Sammy Sofa

Start your Prior-prayin'...

OK, we're getting lost here...MURTON IS GONNA BAT AT #2 OFTEN. FOCUS.

Maybe they wouldn't be interested in what the Cubs are offering and would be interested in somebody else's offer. I was just pointing out that opting out of his deal gives ARod the biggest freedom, without too much of a risk of throwing away money. That's true, but he'd have to take a discount to play for the Cubs. I can't imagine our budget could handle a 20M dollar player, not at least without trading one or more of Lee, Ramirez, Soriano, Marquis, Lilly and not re-upping Z. If he wants to play for the Cubs as this rumor suggests, his best shot to do so without giving up much cash is to get the Yanks to eat part of his remaining contract in some trade scenario. If he cares more about the money, he should opt out and sign with Boston, who would love the opportunity to pay back the Yanks for Clemens. I obviously don't know Arod, but I'd think after being the highest paid player and being unhappy for so many years, taking 15-17 per for 4 years or something like that and playing in a town that will worship you and a manager that you respect would be something he could swallow. Yes, but the Cubs couldn't. At least not if they resign Zambrano, who will very likely make about 15-18 per season. Now, if the Yankees were to pick up about 4-6M per year of ARod's remaining 3 years, that, combined with what Texas is paying, puts him down into the 12-15M area, and the Cubs might be able to afford that and Z also. If the Cubs don't resign Z, it becomes easier to sign ARod at the price you mentioned. That's really a difficult choice. It's hard to stomach paying any pitcher what Zito got, even one who's young and effective. If the Cubs let Z go, ARod would be a great alternative this offseason, if he indeed does opt out. I don't see the Cubs getting both barring an absolutely brilliant trade, and even then, it would probably mean putting the Cubs into the 110M range with payroll in a couple of years, and I doubt the Trib is going to go that high. How do you know how much more the Cubs could spend? You keep saying they "can't" as if it's a known absolute.

Best of luck to sammy, and I hope he has the courage this time, to come to wrigley. I'd hope he'd get a warm reception. I'd happily stand and cheer.

For as much money as the Cubs are paying him, Eyre really isn't that good. I'm dying for him to be packaged with someone like Jacque for a snazzy return before people wise up and realize that his flashier numbers aren't necessarily reflective of how average to bad he really is.

Sounds good, but with an outfield of Godzilla, Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu, there isn't a whole lot of room for Jacque Jones. As much as I hate to say it, to get A-Rod, it will require that we part with Aramis along with other pieces and parts. While A-Rod is an upgrade over Aramis, there is a scare that he could opt out at the end of the season, which makes Aramis the more valuable commodity in the big picture. I'd trade Big Z for ARod first. If getting ARod takes losing Aramis, it ain't happening.

Hopefully somebody explained to him that he'd be sitting more than he'd be playing. I can't imagine he wants that. He knows how much Jacque and Sori are getting paid, so there's no way he's playing over them. Unless he thinks he should be playing over Murton (ie-Soriano over to LF so Pie could play CF) I would hope he's smarter than that.

Nice! Thanks for that, Bruce!

Fine by me. The soonest I want to see him up is only if Jacque gets packaged in a sweet trade and then Felix can play every day in either RF or CF. If he made the team now he'd be sitting more than he was playing. Who wants that?

I hope they realize which game is on TV and give us the kind of, y'know, GOOD players.

Watch the language. They try and keep it as "family safe" as possible around here.

I would just prefer to see Pie split time with Jones while Floyd or Ward act as 1st PH out of the dugout. And with Pagan in the mix someone is going to rot on the bench anyway. Since Ward plays 1b, I think he actually fits better than Pagan or Floyd. The best idea is for Pie to play fulltime until he comes up to the bigs. He's not gonna do that splitting time with Jones or Soriano or anyone else. It's universally considered a bad idea in his development.

Yeah, and Neifi hit .371/.400/.548 in 62 ABs for us in 2004. Isn't he considered the worst hitter in the majors now? ...... and speaking of non sequetors......... I'm just saying small-sample stats like that don't prove anything, least of all a propensity for "clutchiness". Did Ward just decide to suck on the games he sarted? Ward has a career that backs up his role as a quality pinch hitter. Neifi does not. It's not even close to being an example of sample size with Ward. Do you want a bench of only kids from the farm?

Yeah, and Neifi hit .371/.400/.548 in 62 ABs for us in 2004. Isn't he considered the worst hitter in the majors now? I fully expect Ward to regress from last year's numbers. But Ward has always hit righthanders well, and the Cubs team is very heavy on RH batters. And who exactly is he blocking? He's not. It's a a total non-issue.

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/153/841427~Cubs-Win-Posters.jpg

I'm fine with that. Someone should be planting a new bug in Hendry and Steinbrenner's ear everyday. Man I would love to see this lineup: Soriano Murt ARod Lee ARam Jones Barrett DeRosa Northside Murderer's Row. I'd always assume Lee would bat #5 if we landed ARod. Honest question...why bat him #4 instead of #5? I was thinking the line-up could change into Soriano ARod Lee ARam Murt Jones Barrett DeRosa Interesting...though I might flip flop Lee and ARod.

Z would have set in on fire first.

OK, I gotta break this out...I'm kinda rusty... CUBS WIN!!! CUBS WIN!!!

I really, REALLY like the patience that guys like DeRosa, Theriot and Murton are showing.

I'm fine with that. Someone should be planting a new bug in Hendry and Steinbrenner's ear everyday. Man I would love to see this lineup: Soriano Murt ARod Lee ARam Jones Barrett DeRosa Northside Murderer's Row. I'd always assume Lee would bat #5 if we landed ARod. Honest question...why bat him #4 instead of #5?

Now THAT'S how I want to see our 1-2 hitters working together! Murt for #2!

I just caught up...I know it's spring, but man, the Cubs need to cut down on those errors. And again, spring, but Zambrano's walks and high pitch counts per batter is something that's been worrisome to me over the last year+. Honestly, I'm praying for Prior to be healthy so we can trade Z for some serious impact more than anything else. Sorry Z...love the fire, but I wouldn't sign you for more than 3 years.

I think there is a difference between an injury like that with Giles and one when you are throwing mentally. Do you know why he is rehabbing in the first place and why the lack of velocity? None of us do. But I can't imagine he felt great after either of those injuries and he still had to fight back. Of course, this is the first time he's basically missed an entire year. I'm not totally dismissing the mental aspect of what's going on with him, but I'm so sure it's the main issue.

Murton is clearly on the rise, cheap and young. Ichiro is clearly on the slide, expensive and getting old. That trade would be baffling to me. Especially since most MLB pitchers aren't trembling little girls on the mound.

All this talk about Prior being able to bounce back mentally has got to hold some weight, but at the same, this is hardly the first time he's had to "bounce back." He came back from the collision and the linedrive very fast and pitched very well, so the notion that this is "the first big failing for a superstar that he needs to overcome" is a bit of a fallacy.