FanHouse PhilRogers

Mark Grace is easily my all-time favorite baseball player. I loved him as a player -- I grew up rooting for fellow left-handers -- and I loved his off-field personality. He's just a really likable guy. Still, his baseball career, while a very nice one, is hardly Hall of Fame worthy.

Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune disagrees, otherwise he just felt like tossing Grace a vote. Either way, Mark Grace has garnered a vote for the prestigious Hall in Cooperstown. One of Rogers' thoughts was that he doesn't like to be "a curmudgeon with a ridiculously high standard" when filling out his ballot. I agree with that stance, but you still have to maintain high standards for the Hall of Fame.

Rogers discusses Grace's postseason -- albeit a small sample -- prowess, when he threw up insane stats in the 1989 NLCS and kick-started the series-winning rally off Mariano Rivera in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. He brings up the fact that Grace lead the majors in hits for the '90s. Rogers also points out Grace's outstanding defense and leadership in the clubhouse.

We talked a little bit about the business implications of Carlos Zambrano's huge five-year deal with the Cubs yesterday. Now the dust has settled, the columnists have had time to pontificate, and the verdict is in. Let's go to the tape:

Phil Rogers, Chicago Tribune: The Cubs need Carlos Zambrano to be many things-an ace, a workhorse, a leader, a grown-up. More than anything, they need him to be an exception. Smart money says, and at least one highly placed Major League Baseball official agrees, the Cubs would have been better off letting Zambrano walk than giving him a five-year contract at a record salary level for a starting pitcher. ... "These long-term contracts are brutal, absolutely brutal," the official said. "We talk about that all the time, and teams keep doing it. I don't understand. ... If you have the benefit of history, wouldn't you study that history before you make moves?"

Jay Mariotti, Chicago Sun-Times: This wasn't mere leverage at work. Hell, this was Carlos Zambrano putting the Cubs in a vise-grip headlock, pressing their face firmly into his armpit and abusing their scalp with so many swirling noogies that they had no choice but to make him the highest-paid-per-average pitcher in baseball history. I'm just shocked they cried ''Uncle!'' Because responding to media and fan criticism by doing the right thing -- giving their pitching ace a five-year, $91.5million extension with a full no-trade clause -- isn't usually the way Tribune Co. operates. Of course, it's much easier to spend the next owner's money, which the Tribsters are doing in adding Zambrano's bonanza to Alfonso Soriano's $136million jackpot, Ted Lilly's $40million deal and the others. It pushes their nine-month total of expenditures to about $400million, a Steinbrennerian splurge that surely will make Andy MacPhail faint, wherever he went.

I have to say that the idea of the Twins trading Johan Santana has never crossed my mind, but it's definetely swirling around in the Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers' mind. From his column in Monday's paper:

Before contract talks broke off between Johan Santana and the Twins, baseball's best pitcher is believed to have had put the team on notice that he wants a contract at least as long as Barry Zito's eight-year deal with San Francisco. Why wouldn't he?

"I'm going to be honest," Santana told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "I would like to stay here forever. Now, how many years would they be willing to offer? Hopefully I could do lifetime. That would answer your question because that's what I would like."

There's no urgency to these talks, as Santana is committed to the Twins through 2008. But you can bet GM Terry Ryan will carefully handicap his chances of doing a long-term deal as he decides whether to let him go the distance in Minnesota or trade him when his value is highest.

If the Twins fade by the July 31 deadline, he can ask a king's ransom for Santana and center fielder Torii Hunter, a free agent after this season.

I just don't see it myself. At the same time, if Santana is looking for a Zito-esque contract I'm not sure the Twins could offer him that kind of money. At least not if they wanted to keep anybody else on the roster.

The biggest asset of the Twins organization has always been their ability to develop new players, but I'm not sure trading Santana wouldn't cause a revolt amongst Twins fans. When you're building a new stadium to play in the last thing you want to do is trade the teams best player and alienate fans because no matter how beautiful a new stadium is, they always look better with butts in the seats.


Previously at the Fanhouse:
Johan Santana Denies Cutting Off Negotiations
Johan Santana Cuts Off Contract Talks With Twins
Breaking News: Johan Santana Is A Lot Better Than You
Johan Santana Would Prefer An Extension Soon, Thank You
The Twins Unveil Their New Stadium

Fun: unfounded trade speculation!

The Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers weighed in on the Carlos Zambrano contract situation a couple of days ago, and says if the Cubs can't reach a deal with Zambrano eventually, Cubs GM Jim Hendry could consider a trade:

Hendry would need an iron fortitude to deal Zambrano, no doubt about that. But there are ways that could work out.

The Cubs could be as good with Zambrano as without him. It sounds crazy, but for as well as Clemens pitched a year ago, the Astros were only 10-9 in his starts. And the Philadelphia Phillies mysteriously started winning after trading their best hitter, Bobby Abreu. It's baseball, and silly stuff happens.

The most likely way a Zambrano trade could work is the return on the trade itself. These types of deals generally benefit the seller, and a smart organization can use a bargaining chip like Zambrano to add strength.

Rogers later mentions Ichiro, among others, as a player that might serve as a viable trading piece for both teams. The one obstacle is probably Seattle's newfound desire to steady their payroll after it jumped over $100 million for the first time ever this offseason.

Lost in the Ivy over at Sweet Home Sports, has an interesting analysis:

If the Cubs did swing this trade, their lineup would look like this:

1: Ichiro Suzuki
2: Mark DeRosa
3: Alfonso Soriano
4: Aramis Ramirez
5: Derrek Lee
6: Michael Barrett
7: Matt Murton
8: Cesar Izturis

As a Cubs fan, let me tell you, that lineup does indeed make me feel all tingly. And that, my friends, is why trade speculation, even without merit, is fun: it's like real-life fantasy baseball. (I hear the Cubs are also going to organize a three way trade for Johan Santana, Albert Pujols, and A-Rod. More on this breaking report later.)