Jazz

The way I look at it, is that we are going to be the top bidders if Zito gets signed by the Yankees (hopefully they dont get crazy and try to sign both of them). Right now the potential suitors are: -Dodgers -Mariners -Giants -Phillies -Cubs -Angels The cubs right now, have 20-25 million to potentially work with for this upcoming season. The selling point that the Cubs could give to Schmidt though, is years and wanting to win now. After Soriano's signing, it should not only boost are talking power with Schmidt, but with all other FA's. The Dodger's just signed Pierre to a 45/5 year deal. Thats a healthy chunk out of the 26 mil that they were projected to be working with after signing nomar. The mariners, after losing Meche, and Pinero, have about 13-18 mil to spend depending on where there payroll is estimated. I'd guess that its going to top out at 95M, maybe a couple million less. I don't think he is going to be returning to SF with the way the Bay Area papers are talking about it. The Phillies are in a bad position right now, they have some money to spend, but no one to spend it on. Schmidt would aid that problem. They have about 20 million right now to work with, but that could jump up to 30 mil if they deal Burrell (which it looks like they are split on). They also might pursue FA Carlos Lee, which would take them out of this hunt all together. The Angels are going to be a serious contenders for Schmidt. After losing out to us on Ramirez and Soriano, I think they will be gunning for Drew/Lee/Wells, and Schmidt. They have money to spend, and want to make a splash somewhre. Schmidt would do it for them. I do like the Cubs chances though, if they pony up the years and the money. If they strike fast, and offer a deal in the neigborhood of 4/56 with a 5th year option, I think Schmidt would take it even with his statements about sticking to the coast.

Its starting to look like its 8 years, no options. I'm lazy and dont want to post links, but there are articles on cubs.com and rotoworld. You're kidding I hope because that would be a pretty nasty deal then. Thats the vibe I'm getting. I've seen no mention of options years in the latest articles. I saw Mr. Miles roaming a few minutes ago, maybe he can shed some light. I don't think anyone right now really knows. Kaplan was talking about option years though on the radio when the deal was announced, and so were a few other voices, so its not like we are the only people speculating that here. What it could be though is that those 3 are vesting years based on plate appearances.

It's very obvious that right now Hendry is being as open as he has ever been regarding who he will sign, and who we will pursue via trade, but there are names mixed into the rubble that could play some dividends if we look into them. Todd Walker This is a name that should make alot of people warm and fuzzy remembering the good old days of grudz and twalk at 2nd. We just didn't know what we had in that, probably our best platoon in the last 5 years. Anyway, Walker IS a free agent, and posted some pretty good numbers after he was traded. He put up a .256/.344/.406 in a pitchers park. I know he might not want to come back to wrigley after the way we treated him, but his bat would look awful nice coming off the bench, and starting at pretty much any position when one of our starters goes down. Willy Mo Pena Right now, in Boston, he is being wasted on the bench behind Trot Nixon. When Drew or whatever FA they sign comes in, its going to be crowded. They won't ask for to much, maybe a straight up exchange, Eyre for Pena which I will do in a heartbeat. He has pretty good power coming off the bench. In a half season with Cincinatti, he put up a .259/.316/.527. I'd love to see what Perry could do with him. He might even steal some starts from Murton if he struggles. Oliver Perez Where in the world did this guy go. I remember in 2004 he was being hailed as a potential Cy Young canidate, and with those filthy numbers, and a couple of plus pitchers, he would probably have competed for a number of them in his career if not for his control problems and injuries. I liken him to Mark Prior in terms of trade value, but with 2 less good years of work to add to his value. Near the end of this season, the velocity started to come back on his fastball after it had dipped into the 80's, and was starting to go into the mid 90's. He also pitched ok during the NLCS (he was 1-0, but he got a no decision in game 7 in which they lost). The Mets have 7 guys right now who will be ready to start come opening day, and Oliver might be the odd man out there. I'd offer them Izturis, or a B prospect and hope that they bite.

Let me take this thread into a new direction. In 5 years, what will the Cubs payroll look like? Undoubtedly there will be new ownership, so you can rule out the Tribune and their investor friendly strategies. If you get one of the NBA owners, you might see an even higher payroll, going into luxury tax territory. All this hypothetical thinking though is making my head hurt, but it is very possible that near the end of Soriano's deal, even in the option years, that it will be less of a chunk of our payroll than it is now.

Shouldn't that have been a while ago?

Statistically, I don't think you can pick a clear winner. In peripherals, Pujols has Howard beat (although it is close), but in RBI's and HR's, Howard is ahead by a decent margin. BA: Pujols: .331 (3rd in the NL), Howard: .313 (8th in the NL) OBP%: Pujols: .431 (1st in the NL), Howard: .425 (4th in the NL) SLG%: Pujols: .671 (1st in the NL), Howard: .659 (2nd in the NL) HR's: Pujols 49 (2nd in the NL), Howard: 58 (1st in the NL) RBI's: Pujols 137 (2nd in the NL), Howard: 149 (1st in the NL) K's: Howard: 181 (2nd most in the NL), Pujols 50 (?) OPS: Pujols: 1.102 (1st in the ML), Howard: 1.084 Defensively, obviously the Gold Glove winner Pujols is better, but Howard is no slouch. An Pujols' did lead his team to the world series. I know Howard had the odds stacked up against him, but that is going to be a factor for writers who are voting. Whoever wins though, it won't be by alot, and will deserve to win it.

If that happens, I'm gonna need a new pair of pants. I'm already on my second pair tonight. the mere fact that Hendry is targeting arguably the best pitcher after getting arguably the best bat makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

we should target dunn... /waits for 100 page Dunn thread

I think if an owner like the Wolves Owner or Mark cuban were to buy the cubs, we'd see the spending limit actually increase quite a bit, maybe even into luxury tax territory.

If by midseason, Zambrano hasn't been extended, and we are out of the race, I think we could definately see some Zambrano trade talks from teams like the angels, yankees, and mets. We'd get a serious haul from him if he repeats career numbers by that point.

I really hope Cutler gets to debut this thursday

I just got done taking a history trimester final and i had to get my fix via blackberry.

There were only two good parts to that episode. But overall, it sucked. I refuse to believe you are serious. It was one of the best of the season IMO. Nah, this season had much, MUCH better episodes than that one. agreed, the world of warcraft one was an instant classic. So was the two part Nintendo Wii episode.

that is the only time i've ever found paris hilton attractive. weird

[memo to dispatcher] I really need a load to Greenville, SC, Thanx! [/memo to dispatcher] I'm too young to die damnt

yeah, right after he apologized for his team only winning 83 games :D

How dare you try to bring logic into this thread. anyway..... So what's your favorite planet? Mines the sun. It's like the KING OF PLANETS! We all know that the moon isn't in fact made out of blue cheese, but I'll ask you this. If the Moon were made outta barbecue spare ribs, WOUDYA EAT IT? I know i would. I'd go back for seconds and wash it down with an ice cold budweiser! 1997 was quite a year. a lot of stuff happened. some good, some bad. mother teresa died. that was bad, unless you hated mother teresa. I myself was not a fan of hers, don't ask why. we were like oil and water, we didn't mix Ken Waller: What? Harry Caray: I know I would. Heck! I'd have seconds and then polish it off with a tall cool Budweiser. ------ I would do it. Would you? Ken Waller: I'm confused. Harry Caray: It's a simple question Dr, would you eat the moon if it were made of ribs? Ken Waller: I don't know how to answer that. Harry Caray: It's not rocket science, just say yes and we'll move on. Ken Waller: Yes. Harry Caray: Hey! How about this mad cow disease? Ken Waller: What about it? Harry Caray: Well, it was here for a while and then it went away. Your thoughts. Ken Waller: Yes, yes it was in the news for a while and then it disappeared from the news. Harry Caray: Good point. Gee I hope I never get it. Hey! What about this: if you had to choose between being the top scientist in your field or getting mad cow disease, what would it be? Ken Waller: Well of course I would choose to be the top scientist in my field. Harry Caray: Oh good. I was worried you'd choose mad cow. Ken Waller: Why would you think that? Harry Caray: I guess I'm just a worrier, that's why my friends call me whiskers. Ken Waller: I thought you said your friends call you whiskers cause you were curious as a cat. Harry Caray: Well Dr. Waller it has been a pleasure. We've covered a lot of ground, shared a few laughs, thanks for coming on. Ken Waller: My pleasure Harry. Harry Caray: He's a good kid. That's all the time we have. Join us next week with our guest Albert Einstein. What? Well apparently Albert Einstein died 42 years ago. You know what, we'll try to get him anyway. See you next time. Cubs win! Cubs win!

GIS for Old: http://richardmcguire.com/travel/asia/indiabw/old-man.jpg It's Fred!

Now that is hilarious. hahahaha i just shot sprite out of two orifices.

How dare you try to bring logic into this thread. anyway..... So what's your favorite planet? Mines the sun. It's like the KING OF PLANETS! We all know that the moon isn't in fact made out of blue cheese, but I'll ask you this. If the Moon were made outta barbecue spare ribs, WOUDYA EAT IT? I know i would. I'd go back for seconds and wash it down with an ice cold budweiser!

my god i know there is something wrong with me when I am laughing harder at this thread than at the naked scene in Borat.

Last year he hit 46 HR, good for 3rd in the NL, but batting leadoff for most of the year, he only drove in 95 runs. He also had a .560 SLG average in a pitcher's park. The issue I have with him batting leadoff for us is that all those HR's, and extra base hits would be wasted. I don't think Soriano's .350 (a career high) should warrant that leadoff spot, and would be more comfortable giving it to Theriot should we start him at 2B, at least on opening day. Right now, if what we had was our opening day lineup, I'd bat Soriano 2nd behind Theriot, and in front of lee. I'm still hoping one of Roberts or Drew is signed though. In that instance I'd bat them 2nd, with Soriano 3rd.

Man, does this draft remind anyone of the 2001 draft. It's not to deep on premium talent like 2001's, with a catcher and 2 great pitchers among the elite. Then in the 4-10 spots There's a pretty good 3B and then the rest are likely to be pitchers. It still remains to be seen though if Price, Wieters, and Vitters would produce like Prior, Mauer, and Texiera.

Yup Bruce Chen Tom Glavine Ted Lily Mark Mulder Andy Pettite (probably will retire) Roger Clemens (probably will retire) Mark Redman David Wells Randy Wolf Barry Zito Tony Armas Miguel Batista Zach Day Ryan Drese Adam Eaton Greg Maddux Jason Marquis Joe Mays Gil Meche Tomo Ohka Ramon Ortiz Russ Ortiz Vicente Padilla Chan Ho Park Brad Radke Jason Schmidt Trade Targets: Erik Bedard Jake Westbrook Carl Pavano Tim Hudson Jeremy Bonderman Freddy Garcia Dontrelle Willis Jason Jennings

I'd rather put all my money in one basket (Soriano) than in a bunch of baskets of fire (relievers)