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i am beside myself…
i can’t believe it… it’s just not possible is it? i’m still pinching myself… the cubs just signed alfonso soriano for 8 years…
welcome to the cubs! i hope hendry keeps this pace up… this could be a really fun offseason! there really is hope for next year!
my projected lineup:
1. *need a leadoff hitter
2. izturis/derosa
3. soriano
4. lee
5. ramirez
6. barrett
7. jones
8. derosa/izturis
i still have no idea what to say…Â go cubs!
11 Responses to “i am beside myself…”
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this was another stupid, stupid move by henry. to overpay for a hitter who will be 39 at the end of his contract instead of spending major dollars for pitching is absolutely foolish and completely cub.
congratulations little bears! you just bought yourself 75 wins.
you’re just jealous.
and the cubs bought themselves a lot more than 75 wins. this signing will do a whole lot more. remember that last season’s 66 wins was put together with an absent derek lee and 20 (?) different starters, most of which were making their rookie debut because of injuries.
barring a horrible decision to not sign a lead-off hitter, this lineup is one of the best in baseball because of soriano–and their defense got better with his signing as well (20 outfiled assists, most in the majors).
there aren’t a lot of great pitchers out on the market, so there’s not really a whole lot to spend on pitching–zito? schmidt? and then who? schmidt is older than soriano and injury plagued, exactly what the cubs don’t need. and while i wouldn’t mind adding zito, soriano will give the cubs more in the long run. (162 games vs. 36).
the cubs still have a lot of work, but with the addition of soriano and lee to the lineup, that’ll account for a lot more wins. especially once the pitching is there.
i’m not jealous. i just find the contract ridiculous. esp. when you could have signed zito + lilly or even d-mat + lilly for the same amount. you’ve already got two big guns in that line up, so they could have found other offensive pieces to balance out the offense. of course, all of the latter assumes that lee recreates one remarkable season and his wrist injury doesn’t have unforeseen negative consequences such as those that have plaged nomar for the past five years.
in the end, the cubs can spend all the money they want. i’m confident that as soon as they fix one wheel another will fall off.
Three things to remember Aaron:
1) Soriano was on a team (Washington) much like the Cubs. Lousy pitching, decent hitters and where did his team land?
2) Pitching still wins – and dont give me any of the following names: Guzman, Rusch, OMalley, Hill, Marshall, Mateo, Marmol, etc, etc, etc. They all suck.
3) Soriano IS a lead off hitter. Every team since NY has tried to move him down in the order and his numbers drop drastically when he doesnt lead off…he is a power lead off guy.
You still need center fielder, a non-utility 2nd baseman, and 3-4 starters, and a closer. It’s a good addition, but remember the Yankees have tried to spend their way to a championship and it hasnt helped them. Barring a gold glove addition to center field, this team will once again be near dead last in assists and defensive rankings. That is a lot of coin to shelve out, but the Tribune has it obviously giving the likes of DeRosa $13M!
Bottom line, I see 3rd place in their division now instead of dead last again…ha ha
what you fail to realize is that the offseason is just starting.
this is a huge signing and just one piece of the puzzle.
and if you think the astros are going to finish second at this point, you’re sorely mistaken… no pettite, no clemens… and the same anemic offense.
i don’t disagree that pitching is what wins, but this signing will certainly make a difference for the cubs. think of what they’re replacing–matt murton with alfonso soriano. that’s a huge upgrade no matter how you slice it. and if soriano shifts into center, then it’s still an upgrade over pierre, offensively speaking… and about even on a defensive level.
the cubs aren’t done… they’ve got more work to do–but it’s not even thanksgiving yet.
St. Louis Cardinals-World Champs 2006.
Just wanted to remind everyone.
it’s a sad thing when only 1 month after they won, everyone’s already forgotten… i guess you’ll just have to keep on reminding everyone matt…
it’s sad when the world champs are that forgettable.
It’s sad when you have to remind everyone what $100M bought the Cubbies last year too…last place behind a combined two team payroll of less than $40M with the Brewers & Pittsburgh….the funny thing is I have heard for the past 3 years “There is no way Houston and St Louis can keep competing.” Yet year in and year out they do.
Soriano is a very good player dont get me wrong, but still some very big holes in that pitching staff and utility players at SS & 2B has proved to be a huge downfall of this team in the years past.
We’ll see next August what the deal means then.
I like the pickup – but not the years. I have a feeling the Cubs will be eating a couple of years. But they still haven’t solved their pitching. The Mets and Yanks proved this year that hitting is not enough. As the Cardinals proved, you don’t need hitting, you don’t need pitching, you don’t need a bullpen or a bench. You just need luck and Albert Pooholes and a mulleted manager.
i heard the cubs are close to signing floyd, read it on rotoworld.com… that could be disastrous if they’re expecting him to start. an outfield of soriano-RF; jones-CF; floyd-LF, defensively speaking, would be as pourous as a sponge.
i like hendry, but when he falls in love with a player–he doesn’t change his mind. i’d like floyd off the bench–especially if he comes cheap… but other than that, it could be real bad.
time to look for pitching… time to look for pitching.
westbrook and meche would be nice–not to mention lilly.
hendry is an idiot and the soriano signing was a desperate move. i doubt that anyone else was willing to give sori 7 years, much less 8.
that being said, a competitive cubs team is good for the national league and the central. so we’ll see how things work out.