So it begins
Yesterday the Cubs officially introduced Lou Piniella as manager of the Cubs. One of the better things about his contract, which is fairly ridiculous that it lasts longer than Hendry will (likely/hopefully) be in Chicago, was that part of Lou's requirements for coming on board were the promises of Hendry to go get some players. So let's look into some of the rumored players coming to Chicago.
The way I see, it, the Cubs have 2 outfield spots to fill, center and right. However, in the case of right field, you can get something in return. First up for center, the rumor is Alfonso Soriano. This would be great, because you get a surprisingly solid defender (although he'd have a learning curve in center), a leadoff hitter, and a 40/40 guy. So, slight drop off from 58 steals or whatever Pierre had? Yes, but also better OBP, more walks, more runs. So while he may not hit as well as Pierre for average, the OBP will still be there because he takes walks.
Next up, is of course the A-Rod rumor. Here is where it gets a little interesting. The Yankees earlier had been rumored to want Jacque Jones, so I say we include him if at all possible. Maybe we have to give up a Matt Murton, hopefully we could get rid of Izturis, and then maybe 2 pitching prospects, or Prior and a prospect. Or, hell, Wood and a prospect. Whatever, if we can bring him in without dealing anyone in our rotation next year (so far made of Zambrano and Hill) then we're solid. Also we don't want to give up Aramis. Along similar lines, I would say a similar trade would be required if we were to go after Miguel Tejada. Maybe switch out Jacque Jones for another pitching prospect. Similar also for Manny Ramirez.
Barry Zito is one of the top pitchers available in free agency. Probably the top, but I'm not sure who's available. One rumor says the Cubs will get a big name outfielder and two pitchers from free agency for the rotation. Dare I say one of those will be Jamie Moyer? But I digress. Zito will be pretty expensive, but if we can stack our rotation with lefties, I don't see what the problem is.
Finally, perhaps the most intriguing rumor I've heard is that Piniella would be interested in bringing in his two favorites from his Tampa days, Carl Crawford and Scott Kazmir. Now, if we could somehow work a trade to bring these two in it would be amazing. And, some of the guys we'd have to give up would bother me. But, come on, it would probably be worth it for 2, 3, or more years. So, some names I think may be included in deals with the Devil Rays: Scott Moore (if we bring back Aramis, as we no doubt should), maybe a Freddie Bynum (I'm sure we'd end up with somebody we didn't want back anyways, so why not try and get rid of him), maybe a Jacque Jones, possibly Felix Pie, and then a couple pitching prospects. Yes, we may have to give up the crown jewel of our system. But if you've got an outfield of Soriano, Crawford and Murton, you've easily replaced Jones and Pierre. Let's look at Crawford's numbers: .305, .348 OBP, 58 steals, 18 HR's. That alone is better than Pierre. But he can't play center because he doesn't like it. No problem, Jones is out.
In a world where I'm just out of my mind and have absolutely no concept of trade value, it would be amazing if we could pull a 3-team trade, and get Kazmir, Crawford, and A-Rod/Tejada in one fell swoop. And, Hendry has pulled trades out of his ass before (refer to Nomar and Murton for absolutely no one).
So it's exciting to see all of these rumors, and hopefully Hendry can make it happen. Regardless, even our options via free agency are good. So let's get this stupid World Series over so the Cubs can start making moves. Obviously I'm way too optimistic and I'm only setting myself up for disappointment.
The way I see, it, the Cubs have 2 outfield spots to fill, center and right. However, in the case of right field, you can get something in return. First up for center, the rumor is Alfonso Soriano. This would be great, because you get a surprisingly solid defender (although he'd have a learning curve in center), a leadoff hitter, and a 40/40 guy. So, slight drop off from 58 steals or whatever Pierre had? Yes, but also better OBP, more walks, more runs. So while he may not hit as well as Pierre for average, the OBP will still be there because he takes walks.
Next up, is of course the A-Rod rumor. Here is where it gets a little interesting. The Yankees earlier had been rumored to want Jacque Jones, so I say we include him if at all possible. Maybe we have to give up a Matt Murton, hopefully we could get rid of Izturis, and then maybe 2 pitching prospects, or Prior and a prospect. Or, hell, Wood and a prospect. Whatever, if we can bring him in without dealing anyone in our rotation next year (so far made of Zambrano and Hill) then we're solid. Also we don't want to give up Aramis. Along similar lines, I would say a similar trade would be required if we were to go after Miguel Tejada. Maybe switch out Jacque Jones for another pitching prospect. Similar also for Manny Ramirez.
Barry Zito is one of the top pitchers available in free agency. Probably the top, but I'm not sure who's available. One rumor says the Cubs will get a big name outfielder and two pitchers from free agency for the rotation. Dare I say one of those will be Jamie Moyer? But I digress. Zito will be pretty expensive, but if we can stack our rotation with lefties, I don't see what the problem is.
Finally, perhaps the most intriguing rumor I've heard is that Piniella would be interested in bringing in his two favorites from his Tampa days, Carl Crawford and Scott Kazmir. Now, if we could somehow work a trade to bring these two in it would be amazing. And, some of the guys we'd have to give up would bother me. But, come on, it would probably be worth it for 2, 3, or more years. So, some names I think may be included in deals with the Devil Rays: Scott Moore (if we bring back Aramis, as we no doubt should), maybe a Freddie Bynum (I'm sure we'd end up with somebody we didn't want back anyways, so why not try and get rid of him), maybe a Jacque Jones, possibly Felix Pie, and then a couple pitching prospects. Yes, we may have to give up the crown jewel of our system. But if you've got an outfield of Soriano, Crawford and Murton, you've easily replaced Jones and Pierre. Let's look at Crawford's numbers: .305, .348 OBP, 58 steals, 18 HR's. That alone is better than Pierre. But he can't play center because he doesn't like it. No problem, Jones is out.
In a world where I'm just out of my mind and have absolutely no concept of trade value, it would be amazing if we could pull a 3-team trade, and get Kazmir, Crawford, and A-Rod/Tejada in one fell swoop. And, Hendry has pulled trades out of his ass before (refer to Nomar and Murton for absolutely no one).
So it's exciting to see all of these rumors, and hopefully Hendry can make it happen. Regardless, even our options via free agency are good. So let's get this stupid World Series over so the Cubs can start making moves. Obviously I'm way too optimistic and I'm only setting myself up for disappointment.
posted by Jtrouble at 7:55 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home