LeftCoastCubFan

If you are referring to zone ratings and such, they and $3.50 will get you a venti Latte at Starbucks. There are no worthwhile defensive metrics. It's like comparing the number of hits Pierre has last year and comparing it to all the other centerfielders; concluding he is the best hitting player of the bunch.

Any team can sign 5 type A/B players this year plus the number of A/B's lost. Assuming Pierre as a Type B is gone (Aramis doesn't count since he's ours), we can sign 6. DeRosa and Soriano leave us 4 more.

And I thought Cubs fans were optimistic. .500 would be a miracle for the Packers.

If the Cubs are in play it probably won’t happen for a year. The activity this off-season indicates to me that the falling ratings and potentially reduced attendance reduced the price from what the Trib was expecting. That is why we have an open checkbook now, to increase the selling price in the future.

Of course there are better choices for shortstop but Theriot isn't it. I understand that everyone wants a player that will draw an extra walk or so each week especially given our past OBP woes, but I don't understand that nobody sees value in a player that will make a play or two a week defensively over the more offensive player. A healthy Izturus will do that over a Theriot or Cedeno.

But that was 3 years ago (October 2003). At that point you would be assuming a 5/108.5 mil contract at a time when baseball economics were pretty bad for most teams. Now he is due 2/38, and from what I've read it's really 2/34 when you factor in all of the deferred money. That's a bargain contract for a 1.000 plus OPS player in todays market. The Red Sox would love to get rid of the headache, but only if it makes them better, so he won't come cheaply from a talent prospective.

No

Comments in bold above. My revised numbers would be: 11.000 – Zambrano (arbitration/contract estimate) 3.650 - Prior 1.500 - Miller .380 – Hill (contract renewal estimate) 4 Starters at 16.530 5.333 - Dempster 3.833 - Eyre 4.500 - Howry .700 - Cotts (arbitration/contract estimate) 1.750 - Wood 1.000 - Ohman (arbitration/contract estimate) 3.250 - Rusch 7 Relievers at 20.366 4.534 - Barrett 2.550 - Blanco (estimated pending signing bonus payment details) 2 Catchers at 7.084 13.000 - Lee 4.333 – DeRosa (estimated pending contract details) 4.250 – Izturis 13.000 - Ramirez 4 Infielders at 34.583 17.000 – Soriano (estimated pending contract details) 5.333 - Jones .475 – Murton (contract renewal estimate) 3 Outfielders at 22.808 Total 20 players at 101.371 million Note: (I included Hill, Ohman, and Murton since barring trade they are likely to stick. Given Pienella’s 3 starter comment likely to be a free agent/trade/reclamation it’s hard to see another young starter making the opening day roster unless they beat out Hill. The bullpen is pretty full until trades are made, so a lot of youngsters are fighting for one or two open spots. Also Lou’s comments about strengthening the bench leave me to believe the youngsters won’t be there at the start of the season. I almost included Cedeno given Hendry’s comments about him getting at bats, but it’s still till early to pencil him in. Either way, all of these players are at or close to the minimum, which won’t add much to payroll.)

Does brick burn? i'm going to buy a nuke The Department of Homeland Security will be visiting you soon now that they have a deal with Google.

The new CBA isn’t posted yet, but since there was no discussion in the media I assume it would be the same going forward though it could be adjusted with fewer A/B players going forward. But this off season is playing by the old rules so this should be in effect. If the number of total free agents was 192 as I remember, that’s 96 type A/B players so each team can sign up to 5 over their losses. Our only one is Pierre, so that would allow us to sign 6. DeRosa is a type B, and Aramis doesn't count since he's ours. 5 more possible signings.

Once the contract details come out it's likely to drop his 2007 price a million or two

11.0 – Zambrano (my guess given salary inflation) 3.7 - Prior (Cubs unlikely to go for 10% cut, and will likely offer same as last year) 1.5 - Miller 5.3 – Dempster (5 base plus .333 signing bonus to be paid) 3.8 – Eyre (3.5 base + .333 signing bonus to be paid) 4.5 – Howry (4 base + .500 signing bonus to be paid) 3.3- Rusch 4.5 – Barret (12.0 – 4.333 in 2006 – 3.133 in 2005) 13.0 - Lee 4.3 – Izturus (4.15 base + .100 signing bonus to be paid) 5.3 – Jones (4.0 base + 1.333 signing bonus to be paid) 11 players, 60.2 mil

1.5 mil (incentives can bring it up to 5.25). All in all, not a bad deal. http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-061109cubsmiller,1,3824347.story?coll=cs-home-headlines

http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/salaries/top50 Eight 1. Alex Rodriguez, NYY $25,680,727 2. Rogers Clemens, HOU $22,000,000 3. Derek Jeter, NYY $20,600,000 4. Jason Giambi, NYY $20,428,571 5. Barry Bonds, SF $20,000,000 6. Jeff Bagwell, HOU $19,369,019 7. Mike Mussina, NYY $19,000,000 8. Manny Ramirez, BOS $18,279,238 And half will be making less in 2007 (Clemens, Bonds, Bagwell, Mussina)

My take on things is that you never include the buyout in the next year’s payroll whether talking opening day salaries or accounting, so Kerry Wood’s buyout shouldn’t be included. This is how I see players under contract 5.3 – Dempster (5 base plus .333 signing bonus to be paid) 3.8 – Eyre (3.5 base + .333 signing bonus to be paid) 4.5 – Howry (4 base + .500 signing bonus to be paid) 3.3- Rusch 4.5 – Barret (12.0 – 4.333 in 2006 – 3.133 in 2005) 13.0 - Lee 4.3 – Izturus (4.15 base + .100 signing bonus to be paid) 5.3 – Jones (4.0 base + 1.333 signing bonus to be paid) 8 players, at 44 mil Given the amounts involved, you really need to include our expensive arbitration eligible players who aren’t going anywhere. 11.0 – Zambrano (my guess given salary inflation) 3.7 - Prior (Cubs unlikely to go for 10% cut, and will likely offer same as last year) 2 players, at 14.7 mil So the big commitments barring trades is 10 players, 58.7 mil The rest of the young players are likely to be close to major league minimum, with only Murton having a chance to barely crack the 500k mark. But none are a sure thing to stick yet. I assume the purpose of this thread is to see how much more we can spend. Not having an official number, I would go with a range of 100 mil to 115 mil. If so that give us between 41.3 mil to 56.3 mil depending on where the budget is actually set.

Just change the 9 to a 4 and you can boost the confidence level to a 6

I guess 2 games against the Vikes, one against the Bears, plus two road games are locks. We are getting giddy after 2 wins. :cheer:

I hope this is just Cub fan angst and we aren’t turning into a New York tabloid. Too much is being read into this. Ramirez has the right to determine his value on the open market. Let’s face it, in baseball the player’s union, his agent, and usually the player himself will go to (with rare exception) the highest bidder. But to find the top dollar you have to explore what’s out there. I would expect him and his agent to do their due diligence. Regardless of your opinion on Hendry, it is pretty well documented that he is open, honest, and up front in his negotiations. I’m sure he understands Aramis’ position. The negotiations have only been going on for a week. The market will be determined over the next few weeks. If Ramirez walks for a reasonable offer, I’ll be the first to jump on the lynch the GM bandwagon.

All ex-Cubs go to heaven. RIP Joe.

Remember our future hall of famers Choi, Hill Kelton, Cruz, and Guzman. Remember the Yankees had a bottom of the league prospects with Wang, Cano, and Hughs. Maybe Baseball America is as acurate on prospects as we are.

I get it. Hendry is the aintchrist! :wall:

I'm reading this differently. He was in Shea when he said "I have a lot of reasons why I want to be back here"...it seems like he wants to come back to the Mets, and that his family is what's pulling him back toward Atlanta. I still think that's where he'll end up, but I don't think this quote means it's a sure thing. It sounds to me like a player dealing with the uncertainty of whether his option will be picked up. If the Mets are truly players for Zito, Willis, and Matsusaka they could decide to use their money elsewhere. If the Mets pick up his 14 mil option I assume he will be dancing in Times Square. Otherwise he can take his player option of 7.5 mil or try to get another 1 or 2 from another team. I don’t see Atlanta interested in bringing him back for that.

To me the biggest question is what Z will sign for. If you look at comparable signings the last year you have Burnett’s 5/55, Halladay’s extension (they added 3 years at 40 to the two years remaining 25.5) which I’ll equate to 5/65.5, and Oswalt’s 5/73 extension. Zito is likely to command something in the 5/75 range. If you include the posting fee, Matsusaka is going to cost someone at least 4/60. So at minimum, Z is looking to get Oswalt/Zito money. But being 3 to 4 years younger and a better health history; I can see him holding out for and getting a 6th year guaranteed. That’s a contract I can’t see the Cubs committing to. Z will likely wait to see how the market shakes out, and then talk extension in spring. But what is the likelihood of him signing? I think it’s very low. On the assumption he won’t be here in 2008, this is the time to move him. Unfortunately the Cubs are attempting to win in 2007, rather then add pieces for a run in 2008.

I think you're reading a bit too much into it. Did you read the last Tribune article? He didn't want to leave Seattle with Pieniella, but felt he had no choice. Him and his wife prefer Seattle. He wants to manage and wants to get from under Pieniella's shadow and Hargrove is likely out the door after another poor season. Nothing to do with Hendry, just a better opportunity. That's probably a pretty accurate assumption. He loves working with Piniella, but his family really enjoyed Seattle. He's also closer to a managerial position in Seattle. I'd hoped McLaren would have come here, but I don't think it had anything to do with how McLaren sees the Cubs' future. It's not as if the Mariners have a bright future either. I doubt coming to Chicago would preclude him from returning to Seattle if a managerial position opened up. Think of it this way: if it was the Yankees, McLaren is so in NY it isn't even funny. OK. You want to be a manager. You get a call from the GM of a team that you know the manager is on the way out. You love the city. You realize that you have been labeled as part of Pieniella’s posse and know it would be a good career move to make. You are pretty much guaranteed to be a manager within 12 months. Why would you accept the same job without any possibility of managing somewhere else? Why would you take the chance of potentially burning a bridge? Pieniella, Girardi, Sandberg, Brenly and more wanted the manager job, but this guy is turning down a coaching job because of the orginization. I don't think so. But of course it’s Hendry’s fault; as are the Iraq war and global warming. :D

I know. It's just a pro-labor rant. There are so few of us left. I have to point out that it is labor that wanted a rookie cap. After agreeing to a cap in the NBA and NFL, the current union members wanted most of the pie. What union pays it new members as high as established members regardless of performance? It's about player greed, not management (not that they mind) or anti-trust (pay levels agreed to by both partes are part of any collective bargaining).