Cubs' Hendry eyes move to the left

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - One of Jim Hendry's off-season priorities is to find more left-handed hitting, though the Cubs' general manager cautions it's not as easy as it sounds.

[acw]

love that Tex's name is being thrown out there. Might as well throw Dunn's name as well.

[David]

Left handed hitters or .....a right handed hitter named "Manny" minus a right handed hitter named Alphonso. Both are "goofy" in the extreme, but Manny will get his uniform dirty in the service of the club; Soriano won't.

[Kahren]

miguel wrote:

left handed or right handed they will choke again in octuber..... cubs player are a bunch of losser and their fan too

Yes, Miguel ... Octuber losser again.

[Herman Franks]

Texeira is a waste of money. Look it up, he doesn't make difference for any team he's on, the latest being the Angels. Oh wait, he'd fit right in with the Cubs.
I would trade Lee if in return you got a power, hitting, right fielder ala Sammy Sosa. That is Cubs biggest need, and Abreu is not the answer.
Hoffpauir could play first (maybe right) but two concerns I have of him, his defense, and his swing doesn't seem fluid though he put up big numbers. Just never got a feeling that he is pure hitter.
I would get rid of Fukodome or put him as backup. It's Pie time now.
Ward needs to go, let's see what Hoffpauir can do.

[Leo Durocher]

Herman Franks wrote:

Texeira is a waste of money. Look it up, he doesn't make difference for any team he's on, the latest being the Angels. Oh wait, he'd fit right in with the Cubs.
I would trade Lee if in return you got a power, hitting, right fielder ala Sammy Sosa. That is Cubs biggest need, and Abreu is not the answer.
Hoffpauir could play first (maybe right) but two concerns I have of him, his defense, and his swing doesn't seem fluid though he put up big numbers. Just never got a feeling that he is pure hitter.
I would get rid of Fukodome or put him as backup. It's Pie time now.
Ward needs to go, let's see what Hoffpauir can do.

So, you don't want Texeira and you don't want Abreu, and you don't like Hoffpauer's defense or swing, but you want to play him. You want to get rid of Fukodome.

You want to bring in Sammy Sosa II, whoever that is, and go with Pie.

Right.

[Nobody Important]

Darryl Strawberry said he's available. So did Barry Bonds. Wouldn't that be awesome?

[james binkley]

never trade dlee his glove has saved us a lot of runs and you couldnt get enough in return,but roberts would look good in the number 2 slot setting up the big guys

[james binkley]

i would play hoffpauer in right is earned a shot and we could use the money we save to sure up the bullpen,and keep in mind we have a talent kid tyler c. not far away from the bigs

[Carmen Fanzone]

David...spot on. Get Manny at all costs to include trading Lee and Soriano for him straight up. Hoffpauir can play first. Manny can play left. We need production from the middle of the lineup. Lee doesnt (nor has he ever) get it done...of course unless your talking against the Cubs in 2003.

Roberts would be a nice addition. But its likely we will see the same old top of the lineup next year. Leadoff man up...swinging at 57' pitches two feet off the plate. Yeah Soriano gets hot two weeks out of every eight, but beyond that he is a detriment.

[Leo Durocher]

james binkley wrote:

never trade dlee his glove has saved us a lot of runs and you couldnt get enough in return,but roberts would look good in the number 2 slot setting up the big guys

I'm not thrilled with the idea of trading Lee either, but you and I seem to be the only ones who don't want him drawn and quartered.

I get a kick out of all the demands you read here to trade Soriano or Lee or Fukodome or whoever. You need to find a taker, you've got to receive something acceptable in return, you've got tens or hundreds of millions in guaranteed dollars to work around, and you've no-trade clauses in their contracts they have to waive.

It's not like Fantasy Baseball or Strat-o-Matic.

[Andy H]

Deal DLee, he is our best bargaining chip. Plus his comments backing Obama was a joke.

[Stephen]

Why not go after Texiara and put him in right field? I know he plays 1B, but we could see if he would want to play right field. Or give Hoffpair a shot at RF; we could platoon Fukudome and Johnson in CF.

[cubs fan in tx]

gee, the only guy to trade here is lee? he's just about the only one that gave a good account of himself in the playoffs. how about ramirez or soriano being traded? it's unusual but i beleive even though the team won 97 games they ARE in need of much improvement, despite hendry's comment.

[John Anthony]

1908. What, Hendry isn't happy with Kosuke?

[cubs fan in tx]

Andy H wrote:

Deal DLee, he is our best bargaining chip. Plus his comments backing Obama was a joke.

Andy,can we just agree to keep the sports section about sports and not interject freaking politics in here. i couldn't care less about the players politics as long as they win a playoff game.

[Shaun - not from Boston]

Andy, leave the politics out of this (BTW, your guy McCain? He's gonna lose)... Deal DP-Lee & Soriano straight up for Manny. Give Hoffpauir his shot and see if we can finally make the Brian Roberts deal happen.

[CaptainObvious]

It's too bad we can't trade Felix Pie, who is a bust vs. MLB pitching... and everyone's seen it. Had he been playing in Iowa, where he's actually decent (can you say "4A?") instead of needlessly shuttled back and forth, he'd not have been so exposed. He's also too chummy with Soriano, from whom he'll learn absolutely nothing about the strike zone, bunting, shortening up with two strikes... and so on, and so on.

[Carlos Quentin]

miguel wrote:

left handed or right handed they will choke again in octuber..... cubs player are a bunch of losser and their fan too

This is a classic, keep the sox-fan stereotype alive Rocketman.

L O L "losser" "octuber" "fan", great stuff, thanks.

[CaptainObvious]

Oh, and stop with the Brian Roberts deal talk. The cupboard is bare in the minors as far as trade bait goes; even a zero like Andy MacF-A-I-L can see that. Superbusts Angel Guzman and Felix Pie have no value and Rich Hill has become too head case-y. You got nothin'. Nothin' but a lot of talk and a badge!

[101 Years And Counting]

That Derrek Lee is even on the list of possible moves speaks volumes about the Cubs' plight on offense. It would be great id Hendry could pull another "Todd Hundley" with Fukudome.