The Cubs need Crawford!

From my understanding the Cubs are currently, and when I say the Cubs I mean the front office, are in a win now mode, hell who wouldn't be after 100 years of not winning a world series, unfortuntly the Cubs and Felix Pie aren't working out, and he is very inpatient at the plate. That being said I think that the Cubs need to send a platoon of players and get Carl Crawford from the Rays to the Cubs. I'm not entirely sure, but I do believe that he is up for a contract extension and the Rays don't have the cash to keep him and his amazing abilities. So I think they should send Pie, Matt Murton and a couple other people as well. I'm not sure who but I think that this is needed, the reason I don't see  it happening is cause Im not Jim Hendry and they like his defense.

http://www.rotoworld.com/Content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=mlb&id=3410

Carl Crawford is under contract through 2009 and the Rays have an option for 2010.  The Rays are under no pressure and probably in no hurry to trade Carl Crawford.

Before the season started, I was one of the biggest supporters of making a Brian Roberts deal.  As the season has progressed, I don't think the Cubs should make any such deal.  I don't think they should sacrifice much of anything right now because I like where the team stands, especially their hitting. 

As far as trading Felix Pie, that is a definite no!  Keep in mind he is only 23 years old.  He is not being asked to start every day, specifically because Reed Johnson has been an excellent pick up for the Cubs.  When Pie is playing, he's not being asked to be the #1 or #2 hitter in the lineup.  He's usually slotted in the 7 or 8 hole or used as a pinch runner.  His offense hopefully will come around.  But his Defense and speed are already an asset.  I also would say his eye is not much worse than that of Alfonso Soriano's.  The only difference is that Soriano has matured into his power which gets him out of a lot of mistakes at the plate.  Be patient with Pie, even Derrek Lee only hit .233 in his first full season as a pro.

I think the best thing for the Cubs right now is to stay where they are.  The only move I could foreseeably make is a left handed power hitter, especially since Daryle Ward only has 2 hits so far, but I think he will come around.  But, if any of their outfielders don't pan out, they have Matt Murton waiting in AAA, who has proven a highly capable replacement.  If they make a move to acquire an infielder it would make Mark DeRosa or Ryan Theriot the odd man out, and those 2 are clubhouse favorites.  If their starters don't pan out, they have Sean Gallagher and Sean Marshall waiting in the wings.  I like our team right now and think they can make it to the playoffs with the lineup and rotation they have now.

You have so many holes in this post, I could play 18 holes of golf on it.....

Really, how is losing 8 of your last 11 games to vastly inferior teams a good sign?  Scoring 18 runs one day, and 3 the next, that's the hitting you like?  The Cubs are only where they're at offensively because of their high scoring games.  The fact is this a very deceiving stat, because the Cubs have not had much luck in low scoring games, which is not good for a team trying to win a division.

Alfonso Soriano has a body of work you can refer back to.  A 136 million dollar contract he earned with his years of production in the majors.  And oh yeah, HE CAN HIT 40 HOMERS!!!!!!  The second Pie has the potential to hit 40 Homers you let me know.  In the meantime, he's a late inning defensive replacement, and pinch runner.  On this Cubs team, you have to be a little more versatile than that!

Yeah,. for the Marlins who had no visions of contending that year, Pie is on a team that's trying to win a world series, and he's practically a guaranteed out every time he's up.  I'd gladly take .233 for Pie, but you left out that Lee in his rookie year also hit 17 homers, had 74 RBIs, and 106 hits that year.  Pie isn't going to come close to any of those numbers.

Great, another Murton supporter.  Get this, Matt Murton will never be a major league baseball player.  He has no power, cannot hit in the clutch, fields his position like a little leaguer, and has a propensity to ground out weakly in every clutch situation he's in.  Let's not rely on Matt Murton as the capable savior of this team ok?  Oh yeah, and one more thing, Murton cannot play CF, which is what this entire conversation is based around.

Which is more of a clubhouse favorite, the guys, or winning.  This is the stupidest thing I've ever read.  Cause a guy is a clubhouse favorite they cannot replace him in the lineup?  Are you crazy, if Felix Pie was a clubhouse fav, would we be reluctant to replace him as well.  Gimme a break!!!!!  DeRosa leads the team in errors, frankly the sooner we get a guy to replace him the better.  DeRosa in the field this year has been a major disappointment.

Great post, clpoli!

This of course begs the question: what should the Cubs do to get them over the hump and into a position to be one of the elite teams?