Chicago Cubs: Albert Pujols and 10 Signings That Would Annoy Their Rivals
Following the St. Louis Cardinals' World Series victory, the next thing on the MLB agenda is adding players and personnel to teams. With all the Chicago Cubs talk being about Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols, much of the conversation has been about taking a guy who will damage one of the Cubs' rivals.
Newly hired president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer will be likely looking to make some big moves that will get the Cubs making an impact quickly. Chances are they will also like to make some noise in the NL Central, and what way better than to increase the heat with a rival.
Epstein or Hoyer haven't laid out any of their plans yet, but they will surely be sharing what they intend to do within the coming weeks. In the meantime, here are 10 guys the Cubs could sign that would really annoy their rivals and their fanbases.
Prince Fielder
1 of 10Rival Team: Milwaukee Brewers
Position: First Base
Why It'd Piss Them Off
This would piss off the Brewers because it would be the second time they would lose a significant piece of their team to one of the big market teams. When the Brewers acquired CC Sabathia, they were hoping he would stick around after their playoff run. Instead, he went on to brighter pastures and bigger paychecks with the New York Yankees. The Brewers can only hope Prince Fielder doesn't do the same.
Terry Francona
2 of 10Rival Team: Boston Red Sox
Position: Manager
Why It'd Piss Them Off
While many wouldn't call the Boston Red Sox a true rival to the Chicago Cubs, some could now call it that after the way the Theo Epstein incident went down. The Cubs are in need of a manager if they fire Mike Quade (which they should), so Tito offers the Cubs a perfect man for the job. The Cubs would really be sticking it to the Red Sox if they took their duo of the last eight years.
Albert Pujols
3 of 10Rival Team: St. Louis Cardinals
Position: First Base
Why It'd Piss Them Off
Arguably the greatest player of his time, the Cardinals' Albert Pujols is likely going to be the highest payed player coming out of this 2012 free-agency class. While most won't expect all the major players like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs and Cardinals may be the ones battling it out for Pujols' services. The Cardinals fanbase would be damaged for years if their star player switched over to their rivals.
Mark Buehrle
4 of 10Rival Team: Chicago White Sox
Position: Starting Pitcher
Why It'd Piss Them Off
One of the most consistent pieces in Chicago has been Mark Buehrle for the Chicago White Sox. In 12 years of starting, only once did he have a losing season for the Sox. It isn't for sure if the White Sox are going to try and retain Buehrle for 2012, but him showing up on the North Side spells trouble for this long-time rivalry.
Brandon Phillips
5 of 10Rival Team: Cincinnati Reds
Position: Second Base
Why It'd Piss Them Off
While the Reds are not as much as a rival to the Cubs as the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers or Chicago White Sox, they still are very much in the NL Central and would be hurt if their starting second baseman Brandon Phillips went to Chicago. It is questionable if the Cubs will decide to replace Darwin Barney, or if Phillips will even enter free agency.
Yadier Molina
6 of 10Rival Team: St. Louis Cardinals
Position: Catcher
Why It'd Piss Them Off
The Chicago Cubs are not in a real need at catcher, as they currently have the incredibly inconsistent Geovany Soto and the up and coming Wellington Castillo waiting in the wings. Still, the Cardinals fans love Molina, and it would kill them to see the Cubs come through and sweep him up.
CC Sabathia
7 of 10Rival Team: Milwaukee Brewers
Position: Starting Pitcher
Why It'd Piss Them Off
Even though CC Sabathia no longer plays for the Milwaukee Brewers, the New York Yankees ace left a bad taste in the Brew Crew's mouth when he opted to leave for New York after they acquired him in the middle of the season. The Brewers have seen their guys come and go due to the strength of other markets, especially financially. They were mad when Sabathia got away. They would likely be ticked off if he came back to the NL Central, except this time with the Cubs.
Ryan Franklin
8 of 10Rival Team: St. Louis Cardinals
Position: Relief Pitcher
Why It'd Piss Them Off
Not sure how much this one would piss of the Cardinals nation, as Ryan Franklin is coming off of a 8.26 ERA season in 2011, which actually resulted in him being released by the club in June. Franklin was not the same pitcher he was in 2010, where he was the dominating closer who no club wanted to face when they played the Cardinals.
Franklin would actually be a relatively cheap option for the Cubs with a lot of upside in what was an extremely weak bullpen in 2011. If Franklin would find success in Chicago, Cardinals fans would likely be pretty pissed about this.
Jonathan Papelbon
9 of 10Rival Team: Boston Red Sox
Position: Relief Pitcher
Why It'd Piss Them Off
As previously mentioned, for at least the next three years the Cubs and Red Sox are going to be rivals after the entire Theo Epstein fiasco. Relief pitcher Jonathan Papelbon is said to have a great relationship with Epstein, but he didn't have the kindest words for the man when the season ended. Still, this perhaps isn't a long shot for the Cubs. If they were able to obtain Boston's dominate closer, it would just add even more fuel to the fire that is already brewing between these two teams.
Mike Quade
10 of 10Rival Team: Chicago Cubs
Position: Manager
Why It'd Piss Them Off
This is more of a joke, but one would think that if manager Mike Quade is kept around for 2012, that many Cubs fans are going to have a problem with the team. Quade was absolutely ineffective in 2011, and many see his demise coming sooner than later. Still, nothing is set in stone for what lies ahead for the first-time manager. If the Cubs don't want to piss off their fans though, they could start with firing Quade.
Jeff Chase is from Chicago and is an undergrad at Arizona State University. He currently is interning with B/R and is in process of becoming a Featured Columnist for Arizona State football.
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