Lack of moves update
The MLB offseason is going to officially kick off, on Sunday, or, more likely Monday, since nobody really does anything on Sundays. But that gives teams until Saturday night to make offers to retain free agents or let them talk to other teams and push their price tag much, much higher. So, being so close to Sunday, I thought I'd just give a little update on rumors that I've heard, and, again, I may feel free to swirl my own rumors about. Damnit, I should stop saying I'm going to make things up at the beginning of this.
Lou Piniella wants to keep Aramis. This is terrific news, because it means that Piniella is not retarded. However, he may have to deal with the fact that Jim Hendry may be. Also, Piniella probably realizes that it makes no sense to let go of someone you already have when the market is thin, he says he wants to stay, and you give up nothing but maybe $4 million more to keep him.
Piniella also reportedly wants Jason Schmidt and Gary Sheffield. Most likely, I understand both of these. Sheffield is a results kind of guy, and maybe Piniella isn't worried about him being the clubhouse cancer that he almost definitely would be. Piniella isn't too much of a fan of young guys. Schmidt is also a proven veteran, but it sounds like he is going to want a 4 year deal. If Schmidt wasn't so old, I'd probably be ok with it, because he most likely won't require Barry Zito money. But, I'm pretty sure doctors are telling Schmidt his arm will fall off in 2.5 years, so what do we do with that last $15 million(ish) he's owed?
Cubs reportedly also want Dave Roberts leading off in cf. This I am not against, as Roberts was a terror in the playoffs, and he's fairly old but not too old, and not ridiculously bad at getting on base. Also, he walks almost 10% of the time, as opposed to 2% (or less) from Pierre. Roberts probably has a weak arm, but, I would consider him a solid replacement for Pierre, probably cheaper.
Finally, there's a rumor floating that Carlos Lee wants to play on the North Side. Maybe it's because he hits roughly .800 when he plays there. This would be great, because, obviously, he's going to hit. He's always hit at Wrigley. Unfortunately, he's pretty much a wooden post in the field (in that he can't move. He's kind of tubby). Also, he's only a left-fielder. So if you get him, do you move Murton? I guess perhaps, if you also get Sheff (who plays right), and you get something else in return also. Like a shortstop.
Mainly, I'm ok with these moves. I'd like to see Vernon Wells in cf for us. I heard he would only accept trades to the North Side or Oakland. And nobody wants to play in Oakland. Plus they have Mark Kotsay. If we got Wells, we wouldn't need a Sheffield in right, or we wouldn't need a Lee in left. One or the other. I'm all for getting Lee and moving Murton to right.
Second, I would rather get Barry Zito. His numbers aren't as good as they used to be, and he's probably going to be ridiculously overpriced, but lefties are at a premium. Imagine if we had Rich Hill and Zito in our rotation, in addition to Zambrano. Solid rotation.
Oh, one more rumor, Miguel Batista may come back to the Cubs to be the fifth starter. He's not a terrible pitcher, and he keeps balls in the infield a lot, so assuming it doesn't cost too much, I'm for this move. He just better not suck, or want a deal for more than one year.
Finally, it appears as though the Cubs may have actually made a good coaching move by bringing in Gerald Perry as their hitting coach. Surprisingly, Perry actually seems like a good choice. He was hitting coach in Seattle with Piniella, and he was hitting coach for the A's last year (who didn't have great average, but their OBP was decent). It seems as though he may be an advocate of the 'Don't-strike-out-all-the-time' philosophy, where hitters occasionally take pitches. Crazy indeed.
Lou Piniella wants to keep Aramis. This is terrific news, because it means that Piniella is not retarded. However, he may have to deal with the fact that Jim Hendry may be. Also, Piniella probably realizes that it makes no sense to let go of someone you already have when the market is thin, he says he wants to stay, and you give up nothing but maybe $4 million more to keep him.
Piniella also reportedly wants Jason Schmidt and Gary Sheffield. Most likely, I understand both of these. Sheffield is a results kind of guy, and maybe Piniella isn't worried about him being the clubhouse cancer that he almost definitely would be. Piniella isn't too much of a fan of young guys. Schmidt is also a proven veteran, but it sounds like he is going to want a 4 year deal. If Schmidt wasn't so old, I'd probably be ok with it, because he most likely won't require Barry Zito money. But, I'm pretty sure doctors are telling Schmidt his arm will fall off in 2.5 years, so what do we do with that last $15 million(ish) he's owed?
Cubs reportedly also want Dave Roberts leading off in cf. This I am not against, as Roberts was a terror in the playoffs, and he's fairly old but not too old, and not ridiculously bad at getting on base. Also, he walks almost 10% of the time, as opposed to 2% (or less) from Pierre. Roberts probably has a weak arm, but, I would consider him a solid replacement for Pierre, probably cheaper.
Finally, there's a rumor floating that Carlos Lee wants to play on the North Side. Maybe it's because he hits roughly .800 when he plays there. This would be great, because, obviously, he's going to hit. He's always hit at Wrigley. Unfortunately, he's pretty much a wooden post in the field (in that he can't move. He's kind of tubby). Also, he's only a left-fielder. So if you get him, do you move Murton? I guess perhaps, if you also get Sheff (who plays right), and you get something else in return also. Like a shortstop.
Mainly, I'm ok with these moves. I'd like to see Vernon Wells in cf for us. I heard he would only accept trades to the North Side or Oakland. And nobody wants to play in Oakland. Plus they have Mark Kotsay. If we got Wells, we wouldn't need a Sheffield in right, or we wouldn't need a Lee in left. One or the other. I'm all for getting Lee and moving Murton to right.
Second, I would rather get Barry Zito. His numbers aren't as good as they used to be, and he's probably going to be ridiculously overpriced, but lefties are at a premium. Imagine if we had Rich Hill and Zito in our rotation, in addition to Zambrano. Solid rotation.
Oh, one more rumor, Miguel Batista may come back to the Cubs to be the fifth starter. He's not a terrible pitcher, and he keeps balls in the infield a lot, so assuming it doesn't cost too much, I'm for this move. He just better not suck, or want a deal for more than one year.
Finally, it appears as though the Cubs may have actually made a good coaching move by bringing in Gerald Perry as their hitting coach. Surprisingly, Perry actually seems like a good choice. He was hitting coach in Seattle with Piniella, and he was hitting coach for the A's last year (who didn't have great average, but their OBP was decent). It seems as though he may be an advocate of the 'Don't-strike-out-all-the-time' philosophy, where hitters occasionally take pitches. Crazy indeed.
posted by Jtrouble at 1:31 PM
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