jersey cubs fan

I don't want to get rid of DeRosa, I think they should consider trading him if somebody gives up value. He's basically an average hitter (probably will be right around 100 OPS+). He's going to get paid $4.75 and $5.5m the next two years. Not overpaid, but not cheap either. He will be 33 and 34 the next two years. I believe it would be possible to get similar production at 2B by using a platoon of Theriot and Fontenot. DeRosa was a nice player this year. He took a small step back from his career year last season, and will probably continue to do that the rest of the way, but he's definitely somebody they can win with. Anyway, back to the money. You clear away Jones, DeRosa and Dempster, and you've cleared $15m in payroll for 2008 (plus $5.5m for 2009). And each one of those guys is tradable. Jones bounced back, hit for average late in the year (despite a horrible season), has a decent reputation, played CF and RF, and has only 1 year left on the deal. DeRosa was a nice all around player who can fill a middle infield spot and contribute to a team in need of offense. Dempster has the "closer" label and he's "been there". He hasn't been that good, but overall, as a reliever, he's been pretty solid. I would rather take my chances that Abreu would give me significantly above average production in RF (115-125 OPS+) and the other spots would get filled, than keep spending $5m on replacable guys. I don't see 2-3 years as getting in the way as much as 2008 payroll specifically.

The Cubs are going to need an upgrade somewhere. Yes you can gamble on some youth, and you should. But not in RF. If I'm settling for potential sub-par production somewhere, I want it up the middle of the field. Pie in CF, or Theriot at SS. RF is really the prime spot for an upgrade this offseason. Trade Murton and get good value in return, as he is a solid commodity for the Cubs. SS is the prime spot for upgrade this offseason. Since you are all but guaranteed to have the worst SS production in the league if you stick with Theriot, almost anybody would be an improvement. On the other hand, Murton is at least a good bet to be average, if not slightly above. But I agree that if the option is available, you take Abreu to at least solidify one spot, and strongly consider dealing Murton in another deal (possibly finding a competent SS to replace Theriot - or maybe one who can platoon with him from the left side).

Because of his SLG? I've got to disagree. It's a misuse of his skills, and not ideal. But all in all, it's not that big of a deal. If they had some regular .380+ OBP guys around, wasting away in the 7/8 hole, I'd be upset. But given what they had, it didn't matter all that much. Personally I'd rather they keep Soriano there than have Hendry go out and find another leadoff hitter to take his place. What matters most is having the right 8 guys in the lineup, and that's where the Cubs struggle most.

He could be a help, but I can't imagine his cost will be worth whatever improvement over Murton he'd provide, if any.

There's room for flexibility there though. If they can move Jones, Eyre or Dempster, and DeRosa, they'd be moving similar money. You may be able to replace DeRosa's production with similar numbers out of a Theriot/Fontenot platoon at 2nd. Plus, you may be able to pick up a pretty solid performer after dealing those contracts. You could either keep Murton around as a bench guy who lets Abreu rest on occasion, or go ahead and include him in a deal the cuts payroll. The thing about Abreu is that if he were to become available, it would mean the biggest spender, NY, is out of the bidding. The Mets are already really crowded in the OF. Philly isn't going to take him back. I don't believe Boston would make a serious play for him, unless they move Manny. So, a significant amount of the league's bigger spenders probably wouldn't even get in on the betting, plus, the Dodgers already have about 7 OFers for 3 positions, and I'm not sure a guy like Coletti would be at all interested in Abreu.

Tejada isn't ARod, but it's not like he doesn't walk. The way the Cubs can fix their offense is by getting significant improvements at their worst positions, and SS was their worst position, along with C, last year. Tejada and Soto could easily eclipse the production from their respective positions, and, barring major setbacks elsewhere, that would significantly improve the offense. You'd probably be able to talk about a top 5 lineup at that point. If you are getting top 5 pitching and top 5 hitting, you are going to have some nice success.

Considering all the other guys they might end up losing, I believe they will keep him. However, if they do resign Jorge, Mo and ARod, he could become available. And if that were the case, I'd put him atop my wish list, even if he isn't the same player he was when I fell in love. Abreu in right would allow you to settle for mediocrity at shortstop and have a very stable lineup. I'm guessing they will put more effort into getting starting pitchers, being willing to sacrifice a little offense to get it done, but I've been guessing that for a couple years and have been wrong.

Probably not much. The Cubs haven't shown a lot of faith in him, banishing him to the minors without cause at times and hesitating to give him anything more than middle relief duty. Plus, he is just a reliever with a limited repertoire. He's the type of guy you need, but not all that hard to find. Most every team has one or two. There's no way I would talk about giving up a lot for him. I do believe he would be a solid asset to include in a bigger trade, just not as the centerpiece.

Each row of seats is slightly lower than the one behind it, if the current front row is as low as you can go before fans suddenly can't see what's going on, they need to go lower to fit another row. At least, that's what I've been understanding.

Are you that sold on Prior next year in the rotation? Or am I missing your 5th? Zambrano, Lilly, Hill, Marquis and Marshall are the Cubs 1-5 as things stand now. Gallagher, Hart, Prior and maybe a couple others are competing for the 5th spot, and if they trade one of the top 5, another spot might open, but trading both Gallagher and Hart doesn't really do a thing to the Cubs starting rotation.

The Blackhawks can't score. For all the talk about the defense, and who was going to step up, the problem, just like the Cubs, is they can't score. Granted, it's got a lot to do with Havlat, but it's more about a general lack of talent from top to bottom. Stat wise, Lang, Toews, Kane and Seabrook are the only guys who have done anything this young season.

Do you trust Hendry to know what a solid bat is? No, but it's still the best option.

The dude who got kicked in the head didn't really get kicked in the head, even though the announcer claimed he was scraped by the bottom of the cleats. freaking fakers.

Is this Adu's debut with the big boys? Looks like he's making a positive impact.

finally something happens.

I would trade either, or both, in a trade that would net the Cubs a solid bat.

The Rockies had the best record in the NL since the middle of May you know... Im just saying.. In that case I stand corrected- I'm probably like many others in that I've been totally preoccupied with what the Rockies have done since the middle of September that I've largely overlooked their prior performance. The best record from the middle of may is almost entirely because of the finish though. They went 58-45 between May 21 and September 15, when the streak began. That's good, but it's only a .563 winning percentage. The Yankees went 63-41 during that time, a .606 W%. The Cubs went 57-50. In fact, the Rockies season record closely resembled the Cubs, up to that late stretch when they pulled way ahead.

I just found the FSC on my office TV, I'll have to throw this on later today. Always good for a post lunch distraction.

I like the idea of a postseason CYA award, I'm guessing it should go to a manager or executive. Who did a great job of covering their backside this year? I would vote for Cashman, who I believe has done a great job avoiding all the attention regarding the Yankees postseason losses by taking every opportunity to comment on Torre's future.

Google tells me McCarver was saying Deion was selfish for trying to play baseball and football at the same time, Sanders heard about it after the game and decided to dump the gatorade bucket on him.

polls

Strength of schedule. Adjusting for the fact that teams like the Cubs got to play STL, HOU and PIT a whole bunch whereas Boston had to play the Yankees and Toronto in their division.

Weird question.

Because you don't have Premium - it seems so much better when it's only 14 pages. :) "why is this thread 14 pages?" is an equally good question Because the team is probably months away from being sold, we're weeks away from any significant roster movement, and it's been over a week since the Cubs' season ended. In other words, there's nothing else to talk about.

I don't think the difference between .19 and .16 really lets the fan realize just how wide the disparity is between the grittiness of those two players. There needs to be a multiplier in there somewhere to really expand on the difference. Also perhaps their should be some added factors, like whether or not the player participated in the college world series, the numbers of chances this player was NOT given to make it in baseball, the number of teams players that were chosen before this player in the draft, and the number of articles written about the player in which the writer derided those who made jokes about the players' height, only to put those same jokes in the article.