Hendry on Wood

Mike Kiley has a column up talking about signing Wood long term......

General manager Jim Hendry has scheduled an important negotiating session next week with Wood's agents, Pat Rooney and Greg Landry. The sides hope to move closer to resolving whether the deal will be for three or four years and how much money it will take to persuade Wood to commit long-term to the Cubs rather than pursue free agency after the 2004 season.

Well thats good to hear. Lets not try and be cheap and insult Wood with a low ball offer. Time to man up Hendry/Tribune.

For fans waiting to hear whether Hendry will sign free agents Pudge Rodriguez and/or Greg Maddux, it will come as no surprise to learn he has been talking to agent Scott Boras about both players.

Boras is trying to convince Hendry they would be good fits, but the Cubs' under-the-radar position on both players hasn't changed. While they privately contend that they still have interest in both, they also are quick to temper any expectations by downplaying the chances of signing either one.

Well atleast they are talking. Though i dont like the Cubs stance of luke warm interest.

Because so many players now want to play for them, they can be choosy. Maddux may yet become a Cub -- if he wants his old team so badly that he is willing to give them a discount and forget about a two-year, $20 million deal.

This has to be the funniest line in the whole article. Where are all these players that want to play for the Cubs? I dont see anyone beating down our doors, like ohhhhhhh say Jim Thome tried to do but got rejected with a nice push out the door.

Yeah Maddux wanting a 2 year deal for $20 million is equally as funny. I dont see Boras ever getting anyone to pay that.

Personally signing Maddux would be a major blunder by our management. While i would love the home coming for him, he doesnt fit into our future plans. We are stocked in the minors supposedly with pitching talent. All Maddux would do is block some of those players from finding a rotation spot. Now if we were talking Curt Schilling or Randy Johnson. By all means bring them aboard. Their best days arent behind them, Maddux's are.

I want Gold Glove winner Ivan Rodriguez as our backstop blocking all those nasty pitches in the dirt for SO's. Plus he is know for his clubhouse leadership. Last i checked we have no one in our clubhouse that would fit that profile. Not even Sammy Sosa.