Unlike the previous twoteams I covered, it’s obvious the
Cubs, at 48-29, are going to be contenders in 2008. The Cubs are also one of the
most balanced teams in the league: 2nd most runs on offense and 5th
fewest runs on defense. What do they need to put them over the top in their
elusive hunt for a championship?
On offense, they currently have no holes, but there are a
couple of question marks in my mind. One, can Ryan Theriot keep this up all
year? Two, has Jim Edmonds found the fountain of youth buried deep inside
Wrigley Field? To answer the first one, there’s nothing in Theriot’s advanced or
batted ball statistics to suggest that he’s not for real. On the other hand,
his batting line is held up by a great April. He hit .340/.415/.457 in April,
followed by .308/.407/.337 in May and .308/.349/.333 in June. That’s right; he
only has 5 extra base hits since April. If he has lost his stroke, the Cubs
should still be okay as they can always turn to one of Ronny Cedeno, Mike
Fontenot, or Eric Patterson (I still think DeRosa could handle shortstop).
Center field might be a different story. After hitting .252/.325/.403 for the
Cardinals last year, Edmonds opened the year hitting .178/.265/.233 for the
Padres. That prompted the Padres to release him May 9th, and the
Cubs signed him to a league-minimum contract 5 days later. In the same amount
of playing time in Chicago as San Diego, Edmonds has hit .300/.352/.587. All
told, he’s hitting .235/.305/.400 and his defense has been okay (.955/.914 RZR and
100/104 Rates with Chicago/San Diego). If he goes back to being 38 (okay, so he’s
not 38 until Friday), the Cubs will need to look for another solution. The
23-year old Felix Pie hasn’t re-found his swing at AAA (.222/.274/.393), and on
top of it, he recently injured his hand. Basically, if Edmonds falls apart, there’s
a hole in center.
Moving to the pitching staff, the bullpen has been
outstanding, led by non-closer Carlos Marmol. Over 40 innings, Marmol has
struck out 64 and only walked 20 with an ERA of 3.00. The actual closer Kerry
Wood has also pitched well. In his 38.2 IP, Wood has an ERA of 2.56 with 46
strikeouts and 8 walks. So if the bullpen doesn’t need any help, what about the
rotation? Recently disabled Carlos Zambrano has pitched well as has the
surprising Ryan Dempster. In the other three rotation spots, Ted Lilly, Jason
Marquis, and Sean Gallagher have held their own. If the Cubs wanted to enhance
their chances of both getting to and doing well in the playoffs, the starting rotation
is a good place to target. They’ve been in several rumors, including those for
C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. They have spare middle infielders (Cedeno, Fontenot,
and Patterson), outfielders (Pie and Matt Murton) and starting pitchers to use
as trade bait (Rich Hill and Sean Marshall). If they could land a top pitcher
like Sabathia or Burnett, they’d have to be considered favorites in the
National League. Maybe this is the year for the Cubs to break the 100-year
curse.
Potential upgrades: SS, CF, SP
Possible trade bait: Cedeno, Fontenot, Patterson, Pie,
Murton, Hill, Marshall
Interesting note about the Cubs: They have pretty much
everyone locked up for the next couple years. Their only 2008 free agents are
Dempster, Wood, Bob Howry, Jon Lieber, Daryle Ward, and DeRosa’s their only
2009 free agent.
I don't really see CF being too much of a concern for us. There's nothing to show that Edmonds will slide, especially since Lou is rotating him with Johnson. If worse came to worse they could move Patterson to RF and put Fukudome in CF once Soriano comes back.
The starting rotation could be a little better, but so could evryone's! No team has a lights out rotation 1-5. Sabathia would help but that's not to say that the Cubs aren't equipped to win it without him.
And you're way off on Theriot. Solid defender who gets on base. What more can you ask?
Last edited by sho_nuff_ on June 25th at 11:02 PM.
Now is the time to call the Mariners. They need to build for the future...as such, I think that both the Mariners and Ichiro would be willing to say goodbye to one another. It would give the Mariners a chance to recoup younger talent and it gives Ichiro a legit chance to win.
The Cubs Get...
Ichiro - He gives them a legit leadoff hitter, a solid CF and the left-handed bat they were looking for.
Bedard - He gives them a great complimentary piece for the rotation and--assuming he regains his 2007 form--a second ace to march out there alongside Big Z.
The Mariners Get...
Base Package.
Hill - Marmol - Murton - Marshall
and two of the following...
Theroit, Soto, Pie, DeRosa, Gallagher
Seems logical for both sides, it just needs to happen.
Good God why don't we just give a world series trophy to the Cubs. It seems every one is so worried about this team that it makes me sick!! How can we help the cubs over the top? how can we give this team every break in the world? Gee wiz lets spot them 5 runs a game? Lets get every GM in baseball to lay down against this team? That's it lets do these things and stop the season right now oh and let's not forget the Trubune company over the years have just made token trades or signings knowing fully well that this team always birngs in the big dollar it's oh so cute and cuddley to be a drunk #### Cub fan they could care less about winning.Duh Cub fans in the past didnt know or care about a wining teem. So let give basball and the whole fricking country what they want the little cubbbies in a world series. Let them play the college worls series winner then they will have a chance of there first title in 100 years!!!
THE CUBS TO WIN THE WORLD SERIES??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? LOU WILL OVERUSE THE BULLPEN (AS HE ALWAYS DOES) & LOSE HIS CLOSER AND SET-UP MAN BY AUGUST 1ST. BIG Z WILL COLLAPSE NEAR THE END & GO ON A SIX-GAME LOSING STREAK (IF HE CAN STAY HEALTHY). THE OUTFIELD IS A JOKE AS A WHOLE AND WILL END UP AVERAGING ABOUT .250-.265 BETWEEN THE 3 OF THEM. CUBBIES WILL GIVE THE WORLD WHAT THEY ALWAYS DO.... HOPE FOR NEXT YEAR (AS ALWAYS).
tkatt00
Jun 26, 2008
11:41 AM Now is the time to call the Mariners. They need to build for the future...as such, I think that both the Mariners and Ichiro would be willing to say goodbye to one another. It would give the Mariners a chance to recoup younger talent and it gives Ichiro a legit chance to win.
The Cubs Get...
Ichiro - He gives them a legit leadoff hitter, a solid CF and the left-handed bat they were looking for.
Bedard - He gives them a great complimentary piece for the rotation and--assuming he regains his 2007 form--a second ace to march out there alongside Big Z.
The Mariners Get...
Base Package.
Hill - Marmol - Murton - Marshall
and two of the following...
Theroit, Soto, Pie, DeRosa, Gallagher
Seems logical for both sides, it just needs to happen.
Last edited by tkatt00 on June 26th at 11:43 AM.
*********
Forget about the Mariners EVER trading Ichiro, dude. He is worth much more than mere baseball production to the Mariners (think Japanese marketing).
sox1919
Jun 26, 2008
12:22 PM Good God why don't we just give a world series trophy to the Cubs. It seems every one is so worried about this team that it makes me sick!! How can we help the cubs over the top? how can we give this team every break in the world? Gee wiz lets spot them 5 runs a game? Lets get every GM in baseball to lay down against this team? That's it lets do these things and stop the season right now oh and let's not forget the Trubune company over the years have just made token trades or signings knowing fully well that this team always birngs in the big dollar it's oh so cute and cuddley to be a drunk #### Cub fan they could care less about winning.Duh Cub fans in the past didnt know or care about a wining teem. So let give basball and the whole fricking country what they want the little cubbbies in a world series. Let them play the college worls series winner then they will have a chance of there first title in 100 years!!!
***********
People certainly don't want to give the WS trophy to your team with their obnoxious fan base. So screw you! The Cubs are playing well and deserve the accolades. Try giving them some respect, jerkwad.
Trade Soto, Marmol,Theriot or Derosa??
Please! Soto, Marmol and Theriot are all young talent that the Cubs need to keep. Derosa is an asset that the club needs for at least the rest of this season.
I doubt the Mariners would give up Ichiro. Yes another decent SP would be a big addition.
Fotenot, Hill, Marshall,Pie (if you could find a taker), maybe even Patterson could be good bait but its all going to be about $$$$. Like the Yankees--if you wanna spend it, they will come.
Go Cubbies!!!
Seems to me the Cubbies are standing on the pinnicle of MLB, why would anyone want to tinker with this team? Sure they have deficiencies here and there, but they play as a team. Don't rock the boat!
You're delusional. No way the Mariners are parting with Ichiro and Bedard, especially after signing Ichiro to that contract. A trade for just Bedard, slightly more likely, but still pretty close to impossible, given all the young talent they sent to Baltimore to get their hands on him.
I know a lot of people are knocking my idea of trading Ichiro, but let's be honest here, the Mariners aren't likely to contend anytime soon and Ichiro has stated that he wants to play for a winner and get a World Series ring. That's why he re-upped with Seattle last year during what appeared to be a turn-around year.
If I'm the Mariners, I want to be fair to the biggest superstar we've had since Griffey and A-Rod left and I want to give him the opportunity to win (in the NL of course) and all while reaping the benefits for the future of my franchise.
People are laughing at my trade, but Pinella isn't the one who makes the decisions...the team would gladly bring on Bedard and Ichiro while mortgaging a bunch of the youth (I believe I only mentioned two names currently on the major league roster) for a chance to avoid moving beyond the 100 year mark.
The pride of the Cubs franchise is at stake as is the potential sale of the team. There is no doubt in my mind that the higher-ups would be more than willing to make a move to make the Cubs World Series favorites and ensure an end with 100-years of futility as well as a nice easy sale.
With the Cubs going 6-6 in Interleague play without facing Boston, New York or the Angels I can safely say they aren't winning the World Series with the team they have.
I FEAR ST. LOUIS WILL GET HOT LATER IN THE SEASON AND I FEAR THE CUBS ARE INJURY PRONE TO FADE.SOMETHING ALWAYS HAPPENS TO THE CUBS LATE IN THE YEAR.IT HAS BEEN PITCHERS.NOW IT'S OTHERS TOO EARLY.
tkatt00....While I would like to see the Cubbies win it this year, being in Seattle your trade is not logical. Ichiro is not going anywhere (Japanese ownership for one thing) and the list of propects you named is not enough. We don't need any more light hitting position players (DeRosa, Murton,) don't need a young C (Clement), and don't need another young injured OF (Pie) Theroit, Marmol and Hill/Marshall could be interesting, but that is probably not going to get you either Ichiro or Bedard.
Good Luck the rest of the year. By the way, you may be better off without Bedard...Overhyped and about to get overpaid.
This is baseball. Let's have some fun.
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