BigbadB

A deal like this would only make sense from a marketing aspect. Marketing doesn't win ball games. Last year, Hendry made an ill advised deal for Juan Pierre. He packaged 3 arms for a guy in the last year of his contract. This year, the 3 arms aren't here and neither is Juan Pierre (thankfully). The Cubs are currently rebuilding the farm system. They are not in a position to create more weaknesses for the sake of 30 more hits in 2007. The Cubs now have depth in the outfield, something they should at least experiment with for half a season and see how they like having good players rest other good players. I'm personally tired of watching guys like Bynum and Mabry playing in place of the starter because the team has zero depth. Depth is a good thing. If Soriano tweaked a hamstring in game 1 of the regular season, the Cubs could send Floyd, Murton and Jones out there not hamstring (no pun intended) the offense too badly. And then there's 2008, where Ichiro will be auctioned to the highest bidder. Are the Cubs in a position to win that auction financially? If not, then next year, they are out Jones, Murton, Marshall, Gallagher and Ichiro. A trade has to be analyzed for now and for the future. A deal like this could set the Cubs back for years. While we all want a 2007 World Series, it's not worth mortgaging the next 5 or 6 years to try to do it. Heck, we should probably worry about ending 2007 with a winning record first, before we even remotely consider a World Series. How many teams go from worst to first? The Cubs have a shot to do just that with the roster they have now, but the odds most certainly aren't in their favor. Ichiro doesn't change that. I'm all for a deal that would improve those chances, but Ichiro isn't that guy. Andruw Jones probably isn't even that guy, but I'd make a trade like the one suggested for Andruw Jones way before I'd make it for Ichiro. But, I wouldn't make that deal for Andruw Jones, either. If the Cubs are willing to deal Jones, Murton, Marshall and Gallagher for someone, I want more than a 1 year rental unless he's one of the best SS's in baseball (A-Rod) or one of the best starters in baseball (Santana). Those are the types of 1 year rentals I would consider for a package like that. While the outfield defense of Floyd and Murton will never compare to Ichiro, the offensive production from LF this year will not hinder the Cubs chances of winning ball games. The OPS difference of Murton/Floyd to Ichiro will be quite significant this year. I'm really not all that convinced that Seattle wants to let Ichiro go in the first place.

I don't know why a trade like this would take place. The Phillies are having trouble moving Lieber, wouldn't we have the same problem? I'm not sure Jones would be an improvement over the guys the Phillies have slated to play the outfield this year. The Padres would be stupid to trade Linebrink for Rowand. They already have Giles and Cameron in two of the outfield spots, and Jose Cruz Jr. and Termell Sledge are battling or are set to platoon in the left field spot. Sledge has been tearing the cover off the ball in ST. I don't see any reason to rush Pie or to part with Jones so quickly. We have in-house candidates to take a rotation spot if Miller AND Prior aren't ready to step in. Guzman looks to have his filthy stuff back. I'm enjoying the fact we have some outfield depth for a change. Give Pie another half season to prepare for the bigs and see if Jones has improved his trade value at the deadline.

Greene is always hurt. He makes incredible defensive plays when he's in there, but his defense isn't nearly as impressive when he is out with an injury.

There are not many players I would offer Murton, Jones, Marshall and Gallagher for. Ichiro is not one of them.

Excellent job throughout this entire thread, everyone!

That's an interesting line up. Colvin and Patterson are probably excited about playing with the regulars.

That's what I thought, but just wanted to make sure.

I'm surprised A-Rod is still a Yankee as of today. With all the hate that has been spewed in A-Rod's general direction, I have no idea why he's sticking it out in New York. It can't be because of the World Series rings, because he doesn't have one of those. I think I have to give him some credit for once for sticking it out. I never really cared for how he treated his former teams.

I wouldn't say most game threads are worthless, but yesterday's game most certainly was. Without a decent feed for the game (thanks for nothing Seattle broadcast team), it's a bunch of jibberish that you can't make heads or tails of.

Yeah, I think this will definitely weigh in on the decision.

I'd agree with that. Me too. If the main issue is with the language, I totally understand. Are you calling something I said in my post into question? If so, you might be reading my post out of context. This has nothing to do with people's passions about spring training games. The reason I posted "Come on, people. These are spring training games" is to point out the fact that the game threads are out of control (personal attacks/cursing) and the regular season hasn't even started yet. If they are this bad in spring training, how bad will it get during the regular season? I really don't care if someone lives and dies by every single pitch in ST. The importance of winning a spring training is subject to debate, which is what this board is for.

In other words, all of your guys are really sucking this spring. :D Thanks for the update, Vance!

It was quite clear what the characters meant. BeerHere did it quite a bit in yesterday's game thread. I believe I did say variations of curse words, so I think I made it clear enough to the people who needed to hear it. I've had it with editing posts and sending PM's about the same [expletive]! Bottom line, this community needs to act more maturely. You never know who might be reading this site. Bruce has all kinds of contacts. Immaturity destroys credibility.

The March 4 game had way too much cursing going on. WTF, *%$%@#, Bull**** and any other variations of curse words are not allowed and need to stop now. The personal attacks need to stop as well. Come on, people. These are spring training games. Tim created a great site for all of us to enjoy. How about we show him a little bit of respect and follow his message board guidelines. If you forgot what they are, I have conveniently placed a link to the message board guidelines in my signature. Thanks for your understanding that this is a family site.

While the Cubs definitely feature a big bopper line up, the one weakness that remains is poor OBP. Without a decent OBP, there's going to be a lot of solo home runs. I think they definitely improved the OBP over the winter, but how much remains to be seen. If Lou's focus on OBP is really legit, then the Cubs potentially could crack the top 5 in offense with the mix of added players with better OBP's than the players they replaced, and a more patient approach in general.

I think it's worth mentioning that the Padres farm system is one of the worst in baseball. The lack of good to decent position playing prospects might have a much bigger impact on the lack of run scoring, as well as won/loss records of their minor league teams.

Bozo the Clown will always have his place in Chicago. Oh, wait......that's not Bozo.

When I'm not posting here, I'm spending countless hours researching excellent responses that I can make in this thread.

Interesting, btw, that Murton is hitting 2nd and Jones down in the line up against a righty. :cheers: for Lou!

I like it.

Fixed.

I'm excited to see some Cubs baseball.

Todd Walker has to shave every 15 minutes to avoid scruff.

no, unless there are several injuries out of camp. Several? I wouldn't say several. And most likely Pavano will get dealt. So far the Yanks hitters have said Hughes is amazing. Yeah, probably not "several". But, all indications are that Hughes will begin the season in AAA. With Wang, Pettitte, Pavano, Mussina and Igawa now, and potentially someone else in the mix before ST is over (Phily and LAD both have too many starters), Hughes is not in the plans right away. An injury could change that.

It also looks like our 3rd pick in the 2007 Amateur draft will be a bust. :D