Interest in Carl Crawford?

[CubColtPacer]

How Carl Crawford become so overrated is beyond me.

 

He is an 820 OPS player who does provide a decent amount of value with his steals because of his 85 percent success rate. He also is just entering his prime and there are indications in his numbers that Tropicana is hurting his production. Overrated? Maybe a little. Everything about him suggests though that he should have a very good prime of his career at a team friendly contract, and moving him out of Tampa Bay should only help that production.

 

BTW, I don't ever think he'll be a superstar, but he's a valuable guy to have around. He should be able to be in right field as well which would make his value higher.

Edited November 13, 2007 by CubColtPacer

[jersey cubs fan]

Carl Crawford is what he is. He isn't going to morph into a 30-35 HR guy. His OBP willl always be driven by his average. He has some nice qualities, but I'm not going to trade anything of high value for him.

 

He just turned 26. Guys who are currently just 26 tend to become a little more than what they have been before that age. I would guess he could easily morph into a 25-30 HR hitter, given his age, and he could very easily surpass 30 once or twice in his career. His OBP is AVG driven, and that's his biggest weakness. I'm not sure why anybody would flinch at trading "anything of high value". I wouldn't throw the farm at him, no way. Cabrera is the type of franchise player you throw the farm at. But there's nothing wrong with giving up considerable value for a guy like Crawford.

[jersey cubs fan]

He'll probably be outproducing Soriano within a couple years at most.

 

Although, thats going to be just as much of Sorianos fault as it is Crawfords.

 

Perhaps. But not necessarily. Soriano had an OPS+ of 123 this year, while Crawford was 117. Given their ages, it wouldn't be a stretch to see Soriano plateau around 123 (very productive but not high enough to justify his salary) with Crawford eclipsing that mark as soon as 2008. It wouldn't take a hell of a lot to have that happen. And while Soriano would be overpaid for that production, Crawford would look relatively cheap.

[GoCubsGo1679625768]

BTW, I don't ever think he'll be a superstar, but he's a valuable guy to have around. He should be able to be in right field as well which would make his value higher.

 

Fair enough...sometimes the analysis on him gets way overblown though.

[HoopsCubs]

Carl Crawford is what he is. He isn't going to morph into a 30-35 HR guy. His OBP willl always be driven by his average. He has some nice qualities, but I'm not going to trade anything of high value for him.

 

He just turned 26. Guys who are currently just 26 tend to become a little more than what they have been before that age. I would guess he could easily morph into a 25-30 HR hitter, given his age, and he could very easily surpass 30 once or twice in his career. His OBP is AVG driven, and that's his biggest weakness. I'm not sure why anybody would flinch at trading "anything of high value". I wouldn't throw the farm at him, no way. Cabrera is the type of franchise player you throw the farm at. But there's nothing wrong with giving up considerable value for a guy like Crawford.

 

If the Cubs are thinking about trading Hill for Crawford, they may also be thinking about signing a free agent pitcher to take Hill's place in the rotation.

[nilodnayr]

If I'm Andrew Friedman, Hendry won't be able to get ahold of me because I'll be on the line with Ned Colletti.

[YearofDaCubs]

Carl Crawford is what he is. He isn't going to morph into a 30-35 HR guy. His OBP willl always be driven by his average. He has some nice qualities, but I'm not going to trade anything of high value for him.

 

He just turned 26. Guys who are currently just 26 tend to become a little more than what they have been before that age. I would guess he could easily morph into a 25-30 HR hitter, given his age, and he could very easily surpass 30 once or twice in his career. His OBP is AVG driven, and that's his biggest weakness. I'm not sure why anybody would flinch at trading "anything of high value". I wouldn't throw the farm at him, no way. Cabrera is the type of franchise player you throw the farm at. But there's nothing wrong with giving up considerable value for a guy like Crawford.

 

If the Cubs are thinking about trading Hill for Crawford, they may also be thinking about signing a free agent pitcher to take Hill's place in the rotation.

What would you guys choose?

 

Crawford, and Silva or Hill, and Fukodome? This is of course hypothetical.

[nilodnayr]

BTW, I don't ever think he'll be a superstar, but he's a valuable guy to have around. He should be able to be in right field as well which would make his value higher.

 

Fair enough...sometimes the analysis on him gets way overblown though.

 

Count me in CCP's court as well...except I'd play him in CF.

[CubColtPacer]

BTW, I don't ever think he'll be a superstar, but he's a valuable guy to have around. He should be able to be in right field as well which would make his value higher.

 

Fair enough...sometimes the analysis on him gets way overblown though.

 

Count me in CCP's court as well...except I'd play him in CF.

 

If the Cubs trade Pie, I'd play Crawford in CF as well. He certainly has the speed to play the position at Wrigley.

[HoopsCubs]

What would you guys choose?

 

Crawford, and Silva or Hill, and Fukodome? This is of course hypothetical.

 

Silva crossed my mind only because some rumor mills have linked him to the Cubs.

But, instead of committing 4 years and ~$40M to Silva, I wonder if Hendry might target a 1 year deal on a guy like Andy Pettitte.

[UMFan83]

Carl Crawford would be the best player on the Cubs for the next 5 years (minimum) if he gets to the north side. The guy is an incredible athlete who completely changes the game with his speed. He's a rich man's Juan Pierre. Rickey Henderson comparisons aren't that big of a stretch in my opinion.

 

I'd give up any 3 players outside of Zambrano, Lee, and Ramirez for him. (Hill, Marmol, Pie MIGHT be the only exception).

 

Rickey Henderson career OBP: .401

Carl Crawford career OBP: .331

 

This was one of the biggest parts of Henderson's game. Crawford is NOT Rickey

[Bote McBoteface]

Ignore this.

[apete6]

Carl Crawford would be the best player on the Cubs for the next 5 years (minimum) if he gets to the north side.

 

Are we trading D. Lee, Aram, Soriano, and Zambrano?

 

You're right, Zambrano of the over 4.00 ERA (Hell, Lilly was better than him last year), DLee of the 20 homers and declining skill set, Soriano of the terrible defense (assists are a product of everyone thinking you suck and can't catch the ball) and awful RBI and OBP numbers for $136M. Ramirez is the only one who you could really argue.

The guy is an incredible athlete who completely changes the game with his speed.

Please explain this

Just look at last year when Soriano got on and was useless because his leg was hurt. Also, how many DPs did we ground into in the playoffs because we had no one who could steal besides Theriot (who was never really on base a whole lot)

He's a rich man's Juan Pierre.

Is that a compliment?

Um, yeah. For as much as we all hated 4-3 when he was here. Imagine if he was actually able to hit for power AND steal as many bases, only in like 75% of the attempts. Oh ya, and if Pierre didn't have a noodle arm in the outfield. That guy would have been a pretty damn good player...and very Carl Crawford like.

 

Rickey Henderson comparisons aren't that big of a stretch in my opinion.

oh yes..they are.

 

You're right, he's not going to be Rickey Henderson, but he's also 26 YEARS OLD and signed to a team friendly contract for a decent amount of time.

 

But, you're right, we should spend $50 million more to get a Japanese guy who could be a total bust or could be average (besides Ichiro, which Japanese player has been a superstar?) Matsui has been very good, but he was also the BEST player in Japan for a while...and he's helped by batting 6th on the Yankees.

[Derwood]

trading Hill doesn't mean a new starter, re: Dempster to rotation. you'd still have Z/Lilly/Marquis/Dempster/Marshall

[moorecg]

trading Hill doesn't mean a new starter, re: Dempster to rotation. you'd still have Z/Lilly/Marquis/Dempster/Marshall

 

 

OK, maybe not to start the season...but unless Prior is resigned and he's back to form, that's a down right awful playoff rotation if we were ever to make it that far.

[javy knows my name]

Carl Crawford would be the best player on the Cubs for the next 5 years (minimum) if he gets to the north side.

 

Are we trading D. Lee, Aram, Soriano, and Zambrano?

 

You're right, Zambrano of the over 4.00 ERA (Hell, Lilly was better than him last year), DLee of the 20 homers and declining skill set, Soriano of the terrible defense (assists are a product of everyone thinking you suck and can't catch the ball) and awful RBI and OBP numbers for $136M. Ramirez is the only one who you could really argue.

The guy is an incredible athlete who completely changes the game with his speed.

Please explain this

Just look at last year when Soriano got on and was useless because his leg was hurt. Also, how many DPs did we ground into in the playoffs because we had no one who could steal besides Theriot (who was never really on base a whole lot)

He's a rich man's Juan Pierre.

Is that a compliment?

Um, yeah. For as much as we all hated 4-3 when he was here. Imagine if he was actually able to hit for power AND steal as many bases, only in like 75% of the attempts. Oh ya, and if Pierre didn't have a noodle arm in the outfield. That guy would have been a pretty damn good player...and very Carl Crawford like.

 

Rickey Henderson comparisons aren't that big of a stretch in my opinion.

oh yes..they are.

 

You're right, he's not going to be Rickey Henderson, but he's also 26 YEARS OLD and signed to a team friendly contract for a decent amount of time.

 

But, you're right, we should spend $50 million more to get a Japanese guy who could be a total bust or could be average (besides Ichiro, which Japanese player has been a superstar?) Matsui has been very good, but he was also the BEST player in Japan for a while...and he's helped by batting 6th on the Yankees.

 

Soriano of the terrible defense (assists are a product of everyone thinking you suck and can't catch the ball)

Oh, man. :-s

 

 

 

 

 

OH MAN :shock:

Soriano of the terrible defense (assists are a product of everyone thinking you suck and can't catch the ball)

Shoot, there it is again...

Oh, man.

This makes me think you don't like Soriano that much. Why else would you say something so uninformed?

Edited November 13, 2007 by Castro's Spray Chart

[Tracer Bullet]

trading Hill doesn't mean a new starter, re: Dempster to rotation. you'd still have Z/Lilly/Marquis/Dempster/Marshall

 

 

OK, maybe not to start the season...but unless Prior is resigned and he's back to form, that's a down right awful playoff rotation if we were ever to make it that far.

 

Not a real good regular season rotation either...or at least not a good bet to be a very good one.

[Mephistopheles]

lol at the Rich Hill, Ronny Cedeno and Matt Murton idea.

 

The Cubs would go with who as the number five? I don't even want to know. Our pitching would suck next season. I think I TB deal is coming soon. They need a SS. We traded for a SS. Ronny Cedeno --> TB has to be in the works. Please be Pie and not Hill. It's not worth making the deal if we trade probably our best pitcher for what would be our fourth best offensive player who is no better than Matt Murton on offense. A guy in the trade...

[Vinestal]

lol at the Rich Hill, Ronny Cedeno and Matt Murton idea.

 

The Cubs would go with who as the number five? I don't even want to know. Our pitching would suck next season. I think I TB deal is coming soon. They need a SS. We traded for a SS. Ronny Cedeno --> TB has to be in the works. Please be Pie and not Hill. It's not worth making the deal if we trade probably our best pitcher for what would be our fourth best offensive player who is no better than Matt Murton on offense. A guy in the trade...

 

They dont need another outfileder though, they are already overloaded with outfielders.

[abuck1220]

trading Hill doesn't mean a new starter, re: Dempster to rotation. you'd still have Z/Lilly/Marquis/Dempster/Marshall

 

and you'd have a third place team, at best. yuck.

[Mephistopheles]

Then don't do the trade. It's not that hard. If their needs don't match up with ours, then the trade is going to hurt both parties so move on. It isn't rocket science.

[CarolinaCubFan]

Carl Crawford is what he is. He isn't going to morph into a 30-35 HR guy. His OBP willl always be driven by his average. He has some nice qualities, but I'm not going to trade anything of high value for him.

 

He just turned 26. Guys who are currently just 26 tend to become a little more than what they have been before that age. I would guess he could easily morph into a 25-30 HR hitter, given his age, and he could very easily surpass 30 once or twice in his career. His OBP is AVG driven, and that's his biggest weakness. I'm not sure why anybody would flinch at trading "anything of high value". I wouldn't throw the farm at him, no way. Cabrera is the type of franchise player you throw the farm at. But there's nothing wrong with giving up considerable value for a guy like Crawford.

 

I've seen this a couple times, would someone please try to sell me on this. When is being able to put a ball in play, a weakness?

[Mephistopheles]

trading Hill doesn't mean a new starter, re: Dempster to rotation. you'd still have Z/Lilly/Marquis/Dempster/Marshall

 

and you'd have a third place team, at best. yuck.

 

So we'd go from having three guys with sub 4 eras to three guys who routinely have ERAs north of 5. Outstanding idea!

[MSG T]

lol at the Rich Hill, Ronny Cedeno and Matt Murton idea.

 

The Cubs would go with who as the number five? I don't even want to know. Our pitching would suck next season. I think I TB deal is coming soon. They need a SS. We traded for a SS. Ronny Cedeno --> TB has to be in the works. Please be Pie and not Hill. It's not worth making the deal if we trade probably our best pitcher for what would be our fourth best offensive player who is no better than Matt Murton on offense. A guy in the trade...

 

Meph, not saying it would happen, but how would this lineup perform:

 

Crawford CF

Murton RF

Lee 1B

Ramirez 3B

Soriano LF

DeRo 2B

Soto C

Infante SS

Pitcher

 

Just a ballpark estimate is good. I can't run the numbers the way you can.

 

I really don't think they'd go this route, particularly having Murton in everyday, but it looks to be at least a minor upgrade from last year.

[PrimeTime]

Just browsing through message boards and seen this....

 

Apparently, Tampa Bay radio stations are reporting the deal is close and that the Cubs would get Crawford for Hill, Cedeno, and Marmol.