YearofDaCubs

We should all be nervous, this is the last move we need right now. Signing an unproven mediocre player to a bloated contract. Hendry never learns. He still loves his 2B. Did he not learn anything from last year's 2B debacle? You don't pay a utility man over 4mil, he will be starting somewhere.

From Rotoworld: The Cubs and Mark DeRosa have agreed to terms on a three-year deal worth about $13 million, ESPN's Buster Olney reports. It's way too much of a commitment to someone who only figures to be an asset against left-handers. A platoon of Jacque Jones and DeRosa in right field would be very productive, but the Cubs are probably going to give DeRosa a chance to be their primary second baseman. DeRosa turns 32 in February and is a career .260/.316/.366 hitter against righties (to put that in perspective, Neifi Perez is a career .268/.298/.376 hitter). Versus lefties, he has an impressive .306/.367/.497 line. Nov. 14 - 4:17 pm et

This is a bs move. This just tells me that Hendry is still out looking to sign overpaid mediocre players to fill out a position, why? I would rather have Theriot out there and put that 4mil towards a pitcher and Drew. If you are looking to upgrade at 2B go after Lugo or Giles. This is a ridiculous move, another overinflated contract to a mediocre player.

Same ol Hendry... Jeez what a terrible move.

I don't like this move. I would rather have Giles or Lugo myself. A guy has one good year signs a contract and is a bust the next 3. I don't like this one bit.

and rightfully so.

Every time I hear that quote I imagine 8 Neifis about to bat in the lineup.

i dont really get the cedneo theriot comparisions. cedeno had 80 ab's in 2005 and ended up with a .731 ops. ryan had 134 ab's in 2006 and ended up with a .934 ops. theriot is 27 and has had some success in the minors hitting .304 twice and has had 3 season with obp above .360. he doesnt strike out, is above average on defense, steals bases and runs well, gets the bunt down and moves guys over. the instincts and fundamentals that theroit showed in his short time in the bigs far surpass anything i've seen from cedeno. i know it's human nature not to want to get burned again by getting our hopes too high and that ryan most likely wont see a .900+ ops in the majors but i dont think .280 with a .750 ops and 40 sb's is out of the question. that is a vast improvement over the .610 ronny put up last year. They aren't great comparisons for players. But there is a comparison for how the Cubs need to handle the situation. That is, there is nothing wrong with going with either player to start the season, but you have to build a team that can withstand them not doing anything at the plate. You don't know what Theriot will be able to do, and we didn't know what Cedeno was able to do. You can take a risk with such a cheap player, but you have to use the money saved to buy some guaranteed production elsewhere. You can't go into a season with a mediocre OF and risk getting nothing out of a middle infielder. I agree with that, and I know Theriot had more ABs than Cedeno, but it's still only 130-ish ABs. But I also agree we just might not be able to make that choice. It might be our best option to shore up the lineup elsewhere, or get solid bench help who could come in if necessary, and then just give Theriot the shot. I have no problems letting Cedeno and Theriot compete for a starting role if it means we end up with Drew or another difference maker. I also really would hate to see Izturis in a starting role with this team. To me, he is useless and should be traded. my guess is that ronny gets traded or sent back to iowa. his pathetic .184 ba in winter ball hasnt done much to increase his chances imo. Wow, I didn't even know he was doing that bad.

i dont really get the cedneo theriot comparisions. cedeno had 80 ab's in 2005 and ended up with a .731 ops. ryan had 134 ab's in 2006 and ended up with a .934 ops. theriot is 27 and has had some success in the minors hitting .304 twice and has had 3 season with obp above .360. he doesnt strike out, is above average on defense, steals bases and runs well, gets the bunt down and moves guys over. the instincts and fundamentals that theroit showed in his short time in the bigs far surpass anything i've seen from cedeno. i know it's human nature not to want to get burned again by getting our hopes too high and that ryan most likely wont see a .900+ ops in the majors but i dont think .280 with a .750 ops and 40 sb's is out of the question. that is a vast improvement over the .610 ronny put up last year. They aren't great comparisons for players. But there is a comparison for how the Cubs need to handle the situation. That is, there is nothing wrong with going with either player to start the season, but you have to build a team that can withstand them not doing anything at the plate. You don't know what Theriot will be able to do, and we didn't know what Cedeno was able to do. You can take a risk with such a cheap player, but you have to use the money saved to buy some guaranteed production elsewhere. You can't go into a season with a mediocre OF and risk getting nothing out of a middle infielder. I agree with that, and I know Theriot had more ABs than Cedeno, but it's still only 130-ish ABs. But I also agree we just might not be able to make that choice. It might be our best option to shore up the lineup elsewhere, or get solid bench help who could come in if necessary, and then just give Theriot the shot. I have no problems letting Cedeno and Theriot compete for a starting role if it means we end up with Drew or another difference maker. I also really would hate to see Izturis in a starting role with this team. To me, he is useless and should be traded.

Doesn't Hudson's ERA from last year scare you though? 4.86

Lilly: 32GS 15W 13L 181IP 28HR 81BB 160K 4.31ERA 1.43WHIP .254AVG Padilla: 33GS 15W 10L 200IP 21HR 70BB 156K 4.50ERA 1.38WHIP .266AVG I've wanted Lilly over Padilla but their numbers are really similar. Personally, I don't think either of them deserve a 10mil per contract.

I was just thinking about that. I doubt they would risk it early on, but if we're contending towards the end of the year and one of our starters goes down, having Wood on the team could be huge. I was also thinking about how much talent we're going to have with our pitchers. I dont know how much quality we'll get, but we have pitchers that have put up these types of numbers: Prior: 18-6 2.43 Zambrano: 16-8 2.75 Wood: 14-11 3.20 Miller: 15-4 3.28 and think if we add Zito: 23-5 2.75 I'm going to pretend that they'll all put up those numbers next year, nobody tell me otherwise. Prior is going to be the biggest key to any World Series hope next year. It's November and the annual "If Prior is back by May...." talk has already started. Get a journeyman replacement *NOW*, Jim. Don't wait to see if Marky Mark will play. March will roll around and all your options will be gone, just like last year. Besides----we could use a halfway-decent mid-level starter in any event. Agreed. There should be absolutely no reason for us or Hendry to count on Prior in any way.

I would like to see Giles or Lugo and have Murton bat 2nd.

So much for the offense, we're just sorry right now.

We got jobbed by the refs. We better come up with a better offensive game plan after halftime or else we're done for. Terrible playcalling.

However you cannot argue, we have started this offseason on a high note. Improved manager and coaching staff. A much improved hitting coach, and got some good deals on Miller, Wood, and Ram. Now it's time to bring in the new guys. Agreed.

Getting Drew would be so huge for us. Let's hope this is true.

Drew, Lugo or Giles, Schmidt(2-3year deal) and Lilly.

It's incentive laden so it isn't bad. I remember the days when Wood was my favorite pitcher, ah the good ol days. Time to move Dempster if possible.

Now that ARam has signed, please give me at least Drew, Giles or Lugo and another top SP please. (I would prefer Schmidt if not I would take Lilly over Padilla) 2B Giles or Lugo LF Murton 1B Lee CF Drew 3B ARam C Barrett RF Jacque SS Theriot PITCHER I think that lineup is VERY solid IMO. Pitching wise.. Schmidt would be a good pickup if he would do 3 years. Lilly would be a nice addition IMO. Z, Schmidt, Hill, Lilly, Miller. I don't know if we have enough money to make all these moves but if we want to win this is what we would have to be looking at..

Sweet!! I feel much much happier now. Sorry for talking smack Hendry but you still have a long ways to go..

Agreed. There is a part of me that says enough is enough.

As I've said before keeping Hendry as GM was a HUGE mistake. ARam is as good as gone now and I really can't believe Hendry didn't make signing ARam a number 1 priority. If Hendry couldn't sign ARam to a contract how is he going to sign the other top free agents? He won't because he's always looking for a deal and we all know how much he loves to sign mediocre players to fill out the roster. Without ARam I don't see how the Cubs will be able to have any type of offense. At this point forget about winning this year because it's not going to happen. Trade Z, Lee and everyone else on the roster who has trade value and blow this thing up. This is just terrible.

time to fire Hendry and blow this team up...

According to Rotoworld there have been more sources now confirming that the Red Sox won the bid for Matsuzuka. Numerous baseball sources told the Providence Journal that an ESPN.com report saying the Red Sox had tendered the highest offer -- between $38 million and $45 million -- for Daisuke Matsuzaka was probably accurate. They're still only rumors, but it really is appearing more likely that the Red Sox won the bidding. The Boston Herald says that, at the moment, all signs point to the Red Sox being the high bidder, adding that the club believes it can reclaim much of the investment by extending its baseball and marketing efforts into Japan.