BigbadB

And from a true CFer, no less. I can recall many instances where I suggested trading for Griffey Jr. while he was with the Reds. Luckily, that never happened.

A guy who hits like Grace almost needs to top 3000 hits for any consideration, IMO. He reminded me a lot of George Brett and Wade Boggs with the sweet swing, but Grace didn't get anywhere close to 3000. Agreed that it would have helped his cause if he played a different position, but it still might not be enough.

It's a shame what has become of Jr.

Yep. Pitchers really exposed the outside portion of the plate after the beanball. His bat speed definitely isn't there anymore, but he "could" make an adjustment in his stance to take away the outside weakness. Will he? That will ultimately decide whether he gets any significant playing time next year.

Let me be the first (and probably only :D ) person to suggest Soriano at SS and DeRosa at 2b and Izturis behind the window at the fast food drive up.

Yeah, it would be interesting, but can Sosa really handle what would likely be a significant bench role? I think there are teams out there that should definitely consider it. The Cincinnati Reds being one of those teams.

I don't see Grace making it. I think he comes up short in the power category for the power position he played.

I was proven wrong already and I acknowledged it, but nice work digging up those articles. I had already mentioned the San Diego injury, just couldn't recall what it was. The dreaded head first slide into 1b. I guess I never realized he was hurt as much as he was. Just thought he was a Mark DeRosa type of 5th infielder. In San Diego, I got to see him play a lot and he always impressed. He's getting up there in age for a 2b now, so I'd be a bit concerned about the OBP getting back up to his prime age production. I'm shocked teams haven't shown more interest in him, but the 2b market was pretty prime this offseason.

Fuzzy's sends Chien-Ming Wang to Leon Trotsky's for Scott Thorman.

That would be taking away a 2nd scoring player, which will really reduce the amount of points that get scored each week. We already took away an offensive player. The other tough thing with 4 starters and no increase in the bench is that you reduce the amount of possibilities for a 2 start week with one less starting pitcher. Was there something wrong with the pitcher's scoring last year that requires it be tweaked even more than Juan's scoring changes? I didn't notice it.

I define a few as "as little as 2". I also define a "good" baseball team as a team that wins 95 or more. The Cardinals have done that 4 times during the LaRussa era. But, my argument is not to show the Cardinals dominance. It's to show that a team that is fairly comparable in team budget with the Cubs can go out and build a team that wins pretty consistently. They've had 2 losing seasons under LaRussa. The Cubs have had 7 in that same span. That span is a total of 11 seasons. That's pretty pathetic. And my argument is not to show that LaRussa is some sort of great manager, because I'm not trying to argue that either. The Dodgers have only had 2 losing seasons in that span. Houston has only had 1. The Cubs have been behaving like a big market team during most of the last 11 seasons, but they sure don't win like one.

There's no need to worry about him individually. The point is though, that if Murton also platoons with Floyd, he's going to lose a significant portion of PA to him, and then another handful from Ward. It's going to be a small part of the total, but Ward will get some of that time. Agreed. Basically, you have a glut of corner outfielders, not so much in CF. I used to be on the bandwagon for RH and LH balance throughout the line up, not so much anymore if the RH hitters in the line up can hit RH pitching well enough. However, I think Piniella will see Jones and Izturis as the only two lefty bats and look for ways to get Floyd and/or Ward lots of at bats against RH pitching. If Jones doesn't get traded, it will take even more at bats away from Murton if it's determined Jones can't play CF well, and Pie gets called up. Actually, it would probably be tough to call up Pie if one of the current outfielders (assuming Floyd does get signed and Jones isn't traded) isn't traded or cut. To me, the Cubs got their platoon/part time LF guy when they signed Ward. Knowing Pie is waiting in the wings and Jones could play some LF, Floyd doesn't make any sense. Go after a CFer and call it a day.

I definitely do not want people storing more starters on the bench. I can agree with that. The free agent market was pretty slim pickings last year for injury replacements. Especially in the outfield. I thought there was discussion that the extra outfield spot would become a 2nd utility spot. Did that get nixed, did I miss it, or was I dreaming?

Yeah, I'm not a Floyd hater. I'm just assessing the big picture with his arrival. He's not what the team needs right now. Hendry should be shopping for a CFer, and I don't think it needs to be a "short term filler" if he can land a good one. Maybe there aren't any available, but I'd certainly see what it would take to get Baldelli or Crisp. And Church is still out there as an option.

Cameron isn't going anywhere. He was free agent eligible this offseason and San Diego retained his rights. The Padres cut Dave Roberts loose because they are happy with Cameron, and Cameron provides exactly what San Diego most desires, RH power and excellent defensive.

It's not as simple as picking a number and saying good or bad. I think if Murton is only getting 300 PA, that's really bad, for anybody who wants Murton to be the regular LF soon. But if he's platooned with somebody who puts up a 900+ OPS in the other 400 LF PA, then it's not bad for the Cubs. It's about a balance. This is pretty much my thought process on this as well. I like depth on the bench, and Floyd will give that to the Cubs. But, I like to see depth spread around, rather than focused on limited positions. Right now, the team is weak in CF. Can Jacque Jones even play CF adequately? Will he even be on the team? Right now, the team is weak at SS. Izturis will be horrible with a bat. Cedeno won't be any better. Can Theriot play SS regularly? Right now, the team has a concern at 2b. DeRosa has had one good major league season, albeit just last year. His back up is Cedeno or Theriot. Patterson is being rumored to get moved to the outfield due in part to questions about his make up defensively at 2b. If DeRosa misses any time at 2b, an infield of Izturis and Cedeno is about as unproductive as it gets. Murton wasn't one of the concerns going into 2007. Instead of fixing a concern, we add depth to an already deep position. It makes zero sense. Assuming Jones isn't going anywhere, the Cubs have Jones, Soriano, Murton, Ward and Floyd to play corner outfield. That's 5 guys for 2 positions. DeRosa makes it 6. In CF, we have a guy (Soriano) who has never played the position, Jones who may or may not be able to play it anymore and Pie, who may or may not need another year of seasoning in the minors. I don't mind being called a drama queen, but to ignore that adding Floyd is not addressing the problems of this team is a bit short sighted. If Floyd could play some CF and 3b, I wouldn't mind the signing. To take away at bats from a guy who has proven he can be an everyday player (regardless of which hand a pitcher throws with) while having weak options at other positions is asking for trouble.

Not sure how you can say that. Even if Floyd plays a lot and breaks down, that still leaves Ward in the mix for some playing time in LF. If Lee is fully healthy, he'll play 155+ games. If Soriano stays healthy, he'll play 155+ games. That leaves LF as Ward's only position to get some playing time. With such a RH dominant hitting attack, I can definitely see Ward and Floyd gobbling up a huge percentage of the at bats Murton should get. I like Floyd. I really wanted him in a trade for Sosa. However, the wrong guy is going to get pine time due to Floyd's presence.

What about his days with the Brewers? Wow. I didn't realize he got that much playing time in Milwaukee (97-99). I change my original comment to San Diego gave him his first real chance to be a regular again.

Again, I have no personal knowledge of this, but according to ESPN he played only 105 games in '05, 107 in '02, 102 in '01, 91 in '00. Maybe that's all due to being considered a part time player, but he's missed a lot of games for one reason or another. He's got a solid OBP. But he's also 35 and likely to decline. I would have rather thrown Theriot out there playing 2nd and hitting 2nd, but JH has never really taken my advice, surprisingly. In 2005, he had a broken something or another and did legitimately miss time. In '02 and prior to '02, he had not been given a regular job. San Diego gave him his first real chance to be a regular.

Hendry is extended through 2008. A little parting gift from Andy. Ugh. #-o Well, I don't think it would stop the front office from hiring a new GM. If they can throw millions at mediocre pitching, surely they can afford a few hundred thousand for a new GM and a fired GM.

Bottom line, guys who should play everyday (Murton) will be getting platooned while guys who should be platooned (Jones) will be playing everyday. Or better yet, guys who shouldn't play at all (Izturis) will be playing everyday. I'll wait to see the final product, but I don't like the game plan.

That's exactly what will happen. Cubs management has pretty much told Soriano they will give him a spot and not move him around. So, that's either one corner OF spot locked down for 160+ games, most likely corner. Between Jones, Soriano and Murton, Murton seems like the least likely guy to get any CF playing time. Soriano would likely be next since he's never played a game in CF before. So, Jones in CF and Soriano in RF are pretty much locks with this team. That leaves Murton, Floyd and Ward to grab at bats in LF. Most pitchers are RH, so Piniella will look to get a LH bat in there against RHP. One scenario I should add, but doesn't really change anything, is that if Jones gets traded and Pie gets the nod in CF, that still leaves Murton, Floyd and Ward in LF. Murton loses no matter how this turns out.

I've kept pretty quiet with Marquis and Lilly. I'm going to give it a chance, but it's not what I had in mind this offseason. I did want pitching and I have to thank Hendry for recognizing that priority, but the years, the money and the players he sought are a REAL challenge. I'm sure glad Hendry isn't extended beyond 2007 at this point, because I wouldn't want anything getting in the way of his firing at the first sign of trouble with this "patch it up and go" team. The next GM needs to have an actual plan to improve the team.

I don't think he's missed a lot of games. He was brought up as a part time player who impressed with each opportunity he was given. He forced teams to play everyday with his production. I've watched Loretta play a lot, and he's about as fundamentally sound as gets. And the OBP is pretty solid as well. Therefore, he doesn't fit the profile to be a Cub.

I'd agree about the DeRosa/Marquis comparison, but DeRosa for 162 games at 4m and actually already having positive production from his mechanical change is not the same as Marquis and his unknown production change at 7m for 33 to 35 games. Marquis is a tremendous gamble. DeRosa is actually cheap if he puts up numbers like he did last year.