Next year offensively...

[goonys evil twin]

That high OPS corner OF spot appears to be the most elusive ... at this point, realistically, I think I'd rejoice if it did turn out to be CLee. He's about the best we can hope for, isn't he?

 

CLee does still look like the most viable and Hendry-like move, although he has been more of a 825-850 OPS guy. That would still be an upgrade of 150+ OPS points in LF (and he could really explode at Wrigley) and enable a platoon in RF that could gain us another 100 OPS there as well.

 

That said, I'd still love to see us go hard after Cabrera. Adding him to the lineup would mean a huge lift all over. Soriano would be about in the CLee category but probably more expensive. I wouldn't mind seeing JD Drew in RF either.

 

What would Marlins want for Cabrera? That would be scary...

 

How would 825-850 be a 150+ improvement in OPS from LF? Murton is at 740 and climbing, the Cubs as a whole are at 751 already.

 

Cabrera would take the motherload. Other teams have better top prospects than the Cubs, but teams with the top prospects also aren't willing to trade them.

 

As for what it would take, I'm guessing they'd want 2 cheap major leaguers, and multiple good prospects. Wuertz and Murton fit the bill as major league contributors who make nothing. Pie could be added to such a package as the high ceiling guy. And I'd guess they'd want one of the starting pitchers who has shown to be solid.

 

Wuertz, Murton, Pie and Marmol, if necessary, sweeten with another prospect or two. Cabrera is going to use Pujols as a comparison in his arbitration/negotiation. His team would be wise to lock him up to a big time deal now, instead of riding out each arby year. Florida isn't in a great position to go to arbitration with him, if they have any interest in maintaining their payroll structure.

 

The smart thing to do is to resign him. But counting on their notorious cheapness, a deal would not be out of the question.

[Warpticon]

I don't consider Walker a leadoff hitter at all.

 

That's your problem, not his. Prototypical, better year, stereotypical, leadoff hitters are grossly overrated. Walker could do the job better than anybody the Cubs have had for several years.

 

Has he ever leadoff in his entire career? I think there is more to leading off then getting on base right? This year Walkers OBP is 20 points higher then Juan Pierre ,but isn't juan more of a threat because of his speed? Isn't Walker more suited for the 2nd place hitting slot?

 

Were you around in 2004 when he lead off pretty much all year?

[Warpticon]

I definitely agree defense doesn't win championships. Great players win championships. The D-Backs won because of schilling and Johnson. The Red Sox because of Martinez, Schilling, Manny, Ortiz. The White Sox because of their 5 great pitchers in the playoffs. The Miami Heat won because of Dwayne Wade the Bulls won 6 Championships because of Jordan and Pippen.

 

My point is simply that what the Cubs need is a couple of realiable superstars who are more than willing to carry the load. Then we need to put solid role players around them to fill the gaps. Barrett, Izturis, Murton/Jones fit the bill.

 

I do not think Carlos Lee is the answer in Left. I would much rather have someone like Soriano who is more accustumed to being the man and being in the spotlight.

 

Carlos Lee has been "the man" in Milwaukee since he got there. This is the 1st time in his career Soriano has been the best player on his team.

 

See that is my point though. He was in a low pressure situation in Milwaukee. I want someone who knows what the pressure is like to play in a Chicago, Boston, or New York.

 

Yeah, Carlos Lee knows nothing about playing in Chicago.

[TruffleShuffle]

I definitely agree defense doesn't win championships. Great players win championships. The D-Backs won because of schilling and Johnson. The Red Sox because of Martinez, Schilling, Manny, Ortiz. The White Sox because of their 5 great pitchers in the playoffs. The Miami Heat won because of Dwayne Wade the Bulls won 6 Championships because of Jordan and Pippen.

 

My point is simply that what the Cubs need is a couple of realiable superstars who are more than willing to carry the load. Then we need to put solid role players around them to fill the gaps. Barrett, Izturis, Murton/Jones fit the bill.

 

I do not think Carlos Lee is the answer in Left. I would much rather have someone like Soriano who is more accustumed to being the man and being in the spotlight.

 

Carlos Lee has been "the man" in Milwaukee since he got there. This is the 1st time in his career Soriano has been the best player on his team.

 

See that is my point though. He was in a low pressure situation in Milwaukee. I want someone who knows what the pressure is like to play in a Chicago, Boston, or New York.

 

Yeah, Carlos Lee knows nothing about playing in Chicago.

 

 

hahahaha

[SoonerCubFan]

How would 825-850 be a 150+ improvement in OPS from LF? Murton is at 740 and climbing, the Cubs as a whole are at 751 already.

 

Cabrera would take the motherload. Other teams have better top prospects than the Cubs, but teams with the top prospects also aren't willing to trade them.

 

As for what it would take, I'm guessing they'd want 2 cheap major leaguers, and multiple good prospects. Wuertz and Murton fit the bill as major league contributors who make nothing. Pie could be added to such a package as the high ceiling guy. And I'd guess they'd want one of the starting pitchers who has shown to be solid.

 

Wuertz, Murton, Pie and Marmol, if necessary, sweeten with another prospect or two. Cabrera is going to use Pujols as a comparison in his arbitration/negotiation. His team would be wise to lock him up to a big time deal now, instead of riding out each arby year. Florida isn't in a great position to go to arbitration with him, if they have any interest in maintaining their payroll structure.

 

The smart thing to do is to resign him. But counting on their notorious cheapness, a deal would not be out of the question.

 

I was using CLee's career tendency as opposed to his 2006 numbers (currentl .892 OPS), which would be around that 150 mark. I could see Murton improving to around 800, but I could also see Lee jumping well over 900. At any rate, Lee or Soriano would be a much-needed addition to the middle of the lineup and would, again, give us a boost in RF as well if a Jones/Murton platoon is implemented.

 

I agree completely with your Cabrera assessment, from what it might take to what a smart team would do if they did trade for him. Never gonna happen, but it would be sweet if it did.