from espn.com rumblings and grumblings

 

 

"After dealing Derrek Lee for Hee Seop Choi, the Marlins' best-case scenario is to have Choi win the first-base job. But with Jeff Conine still hanging around as a first-base option, Choi will have to win the job. And there are quite a few scouts out there who aren't sure Choi will ever match his hoopla.

 

"I love that deal for the Cubs," says one NL scout. "Hee Seop Choi has gotten a lot of hype, but I'm not convinced he'll ever live up to it. His strength and his power are impressive. But he really struggles against good breaking balls. He's not Derrek Lee. I know that. Derrek Lee might hit 50 home runs playing in Wrigley."

im not too worried

yea i know but its still not good to know thats wut scouts who watch him play constantly say about his game and that he might not ever develope into wut he should

Like I said before, In May Choi was the next big thing. Then Dusty Baker and a cuncussion (sp) happened to him and he was lucky enough to end up with the Marlins.

I wasn't looking to get Cabrera part II out of the DLee trade. I was looking to dump 6 mil$$$ and get a quality player.

D.Lee is overated and overhype..

~slaps minus~ yea overated and overhyped ...u keep thinking that while he racks up 50 homers at wrigley

We had to trade Lee, and the fact that we got a major league ready player in return is spectacular for us. Person for person this trade is great for the Cubs, but when we have to work with a budget, the trade for us was essentially Lee for AJ Burnett, Luis Castillo, Mike Lowell, and Choi. That's what it was all about, keeping around most of what we have while getting rid of our most overrated player. Defense alone isn't worth $8 mil a year, and when did Lee come through consistently in a situation that mattered, he was Mr. Solo HR...

~slaps minus~ yea overated and overhyped ...u keep thinking that while he racks up 50 homers at wrigley

 

Yes and the little bird told me that Juan Pierre is going to hit 30 hr.

im not sayin we shouldnt have traded him but first...he is not gettin 8 mill its 7...second y do ppl only say defense alone?? the guy hit 31 hrs and 92 rbi!! that defense thing is gettin old hes an all around player and will become an allstar in chicago.

minus u obviously dont know baseball if u think dee lee wont hit more than the 31 he hit here at the pro and now hes at wrigley..expect between 40-50 hrs

"Hee Seop Choi has gotten a lot of hype, but I'm not convinced he'll ever live up to it. His strength and his power are impressive. But he really struggles against good breaking balls. He's not Derrek Lee. I know that. Derrek Lee might hit 50 home runs playing in Wrigley."

I can gurantee you, that scout works for the Cubs. I'm not saying D lee doesn't have the potential to hit 40 or 50, but you never know what you may get from him.

minus u obviously dont know baseball if u think dee lee wont hit more than the 31 he hit here at the pro and now hes at wrigley..expect between 40-50 hrs

I don't know baseball?

 

Wriggley is not exactly hitter park like every one thinks it is....Are you fan of a player first or the Marlins?Can't get your mind off Derreck?At least Shamrock is not whinning about Derreck Lee because he knows the potential Choi has.

 

Worst case scenerio

 

Choi becomes another Derreck Lee at the plate.Which is neither good or bad.

im not sayin we shouldnt have traded him but first...he is not gettin 8 mill its 7...second y do ppl only say defense alone?? the guy hit 31 hrs and 92 rbi!! that defense thing is gettin old hes an all around player and will become an allstar in chicago.

 

Lee is a free agent at the end of this season. He reportedly wants $9 million a year in a multi-year deal. The Cubs still have to go to arbitration with him this off-season and then try to sign him.

 

I don;t know where these fantasy numbers come from. 50 homers in 2004? Dream on.

Another thing I don't get, if people are all saying that Lee is going to blossom at Wrigley, well that's an obvious expression that Pro Player is not a park built for him. We have to work to our strengths and the cavernous outfield helps speed (see Castillo and Pierre), and it's also helpful to lefty line drive hitters because of the weird corner in right down past the bullpen. If Choi just rockets stuff down the line, it's fine by me...

lee will not become a FA because they will extend him during the year like they said...and 40-50 is realistic assuming he hit 31 and playing at the pro

it's funny how they talk about choi not hitting breaking balls and how he's not lee. i don't remember lee hitting breaking balls when he was 24.

it's funny how they talk about choi not hitting breaking balls and how he's not lee. i don't remember lee hitting breaking balls when he was 24.

I don't remember Lee hitting breaking balls last year. :banghead

the only person I clearly remember hitting breaking balls well is the guy you all want to run out of town: Juan Encarnacion. :mischief2

the only person I clearly remember hitting breaking balls well is the guy you all want to run out of town: Juan Encarnacion. :mischief2

Agreed. Inky was the best breaking ball hitter on the team. It's not that I would like to see him go. He did a fantastic job for us last year. It's just there isn't a spot for him with JP, Niner and Cabs already signed and in the OF.

 

The hand writing was on the wall once Lowell returned from the DL.

 

The only possibility would be for Conine to move to first, and play Choi part time. But that seems doubtful since we need the left handed bat.

We don't need a left handed bat, we just won a World Series ring with no left handed bat (Pierre and Luis don't count). I'd love to keep Encarnacion, I've always had a soft spot for him, but it doesn't look good. Miggy in right just doesn't do anything for me, if he had to play in the outfield I liked him in left. His arm just isn't up there to shut down people from running on him like Encarnacion did.

It probably depends on what happens to Pudge. If Pudge is signed, and I hope it will happen, then we likely cannot afford Inky. I do agree that RF is NOT the best spot for Cabs. 3rd is the place....but that won't happen for the next 4 years. So LF is the next best option.

 

Although I can't help but wonder how Cabs would do at SS. However, I don't see that happening since clearly the FO wants to keep the strong DP combination of Gonzo and Luis, and I can certainly agree with the idea of a strong middle defense.

 

Lot's of options here...just hard to put Cabs in the ideal spot.

lee will not become a FA because they will extend him during the year like they said...and 40-50 is realistic assuming he hit 31 and playing at the pro

Ryan Sandberg hit 40 home runs playing at Wrigley one year, and surely Lee has better power.

 

But 50 HRs? You nuts?! He hit 31 this year, that means an increase of 19 homeruns. That is over a 50% increase in homerun total. Let's calm down here, and remember, that even if that is the case - he wasnt going to do it with us. We made this deal to dump his salary. Choi is a quality prospect - tell me what is wrong with the guy? Any player who performs like he did at the minor league level you got to feel comfortable about at least. The guy had 252 career ABs. THat scout quoted vastly undersold Choi and oversold Lee. Got to be a Cubs scout.

 

And in terms of contracts, which is why this deal was done, the Marlins slammed the Cubs. They still dont get it - baseball is not totally about having the best talent, it is more about having financial flexibility at this point than anything. The Cubs are going to be locked into Lee and that will freeze the rest of their team's talent pool.

jonny...the scout said he could hit 50 and its really not that improbably considering his numbers away from PPS.

minus u obviously dont know baseball if u think dee lee wont hit more than the 31 he hit here at the pro and now hes at wrigley..expect between 40-50 hrs

I don't know baseball?

 

Wriggley is not exactly hitter park like every one thinks it is....Are you fan of a player first or the Marlins?Can't get your mind off Derreck?At least Shamrock is not whinning about Derreck Lee because he knows the potential Choi has.

 

Worst case scenerio

 

Choi becomes another Derreck Lee at the plate.Which is neither good or bad. Actually that would be the best case scenario.

 

Hendry might have a plan here. Overhype positional players and trade them away. (see Hill, Bobby and Hee Seop, Choi)