2008-2009 Cubs Offseason Thread

[nykfan757]

1) The Cubs havent truly developed a position player that has been a better than average hitter (except Soto) in a VERY long time.

Mike Fontenot.

Fontenot was acquired in the trade for Sosa and was not originally drafted by the Cubs which doesnt meet the homegrown criteria to me unless he spent 4 or more years in your system.


Speaking of him...I thought that DeRosa trade had a lot more to do with Pinella wanting Fontenot's bat in the lineup everyday than is willing to be admitted.

[SportsWorld]

Isn't Ryan Theriot a homegrown player? I don't like him that much but he is at least an average hitter.

[GYBE]

Theriot was above-average last year, but I'm not confident he will be again this season. He was below-average in 2007.

I don't know why it would matter if Fontenot was drafted by the Cubs are not. He was an afterthought in the Sosa deal and only developed once in the Cubs system. The reason teams want multiple homegrown players so badly isn't so that they can say they drafted them. It's because it's really valuable to have players under team control for little money for their first few years in the majors. Because Fontenot broke into the big leagues late, we're going to have most of his prime years for well below market value.

The DeRosa trade was absolutely motivated by Fontenot's awesomeness, no doubt about that.

[SportsWorld]

http://www.npbtracker.com/2009/01/takah ... ubs-rumor/

Sports Hochi is reporting that the Cubs are close to a deal with lefthanded pitcher Ken Takahashi. According to Hochi it’s a one-year, major-league deal and the Cubs would look to him to start and pitch in middle relief. The article speculates that the Cubs are looking to bring in someone to support Kosuke Fukudome, but I don’t see the logic in signing another rookie. They might as well bring in Akinori Otsuka or someone that’s been through the league already. Ken Kadokura and Shigeki Noguchi auditioned for the Cubs last month as well.

He's 39 years old and went 8-5 last year with a 3.50 ERA. Scrub.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8ZCGv8Ef9k

[Posey H8er]

You mean to say there aren't any better Japanese players that would like to be signed by a Major league club?

He seems to have a lot of movement on his breaking pitches, but I don't know how good his control is. I'll pass.

[The Sheik]

give him a job on the staff, Why would you waste one of your roster spots on this guy?

[Posey H8er]

Didn't the Cubs fire Fukudome's translator? I think they did not get along. I'm not sure if there is a new replacement for him yet.

[hermes]

This is pure speculation on Rozner's part but hopefully it is true.

that bail-out money is burning a hole in his wallet

[SportsWorld]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd ... &fext=.jsp

The San Diego Padres have agreed to terms with pitcher Mark Prior and second baseman Chris Burke on minor league deals and have invited each to spring training.
If Prior pitches in the major leagues, he'll earn $1 million, and Burke -- who will go into spring training with a strong chance of winning the Padres' everyday job at second -- will earn $650,000.
Prior has not pitched in the major leagues since 2006 with the Chicago Cubs and only threw 43 2/3 innings that year due to a variety of injuries. He was sidelined for all of 2007 after having shoulder surgery.
The Padres signed him that offseason but he again suffered a shoulder injury and had season-ending surgery before throwing a pitch in the big leagues.
Burke has spent his entire five-year career with the Houston Astros. He is a career .241 hitter with 22 homers and 106 RBIs.

Why?

[The Sheik]

Ya Chris Burke is overrated.

[DanTown8587]

1) The Cubs havent truly developed a position player that has been a better than average hitter (except Soto) in a VERY long time. Vitters is, by all accounts, going to be the reason either Ramirez or Lee could become trade bait in two years. If the Cubs hit a home run with a homegrown hitter and would never realize his impact because they traded him away and got stuck with aging corner infielders, it would be a tough pill to swallow.

So what? The Cubs are a major market team. They can afford to not develop talent and instead acquire talent via FA or trade. This would be a problem if the team didn't have top hitters at 4 positions (C, 1B, 3B, LF) but since they do and they are set for a while, trade when you can.

2) The Cubs are truly in a position of strength in the Peavy deal. They simply dont need him. He is an absolute luxury at this point in the game. They have 4 borderline 1-2 starters already. Marshall is going to be a fine 3-4 at best and that's all that is needed. Plus he's a lefty. HE would also be included in these proposed deals, which the prospect of losing him AND Vitters as well as other possibly vital pieces in the system and the Cubs need to make sure that they not only remain contenders for a world series, but not absolutely demolish their future as well.

I understand Peavy is a "luxury" but lets remember something:
Dempster just had a career year. You are betting an awful lot he stays healthy and is dominant like he was last year for the next four years.
Harden is likely gone in 2010 when he is a FA and the Cubs don't want to pay him because of how much he breaks down. And oh yeah, he breaks down.
Zambrano has had nagging arm injuries a lot and isn't some 35 start horse who dominates from April 1 to September 31. He has hot stretches that carry him statistically, but he isn't a dominant pitcher.
Ted Lilly is a quality starting pitcher and is decently priced so I have no real problems there.

So basically, the Cubs have enough SP holes that you have to wonder if they don't need Peavy but he sure does cover a lot of bases by having him here. I mean, the Cubs have a deep rotation but if an injury happened, the team would struggle to fill those innings.

[DanTown8587]

Theriot was above-average last year, but I'm not confident he will be again this season. He was below-average in 2007.

I don't know why it would matter if Fontenot was drafted by the Cubs are not. He was an afterthought in the Sosa deal and only developed once in the Cubs system.

You can't say that about Fontenot. He was a former first round pick, hit .325 in AA for Baltimore and then .279 the next year in AAA before he was traded. He wasn't some Dontrelle Willis type throw in, he was a pretty high level prospect. I think the Orioles traded him because they had Brian Roberts and they assumed Sosa could possibly attract the fans and maybe carry that 05 Oriole team to respectability.

I agree with Theriot though, you can't count on him and I still believe any SS with that weak an arm costs you a lot on relays and keeping runners off the bases. Add to it he bats low in the order and makes numerous base running errors and I don't see why he gets the love he does. He is the Kirk Hinrich of the Cubs, guy casual fans typically love and plays hard but the die-hards see through all that and want him gone.

And almost forgot, the Cubs brought in Miles to be versatile. I fully expect Mike F. to be given a great chance if not handed the 2B job. He gives them lefty pop and I expect Miles to be a defensive replacement late in games at either 2B or SS depending on batting order, circumstance, etc.

[hermes]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090112&content_id=3740126&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp

The San Diego Padres have agreed to terms with pitcher Mark Prior and second baseman Chris Burke on minor league deals and have invited each to spring training.
If Prior pitches in the major leagues, he'll earn $1 million, and Burke -- who will go into spring training with a strong chance of winning the Padres' everyday job at second -- will earn $650,000.
Prior has not pitched in the major leagues since 2006 with the Chicago Cubs and only threw 43 2/3 innings that year due to a variety of injuries. He was sidelined for all of 2007 after having shoulder surgery.
The Padres signed him that offseason but he again suffered a shoulder injury and had season-ending surgery before throwing a pitch in the big leagues.
Burke has spent his entire five-year career with the Houston Astros. He is a career .241 hitter with 22 homers and 106 RBIs.

Why?

to fill peavy's spot, when they trade him to us?

[Posey H8er]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3836941

So the Cubs signed So Taguchi to a spring training invite... He's old and bad, and the Cubs probably hope he can produce so he can be Fukudome's friend.

Jimbo, if you want to sign a Japanese player to help Fukudome, how about you sign a younger player who is better than Ken Takahashi and So.

[SportsWorld]

That Cardinals Youtube guy should make another emotional video on this.

[ChronicKerr]

LOL thats what I was thinking.. He was with the Cards for awhile but was a backup with Philly last year

[SportsWorld]

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribu ... -deal.html

The Cubs avoided arbitration with infielder Ronny Cedeno, who agreed to a one-year deal for $822,500.

Cedeno is out of options and must make the team out of spring training or be put on waivers. He's likely to be traded since the Cubs already have a backup infielder in Aaron Miles, and are looking at free agent Rich Aurilia to backup at first and third.

[SportsWorld]

Rotowire:

Team CEO Sandy Alderson reiterated Friday that Jake Peavy will likely be with the Padres on Opening Day.
"I've said before I think Jake will be with us on Opening Day, and I still believe that," Alderson said. "The bottom line is I think he is going to be with us to open the season."

[Chi Dynasty12]

Rotowire:

Team CEO Sandy Alderson reiterated Friday that Jake Peavy will likely be with the Padres on Opening Day.
"I've said before I think Jake will be with us on Opening Day, and I still believe that," Alderson said. "The bottom line is I think he is going to be with us to open the season."

Damn

[mattbulls]

That Cardinals Youtube guy should make another emotional video on this.

Ask and you shall recieve!

Jim Edmonds Version:
I sadly can't locate it yet.

Aaron Miles Version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idQmNjMICnA

So Taguchi Version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imd7S6Xwh4c