ESPN Radio 1000 reported that Psycho Farnsworth has been traded to Detroit for three prospects. I don't have the names of the prospects but will update when I do. Rumors are still around that Hendry is shooting for Dotel or Danys Baez.
I have come to the conclusion that the Cubs want to lose. Last year I said they should sign Pudge it would put them over the top, did they? No they cheaped out with Barrett. Last year they signed Hawkins as a closer option when everybody knew he doesn't have the makeup to close. This year Sosa is gone for a pile of beans. Alou is gone, but they have Hairston, LOL. Clement is gone. And now Farnsworth a solid RP, yikes.
Players lost:
Sosa, Alou, Clement and Farnsworth
Players gained:
Hairston and Burnitz
I think the Cubs think that being a lovable loser is the only way to sell tickets.
Cow
Give Snakes his due!!!! Snakes deserves the fantasy expert icon!!! Go Snakes!!!!
Wow... and Indians fan accusing the Cubs of trying to lose. Have you ever seen the movie Major League? It was basically a documentary of Cleveland ownership. I mean, isn't Cleveland's payroll like 1/10 of the Yanks or Bo-Sox?
And you should add Nomar to your added list, since they will have him for a full season. Lee and Ramirez will put up 70-80 combined HR in the heart of their lineup, but might actually have guys on base this year.
Add all that up with the best rotation in baseball (when healthy), and they're only weakness is at closer. It looks like Hendry is moving that way, even if it happens after the season starts. Mulder or not, I'd still put my money on the Cubs to win the NL Central.
wow - that was quick - I was wondering if the Tigers would move on Farnsworth, but that was done pretty quickly, and without having to give up an OFer that I thought the Cubs would demand.
The problem for us Tiger fans is that Roberto Novoa is a stud. He was almost ready and many had him penciled in the the bullpen even before ST. Novoa is one of our top prospects and he's got a live arm - control is his main issue.
Moore and Flowers are deep single A prospects - basically toss offs at this point.
Obviously in the short term this helps the Tigers more than it helps the Cubs, but eventually Novoa could be more valuable than Farnsworth.
This gives the tigers a much more formidable bullpen - its has veterans, has youth, and is deep in talent - one of the biggest competitions this spring is who will fill the 2 remaining bullpen spots between Colyer, Spurling, Rodney, and German.
DD addressed the greatest need of the organization - as the Tigers blew over 25 games in the 8th inning or later last yr. Now, we have one of the best bullpens in the league (obviously its not top tier like NY or MIN, but its a solid 2nd tier). Now we have Farns in the 7th, Uggey in the 8th, and Percy to shut em down in the 9th. Considering where we were last yr... thats looking mighty good if you are a Tigers fan.
Mighty defensive Cubs fan, especially considering that the time the 'documentary' called Major League 2 came out the Indians were competing to win the World Series... and if they were trying to lose in the late '80s who cares... they have really built up a strong young team now... Compare what they got for Bartolo Colon to what the Cubs got for Sosa... Yes people were higher on Colon at the time then they are on Sosa now, but still how can the best OF you get for one of the [arguably] top 5 RF in the game be Jerry Hairston?
Oh yeah, and I actually like Jerry Hairston to do well in the leadoff spot this year.
WittyC wrote:And you should add Nomar to your added list, since they will have him for a full season. Lee and Ramirez will put up 70-80 combined HR in the heart of their lineup, but might actually have guys on base this year.
Add all that up with the best rotation in baseball (when healthy), and they're only weakness is at closer. It looks like Hendry is moving that way, even if it happens after the season starts. Mulder or not, I'd still put my money on the Cubs to win the NL Central.
70-80 HR out of Lee and A-Ram seem very optimistic to me. Last year they both posted career highs and hit 68 combined.
Farnsworth was a headcase but the Cubs needed him in the bullpen. Best SP in baseball and a good lineup but the Cubs need some serious help in the bullpen. Why Trade Farnsworth?
The difference between the Tribe and the Cubs is money. The Cubs have more. The Tribe is building with youth, whereas the Cubs never seem to have a plan. As for guys being on base since when have Nomar, Hairston or Burnitz been high OBP guys??? Hey I like the Cubs, but they had a team that could win the Series, but they got cheap and wouldn't sign Pudge. They were cheap this year and did not sign Beltran. If you have the money spend it, the Cubs window of opportunity is closing, maybe even closed. When you consider that Prior had a less than stellar year AND shoulder AND elbow injuries last year. Wood's biceps tendinitis, if thats what it was is scary as well. If these two go down the Cubs are left with Zambrano, Maddux and Rusch.
The Cubs are cheap and for that matter so is the Tribe,
Cow
Give Snakes his due!!!! Snakes deserves the fantasy expert icon!!! Go Snakes!!!!
Farnsworth is anything but a solid RP. The talk is and maybe it's bitter Cub fans but that he's a drunk that is known to visit houses of ill repute and such. At least that is what one guy told me that listens to some Chicago sports talk raido all day. He said they don't come right out and say it but they imply Farnsworth has these types of personal issues. The real issue though is that the guy has no control over any of his pitches which is why he never became the closer. I'm not a Cub fan so I think it's kind of funny.
It wasn't a deal just for Hairston, the Cubs got back some pretty good prospects for Sosa as well. The Cubs' farm system already had a load of good arms (some of whom will be in the bullpen to start the season), and they've added some position players. Now the Cubs have some chips to trade when the mid-season insanity starts. They got Nomar for nothing last season, and I think Hendry learned from that deal and is planning to steal someone else this year. Ichiro would look good in front of the Ivy, don't you think?
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by BeefSandwiches » Wed Feb 09, 2005 1:43 pm 
