Cubs Close To Deal With Takahashi?

Is a Cubs fan seriously telling some other fan/team how to win?

For the Cubs I would say he would be a decent pickup. He will be 40 years old next April but the only left handers they have who might be in the pen are Marshall, who will most likely be starting, and Cotts, who blows the big one.

A Cubs fan making fan a of a Marlin fan about winning. How long has it been? 100 years?

Ummmm..I umm..Don't suppose that....ummm...they would be interested in a guy bu the name of......ummm...Kei Igawa?

We'll trade you Igawa, gift certificates to the Benihana on N. State St, all the collector's editions of Naruto and all the Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z cards his kids want

for

.......a dozen baseballs and a case of Gatorade.

I will deliver and exchange all the goods myself.

Twins, yes it has been 100 years. Im surpised you didnt know that.

It goes both ways. I'm tired of hearing fans who aren't even 40 years old whine about how hard life is because it's been 100 years.

My grandpa's been a fan longer than most of us have been alive and he doesn't cry about it being 100 years or act like the Cubs owe him something.

I find the idea of recruiting one Japanese player to support another kind of odd. If I were working abroad, and my boss brought in someone and expected us to get along just because he happened to be American, that would be weird to me.

cubs land,
the marlins won 84 games last year (22mil payroll), that the same as the dodger, who knocked the cubbie and the cubs haven't won anything for 100 years. don't talk. also we were 4-2 or 5-2 against the cubs

masciob2003, at least you have a sense of humor.

How a rumor about the Cubs possibly adding a lefty MRP with a small contract sparked all of this insanity, I'll never know.

Did everybody just have a bad weekend or something?

Only an idiot thinks how many games a team wins or how long a team goes without winning a World Series has anything to do the baseball knowledge of the team's fans.

Also, the Marlins aren't better than the Cubs. Not even close.

hee sop choi is still an all star. can we have nolassco back though so we can stop the peavy nonsense and just get b rob

What kind of splits does this Takahashi guy have? The Cubs could use a genuine LOOGY, they haven't had one since they booted Will Ohman out of town. All they have right now is Neal Cotts, who really isn't much of a LOOGY, he's just a plain vanilla middle reliever who happens to throw LH.

The 40yo thing doesn't bother me when it comes to a LOOGY, they rarely pitch to more than a couple batters anyway. Shoot, Jesse Orosco pitched until he was what, 46?

I don't know what the acronym for LOOGY means, but it is a pitcher who is left-handed, and their specialty is getting left-handed batters out.

For Chris French, who'd like to know what a LOOGY is:

http://tinyurl.com/628j8d
but also
http://tinyurl.com/6b6ueu

First. It would be nice to have a solid lefty out of the pen, and I would think a pitcher new to the league would have better odds at being successful than a new hitter to the league.

Second. Why not put someone in the dugout that fukudome can talk to. Have you ever lived in another country where no one spoke english...well very few of those places exist now, but it gets hard to NEVER know what people are talking about. But if he just needs someone to drink some Sake bombs with, call me.

On Fukudome, I think people need to cut him some slack. He came to the Cubs with huge expectations built around all the hype of Fuku breaking the 100 year drought, etc. etc. Now, here's a guy who comes to a foreign country, can't really speak with any of his teammates, needs to play at a higher level than he ever has and then sees his early success only increase the demand from fans, and oh, I believe he had a new born child at home that he rarely got to see. I'm sure that would do in most of us. Fukudome is a professional player and I expect him to bounce back nicely this season. He won't be an all-star, but should deliver a .280/15/75/.370 line.

Did anyone even notice the interpretor last season... the guy was always out there in his wind breaker and khaki pants shagging fly balls and running around like a chicken with his head cut off... that dude was having a blast (wouldn't you ?) I have also heard rumors that they are bringing over his personal hitting coach to be with the team next year... couldn't hurt... getting someone else in there is a good idea hope they dont over pay him...

yeah but I'd rather have Haysbert playing Pedro Cerrano instead.

I'm with Aduncaroo on this.

People keep talking like adding a lefty was an extravagance. Considering that Marshall is likely headed to the rotation and Cotts (who is no great shakes) is the only lefty left for the pen, it makes total sense for strategic, as well as clubhouse reasons.

I'd actually like to see his stats, rather than see this idiocy in these posts. I didn't realize there were actually Marlin fans. Judging by the stands at Dolphin stadium there are none. "Fair weather" was invented for you and the L.A. fan bases (or lack thereof in your case). If this guy can get lefties out, then whatever...I don't care about a "pal" for Fukudome.

As far as I'm concerned, if this guy can fill the role of a LOOGY out of the pen... great. We certainly need one. I was hoping that Clay Rapada or Carmen Pignatiello would manage to fill that role, but Rapada was traded for Craig Monroe in 2007, and Pigs basically fell apart due to injuries this past year. If Takahashi can fill the role that we haven't had anyone around for since Ohman was sent packing... then great. If he can also provide some sort of clubhouse and beyond figure to help Fukudome, even better.

I am sure Fukudome would love to have a person on the team he can talk to and be able to relate to beyond the baseball diamond. Maybe it will take some of the spotlight off of him, as well as getting him focused on just hitting. I don't see how this lefty hurts the Cubs, and if it comes at a good price I am all for it.

Wasn't Takahashi the Japanese guy in Revenge of the Nerds?

They decided on the puppy...a labradoodle

Fukodome was dissapointing at the last half of the season, I'll give you that, but its not fair to write him off so soon. Japan is about the size of Illinois, playing road games there has to be a hell of alot easier than in a country this size.Being the only Japanese player on the team has to take its toll too. It was his first year. If he sucks this year, then bench him, trade him, whatever until then give the guy a chance.

jamalhornsby- actually Japan is roughly the size of California, so your assessment is a bit inflated. Although, I do believe Fukudome will be more consistent this year.

What does Dennis Haysbert have to do with Tom Selleck? Did you mean Tom Berenger?

That being said if the Cubs cannot get there this season after all of the changes Hendry should be fired...My guess is that the loss of Derosa, Jim Edmonds, and Kerry Wood will make them less of a contender.. Kerry Wood had a compelling story that energized fans, Derosa and Edmonds were the only ones that came through in the playoffs....Seems like they are missing some critical pieces now...