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XZero771679666304

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Everything posted by XZero771679666304

  1. XZero771679666304
    It's only [expletive] up if he did something wrong. One of three scenarios will come to pass: 1. Castro is proven guilty 2. Castro is legally absolved because of lack of evidence or charges dropped and you have a Kobe/Ben situation where you live with the suspicion/stigma forever, right or wrong 3. The accuser retracts her accusation or is thoroughly discredited and Castro is vindicated I think scenario two is by far the most likely and while better than the first, it's not entirely palatable.
  2. XZero771679666304
    Welp, barring a full retraction by the accuser or a complete discrediting, I'll never be able to be a real fan of our best player. This may blow over legally, but it's still pretty fucked up.
  3. XZero771679666304
    Curiosity has got me...what on earth were you trying to say there?
  4. XZero771679666304
    I think the Cubs could get away with sending less than that, maybe 40MM. More could be eaten in attempt to secure a better return, but I doubt we'd anything of value either way.
  5. XZero771679666304
    I think the Cubs could get away with sending less than that, maybe 40MM. More could be eaten in attempt to secure a better return, but I doubt we'd anything of value either way.
  6. XZero771679666304
    lol
  7. XZero771679666304
    He is still a moderate power threat, and Fangraphs had him worth about 6MM last year. A non-contending team would have some use for him. Maybe a team like Seattle that is desperate for any semblance of offense.
  8. XZero771679666304
    As long as Soriano can mash lefties, don't be surprised to see AL teams start taking out fliers as long as we pick up most of his salary and accept a failed former top propsect in return. If the Cubs picked up all but, say, 12-14MM (about what he'd be worth), I think he could return a decent (not great, decent) piece. But I don't think anyone would riot if he didn't.
  9. XZero771679666304
    There was no baseball reason not to trade Zambrano and we got back the most we could have realistically expected for reasons hashed and rehashed in this thread. And even those most upset will recognize that with time. There is less reason to give Soriano away (and he very likely won't be), but if he was, I don't think you'd see the same venomous reaction.
  10. XZero771679666304
    I love that logic. Soriano isn't a good hitter anymore, so he's a better fit in the American League where his job would be hitting only. This hasn't been a banner year for Chicago sports media. Or decade. I think people think he's such a moron that's he'll do better if he has less to think about. Not playing the field won't magically stop him from swinging at garbage off the plate, but whatever.
  11. XZero771679666304
    That's kind of what I thought you meant, but wasn't sure. 6/150 for Prince makes me feel about the same as 10/275 for Pujols made me feel - it's as far as I'd be willing to go and I'd feel uncomfortable paying that much. Given the Cubs' payroll now, the upside it has going forward (especially with a TV deal possible), and the FO's ability to bring in good, cheap talent to offset big money contracts, if I'm going to be uncomfortable I'd rather get the better, more complete player. I know I'm taking the under on Albert, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him hovering at or just above replacement level for at least 3-4 years on the back end. That said, I don't either one of us is going to sway the other, and the point is pretty moot right now. But it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
  12. XZero771679666304
    But like it or not, it appears as though the powers that be are building for the future, and I don't think that anybody can deny that neither Zambrano nor Soriano were ever to be a part of that future. I'd have liked to see a better return for Z, and by no means was I happy with what we ended up with at the time but 24 hours later and I'm well over it. Still don't love it, but whatever. If you read any of this thread you'd know I was one of the ones defending this trade as being the best we could have expected, and largely inevitable. I'm just telling you why people here won't react the same way to a Soriano trade. No emotional attachment.
  13. XZero771679666304
    Moreover, I think Theo and Jed have acknowledged that they'll not be able to operate that way, so I doubt we'll see it happen. And sacrificing first round picks in favor of late round gambles isn't really a sound strategy for adding more elite prospects to the system, which is what we are short on.
  14. XZero771679666304
    Prince at $30 million - $4 million AAV more than Pujols - carries less risk? I realize there's a 5 year difference in deal length, but as you think I'm starry eyed over Pujols, I think you might be too easily disregarding Prince's poor defense compared to Albert's good defense and the propensity for overweight players to decline faster and earlier. There's no way I'd even consider $30 million a year for Prince and $25 million a year is stretching it quite a bit. I think Cain and Hamels are likely to get 6+ years and Greinke might get that much. The problem with Greinke is that you have the normal high risk of injury and ineffectiveness that naturally comes with pitchers, plus the emotional issues that may crop up in a big market like Chicago. A 5 year deal for Greinke may be as risky as a 6+ year deal for Cain and Hamels. I wouldn't classify any of the other pitchers I listed as likely to be elite going forward, except maybe Anibal Sanchez, so I hesitate to include them in the discussion going forward. I simply included them to be as comprehensive as possible and to include some guys who've shown the ability to be elite. Do'h I meant 5/125 or 6/150. Brain fart. I think 22.5 per could get Prince, but 25 could sway he and Boras to give on the years.
  15. XZero771679666304
    I wouldn't trade Baez for our crop of Shawn Dunston Jr overslots, no. Not a chance.
  16. XZero771679666304
    Losing multiple first round picks and paying 100% extra is pretty significant - especially considering if we simply compensate by going overslot later in the draft again next year we lose multiple first round picks again. Also, if the plan is full rebuild for 2012 at least, that means we're forfeiting probably a top 5-10 pick. That hurts. I agree on losing that first pick would hurt. But considering the amount of overslotting we pulled of this year, would that have been worth parting with Baez. Especially with the fact even more talent may exist in the later picks as other teams will shy away from any signablity issue as they lose that money in the signing pool. Just trying to think outside the box of draft better...Everyone has that plan, what else could be out there. I see what you're saying, but the idea of surrendering a top 10 pick is pretty unpleasant. You might think about such a strategy for a strong class and if the following years draft looked particularly weak (or at least not top heavy), but I'm not sure it's a route I'd want to go.
  17. XZero771679666304
    Time will tell on Pujols, but my feeling is that many people have stars in their eyes regarding him and don't give due credence to the statistical trend. 2011 looks like a slight outlier, but the trend still remains. He might rebound next year to a 6-7 WAR player, but he may well not. There's reason to think he will, but I think there's just as much reason to think he'll continue to succumb to father time. And I might be less intransigent about my unwillingness to go as high as the Angels did if not for the presence of Fielder, who while not as good, is four years younger and figures to carry a significantly lower price tag both in terms of dollars and years. To me, Fielder at 5/150 or 6/175 with a vesting option carries enough less risk than Pujols at 10/275 that I'd overlook the performance gap and let Albert go. As far as that group of pitchers go, I don't think you'll see more than 1-2 deals that go beyond five years, and at least a few of them go for less.
  18. XZero771679666304
    Isn't his wife gravely ill or something? Can't say I'd blame him.
  19. XZero771679666304
    Big Z was perhaps my favorite Cub. People here had an emotional attachment to Zambrano. He was one of ours, a career Cub brought up through our system. In spite of his antics (or in part because of them) he endeared himself to us and entertained us greatly. He was, in his better days, a dominator who had a particular penchant for tormenting and antagonizing our rivals. He was brooding, bombastic and bellicose. But he was our goon, and we loved him. And because we saw him in good times as well as bad, we knew he had value that belied his reputation, and seeing him ushered out the back door in the way he was stung, even if it was predictable and perhaps inevitable. Soriano is a maligned trophy signing gone wrong, essentially dead weight. He has some value still, but a severing of ties would be well received.
  20. XZero771679666304
    Of the pitchers you mentioned, I think only Cain and Hamels have a realistic shot of getting more than 5 years. None of them is going to get a deal remotely commensurate with the one Pujols got. And I maintain that Pujols is no longer the player he was, or at the very least, he's at the tail end of his elite-level production. You'd give him 10/270 knowing he is 32, in decline (only the severity of that decline is in question) and you'd be getting none of his prime, and you'd do so without significant compunction? EDIT: And knowing there was a good plan B in Fielder?
  21. XZero771679666304
    In the sense that if he were traded for anything resembling value, some people would be thrilled but many others would be equally pissed because if we're paying most of his salary anyway he may as well play for us unless we're getting a better return? Yes. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the reaction to a similar trade for Soriano the reaction would be much, much different.
  22. XZero771679666304
    I predict that in the next few weeks, Soriano will be traded to Tampa Bay along with $47.5 million for Reid Brignac and it will be me with the perfect mix of overwhelming joy, seething rage, a bunch of saber metrics attempting to prove that it was the greatest thing to happen to this country since the death of Osama Bin Laden. The [expletive] just happened. Refer to the [expletive] of intense emotions that is the Zambrano thread. Do you really think that anyone here feels the same way about Z and Sori? Even remotely?
  23. XZero771679666304
    I predict that in the next few weeks, Soriano will be traded to Tampa Bay along with $47.5 million for Reid Brignac and it will be me with the perfect mix of overwhelming joy, seething rage, a bunch of saber metrics attempting to prove that it was the greatest thing to happen to this country since the death of Osama Bin Laden. What?
  24. XZero771679666304
    Yeah, that would be pretty sweet. I'd be happy with 75%.
  25. XZero771679666304
    Griping is one thing. Jersey and SSR were doing more than griping, they have been freaking out. You can do that, it just makes you look like a nutcase.
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