Cliff Floyd Doesn't Think He'll Be Back

by zambranofan on Oct 24, 2007 10:57 AM CDT

That's my inference from his comments in this article.

He says he would like to play near home (Ft. Lauderdale) for the Marlins and Fredi Gonzalez. If not, he will look to play somewhere where he can DH as well as play outfield.

Sounds like Cliff was able to put family issues to rest along with his father in Chicago this year. Thanks, Cliff for your part in the Cubs' playing winning baseball this year, and we wish you the best!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation, Bleed Cubbie Blue, or Al Yellon, editor-in-chief. FanPost opinions are, however, valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Good luck to Cliff...

... seems like a good guy, but I don't see him fitting in with the Marlins. He might be done.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Oct 24, 2007 10:48 AM CDT 0 recs

why would the F. Marlins

want a guy who could not even crack the cubs lineup consistly (The Big Murt was getting starts) and who is getting 'old' on their roster when they are in a rebuilding mode?

Makes no sense, but he was a good guy and I wish him all the best.

I propose a toast to the great 100th anniversy gift known to mankind - A CUBS WORLD SERIES VICTORY!

by BigZ 4 Cy on Oct 24, 2007 10:59 AM CDT 0 recs

Agreed

I liked him a lot, good for a qoute but we all knew he wouldnt be back. I hope he goes to be a DH somewhere.

And lets be honest has there ever EVER been a harder hit line drive than the one he hit in Houston this year to dead center??

Hey.....Cubs win!!! Steve Stone is the most overrated scumbag in the business.

by Hammer on Oct 24, 2007 11:00 AM CDT 0 recs

ha yeah

that was incredible, pence comes in just a step and has no chance, that was awesome.

Kevin Hart Watch: IP: 11 K: 13 ERA: 0.82 WHIP: 1.00 K/BB: 3.25 a productive farm system is a wonderful thing.

by kylejo on Oct 24, 2007 2:55 PM CDT up 0 recs

I liked Floyd...

I wish him the best. I also remember in April against the Reds, he hit the living daylights out of the ball to center field. I believe it was only a single, but Floyd can hit the ball harder than anyone.
I remeber Brenly's reaction to that hit. "Oh my"

by cubfanwill on Oct 24, 2007 5:23 PM CDT up 0 recs

He needs to be a DH

and probably one that platoons at this stage in his career.

Floyd is a likable guy and he has value if he is used correctly.

I would also agree that he hit some of the hardest balls I have seen for a long long time. If he got better elevation, he would hit some serious tape measure shots. Cliff reminds me a lot of Dave Parker - big strong guy who hit frozen ropes that would dent the outfield wall.

"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel

by MPH73 on Oct 24, 2007 11:10 AM CDT 0 recs

i wish Cliff all the best too .. but he is just ..

.. the latest aging slugger/utility man who made the Cubs one of their last stops before making their last roster ..(from Bonds to McGriff). Another brick purchased on the fly for the Cubs Brick Wall that now has to be eased out and another shoe horned in. It wasn't a total loss, and Cliff does now have a bona fide history with us.

I hoped he could have stuck around longer, and I liked him. A cool man and one I hope did come to terms with his family issues. And a former South Burb guy like me .. Godspeed Cliffy ..!

Well, Next Year is here .. and Jack's century's gotta end some time .. GO CUBBIES!

by cubnational on Oct 24, 2007 11:11 AM CDT 0 recs

Good luck Cliffy!

MMMMM...Fernandos fajitas and margaritas

by Kinky Reggae on Oct 24, 2007 11:13 AM CDT 0 recs

The Marlins have tended...

to put an affordable veteran or two on the roster to augment and mentor the youngsters when needed, so I think it's a real possibility. I think he's a DH at this point myself, but I could see something along the lines of a 1 year/3 million deal working for both sides.

by Damen Jackson on Oct 24, 2007 11:19 AM CDT 0 recs

True, but...

... that'd mean Cliff would get even less playing time than he had with the Cubs. I'm thinking he wants to play at least one more full season -- i.e. where he can play 140-150 games. He can only do that in the AL.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Oct 24, 2007 11:28 AM CDT up 0 recs

Cliff Floyd couldn't play 150...

games at this point if you cloned him. I agree with some of the earlier posts in that part-time DH could be good, although 4th outfielder may work better. I think he's got some real decisions to make (and perhaps some realities to come to terms with), but I wouldn't be shocked to see him take being at home to playing in 20-25 more games.

by Damen Jackson on Oct 24, 2007 11:34 AM CDT up 0 recs

You don't think...

... he could DH in 140 games? I do.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Oct 24, 2007 11:37 AM CDT up 0 recs

I think that no...

competitive team would put him in 140 games with that slugging percentage. I haven't seen the newest league averages for DH, but I have to believe off-hand that his numbers are something of a drop-off. It might play in Texas or Seattle, but if he's going to be on what is likely a bad team, it might be worth taking a Florida deal.

by Damen Jackson on Oct 24, 2007 11:40 AM CDT up 0 recs

Good riddance.

Have fun in the AL or wherever the hell you're slacker azz ends up.

by lemon20pie on Oct 24, 2007 11:48 AM CDT 0 recs

And

you know he was slacking this past season?

by rlpete on Oct 24, 2007 1:30 PM CDT up 0 recs

I was never Uncle Cliffy's...

...biggest fan, but I seriously don't understand how anyone could look at the way he played and think he was doing anything but giving max effort on every play and every at-bat.

Now, max effort for Uncle Cliffy often meant tearing an ACL or spraining a quad, but he would do that for you. He cared. Any lack of production from Uncle Cliffy came from being old and injured, not from lack of caring.

FREE CARMEN PIGNATIELLO!

by cwyers on Oct 24, 2007 1:37 PM CDT up 0 recs

It isn't good for you to flaunt your ignorance

Santo Forever!

by BeerCub on Oct 24, 2007 6:25 PM CDT up 0 recs

Another fine example of how Sarcasm....

...is lost upon the ignorant.

by lemon20pie on Oct 24, 2007 11:26 PM CDT up 0 recs

If that was sarcasm...

... you have a lot to learn about it.

Santo Forever!

by BeerCub on Oct 26, 2007 1:38 PM CDT up 0 recs

Floyd

There really isn't any reason to re-sign him. Murton is ready to play every day and Pie is going to get a crack at CF, which moves Jones back to right. Then you've got Eric Patterson and Tyler Colvin knocking at the door from the farm system.

Good luck to Cliff. He's a class act, which is a lot more than I can say about some people around here.

The artist formerly known as JoshinLA

by Josh77 on Oct 24, 2007 4:56 PM CDT 0 recs

Well...

... that still leaves four outfielders, if you are assuming Murton, Jones and Pie play every day. There's still Soriano.

I assume, incidentally, that the Cubs are going to try very hard to move Eric Patterson this offseason. I have heard they were very upset with his attitude and his habitual lateness.

Jones might be on the block too; with one year left on his deal he might be affordable, in a larger deal involving younger players as well.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Oct 24, 2007 5:37 PM CDT up 0 recs

one reason to sign him

MUST GET LEFT HANDED BAT

Not saying Floyd is the guy I want, but the Cubs need a left handed bat in the line-up (not named Jacque).

DmL

by dmlichte on Oct 24, 2007 7:04 PM CDT up 0 recs

I hate comments like this.

We need productive bats. We need, most of all, to improve against left-handed pitching. I don't get this obsession with having that "left-handed bat," though.

And it's not as if two of our best hitting prospects are southpaws. Oh, that's right, Pie and Patterson are lefties.

FREE CARMEN PIGNATIELLO!

by cwyers on Oct 24, 2007 7:11 PM CDT up 0 recs

How much longer.....

....can Pie be called a hitting prospect?

Santo Forever!

by BeerCub on Oct 24, 2007 7:22 PM CDT up 0 recs

His prospect eligability is up...

...but I don't think that the limited playing time he had in '07 says that he won't hit. He needs to make adjustments, certainly, but he's been a top prospect for so long because he can make those adjustments.

FREE CARMEN PIGNATIELLO!

by cwyers on Oct 24, 2007 7:39 PM CDT up 0 recs

He's TWENTY TWO

Pie is TWENTY TWO YEARS OLD. That's still very young. Consider that Craig Biggio (who ended up with over 3000 hits) didn't make his MLB debut until he was 23 or Tony Gwyn, who made his MLB debut at 22 and only hit .289. Derek Lee had an average of .206 when he was 23. Its way way too early to reach any negative conclusions about Pie's ability to hit. And his minor league numbers, which are the best predictor of major league success, say that he will hit and hit well.

by frustratedfan on Oct 24, 2007 10:54 PM CDT up 0 recs

um, ok

not sure why you "hate" comments like this. I certainly am not saying that the Cubs should get crappy lefty bats. But I do believe that a part of the Cubs offensive failings over the past few years has been the lack of a quality lefty bat to break up the middle of the order. Having righties dominate the middle of the line-up, not to mention the 1-5 spot, which we saw often this season, lets a pitcher really find a comfort zone. Further it makes it a lot easier for an opposing manager with their bullpen.

Yes, the Cubs need productive bats. It would be a good thing if one of them were a lefty.

DmL

by dmlichte on Oct 24, 2007 10:07 PM CDT up 0 recs

Loud Applause

Thank you, thank you, thank you !!! 100% dead on with "We need productive bats."

Cubs were 9th in OBP, 8th in SLG and OPS and 15th in BB, which led to being just 8th in runs in the NL during 2007. When will we realize that the most important team offensive stat is RUNS which are produced, duh, by having RUNNERS ON BASE (OBP) ???

The best offenses in baseball always are patient, forcing up pitch counts and taking walks which constantly pressures the opposition starters and defenses -- thus getting into their bullpens early. All this produces more RUNS.

What the Cubs MOST need this winter is to DRAMATICALLY improve team OBP. Why do we have poor or mediocre OBP hitters at the top of our batting order? Until this is corrected we should expect sporadic production that will make it very difficult to improve upon our 2007 W-L record.

If It Takes Forever ....

by wrigley1 on Oct 26, 2007 9:11 AM CDT up 0 recs

Most closers

Are right handed pitchers. It would be nice to have a big lefty in the middle of the lineup to hit against them.

Also, like Brenly is always saying, a pitcher can keep hitting the corner all day but put a lefty up there and the pitcher may need to hit the other corner.

Hey.....Cubs win!!! Steve Stone is the most overrated scumbag in the business.

by Hammer on Oct 25, 2007 9:47 AM CDT 0 recs

What about first base?

Just as an idea, I've seen a few articles mentioning that the Marlins might be trying to trade Mike Jacobs (their first baseman) for something useful, which could open up a spot for Cornelius. I know he hasn't played their in some time (and their was some thought that it might bother his achilles more), but I still think it'd be less demanding of his body than left/right field would ever be. And he could certainly provide better "veteran" production at this point than an Aaron Boone-type of player.

Just a thought...

by NocNoc on Oct 25, 2007 10:54 AM CDT 0 recs

I doubt it

Early in Cliff's career with the Expos, he was playing 1B, and he badly broke his wrist/arm in a collision -- similar to the D-Lee incident, only the damage was much worse. Since then, he hasn't played 1B. That is why Lou stuck DeRo at 1B when D-Lee had the neck problem. (Cliff politely refused.)

I think Cliff would rather DH (though, at this time last year he wasn't listening to offers from AL teams) or retire than play 1B.

"I've never complained about it. I'm thankful to have a jersey." Mark DeRosa, 22 Aug 2007

by DeRoMyHero on Oct 25, 2007 1:03 PM CDT up 0 recs

No need to keep him.

Although a classy guy (seemingly), he's too much of an injury risk at this point in time. The Cubs have dealt with enough injuries in the past few years to not need someone that may get hurt on every play...

MCDONOUGH!

by secdelahc on Oct 25, 2007 3:30 PM CDT 0 recs

At least he gave an effort.

Whether or not he got hurt, you could tell he tried on every play.

by jjmarie30 on Oct 25, 2007 3:56 PM CDT up 0 recs

If by "tried"

you mean butchered many routine plays, then sure, you've got a point. He can't play defense. He's too slow and can't get to routine balls. He had to be told not to dive for balls.

I thought results mattered, not effort. I'd rather see a team stocked with winners than a team that merely "tried." We've had that for the past 99 years.

But go ahead and continue to believe his effort is important. Tell your bosses that when you don't get your job done right. See how they take it. Then get back to me.

MCDONOUGH!

by secdelahc on Oct 25, 2007 4:00 PM CDT up 0 recs

DH resurgence

I wouldn't be surprised to see his #s pick up considerably if he were to land an everyday DH job. He is just a couple years removed from some pretty gaudy #s, and, as has been pointed out above, can still hit the ball very hard.

He is obviously someone who is severely limited by injuries, which hurts him in the field and certainly at the plate as well. Also, remember his decline in productivity this year is likely at least somewhat related to his personal life.

There is certainly no reason to bring him back, but I wouldn't be at all shocked to see an AL club turn him into a FA bargain.

Eamus Ursuli!

by WGNstatic on Oct 26, 2007 6:59 AM CDT 0 recs