0 degrees…snow on the way…let’s talk baseball…
So far this offseason…
Cubs:
– Today’s big news…an agreement has been reached to obtain Juan Pierre from the Marlins for pitcher Sergio Mitre and 2 minor league pitchers. This deal should be finalized today. This fills 2 big holes: center field and leadoff. But wait, you say…center field isn’t a hole….what about Corey Patterson? Well, what about him? He was horrible last year and they’re trying to trade him. And they have a proven hitter to take his place. Works for me.
– Rafael Furcal was supposed to be the answer at shortstop…only he high-tailed it to sunny L.A. when the big $$ came rolling in. That leaves newbie Ronny Cedeno and light-hitting Neifi Perez to fill the role.
– The addition of two quality relievers: Scott Eyre and Bob Howry. Both are considered to be among the best in either league. This immediately improves an open sore from last season.
Sox:
– Traded Aaron Roward and 2 minor leaguers for new DH Jim Thome. Who’s going to play center? I guess that’s up to the player who steps up in spring training.
– Bye bye Big Hurt. Frank is no more. So sorry. The foot-in-mouth routine was getting tired anyway.
– Oh, and there was one other thing……oh yeah, the Sox will probably win the WS again in ’06.
The only problem with Eyre and Howry is that the Cubune overpaid for them. Even if they’re good, they’re not worth the money they paid.
You wanna talk about overpaid…look at the Yankees shelling out $17 mil for Kyle Farnsworth, the same Farnsworth who gave it up over and over and over again for the Cubs. The Cubune paid good money, but I think they got 2 bargains for 2 of the best setup guys in baseball.