Rozner: $15 million payroll bump

[don_kessinger_was_good]

$15MM payroll bump.....sounds to me like my #1 target would fit in nicely with the Cubs plans. Sweet.

 

FUKUDOME

 

Bat him LEADOFF, move Lee up to SECOND, then hit Aramis 3rd and Alfonso 4th. They'll have a field day driving in runs. Bat Soto and DeRosa 5th and 6th behind them, decent protection from those bats. I like it.

 

No offense to Mr. Fukudome, he may turn out great. But I'd be fairly disappointed if the Cubs committed their entire payroll increase to a mystery man from Japan.

 

I know numbers are good, but that is far from a guarantee as we have seen with others.

 

I don't think DKWG is suggesting they spend $15m on Fukudome. I would imagine the rest would be spent upgrading pitching and or bench help.

 

Fukudome + Kuroda is what I'd like to see. Dump Dempster and Jones and see if the Cubs can recover half ($5MM) of their combined 2008 salary commitment. Cubs will also need a lefty reliever (I assume they want to get rid of Ohman), and a 7th inning man if Wood isn't brought back. They have Murton, Marshall and one of Theriot or Cedeno to use in trades to fill these remaining holes.

 

If the Cubs do bring in Fukudome, I'm more than content to let Felix Pie learn on the job in CF while batting 7th or 8th.

 

The last piece could be Tejada, but that would push the budget beyond where I think it could reasonably go. About the only hope there would be if someone like Marquis or Eyre could be moved.

 

I don't think there's any chance the Cubs will be out-bidding the two LA teams for A-Rod.

[don_kessinger_was_good]

$15MM payroll bump.....sounds to me like my #1 target would fit in nicely with the Cubs plans. Sweet.

 

FUKUDOME

 

Bat him LEADOFF, move Lee up to SECOND, then hit Aramis 3rd and Alfonso 4th. They'll have a field day driving in runs. Bat Soto and DeRosa 5th and 6th behind them, decent protection from those bats. I like it.

 

Fukudome isnt going to hit more than fifteen HRs a year hear. He's probably more Mark Kotsay than Grady Sizemore. The money would be better spent on a quality SS: Miguel Tejada. An OF of Jones - Soriano - Pie would be good defensively and would be serviceable offensively. Our money would be better spent getting the out-enigma that is Ryan Theriot out of the lineup.

 

HRs aren't everything--and I agree, Fukudome in the big leagues could easily be no more than a 10-15 HR guy. Big deal. Kenny Lofton hit that level of HRs at the peak of his career, too.

 

OTOH, Fukudome has everything the Cubs need, he is a PERFECT fit for this team. He hits for lower BA than Ichiro (300), but has much better plate discipline, so the OBP is just as high (400). He has gap power, so his SLG is strong (500) despite the modest HR totals. He can run some, and by all accounts has a cannon for an arm. Who will be dumb enough to run on the Cubs with an OF of Soriano, Pie and Fukudome? And finally, he adds balance to the batting lineup with a LH bat, and he doesn't strike out much, either.

 

GET HIM.

[NCCubFan]

and this is where the $2.5 mil for blanco, $3-4 mil for eyre, etc really comes back to bite you.

 

there's not really anyone worth spending $15 mil on, so you might as well pony up an extra $10 or so and get arod.

I'll happily donate $10 myself if it means getting Arod. :D Yes, I know you actually meant $10 million.

[Mephistopheles]

$15MM payroll bump.....sounds to me like my #1 target would fit in nicely with the Cubs plans. Sweet.

 

FUKUDOME

 

Bat him LEADOFF, move Lee up to SECOND, then hit Aramis 3rd and Alfonso 4th. They'll have a field day driving in runs. Bat Soto and DeRosa 5th and 6th behind them, decent protection from those bats. I like it.

 

Fukudome isnt going to hit more than fifteen HRs a year hear. He's probably more Mark Kotsay than Grady Sizemore. The money would be better spent on a quality SS: Miguel Tejada. An OF of Jones - Soriano - Pie would be good defensively and would be serviceable offensively. Our money would be better spent getting the out-enigma that is Ryan Theriot out of the lineup.

 

HRs aren't everything--and I agree, Fukudome in the big leagues could easily be no more than a 10-15 HR guy. Big deal. Kenny Lofton hit that level of HRs at the peak of his career, too.

 

OTOH, Fukudome has everything the Cubs need, he is a PERFECT fit for this team. He hits for lower BA than Ichiro (300), but has much better plate discipline, so the OBP is just as high (400). He has gap power, so his SLG is strong (500) despite the modest HR totals. He can run some, and by all accounts has a cannon for an arm. Who will be dumb enough to run on the Cubs with an OF of Soriano, Pie and Fukudome? And finally, he adds balance to the batting lineup with a LH bat, and he doesn't strike out much, either.

 

GET HIM.

 

i know exactly who he is, what he has done and what he is capable of doing. don't lecture me on him. like i said hes pretty much mark kotsay ie .275/.360/.450 CFer w/ decent defense. that's not an insult, but I think the Cubs would gain more upgrading at SS over Theriot than Fukudome over Jonesy in CF. Heck he probably is NOT an upgrade over Murton at all.

 

An OF of Soriano - Fukudome - Jones wouldn't outproduce an OF of Soriano - Jones - Murton by more than a handful of runs. Certainly not Fukudome's price.

 

Offensively Murton's probably a safer bet than Fukudome and their upside is about the same. Both guys are .360/.450 guys.

[badnews]

I'm not ecstatic about selling these guys at the bottom of their value. If Dempster comes back with a solid season he could net the team a draft pick considering his save totals in 2006. What is he going to be traded for? Did the Angels get anything for Kevin Gregg? No. Are a lot of these guys even tradeable without eating salary? It doesn't seem like it.

 

Yeah, that argument looks weak even to me (but hey, I didn't say anything about Dempster being a funny guy in the clubhouse, +1 for me) but I still think selling at dead bottom value is a disturbing trend with this team. Most of this is probably not likely to happen anyway, isn't Hendry in love with Jeremy Affeldt and wants to sign him or something? I heard that somewhere, no idea if it's reliable.

 

Speaking of Fukudome, anyone else not thrilled with the meant-to-be-complimentary adjective "gap power?" Has "gap power" ever been applied to a good player?

[Mephistopheles]

Yes gap power can be good as long as it isnt 5 HR gap power and is 15-20 HR gap power, like again, Mark Kotsay.

[badnews]

In my experience gap power is too often used as a euphemism for guys with not enough power.

 

Nobody seems to have a good idea what Fukudome will cost. A lot of money for Mark Kotsay numbers is a bad idea. He's got a career .753 OPS, and a career .123 Isolated Power. Matt Murton could put up a .123 Isolated Power and a .753 OPS. Heck, I think Jones or Floyd could do that. Ryan Church, Freddy Sanchez, Aaron Hill, Yuniesky Betancourt, these guys have what is often termed "gap power," we need better hitters than these guys, or at least, we need to not pay them a lot.

[nilodnayr]

Yeah, "gap power" means doesn't hit the ball hard enough to get out of the park. No gaps in the stands.

[nilodnayr]

$15MM payroll bump.....sounds to me like my #1 target would fit in nicely with the Cubs plans. Sweet.

 

FUKUDOME

 

Bat him LEADOFF, move Lee up to SECOND, then hit Aramis 3rd and Alfonso 4th. They'll have a field day driving in runs. Bat Soto and DeRosa 5th and 6th behind them, decent protection from those bats. I like it.

 

Fukudome isnt going to hit more than fifteen HRs a year hear. He's probably more Mark Kotsay than Grady Sizemore. The money would be better spent on a quality SS: Miguel Tejada. An OF of Jones - Soriano - Pie would be good defensively and would be serviceable offensively. Our money would be better spent getting the out-enigma that is Ryan Theriot out of the lineup.

 

HRs aren't everything--and I agree, Fukudome in the big leagues could easily be no more than a 10-15 HR guy. Big deal. Kenny Lofton hit that level of HRs at the peak of his career, too.

 

OTOH, Fukudome has everything the Cubs need, he is a PERFECT fit for this team. He hits for lower BA than Ichiro (300), but has much better plate discipline, so the OBP is just as high (400). He has gap power, so his SLG is strong (500) despite the modest HR totals. He can run some, and by all accounts has a cannon for an arm. Who will be dumb enough to run on the Cubs with an OF of Soriano, Pie and Fukudome? And finally, he adds balance to the batting lineup with a LH bat, and he doesn't strike out much, either.

 

GET HIM.

 

i know exactly who he is, what he has done and what he is capable of doing. don't lecture me on him. like i said hes pretty much mark kotsay ie .275/.360/.450 CFer w/ decent defense. that's not an insult, but I think the Cubs would gain more upgrading at SS over Theriot than Fukudome over Jonesy in CF. Heck he probably is NOT an upgrade over Murton at all.

 

An OF of Soriano - Fukudome - Jones wouldn't outproduce an OF of Soriano - Jones - Murton by more than a handful of runs. Certainly not Fukudome's price.

 

Offensively Murton's probably a safer bet than Fukudome and their upside is about the same. Both guys are .360/.450 guys.

 

Meph, isn't patience a skill that doesn't translate that well between Japan and the majors? The last three years in Japan, Hideki averaged over a .120 IsoD. Hes never eclipsed 100 in the majors and has averaged .076.