Nomar looking to stay next season

[shnsajax]

The contract for Nomar Garciaparra expires after this season, but the injured Cubs shortstop apparently is confident he will remain with the team. The California native and his wife—retired soccer star Mia Hamm, who was born in Selma, Ala.—are having a luxurious home built in north suburban Winnetka, sources say. …

 

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-050713mitchell,1,5013223.column?coll=cs-home-utility

[wade]

I like the guy and hope he comes back healthy.

 

That said, if they sign him for next year, it's got to be a lower contract than this year and based on plate appearances. The management also would have to have faith that Cedeno would be ready in the event of another injury.

 

It's a heck of a gamble, one that could pay off he's somehow healthy and hits anywhere near like he used to, and one that could wreck the offense in the event of another bad injury like this year.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

I hope he cuts us a break on his salary. IMO, he owes the Cubs after missing most of this year on the DL. It's not his fault he's injured, but it would be a nice gesture that says he puts the team above himself. He should be in the same boat he was supposedly in this year; working hard to earn a long term contract and proving that he isn't injury prone.

[Evers2Tinker2Chance]

I actually like the idea of signing him back, but it has to be at a reduced rate, perhaps based on plate appearences like Wade said. This would be a to get rid of Nefi and have Ronny as the main back up and then if Nomar does go down again Ronny gets his chance.

[don_kessinger_was_good]

Turn Nomar into a 2B to reduce the strain on his legs, and give Cedeno the SS job.

[CubinNY]

I hope he is looking to stay for a salary of 2 mill dollars + incentives. I could live with that.

[biittner77]

I hope he is looking to stay for a salary of 2 mill dollars + incentives. I could live with that.

 

I see the conversation going something like this:

 

Hendry "Nomar, we want you back, we'll give you $2 million plus incentives worth another $8 million based on PAs and games started etc."

 

Nomar "Jim, aren't you the guy that gave Alphonseca $4 million? There's no way I can sign for less than that. It would be embarassing."

 

Hendry (sighs) "oh alright."

[Buford T Justice]

Turn Nomar into a 2B to reduce the strain on his legs, and give Cedeno the SS job.

 

I love that idea..

[JC]

I have remained pretty confident that Nomar would return in 2006. He really has little choice unless he wants to play 2B for the Angels or Dodgers. Then again, with the new Chicago house, perhaps the White Sox would jump in for his services next year? :-k

 

I'd give Nomar $3-5M with incentives. Cedeno is a nice player, and my choice if Nomar bolts, but he can't compete with Nomar if he has anything left in the non-injury tank. (Big 'if'.)

[USSoccer]

I have remained pretty confident that Nomar would return in 2006. He really has little choice unless he wants to play 2B for the Angels or Dodgers. Then again, with the new Chicago house, perhaps the White Sox would jump in for his services next year? :-k

 

I'd give Nomar $3-5M with incentives. Cedeno is a nice player, and my choice if Nomar bolts, but he can't compete with Nomar if he has anything left in the non-injury tank. (Big 'if'.)

 

I think there are better ways to spend $3-5m than on Nomar. We tried it twice, it didn't work out for the same reason both times, it was a good try, but it's time to move on.

[craig]

Obviously it would all depend on the money. I think Hendry has tended to be pretty reasonable in contracts, other than Alf I don't recall any really bad contracts he's taken on. Probably will also be influenced by what Nomar looks like in August and September. If he gets in 150 AB and looks pretty good, he'll get a much better deal than if he doesn't play at all, or hits .150 and shows no range defensively.

 

I think it's very, very desirable that the Cubs be able to work out a fair deal with Nomar and keep him, though.

 

1. Hendry has money to spend. Money saved by going cheap at SS will instead be spent on outfield. With Murton and Pie around, I'd just as soon not block up the outfield too much with salaries. Especially since the OF free agent pool looks bad. I'd rather spend on Nomar and start Murton/Pie rather than Burnitz, for example, than start Cedeno and spend the Nomar money to bring Burnitz back.

 

2. In contrast to many OFers, Nomar could be brought back on another one-year-and-prove-it terms. If he works out, great. If not, Cedeno isn't blocked long.

 

3. cedeno isn't going to come in with no veteran around. I'd much prefer to have Cedeno backing Nomar, with a fair contract for Nomar, than Cedeno sharing with Neifi. Dusty loves Neifi, Neifi will be overpaid, and Neifi is healthy. Dusty would probably largely stick with Neifi, you'd get no production, and you'd still end up blocking Cedeno. By contrast with Nomar, if he produces he produces, great. If the concern is injury, then an injury would at least provide a clear opportunity for Cedeno and Dusty wouldn't mess it up. In other words, I know Hendry will bring in a vet shortstop. Even one as crummy as Neifi would likely block Cedeno quite a bit. With Nomar, the two major possibilities are a) he's not healthy. In which case he doens't block Cedeno. or b) He is healthy, in which case he's got a good shot to be pretty productive. Seems like a good-good situation. If spending a little more on Nomar than Neifi makes it easier for Murton/Pie to also get good shot, all the better.

[JC]

If spending a little more on Nomar than Neifi makes it easier for Murton/Pie to also get good shot, all the better.

 

What number are you thinking, Craig?

[Bull]

Craig - That sounds good in theory, but if Nomar does get injured again next year, and Cedno does start, Hendry will have to find and Enrique Wilson-esque backup. That back-up will magically find his way into the lineup and Cedeno to the bench.

 

So, clearly, I can not chose the glass infront of me! (there's no undermining Dusty's dizzying intelect)

[WindyCity]

Turn Nomar into a 2B to reduce the strain on his legs, and give Cedeno the SS job.

 

I've actually been thinking about this same idea lately -- Nomar at 2B might give you great production and stay healthy. The only problem is you still need a backup SS -- so say hello to a full year of Neifi starting and Cedeno rotting.

 

My real hope in the above scenario, is Furcal signed to play SS and leadoff, Nomar shifted over to 2B, and Cedeno used to backup both.

 

That said, I can't believe Nomar would it (except for massive Yankee cash).

[LoneStarCubFan]

Turn Nomar into a 2B to reduce the strain on his legs, and give Cedeno the SS job.

 

I've actually been thinking about this same idea lately -- Nomar at 2B might give you great production and stay healthy. The only problem is you still need a backup SS -- so say hello to a full year of Neifi starting and Cedeno rotting.

 

My real hope in the above scenario, is Furcal signed to play SS and leadoff, Nomar shifted over to 2B, and Cedeno used to backup both.

 

That said, I can't believe Nomar would it (except for massive Yankee cash).

 

Nomar's not going to get massive cash from anybody this offseason so he may not have any choice. The Cubs will more than likely be negotiating from a position of strength with him.

[JC]

 

My real hope in the above scenario, is Furcal signed to play SS and leadoff, Nomar shifted over to 2B, and Cedeno used to backup both.

 

No thanks. Furcal's OBP this year is .310. It hasn't approached the high water mark in his rookie year of .394, with .354 being the next highest year.

[CubinNY]

Craig - That sounds good in theory, but if Nomar does get injured again next year, and Cedno does start, Hendry will have to find and Enrique Wilson-esque backup. That back-up will magically find his way into the lineup and Cedeno to the bench.

 

So, clearly, I can not chose the glass infront of me! (there's no undermining Dusty's dizzying intelect)

 

great post. I got quite a laugh out of that one. Someone was walking past my office and asked what I was laughing about. :oops:

[WindyCity]

 

My real hope in the above scenario, is Furcal signed to play SS and leadoff, Nomar shifted over to 2B, and Cedeno used to backup both.

 

No thanks. Furcal's OBP this year is .310. It hasn't approached the high water mark in his rookie year of .394, with .354 being the next highest year.

 

So buy low, no?

 

Or do you believe Furcal can't achieve those rookie OBP #s again? I'm convinced he can get at least a .360-.370 OBP and be a terrific spark at the top of the order.

[brinoch]

Bringing Nomar back at a reasonable salary, with Cedeno to back him up for at least a year is a solid idea, and one that I think makes baseball and economic sense. Nomar's potential is so much greater than any possible FA and, frankly, probably Cedeno. Furthermore, Cedeno, like Dubois last year, has rotted on the bench and hasn't been given a trial run to see if he's a long-term answer.

 

I like this idea -- even if it costs $6-8M -- much more so than Neifi and Ronny. I don't want another summer of Neifi's slap-crap.

[AAApittsburgh]

 

My real hope in the above scenario, is Furcal signed to play SS and leadoff, Nomar shifted over to 2B, and Cedeno used to backup both.

 

No thanks. Furcal's OBP this year is .310. It hasn't approached the high water mark in his rookie year of .394, with .354 being the next highest year.

 

So buy low, no?

 

Or do you believe Furcal can't achieve those rookie OBP #s again? I'm convinced he can get at least a .360-.370 OBP and be a terrific spark at the top of the order.

He'll still get a ton of money from someone based on what he did in the past. He'll at least get what Renteria got, and I think the Mariners or Tigers will sign him. Nomar can outproduce him, and the money saved can be spent on something else.

[erik316wttn]

Turn Nomar into a 2B to reduce the strain on his legs, and give Cedeno the SS job.

 

I've actually been thinking about this same idea lately -- Nomar at 2B might give you great production and stay healthy. The only problem is you still need a backup SS -- so say hello to a full year of Neifi starting and Cedeno rotting.

 

My real hope in the above scenario, is Furcal signed to play SS and leadoff, Nomar shifted over to 2B, and Cedeno used to backup both.

 

That said, I can't believe Nomar would it (except for massive Yankee cash).

 

I dont know about him moving to 2nd. I'd rather hang on to Walker, because if Nomar goes down again, like someone said, then you have another Enrique Wilson situation.

 

He didn't hurt himself this year in the field, he hurt himself at bat. I think he can still handle short.

[craig]

If spending a little more on Nomar than Neifi makes it easier for Murton/Pie to also get good shot, all the better.

 

What number are you thinking, Craig?

 

$4 base. $1 for all-star, $2 for top-5 MVP. $1 each at the 250, 350, 450, and 550 PA thresholds.

 

Cub risk: $4 out the window.

Nomar risk: Short of award-level play, max contract is "only" $8 even if he's healthy enough for 550 PA.

 

Something like that. Nomar gets an opportunity and some money for sure. If Nomar is healthy enough to play a lot, I think $8 contract is perhaps pretty reasonable. I'm not that keen on going much beyond that, short of awards-based incentives. Even if he's healthy enough to play, I'm not sure that Nomar is really going to be able to play defense or hit at beyond the place where $8-9 would be reasonable pay.

 

I can't guess what the market for him would be like. I'd be willing to give larger incentives for awards-based stuff.

[radarluv1]

If spending a little more on Nomar than Neifi makes it easier for Murton/Pie to also get good shot, all the better.

 

What number are you thinking, Craig?

 

$4 base. $1 for all-star, $2 for top-5 MVP. $1 each at the 250, 350, 450, and 550 PA thresholds.

 

Cub risk: $4 out the window.

Nomar risk: Short of award-level play, max contract is "only" $8 even if he's healthy enough for 550 PA.

 

Something like that. Nomar gets an opportunity and some money for sure. If Nomar is healthy enough to play a lot, I think $8 contract is perhaps pretty reasonable. I'm not that keen on going much beyond that, short of awards-based incentives. Even if he's healthy enough to play, I'm not sure that Nomar is really going to be able to play defense or hit at beyond the place where $8-9 would be reasonable pay.

 

I can't guess what the market for him would be like. I'd be willing to give larger incentives for awards-based stuff.

 

unless i'm adding wrong, that could end up being $11-12. if healthy, he's got a great shot at being an all-star on name alone. i think neifi has quite a bit of value as a utility man, but that means we must have healthy starters everywhere to prevent dusty starting him. it'll be interesting to see who is playing CF and 2B next year, along with SS.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

unless i'm adding wrong, that could end up being $11-12. if healthy, he's got a great shot at being an all-star on name alone. i think neifi has quite a bit of value as a utility man, but that means we must have healthy starters everywhere to prevent dusty starting him. it'll be interesting to see who is playing CF and 2B next year, along with SS.

 

 

lol. it's pretty sad when we have to stack the deck to get certain players in the game and keep others (Neifi) out.

[goonys evil twin]

If spending a little more on Nomar than Neifi makes it easier for Murton/Pie to also get good shot, all the better.

 

What number are you thinking, Craig?

 

$4 base. $1 for all-star, $2 for top-5 MVP. $1 each at the 250, 350, 450, and 550 PA thresholds.

 

 

unless i'm adding wrong, that could end up being $11-12. if healthy, he's got a great shot at being an all-star on name alone. i think neifi has quite a bit of value as a utility man, but that means we must have healthy starters everywhere to prevent dusty starting him. it'll be interesting to see who is playing CF and 2B next year, along with SS.

 

Considering he led the AS voting this year for a while, and there are no obvious NL shortstop to take the throne from an active Nomar next year, I would hesitate to have that as one of the incentives. Personally I'd prefer a lower base and higher incentives. I'd give more than $2 for top 5 MVP. I would also try and lower the incentives for 250 or 350 PA, and give him more than $1m for 600 or 650 PA.