Sammy Sofa

Matsui on this team makes me want to barf. Matsui on this team for 3 years makes me want to barf until I die.

Nobody is saying that.

I had no idea MurtonFan loved the Yankees so much.

So you're saying all of that is ARod's fault?

According to Stone, Fuld is tearing up Winter Ball... which I have a feeling won't carry over at all into next season. I just can't see him ever hitting Major League pitching. Hey, maybe that great leaping catch that slammed him into the wall magically knocked some talent into him. If only...

Cashman is stressing they're not trading any of their young pitching, which strips them of their main ammo to trade for Cabrera.

While pitchers are obviously at danger, it could be argued that the players are more prepared physically and mentally to be getting out of the way or using something thet coaches don't have, the glove, to try and snag it or block it. Of course, the argument that pitchers are in better shape goes out the window with certain physical specimens, but by and large pitchers are better suited to move out of the way due to their age. And the key thing here is this ultimately changes nothing to the game itself in terms of play. Trying something similar with pitchers would entail much more change than coaches wearing helmets, so arguing the whole "slippery slope" angle doesn't necessarily work since doing similar things for players is a pretty huge jump. Besides, safety for umps and catchers has evolved over the years...isn't this along those lines? Hell, umps used to have no protection at all.

Not even worth taking a flier on. No guarentee, but I think he's be much better back in the closer role as opposed to general relief.

True, but he still pitched bery well in the AL East, which is no easy feat at all. If the Cubs could sign him for only 1 or 2 years, it's definitely worth pursuing since a shift to the much weaker NL Central (and NL in general) would likely reflect very well in his pitching, much like it did with Lilly.

It's not.

Now I'm having second thoughts.

interesting word to use when talking about a Daryl Ward option pick up Daryle Ward is sexual chocolate and don't you forget it You diz-amn right. Haters gonna hate.

I wish this nonsense would go away. He signed a minor league contract for a hill of beans and a couple bubble gum wrappers last year, obviously his ego isnt too big to do that. And this negates him now saying it's $7 million or bust after a distinctly mediocre year? I didn't say that. I was just pointing out that he had taken considerable pay-cuts before so obviously he is at least (or was) willing to do so. Right, but he went into last year with that attitude...now he's starting off completely different. Clearly, he thinks he "proved" something worth $7 million dollars.

I wish this nonsense would go away. He signed a minor league contract for a hill of beans and a couple bubble gum wrappers last year, obviously his ego isnt too big to do that. And this negates him now saying it's $7 million or bust after a distinctly mediocre year?

Sexcellent.

Oh, Sammy. You adorable rapscallion.

Mets for those of you who weren't -14 in 1969. Sadly, the realignment has all but killed that once incredibly heated rivalry. It was close to Cubs/Cards levels at one time. aye, I hated the Mets much more than the Cards growing up Me too. Still do. Probably always will.

I don't blame the Cubs for not getting in to the discussions if it's 12 years @ 30 million per. Relax, he's not getting either. It's just Boras setting the bar as high possible so he can get as much as possible. Like I said, tossing stuff like that out suddenly makes 9-10 years look great and $25-28 million per much more acceptable to teams previously on the fence.

I wouldn't expect Boras to do any less. Of course he's going to aim as high as possible before negotiations even begin. Saying 12 years makes 10 years sound much better, even if the team actually only wanted 7-8 years.

They have money. They just opt to not use it.

Was Texas even considered a player then? I remember the Mets as being the leaders but the details are fuzzy regarding the other "leading" teams. I actually think it would work best for a team that has a really low payroll. Florida has been raking in the profit sharing dough for a few years. I think they should seriously consider giving ARod the money to bring their payroll from $20-50m, still low. Trade Dontrelle and Miggy, and that should bring in 3-5 solid major leaguers. I really don't see ARod bringing in added revenue to a team like LA or LAA. But a team like Florida might actually benefit financially. Texas didn't falter because of ARod's contract. They struggled because they were paying big bucks to old and crappy players, like Juan Gone and Chan Ho. If a team avoids the mega millions busts, they can deal with ARod's contract. Do you honestly think that ARod wants to go to florida? Isn't that where he lives in the off-season?

that's the mouthpiece of the day Yes, it really is her fault when she interjects her opinions and they're terribly wrong. When a reader asks her about upgrading at SS and she says how solid Theriot is instead of some generic line about how they'll evaluate areas for improvement is a mistake. I'll bet Ryan Theriot himself would wet his pants to have ARod take his job. But to me it reads exactly like someone who is basically told what they can and can't say. The tone on Cubs.com has always been to spin current players as fixable or decent or whatever.

Couldn't be more true. I hope he pitches far, far, far away from the Cubs.

Seriously. Why does anyone even read her columns? We're all smart enough to know what she's going to say. Reading her articles and then complaining about them is just a waste of time and energy. I have a bad Cubs addiction and read just about anything that is written about them. Regardless of whether we know the motives, the fact is they/she tries to pass the stuff off as journalism and it bothers me. I don't read much of the stuff, unless I see a link to it elsewhere or am really bored/desperate for crap to read. Call me a fool for reading it in the first place (you'd probably be right), but I can't help but react to the ridiculous stories. And to top it off, it's an opinion that's often shared by many. If she was a rogue voice, that would be one thing. But she pretty much echoes the sentiments of the majority. And that's troubling. But again, is that really her fault? You keep insisting otherwise, but I don't see how she could possibly publish anything that isn't towing (toeing?) the company line. If people choose to only go to the official site for their Cubs news, well, they're gonna get what they seek out. If they choose to ignore the dozens of other quality sites/blogs/boards out there that provide contrary opinions and perspectives, well, she has no control over that. Cubs.com is never going to have the content that most of us would prefer to see it have...CM is just the mouthpiece du jour.

It's really not fair lump Wood in with those guys since he made, what, $1.5 million last year? More than what most cheapie young relievers get, granted, but let's not act like he's getting paid what those other guys are. Out of the 4, his salary was by far the least of their problems.