Are Cubs “buying” a pennant?

June 25th, 2008 at 04:52pm Matt Trowbridge

A co-worker here  says he hates the Cubs because they can buy anyone they want. He names Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez as examples. That’s weak. Very weak. (At it must sound like blasphemy to all those Cub fans who for more than a decade screamed at Tribune Co. to stop squeezing nickels.)

The truth is, the Cubs rank only seventh in the Majors in payroll, two spots behind the White Sox. The  White Sox have ranked in the top five for three consecutive years. The Cubs, as far as I can tell, have never been in the top five, at least not recently.

And, while the Cubs have only two regular position players who came up through their farm system (shortstop Ryan Theriot and catcher Geovanny Soto), the White Sox have just one (third baseman Joe Crede). And they tried to trade Crede all spring. Of the White Sox’ top 16 players (nine starters, five starting pitchers, closer and setup man), they’ve got exactly two home-grown players in Crede and Mark Buehrle. The Cubs have five, including Carlos Zambrano, Carlos Marmol and their revolving door at No. 5 starter.

 I would argue the Cubs have lost more in free agency (Greg Maddux, who went on to win three consecutive Cy Young Awards as soon as he left the Cubs) than they’ve ever gained. And long-time nemesis St. Louis has signed, or traded for, more star players than the Cubs ever have, adding Mark McGwire, Jim Edmonds, Mark Mulder and Scott Rolen, among others, in their prime.

 Most of the Cubs free agents have been mid-level players such as Mark DeRosa and Ted Lilly. What has made the Cubs so good is they made a couple of players better than they traded for in salary purges by other teams. Usually, those type of players are on the down side of their careers (Jim Thome with the White Sox, Scott Rolen now in Toronto). But Derrek Lee had never batted over .282 in parts of seven seasons with Florida. As a Cub, we’re hugely disappointed if he’s not hitting well over .300. Aramis Ramirez hit .234 his last full year in Pittsburgh. Ramirez had one big year with the Pirates, batting .300 with 34 HRs and 112 RBIs his fourth season. But he hit .235, .179 and .256 in abbreviated action the previous three seasons. This wasn’t the Yankees outbidding everyone for A-Rod. The Cubs got Aramis Ramirez for a song because they were the only ones who really wanted him. They should be applauded for that foresight, not criticized. In four years as a Cub, Ramirez has averaged more than 30 homers and 100 RBIs and batted over .300. The Cubs didn’t import a star. They made one. No, make that two. Both Lee and Ramirez are far greater as Cubs than they ever were as Pirates or Marlins.

Entry Filed under: Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee, Uncategorized