how much is it worth

by sniddlycubbie on Jul 23, 2007 1:44 PM CDT Comment 22 comments

after having spent the weekend in chicago this weekend and going 0-2 i was disscussing with some friends the cost they were willing to pay for the future.

it basically came down to this, if i told you that i could gaurentee the cubs would win the world series but every prospect except three, any three, would be gone from the system and every piece that was acquired had no gaurentee of being able to be back next year, final year of the contract type of deal, would you do it??

is a gaurentee at the good stuff worth knowing that the next few years would prolly be the worst we had seen in a while? i honestly dont know what i think...but i do know how much winning one would mean, and how much we have lost and been bad already, so what is a few more years of that if you can gaurentee the big W?

Poll

would you do it??

yes in a heartbeat!!!

22 votes

depends on the three prospects kept

0 votes

i would never mortgage the future that much

8 votes

30 votes | Poll has closed

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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Comments

Maybe because I'm only 21

and havn't experienced all the years of failing, I wouldn't do it. I think we are close right now with the tools we have. We are also built so that we can contend for a few more years. There is no guarantee either, no matter the players we could get.

I much rather have a team that can compete for a few years than a one-hit wonder.

by GoCubbies34 on Jul 23, 2007 1:50 PM CDT reply actions

this is of course

a hypothetical...because i know that anything can happen and i agree that we have a solid team...im just saying if you knew you could win, but it depleted your system...would you do it

"fly ball...and that wouldn't be a home run in a phone booth" ~ H.Caray

by sniddlycubbie on Jul 23, 2007 2:03 PM CDT up reply actions

also

its a simple question dahctor, would you eat the moon if it were made of ribs...its not rocket science, say yes and well move on

"fly ball...and that wouldn't be a home run in a phone booth" ~ H.Caray

by sniddlycubbie on Jul 23, 2007 2:35 PM CDT up reply actions

re: also

But...but...I don't like ribs.

(And, yeah, I'd do it. After all, Mark Cuban is going to buy the team, so the Cubs won't need these...how you say?..."prospects".)

Brew Crew: We are coming for you. (And we mean it this time.)

by dat cubfan daver on Jul 23, 2007 4:12 PM CDT up reply actions

didnt Hendry try to take this deal?

i kid i kid!

In all honesty i think most Cubs fans would take the chance at a world series season in a heartbeat

to a lot of people their relationship with the Cubs represents or is tied to family through some way, shape, or form in their life and i believe most would take the shot at knowing they could celebrate a title with current family members or friends and in honor of other family members that couldn't see it before

with that said, i was very disappointed in the way this offseason was handled from a long-term planning perspective for this franchise, i thought the best turn around we could hope for was to put us in the 83-88 win category range for 2-3 years, while severely restricting the team for years 4-8 down the line due to some of the heavy backloading of contracts given to guys who should be well past their prime 3-4 years from now... of course if you're lucky enough to win a WS while being an 83-88 win team (like the Cards did last year) then all would be forgiven

i just believe the GM's goal is to do everything they can to put a consistent winner out there, and the best GM's have shown the easiest way to do this if you dont have limitless pockets is to avoid super long-term deals and long-term committment to players over the age of 30 while continuing to invest resources into the farm system. It's a cheaper source of labor and one where minimal added investments can mean huge long-term returns

i think this organization has struggled with that concept for a long time and this off-season was another example of that

with that said, its done and in the past and i'm rooting like heck every day for this team to prove me wrong and make all of our wildest dreams come true

by DartmouthCubsFan on Jul 23, 2007 2:25 PM CDT reply actions

Probably would...

for a few reasons:

it's hard to value future happiness as compared to the present
there's no guarantee that keeping our team (and prospects) would ever result in a championship later on
there's no guarantee that gutting the team after the championship would result in the team sucking for a long time. With free agency and the lack of a salary cap, anything can happen.

So I'd probably take the guaranteed championship now in your hypothetical scenario.

by SouthernCub on Jul 23, 2007 2:27 PM CDT reply actions

For an example of this...

... take the White Sox, who only two years after a world title where they looked invincible, are perhaps headed for a last-place, 90+ loss season.

That's tough to take -- but they've still got that title to remember. No one can ever take that away from them.

I'd like to know how that feels.

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

by Al Yellon on Jul 23, 2007 2:40 PM CDT up reply actions

i know this might get ridiculed

but in some ways that's how i feel about the '03 season

yes the ending was heartbreakingly painful

but that was the most fun i've had watching a Cubs team in my lifetime (only 25 years old) and I remember it vividly and still think upon that season with a big smile on my face

a lot of times the joy of the journey gets lost in the end result (same with the '06 bears) and to be able to have that type of journey again would be another unforgettable series of memories... and to have it capped off with the icing on the cake of a championship... WOW... i'm getting starry-eyed just thinking about it

by DartmouthCubsFan on Jul 23, 2007 2:48 PM CDT up reply actions

agreed, somewhat

I think you're right. That season was a blast. Of course, a World Series title was the end goal, but it was still great. As fans, once we stop caring about the regular season games, we'll stop caring about the first two rounds of the playoffs. I'm not sure about anyone else, but part of the passion of being a fan of this team is following every game. If I'm not going to do taht, where's the fun? The World Series would seem (somewhat) hollow if I hadn't sweated out the requisite 170+ games to get there.

by Mr Snrub on Jul 23, 2007 3:40 PM CDT up reply actions

In a New York minute...

n/t

by Damen Jackson on Jul 23, 2007 2:55 PM CDT reply actions

There are very few things

that I wouldn't do if it meant that the Cubs would be hoisting up a trophy in late October.

AC 00 00 00 - BELIEVE

by mike on Jul 23, 2007 3:00 PM CDT reply actions

Just a little off topic

but which 3 cubs prospect would you keep. Pie, Marmol, Guzman maybe

by NIUcubbie on Jul 23, 2007 3:45 PM CDT reply actions

Marmol doesnt count

by BA standards :)

so i'm keeping Pie, Vitters, and Colvin

by DartmouthCubsFan on Jul 23, 2007 3:46 PM CDT up reply actions

those three are at the discretion

of those weighing in...it can be the three that make this an interesting topic...for me its PIE, and then really there are no cant miss guys in the system...so a pitcher and another hitter but i dont have names for them...prolly a colvin like mentioned or soto since he will prolly be the catcher for a few years here starting next year...maybe samardzija or gallagher or pawlek or pignatiello or veal or papelbon or roquet, obviously these are guys that the scouts would havve to give the input but pie plus one hitter and one of these P would prolly do it...at least for me

"fly ball...and that wouldn't be a home run in a phone booth" ~ H.Caray

by sniddlycubbie on Jul 23, 2007 4:42 PM CDT up reply actions

Hypothetical

because there are no guarantees. With that said, there is no question you go for it, because you just don't know what the future holds anyway. Furthermore, the foundation of this team - Lee, Ramirez, Soriano, DeRosa, Zambrano and Lilly, should be good for another 3-4 years, and it allows you to go for broke.

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

by MPH73 on Jul 23, 2007 3:52 PM CDT reply actions

hopefully

Derrek's 31, Soriano's reportedly 31, Lilly's 31, DeRosa 32, and Big Z well he's 26 but we've all had points of concern with his declining mechanics at points in time

i hope you're right, but i dont think we can take for granted that these guys will still be as good as they are now when they're 33-34-35

by DartmouthCubsFan on Jul 23, 2007 3:56 PM CDT up reply actions

35 today

is nothing like 35 was 20-30 years ago. Today, guys stay in much better shape, and many are productive late into their 30's. Barring injury, I see no reason, Lee or Soriano should drop off much in the next 3-4 years.

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

by MPH73 on Jul 23, 2007 4:27 PM CDT up reply actions

hard to say

i hear what you're saying and i agree to some extent, but the players of today argument has been clouded quite a bit by the steroid controversy

despite the decline being slower now for players than it ever was before there's still a decline nonetheless as hitters still tend to peak somewhere between the years of 26-31

and trying to predict pitchers effectiveness 3-4 years down the line is a crapshoot

by DartmouthCubsFan on Jul 23, 2007 4:43 PM CDT up reply actions