Jazz

srsly, if that were to happen, i think it would make my offseason, and propel the cubs all the way to the world series :)

I really think we can avoid trading prior, and still acquire Tejada, but a hit to the SP depth would definately be eminent. Cubs get: Tejada A's get: Bedard, Hill, and Guzman Orioles get: Zito, Cedeno, Sing, and Ohman cubs give up Hill, Guzman, Cedeno, Sing, and Ohman for Tejada -Ohman is a minor hit since we have Eyre -Cedeno, while he would have been nice to keep, is replaced by Tejada whos still few years away from FA -Sing is destined to be a DH -Hill is at the peak of his value IMO, and wont do much in the ML -Guzman is the best pitcher in our system when hes healthy, but id give him up seeing as could very well bust as much as he could hit it big

Am i the only one who wants to see Jones succeed here, or predicting it? This isnt the first time weve brought in someone like this, and they have succeeded under baker before. Barrett, Gruzielanek, Karros, Dlee (although he always had talent, he never showed 5 Tool MVP caliber talent), etc.. I really hope/think Jacque can come in at put up an .800+ OPS here starting everyday, even though all the variables tell me he shouldnt, seeing as he was playing in Minnesota and putting up the numbers he did, but still, theres your cub fan optimism. I will however not be content with this move at all unless we acquire a big addition to the middle of the order at either SS, 2B, or LF (murton did prove himself, but i wouldnt be to sad if we put Manny in Left over him)

I hope you are being sarcastic How can you even compare Jeter to Arod, while yes Jeter is a nice player to have, hes not worth the price tag he comes with. He might be worth 19 million to the yankees, but what sentimental value does he have to us, he hasnt been a cub all his life now has he? Besides, Arod has him in every aspect of the game imaginable, hes a year younger, costs less (still being paid for by Texas partly, and is being paid by the Yankees for 17 mil in 06). Arod has more power, speed, better glove, better range, gets on base more. He basically dramatically improves the lineup in about every way imaginable. I think i would let Prior go for him.

im just imagining rite now wat alou in the 4 or 5 spot with Lee and Aram + maybe a more consistently smart lineup with a dependable middle of the order guy in it would have done. Oh well, i cant say i wasnt fully behind not picking the option up, but if i had known that out of the 4 top OF's that year, Alou would be the most productive and reasonably priced one, i would have wrote my own admission to a insane asylum.

just thinking for a second, if we had signed him after the 04 season, since we missed out on all of drew, beltran, and ordonez. Alou's 9 mil option, was = to burnitz's 5 mil contract (which would have been avoided had we signed alou), alous 2.5 mil buyout, and 1.5 mil to assorted non productive players (macias, and perez, + chump change), we could have definatley afforded him, can you imagine wat alou's .400 OBP, and .918 would have done for last years team? Can anyone caluclate the difference in win shares between burnitz and alou's 05?

I never thought it would come to this, but would there be any interest in takinng back a 39 Year old slugger, who is coming off a .321/.400/.518 Line with a .918 OPS at 6 mil. I think we have the cap room to make a pretty good platoon if we also acquire Kevin Millar, or Aubrey Huff, and start Alou vs. lefties (who he absolutely killed over the last 3 years, 1.000+ OPS vs. lefties in 05, .981 OPS vs. lefties over last 3 years. Aubrey Huff's 3 year line vs. Righties: .289/.356/.517/.873 Kevin Millars 3 year line vs. Righties: 283/.362/.466/.828 We could see a good amount of OBP and BB's from this group, as Huff+Alou combined for 105 Walks, and Alou+Millar combined for 100 Walks. This would overall probably cost in the neighborhood between 10-12 Mil (+Players AND Prospects if you are taking Huff) Dicuss.

oh, i did not realize that he had signed on for 2 more years, well in that case, just take off Kotsay and Patterson off of the deal, and put into the additional moves to sign/trade for a suitable RF (Wilkerson, Finley), and the payroll would even out.

Is Oakland still looking to unload Zito? Cubs get: Tejada, Kotsay Athletics get: Williams, Guzman/Dopirak, Sing, Patterson Orioles get: Zito, Hill, and Cedeno A's Perspective: They unload 14 mil in contracts, and get a starter that is ready now with potential in Williams, A high prospect in Guzman/Dopirak, a future DH in Sing, and a ready OF with a small contract that could produce in a new scenery. Orioles Perspective: They Unload Tejada while getting exactly what they want in return, a top of the rotation starter, another MLB Ready Starter prospect, and a SS to replace Tejada that can produce. Cubs Perspective: The Cubs use alot of their 2006 Payroll to fill their final two big holes on the team (Kotsay 7M, Tejada 12 Mil). The Payroll right now looks like this: Pitchers -------------- Greg Maddux (9M) Kerry Wood (11M) (Not On Opening Day Roster) Ryan Dempster (5M) Carlos Zambrano (5.5M) Bob Howry (2.5M) Scott Eyre (2.7M) Mark Prior (2M) Glendon Rusch (2.75) Michael Wuertz (500k) Robert Novoa (400k) -------------- Infielders -------------- Michael Barrett (4M) Derrek Lee (9.2M) Todd Walker (2.5M) Miguel Tejada (12M) Aramis Ramirez (10.5M) Neifi Perez (2.5M) Hendry Blanco (1.5M) -------------- Outfielders -------------- Juan Pierre (4M) Mark Kotsay (7.0M) Jerry Hairston Jr. (1.5M) John Mabry (1M) Matt Murton (300k) -------------- Buyouts -------------- Jeromy Burnitz (Buyout) (0.5 M) --------------------- Opening Day Roster Total (21 Players) = 96 M Our Lineup would look set at: CF Pierre RF Kotsay 1B Lee 3B Ramirez SS Tejada 2B Walker LF Murton C Barrett 5 Holes left at SP (2), Backup IF, and a Reliever We can plug Theroit at backup IF (300k) We can put Ohman as our LOOGY (400k) for our last 2 SP spots, I think we have to trade for/sign another SP, and then plug Rusch at SP5 until Wood comes back, and call up someone like Van Buren or Koronka to hold Rusch's spot in the pen. The Pen would look like: Koronka Ohman Wuertz Novoa Howry Eyre Dempster with about 8-10 M to spend on acquiring one SP, and maybe one RP/SP for depth. Hopefully we can still snatch up Kevin Millwood by the time these transactions go through, or Washburn.

I think that the cubs really dont have many options for a premier Proven right field bat, so with that in mind, i think going after either a MLB Ready prospect that isnt too touted but could be productive, or a project like Milton Bradley is the only way to go, but for 1 year. I think Hendry really thinks the Corner outfield will consist of Pie, Murton, and a FA/Trade Acquisition in the next offseason. With that in mind, since we wont be allocating many dollars to RF for 06, i think acquiring an innings eating, consistent could be a nice luxury sign, since Wood will not be starting opening day apparently. I would love to sign Washburn or Millwood to a reasonable deal without too many years (3 for 20 mil). I dont know if i would have been satisfied with this team at the beginning of this offseason, but it leaves plenty of financial freedom to acquire someone at the deadline. Opening Day roster ------------------------- CF Pierre LF Murton 1B Lee 3B Ramirez RF Bradley 2B Walker SS Cedeno C Barrett SP1. Prior SP2. Zambrano SP3. Millwood/Washburn SP4. Maddux SP5. Williams RP Rusch RP Hill RP Wuertz/Ohman RP Eyre RP Howry CL Dempster Bench C Blanco IF Theroit IF Perez OF Mabry OF Hairston Jr.

Throw Milldege into that too probably. If we were going to get him from the Mets it be for Major League Ready Guys like Prior or Z. This is the kind of thinking I was talking about, it's just plain wrong. A high ceiling, but unproven yet, outfield prospect for a high ceiling, but unproven yet, pitching prospect. At some point, teams with a need for pitching and excess outfielders need to look at that kind of plan, and similarly, teams with excess pitching and a need for outfielders should consider it too. Let's take the case of Delmon Young as one example. He is an incredible prospect, everyone realizes this. The team that owns him has almost NO pitching to speak of, but they currently have FIVE outfielders, and Young would be the sixth. At what point, if you're a prudent GM of that team, do you not come to the conclusion that maybe you should deal from strength and trade that outfielder prospect for pitching help? The general thinking in Tampa is that Huff would play 1st, and Delmon would start in Right, having the outfield look like: Young Baldelli Crawford Hollins and Gomes + Huff for depth (since he can start at 3B, LF, RF, and 1B)

Let's hope Anaheim gets caught up in the Manny trade talks. CF Figgins 2B Kennedy RF Guerrero DH Ramirez LF Anderson 3B Mcphereson 1B Erstad SS Cabera/FA pickup (if traded to boston) C Molina Best lineup in the majors, offensively and defensively? I think so.

i really hope we can get Tejada without giving up Pie. He got the nomar deal done 2 yrs ago without giving up clement, I think he could work that magic again.

we will be depleted of pitching trading chips by the end of the hopeful Tejada deal, so i dont think we have the personnel to get Wilkerson. They have a young guy they are looking at for 2B named Ian Kinsler who i believe will hit very well in that ballpark, and be a mainstay in the lineup. A more viable option is helping the mets in acquiring Manny from the redsox and getting Cliff Floyd in Return.

Quite a few. Ramirez is at best average at third. Walker is below average at second. The IF would be strong at SS and 1B, but wouldn't rank at the top of all MLB IF's. Now, if Hendry trades Walker and we end up with Lee, Cedeno, Tejada & Ramirez, that would be pretty impressive defensively. and the answer is yes, offensively, and overall.

i still think Manny to the Mets will end up going through so he can go play with former teamate Pedro Martinez. And the above statements about his NTC reign true as well.

I think if we trade for Tejada, we might not have to ever see the Neifi Perez Show like we saw it last year. Hopefully Hendry realizes that Walker would best be kept, and starting at 2B. Cedeno could be apart of the Tejada deal, so walker would not be blocking anyone, and Perez would be specifically a bench player (which might not be that bad considering his hot start last year), backing up the middle infield. Best infield in the NL, both defensively, and offensively? ramirez, lee, tejada, and walker, i think that might do it.

-Bradley has never had a season of over 100 RBI's -Until Last Year Tejada had 5 straight seasons of 100 RBI's, he just missed it with 98. -Bradley has only 1 season where hes had over 450 AB's -Tejada has had at least 590 AB's for 7 straight years Also, tejada is in the top 7 of almost every important stat category for SS's in the MLB, and in the top 3 in RBI, HR's, and BA. While Bradley will be SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper, im betting tejada could pput his 2002 numbers hitting in wrigley (the year he won MVP), and be a huge asset at #5 in the order, behind lee and ramirez. That being sad, i think we can get both.

i heard the same report 20 min ago. Not sure if it has any relevance to wat the cubs could be offering.

well considering his career OBP is just under .500, but most likely yes, if thats what it took, id do it, even with the addition of say Cedeno oin the package.

Pie and Hill, cause thats what it would prbly take, idk if id do it.

OMG, Jim, PLEASE!!? Pierre Cedeno Lee Ramirez Tejada Bradley Murton Barrett !!!

hmm Cubs get: Abreu Nationals get: Williams, Hill, and Patterson/Michaels Phillies get: Hernandez, Wilkerson + Cash from Cubs sry couldnt help it :)

the only way hed pitch for the cubs is if hes making manny money

3rded