano both got snubbed. What a joke.

 

How A.J. made it over Hafner, Liriano, and Verlander is just insane. Not to mention that the other Catcher who was nominated (Ramon Hernandez) has way better stats as well. It's a shame. OH well, there will be plenty of ASGs for Liriano and Verlander in the future.

[BigbadB]

BBB,

 

Do you really think that Nomar would make a decent outfielder? With that sidearmed throw? I think that he'd be a nightmare out there. Especially with Hendry's defensive minded offseason, there was no way Nomar was going to play the outfield. The Cubs felt that he was done as a SS, and had Ramirez and Lee holding down the fort at the corner infield spots, so unless they wanted to sign him to play second base, where we already had 3 guys signed that played that position, they really didn't have a spot for him. And while 5 million might have been throw around to stay in Chicago, do you honestly think that he'd choose 5 million to play for the Cubs vs. 6 million plus incentives up to 10 million to play in LA? I don't. I don't care how stand up of a guy he is, I'll never believe that he would have taken the Cubs offer (which there never was) of 5 million rather than taking LA's offer which has the potential to be double what the Cubs would pay.

 

I love Nomar, I'm glad he's having a great season. He deserves it. I wish it were for the Cubs, but this is one of Hendry's decisions that I can understand. Again, I don't agree with it, as I wanted Nomar back this year (to play short) but I can't get upset with Hendry for not bringing him back.

 

And I'm with you on Lofton. I wanted him to be our primary CF this year (I realize he wouldn't have been able to play everyday). 39 years old and he's still playing great ball. And he hasn't fallen off of any cliffs either, which I read that he would SO many times this past offseason.

 

I can respect your opinion, I just can't agree with it. The Cubs could have had Nomar locked up immediately. He didn't sign with the Dodgers until after the arby deadline. Nomar wanted to come back. He felt like he owed it to the fans to come back and play a healthy season. Maybe it's all talk. But, there's no reason for me to believe he was just telling tales.

 

The Cubs showed no interest in him at all and he went the way of the market. Maybe it would have been 5m plus incentives. I don't know. But, a guaranteed amount of games before he gets a boost from 5m wouldn't have been bad for either party.

 

Better yet, you lock up Nomar and give him the shortstop job until it's obvious he really can't play the position anymore. Try him out in the outfield. If that doesn't work, I'm sure Cubs management and Nomar could have reached some sort of agreement to move him to a team that could use him. And if they took that approach, they might have been able to actually get something for him.

 

Letting him just walk was a poor decision no matter how you slice it, whether you blame Hendry or not, IMHO.

[BigbadB]

And would Nomar really throw any worse than Pierre or Jones? I mean, really? Or would Nomar's arm be worse than watching Phil Nevin attempt to catch a routine fly ball? You're talking about a shortstop with a gun. Is he incapable of shifting his arm slot to over the top when roaming the outfield? I don't know. But, if 5m would have brought him back, it's a reasonable amount of money for an incredible talent with a bat.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Better yet, you lock up Nomar and give him the shortstop job until it's obvious he really can't play the position anymore. Try him out in the outfield. If that doesn't work, I'm sure Cubs management and Nomar could have reached some sort of agreement to move him to a team that could use him. And if they took that approach, they might have been able to actually get something for him.

 

And once the end of spring training comes and you realize he can't play anywhere but first base anymore, what do you do until June 15 when you're allowed to trade him? He hadn't played more than half a season since 2003, and if he was healthy he probably would only be able to play where we had an MVP caliber player. There was plenty good reason not to pursue him after last season, and it's still valid considering the Cubs' injury troubles last year and considering Nomar hasn't shown an ability to play anywhere other than first(despite LA going to multiple options at 3B and LF).