Lou wants A-rod

[Neuby]

The Cubs have one major advantage Arod has a no trade clause will want nothing more than to be reunited with Lou Piniella. Chicago is also a shorter Jet ride to Miami.

[dvdd127]

before posting I will say I have not read all 6 pages so I dont know if this has been suggested..

 

But what if we keep A-Ram at third, get A-Rod put him at short and then go after C. Lee for Right field and make TheRiot our starting second baseman.

Then we just need a Center Fielder and some pitching.. and we are all set.

[ChiCubsFan]

Would anyone do Zambrano and Dempster for ARod and Philip Hughes?

 

Would anyone do this AFTER we signed Zito, Matsuzaka or Schmidt?

 

No. Z is the best player in that deal by far.

 

???

 

Z is great and all. I'm definitely one of his biggest fans, but how can you make that statement? ARod is one of the top 3 or so players in the game. If Zambrano is better than Arod...it certainly isn't "by far".

 

Top 3? Come on! He's good, but let's put this in perspective. He's the Yankees #8 hitter..........................and the fans don't like him. He's not valued like he once was. This isn't the ARod that's FA eligible for the first time in Seattle.

 

He's still a great player, but I would be very suprised if the Yanks get anything back in return that equals what they gave up to get him.

 

Um...wow. I dont care that the fans don't like him. I don't care that Torre was dumb and decided to bat Arod 8th. ARod is a top player. Maybe top 3 is a little bit of a stretch, but not much. I can't think of too many more players I'd rather have than him. A .900 OPS is a down year for him. If he can still play SS (which I believe he can) he's easily a top 5 player. Anyways, my point was saying that someone who plays once every five days (although very good, young, and relatively cheap for now) is "by far" better than one of the greatest players of our time, is a bit much.

 

I'm not saying I would do that deal (Arod/Hughes for Zambrano/Dempster) but I would have to think twice about it.

 

To dismiss ARod's situation in NY is crazy to me. Torre didn't put ARod in the 8 hole because he was tearing the cover off the ball! He did it because he'd been struggling and wasn't driving in runs.

 

Perception is a beautiful thing. NY fans know ARod is talented, but he "seems" to never produce in the clutch. I have many friends that are Yanks fans that say ARod isn't a top 5 player on the Yanks team. While I don't think that's correct, I'm not going to ignore the perception when making trade offers.

 

I remember seeing a stat about how Arod had the most game winning hits or something like that this year. This whole clutch issue is way overblown. I don't believe in "clutch". But since you brought it up, he hit for a .939 OPS with RISP, a .970 OPS with RISP and 2 outs, and a 1.289 OPS when the bases were loaded. Those are typical "clutch" situations, aren't they? His career numbers are very good in those situations as well.

 

So what if he had a few bad playoff games (a total of 29 ABs in the playoffs the past 2 years)? How bout in 2004 when he hit .320 with a 1.014 OPS in 11 playoff games (50 ABs)? Are you going to disregard his play in the playoffs that year, because it doesn't fit into your argument?

[UMFan83]

Am I the only one that has absolutely 0 desire to part with Hill. Maybe Hill for ARod straight up, which obviously is not happening, but good pitching is essential if the Cubs actually want to compete, and Hill looks to be that good pitcher we need.

 

I'd put our untouchables at Lee, Ramirez, Z, Hill. That's it.

 

That said, if we aren't looking to get rid of Hill or Z, its either the Yankees fall in love with Prior or we are forced to find a 3rd team to deal with.

[Drew Doughty]

before posting I will say I have not read all 6 pages so I dont know if this has been suggested..

 

But what if we keep A-Ram at third, get A-Rod put him at short and then go after C. Lee for Right field and make TheRiot our starting second baseman.

Then we just need a Center Fielder and some pitching.. and we are all set.

 

I'm all for having ARod magically appear on our roster.

[muntjack]

Just to revisit my own possible trade scenario....

 

I would really have to give consideration to Z/Dempster for ARod/Hughes. This is predicated on the signing of one of the big three pitchers, and the resigning of ARam. Getting perhaps the best pitching prospect in baseball would certainly lessen the blow.

 

To think how good Zambrano already is, and to know he hasn't reached his ceiling yet is crazy. I think by age 28-29, he could be Pedro-in-his-prime dominant. I just want to win the World Series, and I fear having a mediocre team in 2010 fronted by the best pitcher in baseball.

If the salaries are a near wash, we can afford to sign another pitcher AND get Soriano or trade for Andruw, Wells, etc.

 

 

Theriot 2B

Murton LF

Lee 1B

ARod SS

ARam 3B

Jones/Soriano/Wells CF

Jones RF

Barrett C

 

Schmidt

Hill

Prior

Hughes

Miller

[chuckywang]

I think a couple of weeks ago I said an outfield of Murton/Pie/Jones would be perfectly fine with my infield of Aramis/ARod/Soriano/Lee.

 

Are you fine with your starting rotation of Z/Marshall/Miller/Guzman/Marmol? Cause that's probably all we can get after picking up the tabs for ARod and Soriano and Aramis.

[C.C.]

Am I the only one that has absolutely 0 desire to part with Hill. Maybe Hill for ARod straight up, which obviously is not happening, but good pitching is essential if the Cubs actually want to compete, and Hill looks to be that good pitcher we need.

 

I'd put our untouchables at Lee, Ramirez, Z, Hill. That's it.

 

That said, if we aren't looking to get rid of Hill or Z, its either the Yankees fall in love with Prior or we are forced to find a 3rd team to deal with.

 

Hill is far, far, far from untouchable. He's had a nice run in the 2nd half, but if the Yanks want him and others for AROD. Take'em!

Edited October 17, 2006 by C.C.

[C.C.]

To trade Z for Arod...in any combination...shoots us in the foot. We get an all star in return, and give up our ONLY proven starter...

 

That's dumb...

 

I'm not sure if it's dumb. Depends if we can notch another starter to take Z place. Let's face it all the playoff teams this year don't have the best pitching. I'm torn about this. Knowing how easy pitchers get hurt, I'm almost inclined to pull that trigger....

[CuseCubFan69]

IMO, the only 2 ways this would happen are:

 

-The Cubs move Z for ARod

-The Yanks think Hill will be an impact pitcher and he and many others including the best third base prospect will go to the Yanks

-Ramirez won't be traded if he signs a contract with the Cubs. I'd have to assume he's have a no trade and why would he sign with the Cubs when he could just as easily sign with the Yanks a little later?"

[CuseCubFan69]

Browsing the yankees message boards, they seem to think they would get zambrano in ANY trade with A-Rod. Are we being a little delusional here in believing that A-Rod could be had without trading Z, or are they?

 

I think the Yankees would bite at a Hill, Prior, Eyre trade for Pavano and A-Rod.

 

I'm reading some now too where fans want Zambrano AND Ramirez, or another guy who wants Zambrano and Barrett... as backup catcher. Its bad enough they Yanks want an All-Star lineup, but they want a guy who just came off a year where he put up All Star numbers to be ON THE BENCH.

A guy posted this rotation:

Wang

Zambrano

Zito

Hughes (?)

Matsuzaka

I'm not sure what happened to the $33M they owe Johnson ,Pavano, Wright, but I'm thinking they might be the delusional ones.

 

Ironic that they want that much but yet think ARod isn't that good. Can't have it both ways.

[goonys evil twin]

Browsing the yankees message boards, they seem to think they would get zambrano in ANY trade with A-Rod. Are we being a little delusional here in believing that A-Rod could be had without trading Z, or are they?

 

I think the Yankees would bite at a Hill, Prior, Eyre trade for Pavano and A-Rod.

 

I'm reading some now too where fans want Zambrano AND Ramirez, or another guy who wants Zambrano and Barrett... as backup catcher. Its bad enough they Yanks want an All-Star lineup, but they want a guy who just came off a year where he put up All Star numbers to be ON THE BENCH..

 

Yankees fans do this with every trade. They expect to get back 3-4 all stars in every deal, or it's not worth making. I had a Yankees fan come up to me to ask about the ARod deal, and he was wondering what the Cubs would be willing to add to a deal that included Zambrano, Ramirez and Prior, to make it worth their while.

 

I laughed at him and said Zambrano would become the best player on the Yankees. They aren't getting him, let alone him plus others.

[Tracer Bullet]

I think a couple of weeks ago I said an outfield of Murton/Pie/Jones would be perfectly fine with my infield of Aramis/ARod/Soriano/Lee.

 

Are you fine with your starting rotation of Z/Marshall/Miller/Guzman/Marmol? Cause that's probably all we can get after picking up the tabs for ARod and Soriano and Aramis.

 

I agree. If we get ARod w/o giving up ARam, I let Soriano go to the highest bidder and get a cheap 2B that can lead off (Theriot?). Spend the money that someone will overspend on Soriano for a top SP (Schmidt?).

 

I'd much rather have Z, Schmidt, Prior, Marshall, X (Miller, Guzman, etc) and no Soriano than a great lineup and rely on Prior to be the 2nd best SP on the team.

[soapy]

Am I the only one that has absolutely 0 desire to part with Hill. Maybe Hill for ARod straight up, which obviously is not happening, but good pitching is essential if the Cubs actually want to compete, and Hill looks to be that good pitcher we need.

 

I'd put our untouchables at Lee, Ramirez, Z, Hill. That's it.

 

That said, if we aren't looking to get rid of Hill or Z, its either the Yankees fall in love with Prior or we are forced to find a 3rd team to deal with.

I'm definitely a big Hill fan, but the Yankees aren't doing this deal without getting someone they can plug into the top half of their rotation. I'm not willing to trade Zambrano, but I think anyone who wants to get Arod is going to have to be willing to give up Hill. The Yankees might be high on Prior, but I'd think they've been burned enough with pitching injuries to stay away from him.

 

Having said that, maybe they take Prior (or a "prospect") if you take Pavano back in the deal. That allows the Yankees to throw a truckload of money at their SP (again), while also taking a chance at sliding Prior into the rotation.

[Mizzou]

I love ARam, but if the Yankees wanted to trade ARod for him straight up... buh bye Aramis.

[Lefty]

Trade anyone on the team for A-Rod besides Ramirez, Lee, Z and Prior. Anyone else is on the block.

 

Would NY agree to any trade that doesn't involve Aramis? Any other decent FA 3rd baseman they could go for this year?

 

Why would ARamirez re-sign with us if we are going to trade him? We need ARod at SS, so trading Ramirez wouldn't be that much of a gain.

 

If you saw the ALDS, you know the Yankees need pitching. They have to ask for Zambrano. If you don't want to do that, the only possibility is to trade every young pitching prospect. Gallagher, Veal, maybe Hill too? Remember, Hendry has to win now. So he will trade the cupboard bare to win this year. The problem most of us have with Hendry is we don't trust him to understand what actually increases a team's win total.

[slacker]

I love ARam, but if the Yankees wanted to trade ARod for him straight up... buh bye Aramis.

 

I dont understand why people think that ARam would be included in trade for ARod. Why would the Yankees trade for a guy that they can potentially get just by signing him? If they let it slip that they are willing to overpay for ARam (4 years $17 million?), I doubt he would resign with the Cubs before at least testing free agency. They could then trade ARod for a ton of pitching....which is their big need anyway.

 

Slacker

[Pinktermite]

Like I said, I think trading your stalwart starter and the only one who doesn't get hurt BEFORE he hits his prime is just plain silly...

 

Give up Hill...Marmol...hell, give up whoever, anyone unproven...to hell with keeping prospects when you can have Arod...

 

Is there a stronger word for 'stupid'? Then that's the word I want to use. And losing Aram while gaining A ROD...is also one step forward and one step back. This isn't what Hendry is looking for.

 

I like his idea of chasing Soriano for CF...signing ARod...signing Schmidt...and signing Carlos Lee...

 

now THAT would have an impact.

[Pinktermite]

I meant trading for Arod...not signing him

[soapy]

Like I said, I think trading your stalwart starter and the only one who doesn't get hurt BEFORE he hits his prime is just plain silly...

 

Give up Hill...Marmol...hell, give up whoever, anyone unproven...to hell with keeping prospects when you can have Arod...

 

Is there a stronger word for 'stupid'? Then that's the word I want to use. And losing Aram while gaining A ROD...is also one step forward and one step back. This isn't what Hendry is looking for.

 

I like his idea of chasing Soriano for CF...signing ARod...signing Schmidt...and signing Carlos Lee...

 

now THAT would have an impact.

 

You're talking about probably a $55 million jump in payroll. Yikes.

[CubsInNC]

for Arod and 18M (0,6,6,6) So we pay Arod (20,13,14,15)

 

That's not right, since Texas is paying a bunch.

 

According to http://www.mlb4u.com/profile.php?id=991

 

He is due 27M in 2007-2010. Rangers are paying 7, 8, 7, 6. So the Yanks are set to pay: 20, 19, 20, 21.

 

Now there is also a bunch of deferred money. I'm not really sure how all that works out.

 

According to Cot's the Yanks owe A-Rod $64mil over 4 years after 2006 (at 16/yr) . The rest is all on Texas. That's the $11mil in salary each year until 2010, plus all of the deferred money. They also add that he "may opt out after 2007 unless he gets an $8M/year raise or $1M more than MLB’s highest-paid player."

 

The total of mlb4u's salary 04-10 paid by texas is only $43mil, not $67mil which they say.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

How about this deal?

 

Cubs get: Arod

Yankees get Blalock and Eyre

Rangers get Prior.

[C.C.]

Like I said, I think trading your stalwart starter and the only one who doesn't get hurt BEFORE he hits his prime is just plain silly...

 

Give up Hill...Marmol...hell, give up whoever, anyone unproven...to hell with keeping prospects when you can have Arod...

 

Is there a stronger word for 'stupid'? Then that's the word I want to use. And losing Aram while gaining A ROD...is also one step forward and one step back. This isn't what Hendry is looking for.

 

I like his idea of chasing Soriano for CF...signing ARod...signing Schmidt...and signing Carlos Lee...

 

now THAT would have an impact.

 

Yankees aren't going to want Rich Hill, Marmol, Prior, or anyone else but Zambrano.

[Wheelimus]

I still think it can be done with the Marlins. They're the best match in that they'd trade Willis for a boatload of talent who would be plenty "MLB ready" for them.

 

So for me, the discussion is what prospects are the Marlins going to want? Offer them Pie or Veal, Marshall or Mateo, Soto or Ryu, and a fourth lower level prospect?

 

And what will the Yankess want with Willis to trade A-Rod? Scott Moore maybe? So at least they're getting our "best 3B prospect" back.

 

Anyway to make this work?

[goonys evil twin]

I still think it can be done with the Marlins. They're the best match in that they'd trade Willis for a boatload of talent who would be plenty "MLB ready" for them.

 

So for me, the discussion is what prospects are the Marlins going to want? Offer them Pie or Veal, Marshall or Mateo, Soto or Ryu, and a fourth lower level prospect?

 

And what will the Yankess want with Willis to trade A-Rod? Scott Moore maybe? So at least they're getting our "best 3B prospect" back.

 

Anyway to make this work?

 

You have to send them reliever(s), and try as much as possible to include Jones in the deal. They do have lots of OFers, but Sheffield is gone, and they always mix in an OF for DH.