CHASING CUBTOBER: TARGET PRACTICE (SHORTSTOP)
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by LMedina86
After swift exit from the playoffs, the Cubs need to make several key changes in an attempt to better this team or usher in 100 years of futility. Step one would be adding the best player in the game, Alex Rodriguez.
The Cubs have manager Lou Piniella, who managed Rodriguez when he broke into the big leagues with the Seattle Mariners. They also have an opening at shortstop. The stars look to be aligning for the Cubs to land the type of superstar that could help put them over the top.
Collectively, Cubs shortstops put together an on-base percentage of .672, which is .086 points less than the National League average for shortstops (.758). A-Rod posted a 1.067 OPS in 2007.
Ryan Theriot, Cesar Izturis and Ronny Cedeno played significant time at shortstop. Together, they posted a .238 average with seven home runs, 68 RBI’s and 33 stolen bases in 2007.
A-Rod posted a .314 batting average with 54 home runs, 156 RBI’s and 24 stolen bases. Adding those numbers would instantly make the Cubs one of the most potent offenses in the National League. And if there is one thing I learned from the World Series, it is that championship caliber teams have solid numbers from top to bottom.
There are people out there that think the Cubs can’t afford Rodriguez. I firmly disagree with that group. If there is one thing that I’ve learned while being a Cubs fan it is that the Cubs make a significant profit.
It comes from the 3 million fans that come to Wrigley Field religiously. It comes from the revenue made from WGN and Comcast Sports Net. It comes from the marketing on the doors in left and right field, the space behind home plate, the dugouts. Did I mention the money they make from their ticket brokering scam and from the roof tops?
I didn’t think I needed to. The Cubs make money hand-over-fist and have done so for as long as I can remember. However, it was just last off-season in which Tribune Company decided to put some of that money back into the team.
They did it last year by signing Alfonso Soriano, Ted Lilly, Jason Marquis, Mark DeRosa, and Daryle Ward. Why wouldn’t they break the bank of the best player in the game?
OTHER OPTIONS
The free-agent market is probably weakest at the shortstop position. There isn’t a significant upgrade from what the Cubs have, so spending money there on David Eckstein, Juan Uribe or Omar Vizquel would be pointless.
When the off-season started, there were two quality shortstops that could have been acquired in the trade market. One of them, Edgar Renteria, was traded from the Atlanta Braves to the Detroit Tigers for a young starting pitcher and a young outfielder. The other is Miguel Tejada.
It has been rumored that with former Cubs president Andy MacPhail now in Baltimore serving as the CEO/president of the Orioles, that there could be a chance that connection could be able to re-open the Miguel Tejada trade talks.
In 2005, the hot rumor was Mark Prior and Felix Pie heading to Baltimore for Tejada and Erik Bedard. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe thinks that both Bedard and Tejada could be traded this off-season. Acquiring both at once would require a lot of talent heading to the Orioles.
Other than A-Rod or Tejada, the Cubs will have to settle for what they have now.
