2009 Cubs World Series Team

he was long enough to give us a cain for derek lee.

The high minors is pretty bare of high upside position players. We will probably have Sandoval playing pretty much full time next year at 1b, 3b, c, or some combination(although he’s technically not a rookie anymore)

We’ve also tried John Bowker at 1b, but he’s a natural outfielder, and could use some seasoning at AAA. Ortmeier got a shot there too, but did not do well.

So even though we don’t have too many exciting in-house options at first base, we probably will not trade for Lee. If we could get a corner infielder for sanchez, that would definitely be something to look into. Free agency is another strong possibility.

and I don’t think they would with the O’s being desperate for a SS, what would you do with Riot?

Our discussions here on this site tend to conclude that Fontenot’s swing would be over-exposed in full-time play, but that he remains a good bench weapon, especially for a team that has Mark DeRosa as the primary 2B who can also play any other position.

The Cubs might consider a trade centering around Fontenot and Winn, but probably not as a first option.

Some have wondered on this site also if the Giants might be a potentially interested party if the Cubs sought to unnload Alfonso Soriano’s contract. What would you think of that?

Mike (LBR around here, “Little Babe Ruth”) is very small (5’8" at most) and he has surprising power for a guy his size. He generates his power by starting his swing early, looping a bit, and looking for inside fastballs. He is very susceptible to off-speed stuff, and he doesn’t cover the outer third of the plate very well. He does have a good understanding of the strike zone, and he runs pretty well. His glove is OK (not great) at 2B, but he has no arm.

The reason his stats look so good is that Lou spotted him against the type of pitcher he hits well: RH fastball pitchers. (That is easy to do when the primary 2B is the primary backup everywhere else.) The reason that Kosuke Fukudome started game 1 of the playoffs is that Lou knew that LBR doesn’t hit sinkerball pitchers like Derrek Lowe.

You certainly would not want him as the headliner in a deal, but as a throw-in you could do a lot worse. Winn might have enough value around the league that you could get someone better. My guess is that Winn would not be enough for Lee, but would be too much for Fontenot.

Where would Frandsen play? Isn’t he a 2B?

It might depend on the timing, and whether they sign CC and/or Lowe and/or Demp, and whether or not Mussina retires.

The Yanks want to unload one of their corner OFs (Matsui, Damon, Nady), because they don’t want to tie up the DH spot exclusively with a COF. They want to keep Nady (who is a RHB anyway), because he is the best RF of the three and they are probably not going to re-sign Abreu.

Damon and Matsui are each in the last year of their contracts, and each will make $13M in 2009. Matsui might not be capable of playing every day anymore due to knee problems, but is a LHB with power and a possible mentor for Dome. We would need to carry 5 OFs so that Dome and Matsui each had a RHB platoon-mate.

Damon is no longer capable of playing CF at Yankee stadium, but might be able to play CF at Wrigley. (Think of how bad Edmonds looked in the vastness of Arizona.) He does not have a RF arm. He is still an excellent leadoff hitter, and he bats LH.

My guess is that the Yanks would rather trade Matsui, but that might be difficult as he has a full NTC and has stated that he only wants to play for the Yanks. Maybe Dome changes his mind?

From the Cubs’ perspective, it gives us a LHB (either power or leadoff), and each fits into DLee’s pay slot, but is done after 2009. They also off-load Marquis’ salary. (I’m not in favor of trading Marquis just to open a slot for Marshall, but I think that payroll is going to be tight enough to force a move.)

From the Yanks’ perspective, they get a RHB (which they need) who can plug the LCF alley with line drives and who is good at getting on base. They only have to make a two year commitment (as opposed to 8-10 years for Tex), and they get a SP who will always take the ball.

Next question: will DLee waive his NTC to play for the Yanks?

Using the $130M cap that was apparently given by Crane Kenney, they would be in trouble if they tried to add Roberts.

The Cubs are at about $120M, counting raises to DeRo, Sori, etc., and my guess on arbitration raises. That $120M does not include Demp, Woody, Howry, Ward, or Blanco.

If they sign Demp with a 2009 salary of $10M and they trade Marquis, they are still at $120M, but with less depth in the rotation to cover for Harden’s inevitable stay on the DL.

That leaves $10M, and they still would like to sign Wood, and they desperately need a LHB CF or RF. Even if they were to trade DeRo for Roberts, you have just used $3M of that $10M for a minor upgrade at 2B. If you add Roberts and move DeRo to RF, you would now have no LH power bat in the OF and would have only $2M for Wood, which won’t get the job done. I don’t think that they should dump Lilly, Sori, Lee, or Ramírez just to make room for Roberts, but that is what they would have to do.

I guess you just have to ask which problem is more pressing: upgrading 2B, upgrading CF/RF, or retaining a closer to give the bullpen much needed depth.

And that is only the money aspect. Do you want to trade the few prospects we have for a minor upgrade at 2B, and then have no flexibility if we suffer a major injury in June?

(That is why I said “the world with Mark Cuban’s checkbook” in the previous post.)