Transmogrified Tiger

Why aren't you there

He was the Cubs big signing out of Latin America this past year. He's supposed to be something approximating a first round talent, so hopefully the Cubs are becoming players down there again. What's his first name? What position? Where's he supposed to start this year? Inquiring minds need to know. Larry Suarez, rhp I think he'll be on the Mesa squad, though he could play in the DSL this year. I believe he'll play as a 17 year old in 2007. Gracias.

He was the Cubs big signing out of Latin America this past year. He's supposed to be something approximating a first round talent, so hopefully the Cubs are becoming players down there again. What's his first name? What position? Where's he supposed to start this year? Inquiring minds need to know.

Is that an Under Armour logo?

It's funny, but Zito's deal is heavily backoaded, with the first big payment due in 2009. It looks just like a Hendry contract. It also looks like 90% of long-term contracts. Heavily backloaded deals are not exclusively a Hendry thing. Yeah, I'm aware of that, but Hendry has developed a trademark mania for dumping every big paycheck on 2009. It's like he thinks the world will end on December 31st, 2008. Lilly's the only contract that has a huge jump when we get to '09, going from 7M to 12M. Soriano goes from 13 to 16 mil, Ramirez 14 to 15.65, and Marquis from 6.375M to 9.875M. It's far from a disaster considering that we have 13.3 million coming off that year just in relievers(Dempster, Howry, Eyre), plus Jones's 5 million and possibly more than 10 million more from deadweight like Blanco, Izturis, and (maybe) Prior. http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/4707/picture2lb6.png $72M already committed for 2009, Z's deal will push it to $90M. That ought to buy a whole team -- a good one too. That's a different point. I'm not going to argue that Marquis, Lilly, or Soriano aren't making too much, but you're making Hendry out to be a "I'll just pay it off later" teenager with a credit card. His deals aren't any worse than many others around the league, and the increases from '08 to '09 are hardly going to ruin us.

Oh God, this is going to open up a can of worms, but I'll get the ball rolling... Sisco, Hagerty, Blasko, Petrick, Brownlie, Koronka, Wellemeyer, Pinto, Nolasco, Mitre, Dontrelle, Juan Cruz, Justin Jones, Christensen, Leicester, Rohlicek, Geremi (or however he wants to spell it) Gonzalez, Szuminski, Felix Sanchez, Wilton Chavez. Let's open a new can of worms. On Nilo's list, which pitcher was the biggest disappointment? To me....it has to be Sisco. I know he's at the major league level,now, but in his case it is ability minus intelligence, equals journeyman reliever. Sisco did have at least one amazing season as a reliever though. I think it's got to be someone who didn't even make the bigs, Brownlie or Christensen for me.

Who is Suarez? The Baseball Cube and MiLB.com don't have any Cubs with that last name.

It's funny, but Zito's deal is heavily backoaded, with the first big payment due in 2009. It looks just like a Hendry contract. It also looks like 90% of long-term contracts. Heavily backloaded deals are not exclusively a Hendry thing. Yeah, I'm aware of that, but Hendry has developed a trademark mania for dumping every big paycheck on 2009. It's like he thinks the world will end on December 31st, 2008. Lilly's the only contract that has a huge jump when we get to '09, going from 7M to 12M. Soriano goes from 13 to 16 mil, Ramirez 14 to 15.65, and Marquis from 6.375M to 9.875M. It's far from a disaster considering that we have 13.3 million coming off that year just in relievers(Dempster, Howry, Eyre), plus Jones's 5 million and possibly more than 10 million more from deadweight like Blanco, Izturis, and (maybe) Prior.

It's funny, but Zito's deal is heavily backoaded, with the first big payment due in 2009. It looks just like a Hendry contract. It also looks like 90% of long-term contracts. Heavily backloaded deals are not exclusively a Hendry thing.

Who? Tom Sizemore...although he makes Dukes and Delmon look like choir boys. Actually I meant Grady Sizemore. He was kidding, Tom played Pete Rose in the ESPN movie about Rose.

If Soriano is in CF, then I'd like a Jones/Theriot platoon, with Theriot playing 2B and pushing DeRosa to RF against LHP.

Actually all 30 can be wrong. And it happens a lot. How good do you think that people think Wilson is? And what of the examples others posted? Is Lilly > Zito because of when they signed?

It's the exact same thing you just said. The actions of Baseball executives do not determine how good a player is.

#1 (not counting Guzman). Higher ceiling than Veal. Pawelek too?

Well, one option if you had done Nixon/Wilson in RF would be to keep Jacque around as a 4th OF and used the multitude of savings on Soriano to get a good CF(Drew?), that would eliminate that problem. Or maybe he's in CF and they call up Pie to be the left handed part of a platoon that has Pie/Jones v. RHP and Jones(perish the thought)/Wilson v. LHP. I see where you guys are coming from on this but having Drew and Nixon would worry me too. The potential is there but so is the potential in Prior/Miller pitching. When you have Jones/Pie/Wilson and Guzman/Marshall/Marmol/Mateo waiting behind those pairs, I don't think that it's too much of a worry. Especially when there's only one long term commitment of the group Prior/Miller/Drew/Nixon.

1 year, five million, trot nixon and craig wilson... For a one year committment, and 130-some million dollars less... we could have had about the same production in RF, if not moreso. But we'd be without a leadoff hitter........... I agree but there still are no guarentees that Nixon will be healthy enough to play a whole season though. Platoon players don't play whole seasons. I'm talking about staying off the DL and Nixon has a very tough time doing that. If he goes on the DL that might force the Cubs into a bad decision. Well, one option if you had done Nixon/Wilson in RF would be to keep Jacque around as a 4th OF and used the multitude of savings on Soriano to get a good CF(Drew?), that would eliminate that problem. Or maybe he's in CF and they call up Pie to be the left handed part of a platoon that has Pie/Jones v. RHP and Jones(perish the thought)/Wilson v. LHP.

Here it is from the Samardzija thread in Minor Leagues, courtesy of Outshined.

I thought Callis and BA backed off their original report of the contract? Didn't they say recently that it would've been a 7.25 million total over a series of one year contracts linked with options, but MLB wouldn't allow that type of contract to go to a draft pick? Am I taking crazy pills here?

Baseball executives are infallible.

It will probably never happen, but I think the whites would look awesome without pinstripes. That way you can make them look old school and current at the same time(the Giants are an okay example of this). You'd need to add some accent blue probably(end of the sleeves, on the edges of the button-up flap), but I think it would look pretty awesome.

The new Dugout is about this, and they incorporate the Youngs strangling the lady cop again. Brilliant.

Man, I would've offered twice that to ensure he'd sign here for less than a starting role. Schuerholz is very very good at his job.

That's like saying it's insane to lock up Gotti. Murders and racketeering aside, that guy still knew how to make money! Are you really serious? Are you really serious? So I used an extreme example. The point still holds. How can anyone simply brush aside Bonds' obvious drug cheating just for the fact that he can eek out a few more years of performance? Is that what we're reduced to now? Just a bunch of number crunchers, ogling players for their production only, the devil be damned if they even care about having an ounce of integrity? So we should be like the Rockies then?

...Who needs drinking buddies?

Probably the aforementioned Thorman