but that's Jim Hendry for ya. If I was Jimbo, I would have given Nomar the same or better contract to play second base for the cubs and traded todd walker. I know how people love walker, but he doesn't compare to Nomar. I still think Nomar was so fragile that 2nd would have been an even dangerous proposition, but insurance is necessary. Going in, I thought Aramis would be the most likely to go down. turns out it was D-Lee. I know it was freak, but what would have been with Nomar at first? you gotta have depth. I think depth is not in this org's vocabulary. That said, I think Hendry is TOO NICE. Seems like he goes out of his way to make players like this be happy somewhere else. there comes a time where you should LIE once in a while OK? sounds terrible I know. but nomar was looking to START somewhere, especially in LA, but if promised a starting spot with the cubs he might have taken it. Hendry didn't need to make good on the promise. that's business. hendry is too nice, again. does nobody else think that? i know incompetence always comes to mind, but business is business, and hendry is not good for business. although, Nomar, like Maddux probably wanted to move to LA anyway. Lots of facets to consider.

but it's never going to happen. Hendry won't bring him back for a second time. I love to bring him back and start at second, and then you've got Theriot to give him the many days off he requires. He'll probably be fairly affordable too.

"On what basis do you see Aubrey Huff getting an 11 million per deal?"  Personally, I would never pay Aubrey Huff $11M per year.  However, Baseball Prospectus seems to think he's worth that much.  I had a feeling someone would ask this question, so here you go...
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2006/06/2007_free_agent.html

Not only do we sign Soriano, we get A-Rod, keep A-Ram, and start all 3 in the infield with Lee. Or, Soriano is so fond of the OF now, he goes out to left, and we pick up Nomar for 2nd. To complement Soriano in Left, we put Wells or Matthews Jr in Center, and Sammy Sosa returns from retirement in 2001 form to play right again. As long as we're picking up every free agent, we may as well use our time machine and get Sammy.

For pitchers, we get Gyro, Zito/Schmidt, and Prior reveals he's used the time machine to go to the future and get advanced medical treatment, restoring his arm to 2003 condition. Disdaining a 5 man rotation, we go with Gyro, Zito/Schmidt, Zambrano, and Prior, each of whom win 20-25 games, including the magical 23 strikeout perfect game thrown by Z, who has finally given up the Internet to preserve his elbow. The biggest surprise is when phenomenal closer Wood returns to the rotation in the playoffs to keep everybody fresh, all under the guidance of surprise Pitching Coach replacement Greg Maddox (turns out he worked out some sort of Prince and Pauper deal with Larry). The Cubs are so thrilled they manage to convince MLB to retroactively award Mad Dog a 15 win season last year.

Looking back next year, we'll all remember fondly the odd circumstances surrounding the base-running special advisor we brought in to motivate the guys during the offseason. No one would have expected it, but Pete Rose's signing baseballs with "I'm sorry I bet on baseball" stunt actually worked, and he was let back into baseball. Seizing upon the opportunity, the Cubs brought him into Spring Training where he turned the Cubs into Team Hustle. The most notable change came in the person of A-Ram, who overcame his nagging quad problem and became the best baserunner on the team...

In all seriousness, I really am enjoying my dreams of A-Ram, A-Rod, Soriano/Nomar, Lee in the infield. At least we know Lee will be there.