http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/n ... id=4861096

Theres your big left handed bat signing for the offseason

Anybody who can backup for A-Ram that isnt Fontenot is ok in my book

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he had a great start to his career. maybe he was roided up. hes gonna be competing with last years cub of the year micah hoffpauir for the bench spot

Yeah I seemed to remember him being pretty good when he was starting out and I just looked at his numbers in 2005 hit 27 HR's and had an OPS of .912 and 2006 was 20 HR's and OPS .794. That was his last season playing full time since then he has been under 100 games played each season. My guess is he got off the juice.

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He's the poor mans Geoff Blum,but a good move by the Cubs.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

He's this years Corey Koskie.

As an outsider (in that I have no idea what kind of reputation the guy has amongst baseball insiders) and a Sox fan, I have to say that all things being equal, this might be a better acquisition than Mark Teahen.

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How do you figure?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

The Cubs must be on welfare then...

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You missed the part where I said 'all things being equal.' A-Ram has a lock on 3B for the Cubs, while the Sox don't really have any other options, so a comparison is difficult outside of a rhetorical vacuum.

Tracy was pushed out of his position by injuries and Mark Reynolds. He filled in adequately as a part-timer at either corner (robbing both Reynolds and Conor Jackson of playing time in the process, but it's not like it wasn't deserved) until he hit a wall. I think he's a better reclamation project than Teahen who's been pretty much mediocre his entire career.

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So you would take most likely bad over guaranteed mediocre?

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Not necessarily. Either one of them can bust loose for a season. After years of poring over #s and looking for God in the details, I've adjusted to more of a 'scout the player' approach. Based on an admittedly superficial comparison of the two players (peak seasons vs. career averages) it looks like Tracy has proven to have a higher ceiling than Teahen. That said, Tracy's older and Teahen's just entering his 'prime' years so in that regard (plus defense, plus filling a position of need for the Sox) I can totally buy the argument that Teahen's the better signing.

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A Ram will go down at some point, its a fact. When it does happen Im glad we got someone to do a little bit more(OK ALOT MORE) than what Mike Fontenot did last year.

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I like it. These aren't sexy moves but I think they will payoff during the season.

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this is actually a fine signing for the cubs. what i like about it is that he can somewhat competently back up both corners with one roster spot, which will give them some flexibility. i dont expect him to come in and have a career year or anything, but at least he is another lefty bat who actually fills a need, and it is a short-term fix, no big financial investment.