Bring back Alou?

by WGNstatic on Sep 1, 2006 3:18 PM CDT

I am wondering what folks would think about the possibility of bringing back Moises Alou? Yes he is getting a bit old, but he still hits well, and, along with Murton and Jones, could make a decent corner outfield.

To me, it seems like the other options would be to spend big money on either C. Lee or A. Soriano, then be forced to deal Murton.

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.

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i dunno

hes very old and gets injured quite abit. it sounds good but i just dunno.

by tbizzle83 on Sep 1, 2006 3:19 PM CDT reply actions

Murton as a backup

The only reason I would even consider it is because with Murton, you have a high quality 4th outfielder who could spell an aging Alou and Jones against lefties.

Eamus Ursuli!

by WGNstatic on Sep 1, 2006 3:23 PM CDT up reply actions

true

but isnt that what the GREAT angel pagan is for haha. actually i would like to have murton start fulltime.

by tbizzle83 on Sep 1, 2006 3:25 PM CDT up reply actions

Here's the process...

Step 1: Trade Michael Barrett, Felix Pie, Juan Mateo and Carlos Marmol to Toronto for Vernon Wells and Bengie Molina

Step 2: Sign Kenny Lofton to platoon with Murton in LF

Step 3: Have Lofton and Murton hit leadoff for you next season

Holla at cha boy, CubFaninCA....Freddie "Boom Boom" Bynum!!!

by TheBeerBaron on Sep 1, 2006 3:36 PM CDT reply actions

i dont mind that

as much as i like barrett i like wells too. but why cant we bring pierre back? he can lead off. gettnig lofton will be ok i guess but im tired of seeing murton platoon with people he deserves to be the starter i think

by tbizzle83 on Sep 1, 2006 3:40 PM CDT up reply actions

Answer = $$

Kenny Lofton will cost the CUBS $3-4M/YR, Juan Pierre will cost the CUBS $8-9M/YR....plus Kenny Lofton has a much higher OBP.....

Murton should spend this offseason in the gym....he can turn some of those long double into HR's with a little work......nothing wrong with giving him 60-70% of the LF duties.....

Holla at cha boy, CubFaninCA....Freddie "Boom Boom" Bynum!!!

by TheBeerBaron on Sep 1, 2006 3:43 PM CDT up reply actions

true

then who would you put in center then??

by tbizzle83 on Sep 1, 2006 3:45 PM CDT up reply actions

nevermind

lol thats what wells plays my bad

by tbizzle83 on Sep 1, 2006 3:46 PM CDT up reply actions

If Murton doesn't start next year...

it will really be a shame. I blame Hendry for the Jacque Jones signing. That has completely handcuffed this team. If that was a short contract we could have gone into this season with RF open, and then by getting someone like Sheffield, we wouldn't have to be worrying about where to put Jones. Murton has quietly turned in one of the best offensive seasons on this team (batting near .300 with a good OBP and 10 homers thusfar). Also, he seems to come through well in RBI situations (not because he's "clutch", but because he's a smart hitter and goes for the high percentage opposite field singles/up the middle with RISP). I assume that he would have finished this season with 12-15 homers if he had played full time, and I think he has a good chance of improving to 15-18 homers next year if not more.

by Thelonious on Sep 1, 2006 3:54 PM CDT up reply actions

Reply

I blame Hendry for the Jacque Jones signing.

as do we all, I remember being SO pissed off when i saw "Jacque Jones signs 3 yr deal with CUBS" on ESPNNEWS' bottom breaking news....

Holla at cha boy, CubFaninCA....Freddie "Boom Boom" Bynum!!!

by TheBeerBaron on Sep 1, 2006 4:17 PM CDT up reply actions

I'M SO SICK OF JONES

and his .825 ops!

Forget Zito, Soriano, Schmidt, Matsuzaka & Lee. Its Eaton, Kennedy, Wood, Pierre and a backup RH OF instead.

by CubFaninCA on Sep 2, 2006 11:23 AM CDT up reply actions

I know....

that totally makes up for the fact that he hits .200/.221 vs LHP and has no clue how to throw the ball or run the bases!!! But man, that OPS is really amazing, in a slightly above average way. ;)

Holla at cha boy, CubFaninCA....Freddie "Boom Boom" Bynum!!!

by TheBeerBaron on Sep 2, 2006 12:22 PM CDT up reply actions

I haven't been here long...

but you really don't like Murton. Why, are you not a fan of promising second year players, and instead prefer crappy veterans who can't throw a ball farther than 15 feet to save their life? The point is that if they didn't sign Jones to a three year contract, they could install a far better player in right, and keep Murton in left to develop. Murton + top-of-the-line FA > Jones + top-of-the-line FA.

Apparently you've never seen a player develop before. Most guys don't hit 30 homers in their first full year. For a random example: Joe Crede is pacing for around 34-35 homers this year. When he was Murton's age (25) which was also his first full season, he hit 19 homers in 536 ABs. Murton projects to hit 15 homers this year if he had that many ABs (but Murton is doing this while hitting .291/.355/.427 while Crede only hit .261/.308/.433 when aged 25). Giving up on Murton now would be incredibly shortsighted and foolish, because it is not at all a stretch to see him as a .300-.310 hitter with 25-30 homeruns in a couple years. If Hendry hadn't stupidly signed Jones for three years then we could worry about bolstering the offense in right field, rather than possibly having to force Murton out of left.

And by the way, Murton's OPS is only about 50 points lower than Jones's in this, his second season. On the other hand, this has been one of the best seasons for Jones, and he might not repeat it for the next few years. So, while Murton should get better over the next couple years, you would expect Jones to either stay the same or play worse. He's just not a good player.

by Thelonious on Sep 2, 2006 1:12 PM CDT up reply actions

blah, blah, blah....

Who's the upgrade they're going to find in RF?

gmafb if the answer's Sheffield. As I recall, Chicago's one of the many places he doesn't want to play in, and the guy's a cancer anyways.

Forget Zito, Soriano, Schmidt, Matsuzaka & Lee. Its Eaton, Kennedy, Wood, Pierre and a backup RH OF instead.

by CubFaninCA on Sep 2, 2006 1:40 PM CDT up reply actions

That still doesn't explain...

why you're so low on Murton and why you think Jones is adequate. This is about as good as we can possibly hope Jacque to be, and he is one of the worst right fielders in baseball.

by Thelonious on Sep 2, 2006 1:55 PM CDT up reply actions

Explain to me why I'm

"so low" on Murton?

I don't mind if they keep him in LF. I want Soriano for 2b.

Forget Zito, Soriano, Schmidt, Matsuzaka & Lee. Its Eaton, Kennedy, Wood, Pierre and a backup RH OF instead.

by CubFaninCA on Sep 2, 2006 2:41 PM CDT up reply actions

Same here

That is ideal.

by Thelonious on Sep 2, 2006 6:35 PM CDT up reply actions

Dont know about "ideal"

more like "this best we can hope for"

by Santos Sorrow @ Bleed Cubbie Blue on Sep 3, 2006 11:09 AM CDT up reply actions

No.

That hot headed jerk was the reason the team lost focus in game 6. He turns around and goes back to his spot with his mouth shut and we win the pennant.

Instead, he did somethign i've nver seen a pro-athelete do: bitch out a fan for 10 seconds. He was paid millions to play ball, not lecture people.

Besides the obvious - Go Irish.

by PopeFlick on Sep 1, 2006 3:50 PM CDT reply actions

PLEASE STOP THE MADNESS

IM HAVING FLASHBACKS!!!!!!

by tbizzle83 on Sep 1, 2006 3:53 PM CDT up reply actions

And...

... he will be forty-one years old next July. Forget it.

by Al Yellon on Sep 1, 2006 3:58 PM CDT up reply actions

How come you get to be

the end all be all of possibilities?? You can't argue that Kenny Lofton has put up better #'s (OBP especially) than Juan Pierre the past two years, right now he is still playing very well....

Seems to me that having Murton play the majority of the time in LF and lead off then having Lofton fill the 4th OF option, for CHEAP would be a very affordable and wise decision.

Holla at cha boy, CubFaninCA....Freddie "Boom Boom" Bynum!!!

by TheBeerBaron on Sep 1, 2006 4:20 PM CDT up reply actions

In my short time here...

I've noted that you like Lofton and Wells very much.

Nothing wrong with that: both good players.

by Thelonious on Sep 1, 2006 4:30 PM CDT up reply actions

I think that those two players

are not only cost effective options but great impact players that will assist in ramping up an offense that has been absent the majority of the season.....plus Wells is an amazing defender......at this moment, there isn't another player in baseball (that is attainable) I would rather the CUBS target than Wells.

Holla at cha boy, CubFaninCA....Freddie "Boom Boom" Bynum!!!

by TheBeerBaron on Sep 1, 2006 4:58 PM CDT up reply actions

No Way

He sneezes and gets hurt these days. The only reason he behaves better in SF than in Chicago is that his dad's the manager. Hey, his dad was his manager in Montreal, too, and he wasn't a distraction there. Hmmm...coincidence?

Plus, word out here in the Bay Area is that he wants to retire at the end of the season, anyway. Felipe is also going to retire after this year, so maybe they can go fishing together next summer.

by SiValleyCubFan on Sep 1, 2006 5:54 PM CDT reply actions