Major League Baseball Thread 2006 Season
#2122
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Originally Posted by gocubsgo55
we have PLENTY $$$ still with the increase in payroll. Soriano, Drew, and/or CLee are the next targets. Reports in LA claim the Cubs have already offered JD Drew a deal.
As for ARam, there is no denying his power, and I was impressed with his defense actually. As for the "jogging", I don't care for that. CONSIDER THIS: He was coming of injury during that span; why would you want to reaggrivate it by running hard on a popout? I am willing to assume that the coaching staff told him to take it easy.
As for ARam, there is no denying his power, and I was impressed with his defense actually. As for the "jogging", I don't care for that. CONSIDER THIS: He was coming of injury during that span; why would you want to reaggrivate it by running hard on a popout? I am willing to assume that the coaching staff told him to take it easy.
#2123
101 years of heartache...
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Originally Posted by 04EuroAccordTsx
The Cubbies need better pitchers too.....something that the White Sox have
#2127
Senior Moderator
#2128
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^^^ he is agreeing to play on Astro Turf.................I think we can say for sure on this one he went for the money and ran.
Can't blame him though............10 mil a year will make you feel better about yourself quick.
And 3years guranteed to a 38 year old with a rebuilt ankle,can't blame Billy Beane for not selling out the team for one player.
I say Mike Piazza Or Moises Alou could take his DH spot with the A's and fill in quite nicely.
Can't blame him though............10 mil a year will make you feel better about yourself quick.
And 3years guranteed to a 38 year old with a rebuilt ankle,can't blame Billy Beane for not selling out the team for one player.
I say Mike Piazza Or Moises Alou could take his DH spot with the A's and fill in quite nicely.
#2129
Yes, he did that
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^^^
Agreed, but I think Thomas will get the offer from Toronto and go back to the A's and ask them to match it.
I wouldn't mind having Piazza as a DH, since our catcher core is solid. I just don't know about his health status.
Word is that the A's might want Bonds, but I don't think that will happen for two reasons: 1.) He wants too much money for what he is actually worth 2.) He is an inconsistent hitter and Beane values getting on base more than smacking HRs
Though, if they place him in the correct spot of the lineup, he would be valuable, just not 18 million a year valuable.
Agreed, but I think Thomas will get the offer from Toronto and go back to the A's and ask them to match it.
I wouldn't mind having Piazza as a DH, since our catcher core is solid. I just don't know about his health status.
Word is that the A's might want Bonds, but I don't think that will happen for two reasons: 1.) He wants too much money for what he is actually worth 2.) He is an inconsistent hitter and Beane values getting on base more than smacking HRs
Though, if they place him in the correct spot of the lineup, he would be valuable, just not 18 million a year valuable.
#2130
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Good Points
I wonder if with Bonds, the lineup will be too left handed again like it use to be in the old days making them unbalanced against left handed pitching.
Thats why Thomas and that big Right handed bat worked so well.............looks like they will have to count on Chavez and hope he FINALLY has his breakout year.
Thomas is as good as gone......the A's wont match 10 mil a year.
I wonder if with Bonds, the lineup will be too left handed again like it use to be in the old days making them unbalanced against left handed pitching.
Thats why Thomas and that big Right handed bat worked so well.............looks like they will have to count on Chavez and hope he FINALLY has his breakout year.
Thomas is as good as gone......the A's wont match 10 mil a year.
#2131
Race Director
It looks like the Mets are talking to Zito.
They need help in the pitching department. With only Hernandez for sure, Pedro out for at least the first half of the season and Glavin seeking free agency.
The rest Pelfry and Maine will be good but still need some more time.
They need help in the pitching department. With only Hernandez for sure, Pedro out for at least the first half of the season and Glavin seeking free agency.
The rest Pelfry and Maine will be good but still need some more time.
#2132
Yes, he did that
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Bob Geren to named new Manager of the A's - MLB.COM
Looks like Bob Geren will be announced tomorrow as the new manager - Wow, I am shocked at that decision.
http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/NAS...=.jsp&c_id=oak
Back to Zito, I would be happy if he heads to an NL Team. There were rumors that he was heading to Texas :worried:
http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/NAS...=.jsp&c_id=oak
Back to Zito, I would be happy if he heads to an NL Team. There were rumors that he was heading to Texas :worried:
#2133
One on the right for me
If Barry Bond's heads to the A's I will renounce my A's loyalty (been a fan for about 21 years) and never forgive them. I can't believe his name is even in the same sentence as the A's.
#2134
Senior Moderator
Originally Posted by subinf
If Barry Bond's heads to the A's I will renounce my A's loyalty (been a fan for about 21 years) and never forgive them. I can't believe his name is even in the same sentence as the A's.
#2135
Yes, he did that
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Originally Posted by Yumchah
But, um...McGwire and Canseco were A's...?
I think McGwire is a total tool for acting all high and mighty during the congressional hearing (almost as bad as that ass Curt Schilling).
If the A's get Bonds (which they won't because he wants too much money), then I won't care that much. I will boo him promptly if he doesn't deliver.
The A's have too many players on free agency and arbitration to waste money on Bonds. I say save the money and get Piazza - the performance difference would be minimal, and we would save at least 8 million a year.
#2136
One on the right for me
Originally Posted by Yumchah
But, um...McGwire and Canseco were A's...?
I'm not talking about the steroids deal. I've hated Bonds since I was 12. I think he is a cocky ass who is getting way too much attention. He needs to just stop playing.
#2138
Senior Moderator
Cubs sign Soriano...
Whoa.
And for Yankee's type money: 8-years @ $136,000,000.
Source: Chicagotribune.com...
And for Yankee's type money: 8-years @ $136,000,000.
Source: Chicagotribune.com...
The Cubs did their best imitation of the New York Yankees on Sunday, making free-agent outfielder Alfonso Soriano an offer he couldn't refuse.
Soriano, the biggest name on the market, quickly agreed to an eight-year, $136 million deal to start the free-agent season with a bang.
General manager Jim Hendry was unavailable for comment, but sources confirmed the Cubs had reached agreement with Soriano and planned to announce a deal Monday once he passes a physical.
The deal caps a frenzied week in which Hendry shelled out nearly $229 million to Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, Mark DeRosa, Henry Blanco and Kerry Wood, trying to change the perception of the organization before the first snowfall.
The Cubs have never been a free-spending team like the Yankees or Boston, preferring to reward their own players rather than engage in bidding wars for free agents.
But that philosophy appears to have been scuttled after a 66-win season that led many die-hards to eat their tickets in September rather than stomach another Cubs loss.
While the Cubs were one of several teams pursuing Soriano, they got their man before Philadelphia, Houston or the Los Angeles Angels had a chance. The $17 million annual average makes Soriano the highest-paid Cub, surpassing the $73 million over five years that Ramirez received.
It's also the second-highest annual salary in Cubs history, after Sammy Sosa's four-year, $72 million deal in 2001.
Soriano, who turns 31 in January, is expected to lead off and play center field. He was considered one of the few instant-impact players on the market after finishing among the league leaders in several categories with Washington last summer.
He was third in the NL with 46 home runs, tied for sixth with 41 stolen bases, first with 89 extra-base hits, second with 363 total bases, third with a .368 leadoff on-base percentage, first with 22 outfield assists and ninth with a .560 slugging percentage.
Soriano also became the first player in history with 40 home runs, 40 stolen bases and 20 outfield assists in a season, and he was the first with 40 homers, steals and doubles in a season.
With Soriano, Ramirez and Derrek Lee, the Cubs' everyday lineup will have three players who have hit 35 or more home runs in a season.
A five-time All-Star with a .280 lifetime average, 208 homers and 560 RBIs in eight seasons, Soriano reluctantly moved from second base to left field last spring after he was traded from Texas to Washington.
But he gradually learned to accept the move. His 22 outfield assists was nine more than the total from Cubs outfielders Jacques Jones, Juan Pierre and Matt Murton.
Soriano began his rise to stardom as the leadoff man for the Yankees but fell out of favor in New York because of his shaky fielding at second. Manager Joe Torre dropped him to the No. 9 slot in Game 6 of the 2003 World Series, and Soriano hit .225 in 17 postseason games that year. On Feb. 15, 2004, the Yankees shipped him to Texas for Alex Rodriguez and $67 million.
Soriano had two solid offensive years in Texas before being sent to Washington last winter. The Nationals spurned trade offers for Soriano in July, though the Angels, Detroit and Houston were among the teams trying to acquire him for the stretch run. General manager Jim Bowden didn't believe teams were offering enough for Soriano, so he let him play out the season with a last-place club.
The Nationals reportedly came up with a relatively paltry five-year, $70 million offer after the season and were immediately shot down. Soriano told them he wanted a deal close to the seven-year, $119 million contract Carlos Beltran received from the Mets two winters ago.
"We weren't going to spend the kind of money he ended up getting," Bowden told the Washington Post late Sunday night.
One source told the Post that the Cubs had granted Soriano one of his most significant wishes—a no-trade clause.
So the Nationals are left with nothing. Though the Cubs have the No. 3 pick in the 2007 draft, the Nationals won't get it. Teams that finish in the bottom half of the standings have to surrender only a second-round pick and a sandwich pick if they sign a Type A free agent, as Soriano is.
The Cubs were among the teams left in the dust by the Beltran deal, and they finished as a runner-up in the Rafael Furcal bidding last year. Hendry called the Dodgers' three-year, $39 million deal "absurd," and now he'll probably be on the receiving end of some grumbling from his peers, who will likely note that Soriano will turn 38 in the final year of his contract.
But with two years left on his own contract, Hendry will gladly take the heat. After the Cubs acquired Neal Cotts from the White Sox, signed DeRosa and re-signed Ramirez and Wood, Hendry hinted everything seemed to be going as planned.
"You just can't count on things happening as well as they have here in the last couple of weeks," Hendry said. "But we hope to keep it up."
The Cubs kept it up Sunday.
Soriano, the biggest name on the market, quickly agreed to an eight-year, $136 million deal to start the free-agent season with a bang.
General manager Jim Hendry was unavailable for comment, but sources confirmed the Cubs had reached agreement with Soriano and planned to announce a deal Monday once he passes a physical.
The deal caps a frenzied week in which Hendry shelled out nearly $229 million to Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, Mark DeRosa, Henry Blanco and Kerry Wood, trying to change the perception of the organization before the first snowfall.
The Cubs have never been a free-spending team like the Yankees or Boston, preferring to reward their own players rather than engage in bidding wars for free agents.
But that philosophy appears to have been scuttled after a 66-win season that led many die-hards to eat their tickets in September rather than stomach another Cubs loss.
While the Cubs were one of several teams pursuing Soriano, they got their man before Philadelphia, Houston or the Los Angeles Angels had a chance. The $17 million annual average makes Soriano the highest-paid Cub, surpassing the $73 million over five years that Ramirez received.
It's also the second-highest annual salary in Cubs history, after Sammy Sosa's four-year, $72 million deal in 2001.
Soriano, who turns 31 in January, is expected to lead off and play center field. He was considered one of the few instant-impact players on the market after finishing among the league leaders in several categories with Washington last summer.
He was third in the NL with 46 home runs, tied for sixth with 41 stolen bases, first with 89 extra-base hits, second with 363 total bases, third with a .368 leadoff on-base percentage, first with 22 outfield assists and ninth with a .560 slugging percentage.
Soriano also became the first player in history with 40 home runs, 40 stolen bases and 20 outfield assists in a season, and he was the first with 40 homers, steals and doubles in a season.
With Soriano, Ramirez and Derrek Lee, the Cubs' everyday lineup will have three players who have hit 35 or more home runs in a season.
A five-time All-Star with a .280 lifetime average, 208 homers and 560 RBIs in eight seasons, Soriano reluctantly moved from second base to left field last spring after he was traded from Texas to Washington.
But he gradually learned to accept the move. His 22 outfield assists was nine more than the total from Cubs outfielders Jacques Jones, Juan Pierre and Matt Murton.
Soriano began his rise to stardom as the leadoff man for the Yankees but fell out of favor in New York because of his shaky fielding at second. Manager Joe Torre dropped him to the No. 9 slot in Game 6 of the 2003 World Series, and Soriano hit .225 in 17 postseason games that year. On Feb. 15, 2004, the Yankees shipped him to Texas for Alex Rodriguez and $67 million.
Soriano had two solid offensive years in Texas before being sent to Washington last winter. The Nationals spurned trade offers for Soriano in July, though the Angels, Detroit and Houston were among the teams trying to acquire him for the stretch run. General manager Jim Bowden didn't believe teams were offering enough for Soriano, so he let him play out the season with a last-place club.
The Nationals reportedly came up with a relatively paltry five-year, $70 million offer after the season and were immediately shot down. Soriano told them he wanted a deal close to the seven-year, $119 million contract Carlos Beltran received from the Mets two winters ago.
"We weren't going to spend the kind of money he ended up getting," Bowden told the Washington Post late Sunday night.
One source told the Post that the Cubs had granted Soriano one of his most significant wishes—a no-trade clause.
So the Nationals are left with nothing. Though the Cubs have the No. 3 pick in the 2007 draft, the Nationals won't get it. Teams that finish in the bottom half of the standings have to surrender only a second-round pick and a sandwich pick if they sign a Type A free agent, as Soriano is.
The Cubs were among the teams left in the dust by the Beltran deal, and they finished as a runner-up in the Rafael Furcal bidding last year. Hendry called the Dodgers' three-year, $39 million deal "absurd," and now he'll probably be on the receiving end of some grumbling from his peers, who will likely note that Soriano will turn 38 in the final year of his contract.
But with two years left on his own contract, Hendry will gladly take the heat. After the Cubs acquired Neal Cotts from the White Sox, signed DeRosa and re-signed Ramirez and Wood, Hendry hinted everything seemed to be going as planned.
"You just can't count on things happening as well as they have here in the last couple of weeks," Hendry said. "But we hope to keep it up."
The Cubs kept it up Sunday.
#2139
Senior Moderator
Well, I'm sure that idiot, Jay Mariotti, is gonna have an orgasm now. He loves it whenever any Chicago sports team spends enough money to feed 10 African nations.
Nonetheless, good signing by the Cubs even if they wayyy overpaid.
Nonetheless, good signing by the Cubs even if they wayyy overpaid.
#2141
Senior Moderator
Originally Posted by phipark
Are the Cubs trying to get tough?
#2142
Not Asian
Originally Posted by Yumchah
Well, if a measly 80-some wins are all that's needed to get into the playoffs these days, sure...
Do I need to bring up 1908?
#2143
My Garage
Originally Posted by Yumchah
Well, if a measly 80-some wins are all that's needed to get into the playoffs these days, sure...
#2144
Senior Moderator
Originally Posted by phipark
Don't tell me that's your best smack.
Do I need to bring up 1908?
Do I need to bring up 1908?
You don't need to use that trump card...there's already enough lows on that sorry ballclub to weigh down about 100 franchises.
So, you can't hurt me.
#2145
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Originally Posted by Yumchah
Well, I'm sure that idiot, Jay Mariotti, is gonna have an orgasm now. He loves it whenever any Chicago sports team spends enough money to feed 10 African nations.
Nonetheless, good signing by the Cubs even if they wayyy overpaid.
Nonetheless, good signing by the Cubs even if they wayyy overpaid.
Great Player,Good Signing............he will fit in quite nicely hitting leadoff and in that stadium with the wind blowing out he should easily match his power numbers from last year.
But ,............and for me this is a concern..........he will be 39 at the end of the contract and with built in esculators(in the contract) will probably be earning 20 mil that final year.
Plus I see him pulling a Beltran and cutting his stolen bases by at least half,no way he runs as much.
#2146
Three Wheelin'
iTrader: (1)
Ryan Howard for MVP
What a way to cap a monster year
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/a...=.jsp&c_id=mlb
What a way to cap a monster year
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/a...=.jsp&c_id=mlb
#2148
My Garage
#2149
Originally Posted by phipark
Are the Cubs trying to get tough?
#2150
Tristate ViP Crew
Originally Posted by GIBSON6594
#2152
Senior Moderator
Originally Posted by Scottman111
I've always liked Alou.
#2153
Benchwarmer
Soriano's career numbers in Chicago:
Wrigley-- .160 BA, 1 RBI
US Cell-- .219 BA, 3 HR, 4 RBI
Maybe they can get a handful of good prospects when they trade him July 31.
Wrigley-- .160 BA, 1 RBI
US Cell-- .219 BA, 3 HR, 4 RBI
Maybe they can get a handful of good prospects when they trade him July 31.
#2155
Senior Moderator
#2156
Senior Moderator
And oh, :ibtYankeefanshaveahissyfit:...
#2159
Not Asian
Originally Posted by Chr8808
Ryan Howard for MVP
What a way to cap a monster year
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/a...=.jsp&c_id=mlb
What a way to cap a monster year
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/a...=.jsp&c_id=mlb
Yes, I may be a tad biased.
#2160
Benchwarmer
Originally Posted by Yumchah
Morneau and Howard are pleasant surprises. Now we need to work on getting the Gold Gloves right.