2008-2009 Cubs Offseason Thread

Slip7 · Post #441 » by **Slip7** » Sun Jan 4, 2009 11:41 pm

with the bulls sucking so bad, im kinda getting excited for the cubs again

Post #442 » by **GYBE** » Mon Jan 5, 2009 4:18 am

ChronicKerr wrote:He was one of the more valuable players last year, but, "one of those evaluators" is incorrect in saying he may have been the "best player".

No doubt. Soto was a better hitter and plays a MUCH more valuable position. In addition he was one of the best defensive catchers in baseball and handled the pitching staff beautifully. He was our best position player last year. I'd put A-Ram second, and DeRosa third.

Of course, if we're allowed to pick pitchers, Harden, Dempster and Marmol were all better as well.

The Sheik · Post #443 » by **The Sheik** » Mon Jan 5, 2009 4:38 am

So I havent heard much about the Bako pick up.

Thoughts?

Ive never been a big fan, but he signed for real cheap.

Im still looking for that "professional hitter". If we intend to have Hoffpauir as the big bat off the bench we have another thing coming.

IbreakNeckZ101 · Post #444 » by **IbreakNeckZ101** » Mon Jan 5, 2009 4:49 am

Haven't been here for awhile and let me say my take on what's going on..

First of all let's be real.. Milton Bradley will not put those #'s up if we sign him.. he was playing DH for pete sakes.. look what that did to Sammy Sosa. And let's be even more realistic.. do you honestly think after seeing back to back playoff sweeps with the same damn team that this year is going to be any different. If anything i would focus this off season on straight rebuilding instead of giving away our prospects.. Absolutely do not give up on Vitters that's a no-no.. i don't want to be stuck with Ramirez the disappearer when it comes to the heat of things... Soriano Lee and Ramirez.. as long as we have these chokers... you can say SWEPT!!

Posey H8er · Post #445 » by **Posey H8er** » Mon Jan 5, 2009 5:30 am

The Sheik wrote:So I havent heard much about the Bako pick up.

Thoughts?

Ive never been a big fan, but he signed for real cheap.

Im still looking for that "professional hitter". If we intend to have Hoffpauir as the big bat off the bench we have another thing coming.

Bako is a small upgrade over Koyie Hill who would probably have been Soto's backup.

Hoffpauir will be Daryle Ward's replacement, and he should do better than Ward's terrible season last year.

hermes · Post #446 » by **hermes** » Mon Jan 5, 2009 6:17 am

are we not bringing edmonds back?

The Sheik · Post #447 » by **The Sheik** » Mon Jan 5, 2009 6:56 am

hermes wrote:are we not bringing edmonds back?

That Lakers success is getting your head cuz...Jimmys been out of the picture for awhile.

hermes · Post #448 » by **hermes** » Mon Jan 5, 2009 5:11 pm

well i find a lot gets past me

and now that the vikes have gone down, the lakers are all i have

SportsWorld · Post #449 » by **SportsWorld** » Mon Jan 5, 2009 5:27 pm

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... 548&spln=1

The St. Petersburg Times reports that Milton Bradley is expected to sign with the Cubs this week.
According to the newspaper, Bradley going off the market could lead to the Rays moving on to Jason Giambi, Pat Burrell or Bobby Abreu. Along with Chicago and Tampa Bay, Washington has also been linked to Bradley. The Cubs cleared payroll space last week in an effort to sign Bradley and he may end up getting something along the lines of $30 million over three years.

Posey H8er · Post #450 » by **Posey H8er** » Mon Jan 5, 2009 5:54 pm

I hope Bradley's contract is fairly low with a bunch of performance incentives included.

SportsWorld · Post #451 » by **SportsWorld** » Mon Jan 5, 2009 11:02 pm

http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/1187

Also, expect the Cubs to announce Tuesday the long-awaited trade of pitcher Jason Marquis to the Colorado Rockies for reliever Luis Vizcaino.

ChronicKerr · Post #452 » by **ChronicKerr** » Tue Jan 6, 2009 3:56 am

Kaplan (Fox guy?) said on 720 AM tonight he thinks the Cubs chances of getting Peavy are around 10% right now.

The Sheik · Post #453 » by **The Sheik** » Tue Jan 6, 2009 5:33 am

What did you expect. Hendry said no the first time and it makes no sense that he needed to first trade players X & Y to acquire player Z. There are no consequences for getting Peavy first and trading players later. Basically we chose 1 low B and 2 C prospects (maybe) for Derosa over Peavy.

Now you tell me. Do you want 3 prospects, who with the Cubs track record will probably bust. Or do you want the 2nd best pitcher in the NL?

Jimbo chose the first.

What about clearing salary and adding depth? Nope we will get Bako, Miles and Rich Aurilla. Let Wood walk and give up our 3rd best prospect for a downgrade in Gregg. We need a lefty specialist..instead we hope that Cotts figures it out.

If Jim doesnt get Peavy or add another position player or reliable bull pen arm to this team before the spring this off-season is a big fat fail. Sure we will likely win the division, but we wont do sh^+ in the playoffs.

Post #454 » by **GYBE** » Tue Jan 6, 2009 6:00 am

I'm finding it hard to get too upset over the moves this offseason. The only real indefensible one was the Ceda trade.

It's almost a foregone conclusion that we'll repeat as division champs. There are no serious contenders anymore now that the Brewers are falling back into their usual mediocrity. And really, the playoffs are so random that no one can really tell what's going to happen. If the best teams came out, we would've gone to the World Series last year.

We'll be one of the top NL teams for the foreseeable future with our core and resources. All we can do is hope the bounces go our way in October at some point.

SportsWorld · Post #455 » by **SportsWorld** » Tue Jan 6, 2009 6:04 am

Every team in the NL Central has gotten worse or has stayed the same this offseason. Astros sign Mike Hampton and Aaron Boone but are probably going to lose Ty Wiggington. Brewers lose CC and probably Ben Sheets and they still lack a bullpen. The Cardinals gained Greene but they still have problems with their bullpen. The Pirates are the Pirates. The Reds could be our biggest competition next year with all the young talent they have but I doubt they do much. I'm probably missing some moves too but these are the ones I could remember off the top of my head.

I'm more confident about this season than I was for the past two because we're most likely heading to the playoffs for the 3rd time in a row and something has to eventually give. This team is too good to get shutout 3 years in a row. Not saying we are going to win it all this year or anything but I think we could do some damage in the playoffs this year.

The Sheik · Post #456 » by **The Sheik** » Tue Jan 6, 2009 10:23 pm

So...

Soriano
Fontenot
Armais
Bradley
Lee
Soto
RJ
Riot

Bench:

Hoffpauir, Miles, Bako, Gathright, Fukudome

Zambrano
Dempster
Lilly
Harden
Marshall

Marmol
Gregg
Samardijza
Cotts
Gaudin

2 spots open for the following:

Wuertz, Vizcaino, Guzman, Hart, Ascanio, Wells

If Bradley or Soriano goes down we are going back to the Fukudome experiment.

ChronicKerr · Post #457 » by **ChronicKerr** » Tue Jan 6, 2009 10:27 pm

Fukudome is the starting CF and will play more than Reed (against righties).

The Sheik · Post #458 » by **The Sheik** » Tue Jan 6, 2009 10:29 pm

ChronicKerr wrote:Fukudome is the starting CF and will play more than Reed (against righties).

right...just like Felix Pie was the starting CF and was gonna be given a fair shake. Fukudome might likely start, but Reed will take over...just like he did for Pie.

ChronicKerr · Post #459 » by **ChronicKerr** » Tue Jan 6, 2009 10:31 pm

except that fukudome is making loads of cash for the next few years where pie was making nothing. He will be given another shot but I agree if he stinks it up it will be more of a committee

SportsWorld · Post #460 » by **SportsWorld** » Wed Jan 7, 2009 5:35 am

Cubs still have room for one more starting pitcher
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ba ... 5669.story

With Jason Marquis officially traded, the Cubs' new fifth starter will be … Candidate X.

Even with four or five young players who might step into that role, general manager Jim Hendry said Tuesday "hopefully, we'll add another pitcher before Opening Day."

That certainly will not help quell any Jake Peavy rumors that are likely to pop up again, especially now that the Cubs have more young depth in position players and potential starting pitchers.

If the newcomer isn't Peavy, it could be a veteran free agent such as Derek Lowe or Andy Pettitte because the Cubs seem to be in a go-for-it-all mode after two early playoff eliminations. They also need some insurance for Rich Harden's on-and-off right arm.

"We're going to continue to look for pitching before we get to camp," Hendry said.