TIL: in 2010 Barret Loux was the 6th pick in the MLB draft.

[CSF77]

I understand your point. But to be honest here 100%. I would rather have them tank 2014 then bring up Baez and Bryant. Most likely add to that Alcantara.

Another point: this comes down to timing. NYY needed Sori at that point. There is no guarentee that that will happen again. There are too many factors to concider. Lack of need, injury. Poor return value and so on. At that point NY offer a interesting power arm and gave some payroll relief. That was the best return that Sori was going to give.

From my perspective I am looking in a 5 year window and Sori was not a part of it.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

"Last year, Epstein called Soriano "a pleasant surprise. He turned out to be as great a clubhouse guy as there is in the game. He couldn't have been a better role model for our young players."

"He's 100 percent completely different than I thought," Sveum told reporters in Arizona, according to CSN Chicago. "There hasn't been a day of disappointment in his attitude/work ethic."

http://espn.go.com/chicago/story/_/...-leaves-chicago-cubs-legacy-true-professional

Swing and a miss there buttercup. You should be on the cover of "Mongoloid Magazine"

Key word - Last year. A .287 on-base percentage is terrible for a guy considered to be "our best hitter".

 

[HurricaneDij39]

They have 2 big holes going into S/T.

1. Legit lead off. Castro lacks a respectable OBA to cut it.

2. Legit #4 hitter. Rizzo and Schierholtz would not his 3-5 on a play off contender.

Lets face it they are throwing mudd against the wall and seeing what sticks. You can ***** about Murphy/Valbuena but the fact is out of the 8 every day positions none would start on a play off team.

You are just pointing to one leak on a busted damn.,

I actually have no problem with Castro leading off in 2014. We need some way to get his confidence up, and that is the spot he's hit the best in the last two+ years. It's clearly not the spot for him long-term, though.

Ruggiano should help a little bit with our middle-of-the-order thump. Peripherals show that he's better than a .222 hitter, and platooning with either Sweeney or Schierholtz should help his cause.

Regardless of whether or not we're building for the long-term, continuing to trot the Valbuena/Barney combination like we have the last year and a half is unacceptable. That's really the main reason I'm boycotting the Cubs convention at least for this year.