The 2010 Cubs Free Agent and Roster Moves Thread: SAVEENG OUR KUBBEEZ!!11

[Dave B]

Tom Ricketts on Boers and Bernstein Friday afternoon at 3:30. Live in the studio. Could be an interesting conversation.

[Internet Apex]

Tom Ricketts on Boers and Bernstein Friday afternoon at 3:30. Live in the studio. Could be an interesting conversation.

Doubt it. But their chat with Charles Tillman today made me chuckle to beat the band. Parts anyway.

[BH]

White sox trade.

"According to Bill Madden of The NY Daily News, the Royals have agreed to send the versatile Mark Teahen to the White Sox in exchange for Chris Getz and Josh Fields. Madden says Teahen is expected to replace free agent-to-be Jermaine Dye in rightfield."

[Internet Apex]

White sox trade.

"According to Bill Madden of The NY Daily News, the Royals have agreed to send the versatile Mark Teahen to the White Sox in exchange for Chris Getz and Josh Fields. Madden says Teahen is expected to replace free agent-to-be Jermaine Dye in rightfield."

There's a thread for Sox trades on here someplace. You might have put this there so that Indolent Reader could see it and y'all could chat.

[Indolent Reader]

White sox trade.

"According to Bill Madden of The NY Daily News, the Royals have agreed to send the versatile Mark Teahen to the White Sox in exchange for Chris Getz and Josh Fields. Madden says Teahen is expected to replace free agent-to-be Jermaine Dye in rightfield."

There's a thread for Sox trades on here someplace. You might have put this there so that Indolent Reader could see it and y'all could chat.

Thanks for the shoutout!

Not too excited about losing Getz as he's grindery. 

[CBStew]

The World Series is over.  Is Bradley still a Cub?

[Internet Apex]

The World Series is over.  Is Bradley still a Cub?

The White Sox made a trade.

[BH]

Kap really likes this Starlin Castro kid.

And how about Barry Zito! Ben Sheets? Boston is rumored to be hot after Sheets.

[Saul Goodman]

What an idiot.

What about a one year contract for Orlando Cabrera, who played very well for the Minnesota Twins down the stretch?

Kap's definition of "very well" is .289/.313 (!!!)/.430, for an OPS+ of 99.  He hit 5 HR.  And I'm trying to ignore that Kap wants to sign Cabrera on the basis of two weeks' play.

The former White Sox has had a solid big league career for the past 12 seasons. He is excellent defensively,

Fielding percentage (anything else would be too much for Kap) of .965 in 2009, not exactly excellent.  Theriot was .976.  Every report I've seen says he's lost range.  And since reports say John Lackey is a great teammate and Carlos Zambrano leaves his teammates hanging on high fives every time, we know it's true.

hits for average,

Career .275.

runs fairly well

"Fairly" is a nice weasel word for a guy who stole two bases while carrying the Twins down the stretch.

and would not cost a ton of money to sign. Cabrera plays nearly every day, and brings a ton of postseason experience.

Cabrera in five postseason series: .234/.297/.312, in 155 PA.  But yes, get him by all means, Cabrera is the missing piece.

Twins fan perspective from AaronGleeman.com:

Orlando Cabrera: He's getting tons of credit for the team's dramatic turnaround after batting .411 with 21 runs and 16 RBIs over the final 16 games, but Cabrera also hit a putrid .237/.268/.361 in his first 43 games with the Twins. Add it all up and he hit .289/.313/.430 with the Twins after batting .280/.318/.385 with the A's, both of which are very close to his .275/.322/.398 career line. As noted above that type of modest production qualifies as about average at shortstop, but Cabrera isn't near [Jack] Wilson defensively.

In fact, UZR pegged Cabrera as 15 runs below average this season. He's rated well defensively in the past, but Cabrera is 35 years old and looked bad enough following the trade that Ron Gardenhire even admitted his range was lacking. Average offensively and well below average defensively is a recipe for disaster in a mid-30s shortstop, and Cabrera's poor OBPs are a terrible fit in the Gardenhire-preferred No. 2 spot. If he wants to come back cheaply that's fine, but hopefully the Twins didn't fall in love.

[Philberto]

What an idiot.

What about a one year contract for Orlando Cabrera, who played very well for the Minnesota Twins down the stretch?

Kap's definition of "very well" is .289/.313 (!!!)/.430, for an OPS+ of 99.  He hit 5 HR.  And I'm trying to ignore that Kap wants to sign Cabrera on the basis of two weeks' play.

The former White Sox has had a solid big league career for the past 12 seasons. He is excellent defensively,

Fielding percentage (anything else would be too much for Kap) of .965 in 2009, not exactly excellent.  Theriot was .976.  Every report I've seen says he's lost range.  And since reports say John Lackey is a great teammate and Carlos Zambrano leaves his teammates hanging on high fives every time, we know it's true.

hits for average,

Career .275.

runs fairly well

"Fairly" is a nice weasel word for a guy who stole two bases while carrying the Twins down the stretch.

and would not cost a ton of money to sign. Cabrera plays nearly every day, and brings a ton of postseason experience.

Cabrera in five postseason series: .234/.297/.312, in 155 PA.  But yes, get him by all means, Cabrera is the missing piece.

Twins fan perspective from AaronGleeman.com:

Orlando Cabrera: He's getting tons of credit for the team's dramatic turnaround after batting .411 with 21 runs and 16 RBIs over the final 16 games, but Cabrera also hit a putrid .237/.268/.361 in his first 43 games with the Twins. Add it all up and he hit .289/.313/.430 with the Twins after batting .280/.318/.385 with the A's, both of which are very close to his .275/.322/.398 career line. As noted above that type of modest production qualifies as about average at shortstop, but Cabrera isn't near [Jack] Wilson defensively.

In fact, UZR pegged Cabrera as 15 runs below average this season. He's rated well defensively in the past, but Cabrera is 35 years old and looked bad enough following the trade that Ron Gardenhire even admitted his range was lacking. Average offensively and well below average defensively is a recipe for disaster in a mid-30s shortstop, and Cabrera's poor OBPs are a terrible fit in the Gardenhire-preferred No. 2 spot. If he wants to come back cheaply that's fine, but hopefully the Twins didn't fall in love.

I was going to point out a bunch of stuff why Kaplan is so retarded but I got tired. I'm going to sit back and continue my research into his Lackey >>>>>>>>> Zambrano claim.

[BH]

What an idiot.

What about a one year contract for Orlando Cabrera, who played very well for the Minnesota Twins down the stretch?

Kap's definition of "very well" is .289/.313 (!!!)/.430, for an OPS+ of 99.  He hit 5 HR.

The former White Sox has had a solid big league career for the past 12 seasons. He is excellent defensively,

Fielding percentage (anything else would be too much for Kap) of .965 in 2009, not exactly excellent.  Theriot was .976.  Every report I've seen says he's lost range.  And since reports say John Lackey is a great teammate and Carlos Zambrano leaves his teammates hanging on high fives every time, we know it's true.

hits for average,

Career .275.

runs fairly well

"Fairly" is a nice weasel word for a guy who stole two bases while carrying the Twins down the stretch.

and would not cost a ton of money to sign. Cabrera plays nearly every day, and brings a ton of postseason experience.

Cabrera in five postseason series: .234/.297/.312, in 155 PA.  But yes, get him by all means, Cabrera is the missing piece.

Twins fan perspective from AaronGleeman.com:

Orlando Cabrera: He's getting tons of credit for the team's dramatic turnaround after batting .411 with 21 runs and 16 RBIs over the final 16 games, but Cabrera also hit a putrid .237/.268/.361 in his first 43 games with the Twins. Add it all up and he hit .289/.313/.430 with the Twins after batting .280/.318/.385 with the A's, both of which are very close to his .275/.322/.398 career line. As noted above that type of modest production qualifies as about average at shortstop, but Cabrera isn't near [Jack] Wilson defensively.

In fact, UZR pegged Cabrera as 15 runs below average this season. He's rated well defensively in the past, but Cabrera is 35 years old and looked bad enough following the trade that Ron Gardenhire even admitted his range was lacking. Average offensively and well below average defensively is a recipe for disaster in a mid-30s shortstop, and Cabrera's poor OBPs are a terrible fit in the Gardenhire-preferred No. 2 spot. If he wants to come back cheaply that's fine, but hopefully the Twins didn't fall in love.

Your stats omit one GIANT factor? Starlin would force his way into the starting lineup next year. Cabrera would just play for the first month of the season until Starlin carries this team into the playoffs. Kap knows this. You know this. Kap just wants to set the stage that Ocab will start so Ocab doesn't decline our courtship going into the offseason. The ole' bait n switch.

The big question I have is, how do we trade for Barry Zito. We must.

Although Torii Hunter's quote has me pumped to go sign John Lackey. Torii didn't follow the money, he followed a true leader.
And not a Zambrano I-got-paid-and-let-everyone-down leader.

Lackey played ball. Gotta go get a guy that played ball and now pitches.

"Torii Hunter on John Lackey....
"He's a bulldog, he's one of the reasons I came over here," said Torii Hunter. "He gets tougher when there are guys on base, and you have to hear him in the dugout. He played football and he brings that intensity. He set the tone tonight the way he started out, and we were pumped up from then on." "

[Saul Goodman]

What an idiot.

What about a one year contract for Orlando Cabrera, who played very well for the Minnesota Twins down the stretch?

Kap's definition of "very well" is .289/.313 (!!!)/.430, for an OPS+ of 99.  He hit 5 HR.

The former White Sox has had a solid big league career for the past 12 seasons. He is excellent defensively,

Fielding percentage (anything else would be too much for Kap) of .965 in 2009, not exactly excellent.  Theriot was .976.  Every report I've seen says he's lost range.  And since reports say John Lackey is a great teammate and Carlos Zambrano leaves his teammates hanging on high fives every time, we know it's true.

hits for average,

Career .275.

runs fairly well

"Fairly" is a nice weasel word for a guy who stole two bases while carrying the Twins down the stretch.

and would not cost a ton of money to sign. Cabrera plays nearly every day, and brings a ton of postseason experience.

Cabrera in five postseason series: .234/.297/.312, in 155 PA.  But yes, get him by all means, Cabrera is the missing piece.

Twins fan perspective from AaronGleeman.com:

Orlando Cabrera: He's getting tons of credit for the team's dramatic turnaround after batting .411 with 21 runs and 16 RBIs over the final 16 games, but Cabrera also hit a putrid .237/.268/.361 in his first 43 games with the Twins. Add it all up and he hit .289/.313/.430 with the Twins after batting .280/.318/.385 with the A's, both of which are very close to his .275/.322/.398 career line. As noted above that type of modest production qualifies as about average at shortstop, but Cabrera isn't near [Jack] Wilson defensively.

In fact, UZR pegged Cabrera as 15 runs below average this season. He's rated well defensively in the past, but Cabrera is 35 years old and looked bad enough following the trade that Ron Gardenhire even admitted his range was lacking. Average offensively and well below average defensively is a recipe for disaster in a mid-30s shortstop, and Cabrera's poor OBPs are a terrible fit in the Gardenhire-preferred No. 2 spot. If he wants to come back cheaply that's fine, but hopefully the Twins didn't fall in love.

Your stats omit one GIANT factor? Starlin would force his way into the starting lineup next year. Cabrera would just play for the first month of the season until Starlin carries this team into the playoffs. Kap knows this. You know this. Kap just wants to set the stage that Ocab will start so Ocab doesn't decline our courtship going into the offseason. The ole' bait n switch.

The big question I have is, how do we trade for Barry Zito. We must.

Although Torii Hunter's quote has me pumped to go sign John Lackey. Torii didn't follow the money, he followed a true leader.
And not a Zambrano I-got-paid-and-let-everyone-down leader.

Lackey played ball. Gotta go get a guy that played ball and now pitches.

"Torii Hunter on John Lackey....
"He's a bulldog, he's one of the reasons I came over here," said Torii Hunter. "He gets tougher when there are guys on base, and you have to hear him in the dugout. He played football and he brings that intensity. He set the tone tonight the way he started out, and we were pumped up from then on." "

Former Punter Darin Erstad is available.  He, too, is a bulldog.  Get it done, Jim.

[Philberto]

What an idiot.

What about a one year contract for Orlando Cabrera, who played very well for the Minnesota Twins down the stretch?

Kap's definition of "very well" is .289/.313 (!!!)/.430, for an OPS+ of 99.  He hit 5 HR.

The former White Sox has had a solid big league career for the past 12 seasons. He is excellent defensively,

Fielding percentage (anything else would be too much for Kap) of .965 in 2009, not exactly excellent.  Theriot was .976.  Every report I've seen says he's lost range.  And since reports say John Lackey is a great teammate and Carlos Zambrano leaves his teammates hanging on high fives every time, we know it's true.

hits for average,

Career .275.

runs fairly well

"Fairly" is a nice weasel word for a guy who stole two bases while carrying the Twins down the stretch.

and would not cost a ton of money to sign. Cabrera plays nearly every day, and brings a ton of postseason experience.

Cabrera in five postseason series: .234/.297/.312, in 155 PA.  But yes, get him by all means, Cabrera is the missing piece.

Twins fan perspective from AaronGleeman.com:

Orlando Cabrera: He's getting tons of credit for the team's dramatic turnaround after batting .411 with 21 runs and 16 RBIs over the final 16 games, but Cabrera also hit a putrid .237/.268/.361 in his first 43 games with the Twins. Add it all up and he hit .289/.313/.430 with the Twins after batting .280/.318/.385 with the A's, both of which are very close to his .275/.322/.398 career line. As noted above that type of modest production qualifies as about average at shortstop, but Cabrera isn't near [Jack] Wilson defensively.

In fact, UZR pegged Cabrera as 15 runs below average this season. He's rated well defensively in the past, but Cabrera is 35 years old and looked bad enough following the trade that Ron Gardenhire even admitted his range was lacking. Average offensively and well below average defensively is a recipe for disaster in a mid-30s shortstop, and Cabrera's poor OBPs are a terrible fit in the Gardenhire-preferred No. 2 spot. If he wants to come back cheaply that's fine, but hopefully the Twins didn't fall in love.

Your stats omit one GIANT factor? Starlin would force his way into the starting lineup next year. Cabrera would just play for the first month of the season until Starlin carries this team into the playoffs. Kap knows this. You know this. Kap just wants to set the stage that Ocab will start so Ocab doesn't decline our courtship going into the offseason. The ole' bait n switch.

The big question I have is, how do we trade for Barry Zito. We must.

Although Torii Hunter's quote has me pumped to go sign John Lackey. Torii didn't follow the money, he followed a true leader.
And not a Zambrano I-got-paid-and-let-everyone-down leader.

Lackey played ball. Gotta go get a guy that played ball and now pitches.

"Torii Hunter on John Lackey....
"He's a bulldog, he's one of the reasons I came over here," said Torii Hunter. "He gets tougher when there are guys on base, and you have to hear him in the dugout. He played football and he brings that intensity. He set the tone tonight the way he started out, and we were pumped up from then on." "

It appears he's about as tough with men on base as the rest of the league



07 and 08 were definitely good years when it came to that, but his entire career is just about league average. If he gets better with men on base, then he must be a below average pitcher with no one on base, according to Hunter's assertion.

[Eli]

Yeti is posting images from Fangraphs?  What the hell?

[Philberto]

Yeti is posting images from Fangraphs?  What the hell?

I've been a converted SABR guy for a few months now. Probably since July or so.