I am probably in a minority (actually, a small minority), but I do not like the Alfonso Soriano deal. I have no objection to Alfonso Soriano personally. He seems like a good guy and a great teammate, and he is certainly a fine ball player, but $136 million is not a good deal. After the Cubs signed Aramis Ramirez, which was a good deal, what they needed was pitching. While the bullpen looks pretty good for next year, we only have two starters, Carlos Zambrano and Rich Hill – and Rich Hill has had a grand total of two good months in the majors. I know the Cubs signed Wade Miller, but he is a hope, not a fifth starter. And I do not even know if Mark Prior is a hope.
The fact of the matter is we need two quality starters to go with Zambrano and Hill, and we need to sign Carlos to a long-term deal. Giving Alfonso Soriano $136 million is not going to get us pitching, and it is pitching that wins.
I do not like the Mark DeRosa signing, either. DeRosa is a utility infielder/outfielder who apparently has been promised the second base job because of one good season. The theory is that he finally put it together under the direction of the Texas Rangers’ hitting coach, Rudy Jaramillo. That may be true, but Jaramillo is not going to be with the Cubs next year. He is going to be in Texas, and DeRosa is going to be in Chicago. Will the lessons stick or will DeRosa fade like Sammy Sosa did after Jeff Pentland left?
Besides, the Cubs have a great looking second baseman in Ryan Theriot. He brought a fire to the team and could have batted leadoff; he has done so his entire career. Some say you cannot rely on September numbers, but why should you rely on the only year of DeRosa’s career in which he played more than 120 games?
Let’s give our own players a chance when we can (like Ryan Theriot). And when we do not have starting pitchers (because we traded three great prospects for one year of Juan Pierre), we need to get them.
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