KingCubsFan

He already gave up $30 million when he was a free agent to resign with the Cubs. You expect him to give up another $30 million to a) play for a team that may or may not make the playoffs and b) enter a depressed free agent market with no guarantee of a multiyear deal? You're assuming that he would have gotten his asking price, which is exactly what Beltran got. He was never going to get as much as Beltran. And he is really only leaving $14 mil on the table since next year is a player option, and he will never get the club option from the Cubs anyway. With contracts shrinking, the only way the Cubs pick up the 2012 option is if they are very competitive after next year and Ramirez somehow puts up MVP type numbers again. Only 3 third basemen have made more money than Aramis Ramirez in MLB. A-Rod, Rolen and Chipper Jones. And he's made only $2 million less than Pujols. IIRC, the Angels offered him over $100 million and he turned it down to go back to the Cubs. And if he's traded, he's not just leaving $14 million on the table because his 2012 option vests as well. According to the link above, the Braves would have wanted him to rip up the last two years of his deal.

He already gave up $30 million when he was a free agent to resign with the Cubs. You expect him to give up another $30 million to a) play for a team that may or may not make the playoffs and b) enter a depressed free agent market with no guarantee of a multiyear deal?

Nah, I disagree with that. The Cubs have the fanbase they do due to the size of the city they play in, their longevity and, most of all, WGN TV and radio. Anyone who defines themselves as a Cubs fan by the team's futility is just the worst. It's not the futility, it's the desire to end the futility. If you were right, I would have been a fan of the Braves instead of the Cubs, because the Braves are on TV almost every day in the south, and have been for decades. Where are all the White Sox fans? Based on your criteria, wouldn't they have the 3rd or 4th largest fan base? I think they fall in the 20ish range? White Sox don't have national coverage and the Braves had national coverage for like a blip compared to what the Cubs have had between WGN TV and radio. Atlanta is also a much smaller market and city than Chicago and they've only had the Braves for 44 years. White Sox games on WGN are broadcast nationally just like Cubs game.

He hit 100 last time out on a strikeout (which means the Cubs have had 3 prospects hit 100 in the last calendar year in Carpenter, Cashner and Dolis). And they'll probably all end up in the bullpen...

One year deals or multi-year deals, I don't think it matters. The market for aging outfielders isn't very lucrative these days. I could see Byrd getting 10, Soriano 6-8, and Fukudome 3-4.

What market is this? I can't see Fukudome, Soriano and Byrd getting anything close to $37 million combined on the free agent market. The Cubs have gotten about 10 WAR so far this season from their outfield, Soriano, Fukudome, Byrd, and Colvin. Nady's there too but he's a small negative so it's irrelevant. The market value of a win has been a little over 4 million, so when you figure how much they add the remaining 1/4 of the season, it probably balances out the regression for next year. The main moral of the story here is that Soriano has been better than people give him credit for, and Byrd has been awesome this year. I understand the reasoning, but I think it's pretty safe to assume GM's aren't pricing free agents based on WAR. And I bet there are teams spending a lot less money to get 10 WAR from their outfield this year. So while statistically we may not be overpaying, I still think, realistically, the outfield is extremely overpriced. With the way the free agent market is today, I can't see our outfield being worth more than $20 million.

What market is this? I can't see Fukudome, Soriano and Byrd getting anything close to $37 million combined on the free agent market.

That's a tough call. The 2006 team probably had more god awful players, but they also had prime or near prime Zambrano, Lee and Ramirez plus some other useful players. They had a questionable pitching staff but a number of quality arms, some of which disappeared or changed roles. And of course they also had a nearly unprecedented ability to take on more payroll in that offseason. So the quality of the roster was probably overall a little worse, but with a much better position to add to the team. I'm not talking about ability to add to the team. I'm talking on a pure talent level. When somebody says we need to add 2 top-line starters, a top tier 1B and good bullpen arms, all while nobody declines in order to be contender, that tells me they think this team is far worse off than '06. The 2007 team only won 85 games though, and that probably won't be enough to beat the Cardinals and Reds. And outside of the starting pitching, I don't think this team has much of an edge over the 2006 team.

I don't necessarily have a problem with DeWitt, particularly if we were rebuilding. And generally, I wouldn't expect much out of second base. But second base is one of the few positions we could upgrade, and it looks like we'll go into next season simply hoping DeWitt develops more power as opposed to looking for something more significant. I just don't think improving one position gets it done, particularly when Colvin's power might have been a fluke and Soriano continues to trend downward (although for some reason I thought his OPS had fallen below .800). And at this point, you have to accept that Ramirez will most likely not be healthy for an entire season. How many contending teams continually enter a season counting on a player who is consistently injured to hit in the middle of lineup and be one of the focal points of the offense, and then are taken by surprise when he gets hurt? That's just bad management and not facing reality. As for the pitching, there's really nothing the Cubs really excel at, besides strikeouts. They walk a lot of batters and give up a lot of hits. I don't know what their FIP or xFIP numbers are, but they'd have to be pretty outstanding for me to consider the staff as a whole nothing more than mediocre.

I still don't think that gets it done. They would still be stuck with limited production from 2B, a fragile Ramirez, and an outfield that would likely only produce one OPS over .800.

Agreed, but I can't think of four "solid moves" that could be made. Gonzalez and Lee would be two. But it would take at least one more player of that magnitude and perhaps two to turn this team around. I don't think the Cubs would have the cash or the prospects to pull another one off. You think the Cubs are 2 MVP candidates AND 2 Cy Young candidates away from being a contender? I think it's fair to say that these 4 "solid" moves need to yield 4 or more good players. We have one of the worst offenses in the league and our pitching isn't much better.

Cashner should be getting stretched out right now. Otherwise, he's just an injury waiting to happen in 2011 or 2012.

I see it like this: Best-case scenario-Hanley Ramirez. More likely scenario-Rafael Furcal. Worst-case scenario-Orlando Cabrera. Can't really go wrong with either of the first two. With his skill set, I think Jeter is a better best-case scenario

I'm going to cry, and tape myself crying, and then post the video of me crying on NSBB if he goes to the Knicks. You'd prefer that he go to the Magic or Lakers? Edit: Actually, it would be pretty funny if he went to the Lakers, and Lebron would end up destroying his legacy and still never winning a championship.

With Hinrich, Wall and Arenas, I wonder if the Wizards would trade Nick Young. I also have to believe the Magic will look into trading Pietraus

Chris Bosh Don't see how that's relevant since Lebron wasn't under contract Bosh said he wouldn't go there because Lebron was noncommittal on staying with the Cavs. If Lebron said right away he was staying, I think Bosh ends up in Cleveland (considering Bosh would have gotten 30 million more out of that deal). There were also reports that Lebron refused to recruit for the Cavs over the last few years due to his impending free agency. If Lebron commited to the franchise, I think the Cavs would be an entirely different team.

Chris Bosh

They didn't come because James wouldn't commit to the Cavs. If James had told players he was staying there for the next 10 years, they would have had a much better team. They might even have Chris Bosh right now.

I wonder if they've given up on Brandon Wood yet.

If they were in a 3rd party city, yes...it would be completely different. If he was 30, not 25 and wanted to win it would be completely different. If Wade and Bosh were not top 10 players in the league it would be different. So basically LeBron is a villain for not being arrogant enough to not want all the credit by being the undisputed leader. It's not like him, Wade, and Bosh are going to change what they do on the basketball court just because they are in Miami rather than some other city. It's only who the public gives credit to that will change. So LeBron's legacy is diminished, but do we really want individual players making decisions about what will be best for their legacy? I don't think it's about making the decision solely for the sake of your legacy. When you're the most freakish, naturally physically talented player of all time, you should not think you have to go with a top 4 player in the league and an All-Star big man in order to win a title. It's weak. If you want to make that move, you automatically erase yourself from "greatest of all-time" discussion. You're gone immediately from that and have been since Thursday. You care more about being a [expletive] "global icon", please. He probably thinks he'll be a global icon no matter where he goes. The decision to go to Miami was probably based on the fact that it was the easiest way to a championship and he gets to play with his friends.

From John Sickels: Kind of disappointing. Given how long it's been since he's had Tommy John, I wonder if that velocity will ever come back.

Ochocinco's is a bit ambigous since he's referencing a Jay-Z song

I recall reading something a while ago where Reinsdorf said he would have no problem paying the luxury tax if the Bulls were championship contenders.

I agree. Scouts have questioned whether he'll be able to continue to draw so many walks as he moves up to higher levels, so it will be interesting to see whether he can prove them wrong.

I hope they're not scouts for the Cubs