Dear Tribune

[Lindseynelson]

For cryin out loud now's your chance.
you bring in a winner like Lou give him the horses!
resign Aramis , get AROD while Georgie is vulnerable , and Soriano as well. Lee,Soriano,ARod and Ramirez , not a bad infield or lineup.
make Balsa Wood your closer , maybe you can get 57 strong innings out of his overpriced arm

[Mattingly]

You sure that you wouldn't prefer this in the Cubs forum?

[Astro]

Well... they'd have to trade way too much to get A-Rod...

[Sweet Lou]

They don't need offense, they need pitching. Wood and Prior should be bad memories, not current liabilities. Get another good starter, bolster the bullpen.

[KCGHOST]

Heck, if the Cubs had horses they wouldn't need Piniella.

[Nomtoc]

For cryin out loud now's your chance.
you bring in a winner like Lou give him the horses!
resign Aramis , get AROD while Georgie is vulnerable , and Soriano as well. Lee,Soriano,ARod and Ramirez , not a bad infield or lineup.
make Balsa Wood your closer , maybe you can get 57 strong innings out of his overpriced arm


I'm already ready for another losing season; you should be too.

[Rookie1914]

They don't need offense, they need pitching. Wood and Prior should be bad memories, not current liabilities. Get another good starter, bolster the bullpen.

I couldn't agree more. Yes, this needs to be in the Cubs Forum, not current events.

I love the Cubs!!!

[Rookie1914]

I'm already ready for another losing season; you should be too.

We won't have a losing season, but for now I will enjoy being a winner with the KU Jayhawks :)

[Lindseynelson]

When the richest owners in baseball have an opportunity to make these moves during the Hot Stove season , no ,it is not a localized topic , it is a MLB topic.
Yankees are dumb enough to take Prior and a couple AAA players for ARod.
Aramis is likely to accept a solid deal for his 35-113-278
Soriano is up for grabs at 4 years 45 mil.
Soriano,ARod and Ramirez Nice

[Rookie1914]

When the richest owners in baseball have an opportunity to make these moves during the Hot Stove season , no ,it is not a localized topic , it is a MLB topic.
Yankees are dumb enough to take Prior and a couple AAA players for ARod.
Aramis is likely to accept a solid deal for his 35-113-278
Soriano is up for grabs at 4 years 45 mil.
Soriano,ARod and Ramirez Nice

Don't forget Lee, Barrett, Murton, Jones. What a lineup that would be.

[Rapmaster]

When the richest owners in baseball have an opportunity to make these moves during the Hot Stove season , no ,it is not a localized topic , it is a MLB topic.
Yankees are dumb enough to take Prior and a couple AAA players for ARod.
Aramis is likely to accept a solid deal for his 35-113-278
Soriano is up for grabs at 4 years 45 mil.
Soriano,ARod and Ramirez Nice

Brian Cashman's the GM, not Steinbrenner. The Yankees are probably not yet ready to deal ARod (who, might I add, is still the best third baseman in the AL). The Yankees are not dumb, they just spend a lot of money. Giving up Prior means the loss of yet another starting pitcher. You can't win on hitting alone. Besides, what minor leaguers are the Cubs gonna give? Felix Pie?

Aramis was offered a deal (supposedly) and apparently he hasn't taken it.

Soriano's approaching his prime years, he's gonna want a long-term deal with a good amount of money. He supposedly turned down 5 years 75 million. Why would he accept less years and less money to play for a legitimate loser?

[Nomtoc]

We won't have a losing season, but for now I will enjoy being a winner with the KU Jayhawks :)

I will not hold my breath and will pray for the best; as usual. I would just like to get through April w/o an injury to one of our all stars.

[Mattingly]

When the richest owners in baseball have an opportunity to make these moves during the Hot Stove season , no ,it is not a localized topic , it is a MLB topic.
Yankees are dumb enough to take Prior and a couple AAA players for ARod.
Aramis is likely to accept a solid deal for his 35-113-278
Soriano is up for grabs at 4 years 45 mil.
Soriano,ARod and Ramirez Nice
There's no way in the world the Yanks are taking the Cubs' junk and give up A-Rod. Especially straight up. On fantasy island, yes. In reality, no way.

You'd have to give up Aramis Ramirez (I'm unsure if he's declared himself an FA or continues with his current deal), but after that, while I realize we won't be getting Carlos Zambrano, I don't see us accepting Prior.

If that were the case, I'd say we could give up Jaret Wright and taking Carlos Zambrano off your hands, then signing Aramis Ramirez as an FA. See, I can live on fantasy island also. :p

[vptpt]

Yes, Aramis Ramirez has declared himself a FA. From everything I've heard, it's more of a formality for him right now, and he really wants to stay with the Cubs.

[Mattingly]

Yes, Aramis Ramirez has declared himself a FA. From everything I've heard, it's more of a formality for him right now, and he really wants to stay with the Cubs.
Thanks. Was this a player option that he'd declined to accept? I figure that's the only way that he could either be kept or traded.

Now the only way he's still a Cub is if they sign him during their exclusive negotiation period with him.

I'm unsure, but if someone has been re-signed as an FA (those w/o no-trade clauses), can they then still be traded? I know that for new FAs, I believe you have to wait until the end of the 1st season before they can be traded. Correct?

[Lindseynelson]

Yes Cashman is the GM but in the offseason Georgie pays way too much attention to his Tampa cronies.
Prior fits right in with the Yankee habit of signing and or acquiring a pitcher that can't fill the bill.
I hope as I said earlier that the Tribune doesn't do as it always does underpay, underoffer because they know the house will be full whether the team wins 73 or 93.Pay Soriano real money.5 years 75 or 6 95 , do it.
He has become a far better player than I imagined he'd be and his offensive numbers should be outstanding for years to come.
Sign Ramirez and Soriano and you prove to others that you are in it for real.
Yankees might go for a Prior ,Lee combo for ARod , why not , from the Yankee standpoint you get young , talented arm (shhh don't tell them ) and a solid first baseman and dh from the right side to compliment Giambi and replace Sheffield'
Giving a ? pitcher and a solid firstbaseman, returning from wrist problems, for ARod is a fair deal all the way around.

[Rapmaster]

Yes Cashman is the GM but in the offseason Georgie pays way too much attention to his Tampa cronies.
Prior fits right in with the Yankee habit of signing and or acquiring a pitcher that can't fill the bill.
I hope as I said earlier that the Tribune doesn't do as it always does underpay, underoffer because they know the house will be full whether the team wins 73 or 93.Pay Soriano real money.5 years 75 or 6 95 , do it.
He has become a far better player than I imagined he'd be and his offensive numbers should be outstanding for years to come.
Sign Ramirez and Soriano and you prove to others that you are in it for real.
Yankees might go for a Prior ,Lee combo for ARod , why not , from the Yankee standpoint you get young , talented arm (shhh don't tell them ) and a solid first baseman and dh from the right side to compliment Giambi and replace Sheffield'
Giving a ? pitcher and a solid firstbaseman, returning from wrist problems, for ARod is a fair deal all the way around.

Tribune company overpays a lot. How much they keep giving Wood even though he's a proven injury risk? Jacque Jones? Juan Pierre? Todd Walker? Paying Aramis the 14 million a year he wants would be overpaying too. The Cubs don't underpay, they just spend poorly.

Soriano isn't the solution to the Cubs' problem, they need pitching. last time I checked, Soriano hasn't thrown 200 innings in his life. Plugging him in CF like they are speculating may even cause more problems. Essentially, moving a below average second baseman to left field was risky. Now they wanna move him to CF? Besides, the Cubs' offensive need bases around on-base percentage, Soriano doesn't provide that as much as you'd like.

Derrek Lee had a freak injury, he's not yet an injury risk. From his production in Chicago, replacing him with ARod is a lateral move. Who's gonna replace him at first? John Mabry? You're staying lateral and giving up Prior to get name value (and a lot of extra salary to deal with).

And they are trying to re-sign Ramirez, though as I stated before, 14 million over 6 is steep. Very very steep. You'd like a franchise player for that type of money and although Ramirez is good, he's not at that elite level yet.

even with a hypothetical lineup of Soriano, Murton, Rodriguez, Ramirez, Jones, Barrett, Mabry, and Izturis/Theriot, you've still got a ridiculously unbalanced lineup.

[Lindseynelson]

i'd take it.
They are in a division that was won with 83 games.
ARod for Lee I can't see as lateral.
Lee had one monster season following some good ones and freak or not he had work done on his wrist.
Arod is getting booed in NY for a season that others would be begging for and does it year after year and is in his very early thirties.
His next 3 years could be his biggest.
He is a better SS than third sacker and his defensive comfort could only help at bat.
Soriano might take a similar deal to the one he turned down if it meant going back to 2b.Say 48 over 4 years.Lou loved to play aggressively as does Soriano.
Put those three guys in the lineup and you could come up with a first sacker

[ChrisLDuncan]

Shoulda gotten Tejada when you had the chance.

[Rapmaster]

i'd take it.
They are in a division that was won with 83 games.
ARod for Lee I can't see as lateral.
Lee had one monster season following some good ones and freak or not he had work done on his wrist.
Arod is getting booed in NY for a season that others would be begging for and does it year after year and is in his very early thirties.
His next 3 years could be his biggest.
He is a better SS than third sacker and his defensive comfort could only help at bat.
Soriano might take a similar deal to the one he turned down if it meant going back to 2b.Say 48 over 4 years.Lou loved to play aggressively as does Soriano.
Put those three guys in the lineup and you could come up with a first sacker

No, see. Soriano wanted to stay at second to boost his value. His numbers are tops in the league for a second baseman and will command a huge contract. His numbers aren't rare out in a corner outfield spot. He's not taking any paycuts.

A Rod's also been human the past few years and he's at the peak of his game, if not past. Players are generally believed to peak at around age 28 and decline around the mid 30s. Lee's performance in 2005 is a sign of improvement.


This is all besides the point though. Even if you score 10 runs a game, you'll still lose if you give up 11. The Cubs need to address pitching and they are a lot further away from a playoff season than a couple trades and signings.

Cleveland scored 870 runs this year, among the better 5 in baseball. They didn't make the playoffs because they still gave up too many runs. It's true they underachieved but if you use their pythagorean win total, they would still be out of the playoff picture.

[Lindseynelson]

Shoulda gotten Tejada when you had the chance.You Sir are absolutely right!
I remember posting "Heck give em Balsa with Prior!"
USA Today says Soriano is looking in the 5 year 80 million range.
Chicago can certainly afford the going rate but as you said they had Tejada for a song and spit the bit.