Cubs sign Cliff Floyd?

[Master Shake]

The Tribune is reporting that Hendry is close tto signing Cliff Floyd..

Linky

 

 

I'm not sure what to make of this

[Wheelimus]

Not shocking, we knew this was coming. Not sure how I feel about it. He can be a killer against right handed pitchers, but he can't stay healthy. Not that I'm complaining there since I want Murton to get a lot of at bats.

[RynoRules]

Wish we had 5 or 6 years ago.

[soapy]

I don't understand why Hendry is (seemingly) so anxious to platoon Murton, but not Jones. I'm not totally against platooning Murton, to some extent, but Jones' splits are the bigger problem.

 

They need to pick up a CF and platoon Jones with Murton in LF, or sign a CF platoon partner for Jones.

[UMFan83]

Sources said late Tuesday the Cubs were close to signing Floyd to an incentive-laden deal and plan to use him in a left-field platoon with Matt Murton.

 

Yay! Put your most promising young hitter into a platoon!

[UMFan83]

Murton in 2006:

 

 I Split         G   GS  PA  AB  R   H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB IBB  SO HBP  SH  SF ROE GDP  SB CS   BA   OBP   SLG   OPS
+-+------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  vs RHP as RH 126     352 319      94 15  3  7  43  27   1  51   4   1   1   6  13         .295  .356  .426  .782 
  vs LHP as RH  63     156 136      41  7  0  6  19  18   0  11   1   0   1   0   5         .301  .385  .485  .870

 

Floyd in 2006:

 

I Split         G   GS  PA  AB  R   H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB IBB  SO HBP  SH  SF ROE GDP  SB CS   BA   OBP   SLG   OPS
+-+------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  vs RHP as LH  89     281 248      66 13  1  8  28  22   3  45   8   0   3   1   6         .266  .342  .423  .765 
  vs LHP as LH  54      95  84      15  6  0  3  16   7   0  13   4   0   0   0   0         .179  .274  .357  .631 

[Tracer Bullet]

Sources said late Tuesday the Cubs were close to signing Floyd to an incentive-laden deal and plan to use him in a left-field platoon with Matt Murton.

 

Yay! Put your most promising young hitter into a platoon!

 

I hate our GM.

[Wheelimus]

Hmm, with Alfonso Soriano batting leadoff and winding up on 2nd base 80 times a year, Murtons line against righties would look damn good in the 2 hole. I could see a lot of those doubles and steals turning into runs on strong hits.

 

Well, could have seen. Hopefully Floyd surprises.

[RynoRules]

Murton in 2006:

 

 I Split         G   GS  PA  AB  R   H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB IBB  SO HBP  SH  SF ROE GDP  SB CS   BA   OBP   SLG   OPS
+-+------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  vs RHP as RH 126     352 319      94 15  3  7  43  27   1  51   4   1   1   6  13         .295  .356  .426  .782 
  vs LHP as RH  63     156 136      41  7  0  6  19  18   0  11   1   0   1   0   5         .301  .385  .485  .870

 

Floyd in 2006:

 

I Split         G   GS  PA  AB  R   H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB IBB  SO HBP  SH  SF ROE GDP  SB CS   BA   OBP   SLG   OPS
+-+------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  vs RHP as LH  89     281 248      66 13  1  8  28  22   3  45   8   0   3   1   6         .266  .342  .423  .765 
  vs LHP as LH  54      95  84      15  6  0  3  16   7   0  13   4   0   0   0   0         .179  .274  .357  .631 

 

That's a bit short-sited. Floyd was hurt last year, and was a consistent .290 / .355 / .490 - .500 guy before that.

[goonys evil twin]

what is tinyurl.com? and how is it affiliated with the tribune? If you go to the trib's site, there is no mention of any floyd story.

[goonys evil twin]

I don't understand why Hendry is (seemingly) so anxious to platoon Murton, but not Jones. I'm not totally against platooning Murton, to some extent, but Jones' splits are the bigger problem.

 

They need to pick up a CF and platoon Jones with Murton in LF, or sign a CF platoon partner for Jones.

 

I think it's because he's so anxious to get rid of Jones entirely.

[Wheelimus]

The full URL is

 

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-0612200274dec20,1,2008606.story?coll=cs-baseball-print

[Tracer Bullet]

Murton in 2006:

 

 I Split         G   GS  PA  AB  R   H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB IBB  SO HBP  SH  SF ROE GDP  SB CS   BA   OBP   SLG   OPS
+-+------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  vs RHP as RH 126     352 319      94 15  3  7  43  27   1  51   4   1   1   6  13         .295  .356  .426  .782 
  vs LHP as RH  63     156 136      41  7  0  6  19  18   0  11   1   0   1   0   5         .301  .385  .485  .870

 

Floyd in 2006:

 

I Split         G   GS  PA  AB  R   H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB IBB  SO HBP  SH  SF ROE GDP  SB CS   BA   OBP   SLG   OPS
+-+------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  vs RHP as LH  89     281 248      66 13  1  8  28  22   3  45   8   0   3   1   6         .266  .342  .423  .765 
  vs LHP as LH  54      95  84      15  6  0  3  16   7   0  13   4   0   0   0   0         .179  .274  .357  .631 

 

That's a bit short-sited. Floyd was hurt last year, and was a consistent .290 / .355 / .490 - .500 guy before that.

 

Is it more likely that a 34-year-old with a significant problem staying healthy returns to that .850 OPS you suggest or that a 25-year-old continues to improve?

 

I'll take my chances with the 25-year-old. It's not like we should be eager to replace Murton's .356 OBP against RHP anyway. I don't care what hand the pitcher throws with, Murton isn't the problem.

[UK1679666180]

I don't understand why Hendry is (seemingly) so anxious to platoon Murton, but not Jones. I'm not totally against platooning Murton, to some extent, but Jones' splits are the bigger problem.

 

They need to pick up a CF and platoon Jones with Murton in LF, or sign a CF platoon partner for Jones.

 

I think it's because he's so anxious to get rid of Jones entirely.

 

Every report has them looking to unload Jones, pick-up a stopgap CF (?), and platoon Floyd/Murton in LF with Soriano in RF.

[CubColtPacer]

This still upgrades the team for next year. Is it nearly as much as upgrading some of the other positions? No-but a Floyd/Murton platoon (which I hope isn't a straight platoon, but hopefully at least more of an equal share of the at-bats (with my real hope that Murton gets at least a decent majority, but I will happily settle for equal) will likely outproduce what Murton can do by himself. In addition, that means a big bat is going to be sitting on the bench every single day, which means the Cubs will finally have some good options coming off the bench in key situations. While I agree with the poster above that Murton is not a problem and therefore shouldn't have been nearly the highest priority to upgrade, this still makes the team better in 2007.

[RynoRules]

I guess i don't have a huge problem with this signing. I like Murt and think he could get better. But I never have an issue with increased depth and the potential for good bench production. Our bench has been horrendous in recent years. Moreover, I for one am not convinced that Murt is everyday corner OFer. Just my two cents.

[RynoRules]

I don't understand why Hendry is (seemingly) so anxious to platoon Murton, but not Jones. I'm not totally against platooning Murton, to some extent, but Jones' splits are the bigger problem.

 

They need to pick up a CF and platoon Jones with Murton in LF, or sign a CF platoon partner for Jones.

 

I think it's because he's so anxious to get rid of Jones entirely.

 

Every report has them looking to unload Jones, pick-up a stopgap CF (?), and platoon Floyd/Murton in LF with Soriano in RF.

 

If the stopgap in CF is Jones, that might not be that bad.

[goonys evil twin]

I guess i don't have a huge problem with this signing. I like Murt and think he could get better. But I never have an issue with increased depth and the potential for good bench production. Our bench has been horrendous in recent years. Moreover, I for one am not convinced that Murt is everyday corner OFer. Just my two cents.

 

I'm convinced Murton is an everyday corner OFer, I'm not convinced he'll be a great everyday corner OFer. He is certainly capable of giving you more than adaquate production for the price everyday in LF.

[Jehrico]

Murton in 2006:

 

 I Split         G   GS  PA  AB  R   H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB IBB  SO HBP  SH  SF ROE GDP  SB CS   BA   OBP   SLG   OPS
+-+------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  vs RHP as RH 126     352 319      94 15  3  7  43  27   1  51   4   1   1   6  13         .295  .356  .426  .782 
  vs LHP as RH  63     156 136      41  7  0  6  19  18   0  11   1   0   1   0   5         .301  .385  .485  .870

 

Floyd in 2006:

 

I Split         G   GS  PA  AB  R   H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB IBB  SO HBP  SH  SF ROE GDP  SB CS   BA   OBP   SLG   OPS
+-+------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+-----+-----+-----+-----+
  vs RHP as LH  89     281 248      66 13  1  8  28  22   3  45   8   0   3   1   6         .266  .342  .423  .765 
  vs LHP as LH  54      95  84      15  6  0  3  16   7   0  13   4   0   0   0   0         .179  .274  .357  .631 

Not a very fair way of comparing the two...

 

I don't want Floyd taking any at bats from Murton, but if you're seriously evaluating what you think Floyd can contribute to the team next year, taking one injury riddled year is a pretty myopic way of doing it. Three year splits would probably be more indicative of what to expect than last season, when he was injured most of the time and his production was down as a result.

[BigbadB]

I agree that the comparison isn't fair, but at the same time Floyd is now getting into those baseball years where a decline is quite common.

 

I'm sure all of us would be excited for a revival of his '05 production, but if he's signing an incentive laden deal, there has to be some concern that injuries may have taken their toll.

[rocket]

Not a very fair way of comparing the two...

 

I don't want Floyd taking any at bats from Murton, but if you're seriously evaluating what you think Floyd can contribute to the team next year, taking one injury riddled year is a pretty myopic way of doing it. Three year splits would probably be more indicative of what to expect than last season, when he was injured most of the time and his production was down as a result.

 

Considering he's one year older, and injuries have always been a problem with him, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect him to perform close to last year's production.

[Backtobanks]

If Hendry wants to platoon Floyd, here's an idea, sign Craig Wilson to platoon in RF with Floyd and move Soriano to CF. Murton plays everyday in LF, Jones gets traded, and Floyd/Wilson gives you great production in RF and strengthens the bench.

[Soul]

Floyd will get hurt and Murton will be the full-time starter, anyway.

 

Everyone knows Floyd's body is no longer cooperating with him.

[Twiggy]

I don't mind it if Floyd knows he is a bench player and will fill in when needed out in the field. Don't platoon with Murton please.

[goonys evil twin]

If Hendry wants to platoon Floyd, here's an idea, sign Craig Wilson to platoon in RF with Floyd and move Soriano to CF. Murton plays everyday in LF, Jones gets traded, and Floyd/Wilson gives you great production in RF and strengthens the bench.

 

I'm up for that.

 

Something that is being forgotten is the Cubs don't have much RH bench help right now. They have a bunch of RH starters, but no bench threats (at least in terms of SLG). I'd like to see a RH version of Ward, at the very least.