We Have Sooo Many Trade Chips...

[KingKongvs.Godzilla]

why are they not being used?

 

We have friggin GOLD in Eyre, Ohman, and Howry when you look at this years trade market. EVERYONE in contention needs relief help, and guys like Kearns, Aybar, and Betemit would have been amazing additions to the club for now and in the future.

 

We still have Jacque Jones when teams like the Yankees not only need offense, they specifically need outfielders.

 

We still have Walker when teams are still looking for bats off the bench.

 

Hell with a team like the LAA who desperately need offense and a third baseman, why not entertain offers for Ramirez?

 

I don't get why this orginization waits until the very last moment to do something, and then they do it completely wrong. This season is obviously lost yet absolutely nothing is being done for the near and distant future.

 

There's still two days to do something but it just does not seem as if anything will get done.

[dvdd127]

We have friggin GOLD in Eyre, Ohman, and Howry when you look at this years trade market. EVERYONE in contention needs relief help, and guys like Kearns, Aybar, and Betemit would have been amazing additions to the club for now and in the future.

Eyre and Howry have multiyear deals... and one has a No Trade Clause. as for the other.. no team would want to pick up a player with more than a year left on his deal... unless the selling team was going to pay most of the contract or the contract was a low price.

 

We still have Jacque Jones when teams like the Yankees not only need offense, they specifically need outfielders.

Yes the Yankees need offense and outfielders.... but two things to take into consideration.. First, its like they said on BTN the Yankees are not going to take on his whole contract the Cubs would have to be paying for him to play for the Yanks for 2 years... and that doesnt make any sence. Second, in the AL Jones was a spotty player... he had hot streaks every now and then. right now Jones has been hot for about a month and a half. And recently he has been slowing down.. like the past couple of weeks.

 

We still have Walker when teams are still looking for bats off the bench

If someone seriously wanted Walker... hed be gone by now.

 

Hell with a team like the LAA who desperately need offense and a third baseman, why not entertain offers for Ramirez?

they cant trade Aram...cause there is not a good FA 3rd baseman this comming winter... and they have no backup in the minor league system. I would be fine with them trading Aram..if it meant getting a powerhitting 3rd baseman in return. but that prolly wont happen.

[CubsBullsBears]

Howry, Erye, Ohman, Dempster should be in the 2007 plans. Ramirez we're going to keep. Walker should be traded, we can get something in return. Jones, if he plays like this at this time next year, he could be very attractive.

[dvdd127]

Howry, Erye, Ohman, Dempster should be in the 2007 plans. Ramirez we're going to keep. Walker should be traded, we can get something in return. Jones, if he plays like this at this time next year, he could be very attractive.

yes... thanks for summing up what I said.

[illiniguy]

Howry, Erye, Ohman, Dempster should be in the 2007 plans. Ramirez we're going to keep. Walker should be traded, we can get something in return. Jones, if he plays like this at this time next year, he could be very attractive.

yes... thanks for summing up what I said.

With the way this team is built 2007 is not going to be great either. I think they should blow this puppy up at all levels of management and make a real run at 2009.

[CUBZ99]

Howry, Erye, Ohman, Dempster should be in the 2007 plans. Ramirez we're going to keep. Walker should be traded, we can get something in return. Jones, if he plays like this at this time next year, he could be very attractive.

yes... thanks for summing up what I said.

With the way this team is built 2007 is not going to be great either. I think they should blow this puppy up at all levels of management and make a real run at 2009.

 

Most of us aren't willing to wait another 3 years. With the payroll the Tribune is supplying the team, there is absolutely no excuse to not be in contention every year.

[illiniguy]

Howry, Erye, Ohman, Dempster should be in the 2007 plans. Ramirez we're going to keep. Walker should be traded, we can get something in return. Jones, if he plays like this at this time next year, he could be very attractive.

yes... thanks for summing up what I said.

With the way this team is built 2007 is not going to be great either. I think they should blow this puppy up at all levels of management and make a real run at 2009.

 

Most of us aren't willing to wait another 3 years. With the payroll the Tribune is supplying the team, there is absolutely no excuse to not be in contention every year.

We have waited 98 years what is another 3? With the way that this team is costructed there is no way to fix it that fast.

[CubColtPacer]

Howry, Erye, Ohman, Dempster should be in the 2007 plans. Ramirez we're going to keep. Walker should be traded, we can get something in return. Jones, if he plays like this at this time next year, he could be very attractive.

yes... thanks for summing up what I said.

With the way this team is built 2007 is not going to be great either. I think they should blow this puppy up at all levels of management and make a real run at 2009.

 

Most of us aren't willing to wait another 3 years. With the payroll the Tribune is supplying the team, there is absolutely no excuse to not be in contention every year.

 

Yup-there is no reason this team cannot be good next year-we have a good core of players-we just need to build around them-another productive bat or 2 in the lineup, a #2 starter, and a better bench would do nicely into pushing us back into having a pretty good chance to contend next year.

[NCCubFan]

We have waited 98 years what is another 3? With the way that this team is costructed there is no way to fix it that fast.

It's simply Hendry's responsibility to find a way to fix it that fast. Waiting until 2009 means more than an entire century without a championship. That's not acceptable. Hendry created this mess, he MUST find a way to fix it quickly.

[Danny82]

We have friggin GOLD in Eyre, Ohman, and Howry when you look at this years trade market. EVERYONE in contention needs relief help, and guys like Kearns, Aybar, and Betemit would have been amazing additions to the club for now and in the future.

Eyre and Howry have multiyear deals... and one has a No Trade Clause. as for the other.. no team would want to pick up a player with more than a year left on his deal... unless the selling team was going to pay most of the contract or the contract was a low price.

 

That is absolutely NOT true.

 

I'm sure there are plenty of teams that are quite interested in Eyre or Howry, whether they have two more years on their contract or none. In fact, the fact that those two have more years on their deals left makes them MORE valuable.

[dvdd127]

Howry, Erye, Ohman, Dempster should be in the 2007 plans. Ramirez we're going to keep. Walker should be traded, we can get something in return. Jones, if he plays like this at this time next year, he could be very attractive.

yes... thanks for summing up what I said.

With the way this team is built 2007 is not going to be great either. I think they should blow this puppy up at all levels of management and make a real run at 2009.

no... we need to make a run before that

 

Howry, Erye, Ohman, Dempster should be in the 2007 plans. Ramirez we're going to keep. Walker should be traded, we can get something in return. Jones, if he plays like this at this time next year, he could be very attractive.

yes... thanks for summing up what I said.

With the way this team is built 2007 is not going to be great either. I think they should blow this puppy up at all levels of management and make a real run at 2009.

 

Most of us aren't willing to wait another 3 years. With the payroll the Tribune is supplying the team, there is absolutely no excuse to not be in contention every year.

of course theres not.... but they just keep blaming it on not having the right personal

 

We have friggin GOLD in Eyre, Ohman, and Howry when you look at this years trade market. EVERYONE in contention needs relief help, and guys like Kearns, Aybar, and Betemit would have been amazing additions to the club for now and in the future.

Eyre and Howry have multiyear deals... and one has a No Trade Clause. as for the other.. no team would want to pick up a player with more than a year left on his deal... unless the selling team was going to pay most of the contract or the contract was a low price.

 

That is absolutely NOT true.

 

I'm sure there are plenty of teams that are quite interested in Eyre or Howry, whether they have two more years on their contract or none. In fact, the fact that those two have more years on their deals left makes them MORE valuable.

not at the price we are paying them... and Hendry wont trade them unless the team they go to picks up their contract in full

[soccer10k]

not at the price we are paying them... and Hendry wont trade them unless the team they go to picks up their contract in full

 

I'm sure teams are interested in Eyre and Howry but I don't think Hendry wants to trade them. I don't think it has anything to do with their contracts. Kyle Farnsworth got 3/$17 last year. 3/10 is the going rate for good relievers. Again, I think it's up to Hendry if he wants to trade them.

[dvdd127]

not at the price we are paying them... and Hendry wont trade them unless the team they go to picks up their contract in full

 

I'm sure teams are interested in Eyre and Howry but I don't think Hendry wants to trade them. I don't think it has anything to do with their contracts. Kyle Farnsworth got 3/$17 last year. 3/10 is the going rate for good relievers. Again, I think it's up to Hendry if he wants to trade them.

ok...well even then..only one is tradeable for sure...not sure which..but one has a NTC.

[RonnieWooWooSanto]

not at the price we are paying them... and Hendry wont trade them unless the team they go to picks up their contract in full

 

I'm sure teams are interested in Eyre and Howry but I don't think Hendry wants to trade them. I don't think it has anything to do with their contracts. Kyle Farnsworth got 3/$17 last year. 3/10 is the going rate for good relievers. Again, I think it's up to Hendry if he wants to trade them.

ok...well even then..only one is tradeable for sure...not sure which..but one has a NTC.

 

Eyre has the NTC.

[dvdd127]

not at the price we are paying them... and Hendry wont trade them unless the team they go to picks up their contract in full

 

I'm sure teams are interested in Eyre and Howry but I don't think Hendry wants to trade them. I don't think it has anything to do with their contracts. Kyle Farnsworth got 3/$17 last year. 3/10 is the going rate for good relievers. Again, I think it's up to Hendry if he wants to trade them.

ok...well even then..only one is tradeable for sure...not sure which..but one has a NTC.

 

Eyre has the NTC.

thank you for clearing that up

[fibro]

Why would you want to trade Eyre or Howry they have both been solid and they have contracts you can live with. They will be important parts to this team next year why create another whole to fill next year there enough already seems to me.

[baseball7897]

Why would you want to trade Eyre or Howry they have both been solid and they have contracts you can live with. They will be important parts to this team next year why create another whole to fill next year there enough already seems to me.

 

The only way I would trade either Howry or Eyre, was if I was getting back a top pitching prospect in return.

[snoodmonger]

Why would you want to trade Eyre or Howry they have both been solid and they have contracts you can live with. They will be important parts to this team next year why create another whole to fill next year there enough already seems to me.

 

Because middle relievers are a crapshoot, and it doesn't make sense to give them long-term deals. I'd definitely look to deal Howry. This will be his second straight year with a HEAVY workload, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if he struggled next year. Besides, with Wuertz, we have an effective replacement.

[KingKongvs.Godzilla]

The only way I would trade either Howry or Eyre, was if I was getting back a top pitching prospect in return.

 

Because most mid-tier relievers are not consistently good year to year.

 

It's why a bullpen is one of the easier and harder things to put together. They are easy because there are so many arms out there that can get guys out, but because of many factors their year to year performance can fluctuate.

 

Its why you get your Chris Hammonds, Borowskis, and so on. And its why I thought signing both to multi year contracts as 30+ relievers was pretty [expletive]. Now they are some major trade chips on a team going nowhere that may need an injection of youth and a drop in price.

[soccer10k]

Why would you want to trade Eyre or Howry they have both been solid and they have contracts you can live with. They will be important parts to this team next year why create another whole to fill next year there enough already seems to me.

 

Because middle relievers are a crapshoot, and it doesn't make sense to give them long-term deals. I'd definitely look to deal Howry. This will be his second straight year with a HEAVY workload, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if he struggled next year. Besides, with Wuertz, we have an effective replacement.

 

Dusty laughs at you because all he sees in Wuertz is a good AAA pitcher.

 

In all seriousness, I agree that I think Wuertz could be a solid reliever. I don't want to trade Eyre/Howry but would be inclined to if the right deal was there. I would deal Dempster in a heartbeat though. Not for anything, but I wouldn't hold out for anything too special in return for him.

[rawaction]

While I agree that short relief pitching is very inconsistent and vary from year to year (just from the Cubs in recent years, Hawkins, Van Poppel, Borowski), Eyre has strung together 2 consecutive (and 3 of 4) very good seasons. Howry has been a pretty good reliever his entire career, with the exception of 01-02 when he was hurt the majority of the time. The problem is Howry will be 33 next week, and it's hard to predict he will stay healthy and productive for the next 2 years of his contract. Eyre is 34 and will likely decline from what he has been the last 2 seasons (the best years of his career).

 

And for the record, Ohman has been doing what Eyre is doing for most of this season anyway. Since May 1, Will Ohman has a 2.04 ERA, with 38 Ks and 23 hits allowed in 35 1/3 innings. Wuertz dominated in Iowa and has continued to do so since his return to the majors. Granted, their pitching more middle relief than setup, but both shined last year in the very roles Eyre and Howry have come in to take over.

 

To me, if you can get a deal anything remotely close to what Washington got for their relievers, you trade Eyre and/or Howry in a heartbeat.

[rawaction]

Also, we haven't seen the Cubs players traded, because there are big names still on the block that haven't gone. Teams don't salivate of Walker, Maddux, Pierre, or Jones when names like Abreu, Soriano, Tejada, Schmidt, etc have been rumored. Any of the first 3 could go in a waiver deal. Jones isn't going anywhere if he doesn't go by tomorrow.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Also, we haven't seen the Cubs players traded, because there are big names still on the block that haven't gone. Teams don't salivate of Walker, Maddux, Pierre, or Jones when names like Abreu, Soriano, Tejada, Schmidt, etc have been rumored. Any of the first 3 could go in a waiver deal. Jones isn't going anywhere if he doesn't go by tomorrow.

 

Maybe we should go out and get Abreu, Soriano, Tejada, and Schmidt to get everything else set in motion.

[soccer10k]

Also, we haven't seen the Cubs players traded, because there are big names still on the block that haven't gone. Teams don't salivate of Walker, Maddux, Pierre, or Jones when names like Abreu, Soriano, Tejada, Schmidt, etc have been rumored. Any of the first 3 could go in a waiver deal. Jones isn't going anywhere if he doesn't go by tomorrow.

 

Is that because he's has 2 more years on his contract but the other three (Walker, Maddux, Pierre) are FA's after the year.