RyCubsFan

It really does seem like Soriano is THE target. I hope the Cubs get him. If we don't, I hope that Soriano signs before Drew does. If the Cubs are not able to sign Soriano, I suspect their interest would turn toward Drew.

That seems more like something I'd rather do. Although I'd imagine they'd have no desire for a 3B. They have Atkins there already and have Ian Stewart coming up. I think Pie would have to be included. How about Pie, JJ, and a prospect for Jennings and Hawpe? As I said, I do not include Pie in a trade for Jennings. Jennings is not worth Pie.

No way is Jennings worth trading Pie for... I'd give them Marshall and Moore.

I'd much rather have Murton than Michaels. He brings a lot more slugging to the table and I suspect his OBP will also be higher than Michael's next year as well (like it was this year). P.S. Matt's my favorite player as well.

I'd prefer to keep Ohman and trade Eyre. Simple economics.

Zito isnt great, but he's still much better than any of the 2nd tier alternatives. His career ERA is almost a full point better than the Batistas, Meches, Padillas, and Lillies. Zito and Schmidt are the only FA pitchers that would significantly upgrade our pitching staff. I think trading for Hudson might be a gamble worth taking. I'd also take a look at Igawa and look at a trade for Heilman before going for any of the 2nd Tier FA's. Good post. What about some of the White Sox hurlers? I understand that the Sox really need bullpen help. What about trading Eyre and Wuertz for Vasquez, Garcia, or Buehrle?

I don't think it makes any sense to sell Prior so low. Ya gotta sell high. Trading Prior right now would be useless.

I'm not worried about money or years. Just get it done. Same. I'm thinking 6 years, 102 million.

Taguchi was a career .277/.333/.387 hitter in Japan -- Shinjo, .254/.305/.432. Those numbers are far from good. What other players from Japan are you talking about? What about Kaz Matsui? What about Ichiro, Hideki Matsui, Iguchi and Johjima? Outside of Kazuo, all Japanese hitters that produced at -- or above -- Iwamura's level in Japan have had success in MLB. Oh, please don't get me wrong....I'm not making the point that Japanese players aren't often successful here. I would LOVE for the Cubs to become a player in the Japanese market. We do however want to make sure we bid on the guys who are most likely to have success here. I was all for the Cubs bidding on Ichiro and Godzilla, as I was for them bidding on Kazuo. Kaz's struggles have given me some pause, however, as to bidding on players. It takes careful scouting and statistical analysis to make the best determination of whether a player will be successful or not.

Taguchi was a career .277/.333/.387 hitter in Japan -- Shinjo, .254/.305/.432. Those numbers are far from good. What other players from Japan are you talking about? What about Kaz Matsui? Kaz was constantly hurt when he got here. Do injuries completely discount the nearly 1,000 AB he has had? In those at bats, he has shown very little power. While Japan surely is higher caliber than Triple A, it is not the major leagues. After all, Julio Zuleta put up over 40 homers in Japan. Like some players knock around Triple A and also succeed in the Majors, so too will some players from Japan (i.e. Ichiro, Hideki, and even Cecil Fielder). But also like some do well in Triple A, but fail in the majors, the same will be true from Japan. For this reason, it's a risk to sign a Japanese player (just as it is to play a young player). I'm more comfortable bidding on Japanese position players that show good plate discipline and the ability to make contact, than those that do not. While Iwamura could ultimately be very successful here, his k's are a red flag for me. 173k's in Japan against pitchers generally inferior to pitchers here is a cause for concern. Signing him would be a risk. (Though I do note his k numbers have decreased over the last 2 yrs.) ...then again, playing Theriot or EPatt would be a risk as well...or signing the oft injurred Durham...or trading for the maybe-on-the-decline Giles or Vidro. All risks. I guess that's why Hendry gets paid the big bucks.

Taguchi was a career .277/.333/.387 hitter in Japan -- Shinjo, .254/.305/.432. Those numbers are far from good. What other players from Japan are you talking about? What about Kaz Matsui?

I have no problem with that whatsoever. Its actually a smart move. He's going to be exiting his prime having played his entire career at a position that takes a major physical toll on teh player (see Scott Rolen, for example). I think you might misunderstand...as reported, it is not an out clause for the Cubs...it is for Ramirez. In theory, Ramirez would only excercise it if he could once again capitalize financially by locking up more years at the time. It would not be smart of Ramirez to excercise the option if he was hurting.

I'm for Nomar.

Ugh. This does suck. Can't sit around though. Hendry should go out and sign Drew for CF and Nomar for 3B immediately. The two of them might end up costing the same amount as Aram. He also needs to make a pitch for Soriano and Schmidt or Zito. He has the money to spend. He just needs to get it done. This would look like a pretty good lineup: LF Murton 3B Nomar 1B Lee CF Drew 2B Soriano RF Jones C Barrett SS Izturis SP: Zambrano, Schmidt, Hill, Prior, Miller (Guzman, Marshall, FA)

I wouldn't be surprised to see Padilla get close to that amount. It's a weak class for FA pitching.

Pierre a "bargain" at 7 million? Ummmmmm...

Of course they are a day ahead (our Thursday is their Friday) so maybe we'll hear something this evening. One can only hope...... Well, it's about midnight in Japan right now. If their board meets in the morning, they could conceivably let MLB know by noon their time...or about midnight here tonight. Then Selig would have to call the winning team, Boras, etc etc. This probably wouldn't be announced at a Press Conference until tomorrow morning. And this is if and only if Seibu's board meets in the morning. In other words, I don't think we'll hear until tomorrow morning at the earliest.

Well the Commissioner knows by now. Seibu will find out shortly, if they don't know already.... .....we w a a a i i i t t t t

I'm all about him opting out. Would be sweet revenge for the Dodgers stealing Furcal from us at the last moment.

Drama. After the election suspense last night, I'm not sure how much more suspense I can take!!! I don't buy what the Score reports. I do think, however, that the Cubs are very much in this thing. It's the perfect way for Jim Hendry to quickly turn the attention OFF of the Cubs miserable year. He has the money. And his feet are to the fire to spend it. We shall see.

TWO hours to the deadline. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Good news!

Yanks, Mets, Red Sox, Rangers, Cubs, Padres, and Diamondbacks These are the teams, barring any surprises (aka Tigers). One rumor out of NYC I hear is that the Mets would prefer to trade for Willis. They could center the deal on Milledge. We haven't heard much out of the Red Sox.... I'll be suprised if Arizona or SD has enough money. And I can see Boras telling Texas to back off... Here's how I see the probability of the teams getting him:\ 1. Yankees 2. Cubs 3. Red Sox 4. Mets 5. Rangers 6. Diamondbacks 7. Everyone else. Go Cubbies!!!!!!!!!!!

The Cubs really need pitching, so I hope this isn't the case. 21 mil + Arod's salary is a HUGE number to pay for Arod. That money would be best spent spread around more. Matsuka + Soriano > Arod. Plus, what a cool 1-2 punch: Fear the Zambrano / Matusuaka combo!

i guess that's the difference. it kinda feels like the player gets screwed in all of this, but i guess it's similar to being traded, and i have no problem with that. And like Sheffied is making clear he will only play nice if traded to a handful of teams, it appears that Boras has quietly told the teams that Matsuzaka does not want to play for to back off. If that is true, than Matsuzaka is doing alright.