MacPhail: Deal is dead (p. 297), stop posting, go outside

[Roast]

How does this qualify as a rumor? This isn't even speculation. The possibility that Brian Roberts might get traded in no way relates to the Cubs. This should be titled something like "Levine reports Brian Roberts may be available" or "Brian Roberts as a possible trade target".

 

Bingo

 

How does this NOT qualify as a rumor?

 

Bruce miles speculated that Roberts could be available. A rumor is defined as "a story or statement in general circulation without confirmation or certainty as to facts." That's exactly what this is. A statement made without certainty, as can be seen by the "MAY be available" part of his statement. This is a rumor - people are just getting picky.

[Schwarber Fan]

How does this qualify as a rumor? This isn't even speculation. The possibility that Brian Roberts might get traded in no way relates to the Cubs. This should be titled something like "Levine reports Brian Roberts may be available" or "Brian Roberts as a possible trade target".

 

Bingo

 

How does this NOT qualify as a rumor?

 

Bruce miles speculated that Roberts could be available. A rumor is defined as "a story or statement in general circulation without confirmation or certainty as to facts." That's exactly what this is. A statement made without certainty, as can be seen by the "MAY be available" part of his statement. This is a rumor - people are just getting picky.

 

When I see a thread containing the words "decent rumor" on NSBB I assume it at least mentions the Cubs being involved...

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

How does this qualify as a rumor? This isn't even speculation. The possibility that Brian Roberts might get traded in no way relates to the Cubs. This should be titled something like "Levine reports Brian Roberts may be available" or "Brian Roberts as a possible trade target".

 

Bingo

 

How does this NOT qualify as a rumor?

 

Bruce miles speculated that Roberts could be available. A rumor is defined as "a story or statement in general circulation without confirmation or certainty as to facts." That's exactly what this is. A statement made without certainty, as can be seen by the "MAY be available" part of his statement. This is a rumor - people are just getting picky.

 

When I see a thread containing the words "decent rumor" on NSBB I assume it at least mentions the Cubs being involved...

 

 

You do know what happens when you ASSUME?

[Schwarber Fan]

How does this qualify as a rumor? This isn't even speculation. The possibility that Brian Roberts might get traded in no way relates to the Cubs. This should be titled something like "Levine reports Brian Roberts may be available" or "Brian Roberts as a possible trade target".

 

Bingo

 

How does this NOT qualify as a rumor?

 

Bruce miles speculated that Roberts could be available. A rumor is defined as "a story or statement in general circulation without confirmation or certainty as to facts." That's exactly what this is. A statement made without certainty, as can be seen by the "MAY be available" part of his statement. This is a rumor - people are just getting picky.

 

When I see a thread containing the words "decent rumor" on NSBB I assume it at least mentions the Cubs being involved...

 

 

You do know what happens when you ASSUME?

 

Well I ASSUMED the Cubs were going to sign Kaz Matsui and that turned out alright... ;)

[JeffH]

How does this qualify as a rumor? This isn't even speculation. The possibility that Brian Roberts might get traded in no way relates to the Cubs. This should be titled something like "Levine reports Brian Roberts may be available" or "Brian Roberts as a possible trade target".

 

Bingo

 

How does this NOT qualify as a rumor?

 

Bruce miles speculated that Roberts could be available. A rumor is defined as "a story or statement in general circulation without confirmation or certainty as to facts." That's exactly what this is. A statement made without certainty, as can be seen by the "MAY be available" part of his statement. This is a rumor - people are just getting picky.

 

Levine, not Miles.

[danonwaveland]

huge coupe

http://www.gatewayclassiccars.com/images/carthumbs/STL/3082/3082.jpg

 

Very nicely done!

 

________________________________________________

Sandberg>Mazeroski>Morgan

[Roast]

How does this qualify as a rumor? This isn't even speculation. The possibility that Brian Roberts might get traded in no way relates to the Cubs. This should be titled something like "Levine reports Brian Roberts may be available" or "Brian Roberts as a possible trade target".

 

Bingo

 

How does this NOT qualify as a rumor?

 

Bruce miles speculated that Roberts could be available. A rumor is defined as "a story or statement in general circulation without confirmation or certainty as to facts." That's exactly what this is. A statement made without certainty, as can be seen by the "MAY be available" part of his statement. This is a rumor - people are just getting picky.

 

Levine, not Miles.

I knew that. IDK why i said miles.

[RammyFanny]

And with rare starting-pitching depth a Cubs strength during this down free-agent season for pitchers, they should be able to deal from a position of strength.

 

The ideal outfield targets are Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford or Baltimore's Nick Markakis, but the Rays' trade of Delmon Young to Minnesota last week makes an unlikely Crawford scenario even less likely. And while Andy MacPhail's Orioles have indicated they'll listen to offers for any of their players, a 24-year-old, third-year player with power and speed isn't the kind of guy a rebuilding team wants to part with.

 

Switch-hitting infielder Brian Roberts might be more easily had for the right package, and Mariners outfielder Raul Ibanez -- signed through next season for $5.5 million and a known quantity to Piniella -- is high on the Cubs' list.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/677272,CST-SPT-cub02.article

 

Ibanez would be fine with me assuming we can use the money saved from Fukudome to improve somewhere else, though i'm not sure where. Possibly Kuroda, though that doesn't get me too excited. Fukudome should obviously be the number 1 target.

 

I like the wishful thinking on Markakis too, though that obviously has a -.001 chance of happening. I'd still give them a call and offer Hill + prospects (and sign a pitcher) since they probably are losing Bedard, though we'd likely get told he's off limits before we can even offer.

[badnews]

I wish we'd just get a real shortstop instead of speculating about turning around non-shortstops like Roberts, DeRosa, Matsui, Fontenot, into shortstops. I don't want to end up with 5 2b when we find out "Oh yeah, this whole Soriano in CF thing isn't working, whoops."

[CubinNY]

huge coupe

http://www.gatewayclassiccars.com/images/carthumbs/STL/3082/3082.jpg

 

Very nicely done!

 

________________________________________________

Sandberg>Mazeroski>Morgan

 

Anyone remember the Bert Weinman Ford commercials on Sunday mornings on WGN back in the day?

 

"I'm Len Burton for Bert Weinman Ford, and look at this beautiful 1975 coupe de'ville. AC/AM/FM radio, 8 track tape player, power steering and power brakes. What a beauty"

[JohnF]

Rosenthal thinks the Cubs might take a run at Roberts:

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7520112

 

Rival executives believe that Roberts — a favorite of Angelos' — is as untouchable as right fielder Nick Markakis. Orioles executives, however, say privately that they are not under orders to keep Roberts.

 

The Mets and Astros were among the teams that showed interest in Roberts before signing free-agent second basemen Luis Castillo and Kaz Matsui, respectively.

 

The next team to take a run at Roberts could be the Cubs, who failed to land Matsui. Like Roberts, Matsui is a switch-hitting second baseman, only not as accomplished.

[muntjack]

There's something a little weird about Roberts' progression. As a 23 yr. old in '01 he put up an OPS of .625. He followed that up with seasons of .605, .704 and .720. Then at 27 yrs. old his OPS jumped to .902 due mostly to a spike in SLG to .515 (up from .376). That's an awfully big jump after ~1500 ABs.

 

Makes me a little wary.

 

Markakis, however..........I would give a king's ransom for that guy if he were truly available.

[ThePenguin11]

NOW, I would qualify this as a Cubs rumor:

 

Brian Roberts-2B-Orioles Dec. 3 - 2:47 am et

 

FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal believes the Cubs could make a run at Brian Roberts after losing out on Kaz Matsui.

 

The Orioles wouldn't give up Roberts last year, as owner Peter Angelos vetoed a deal that would have sent him and Hayden Penn to Atlanta for Adam LaRoche and Marcus Giles. If the Cubs come calling, the Orioles would likely ask for Felix Pie. He'd probably be out of reach, but they might still have Sean Marshall, Matt Murton and Eric Patterson as possibilities to pick from.

 

EDIT: I didn't catch that Rosenthal wrote this last night - and that someone already posted it. My bad.

[Soul]

Are we going to do ANYTHING beyond signing a couple deep bench players and juggling around current guys into new roles on the pitching staff and the like?

 

This is shaping up to be the "do nothing" offseason like I haven't seen in a long time.

[ThePenguin11]

Brian Roberts is the exact type of player I'd love to add to this team. And he's in the mold of what Hendry is looking for. He's a very good switch hitter who can steal bases and be depended upon as a leadoff man. This would be a major upgrade for our lineup purely because it takes Soriano out of #1 and puts him somewhere else that will actually allow him to produce runs more effectively. Roberts has a good eye, he gets on base and scores runs. I'm not even worried that he's 30. We need more smart vets on this team. Even if it displaces DeRosa to super-sub, I think this move would improve our team markedly.

[CuseCubFan69]

There's something a little weird about Roberts' progression. As a 23 yr. old in '01 he put up an OPS of .625. He followed that up with seasons of .605, .704 and .720. Then at 27 yrs. old his OPS jumped to .902 due mostly to a spike in SLG to .515 (up from .376). That's an awfully big jump after ~1500 ABs.

 

Makes me a little wary.

 

Markakis, however..........I would give a king's ransom for that guy if he were truly available.

 

And this is why we should know who is cheating and who isn't. If I were a GM I'd hire Jim Rockford for 200 bucks a day plus expenses and get the dirt on who's cheating and who ain't.

[C.C.]

Are we going to do ANYTHING beyond signing a couple deep bench players and juggling around current guys into new roles on the pitching staff and the like?

 

This is shaping up to be the "do nothing" offseason like I haven't seen in a long time.

 

With the FA market being weak...Probably.

[CubinNY]

There's something a little weird about Roberts' progression. As a 23 yr. old in '01 he put up an OPS of .625. He followed that up with seasons of .605, .704 and .720. Then at 27 yrs. old his OPS jumped to .902 due mostly to a spike in SLG to .515 (up from .376). That's an awfully big jump after ~1500 ABs.

 

Makes me a little wary.

 

Markakis, however..........I would give a king's ransom for that guy if he were truly available.

 

And this is why we should know who is cheating and who isn't. If I were a GM I'd hire Jim Rockford for 200 bucks a day plus expenses and get the dirt on who's cheatingand who ain't.

The public doesn't need to know. I think the GMs already have a good idea who was juicing. Either way it doesn't matter, use the data to tell you. Those data are too old to tell anyone much of anything about Roberts. Look at his last 3 years for trends.

[inari]

Roberts did play 50+ games at shortstop his rookie year. It's worth noting.

[CuseCubFan69]

There's something a little weird about Roberts' progression. As a 23 yr. old in '01 he put up an OPS of .625. He followed that up with seasons of .605, .704 and .720. Then at 27 yrs. old his OPS jumped to .902 due mostly to a spike in SLG to .515 (up from .376). That's an awfully big jump after ~1500 ABs.

 

Makes me a little wary.

 

Markakis, however..........I would give a king's ransom for that guy if he were truly available.

 

And this is why we should know who is cheating and who isn't. If I were a GM I'd hire Jim Rockford for 200 bucks a day plus expenses and get the dirt on who's cheatingand who ain't.

The public doesn't need to know. I think the GMs already have a good idea who was juicing. Either way it doesn't matter, use the data to tell you. Those data are too old to tell anyone much of anything about Roberts. Look at his last 3 years for trends.

 

So if the Cubs get Tejada and Bedard for a bucket of balls we'll know why, eh?

[CubsInNC]

There's something a little weird about Roberts' progression. As a 23 yr. old in '01 he put up an OPS of .625. He followed that up with seasons of .605, .704 and .720. Then at 27 yrs. old his OPS jumped to .902 due mostly to a spike in SLG to .515 (up from .376). That's an awfully big jump after ~1500 ABs.

 

Makes me a little wary.

 

Markakis, however..........I would give a king's ransom for that guy if he were truly available.

 

And this is why we should know who is cheating and who isn't. If I were a GM I'd hire Jim Rockford for 200 bucks a day plus expenses and get the dirt on who's cheating and who ain't.

 

 

Roberts indicated just before that season that he had had corrective eye surgery, as well as, was wearing the contacts that enhanced the color red, so he was able to pick up the pitch almost as soon as it started moving. He followed up that great year with a .757, and an .809, so to me that doesn't explain it very well.

[CuseCubFan69]

There's something a little weird about Roberts' progression. As a 23 yr. old in '01 he put up an OPS of .625. He followed that up with seasons of .605, .704 and .720. Then at 27 yrs. old his OPS jumped to .902 due mostly to a spike in SLG to .515 (up from .376). That's an awfully big jump after ~1500 ABs.

 

Makes me a little wary.

 

Markakis, however..........I would give a king's ransom for that guy if he were truly available.

 

And this is why we should know who is cheating and who isn't. If I were a GM I'd hire Jim Rockford for 200 bucks a day plus expenses and get the dirt on who's cheating and who ain't.

 

 

Roberts indicated just before that season that he had had corrective eye surgery, as well as, was wearing the contacts that enhanced the color red, so he was able to pick up the pitch almost as soon as it started moving. He followed up that great year with a .757, and an .809, so to me that doesn't explain it very well.

 

I'm a big time believer in the better usage of your eyes when it comes to hitting and I wonder if he also gained any strength too? Contacts don't make you stronger and steroids do help you see better. Just curious because I'd hate to make a big trade for a Brady Anderson type player.

[Post Count Padder]

Brian Roberts-2B- Orioles Dec. 3 - 2:47 am et

 

 

FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal believes the Cubs could make a run at Brian Roberts after losing out on Kaz Matsui.

 

The Orioles wouldn't give up Roberts last year, as owner Peter Angelos vetoed a deal that would have sent him and Hayden Penn to Atlanta for Adam LaRoche and Marcus Giles. If the Cubs come calling, the Orioles would likely ask for Felix Pie. He'd probably be out of reach, but they might still have Sean Marshall, Matt Murton and Eric Patterson as possibilities to pick from.

Source: FOXSports.com

[Andy]

Are we going to do ANYTHING beyond signing a couple deep bench players and juggling around current guys into new roles on the pitching staff and the like?

 

This is shaping up to be the "do nothing" offseason like I haven't seen in a long time.

What with all the other Central teams are doing, doing nothing is probably the best way to guarantee another division title. :D

[jersey cubs fan]

We need more smart vets on this team.

 

Yes, this is probably true. Plus grit.