CUBZ99

I'm starting to think that the Cubs aren't going to be in on Fielder. Even if they got Fielder, you still have zero upgrades at any other position this off season.

Yes. The Rangers winning clearly means the Cubs bid was very low and the Cubs have no money. Don't understand the defensiveness. All we know is that Dice K went for $51MM and that Darvish, by almost every scouts was considered a superior pitcher. Most people were assuming that the bid would be higher, and apparently Theo bid less than $52MM. Not a very impressive effort.

So Theo went $51MM for DiceK but wouldn't go to even $52MM for Darvish? Chalk this one up for the Red Sox beat writers knowing more about what is going on than the Cubs writers.

If the Cubs win it, that would really come out of nowhere and I would feel much better about the direction of the team. Do they ever release the bid information from the non winning teams?

Pretty depressing if true. The article also goes on to say that the he thinks the Cubs are in full rebuilding mode and won't make a move for a big name free agent this off season. It will be interesting to see after the Darvish/Fielder dust settles which sources are actually more accurate, Theo's old Sox pals, or the reporters actually paid to cover the Cubs.

Yeah but its not hard to use back channels to get work out that they are interested in someone. Teams do it all the time. As we've seen, the new Cubs regime, starting with Tom Ricketts is very tight lipped and do not let much leak unless there's a reason to. We might have to get used to not having 3 month mega threads about Brian Roberts and Jake Peavy. Lets just say that if Hendry were still the manager, I would be pretty convinced that we werent going after Fielder, but with Theo in charge, I almost think the less we hear the better the odds are. I'm not sure that less is better, but we will soon see with Darvish and Fielder. I just hope that at some point, Hoyer and Epstein make even a small move to improve the team. So far this offseason we haven't see an improvement at any one position.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/baseball/mlb/12/14/yu.darvish/index.html SI doesn't even think the Cubs have a chance in this article this afternoon handicapping the bidding for Darvish.

I think the way they handled this by pretending to be conflicted until nearly the deadline was classy. Good move.

That sucks.

David DeJesus was kinda cool. I like him. That signing is still pretty meh to me. I don't hate it, and can see where DeJesus could provide decent value, just don't think he is going to make much of a difference.

I can't wait until they actually make a move that we can get excited about.

ARAM was still available and a full 4 WAR better than Stewart for probably a $10-11MM difference. Is Stewart worth negative WAR or something, because ARam hasn't been worth 4 WAR since 2008...and in 2 of the last 3 years he has barely been over 1 WAR (yes, he was hurt for part of it). He's also 34 next year, so this trend isn't likely to reverse (and if it does, not for long), although he did have a significant uptick in 2011. Yes, he was.

ARAM was still available and a full 4 WAR better than Stewart for probably a $10-11MM difference.

Stewart hasn't put up a 2WAR in his career so far, what makes you think that he will all of the sudden do it next year? Colvin put up a 2WAR just a year ago. Even Blake DeWitt has put up a higher WAR than Stewart in his career.

IT. HAS. BEEN. ONE. MONTH. This is ridiculous. Cubsz I do say this with the utmost respect, I really do, but I believe you are being really foolish right now. I believe you are acting like a child who wants that piece of cake before eating his corn. Be inspired. Don't be inspired. I respect you either way. But I can't take anyone seriously if they need some instant gratification to feel good about the direction Theo is taking us. Patience. We are all going to need some of it. I think it is funny that the slightest criticism of Theo and Hoyer is stupid and foolish. How dare I question a move? or joke about them running the organization like a small market team so far. I hope that they have a plan and spend the money on Darvish, Fielder, but until then I will reserve judgment. I get the fact that it will take time to fix Hendry's mess, I just don't like any of the moves so far. Maybe this is all that is available, and he is working with what he has. Just because he is a new GM and he has won WS before doesn't mean that I have to like every move. I hope that I am wrong and Stewart becomes terrific, I just think as of now the move doesn't do anything to make the Cubs better.

This is just ridiculous. And stupid. Yup. 1. Some people tend to forget that our biggest acquisition happened well before the Winter Meetings. 2. Some people need to realize that Theo Epstein is very good at what he does. Feel free to question him, because it's not like anybody is perfect, but I trust Theo knows what he wants to do and has a plan. I trust him to carry it out better than any GM. If we don't make any big signings, I'm 100 percent on board with backing Epstein on that choice. I will give him 10 years. My confidence in him will never sway during that time. That's right. Ten years. I like the Kool Aid, but let's face it, so far this off season hasn't been much different than if Hendry were still running the team. My guess is that one of the only big differences would have been that Hendry would have protected Flaherty. I hope that I'm wrong, but I would have rather kept DJ and given him a chance. My friend, Hendry left this organization in a pretty bad state. A $135 million payroll that couldn't produce on the field. Epstein is in the so very early stages of cleaning up an ENTIRE organization. That can't and will not happen in four days at the Winter Meetings or in one offseason. Epstein is not and will not make transactions just to get Cubs fans excited if he doesn't believe they are best for the long-term growth of this team. It takes a while to build up to what we hope is sustained success. I'm not asking you to believe in some rookie here. Make all the excuses you want about his time in Boston. Theo won two rings and did it in a market that went quite a long time without one. He is smarter than all of us, and he's the best at his job. If you don't want to give him 10 years, at least give him more than one month. I realize he stepped into a mess, but he has done nothing to inspire any confidence so far. I'm holding out hope that the Cubs are in on Fielder, or Darvish or the Cuban guys, because so far we have seen him acting like a small market Pres/GM.

This is just ridiculous. And stupid. Yup. 1. Some people tend to forget that our biggest acquisition happened well before the Winter Meetings. 2. Some people need to realize that Theo Epstein is very good at what he does. Feel free to question him, because it's not like anybody is perfect, but I trust Theo knows what he wants to do and has a plan. I trust him to carry it out better than any GM. If we don't make any big signings, I'm 100 percent on board with backing Epstein on that choice. I will give him 10 years. My confidence in him will never sway during that time. That's right. Ten years. I like the Kool Aid, but let's face it, so far this off season hasn't been much different than if Hendry were still running the team. My guess is that one of the only big differences would have been that Hendry would have protected Flaherty. I hope that I'm wrong, but I would have rather kept DJ and given him a chance.

So far, I think Theo has been brainwashed into believing he is running the Pirates.

A 40 million firstbase platoon? Pujols will play third.

It will be extremely disappointing if nothing gets done during the winter meetings. Did I mention how frustrating that my favorite Bruce is behind the paywall and I can't read any of his stories anymore?

Nice to see the Cubs in on Pujols. Would love to see him in Cubbie blue.

Maybe Garza needs to be traded in order to have the money to sign Fielder? :lol:

Seems like a pretty low risk signing. Nothing to get too excited about, but he does seem to have the ability to be a pretty solid RF at a fairly low price. Based on his contract, he could become a pretty valuable bargaining chip at the trade deadline if the Cubs repeat 2010, 2011 next year.

http://www.chicagonow.com/cubs-den/2011/11/source-cubs-talking-with-several-teams-regarding-soriano-headley-still-in-play/ Carroll reports that the Cubs have a "firm grasp" on a Soriano deal. Sounds encouraging.

Holy generalization Oh, and... Yes, the Cubs were going to spend most of their baseball budget on the draft, Bruce. I could see the new CBA and draft rules freeing up an additional $10MM or so on the payroll, which would definitely allow the front office enough to pick up another very good player that they weren't planning on having the budget for.