BigbadB

I believe pilfer is the correct terminology. Pitching is what every team needs more than anything else. Half a teams roster is made up of pitchers. Trading 3 pitching prospects for a 1 year rental (and not a very good one at that) is pilfering the farm. If we were getting someone decent in return that would be here more than a year, I might change my overall impression of that trade. But, it is what it was. Hendry way overspent for Pierre.

Or in the Cubs case, a typical #1 or #2 hitter. :D

There isn't a need for deception on a sac bunt. The whole ballpark can know its coming, if you get the bunt down it doesn't make any difference. Wet field, wet dirt. Runner advancing to 3rd can be slowed down by mud in his cleats, fielder can slip. Wainright's filthy breaking ball could have forced a pop up of the bunt attempt, could have put 2 strikes on the hitter, which would likely take the bunt sign away, etc...

That argument is as ignorant as when "old time baseballers" flat out deny the statistical side of the game. You have to look at both. I just happen to think putting runners at 2nd and 3rd with one out would have been the better move. It may tighten Wainwright up a bit more, having never pitched in a situation as big as last night. He was throwing very well though. I suppose it would have been possible that a sac bunt had a higher chance of working successfully given the wet grass. But, Goony just threw another wrench in there with walking Reyes to get to LoDuca.

I don't think ARam is going anywhere, but obtaining ARod or Tejada is a step backward because ARam matches them in production and the Cubs don't have to give up players for him. Agreed!

It's an easy argument for the people looking at the results in hindsight. Wainright was filthy nasty last night. If the Mets did bunt the runners over, it wouldn't have mattered one iota because he basically struck out the side anyway. That last pitch to Beltran was unhittable.

With Floyd, who has only had one other at bat the whole series? Floyd is hurt and can't run. Even if he did get a hit you have to take him out anyway. I thnk the smarter move was to bunt, then PH Floyd for Lo Duca possibly if needed. Floyd had just as much capability to drive the ball into an alley, over the fence, etc. as he would to make an out. Unfortunately for every Mets hitter in the 9th, Wainright had a very nasty breaking ball that the best hitters in the league couldn't have hit.

True, but a basehit after the bunt most likely ties the game, espcially with Chavez running. An extra base hit (okay, a long single since Floyd can't run) ties the game and there are still no outs. Pinch run for Floyd and then consider bunting the pinch runner over. No way do I waste a precious out down by 2 in the bottom of the 9th.

I thought it was the right call to swing away. It just didn't work.

Pierre will likely have a security blanket to fall back on when he does file for free agency. The Cubs MUST offer arbitration in order to restock the farm system Hendry pilfered when he made the trade to get Pierre. Pierre may not be able to find a long term contract that would match what he might get in arbitration, and Pierre could then attempt to put up a better season than last year so that he can possibly land that bigger contract next year. Hendry will likely keep money aside in the event teams balk at losing compensation for signing Pierre and offering him a hefty contract. What really scares me is that if Aramis were to opt out and become a free agent, Hendry might put more energy towards giving Pierre a long term deal. Inevitably, that will likely be the end of Hendry if that happens. Because I really can't imagine this team being very good next year with huge money tied up in mediocre players.

80 XBH's, 119 RBI's with basically crap hitting in front of him all year, 13 errors at the hot corner in 157 games played is not elite? Wow, our expectations have really gotten lofty. No, he's not A-Rod. He isn't getting paid like A-Rod and no one expects him to perform like A-Rod. Would I rather have A-Rod? Depends. I'd rather have both. Is A-Rod a big enough difference maker to match Aramis type production and also make up for another position of need as well? I doubt it. In other words, this team is not going to be much better offensively if all they do is replace Aramis with A-Rod. Finding a way to keep Aramis should be the top priority. Take care of what you can control first (something they completely ignored last year with Nomar), then attempt to strengthen the roster with things you cannot control, like trading for Drew or signing Soriano, etc... A-Rod: 62 XBH's, 121 RBI with premier hitters in front of him all year, 26 errors at the hot corner in 157 games is not nearly as impressive as Aramis was this year. A-Rod did put up staggering numbers in Arlington, but I wonder what Aramis might do if he played in that stadium all year. Letting Aramis get away this year would be the worst thing that could happen to this organization this offseason. Period.

Let's see. Scott Moore? Aaron Boone? Aubrey Huff? Or Aramis? No contest. If they have no urgency to bring back Aramis, then they also have no urgency to win in 2007.

I'll mail you one. :D

I also think he'll want that big contract that he thinks he deserves, and the Cubs would be nuts to offer it to him. The Padres might lose Roberts and Cameron. They might offer up a lengthy deal for a guy like Pierre. They will want someone who can cover a lot of ground in CF and can lead off.

Hendry has had his share of good deals and bad deals. I also don't think it's fair to evaluate a trade in hindsight. Unfortunately, the good deals are far removed and replaced by bad deals. Deals should really be replaced by "decisions". Whether those decisions be trades, free agent signings, retaining Baker all year, waiting too long to make deadline deals, etc... there really wasn't much to get excited about in 2006. Signing Rusch, Neifi and Blanco to ridiculous sized contracts for their production was amazingly stupid. Putting all of his eggs in Rafael Furcal's basket was pretty stupid. Kicking Nomar to the curb without looking back was pretty stupid. Trading 3 pitching prospects for a 1 year rental, speed demon was stupid. Waiting too long to fill the biggest hole in the offense (RF) and having to settle for the best off the scrap heap was stupid. Not firing Dusty after the 2005 season was dumb. Not firing him sometime during the season was ridiculously stupid. It goes back to the 2005 season, but agreeing to allow Wood to pitch out of the pen in a season that was lost to about 99% of the viewership and retarding his chances of being healthy in 2006 was stupid. Maybe I overvalue some players, but I felt that they could have gotten much more in return at the trade deadline than they actually did. Maddux, Walker, Jacque Jones, Juan Pierre to name a few guys that I felt could have garnered some interest from other teams. I penciled them in to finish closer to the bottom of the division than towards the top at the beginning of the season. The writing was on the wall. ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE offseason by Hendry.

Okay, so Nic is a 6 year free agent, but isn't he also 6 years out of college.

He's a cheap imitation of Rafael Furcal. I wouldn't mind having him on the roster at all. Of course, I view Izturis as a utility player, so just about anyone who can provide better offensive production and would be a replacement for Izturis in the starting line up will get a thumbs up from me. And that includes Theriot.

And, STILL no 20 game winners. :D

Thought for sure the job offers for a guy who nearly lost a hundred games with a 95m payroll would just be pooring in about now.

Soriano's production seems to defy convention, which is an indication he is a hitter with comfort issues. His worse years were in Texas, one of the best hitters' parks in baseball, in a line-up full of support in the way of good hitters. During these years he hit was placed, as convention dictates, in an RBI production role. He moves to Washington, one of the worst hitters' parks in baseball, in a line-up with anemic support, and absolutely thrives. Back in the leadoff role, his numbers return to the Yankees years numbers, and even exceed. It doesn't make any practical sense, and logically Soriano should be a run-producer. But his career numbers and production make it clear: regardless of the ballpark or the support around him, his best spot in the lineup for maximizing production is at leadoff. Provided the team doesn't have a hole in the 3-4-5 spots (and the Cubs would be just fine with Lee, Ramirez, Barret), there isn't any real reason to force Soriano into a run-production role. If the Cubs pursue him, it's likely in his comfort zone role at leadoff IMO. I have to agree with this. While some RBI's are lost in his first at bat, and potentially for the rest of his at bats if you have poor OBP in the 7 and 8 spots (excluding the pitcher's spot), at least he's getting the most at bats, something Juan Pierre never should have received, IMO. Mark Bellhorn seemed to excel at the top of the order. Dusty tried to make him an RBI guy, and he struggled mightily. Bellhorn is not nearly the player Soriano is, but it's another example of a guy who seemed to need a certain spot in the line up to do his thing. If Soriano's OBP stays where it was this year, I have zero issues with him hitting lead off for the Cubs. By the way, Soriano had nearly 3 times as many RBI's as Pierre did this year. 81 of his 95 RBI's came while he was a lead off hitter. Now all the Cubs need to do is find respectable OBP guys to balance out the bottom half of the order and give Soriano some guys to drive in.

I'm also in agreement that it may take 3 teams to make a deal work. Florida, Colorado, KC or some small market team that could take prospects to give up their starting pitchers who are going to be making big money soon, if not already. The Cubs can absorb the entire salary of A-Rod. The small market team can load up on pitching prospects. The Yankees can get the 3b or SP they desire. Colorado could move Garrett Atkins and Jason Jennings to NY. Colorado would probably love a Felix Pie type CFer that can cover a lot of territory. They might like a guy to fill their 2b hole like Patterson. They could certainly use some young starting pitchers. Scott Moore could bridge the gap at 3b for them until Ian Stewart is ready. It would depend on what Colorado would want, but Atkins' trade value is high now and they have Stewart on his heals. This would be a good time for them to make a nice haul on a few players to build for the next several years. Someone already mentioned Dontrelle. I just don't see a good trade involving only NYY and the Cubs. Add a 3rd team, and the options seem endless.

Wright and Reyes are the core of those good players, who happen to be extremely good and come from within and currently underpaid for their production. Their value allows the Mets to pay FA prices for Beltran and surround him with very good players. Exactly. Spend more money on player development too! Whatever it takes to do it from within, do it. They won't win without improving from within 1st. So, in other words, it might have been a poor decision to trade 3 pitching prospects for a 1 year rental CF who doesn't provide much outside of a stolen base threat? :D

I don't remember what the numbers are exactly. Tim or JeffH might have the particulars. If you don't lose any free agents, there is a set maximum number, like 3 that can be signed. For each free agent you lose, you get an extra free agent signing above and beyond the "3". I don't believe it matters what Type FA they are. But, PLEASE understand, I don't recall the specifics. I could be way off.

I don't believe the limit is tied to Type A's only. I think it extends down to Type B and C as well.

If the Cubs did things the right way this offseason, they could potentially have a guy like Barrett hitting 8th. Couple that in with a few PH at bats from a decent bench in place of the pitcher, and Soriano could still have plenty of RBI opportunities. I've never been a huge fan of Soriano, but he's a much better option than the Cubs have had in recent years.