Hendry sees Cedeno as a starter in 2006

[TXCubsFan]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-050904cubsbits,1,5920385.story?coll=cs-cubs-headlines

 

=D> \:D/

[otis89]

I guess this means adios Nomar.

[YearofDaCubs]

I guess this means adios Nomar.

Very possible. Especially now that they are talking about improving the defense.

[Tim]

I guess this means adios Nomar.

Or Walker...

[Banedon]

I guess this means adios Nomar.

 

Not necessarily. They could trade Walker in the off-season and start Cedeno there...

 

But SS would be a more likely possibility I would imagine.

[Mark_R]

I hope this means no Furcal more so than anything.

[CheeseHead Cubs Fan]

I really, really wish Nomar would have worked out better. I believe he still has some good years left and will probably have a great year next year. However, if Hendy can sign him low for 1-2 years, maybe he will turn things around and Cedeno can make the switch to 2nd. Who knows?

[Rusch33]

I think Todd is gone with the way Nomar is playing when healthy.

[cjbucks]

I think Todd is gone with the way Nomar is playing when healthy.

 

With Ronny going to 2nd?

[synergy]

No, with nomar going to 2nd. It's less range for Nomar, so he won't stress out his groin. With his arm, he can do fine on 2nd. Cedeno can start at SS. Nomar is a career .320 hitter and you can see how good he is since he came back. He's hitting .370 with 6 homers. And he said he's willing to work for less than $2 million dollars, but of course laden with incentives. I say give him a chance, and that would save us money to go after help for our bullpen and one outfielder (maybe damon).

[Wheelimus]

Am I to assume there is no chance of Nomar playing left field next year? Or, extremely crazy thought, Ramirez playing left field and Nomar playing 3rd.?

[Electron Blue]

No, with nomar going to 2nd. It's less range for Nomar, so he won't stress out his groin. With his arm, he can do fine on 2nd. Cedeno can start at SS. Nomar is a career .320 hitter and you can see how good he is since he came back. He's hitting .370 with 6 homers. And he said he's willing to work for less than $2 million dollars, but of course laden with incentives. I say give him a chance, and that would save us money to go after help for our bullpen and one outfielder (maybe damon).

 

I like Walker but if we can get a pretty good prospect for him (and we should be able to, IMO), I like the idea of Cedeno and Nomar playing up the middle. I think it works for everybody.

[ConstableRabbit]

I guess this means adios Nomar.

Very possible. Especially now that they are talking about improving the defense.

 

Weren't they talking about that going into this season?

[CubsWin]

I guess this means adios Nomar.

Or Walker...

Exactly. The article mentioned ronny being worked out at 2B. With Hairston still on the roster, it would be possible to let Walker go, bring Nomar back and have Cedeno play 2B. If Nomar gets injured again, Cedeno slides over to SS and Hairston takes over at 2B.

 

Personally, I would rather see Walker and Nomar return with Cedeno spelling both of them and Hairston splitting time backing up the outfielders and a little at 2B as well. Walker's production remains fairly high and his price of 2.5 mill next season is fairly low. If Nomar can be brought back with a low base salary and lots of incentives, it would be the ideal low-risk, high reward situation for the Cubs. Nomar would get regular rest with Ronny taking over once a week or so and Walker would sit against lefties with Ronny stepping in for him at 2B.

 

The article left the door open for Nomar to return. With Hendry making this statement now, it maximizes his leverage in negotiations with any FA shortstop. Good move, Jim.

[ltb]

Am I to assume there is no chance of Nomar playing left field next year? Or, extremely crazy thought, Ramirez playing left field and Nomar playing 3rd.?

 

nomar wouldn't play 2nd for the dodgers this year. i highly doubt he'll move to left.

 

ramirez in left would be horrendous - that would be really bad for his recurring leg injuries.

[cbbryan]

I only want to keep Hairston if he goes to DON'T SLIDE AT FIRST BASE SCHOOL."

 

 

I like the idea of Nomar at 2B and Ronny at SS. Why not keep Walker for off the bench? I'd much rather have him playing 2B if Nomar went down for an extended period of time next season as apposed to Hairston.

 

Although, you could keep Hairston as well. (Let Neifi and Macias go.) I think someone may think Neifi can play everyday and offer a deal anyway.

[Rusch33]

I think Todd is gone with the way Nomar is playing when healthy.

 

With Ronny going to 2nd?

 

 

Nomar, I think, with Hairston and/or Neifi as the backups.

[frostwyrm]

My understanding is that Neifi is coming back too. There is zero chance of Cedeno starting over Neifi at SS. I suppose we could see Neifi at SS and Cedeno at 2B. If it were up to me I'd go with Cedeno at SS and Walker at 2B and dump Neifi.

[EricG]

The Cubs need a better backup at 3B than Macias with Ramirez and his injury problems. I would give Walker a chance in spring training to play LF and backup at 2B/3B. Sign Nomar to play 2B, Cedeno at SS. If Walker refuses then say goodbye via trade.

[CubsWin]

My understanding is that Neifi is coming back too. There is zero chance of Cedeno starting over Neifi at SS. I suppose we could see Neifi at SS and Cedeno at 2B. If it were up to me I'd go with Cedeno at SS and Walker at 2B and dump Neifi.

Not according to Hendry. But then again, what does he know? :wink:

[Fred Hornkohl]

My understanding is that Neifi is coming back too. There is zero chance of Cedeno starting over Neifi at SS. I suppose we could see Neifi at SS and Cedeno at 2B. If it were up to me I'd go with Cedeno at SS and Walker at 2B and dump Neifi.

Not according to Hendry. But then again, what does he know? :wink:

 

Yeah.... wasn't he the same guy that told us Sammy would be playing right field for us this year ???

[CubsWin]

The Cubs need a better backup at 3B than Macias with Ramirez and his injury problems. I would give Walker a chance in spring training to play LF and backup at 2B/3B. Sign Nomar to play 2B, Cedeno at SS. If Walker refuses then say goodbye via trade.

I totally agree that the Cubs would be much better off with someone other than Macias backing up Ramirez at 3B. Ramirez has shown a propensity to miss 10-15 games a year, so having someone who has got some pop and the ability to maybe play an outfield spot as well as 1B might not be a bad idea. Anybody have any names that fit that description?

 

And I think the greater likelihood, if Nomar is brought back and Walker isn't, is that Nomar would play SS and Cedeno would move to 2B.

[CubsWin]

My understanding is that Neifi is coming back too. There is zero chance of Cedeno starting over Neifi at SS. I suppose we could see Neifi at SS and Cedeno at 2B. If it were up to me I'd go with Cedeno at SS and Walker at 2B and dump Neifi.

Not according to Hendry. But then again, what does he know? :wink:

 

Yeah.... wasn't he the same guy that told us Sammy would be playing right field for us this year ???

Yes, and the quotes in this article fall right in line with his modus operendi. He has to say publically that which puts him in the best bargaining position. So, if he is trying to trade Sammy, and it was no secret that he was, then it behooves him to publicly state, when he isn't finding a good enough offer in return, that it looks like Sammy will not be traded.

 

He is doing the same thing here. Hendry intends to at least see what the market is like for either Nomar or Furcal or both. To say that Cedeno has looked great and has proven himself to the Cubs to the point that if he was their starter next season they would be okay with that works to the CUbs advantage on several levels. It gives the Cubs leverage in negotiations with all FA SSs. It gives Cedeno a public pat-on-the-back for his success over the last two seasons. It probably gives Cedeno some added confidence that he belongs in the bigs, and it provides some PR cover if Hendry chooses not to sign one of the FA SSs.

 

Show me a GM of any sports franchise who is up front with the media and the public 100% of the time, and I'll show you a guy who is about to be fired and deservedly so.

 

But as far as Neifi getting playing time over Cedeno if they are both on the team, that will be up to the manager. If its Dusty, it looks highly likely that Neifi will see a lot of time on the field over Cedeno. That would be very disappointing to me.

[frostwyrm]

My understanding is that Neifi is coming back too. There is zero chance of Cedeno starting over Neifi at SS. I suppose we could see Neifi at SS and Cedeno at 2B. If it were up to me I'd go with Cedeno at SS and Walker at 2B and dump Neifi.

Not according to Hendry. But then again, what does he know? :wink:

 

Yeah.... wasn't he the same guy that told us Sammy would be playing right field for us this year ???

 

In the preseason he also talked up Dubois as a potential Rookie of the Year, then it turned out Hollandsworth was the starter. Hendry says a lot of BS for public consumption. Judging by how quickly Dubois was dumped it wouldn't surprise me if Hendry was looking for offers for Dubois even before opening day and the ROY talk was just hype to inflate Dubois' value.

[CubinNY]

I wouldn't put any stock in anything Hendry says. How many times has he made comments like this in the past only to see Dusty do the opposite?

 

However, just for speculation purposes. What if Nomar is penciled in at 3rd, Nefury at short, Cedeno at 2nd, and Walker and Aramis are dealt.

 

What kind of return could the Cubs get there???