WrigleyinEngland

No way i offer soriano that kind of cash + years. To earn that money you have to be a perfect fit for a team which Drew is and soriano isn't. With Drew you add OBP,LH stick at 3,4,5 and the possibility of him playing CF or Rf and trading a possibly valuable chip in Jock. Only drawback is health but he's been good to go 2 of the last 3 and you could always sign a cheap option (lofton?) just in case.

We should take advantage of the money we have this year, whatever FA we go after front load his contract and pay for his best couple of years and don't make him untradeable in 3-4 years.

I don't believe Hendry will shop 'Izzy' at all. I totally expect him to start opening day which makes trading Barrett almost impossible as we would have 3 outs at 7,8,9 (except on Z days!!)

I think it would be madness to create another hole by trading Barrett. I would rather trade Pie or Veal if it was going to land me bonifide major league talent. Would Florida do Pie,Veal and Murton for Cabrera??

2 things most unlikely to change this year- 1- The cubs become good 2- Tampa makes sensible moves and trades to finally get some pitching.

I'm as desperate as anyone to see a big bat go with D-lee and Aram but i wouldn't mind Lugo being the next signing. Leadoff and SS solved in one. I would be asking about Andruw Jones and also how about the WS as a trading partner?? Gracia or Mcarthy for Dempster and a couple of prospects?? would they have interest in Jaque for LF?

Seriously , with feet back on the floor we are still a really bad team but we would've been in such a hole if we'd lost Aram. realistically lets get some pitching give D-lee and Aram the bat they deserve to spport them and get some positive vibes going through the Org.

I still don't believe Aramis is worth the ridiculous Beltran contract however 5 for 70 yes! I'm excited now imagine what winning the Matsusake derby is going to feel like!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Rosenthal calls it a 'Hollow Victory' but he's not the one who thought his $200 Aram Jersey was worthless!!!

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE's Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack Check Foxsports.com!!!!!

I totally,absolutley,adamantly do not believe that Aramis is worth the kind of money we're talking about if these reports are true. Hendry has failed by leaving it this late when he should of blown this club up at the trade deadline however i do not see how you pay Ramirez A-rod money. He was my 2nd fave cub and my jersey is hanging at half mast but the guy isn't the 2nd coming of Jesus. The cubs have no excuses now it's time to put up or lie down and be the loosers that many of us think they are. 1- Re-sign Z to stop another winter of discontent in '08 2- Sign 2 of Drew,Soriano and C Lee. 3- Sign a top pitcher or trade for one and then look for a middle of the rotation guy such as Lilly,Wolf, Meche 4- Trade 'Izzy' for a bag of balls and replace him with Lugo 5- Sign Huff or Nomar to play 3rd 6- Round of the bench with quality guys such as Craig Wilson (No Frddie B's)

I am blown away..........I just can't believe how inept this org is. I honestly feel that we are the laughing stock of sports. A team that couldn't possibly be any worse just lost one of it's stars and yet will blindly amble along pretending they can compete next year. Instead of doing the right thing which would be to trade away the only 2 legit mlb players we have D-lee and z will sit in this train wreck for at least next year. Lou Piniella, Dusty Baker, Don Baylor it just doesn't matter who is in charge with this pathetic roster that hendry has put together.

This is worse than sitting waiting for Dempster to blow another game......

Any chance we enter Free Agency in a blaze of glory with Ramirez re-signing and Soriano all in one day??!!Just dreaming................

I know that Beltre hasn't justified his huge contract but doesn't the thought of Hendry going out and getting D Bell, Aurillia or some other tool scare people?? I have to be honest i don't see the cubs ending up with 1 premier free agent this winter. Suggestions of trading for A-rod seem pie in the sky to me , who eactly would the yankees want in a trade? I'll tell you who Z and that is it. So unless everyone is willing to give our only realiable starter away better look elsewhere for improvement. I have no faith in this org to bring in the quality needed to turn this around. Can you honestly see us matching teams on Soriano, Zito and Drew? Hell as the Ramirez fiasco proves we can't even keep our own guys let alone bring in others.

If we loose Aramis Hendry will not break up the team as many of us think he should, you don't get Piniella then invest in Kids.Would Seattle like to get rid of Beltres contract ?? what would it take?? could this be a buy low situation? I hate the FA options such as Huff etc is Beltre the most realistic trade target?? Does Moore,Marshall and Dempster get it done??

Obviously Texas has no issue with another huge contract restricting them. Hi this is Chan Ho park calling and A-rod waiving as Hicks sticks some more dosh in his account.

I take total blame for the cubs in '04 and beyond. I arrive in chicago for my first time at wrigley on the Fri of the Mets series. Rex blows his knee on the sunday in Minn and as i watch the other screen in espn zone hawkins blows the game. I had tix for all 4 cin games and just watched the season slip away. I returned to england and joked with my friends that it just wouldn't of been right watching the cubs rock in that last week and fly in to the playoffs. It was just so.........cubs....when will the good times come back??? :(

Only just recovered over here and its now mid-afternoon!!! Late night=well worth it never gave up and niether did they!!!

I understand that he is a much better fit than pierre.... but leadoff?? talk about putting round pegs in square holes. Realistically what will his 25+ homers mean if he cant regularly get on base in front of D-lee and A-ram?. Add to that we don't even know if he will play CF, that would be 3 position changes in 2 years.

From this mornings sun-times........ 'Sources said the Cubs have identified potential free agent Alfonso Soriano -- whom they view as a center fielder and leadoff hitter -- as their primary target in rebuilding a team for Piniella.' A guy who has never struck out less than 120 times has a career OBP of 325 and who's bat would look very nice as a run producer is going to be our CF and leadoff guy?? same old same old....... :shock:

Is there any way we could keep Aram and aquire A-rod?? How would this lineup work financially? CF Dave Roberts LF Matt Murton 1B D-Lee SS A Rod 3B A Ramirez C Barrett RF Jock/C Wilson 2B Cedeno/Riot/E Patt/Izturis Or if we lost Aram/Traded him for A-rod CF Dave Roberts LF Matt Murton 1B D-Lee SSA-Rod 2B Soriano C Barrett RF Jock/C Wilson 3B Izturis/S Moore Just thinkin' out loud....

What happens if we did get the #1 pick and then signed a type A free agent ? would we lose the pick??

We can argue and disagree on his off-season moves and his inability to replace D-lee as well as the aquisition of neifi 2 but the decision to let dustbag see through this year has been his worst one yet. Check out todays trib about the gap growing in thier relationship. The only way Dusty should of been retained was on the proviso that he developed the young talent. I see no player that this staff has developed. Check out Dustys comments on hill 'he's just got to work it out no more talk' well thanks for that coach of the century. What these kids needed was a coaching team which understands the process of developing talent and coaching youth. These 2 factores should've come way before a winning coach in Jim's 'evaluating' period at the all star break. We now find ourselves in the midst of a train wreck. We have an 'old school' manager who is bleeting on about judging him on the last god knows how long, coupled with a coaching staff who really couldn't give a crap because they aren't going to be around next year regardless. While dusty is spouting rubbish “We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to our fans to put the best team we can on the field to try and win because people want to see us win,”- we are not seeing what talent is actually available for next year. For some of these kids the best thing might be AAA for a year to get anything learnt in chicago out there heads.

I am ready to give up on Harvey........Dubois??? Does anyone feel that 1 more year in AAA would be the best route for felix?? he has got this far relatively quickly and i still feel he will be the cubs CF for many years.