Who, What, Where, When and How?

By Neil on November 9, 2006 9 Vote 0 Votes

Open ended questions....anyone that is a salesman knows that is the best way to start a conversation with a perspective client. Let's hope Jim Hendry knows those five little words. Hendry has a tall task ahead of him as the free agent signing period approaches. He has to convince a top tier free agent in the prime of his career to play for a team that has not won on a consistent basis in over 70 years....not to mention a team that is approaching the century mark since their last World Championship. But Hendry does not have a choice, he has to build a winner and it is up to him to turn the entire landscape of the organization around. Hopefully Hendry will not only sign free agents that his new manager desires but the right free agents that will help build a winner....not a one-year wonder.

Here is the latest from around the league, a check in on the mill, a very good organizational report and the latest on Aramis Ramirez....

Cubs Organizational Report.... Bob Nightengale ran a very good report on the state of the Cubs on USAToday.com. Nightengale mentions what the Cubs need this off-season and gives a little insight from Lou Piniella on what he thinks the Cubs need to add to build a winner. The quote that stood out from the article was:

"Just get me two starting pitchers, two position players, and, I'm telling you, we'll win"

That should be plastered all over Jim Hendry's office walls and should be a custom, scrolling screen saver. Nothing earth shattering in that statement but it was still good to read. Nightengale mentions Barry Zito and Jason Schmidt being on top of the Cubs wish list and also mentions the likes of Ted Lilly, Miguel Batista, Jeff Weaver and Vicente Padilla. The Cubs are also pushing to resign Wade Miller. Nightengale reiterates that Alfonso Soriano is the Cubs' number one target this off-season and mentions Carlos Lee and Gary Sheffield....by the way Sheffield's wife is from Chicago.

Their most pressing concern according to Nightengale's report is resigning Aramis Ramirez before he hits the streets on Sunday. Piniella mentions the fact that he is not sure if Juan Pierre will return. This is a very good read and well worth the time.

Daisuke Matsuzaka.... The silent auction ended on Wednesday and the yet to be named team should be known at some point on Thursday....gotta love those unnamed sources and leaks. Worse case scenario is Tuesday and then the winning team has 30 days to sign him or he goes back to Japan for another year.

Aramis Ramirez.... According to a report in the Chicago Tribune by Paul Sullivan, Jim Hendry is working hard to sign Ramirez before Sunday. Ramirez new contract could reach $75 million dollars, less than the $100 million earlier rumored and more than the $70 million that was reported earlier on Wednesday.

Time to let it go.... O.K., the Chicago media really needs to move on from the fact that the White Sox are the most popular team in Chicago. It would not take a rocket scientist or another (blankin') survey to figure that one out. Hmmm, they just won a World Championship....let's see where they rank a couple of years....

Steve Stone to the Nationals.... Certain things in life just go together and the Chicago Cubs and Steve Stone is one of them....Stone should be in the Cubs' broadcast booth....enough said.

Miguel Batista.... According to reports in the Chicago Tribune and East Valley Tribune, the former Diamondback and Cub is on the list of possibilities to fill the 5th spot in the Cubs' rotation.

One BILLION Dollars.... The Cubs are for sale....does anyone have any good investing tips? According to a report from the Associated Press on FoxSports.com, Eli Broad and Ron Burkle have teamed up to submit a bid for the Tribune Company.

The First of the Season.... The first real trade of the off-season took place on Wednesday when the Padres sent Josh Barfield to the Indians for Kevin Kouzmanoff and Andrew Brown. With Barfield gone, look for Marcus Giles to be pursued by the Padres to fill the vacancy. Several reports have indicated that the Braves have been very interested in Scott Linebrink for a long time.

Jason Schmidt.... According to Paul Sullivan the Cubs are going to be in the bidding for Schmidt, but Sullivan said the contract would be no longer than 4 years because of Schmidt's injury history.

Luis Montanez.... The Cubs former first round pick has all but signed a free agent deal with the Baltimore Orioles' organization.

Alfonso Soriano.... Davey Lopes, the new first base coach of the Phillies, is the latest to push for the superstar to be signed by the Phillies according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Dave Roberts.... Several rumors have indicated the Cubs are interested in Roberts if they loose out on resigning Juan Pierre or landing Gary Matthews, Jr.

More on the Market.... John Heyman from SI.com is the latest to give his view of this off-season's free agent crop. Heyman's report is a good read and, again, worth the time. He mentions names that others have left out and points out who will be bargains and busts this year.

Five out of Six Experts Recommend.... Jorge Ortiz released another good report on USA Today.com with his take on the free agent class. But the most interesting part is at the end of the report where six baseball writers gave their predictions on where some of the big names will end up and for how long. The consensus (5 of 6) on Alfonso Soriano is the L.A. Angels with a 6-year deal in the $100 million dollar range. Barry Zito was all over the board. Jorge Ortiz thinks that Carlos Lee will be a Cub for the next 5 years for $70 million. Four of the six thinks that Aramis Ramirez will stay in Chicago for 5 years and around $70 million....and Bob Nightengale thinks Jason Schmidt will pitch for the Cubs for the next 4 years for $52 million.

Daily Transactions from CBS SportsLine

Well, that's the latest from around the league....and I'm sticking to it!!!!

Steve

Bruuuuuce Levine reported that the Cubs have made Ramirez a 5 year/70 million offer. Hopefully, this will keep ARAM in Wrigley. If not, Nomar is a great plan B. I'm just not confident that he can stay healthy anymore.

DeRosa would be a great signing. He is the ultimate utility man.

I don't want to see Sheffield come to the Cubs. He is way past his prime, injury prone, and a real jerk. He can still knock the cover off the ball, but I think that if we can get C. Lee or Soriano, I'd pass on Sheff. I'd like to see more from Murton though. He showed some great flashes the last year and a half.

I'm intrigued by Gathright. He does seem like he has all of the tools to be a good leadoff/CF kind of player. I haven't seen enough of him to really have an opinion though.

Cliff, aside from getting rid of Ramirez and aquiring Sheffield, I'm right with you.

Mike

Cliff thats a good lineup, but I would like to see Nomar instead of ARam.

jim (Tinley park)

Neil:

Thanks for the clarification. I was asked by a friend who didn't know the difference between the comment board and the forum. When he asked me I couldn't give him a solid answer so I thought I would ask. I have passed this site on to a lot of cub fans. I think that you will be seeing a bunch of new users in the near future.

Neil

Jim...the reason for the addition of the Forum was to give people a place to talk about what they want, just not what one of us has written. As you know the Forum has been up for almost a week and people are going there, they just are not registering. To register all they have to do is supply a valid email address...that is it, no fees, no spam, nothing.

Brian and I talked after the season was over about a lot of changes to the site...and I am working on those but believe it or not, it takes time. One of the things we both agreed the site needed was a place for our readers to start their own topics...that is the main reason, I hope I am making sense. I think it could be a very good addition to the site if everyone uses it properly. Thanks Jim...

Cliff...hello and welcome. I am on your side with DeRosa. Big time utility player and I think he would fit great on the bench. I will keep up with DeRosa a little better, according to reports out of Philadelphia, the Phillies are very interested in signing him.

cliff

Long time reader, first time poster. Thanks guys, great site.

Nobody seems to be talking about Mark Derosa. I think he would be a great addition to the Cubs. I think the only positions he didn't play last year was C and CF. He would give us great insurance at every position plus he managed to put up a pretty good year last year. He seems to be under the radar thus far and I would love the Cubs to pick him up for cheep.

We need to resign ARAM. True he doesn't leg out ground balls. True he failed miserably last year when the Cubs needed him most. BUT.. he put up another GREAT year at 3B where up until the ARAM acquisition the Cubs have had a huge hole there for many many years. No question, ARAM has to be back.

Center Field is really my main concern this offseason. Sorry Gary Matthews Jr. supporters, this guy was a one year wonder. We have all seen this in baseball. One year an average player clicks. Coincidentally this usually happens in a contract year. If Hendry makes this move I be severely disapointed. UNLESS he gets him for SUPER cheep which will not happen. I don't think Dave Roberts is the answer here either. I have already heard how Pierre would like to go back to Florida so I am assuming he is gone. I say the cubs trade for this kid Joey Gathright from KC then they bring in Brett Butler and teach him the idiosyncrasies of slap hitting, bunting, and running the bases. Gathright is rumored to be the fastest guy in baseball and supposedly jumps over cars in his downtime. This would be a small risk/big reward type of move that Hendry has to make.

Right Field, Gary Sheffield. Rock solid producer that can get the occasional day off from Pagan and possibly Pie. His wife is from Chicago and he would be hitting rocket shots on to the street that is appropriately named after him. Plus Lou could probably keep his anger in check. I like this move also to groom Pagan and Pie. No, he is not a mentor or teacher type like Maddux but he is a proven stud and can flat out rake.

Left Field, Carlos Lee. It is rumored that he WANTS to play for the Cubs for many reasons. This one is simple JH. Make it happen.

These moves would give us a lineup like this:

1 Gathright - CF

2 Barrett - C

3 D Lee - 1B

4 C Lee - LF

5 Sheffield RF

6 ARAM - 3b

7 Derosa - 2b

8 Izturiz - SS

This lineup will score runs. The starting rotation is a headache as well. Zambrano is our only sure thing. We absolutely need to pick up one top tier starting pitcher that we can rely on. Hill, Marshall, Prior, and Miller competing for 3,4, and 5 I can deal with. I don't believe Schmidt will sign with the Cubs unless we overpay. Zito would look good in a Cubs uni and would provide the Cubs 3 lefties in the starting rotation but I don't see it happening. I am afraid this will result in the Cubs overspending for Vicente Padilla, Ted Lilly, or Miguel Batista. Mark Mulder would make a lot of sense if the price was right.

SO... JH's "todo" list should like this:

-Resign ARAM

-Sign Carlos Lee

-Sign Derosa

-Trade for Gathright

-Trade for Sheffield

-Sign Mulder

-Overpay for Schmidt

7 moves to possibly end a 99 year drought. Is that too much to ask?

Mike

I want to know what Matsuzaka bid was and whats going on with Steve Stone. I said this repeatedly Brenly might make a good coach but he IS NOT a broadcaster. I need Steve and Chip back! Its an addiction.

Jim

Wade Miller signed for another year. Don't know for how much.

Jim (Tinley Park)

Neil:

What is the diference between the regular posting board and the new forum board?

nick

Thanks for the info Neil. I would be completely happy with those two signings. As long as we get the rotation fixed. Pitching does win championships. Go Cubs. keep up the good work.