Pujols signs with Angels pg 151

[Guest]

Ok smartasses, 50 bucks says Pujols lives in Wheaton if he comes here

Oh no?

[SouthSideRyan]

Ok smartasses, 50 bucks says Pujols lives in Wheaton if he comes here

 

http://www.web2freedom.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/no-darth_vader.jpg

[Tarver]

Ok smartasses, 50 bucks says Pujols lives in Wheaton if he comes here

Oh no?

 

What's wrong with Fielder? Can't spit in Chi without hitting a decent restaurant, that's gotta be worth a discount, and who better than your boy to show him around?

[Tarver]

Ok smartasses, 50 bucks says Pujols lives in Wheaton if he comes here

 

http://www.web2freedom.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/no-darth_vader.jpg

 

Maybe you and Albert can start a southern baptist flock in Evergreen Park, he'll call you "the deacon" as long as Chris Duncan aint in town.

[Guest]

If we sign Pujols and start winning, people will be excited again and go to the ballpark.

 

Exactly. Attendance is tied directly to excitement and winning. By signing Pujols you increase both of those substantially, meaning attendance will rise.

 

Yeah, just look at the difference between 06 and 07/08. There was nobody in the ballpark for the majority of 06 but things changed completely the next two years with a couple free agent signings which didn't even come close to an Albert Pujols. Start winning and Wrigley will start to fill up day in and day out again.

[TruffleShuffle]

If we sign Pujols and start winning, people will be excited again and go to the ballpark.

 

Exactly. Attendance is tied directly to excitement and winning. By signing Pujols you increase both of those substantially, meaning attendance will rise.

 

Yeah, just look at the difference between 06 and 07/08. There was nobody in the ballpark for the majority of 06 but things changed completely the next two years with a couple free agent signings which didn't even come close to an Albert Pujols. Start winning and Wrigley will start to fill up day in and day out again.

 

unless pujols settles in wheaton.

[Tarver]

Ok smartasses, 50 bucks says Pujols lives in Wheaton if he comes here

 

i don't care if he lives on the moon. if the guy was a serial rapist i'd have a problem with signing him, but his great character flaw is that he's a fundamental Christian? who gives a crap.

 

Leave it to you to take this BS too seriously. Should I dig up another username just for you?

[TruffleShuffle]

you hate him because he bought a radio station and went to a glenn beck rally, but yeah i'm definitely the one taking things too seriously.

[Guest]

If we sign Pujols and start winning, people will be excited again and go to the ballpark.

 

Exactly. Attendance is tied directly to excitement and winning. By signing Pujols you increase both of those substantially, meaning attendance will rise.

 

Yeah, just look at the difference between 06 and 07/08. There was nobody in the ballpark for the majority of 06 but things changed completely the next two years with a couple free agent signings which didn't even come close to an Albert Pujols. Start winning and Wrigley will start to fill up day in and day out again.

 

Just to use NSBB as an example.

 

In September of 06, most threads were no more than a couple pages and the longest ones were in Rich Hill starts. Even in the summer they only got up into the 7-9 range.

 

In September of 07, there were 15-20 page threads for Brewers games with the Cub games routinely 30+ pages.

 

In 08, threads were tended to be at least 15-20 pages, though the four-game sweep of the Brewers in August were 69-31-32-31. There were also plenty of others over 30 and over 40.

[Tarver]

you hate him because he bought a radio station and went to a glenn beck rally, but yeah i'm definitely the one taking things too seriously.

 

I said I don't hate him. I just don't view him with same mystique as others here do. You want another 6+ year contract?

[Tarver]

If we sign Pujols and start winning, people will be excited again and go to the ballpark.

 

Exactly. Attendance is tied directly to excitement and winning. By signing Pujols you increase both of those substantially, meaning attendance will rise.

 

Yeah, just look at the difference between 06 and 07/08. There was nobody in the ballpark for the majority of 06 but things changed completely the next two years with a couple free agent signings which didn't even come close to an Albert Pujols. Start winning and Wrigley will start to fill up day in and day out again.

 

Just to use NSBB as an example.

 

In September of 06, most threads were no more than a couple pages and the longest ones were in Rich Hill starts. Even in the summer they only got up into the 7-9 range.

 

In September of 07, there were 15-20 page threads for Brewers games with the Cub games routinely 30+ pages.

 

In 08, threads were tended to be at least 15-20 pages, though the four-game sweep of the Brewers in August were 69-31-32-31. There were also plenty of others over 30 and over 40.

 

MLB in the early oughts almost seems like a fad now. The bandwagoner folks who hung on every Sox/Yanks or Cubs/Cards newsbit seemed to have moved on.

[Tracer Bullet]

the last couple pages are baffling

[TruffleShuffle]

you hate him because he bought a radio station and went to a glenn beck rally, but yeah i'm definitely the one taking things too seriously.

 

I said I don't hate him. I just don't view him with same mystique as others here do. You want another 6+ year contract?

 

another? we have one.

 

and i like how you apparently view every 6+ year contract as the same.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

We've invested wisely the last few years, and we're almost done paying off some debt. We're not ready to commit a huge chunk of our budget into a home whose value will absolutely decline down the road. And then there's the volatile housing market...

Nevermind, I'll quit now.

 

The problem with waiting for the exact perfect free agent is that free agent doesn't exist. If you sit around and pass on each major free agent because there are some flaws or questions, you'll never make a big free agent signing and you'll probably never win a World Series.

 

The Cubs are in a position right now where we have some good, young major league talent and we have a ton of prospects on their way up who look like good major leaguers. However, we have no real starpower in the minors or on the team. The potential is there for a very good supporting cast, but no core for that cast to support. We also don't have much money committed beyond 2012 and the third highest payroll in the MLB. Given all of that, one of the best players to ever play the game may just hit the open market this offseason and would give us that core player we don't have in the system. If we pass on Pujols and Fielder in the hopes that the perfect free agent falls in our lap, we'll see a lot more of the type seasons we saw in the 2000s (good teams that weren't great because they lacked a great player) in the coming years.

 

Signing Pujols is a gamble, but sometimes you have to take gambles to win championships and if I'm going to take a gamble, I want to take one on the best player in the game.

 

This is exactly how I feel. There are certain FA worth taking the gamble on and then there are those that aren't. In reality, you almost always overpay for a free agent. Unless a guy has a breakthrough after signing his contract, there are few values in free agency because you usually pay for past performance and by the time a guy usually hits free agency, he's already in his peak years. That being said, to build a contender, you usually have to go after a guy like that every now and then. Look at what we had to pay Soriano. He was the best FA that year, but he wasn't nearly worth what he got. The same could be said though about most FA contracts. Anyway, Pujols won't be worth his contract, but I know we have to go get someone at sometime, I'd rather it be the best player in baseball.

[SouthSideRyan]

Ok smartasses, 50 bucks says Pujols lives in Wheaton if he comes here

 

http://www.web2freedom.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/no-darth_vader.jpg

 

Maybe you and Albert can start a southern baptist flock in Evergreen Park, he'll call you "the deacon" as long as Chris Duncan aint in town.

 

That's be pretty sweet hanging out with a guy making 30M a year.

[Sammy Sofa]

you hate him because he bought a radio station and went to a glenn beck rally, but yeah i'm definitely the one taking things too seriously.

 

I said I don't hate him. I just don't view him with same mystique as others here do. You want another 6+ year contract?

 

If it's a truly great player and that's the only way the Cubs are going to get him? Of course. Being flatly opposed to 6+ year contracts would be a terrible idea.

[A New Era]

You don't mind having another Soriano situation? (please I am not comparing the player, just the situation). Where maybe you get 5 years of great production, then the last 3-4 years you are hampered with an aging player, and not able to add any peices. Forced to wait to rebuild until his contract is finally up?

[Guest]

You don't mind having another Soriano situation? (please I am not comparing the player, just the situation). Where maybe you get 5 years of great production, then the last 3-4 years you are hampered with an aging player, and not able to add any peices. Forced to wait to rebuild until his contract is finally up?

But we aren't having to wait until Sori's contract is over. So I guess I don"t see your point.

[javy knows my name]

You don't mind having another Soriano situation? (please I am not comparing the player, just the situation). Where maybe you get 5 years of great production, then the last 3-4 years you are hampered with an aging player, and not able to add any peices. Forced to wait to rebuild until his contract is finally up?

 

If you're directing this at Mojo, I think you only have to go back like a page and a half for his answer to this question.

[Sammy Sofa]

You don't mind having another Soriano situation? (please I am not comparing the player, just the situation). Where maybe you get 5 years of great production, then the last 3-4 years you are hampered with an aging player, and not able to add any peices. Forced to wait to rebuild until his contract is finally up?

 

If the the 5 great years of production are coming courtesy of Albert Pujols? Of course. And the Cubs aren't hampered by Soriano's contract; they're hampered by his contract because of the sale. Unless we're thinking the Cubs are going to be sold sometime during the final years of Pujols' contract, then no, worrying about his money would limit the team isn't terribly realistic. A team like the Cubs can easily eat big contracts when they're not hampered by the process of being sold. Again, the area that should be of more concern is overpaying for role players, not overpaying for one of the greatest hitters ever.

[Sammy Sofa]

You don't mind having another Soriano situation? (please I am not comparing the player, just the situation). Where maybe you get 5 years of great production, then the last 3-4 years you are hampered with an aging player, and not able to add any peices. Forced to wait to rebuild until his contract is finally up?

But we aren't having to wait until Sori's contract is over. So I guess I don"t see your point.

 

Yeah, no kidding. The Cubs can hypothetically add Pujols (and more) in this coming off season even though Soriano still has 3 years left on his contract.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Hypothetically speaking, what's the year/dollar combination where you'd say "No thanks" to Pujols.

[Sammy Sofa]

Anything more than 30/10.

[javy knows my name]

I might go up to 10/400

[Sammy Sofa]

Well, strike that; I don't know the exact amount. I definitely wouldn't want him being signed for more than 10 years (and I'm optimistic that he can be had for 8), but the dollar amount, I don't know. I guess $35 million.