Cubs
I posted about the huge mistake that is the signing of Jason Marquis on Saturday, so I don't have a whole lot more to say about it. The deal is for $21 million over 3 years. The pitching market is so fucked up that even the terrible pitchers still on the market are going to be asking for that kind of money now. And most of them are not as terrible as Marquis. So I'm sure a lot of GM's are thanking Hendry for that one. The Cubs plan to release 'their own numbers' in regards to Marquis soon, hopefully to try to rationalize why they signed someone so bad to such a terrible deal. I'm not buying that though, if anything they will make up numbers. He's a 5th starter in our rotation! He shouldn't have gotten anything over $3 million! Ok, calm down, calm down.
In other news, because Kenny Lofton is close to signing with the Rangers, it appears as though the Cubs will look elsewhere to get their center fielder. Apparently they made a pretty strong push for Ryan Church but the Nationals must not have liked the offer. Hendry says he will not seek a long term player for center field, as it will be Felix Pie's in the future. This is a good idea, but there are going to be some dominant, proven players on the market next year. A player like Vernon Wells. I'm pretty sure we could put together a deal for Wells (including Pie) and about 10 pitchers, and Theriot and Izturis (Theriot being the only other of any value in that deal) for Wells.
This probably isn't too likely though. Some names being thrown around are Aaron Rowand, Steve Finley, Bernie Williams. I wouldn't mind Rowand, as he's a pretty solid defensive outfielder and we don't need a whole lot more than a .270 average out of him (and that's probably about all we'd get).
However, one intriguing name is Rocco Baldelli. The Devil Rays have been listening to offers for him all spring. He's had injuries previously, but he came back strong last year when he returned. He's solid both defensively and offensively, and he's fast. The problem comes in putting together a deal. He's only owed $900K next year, with options the following two seasons. Which makes him extremely attractive to bring in. But the Braves have reportedly offered three top prospects (the Cubs don't have 3 top prospects any more) and the Rays rejected the offer, so it doesn't seem too likely that he'll end up going anywhere, unless the exact deal they want is offered.
Piniella coached Baldelli in TB, so there's at least a history there. The DRays GM has a history of requesting way too much in return for his players, which is really a shame because with all the top prospects they've received, very few have turned into legitimate players. Their player development must really suck, and the Cubs development is only slightly worse.
So as of right now I don't think there's really a clear direction that the Cubs are leaning in for center field. There haven't really been any rumors about Jacque Jones, although on Friday I believe I read that the Orioles were now interested in him. They probably don't have much to trade, but if we could get a starter away from them, that would be pretty awesome. They've got some young starters who haven't proven much, but they now have a year with a good pitching coach, and hopefully Rothschild wouldn't destroy that foundation for a year or two.
Rumor is that if the Cubs get rid of Jacque Jones, they'll sign Cliff Floyd. Floyd is a left fielder, Soriano is in right, someone will go to center. But it won't be Murton. It looks as if the Cubs do not want Murton in the field every day. This is a great choice. I'd much rather have 2 left handed guys who don't field well and one of those (the one who would get the bulk of the playing time in left) is old, he's now injury prone, and he proved nothing last season. That's much better than a young guy who constantly works to improve and hit almost .300 last year.
Murton should not be platooned in left. This is a huge mistake, and I actually hope we trade him instead of platooning him because he deserves to play. And the Cubs are jackasses if they don't let him.
In other news, because Kenny Lofton is close to signing with the Rangers, it appears as though the Cubs will look elsewhere to get their center fielder. Apparently they made a pretty strong push for Ryan Church but the Nationals must not have liked the offer. Hendry says he will not seek a long term player for center field, as it will be Felix Pie's in the future. This is a good idea, but there are going to be some dominant, proven players on the market next year. A player like Vernon Wells. I'm pretty sure we could put together a deal for Wells (including Pie) and about 10 pitchers, and Theriot and Izturis (Theriot being the only other of any value in that deal) for Wells.
This probably isn't too likely though. Some names being thrown around are Aaron Rowand, Steve Finley, Bernie Williams. I wouldn't mind Rowand, as he's a pretty solid defensive outfielder and we don't need a whole lot more than a .270 average out of him (and that's probably about all we'd get).
However, one intriguing name is Rocco Baldelli. The Devil Rays have been listening to offers for him all spring. He's had injuries previously, but he came back strong last year when he returned. He's solid both defensively and offensively, and he's fast. The problem comes in putting together a deal. He's only owed $900K next year, with options the following two seasons. Which makes him extremely attractive to bring in. But the Braves have reportedly offered three top prospects (the Cubs don't have 3 top prospects any more) and the Rays rejected the offer, so it doesn't seem too likely that he'll end up going anywhere, unless the exact deal they want is offered.
Piniella coached Baldelli in TB, so there's at least a history there. The DRays GM has a history of requesting way too much in return for his players, which is really a shame because with all the top prospects they've received, very few have turned into legitimate players. Their player development must really suck, and the Cubs development is only slightly worse.
So as of right now I don't think there's really a clear direction that the Cubs are leaning in for center field. There haven't really been any rumors about Jacque Jones, although on Friday I believe I read that the Orioles were now interested in him. They probably don't have much to trade, but if we could get a starter away from them, that would be pretty awesome. They've got some young starters who haven't proven much, but they now have a year with a good pitching coach, and hopefully Rothschild wouldn't destroy that foundation for a year or two.
Rumor is that if the Cubs get rid of Jacque Jones, they'll sign Cliff Floyd. Floyd is a left fielder, Soriano is in right, someone will go to center. But it won't be Murton. It looks as if the Cubs do not want Murton in the field every day. This is a great choice. I'd much rather have 2 left handed guys who don't field well and one of those (the one who would get the bulk of the playing time in left) is old, he's now injury prone, and he proved nothing last season. That's much better than a young guy who constantly works to improve and hit almost .300 last year.
Murton should not be platooned in left. This is a huge mistake, and I actually hope we trade him instead of platooning him because he deserves to play. And the Cubs are jackasses if they don't let him.
Labels: cubs
posted by Jtrouble at 8:19 AM
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