Bats available next year

[moorecg]

That don't play 3rd or First.

 

Who are they?

 

(if anyone says Sammy they will be drug outside and beat) :zap:

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

It's a weak FA crop next year. Furcal at short and Giles and Damon in the OF are some of the best.

[HoopsCubs]

It's a weak FA crop next year. Furcal at short and Giles and Damon in the OF are some of the best.

 

Which is why trading Wood or Zambrano for an elite OF bat, and then signing AJ Burnett is not too far off the beaten path strategy-wise. Execution-wise is a whole other ballgame.

[Roast]

It's a weak FA crop next year. Furcal at short and Giles and Damon in the OF are some of the best.

 

Which is why trading Wood or Zambrano for an elite OF bat, and then signing AJ Burnett is not too far off the beaten path strategy-wise. Execution-wise is a whole other ballgame.

 

Do you think wood would actually waive his no trade clause?

[CubfaninCA]

Kerry Wood needs to relocate on the West Coast along w/ Greg Maddux.

[reggiemiller rules]

i think that wood would waive a no trade clause to go to texas.

maybe something like wood for mench and dellucci, or mench and nix.

[ChiCubsFan]

It's a weak FA crop next year. Furcal at short and Giles and Damon in the OF are some of the best.

 

Which is why trading Wood or Zambrano for an elite OF bat, and then signing AJ Burnett is not too far off the beaten path strategy-wise. Execution-wise is a whole other ballgame.

 

Yeah, thats actually a very good idea. I'd much rather trade wood and keep zambrano, but im sure wood's trade value is nowhere near zambrano's. Hoops, who do you suppose we could get for one of them? I saw someone say mench and delucci or nix, but i dont think texas would give up mench and another ML outfielder for wood, maybe zambrano but not for wood. You might be able to get Mench for Wood straight up, but then again i thought wood doesn't want to go to the AL...and therefore he wouldnt waive his no trade to Texas

[ZZ Thorn]

I'd trade Felix Pie before I traded Wood or Zambrano. Those guys are so rare - I'd trade the entire farm before them. They aren't going anywhere.

 

With the weak FA crop, some cornerstones and only a few weak spots I hope this is the year Hendry pulls the trigger and deals some of our top prospects for solid ML ballplayers.

[ChiCubsFan]

I'd trade Felix Pie before I traded Wood or Zambrano. Those guys are so rare - I'd trade the entire farm before them. They aren't going anywhere.

 

With the weak FA crop, some cornerstones and only a few weak spots I hope this is the year Hendry pulls the trigger and deals some of our top prospects for solid ML ballplayers.

 

They are so rare but theres gonna be one sitting on the free agent market that we could possibly get if we wanted. Therefore trading Wood or Zambrano for something we can't get on the free agent market and replacing him with a guy that will be available is a good idea. It's a little risky but a good idea nonetheless.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

It's a weak FA crop next year. Furcal at short and Giles and Damon in the OF are some of the best.

 

Which is why trading Wood or Zambrano for an elite OF bat, and then signing AJ Burnett is not too far off the beaten path strategy-wise. Execution-wise is a whole other ballgame.

 

I'm more of the persuasion that we should take a two year plan to regroup and rebuild. There is a much better crop of players that would be available in 2007.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

It's a weak FA crop next year. Furcal at short and Giles and Damon in the OF are some of the best.

 

Which is why trading Wood or Zambrano for an elite OF bat, and then signing AJ Burnett is not too far off the beaten path strategy-wise. Execution-wise is a whole other ballgame.

 

Do you think wood would actually waive his no trade clause?

 

I don't...or at least not without concessions from the team that is trading for him. And if the team has to give up money and years to Wood to make the deal happen, it lessens his value in a trade.

[Wheelimus]

he'd probably waive it for an extension with his new team.

 

Keep Zambrano, he'll still be relatively cheap for years to come.

[CubfaninCA]

I'd trade Felix Pie before I traded Wood or Zambrano. Those guys are so rare - I'd trade the entire farm before them. They aren't going anywhere.

 

With the weak FA crop, some cornerstones and only a few weak spots I hope this is the year Hendry pulls the trigger and deals some of our top prospects for solid ML ballplayers.

 

There's nothing rare about Kerry Wood anymore. He's hurt too often and isn't that spectacular when healthy.

[hawkeyecub]

It's a weak FA crop next year. Furcal at short and Giles and Damon in the OF are some of the best.

 

Which is why trading Wood or Zambrano for an elite OF bat, and then signing AJ Burnett is not too far off the beaten path strategy-wise. Execution-wise is a whole other ballgame.

 

I'm more of the persuasion that we should take a two year plan to regroup and rebuild. There is a much better crop of players that would be available in 2007.

 

I just don't think that's a good idea. I understand your reasoning for it, but there's no need for that to happen.

With a $100M payroll, some inexpensive options at multiple positions and a number of players with whom we have to do something before the Rule V draft, there's no reason we can't contend for a championship next year.

[CubfaninCA]

Kerry Wood to San Diego for Josh Barfield and X. Nady. Barfield's supposed to be real good right??

[katway]

Those guys are so rare - I'd trade the entire farm before them.

 

I like Wood and Zambrano, but a guy with a high of 14 games won in 6 plus major league seasons and a guy that is too emotional to ever win a big game are not exactly untouchable.

[LuckyPup]

How about moving Z to bring in the kings ransom for the next few years-

 

Zambrano+CPatt+Mitre+Hairston to Philly for

 

Abreu+Lofton+Padilla

 

obviously the deal is really Z+Cpatt for Abreu the rest is just for trim-The Phillies would have their ace plus a new CF, another young arm to replace Padilla, and an adequate backup player in Hairston- Plug in the new pieces and things look a bit different-

 

CF-Lofton

2B-Walker

1B-Lee

RF-Abreu

3B-Ramirez

LF-Burnitz

C-Barrett

SS-Cedeno

 

Wood-Prior-Maddux-Padilla-Williams

That lineup would generate some runs-Padilla needs a change of scenery really badly right now-This deal(although quite fictitious) is the kind of deal we should consider if Z's name enters the mix-nothing short of blockbuster-

[Backtobanks]

It's a weak FA crop next year. Furcal at short and Giles and Damon in the OF are some of the best.

 

Which is why trading Wood or Zambrano for an elite OF bat, and then signing AJ Burnett is not too far off the beaten path strategy-wise. Execution-wise is a whole other ballgame.

 

Yeah, thats actually a very good idea. I'd much rather trade wood and keep zambrano, but im sure wood's trade value is nowhere near zambrano's. Hoops, who do you suppose we could get for one of them? I saw someone say mench and delucci or nix, but i dont think texas would give up mench and another ML outfielder for wood, maybe zambrano but not for wood. You might be able to get Mench for Wood straight up, but then again i thought wood doesn't want to go to the AL...and therefore he wouldnt waive his no trade to Texas

 

You should trade from strength, we have pitching & Texas has hitting. Wood for Mench straight up. 2007 Of of Murton, Mench, Pie looks great to me.

[Outshined_One]

Those guys are so rare - I'd trade the entire farm before them.

 

I like Wood and Zambrano, but a guy with a high of 14 games won in 6 plus major league seasons and a guy that is too emotional to ever win a big game are not exactly untouchable.

 

Wins are one of the most overrated stats in baseball as it is. Considering the offenses and bullpens that this team has had, it's a miracle anyone has ever won 15 or more games in the past 10 years.

 

Wood's an enigma to me. There are times when he'll flash moments of dominance and seem to have turned the corner. Today was a pretty good example of the pitcher he could be when he's on. When he keeps his pitch counts down and keeps his mechanics in line, he can be a dominator. He's a gamer. Games 1 and 5 of the 2003 NLDS were both terrific examples of the kind of pitcher you'd want him to be.

 

But then there are the injuries and inconsistency. He has yet to show even a three month stretch of dominance. He loses his release point, then it completely wrecks his mechanics. When his mechanics go, the injuries happen.

 

Wood no longer lives in the Texas area (I think he lives in AZ now?), so I don't think a trade to the Rangers would cause him to jump up and down with glee. He and his wife love it in Chicago, so the likelihood of him being traded is not all that good.

 

That said...if he were willing to waive his no trade clause and the right deal came along, I wouldn't mind trading him. Especially if the Cubs land Burnett (who has similar problems to Wood, fyi).

[imb]

Since the beginning of 2004, when healthy, Wood has been better than Zambrano.

 

/can of worms

[texascub]

Kerry Wood to San Diego for Josh Barfield and X. Nady. Barfield's supposed to be real good right??

 

Barfield is a good player, but my question is with Loretta out why isn't he playing in SD? Barfield and Fontenot are fairly close in my opinion, but Barfield has the edge because he is 2 1/2 years younger while putting up similar numbers. Fontenot is a LH hitter though and has an OBP about 50 points higher too. Both seem to have decent speed, Barfield has a good amount of SBs but Fontenot has quite a few 3Bs. Defensively neither are spectacular (Fontenot with 7 errors, Barfield with 8 ). Nady thrown in is nice, good power, good eye. He can hold down RF until Harvey gets there.

[Backtobanks]

Since the beginning of 2004, when healthy, Wood has been better than Zambrano.

 

/can of worms

 

You mean for the 3 weeks that he has been healthy.

[rawaction]

It's a weak FA crop next year. Furcal at short and Giles and Damon in the OF are some of the best.

 

Which is why trading Wood or Zambrano for an elite OF bat, and then signing AJ Burnett is not too far off the beaten path strategy-wise. Execution-wise is a whole other ballgame.

 

I'm more of the persuasion that we should take a two year plan to regroup and rebuild. There is a much better crop of players that would be available in 2007.

 

I just don't think that's a good idea. I understand your reasoning for it, but there's no need for that to happen.

With a $100M payroll, some inexpensive options at multiple positions and a number of players with whom we have to do something before the Rule V draft, there's no reason we can't contend for a championship next year.

 

I don't think it's a good idea either. Even if the Cubs get rid of all the guys they should, they will still have Wood, Prior, Zambrano, Dempster, Lee and Ramirez taking up around $50M. They will still have the most talented pitching staff. They will still have the deepest farm system in the ML. There's really no justification for rebuilding. Of course, there's no justification for losing, either with the amount of talent and payroll, but that hasn't stopped them.

[HoopsCubs]

Yeah, thats actually a very good idea. I'd much rather trade wood and keep zambrano, but im sure wood's trade value is nowhere near zambrano's. Hoops, who do you suppose we could get for one of them? I saw someone say mench and delucci or nix, but i dont think texas would give up mench and another ML outfielder for wood, maybe zambrano but not for wood. You might be able to get Mench for Wood straight up, but then again i thought wood doesn't want to go to the AL...and therefore he wouldnt waive his no trade to Texas

 

I think Zambrano is easier to trade than Wood. He hasn't reached free agency yet, he's younger, he's been more dominant lately and he's been relatively injury free. So, why do the Cubs deal him? Because he will bring back an elite bat. And the Cubs organization is more pro-Wood than pro-Zambrano. I can tell you for fact that some in the organization do not like Zambrano's mental make-up or maturity. And the fact that he's represented by Boras, and tends to be be brash and cocky, is going to lead to some arbitration squabbles very soon. If Wood and Prior show signs of health, and Rich Hill continues to trend nicely, I wouldn't be surprised if the Cubs made a blockbuster winter move like trading Zambrano, Patterson and a prospect for Padilla and Abreu. Is it probable? No way - relatively improbable actually. BUt would it come as a shock if it happened? Not to me.

[Roast]

Ugh. I really dont like the prospect of trading Z. But, I guess if we get Abreu back....but still