It's a good thing the Cubs didn't resign Juan Pierre. Baseball Prospectus's Marc Normandin discusses how bad Pierre has been at the plate this season:

Normandin notes that Pierre is hitting way too many fly balls.

The 2006 Chicago Cubs were outscored by 118 runs, putting the 2006 team in 13th place among the top 20 most dominated Cubs' teams since 1900. In other rankings updates, Dusty Baker went from 8th on the Cubs' managerial list for winning percentage to 15th, at .497 (which is still above the .479 median). And Juan Pierre became the third-most prolific single season base stealer in Cubs' history.

I'd be really interested to know Paul Sullivan's source (don't ask him; I've tried that before; he doesn't take kindly to such requests). Or, if he even has a source.

A little over two weeks ago, Sullivan reported in the Chicago Tribune that the "Cubs are desperately hoping to re-sign center fielder Juan Pierre." Sullivan further suggested that Pierre will be able to get a multi-year contract on the open market worth more than $10.5M per year (more than double what Pierre is making this season).

Sullivan now reports:

The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan reports that the "Cubs are desperately hoping to re-sign center fielder Juan Pierre." Desperately? No doubt that the desire to resign Pierre stems from his recent good play and Felix Pie's mildly disappointing year (.274/.333/.417) at triple-A Iowa. But desperately?

Sullivan suggests that Pierre will be able to get a multi-year contract on the open market worth more than $10.5M per year (more than double what Pierre is making this season). I like Pierre. I like his attitude, the way he plays the game, and his disposition. Mostly, I like cheering for him. But it would be insane to offer Pierre a multi-year deal worth $10M annually.