vance_the_cubs_fan

I would love to have Manny if he's truly available. While I like Murton, you just don't pass up a chance to add a hitter of Ramirez's caliber.

He's got some tough decisions to make: (1) Should he or should he not trade Alfonso Soriano and/or Kevin Mench for starting pitching? (2) Can he get Boras to agree to an extension for Teixeira to cover his arbitration years at a price the Rangers can afford, or is it better to go with one-year deals until free agency? (3) Should they move Michael Young to 2B? There's probably several more. Hoops An addedum to #2 is if they can't get an extension for Tex, should they try to trade him while his value is so high?

I have some Sandberg items I could let you choose from if you'd still like a prize. :)

Speaking of the Nationals, is there any word on when they will be sold and what direction the new owners could take?

Vance, Look at how Crawford's OBP is almost entirely dependent on his BA. What happens if he goes into a slump? Given that, is that worth letting the DRays choose between Harvey and Dope? Crawford is really not ideal, but if he were a target, I'd only offer Dope and Mitre. That might border on overpaying right there, but I'd not offer more than that for the Shea Hillebrand of CF's. I agree that Crawford isn't ideal...but considering the fact he can play CF, I'd much rather have him than Huff. I consider him much like Pierre and yes, Furcal. His speed is primarily what makes him valuable. On the other hand, I guess I don't value Harvey and Dope as much as some. I think those two can be great talents, but I also see a large chance that they will become busts. If Crawford can be our CF for the next 3-5 years, I'll take my chances that Harvey or Dope won't come back to bite. That complicates things some. Crawford doesn't get expensive for them until 2009, so unless they just feel a need to move an OF, it might be more expensive player-wise to get him. Of course that 2006 figure would make him fit ideally into the Cubs budget for the next couple of years.

What would it take to acquire Crawford? He's 24 and about to enter his arbitration years. While he's played 469 games in LF and only started 45 games in CF, I think he could likely handle CF. In the games he's played there he's had a 992 Fpct and a 915 ZR. He's not an ideal OBP player, but he isn't horrible. Like Furcal, he brings a great deal of speed to the line-up. My guess is he'd be a better CF/lead-off hitter than Pierre or Lofton who have been mentioned as possible targets. This year Crawford hit 301/331/469. For his career he's hit 289/320/421. He's likely going to be more expensive to acquire than Huff or Gomes, but if he could play CF, he fills a need and allows Murton to stay in left. The Cubs could still pursue Giles and let Cedeno man SS while Walker remains at second. This line-up: Crawford CF Murton LF Lee 1B Giles RF Ramirez 3b Walker 2b Barrett C Cedeno SS should be fairly productive and attainable. I'm not sure exactly what the Devil Rays would want for Crawford. I'd begin with a package that includes their choice of Harvey or Dopirak, along with a couple of our mid-tier pitchers.

Abreu for the season: .286/.405/.474/.879 w/ Runners On: .305/.426/.505/.931 w/ RISP: .303/.444/.500/.944 w/ Bases Loaded: .294/.333/.824/1.157 Close and Late: .298/.422/.571/.993 Abreu for his career: .303/.411/.512/.923 w/ Runners On: .327/.443/.540/.983 w/ RISP: .321/.454/.549/1.003 w/ Bases Loaded: .330/.403/.585/.988 Close and Late not available for his career Wow! :shock: If that's hitting poorly when the game is on the line, I'll take hitting poorly for 9 million any day. I still don't think we have the players to acquire him, but I'd love to have him if he really is available.

ZZ has be yanred.

If the Cardinals win, we'll hear all that jazz about their tradition. If the Sox wins, aparoche (Jabroni) will give me a wonderful case study in aberrant, anti-social behavior. That could be amusing. I think I'd have to root for the Sox.

I too wouldn't freak out if the Cubs sign Furcal. My point is that Giles should be the primary target. If the Cubs kept Walker and Nomar and signed Giles, I think we would have a better team than if we pencil in Cedeno at second, sign Furcal, but miss out on Giles. If we miss out on Giles, we'll be looking at having Preston Wilson/Juan Encarnacion types in right. Tell me which line-up you'd prefer: Lofton CF Murton LF Lee 1b Giles RF Ramirez 3B Nomar SS Walker 2b or Cedeno Barrett C or Furcal SS Murton LF Lee 1b Ramirez 3B Barrett C J. Jones/ J. Encarnacion RF Lofton/ P. Wilson CF Cedneo 2b I think I'd prefer the first. Now if the Cubs could get Giles and Furcal, well then that's great. I just don't see the Cubs being able to land the two top positional free agents on the market.

Then if they land Lofton too, they will have two very mediocre number #1 hitters. See, that's what I mean. I want to see some vision from the Cubs front office and all I ever see is a bad case of myopia. And I tend to agree with you. I'd land Lofton to "solve" lead-off which would allow me more flexibility at SS. Giles would still be my prime target since he fills a greater need and is a better player than Furcal.

Rickey has played 57 games in CF over his entire career. He's been primarily a LF.

The Cubs are targeting Furcal, because they believe they need to improve defense and find a lead-off hitter. They think Furcal will answer this problem. It's not the move I'd make, but I think it is clear from reading the tea leaves, that Furcal will be the number one target. It also seems clear that Cedeno will be at 2b. The Cubs probably believe that this makes the defense better and won't hurt the offense. I tend to disagree, but this isn't the first time I've disagreed with them. In my perfect world, Giles would be target number one and I'd pick up Walker's option. Worst case scenario is I'd have a MI of Cedeno-Walker. I might still move after Furcal or try to re-sign Nomar as well, but my focus and energies would be making Giles an offer which he'd quickly sign so I could move on to my other priorities.

How about Rickey then? :D Player/ Coach? With Dusty's love of the aged, he'd start over Murton.

And they will spank the Cardinals! :D 8) I'm just hoping they can get by the Astros for now. Even though I'm seven hours away, the Braves are my hope for being able to attend a WS game this year. No roadtrip to MMP? From my information, those tickets have all been pre-sold to season ticket holders and those who bought packages, etc.

Renteria got that deal with three big money teams (Red Sox, Cubs & Angels) shopping for a SS (though the Cubs had another target) and another mid-market team (Cardinals) bidding for him. I'm not sure that level of interest will be there for Furcal.

Very good then. Then, personally I don't have a problem with your stance on McGwire. My problem comes when people allow fan bias to be something that goes beyond baseball. I'm not the biggest of hecklers, but I will do my share. On the other hand, I'm quite open about why I do it and that my cheering of or dislike of other players usually is tied to my fan bias. I'd never say I hate McGwire for steroids unless I'm willing to make the same statement against Sosa or others. But to show the reverse of my point: I was in St. Louis two summers ago and not during the Cubs-Cardinals series. I went to a Marlins-Cardinals game and during the game I had a conversation with a guy who learned I was a Cub fan. He seemed friendly enough and we talked for a good portion of the game. He told me that he "hated" Sosa and loved to heckle him when the Cards played the Cubs, but not because he was a Cub, but because you just knew he did steroids...yada yada yada. After he finished his rant on the game in general and Sosa's sins in particular, I responded with then you must feel the same way about McGwire. At first I got a blank stare...then a changing of the subject...and then later about how McGwire was "different" from Sosa. That is the epitome of fan bias. I'd have no problem if he said I "hate" Sosa because he's a Cub, but to tie the other to it when looking the other way about one of your own, is ignorant fan bias in a nutshell. Does it exist on all sides of the fence? Yes.

How about Rickey then? :D

And Vince also could throw some firecrackers at the fans if they get out of hand as well.

And they will spank the Cardinals! :D 8) I'm just hoping they can get by the Astros for now. Even though I'm seven hours away, the Braves are my hope for being able to attend a WS game this year.

Can I assume, then, by your statements that if you attended Cubs-Cardinal games in previous years that you made no judgements toward Sosa as well, and limited your heckling or opinions of him to the fact he was a Cub and no different than you would have heckled or expressed opinion of any Cub superstar player? I conclude this sense you say you don't have time to "judge" on issues as trivial as baseball.

Excellent break down of the possible targets, O_O. On the other hand, I think the biggest obstacle for obtaining Abreu would be the other teams that could show interest. What teams could afford the contract and yet offer better players to get him? Also, are there teams willing to take on Thome to get him? Surely we could take on Thome, but then would need to find a third team to spin him to. I don't think the Cubs could entertain such a deal until the third team was found. To spin Thome, the Cubs likely have to either take back someone else's problem or give up even more prospects. Abreu would be nice, but I think the Phillies could find even better trading partners were they inclined to move him. I imagine the Mets would love to offer Cameron, Diaz, and another prospect for him. Cameron could patrol CF for Philly and Diaz could play in right. While there may be reluctance to do an intra-division trade, that looks like a better package than the Cubs could offer depending on the prospect. My guess is the Orioles could afford to add both the Abreu and Thome contracts. I'm not sure what players would be offered, but taking both of those troublesome contracts might garner interest. Could the Rangers accept both contracts while sending Nix and Mench to Philly? While it seems ridiculous that the Rangers would seek offense at the expense of pitching, it might be something they would look at. I just think there could be too many teams that could help the Phillies more than the Cubs for an Abreu deal to be a legitimate possibility for the Cubs. If he's available, the Cubs should try to do whatever they can to get him, I just don't see this as anything that will ever become immenient.

I definitely think Furcal will cost upwards of 8 million. The Braves likely would try to retain him in the 6-6.5/7 million range. Even teams without a glaring need at SS might give him a look if he is affordable. I could see the Dodgers looking at him if the price is right as well. I think if you're willing to offer 4-5 years at 8.5, you'll get him. I'm not sure if the Cubs go that high, but it seems, rightly or wrongly, that he is the main target of the Cubs this offseason. I'd prefer that target to be Giles with Furcal as a second or third goal, but my guess is Hendry makes him his prime target. For those that think Furcal is what we need, that should be encouraging. It has appeared to me that Hendry has usually gotten his prime targets. In 2002 that was Remlinger, in 2003 that was Hawkins, and last year it seemed he targeted to re-sign Nomar. While none of those were the big fish at the time, I never felt the Cubs were targeting the big fish. (Though a lot of rumors persisted in two of those years over Pudge.) If Furcal is Hendry's prime target, I suspect he'll be wearing Cubbie blue next season.

The Braves have a very solid, consistient fan base, but for some reason have a hard time selling to the casual fan. The Braves will always sell around 25,000-35,000 tickets to every game, but rarely have sell-outs even on the big games. When I've attended Braves-Cubs games, I always mett Braves fans that are scattered all over the deep South. My guess is a lot of Brave fans aren't in Atlanta which likely makes attending the playoff games difficult. F Finally, I'm sure 14 trips to the playoffs with only one WS title has jaded them somewhat. I'm sure that if the Braves advance, you'll see sell-outs for the LCS and WS games. My guess is that a lot of casual Brave fans just don't get worked up for the LDS.

Thanks for the information you provided here, Bo. Good luck on your new job.