BigbadB

I had the Dodgers listed as the division winner for 2006 prior to the Mueller, Nomar and Lofton signings. They might have done a really foolish thing with giving Furcal ridiculous money, but apparently they put together a plan of action and went for the jugular. Not only do they have serious depth (especially if Sanders signs as well), but they have insurance at every position on the team. Nomar can play 1st, SS or 3rd or corner outfield. Mueller can play 2nd or 3rd. Furcal can play SS or 2nd. Kent can play 1b or 2b. Izturis can play 2b or SS. Cruz, Drew and Lofton can all play anywhere in the outfield. And they still have many complimentary parts beyond those guys. Repko, Robles, Werth, Choi.... And then they have the kids. Guzman, Navarro, Young and Loney, the kid they got from Oakland for Bradley, etc.... I won't even bring up the pitching prospects. Sorry San Diego. LA crushes you like a bug this coming year.

Why would the Giants trade Alou? Between Alou and Huff, you'd be paying more than it would have costed for Brian Giles by himself. Plus, it would cost the rest of the Cubs farm system to get them. I want nothing to do with Alou. Let him lazily kick the ball in the ivy in San Francisco for the rest of his lazy career.

Is that the sign of a good agent?

I believe the rumor was Wellemeyer and Guzman for Huff. I don't think the Cubs have plans for Lugo. They probably don't have the available guys to get Lugo AND Huff at this point, either.

Do you know something I don't? :D Whoops. Current or Former is what I should have written.

I wanted Lofton right next to Giles in the outfield. He makes for an awesome 4th or 5th outfielder if nothing else. A guy who can lead off if your only lead off hitter gets hurt. He can hit for a very decent AVG. He's patient and draws plenty of walks. He can steal bases. He can play any outfield spot. A horrible arm, but what do you want for under 2m? I wish him well.

Alright, I finally decided to vote. What do I win?

You recall correctly.

I'd certainly like to learn more about his "attitude". Does he get one when the team tanks and no one else appears to care that they are tanking? If his attitude comes from being mad they aren't winning, I could think of worse things to have an attitude over.

Not a chance, and he most definitely would have accepted. He received way too much money last year. I need more than a .435 SLG from a corner outfielder. Todd Walker's was .471. Interestingly enough, when Milwaukee originally traded Burnitz, that trade now is quite the who's who of former Cubs. Burnitz of course. Glendon Rusch, Todd Zeile, Lenny Harris and Ross Gload were all involved in that deal, but the Cubs themselves weren't. :P

Boy was it exciting to see a QB come in and move the ball. Now I think we are ready for the playoffs. Bring on whoever!

Just no, huh? Tampa can shoot for the moon if they want, but I find it hard to believe they would rather go into the season paying Huff and Lugo a combined 12m when they have depth at both positions, and major weaknesses on the mound. They are a small market team. They can't afford to pay 2 guys 12m. Especially when they can bring up Delmon Young and BJ Upton to replace those 2 for league minimum. Maybe my position is whacked. Maybe Tampa really would hold every team over a barrel at this point in the offseason for a guy who had a very bad year (Huff). If I'm Hendry, I look elsewhere. Prior to the first game of this season, I'm going to bet that Tampa backs way off on those demands. Is Tampa a playoff caliber team with these guys? No. Is the 12m better spent getting some pitching before they lose them to free agency? Yes. I would have much rather seen Hendry make a move like the one I suggested over WAY overpaying for Pierre in his walk year and then overpaying for Huff also in his walk year. Granted, because it is their walk year, we may get one of those contract year like seasons (Adrian Beltre). But, they could be gone next year, and all those prospects will be gone too. I'm not even sure these additions will make the Cubs a playoff caliber team. My Magic 8-Ball says "Outlook not good".

I've been a proponent of trading for Huff ever since it was clear Hendry had no interest in Giles. I like Huff. However, this is not a deal I would make with Tampa. Tampa would love nothing more than to be rid of Huff and his 5m+ price tag in his free agent year. Are they going to offer him a long term deal if they keep him? Are they going to sit a disgruntled Delmon Young another year because they couldn't move Huff? If scouts and medical staff believe that Guzman's arm will never get back to what it was, then I'd probably make the deal. However, if Guzman has any inkling of returning to form, there is no way I give Tampa a top prospect for a guy in the last year of his contract, makes as much as he does, AND is coming off a bad year. If the Cubs do this deal, I'm going to be upset with this entire offseason. To make up for lost opportunities, they continue to overspend for mediocrity. This would be Ed Lynch all over again, IMO. Is Ricky Nolasco, Angel Guzman, Renyel Pinto, Sergio Mitre, and Todd Wellemeyer worth Juan Pierre and Aubrey Huff? Seriously? 5 serviceable arms for two guys in their walk years, both coming off their worst seasons? Uggh. All 5 of them are starter material. Better yet, does anyone know that Aubrey Huff's contract will pay him 7.5m next year? Let Tampa pay him 7.5m to sit the bench next year. See if they'd rather do that than accept Wellemeyer and Koronka for him. I just want to go on record that if this deal happens, and Guzman turns into a stud starter and Nomar has an injury free year, I will be one very pissed off Cub fan. Wouldn't Mitre, Nolasco, Guzman, Pinto and Wellemeyer have been enough to get Julio Lugo, Aubrey Huff AND Joey Gathright, with Tampa picking up part of Lugo or Huff's contract for next year? Gathright is Pierre Jr.. Lugo is nearly identical to Furcal (minus a ridiculous contract), and Huff is a desperately needed LH power bat. These rumors make me absolutely sick to my stomach.

Yeah, I don't get the 1b option. Wouldn't it be a better idea to just stick him in LF and call it good. Drew in CF, Jose Cruz in RF. When Izturis comes back, Kent slides to 1b and Choi becomes trade deadline commodity.

So, your middle infield would be Neifi Perez and Jerry Hairston with no back ups. Yuck!

The Cardinals got Aaron Miles for 2nd. He put up a .281/.306/.355 line last year. In Coors Field. Good call. However, his .208/.247/.292 numbers outside of Coors probably doesn't guarantee him a back up role, let alone a starting job.

Anthony Reyes in the rotation. He's supposed to be really good. 2b, LF, RF- They could probably go with Luna, Rodriguez and Nunez respectively at those positions, and they would still have a better offense than the Cubs. All three had a .285 AVG or better, and all three had .343 OBP's or better. A healthy Rolen would make up for any lost power from Sanders. Of course, they could still make a trade or two, or could even pick up a free agent here or there, which could be an upgrade(s) over 1, 2 or even all 3 of those guys. They aren't nearly as challenged as we are. They are coming off of back to back division championships. We are barely over .500 combined over the last 2 seasons. Who needs to make something happen this year?

Who is saying their opinion is cut and dry? Using stats to support your opinion just gives that opinion a little more credence. Corey Patterson is lousy! It's an opinion, and anyone can argue that opinion. Corey Patterson is lousy because his SLG wasn't even as high as Walker's OBP, is an opinion supported by stats, which anyone can still argue that opinion. Are you asking that we all quit using stats to support our argument? *I was only using Corey as an example to prove my point. In no way am I declaring one way or another that Corey is lousy, even if the stats support that theory.

I think Jacque Jones has had ample time to work on his weakness of hitting against lefties. If Baker let him hit (assuming Jones is our RFer next year) against lefties even once, he will have allowed it once too often.

So, basically what you are saying is stats are worthless and your opinion is the true indicator of what should hold weight around here?

If you took away the ball, it'd just be a group of men in pyjamas standing around in a field. there's still swinging a bat and running the bases. you can at least go thru the motions of baseball without the ball, but you can't do anything in poker without cards. Wouldn't that be swinging the bat and jogging the bases? If you were using an imaginary ball, wouldn't every swing of the bat be a home run?

If this team tanks, it will be Hendry and Baker that need to go. No fire sales, please. Get rid of guys who don't produce and keep the one's who can. Elementary, really! Oh, and hire a GM that recognizes the value of a walk offensively, and the detriment of a walk defensively. The Cubs walked 44 times in the lead off spot last year. The addition of Pierre takes away 3 walks from that total. Pierre walked 41 times last year. Better batting average, yes! But a .326 OBP from your lead off man is not something to write home to mom about. Who will bat 2nd on this team? The guy who led the team in GIDP last year? Neifi Perez. I'll be the first to make the bold prediction that if Dusty manages this team all year, Neifi will get at minimum 150 at bats in the 2 hole. Dusty has given me no reason to believe this won't happen. None. Back to Juan Pierre, who will be in his free agent year. We gave up Mitre, Pinto and Nolasco for him. What would Tampa have required for not only Gathright, but Huff and Lugo as well. Tampa would be handing a hair more than 10m worth of salary to the Cubs and could have potentially got a CFer who won't be a free agent next year and might be just as good as Pierre, a power hitting RFer who they might trade for anyway, and a SS with a respectable OBP that could lead off. Would Hill, Pinto, Mitre and Nolasco have gotten this deal done? Maybe not at the time when Atlanta was hot on Lugo. But, I'd bet Tampa would have been interested in that deal now.

Probably because they can get quality offense for dirt cheap, meanwhile starting pitching is going at about 8m an arm per year.

Toronto denies ever offering it. And Toronto is: 1. In another country 2. About as far away from San Diego as you can get 3. American League 4. In a division with the Yankees and Red Sox

Overpaying would be giving Damon anything more than 6m a year for the next 3 years. :wink: