Furcal

[JTWood]

Goofy notion here, just to inspire some talk:

Let's say that the Cards know that there is no way they are going to get Giles. What if they went after Furcal and moved Eckstein back to second? Resigning Sanders would give you a little more pop, and the J-Rod/Taguchi platoon isn't a terrible option.

Anyways, Furcal made $5.9M last year according to his player card on ESPN. What does he get as a free agent? $9-$10M? That's about what Giles will probably get, but Furcal's younger and would probably get a longer contract.

So? What do you think of the idea of a Furcal/Eckstien/Pujols/Rolen/Edmonds/Sanders/J-Rod or Taguchi/Molina lineup?

Does the middle infield get better or worse with Furcal in it? (I know that sounds like a stupid question, but Eck/Grudz did turn the most DPs in team history last year. Was it them or the pitching that made that happen?)

With Furcal and Eckstein, we'd be losing OBP and pop in the two-spot ahead of Pujols. Is that so bad since it would simply be reallocated behind him instead?

Just some food for thought here...

[Pogotheostrich]

Furcal is going to be just as expensive as Renteria was last year if not more. I just don't see it happening.

[SaintsOfTheDiamond]

It's a very intriguing idea, but I don't really see it happening because of the money and the fact that there are other deep-pocket teams out there that need him a lot more than STL.

As for the OBP, Furcal and Eckstein are virtually identical:

Code: Select all

Player       '05   Career
Furcal      .348    .348
Eckstein    .363    .351

So the leadoff wouldn't change much.

As for the top of the order in front of Pujols, Walker and Edmonds had 301 combined AB in the two hole following Eck (628 as lead-off) and they only had a .350 OBP, so Furcal isn't a downgrade in that regard.

Code: Select all

Player      AB   '05 OBP
Walker      173    .350
Edmonds     128    .349
Taguchi     108    .289

So production from the No 2 spot in the order wasn't anything overly impressive nor was is subastantially more than Furcal would bring to the table.

From what I saw of the Braves this year Furcal is a pretty good fielder and has an absolute cannon of an arm, so that would be an upgrade over Eck at SS, but I don't know if it's worth the extra $6-$7-$8 million. You also have to consider that Walker is gone, Sanders will be a year older, Edmonds isn't getting any younger, Rolen's effeciveness could still be a question mark (at least it is in my mind), and the implosion of the pen down the stretch is really really alarming. If they were just one piece away from winning the WS this year I'd definitely say go for it, but overall, I think the money could be spent better elsewhere.

[j_d_mcnugent]

definitely intriguing. nomar might even be available for less. IF we cant get giles or another outfielder then it might be an option, but i would prefer to spend the money elsewhere partly because i am not so sure furcal is worth 9-10 mil and partly because we can get more bang for our buck out of an outfielder.

[Pogotheostrich]

definitely intriguing. nomar might even be available for less. IF we cant get giles or another outfielder then it might be an option, but i would prefer to spend the money elsewhere partly because i am not so sure furcal is worth 9-10 mil and partly because we can get more bang for our buck out of an outfielder.

Nomar seems like a bad idea to me because of the $$$ involved and the fact that he isn't that good defensively.

[j_d_mcnugent]

Nomar seems like a bad idea to me because of the $$$ involved and the fact that he isn't that good defensively.

i was sort of assuming it would be an incentive based deal topping out around 7 or 8 mil and if his defense is shaky just make him play 2b. but its not like i am really gung-ho for that plan. i favor the giles option and signing dotel for the pen. and as long as i am living in a fantasy world i'd also like to trade marquis (and maybe other stuff) for javy vazquez (yeah i know he sucks but i think he could be good again).

[SaintsOfTheDiamond]

i was sort of assuming it would be an incentive based deal topping out around 7 or 8 mil and if his defense is shaky just make him play 2b. but its not like i am really gung-ho for that plan. i favor the giles option and signing dotel for the pen. and as long as i am living in a fantasy world i'd also like to trade marquis (and maybe other stuff) for javy vazquez (yeah i know he sucks but i think he could be good again).

Yeah, I don't really like the Nomar thing at all unless he plays for the minimum or something. I'd love to see Vazquez in STL and I'd much rather have him than Marquis. Vazquez had a couple of pretty damn good seasons in MON and I think working with Duncan would get him back on track. At the very least he'd be as effective as Marquis. The only issue with that would be the money, but I'm not sure how all that works since he's still under the contract he signed with the Yankees isn't he? Either way I think Vazquez is a pipe dream at best. The rotation really isn't where the focus needs to be anyway IMO. The top two are set, Suppan and Marquis are a sevicable 3-4 combo and Reyes could be something special if he's healthy. The real work is the corner OF, the pen(?), and 2B/SS whether that's moving Eck or finding a decent replacement at 2B.

[KoopaTroopa211]

No reason to make any moves in the MI. Eckstein and Grudzy work just fine together, and the outfield's the place that needs attention.