Hendry is dumb.That is too much to pay Soriano. Is Pinella even going to make good use of Soriano? Or in a year are we going to be here talking about how to get rid of Soriano? Alfonso will be good in Chicago for a year, then we will probably all hate his rich guts.

I know im a minority here, but im unhappy with this signing especially since we are paying so much money. I couldnt believe it. No player is worth 17 million a year. let alone for an 8 year deal. I really think we overpayed tremendously for him and i doubt if he will be in Chicago for all of those 8 years. I really think that in 2 years or less we will want him gone.

Also, i dont know if he is the solution, his career high was in OBP last year, so i dont know if that is a new trend or just a fluke. Actually last season was a career year of sorts for him. So we will see.

Im not overly thrilled with this signing but since he is a Cub now, i guess i have to support and hope that he does well.

greg, im with ya man. terrible sign. at 17 mill per season, just think of what we could of done with that money.

Every year these guys sign for a ton of money and every year we are shocked at how much some moron is willing to pay. Well, it’s not my money, and we have now signed what could be the two best hitters available this off season in Soriano and A-Ram.
As long as Hendry continues to spend big on pitching then I don’t care.
That is a tremendous amount of money and it makes me wonder if tribco isn’t trying to put together a winner to increase their value for a potential sale? If their going to sell the team then why would they care how much they spend? This deal doesn’t seem too smart money wise but if Hendry was told to go ahead and get the best no matter what then that’s what he did. Hendry has to be working with tribco execs to put this team together, they wouldn’t let him spend that much without their go ahead, so maybe they think this is their last hoorah and their going all out. Hell I don’t know, but we do have a serious offense now, and IF we sign some respectable starters we could go a long way in 2007.
I don’t know why for sure but this deal is making my spider senses tingle a little.

Guys......The Cubs haven't won the World Series in nearly 100 years. Our grampas don't remember the last time that happened.
Time to make some bold moves. Who cares what happens four years from now? Lets win it in 2007 or 2008. Lets be the 1997 Marlins. I don't care. I've waited long enough. I want to see a g-damn World Series, and Soriano is in his prime RIGHT NOW.

I dont get it. For years everyone wanted the Cubs to spend and get the big name players. They finally are and no one on this site seems happy. At this point, you guys seem to complain about everything. I never thought I would see the day that Cubs fans complained that the trib was spending too much money on players. You should change the name of the site to Goat Complainers instead of Riders. Have fun bitching about the rest of the offseason, I cant take anymore of this negativity.

Some people just love to complain. While this deal will probably look bad in a few years, for the short term this will give the Cubs a huge boost towards a World Series title. So to all you glass half empty Cub fans, I have a message for you: just be happy you're not a Royal fan where your best free agent signing is Reggie Sanders and you are happy with an 80 win season.

For the record... I think it's a good deal. I'm thrilled to have Soriano, and the dollars don't worry me too much. I want to see the contract terms before declaring it a great signing... but I think it might be.

At the least, it gives us another foundational piece in our lineup for several more years. Yeah!

Zal Gud folks. Sure in 2012 we might hate this deal, but I think we'll get 3 - 5 solid years outta him. Also, we got him away from Houston, so that bodes well. Chill. Soriano is a badass and he'll help out team (remember, we still have Aramis & DLee. . .)

Cubs Fan, let the record show that i was never a Soriano fan. I never advocated the cubs signing him.

Despite, my personal opinion of the contract and Soriano, i think he will help the team. So that is all that matters. Although, i still dont think a World Series is a realistic goal for next season. We need pitching to make that happen, so lets hope we get some soon.

I'll also go on the record as being pro-signing. I think it is a bit ridiculous to bitch about the money and then turn around and bitch if the Cubs don't sign anyone. We go on and on about how the Cubs always come in second to the Yankees or Red Sox and then bitch when they have to shell out some money.

It's never that big a deal to overpay for a star; the problem comes when you over pay for mediocrity. And for that matter, better they spend the money on Soriano than Zito and end up with another Mike Hampton.

This is a fine signing, contract be damned. 8 years, 7 years, doesn't matter. You pay for the first 3-4 years and then hope he's okay for the rest.

Be happy, Cub fans. For the first time the Cubs are making an effort.

Go Cubs!

Why doesn't that surprise me Greg, that you were never a Soriano fan.

Cubs Fan had it right. The signing fills two holes, a center fielder and a power bat.

How much would Gary Matthews Jr. and Carlos Lee have cost?

How about D. Roberts and Carlos Lee. How much would that cost?

JD Drew? Reports are $13/$14 million for 4 years. You want him instead?

Boston just dumped three years of Florida Marlins payroll, just to negotiate with a untested Japanese pitcher and haven't signed him yet.

When are you going to get it. Whenever the owners aren't in the mood to collude against players salaries, they spend like a drunken sailor just back on shore leave after spending 9 months at sea.

This offseason, just like the one two years ago when Beltran and Clemens signed obscene free agent deals, the Soriano deal will be more the norm for a high profile player, not the exception.

MLB is awash in money and to make another point, the Cubs had record revenue the last two years and didn't increase the payroll spit.

The Tribune Co. fuckin' owes us, and if they want to spend more money than the Yankees, you tellin' me you're going to complain?

Get fuckin' real, will 'ya?

Lets see, the money we just gave to Soriano severly limits us in what we can do with spending in the future, especially this offseason with pitching.

I think Soriano is a horrible excuse for a center fielder.

All im saying is, we paid way too much money for what we are getting. I realize that spending is part of the game but that doesnt mean it is always well spent.

We locked up so much money in Kerry Wood a few years ago that prevented them from getting rid of him. This is the same way. The cubs have always spent a lot money compared to most teams but it isnt always well spent. This might turn out to be like that.

But i really do think he will help the cubs, assuming he keeps his OBP up where it was last year and not to where it was during the rest of his career. As well as his strikeouts decrease. Am i wrong that strikeouts has always been a big complaint with the cubs, how does this help that aspect?

Ill support Soriano now that he is a Cub. I hope that he helps us. I know that he can too.

Soriano is going to win more games with his bat than lose games with his glove...period.

Clute, be kind, please.

Amazing....just simply amazing. No not the actual signing Soriano but for the reaction it's getting. For years I've heard nothing but pissing and moaning about the Cubs not putting an effort into landing the best players available because they were too cheap and now finally, after all these years they are forking out the cash to get the best.......and now people are bitching that they are spending too much?????? Shut Up!!!!!

"not putting an effort into landing the best players available"

Well, obviously, not everybody thinks Soriano is the great players others make him out to be.

One serious problem I have with Soriano is his defense. Another is his free swinging approach, which is, to be fair, pathetic compared to Nomar's or Pierre's.

y2g, cubfan, and others -

so far, 2 out of 3 goat riders are pro-soriano with a few left still to chime in. It's too early to say that this entire site is complaining, right now it's just one of us.

You're right Byron. Budweiser speaking after a Bear win. I'll cool the language.

Just heard that Pinella was on the score and said the best arm plays RF not CF, and Soriano will be in right field. Pinella also said that a leadoff man is only guaranteed to bat leadoff once in a game and with Soriano speed and power, wants him to have as many at bats as possible, so Soriano is my leadoff man. When Pinella was asked what he thought Hendry would do next, he said Hendry's going after some pitching.

Let's face it, if Murton gets platooned with Jocko in LF but Hendry gets a couple of quality starters, who cares? Guys like Finley can still play a credible CF, check out last years numbers, and believe me there will be plenty of those type of guys around before this off season is over, until or if F. Pie is ever ready. Who knows, Pie might win the CF job this spring? Although I think Pinella would prefer a proven veteran.

Death you are well-named. No contract lasts eight years anyway and moreover anyone who gets that interested in contracts over BASEBALL has lost their way. Take a breath dude. You want free angents and then you whine about them. Babe Ruth is not available. Get over it.

Since Kurt is away from his computer, I'm going to take a moment and defend our resident funny man.

First, read the post. Kurt isn't anti-Soriano. He wanted Soriano to come to Chicago, and he concludes his post saying that we are only two starters away from contention.

Kurt's negativity is directed toward the contract and toward Jim Hendry.

On the first point, depending on what the contract terms are, Kurt might be right. It might be a hellacious contract.

On the second point, people haven't been defending Hendry against Kurt's attacks for months now, so why start now?

Anyhow, for those who accuse this site of thinking with one mind... and of always being negative, please remember that we're just presenting our opinions... and I guarantee you that we'll never all agree... at least not as long as both Sloth and I are writing for this site. (I think we're mortal enemies or something.)

So, in your contents, continue to call it as you see it... but don't generalize about how we're always negative, or this or that... and also, remember to be kind to your fellow commenters.

GO CUBBIES!

I'll second what Byron said. And yes, I should have said "anti-soriano signing" not "anti-soriano" - sorry Kurt.

But I think one of the best things about this site is that it is probably the only Cubs site on the web that doesn't succomb to group-think. Almost all the sites on the web are either one person leading a group of followers or a team of writers who think with one mind. Rarely do all the goat riders agree and I think that's a good thing.

That being said, let's just be happy we finally landed the big free agent. What's next? A World Series?

I wasn't pointing directly at the goatriders population. I know plenty of people personally and from other sites who complained about the lack of spending over the years who are now complaining about overspendning. I told them to can it! As of now, we can finally be happy that the Cubs are actually trying this offseason.

"I think Soriano is a horrible excuse for a center fielder."

Interesting considering that he's NEVER played CF in his career. If the Cubs put him in CF and he stinks up the joint then okay but until he plays there, save it.

The Cubs have just signed the "Biggest Fish". I don't care about contracts. Could care less. I am not an owner of Tribune stock. I am however a Cubs fan as we just got the grandaddy player of the offseason, peroid. After almost losing 100 games and painfully watching just about every painful loss last year this is the tonic I needed. This offseason have been a boon for not only the Cubs but for GRTOA and BCB bloggs. It's all good. Last years' offseason was painful due to nothing happening. This year has been wonderfully exciting.

So if you're into contracts and bitching about money ask yourself why? Then answer, so what! I have enough Cubs 'gear' as do most here due too for the Cubs to be fine. Frankly I just want a winner.

The Cubs are building winner boy's and girls. It take a little green to get there. Just sit back and enjoy it it for once. It doesn't happen often/ever!