And so it begins...

by jolietconvict on Nov 14, 2005 10:53 AM CST

...maybe the Cubs aren't so hot after Furcal after all. That sound you heard are the purse strings being tightened.
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-0511120040nov12,1,6530620.story

By the way, this...
One-line diaries are prohibited on Bleed Cubbie Blue. Give your diary a bit more thought, then give it another shot. If you have nothing to add to your proposed diary, then it probably belongs as a comment under another appropriate thread.
...is annoyning.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

Tweet Comment 8 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

The "purse strings being tightened"???

I think you're being a tad bit melodramatic there. Either that, or only reading the headline of the article.

The only newsworthy item regarding Furcal in that article is a quote from his agent. In regards to the arbitration/draft pick issue, Paul Kinzer said, "I don't think that's going to stand in the way of the Cubs at all."
--Well, duh...

The rest of the article (as it pertains to Furcal's demand for a 5 year contract) is simply conjecture by a sportswriter...and we know what that's sometimes worth. Sullivan opines that the Cubs are unwilling to, "...offer Furcal more than four years, having re-signed Aramis Ramirez last April to a four-year, $42 million deal that includes an option year. Derrek Lee, whose contract ends in '06, may be the only player the Cubs would risk a five-year deal on."
--This may well be true...but who knows? The last time I checked, Paul Sullivan didn't make up even part of the decision making group at the helm of the Cubs.

Sullivan then rehashes the old assumption that, "many teams will try to fill holes through the old-fashioned route of making a trade, rather than getting into bidding wars over free agents who wouldn't be fought over in a normal marketplace." He even includes a quote from Jim: "It seems to be a climate where teams are more interested in trading [to improve themselves]," Hendry said.
--Again, we already knew this.

To me, this doesn't indicate any "purse-string tightening", just idle conjecture by Paul Sullivan....which, if you think about it, isn't much different from what we do here.

by Santos L Halper on Nov 14, 2005 11:24 AM CST reply actions

don't worry...

Go here. This is all just part of the public posturing that is a part of free agent contract negotiations these days. The article you sent out was probably done, at least in part, to counter this article that went up on ESPN.com on Saturday. So over the weekend, Furcal's agent said "$50 million or we go back to Atlanta," Hendry said "OK, walk," and the Furcal camp replied "ok, we'll be reasonable."

Furcal's coming here, just be patient.

The Cubs will thrive in twenty-oh-five... or sometime thereafter!

by Shawn Domagal-Goldman on Nov 14, 2005 12:30 PM CST reply actions

Looks like it's down.............

.........to the Cubs and the incumbent Braves for Furcal's services:

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/1005/15braves.html

Sounds like Kinzer is trying to pry every dime possible from Hendry's hands. Mark of a good agent.

by tville on Nov 14, 2005 10:13 PM CST up reply actions

And...

... mark of a good GM that he's waiting him out.

by Al Yellon on Nov 15, 2005 3:56 AM CST up reply actions

However..............

..........a bit scary to read the Cubs have expressed interest in Alex Gonzalez. No, not that Gonzalez, but the other Gonzalez; the one they haven't already had.

With Neifi signed, how could Hendry possibly be looking to deal with this stiff?

by tville on Nov 15, 2005 8:30 AM CST up reply actions

About the diary length...

... diaries are supposed to be a bit longer than comments. Your quote above, while useful and relevant, could have been part of one of the other Furcal threads. This isn't a criticism, and frankly, I don't mind if you have to pad out your diaries a bit.

Yes, it's an annoyance -- but a small one. Anyway, you got the discussion started.

by Al Yellon on Nov 14, 2005 1:24 PM CST reply actions