Kaz Meets Exclusively With the Cubs

Kaz Matsui met exclusively with the Cubs on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, at a lunch date 1-on-1 with Jim Hendry. I like Hendry's dedication to getting Matsui. I still think it's a good idea to get Kazuo Matsui, who is coming off a career year.

Kaz rejected a 2 year, $7 million contract from the Rockies. To me this means the Rockies are out of the picture, and a previous report said that the Cubs and Rockies are ahead of the Astros. Well, if the Rockies are out of the picture, than it's down to the Cubs and Astros.

Either way, this is good news to me. Also, the Cubs are still interested in Kosuke Fukudome, who has recieved 2 offers from Japanese teams. He is now said to be turning his attention to U.S. teams, which is also in the sun-times report I have up above for Kaz Matsui's meeting.

That's all for today,

Ryan

John McDonough to the- Blackhawks?

The buzz is confirmed, president John McDonough has left the Cubs to become the president of the Chicago Blackhawks. So I'm thinking that this can only be another distraction in a very uneventful offseason-to-date.

Not only do the Cubs need players, they also need someone to buy the team, and they need a president. That could put a lot of stress on the team. But why would he leave forthe most pathetic of all Chicago teams, the blackhawks?

It just doesn't make sense. I guess if he likes the blackhawks more than the Cubs and can get into it more, which would be good for the hawks, I guess, so 1- blackhawks, 0- cubs. I just wish McPhail never would've left.

That's today's post, so until tomorrow,

Ryan

Luis Castillo Off The Market

Luis Castillo, a suspected cubs prospect free-agent, signed a 4 year pact with the New York Mets. This takes him off the market, but many still remain. Kaz Matsui, who I think would be a good pick-up, is still on the market, as well as outfielder Kosuke Fukudome.

The Cubs also have been said to be "taking a flyer" on Bartolo Colon. Colon would be a decent pickup, although the past two seasons his ERAs have been over 5, and in 2007 it was a staggering, Jason Marquis like, 6.34 ERA.

Well those are some things to think about.

(Tomorrow's story may have something to do with John McDonough, my sources tell me)

Ryan

That's Just Fantastic, 101 Years In The Coming

Not sarcastically either. Lou Piniella says that by the year 2009, the Cubs will be a World Series team. It's truly a great article.

Also, Goatriders.org in it's most recent post brings up a great point. The Cubs have approximately 28 million to spend, and they ask how you would spend it. I don't want to steal their idea, so I'm not going to tell you to answer that in a Cub-ment like on the poll. I'm just going to tell you my ideas.

First of all, I'd sign Kaz Matsui for that 3yr/14.4mm he was offered. That spends about 5 million/year, we'll say, so the Cubs have 23 million left. Then I'd pursue Japanese Chinichi Dragon OF Kosuke Fukudome. That would probably be 8-10 million/year. The Cubbies now have 13-15 million left to spend. I'd re-sign Kerry Wood for a 1 year contract for 2 mm/year with incentives for number of appearances. That leaves the Cubs probably 9-10 million left. I'd then trade one of my favorite Cubs, Matt Murton, and another Cub, Ryan Dempster, along with Rich Hill to relieve some salary for a well-to-do 4 or 5 starter. An example of this would be Cliff Lee. That would add most likely about 3 million to the Cubs payroll, and then I'd trade Marquis for a 5 starter like James Shields.

We'll then assume the Cubs have 15 million to spend. I'd then sign Bartolo Colon for 7 or 8 Million, as no-one in their right minds will ever give him 4 years/51 million again after 2 horrible years. That way, the Cubs have enough money to sign somebody if something doesn't work out, they have enough money to trade and pick up salary, and they have all of their immediate needs filled. That's just me though.

Also, I have to give a shoutout to my favorite quarterback in the NFL Rex Grossman and I want to wish him luck tomorrow, and GO BEARS. If they go 6-1 in their last 7 games, they have a great chance of making a wild card spot.

Until tomorrow,

Ryan

Kaz Matsui, Carl Crawford

Good news, the trade with the Tigers for Omar Infante DOES NOT mean that he will be the starter. Dave Kaplan of Chicago's WGN Radio says the Cubs will have a multi-year deal with free agent Kazuo Matsui later this week. Sources have suggested that the Cubs have offered the former Rockies 2nd baseman around 3 years, 14.4 mm.

Carl Crawford also doesn't seem to be out of the picture. Nick Cafardo says that the Cubs are making a push for Crawford in a deal that would give the Rays Rich Hill, Carlos Marmol, and who knows what else? It seems to me this may be slightly off the mark, especially after all the buzz of Marmol as a closer and the somewhat inconsistency of the bullpen even WITH Marmol. Rich Hill makes sense, as there are starting pitchers on the market, such as Matt Clement, Bartolo Colon. Besides, Rich pitched like me towards the end of the year. He had a little more zip on his fastball, though. Cafardo's theory backs Bruce Levine's theory from a few days ago, although Levine's theory was dismissed by Roger Mooney.

Most of this information comes from http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/chicago_cubs/index.html, the Cubs rumors from MLBTradeRumors.com, but I also have used other sources of information available to me. That's my post for the day, I'll be changing the poll soon, so have a nice day.

Until next time,

Ryan

A-Rod, Barry Bonds Stir Things Up

A-Rod shook up my world today, and I'm sure yours (not that there are and of "you", I have no readers), too. The New York Daily News reports that A-Rod has agreed to a 10-year, 275 MM contract. They aren't the only ones, of course, that say this, they are just the ones I chose to use because of the article. Can you say overpaid? Not that he doesn't deserve it now, but there will be a day in age where he won't be hitting a baseball like it's the sears tower and he can't miss. I think this will be a great deal for the Yanks for the next 3 or 4 years, and then surely, his production will slow down to glacier speed. Well, actually, I believe he'll never have a season for the rest of his career where he doesn't hit at least 25 homers, but still, 27.5 mm for 25 homers isn't good enough.

Barry Bonds, too, shook up the town of San Fransisco, my town, your town, Bud Selig's town, Greg Anderson's town, and many other towns today, as he was inicted with 4 counts of perjury and 1 count of obstruction of peace. I've always been a Bonds fan, so I truly believe this will tarnish his reputation. Maybe he didn't know he was gaining 30 pounds a year because of 'flaxseed oil'. Actually, though, everyday I find it harder to back him up. That is just my observation.

Anyway, on to the Cubs news. Zambrano finished 5th in NL Cy Young award this year. He never had a chance. Nobody did- not when Peavy was striking people out, winning games and shutting teams run producers down. He won the NL Triple Crown for pitchers, and incredible feat. I congratulate him, although it would've been nice to see Big-Z win it.

Well, That Just Burst My Bubble

A-Rod has interest in rejoining the Yankees.



Carl Crawford deal is a bust. That wasn't going to get off the ground, as I figured. I had wishful thinking, however, and I let it consume me yesterday, and I am sorry. Right now, with the info we have my projections for the 08 season are:

1. Alfonso Soriano


2. Omar Infante


3. Derrek Lee


4. Aramis Ramirez


5. Kosuke Fukudome


6. Mark DeRosa


7. Geovany Soto


8. Felix Pie (uhh?), Milton Bradley


9. (Pitcher)

All things considered, that is a fair lineup. Infante, as I discussed a couple days ago, will most likely result in reduced production, but Soriano could make up for some of that if he can hit homeruns in 2008 at a more consistent pace than knocking the crap outta the ball in September but no other month. If Derrek Lee's wrist is back to 100% strength, you can expect the Cubs #3 hitter to hit more homers, and if his average stays up there, then by all means he should make up for the rest of what Infante lacks.

Aramis was amazing this year, and I would expect him to play at that level next year, as he has been fairly consistent since the cubs got him from the Pirates. Fukudome I can't really vouch for, but his stats show he can have a good average, and has some pop in his bat, as well. DeRosa's been an above average hitter the last 2 seasons, but I wouldn't expect him to continue that, as he might go back to his ways of hitting in the mid to low .270s. Geovany Soto is yet unproven in big league play, but he was great in AAA, and he played well in major league play at the end of the year.

I like this lineup, especially if they can get off to a better start than last year. If they can end just as hot, start better than 2007, have a decent to strong middle, they'll be a playoff team in a weak NL Central division. The only problem after that, though, is the playoffs. They Cubs played like a little league baseball team in October, and made Dane Cook's job a whole lot easier. Well, that's all I have for today,

so until next time,

Ryan

Cubs Trade Monroe for PTBNL, and a Great Rumour

Today the Cubs made a move with the Minnesota Twins. That move was giving them Craig Monroe. Smart Idea. Now we'll have 3 outfielders for our push for Carl Crawford, the Tampa Bay Rays outfielder.

Also, The Cubs want to re-sign Prior, and Kerry Wood and have him close. Well, quite possibly Prior, as well. Also, according to ESPN radio, they want Dempster to start in 2008, and they want Marmol, Howry, or obviously Wood close.

Hendry continues to amaze by his interest, along with the Rangers, in Coco Crisp. The Cubs, like I have previously stated, also have interest, along with the Padres, for Kazuo Matsui, the free agent 2ND baseman from the Colorado Rockies.

So, needless to say, it has been a good, if not somewhat surprising off-season so far to date.

Infante to the Cubs... [From 'Yay' to 'Nay' in 30 minutes]

When I first read the article about Infante coming to the Cubs for Jacque, I was ecstatic. It couldn't have gone better. Now we have room for Fukudome in RF, Bradley/Hunter/Jones/anyone else in CF, and SS is taken care of. I changed my mind in 30 easy minutes, and I think I can change yours (I use the term 'yours' loosely because there are none of "you", I don't have readers.)

Last year, Infante played 66 games, had 166 at-bats and hit .271. When he got in the game the Tigers went 36-30, 21-18 when he started. His longest hit streak was 5 games. He had 178 PA this year. He had 17 RBI, and had 118 men on base when hitting. The average hitter with 178 PA in a season has 21 RBI with 5 less runners on base. That's HUGE. Those chances are the ones that change games. He had a 14% success rate of getting runners home compared to a league average of 19%, which leaves him at a -5%.

On the flip side, Jacque had 135 games, 453 at-bats and a .285 average, with a disappointing 5 homers. While I agree he doesn't have enough power to be an everyday outfielder, he hits the ball and faced with oppurtunity, he drives in runs. In his appearances this year, the Cubs went 71-64, 59-54 when he started. He had 495 PA, 66 RBI, with a total 345 men on base when he stepped up to the plate. The average player with 495 PA gets 58 RBI, with 314 on base. This is a 19% success rate for Super-Jacque, compared to a league average of 18%. That leaves Mr. Jones at a +1%.

If Infante has the same amount of PAs next year as Jacque did this year with the same amount of runners on (or if he has more), it would deprive the Cubs of 17+ runs. That's a lot of runs. It might not seem like a lot, but it is essential. If you won a game 3-2 last year, you might not be so lucky this year. For example, July 24th, 2007. Jacque Jones went 1 for 2 with 2 walks and an RBI. In the top of the 2nd inning, he singled home Cliff Floyd. This ended up being an essential run for the Cubs. If not, when the Cubs and Cards both scored in the 9th, we'd have been headed to extras, not Big Z's 13 w of the year.

If I haven't changed your mind, you are a brick wall and you cannot be swayed except by little puppies and ice cream.

Have a good one,

Ryan

Trade Rumor

Sorry that I didn't get to write much today, but an interesting trade rumor has surfaced about Jacque Jones for Omar Infante. That's something to think about. Comment on your thoughts. Would this make sense? You tell me!

Ryan