Uh no. Putting Soriano in the 3-hole kills his speed immediately. Besides, the Cubs already guaranteed Soriano any position he wants in the OF plus the leadoff spot.

what about dave roberts as a cf and leadoff man. lineup would be as follows in my opinion.. 1. roberts 2. barret 3. soriano 4. lee 5. ramirez 6. jones 7. derosa 8. izturiz just a thought on my part. roberts is cheaper than jp and surley as productive.

Elliot, questioning Soriano's character is a joke. Everyone that has been a teammate of his has had nothing but POSITIVE remarks regarding Soriano as a clubhouse guy who has the best work ethic. He has a good relationship with the media and isn't a distraction. He is a saint compared to that ego-bloated Sosa.

Levine says Pierre is going to the LA Dodgers...

Elliot, if you've read any of my past posts on Aramis, you will find that I put a lot of emphasis on character and work ethic. I do have concerns with Soriano based on some of the things you have mentioned. I have also read, and heard, that Soriano works very hard and is a good clubhouse guy. If anyone has heard different, please share so I can further educate myself on this guy.

You mention that a guy who leads off and strikes out 100+ times is never a good thing. Two things:

1. If you consider .277- 46HR - 95 RBI - 41 SB - 119 RUNS not a good thing, then give me bad all day long.

2. I am not a fan of the KO either, but it's the same as grounding out to 1B when you lead off. Soriano had 67 Walks last year. In comparison, Pierre, who is the "prototypical" lead off hitter but he only had 32 Walks. What the means is Pierre had a .329 On Base Percentage while Soriano had a .351 OBP. Basically Soriano gets on base MORE than Pierre. This translates to MORE RUNS and MORE WINS

(Washington was very bad last year and Soriano scored 119 runs. Pierre score 87 runs on a very bad team last year).

Again, I'm not a big fan of the KO, but I'll take Soriano in our lineup any day of the week. If, however, I find out the guy is a bum, etc I will surely change my mind. Until then WELCOME MR. SORIANO. The only question is, who on the Cubs will win the MVP.......Lee, Soriano, Zambrano, Ramirez, a yet to be signed player?

Go Cubs

And a .418 OBP witha 109 SO.

Loyalty is important but a bunch of loyal .250 hitters is not going make the Cubs any better. MLB is about money, the players are about money, and the better you are the more money will inevitably come into play. Washington's problems last year were not because of Soriano, and remember he was hitting in a PITCHING friendly park last year. As far as the lineup goes, Hendry is looking add the left handed bats to the bench at the very least. The Cubs aren't an automatic lock on the Central or Series, but they are getting a whole heck of a lot better very quickly. Lets continue to wait and see what the final product looks like on the first day of Spring Training.

By the way, I read Pie is hitting .310 in the Dominican league right now. That's promising.

Elliot-

Are you really a Cubs fan? I ask this because how cant you get excited about the biggest free agent signing in Cubs history. I see that you worry about Sorianos strike outs for a leadoff hiters but also look at his 46 HRs and 95 RBIs for a leadoff hitter. That is unheard of. Also, we cant be 100% sure that the Cubs arent going to sign another player that could hit lead-off. Even if he does hit lead-off he put up those numbers with noone behind him in the Nats lineup. Come one, look at this trade from both sides of the fence.

Next to nothing for Wood????? He is still making more than most in a year than most do in a life time. Kerry Wood owed this team. Yeah Soriano will cost us alot down the road but I want to win now. (Just like everone else) You complain about Soriano's character??? The guy wants to play for one team and not be bounced around. He's already played for four teams. And about him not wanting to move to the outfield, do you think that he was afraid to move out there becasue he didn't want to embarass himself. He was having trouble at 2nd and moving to a much more demanding defensive position. This was a great signing. He will replace Pierre's SB's, add needed HR and RBI's and add a great arm in the outfield. This fills many holes with one guy. His last 4 seasons his stats have been climbing.

By the way Derrek Lee is known as one of the most patient hitters in all of baseball. His SO's have been in a decline the last 4 seasons and he takes a decent amount of walks.

I'm sick of all these people on all the cubs sights complaining about a guy that no one thought that we would sign. This was something that everyone wanted. Now there are numbers of people complaining about it. Some people will find the negitive in everything.

I'm really trying to get excited about this move. Honestly. But the fact that the Cubs just added another guy who strikes out 100+ times is discouraging. Scott hit the nail on the head on his comment about a right-hand dominated lineup. We'll have a lot of blowouts this year, but Chris Carpenter and the other dominant right handed pitchers are going to have the Cubs swinging at a lot of bad strike 3's. Plus, a leadoff guy who strikes out 100+ times a year is never a good thing.

More importantly, i seriously question his character. We are talking about a guy who was pissed that he was traded to a small-market team like Washington. Then, he flat out refuses to play the outfield even though he lead all 2nd basemen in errors. He then files for arbitration and asks for $12 million (he gets $10 million). Soriano's comments: "I think the money isn't that important to me. I'm not looking for the money." Seriously, to all Cub fans, this guy is beginning to sound like a Sammy Sosa. A guy who will toot his own horn. A guy who likes to pad his statistics. A guy who puts money first, personal statistics second, and winning third. How did the Washington Nationals do last year? Dead last in their division. But Soriano didn't give a damn because he knew a big pay day was headed his way. Personally, if you are making 10 frickin-million dollars a year, shut the hell up and play catcher if you have to. I know everybody is down on Kerry Wood for being so unproductive, but you have to give the guy props for coming back at close to nothing. He knows he owes Chicago. That's called LOYALTY. IF the cubs do poorly next year, Soriano will take a lot of heat and it'll be interesting to see if he can put up with it.

Anyways, other than that, I agree that the Cubs desperately need some better pitching. I think Pie is definitely expendable and makes good trade bait to some sucker team that does not keep updated on the history of Cub prospects.

I realize that it's not a very big surprise but the score just reported that Soriano passed his physical. Hopefully there will be a press conference tonight. Holy Cow!!!

Anybody who says Jim Spendry is overspending is a complete idiot. The Cubs are a mega profit machine, they always have had the same resources to spend at a Red Sox/Yankees level, but they never had because of MacPhail. With such nearly infinite revenue, they should be able to go out and get whoever they want. Soriano gives fills three needs the Cubs had: speed, power, and an arm in the outfield. Nuff said.

Trevor,

As we've seen from Perry in the past, he truly is a Cub-hater. If anybody else but the Cubs makes this signing he would be singing their praises for getting a big name FA this early. Let's hope the Cubs make him eat his words.

Thanks Scott - my bad on Tejada. He does hit righties well though, even better than Izturis. In any case, I think the Cubs need another left-handed bat in addition to resigning Pierre. Maybe Drew is the man for job?

Hi David,

Normally that would be the case, but since the Cubs were one of the bottom 15 teams in the standing (according to the article I read in the Washington Times online) the Cubs only have to surrender their "sandwich pick" and their 2nd round pick. But bottom 15 teams do not have to surrender their 1st round pick.

I guess the bottom teams are normally the poor teams, so it stood to reason that the Nationals could have expected that the odds were Soriano was picked up by a decent team (like the Angels) and they would have gotten a 1st round pick if that had been the case.

Works out great for the Cubs, in this particular case, that they sucked so bad last year.

Anyone else read the Dayne Perry article on foxsports ripping the move by the Cubs? Man I hate that guy.

Jim,

Tejada is a righty which throws your lineup out of whack, this team definitely needs some balance. Let's not forget that along with Soriano and JJ's strikeout tendencies that Derrek Lee strikes out more than 100 times per season consistently. A right handed dominant lineup with three batters that can guarantee you 100+ strikeouts will win a lot of blow outs but will also be shut down when the big bats go cold.

Jason: Don't we lose our #1 pick next year to Washington since we signed Soriano who is a Type A free agent?

Either way, I totally agree with you about trading Pie while his value is at its peak and we are preparing to make a run at the title. If we wait too long, the luster of being an upcoming 5 tool prospect is gone and then you can't get anything in return (e.g. Patterson, Guzman, Sisko). Right now, small market teams would be willing to deal a star or a young pitcher for Pie ... and if you could get a quality starting pitcher (perhaps Willis, Olsen or Duke), I'd do it!

Rob,

I concur!

Not to mention that the Cubs still have the #3 pick in the 1st round, since they were so bad in 2006.

My point is that every year, we get more draft picks. Every...single...year. We haven't gotten a lot out of our farm that past couple of years, so it is the same as having wasted draft picks.

Why not trade those prospects (particularly those that play in areas we are solid for years to come, such as 1B, 3B, OF, etc...) and upgrade your MLB club? I find it annoying when GM's label prospects as "untouchable" as Corey Patterson was, as Angel Guzman was, as Pie now is...if we had traded Patterson and/or Guzman at their peak of interest/worth to other clubs, we could have probably gotten a very good player for them. As it is, Guzman is slowly drifting nowhere, and Patterson netted us next to nothing.

If Pie can bring you a talented pitcher that helps the club now, then do it. That isn't giving up on Pie...that is recognizing that Pie has value, and trading in that valuable chip for another valuable chip that we have more use for.

Don't fall in love with the farm, guys...that is for the small market teams like Pittsburgh to dream about. Big market teams should view their farm systems as a means to an end. In Hendry's past, he has used the farm to come up with Aramis Ramirez, Kenny Lofton, Matt Clement, and Derrick Lee. We need more moves like that!!

Welcome Soriano! Hopefully the spending spree is not over. Here's what I think JH should do:

1. Resign Juan Pierre!

2. Sign a free agent SP (Padilla, Meche, Lilly)

3. Trade for Miguel Tejada

4. Trade for Zach Duke or Dontrelle

Trade to Baltimore/Pittsburgh/Florida whatever combination of prospects/backups that gets these deals done. We won't have to trade all of them away:

Pie, Moore, Fox, Guzman, Novoa, O'Malley, Prior, Blanco, Soto, Reyes, Miller, Mateo, Theriot, Izturis, Marshall, Bynum, Pagan, Coats, I guess even Jones if someone actually wants him and we can sign Drew. But we have TONS of quality young players we could trade for a STUD pitcher and Tejada.

Then we've got:

1. Pierre (L)

2. Soriano (R)

3. D. Lee (R)

4. Ramirez (R)

5. Tejada (L)

6. Barrett (R)

7. Jones (L)

8. Derosa (R)

Keep Murton if you can to play in RF against lefties. Our rotation could be:

1. Zambrano (R)

2. Duke (L)

3. Padilla/Meche (R)

4. Hill (L)

5. Marshall/Cotts/Miller/Prior etc

-or-

1. Zambrano (R)

2. Hill (L)

3. Willis (R)

4. Lilly (L)

5. Marshall/Cotts/Miller/Prior etc

2007 WS Champs!

My thinking is that Hendry could start trading away the youth of the Cubs (Murton, Pie, and any pitcher in the minors) so they can win NOW!

Look at it this way, he gave up 3 pitchers for Pierre, what makes you think that he would not give up Murton/Pie/Marmol for a Dontrelle Willis?

Hendry is looking to make moves to improve the Cubs chances of winning in 07 or 08, not 2012.

I'm expecting a couple of trades this offseason and would not be surprised to see our young talent leave. I'm for it, since you never know what a prospect will turn into.

Oops, I put in too many outfielders. Substitute Derosa/Theriot for Murton, I guess.

P.S., I hope we don't trade Murton in less we get a lot in return. Keep him as a fourth outfielder until Jones' contract runs out or we trade him. Then move Soriano to right field.

I'd say J.D. Drew's left handed bat would look pretty good in that lineup right about now... Think of this lineup:

Soriano (R)

Izturis (L)

Lee (R)

Drew (L)

Ramirez (R)

Jones (L)

Barrett (R)

Murton (R)

Looks pretty good to me. Keep spending, Spendry!!

Great teams still need to be balanced, and Soriano strikes out a lot, and so does Jacque Jones. Despite his left-handed bat, Jones should get traded, and we should hang onto Murton, I believe.

Murton doesn't strike out much at all, and hit for a great average last year, and I believe he can add another 8-10 homers this year, with more experience under his belt.

How about getting Kenny Lofton to play CF, or just resign Pierre, and then you still have that left-handed bat, and then use Murton and Soriano in the other two OF spots.

Man...it is still hard to type Soriano quickly...just not used to it!!!!

This is a great day to be a Cubs fan. Signing Soriano is an earthquake for fans like us who were used to minor tremors every off-season. It isn't so much what Soriano brings; it's the indisputable fact that Cubs management is clearly willing to do what it takes to win a championship. Go Cubs!

Anthony, my mistake entirely. I misread Pie's numbers from triple-A. I was thought that he hit .243 which would constitute struggling. Hitting .283 is a whole different story. None-the less if he's going to bring us Willis than I'd trade him and not think twice. It needs to be someone of that caliber though. I wouldn't just give him away for nothing.

Steve, I'm not saying I disagree with trading PIE if you can get a stud, but I would like to correct you in the fact that PIE did not "struggle mightily" in AAA. He KO'd too much, but he did hit .283 with 15 HR and 17 SB's with an OBP of .341. Again, not great numbers but he didn't struggle mightily.

I think we wouold ALL agree that the Cubs need to upgrade their pitching. I am one that believes that neither Zito nor Schmidt is the answer. I'd rather have a Westbrook, Lee, Jennings and of course Willis. Based on what we have seen these past few weeks, I think we will see at least one of these guys at a Cubs press conference before 2006 is over. So while the 2006 baseball season was one of the most dissapointing in Cubs history, the 2006 offseason could very well be the BEST in Cubs history.

And if anyone within the Cubs organization is listening.... since you are spending the money, so will the Cub fans. I'll be buying a Lee or Soriano jersey in the next month or so.

Let me paint a picture: I just spent the weekend in St. Louis. I was staying with some friends across the street from Busch Stadium! Of course sporting my Cubs gear with pride, I had to endure dig after dig. Every other person that I passed on the street felt the need to remind me who had won the WS this year. I had to be reminded every ten minutes that we hadn't won since 1908. I had to be reminded that we only won 66 games. I had to be reminded that the Cubs were God-awful this past season. As I drove home yesterday afternoon, got a text message from my buddy Dan, It simply read "Soriano!". That couldn't mean what I think it means, could it? I scramble franticly with the radio dial. What friggin channel is ESPN radio in St. Louis!!! Then another text message, and another, and another. I find the radio station and it confirmed my hopes. Alfonso Soriano is a physical away from being a Cubbie!!! Let me tell you that made for one fantastic drive home. Smiling from ear to ear the entire car ride. I was giddy.

Now I've had a night to sleep on it. I realize we overpaid quite a bit for him, but who really cares? Everyone in baseball is greatly overpaid anyway. This is a huge signing, but more work needs to be done. I don't think signing Zito or Schmidt is the answer. I really think that trading for Willis can really happen. The Marlins are big on Pie. Trade him! He might turn out to be a great player, he might be a bust. Either way he isn't ready to play now. He struggled mightily in triple-A and I'd trade for a proven winner over potential anyday.

Zambrano

Willis

Hill

let Prior, Miller, Marshall.... fight it out for the forth and fifth spots.

Come playoff time your primarily using three guys anyway. Step one was resigning Ramirez. Step two was signing Soriano. Step three is fix the rotation. Come on Jimbo. Make it happen. All this being said, I couldn't be happier about this signing and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Chicago Cubs: 2007 World Champions!!!

Neil,

I could not agree with you more!! Ending the longest Championship drought in sports history has no price. The skies the limit. When you haven't won in a CENTURY, you do WHATEVER IT TAKES.

Soriano will contribute immeasurably to our organization and the city for five to six years and hopefully beyond.

Just knowing how much we will be anticipating Opening Day for the next 5 years is worth it! What with Aramis, Derrick and Alfonso in the dugout. We need now to work an extension with Zambrano and trade for two more starting pitchers. I really do not care as long as they are inning eaters. We are putting together what could be one of the more potent offenses in Baseball. (I'm assuming Lugo is also on the horizon)

CUBS fans, sit back, maybe light a cigar(if you're old enough) and enjoy a 1st in CUBS history. It is us that get to walk around today and every day until opening day knowing that we landed the big fish!!

and Damn, won't we look good!!!!

Life is great...............

Barry