Jayson Stark:Cubs Open Check Book, Raise Expectations

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Stark has an article on ESPN.com in which he discusses the money the Cubs spent this offseason and whether or not the team is improved.

 

Link.

 

A few notable quotes:

 

This team committed more dollars in one offseason ($317.55 million) than any franchise in the history of baseball -- or the history of dollars, for that matter.

 

 

 

"Oh, they're good," said one AL executive. "But they spent a lot of money -- and they still didn't solve all their problems."

 

Will enough fly balls get caught the days Soriano, Floyd and Jacque Jones are all in the outfield? Was closer Ryan Dempster's shaky finish (7.32 ERA, 0 for 4 in saves after Aug. 14) just a slump?

 

Is a change of scenery enough to cure Marquis (6.72 second-half ERA)? Can Floyd stay healthy? Will Piniella be so driven to win right now that Felix Pie, Matt Murton, Ronny Cedeno and other young players will drop off his radar screen?

 

And then there's a mystery that is going to sound verrry familiar:

 

"For them to win," said one NL executive, "they're going to have to have a lot of luck with [the health] of Wood and [Mark] Prior."

 

 

And maybe the summary...

 

"If all their players play at the level they'd like them to play at, they're better than the Cardinals," said one front-office man. "But can they count on that? I don't know."

[sethuel1]

hooray!

[MPrior]

Those quotations seem right on, with the one exception that the health of Wood is not terribly essential to this team. Prior, on the other hand, is once again a huge factor.

[baseball7897]

The key to Cubs success is going to be the health of Mark Prior, IMO. If he is healthy to the point where he can go out and pitch every 5th day then I think the Cubs are the team in the NL central.

 

The NL as a whole is not very good. There is not one team in the NL that scares me. Mets are going to have rotation problems, the Cards took a step back in their efforts to repeat, Houston lost Andy and Roger, the Padres have a hole at 3b and at the back end of the rotation. I don't see why the Cubs could not represent the NL in the World Series this year. Obviously health is going to play a major factor for them, but I still think they have the most depth in their bullpen and rotation than any other team in the NL this season.

Edited February 5, 2007 by baseball7897

[BigbadB]

Sounds a lot like my posts in Transactions over the weekend.

[goonys evil twin]

"If all their players play at the level they'd like them to play at, they're better than the Cardinals," said one front-office man. "But can they count on that? I don't know."

 

 

I like the phrasing. Sort of a rip on Cubs' management's often "rosey" view of their player's abilities.

 

I don't agree that Wood and Prior's health are essential. It is possible to have a successful season without getting much from either. A 100% Prior probably makes this a 90+ win team, but they don't need luck with those guys, as long as the rest of the team performs. The rest of the team is a big question though.

 

At least he used the phrasing "committed more dollars" instead of the oft-used "spent more dollars". The Cubs are committed to spending a ton of money, but they didn't really spend a ton of it for this year. That's a little pet peeve of mine.

[RichHillIsABeast]

Pretty good article.

 

I think we're in pretty good shape offensively, even if we aren't in the elite. Our pitching should be solid, but not spectacular.

 

It might take another offseason to get this thing sorted out.

 

We certainly won't be losing 90+ games this year.

[abuck1220]

i'm not super opposed soriano's deal, but it's thinking like this that makes me doubt hendry...

 

In a sane world, eight years is obviously way too many for a guy who will be 38 by the end of that deal. But in this case, "it wasn't like we did 136," Hendry said, "and everyone else was at 105."

[Rob]

The key to Cubs success is going to be the health of Mark Prior, IMO. If he is healthy to the point where he can go out and pitch every 5th day then I think the Cubs are the team in the NL central.

 

The NL as a whole is not very good. There is not one team in the NL that scares me. Mets are going to have rotation problems, the Cards took a step back in their efforts to repeat, Houston lost Andy and Roger, the Padres have a hole at 3b and at the back end of the rotation. I don't see why the Cubs could not represent the NL in the World Series this year. Obviously health is going to play a major factor for them, but I still think they have the most depth in their bullpen and rotation than any other team in the NL this season.

 

I'd agree to the fact that Prior's health is intergral to our chances (yet again), but I'd also like to point out that we are rather heavily relying on Hill to perform like he did after his last callup.

[goonys evil twin]

Pretty good article.

 

I think we're in pretty good shape offensively, even if we aren't in the elite. Our pitching should be solid, but not spectacular.

 

It might take another offseason to get this thing sorted out.

 

We certainly won't be losing 90+ games this year.

 

My opinion is that not losing 90 games took priority over trying to win a World Series. Maybe it's a subtle difference, but it's an issue I have with this management group's philosophy. The whole contend within the division thing, coupled with all the talk of not having a repeat of 2006, makes me question their determination to actually be a great team.

[XZero771679666304]

Pretty good article.

 

I think we're in pretty good shape offensively, even if we aren't in the elite. Our pitching should be solid, but not spectacular.

 

It might take another offseason to get this thing sorted out.

 

We certainly won't be losing 90+ games this year.

 

My opinion is that not losing 90 games took priority over trying to win a World Series. Maybe it's a subtle difference, but it's an issue I have with this management group's philosophy. The whole contend within the division thing, coupled with all the talk of not having a repeat of 2006, makes me question their determination to actually be a great team.

 

Regardless of the intent, I think Hendry did the best he could this offseason. There was just nothing great to be had.

 

It's a crying shame the vault wasn't opened a year or two ago. Even then, it's doubtful Hendry optimizes his spending.

[BigbadB]

The vault has been open for a few years now. However, the spending gives the appearance it was only just opened this year.

 

That's what happens when you give out big contracts to guys like Neifi and Rusch.

[KingCubsFan]

The key to Cubs success is going to be the health of Mark Prior, IMO. If he is healthy to the point where he can go out and pitch every 5th day then I think the Cubs are the team in the NL central.

 

The NL as a whole is not very good. There is not one team in the NL that scares me. Mets are going to have rotation problems, the Cards took a step back in their efforts to repeat, Houston lost Andy and Roger, the Padres have a hole at 3b and at the back end of the rotation. I don't see why the Cubs could not represent the NL in the World Series this year. Obviously health is going to play a major factor for them, but I still think they have the most depth in their bullpen and rotation than any other team in the NL this season.

 

I'd agree to the fact that Prior's health is intergral to our chances (yet again), but I'd also like to point out that we are rather heavily relying on Hill to perform like he did after his last callup.

Agreed. To me, Hill is the key to the season. He has the chance to be a legitimate #2. If he fails, and Prior is not healthy (which at this point should be the assumption), we could be in trouble

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Well, a little more on the Soriano deal...

 

That click would have meant zilch, though, if it hadn't been accompanied by the $136 million the Cubs eventually attached to it. Initially, they offered $122 million for seven years. Then, when they became convinced the Angels or Dodgers or someone else would have had no problem offering an eighth year, the Cubs went to eight and $136M.

 

 

So, it appears that the Cubs originally tried a 7/122 deal instead of an 8/136.

[Abe Frohman]

Can you imagine how good the Cubs will be if Floyd is somewhat healthy? That's a legitimate #5 hitter. And what if Prior can find a way to make 30 starts?

 

We have plenty of depth on the bench, a pretty solid infield, and a possibly good rotation. Lots of "ifs," but we could have a pretty nice team here.

 

Who knows if a trade can be pulled off for a better shortstop. We have the outfielders to dispose of.

[goonys evil twin]

Can you imagine how good the Cubs will be if Floyd is somewhat healthy? That's a legitimate #5 hitter. And what if Prior can find a way to make 30 starts?

 

We have plenty of depth on the bench, a pretty solid infield, and a possibly good rotation. Lots of "ifs," but we could have a pretty nice team here.

 

Who knows if a trade can be pulled off for a better shortstop. We have the outfielders to dispose of.

 

A somewhat healthy Floyd really won't help all that much, because that would just be replacing Murton and not all that special. A very healthy Floyd could help a lot, but again, if that just puts Murton on the bench, it doesn't help a lot. But Lou said he's got Jones penciled in as his 5th hitter already.

[KingCubsFan]

Can you imagine how good the Cubs will be if Floyd is somewhat healthy? That's a legitimate #5 hitter. And what if Prior can find a way to make 30 starts?

 

We have plenty of depth on the bench, a pretty solid infield, and a possibly good rotation. Lots of "ifs," but we could have a pretty nice team here.

 

Who knows if a trade can be pulled off for a better shortstop. We have the outfielders to dispose of.

 

A somewhat healthy Floyd really won't help all that much, because that would just be replacing Murton and not all that special. A very healthy Floyd could help a lot, but again, if that just puts Murton on the bench, it doesn't help a lot. But Lou said he's got Jones penciled in as his 5th hitter already.

Hopefully that means Murton is the #2

[RichHillIsABeast]

Can you imagine how good the Cubs will be if Floyd is somewhat healthy? That's a legitimate #5 hitter. And what if Prior can find a way to make 30 starts?

 

We have plenty of depth on the bench, a pretty solid infield, and a possibly good rotation. Lots of "ifs," but we could have a pretty nice team here.

 

Who knows if a trade can be pulled off for a better shortstop. We have the outfielders to dispose of.

 

A somewhat healthy Floyd really won't help all that much, because that would just be replacing Murton and not all that special. A very healthy Floyd could help a lot, but again, if that just puts Murton on the bench, it doesn't help a lot. But Lou said he's got Jones penciled in as his 5th hitter already.

Hopefully that means Murton is the #2

 

Izturis or DeRosa is batting 2nd according to Lou.

[BigbadB]

DeRosa I would be okay with. If it's Izturis, just shoot me now.

[CubinNY]

Can you imagine how good the Cubs will be if Floyd is somewhat healthy? That's a legitimate #5 hitter. And what if Prior can find a way to make 30 starts?

 

We have plenty of depth on the bench, a pretty solid infield, and a possibly good rotation. Lots of "ifs," but we could have a pretty nice team here.

 

Who knows if a trade can be pulled off for a better shortstop. We have the outfielders to dispose of.

 

A somewhat healthy Floyd really won't help all that much, because that would just be replacing Murton and not all that special. A very healthy Floyd could help a lot, but again, if that just puts Murton on the bench, it doesn't help a lot. But Lou said he's got Jones penciled in as his 5th hitter already.

Hopefully that means Murton is the #2

 

This Murton thing is already bothering me quite a bit.

 

I hope he's not the 4th outfielder.

[CUBZ99]

Hendry has been on the record in the past stating that he would reserve part of his payroll in order to fill holes mid-season. I wonder if he abandoned that practice this year accounting for the slight increase in payroll.

 

As last year proved, you can't always rely on being able to acquire a player through trade mid season.

[RichHillIsABeast]

DeRosa I would be okay with. If it's Izturis, just shoot me now.

 

If Izturis is putting up the ol' .300 OBP line, I doubt he stays in the 2 hole. We have Lou, not Dusty. :D I'd be pretty bummed about Izzy in the 2 hole as well.

 

Hopefully the Cubs scouts are right about DeRosa.

[soccer10k]

Can Murton play shortstop? :D

[Connor McConnor]

Prior? Even when he was "healthy"....the last few years....he has been very average. Whatever happened....I dont know....but the "Prior as Saviour" idea.....died a few years ago. I think most fans haved moved on....its the smart thing to do.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Prior? Even when he was "healthy"....the last few years....he has been very average.

 

Sorry, you're wrong.