And So it Begins

[JJMc 0]

Why won't the Cubs just make Todd Walker the full time 2nd baseman and forget Kent?

 

Walker is a decent hitter and fielder and he's a lot less money than Kent. I guess if the Cubs go after Beltran (who honestly, has to LOVE the National League since he was lift off all the time) then Patterson would move to left.

 

Cubs need bullpen, shore up that closer spot. Hawkins needs to be middle/set up cause he is lights out in that role. I think Chicago should make a move on B.J Ryan out of Baltimore if anything to help that bullpen.

It still puzzles me why the Sox got rid of walker in the first place. Although, I'll take Bellhorn/Pokey any day of the week.

[treble 0]

About how much will Kent probably make this year?

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Wasn't Kent talking about retiring not too long ago?

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Yeah, but it became clear during the last few months of the season that he still had some pop left in that bat. That's usually all a guy needs to convince him to stay.

 

In regards to the Nomar situation, I wouldn't mind seeing him stay, but why is everyone so gung-ho to sign this guy to a fat contract when he's been so injury-prone in recent years? He's still productive, but he's clearly beginning his trip on the downside. I'd rather see them snag Beltran and a solid closer with that Nomar money.

[geniusMoment 0]

I have said all along the Cubs should not sign Nomar to a big contract. That money needs to go into:

1. A top notch closer

2. A great outfielder

3. A good left hander for the bullpen

4. A good middle relief guy

 

Thats the list, I win.

[Stephen 0]

I could see Jeff Kent getting a 3 yr/$24 million contract

 

I'm thinking the Tigers will sign him. I mean they gave Pudge a 4 yr/$40 million contract, they could easily overpay for Kent.

[geniusMoment 0]

Fuck, Steve Stone tendered his letter of resignation, ending his relationship with the Chicago Cubs. Chicagosports.com has Stonies letter online.

A sincere fuck you to the cubs management. I hope your new blindly loyal announcers have fun, you stupid asses. No wonder the cubs always lose.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The Cubs don't need a closer that badly. LaTroy Hawkins was NOT their biggiest problem, their offense was.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Potential MLB Free Agents

Six Year Free Agents

 

The MLB guys aren't the only ones eligible for free agency. There are plenty of minor leaguers floating around, and a few can contribute at the major league level.

[2GOLD 0]

The Cubs don't need a closer that badly. LaTroy Hawkins was NOT their biggiest problem, their offense was.

 

I don't want Hawkins as closer. He was a very decent one but the guy is more needed and lights out as the situational guy than having to hold him till the eighth or ninth inning.

 

Latroy makes a very solid closer but imho, the guy is designed as pitcher you use when needed and not one who should just sit and wait till the ninth.

 

As for Smoltz...not really. Smoltz gave up lots of fly ball outs from the 20 or so games I watched on TBS and in Wrigley, a fly ball could turn into a dinger like nothing. Good pitcher, but he'll get roughed up in Wrigleyville.

 

Nomar shouldn't be signed to a big contract when Edgar Rene is on the market. Rene is a little bit faster and is just as solid of a hitter. I like Nomar but not enough to spend all the cash on him.

[2GOLD 0]

Oh great, Walker is a free agent.

Well, I expect the Cubs to let him walk and blow lots of money on someone at second. Possibly Kent who doesn't have speed and age is catching up with him.

 

I'd rather have Walker, a consistent hitter in the outfield (odds of getting Beltran are 1-100000), and some bullpen guys just because you can never have enough bullpen guys.

 

The rotation is going to be:

Kerry Wood

Mark Prior

Greg Maddux

Carlos Zambrano

???

 

So no help needed there. Even though Michael Wilbon wants Chicago to go after Randy Johnson for no reason whatsoever.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Fuck, Steve Stone tendered his letter of resignation, ending his relationship with the Chicago Cubs. Chicagosports.com has Stonies letter online.

A sincere fuck you to the cubs management. I hope your new blindly loyal announcers have fun, you stupid asses. No wonder the cubs always lose.

This is awful news. Absolutely awful news. Shame on Moises Alou, Kent Mercker, Dusty Baker, and all the rest who ran Chip and Steve out of town. You bunch of fucking pricks.

 

I think (and hope) Dusty Baker's stock just took another dive here in Chicago.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Oh great, Walker is a free agent.

Well, I expect the Cubs to let him walk and blow lots of money on someone at second. Possibly Kent who doesn't have speed and age is catching up with him.

 

I'd rather have Walker, a consistent hitter in the outfield (odds of getting Beltran are 1-100000), and some bullpen guys just because you can never have enough bullpen guys.

 

The rotation is going to be:

Kerry Wood

Mark Prior

Greg Maddux

Carlos Zambrano

???

 

So no help needed there. Even though Michael Wilbon wants Chicago to go after Randy Johnson for no reason whatsoever.

I'd rather have Walker than Kent. When Grudz came back, Walker shouldn't have gotten sent back to the bench; he was playing great and to bench him was asinine, as was Dusty's rationale: "Well I have to play Mark over Todd so that Mark gets better." Todd Walker impressed me, and he'd be great in the 2 spot, or leading off if Corey isn't going to learn how to get on base.

 

Our odds for Beltran are better than THAT. Come on now.

 

It's probably going to be Wood-Prior-Zambrano-Maddux-Rusch, which is fine by me. Oh and in case it hasn't been said enough, Kyle Farnsworth must go.

[franchise632 0]

They really want Mark Hudson of the A's but don't have that kinda of payroll space without making any room.

If Mark Hudson falls through they could always settle for Barry Redman.

He's not available for another year. Go for Tim Harden.

Yes I fucked up the names, my bad. thanks Czech. Barry Zito, Tim Hudson, and Mark Mulder. Guess I gotta throw Rich Harden in there since he was brought up. He is actually the one on that staff that I would really want.

 

A free agent that I have heard anything about yet from you guys is Adrian Beltre from the LA Dodgers, with his league leading homers and overall huge production. A pretty good third baseman. I think one of the worries on him is if he will still produce in a non-contract year. He had by far is best season ever. He also had ankle surgery as he was playing with two large bone spurs in his ankle.

 

Where is John Smoltz wants to be a starter coming from? Is there a confirmed report on that somewhere? Just curious.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Where is John Smoltz wants to be a starter coming from? Is there a confirmed report on that somewhere? Just curious.

maybe check www.atlantabraves.com for stuff regarding it, but "Smoltz thinks the rotation sucks and wants to start again" just seems to have become as much a part of Braves tradition as a first-round exit.

[2GOLD 0]

Beltre may or may not be a good signing for a team. But the Cubs have no need for him and the O's I don't think will even spend a dime now that Washington has a franchise and Selig has given Angelos free reign to suck.

 

So I have no need to discuss him.

[The Man in Blak 0]

You know, as phenomenal as Beltran is, I'm still perplexed as to why the Cubs think they need him in the first place. You've got Corey Patterson eligible for arbitration and he gave you a 20 HR/30 SB season while barely being 25 years old. I know his streakiness is legendary, but he seemed to come into his own in the leadoff spot (Baker's insane hitting philosophy be damned) and it's only going to get better from here on out.

 

Beltre, on the other hand, is going to Seattle, methinks. Their 3B situation is atrocious and they need the power (and gold glove-caliber defense).

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Fuck, Steve Stone tendered his letter of resignation, ending his relationship with the Chicago Cubs. Chicagosports.com has Stonies letter online.

A sincere fuck you to the cubs management. I hope your new blindly loyal announcers have fun, you stupid asses. No wonder the cubs always lose.

Great. Just great. I can only imagine what idiots we're going to get in the booth now. While it's not team-related, it's shit like this that makes me think the Cubs aren't capable of following through like the Red Sox did. They focus more on petty bullshit than they do with the actual game and their shortcomings. This is all Baker's doing. This team is really trying my patience. I know it's just an announcer, but it's clear that the immature fuckers drove both announcers out of town. This really bothers me.

 

And I think the Cubs need Beltran because not only is he going fill a gap in the outfield (I think Patterson would move to left or right), but he's going to provide the Cubs with a couple things offensively that they don't seem to utilize (i.e. patience and speed on the basepaths). Speed's overrated, but the Cubs' station-to-station attitude all season wound up doing them in more times than not.

 

I'm just tired of Baker. He's clearly tainted this team like he did in San Fran.

[DMann2003 0]

Looking over the free agent list, its a huge shortstop market this offseason.  Nomar Garciaparra, Edgar Renteria, Orlando Cabrera, Jose Valentin, Christian Guzman, and Omar Vizquel are all on the market.  The outfield market is weak, as is the market for first basemen.

There is no reason the Cincinnati Reds shouldn't go after at least one of those guys, maybe not Nomar. They won't. We will just alternate crappy infielders throughout the year.

Don't forget we also need some pitching, if I'm betting Martinez stays with Boston, Cincy should go after Lowe.

 

Of course Cincy won't blow that kind of money...

[The Man in Blak 0]

As far as the Cardinals are concerned, here's what's leaving:

• x-Chris Carpenter, rhp ($500,000)
• Cal Eldred, rhp ($900,000)
• Steve Kline, lhp ($1.7 million)
• Ray Lankford, of ($300,000 - minor league contract)
• John Mabry, of ($300,000 - minor league contract)
• Mike Matheny, c ($2.75 million)
• Matt Morris, rhp ($12.75 million)
• Edgar Renteria, ss ($7.55 million)
• x-Woody Williams, rhp ($4.75 million)
• Tony Womack, 2b. ($300,000 - minor league contract)
• (not listed) Marlon Anderson, 2b. ($600,000)

Money gained: $32.4 million

Approximate money for existing contract raises: $4 million (give or take, with increased playoff revenue)

Total money gained: $28.4 million

 

 

GUYS TO CUT LOOSE

 

MATT MORRIS - He dramatically underachived his contract (and his prior reputation) this year and, with his "creaky shoulder" and awful mechanics, there's really no good future on the horizon for Morris. As I've said before, the Mets will probably burn $9 million on him and see if Rick Peterson can fix him up.

 

WOODY WILLIAMS - Woody was part of the one of the all-time Jocketty steals, but it's probably time to hang 'em up. His arm was gelatin throughout the whole year (he considered retirement because of it) and, while he didn't get the happy ending that he wanted (the Backe duel in the NLCS), he still had a fine finish in St. Louis.

 

STEVE KLINE - Earlier in the year, I mentioned Kline as a must-sign, just because reliable left-handed relievers are hard to find. That was before he ran into injury problems (again) and before I realized he was making $1.7 million a year. Kline's been a great Cardinal (he's my mom's favorite player), but he's probably on his way out unless we can coax a deal in the $800,000-$1M range: The "postseason snub" issue only makes this easier.

 

CAL ELDRED - He was a nice comeback story and he certainly fits into LaRussa's mold of a "veteran retread starter out of the pen", but there's a truckload of right-handed relievers out there who will provide comparable, if not better, stats for less than the $1M+ that Eldred would likely be asking for. Or we could always be reasonable and promote Josh Pearce to the big league club - that'd be my choice.

 

RAY LANKFORD - Same story as Eldred. The comeback was a nice story, but he'll likely be asking for more than he's worth, if he's asking at all - his temporary refusal to accept a minor league assignment late in the year foretells that he'll be making his way out of town again. He'll get on as a NRI somewhere, I'm sure.

 

TONY WOMACK - Only because he won't resign a minor league contract if he comes back next year. Womack was a tremendous bargain, but investing anything more than what we gave him this year would probably be a mistake, especially with his health problems re-emerging during the playoffs. It was a fun year, though.

 

MARLON ANDERSON - .269 OBP and one of the worst bunts ever in the World Series. Next.

 

MIKE MATHENY - I know that CERA is somewhat of a flaky stat but Matheny wasn't that much better than the backup catcher (3.88 to Molina's 3.64) and his inability to use a baseball bat properly kind of takes him out of the $2.75 million range, methinks. Thanks for the service, but it's time to move on.

 

JOHN MABRY - Sample size, sample size, sample size. I openly campaigned for him to be the DH in the World Series, but that's only because the other Cardinal options included Marlon Anderson and Roger Cedeno. He was an awesome bargain (did we roll big on minor league signings or what?), but those 13 home runs and a fluky .363 OBP are going to goad some other team into overpaying him. Hopefully.

 

QUICK RESIGNS

 

EDGAR RENTERIA - Renteria did the Cardinals a huge favor by stumbling a bit in his contract year. The fact that the market will be saturated by shortstops makes me think that we can ink Renteria with a minor raise (4 years, $10.5 million a year, perhaps?)

 

CHRIS CARPENTER - The nerve irritation is a little frightening, but Carpenter more than earned a second opportunity with a career year last year. Plus, his team option ($2 million) is super cheap.

 

Remaining Money: $17.9 million

 

 

CALLUPS

 

JOSH PEARCE (RHP) - He's done well in his past cup of coffees and, as a control specialist, he could probably fit in the pen or even in long relief. We've got to give him a shot, as he's at the stage in his career (age: 27) where it's becomes a "now or never" situation.

 

RICK ANKIEL (LHP) - The Krynzel incident was a bad experience but it was his only wild pitch and he seemed to make a nice bounceback otherwise (9.00 K/BB).

 

 

FREE AGENT PRIORITIES

 

MATT CLEMENT (Starter - RHP) - The Cardinals sorely need a power pitcher who can strike guys out and Clement (9.45 K/9) definitely fills the need. The fact that he's very familiar with the Central Division (and the Cubs) is a considerable bonus.

* Approximate Price: $9.2 million

 

Second Choice: Odalis Perez, who wouldn't have to worry about pitching against the Cardinals in the playoffs if he signed with us.

 

TODD WALKER (2B) - With Womack out, we need a 2B who can get on base (.352 OBP) for the big bats and Walker fits the bill.

* Approximate Price: $4 million

 

Alternate Choice: Placido Polanco, though I doubt he'd be willing to come back home for $4 million after the year that he had.

 

GREG COLBRUNN (1B) - You didn't hear a peep out of him on the Diamondbacks, but Colbrunn is a thick righty bat with home run pop, making him perfect for pinch-hit duty or - heaven forbid - a DH spot in the world series. His limited season makes him all the more cheaper and his old contract ($2.75 million) precludes the Diamondbacks chasing after him, especially in the middle of a youth movement.

* Approximate Price: $1 million

 

Alternate Choice: Travis Lee, who could basically do the same (and more) from the left side of the plate, if the Yankees don't take their $3 million team option on him (which seems likely, given the potential logjam at 1B next year).

 

GREGG ZAUN (Catcher) - Oh no! Not Gregg Zaun! I can't help it that the Yankees and the Cardinals have similar roster builds and similar needs. I already extolled the "virtues" of the Anti-Flaherty in the Beltran thread, but there's one thing I forgot - he's a switch hitter, meaning extra bench flexibility (a Tony LaRussa necessity).

* Approximate Price: $700,000

 

Alternate Choice: Ultimately, any backup catcher will do. Doug Mirabelli might be a stretch, but ultra-defensive Henry Blanco or Kelly Stinnett probably would work here as well.

 

RON VILLONE (Reliever - LHP) - And a collective gasp. Here's the story with Villone - he's drifted between franchises, each of them thinking that he was capable of being a No. 5 starter. Obviously, all of them were wrong and even the Mariners found that out when they tried to move him into the rotation in August (8.07 ERA, 1.90 WHIP in August). However, as a reliever, he did remarkably well in 2004, having an ERA in the low-to-mid 2.00 area for most of his time in the bullpen (four out of six months). He held lefties to a .598 OPS, SAFECO didn't really help his ERA much (4.05 ERA), and his strikeout rate (6.62 K/9) isn't too bad. Sign him for as your backup LOOGY to the Burger King, with the potential for long relief. One possible red flag - a K/BB ratio of 1.34.

* Approximate Price: $1 million

 

Second Choice: Overall, having two lefties out of the pen would be a real luxury, so if Villone somehow didn't come on board, you could probably pick up another bat (Travis Lee) or have another callup (John Gall, perhaps). If you were really feeling lucky, you could pick up Damian Moss on a minor league deal and see how he does in the bullpen *wince*.

 

FINAL ROSTER

 

Lineup:

L - T. Walker, 2B

L - L. Walker, RF

R - Pujols, 1B

L - Edmonds, CF

R - Rolen, 3B

R - Renteria, SS (you could switch him for leadoff with T. Walker as well)

R - Sanders, LF

R - Molina, C

 

Bench:

S - Gregg Zaun, C

R - Greg Colbrunn, 1B

R - Hector Luna, 2B/SS/3B

R - So Taguchi, CF

S - Roger Cedeno, OF

 

Starters:

- Carpenter, Clement/Perez, Marquis, Suppan, Ankiel

 

Bullpen:

- Closer: Isringhausen

- Long Relief: Haren

- LOOGY: King, Villone

- Righties: Tavarez, Calero, Pearce

[snuffbox 0]

Maybe the Milwaukee Brewers will open up their wallet this offseason....

[Bruiser Chong 0]

I'm listening to espnradio1000 right now and some of the headlines include Sammy Sosa considering waiving his no-trade clause.

 

Also, I guess Kerry Wood took a bat to Sammy's boombox on the last day of the season after he pulled his disappearing act. Awesome.

[bob_barron 0]

The Braves have-

 

ATLANTA (6): Antonio Alfonseca, rhp; Paul Byrd, rhp; J.D. Drew, of; Julio Franco, 1b; Russ Ortiz, rhp; Jaret Wright, rhp.

 

I keep Alfonseca, Drew, Old School and Wright.

 

Ortiz is going to get ridiciously overpaid by some team when he really fell off at the end of 2004.

 

Byrd was pretty good but with Horacio Ramirez coming back and Mazzone's ability to develop arms- he's expendable.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

J.D. Drew is easily the most overlooked player this offseason. Only Adrian Beltre had more win shares among the free agent class. Jaret Wright is also forgotten. He made great strides, and could be just as good as the rest of the free agent pitchers. As for Franco, it says something when he's the third best first baseman on the market.

[bob_barron 0]

I hope the Braves can keep Drew- With all the other players he'll probably be overshadowed and maybe they won't have to overpay him.

 

Wright sucked in the playoffs but I think they should keep him.

 

And Franco is always a free agent- he'll play till he dies

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

If the Yankees somehow lose out on Carlos Beltran, it'll be interesting to see if Andruw Jones draws some interest. The rumors have been that the Braves would love to get his salary off the books (which would allow them to sign Drew). I find it amazing that Jones is just a day older than Beltran.

[bob_barron 0]

I'd rather have Andruw Jones then Drew personally. Andruw is the man in the centrefield while this could've just been a contract year for Drew.

 

Why can't Ted Turner buy back the Braves? Surely AOL/Time Warner wants them off the books

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Stoney's on the Dan Patrick show right now, for those of you who're interested.

[Fuzzy Dunlop 0]

In an interview with Jay Mariotti this morning, Chip Caray implied Stone felt physically threatened.

[The Man in Blak 0]

I'd rather have Andruw Jones then Drew personally. Andruw is the man in the centrefield while this could've just been a contract year for Drew.

Plus, I wouldn't want to roll the dice two years in a row that Drew would be healthy.