Cubs maxed out spending?!

[Southpaw191679666239]

What the hell?

 

The Cubs have maxed out their spending for the winter

[Little Slide Rooter]

I read that to. If it's true, lets hope that Dempster ends up being worth it.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

If anyone would know, it's Buster Olney.

[17 Seconds]

There have been other similar things reported elsewhere too. Also I read a quote from Hendry like a week ago where he said that they wouldn't have been able to take on Peavy's salary, which is kind of weird considering he said in the same article that they tried to work out a trade. Kind of confusing.

 

But yeah, that Dempster signing looked terrible to begin with and now it's just looking worse and worse

[YearofDaCubs]

What a joke. I will not expect anything more than a 1st round exit again.

[17 Seconds]

Also some guy in another thread said that Bruce Levine said that the Cubs have now been asked to not spend any more money until the ownership situation is resolved, which won't be until mid January. He said that Cubs probably don't even have authority to sign Bradley right now

[17 Seconds]

What a joke. I will not expect anything more than a 1st round exit again.

 

 

Why? Either they'll make the playoffs and have another great chance or they'll suck and not make the playoffs at all. I don't buy this stuff about them only being good enough for the regular season. They just choked

[Schwarber Fan]

So what's our team look like?

 

Soriano LF

Theriot SS

Lee 1B

Ramirez 3B

Soto C

DeRosa RF

Fontenot 2B

Fukudome CF

 

boring, I saw this team last year

 

lets hope they at least trade for one more guy, if they are done spending

 

 

 

 

or bring Sammy back

[CubColtPacer]

Going from 2008 to 2009 will very likely be their biggest payroll jump in the history of the club (and if it isn't, it will be very close). The team was allowed to spend money in 2007 and 2008 and the way the contracts were structured almost made sure that this would be a quiet offseason. The surprise really has been that the Cubs have been rumored after so many players.

 

That isn't necessarily a bad thing btw. Most of the raises went to quality players this year that the Cubs would have missed out on if not for the creative contracts. But it's going to have to be sooner or later where the number of players acquired get back in line with normal payroll increases. One quiet offseason will make that process a lot easier for the next couple years.

[Little Slide Rooter]

So what's our team look like?

 

Soriano LF

Theriot SS

Lee 1B

Ramirez 3B

Soto C

DeRosa RF

Fontenot 2B

Fukudome CF

 

boring, I saw this team last year

 

lets hope they at least trade for one more guy, if they are done spending

 

 

 

 

or bring Sammy back

is

 

Theriot

Lee

Ramirez

Soto

Soriano

Early Season Fukudome

DeRosa

Johnson/Pie/Gathright

 

too much to ask for?

[17 Seconds]

So what's our team look like?

 

Soriano LF

Theriot SS

Lee 1B

Ramirez 3B

Soto C

DeRosa RF

Fontenot 2B

Fukudome CF

 

boring, I saw this team last year

 

lets hope they at least trade for one more guy, if they are done spending

 

 

 

 

or bring Sammy back

is

 

Theriot

Lee

Ramirez

Soto

Soriano

Early Season Fukudome

DeRosa

Johnson/Pie/Gathright

 

too much to ask for?

 

no way in hell theriot should get the most PAs on the team

[Backtobanks]

I've been suggesting for awhile that the Cubs trade Marquis, Pie, and Hill to the O's for Scott. We would save money on the deal and the lefty-righty platoon of Scott/Derosa/Johnson/Fukudome/Gathright/Fontenot in RF/CF/2B would provide plenty of options for Lou.

[wrigley23]

no way in hell theriot should get the most PAs on the team

why? because you said so or because he was one of the leaders in the league in OBP? And don't give me that garbage that leading off the game & (likely quite a few more times due to the fact that the pitcher makes the last out of the inning more frequently than not) an inning is overrated. I would far prefer to lead off an inning w/ a walk or single than a whiff.

[17 Seconds]

no way in hell theriot should get the most PAs on the team

why? because you said so or because he was one of the leaders in the league in OBP? And don't give me that garbage that leading off the game & (likely quite a few more times due to the fact that the pitcher makes the last out of the inning more frequently than not) an inning is overrated. I would far prefer to lead off an inning w/ a walk or single than a whiff.

 

no, it's because you shouldn't give the most PAs to one of the least productive hitters in your lineup, period. theriot was a real nice on-base guy last season but you don't give a singles hitter more PAs than anybody on the team. lineup construction is not really that important and certainly not important enough to do that. i know it's hard for you to accept that having a "leadoff hitter" isn't really important though. stop talking about it. we scored the most runs in the league with soriano leading off last season. i don't understand why you don't get that.

 

plus i don't think theriot comes close to matching last years production.

[AlwaysaCub]

So then is Jim's plan to have one of our generic prospects randomly have an outstanding year and leverage that into some midseason trade in which we won't have to pick up salary then?

[TruffleShuffle]

give bradley a 2-year contract... 25 bucks this year and 20 million in 2010.

[wrigley23]

leadoff hitter isn't important. says who? You? sorry. I disagree. Why do teams trade for them? Why do teams tend to put their highest obp/speed guys at the top? Are they all wrong? Why was Hendry trying to trade for Roberts so much last year? Because he wanted Soriano's whiffing dropped down in the order where it was easier hidden...that's why. A leadoff hitter not only starts each & every game but they also hit behind the pitcher & pitchers are many times the last out of an inning. It is desirable for a leadoff hitter to take pitches to work the pitcher, give their teammates a better read on the pitcher, take a walk if possible to drive up pitch count, etc. They have to be able to hit from behind in the count & have a good eye at the plate. Soriano possesses none of this. He hits from the leadoff position the way he would if he was in the middle of the lineup & that is selfish & against what the team needs him to do. Why do you think so much is made in the media of moving soriano out of the leadoff spot? It's crystal clear to a lot of people that follow baseball for a living. I've posted this before but I spoke w/ several scouts last year during spring training that said it was a laugher around the league how the Cubs coddle one Alfonso Soriano by allowing him to hit out of position & play the OF in the late innings. The prevailing opinion is it is due to his fragile psyche. It is odd that he is treated this way as it sounds a lot like the Sosa treatment that hurt the Cubs late in his career. The team is never above one player. When it is treated as such...then it becomes problematic. He has been one of the worst postseason players in the history of MLB. I, for one, am damn sick of watching the coddling.

[carolinacubbie]

So what's our team look like?

 

Soriano LF

Theriot SS

Lee 1B

Ramirez 3B

Soto C

DeRosa RF

Fontenot 2B

Fukudome CF

 

boring, I saw this team last year

 

lets hope they at least trade for one more guy, if they are done spending

 

 

 

 

or bring Sammy back

 

 

Yeah, because our team last year was just so boring. We didn't play good in the playoffs. It had nothing to do with the team, they just didn't play good. We are built fine for the playoffs. I will be surprised if we don't sign a RF or some sort.

[17 Seconds]

leadoff hitter isn't important. says who? You? sorry. I disagree. Why do teams trade for them? Why do teams tend to put their highest obp/speed guys at the top? Are they all wrong? Why was Hendry trying to trade for Roberts so much last year? Because he wanted Soriano's whiffing dropped down in the order where it was easier hidden...that's why. A leadoff hitter not only starts each & every game but they also hit behind the pitcher & pitchers are many times the last out of an inning. It is desirable for a leadoff hitter to take pitches to work the pitcher, give their teammates a better read on the pitcher, take a walk if possible to drive up pitch count, etc. They have to be able to hit from behind in the count & have a good eye at the plate. Soriano possesses none of this. He hits from the leadoff position the way he would if he was in the middle of the lineup & that is selfish & against what the team needs him to do. Why do you think so much is made in the media of moving soriano out of the leadoff spot? It's crystal clear to a lot of people that follow baseball for a living. I've posted this before but I spoke w/ several scouts last year during spring training that said it was a laugher around the league how the Cubs coddle one Alfonso Soriano by allowing him to hit out of position & play the OF in the late innings. The prevailing opinion is it is due to his fragile psyche. It is odd that he is treated this way as it sounds a lot like the Sosa treatment that hurt the Cubs late in his career. The team is never above one player. When it is treated as such...then it becomes problematic. He has been one of the worst postseason players in the history of MLB. I, for one, am damn sick of watching the coddling.

 

there you go again using the "well, baseball people say this is true s they're right" copout again. did you not read what i said? don't you always complain aobut hendry as a gm? don't you complain about soriano leading off? well if you spew garbage like that then you can never complain about any decisions any baseball exec ever makes. you can't question giving soriano 136 mil. you can't question dusty baker batting leadoff. you can't question giving juan pierre 50 million. you can't question giving barry zito 126 million. i mean, these are baseball execs that are paid millions! we're just internet message board posters! the truth is you're using that as a crutch because you've been getting destroyed every time you actually try to reason and explain your warped opinions. people keep proving you wrong over and over again and you just ignore them and then circle back to your old weak ass arguments that were proven wrong long ago. it's really old

 

pitchers often make the last outs of innings so it's good to have theriot leading off the next inning? i always here that argument and it never makes sense. why are pitchers supposedly always making the last outs in an inning? do they suck so bad that every out they make counts as 2 or 3 outs? i don't think an out by a pitcher is the 3rd out of an inning any more often than any other hitter. really weak argument

 

Why do you think so much is made in the media of moving soriano out of the leadoff spot?

 

umm, because it's the media? are you seriously using the media as your argument?

 

really?

 

the phillies won the world series last year. guess what rollins (leadoff hitter) did in the playoffs?

 

.237/.286/.407

 

yup, that's right. he had a .286 OBP in the playoffs year and they won the world series.

 

 

Because he wanted Soriano's whiffing dropped down in the order where it was easier hidden

 

huh? that's actually the complete opposite of what makes sense. where would you rather have a strikeout? with nobody on base (where a strikout is no different than a groundout of flyout), or with a guy at 3rd with less than 2 outs, or just guys on base in general? i think it's obvious what the answer is there.

 

They have to be able to hit from behind in the count

 

why? you're just making things up.

 

It is desirable for a leadoff hitter to take pitches to work the pitcher, give their teammates a better read on the pitcher, take a walk if possible to drive up pitch count, etc.

 

theriot pitches per plate appearance last 3 seasons-

 

3.69

3.54

3.77

 

soriano-

 

3.91

3.67

3.73

 

did that just blow your mind? soriano has taken more pitches than theriot 2 out of the last 3 seasons and even in theriot's never-going-to-happen-again career year, he was just barely ahead of soriano. anyways, why is it more important for the leadoff guy to make the pitcher work more than any other hitter? after the first inning the leadoff guy leads off an inning no more often than any other position in the lineup. the "give the other hitters a better read on the pitcher" argument is really weak too, since after the first couple batters they'll have already done that. if getting to know the pitcher a few pitches earlier in the first inning seriously going to make a difference? right

 

It's crystal clear to a lot of people that follow baseball for a living. I've posted this before but I spoke w/ several scouts last year during spring training that said it was a laugher around the league how the Cubs coddle one Alfonso Soriano by allowing him to hit out of position & play the OF in the late innings.

 

no, it's crystal clear to the people you choose to listen to...the same people who are stuck in earlier decades and haven't adjusted to how baseball is viewed and played today.

 

the truth s that all the stuff you're talking about is old convential baseball wisdom that really is a bunch of trash. thios has been demonsrated and even proven over and over again, you just choose not to listen. you just can't fathom the idea that "leadoff hitter!" ISN'T REALLY A BIG DEAL. lineup construction is not that important. you just keep chirping about how these old school hard headed guys tell you it's true so we have to believe it. you need to think for yourself and start looking at things logically, because you're coming across as a 70 year old man who refuses to adjust and open his mind. this is evident by the way you keep ignoring everybody who explains to you how you're wrong. it's like you're afraid of the truth or something. we just led the effing league in runs despite soriano leading off, and you STILL can't except the fact that you're wrong. that literally proves your theory wrong, yet you completely ignore it because you're so stubborn.

 

i'm all for getting on-base guys in front of your best hitters, but to make sucha big deal about a guy who leads off the first inning of a 9 inning game is completely ridiculous. there are 9 guys in a lineup who are equally important and you think the positioning of a single specific one of those guys is going to make some huge difference. it's dumb.

 

oh, but some scouts and baseball people agree with you, so it's true. forget all the other people who agree that it's irrelevant. they don't know what they're talking about.... even if they do have proof. it's obviously doctored.

 

also, when you keep bringing up soriano-related stuff that's irrelevant to this conversation like his late inning defense and coddling, it makes it obvious that you just hate soriano and you're going to say whatever you havew to say to make him look bad. i'm not a soriano fan at all but it's obvious you're really biased and it makes your arguments look even weaker. we're talking about the value of a leadoff hitter and you're rambling about soriano being coddled and other nonsense. give it up. it's an unhealthy obsession

 

oh, and i'm still waiting for an explanation as to how we led the league in runs last year despite our "lack of a leadoff hitter". please explain that before you even try to say anything else. i'm not even going to read anymore of your cliche urban legend garbage until you explain that to me, and i mean explain that to me without the "they feasted on weak pitching" argument, which we've already established isn't true.

 

first in the NL in runs scored with soriano leading off.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Seriously, a lefty RF would be nice, but does anyone out there truely believe that if it came down to it, this team couldnt do it as is? I refuse to believe that Fukudome cant make a simple adjustment, namely not swining at every freaking pitch he sees. Between Johnson, Pie, and Gathright, we have a CF, not to mention a number 8 hitter that a lot of managers would kill for. We've got the power. We've got the speed. To be the best in the national league.

[EhDubya]

So glad I don't read any of Dexter's posts anymore. That one looks like another big waste of time.

[TheDude]

So what's our team look like?

 

Soriano LF

Theriot SS

Lee 1B

Ramirez 3B

Soto C

DeRosa RF

Fontenot 2B

Fukudome CF

 

boring, I saw this team last year

 

lets hope they at least trade for one more guy, if they are done spending

or bring Sammy back

 

Damn those boring 97 win teams. They should blow it up and start over.

[Blue W]

leadoff hitter isn't important. says who? You? sorry. I disagree. Why do teams trade for them? Why do teams tend to put their highest obp/speed guys at the top? Are they all wrong? Why was Hendry trying to trade for Roberts so much last year? Because he wanted Soriano's whiffing dropped down in the order where it was easier hidden...that's why. A leadoff hitter not only starts each & every game but they also hit behind the pitcher & pitchers are many times the last out of an inning. It is desirable for a leadoff hitter to take pitches to work the pitcher, give their teammates a better read on the pitcher, take a walk if possible to drive up pitch count, etc. They have to be able to hit from behind in the count & have a good eye at the plate. Soriano possesses none of this. He hits from the leadoff position the way he would if he was in the middle of the lineup & that is selfish & against what the team needs him to do. Why do you think so much is made in the media of moving soriano out of the leadoff spot? It's crystal clear to a lot of people that follow baseball for a living. I've posted this before but I spoke w/ several scouts last year during spring training that said it was a laugher around the league how the Cubs coddle one Alfonso Soriano by allowing him to hit out of position & play the OF in the late innings. The prevailing opinion is it is due to his fragile psyche. It is odd that he is treated this way as it sounds a lot like the Sosa treatment that hurt the Cubs late in his career. The team is never above one player. When it is treated as such...then it becomes problematic. He has been one of the worst postseason players in the history of MLB. I, for one, am damn sick of watching the coddling.

 

there you go again using the "well, baseball people say this is true s they're right" copout again. did you not read what i said? don't you always complain aobut hendry as a gm? don't you complain about soriano leading off? well if you spew garbage like that then you can never complain about any decisions any baseball exec ever makes. you can't question giving soriano 136 mil. you can't question dusty baker batting leadoff. you can't question giving juan pierre 50 million. you can't question giving barry zito 126 million. i mean, these are baseball execs that are paid millions! we're just internet message board posters! the truth is you're using that as a crutch because you've been getting destroyed every time you actually try to reason and explain your warped opinions. people keep proving you wrong over and over again and you just ignore them and then circle back to your old weak ass arguments that were proven wrong long ago. it's really old

 

pitchers often make the last outs of innings so it's good to have theriot leading off the next inning? i always here that argument and it never makes sense. why are pitchers supposedly always making the last outs in an inning? do they suck so bad that every out they make counts as 2 or 3 outs? i don't think an out by a pitcher is the 3rd out of an inning any more often than any other hitter. really weak argument

 

Why do you think so much is made in the media of moving soriano out of the leadoff spot?

 

umm, because it's the media? are you seriously using the media as your argument?

 

really?

 

the phillies won the world series last year. guess what rollins (leadoff hitter) did in the playoffs?

 

.237/.286/.407

 

yup, that's right. he had a .286 OBP in the playoffs year and they won the world series.

 

 

Because he wanted Soriano's whiffing dropped down in the order where it was easier hidden

 

huh? that's actually the complete opposite of what makes sense. where would you rather have a strikeout? with nobody on base (where a strikout is no different than a groundout of flyout), or with a guy at 3rd with less than 2 outs, or just guys on base in general? i think it's obvious what the answer is there.

 

They have to be able to hit from behind in the count

 

why? you're just making things up.

 

It is desirable for a leadoff hitter to take pitches to work the pitcher, give their teammates a better read on the pitcher, take a walk if possible to drive up pitch count, etc.

 

theriot pitches per plate appearance last 3 seasons-

 

3.69

3.54

3.77

 

soriano-

 

3.91

3.67

3.73

 

did that just blow your mind? soriano has taken more pitches than theriot 2 out of the last 3 seasons and even in theriot's never-going-to-happen-again career year, he was just barely ahead of soriano. anyways, why is it more important for the leadoff guy to make the pitcher work more than any other hitter? after the first inning the leadoff guy leads off an inning no more often than any other position in the lineup. the "give the other hitters a better read on the pitcher" argument is really weak too, since after the first couple batters they'll have already done that. if getting to know the pitcher a few pitches earlier in the first inning seriously going to make a difference? right

 

It's crystal clear to a lot of people that follow baseball for a living. I've posted this before but I spoke w/ several scouts last year during spring training that said it was a laugher around the league how the Cubs coddle one Alfonso Soriano by allowing him to hit out of position & play the OF in the late innings.

 

no, it's crystal clear to the people you choose to listen to...the same people who are stuck in earlier decades and haven't adjusted to how baseball is viewed and played today.

 

the truth s that all the stuff you're talking about is old convential baseball wisdom that really is a bunch of trash. thios has been demonsrated and even proven over and over again, you just choose not to listen. you just can't fathom the idea that "leadoff hitter!" ISN'T REALLY A BIG DEAL. lineup construction is not that important. you just keep chirping about how these old school hard headed guys tell you it's true so we have to believe it. you need to think for yourself and start looking at things logically, because you're coming across as a 70 year old man who refuses to adjust and open his mind. this is evident by the way you keep ignoring everybody who explains to you how you're wrong. it's like you're afraid of the truth or something. we just led the effing league in runs despite soriano leading off, and you STILL can't except the fact that you're wrong. that literally proves your theory wrong, yet you completely ignore it because you're so stubborn.

 

i'm all for getting on-base guys in front of your best hitters, but to make sucha big deal about a guy who leads off the first inning of a 9 inning game is completely ridiculous. there are 9 guys in a lineup who are equally important and you think the positioning of a single specific one of those guys is going to make some huge difference. it's dumb.

 

oh, but some scouts and baseball people agree with you, so it's true. forget all the other people who agree that it's irrelevant. they don't know what they're talking about.... even if they do have proof. it's obviously doctored.

 

also, when you keep bringing up soriano-related stuff that's irrelevant to this conversation like his late inning defense and coddling, it makes it obvious that you just hate soriano and you're going to say whatever you havew to say to make him look bad. i'm not a soriano fan at all but it's obvious you're really biased and it makes your arguments look even weaker. we're talking about the value of a leadoff hitter and you're rambling about soriano being coddled and other nonsense. give it up. it's an unhealthy obsession

 

oh, and i'm still waiting for an explanation as to how we led the league in runs last year despite our "lack of a leadoff hitter". please explain that before you even try to say anything else. i'm not even going to read anymore of your cliche urban legend garbage until you explain that to me, and i mean explain that to me without the "they feasted on weak pitching" argument, which we've already established isn't true.

 

first in the NL in runs scored with soriano leading off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dexter, you nailed it.

[JonnyRed]

So what's our team look like?

 

Soriano LF

Theriot SS

Lee 1B

Ramirez 3B

Soto C

DeRosa RF

Fontenot 2B

Fukudome CF

 

boring, I saw this team last year

 

lets hope they at least trade for one more guy, if they are done spending

 

 

 

 

or bring Sammy back

 

It may be boring from a hot stove perspective, but when you win 97 games to pace the NL, it's best not to dramatically overhaul your lineup. This team had the talent to win it all last year, they just choked in the playoffs.

[wrigley23]

I'm not sure about you but i have a real job, kids, a life...etc...all those things that apparently you do not. You seem to have time to look up all of this & hash/re-hash all of the angles. You chime in on every post on this forum. I'm simply not going to play message board hero & respond to this garbage. I have my opinion & you have yours. I'm very secure in mine. If you are in yours, knock yourself out. i can assure you, I have much more to worry about than this.