Jazz

I think you have you leadoff hitter in Walker. We need his OBP and Left handed bat at the top of the order. Slide murton at number two, and you have a pretty duo up there. Hendry's priorites should be (in order of when it should happen) -Pickup Walker's option -Pursure a big OF bat in trade or free agency -Pursue a starting pitcher, and a setup man. -Dusty proof the bench. Woah, lets stick to the subject (in case youve entered this thread late, read Roasts first few posts). Is talking about batting order within the topic of talking about position? I guess batting order should be discussed after weve come to the consensus on all the position players on the team. lol, my ADD kicking in there, didnt mean to stray off. sorry. :)

I think you have you leadoff hitter in Walker. We need his OBP and Left handed bat at the top of the order. Slide murton at number two, and you have a pretty duo up there. Hendry's priorites should be (in order of when it should happen) -Pickup Walker's option -Pursure a big OF bat in trade or free agency -Pursue a starting pitcher, and a setup man. -Dusty proof the bench.

you seem set on nomar accepting no less than 5+ incentives, is it that hard to think the base might be less? im not doubting nomar might use his recent performance as terms for negotiation but just a thought. I think nomar is a sign here as well, a full year of him is just about as good if not better as every other shortstop in the league offensively. But you have to have someone with substantial to terrific defense opposite him. Walker and Nomar can both play LF if neccessary, leaving the option to still sign Furcal if need be. One day you could have Nomar at 2nd, Furcal at Short, and Walker in LF, and then shift walker to to 2nd, and put murton or nomar at LF. Could lead to a more powerful bench and having the LF situation taken care of as well. Thoughts?

This is a very interesting position, and could go a number of ways. But it is a no brainer that wherever you go, u have to go cheap. Walker's option should be picked up regardless of whether or not hes part of the 2006 plan. 2.5 million dollars for his production should help the cubs whether in a trade, or the helping the actual team. If Walker is not starting at 2B, than the only reason would be to improve the middle infield defense drastically. Only 2 ways i can see that happening without spending much money at 2B. 1. Start Cedeno if he can play the position well enough 2. Sign furcal, and put nomar at 2B Either of these options is suitable, but i prefer signing Walker to start at 2B, Unless he can land us a good setup man or a high level prospect.

I agree with your assessment and like this topic. I dont know if he can be considered someone to build around, but there is no doubt in my mind that nomar should return. his numbers when healthy are great, and he will come at a bargain basement price of 2-3 mil + incentives. I dont think walker is a necessity. He could land us a good deal with the right team such as say Minnesota. Id send them Walker and Hill and see if we can get the Hunter and Craine package that some have speculated.

Hunter is a perfect fit here to fill the spot until pie gets here. Id also try to pry jesse crain off them to be a setup. Trade them Patterson, Wellemeyer, and Mitre, and agree to take on all of the contract. Then put Murton in Left, and sign Giles for RF. Rotate Nomar, Cedeno, and Walker in the Middle Infield. Keep the bullpen like it is, and go after either milwood or washburn in FA. If neither sign, then stick williams rusch or hill in the 5th starter role. 2B Walker - 3M SS Garciaparra - 2M +incentives 1B Lee 8.7M RF Giles 13M 3B Ramirez 10.5M CF Hunter 10.75M LF Murton .3M C Barrett 4M SP1 Prior 2M SP2 Zambrano 5M SP3 Wood 12M SP4 Millwood 9M SP5 Maddux 9M RP1 Rusch 2M RP2 Ohman .5M RP3 Novoa .3M RP4 Wuertz .5M RP5 Crain .5M CL Dempster 4M Bench C Blanco 1.8M IF Cedeno .3M IF Fontenot .3M OF Mark Sweeney 1M OF Pie (midseason) .3M Util Hairston .5M A little over 100M

Murton would be perfect at 2B, since power is not much of a need there.

Average?? He's 7th in ops and obp amongst shortshops. 2nd in stolen bases and one of the top defenders. Stupid = pinching pennies when the team has $50 million to blow. I think a proper response to that is that I don't want the Cubs to "blow" the money at all. I'd rather have them invest that money in the pieces that are most likely to lead the team to a championship. While Cedeno isn't likely going to give you what Furcal would next season, his production would come closer to Furcal's than any other available option in RF would be to Giles. The $50M is a chimera, btw. It's not nearly that much after pay raises to Prior, Z, ARam & Lee. It also has to pay for the closer, another arm, three OF's, 2B, SS and possibly an SP. Being able to fill a couple of those positions with cheaper players is the key to being able to ink impact players where possible. Furcal's .340-.350 OBP would be nice out of short, but it isn't a difference maker. I'd rather make Giles my top priority, attempt to trade for another impact OF bat, have Ryan & Ryan in the pen and hope that AJB's recent stretch is lowering his price a bit. i think that last bit is a little much to hope for. 2 of 3 is possible, but steinbrenner will strain a muscle trying to sign burnett. Giles is thes prototype hitter that this team needs rite now. High OBP and above average power bat in the middle of the lineup with good defense. Sign him at 35-38 mil for 3 years and make it heavily frontloaded so signing prior, zambrano, and maybe lee's extensions is easier. 2nd biggest target should be either another OF bat in a trade (Manny, Dunn), or BJ Ryan. He is the only bullpen arm Hendry should go for this winter. If hes off the table, than just forget about it, and find a setup man in a trade, and go with dempster at closer. the middle infield should stay as is, because you will not find a better value for the amount of money nomar and walker will command. they could be had for as little as 6 million together (with nomar's contracting being incentive based). Have Cedeno backing them up, and maybe a veteran supersub like Vizcaino from free agency. After that, look for more trades, and bargains. If millwood or washburn are still available and can be had for less than 9 mil. Sign one of them. Fill the rest of the roster from within, and you have a solid offseason.

We would be stacked. I really dont like that outfield defense Id like to go after Giles, or find a real good defensive CF in a trade if thats wat the plan of action would be,

Exactly, LA has to overpay for lee, and they are the right to team to reach out for prospects from. Guzman is a must in this deal, because theyre hardly giving enough if they dont. And Bergola is one of those handpicked finds i had, hes not just a throw in, i expect good production out of him at the major league level, a patient hitting SS with above average defense is a great find, especially one good base stealing numbers.

how likely though is a scenario where hendry would trade Lee right after the season he had. Im behind it if it nets us a huge return, but the PR departmant would have a field day answering hate mail, and angry phone calls. also, wat are the chance hendry goes out and gets Manny and a suitable replacement at 1B after that type of deal goes through, and then go after a millwood or burnett?

Overbay would be a suitable replacement for Lee, if you sign a marquee player along with the players you get back in a Lee deal. Trade Lee involving alot of players Cubs get: Adam Dunn, Joel Guzman (Top SS Prospect, but will probably change to OF), Milton Bradley, and William Bergola (Reds MIF prospect) Cubs Give Up: Lee, Mitre/Williams, and PTBNL Reds get: Edwin Jackson, Johathon Broxton, Ryan Harvey, and PTBNL (cubs) Reds Give Up: Dunn and Bergola Dodgers get: Derek Lee, and Mitre/Williams Dodgers Give Up Guzman, Broxton, Jackson, and Bradley Cubs Perspective: Cubs get a young slugging OF (Dunn) that would be their starter for the next 5-6 years, a blue chip SS prospect (Guzman), who would probably better suited OF because of his below average range, while still possessing a powerful arm though, as well as a Level B prospect in Bergola who is good defensively, and a smart hitter who knows hot to get on Base. Quote from BA: They also get a good stopgap CF (bradley) that could hold the position down with above average production until Pie gets here, that also seems like a Dusty type player, that might benefit with a change of scenery, and excell like barrett, and other have under baker. Reds Perspective: Reds solve their crowded outfield dilemna (although trading their best OF), but get back a solid trio of prospects. Jackson and Broxton provide depth at SP that they desperately need, and jackson could be ready to contribute next year. Harvey also makes the loss of dunn a little less harsh, providing power that is lacking in the reds farm system. Dodgers Perspective: Dodger have been looking for a staple at first base for a while though, and while it might seem ironic to have Lee and Choi in the same dugout, consider that choi has mediocre this year, and doesnt show much of an upside besides his power. Lee is the power bat in the middle of the lineup that Depodesta might be searching for this offseason, as well as an anchor to the defense. Deals like this is are what Hendry should be looking for if hes going to try to get as much as he can while Lee's value is as high as it is. Then target someone like Overbay, Konerko (if not resigned) and plug him into the lineup. Then go after Manny if Hendry isnt worn out by the above deal. Sign Pitching in Free Agency, and you have yourself a nice offseason. Picture this lineup 2B Cedeno/Perez SS Garciaparra LF Dunn RF M. Ramirez 3B A. Ramirez 1B Overbay CF Bradley C Barrett

Derek had a monstrous year this year, and probably the best for the cub since sosa's MVP season. His value has never been higher, and i dont think it will ever be. He is way underpaid for his production, and a team that needs one big bat and a 1B for the next 4-5 years would salavate at a deal for him. I just dont think lee will ever hit as well as he did this year agian, maybe marginally higher than his career norms, a line like .300/.380/.550 might be a reality next season. Id like to see wat a package of him and someone like hill or williams could bring in.

the soon to be formed AARP "All Against Restarting Perez" Foundation will do whatever it takes to show there distaste of the misuse of Perez, and perez like substances (poor choices for pinch hitting, bad 1-2 spots in the lineups, etc..) This will negate the effects of a Neifi on the roster, and lead the cubs, and cub fans, to having less hair removed by themselves. LETS GO AARP!

in detail, when u look at the in house fillers here are the ones that could start in 06' LF - Murton 2B - Cedeno RP - Novoa RP - Wuertz RP - Williams All the above would total out to about 1.5-2 million so we have a little more than 50 mil to work with conidering what you said. Also when you factor in that hendry has said neifi is a definately back in the lineup, you can say he will be back for around the same price. 1 mil. Heres a few ideas that u first think of that come up in most cubs 2005 offseason plans 1. Sign A Big Bat OF: Right now, the one that fits perfectly is Brian Giles, while he is up there, he is a great placeholder for our minor league OFers (harvey, pie, etc.), while still being a big producer in the middle of the lineup. He probably will be our biggest FA acquisition should we sign him. Predicted Contract: 3 yrs, 38 million with 4th year option 2. Resign Ryan Dempster Dempster has been great for us in the pen, and i think all things considered, itd be smart to resign him. Offer him a decent deal, and id think hed be more than welcome to resign, he seemed like he had a wonderful time in Chicago, and id love to see him and his antics back in the pen. Predicted Contracted: 2 yrs, 7-8 million with 3rd year option 17 players at an estimated 75 million. here is where you make the interesting moves. Holes Still Left: -Closer -5th starter -Shortstop? (I platoon cedeno at 2nd with perez) -2nd Setup Man -Leadoff Man -Center Fielder Situation I think hendry needs to make things happen out of nowhere to get quality at most of the positions. Trades involving alot of role players, and one marquee player, as well as one more FA signing could mean that. Lets look at the options for Closer/Setup: In the FA market you have: Mike Myers BJ Ryan Trevor Hoffman Billy Wagner Braden Looper (Team Option) Octavio Dotel (Rehab) Kyle Farnsworth Julian Tavarez Tom Gordon Rudy Seanez Id sign at least one of these guys to fill a role, and get another from a trade. Id pursue Ryan, Farnsworth, Seanez, and Tavarez very hard. Those seem like the most viable options as hoffman and wagner might go to big market teams. At 5th starter, the following standout in the FA crop: AJ Burnett Roger Clemens (retiring?) Kevin Millwood Jarrod Washburn Hendry "says" he will pursue burnett hard, but i dont think he will end up with the Cubs. Clemens if definately off the radar since he is least likely to sign here. Millwood and Washburn are interesting to consider as both had solid years last year. But theyll probably get long term offers from other teams, which we could offer too if not for the maddux situation, If maddog retired tho, bounce on one of these two. Id consider pursuing a trade for barry zito, or livan hernandez. Zito is in the final year of a contract where he will be owed 7 Mil next year. And with the whole moneyball thing working for Beane right now, zito might be the last of the "big 3" to finally leave, being that he will be due millions in FA in 07 that beane will ultimately not pay. With the right deal, zito could be had for a couple of the cubs better prospects and an ML ready starter. Hernandez is also in a situation that could bode well for the cubs. He has 2 years left at 15 million dollars on his contract, and he has been by far the one of the most consistent pitcher as of late, posting sub 4.00 eras the last 3 years, not to mention 6 straight years of 200+ innings. If one of the above situation happens, than the cubs would be left with about 13-18 million left to spend on a shortstop, filling the rest of the bench with dustyproof players, and figuring out the CF situation. At shortstop, with the remaining money, if Furcal is willing to sign for the 8-10 mil he is worth, for a long term contract (4-5 years), than jump on it, if not, than forget him, and resign nomar cheap, or find a shortstop in a trade for someone such as Julio Lugo. Lugo would fit the cubs perfectly as he plays solid defense with a .360 OBP, and a 300+ AVG. Find a deal that the rays will bite for, and he could be the starting shortstop for the cubs. I really like this idea. Lugo makes close to 5 mil next year. At CF id say give patterson one more chance to start, and if his cause is lost, bring in pie, or start hairston in CF, and trade patterson midseason to w/e u can get. The bench right now would look like: C Blanco IF Cedeno/Perez IF ? OF Hairston OF ? Util ? these 3 spots could be filled with anyone from the orginazation, to a side player in one of the deals listed above. Id say bring up mike fontenot to start at the 2nd IF spot, Grieve to start at the 2nd OF spot, and bring in a quality super sub utility man from FA like Orlando Palmeiro, Matt Stairs, or even cub killer Jose Vizcaino. With the above moves, the opening day roster could look like this if ur being optimistic. SS Lugo - 4.95M 2B Cedeno - .3M 1B Lee - 8.7M RF Giles - 13M 3B Ramirez - 10.5M LF Murton - .3M CF Patterson - 2.5M C Barrett - 4.3M SP1 Prior - 3M SP2 Zambrano - 5M SP3 Hernandez/Zito - 7-8M SP4 Wood - 12 M SP5 Maddux - 9M RP1 Williams - 1M RP2 Wuertz - .5M RP3 Novoa - .5M Setup: Tavarez/Sea nez/Farnsworth - 4M Setup: Dempster - 3-5M Closer: Ryan - 6-8M Bench C Blanco - 1,5M IF Perez - 1M IF Fontenot - .3M OF Grieve - .5M OF Hairston - .5M Util Vizcaino - 1.5M Total: 95-105 Million Playoff Team? On paper yes Reasonable? Maybe

The only thing i wish Baker would do this offseason would be to play murton and cedeno regularly the rest of the way to get a good look at them, but he wont so we are in a bad situation with players who COULD give us decent production at a low price, but we arent sure about. So from that perspective: Sign: Giles: 3 years, 35 million dollars (majority up front) Todd Walker: 2 years, 8 million BJ Ryan: 2 years, 9 million Garciaparra: 1 years, 3 million+incentives Total FA Cost: Around 30 mil Trades: Williams, Sing, and another prospect for Zito, and Duscherer Opening Day Lineup 2B Walker SS Garciaparra 1B Lee 3B Ramirez RF Giles CF Patterson LF Murton C Barrett SP1. Prior SP2. Zambrano SP3. Zito SP4. Wood SP5. Maddux RP Rusch RP Wuertz RP Ohman RP Novoa RP Dempster CL Ryan Bench C Blanco IF Cedeno IF Perez OF Grieve OF Hairston Util ? I Like that entire lineup 1-8, balanced, mix of contact and power through, probably best 1-5 in NL if this lineup was possible.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/12557707.htm Burnett would be a good fit with Prior, Z, Wood, and Maddux. Edited to fix the link. Him and "Kid DL" could carpool to the doctor together........ well hes on pace to get near to 200 innings, so he might be less of an injury risk.

IMO.... Give Bobby Cox a blanck check thats enough to guarantee a divison crown for the next 5 years. wow im so jealous of the braves, its a guilty pleasure of mine to root them on, i love that orginazation and hate it at the same time. Love the management and front office, hate the fans.

yeh looks good and straight forward. Will we bee seeing any pictures on the front page any time soon though?

definately up for a flashchat, havent had been to one in a while. At this point, we should be hoping the cubs win, and take this day by day, and let the other teams beat up on each other. To get to 90 wins, we can only lose 10 games the rest of the way, we need a few A's like hot streaks to make this possible. GO CUBS!

when u have lineups with perez, patterson, and blanco back to back its not suprising. Also, we need lee to get hot again, hes dropping back to his career norms in the 2nd half.

how close was that ball to a hr?

wood gets out of the inning, good job, i really calm down when i c him coming out of the pen.

oh lordy, moises alou all over again.

Fred, ur the stats man, so if its possible, could i see how many runs the cubs average to score in the 8th inning this year?