Cubs Ready to Sign Jim Edmonds

It's a proven vet Dude

In Lou's estimation, PIE is a proven **Dud** so if Edmonds is acquired it's possible that PIE is about to be traded, or at least offered in trade along with our other expendable outfielder MATT MURTON among others, to the team that showed interest in both, none other than THE SAN DIEGO PADRES.

GM Kevin Towers is in Chicago right now and I'm guessing, given the deep hole SD finds itself in, he's serious-talking to Hendry.

Nice Edmonds picture.

Meh. Maybe this will be like Jason Kendall and produce some positive results. I tend to agree with Rob's skeptic stance though.

Although I also have a problem with rooting for Edmonds, it isn't going to keep me from being pleased when he does succeed. Apparently Hendry freely admits Edmonds isn't really a fix in CF, and maybe more ABs in AAA will somehow be beneficial for Pie (though I doubt that too).

Just did my lunch-time walk in Chi.

The winds are gusting 15-25mph!

Left field bleachers will be a very busy place today, hopefully off of Cub bats.

This is not the optimum conditions for Jason "I used to be a Sinkerball Pitcher" Marquis, who has had the ball up and over the plate his last three starts.

Ugh...

I'm hoping this is just the Sun Times trying to dig up some sports news. I'd have one heck of a hard time rooting for Edmonds. I really feel like we should just let Pie play. We're leading the NL in runs scored, so who cares if he bats .230 for now? And, actually, hasn't anyone else noticed that his numbers have slowly been rising? If they want to make changes, move Fukie over to CF and bring Murt back up (he's recently collected his first 3 doubles of the season).

Edmonds. I might vomit. I'd rather bring in Bonds. At least we could be pretty certain that Barry would hit.

Re: Edmonds...is there any definitive answer with respect to the previous 50 concussions the Dude has had? Isn't he still in "recovery"?

I'd be fine with it if it were a minor league contract. If Edmonds rebounds from the calf injury and starts hitting over .300 in a few weeks then bring him up and send Pie down for regular ABs. If not, then release him. But Hollywood is not going to agree to that.

Mark Prior had an MRI on Monday and is expected to fly out to Birmingham to meet with Dr. James Andrews on Wednesday. Not a good sign.

One final, slightly more useful comment:

the graph is a bit deceiving in that the "center" line isn't 100, but 125. The decline is steep, but if you shifted the graph upward to make 100 the visual centerpoint, it wouldn't be quite so spectacularly horrid a sight.

Chances are Edmonds will flop...but Felix Pie isn't exactly setting the world on fire, if he was then they wouldn't have to worry about signing anyone. I'd say give him a month or so and if he isn't the right fit for the team get rid of him. I don't see any real downside. Its Pie that is holding back his own progression, not Lou Piniella or Jim Hendry.

It is infuriating that Dusty is willing to play Edmonds over Pie with those numbers. If we are going to live with a line like that, at least let it be because we are building for the future. Pie has yet been given a chance to play a long string of games.

I would like to start a list of players the Cubs got too late in their careers. Perhaps they were serviceable or did a good job but still too late. Here are a few off the top of my head:

Gary Gaetti
Rick Aguilera
Rod Beck
Todd Hundley
Jason Kendall

Please add your own

My stock response in these situations when the Cubs have a player that I'm not particulary fond of is, "I hope he does well, but I doubt it".

On the other hand, Rob, look at how well John Starks did when he became a Bull.

Oh, wait...

Edmonds is a textbook douchebag, but if the Cubs are only paying him $300K I'm not going to get bent out of shape over the move. An Edmonds/Johnson platoon will probably be better than giving Johnson 130+ starts.

Dempster's turned out pretty well as a scrapheap pickup.

Let's take a look at the few recent scrap heap pick-ups, by Hendry, shall we?
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Just looking at non-pitchers, Oh the pain...
Tony Womack
Phil Nevin
Enrique Wilson
Ben Grieve
Jody Gerut
Matt Lawton
Damian Jackson
Rey Ordonez
Jose Macias
The Nefimeister

Craig Monroe one of last years scrap heap pickups which didn't do so well with the Cubs is actually playing well with the Twins this year.

Now maybe Pie can go back to AAA and fix his swing. Probably not, he'll probably keep using that retarded swoop swing and he'll have all kinds of success in AAA and everyone will stand around scratching their heads trying to figure out Pie's mental block. Ugh... I have never been thrilled about Pie, the regulars around here know this very well. This is why, no one on the club is willing to coach him into good hitting mechanics. They figure, "well, he's clobbering the ball in AAA, let's not mess with it."

Edmonds? Meh, whatever. Better than nothing.

*runs and hides*

Maybe when Edmonds puts on his Cub uniform he begans to melt like the Nazis at the end of "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

Like most Cub fans I have cultivated a hatred for Edmonds, but that's not why I don't like this signing. When guys throw on the blue pinstripes it usually doesn't take long to forget the past. I won't like it initially, but the first time Edmonds is standing on second base in his Cubs uniform, clapping his hands after a key RBI double, I'll like him fine.

The reason I don't like this is that it creates a no-win scenario for Pie that will inevitably reduce his value to the Cubs, either as a player or as a trade chip.

There are two possible scenarios after he is sent to Iowa. One, he tears AAA pitching up (again). If that happens, the conclusion will be a little different than when he was viewed as just an up-and-down "prospect" -- he will be finally cast as a certified AAAA player. If he fails at the major league level and then hits .375 at AAA, we will be forced to admit that his ceiling is probably at AAA.

The other possible scenario is that he struggles or does just OK at Iowa. If that happens, his career goes into a permanent holding pattern.

Under either of these scenarios, his confidence is dinged and his trade value is minimized. Is taking a flyer on a (hated) outfielder -- one who would at best be a stopgap option -- worth all that?

Either play Pie now or trade him now. Enough of these silly AAA games.

Frosted tips are such a great detail. Can you confirm that it is true?

Soriano has a really bad car. I assume many of these guys are douchebags, but so far the Cubs seem not to have amassed more than their fair share.

Hardest Cub to root for?

For my money, it was Ryno when he came back. Really pathetic.

Does Bynum count?
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He can count to 12 (if he uses Alfonseca's fingers)

Edmonds is a scrotum and I don't want him on the Cubs.

Hey that Reed Johnson thing really worked out, huh? So let's replace him with another discard that sucks even more. Good fucking idea.

I took a roadtrip to St. Louis last summer. Even the Cardinal fans in my section had Zero love for Edmonds. The biggest complaint was his penchant for shortlegging routine flyballs into diving attempts. The consensus seemed to be that he was a Hot Dog Douche. That being said. Reed Johnson and Felix Pie have shown they aren't the answer. If Lou isnt going to put KFuk in center. Then we absolutely need to put SOMEONE out there who can add something to the offense. Be it a Edmonds/Johnson or Jack Jones/Johnson platoon.

I give it a week before Theriot is wearing eyeliner and half t-shirts.

"He's clearly on the downside of his career, I think he's actually going on the 'put him out to pasture part of his career."

As steep as that graph is falling, I think "putting him down" would be the more appropriate animal metaphor.

Sounds like he would come cheap, but there is a very good reason for that. And why opt for declining mediocrity when reliable mediocrity with at least a glimmer up upside (Pie) is around?

Rooting for Dennis Rodman seemed hard at first, then easier.

If Edmonds performs and embraces the Wrigley faithful, it will be all right.

If Chicago fans can root for Dennis Rodman, they can certainly root for Jim Edmonds. The level of vitriol and venom for Rodman was FAR worse in the late 80's/early 90's than it ever was for Edmonds, and he became a fan favorite. Granted, he was still good when he was with the Bulls so that was why. I doubt Edmonds will reach the level of success necessary to look past his past.

You know who would probably be good enough to overlook his indiscretions? Bonds. Fuku in center, Bonds in right 3 games per week would absolutely destroy the Central division. The outfield defense would be terrible, but if we thought the Cubs were seeing a lot of pitches/pa now...

Also, having Bonds available to PH the other 3 games/week would be sick. The guy's a douche, but I'm guessing the fact that no team has even looked at him might have brought his ego a bit down to earth. I doubt he'd be a diva/jerk in the clubhouse on an unfamiliar team when being given a second chance. But maybe I'm just being too optimistic about the guy.

No way!!!

Wait for Junior to hit number 600 and deal for him.

Wait for Junior to hit number 600 and deal for him.

Absolutely.....

Cubs were one of the few teams he was willing to waive his no-trade for last year. Given the Mariners struggles, you have to figure they will be near the top of his list this summer.

You know that I would rather not have Barry Bonds on the Cubs.
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plus Marquis is already dedicated to pinch running ONLY for the Wardosaurus.

Jim Edmonds loves to party according to the picture with the cuties, how can you not love a player like that?

In the Edmonds photo, which one is Johan's mom?

Anyway, re the Mariners comment - there is more substance to Grif to Seattle rumors due to the fact that his career started there.

Did Kenny Lofton die? Why would we sign Edmonds before even considering Lofton?!!?

Seems like Edmonds used to own our asses. That said, unless he's got a nice supply of HGH or "The Clear", I don't expect him to do much now.

Anyone have his Wrigley splits? It'd be interesting to know what he's hitting in our yard. Yeah, I know... numbers are skewed because it's Cubs pitching... ;)

Edmonds doesn't bother me nearly as much as Felix does, and I used to do PR for Pie, as you may recall.

See analysis (or fulmination) here.

I doubt that Pie ever raked in the minors, at any level. I just can't picture it. If he did, then Dave Keller and Gerald Perry and, yes, part-time hitting coach Lou Piniella have some explaining to do, because he's messed up now.

Edmonds can play the position and he's one other guy besides Lee who can hit a ball to the seats in right field. What's complicated?

At least the Edmonds negotiations are distracting Hendry from thinking about signing another recently released former Cardinal, Julian Tavarez.

Seriously...the Cubs have scored more runs than any team in baseball with Soriano limping and D-Lee batting .222/.286/.378 in the month of May so far. This team needs to be adding starting pitching, not another retread outfielder. Especially one that we all seem to hate so viscerally.

This only makes sense if there is a trade of Pie and a pitching prospect in the works for a league-average starting pitcher.

Felix Pie Minor League numbers:
2190 AB's .300/.358/.468 not raking of course.
He may never approximate that in the majors, but for god's sake, he needs to play consistently for a few months. Not a month, not a week, not every 4th game.

I hope the Cubs trade him, and he jams it up their ass for the next 12 seasons.

Jim Edmonds.....what a joke. Can we go get Sidney Ponson too? He threw a good game this year....ugh.

or "Say goodbye to Felix Pie day" might be postponed:

http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/USIL0225_f.html

80% chance of rain today.

Jim Hendry, the junkman, a complete rebuild is just three years away. Hopefully someone will send Jim the Marlin's playbook. They look really good on top in the East.

I think this is where you'll find Jim Edmonds these days:

http://www.hotchickswithdouchebags.com/

If you refer to the description of what kind of person rates a douche