Hendry to Nomar: Feel free to find a better fit...

[E.J.]

Garciaparra free to find better fit

 

The Chicago Cubs have not exactly told Nomar Garciaparra to take a hike, but they have advised the veteran free agent to feel free to see if he can "find a better fit" elsewhere.

 

General manager Jim Hendry said he had talked to Garciaparra's agent, Arn Tellem, at the GM meetings last week in California.

 

"Nomar is a guy we all feel terrible about," Hendry said. "He really worked hard to come back (from a severe groin injury) and play at all. He swung the bat well late.

 

"Unfortunately, he has had a lot of injuries that weren't necessarily his fault. We have kept the door open with Arn Tellem."

 

I guess that pretty much closes the book on Nomar. I guess technically the option is still open, but it doesn't even seem like Hendry is even considering him for SS.

[Andy]

Hendry better be pretty damn sure that he's got Furcal in his back pocket, because where does he go if he's dumped Nomar and Furcal goes elsewhere? If Neifi starts at short I'm hanging myself.

[erik316wttn]

Hendry better be pretty damn sure that he's got Furcal in his back pocket, because where does he go if he's dumped Nomar and Furcal goes elsewhere? If Neifi starts at short I'm hanging myself.

 

The Cubs have been doing this as long as I can remember.

 

Let Player A walk because you're pursuing via trade/FA Player B.

 

Player B doesn't come here, Player A is gone, so you're stuck with incredibly inferior Player C.

[abuck1220]

man, if furcal doesn't sign, the cubs are gonna be in trouble. hendry better not get caught up waiting to deal w/ one guy (like he did last winter w/ sosa), only to see all the other options go elsewhere. a cedeno-neifi middle infield is not going to get it done.

[Geech]

I honestly wouldn't care if the Cubs went with Cedeno/Walker instead of Furcal/Cedeno. The former has to be a much better value, and it would hopefully provide Hendry some incetive to make big improvements to the outfield. That's certainly a more pressing concern than the difference between Furcal and Cedeno.

[abuck1220]

I honestly wouldn't care if the Cubs went with Cedeno/Walker instead of Furcal/Cedeno. The former has to be a much better value, and it would hopefully provide Hendry some incetive to make big improvements to the outfield. That's certainly a more pressing concern than the difference between Furcal and Cedeno.

 

i wouldn't have a problem w/ that combo at all. the problem is, the cubs seem dead set on trading walker. and if walker somehow did stay, i feel like like baker would want to play neifi and his good glove over cedeno to offset walker's perceived defensive weaknesses.

[brinoch]

I'd rather have Cedeno than Furcal anyway.

[ManCrushOnNomar]

#-o

[seattlecub]

the cubs have a high opinion of cedeno's glove, so that wouldn't keep him out of the lineup. IIRC, when the cubs put him on the 40-man roster after the 2003 season, hendry said anything he did with the bat was icing, or something to that effect.

 

sc

[Geech]

I'd rather have Cedeno than Furcal anyway.

 

I feel that way myself, to be honest.

[NorthsideAvenger]

I'd rather have Cedeno than Furcal anyway.

 

I feel that way myself, to be honest.

 

How about both? Cedeno is clearly equal if NOT better then Nefti with the Glove, either at SS or 2B, and his bat--still questionable---is better then Nefti. I believe Furcal/Cedeno would have a higher value then Walker/Cedeno.

[don_kessinger_was_good]

If you fail with signing Furcal, you could put Cedeno at SS and go get a new 2B, instead. Since they seem dead set on trading Walker. Jeff Kent is supposedly asking for a trade, that could be an option. Kaz Matsui and Orlando Hudson are definitely available. Grudzielanek is a free agent. Bill Mueller is a free agent. And Alfonso Soriano is likely available.

 

But obviously, things will be much simpler and much cleaner if we simply close the deal with Furcal.

[TrueBlueCubFan]

I'd rather have Cedeno than Furcal anyway.

 

I feel that way myself, to be honest.

 

How about both? Cedeno is clearly equal if NOT better then Nefti with the Glove, either at SS or 2B, and his bat--still questionable---is better then Nefti. I believe Furcal/Cedeno would have a higher value then Walker/Cedeno.

 

In all due respect, Cedeno is still an unproven major league ball player. It's not fair to compare Neifi/Cedeno, when Cedeno's sample size is so small. Maybe that's your opinion, but it's not proven to be accurate yet. I tend to agree, Cedeno, has a chance to better than Neifi in those areas. However, it's still only a prediction of what Cedeno's production will be.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

I'd rather have Cedeno than Furcal anyway.

 

I feel that way myself, to be honest.

 

How about both? Cedeno is clearly equal if NOT better then Nefti with the Glove, either at SS or 2B, and his bat--still questionable---is better then Nefti. I believe Furcal/Cedeno would have a higher value then Walker/Cedeno.

 

In all due respect, Cedeno is still an unproven major league ball player. It's not fair to compare Neifi/Cedeno, when Cedeno's sample size is so small. Maybe that's your opinion, but it's not proven to be accurate yet. I tend to agree, Cedeno, has a chance to better than Neifi in those areas. However, it's still only a prediction of what Cedeno's production will be.

 

...you aren't even trying to pretend you aren't Dusty Baker.

[Backtobanks]

If you fail with signing Furcal, you could put Cedeno at SS and go get a new 2B, instead. Since they seem dead set on trading Walker. Jeff Kent is supposedly asking for a trade, that could be an option. Kaz Matsui and Orlando Hudson are definitely available. Grudzielanek is a free agent. Bill Mueller is a free agent. And Alfonso Soriano is likely available.

 

But obviously, things will be much simpler and much cleaner if we simply close the deal with Furcal.

 

Also, M. Giles might be available, if Furcal re-signs with the Braves and there have been rumors about Castillo.

[DesMoinesCub]

Despite popular belief among some of us here, I don't believe Hendry is a complete idiot.

 

1. I don't see him trading Walker until Furcal is signed. That would mean that Cedano and Walker would be 2nd and SS. If/When Furcal is signed, then I would look for TWalk to be traded.

 

2. If the Cubs don't get Furcal, Hendry is going to go get someone that will make a significant change to this ballclub. Dunn or Giles possibly.

 

3. Despite what the quote says, if the Cubs don't get Furcal, I could still see Nomar coming back.

 

1. Pierre-CF

2. Walker-2nd

3. Lee-1B

4. Dunn/Giles -RF

5. Ramirez-3B

6. Barrett-C

7. Murton-LF

8. Cedano-SS

 

Still not a bad line-up

 

Just my two cents worth.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

How is Hendry going to go out and get Giles after failing to attract Furcal? By the time Furcal falls through (after wasting a ton of our time playing around looking for another year or few million per season) Giles won't even be interested in us. We won't have been serious bidders in the Giles sweepstakes and jumping in at the last minute means severely overpaying to beat out the competition (and he's going to be overpriced anyways at that point). Hendry won't do that.

 

The problem with going after Furcal as our top priority is that he probably won't sign quickly. Agents love to milk every dollar out of the situation and that means taking their time. Starting your middle infield transactions off with a FA signing is a bad way to go. It backs everything up to the last minute. In this market, that's going to leave us with scraps to choose from or end up with a MI of Cedeno, Walker, and Neifi. That would be fine if we had a decent outfield, which we don't.

Edited November 14, 2005 by Meat&PotatoesMan

[RynoRules]

Hendry better be pretty damn sure that he's got Furcal in his back pocket, because where does he go if he's dumped Nomar and Furcal goes elsewhere? If Neifi starts at short I'm hanging myself.

 

The Cubs have been doing this as long as I can remember.

 

Let Player A walk because you're pursuing via trade/FA Player B.

 

Player B doesn't come here, Player A is gone, so you're stuck with incredibly inferior Player C.

 

Yeah - none of th other ML teams do this...ever.

[J.R.]

"One of the things I wanted to do was to make sure that the guys who can really catch the baseball like Neifi don't get away. Neifi is not concerned about who else might come in. He loves playing for Dusty [baker]. He likes it here and has found a home here after a couple of years of struggling. His defense alone is well worth having."

 

Oh my God ...

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

"One of the things I wanted to do was to make sure that the guys who can really catch the baseball like Neifi don't get away. Neifi is not concerned about who else might come in. He loves playing for Dusty [baker]. He likes it here and has found a home here after a couple of years of struggling. His defense alone is well worth having."

 

Oh my God ...

 

Burnitz can catch the ball too.

[CuseCubFan69]

I'm still going to give Mr. Hendry a chance to prove himself before crucifying him. He has time to get the players the Cubs need and I'm not going to let "You gotta catch em all" bother me....for now.

[Salazar89]

Although Hendry's honesty regaring Nomar is refreshing, it is not the best way to handle negoitations with Furcal's agent.

 

With the Mets pursuing Wagner and a 1st baseman, the only real suitors for Furcal are the Braves and Cubs. The Cubs have the upperhand as long as they offer more than the Braves are willing to go.

 

Now that the Plan B.. Nomar is off the table, Furcal's agent can swing the position of power back in his favor. The Cubs must have Furcal.......period.

[erik316wttn]

Hendry better be pretty damn sure that he's got Furcal in his back pocket, because where does he go if he's dumped Nomar and Furcal goes elsewhere? If Neifi starts at short I'm hanging myself.

 

The Cubs have been doing this as long as I can remember.

 

Let Player A walk because you're pursuing via trade/FA Player B.

 

Player B doesn't come here, Player A is gone, so you're stuck with incredibly inferior Player C.

 

Yeah - none of th other ML teams do this...ever.

 

I never once said no other team did it. I'm stating the Cubs do it far more often than other teams.

[erik316wttn]

Although Hendry's honesty regaring Nomar is refreshing, it is not the best way to handle negoitations with Furcal's agent.

 

With the Mets pursuing Wagner and a 1st baseman, the only real suitors for Furcal are the Braves and Cubs. The Cubs have the upperhand as long as they offer more than the Braves are willing to go.

 

Now that the Plan B.. Nomar is off the table, Furcal's agent can swing the position of power back in his favor. The Cubs must have Furcal.......period.

 

It was stupid from a negotiation standpoint. Very, very stupid.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

Hendry better be pretty damn sure that he's got Furcal in his back pocket, because where does he go if he's dumped Nomar and Furcal goes elsewhere? If Neifi starts at short I'm hanging myself.

 

The Cubs have been doing this as long as I can remember.

 

Let Player A walk because you're pursuing via trade/FA Player B.

 

Player B doesn't come here, Player A is gone, so you're stuck with incredibly inferior Player C.

 

Yeah - none of th other ML teams do this...ever.

 

I never once said no other team did it. I'm stating the Cubs do it far more often than other teams.

 

If anything, it makes what the Cubs do even stupid. Not learning from your own mistakes as well as not taking a lesson from others' failures is doubly stupid.