jersey cubs fan

And to this day, there is incompetence all over the league. We see it in our very own favorite organization. It was stupid for Texas to spend all that money on ARod. I won't argue with you there. They didn't have the components to compete. There aren't many teams that are in a position to: 1. Afford to pay ARod what he's worth. 2. Have the components to surround him with talent for the next several years. 3. The desire to spend that kind of money on a single ballplayer. No, there aren't many. But there are some. I think Anaheim would, could and should do it. I think both LA and SD could do it, but I'm not sure the Dodgers want to and I'm almost certain SD doesn't want to. As for Texas, the $26 million they spent on Chan Ho and Juan Gone were far more damaging to their ability to field a quality team than the $22 they spent on ARod.

If the Cubs replaced their 2007 SS production with a Renteria or Tejada level of production, I don't think they'd need improvement from Soriano and Lee to be among the best NL teams next year. The CF, RF and C situations would need to be stabilized though.

Trading ARod for ARam doesn't improve the team all that much. It could. But not as much as they need to be truly great.

The best chance for the Yankees to keep ARod is probably to can Torre and convince Lou to ditch the Cubs and their unstable ownership situation. Torre threw Alex under the bus a couple times when Lou never would have done that.

If making the playoffs is the goal than it was a good signing. i mean if we get arod great, if not, don't blame hendry or soriano for screwing things up...it just wasn't meant to be It wasn't meant to be? That sounds like a convenient excuse for any Hendry mistake.

I agree. I think ARod is as good as gone. But, I don't see any team coughing up 10/300. All a team has to do is see what 10/250 did to Texas, and that was during ARod's prime years. I could see a deal stretching to 10 years, and maybe something in the vicinity of 17-20m per, but I'm thinking ARod may not require the per year money to be of as much importance as the length of the deal and where that deal leads him. If I'm right in my thinking, ARod puts comfort and winning a championship ahead of dollar amount at this point. But, I very well could be wrong. 10/250 didn't do that to Texas, incompetence did.

I agree that either one would be better next year. Will they improve the team enough to win the division, The pennant and the World Series? Probably not. Especially considering both Soriano and Lee will probably decline next year. Than what do the Cubs have in 2 to 3 years? By then ARam would be declining also. If Renteria or Tejada were the last piece needed to get the Cubs over the top, I would say go for it. They are not long term solutions though and the Cubs are not as close to being a World Championship caliber team that some think. I wouldn't bet on Soriano and Lee declining. Plateauing, or a small step back perhaps, but I would not put money on either being significantly worse. No, these teams don't make them elite (although if either Renteria or Tejada plays at his highest ability it might), but I think they do improve them enough to give them a better chance in 2008 than they would otherwise have. And given the fact that they would not be blocking any significant prospects, I'd say go for it.

Boras still wants 30 mill???? does this not tarnish the value a little bit? I was thinking of offering 18 at the most. It's all just posturing, IMO. If ARod wants the big money, he will stay in New York and sign an extension that will give him that big money. If he hates New York enough, and wants to play for a winner, he knows he'll have to settle for less to do so. Maybe a team like Anaheim would throw that kind of money at ARod, but I doubt it. I believe a significant chunk of the Yankee hierarchy would like ARod gone as much as he would like to leave. My theory is he wants to do whatever he can to not make it look like he's leaving with his tail between his legs. And the Yankees want to do whatever they can to make it look like they want to keep him. If ARod wants an extension on his current deal, they will keep him, but Yankees fans despise ARod, and I don't think Yankees brass think that's good for business. Had ARod come through with a game winning HR or two this series, and the team made it deep into October, with ARod playing out of his mind, perhaps he would have won "true Yankee" status. But that didn't happen. I really see no reason for him to stay. I think somebody will be able to put together a package that looks like 10/300, and if/when they do, the two sides, ARod and the Yankees, will both be able to part ways while pretending they tried to stay together. Alex is going to be miserable if he stays in NY for the next 10 years, with Jeter declining right next to him.

That's because those 50 points are always better, regardless of what the other teammates did. in a vacuum they are. but the goal of baseball is to score runs, not have the highest OPS And you score more runs by having guys with higher OPS. roughly speaking, yes. there are plenty of exceptions No, not really.

Yeah, it's important to have your whole team have good stats, that doesn't chang the fact that it's important to have an individual with good stats. Baseball is a team sport, but it's more a sport of one on one matchups, between pitcher and hitter, with slight variables given to the quality of the defense behind the pitcher. You don't want one hitter with great numbers surrounded by bums. But that's obvious.

That's because those 50 points are always better, regardless of what the other teammates did. in a vacuum they are. but the goal of baseball is to score runs, not have the highest OPS And you score more runs by having guys with higher OPS.

There's a good explanation for this. Strikeouts are bad for hitters and good for pitchers. But they are only part of the picture. Many hitters can be productive and still strike out a ton. But it's very hard for pitchers to be any good without striking out anybody.

That's because those 50 points are always better, regardless of what the other teammates did.

He will be playing somewhere in California.

He's been dogging on ARam for years now. He hates him.

I hope every single person in NY, including sportswriters and people close to Arod share your opinion and let Arod hear about it all day every day until he signs with us. The funny thing is, they all know it's a stupid thought process, but they all share it. So, they try their best to shut up and not freak on him, because they are scared to death of putting this team all back on Jeter's narrow shoulders. But I enjoy egging them on right after ARod does something less than good, and you can just feel them wanting to agree with me and flip on ARod. But believe me, it may not be everybody, but what you said is exactly what is going on around here. I love it.

It's not about having no effect, it's about having a big effect in one year. DLee was a Cubs for a full year before his 2005 turnaround. He also had that season in his age 29 season, much like Sosa. So he was still in his peak range. Perry had one spring and one season to work with these guys. Many of them are in their 30's with well established track records and entranched methods. That's hard to crack. Hopefully he does some good with the Cubs younger players, and maybe he can even get a little more out of Ramirez, who is already a great consistent hitter. But guys like Jones, Soriano and DeRosa, on the wrong side of 30, probably aren't going to see much improvement no matter how coaches them.

yes. Selling the Cubs w/o Wrigley wouldnt maximize the bids. Besides, if that were to happen, how long before the Cubs new owner decided to build a new stadium and ditch Wrigley all together? It's just a negotiating ploy to get bidders to start high.

ARod in the 2007 LDS, .267/.353/.467 Jeter in the 2007 LDS, .176/.176/.176 If you want to question the financial committment, go right ahead. But for the love of God don't start talking seriously about ARod and choking.

Again, I'm refuting the idea that SS is the only option, not that it is an option. I completely agree that it's the big one. I've been dying to get ARod on this team since 1999, when people first talked of him leaving Seattle. I definitely think SS is the position where they could most help themselves. But it's not the only option. I said it was the only option to upgrade significantly. How about, its the most realistic and easiest position to upgrade significantly at. That's what it is, but it's not the only one where they can upgrade significantly.

2003 had the bonus of looking like a launch off point for some great years, but it still hurt a heck of a lot more. This was more embarrassing, but it didn't hurt. It was expected. The 2007 Cubs weren't good. And while the offenses were similar, the 2003 pitching staff actually had guys you thought could almost win on their own. The current pitching is good, but it's far from lockdown and highly suspect. Anyway, going into the postseason I was hoping for 5 wins. Obviously a World Series would have been ideal, but I thought it was completely unrealistic. The Cubs just looked like crap against every NL contender, and I was hoping they wouldn't look that bad. Unfortunately, they did. But as I said, completely expected.

Not to mention the fact that the weakness you speak of is very easily exploited by anybody who is paying attention.

Again, I'm refuting the idea that SS is the only option, not that it is an option. I completely agree that it's the big one. I've been dying to get ARod on this team since 1999, when people first talked of him leaving Seattle. I definitely think SS is the position where they could most help themselves. But it's not the only option.

This was the one thing that really solidified my opinion of Jeter as an overrated egomaniac. The guy actually has the balls to refuse to move to 3rd when one of GREATEST SHORTSTOPS OF ALL TIME shows up to play. OK, granted, maybe they tried Jeter at 3rd in some practice sessions and he was hideous...but I doubt it. It was so tremendously wonderful when Jeter wasn't charged with an error on that first inning "infield hit" last night. ARod would have been crucified.

Probably Joe Crede.