Last winter I proposed that three teams work together and swap albatross contracts. It was along the lines of what the Mariners and Cubs did in swapping Milton Bradley for Carlos Silva.
The mega mistake deal I proposed included yet another behemoth contract that the Cubs shelled out. (Doesn’t that tell you something? That maybe front office mistakes have more to do with the Cubs not winning than a Billy Goat or poor Steve Bartman!)
I suggested that the Cubs take their disgruntled and underachieving one time superstar Alfonso Soriano and ship him off in a three team trade. The Giants would unload their disappointing erstwhile ace Barry Zito and the Blue Jays would send one time face of the franchise Vernon Wells out of town.
The thought process was maybe they all need a change of scenery. Maybe a change could jolt their careers. Maybe going to a ballpark where the fans shake their head at the very mention of your name could be a bit much.
In my deal the Cubs would send Soriano to the Giants.
The Giants would send Zito to Toronto.
The Blue Jays would then send Wells to Wrigley.
I bet the Cubs wished they pulled off that deal.
Wells is off to a fast start in Toronto with 6 homers, an average of .340 and an OPS of 1.224.
Zito is mowing down batters left and right with a 2-0 record, an ERA of 1.86 and a .176 batting average against, giving the Giants a chance to think maybe the signing wasn’t a complete mistake.
And Soriano… ooof.
There’s talk of benching him.
His contract is no considered to be the worst in baseball.
He is vilified in Wrigley.
And there’s not a lot of places where they can ship him off.
Not to get all Presidential on you Cubs fans… but when you see Soriano next, just think to yourself “FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS!”
If they ever find a place to ship Soriano the Cubs won’t be done dealing yet.
Kosuke Fukudome is still cashing a paycheck
