Granderson?

So right now all of Cubdom seems infatuated with the idea of acquiring Curtis Granderson from the Detroit Tigers. Well, maybe not all of Cubdom. I'm certainly not.

Here's the story on Granderson, who by all accounts, and unlike last year's big acquisition, Milton Bradley, is a nice guy. Granderson is a leadoff man who had an OBA of .327 last year. He strikes out at least 150 times a year and batted .183 against lefties. He hit 30 HRs last year. He is signed through 2012 with an option for 2013. He is owed around $26 million for the balance of his contract.

Wow! Do these numbers remind anyone of another leadoff man recently acquired by the Cubs. Yes, fans, this is a left-handed hitting Soriano. Of course, unlike Soriano, he can actually catch. However, he is at best a platoon player, someone who will maybe give you Edmunds type numbers against right-handers.

Now if you compare the 2008 and 2009 seasons, it does not take a genius to figure out that the 2009 team essentially dumped their regular 2B, Mark DeRosa, who had a career year in 2008, and replaced the unexpectedly productive CF combo of Johnson and Edmunds with Milton Bradley. These moves, along with injuries to their best player Aramis Ramirez and their most overrated player, Alfonso Soriano, spelled their doom.

It is clear that with their current personnel, putting the team they fielded in September out there may let them contend in a very weak division, but certainly will not get them much beyond that. So they are right to look for help at 2B and CF, but first they need to evaluate their own prospects in a realistic way. If they have guys ready to step up in their own system, they don't actually need to make showy moves to acquire journeyman players who will just serve the purpose of blocking players with real potential.