As I read this week's Open Mic topic, I couldn't think of a team that I would rather GM for than the Chicago Cubs.
You see, no matter how bad of a GM you are, you are still going to get butts in the seats night in and night out, so you don't have to worry about getting a fancy little paycheck because, well, they can afford it.
Also, you have very few decisions to make. For this year's Chicago Cubs, I have just two moves that I would like to make at the beginning of the season.
The first move that I would have liked to make would have been trading for Brian Roberts of the Baltimore Orioles.
I think Mark DeRosa, Daryle Ward, and a package of minor leaguers would have made the deal enticing enough.
With Roberts, you have a solid lead-off hitter, Fukudome can go second, and then the power portion with Lee, Ramirez, and Soriano.
The extra leadership from Roberts would have been huge while Soriano was out, and he would be able to add more speed to a lineup that doesn't have a guy with blazing speed.
The second move that I would make would be to trade for C.C. Sabathia.
The Cubs are stuck at pitching. Ryan Dempster is having a career year, but he hasn't been a great pitcher in the past and I don't know if we can count on him to be continually reliable.
Ted Lilly started strong, but he always starts strong and fades right around this time of year.
With Sabathia, the Cubs have a deadly one-two punch, and if Dempster does in fact stay lights-out, then they have probably the best three-deep pitching staff in baseball.
The pitching staff would then be set, as would the offense that is one of the best in the majors.
Also, the Cubs would be more likely to win more games on the road because although Sabathia is only one-four on the road, his ERA is only 3.43 on the road compared to 4.43 at home.
The extra runs that Sabathia would get the Cubs dynamite line-up would drive up his win total to about 15 on the year.
The Cubs are close to a World Series team this year, and if they can make the move for Sabathia, they will be the team to beat.
The Roberts move, on the other hand, is now a non-issue as he will likely not be a Cub any time soon.
I'm Joe W.
Joe Willett also writes at thedailycub.com.
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3 months ago
Nice article Joe. After trading for Roberts and Sabathia, I'm not sure how much of a farm system we would have left. But knowing the way you can work things, I guess the team would still be a contender for years to come. Thanks GM Joe!
from 3 months ago
It's really a one or the other thing with getting Roberts or Sabathia and Roberts isn't really in the Cubs trade picture anymore.
3 months ago
Joe,
Good read...It's certainly possible for the Cubs to make some trades. The way I see it, a farm system is good to have but there's no guarantee that they will become solid players once brought up.
3 months ago
Good concept here Joe. As GM for the day, the first thing I'd do is to remove Ed Lynch from the payroll. Then, I'd try and get a starting pitcher - Sabathia preferrably.
3 months ago
I like the article. I've been impressed by Roberts this week. I would love to see Sabathia in the rotation. I think another solid lefty would make the difference for the Cubs.
3 months ago
The Cubs have leadoff men and lefty starters on the roster... Emptying out an already empty farm system won't do anything except insure this year as the last possible shot at going for it all, and also most certainly punch Lou's ticket out of town after his contract expires.
Soriano, Fukudome, Theriot, Johnson, even Fontenot, all good leadoff hitters. Fontenot has the least amount of speed, he and Johnson hit for the least average, but all have good OBPs, save Soriano, who only works as a leadoff man cuz Lou says so.
Lefty starters not named Ted Lilly -- Sean Marshall; yes, he's the last man standing for the backup starters, but he has great stuff, good composure, and we can't let one start against a team he's never seen shake our confidence in him. He pitched great as our fifth starter last year, and he'll be fine again this season. Lilly has gotten better in nearly every start for 8 weeks, and he pitched well in the playoffs, except for one pitch.
Bottom line, our problem in the playoffs was offense, and that's solved mostly by getting EVERYONE on base.
from 3 months ago
I said that the Roberts trade was a non-issue at this point because that was only a possibility at the beginning of the season.
And I explained the reasoning behind the Sabathia trade, with him, the Cubs would have a great 1-2 combination and just imagine, they would tear up opposing teams like they do the buffet.
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