Better Late Than Never

Who needs boycotts when six weeks of fan apathy will do?

As this page is late to the Alfonso Soriano discussion, the summary of statements having merit include:

1) Who cares about the size of the contract? For years, we detractors of the MacPhail ear have said that the Cubs can afford to spend with the Yankees and Red Sox. We've been shouted down that the Cubs do spend enough, the just don't spend it wisely. The Soriano Signing pretty much shoves a big can of STFU down the "Wisely" camp's throats. It also makes one's bile rise as one thinks back to the number of players passed over that could have helped the franchise.

2) The Tribune Company clearly doesn't care about the length of the contract as they will not be the owners when the contract matures.

3) This is clearly a signal that Andy MacPhail was holding the team back. There's no way that Jim Hendry all of a sudden discovers the negotiation skills to land a fish like this after having whiffed on Rafael Furcal, Miguel Tejada, and Carlos Beltran. Obviously Hendry already had the ability but was being reigned in. There's no way this happens in the presence of argyle and wool.

But there's a really wonderful angle about this signing that no one seems to have mentioned. The whole of Major League Baseball has just been put on alert. $136 million over 8 years means there's a new tough guy on the horizon. It's not just the Yankees and the Red Sox that 27 other teams have to worry about. It's the Cubs, too. They just flexed their financials after spending years dressed as Clark Kent. The Cardinals, Astros, Mets and Dodgers are very worried right now. The Cubs can be very dangerous as they do have the ability to be the top spender in the National League. By a wide margin. If they do, look out.

From the Home Office

There is also some info from The Source on the current happenings with the Cubs.

1) Hendry negotiated the Soriano deal directly with Soriano. Supposedly, Soriano had ranked his possible destinations from one to six. Alfonso had the Cubs ranked sixth. Hendry closed the deal by meeting one-on-one with Soriano and telling him to call current and ex-Cubs to ask about Jim's reputation as a boss. Soriano made those calls and came away impressed. The deal then closed quickly.

2) Stand by for some pitching signings. As previously reported, look out for Jason Marquis.

3) There is a reason Larry Rothchild was so awful the last few years and still was able to get offers from both Jim Leyland and Lou Pinella. The reason is that Larry wasn't able to teach the style he wanted to teach due to Toothpick Interference. Call this page optimisitc if you must, but Larry probably deserves one year to see what he can do in the absence of Dusty Baker.