Build the 2010 Cubs

[Little Slide Rooter]

I really get the feeling that 2010 will be all about trial and error. I dont see DeRosa or Holliday back with the Cardinals, so I dont see a dominant team in this division of any kind. Maybe they'll sign a MI, maybe resign Harden, and Im sure a lot of fruitless Halladay rumors will swirl.

 

Anyway, I feel that some of the focuses of next year will be can Jake Fox be the 1st baseman of the future, or will they have to sign someone else in 2011 after Lees gone. Prince Fielder sure would look nice in a Cubs uniform. Is Geovany Soto having a sophmore slump this year, or will we have to find a better catcher in 2011? By that time, there should be some decent money off the books, and Ive been patient long enough to let 2010 be another 2005 if they can make some solid additions in 2011 when they have the money.

[TruffleShuffle]

just for consideration:

 

2010: 19M - zambrano, 13.5M - dempster, 12M - lilly, 14M - fukudome, 11M - bradley, 13M - lee, 16.75M - ARam, 19M - soriano

2011: 19M - zambrano, 14.5M - dempster, 14.5M - fukudome, (12M - bradley), (14.6M - ARam,) 19M - soriano

2012: 19M - zambrano, (16M - ARam club option), 19M - soriano, (15M - dempster player option)

2013: (19.25M - zambrano... probably unlikely to vest though), 19M - soriano

2014: 19M - soriano

 

2010: 118.25M for 8 players (!!!!)

2011: 93.6M for 6 players

2012: 69M for 4 players

2013: 38.25M for 2 players

2014: 19M for 1 player

 

next year they're going to be able to do very little to improve the team because of all the big-money commitments. i'd shop lilly in the offseason, but i don't believe that TrannyTiger's proposed trade with the mets would be nearly enough to get reyes. still, lilly may be the most tradeable "expensive" commodity and it wouldn't be a bad idea to see what we could get for him.

[NewUserName]

just for consideration:

 

2010: 19M - zambrano, 13.5M - dempster, 12M - lilly, 14M - fukudome, 11M - bradley, 13M - lee, 16.75M - ARam, 19M - soriano

2011: 19M - zambrano, 14.5M - dempster, 14.5M - fukudome, (12M - bradley), (14.6M - ARam,) 19M - soriano

2012: 19M - zambrano, (16M - ARam club option), 19M - soriano, (15M - dempster player option)

2013: (19.25M - zambrano... probably unlikely to vest though), 19M - soriano

2014: 19M - soriano

 

2010: 118.25M for 8 players (!!!!)

2011: 93.6M for 6 players

2012: 69M for 4 players

2013: 38.25M for 2 players

2014: 19M for 1 player

 

next year they're going to be able to do very little to improve the team because of all the big-money commitments. i'd shop lilly in the offseason, but i don't believe that TrannyTiger's proposed trade with the mets would be nearly enough to get reyes. still, lilly may be the most tradeable "expensive" commodity and it wouldn't be a bad idea to see what we could get for him.

 

I think Lee can also be moved and net some return, since it will be his last year on the contract and he is having a productive year. I think it would be wise to investigate what we could possibly get for any of the above players, but think only Lilly and Lee would net the Cubs any value.

[Bote McBoteface]

C - Soto

1b - Lee

2b - Theriot

SS - FA/trade

3b - Ramirez

LF - Soriano

CF - Fukudome

RF - Bradley

 

P Zambrano

P Dempster

P Harden (Should be easy to sign, down year and injury trouble. Possibly sign him to a 1 year deal.)

P Lilly

P Wells

 

 

Hopefully Hendry is smart enough not to destroy the team because we had an off year. If you put this same team together 10 years in a row (aging not a factor) we'd win this division 9 times.

 

What this team needs is depth. Hendry raped our roster of all its depth in this crazy left handed fix he was on. Sign a solid but not spectacular guy to fill in in case of injury. Preferably somebody who's natural position is 3rd base but can also play SS/2nd. Don't worry about what hand he signs the contract with. Mark Derosa coming back would be fine, just don't give him another big contract. 1-2 year 2-3 million. Try to dump Miles to make up for it. If you can't find a taker for Miles, contact a hitman.

[GlassCow]

Plan for the 2010 Cubs - not win the World Series. That's about the only plan we have been able to pull off successfully and consistently as an organization for the past hundred plus years.

[Wilmo]

I have a bad arm so typing a two page rant like I want to won't happen so I'll just reply here. (until my arm heals)

 

This team makes me sick! I posted before the season started that I dislike what Jimboy did in the off season. Now, I hate the moves he made. I hope once the ownership issue is resolved, whatever year that is, the Ricketts family looks at what Jimboy has done to his investment and kicks him to the curb. Then clean house with the coaching staff. Because Lou once had it, doesn't mean he still does. He can't even come out of the dugout without almost toppling over. I want a real pitching coach. The Marmol debacle is a joke and can be laid at the feet of Rothschild.

 

Kevin Gregg...Never had it, never will. He is awful and MUST go!

 

Do anything you can to move Soriano (won't happen) and Bradley (won't happen) Hendry you are STUPID!!!!!!

 

Get rid of all 18 2nd baseman, except Blanco. His stick sucks, but he can play defense.

 

I really don't care what they do, just fire Hendry and Gregg. PLEASE!!!!!!

[TruffleShuffle]

uhhhhhhhh

[Gingerballs Lives]

C - Soto

1b - Lee

2b - Theriot

SS - FA/trade

3b - Ramirez

LF - Soriano

CF - Fukudome

RF - Bradley

 

P Zambrano

P Dempster

P Harden (Should be easy to sign, down year and injury trouble. Possibly sign him to a 1 year deal.)

P Lilly

P Wells

 

 

Hopefully Hendry is smart enough not to destroy the team because we had an off year. If you put this same team together 10 years in a row (aging not a factor) we'd win this division 9 times.

 

What this team needs is depth. Hendry raped our roster of all its depth in this crazy left handed fix he was on. Sign a solid but not spectacular guy to fill in in case of injury. Preferably somebody who's natural position is 3rd base but can also play SS/2nd. Don't worry about what hand he signs the contract with. Mark Derosa coming back would be fine, just don't give him another big contract. 1-2 year 2-3 million. Try to dump Miles to make up for it. If you can't find a taker for Miles, contact a hitman.

 

 

My thoughts exactly, except Hendry needs to fix the bullpen too.

 

Move Theriot to second, find a good SS, make a decision on Harden (I hope we keep him but I'm not counting on it) and add some friggin depth.

 

I swear, I almost had a stroke when I realized Hendry was willing to go with Miles, Johnson and Gathright as our primary bench players this year. Sincerly awful.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Aging, unfortunately, is a factor.

[soapy]

I like the offense, though Reyes missing almost the entire season scares me a little. But that rotation makes me pretty nervous. There are a number of gambles in that list of SPs.

 

No doubt, I didn't feel super comfortable with it either. But maybe you don't need to trade Lilly to get Reyes, or maybe Harden takes arbitration, or maybe there's a good trade opportunity that comes along if that's too much risk for some to take with the rotation.

 

I'm hoping Harden loves Chicago so much that he takes arbitration and we work out a reasonable 1-2 year deal with him (ideally 1-year with a team option or something). I'd be more comfortable trading Lilly if we had Z and Harden (even though Harden's going to miss some starts).

 

I would absolutely be in favor of looking to move Lilly or Dempster if Harden returns. They are nearly the only guys who a) have value; b) are tradeable; and c) help shed payroll. If they want to add offense at SS or 2B, they'll pretty much have to do this, IMO.

[soapy]

C - Soto

1b - Lee

2b - Theriot

SS - FA/trade

3b - Ramirez

LF - Soriano

CF - Fukudome

RF - Bradley

 

P Zambrano

P Dempster

P Harden (Should be easy to sign, down year and injury trouble. Possibly sign him to a 1 year deal.)

P Lilly

P Wells

 

 

Hopefully Hendry is smart enough not to destroy the team because we had an off year. If you put this same team together 10 years in a row (aging not a factor) we'd win this division 9 times.

 

What this team needs is depth. Hendry raped our roster of all its depth in this crazy left handed fix he was on. Sign a solid but not spectacular guy to fill in in case of injury. Preferably somebody who's natural position is 3rd base but can also play SS/2nd. Don't worry about what hand he signs the contract with. Mark Derosa coming back would be fine, just don't give him another big contract. 1-2 year 2-3 million. Try to dump Miles to make up for it. If you can't find a taker for Miles, contact a hitman.

 

 

My thoughts exactly, except Hendry needs to fix the bullpen too.

 

Move Theriot to second, find a good SS, make a decision on Harden (I hope we keep him but I'm not counting on it) and add some friggin depth.

 

I swear, I almost had a stroke when I realized Hendry was willing to go with Miles, Johnson and Gathright as our primary bench players this year. Sincerly awful.

 

Do you guys think the Cubs will have the $ to re-sign Harden plus upgrade at SS and the bench without trading any of the larger contracts? I don't.

[TruffleShuffle]

yeah i like all the "find good 2B/SS" posts funny, like those positions aren't difficult to fill and the cubs have lots of money laying around to upgrade.

[soapy]

yeah i like all the "find good 2B/SS" posts funny, like those positions aren't difficult to fill and the cubs have lots of money laying around to upgrade.

yeah i think any legitimate suggestions at up-grading the offense/bullpen via free agency probably needs to be accompanied by a suggestion to reduce payroll elsewhere. and i don't mean "find someone to take Miles".

[gflore34]

Why not see what Fox can do at 2B? I don't have the defensive numbers in front of me but, if Jeff Kent could play 2B there's no reason Fox couldn't do at least as well. Fox at 2B gets Fontenot out of the lineup and back on the bench - where he could excel once again. The rest of the lineup is going to remain the same. I believe we'll see improvements from Fukudome and Bradley add a healthy Ramirez and Soto along with Lee being Lee and the Cubs will improve significantly. With the above in hand maybe Soriano could be moved to the 7 spot, besides left out, where can he do the least amount of damage? 7 or 8?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Jeff Kent was a much, much, much better fielder than Fox.

 

Why not just have Fox pitch? Then you wouldn't need to have a bad hitter in the No. 9 slot?

[dew1679666265]

Why not see what Fox can do at 2B? I don't have the defensive numbers in front of me but, if Jeff Kent could play 2B there's no reason Fox couldn't do at least as well. Fox at 2B gets Fontenot out of the lineup and back on the bench - where he could excel once again. The rest of the lineup is going to remain the same. I believe we'll see improvements from Fukudome and Bradley add a healthy Ramirez and Soto along with Lee being Lee and the Cubs will improve significantly. With the above in hand maybe Soriano could be moved to the 7 spot, besides left out, where can he do the least amount of damage? 7 or 8?

 

Kent played 269 games in the minors at second base and started 1,986 games in the majors there. UZR has him as a -8 UZR/150 defender there.

 

Fox has never played a professional inning at second base. It's not something you can pick up over an offseason when you've never played there in your life.

[gflore34]

Why not see what Fox can do at 2B? I don't have the defensive numbers in front of me but, if Jeff Kent could play 2B there's no reason Fox couldn't do at least as well. Fox at 2B gets Fontenot out of the lineup and back on the bench - where he could excel once again. The rest of the lineup is going to remain the same. I believe we'll see improvements from Fukudome and Bradley add a healthy Ramirez and Soto along with Lee being Lee and the Cubs will improve significantly. With the above in hand maybe Soriano could be moved to the 7 spot, besides left out, where can he do the least amount of damage? 7 or 8?

 

Kent played 269 games in the minors at second base and started 1,986 games in the majors there. UZR has him as a -8 UZR/150 defender there.

 

Fox has never played a professional inning at second base. It's not something you can pick up over an offseason when you've never played there in your life.

 

OK so it was a completely far-fetched, unrealistic idea but, there are some things I believe I know about the 2010 Cubs:

 

1. Unless they're released nobody' going to trade for Miles or Fontenot

2. Nobody' going to trade for Soriano - he's here for 2010 like it or not

[dew1679666265]

Why not see what Fox can do at 2B? I don't have the defensive numbers in front of me but, if Jeff Kent could play 2B there's no reason Fox couldn't do at least as well. Fox at 2B gets Fontenot out of the lineup and back on the bench - where he could excel once again. The rest of the lineup is going to remain the same. I believe we'll see improvements from Fukudome and Bradley add a healthy Ramirez and Soto along with Lee being Lee and the Cubs will improve significantly. With the above in hand maybe Soriano could be moved to the 7 spot, besides left out, where can he do the least amount of damage? 7 or 8?

 

Kent played 269 games in the minors at second base and started 1,986 games in the majors there. UZR has him as a -8 UZR/150 defender there.

 

Fox has never played a professional inning at second base. It's not something you can pick up over an offseason when you've never played there in your life.

 

OK so it was a completely far-fetched, unrealistic idea but, there are some things I believe I know about the 2010 Cubs:

 

1. Unless they're released nobody' going to trade for Miles or Fontenot

2. Nobody' going to trade for Soriano - he's here for 2010 like it or not

 

You're almost certainly right about Soriano and probably right about Miles. However, I don't think it'd be far fetched at all to think we could trade a 29-year-old second baseman who OPSd .909 in 2008 (even if impacted largely by platoon splits) and has one option left. I don't know that we'd get much in return and that's why I'd have little to no interest in trading him.

 

Fontenot can still be a valuable part of a contending team even if he isn't a starter. As for the Fox to second base idea, the more likely occurrence would be moving Soriano to second (since he's played there before) and starting Fox in left. The question then, however, is whether Fox has a good enough bat to make that defensive move.

[Sammy Sofa]

You're almost certainly right about Soriano and probably right about Miles.

 

I don't think it would necessarily be too hard to trade Miles in the offseason given that he only has 1 year left. There was inexplicably interest in him from multiple teams before he was signed.

[dew1679666265]

You're almost certainly right about Soriano and probably right about Miles.

 

I don't think it would necessarily be too hard to trade Miles in the offseason given that he only has 1 year left. There was inexplicably interest in him from multiple teams before he was signed.

 

Yeah, it's possible. If they really made an effort, he could probably be traded, but I'm not sure they'll want to trade him badly enough.

[bcl412]

You're almost certainly right about Soriano and probably right about Miles.

 

I don't think it would necessarily be too hard to trade Miles in the offseason given that he only has 1 year left. There was inexplicably interest in him from multiple teams before he was signed.

 

He was also coming off of an ok year last year though wasn't he?

[Sammy Sofa]

You're almost certainly right about Soriano and probably right about Miles.

 

I don't think it would necessarily be too hard to trade Miles in the offseason given that he only has 1 year left. There was inexplicably interest in him from multiple teams before he was signed.

 

He was also coming off of an ok year last year though wasn't he?

 

He still has the ridiculous reputation of being somewhat versatile. I'm not saying the same demand would be there, but there would be interest to the point that I wouldn't be surprised if he could be dealt with the Cubs paying anything. The return would likely be negligible, but really, who cares?

[toonsterwu]

I really get the feeling that 2010 will be all about trial and error. I dont see DeRosa or Holliday back with the Cardinals, so I dont see a dominant team in this division of any kind. Maybe they'll sign a MI, maybe resign Harden, and Im sure a lot of fruitless Halladay rumors will swirl.

 

Anyway, I feel that some of the focuses of next year will be can Jake Fox be the 1st baseman of the future, or will they have to sign someone else in 2011 after Lees gone. Prince Fielder sure would look nice in a Cubs uniform. Is Geovany Soto having a sophmore slump this year, or will we have to find a better catcher in 2011? By that time, there should be some decent money off the books, and Ive been patient long enough to let 2010 be another 2005 if they can make some solid additions in 2011 when they have the money.

 

I think ... and I hope, that we play out the string with this core. The reason being this - if we move a Derrek Lee or Ted Lilly, more than likely, we'd spend money, tying up more future resources, something we need to curtail at some point. Sort of like what happened this year.

 

I think the Cardinals will be solid again next year. I think they'll move to keep Holliday to keep Pujols happy. I think both go hand in hand. That means needing young assets to step in and fill roles for them, to save some money. Someone such as PJ Walters could be an option (probably somewhere between Randy Wells and Justin Berg in terms of starting ability. I think they'll let DeRosa go, no real point. The Astros are sort of playing out the string on the current squad, as the farm system is probably 3 years away from being really useful, and 2 years away from providing any key assets (Jason Castro could sneak in by late 2010/2011 perhaps, but Jordan Lyle and Ross Seaton are both looking like 2011 at best, barring some remarkable surge in development). The Reds COULD be deadly ... but one gets the feeling that they aren't in a good situation, as several of their young arms haven't developed, and Volquez just had surgery. They also gave up two good arms in the Rolen deal. The Pirates are obviously a good couple years.

 

Actually, if there is a team that worries me, it's the Brewers. Parra hasn't been nearly as bad as his ERA (hurt by an insanely high BABIP). Gallardo still has top potential. If Parra develops to pair with Gallardo, and if they can add a mid-rotation starter, they suddenly look like a decent rotation. The pen should be alright, and some of the low level system assets will have moved up a bit. They may be able to shop a Hardy, who could net a good return.

 

_____________________

 

Actually, as a bright note, I think a case could be made that the Cubs have the best system in the NL Central right now. A case. Not saying we do (although I'd buy the argument), but there was absolutely no case last year when the Reds were the clearcut top dog and we were far, far away.

[toonsterwu]

C - Soto

1b - Lee

2b - Theriot

SS - FA/trade

3b - Ramirez

LF - Soriano

CF - Fukudome

RF - Bradley

 

P Zambrano

P Dempster

P Harden (Should be easy to sign, down year and injury trouble. Possibly sign him to a 1 year deal.)

P Lilly

P Wells

 

 

Hopefully Hendry is smart enough not to destroy the team because we had an off year. If you put this same team together 10 years in a row (aging not a factor) we'd win this division 9 times.

 

What this team needs is depth. Hendry raped our roster of all its depth in this crazy left handed fix he was on. Sign a solid but not spectacular guy to fill in in case of injury. Preferably somebody who's natural position is 3rd base but can also play SS/2nd. Don't worry about what hand he signs the contract with. Mark Derosa coming back would be fine, just don't give him another big contract. 1-2 year 2-3 million. Try to dump Miles to make up for it. If you can't find a taker for Miles, contact a hitman.

 

I loved DeRosa as much as the next guy, but I don't see the point of bringing him back when Jeff Baker is the same, but younger, and probably more toolsy than Mark ever was.

 

I still think we are pretty much stuck with Ryan Theriot at short unless the system develops someone. Furcal was hanging out there last year, and we didn't bat an eye. Granted, our financials aren't a pretty picture, but it wasn't considered.

[toonsterwu]

Why not see what Fox can do at 2B? I don't have the defensive numbers in front of me but, if Jeff Kent could play 2B there's no reason Fox couldn't do at least as well. Fox at 2B gets Fontenot out of the lineup and back on the bench - where he could excel once again. The rest of the lineup is going to remain the same. I believe we'll see improvements from Fukudome and Bradley add a healthy Ramirez and Soto along with Lee being Lee and the Cubs will improve significantly. With the above in hand maybe Soriano could be moved to the 7 spot, besides left out, where can he do the least amount of damage? 7 or 8?

 

Kent played 269 games in the minors at second base and started 1,986 games in the majors there. UZR has him as a -8 UZR/150 defender there.

 

Fox has never played a professional inning at second base. It's not something you can pick up over an offseason when you've never played there in your life.

 

OK so it was a completely far-fetched, unrealistic idea but, there are some things I believe I know about the 2010 Cubs:

 

1. Unless they're released nobody' going to trade for Miles or Fontenot

2. Nobody' going to trade for Soriano - he's here for 2010 like it or not

 

Fontenot isn't an issue. He's making 430,000.