Cubs/Rays talking Bradley/Burell deal?

[Little Slide Rooter]

Cubs & Rays Talking Bradley

By Ben Nicholson-Smith [October 8 at 2:54pm CST]

The Cubs are focused on one particular trading partner, as they look to move Milton Bradley. Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times hears that the Cubs are pushing the Rays to make a quick deal.

 

De Luca suggests the Rays could send Pat Burrell to the Cubs for Bradley. Burrell has $7MM remaining on his contract and Bradley has $21MM remaining on his, so the Rays would likely want the Cubs to cover a considerable amount of Bradley's contract in any deal.

 

The Blue Jays and Padres are possible destinations for Bradley, but the Blue Jays have a new GM (Alex Anthopoulos) and the Padres haven't yet named a permanent GM. As De Luca points out, it's doubtful that either club would want to acquire Bradley to kick off a new regime given the outfielder's volatility.

 

I know there are already countless threads regarding Bradleys future, but this is the first Ive heard of actual talks going down, so I thought Id start yet another thread.

 

Burrell could be Lous lefty RBI man, but along with Soriano, it could be one of the more sickeningly bad defensive outfields in recent memory, in fact it would rank up there with the Great Khali and Sloth from Goonies.

 

I would prefer we try to move Bradley for something else and try to get Hawpe from the Rockies, who I guess isnt that better in the field.

[A-Cal]

lol

 

Go! Jim Go!

[javy knows my name]

I like Burrell for the bench only. Could Hawpe REALLY be worse than Burrell in right? It's scary to think of it.

 

I don't like this. Hopefully this is just to start a bidding war.

[Little Slide Rooter]

If Burrell comes of the bench, were essentially paying 7 mil+however much of Bradleys contract we eat for Cliff Floyd/Daryle Ward/Micah Hoffpauir

[Rob]

Burrell could be Lous lefty RBI man

 

No, he really couldn't.

[CUBZ99]

Cubs & Rays Talking Bradley

By Ben Nicholson-Smith [October 8 at 2:54pm CST]

The Cubs are focused on one particular trading partner, as they look to move Milton Bradley. Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times hears that the Cubs are pushing the Rays to make a quick deal.

 

De Luca suggests the Rays could send Pat Burrell to the Cubs for Bradley. Burrell has $7MM remaining on his contract and Bradley has $21MM remaining on his, so the Rays would likely want the Cubs to cover a considerable amount of Bradley's contract in any deal.

 

The Blue Jays and Padres are possible destinations for Bradley, but the Blue Jays have a new GM (Alex Anthopoulos) and the Padres haven't yet named a permanent GM. As De Luca points out, it's doubtful that either club would want to acquire Bradley to kick off a new regime given the outfielder's volatility.

 

I know there are already countless threads regarding Bradleys future, but this is the first Ive heard of actual talks going down, so I thought Id start yet another thread.

 

Burrell could be Lous lefty RBI man, but along with Soriano, it could be one of the more sickeningly bad defensive outfields in recent memory, in fact it would rank up there with the Great Khali and Sloth from Goonies.

 

I would prefer we try to move Bradley for something else and try to get Hawpe from the Rockies, who I guess isnt that better in the field.

 

Burrell is right handed and this deal makes no sense at all, unless Hendry is purposefully trying to get fired. The Cubs don't have a position for Burrell to play unless they move Soriano to 2b or CF. Either way it would make an already below avg. defense worse.

[Rob]

The Cubs defense ranked 4th in the majors this year in defensive efficiency, behind only the Giants, Dodgers, and Mariners. Edited October 8, 2009 by Rob

[Tim M]

Only way this makes sense is if Burrell is a bench guy. There's no chance the Cubs would play him in RF.

[inari]

If Burrell was to bounce back anywhere close to his pre-2009 numbers, we'd be acquiring an outstanding hitter. But yeah, the defense would suffer and there's no guarantee he's going to return to form.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Burrels not the best option for us, but probably is the best return for Bradley that we can hope for, especially considering the other interested teams. The Blue Jays would probably sucker Hendry into eating the rest of Vernon Wells contract and with the Padres, wed walk out with nothing.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

The Cubs defense ranked 4th in the majors this year in defensive efficiency, behind on the Giants, Dodgers, and Mariners.

 

And 25th in UZR.

[Rob]

The Cubs defense ranked 4th in the majors this year in defensive efficiency, behind on the Giants, Dodgers, and Mariners.

 

And 25th in UZR.

 

No kidding? Ouch.

 

I wonder what on earth could cause that large of a disconnect.

[Arastis]

I wonder if it could be someone else other than burrell that the cubs are talking to the rays about. They were considering declining Akinori Iwamura's option for next year because of their middle infield depth. If the cubs could get him for bradley + $, I think that could be beneficial for the cubs. Iwamura has a pretty good OBP and a good fielder, although he strikes out alot and doesnt hit for much power. Plus, it could give Kosuke someone to talk to.

[Cubswin11]

I could see us sending Bradley + cash/propect(s) for Burrell and maybe one of Iwamura or Dan Wheeler. It would be great if Jim could somehow figure out how to get Iwamura and Crawford. But that would probably take giving up some cash and probably 1-2 of either of the Jackson's, Carpenter, Cashner, or Castro.

[17 Seconds]

Cubs & Rays Talking Bradley

By Ben Nicholson-Smith [October 8 at 2:54pm CST]

The Cubs are focused on one particular trading partner, as they look to move Milton Bradley. Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times hears that the Cubs are pushing the Rays to make a quick deal.

 

De Luca suggests the Rays could send Pat Burrell to the Cubs for Bradley. Burrell has $7MM remaining on his contract and Bradley has $21MM remaining on his, so the Rays would likely want the Cubs to cover a considerable amount of Bradley's contract in any deal.

 

The Blue Jays and Padres are possible destinations for Bradley, but the Blue Jays have a new GM (Alex Anthopoulos) and the Padres haven't yet named a permanent GM. As De Luca points out, it's doubtful that either club would want to acquire Bradley to kick off a new regime given the outfielder's volatility.

 

I know there are already countless threads regarding Bradleys future, but this is the first Ive heard of actual talks going down, so I thought Id start yet another thread.

 

Burrell could be Lous lefty RBI man, but along with Soriano, it could be one of the more sickeningly bad defensive outfields in recent memory, in fact it would rank up there with the Great Khali and Sloth from Goonies.

 

Burrell is right handed

[Guest]

The Cubs defense ranked 4th in the majors this year in defensive efficiency, behind on the Giants, Dodgers, and Mariners.

 

And 25th in UZR.

 

No kidding? Ouch.

 

I wonder what on earth could cause that large of a disconnect.

 

Wouldn't it be the lack of range that could cause this? Your defense can't be considered all that great if you are good at fielding the balls hit right at you, but horrible at covering anything beyond that.

[Cubswin11]

The Cubs defense ranked 4th in the majors this year in defensive efficiency, behind on the Giants, Dodgers, and Mariners.

 

And 25th in UZR.

 

No kidding? Ouch.

 

I wonder what on earth could cause that large of a disconnect.

 

Wouldn't it be the lack of range that could cause this? Your defense can't be considered all that great if you are good at fielding the balls hit right at you, but horrible at covering anything beyond that.

We have a lot of guys with bad/average at best range when you think of it. Ramirez (even though he missed time) doesn't have great range, Theriot has little league range at SS, Fontenot has bad range, Soriano probably ranks average at best, Kosuke ranks average at best in CF (above in RF), Bradley ranks average at best in RF if not below average.

[SouthSideRyan]

The Cubs defense ranked 4th in the majors this year in defensive efficiency, behind on the Giants, Dodgers, and Mariners.

 

And 25th in UZR.

 

No kidding? Ouch.

 

I wonder what on earth could cause that large of a disconnect.

 

Wouldn't it be the lack of range that could cause this? Your defense can't be considered all that great if you are good at fielding the balls hit right at you, but horrible at covering anything beyond that.

 

Defensive efficiency is the % of balls in play that you convert into outs. You think that many balls were hit right at our players?

[Post Count Padder]

Burrell is probably the best we could get. If he returns to form he's a great middle-of-the-order hitter. If he doesn't, he's an expensive bench bat with poor defense. I just am not a fan of this whole situation. The best solution is probably to hold onto Bradley, which I wouldn't oppose. However, I can't see the team not moving him at this point.

[XZero771679666304]

The Cubs defense ranked 4th in the majors this year in defensive efficiency, behind on the Giants, Dodgers, and Mariners.

 

And 25th in UZR.

 

No kidding? Ouch.

 

I wonder what on earth could cause that large of a disconnect.

 

That defensive metrics are for [expletive] might have something to do with it.

[biittner77]

Perhaps they think they can flip Burrell somewhere else easier than they can move Bradley.

 

If the intent is to keep Burrell they probably have to find a LH hitting 2nd baseman to bat at the top of the order- again with the disclaimer that Piniella believes this is important. That likely also means more Theriot at the top of the order and Fukudome batting 5th to break up the RH hitters. Making the lineup:

 

Theriot

2nd baseman

Lee

Ramirez

Fukudome

Soriano

Burrell

Soto

Pitcher

 

On the plus side, Lee, Ramirez and Fukudome should get on base a lot in front of a pretty solid group of 6-8 hitters.

[Tyrant]

I like Burrell for the bench only. Could Hawpe REALLY be worse than Burrell in right? It's scary to think of it.

 

I don't like this. Hopefully this is just to start a bidding war.

 

Yes, that's it. There's definitely going to be a bidding war over Milton Bradley.

[Bull]

The Cubs defense ranked 4th in the majors this year in defensive efficiency, behind on the Giants, Dodgers, and Mariners.

 

And 25th in UZR.

 

No kidding? Ouch.

 

I wonder what on earth could cause that large of a disconnect.

 

That defensive metrics are for [expletive] might have something to do with it.

 

wouldn't the high number strikeouts by Cubs pitchers account for much of that discrepancy? ie fewer balls in play doesn't affect efficiency, but does affect UZR.

[SouthSideRyan]

Perhaps they think they can flip Burrell somewhere else easier than they can move Bradley.

 

If the intent is to keep Burrell they probably have to find a LH hitting 2nd baseman to bat at the top of the order- again with the disclaimer that Piniella believes this is important. That likely also means more Theriot at the top of the order and Fukudome batting 5th to break up the RH hitters. Making the lineup:

 

Theriot

2nd baseman

Lee

Ramirez

Fukudome

Soriano

Burrell

Soto

Pitcher

 

On the plus side, Lee, Ramirez and Fukudome should get on base a lot in front of a pretty solid group of 6-8 hitters.

 

I'd really enjoy having our 2 worst hitters hitting 1-2

[SouthSideRyan]

The Cubs defense ranked 4th in the majors this year in defensive efficiency, behind on the Giants, Dodgers, and Mariners.

 

And 25th in UZR.

 

No kidding? Ouch.

 

I wonder what on earth could cause that large of a disconnect.

 

That defensive metrics are for [expletive] might have something to do with it.

 

wouldn't the high number strikeouts by Cubs pitchers account for much of that discrepancy? ie fewer balls in play doesn't affect efficiency, but does affect UZR.

 

How would strikeouts affect UZR?