Everyone go on vacation?
Frank Sereno
Not much Cubs news to report other than guys that the Cubs were reportedly
interested in or should be interested in have signed contracts to play
elsewhere.
Mark DeRosa signed with the Giants for 2 years, $12,000,000. I liked Mark,
but at his age and with his recent injuries, I wouldn't sign for anything
but a backup position and 6mil per year seems like a bit much.
Matt Capps signed with the Nationals so he could continue to be a closer for
a loser rather than signing with the Cubs and competing for the spot against
Marmol.
But then again, if the Marquis trend continues, the Nats will be in the
playoffs this season. Every team that he has played with has made the
playoffs. Note that the Cubs missed the playoffs after trading him to
Colorado for a disposable player.
Ed Lynch, who forever in my mind will be a hated Met, has finally left the
employ of the Cubs. He is now a scout with the Toronto Blue Jays. I hope
that works out as well for them as his years here did with the Cubs.
Did anyone mention that Ron Santo signed a deal to continue broadcasting the
Cubs on WGN-AM?
Rumors are that the Cubs want to sign Marlon Byrd to play centerfield. Why
do I think his name should be Marlin Bird? I know a woman named Marlyn
(might be short for Margaret Lynn?) and I went to school with a guy named
Marlin. Not sure why anyone would name their kid after a fish.
At any rate, if you go to Baseball-Reference and look up Byrd, scroll down
to the bottom where they do player comparisons. And the player, as far as
hitting goes, who is most like Byrd is Reed Johnson, who the Cubs could have
brought back pretty cheaply. Since the Cubs didn't offer him arbitration, I
am concluding that they have no desire to bring him back, period, just as
they did with Kerry Wood last season. Byrd is probably going to get
$8,000,000 per year. I figure Johnson can be had for around $3,000,000. And
so it might go with Jim Spendry, who has already overspent on John Grabow.
Happy New Year!
Claude
"Frank Sereno" <fse...@nospam.com> wrote in message news:JmJ_m.470479
> Rumors are that the Cubs want to sign Marlon Byrd to play centerfield. Why
> do I think his name should be Marlin Bird? I know a woman named Marlyn
> (might be short for Margaret Lynn?) and I went to school with a guy named
> Marlin. Not sure why anyone would name their kid after a fish.
>
> At any rate, if you go to Baseball-Reference and look up Byrd, scroll down
> to the bottom where they do player comparisons. And the player, as far as
> hitting goes, who is most like Byrd is Reed Johnson, who the Cubs could
> have
> brought back pretty cheaply. Since the Cubs didn't offer him arbitration,
> I
> am concluding that they have no desire to bring him back, period, just as
> they did with Kerry Wood last season. Byrd is probably going to get
> $8,000,000 per year. I figure Johnson can be had for around $3,000,000.
> And
> so it might go with Jim Spendry, who has already overspent on John
> Grabow.
Not a rumor anymore. It happened---
http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/news/story?id=4785125
3 years for $15 million. Below your estimate, Frank, but it's a 3-year
contract. I don't know how I feel about this yet, but I get nervous with
Hendry and 3-year outfielder contracts.
Casey Miller
wrote:
I don't like it. I do not believe Marlon Byrd is an everyday player
on a Word Series championship team. He might be a 4th
outfielder/pinch hitter on a championship team, but not at $5M/yr.
I've already posted my pessimism about the upcoming season. I'd
rather the Cubs had made do with Fuld/Johnson/whatever in '10 and
focused on building for '11 and beyond. A 3-year deal for a middling
player just hamstrings the Cubs in that effort. Aren't Soriano,
Fukudome and now Byrd all signed through '11?
Frank Sereno
Marlon Byrd is an equal or better player than Fukudome for less than half
the price. I expected Byrd to command between 8 and 10 million bucks per
year. If nothing else, his contract is quite tradeable if he doesn't play up
to his past standards or if the Cubs need to make a deal or if the season
goes terribly wrong and they decide to start trading contracts for
prospects. I don't know if Fuld will ever be anything more than a 4th
outfielder. His lack of power is a concern to me.
Casey Miller
wrote:
I didn't mean to compare Byrd to Fukudome, and I certainly wasn't
arguing for Fuld as anything more than a stopgap in 2010. My concern
is with roster-clogging. Fukudome is signed through 2011, Byrd
through 2012, Soriano through 2013 (?) I hope that those 3 are a
championship outfield, but I don't really believe it. Byrd might be
a good value now, but only if the Cubs defy my expectations and are
competitive in 2010. I don't want to jump out a window like I did
when I heard about the Bradley signing, but I don't think this move in
any way moves the Cubs closer to the ultimate goal. In that sense, it
was a wasted move to me.
I also think it's worth a mention that Byrd is 32 and that the
contract is back-loaded. That is, he gets more expensive as his
contributions (presumably) decline.
Claude
"Casey Miller" <kcmi...@enteract.com> wrote in message
news:r10ak55pgasg4oaan...@4ax.com...
The actual monetary differences in the years are not really that great
(given baseball economics), and Frank is right, he would probably be quite
easy to trade. So, we are not really locked in for all three beyond this
coming season. I think Soriano will have a much better year and Fukudome no
worse than last season. That said, the real albatross, though, is Soriano.
Casey Miller
> That said, the real albatross, though, is Soriano.
>
You are right. Put like that, it seems silly to worry too much about
Byrd and his $5M.