Tagged: Carlos Silva
2013-2014 TO DO LIST
I do this every year. I come up with a “TO DO LIST” for the Cubs. Each year, I am a little ambitious in my list. This year, will be somewhat similar. So, let’s do this!
1. The Cubs need to hire a new manager. Some of the names that have been floated around are Dave Martinez, Rick Renteria, A.J. Hinch, Mike Maddux and Manny Acta. I would prefer Mike Maddux, but I have a feeling the Cubs will go with Rick Renteria. Just think, we could have had Ryne Sandberg a couple of years ago, but Theo & Jed went with Dale Sveum. We see how that worked out!
2. The Cubs have a lot of holes on their roster. Free agency cannot fill all of them realistically. Yet, there are some potential moves that could happen.
Jacoby Ellsbury or Shin-soo Choo are both viable options to sign and become our new leadoff hitter.
3. As much as I like Welington Castillo the idea of signing Brian McCann is enticing. His bat in the lineup as a catcher would be an upgrade. Yet, no matter if the Cubs make a big splash in free agency, we do not have the depth at pitching needed to compete with the Cardinals, Pirates and Reds in the NL Central at this point and time.
4. Trade options. Trading for David Price would cost the farm…..literally! But it is an option. Heck, trade Starlin Castro and Jorge Soler in a deal for him. I know it would take more than just those two, but it is a start. Don’t trade Javier Baez or Albert Almora though. Those two have too much talent to lose.
5. Stay patient and wait til our younger players arrive. Javier Baez, Albert Almora, Jorge Soler and Kris Bryant all have high ceilings and are not that far off from playing in the big leagues.
Basically, the Cubs have a lot of money available to spend. It’s hard to believe that the Cubs were 3rd in payroll in 2010 at just under $150 million. Since then the Cubs no longer have to pay the huge contracts for Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Aramis Ramirez, Kosuke Fukudome, Carlos Silva, Alfonso Soriano, Ted Lilly and Derrek Lee. The farm system has been restocked with hitters at every level. Pitching is still a little bit thin, but it is improving. I truly believe the Cubs are not that far off from competing. But it’s going to take some work. The Cubs have too many holes to fill in free agency this off-season. I say let the young players earn their way to the big league roster and get their feet wet. Our infield could have Javier Baez at SS or 3B, Rizzo at 1B, Barney at 2B and Castro at SS or OF. The outfield could consist of Almora CF, Bryant LF or 3B and Soler in RF.
Whatever decisions are made I’m still a Cubs fan. First things first though. Let’s hire a manager. I want Maddux but am predicting Renteria.
CARLOS SILVA
Sorry, but I had to chime in on Silva.
MARCH MADNESS AND OTHER STUFF
The Cubs have begun to make cuts this week and the team is beginning to take shape. We still have some battles going on for the starting rotation and bullpen along with bench player spots for the hitters. We have two weeks to figure out who’s gonna stay and play and who’s being sent down or released.
JUST RANDOM THOUGHTS
The Chicago Cubs appear to content with the lineup we currently have. I was kind of hoping we would trade Fukudome, but that does not seem like it will happen. I was also a little bit interested in Michael Young to play second over the platoon of Blake DeWitt and Jeff Baker, but that is not going to happen either. Another possible “solution” for second would be Luis Castillo if the Mets were willing to part with him. Personally, I don’t like this idea at all. The one move I still think the Cubs could make is acquiring Chris Davis from the Rangers. I think it would take catcher Wellington Castillo and another high minor league player.
RANDOM STUFF
I’ve got a few things I want to touch base on today before I enjoy some spring training baseball and college basketball.
TRADE IDEAS…..AGAIN
Now that the Cubs roster is beginning to take shape I think the Cubs would be wise to make a trade or two before the season starts. I have 3 players in mind to trade away. They are Jeff Baker, Kosuke Fukudome and Carlos Silva. I would like the Cubs to get Chris Davis in return for any of these players. If you’ve read my blog some this winter then you will know that this is something I have mentioned several times.
GO CUBS GO!!!
RANDOM THOUGHTS
With the injury to Adam Wainwright, I truly think the Cards need to sign Jeremy Bonderman. He’s the type of pitcher that Dave Duncan could turn around and get 12 wins from this season.
ODDS AND ENDS
Wow, the Cubs cannot seem to field the ball this spring. We’ve played 4 games and have committed 14 errors. That’s not a good sign. What’s worse than that. Carlos Silva blowing up at Aramis Ramirez. Maybe it was overblown, but you can’t have guys going at it this early in the spring. The grind hasn’t even begun yet. I hope this is not a sign of things to come.
SPRING BATTLES
Along with about every other baseball fan, I love this time of year. Spring training is finally here! And in addition to baseball, March Madness is about to begin for us college basketball fans as well. Anyway, it’s been a couple days since my last post and I wanted to catch up on a few things.
Kosuke Fukudome is getting a chance this spring to leadoff. The Cubs desperately need to find someone who can fill the role of being a leadoff man for the team and it appears he’s getting the first shot at it. If he succeeds at this role then I would be excited. However, I am not completely confident that this is where he needs to hit. Personally, I think he makes a good number 2 hitter or someone in the lower lineup. Plus, if wins the job of starter in rightfield and leadoff man, that means Tyler Colvin will become a bench player. I would like to see Colvin as our everyday rightfielder.
Leftfielder Alfonso Soriano is looking good in the early going this spring. If he is able to stay healthy and play better than he has the last couple of years that would be huge for the team.
Tyler Colvin has been working on playing firstbase this spring and may be our backup in case Carlos Pena gets injured this season or needs a day off. This is something that I like. I believe Colvin can be an everyday player at firstbase or rightfield. I also believe that Colvin will battle Fukudome for the starting job in RF especially if Kosuke cannot handle the job of leadoff man.
Reed Johnson and Fernando Perez will be battling for a spot on the roster as our 5th outfielder. In this battle, I prefer Johnson at this point. He’s a seasoned vet and just happens to be one of my favorite players.
The battle for the 4th and 5th spots in the rotation have begun. Carlos Silva, Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner are my three favorites to win those two spots. It will be interesting to see how they perform this spring. In this battle, I prefer Cashner and Wells. While Silva got off to a good start in 2010, I’m not convinced he is going to be that successful again. I also like Casey Coleman as a darkhorse in this race, but from what I’ve read he will probably start the season in Iowa.
Another battle going on this spring is for utility infielder. Youngster, Darwin Barney, and veteran Augie Ojeda are the two main guys fighting for this job. I prefer Barney in this battle.
Another utility player that I would like the Cubs to give a chance is Bobby Scales. I don’t think he will make the team out of spring training, but I believe if someone struggles or gets injured he will have a good chance of getting called up. He’s versatile and I would love to have his energy coming off our bench.
That’s all I’ve got for now.
ALBERT PUJOLS
I know everyone in the world has an opinion on Albert Pujols and his contract situation with the Cardinals. Will he sign with the Cards, how much money and how many years seem to dominate the baseball news everyday. I have no problem with that because I want to know too. So, I have a couple of scenarios regarding Albert and his next contract. Hope you enjoy.
Scenario 1
Albert signs with St. Louis and Red Bird nation breathes a huge sigh of relief. He gets 7 years guaranteed at $28 million per year with a player option for an 8th year and a club option for a 9th year. This allows the Cards to be the favorite in the NL Central for another few years. However, the Cards may face some problems long term with this contract. The Cards already signed Matt Holliday for $17 million a year through 2016 and a team option for 2017 at the same price . Adam Wainwright has a $9 million team option for 2012 and $12 million team option for 2013. Wainwright will be a free agent after the 2013 season unless things change between now and then. Chris Carpenter has a $15 million team option for 2012 and will be a free agent after that season. Fortunately, they have young players in Colby Rasmus, Jaime Garcia and David Freese that will help offset the salaries of the Cards’ “Big 4”. At least until 2015. That’s the earliest year that Rasmus and Garcia can become free agents. So, I think the Cards will do great in the first few years of Albert’s contract, but it may hamper them financially in 2015 and beyond. I know resigning Wainwright won’t be cheap. He’s a great pitcher and a legitimate ace. If Rasmus, Garcia and Freese all continue to improve they should get substantial raises through arbitration or contract extensions. However, the Cards suffer more, in my opinion, by not signing Albert.
Scenario 2
The Cards don’t get a deal done with Albert this spring. He hits the free agent market and the bidding goes crazy! Eventually, he agrees to sign with the Cards for $30 million a year for 10 years. The Cards try to defer some of the contract, but it’s such a large deal that it still hampers them finacially beyond 2015 . I don’t see the Cardinals brass caving in to 10 years and $30 million.
Scenario 3
Pujols decides to give the Cardinals a break and sign for 7 years at $27.5 million a year. This is the best case scenario for the Cards. I can see this happening if the Cards work out some sort of vesting options for an additional 3 years potentially making it a 10 year contract. I can see something like Pujols having to play in a minumum number of games each year or driving in a certain number runs in order to guarantee years 8-10. If the Cards pull this off I think they will benefit greatly!
Scenario 4
The Cub scenario! The Cubs sign him for 10 years at $30 million a year. The ONLY way this would work for the Cubs, in my opinion, is to front load the deal. Ramirez, Silva, Fukudome and Pena are all free agents after this season (Ramirez and Silva each have options for next year with buyouts). That would free up around $40 million dollars for next season. That’s a lot of money to be used on Pujols. Soriano will become a free agent in 2015 clearing up another $18 million a year. Carlos Zambrano will become a free agent in 2013 or 2014. He has a vesting option for 2014 at $19.25 million. So between Soriano and Zambrano the Cubs have over $35 million coming off the books soon. I think the Cubs could make this work financially if we spend our money wisely. We have one of the largest payrolls in baseball and I know we could afford Pujols. The real question is, Do we want to? Do we really want to spend that type of money on the best hitter in the game who will be aging for the majority of his contract? Do we want to risk another Soriano type of contract? Do we want to add fuel to the fire in the Cubs/Cards rivalry? I don’t know! I do know this. I would like to see what Albert could do offensively playing 81 home games at Wrigley Field. But I don’t know if I would be willing to pay the price.
I know there will be a lot of teams willing to make an offer to Albert if he doesn’t sign with the Cards. The Angels, Cubs, Rangers and Nationals are the teams I have as frontrunners, outside of the Cardinals, to make a serious run at Pujols if he does become a free agent. Yet, I consider myself a baseball purist. And as a baseball purist I want to see Albert play his entire career in St. Louis. I also want the Cubs to beat the Cards with Albert still wearing a Cardinals jersey. That would be just fine with me.
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