Dear Cubs,
I am writing this on behalf of the league and it’s fans asking you to sign off on a trade to send four of your best prospects (Jose Ceda, Sean Gallagher, Eric Patterson, and Ronny Cedeno) to the Baltimore Orioles in return for Brian Roberts.
Your manager, Lou Pinella, is planning on batting Ryan Theriot (.326 OBP in 2007) and Alfonso Soriano (.337) in the first two spots of the order. Brian Roberts had a .377 OBP last year. He stole 50 bases and was only caught 7 times. Yes, he costs a little more ($14.3 million over the next two years), but you’re the Cubs. You’re one of the top five most marketable franchises in baseball. And you haven’t won a pennant in over 60 years. The difference between Roberts and Mark DeRosa is something in the area of three extra wins, plus whatever wins you gain from pushing Theriot to the eight-hole. Last year you only won the division by two games. A three-game improvement could prevent you from having to blame your failure to capture the pennant on a goat or a season-ticket holder.
Ceda, Gallagher, Patterson, and Cedeno are all nice prospects, but none of them are likely to be stars. Cost controlled, above-average players can be a wonderful thing, but again: YOU’RE THE CUBS. You need to worry about being efficient with your roster space, not your money (not that you’ve ever been particularly efficient with your money). Here’s a suggestion: Take the the extra money you make from selling ‘Cubs 2008 World Series’ t-shirts and use it to sign a player who has big bonus demands in the upcoming June draft. The Tigers have done it the last two years and it’s gotten them Andrew Miller and Rick Porcello, both of whom are far better than any prospects you would be giving up.
In closing, let me just say that you have given so much to the league and it’s fans over the years. The music of Steve Goodman. The Sandberg Game. Gary Busey’s performance as Chet Steadman in the movie ‘Rookie of the Year.’ We the fans want to give something back. We want to cheer you on as you try to prevent going 100 years without a World Series title. Trading four of your prospects (who, let’s face it, you’re probably going to screw up anyway) for one of the best second basemen in the league is a step in the right direction.
Sincerely yours,
Tony
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