Cafardo's Latest: Manny, Sheets, Glavine

Whose ship is sinking now, Hillenbrand? Punk.

I dont know what Wren is waiting for to sign Abreu? If he even willing to sign for anything less than $8MM its a terrific deal! Abreu is good for 20 HR's, 100 RBI's, 20 SB's and .280-.290 avg. Have I NOT stressed that these are numbers he has consistently put up throughout his career!

Get Abreu and a lefty reliever and we're set, IMO

Mmmmmm. Abreu at 2/6, arrrrghhhh. Glavine at 1/1.5, D'oh

Poor rich Hill, so nieve.

The O-Dawg to the cubbies?? That would be beautiful.

I'm tired of this BS with the sale of the Cubs. Theres a new rumor out there that the Cubs could be going after Orlando Hudson. But again its pending on the completion of the sale of the Cubs. Everybodies getting better but us. Another rumor is that the Astros are going after Adam Dunn. This sale of the Cubs is nothing but BS, everybody say the sale will happen so WHY can't the Ricketts make any decisions. We've cut payroll and still can't do anything BS.

I think Manny was stupid before he turned down 25 million,I thought he was stupid to turn down 2/45,and we all know that Manny Me wont behave,he hasn't on any other team,so what makes you think he will now,The best thing Boston did was trade this dumb idiot,no matter what happens it wont be Manny Me making bad plays,now wanting to Play because he has something in his eye,Manny Me was hoping the Yankees were going to sign him to a rick contract and it wont happen, Manny was offered the most money already and if the Dodgers give anything less,THERE AS STUPID AS BORAS AND MANNY ME

Abreu for 1/3....I don't think so. If it IS true then every club that wears pants and spits should be calling his agent now. That's a heckova' deal. Where's Theo?

Atlanta should:

1. Sign Abreu for 2yrs/4 million.

2. Sign Ohman for 1yr/2 million.

3. And sign Glavine for 1yr/1-2million.

That would only be 7 or 8 million.

Imagine:

Anderson/Shafer/Blanco
Escobar
C. Jones
Abreu
McCann
Francoeur
Kotchman
Johnson

Lowe
Jurrjens
Vazquez
Kawakami
Campillo/Glavine/Morton/Hanson

Gonzalez
Soriano
Moylan
Ohman
Bennett
Boyer

Prado
Infante
Ross
Norton
Diaz

Looks great to me.
GO BRAVES.

"Abreu for 1/3....I don't think so. If it IS true then every club that wears pants and spits should be calling his agent now. That's a heckova' deal. Where's Theo?"

No job for him Lock. Bay and Drew are both at least his equals and both are considerably younger, not to mention superior defensive players and playing RF in Fenway is not exactly a learn on the job experience that would really want a person to do and Drew does a remarkable job of it when he is healthy and i really doubt that Abreu would consider being a platoon player.

Get lefty for the bullpen through trade, then Abreu for 2/12

Joe Beimel?

Jimmy Gobble or Darren Oliver would be good

I question some of these posts, no matter where you got the info from. I can't see the Cubs paying for Hudson, and even if he comes cheaply, how many damn second basemen do you need? They have Fontenot and Miles, and they traded DeRosa for next to nothing. Now they want a second baseman? That's rich. And speaking of Rich, I think Hendry should have held onto him, he sold low. And I wouldn't have done the O's and MacFAIL any favors the way they jacked him around last year on the brian Roberts stuff and the way he screwed up the Cubs as President. Finally, Abreu at $3M? I don't think so.

I understand that a lot of cubs fans want to see Fontenot get a shot at 2nd, but if the Cubs have a shot to get Hudson they have to jump all over it!

My guess is that orlando hudson ends up with the cubs because he seems like a perfect fit there. I believe tha Angels will sign Adam Dunn after losing out on a power guy like texeira.Shea Hillenbrand needs tto start looking towards retirement hes not the guy he used to be on the D-Backs. The o's. looks like there pitching is gonna be a lot beter in 2009. Honestly Manny Ramirez is to overrated hes like the brett farve of the mlb. And finally Abreau looks like h mite end up on the angels a's mairiners or possibly the white sox

Scribbletone,

Help me understand something. How is Orlando Hudson any better a leadoff hitter than the Cubs' in-house candidates? He doesn't steal bases, he's a decent, but not great on-base guy...certainly no better than what we have in house. Other than experience, what does he have to offer that Fontenot or Theriot couldn't provide already at the leadoff spot? Is it worth spending money and getting special approval from the new boss for what seems like a mostly lateral move? I understand he's a proven player, where Fontenot has yet to play a full season but otherwise I don't get it... am I missing something here? Aren't the resources better spent somewhere else?

Frankie, we got it the first time, you didn't need to post 3 times my friend.

Rich Hill didn't lose his control from being injured; it's always been a problem with him. Hendry's moves have been questionable this offseason, but I'd like every Cub fan to take a chill pill. If Bradley, Gregg, Miles, and Heilman all bomb then the criticism will be warranted.

As for Hudson, he'd be a decent pickup..but at what cost? Might as well held onto DeRosa instead of signing the inferior Miles.

About the only difference between Miles/Fontenot and Hudson is Hudson can hit 15-20 HRs while those two combined could hit only about 10

Bravesfan10,

Actually, Fontenot has surprisingly good power for a smaller player.

The thing I don't like about Hudson is that he has only scored more than 73 runs once in his career, which would indicate that he reaches base more with two outs than he does leading off the inning.

We have a decent lefty duo in Logan and Ridgway. If one cant get it done, go to the other one. Now this is just if the Braves are truely out on Ohman.

"About the only difference between Miles/Fontenot and Hudson is Hudson can hit 15-20 HRs while those two combined could hit only about 10"

9HR in 284 PAs for Fontenot.

He can EASILY hit 15-20 HRs over a full season (~600 PAs)

TheGrinch-

Show me ONE article/blog that says that the A's came out on top in the Wuertz deal. Only one I've seen came from an A's blog. It was purely even. Neither guy had a spot on their respective teams.

"Can he play a passable SS? That would make incentive even better"

I don't think so because he played 2B at LSU and Theriot was the SS .... so I think it's a little late in the game to switch to the most difficult position on the field.

Fontenot might be able to play some third but I notice that many people tend to underestimate the difficulty of playing 3B. It's not called the 'hot corner' for nothing.

Hey Melonis, is Chavez going to be back this year? Also, do you know what the errors per chance is for 2B vs. 3B?

Thanks.

Hey Braves10, had to step out for a bit. I think Fontenot can equal (at least) Hudson in power. He hit 9 in a half season worth of ABs last year. Hudson can switch hit though -- and that's something Piniella seems to put a lot of weight on (maybe too much weight). Hudson also has the name recognition that could convince Piniella to move Soriano off the leadoff spot...even if he really isn't that much better than Fontenot to begin with.

Melonis Rex, I don't even want to think about the Cubs trading Fontenot. I can't see them getting much back for him the way things have gone lately. As far as the A's are concerned, though, he seems like a Billy Beane player to me...gets on base and at 5'8" (maybe) doesn't quite fit the eyeball test...a perfect example of the guy who falls through the cracks. Not a scout's dream... just a good ballplayer. That being said, I think this Carfardo guy doesn't have good information here. It seems like this money could be better spent elsewhere. I think the Cubs traded DeRosa for two reasons 1) Lou really likes Fontenot and wanted to get him in the lineup and 2) to make room money wise for Bradley. It makes no sense to take some of that money saved just to re-invest it back into another second basemen.

I have no idea what the errors per chance is for 2B and 3B.

Eric Chavez is supposed to be ready for opening day. So yeah. If Chavez doesn't play a decent number of games, the A's are in all sorts of trouble.

I'm not saying 3B is easy. I'm just saying that 3B is slightly less defensively challenging than 2B, and most who pull off the move from 2B to 3B are successful.

Even if Fontenot were an absolute butcher defensively at SS, he'd be an improvement over what the A's had at the position for the next 2-3 years (until/if Coleman/Christian/Leyja are ready) because his bat looks pretty solid. As long as 2B and 3B are manned by plus defensive players (which they will for the foreseeable future, Ellis, Chavez, and eventually Cardenas all profile to be plus defenders.

1.) Abreu (L)
2.) Pedroia (R)
3.) Ortiz (L)
4.) Youkalis (R)
5.) Drew (L)
6.) Lowell (R)
7.) Lowrie (S)
8.) Bay (R)
9.) Varitek (S)

Not exactly scary in the power department but except for #9 no easy outs, either.

Will people please stop about making Ellsbury a supersub? When you have a player with Jacoby's upside, who ALREADY is a REALLY good defensive player and provides a lot of value in that sense, you give him the opportunity to be full time starter.

It wouldn't be Fontenot for Simmons straight up. Or, it shouldn't be if Hendry's got half a brain.

I think Fontenot is controlled for 5 more seasons, although he will be eligible for arb as a Super-2 after the 2009 season (which is part of the reason Oakland makes so much sense; he's Cardenas/Weeks insurance down the road). It would be Simmons + another 1-2 prospects. Easily. Not Simmons/Mazarro for Fontenot straight up. If this deal ever went down, that is.

"Will people please stop about making Ellsbury a supersub? When you have a player with Jacoby's upside, who ALREADY is a REALLY good defensive player and provides a lot of value in that sense, you give him the opportunity to be full time starter."

Horsehockey. Coco Crisp was a star defensive player last year and he was a supersub. Jacoby Ellsbury fits that mold this year as long as he continues to struggle with inside breaking balls and his OBP remains in the doghouse. Thats not a slam on his defensive talent, its just MLB reality and rightly so. Contending teams need game-ready players that can perform wothout training wheels. Players with 'upside' but with obvious deficiencies are best left to a backup role unless/until they overcome their shortcomings... thats what the minor leagues are for and thats why contenders pay starters major money...to perform. If you can't catch AND hit reliably when you get to the bigs then you're best suited to sub, head back to the minors for more work or find another career. Upside or no, Ellsbury remains an unproven commodity with regard to his OBP/hitting prowess, something particularly vital to a leadoff hitter (which clearly is his MLB vocation). So let him work out his problems with the bat without the pressure of starting...before he screws up his head beyond the point of no return. Sign Abreu for a year, fill a hole in the offense and let the kid watch and learn a little longer.

The problem is that the Cubs are trying to fix something that isn't broken. The team wsa very good, but were not hot at the right time (2 yrs in a row). Oh and Fontenot can play ss and is supposed to get some ss playing time this season. Theriot/Fontenot/Miles are slotted to move in and out of the 2b/ss positions all season.

Will people please stop about making Ellsbury a supersub? When you have a player with Jacoby's upside, who ALREADY is a REALLY good defensive player and provides a lot of value in that sense, you give him the opportunity to be full time starter.
_________________________

I agree here. I'm not sure where this idea came about that all mlb players come into the majors finished and polished. At some point a player out performs AAA and needs to prove themselves at the major league level. WHen you have a player w/ upside then you give him a chance to adjust, improve and show consistancy. Ellsbury will have 09 to prove himself as a leadoff hitter. If he fails then look for him to slide down to the #8 or #9. If by 2010 he doesn't have it together then look for Boston to make changes. However, carrying his bat for another year shouldn't be a problem for Boston.

Manny to the White Sox.
~sure he is expensive, but keep in mind we got rid of Vazquez and Swisher who each made a boat load for sucking. And then we could also get rid of Dye for something/anything and that will save more money.
~ Manny could hit 50 homers in US Cellular. Play left, move Quentin to right. And he can DH whenever he wants cause Thome and Konerko wont be good the whole season. They'll go through there slumps.

~ Go Sox ~

umm abreu lowered his numbers to 1 year/3 million on the condition he stays in NY and plays with the mets. If he has to move, don't expect his asking price to be as low.