bdutts

Chad Cordero is mediocre? Please explain.

No doubt about that. Classless all the way. I'd bet that every fan base has some folks who are classless. Sure, a lot of people don't like the Yankees. But truffle shuffle doesn't have to call them "horrible people who don't deserve to vote." Sarcasm? Maybe. Hard to tell without a :) or a :wink: or something like that. BTW, it's the Cubs for me. I couldn't care less about all the other teams in the league.

That's high class. :roll: we've outed a yankee fan Who said I was a Yankees fan? Because someone made a stupid comment and I comment about that comment makes me a Yankees fan? Please.

That's high class. :roll:

Tell that to all the boxers that are walking the streets. Tell that to Kareem Abdul Jabbar who was broke when his career ended. A guy's arm could fall off tomorrow and his career will be over. You get what you can get when you can get it. Period. I suppose these guys could live off the interest of their 4-5 million, but wouldn't they be giving up a significant portion of the lifestyle they had been living while they were still playing the game? Why give that up if you could live off the interest of even more than 4-5 million? To ask the question another way....... You're currently the manager of the McDonald's down the street. You make $13.00 an hour and get good benefits. You've been with McDonald's for 8 years now, and you're pretty pleased with how things have worked out for you. Are you so loyal to them that you would turn down $17.00 an hour to be the manager at Burger King with the same benefits? Is McDonald's treating you so well that you'd be willing to pass over $8,320 of increased annual income to keep grilling burgers? Do you like that "hometown discount"? To me, I think that my current employer is raking me over the coals and tomorrow I'll be broiling burgers instead of grilling them. Baseball isn't a job you can hold onto until you are age 65. Most players are out of the game before they reach 35. Some of these guys never got an education to speak of, and they will need to learn how to manage their money fast, or it will be gone as quickly as it came. And there is NO job that will pay them anywhere close to what they are getting now, so you get what you can get while you can. If you were in Zambrano's shoes, you'd be asking for as much as you could squeeze out of the Cubs. And you aren't just negotiating by yourself. You have your agent, your family members and the players union all making sure you take what you have coming. There is a huge difference between 17 bucks and hour and 13 per hour. There isn't a huge difference between 15M and 17M when talking about living comfortably. Plus, there are other factors that have to do with it, like moving your kids/family, new city, etc. And people don't like change to begin with. So, is getting that extra cash going to be worth it? Obviously, depends on the person.

Maybe, but that's not what the agent is going to say. The agent is going to look at money and years and compare that player's age and numbers with his current client and determine where his client is. It's kind of like when you sell your house for above or below market value. The sale of your house will set the market for future buyers/sellers for similar houses.

One. :)

Based on an interview an AM 1000 this past Tuesday, it seems that Hendry is willing to resign Pierre "at the right price". He's going to test the free agent market and Hendry "hopes" to get something done with him. I have read what others have posted here that Pierre hasn't fallen in love with Wrigley or the Cubs or whatever. So, we'll see soon enough.

That was me who said that. Didn't you see the emoticon I put up there? I was only half joking as one can see that the current cast of Cubs doesn't exactly set the world on fire with their team OBP.

His OBP is too high for the Cubs. :wink: Actually, he had a good 2003, then two bad ones and now a really good season. I'd take him over Pierre any day, especially if both are going to command 10M or more per season. EDIT: Oops, didn't see that he isn't going to be a FA until 2008.

The Cubs get 19-year old lefty Fabian Jimenez Angulo and 22-year old righty Joel Santo from Class A Fort Wayne. Angulo is 5-7 with a 4.43 ERA. Santo is 5-6 with a 5.51 ERA.

...for two Class A players. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2527276

It's not a matter of whether the trib can afford it. It's a matter of whether or not the Cubs can field a good enough team with that big of a chunk given to somebody who isn't all that special. The White Sox didn't win much with a very cheap Carlos Lee. The Brewers haven't won anything despite having an affordable Lee and possibly more talent than the Cubs have had. Hendry has not shown any ability to efficiently manage his funds, which tells me he wouldn't be able to fill out the roster properly if he spends $12m on Lee. If Jim dedicated 5 or 6 roster spots to young guys who make nothing but can give you the same thing that Neifi, Rusch and others give you (if not more), then overpaying for a solid but far from spectaculiar Carlos Lee may not be a bad idea. But I don't see that happening. They also didn't have near as good of a pitching staff when Lee was there as opposed to last year (and this year, too). Having said that, I wouldn't overpay for Lee, either.

And no one has ever waived their NTC either, correct?

OK, then keep him around as a pinch hitter/spot first baseman. He's better than Durazio and much cheaper than Sweeney. When Lee comes back, Clark goes to the bench with his 1M salary.

How about Tony Clark from Arizona? He's cheap in salary (1M), is a switch hitter with good pop. I dont' know about his D, though, but I'd bet it's not worse that Durazio. And since he's a bench player, it probably wouldn't cost too much.

How are Hidalgo's numbers the past two years when compared with Gonzalez'? Don't know. I don't advocate signing either one. Why do you want the Cubs to sign Hidalgo? Because there's little left to choose from and our outfield is terrible? And Hidalgo makes it better? Why not wait and see who will be available near the end of spring training?

How are Hidalgo's numbers the past two years when compared with Gonzalez'? Don't know. I don't advocate signing either one. Why do you want the Cubs to sign Hidalgo? Well, I'm not really amped up about it one way or another. But if I have to choose between them, I'd choose Hidalgo because he's closer to his previous levels of performance, he provides great defense and doesn't have the lousy rep in the clubhouse (as opposed to Juan "If I ain't startin', I ain't goin' Gonzalez). Well, a quick check shows that RH's 2005 numbers versus lefties were worse than JJ's. JG in 2004 was very good against lefties. I agree with your assessment of JG, though. That should be enough to keep the Cubs away. But then again, Dusty can always sprinkle some Holy Water on him and cure him of his ills...... :wink:

How are Hidalgo's numbers the past two years when compared with Gonzalez'? Don't know. I don't advocate signing either one. Why do you want the Cubs to sign Hidalgo?

Why all the Richard Hidalgo love? His last two years have been pretty bad overall and his stats against lefties (which is what I assume everyone wants him for) have gotten worse in each of the last two years.

Yes, they are streaming. Here is their website: http://www.espnradio1000.com/

I think Bradley prefers CF. What to do about RF? Jeromy Burnitz. I don't advocate it. I just have a feeling it will happen.

He doesn't have the speed to lead off. :roll: Agreed. You....know he was being sarcastic, right? No, I guess not.

He doesn't have the speed to lead off. :roll: Agreed.

Yeah, that's what I heard on WMVP at 4:20.