Why wouldn't you sign Brian Giles?

[soapy]

Gotta agree w/ Hoops. Chicago isn't Southern California and Giles grew up in SoCal and his family's still there, so after major strike against Chicago. Also, Chicago doesn't have the Yankees or Boston's budget and the haven't won like St. Louis. Basically, they're about 6th or 7th in line, and that may be a generous placement. Not a good position to be in, as signing Giles will be quite an uphill battle.

 

Last time I checked, New York, Boston and St. Louis are not on the West Coast either.

 

All I hear are excuses at why the Cubs have no chance to sign Giles. Jesus, the season hasn't even started yet and I'm already sick of excuses (which I will get to hear from Dusty all year). None of which seem legitimate to me. They have the money, they have the need, they can be a contender. There is no excuse why they shouldn't pursue him unless for some bizarre reason, Giles specifically said he's not interested in the Cubs.

 

Shouldn't have to repeat myself, but seems you missed the point... Last time you checked, does the Trib spend as much as the Yankees or Boston? Last time you checked, have the Cubs won as much as St. Louis the past 2 years. The Cub organization may spend like a top tier franchise, but it isn't in the top tier. The organization is still view as a losing franchise.

 

The Cubs don't spend as much as the Yanks BoSox, but they have enough available right now to sign Giles. The Cubs could easily go with Cedeno at SS and Murton in LF and be able to sign Giles and still upgrade in CF.

 

The Cubs obviously haven't won as much as the Cards the last two years, but they are still "contenders" if they make the right moves (which signing Giles would be). I'm not saying they are a lock for the playoffs (they clearly aren't) but if you sign Giles and trade for Bradley, you're pretty damn close.

 

I'm not going to blame the Trib if the Cubs don't get Giles. Hendry has the money. He just may not choose to spend it in a way that I would consider wise.

[CubfaninCA]

Gotta agree w/ Hoops. Chicago isn't Southern California and Giles grew up in SoCal and his family's still there, so another major strike against Chicago. Also, Chicago doesn't have the Yankees or Boston's budget and the haven't won like St. Louis. Basically, they're about 6th or 7th in line, and that may be a generous placement. Not a good position to be in, as signing Giles will be quite an uphill battle.

 

Pittsburgh isn't on the West Coast and that's where he signed his first big contract.

 

Different set of circumstances back then, and Giles was coming off .827 and .856 ops seasons.

[HoopsCubs]

The Cubs obviously haven't won as much as the Cards the last two years, but they are still "contenders" if they make the right moves (which signing Giles would be).

 

It's not just the last 2 years. Go back over 10 years. 1996-2005. How many playoff appearances have the Cards, Astros and Cubs each had? Cards and Astros each made it to the post-season 6 times. Cubs twice.

Players aren't stupid - they know the history and see the traditions.

[YearofDaCubs]

You know what, as long as we upgrade our CF and RF position I could care less if we sign an older Giles. A strong emphasis on upgrade CF and RF though.

[goonys evil twin]

You know what, as long as we upgrade our CF and RF position I could care less if we sign an older Giles. A strong emphasis on upgrade CF and RF though.

 

No doubt, but my problem is that I don't think Hendry appreciates the value of a Giles, and his idea of an upgrade will result in similar production to last year, which would be unacceptable. The only reason so much focus has been on Giles is that he's so obvious. I don't think Hendry had a problem with last year's RF production, and that is the biggest roadblock facing this team. He is very likely to settle, once again, for mediocrity.

[soapy]

You know what, as long as we upgrade our CF and RF position I could care less if we sign an older Giles. A strong emphasis on upgrade CF and RF though.

 

I can agree with that. The Cubs don't have to sign Giles. He's not the only option. He just seems like the best option to me. I don't envision Hendry pulling off a trade for Dunn/Abreu/Manny or whoever. Maybe he can, but then your are talking about giving up serious talent to get those guys when all Giles will cost you is $.

[CubfaninCA]

You know what, as long as we upgrade our CF and RF position I could care less if we sign an older Giles. A strong emphasis on upgrade CF and RF though.

 

I've said a few times that I think the Cubs have a better shot @ Abreu, who seems to fit the Hendry/Trib profile better as he's younger than Giles, and is only signed for 2 more years.

[abuck1220]

giles would never dress up like a superhero at a hockey game.

 

giles = not a good clubhouse guy.

[rawaction]

The only reason not to get Giles is if you already have a comparable younger player in the OF. Heck, this team overpaid Sosa, Alou, Wood with huge contracts, not to mention the outrageous money given to bad 26th men. I would pay Giles 5/50 if that's what it took and hope he retires, restructures or something after 3-4 years.

[soapy]

The Cubs obviously haven't won as much as the Cards the last two years, but they are still "contenders" if they make the right moves (which signing Giles would be).

 

It's not just the last 2 years. Go back over 10 years. 1996-2005. How many playoff appearances have the Cards, Astros and Cubs each had? Cards and Astros each made it to the post-season 6 times. Cubs twice.

Players aren't stupid - they know the history and see the traditions.

 

That's true. But it's clearly still worth a shot. I would just absolutely hate to see Giles sign somewhere for 3/$36 or something like that and come to find out the Cubs weren't even getting in on the bidding because they just assume that they don't have a shot. If he turns you down, or gets drastically over paid or something, fine. But until then, they should be pursuing him.

[YearofDaCubs]

Hendry set himself up for failure this offseason. When there were a ton of options available the past 2 years he barely made any splashes on the FA market. And now that he has the money there are barely any options for us available. Hendry needs to pull a Messiah-like miracle of an offseason to get us back to being contenders. I won't hold my breath.

[UMFan83]

Giles is an OBP machine. The Cubs had the highest BA and SLG in the NL last year but were like 9th in runs. You do the math to determine what the missing link was.

 

So far the moves the Cubs have considered are lateral. The Cubs don't have a clue what they are doing. Please prove me wrong.

[SCCubbieFAN]

I don't think they are ignoring him triple B. I think Hendry has given Bick his parameters for signing Giles, I believe those parameters are 2 years and $19M guaranteed with a team option for the 3rd year at $11M or buyout at $1M.

 

Hoops, is this just speculation on your part or is this what you are hearing from your usual sources??

[UMFan83]

^^ That's not even a competitive offer. He already turned down 3 years 30 million from the Padres and in the past has stated his desire to stay on the West coast. If true the Cubs are basically offering him less. It would be like their "offer" to Beltran last year. If they make an offer, it will be too low to sign and enough to pacify the fans. The Cubs franchise is a joke.

[mul21]

Actually he turned down 3/$25.5 from the padres, but there is still no way that 2 yrs plus option would get it done. I think he'd be willing to go for the 3 yrs if it averaged between $11-12M. Just speculation, no sources though.

[Guancous]

Brian Giles is a great player. I know that he has a great batting eye but solid players such as this still decline quickly as they age. Frank Thomas, Bagwell, Sosa, Palmeiro, Griffey, Bonds... and so on. I would love to see Giles in Cubbie Blue but I understand Hendry's hesistation. That being said, he better make a trade for a different elite right fielder.

[BigbadB]

Brian Giles is a great player. I know that he has a great batting eye but solid players such as this still decline quickly as they age. Frank Thomas, Bagwell, Sosa, Palmeiro, Griffey, Bonds... and so on. I would love to see Giles in Cubbie Blue but I understand Hendry's hesistation. That being said, he better make a trade for a different elite right fielder.

 

Thomas has been playing hurt since he was 27. Bad example.

Bagwell has a degenerative shoulder. Bad example.

Palmeiro had a .571 SLG at age 37. Bad example.

Griffey posted a .576 SLG this past year, at age 35. Not to mention he's been battling injuries since he was 31. Bad example.

Bonds....did you see what Bonds did at age 39? :shock: Horrible example.

 

We aren't asking Giles to play into his 40's. He'd be 35, 36 and 37 over the life of his contract.

 

How many people screamed to have Alou back after he turned 37 in the '04 season? Not me, but many did. He had a pretty snazzy year at 38.

 

McGriff put up a pretty good season for the Cubs at the age of 38, offensively anyway.

 

I left out Sosa. His skills are definitely declining. I won't deny that. There is definitely something different about Sosa's decline. I'm not going to say steroids, but there is something really weird about his decline. He started his decline at the age of 33.

 

Giles takes care of himself. He isn't one of the oft injured guys like you mentioned above. He's in incredible shape for his age.

[Guancous]

He'd be 35, 36 and 37 over the life of his contract.

 

I'm sorry. I was under the impression that he would be 37, 38, and 39.

[BigbadB]

He'd be 35, 36 and 37 over the life of his contract.

 

I'm sorry. I was under the impression that he would be 37, 38, and 39.

 

That's cool. Go ahead and jump on the "Sign Giles" WGN.

 

Honestly, I don't think we've seen the best that Giles can be. He had no one hitting around him in Pittsburgh (other than Aramis), and he played in an extreme pitchers park in SD with no real offensive threats around him.

 

Imagine what he might do with Lee and Aramis protecting him. :wink:

[MPrior]

He'd be 35, 36 and 37 over the life of his contract.

 

I'm sorry. I was under the impression that he would be 37, 38, and 39.

 

That's cool. Go ahead and jump on the "Sign Giles" WGN.

 

Honestly, I don't think we've seen the best that Giles can be. He had no one hitting around him in Pittsburgh (other than Aramis), and he played in an extreme pitchers park in SD with no real offensive threats around him.

 

Imagine what he might do with Lee and Aramis protecting him. :wink:

 

I'm SO with you here. Then again, I've been on the Giles BandWGN since well before the end of the season, so this is nothing new. His walks might go down a bit, as he'll probably see better pitches if one or both of those two are behind him, but he'll probably hit better and for more power (Giles-Lee-Aramis would be SICK).