Was it worth it for Cubs to spend about $300 million during Off-season?
Question:As most of baseball fans knows, Cubs spent about 300 million dollars during the last off-season, signing guys like Alfonzo Soriano, Cliff Floyd, Ted Lilly, and etc. They also got Sweet Lou as their new Manager. Do you think that Cubs did a good job on spending money during the off-season?
Answers:
Which player, past or present, had the sweetest swing?
It was not a great idea in my opinion...soriano - $9.0 mill in 07' ... $13.0 in 08'... $16.0 in 09'... $19.0 mil in 2010.
Lilly - $10.0 mil in 07'. $40.0 mil for 4 years
Piniella - $4.0 mil in 07'
Marquis - $7.0 mil in 07'... $21.0 mil for 3 years
Jones - $6.0 mil in 07'... $16 mil over 3 years
DeRosa - $5.0 mil in 07'... $13.0 mil over 3 years
Howry - $4.0 mil in 07'... $12.0 mil over 3 years
Eyre - $4.0 mil in 07... $11.0 mil over 3 years
Floyd - $3.0 mil over 1 year (07')...
Ward - $1.3 mil over 1 year (07')...
These are all of the cubs signings this past off season... puts their payroll near $100.0 million for 07'.
my reasons for this being a bad idea is because the future is where they have to look. The cubs are not a legitimate world series contender this year... they might be a surprise playoff team but not a legit contender... These players are here for an immediate impact and i dont think this group of players have what it takes to make an immediate impact in exception to soriano (who hasn;t proved himself as a player that could turn a team around either). After this season you are probably not looking at a re-sign of prior and wood and if they do re-sign it will be 1-2 millions dollar salaries... So those two leaving isn't freeing up the budget. Their top paid players are all on long term contacts in exception to Zambrano who is a MUST sign for next season because he is clearly the clubs most important player. He will be looking at a $15.0 million dollar contract over an extended period of time... Another factor is young pitcher Rich Hill... remember that name because he is on the rise and WILL absolutly be resigned by the cubs as he onoly has 1 year left on his $0.4 million dollar contract... If he reaches his potential and wins 10 - 15 games then he should also be seeing about $8.0 million dollars next year. Wade Miller probably will go as a free agent to free up a small 1.5 million dollars but that still is not enough to be able o have the money to really get Zambrano and Hill who are 2 pitchers who are under the age 25... pitching is what wins it in close games and these two are must signs... If you look at the people they signed who is really going to help them win the world series which i believe was the ultimate goal of these signings... Ted Lilly who is 31 years old and has yet to prove himself as the all-star pitcher they need... or do they expect jouque jones to hit .300 with 30 home runs so they could slug their way to vitory?... Is jason marquis really worth 21.0 million dollars? Bobby Howry? Eyre?... are these players going to make a significant impact... the answer is no they are not... They need to get young pitching that has potentioal to develop... (kinda like prior and wood before the injury problems), those injuries set them back many years fro when they should have been a legitimate contender..
It also seems like Piniella is a hero already in Chicago, what has he proved? nothing at all. He actually had Tampa headed in the right direction with a very talented young group of players but they just need a few years... The cubs need to be set straight with that too and Piniella might be able to do just that... he needs to prove it first though...
They have talent but not enough talent or october experience for this year, and not enough youth and potential for next year either... don't expect the world series-less drought to end anytime in the next few years.
:-]
Does anyone know where i can find a video of the red sox 4-home run highlight?
Yes. Now they need to sign Zambrano to a long-term deal.Ticket Sales and Post-Season appearances will decide the answer to your question.
It doesn't matter what they spend. The Cubs always find a way to break their fans' hearts.
Besides, next year, 2008, is the Cubs' year! Yeah, yeah, I know, next year is ALWAYS the Cubs' year. This time, though, it's for real. After all, what better way to celebrate the centennial of their last World Series win than by winning another one?
As of right now it doesn't look like it was worth it. I would have invested that money in resigning Zambrano and maybe looking for other starting pitchers since the famous two keeps getting hurt every year. I like Soriano and think he's a valuable asset but he needs to snap out of this lil funk he's in. Lilly did ok enough the other day. Piniella should have waited until after this season and went back to replace Joe Torre with the Yankees.
I'm not sure why the Cubs have such terrible luck year after year but I have faith that one of these days they will win a title much like the maligned Red Sox. Keep hope alive Cubbies!
Isn't it too premature for people to get excited about a-rod of the yankees?
I THINK IT WASIs this a good performance for a high school pitcher?
NopeTed Lilly is a waste
Marquis has an ERA around 7 or 8
Wow... people please do some research!
Of course it was a good idea to spend the money, as that much talent (and the possibilities of a team with that much talent) will drive up the selling price.
Furthermore, Lilly is a rock. He is a solid veteran who eats up innings and despite being 1-1, should be 2-0. Now residing in the National League, he will continue to excel against teams who don't field a watered down Murderer's Row, like the teams in the AL do. He will easilly win 12 or more games this year if they are productive for him.
Soriano strikes out too much, but he makes up for that with runs and ribbies. Once he's on base, he's always a threat to score.
Between the revamped pitching staff, made up of solid and tested arms, including Dempster (who I think will own this year), and a slugging lineup, I think the Cubs have as good a chance as any NL team to represent the league in the Series.
By the way, I'm a Yankees fan. I'm not impressed by the Cubs spending money. I'm impressed with what they got for their money. Very, very nice and intimidating team.
Anyone see pujols last night? 3 ball walk?
yes. its time for a complete overhaul. after 98 years, its time we had a complete overhaul. its been along time coming, and I hope to see them not go 99 years without a championship. They did the right thing.If they win it doesn't matter
Will the Dodgers trade their prospects or pitching for a big bat?
Outside of Jason Marquis, yes. Zambrano needs to be re-signed immediately, and I personally would've rather had Joe Girardi as manager over Lou Pinella.More Questions & Answers...