You're the New GM

[Hosak8]

I would trim the following "fat" ASAP

 

Jacque Jones

Cesar Izturis

Scott Eyre

 

Recall Pie, Fontenot, and another arm from AAA

 

Then I would look to move Zambrano by the deadline for the best package available.

 

I would name Weurtz my closer.

 

I would move Soriano to RF, and install Murton as my full time LF. Then after the 07 season I would decide whether to stick with him, or look for more of a power bat.

 

I would consider moving D. Lee to 2nd in the order if his HR's dont pick up.

 

It wouldn't be your job as GM to decide where Lee hits. That's the managers job.

 

Who is the manager's boss again?

 

Weak point. Not relevant.

 

BOOOOOOO

[Backtobanks]

Without putting a ton of thought into it...

 

1) If Teixeira is truly on the block, get him. If you need to do something similar to Z for Tex(both would be traded for fear of not extending them, so conditions would be made so both would need to be extended by their new teams), then do that. If they would rather take a combination of prospects/non-superstars, then do that.

 

2) Make a deal with the Angels. If we've dealt Zambrano for Tex, then use Murton to get a SP or a SS prospect.

 

For the sake of simplicity, let's say that we send Pie, Gallagher, and one of our failed high ceiling guys(Pawelek, Dopirak, Harvey) for Teixeira. As for Anaheim, let's say that we send Zambrano and Murton for Wood, Santana/Weaver, and Mathis. I think it's fair that we're sending a premium for Texas's top player, and that we're getting back a premium for our top player plus a young outfielder.

 

3) Send Blanco to a contender for a minor leaguer. Potential destinations include the White Sox, Tigers, and Yankees. We don't expect much in return besides salary relief, a low minors guy with at least a little promise works.

 

4) We need a center fielder. With the amount of money we have available to spend up in the air, and the fact that the previous moves don't exactly scream "win now", I say we send Dayton Moore an arm(nothing top of the line) for Joey Gathright. He's not going to hit a ton, but he'll take a walk, has the minor league history to be passable offensively with his SB ability, is one of the best defensive CFs around, and won't be arbitration eligible for the first time until after 2008.

 

5) If at any point Scott Eyre or Jacque Jones play well enough that we can trade them without paying them to leave, or we can get something relatively useful for them, then do it.

 

6) Barrett, Izturis, Floyd, and Ward are not brought back. Arbitration is offered to Barrett and maybe Floyd

 

So, we end up with:

 

Soriano RF

EPatt/DeRosa platoon 2B

Lee 1B

Teixeira LF

Ramirez 3B

Barrett C (Wood hits here in '08, playing SS)

Wood SS (Mathis/Soto combo hits here in '08, playing C)

Gathright CF

 

Hill, Lilly, Santana/Weaver, Marquis, Marshall/Guzman/Marmol/Veal('08 possibility)

 

Dempster closes, Wuertz and Guzman set him up, Howry and Marmol in middle relief, with Ohman as LOOGY and Eyre as long man. If Guzman or Marmol end up in the rotation for 2008 they are obviously no longer in the bullpen.

 

Trans, you have the right idea as to what I was seeking in this discussion. Many of the posters suggested trades that wouldn't make the Cubs winners this year or next, but possibly further down the line. I'm not sure your suggestions would put them in the playoffs, but it would certainly give the team a new look. The proposed roster looks like they could contend in 2008.

[rawaction]

This is a tough place to take over as GM. The Cubs are still in it. Milwaukee has shown their start may be a fluke as they have gone 3-10 in their last 13, and they have played the same schedule as the Cubs (exception being Minn for them, CWS for Cubs). Of course, the Cubs have only gone 4-7 against the same group.

 

I think most of the problem with this team is putting people in the right places. The personnel is there, just not being used correctly. The Cubs have a starting CF in AAA who can easily outproduce the guy(s) starting in the majors. They have a backup catcher who can easily outproduce the current backup. They have a 5th hitter hitting leadoff. A top of the order hitter, batting 6th or on the bench. They have another one who hasn't played recently. They have an 6th man in the pen, who's the 5th best starting pitcher on the roster.

 

Without making any trades, the Cubs could have a roster of:

 

Lineup: SS-Theriot, RF-Murton, 1B-Lee, 3B-Ramirez, LF-Soriano, C-Barrett, 2B-Derosa, CF-Pie

 

Bench: Floyd, Izturis, Ward, Fontenot (I hate having 1 backup IF and 12 pitchers), Soto, Pagan

 

Rotation: Zambrano, Hill, Marquis, Lilly, Guzman

 

Bullpen: Dempster (who's been good in the closer's role), Wuertz, Howry, Ohman, Cotts, Marmol

 

Eyre, Jones, Blanco don't justify being on the roster when cheaper more productive options are around.

 

You could even argue for Eric Patterson to start at 2B with Derosa on the bench.

[rawaction]

FWIW, if the Cubs are out of it in a couple months, I would put any and everybody on the block. Soriano, would probably be untradeable. But I'd imagine both LA teams would give up an absolute fortune for either Lee or Ramirez, though I doubt I'd trade both. There would be a ton of teams after Zambrano, though I would have to be wowed to give him up. Barrett would garner a lot of interest. Oakland and Arizona are 2 teams with horrible C situations who are competing in balanced divisions.

 

My poor attempts at trades would be:

 

-Zambrano and Holliman to Texas for Teixeira and a P prospect

-Aramis and Jones to the Angels for Ervin Santana and Brandon Wood

-Lee and DeRosa to LA for Laroche, Billingsley, and Kemp

-Barrett to Oakland for Marcus MacBeth (RP)

-Also trade relievers (Dempster, Howry) for prospects, probably guys who won't make a difference.

 

Team:

2B-Patterson

3B-LaRoche

LF-Soriano

1B-Teixeira

RF-Kemp

SS-Wood

CF-Pie

C- FA signing

 

Rotation: Hill, E Santana, Lilly, Marquis, Billingsley

 

Bullpen: Wuertz, MacBeth, Ohman, Cherry, Rapada, Guzman-CL

[killthegoat06]

Trade DLee and ARAM for St. Louis's 2006 pennant.

[Amazing_Grace]

I think the first thing I'd do is concede that the season is lost. Trading Zambrano becomes the obvious choice in that case. The key would be to get a pitcher who is young, cheap, and likely to be effective so the Cubs wouldn't have to spend money on another FA pitcher. I'd like to see Zambrano and Jacque Jones for Philip Hughes + other prospects if the Yankees would bite. There is one big name FA this offseason that will have a huge impact on whatever franchise he signs with, Miguel Cabrera. I think the Cubs use the money they would have thrown at Z to go after Cabrera. If necessary, I'd even deal Ramirez to free up more cash, hopefully for a good to decent RF or catcher. Beyond that, it would depend on who's available this offseason.

 

3 things:

 

1) With Milwaukee playing so poorly, it seems a bit premature to give up on the season right now. If the Cubs bullpen shakes out a little bit of the dead weight and they put the arms in the proper order, this team will be right in it.

2) Cabrera is not a free agent until after the 2009 season.

3) Aramis has a NTC.

 

Oops. I didn't realize that about Cabrera. So he still has 2 years of arbi after this. Well, the Cubs probably won't be able to match some other teams in terms of putting together a trade package *cough*Anaheim*cough*. Aramis would probably waive his NTC to be traded to a contending team. The Cubs problem historically has been getting guys to waive NTCs to come play here, not the other way around. If the Cubs contend, it will probably be because everyone else is playing the same mediocre around .500 baseball that they are.

[nolanwood]

I don't understand the obsession with trading Z & "fill in the blank" to the Halos for Wood and Santana. Santana's #'s this year would be far worse than anyone in our rotation at the moment, and Wood has been awful this year at AAA Utah. I like Wood, however, I think they're both overrated prospects. If there's not better options out there, we oughta keep Z.

[killthegoat06]

I'd give Scott Eyre a raise.

[Mizzou]

I think the first thing I'd do is concede that the season is lost. Trading Zambrano becomes the obvious choice in that case. The key would be to get a pitcher who is young, cheap, and likely to be effective so the Cubs wouldn't have to spend money on another FA pitcher. I'd like to see Zambrano and Jacque Jones for Philip Hughes + other prospects if the Yankees would bite. There is one big name FA this offseason that will have a huge impact on whatever franchise he signs with, Miguel Cabrera. I think the Cubs use the money they would have thrown at Z to go after Cabrera. If necessary, I'd even deal Ramirez to free up more cash, hopefully for a good to decent RF or catcher. Beyond that, it would depend on who's available this offseason.

5 games back in May and the season is lost? Umm... huh?

[Yeti]

i wouldnt want to be the new GM for this team, too many multi year contracts for too much money on just plain crappy players

[LeftCoastCubFan]

Zambrano isn't going to Texas (at least not in a trade). Just look at the standings.

[HoopsCubs]

After discussing the pros and cons of Hendry, what specific moves can be made to make the 2007 Cubs (or no later than 2008) a playoff team. What realistic trades, signings, and callups can be made? Is it really too late for 2007? Can a championship team be put together for 2008? You get to be the new GM with complete control and a budget in the $100 - $120 million range.

 

I don't think it's too late for 2007. I still believe that the Cubs will win this division if they stay healthy. The division is very weak as we've seen.

 

I see a repeat of the 2003 regular season - Piniella's team will grind it out in the second half and win the Central with less than 90 wins and no more than a 3 game margin.

 

As for GM, it's going to be a tough job. I always approach it from the point of view that next year's payroll will go up by $5M. So, as I see it, the Cubs will have $11M to spend - that's not much wiggle room.

 

Even if the Cubs don't resign Zambrano, Barrett, Izturis, Wood, Miller and Ward, they do still owe hefty raises to Soriano, Ramirez, Lilly, Jones, Dempster, Marquis, DeRosa, Ohman, Eyre and Blanco. Net net is $6M saved. Add in the additional $5M payroll boost, and there's $11M.

 

$11M to spend, but 3 or 4 big holes: SS, C, maybe a starter and maybe a CF (if Pie is not ready). Tough job. Best bet is to trade Jones, Dempster and Eyre. Combined they will make around $15M in 2008 - even if you have to eat $10M of that amount, you still get another $5M to play with.

 

$16M is not great, but it does give a GM a chance to make one major splash and one minor one.

 

Hoops

[seanimal]

After discussing the pros and cons of Hendry, what specific moves can be made to make the 2007 Cubs (or no later than 2008) a playoff team. What realistic trades, signings, and callups can be made? Is it really too late for 2007? Can a championship team be put together for 2008? You get to be the new GM with complete control and a budget in the $100 - $120 million range.

 

I don't think it's too late for 2007. I still believe that the Cubs will win this division if they stay healthy. The division is very weak as we've seen.

 

I see a repeat of the 2003 regular season - Piniella's team will grind it out in the second half and win the Central with less than 90 wins and no more than a 3 game margin.

 

As for GM, it's going to be a tough job. I always approach it from the point of view that next year's payroll will go up by $5M. So, as I see it, the Cubs will have $11M to spend - that's not much wiggle room.

 

Even if the Cubs don't resign Zambrano, Barrett, Izturis, Wood, Miller and Ward, they do still owe hefty raises to Soriano, Ramirez, Lilly, Jones, Dempster, Marquis, DeRosa, Ohman, Eyre and Blanco. Net net is $6M saved. Add in the additional $5M payroll boost, and there's $11M.

 

$11M to spend, but 3 or 4 big holes: SS, C, maybe a starter and maybe a CF (if Pie is not ready). Tough job. Best bet is to trade Jones, Dempster and Eyre. Combined they will make around $15M in 2008 - even if you have to eat $10M of that amount, you still get another $5M to play with.

 

$16M is not great, but it does give a GM a chance to make one major splash and one minor one.

 

Hoops

 

 

I hope you're right, though a playoff berth would have me worried that the new owners would keep Hendry.

[Amazing_Grace]

I think the first thing I'd do is concede that the season is lost. Trading Zambrano becomes the obvious choice in that case. The key would be to get a pitcher who is young, cheap, and likely to be effective so the Cubs wouldn't have to spend money on another FA pitcher. I'd like to see Zambrano and Jacque Jones for Philip Hughes + other prospects if the Yankees would bite. There is one big name FA this offseason that will have a huge impact on whatever franchise he signs with, Miguel Cabrera. I think the Cubs use the money they would have thrown at Z to go after Cabrera. If necessary, I'd even deal Ramirez to free up more cash, hopefully for a good to decent RF or catcher. Beyond that, it would depend on who's available this offseason.

5 games back in May and the season is lost? Umm... huh?

 

5 games back but four games under .500. That's not very good. If we were in any other division, we'd be 6 or more games out with at least 3 teams ahead of us.

[Amazing_Grace]

After discussing the pros and cons of Hendry, what specific moves can be made to make the 2007 Cubs (or no later than 2008) a playoff team. What realistic trades, signings, and callups can be made? Is it really too late for 2007? Can a championship team be put together for 2008? You get to be the new GM with complete control and a budget in the $100 - $120 million range.

 

I don't think it's too late for 2007. I still believe that the Cubs will win this division if they stay healthy. The division is very weak as we've seen.

 

I see a repeat of the 2003 regular season - Piniella's team will grind it out in the second half and win the Central with less than 90 wins and no more than a 3 game margin.

 

As for GM, it's going to be a tough job. I always approach it from the point of view that next year's payroll will go up by $5M. So, as I see it, the Cubs will have $11M to spend - that's not much wiggle room.

 

Even if the Cubs don't resign Zambrano, Barrett, Izturis, Wood, Miller and Ward, they do still owe hefty raises to Soriano, Ramirez, Lilly, Jones, Dempster, Marquis, DeRosa, Ohman, Eyre and Blanco. Net net is $6M saved. Add in the additional $5M payroll boost, and there's $11M.

 

$11M to spend, but 3 or 4 big holes: SS, C, maybe a starter and maybe a CF (if Pie is not ready). Tough job. Best bet is to trade Jones, Dempster and Eyre. Combined they will make around $15M in 2008 - even if you have to eat $10M of that amount, you still get another $5M to play with.

 

$16M is not great, but it does give a GM a chance to make one major splash and one minor one.

 

Hoops

 

The Cubs will need to spend more than 11M to be good in 2008. The whole problem is that someone has to basically undo what Hendry did, and it's going to cost about the same to get out of the mess as it cost to get in the mess in the first place.

 

Personally, I've resigned myself to the fact that the new GM will need at least until after 2009 (when a lot of our big contracts are off the books), before a serious rebuilding can occur. For the Cubs to fix what Hendry's done in 1 or 2 years, they're going to have to push payroll to around 120M. The way I see it, the Cubs need at least one more very good hitter to go with Lee, Ramirez, and Soriano, and that won't come cheap. They also have to maintain the pitching staff at no worse a level than it is right now, which probably means either resigning Z or trading a lot to get a younger player.

 

The best thing the Cubs can do for the future is trade Zambrano during this season for 1 or more pitching prospects, with at least one being ML ready with a fairly high ceiling. If they can keep the cost of the staff down, they can use what cash they have to work on the offense.

[rawaction]

I think the first thing I'd do is concede that the season is lost. Trading Zambrano becomes the obvious choice in that case. The key would be to get a pitcher who is young, cheap, and likely to be effective so the Cubs wouldn't have to spend money on another FA pitcher. I'd like to see Zambrano and Jacque Jones for Philip Hughes + other prospects if the Yankees would bite. There is one big name FA this offseason that will have a huge impact on whatever franchise he signs with, Miguel Cabrera. I think the Cubs use the money they would have thrown at Z to go after Cabrera. If necessary, I'd even deal Ramirez to free up more cash, hopefully for a good to decent RF or catcher. Beyond that, it would depend on who's available this offseason.

5 games back in May and the season is lost? Umm... huh?

 

5 games back but four games under .500. That's not very good. If we were in any other division, we'd be 6 or more games out with at least 3 teams ahead of us.

 

The point is they are not in another division, though. And that's why the Cubs are still contenders. And again, the Cards were not a good team last year, record-wise, but won it all. I don't care how it's done, just get into the playoffs and take your chances.

[Amazing_Grace]

I think the first thing I'd do is concede that the season is lost. Trading Zambrano becomes the obvious choice in that case. The key would be to get a pitcher who is young, cheap, and likely to be effective so the Cubs wouldn't have to spend money on another FA pitcher. I'd like to see Zambrano and Jacque Jones for Philip Hughes + other prospects if the Yankees would bite. There is one big name FA this offseason that will have a huge impact on whatever franchise he signs with, Miguel Cabrera. I think the Cubs use the money they would have thrown at Z to go after Cabrera. If necessary, I'd even deal Ramirez to free up more cash, hopefully for a good to decent RF or catcher. Beyond that, it would depend on who's available this offseason.

5 games back in May and the season is lost? Umm... huh?

 

5 games back but four games under .500. That's not very good. If we were in any other division, we'd be 6 or more games out with at least 3 teams ahead of us.

 

The point is they are not in another division, though. And that's why the Cubs are still contenders. And again, the Cards were not a good team last year, record-wise, but won it all. I don't care how it's done, just get into the playoffs and take your chances.

 

The Cards were the exception and not the rule. If you go back to 1994, the strike year, after which the WC was implemented, only 1 other team won the WS after winning fewer than 90 games in a season. That team was the 2000 Yankees. The Braves won in 1995 with 90 and the Marlins in 2003 with 1991. Running the team to "just get in the playoffs" and hope isn't a good long-term strategy. The division won't be weak forever and even this season Milwaukee could still easily run away with it. They've lost what, 6 straight, and the Cubs have made up just a couple games.

[wilk]

I think the first thing I'd do is concede that the season is lost.

Running the team to "just get in the playoffs" and hope isn't a good long-term strategy. The division won't be weak forever and even this season Milwaukee could still easily run away with it.

 

There's a heck of a lot of room between a long term many-year plan of leaving the team precisely as it is in "hope" that they "just make the playoffs" and conceding the season on May 28th because we're in 2nd place and five games out. Give me a break!

What's with the hyperbole here? Yes, Milwaukee could easily run away with it if you decide to just cross your arms, stomp your feet, and give up when you have 70% of the season left to make up 5 games from second place...

[rawaction]

I think the first thing I'd do is concede that the season is lost. Trading Zambrano becomes the obvious choice in that case. The key would be to get a pitcher who is young, cheap, and likely to be effective so the Cubs wouldn't have to spend money on another FA pitcher. I'd like to see Zambrano and Jacque Jones for Philip Hughes + other prospects if the Yankees would bite. There is one big name FA this offseason that will have a huge impact on whatever franchise he signs with, Miguel Cabrera. I think the Cubs use the money they would have thrown at Z to go after Cabrera. If necessary, I'd even deal Ramirez to free up more cash, hopefully for a good to decent RF or catcher. Beyond that, it would depend on who's available this offseason.

5 games back in May and the season is lost? Umm... huh?

 

5 games back but four games under .500. That's not very good. If we were in any other division, we'd be 6 or more games out with at least 3 teams ahead of us.

 

The point is they are not in another division, though. And that's why the Cubs are still contenders. And again, the Cards were not a good team last year, record-wise, but won it all. I don't care how it's done, just get into the playoffs and take your chances.

 

The Cards were the exception and not the rule. If you go back to 1994, the strike year, after which the WC was implemented, only 1 other team won the WS after winning fewer than 90 games in a season. That team was the 2000 Yankees. The Braves won in 1995 with 90 and the Marlins in 2003 with 1991. Running the team to "just get in the playoffs" and hope isn't a good long-term strategy. The division won't be weak forever and even this season Milwaukee could still easily run away with it. They've lost what, 6 straight, and the Cubs have made up just a couple games.

 

Again, that's not the point. I'm not talking about long-term. I'm talking about this year. The goal should be to win a WS. Can't do that without making the playoffs. The closest thing to a guaranteed playoff berth is 100 wins. So, a team should be built with the goal of winning 100 games, if you have a competitive payroll. If you aren't gonna win 100 as the Cubs obviously are not, then you just have to be better than your competition in the current year. If that means 80 wins, then that works. But I agree if you are shooting for 81-83 wins every year (which the Cubs have seemingly done forever), then there is a problem. 9 times out of 10 that's not gonna get it done.

[soccer10k]

The Cards were the exception and not the rule. If you go back to 1994, the strike year, after which the WC was implemented, only 1 other team won the WS after winning fewer than 90 games in a season. That team was the 2000 Yankees. The Braves won in 1995 with 90 and the Marlins in 2003 with 1991. Running the team to "just get in the playoffs" and hope isn't a good long-term strategy. The division won't be weak forever and even this season Milwaukee could still easily run away with it. They've lost what, 6 straight, and the Cubs have made up just a couple games.

 

That's a lot of wins for one year. :D