HoopsCubs

I think the feeling among the Cubs brass is that Nomar can't play SS anymore, and that Walker has defensive deficiencies and may be their best trade chip. Hoops

Check out these links - the third requires registration. http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/cst-spt-kiley10.html http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/cubs.asp?id=93256 http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-050909cubsgamer,1,6830921.story?coll=cs-cubs-headlines There has been a lot of talk about Cedeno, Neifi and acquiring Furcal in the offseason the last few weeks about the SS and 2B positions. And it's been known for a while that Nomar clearly would like to stay in Chicago and now is hinting that he is open to a position change as well, so now it's quite possible he may be in the mix for 2B or even outfield (a la Robin Yount). The odd man out: well, to me it clearly seems to be Todd Walker. Just hearing Hendry's tone on August 31 when discussing holding Walker's option. You just get the feeling Hendry will pick up the $2.5M option and trade him to an AL team for relief pitching. So, the potential combos for SS/2B seem to be: Perez/Cedeno Cedeno/Perez Cedeno/Nomar Perez/Nomar Furcal/Cedeno Furcal/Nomar Furcal/Perez The plot thickens... Hoops

Hoops- I agree, but I'll be awfully disapointed if we sign Damon. He'll be a guy everyone is complaining about 3-4 years from the signing, wondering why Hendry spent $30M on his .240/.320/.375 line when he's 41 years old and rotting in CF. Don't worry about it Stuy. Damon will be an Angel before he ever becomes a Cub. Arte Moreno will make Steinbrenner and John Henry work hard to get Damon.

Stuy, I think they'll spend a $100M. But with the exceptions being Brian Giles, Johnny Damon, Rafael Furcal, Billy Wagner and AJ Burnett, I don't see Hendry giving any free agent a deal lasting more than 2 years.

I think it would end up being a $2M delta: Corey could earn somewhere in the $3.5-$4.0M range, and the right offer to Preston would be somewhere in the $5.5-$6.0M range. $2M more to Preston is just not a back-breaker for the Cubs this offseason.

So, now I am dumb. Thanks for letting me know.

Must you ruin my winter before it begins? Not my intention sir. But we know Hendry likes this guy, and he's a free agent, so we have to consider the possibility that Hendry will look at him. And, as I said in another thread, if Wilson accepted a 2 year deal in the $10-12M range AND Hendry addressed corner outfield with a guy like Giles, Dunn, Mench, etc..., I think it would work out fine. Just my opinion. There is plenty of money to sign Wilson and pay for a stud corner OF. Especially in light of the fact that it seems that Cedeno is going to be starting at either 2B or SS next year.

For good, bad or ugly: Mr. Preston Wilson, your table is now ready.

I could easily see the Braves trading Andruw. They have some good young OFs. They could move Chipper or Marte to the OF. Of course, it would take a lot more than that trade to get Jones. They aren't in the position where they need to give him away to clear payroll. One very important fact to keep in mind: Atlanta REALLY starts paying for Mike Hampton in 2006. As part of that way 3-way deal a few years back, in 2005, the Braves are only paying $1.5M of his salary - Colorado is paying $2.5M and Florida is paying $8.5M. But in 2006, the Braves will pay Hampton $13.5M aka $12M jump. Florida owes him nothing starting in 2006, and Colorado owes him nothing starting in 2006 except for the $6M buyout in 2009. Even with Furcal off the books, the Braves do look a bit "ham-strung-ptom."

I may have interpreted it incorrectly, but I thought I saw that Griffey is likely out for the year with a torn tendon on his foot? My bad. I thought he got injured and then played afterward. Did he get hurt twice last week? I have no idea Raw. Your information is probably better than mine. By the way, as I said in another thread, I also believe the Cubs will get Preston Wilson to play CF - something like 2 years and $6M per. From my vantage point, it's a good move PROVIDED they also acquire a Giles, Dunn, Burrell type corner OF. It's a terrible move if nothing else is done to address corner OF.

I may have interpreted it incorrectly, but I thought I saw that Griffey is likely out for the year with a torn tendon on his foot?

I think I was looking at 450 PAs (at least 3.3 PAs per team game played)and above, but certainly at 300 and above, you can include guys like Moises, JD Drew, Rondell White, Larry Walker, Trot Nixon, etc... I think we all agree that there is considerable OF talent out there above and beyond what the Cubs had in 2005. We need to get at least 1, preferably 2 of these guys.

We're obviously all focused and hopeful on Hendry finding at least 1 stud OF this offseason, and maybe even 1 stud and 1, who is very good. There are currently 34 regularly playing OFs, who have a higher OPS than Jeromy Burnitz. I listed out their current OPS and contract status. 1 Vladimir Guerrero .962 - Under contract through 2008 (option in '09) 2 Miguel Cabrera .962 - Under Marlin control 2009 3 Manny Ramirez .948 - Under contract through 2008 (options in '09 and '10) 4 Ken Griffey Jr. .946 - Under contract through 2008 (option in '09) 5 Andruw Jones .944 - Under contract through 2007 6 Adam Dunn .941 - Under Red control through 2007 (arbitration eligible) 7 Jason Bay .936 - Under Pirate control through 2009 8 Jim Edmonds .926 - Under contract through 2006 (option for '07) 9 Brian Giles .917 - Free agent after 2005 10 Lance Berkman .910 - Under contract through 2010 (option in '11) 11 Pat Burrell .892 - Under contract through 2008 12 Geoff Jenkins .890 - Under contract through 2007 (option in '08) 13 Bobby Abreu .890 - Under contract through 2007 (option in '08) 14 Gary Sheffield .886 - Under contract through 2006 (option in '07) 15 David Dellucci .884 - Under contract through 2006 16 Jose Guillen .861 - Under contract through 2005 (option in '06) 17 Cliff Floyd .860 - Under contract through 2006 18 Shawn Green .855 - Under contract through 2007 (option in '08) 19 Carlos Lee .844 - Under contract through 2005 (option in '06) 20 Kevin Mench .840 - Under Ranger control through 2008 (arbitration eligible) 21 Hideki Matsui .838 - Free agent after 2005 22 Juan Encarnacion .835 - Free agent after 2005 23 Jermaine Dye .834 - Under contract through 2006 (option in '07) 24 Johnny Damon .824 - Free agent after 2005 25 Grady Sizemore .820 - Under Indian control through 2010 26 Luis Gonzalez .818 - Under contract through 2006 (option in '07) 27 Jay Gibbons .804 - Under Oriole control through 2006 (arbitration eligible) 28 David DeJesus .804 - Under Royal control through 2010 29 Emil Brown .802 - Under Royal control through 2010 30 Brady Clark .800 - Under Brewer control through 2007 (arbitration eligible) 31 Preston Wilson .800 - Free agent after 2005 32 Vernon Wells .794 - Under contract through 2007 33 Coco Crisp .793 - Under Indian control through 2009 34 Jason Lane .788 - Under Astro control through 2009 35 Jeromy Burnitz .785 - Under contract through 2005 (option in '06) Summary: 5 free agents after 2005 - Giles, Matsui, Encarnacion, Damon and Wilson. 3 players, who could be free agents after 2005 if 2006 club option is not picked up: Guillen, Lee, Burnitz - Hoops commentary: it would be a miracle if the Nationals and Brewers did not pick up the options 2 free agents after 2006 - Floyd, Dellucci - Hoops commentary: both are probable trade candidates this coming offseason, and both would help fill our corner OF roles 4 players, who could be free agents after 2006 if 2007 club option is not picked up: Edmonds, Sheffield, Dye and Gonzalez - Hoops commentary: I say Edmonds and Sheffield will stay, and Dye and Gonzalez will be free agents 4 players, who are arbitration eligible this coming offseason: Dunn, Mench, Gibbons, Clark - Hoops commentary: with the exception of Gibbons, the other 3 players could easily be viewed as an upgrade vs. what we have now in the OF. 3 players, who I have heard will actively be shopped this offseason (all have trade protection): Ramirez, Griffey, Green So, these are the basic parameters. What should/can Hendry do to upgrade our OF? Hoops

That's a very interesting perspective. Being belligerent on a key issue, but continuing to say the right things about the organization as a whole maybe his way of seeking a trade without spooking a would-be suitor too much. Well, when he's dealt, I hope it's to an AL team.

Maybe. Maybe not. My prediction is that the Cubs let him walk.

Three premises to start: (1) The Cubs 2006 payroll will be in the $105M range. Hoops commentary: Based on MacPhail's recent comments, it will definitely be $100M. I'm guessing it gets expanded a little more to $105M. (2) The Cubs decide to say goodbye to 3 players with team options: Burnitz, Williamson and Walker and 3 players with arbitration eligibility: Patterson, Hairston and Macias. Hoops commentary: I think the Cubs will buy-out Burnitz, let Williamson walk and trade Walker after picking up his option - I'm guessing to Minnesota for a relief pitcher; I think the Cubs will trade Patterson and Hairston, and non-tender Jose. (3) If Glendon Rusch picks up his $2M player option, Hendry trades him to a pitching starved team, i.e., Toronto, Kansas City, etc... Hoops commentary: Rusch has been awful this year. As happy as I was with his 2004 performance, I now concede it was a fluke. If Hendry picks up $500K, I think he can get a trade through for marginal prospects. Therefore, Hendry has these commitments: Derrek Lee-$8.7M Aramis Ramirez-$10.5M Michael Barrett-$4.3M Mark Prior-$3.0M Greg Maddux-$9.0M Kerry Wood-$12.0M Henry Blanco-$1.5M Carlos Zambrano - $5.0M - arbitration eligible (made $2.8M in 2005) Glendon Rusch-$500K - cash paid to deal him Jeromy Burnitz-$500K - buyout 8 players: $55M. Hendry spends $50M to fill out the roster. Considering minimum wage guys like Wuertz (bullpen), Murton (LF), Cedeno (2B) may fill some of the open spots on the roster, Jim Hendry really has a lot of cash available to fill the important roles. How will he do it? That's the $50M question! Lead-off, SS, Closer, Set-up, 2 OF spots and 5th starter are the definite holes. Despite the thin free-agent market, there's a lot of dough there to be creative. Any out-of-box thinking out there? Hoops

Wilson is 6th of 17 qualified CF's in OPS. EDIT: I'm going to see what his numbers are away from Coors this year. I have always felt that Preston Wilson is not as bad as posters make him out to be be, but not as good as baseball writers/analysts make him out to be. I think he's a good complimentary player. And the Cubs can easily afford to pay him in the $5-6M range for 1-2 years in a complimentary role. As I stated above, I would have no issue with Preston in CF as long as there's another high OPS guy playing LF or RF. I just don't want to see Corey Patterson anymore. Ditto for Jerry Hairston.

It boggles my mind why somebody would want to sign J. Jones, who isn't much of an offensive CF himself. He's making $5 million now, and could easily demand $7+ in this market. I don't think either Corey or Jones is a good option. I think the guy Hendry could be targeting to play CF is Preston Wilson, who is a free agent after this season. If his knee holds up, he is a good fielder with a very decent arm. On the plate side, he has a low OBP, but decent SLG, so I would bat him 6th/7th if I managed him. I could see Hendry giving him a 1-2 year deal in the $5-6M per year range. I will say this: similar to the Burnitz situation coming into this season, signing Wilson only makes sense in conjunction with signing (e.g. Giles) or trading for (e.g. Dunn) a corner OF, who will put up better OPS than Preston. If the Cubs sign Preston, and he happens to lead all Cub OFs in the OPS category, it will be another long season. On the other hand, if the Cubs opening day OF is Giles, Wilson and Murton, then very good things could be on tap. Hoops

That's correct. So much is inter-related, that it's difficult to do this mutually exclusively. Still, it will be good to track our responses, and see where there's consensus and where there's a split. I hope a lot of posters will participate despite the linear nature of the exercise. Hoops

Still a month to go, but regardless of how they play in September, Jim Hendry still has a bunch of decisions to make in the offseason. Let's play some multiple choice in a few areas (this is not exhaustive). As usual, answer each question with 2 answers: what you would do and what you think Hendry will do: (1) Jeromy Burnitz a. Cubs will pick up his $7M option in 2006 b. Cubs will buy him out at $500K and will re-sign him to a lower amount. c. Cubs will buy him out at $500K and say goodbye. (2) Todd Walker a. Cubs will pick up his $2.5M option and he'll be the opening day 2B in 2006. b. Cubs will pick up his $2.5M option and then trade him in the offseason. c. Cubs will let him become a free agent. (3) Corey Patterson a. Cubs will non-tender him. b. Cubs will trade him. c. Cubs will sign him to a 1-year deal to avoid arbitration. d. Cubs will sign him to a multi-year deal. (4) Jerry Hairston a. Cubs will non-tender him. b. Cubs will trade him. c. Cubs will sign him to a 1-year deal to avoid arbitration. d. Cubs will sign him to a multi-year deal. (5) Where does Jerry Hairston play, if signed? a. everyday 2B b. everyday CF c. super-utility d. sits on the bench (6) Nomar Garciaparra a. gone b. 1 year deal c. 2 year deal (7) Where does Nomar play, if signed? a. SS b. 2B (8) Derrek Lee a. gets multi-year extension during this offseason b. gets multi-year extension in spring training c. gets multi-year extension during 2006 season d. gets multi-year extension in 15 day exclusive period after 2006 season e. is offered and accepts arbitration after 2006 season f. Cubs say goodbye (9) Ryan Dempster a. gone b. re-signed to be a closer c. re-signed to be a starter (10) Glendon Rusch a. forced to trade, if he picks up his $2M player option b. happy to keep, if he picks up his $2M player option c. breathe a sigh of relief because another team offers him a multi-year deal Enjoy! Hoops

Unless he replaced a player put on the DL, right?

At the 10:20 AM CDT Sportscenter Update on ESPN Radio 1000, Bruce Levine did say that the Cubs and White Sox have been discussing a Todd Walker trade. Hoops

are you sure he's on the 40 man? i thought he had to be removed when he was sent back to iowa earlier this year. After the Holly trade, I believe there are only 39 on the 40-man roster. Bartosh shouldn't be counted on the 40-man since he was outrighted on June 21. Grieve should be counted on the 40-man since he was optioned on July 19. Currently there are 20 pitchers, 3 catchers, 11 infielders (counting Hairston) and 5 outfielders. Van Buren can be added to the 40-man per my math. And he'll replace Wood on the 25-man. Murton to replace Holly on the 25-man. If Wood is 60-day DLd (I didn't hear the Cubs were going to do that), that would free up another slot to add someone on the 40-man. Hoops

Did he suffer a serious knee injury yesterday?