06-19-2009, 11:24 AM
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cu...T-cub19.article
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->And despite some misperceptions, Piniella and DeRosa developed a strong relationship after an early speed bump or two in 2007.
In fact, talk to Piniella and you learn how familiar he is with DeRosa's numbers this year -- especially the fact that DeRosa has outproduced Piniella's top RBI man by 17.
Could the Cubs reacquire DeRosa? It likely would take at least a few dominoes falling in the right direction to make that happen.
If they did, the Cubs would have no qualms about looking into it. Hendry and others have pointed out several times that DeRosa was traded only to free up one of the only positions possible to add a left-handed hitter as well as free up some payroll room to add the hitter, Milton Bradley, they sought last winter.
And the financial commitment wouldn't appear to be the hurdle it might with another acquisition. DeRosa would cost $2.75 million for a half-season in the final year of his contract.
''We thought we made the club better by getting more balanced and getting more left-handed,'' Hendry said during this week's Sox series, talking about the larger picture of last winter's plans and this season's struggles. ''Obviously, when Rami goes down, you certainly wish you had DeRosa back.
''At the same time, we presented an honest evaluation that we didn't want seven right-handed hitters in the lineup every day. And with Milton, when the guy leads the league in on-base percentage and hits .320-something and 20-plus homers, you certainly think you've got the right guy for 125-130 games out there.''<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->And despite some misperceptions, Piniella and DeRosa developed a strong relationship after an early speed bump or two in 2007.
In fact, talk to Piniella and you learn how familiar he is with DeRosa's numbers this year -- especially the fact that DeRosa has outproduced Piniella's top RBI man by 17.
Could the Cubs reacquire DeRosa? It likely would take at least a few dominoes falling in the right direction to make that happen.
If they did, the Cubs would have no qualms about looking into it. Hendry and others have pointed out several times that DeRosa was traded only to free up one of the only positions possible to add a left-handed hitter as well as free up some payroll room to add the hitter, Milton Bradley, they sought last winter.
And the financial commitment wouldn't appear to be the hurdle it might with another acquisition. DeRosa would cost $2.75 million for a half-season in the final year of his contract.
''We thought we made the club better by getting more balanced and getting more left-handed,'' Hendry said during this week's Sox series, talking about the larger picture of last winter's plans and this season's struggles. ''Obviously, when Rami goes down, you certainly wish you had DeRosa back.
''At the same time, we presented an honest evaluation that we didn't want seven right-handed hitters in the lineup every day. And with Milton, when the guy leads the league in on-base percentage and hits .320-something and 20-plus homers, you certainly think you've got the right guy for 125-130 games out there.''<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->