Vinestal

I think its more that people dont want us to over pay for Meche, he's high risk low reward type of guy. Money better spent elsewhere when one of our young arms could probably do just as well for much less money.

Because they are paying Izzy alot of money and he's a all-star gold glove winner (*sigh* much sarcasm implied here). Thats how Hendry thinks though.

Scouting directors don't think about cost efficiency. They are excited if they find an unknown nobody who winds up having one decent season in the majors. yes, people on internet message boards are much better sources for determining the quality of a signing Some people are. If only in thier own minds.

This just reaks of a backup plan when they arent able to sign Soriano. Id love to see Lugo instead of Izzy though.

Im actually really hopefull that EPatt continues to improve on the pace that he has (he's really tearing up the fall league) and that he'll be ready by mid season. When and if that happens, DeRosa becomes platoon partner fill in type guy I think thats where his real value is. As many injuries as we normaly have over the course of the season he's bound to get plenty of at bats.

Im not so sure I'd want Burrell in RF unless your sure his foot is completely healed. Hendry thinks the world of Izzy so I doubt he thinks he needs to upgrade there (though I agree with you Id rather have Lugo). Getting Jennings would be nice, and I hope Hendry looks somewhere else other than Meche for a SP.

A) He didn't have a full time position last year, so he couldn't have proved such a thing. B) What you are saying is clearly ignoring his career numbers (not to mention the fact noted in A) He didnt have a full time possition but he had full time at bats, and he's never had that in the past. His career numbers tell you what he was, not what he has become. I think Derosa and the hitting coach in Texas really figured out some things and I think Derosa will be a pretty solid player based on what I saw him do last year. Could his season be a complete fluke and a 1 time thing? I guess its a possibility, but I think its worth the risk in this case. They can always move him into a utility role and use someone else at 2nd. I dissagree with Hendry in alot of cases, Im no Hendry appologist, but Im on board with this signing. I dont think Meche would be such a great idea.

You can go to Cubs.com and read the story with quotes from Hendry and DeRosa talking about how he'll be the starting 2Bman. Are we supposed to think that the two people who signed the contract are lying for no apparent reason about their intentions in doing so? Daily Herald- That doesnt sound like he's a dead lock for starting all his games at 2nd. Sounds like he's trying to leave it open. We'll see. I think he is a player that is easily moved around to playing a wide range of possitions.

I agree with most of what you said. If you sit by and wait to sign Derosa, he might be signed by someone else and then everyone would jump on Hendry for not signing "someone like Derosa". Maybe Hendry is looking at Meche, Lilly, etc. because he knows that Schmidt and Zito are definitely going to the East or West coast and he doesn't want to risk losing out on some starting pitchers. Too many of us just criticize without knowing all of what might be going on behind the scenes. A perfect example was Brian Giles last year. Everyone jumped all over Hendry about Giles, but then it became obvious that he had no intention of leaving San Diego. I highly doubt people would jump on Hendry for "not signing someone like DeRosa" if he makes the necessary moves to get us into the playoffs. Signing DeRosa an unproven commodity, Blanco to another overinflated deal, and mediocre pitchers will not get us back into the playoffs. I think the Derosa signing was a good one, and yes people wold have complained constantly on these boards if we went into the season with Cedeno and Theriot at 2nd and they didnt perform well, there would be a ton of post about "Why didn't we sign a guy like Derosa". Derosa proved himself as a solid full time possition player last year, if you dont believe that your simply ignoring his numbers from last year. I do agree that Hendry has been over paying for mediocre players in alot of other areas and thats going to wind up killing us in the areas where we need a big upgrade. Hendry is going to do everything he thinks he can to save his job by trying to do what he thinks will make us a winning team. He's just digging his own grave though by signing guys like Rusch and Blanco to contracts that are way over blown. If he can get Gil Meche for cheap then it might be worth the risk but for more than 1 year or big money is another mistake.

You can just as easily say it was brought up by a fluke 2006. Quit making excuses. It's a bad contract. Quit trying to erase the guy's 2006.

So? This is absolutely stupid. DeRosa is a bad utility player. Soriano is an impact regular. This comparison is absurd. 40 doubles and 74 RBI with a .357 OBP are not numbers put up by a bad utility player. Why is it so hard to believe that the guy figured something out and is entering his prime later than most? I think he proved he's better than just a bad utility player last year. You cant just ignore what he did last year, those are really good numbers. At the worst hes a good utility player next year.

I dont know how fair it is to compare Derosa's career averages to what Theriot may or may not do. Last year was his first season with over 400 AB. Maybe he's a late bloomer, maybe he needed more consistant playing time to get it figured out. Its worth noting that in his first opportunity with consistant playing time he made the most of it. I really think Derosa is going to post pretty solid numbers, I guess I might be the only one that thinks that.

DeRosa provides the Cubs with some insurance, if one of their key players get injured this year. By having a guy that can play so many positions, it will allow Hendry to call up the best available replacement and move DeRosa around if necessary. On a side note, does this signing mean that the Cubs don't have Eric Patterson in their future plans? Quite the contrary I think Derosa gives them a 2nd baseman that they can push into a utility roll easily when they decided Eric is ready.

So what was the official word on this? I cant seem to find anything.

Thanks for posting that Hoops, I think this is what Jim and Lou have in mind for DeRosa. I dont doubt that he will play some 2b but I think he's mainly being brough aboard to platoon with JJ. I think he's a great platoon partner for JJ and also strengthens our bench a great deal. At least that how I hope Lou will use him...

Alot of negative talk on this guy, I think he could put up similar numbers to his 2006 numbers for a couple of years, he can platoon with JJ and play some infield. I really think EPatt could be ready as soon as mid season and this move alows them to bring him along slowly. Im not dancing in the streets over this move but I hardly think its a bad move or a major blunder.

Ive got a horrible feeling about the contract that Soriano is going to get, Id rather the Cubs go after Drew and some other players. Its going to be an albatross of a contract in a couple of years that will keep us from being able to hold onto our players or go out and get good ones in the FA market. Just my opinion... I dont think he's worth it.

Yeah, thats the silver lining in this. I wouldnt have wanted the Cubs to bid in the nieghborhood of 45 mil, but at least the Yankees didnt get him.

Yeah these are different meetings. The GM meeting actually have a bunch of educational type meetings in the mornings about rule changes, changes to the collective bargaining agreement, ect. and then in the afternoon/evening the GMs usually meet to talk about each others needs, players they like ect. They usually lay down alot of the groundwork for what happens during the winter meetings which happen in Dec. I think.

mlbtraderumors.com :

Im really encouraged with what EPatt is doing. Hitting and running really well, Id love to see him put up those type of numbers in Iowa and get a shot at the 2nd base job in late 2007 or in 2008. The coaches in Iowa are going to have to help him figure out his defensive problems though.

i dont think the cubs or anyone else will be paying the bidding fee plus his contract for a utility player. Utility player? Check again. There are other Japanese players that put up good numbers in Japan only to come over here and become utility players. Plenty of players in AAA that put up great numbers only to become utility players in the majors. His posting fee is not going to be all that high. He may be signed with the intention to start him and then be horrible in spring training and wind up being a utility guy. The more I look at him though the more I dont think he'd be the type of guy Id want in our lineup, rather have someone with a better OBP that doesnt strike out so much. I agree with Rich. Who knows though he could turn out to be a pretty solid 2nd baseman, I think there will be a long period of adjustment for him though.

Did anyone ever hear if the Cubs put in a bid for Iwamura? I think he could turn out to be a pretty good option at 2nd, or even just a really good utility player.

I'm missing something on this one. ARod has stated already that he has no intentions of leaving NYY, and wants to make it work. Cashman has gone on record saying (more than once since the end of the season) that they have absolutely no intention of trading him. Boras has also chimed in saying that ARod holds the "hammer" with his no-trade saying he won't waive it. So again, am I missing something here? I dont know why people keep bringing it up, its a great dream but in reality we dont have the talent to pull it off and Alex apparently doesnt want to go anywhere. If they Yankees wanted to trade him they could get many better offers than what the Cubs are able to offer and probably places that are more attractive to Alex (if he actually wanted to be moved). On the surface it seems to be a moot point. But my theory is that Alex doesn't want to look like he's giving up on NY. He doesn't want to admit that NY beat him, or at least give that impression. Likewise, it serves Cashman no good to say anything other than "we have no intention of trading Alex." And Boras bringing up the no-trade clause is just typical Boras speak for, "The player will have final say about where he plays." I don't think there's a great chance he gets traded, but it's certainly not an impossibility. And it's certainly not anything like Ryan Howard or David Ortiz getting traded. I dont think its an immpossiblity that he gets traded but I think its very unlikely that he gets traded to us. I dont think Hendry would be willing to give them Zambrano and beyond that I dont see much that would intrest the Yankees.

I'm missing something on this one. ARod has stated already that he has no intentions of leaving NYY, and wants to make it work. Cashman has gone on record saying (more than once since the end of the season) that they have absolutely no intention of trading him. Boras has also chimed in saying that ARod holds the "hammer" with his no-trade saying he won't waive it. So again, am I missing something here? Jim Hendry "Sammy Sosa will be the Cubs starting RF in 2005." Was he? Huh? Whats that got to do with the Cubs trading for someone that has a notrade clause and doesnt want to be traded. I dont think its any more likely than the Cubs trading for Ryan Howard or David Ortiz.