Braves expected to increase their offer to Furcal per FOX

[JeffH]

Just heard on ESPN that Maddux called Furcal trying to dissuade him from coming here. Interesting.

 

Fixed.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

maddux, you stud. he knows what neifi starting at SS means.

[UMFan83]

Well if Furcal reups with the Braves, we can always fall back on Nomar? Or at the very worst, keep Walker and play Cedeno at SS....

[YearofDaCubs]

maddux, you stud. he knows what neifi starting at SS means.

:lol:

[Balsa]

Well if Furcal reups with the Braves, we can always fall back on Nomar? Or at the very worst, keep Walker and play Cedeno at SS....

I would prefer the latter.

[CubinNY]

I don't want to pee in anyone's Wheaties, but I can see the Cards signing Brian Giles and then making a move for little bro. It's the kind of big move that Walt would do to move the team into the new park.

As a Birds on the Bat fan that would be awesome.

 

Who are the Cards going to trade for Giles? The stud AAA pitchers didn't fare to well this year. And the system otherwise is barren of talent.

 

Funny how we hear the same old record every year. The Cardinals don't have any talent to trade.... What? They just traded for _________.

 

I'm not saying that the Cards have the richest farm system in the majors, far from it, but Walt seems to make things happen with what they do have.

 

You still have not answered my question.

[BigbadB]

Why should Nomar consider staying now?

 

The Cubs have been courting Furcal since the season ended. The home discount is gone, folks.

[CardsFanInChiTown]

I don't want to pee in anyone's Wheaties, but I can see the Cards signing Brian Giles and then making a move for little bro. It's the kind of big move that Walt would do to move the team into the new park.

As a Birds on the Bat fan that would be awesome.

 

Who are the Cards going to trade for Giles? The stud AAA pitchers didn't fare to well this year. And the system otherwise is barren of talent.

 

Funny how we hear the same old record every year. The Cardinals don't have any talent to trade.... What? They just traded for _________.

 

I'm not saying that the Cards have the richest farm system in the majors, far from it, but Walt seems to make things happen with what they do have.

 

You still have not answered my question.

 

Here's a summary of the Cards minors according to BP. We have talent to trade however I doubt we'll trade for Giles...

 

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=4541

 

 

The Cardinals entered Wednesday with the best chance to win the World Series. However, while the big club marches toward a second consecutive World Series berth, let's take a break to look at an often-overlooked part of their organization: the farm system. What follows is a two part look at the Cardinals farm system. The first part will look at players we visited on in BP 2005, followed by those players taken in the 2005 draft.

 

The gem of the St. Louis farm system is Anthony Reyes, and he did not disappoint this season. He did not maintain his gaudy peripheral statistics from 2004, but they were nonetheless in the solid to spectacular range. As a Memphis Redbird he piled up a K/9 of 9.5. Though he only had a G/F ratio of .60, he had a solid HR/9 score of .91. Reyes did well in his sport start for the big club in August, and figures to compete for a spot in the rotation, and perhaps even slot in if the Cardinals lose Matt Morris via free agency.

 

Another Cardinal farmhand who had a good season was Cody Haerther. Haerther slugged .500 or better at both of his stops, earning a pre-draft promotion to AA. For the season he amassed a line of .307/.355/.538, which is a pretty good line for a 21-year old. He is currently down in Arizona, playing for the Surprise Scorpions. With Larry Walker likely to retire, and Reggie Sanders and John Mabry set for free agency, a strong AFL showing might put Haerther in the running for a job in the show.

 

Unfortunately, looking at some of the other Cardinals farmhands written up in BP 2005, we don’t get that same special feeling. Shaun Boyd still can’t hit enough for an outfield corner. Chris Duncan was able to maintain his decent power, but it did not spike, and his OBP dropped from his 2004 peak of .393. Reid Gorecki did not do much with his first shot at AA, hitting .182/.264/.277 at Springfield. In the comment for John Nelson, it was noted that the excellent power he flashed in ’04 was an aberration, and his ’05 stats support that hypothesis. With 30 walks versus 39 strikeouts across two levels, Brendan Ryan improved his plate discipline, and was again near flawless in SB attempts. However, his batting average dropped, and he hit far fewer doubles than he had in the past. Lastly, there is Rick Ankiel, who probably deserves more time before he is seriously evaluated as a hitter (Ankiel also may just retire).

 

For other returning pitchers, the story is largely the same. Carmen Cali spent the season at AAA Memphis, where he piled up awful hit and K/BB numbers. His 5.40 ERA looks bad enough without adding in the 12 unearned runs he allowed, which gives him a 7.25 RA. Blake Hawksworth once again battled shoulder problems, not debuting until July. Stuart Pomeranz is still very tall and very young, but he didn’t really take to Springfield. In 18 starts spanning 98.2 IP, his H/9 clocked in at an underwhelming 10.03, which was coupled with a 3.65 BB/9 rate. Given that he was promoted in late May, it appears that he will continue to get every opportunity to succeed, but when you have average stuff and your control regresses, that isn’t a great sign. Adam Wainwright managed a September call-up, but his 2005 in Memphis wasn't terribly special. Still Wainwright is only 23, and playing behind a superior Cardinals defense could help some of his weaker peripherals look a bit better. If nothing else, he is “not needing to vastly overpay for Matt Morris insurance.” Lastly, we have the latest candidate to be Brendan Donnelly. Mark Nussbeck, in the minors since ’96, put up some pretty good peripheral stats this season, including a silly 5.21 K/BB.

 

In brighter news, the Cardinals draft class got off to a great start. When Edgar Renteria and Mike Matheny departed for decidedly less greener pastures, the Cards reaped the benefits. The result was the Cards having six of the first 78 picks in the June draft. Four of the six landed on Baseball America’s end of season prospect lists. Chief among them was OF Colby Rasmus, who was rated the #2 prospect in the Appalaichian League. While Rasmus struck out quite a bit (73 SO’s in 216 AB’s), he did have good OBP and SLG marks, and was successful on 13 of 16 stolen base attempts. 2nd round pick Nick Webber did well enough to warrant a late season promotion. Catcher Bryan Anderson became the highest drafted Cardinals catcher (4th round) since Daric Barton in 2003, and he did not disappoint, displaying a decent batting eye and excellent power. The two Tyler’s, Greene and Herron, were impressive in some areas, but not in all. However, Greene only racked up 85 AB’s, and Herron’s 8.87 K/9 is reason enough for optimism.

 

Overall, the Cards farm system would look a lot better were Barton (.317/.426/.478, reached AA at 19) still in it. There isn’t a ton of talent, but Reyes and Wainwright are likely to graduate, and this year’s draft haul should signal brighter days ahead. It will be very interesting to see if their free agent machinations allow them to keep building the system’s depth or if they lose draft picks in an off-season shopping spree.

[Careless]

i went to highschool with a japanese guy that could barely speak any english. He did speak enough, however, to refer to Patrick Ewing as "Evolution".

:lol:

[BigbadB]

I'm sure Atlanta is just trying to drive up his price. But, if we end up with neither Nomar or Furcal, I am not going to be very happy with Cubs management. And I'll be even angrier that Neifi Perez is on the team.

[YearofDaCubs]

I'm sure Atlanta is just trying to drive up his price. But, if we end up with neither Nomar or Furcal, I am not going to be very happy with Cubs management. And I'll be even angrier that Neifi Perez is on the team.

If that happened it would be a disaster.

[BigbadB]

I'm not behind the scenes, so I really don't know how everything goes down. But, if I'm Nomar, I see the writing on the wall. The Cubs have been courting Furcal since the offseason began. It's Furcal this and Furcal that. The only blurb I've seen about Nomar is that Nomar would love to come back to Chicago and would even be willing to switch positions.

 

But, in that same blurb, it said that it is assumed that the Cubs don't appear to be interested in bringing Nomar back. This makes it an easy decision for Nomar. See what he can get on the open market. Since LA seems like the hot destination, I wouldn't be surprised.

 

With or without Nomar, I already have LA penciled in to win the Western Division in 2006. With him, it should be even easier.

 

Meanwhile, with Ronnie Cedeno at 2nd and Neifi Perez at SS, the Cubs fall into 5th place after losing their 7th game in a row with a 2-1 score. Great defense and excellent pitching, but Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez are the only offense on the team.

[CubinNY]

Furcal will be overpaid, his defense is not that good (he does have a strong arm). He is a streaky hitter who will not be a difference maker on this club. Once again Hendry is filling a hole that he has created. Worse offf, he seems to be buddying up with Furcal's agent by signing a useless offensive player at inflated prices for too long. In the meantime what is going to be done about right field and center field.

 

When I see Furcal I see a rich man's Shawan Dunston.

[YearofDaCubs]

I'm not behind the scenes, so I really don't know how everything goes down. But, if I'm Nomar, I see the writing on the wall. The Cubs have been courting Furcal since the offseason began. It's Furcal this and Furcal that. The only blurb I've seen about Nomar is that Nomar would love to come back to Chicago and would even be willing to switch positions.

 

But, in that same blurb, it said that it is assumed that the Cubs don't appear to be interested in bringing Nomar back. This makes it an easy decision for Nomar. See what he can get on the open market. Since LA seems like the hot destination, I wouldn't be surprised.

 

With or without Nomar, I already have LA penciled in to win the Western Division in 2006. With him, it should be even easier.

 

Meanwhile, with Ronnie Cedeno at 2nd and Neifi Perez at SS, the Cubs fall into 5th place after losing their 7th game in a row with a 2-1 score. Great defense and excellent pitching, but Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez are the only offense on the team.

The sad thing is those scenarios are very possible. Let's see how many optimistic people will be left if they come to fruition.

[mg420]

I'm not behind the scenes, so I really don't know how everything goes down. But, if I'm Nomar, I see the writing on the wall. The Cubs have been courting Furcal since the offseason began. It's Furcal this and Furcal that. The only blurb I've seen about Nomar is that Nomar would love to come back to Chicago and would even be willing to switch positions.

 

But, in that same blurb, it said that it is assumed that the Cubs don't appear to be interested in bringing Nomar back. This makes it an easy decision for Nomar. See what he can get on the open market. Since LA seems like the hot destination, I wouldn't be surprised.

 

With or without Nomar, I already have LA penciled in to win the Western Division in 2006. With him, it should be even easier.

 

Meanwhile, with Ronnie Cedeno at 2nd and Neifi Perez at SS, the Cubs fall into 5th place after losing their 7th game in a row with a 2-1 score. Great defense and excellent pitching, but Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez are the only offense on the team.

 

i guess murton & barrett won't account for anything offensively? we still dont know about cf or rf either. with pierre or crisp in cf & tracy or giles in rf i would think the offense would be significantly upgraded.

[frostwyrm]

With all the chatter we've heard about Furcal it's like the Cubs have forgotten that the real problem is the outfield.

[CubfaninCA]

I'm sure Atlanta is just trying to drive up his price. But, if we end up with neither Nomar or Furcal, I am not going to be very happy with Cubs management. And I'll be even angrier that Neifi Perez is on the team.

 

If the Cubs don't get Furcal, there's still backup plans left. It appears that Castillo, Kent and Soriano will all be on the market. They can just go w/ Cedeno/Neifi @ SS. Of course, Sori and Kent aren't leadoff men tho. Going to need to get someone from CF in that case.

[rawaction]

With all the chatter we've heard about Furcal it's like the Cubs have forgotten that the real problem is the outfield.

 

No. The problem is defense and the 1-2 spots in the order. Murton and Walker are too slow and white to hit there. Everyone knows that!

[nick23]

Furcal will be overpaid, his defense is not that good (he does have a strong arm). He is a streaky hitter who will not be a difference maker on this club. Once again Hendry is filling a hole that he has created. Worse offf, he seems to be buddying up with Furcal's agent by signing a useless offensive player at inflated prices for too long. In the meantime what is going to be done about right field and center field.

 

When I see Furcal I see a rich man's Shawan Dunston.

What evidence do you have that says his defense is not that good? And I wonder if you asked Bobby Cox if Furcal is a difference maker what he would say? The guy has only played SS and batted leadoff for a division winner every year he's been in the league. I'd be willing to bet he's making a difference somewhere.

[CubfaninCA]

Furcal will be overpaid, his defense is not that good (he does have a strong arm). He is a streaky hitter who will not be a difference maker on this club. Once again Hendry is filling a hole that he has created. Worse offf, he seems to be buddying up with Furcal's agent by signing a useless offensive player at inflated prices for too long. In the meantime what is going to be done about right field and center field.

 

When I see Furcal I see a rich man's Shawan Dunston.

 

How did he create the hole?? There's been a hole @ SS forever.

[AAApittsburgh]

Furcal will be overpaid, his defense is not that good (he does have a strong arm). He is a streaky hitter who will not be a difference maker on this club. Once again Hendry is filling a hole that he has created. Worse offf, he seems to be buddying up with Furcal's agent by signing a useless offensive player at inflated prices for too long. In the meantime what is going to be done about right field and center field.

 

When I see Furcal I see a rich man's Shawan Dunston.

 

How did he create the hole?? There's been a hole @ SS forever.

Banks.

[BigbadB]

I'm sure Atlanta is just trying to drive up his price. But, if we end up with neither Nomar or Furcal, I am not going to be very happy with Cubs management. And I'll be even angrier that Neifi Perez is on the team.

 

If the Cubs don't get Furcal, there's still backup plans left. It appears that Castillo, Kent and Soriano will all be on the market. They can just go w/ Cedeno/Neifi @ SS. Of course, Sori and Kent aren't leadoff men tho. Going to need to get someone from CF in that case.

 

You may have missed it somewhere, but I'm not willing to hand Cedeno an everyday job, either. Unless of course we have ++ offensive production from CF, RF and 2b. And I don't see that happening. Of course, with Hendry's philosophies of wanting to improve defense, I think it will be especially hard to find ++ offensive production AND good defense from all 3 of those spots.

 

With just 80 major league at bats, we don't know whether Cedeno is a better or worse hitter than Neifi. Fact!

 

I sit and think about all the different scenarios that have played out. I still think the best option would have been to invest their attention on resigning Nomar, getting Giles, keeping Walker and signing Lofton while spending any remaining cash on the pitching staff.

 

Option #2 would have been to get Furcal instead of Nomar, sign Giles and Lofton and retain Walker, with the rest being spent on pitching.

 

In these scenarios, Cedeno is the back up.

[TheDude]

I'm not behind the scenes, so I really don't know how everything goes down. But, if I'm Nomar, I see the writing on the wall. The Cubs have been courting Furcal since the offseason began. It's Furcal this and Furcal that. The only blurb I've seen about Nomar is that Nomar would love to come back to Chicago and would even be willing to switch positions.

 

Actually Gammons said quite the opposite. According to him, the Cubs asked Nomar if he'd consider coming back to play LF, and Nomar said no. His willingness to shift positions is contained to 3B.

[BigbadB]

Of the 3 names listed (Castillo, Kent and Soriano), only Castillo would make sense. Kent and Soriano are worse with a glove than Walker.

 

Kent will be LA's 1b this year. Book it.

[USSoccer]

I'm not behind the scenes, so I really don't know how everything goes down. But, if I'm Nomar, I see the writing on the wall. The Cubs have been courting Furcal since the offseason began. It's Furcal this and Furcal that. The only blurb I've seen about Nomar is that Nomar would love to come back to Chicago and would even be willing to switch positions.

 

Actually Gammons said quite the opposite. According to him, the Cubs asked Nomar if he'd consider coming back to play LF, and Nomar said no. His willingness to shift positions is contained to 3B.

 

Then there's zero chance of him coming back. He's not a better 3B than Aramis, and I doubt his range at SS.