Three Recent News Updates (un-confirmable source)

[iowacub]

1)Just heard that as of tonight the Angels have switched gears and are trying to work something out for Soriano....Cubs are still talking to the Angels though but they seem to have hit a stumbling block....not sure what it is..

 

2)Ramirez likely will opt out (barring injjury in next 3 months) to get more years and more money..is very Happy with Chicago but wants "market" value. Even if he is traded, it is a high probablity he would re-sign with the Cubs....

 

3)The Maddux sweepstakes have heated up and are down to the Dodgers and Padres....with the Dodgers leading the way. I am told that the Cubs are believed to be asking for 1 pitcher and 1 postion player, both from the Las Vegas roster. No information on names...

 

Source is from within the Cubs organization...we are currently in Las Vegas with the AAA Cubs for the weekend series.

[Southpaw191679666239]

1)Just heard that as of tonight the Angels have switched gears and are trying to work something out for Soriano....Cubs are still talking to the Angels though but they seem to have hit a stumbling block....not sure what it is..

 

They also mentioned the switch to Soriano during the Angles/Red Sox game on ESPN tonight.

[bhogg]

Seems like if ARam is so happy here, he and Hendry would have lined out a deal to extend him.

 

If they are doing a trade, then re-sign, I'd say that has to be tampering. . . . but, again, weirder things have happened.

[cbbryan]

1)Just heard that as of tonight the Angels have switched gears and are trying to work something out for Soriano....Cubs are still talking to the Angels though but they seem to have hit a stumbling block....not sure what it is..

 

2)Ramirez likely will opt out (barring injjury in next 3 months) to get more years and more money..is very Happy with Chicago but wants "market" value. Even if he is traded, it is a high probablity he would re-sign with the Cubs....

 

3)The Maddux sweepstakes have heated up and are down to the Dodgers and Padres....with the Dodgers leading the way. I am told that the Cubs are believed to be asking for 1 pitcher and 1 postion player, both from the Las Vegas roster. No information on names...

 

Source is from within the Cubs organization...we are currently in Las Vegas with the AAA Cubs for the weekend series.

 

I'll take Greg Miller as the pitcher.

 

I'll take one of LaRoche, Delwyn Young, Joel Guzman, or Matt Kemp as the positional player!

[CubsBullsBears]

Seems like if ARam is so happy here, he and Hendry would have lined out a deal to extend him.

 

If they are doing a trade, then re-sign, I'd say that has to be tampering. . . . but, again, weirder things have happened.

They can't have a secret agreement in place that Ramirez gets traded, uses the escape clause and comes back to the Cubs, that would be tampering. He can have his mind set on doing so, but he can't have some agreement lined up w/ Hendry. And IMO, Ramirez should uses the escape clause, b/c Adrain Beltre has a 5-year 64M deal, and Ramirez has better #'s than Beltre.

[Drew Doughty]

yeah, but nobody is going to line up Ramirez with Beltre because Beltre was coming off a great season and everyone knows he's not worth his contract at this point.

[texascub]

None of the pitchers for Las Vegas particularly impress me. Miller is young but it seems like his control has been off, and I don't think he's nearly as valuable out of the bullpen. None of their starters have particularly good K/BB ratio's and all of them have WHIP about 1.5.

 

As far as a bat goes I'd be extremely surprised if LaRoche is anywhere near these talks. One of their young OF would be nice, though both Young and Guzman appear to have strike zone judgement problems.

[Mephistopheles]

If they are doing a trade, then re-sign, I'd say that has to be tampering. . . . but, again, weirder things have happened.

 

Not really anything one can do about it. A few years ago Sidney Ponson was traded from the Orioles to the Giants because he would be an FA at the end of the season. Everone knew he'd re-sign with the Orioles the next winter - and he did.

[baseball7897]

1)Just heard that as of tonight the Angels have switched gears and are trying to work something out for Soriano....Cubs are still talking to the Angels though but they seem to have hit a stumbling block....not sure what it is..

 

Hendry passed out.

[cbbryan]

Seems like if ARam is so happy here, he and Hendry would have lined out a deal to extend him.

 

If they are doing a trade, then re-sign, I'd say that has to be tampering. . . . but, again, weirder things have happened.

They can't have a secret agreement in place that Ramirez gets traded, uses the escape clause and comes back to the Cubs, that would be tampering. He can have his mind set on doing so, but he can't have some agreement lined up w/ Hendry. And IMO, Ramirez should uses the escape clause, b/c Adrain Beltre has a 5-year 64M deal, and Ramirez has better #'s than Beltre.

 

AND ARod makes 25-27/year in the last few years of his deal.

 

............but David Wright's only making $374,000.

 

IMO, it's not a given that ARAM will make more then the 11 million he's already making. Rolen is right around that price, Glaus makes less, Chipper Jones makes 2 million/year more, Mike Lowell makes less, Eric Chavez makes less, Ensberg makes less, Blalock makes less, Mora makes less............. he's pretty comparable w/ other 3B.

 

 

If he opts out, it's because he doesn't want to be a Cub.............. or the Cubs have traded him and he Wants to be a Cub.

[jjgman21]

1)Just heard that as of tonight the Angels have switched gears and are trying to work something out for Soriano....Cubs are still talking to the Angels though but they seem to have hit a stumbling block....not sure what it is..

 

Hendry passed out.

 

Krispy Kreme light came on.

[Illini Iceman]

Seems like if ARam is so happy here, he and Hendry would have lined out a deal to extend him.

 

If they are doing a trade, then re-sign, I'd say that has to be tampering. . . . but, again, weirder things have happened.

They can't have a secret agreement in place that Ramirez gets traded, uses the escape clause and comes back to the Cubs, that would be tampering. He can have his mind set on doing so, but he can't have some agreement lined up w/ Hendry. And IMO, Ramirez should uses the escape clause, b/c Adrain Beltre has a 5-year 64M deal, and Ramirez has better #'s than Beltre.

 

AND ARod makes 25-27/year in the last few years of his deal.

 

............but David Wright's only making $374,000.

 

IMO, it's not a given that ARAM will make more then the 11 million he's already making. Rolen is right around that price, Glaus makes less, Chipper Jones makes 2 million/year more, Mike Lowell makes less, Eric Chavez makes less, Ensberg makes less, Blalock makes less, Mora makes less............. he's pretty comparable w/ other 3B.

 

 

If he opts out, it's because he doesn't want to be a Cub.............. or the Cubs have traded him and he Wants to be a Cub.

 

You are applying too much emotion to the decision. It is completely logical for ARam to opt out or at least "indicate" he is going to do so. Anyone can see that he is at the core of the Cubs offense (along with Lee and Barrett) and that his leaving would be a major problem for Hendry since he would now need to replace ARam and still further upgrade the offense to improve this year's woeful showing. With that in mind, any agent would want to use that leverage to upgrade the money and extend the years on the deal.

 

It is a lot like Prior opting out this past offseason. Some fans wanted to read all sort of things into it about how he wanted out of the organization, but the fact is that it was the smart business move so he did it.

 

Hendry will make a similar move with Wood. He will decline the team option knowing Wood can not get similar money elsewhere and then probably try to sign him to a lower cost deal. It is not about lack of loyalty, it is just good dollars and cents.

[CubsBullsBears]

If they are doing a trade, then re-sign, I'd say that has to be tampering. . . . but, again, weirder things have happened.

 

Not really anything one can do about it. A few years ago Sidney Ponson was traded from the Orioles to the Giants because he would be an FA at the end of the season. Everone knew he'd re-sign with the Orioles the next winter - and he did.

That may be, but Fat Boy Ponson did not have a deal lined up. He simply decided he'd come back over the winter. Having your mind set on it is one thing, having a pre-arranged deal is another

[cbbryan]

Seems like if ARam is so happy here, he and Hendry would have lined out a deal to extend him.

 

If they are doing a trade, then re-sign, I'd say that has to be tampering. . . . but, again, weirder things have happened.

They can't have a secret agreement in place that Ramirez gets traded, uses the escape clause and comes back to the Cubs, that would be tampering. He can have his mind set on doing so, but he can't have some agreement lined up w/ Hendry. And IMO, Ramirez should uses the escape clause, b/c Adrain Beltre has a 5-year 64M deal, and Ramirez has better #'s than Beltre.

 

AND ARod makes 25-27/year in the last few years of his deal.

 

............but David Wright's only making $374,000.

 

IMO, it's not a given that ARAM will make more then the 11 million he's already making. Rolen is right around that price, Glaus makes less, Chipper Jones makes 2 million/year more, Mike Lowell makes less, Eric Chavez makes less, Ensberg makes less, Blalock makes less, Mora makes less............. he's pretty comparable w/ other 3B.

 

 

If he opts out, it's because he doesn't want to be a Cub.............. or the Cubs have traded him and he Wants to be a Cub.

 

You are applying too much emotion to the decision. It is completely logical for ARam to opt out or at least "indicate" he is going to do so. Anyone can see that he is at the core of the Cubs offense (along with Lee and Barrett) and that his leaving would be a major problem for Hendry since he would now need to replace ARam and still further upgrade the offense to improve this year's woeful showing. With that in mind, any agent would want to use that leverage to upgrade the money and extend the years on the deal.

 

It is a lot like Prior opting out this past offseason. Some fans wanted to read all sort of things into it about how he wanted out of the organization, but the fact is that it was the smart business move so he did it.

 

Hendry will make a similar move with Wood. He will decline the team option knowing Wood can not get similar money elsewhere and then probably try to sign him to a lower cost deal. It is not about lack of loyalty, it is just good dollars and cents.

 

It's not emotions. Simply stated, ARam makes more, or around what his peers make. Everyone that makes more then him w/ the exception of Beltre (Seattle paid way over for him, IMO) you could argue is AS GOOD, or BETTER then ARam.

 

From a business outlook, you DON'T opt out if your happy where you're at and there's a good chance you could make the same or less then what your making now. How does that make sense?

 

I like ARam and if he wants an extension he could probably just ask for one. If he opts out, he may or may not make more. I would venture to say that IF he makes more, it would be VERY LITTLE more.

 

The difference between Prior and ARam is that ARam is making what he should be for his production. Prior arguably wasn't getting paid league averages for his production to that point.

[SouthSideRyan]

And IMO, Ramirez should uses the escape clause, b/c Adrain Beltre has a 5-year 64M deal, and Ramirez has better #'s than Beltre.

 

STOP POSTING THIS

 

What Beltre's #s are now have no bearing on what his current contract is.

 

Other 3B who apparently should hold out for 5 year 64M deals this offseason.

 

Garrett Atkins

Freddy Sanchez

Joe Crede

Mike Lowell

Ty Wiggington

Brandon Inge

Chad Tracy

Pedro Feliz

Melvin Mora

Hank Blalock

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Why bother, SSR?

[soccer10k]

If they are doing a trade, then re-sign, I'd say that has to be tampering. . . . but, again, weirder things have happened.

 

Not really anything one can do about it. A few years ago Sidney Ponson was traded from the Orioles to the Giants because he would be an FA at the end of the season. Everone knew he'd re-sign with the Orioles the next winter - and he did.

That may be, but Fat Boy Ponson did not have a deal lined up. He simply decided he'd come back over the winter. Having your mind set on it is one thing, having a pre-arranged deal is another

 

How do you know he didn't have a deal lined up? Ponson could have said all the right things to the media and then "decided" to resign with the Orioles. Not saying that he did have a deal in place, but you don't know whether he did or not.

[soccer10k]

And IMO, Ramirez should uses the escape clause, b/c Adrain Beltre has a 5-year 64M deal, and Ramirez has better #'s than Beltre.

 

Beltre got his contract because of one monster year which was better than anything ARam has come close to doing. ARam has had a better career than Beltre, but Beltre had one MVP-type year and parlayed it into a huge contract.

[biittner77]

Perhaps we should be asking ourselves why Hendry gave Ramirez the out clause in the first place. One logical explanation is that Ramirez took less money or less years than he could have made somewhere else. When Ramirez signed, wasn't the consensus at the time that Hendry got him relatively cheap? So Hendry gave him the out cluase to save money in the short run figuring that if Ramirez did opt out he must have performed at a high enough level to deserve more money.

 

The point being that Hendry knew this day might come and he'd have to make a decision. I believe he wants to keep Ramirez but if some team will really overpay he'd be dumb not to trade him.

[goonys evil twin]

From a business outlook, you DON'T opt out if your happy where you're at and there's a good chance you could make the same or less then what your making now. How does that make sense?

 

The biggest thing he'd want is more guaranteed years. It would be virtually impossible for him to make less per year. He could easily eclipse his current salary, but he would definitely get more years, and that is what all ballplayers want in their deals, more guaranteed years.

[goonys evil twin]

Perhaps we should be asking ourselves why Hendry gave Ramirez the out clause in the first place. One logical explanation is that Ramirez took less money or less years than he could have made somewhere else. When Ramirez signed, wasn't the consensus at the time that Hendry got him relatively cheap? So Hendry gave him the out cluase to save money in the short run figuring that if Ramirez did opt out he must have performed at a high enough level to deserve more money.

 

The point being that Hendry knew this day might come and he'd have to make a decision. I believe he wants to keep Ramirez but if some team will really overpay he'd be dumb not to trade him.

 

I think it was something to do with the fact that Ramirez gave up his first year of free agency by signing that deal. I believe he could have been a free agent after last offseason, had he just done the one year at a time arbitration thing. So, the opt-out was an incentive to delay the start of free agency by a year.

[RynoRules]

If JH really believes that he has the inside track on resigning A-Ram regardless, then he needs to do this trade.

[CUBZ99]

:( For a moment I was hopeful that we had a poster with inside information.

[Wheelimus]

And really, how would you ever know if there is or is not a "tampering" deal in place? Unless you have mics in every GMs office, you're never going to know.

 

Aramis Ramirez could easily say to Hendry "trade me, I'll opt out, and resign" and so long as everyone says the right things to the media nobody would ever be the wiser.

 

Now, of course, that would bring up character issues with both of them for doing something like that, but the point is that you just can't ever know and there really isn't any way to catch them unless one of them pipes up. I'd almost guarantee in the last twenty years there's been a couple of deals like this.