Backtobanks

Rowand's OPS+ the last five years. 102 130 93 86 123 Rowand isn't even a great bet to be an above average hitter. And while he certainly hustles on defense, he's only above average with the glove... nothing special. Rowand is league average... him getting five years, and getting 12 mil per year, are both absolutely ridiculous. Being league average at the right position and at the right time gets you these kinds of contracts. Last year pitchers like Marquis and Meche were in the $10 million per year range.

You can't help but wonder how well the Cubs would have done last year if they would have used Murton in LF and Soriano in RF. That move and moving Soriano down in the batting order might have saved a whole bunch of money this offseason. We'll never know.

Bruce, Anything in the way of some other starter (besides Bedard) on the horizon?

I consider them to be winners in this saga, not signing Rowand or Hunter. Who plays CF. Owens? does it matter? they probably weren't going to contend next year and getting rowand or hunter wouldn't have changed that. not getting one of those two (add jones to that list as well) is a good thing considering the price. Might as well clean house now. If Williams had half a brain he would have figured that out by now. Look at the trades being made and tell me what in the way of prospects the White Sox could have gotten for Buerhle, Dye, Konerko, Garland, Vazquez, and Crede. They could have received a minimum of 6-7 top prospects and 3-4 middle prospects. Instead they're stuck with an aging team full of players with NTCs that has no hope of contending in the next 5 years.

My prediction from 4 hours ago was wrong. Headline: Cubs sign Fukudome Tomorrow's Headline: Williams signs Rowand for $200 million over 10 years. Sox fans are ecstatic. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Marquis can out hit Chavez.

Headline: Cubs sign Fukudome Tomorrow's Headline: Williams signs Rowand for $200 million over 10 years. Sox fans are ecstatic. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Backtobanks wrote: "I've said this before and I will say it again. Lou has decided that Theriot is the starting SS and his is the only opinion that counts. I would love to see the Cubs have open competition at SS and let the better player start. I think the hangup with Cedeno is that he makes too many mistakes (physical and mental) for Lou. I think Cedeno needs to dedicate himself to reaching his full potential. His reputation as a playboy might have an effect on his onfield play. The problem is that once a player gets neglected by Lou (Cedeno, Murton, Marshall, etc.), I think there's little hope of the situation changing". Hoops wrote: "All good points. It wouldn't surprise me if Lou was telling Hendry every other day to trade those guys for a proven bat or arm." I'm sure Lou is telling Hendry exactly that. The roster is overflowing with spare parts, so you know quite a few players will have to go. That brings up another pet peeve of mine: the fact everyone is bashing Hendry while nobody is bashing Lou. Lou is the one playing Theriot over Cedeno. Lou is the one who played Floyd over Murton. Lou is the one asking for a lefty bat and more speed in RF and the middle IF. Lou is the one who wanted a veteran C (Kendall) over Soto for quite a while. I'm not defending Hendry, but many of these decisions are being made because he is trying to give his manager what he wants. Now Hendry will end up overpaying for Fukudome and Roberts and be bashed for that.

Cubs Willing To Offer $50MM For Fukudome? UPDATE, 12-11-07 at 10:48am: Just talked to a good source on this stuff. He told me Fukudome wants five years, despite what we've read. The Cubs don't expect he'll sign for $50MM for five years, and are offering that amount over four. They're having an internal debate about stretching it to a five-year, $65MM offer. Jim Hendry wants to stop at four years though. FROM 12-11-07 at 10:03am: Interesting piece of information from Tom Krasovic today - he says the Cubs are willing to offer close to $50MM for Kosuke Fukudome. They really want this guy and have built their offseason plan around him. It's hard to believe the Cubs would offer that amount for three years; that would be $16.6MM annually to someone who's never played in the Majors. I could definitely see the Cubs putting out a four-year, $50MM offer though. Who knows how much validity there is to the idea that Fukudome wants three years and only three years. The Padres have gone at least three years and at least $10MM annually, but it could be more on both accounts. Kevin Towers says the team's offer was final. He sees Fukudome landing in Chicago or San Diego. That might mean he considers the White Sox to be in the mix as well.

Sorry, but Cedeno has done exactly jack when he's had his opportunities. If you guys are ripping on Theriot for his numbers how can you not rip Cedeno's numbers? He was also pretty bad defensively in the majors. OK, so he does good in the winter leagues and the minors, then why is he so damn bad when he is with the Cubs? Until he proves he can hit in the majors,it's Theriot's job to lose unless we trade for an actual SS. I've said this before and I will say it again. Lou has decided that Theriot is the starting SS and his is the only opinion that counts. I would love to see the Cubs have open competition at SS and let the better player start. I think the hangup with Cedeno is that he makes too many mistakes (physical and mental) for Lou. I think Cedeno needs to dedicate himself to reaching his full potential. His reputation as a playboy might have an effect on his onfield play. The problem is that once a player gets neglected by Lou (Cedeno, Murton, Marshall, etc.), I think there's little hope of the situation changing.

According to Fox Sports, the Dodgers are looking at Inge to play 3B. Looking at the numbers, we have a better 3B (DeRosa) to trade to them. DeRosa: (2007) .293, 10 HRs, 72 RBI, .371, .420 (Career avg.) .278, 10 HRs, 58 RBI, .341, .408 Inge: (2007) .236, 14 HRs, 71 RBI, .312, .376 (Career avg.) .241, 16 HRs, 66 RBI, .304, .394 Obviously, DeRosa's numbers have been improving with more playing time the last few years. How about DeRosa plus young pitcher for Eithier? Another possibility would be DeRosa, Marshall, plus ????? for Furcal/Hu.

Thank God he's not lefty.

Are we really comparing Chicago's weather to San Diego's? San Diego wins, hands down. Of course that nice, little 1-bedroom condo in San Diego will probably cost you $600.000. As others have mentioned, the fan base in San Diego is laid back compared to the diehard Cub fans. Of course, the bottom line is that Hendry will give him probably $2-3 million more per season and that will cure the problems dealing with Chicago's weather.

Dayn Perry from Fox Sports rated the five worst free agent signings of 2007: 1. Matsui - $16.5 million over 3 years 2. Linnebrink - $19 million over 4 years 3. Cordero - $46 million over 4 years 4. Hunter - $90 million over 5 years 5. Kendall - $4.25 million for 1 year Just go to show that Hendry isn't the only fool in baseball. A lot of Chicago "links" in that list.

Mama raise your kids to be lefties.

I don't know why any team would trade anything for him since it looks like the Cubs are going to non-tender him and they can get Prior without giving up anything. Am I missing something?

I've seen the same rumors (about Hamilton), but I've seen stories since then shooting down that speculation. I guess we have to be careful about all of the "rumors" floating around and realize that probably 75% of them are false.

Two blurbs about Eithier from Foxsports: Rays want Dodgers Ethier? At the top of the Rays list may be OF Andre Ethier, a 25-year-old whom the Dodgers are now open to trade after their late Wednesday signing of Andruw Jones (two years, $36.2-million). "This makes our quest for starting pitching even more focused and perhaps even more possible," Dodgers general managerNed Colletti said. With OF Matt Kemp considered more prized, the Dodgers appear willing to offer Ethier in their efforts to upgrade their rotation. They've been rumored to be shooting as high as Orioles LHP Erik Bedard, but if they lower their sights, the Rays could tempt them with younger and cheaper alternatives. Or perhaps relief help (Al Reyes or Dan Wheeler?). And their needs could change if they land Japanese free-agent starter Hiroki Kuroda. -- St. Petersburg Times Dodgers unlikely to trade Kemp? The Dodgers have inquired about Baltimore Orioles left-hander Erik Bedard, but a deal for him probably would take a multi-player package that included Matt Kemp. "We are not of the mind to give up three or four prospects for one player, I'll tell you that," Colletti said. To move Kemp, Colletti added, "I'd have to have a conversation where my jaw drops. It's got to be something you can't say no to. I haven't heard anything like that. In fact, teams have stopped asking." That seemed to imply that Andre Ethier could be dealt for a mid-level pitcher. -- LA Times Getting Eithier for a "mid-level pitcher", "younger pitcher", or "relief help" all sound like something the Cubs could manage. If they miss out on Fukudome, use Murton/Eithier platoon in RF. If they sign Fukudome, play him in CF and deal Pie for a SS. If nothing else, Eithier could be great in freeing up Murton, Pie, or Eithier himself as as trade bait to obtain a SS.

Do you think he is going for both? The Figgins' rumors came out after the Roberts' deal cooled. I think Jim is going for one of them and Fukudome, not all three. It doesn't seem like the Cubs could afford all three anyways if they are keeping it around 120 mil. This morning's Tribune hinted that Hendry had a deal on the table for an OF that would cost some prospects awaiting Fukudome's decision.

Okay, we'll take Hu.

790 The Sports Animal, a Houston radio station, is reporting that the Astros are close to a deal to acquire Miguel Tejada. The reported package: Adam Everett, Chris Burke, and a pitcher. Heard them saying this myself by listening online; they're talking about it now. We could certainly top that offer, but I think Hendry is reluctant to add Tejada because of the Mitchell report due to come out. He seems to be avoiding players with "issues" (Tejada, Hamilton, Bradley, etc.).

I wasn't even thinking about flipping players in another trade, I was just looking at the Dodgers' needs and the Cubs' needs. The Dodgers keep getting mentioned in trades for more pitching (Hill - cheap, young, and proven), need a 3B (DeRosa), and have a glut of OF. Murton could take over in LF (bench or dump) Pierre and Pie would certainly be ready for CF when Jones' contract ends and if Furcal was included would free up money. Cubs could would have Soriano/Kemp/Eithier (without Fukudome) for quite a few years and would solidify SS with Furcal (or Theriot with Hu in the wings).

After signing Andruw Jones, Dodgers might be willing to deal OFs. Cubs send DeRosa, Murton, Pie, and Hill to the Dodgers Cubs get Kemp, Eithier, Hu/Furcal Would you make the deal?

I think there has been a lot of reluctance on the Tejada front because many people expect his name to come up on the Mitchell report list.