Three CF Options For Cubs

So...what's $11.25MM over two years worth in terms of prospects?

i dont see why everyone is freaking out over pie... he hasnt even gotten a chance to play even a quarter of a season... let him start the season in CF and do something by the allstar break if its not working out

cubs need a backup plan no matter what the hell pies condition is to play. pie, ready or not, is going to hold alot of weight on his shoulders, someone should be their to help him hold the weight.

If we can't let our Top Prospect play at least 1/4 season full time..."Man Injury' or not, thats sad.

dear god will everybody leave pie alone already? what the hell is getting any of these three guys going to improve? pie is cheap and very comparable in terms of skills. HE'S GOING TO BE BATTING EIGHTH! last time i checked, 8 hitters aren't usually bruising the ball. his defense is fine. leave the damn kid alone and keep your prospects.

Well, at least now we know that the Cubs WILL ONLY do Murton for Byrd straight up. And we know the Rangers WON'T do Murton for Byrd straight up. So, it looks like these talks are finally dead.

If the BRod deal doesnt happen or Payton is not involved, i still suspect either Daniels or Hendry will give in.

Crisp just seems like hes goign to cost to much $$ for a 4th OF and already is complaing about being the backup on a WS team that has a decent shot to go back.

Yes, it seems that Crisp won't be happy with a non-starting role. I think people forget that the same is true of Payton only more so. Nobody recalls how he got himself out of Boston back in 2005?

I'm just waiting for someone to bring up Reed Johnson...

I'm glad Hendry refused to get fleeced and give up more than Murton for Byrd. I'm sorry, but Daniels is simply an absolute idiot for not accepting that with a joker-like grin on his face. Its lopsided toward the Rangers as the offer stands already!

Ill bring up Reed Johnson....why not, hes fairly cheap, good D, decent bat, and hits RH. We all know hes on the block for the right price. He cant cost more than a middle reliever. We have some to spare.

I do not believe anyone should stress about Pie. If the Cubs get Roberts, and Fukudome hits as well as everyone says, the Cubs should do fine without needing Pie to hit. His glove and speed will be sufficient. If the Cubs do not get Roberts, they should call up Eric Patterson to play second base, and still allow DeRosa to be the Super Sub. The Cubs could hold on to their prospects and see what is needed at the All-Star break. I would not make a trade with the Rangers that did not involve Michael Young. He is the only Ranger player that is any good.

If the Cubs aren't a contender, they should just let Pie play and develop.

Oh, what's that you say? The Cubs ARE a contender?

Then they shouldn't fiddle around with a player the team clearly feels isn't ready...and may be completely unsure if he ever will be.

Waiting until Pie has stunk for a half season and then dealing from a position of desperation is hardly an intelligent position to take. If you think the cost for Roberts is high, then imagine what teams with a CF for rent are going to be asking if Pie is hitting .210 and the Cubs are a game out of first place.

I know Cubs fans aren't used to a contender, but they need to change their mindset. The Marlins can take a chance on Maybin; the Cubs shouldn't operate that way. Big spending contenders like the Cubs don't put all their eggs in an unproven rookies basket, especially when that player hasn't shown an inkling of ability to hit at the major league level. It would be one thing if he'd hit .275 last year; he didn't.

Ask yourself this: what would Milwaukee want you to do? Rely on an unproven player with bad strike zone skills to bat 8th or go out and get Crisp or Byrd? Do you want Derosa as a supersub or your regular right fielder? Do you want to be one injury away from having Cedeno playing CF?

Do you WANT to win now or take chances?

Makes more sense if the O's just DFA Payton then to take Marquis. Payton is only 1 year worth of a pain in the ass. Marquis would be 2 years and more then twice the money overall.

I say tht we should get Marlon Byrd out of the 3. He can hit maybe 15-23 homers and drive in runs, plus he's a good fielder. I think he would be a good back up to Felix Pie ohh and he's a veteran so he can teach him some things too. Also, didn't someone say last week that the Roberts trade was expected to be done this week? WTF Man why don't the O's look who they want so we could get trade done!! Once they do Tim is going to post it and it will have a record breaking on the comments. Which everyone who ever commented on this site will say. FINALLY. Like...

CUBBIES2008- FINALLY
XD23- FINALLY
Bleacher_Buddah- FINALLY
*Sorry if I didn't add your name to this but the 2 I added are ones tht I see usually.

So when it does happen it's going to be about a 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 of FINALLYS

Cubbies2K8..

The Buddha wont say fineally he will say

"All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else. "

Then followed by "about damn time get me an Old Style and a Vienna dog extra spicy mustard"!

Pie is batting .256 with a .326 OBP so far this spring. If that is any indication of the regular season, the Cubs should be willing to live with that. He is certainly hitting better than Fukudome.

Van, I agree the Cubs could live with those numbers from Pie. They're about what Crisp did last year. But here's my problem: Are they going to let Pie keep playing if he's hitting .220 in May? Or are they going to start jerking him around and playing Payton, Byrd, or whoever they get as a backup? If that's the case, I'd actually rather see the Cubs get Crisp and trade Pie to a team that will let him play and develop. You gotta root for a kid like Pie, who reportedly had to borrow shoes and a glove so that the Cubs scouts could watch him play. I don't want to see the Cubs yo-yo him like they did Patterson. If you're going to play him...commit to it. If not, then do what's best for the kid.

Has anyone seen Hill pitch recently? I'm sure most have heard about his struggles today. Frankly, it scares the crap out of me to see him pitch the way he has the last couple times out on the mound. We can talk about CF and getting Roberts all we want, but if we don't have a VERY SOLID 1-2-3 with an ADEQUATE/RESPECTABLE 4-5 we won't have a chance.

Yes. I know, I know. It's only spring training. I'm hoping he's able to find his command before the start of the season but I'm sure it is the biggest concern right now. To that point, just as we were getting comfy with Woody as our closer, he has the spasms. Two days ago, things were falling into place. Today, we've gone back a few steps. Plus, our middle-of-the-lineup guys aren't impressing.

Hartley...there is a reason these games don't count. Don't worry until real games. Hill lives and dies on being able to locate his breaking ball, which doesn't break like normal in az. Not saying its an excuse...but like I said, its st.

Yup...Spring Training. Where Scott Podsednik is a superstar. Where Eric Patterson is 'looking good' on defense. Where Jonny Cueto is the second coming of Johan. Can't wait 'til April.

"If you're going to play him...commit to it. If not, then do what's best for the kid."

IMO we need to commit to Pie 100%. Let Pie adjust and relax and he will shine. Make him look over his shoulder and feel like he's on a short leash will only stunt his growth. I agree Crunchy, Play him or trade him but don't screw with him.

You seem like a good guy mile, but you've been comming off sounding like a jerk lately. Sorry! I'm probably being an idiot, it was just my own personal observation.

INOK- F*$% You!

(Laughing hysterically).

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh... Sorry, that's funny as hell to me. In all seriousness, though...where did that come from? How have I been a jerk?

I truly apologize if I offended you in any way. I really wasn't trying to be a jerk. Maybe I was trying to be funny and it didn't work or something...? (see above for my sense of humor- a little dark, a little juvenile) Regardless, that's no excuse for being rude, so...again, I apologize.

I should also think twice about starting an apology with 'F@#& you!'- even if it's in jest (LOL). You can lose 'em early that way.

Why can't Fukudome play center, and Matt Murton play right?

Matt is ripping it up in spring training, and if Pie doesn't work, why not insert Fukudome?

If Pie could be patient, and learn to bunt, he would have little problem with left handed pitchers.

However, with the Rays having an "outfield situation" right now, I wouldn't complain if Hendry offered Pie, Murton, and a pitcher, for Carl Crawford.

I also wouldn't mind seeing another pitcher added to the deal, so maybe we can pick up that speedy 2nd baseman E. Johnson as well.

Then, the need for Roberts would be vanquished.

(even though I'm a fan of Roberts)

As for having an outfielder that is right handed, I don't see the need if you have someone like Kenny Lofton, who could bat 8th, and either work the pitcher, or scare with the bunt.

LOL mile, like I said I mostly like your posts. I probably should have left probably out of me being a jerk sentence. You didn't offend me. :) I was just spouting off. I have a tendency to blurt. Sorry!

No big thing, INOK. What's this 'mostly' stuff, though?! (LOL).

Jon- Where are you getting these things, dude? Pie, Murton, and a pitcher (who, HILL?!) for Crawford! You vastly underestimate what it would take to get a player of Crawford's caliber.

BTW mile, I was in Laurel, MD near Baltimore Tue and Wed. Pretty cool place from what I saw.

Wow... just wow...

First of all,Devish, since when can a team not contend with 1-2 prospects taking over a position? Did you not pay attention to the NL West last year? How about the team that won the World Series? For that matter, look how close the Brewers got with essentially nothing but 1-3 year guys. Come down off the ledge. Having a prospect in CF isn't going to cause the world to suddenly come to an end. As a matter of fact, it may prove to be a building block to great things in the future for the organization. What's the point of drafting and signing prospects, spending a ton of cash in developing them, then never use them?

Secondly, can we drop this whole Carl Crawford crap already?!?! If Crawford could play CF, do you not think the DRays would have him there whenever Baldelli gets hurt? Hell, if he could play CF, do you not think they would put Baldelli in LF in order to keep his body from falling apart? Instead, they move a 2B prospect to CF last year in Upton... rather than keeping him in a position that they were seriously lacking in to begin with and putting Crawford in CF. There's a reason for this, people!! Crawford also happens to be one of the few people in the MLB that has a weaker arm than Matt Murton from the OF, thus he would be a nightmare in RF. Since his lone position is LF, which happens to be Soriano's lone position... guess who wins.

Speaking of Matt Murton, putting him in RF on a daily basis is a terrible idea. Why? Murton two-hops the ball from deep LF to the shortstop in a cut-off position. How effective could he be at trying to keep runners from advancing to third with deep flies to RF? There's a reason he's being shopped around... and it's not because he's a versatile player.

Also, I think we're not quite getting the full picture with these rumors we keep seeing regarding "replacing" Pie. I don't believe the Cubs are looking to replace Pie. If this were the case, Pie would have been offered up in a series of potential trades to shore-up other positions this winter. Instead, we read time and time again that Pie is absolutely off-limits. Hendry is looking for a backup plan in case Pie tanks it like he did in his shot to prove himself last year. He may also be looking for someone to platoon Pie with when a tough southpaw is on the mound.

Until the injury to nether region a week or so ago, Pie was doing extremely well in ST. I was in Mesa for a couple of weeks, and Pie wasn't looking lost (or like a deer in the headlights) as he did last year. I sincerely believe he'll put numbers in the .275/.340/.450/.790 range with something like 15 HR, 30 2B, and 5 3B... with 20 SB. Add that to spectacular defense, and Pie's more than worth the risk to put him in as the regular CF

Why is everyone complaining as if a back-up CFer means much of anything against Pie? How many teams go into the season without a second catcher? Or a utility infielder? Or someone who can handle 3B when needed?

It doesn’t matter if they love or hate Pie; it doesn’t matter if Pie is a rookie or a vet. The only thing that matters is that they need a back-up CFer. Since Pie is LH and a rookie, it narrows that search down to RH and more of a Vet ~ but it doesn’t mean someone is being brought in to replace Pie. It’s a glaring need that Hendry should have filled towards the beginning of the offseason instead of waiting till the season is about to start, and that has made it much more urgent ~ that has limited his options greatly and even meant possibly someone who will want more playing time, but that’s all on Hendry not doing something about it earlier instead of the team planning to F* with Pie. But you cant have Pie planned to play 162 games in CF, he will not only need rest, but probably days off against the better LH pitchers and such. He is a rookie, and because of that you especially don’t want to overload, or make it too hard on, him. It doesn’t speak to the team wanting to F* with him though…

If the Roberts/Payton/Byrd deal doesn't close by opening day...SIGN LOFTON!!! He's a perfect one year platoon fit in CF, leadoff, lefty, 293 ba and can still play in a platoon with Pie. 1-2 million, no player give away, and all of your tomorrows are still in place. Priceless!!!

How do you make a platoon out of two left-handed hitters?

The Chicago Cubs need to get a better, more experienced center fielder, period. That is one of the most key and crucial positions in the game of baseball. They have a contending team this year and have great possibilities to get to the playoffs and beyond, not just a wildcard team either. Pie may be a great defender out on the field, given his experience, but when it comes to his offense, as Van has said previously, you do not take chances on a low 200's hitter when you have the opportunity to get someone better. That is just smart baseball. Cubs need to spend the money on Roberts and get rid of Murton and keep Derosa. That would be most beneficial.