GM Jim Hendry confident Jim Edmonds will help Cubs
By Paul Sullivan | Tribune reporter
11:05 PM CDT, May 14, 2008
By taking a gamble that Jim Edmonds still can be a productive center fielder and hitter, Cubs general manager Jim Hendry knew he was inviting criticism from fans who have invested a lot of time loathing the former Cardinals star.
"There is really no negative in it," Hendry said. "You're not giving up players. You're not spending a lot of dollars, so you look at things like that and, hopefully, he'll be able to give us at least a great portion of the Jim Edmonds we all knew and used to fear in a lot of ways."
Edmonds, who turns 38 next month, took a physical Wednesday night and signed a one-year deal for around $284,000, the prorated amount of the major-league minimum. He's expected to be in the starting lineup Thursday against former Cubs ace Greg Maddux and could provide his new team with some much-needed left-handed pop in a predominantly right-handed hitting lineup.
"He's going to hit ninth," manager Lou Piniella said facetiously in a reference to the Cardinals' batting order. "I'm going to move the pitcher to eighth and hit him ninth."
Edmonds could provide Piniella with the option of moving Kosuke Fukudome into the No. 2 hole, where his high on-base percentage would be more conducive than in the 5-spot. Edmonds then could bat fifth behind Aramis Ramirez. The 16-year veteran has 363 career home runs and a .526 slugging percentage, although his last big season was in 2005, when he finished with 29 homers and 89 RBIs for St. Louis.
To make room for Edmonds, the Cubs sent outfielder Felix Pie to Triple-A Iowa after Wednesday night's game.
San Diego released Edmonds last week when he was hitting .178 in 90 at-bats. The Padres are responsible for most of the remaining $7.7 million on his contract, although St. Louis agreed to pay part of it when they traded him last winter.
Some believe Edmonds has lost a step in the outfield, though Piniella said he hadn't seen him play since last summer.
"I don't know," he said. "We're going on past history and we're going on what our scouts say. That's it. We're going to give him an opportunity … and we'll go from there. That's all we can do."
Hendry said Edmonds did not need any minor-league time to get his stroke back. The eight-time Gold Glove winner also should benefit from playing at Wrigley Field, where the outfield is much smaller than spacious Petco Park's in San Diego.
"He just feels he has some baseball left in him," Padres manager Bud Black said. "He's a competitor. He has a lot of pride. I think it could be a good fit. He's a great instinctive center fielder. He'll do fine here."
Since word of the Cubs' interest surfaced in a Tribune report Monday, a variety of fan Web sites and blogs have fiercely debated the possibility that the hated ex-Cardinal would soon wear Cubs pinstripes.
Edmonds was right in the thick of the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry during its most heated moments in the summers of 2003 and 2004, when things got ugly between the teams managed by Dusty Baker and Tony La Russa.
"I think in general most people feel he still has something left in the tank," Hendry said. "I think he's going to be a motivated player. Obviously, we're not going to ask him to go out there every single day.
"The people we had watch him in their normal coverage—we weren't scouting him—felt he was getting better right before he was [released]. We'll se
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Originally Posted by mjm  Edmonds could be in uniform today!!!!! |
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