Was reading this article and it got me to thinking about the cubbies. I’m not from Chicago but for some reason I’ve always liked the Cubs. They always have intriguing players and I love the brick wall with the ivy and such. I don’t follow the national league much but I always keep an eye on the Cubs, ever since Kerry Wood struck out 20 batters.
However, I can’t help but think they did a horrible job this offseason. I mean like historically awful. They committed $300 million in salary, and the only player they got/resigned who I would call above average is Soriano. OK Aramis is an above average hitter, but he disappears for months at a time and seems to have trouble being “the guy.” Now Soriano is an excellent player, and he deserves his big contract, but I have a feeling he won’t be worth it in the long run, especially when he gets toward the end of the contract and his speed starts to vanish. Lilly is a capable pitcher, floyd can hit some, etc., but really they aren’t that much better than the team was last year. In order for this to pan out all of their injury prone players have to stay healthy (good luck with that), which essentially boils this down to a $300 million spin of the roulette wheel, and they still haven’t resigned Zambrano, who has been the MVP of their pitching staff the past few years.
This reminds me of a larger scale version of what the Mariners did in the '04-05 offseason, dropping huge sums of money on Beltre and Sexson just to show their fans They Mean Business, when everyone on the planet knew they were not going to live up to their contract dollars.
So what do you guys think? Wise investement, future trainwreck, or somewhere in between?
The cubbies suck, continually make stupid decisions and will continue to lose. They will however, continue to be the darlings of the NL, because their fan base cares not a shit if they win or not. Their fans (fannies?) care more about how pretty the ivy is, although the park it holds up the wall in while perhaps a pretty place to see a game on TV - is in fact a crumbling wreck.
Their fans like the ‘image’, the cachet, the hipness of being cubbie fans.
They didn’t just waste money on acquisitions, they spent money re-signing Prior.
Turn to the South Side, enjoy a team that cares for a change.
If they plan on having Soriano as their everyday centerfielder “Trainwreck” puts it lightly. After a couple April homegames the fans will be wishing Juan Pierre was back.
Despite the acquisition of Jason Marquis, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cubs won the NL Central this year. Not that I want it to happen, but, SOMEBODY has to. Of course, I’d rather see the Cardinals win it, going to the postseason for the fourth consecutive year for the first time in modern franchise history. But with a starting rotation of Carpenter, Wells, Reyes, and the Question Mark twins, I don’t see it. Although, fortunately for the Cardinals, Walt Jocketty is still their GM, and he always seems to pull a rabbit out of his hat (the exception, of course, is Esteban Yan).
The only other team in the Central that I can really see winning is the Brewers. But unless Ben Sheets is healthy, I’m not sure if they’re quite ready yet.
So, as disappointing as it will be if the Cubs do win the division, don’t let it surprise you!
As for all of the money that Hendry has spent this offseason, he doesn’t care. Either the Cubs will be good/contend/actually win, then it was justified, and he keeps his job. Or, the Cubs will be, well, the Cubs, and he gets fired, leaving somebody else to deal with the mess he’s made.
That was actually one of the few moves I DID like from the cubs. Prior, when healthy, is as good as any pitcher in the game. Sure he is a huge injury risk, but I’d gladly spend 4 million on a risk with that much upside.
And good point cardsfan1975, SOMEBODY has to win that division, and on paper the Cubs look like frontrunners to do that. Still, they have absolutely no wiggle room, an entire team of injury risks and questionable character people (other than Derrick Lee), and tons of baggage coming into the season. I kinda think the cards, with Carpenter, Pujols, and a fair amount of flexibility over the next few years are in much better shape.
Paying A list money to B list free agents. If you are going to drop the kind of cash they gave
Soriano, he had better damn sure be at or near the top of his position. Unfortunately he isn’t
(one year does not make…).
Refusing the see the value of on-base percentage. Soriano, with his career OBP of .325,
does not address this need.
Thinking that THIS will be the year that the banged-up pitching staff will come together.
Hiring a series of bufoons for managers, from Frey and Zimmer up to the present day with
Dusty Baker.
An almost pathological refusal to try to rebuild with young talent. Oops the Cubs’ farm
system isn’t all that good.
It’s likely that the Cubs will be competing with the Giants for #1 draft picks for the forseeable
future-the Giants made some similarly bad offseason deals and when Barry finally decides to quit
that’ll be all she wrote.
MTA: The Cubs’ fan base seems more impatient than it did say during the hapless King Kong
Kingman years in the 70’s. I’ve heard boo birds on several Cubs’ telecasts in the recent past.
Hear hear! I think the Cubs would be helped by more fairweather fans. Like me, I don’t actively root for my teams unless they put a good product on the field. I can’t reward them with my allegiance if they are doing poorly. By witholding my support, it will motivate the team to earn it back.
If the Cubs fans did this, management may take notice.
Soriano is being a little unerrated here; he’s a legitimate star.
However, let’s be perfectly frank; they went 66-96 last year in a weak division. They could improve a LOT and still be under .500. Soriano isn’t worth 15 wins (nobody is) and their other big signing is a pitcher with a career record of 59-58 who’s famous mostly for his habit of refusing to work with pitching coaches.
What’s amazing is that the blueprint for overcoming your Curse is right there in the form of the
2004 Red Sox. The Sox didn’t make themselves content with B list FA’s: they went out and got
the very best at their positions, from Manny to Pedro and then Schilling. They deliberately got
guys who could get on base (Mueller, Millar, even Youkilis). But I guess all that, which has been
detailed in a number of books written about that season, is probably too much for the Cubs
brass.
See, that’s your problem right there. Just stop liking them, because there’s nothing likable about them.
Pick an unloved team like the Seattle Mariners or the Washingon Nationals or the San Diego Padres, and like them instead. Their parks are as nice or nicer than Wrigley Field . . . their fans will be happy to have an out-of-towner take an interest . . . and you might actually experience a championship without having to live to be 300.
Let the over-hyped, over-loved, and under-performing Cubbies lose in peace.
A truly paranoid person would wonder if the Cubs’ management wants to win. As long as their winning record is irrelevant to their attendance, why give up on a good thing?
I’ll betcha they’re closely watching the attendance at Fenway Park for a post-Series falloff. If the Red Sox faithful get complacent having won one, maybe the Cubbies will wonder if the ring is worth it.
Well I am first, foremost and always an Oakland (or I guess soon to be Fremont ) A’s fan so no way in hell will I ever root for the Mariners. The Padres are way too vanilla for me to get behind, plus I can’t root for a team when it only takes 24 home runs to lead the team because they play in Grand Canyon. Seriously, why not just throw whiffleballs at Petco games? The Nat’s don’t have a single decent player anymore. When Nick Johnson is your superstar it’s time to reevaluate the situation.
Really, the problem is that the National League is in such a mess right now. Cardinal’s WS win aside (and frankly I’m calling that a fluke until proven otherwise), There isn’t a single roster in the NL that I think would seriously compete for an AL Championship. MAYBE the Mets.
Ryan Zimmerman was second in Rookie of the Year voting last year, and looks to be a potential star. Austin Kearns, while not a superstar, is more than just a decent player. And although he hasn’t played a full season before, it looks like Ryan Church is at least a decent platoon player.
Even Nick Johnson is more than decent. Yes, you mentioned him. But, you also said that they don’t have a single decent player.
The problem with the Nationals is that they were owned by Major League Baseball until July of last year. Now that they are actually allowed to compete, it’s going to take a while before they are a competitive team. But to say that they don’t have a single decent player is just not true.
This, however, is the first year in several the Cubs haven’t been banking on the health of Prior and Wood. When they knew it was all over last year, they started throwing young guys on the mound like Sean Marshall and Rich Hill, who were good. Along with Wade Miller, Lilly, Marquis, (not even counting Wood or Prior) they shouldn’t be stuck in the boat they were in last year, running out of starting pitching.
I’m more worried about Dumpster, er, Dempster in the bullpen. Barrett is proven himself, and I can see Derosa hitting above .300 again. Hopefully Lee and Ramirez for a full year, this team should be at the top of a division that has only recently flattened out.
OK, “decent” was a bit of hyperbole but seriously, other than the Royals, I can’t think of any team with less major league talent than the Nats. They are going to lose 100 games this season. I could even see the case made that they have less talent than the Royals, who have Teahen and with Grienke coming back might have some sort of a nucleus to build around…
Great point. I am amazed that, with all the cash flowing, they didnt get anyone to replace one of the worst everyday closers I have ever seen.
) A’s fan so no way in hell will I ever root for the Mariners. The Padres are way too vanilla for me to get behind, plus I can’t root for a team when it only takes 24 home runs to lead the team because they play in Grand Canyon. Seriously, why not just throw whiffleballs at Petco games? The Nat’s don’t have a single decent player anymore. When Nick Johnson is your superstar it’s time to reevaluate the situation.