Fox Sports: Ramirez SIGNS WITH CUBS!

[Laura]

Rozner's never been a fan of Ramirez.

 

Barry Rozner / The Daily Herald[/url]"] The fact that the Cubs have to overpay now to keep Aramis Ramirez isn’t news. Hasn’t been since the Cubs blew it in July and failed to move Ramirez to the Left Coast for several prospects.

 

This is only Reason No. 438 why the Cubs need to rip it apart and start over but can’t because the GM and manager need to win yesterday.

 

So you can spend the holidays dreaming of several more seasons of watching No. 16 wave at balls as they go into left field for RBI singles and doubles.

[C.C.]

Rozner's never been a fan of Ramirez.

 

Barry Rozner / The Daily Herald[/url]"] The fact that the Cubs have to overpay now to keep Aramis Ramirez isn’t news. Hasn’t been since the Cubs blew it in July and failed to move Ramirez to the Left Coast for several prospects.

 

This is only Reason No. 438 why the Cubs need to rip it apart and start over but can’t because the GM and manager need to win yesterday.

 

So you can spend the holidays dreaming of several more seasons of watching No. 16 wave at balls as they go into left field for RBI singles and doubles.

 

That last statement is just stupid! No mention of his defense improving with each passing year.

[USSoccer]

Rozner's never been a fan of Ramirez.

 

Barry Rozner / The Daily Herald[/url]"] The fact that the Cubs have to overpay now to keep Aramis Ramirez isn’t news. Hasn’t been since the Cubs blew it in July and failed to move Ramirez to the Left Coast for several prospects.

 

This is only Reason No. 438 why the Cubs need to rip it apart and start over but can’t because the GM and manager need to win yesterday.

 

So you can spend the holidays dreaming of several more seasons of watching No. 16 wave at balls as they go into left field for RBI singles and doubles.

 

The following is totally warranted:

 

:roll:

 

This whole thing wreaks of smear job. It's like they unleashed a horde of critical articles to gauge public opinion.

[C.C.]

Rozner's never been a fan of Ramirez.

 

Barry Rozner / The Daily Herald[/url]"] The fact that the Cubs have to overpay now to keep Aramis Ramirez isn’t news. Hasn’t been since the Cubs blew it in July and failed to move Ramirez to the Left Coast for several prospects.

 

This is only Reason No. 438 why the Cubs need to rip it apart and start over but can’t because the GM and manager need to win yesterday.

 

So you can spend the holidays dreaming of several more seasons of watching No. 16 wave at balls as they go into left field for RBI singles and doubles.

 

The following is totally warranted:

 

:roll:

 

This whole thing wreaks of smear job. It's like they unleashed a horde of critical articles to gauge public opinion.

 

It's a total smear job! His defense has improved every year he's been here. If I'm RAM and I'm hearing all this media bias I wouldn't come back. The sad part about this is a lot of fans are starting to listen to these a@#@#$#s and believing it.

[goonys evil twin]

Rozner's never been a fan of Ramirez.

 

Barry Rozner / The Daily Herald[/url]"] The fact that the Cubs have to overpay now to keep Aramis Ramirez isn’t news. Hasn’t been since the Cubs blew it in July and failed to move Ramirez to the Left Coast for several prospects.

 

This is only Reason No. 438 why the Cubs need to rip it apart and start over but can’t because the GM and manager need to win yesterday.

 

So you can spend the holidays dreaming of several more seasons of watching No. 16 wave at balls as they go into left field for RBI singles and doubles.

 

The following is totally warranted:

 

:roll:

 

This whole thing wreaks of smear job. It's like they unleashed a horde of critical articles to gauge public opinion.

 

I'm not sure it's a smear job in the sense of the Cubs are testing the waters. Writers write like this all the time. Rozner has his favorites (who not so coincidentally take his phone calls), like Maddux, and he takes cheap shots at lots of others. It's pretty easy to get away with writing what he wrote about Ramirez. All he has to do is wave at one ball, and people will assume he does it all the time. He hedges his bets, however, by saying the Cubs "have to overpay" Ramirez, as if he's begrudginly accepting that there is no better option.

[RynoRules]

Rozner's never been a fan of Ramirez.

 

Barry Rozner / The Daily Herald[/url]"] The fact that the Cubs have to overpay now to keep Aramis Ramirez isn’t news. Hasn’t been since the Cubs blew it in July and failed to move Ramirez to the Left Coast for several prospects.

 

This is only Reason No. 438 why the Cubs need to rip it apart and start over but can’t because the GM and manager need to win yesterday.

 

So you can spend the holidays dreaming of several more seasons of watching No. 16 wave at balls as they go into left field for RBI singles and doubles.

 

 

The following is totally warranted:

 

:roll:

 

This whole thing wreaks of smear job. It's like they unleashed a horde of critical articles to gauge public opinion.

 

By "they" I assume you mean Hendry and the Cubs. I agree that the criticism is over the top, but how exactly does JH control the media such that they smear players on his orders? That's a pretty ridiculous notion.

[C.C.]

Rozner's never been a fan of Ramirez.

 

Barry Rozner / The Daily Herald[/url]"] The fact that the Cubs have to overpay now to keep Aramis Ramirez isn’t news. Hasn’t been since the Cubs blew it in July and failed to move Ramirez to the Left Coast for several prospects.

 

This is only Reason No. 438 why the Cubs need to rip it apart and start over but can’t because the GM and manager need to win yesterday.

 

So you can spend the holidays dreaming of several more seasons of watching No. 16 wave at balls as they go into left field for RBI singles and doubles.

 

 

The following is totally warranted:

 

:roll:

 

This whole thing wreaks of smear job. It's like they unleashed a horde of critical articles to gauge public opinion.

 

By "they" I assume you mean Hendry and the Cubs. I agree that the criticism is over the top, but how exactly does JH control the media such that they smear players on his orders? That's a pretty ridiculous notion.

 

I thought he meant the media? Saying it's the Cubs smear job is far fetched.

[USSoccer]

 

By "they" I assume you mean Hendry and the Cubs. I agree that the criticism is over the top, but how exactly does JH control the media such that they smear players on his orders? That's a pretty ridiculous notion.

 

I suppose the notion of Hendry asking beat guys or contacts in the media to plant stories in order to gauge public opinion is a little tinfoil hat-ish, but it seems very odd that nearly every beat writer and columnist in the city, and all but 2 radio hosts keep beating the "ARam sucks and we hate him" drum at the same time, generally using the same talking points. Much of it, I'm sure, is lazy journalism, but it seems amiss to me.

 

There hasn't been this much concentrated vitriol in the media towards a player since Sosa was run out of town.

Edited November 2, 2006 by USSoccer

[goonys evil twin]

By "they" I assume you mean Hendry and the Cubs. I agree that the criticism is over the top, but how exactly does JH control the media such that they smear players on his orders? That's a pretty ridiculous notion.

 

It's far from ridiculous. Writers rely on those insiders for their stories. In the give and take of media/management relationships, management routinely feeds the writers stories they want out there. It's not a matter of controlling the media, it's using it to your benefit.

[Laura]

I don't know about the other reporters/columnists, but Rozner has not liked Aramis' attitude for quite some time -- he's been consistent about it. I've heard him say so in radio interviews as well as his column.

 

As far as he's concerned, this isn't something recent that arose this season.

[Banedon]

Even Boors and Bernstein were harping on this "lazy' nonsense yesterday. And those guys are usually pretty much right on with most of their opinions, (even if they don't always say it in the nicest possible way).

[frostwyrm]

Rozner's never been a fan of Ramirez.

 

Barry Rozner / The Daily Herald[/url]"] The fact that the Cubs have to overpay now to keep Aramis Ramirez isn’t news. Hasn’t been since the Cubs blew it in July and failed to move Ramirez to the Left Coast for several prospects.

 

This is only Reason No. 438 why the Cubs need to rip it apart and start over but can’t because the GM and manager need to win yesterday.

 

So you can spend the holidays dreaming of several more seasons of watching No. 16 wave at balls as they go into left field for RBI singles and doubles.

 

The following is totally warranted:

 

:roll:

 

This whole thing wreaks of smear job. It's like they unleashed a horde of critical articles to gauge public opinion.

 

I'm not sure it's a smear job in the sense of the Cubs are testing the waters. Writers write like this all the time. Rozner has his favorites (who not so coincidentally take his phone calls), like Maddux, and he takes cheap shots at lots of others. It's pretty easy to get away with writing what he wrote about Ramirez. All he has to do is wave at one ball, and people will assume he does it all the time. He hedges his bets, however, by saying the Cubs "have to overpay" Ramirez, as if he's begrudginly accepting that there is no better option.

I think he's suggesting that the best option was to go into rebuilding mode in July and look to 2008. A case could be made for that. I do agree the sniping at Aramis is way overdone, but he brings some of it on himself. He doesn't loaf nearly as often as his critcs imply, but he shouldn't loaf at all. People just hate a display of laziness from an athlete, even if he doesn't do it very often.

[USSoccer]

Even Boors and Bernstein were harping on this "lazy' nonsense yesterday. And those guys are usually pretty much right on with most of their opinions, (even if they don't always say it in the nicest possible way).

 

Harping on Aramis or harping on the nonsense?

[Banedon]

Even Boors and Bernstein were harping on this "lazy' nonsense yesterday. And those guys are usually pretty much right on with most of their opinions, (even if they don't always say it in the nicest possible way).

 

Harping on Aramis or harping on the nonsense?

 

Sorry, that was worded poorly. They were harping on Aramis. Saying he's not worth the money he's asking for the amount of effort he puts forth...etc. Though they acknowledged that Steve Stone had been on and said that if you let A-Ram go and you sign Soriano, then you're really not any better off than you were.

[USSoccer]

I don't know about the other reporters/columnists, but Rozner has not liked Aramis' attitude for quite some time -- he's been consistent about it. I've heard him say so in radio interviews as well as his column.

 

As far as he's concerned, this isn't something recent that arose this season.

 

Yeah, but it's totally unfounded. Has he ever been a clubhouse problem? Called out a teammate? Thrown one under the bus?

 

As far as I can see, he just goes about his business. If Rozner wants to hold a grudge because Aramis isn't a good interview or doesn't "play ball" with Barry, whatever, but that shouldn't cloud his impression of Aramis the baseball player.

[RichHillIsABeast]

Who cares whether or not the media knows what they're talking about? They aren't going to impact Hendry's decision.

 

Hendry wants to win now. Letting Ramirez go severely hurts that. You can go out and replace his production in other spots, but that severely limits the possibility of improving your team beyond that.

 

Ramirez will stay in Chicago unless some other team tampers.

[USSoccer]

Even Boors and Bernstein were harping on this "lazy' nonsense yesterday. And those guys are usually pretty much right on with most of their opinions, (even if they don't always say it in the nicest possible way).

 

Harping on Aramis or harping on the nonsense?

 

Sorry, that was worded poorly. They were harping on Aramis. Saying he's not worth the money he's asking for the amount of effort he puts forth...etc. Though they acknowledged that Steve Stone had been on and said that if you let A-Ram go and you sign Soriano, then you're really not any better off than you were.

 

Jeez. Scratch those 2 radio hosts as defenders, then. I could have sworn I heard them defending Aramis the other day.

 

That's a bummer. I would have hoped those guys would see past the nonsense.

 

Also, how on earth are people forgetting that Soriano is the same guy that threatened to sit out if he was made to play LF?

[Banedon]

Even Boors and Bernstein were harping on this "lazy' nonsense yesterday. And those guys are usually pretty much right on with most of their opinions, (even if they don't always say it in the nicest possible way).

 

Harping on Aramis or harping on the nonsense?

 

Sorry, that was worded poorly. They were harping on Aramis. Saying he's not worth the money he's asking for the amount of effort he puts forth...etc. Though they acknowledged that Steve Stone had been on and said that if you let A-Ram go and you sign Soriano, then you're really not any better off than you were.

 

Jeez. Scratch those 2 radio hosts as defenders, then. I could have sworn I heard them defending Aramis the other day.

 

That's a bummer. I would have hoped those guys would see past the nonsense.

 

Also, how on earth are people forgetting that Soriano is the same guy that threatened to sit out if he was made to play LF?

 

To be honest, I value B&B's insight on football and basketball MUCH more than baseball.

[goonys evil twin]

To be honest, I value B&B's insight on football and basketball MUCH more than baseball.

 

For whatever reason, people are much more willing to let the play do the talking in football than they are in baseball. Maybe it's because so much of baseball is about failure, or maybe it's the tedious nature of a 162 game schedule, or a combination of the two, along with the long history of overly dramatic poetic nonsense written about the game.

 

There just aren't as many football games to get to the level of nitpicking that people do with baseball. In football, production and results are all that matter. In baseball, people look at lots of other things besides production. There isn't a lot of love for the last man on a football roster. You want playmakers making plays, and then when they stop making plays, you want them replaced. You like cheap fill-ins, but as soon as they are no longer cheap, or miss a tackle or fumble, you want them gone. In baseball, the nobodies get tons of love simply for being there, and their failures are perfectly acceptable. And if they make $2-3 million, good for them.

 

If your football players produces on the field, you forgive his imperfections. If a baseball player produces on the field, he better fit the stereotype of the mythological hero from days past.

[HoopsCubs]

I don't know about the other reporters/columnists, but Rozner has not liked Aramis' attitude for quite some time -- he's been consistent about it. I've heard him say so in radio interviews as well as his column.

 

As far as he's concerned, this isn't something recent that arose this season.

 

Whether you like him or not, or like his writing style or not, Mr. Rozner has always been a big fan of a player's positive attitude and hard work ethic. That's been my observation reading his work since 1988. That's why he was always very pro-Dawson, Grace, Sandberg, Dunston, Maddux, Jordan, Hinrich, Grossman, etc... and negative towards guys like Palmeiro, Sosa, Patterson, Aramis, Horace Grant, Jalen Rose, Cade McNown, etc... I think what he is pointing out is his perception that Aramis is lackadaisical, and it really bugs him. Ancillary thought: I think he's questioning whether or not it makes sense to pay a guy $16M a year for 5 years if he can't put up numbers in April and May?

 

Just my $0.02: I really like the thought of Aramis being a Cub. I really don't like the idea of paying him $80M over 5 years.

[goonys evil twin]

Ancillary thought: I think he's questioning whether or not it makes sense to pay a guy $16M a year for 5 years if he can't put up numbers in April and May?

 

Just my $0.02: I really like the thought of Aramis being a Cub. I really don't like the idea of paying him $80M over 5 years.

 

Ryne Sandberg never produced early, so if that's his concern, he's a hypocrite.

[USSoccer]

I don't know about the other reporters/columnists, but Rozner has not liked Aramis' attitude for quite some time -- he's been consistent about it. I've heard him say so in radio interviews as well as his column.

 

As far as he's concerned, this isn't something recent that arose this season.

 

Ancillary thought: I think he's questioning whether or not it makes sense to pay a guy $16M a year for 5 years if he can't put up numbers in April and May?

 

Just my $0.02: I really like the thought of Aramis being a Cub. I really don't like the idea of paying him $80M over 5 years.

 

By that logic, it was stupid to give Lee the money they gave him. He only produced in April and May for one season. Aramis produced in April and May of 2004, so both are equally subject to that critique.

[Banedon]

Pierre sure didn't produce in April and May. Why give him big bucks? But you won't hear any outcry from the media on that...Pierre works really hard and he hustles.

[HoopsCubs]

Pierre sure didn't produce in April and May. Why give him big bucks? But you won't hear any outcry from the media on that...Pierre works really hard and he hustles.

 

Is that true? I've seen recent columns from Mr. Miles and from the Sun Times guys stating their opinions that Hendry should let Pierre walk because he's not worth a 3 year - $27M deal.

[goonys evil twin]

Pierre sure didn't produce in April and May. Why give him big bucks? But you won't hear any outcry from the media on that...Pierre works really hard and he hustles.

 

Is that true? I've seen recent columns from Mr. Miles and from the Sun Times guys stating their opinions that Hendry should let Pierre walk because he's not worth a 3 year - $27M deal.

 

The Suntimes guy I read wants Pierre back.