HOW LONG

[Guest]

How long do you all think it will be before the first major offseason transaction? And no, a new deal to Neifi doesn't count! :)

 

Im hoping soon, and am ready for baseball to start again!

[A New Era]

By the end of November Furcal will be signed to be our SS!! Who thinks so!?? :lol:

[YearofDaCubs]

I dont know but I cant wait to see some movement.

[Salazar89]

I for one hope Jim moves quickly on Furcal. Once Nomar is off the market and the Cubs have a gaping hole at SS......Furcal's price could skyrocket.

 

Wish there was some reasonable way to add Furcal without losing Nomar's bat in the process.

[Sabermetrician]

I for one hope Jim moves quickly on Furcal. Once Nomar is off the market and the Cubs have a gaping hole at SS......Furcal's price could skyrocket.

 

Wish there was some reasonable way to add Furcal without losing Nomar's bat in the process.

 

Well I for one hope Jim doesn't move on Furcal.

 

He's another overpaid SS waiting to happen. If Nomar is willing to take another one year incentive laden deal, that's the best option, because a leadoff hitter can be filled through other acquisitions, such as Lofton, Castillo, or even Bradley.

 

I am dreading that the Cubs search for a "leadoff hitter" will become redudant this coming season. If the sign Lofton, Furcal, and keep Walker, then you've got three guys capable of leading off. We can't just concentrate only on "leadoff" hitters and ignore the power all together. And I say this before we're adding a RF, who, unless it's Giles, will likely have not great power himself.

[Salazar89]

I also much prefer Nomar over an overpriced Furcal, but from the impression i get from the media reports and these boards it is beginning to sound more and more like Furcal is in and Nomar is out.

 

Either way.....Jim needs to move soon after Nov. 15th on this because it will have a large bearing on how the rest of the roster shakes out both in personnel needed and resources available.

[Guest]

I for one hope Jim moves quickly on Furcal. Once Nomar is off the market and the Cubs have a gaping hole at SS......Furcal's price could skyrocket.

 

Wish there was some reasonable way to add Furcal without losing Nomar's bat in the process.

 

Well I for one hope Jim doesn't move on Furcal.

 

He's another overpaid SS waiting to happen. If Nomar is willing to take another one year incentive laden deal, that's the best option, because a leadoff hitter can be filled through other acquisitions, such as Lofton, Castillo, or even Bradley.

 

I am dreading that the Cubs search for a "leadoff hitter" will become redudant this coming season. If the sign Lofton, Furcal, and keep Walker, then you've got three guys capable of leading off. We can't just concentrate only on "leadoff" hitters and ignore the power all together. And I say this before we're adding a RF, who, unless it's Giles, will likely have not great power himself.

 

 

I hope not, which is why I hope it happens quickly. Then we can make some sort of deal for a bat that would fill a corner OF spot. I won't mind Murton and Cedeno at LF and 2b, if we can get someone who can hit at the top of the order, maybe 2 including a CF, and get a bat with some sort of pop to protect Aram and Lee and play RF.

[RockTheIvy]

How long do you all think it will be before the first major offseason transaction? And no, a new deal to Neifi doesn't count! :)

 

Im hoping soon, and am ready for baseball to start again!

 

Castilla for Lawrence? Hello? :lol:

[NorthsideAvenger]

Let me say, I like Furcal, but he isn't going to be worth what he is asking. (He shouldn't get more then what Renteria got and here's why:

 

Furcal:: .284/.348/.409/.757

Renteria:: .288/.345/.399/.744

 

You notice how EERILY similar Furcal"s are to Renteria, with Edgar being only 2 yrs older? I would only offer Furcal what Renteria got, maybe $1 mill more in INCENTIVES. If he doesn't take that, I would move on.

 

With that said, I still hope Furcal is a Cub, b/c IMO, I think he'll have a bigger impact then Brian Giles offensively. Just my opinion.

[CardsFanInChiTown]

With that said, I still hope Furcal is a Cub, b/c IMO, I think he'll have a bigger impact then Brian Giles offensively. Just my opinion.

 

[NorthsideAvenger]

With that said, I still hope Furcal is a Cub, b/c IMO, I think he'll have a bigger impact then Brian Giles offensively. Just my opinion.

 

 

(Disclaimer: I should have said, "Furcal would have a bigger impact on the Cubs, then Giles would have on the Cards, Angels, Dodgers, etc)

 

I understand the man-love certain Cubs fan have for Giles, cause I would love Giles, but for a team that doesn't have a LEGIT leadoff hitter, Furcal will impact the Cubs lineup, if Chicago signs him. I mean people will say that well they believe Murton and/or Cedeno can handle the leadoff spot, to which I reply, "no you don't." Neither was asked to leadoff on a consistant basis in the minors, and neither leadoff in the majors. So you don't have a clue how Cedeno and/or Murton, besides Baker wouldn't put either in the spot, anyways.

[fromthestretch]

With that said, I still hope Furcal is a Cub, b/c IMO, I think he'll have a bigger impact then Brian Giles offensively. Just my opinion.

 

 

(Disclaimer: I should have said, "Furcal would have a bigger impact on the Cubs, then Giles would have on the Cards, Angels, Dodgers, etc)

 

I understand the man-love certain Cubs fan have for Giles, cause I would love Giles, but for a team that doesn't have a LEGIT leadoff hitter, Furcal will impact the Cubs lineup, if Chicago signs him. I mean people will say that well they believe Murton and/or Cedeno can handle the leadoff spot, to which I reply, "no you don't." Neither was asked to leadoff on a consistant basis in the minors, and neither leadoff in the majors. So you don't have a clue how Cedeno and/or Murton, besides Baker wouldn't put either in the spot, anyways.

 

I'm not quite sure how a player with a sub-.350 OBP can be considered a legit leadoff hitter.

 

I do believe that Murton could handle the leadoff spot. That doesn't mean I know he can, just that I believe he can. He's shown the ability to get on base, and he has OK speed. The Cubs have Todd Walker under contract. Walker's career OBP is the same as Furcal's. Walker's OBP has been HIGHER than Furcal's in each of the past two seasons. The only difference is that Walker isn't going to steal 20+ bases, which to me isn't a big deal.

 

I'm not saying Walker is the ideal leadoff hitter. However, he can get on base as often as, if not more often than, Furcal. And he costs much less.

[TheDude]

Free Agents can officially sign with new teams Friday (maybe it's Saturday). So I expect the weekend or Monday to heat up.

[EricG]

Furcal is a switch hitter. Dusty likes switch hitters even if they suck. Would be better off gambling on Cedeno and spending money on pitching.

[CuseCubFan69]

Furcal is a switch hitter. Dusty likes switch hitters even if they suck. Would be better off gambling on Cedeno and spending money on pitching.

 

Is Augie available?

[EricG]

Furcal is a switch hitter. Dusty likes switch hitters even if they suck. Would be better off gambling on Cedeno and spending money on pitching.

 

Is Augie available?

can he play RF?

[CuseCubFan69]

Furcal is a switch hitter. Dusty likes switch hitters even if they suck. Would be better off gambling on Cedeno and spending money on pitching.

 

Is Augie available?

can he play RF?

 

As well as Macias.

[stubbers56]

Neifi is signed...that makes him #2 hitter for the Idiot mgr

[A New Era]

Furcal is a switch hitter. Dusty likes switch hitters even if they suck. Would be better off gambling on Cedeno and spending money on pitching.

 

I don't agree with that. Of the LIKELY free agents to sign with the Cubs, I would pick Furcal, because I honestly think he fills many holes. Defensive SS, constant threat on the bases (IE: efective speed), Lead-off.

 

The rest can be done with trades, but sign Furcal.

[Schwarber Fan]

Furcal is a switch hitter. Dusty likes switch hitters even if they suck. Would be better off gambling on Cedeno and spending money on pitching.

 

Is Augie available?

can he play RF?

 

As far as I know, Augie is playing here in Rochester for the Red Wings which is in the Twins organization. I don't believe he is a FA.

[Andy]

Furcal is a switch hitter. Dusty likes switch hitters even if they suck. Would be better off gambling on Cedeno and spending money on pitching.

 

Is Augie available?

can he play RF?

Can he catch the ball?

[NorthsideAvenger]

With that said, I still hope Furcal is a Cub, b/c IMO, I think he'll have a bigger impact then Brian Giles offensively. Just my opinion.

 

 

(Disclaimer: I should have said, "Furcal would have a bigger impact on the Cubs, then Giles would have on the Cards, Angels, Dodgers, etc)

 

I understand the man-love certain Cubs fan have for Giles, cause I would love Giles, but for a team that doesn't have a LEGIT leadoff hitter, Furcal will impact the Cubs lineup, if Chicago signs him. I mean people will say that well they believe Murton and/or Cedeno can handle the leadoff spot, to which I reply, "no you don't." Neither was asked to leadoff on a consistant basis in the minors, and neither leadoff in the majors. So you don't have a clue how Cedeno and/or Murton, besides Baker wouldn't put either in the spot, anyways.

 

I'm not quite sure how a player with a sub-.350 OBP can be considered a legit leadoff hitter.

 

I do believe that Murton could handle the leadoff spot. That doesn't mean I know he can, just that I believe he can. He's shown the ability to get on base, and he has OK speed. The Cubs have Todd Walker under contract. Walker's career OBP is the same as Furcal's. Walker's OBP has been HIGHER than Furcal's in each of the past two seasons. The only difference is that Walker isn't going to steal 20+ bases, which to me isn't a big deal.

 

I'm not saying Walker is the ideal leadoff hitter. However, he can get on base as often as, if not more often than, Furcal. And he costs much less.

 

I'm not saying signing Furcal won't be a risk, but people are forgetting that he would bring a dimension of baseball, the Cubs haven't really had in yrs.....a threat on the base paths. I personally believe that with ARam and Lee and maybe a third bopper, he could be coming into his own as a player. I'm tired of watching "wannabe" leadoff hitters, I want a legit leadoff hitter, something neither Murton (he is suited for the #2 or 6 spot, anyways) or Cedeno, IMO, will be. Furcal isn't going to be worth what he is paid, but he does fill a couple of needs, and IMO, needs are more important then wants.

[A New Era]

I'm not saying signing Furcal won't be a risk, but people are forgetting that he would bring a dimension of baseball, the Cubs haven't really had in yrs.....a threat on the base paths. I personally believe that with ARam and Lee and maybe a third bopper, he could be coming into his own as a player. I'm tired of watching "wannabe" leadoff hitters, I want a legit leadoff hitter, something neither Murton (he is suited for the #2 or 6 spot, anyways) or Cedeno, IMO, will be. Furcal isn't going to be worth what he is paid, but he does fill a couple of needs, and IMO, needs are more important then wants.

 

Hear hear on that.