ESPN1000 Mark Teahen for Matt Murton?

[HoopsCubs]

Any good juicy (close to being done) rumors, Bruce?? :)

 

Nothing imminent. Yes, I am in Nashville. The Cubs never were considering Dempster to Toronto. That was a media creation. They say they've not talked to the Reds about Hamilton. They're not trading Rich Hill or Felix Pie.

 

So, what are they doing?

 

Hey Bruce,

Maybe they are going to do exactly what Hendry said he was going to do. He's going to push strongly for Fukodome and if he can't get him, he said he has "an inventory" of players that he's going to use to find a left-handed bat or two via trade:

 

I took that to mean these players are being shopped:

 

Cotts

Guzman

Marquis

Marshall

Mateo

Ohman

Petrick

Prior

 

Fox

Cedeno

Fontenot

Infante

Murton

Pagan

Patterson

[Bruce Miles]

Bruce if you're still lurking, do you know if there's any interest in Bedard? It was mentioned that MacPhail and Hendry had lunch (which wouldn't seem out of the ordinary, but now in Joel Shermans latest winter meetings blog he says we are indeed interested.

Still, the Mets' prospects might not be appetizing enough to win amid a pool of 8-10 teams that includes the Diamondbacks and Cubs.

http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/wm/archives/2007/12/bedard_long_sho.html#more

 

I don't see this happening at all. Baltimore wants way more than what the Cubs want to give up. They'll start by asking for Hill and Marmol. The Cubs are trading neither. Bedard will end up elsewhere if MacPhail moves him at all.

[craig]

There's always Shawn Green. :wink:

 

this is a joke, obviously. But just as they didn't see Jones as a candidate because they feel certain they'll end up with somebody they perceive as better (whether Fukudome or somebody else), likewise Lou has made it pretty clear that if Fukudome isn't the guy that they will acquire somebody via trade, rather than free agency. Lou made it pretty clear that they don't think that Green or Jenkins or Bradley or any of the FA's are good enough. Again, whatever the cost, they think they are going to come up with somebody better than Jones or guys like that.

[Bruce Miles]

Any good juicy (close to being done) rumors, Bruce?? :)

 

Nothing imminent. Yes, I am in Nashville. The Cubs never were considering Dempster to Toronto. That was a media creation. They say they've not talked to the Reds about Hamilton. They're not trading Rich Hill or Felix Pie.

 

So, what are they doing?

 

Hey Bruce,

Maybe they are going to do exactly what Hendry said he was going to do. He's going to push strongly for Fukodome and if he can't get him, he said he has "an inventory" of players that he's going to use to find a left-handed bat or two via trade:

 

I took that to mean these players are being shopped:

 

Cotts

Guzman

Marquis

Marshall

Mateo

Ohman

Petrick

Prior

 

Fox

Cedeno

Fontenot

Infante

Murton

Pagan

Patterson

 

 

I'd say this post and those names are quite accurate. You can scratch Ohman off the list, Hoops. :D

[mdwilla]

Is Khali Greene still on Hendrys radar with his recent talks with the Padres?

[HoopsCubs]

I'd say this post and those names are quite accurate. You can scratch Ohman off the list, Hoops. :D

 

Infante too!

[Bruce Miles]

Is Khali Greene still on Hendrys radar with his recent talks with the Padres?

 

Possibly, but I don't think they're real hot after him.

[BigbadB]

Bruce,

 

Feel free to let Jim know that BigbadB gives the green light to trade Marshall for Josh Hamilton. And since Fukudome will cost essentially the same thing as Tejada, that Tejada really is affordable. And if Tejada doesn't look appealing enough at SS, we could always help the Dodgers free up the salary they will need to give out some big contracts by taking Rafael Furcal off their hands.

 

If he needs help with these trades, I'm always available. :D

 

Please also remind Jim that Cincinnati owes us a returned favor for allowing them to draft Josh Hamilton in the first place, so no asking for more than Marshall.

 

:wink:

[Bruce Miles]

Bruce,

 

Feel free to let Jim know that BigbadB gives the green light to trade Marshall for Josh Hamilton. And since Fukudome will cost essentially the same thing as Tejada, that Tejada really is affordable. And if Tejada doesn't look appealing enough at SS, we could always help the Dodgers free up the salary they will need to give out some big contracts by taking Rafael Furcal off their hands.

 

If he needs help with these trades, I'm always available. :D

 

Please also remind Jim that Cincinnati owes us a returned favor for allowing them to draft Josh Hamilton in the first place, so no asking for more than Marshall.

 

:wink:

 

 

Oh, I thought you were going to say the Cubs owed the Reds a favor for hiring Dusty. 8-) Actually, I had a nice little chat with Dusty today. The Cubs claim they haven't talked to the Reds about Hamilton. I do know that Lou likes him and got excited when he heard he might be available.

[PrimeTime]

Bruce,

 

Whats going on with the Fukudome situation? Just waiting for his descision? Levine said that the Padres offered him 4/40

[BigbadB]

Bruce,

 

Feel free to let Jim know that BigbadB gives the green light to trade Marshall for Josh Hamilton. And since Fukudome will cost essentially the same thing as Tejada, that Tejada really is affordable. And if Tejada doesn't look appealing enough at SS, we could always help the Dodgers free up the salary they will need to give out some big contracts by taking Rafael Furcal off their hands.

 

If he needs help with these trades, I'm always available. :D

 

Please also remind Jim that Cincinnati owes us a returned favor for allowing them to draft Josh Hamilton in the first place, so no asking for more than Marshall.

 

:wink:

 

 

Oh, I thought you were going to say the Cubs owed the Reds a favor for hiring Dusty. 8-) Actually, I had a nice little chat with Dusty today. The Cubs claim they haven't talked to the Reds about Hamilton. I do know that Lou likes him and got excited when he heard he might be available.

 

Well, get busy planting those rumors then. :D

[Bruce Miles]

Bruce,

 

Whats going on with the Fukudome situation? Just waiting for his descision? Levine said that the Padres offered him 4/40

 

Still waiting for his decision. The Cubs will be able to outbid most other interested teams. I look at this as a Soriano-type situation, where the Cubs will come out blazing from the get-go and make a big offer.

[StMarksCubs]

Thanks for chatting with us, Bruce!

 

Also seems like the Cubs and Prior are headed for a divorce... Is this a forgone conclusion and Hendry is hoping to get something halfway decent for him? Or is there still a chance Prior will be a Cub if Hendry doesn't get an attractive offer?

[RammyFanny]

Bruce,

 

Feel free to let Jim know that BigbadB gives the green light to trade Marshall for Josh Hamilton. And since Fukudome will cost essentially the same thing as Tejada, that Tejada really is affordable. And if Tejada doesn't look appealing enough at SS, we could always help the Dodgers free up the salary they will need to give out some big contracts by taking Rafael Furcal off their hands.

 

If he needs help with these trades, I'm always available. :D

 

Please also remind Jim that Cincinnati owes us a returned favor for allowing them to draft Josh Hamilton in the first place, so no asking for more than Marshall.

 

:wink:

 

 

Oh, I thought you were going to say the Cubs owed the Reds a favor for hiring Dusty. 8-) Actually, I had a nice little chat with Dusty today. The Cubs claim they haven't talked to the Reds about Hamilton. I do know that Lou likes him and got excited when he heard he might be available.

Hopefully Lou lets Jim know this. It makes oodles of sense. Oodles.

[CuseCubFan69]

Bruce,

 

Whats going on with the Fukudome situation? Just waiting for his descision? Levine said that the Padres offered him 4/40

 

Still waiting for his decision. The Cubs will be able to outbid most other interested teams. I look at this as a Soriano-type situation, where the Cubs will come out blazing from the get-go and make a big offer.

 

Well I do like my Beer cold, music loud and the Cubs offers blazing!

[Omar]

Why must every one of Bruce's appearances turn into a press conference? Can we treat him like normal?

 

Bruce,

 

What is your favorite ice cream flavor and TV show?

 

I like strawberry cheesecake & cinnamon, and I'm also really into Lost.

[BigbadB]

Thanks for chatting with us, Bruce!

 

Also seems like the Cubs and Prior are headed for a divorce... Is this a forgone conclusion and Hendry is hoping to get something halfway decent for him? Or is there still a chance Prior will be a Cub if Hendry doesn't get an attractive offer?

 

Not to steal any thunder from Bruce, but if the Cubs and Prior could settle on something, I'm guessing it would be done already. That Prior's name is circulating all over Nashville tells me Prior's as good as gone.

[Post Count Padder]

Thanks for the time Bruce. I may have missed it somewhere, but what's going on with Brian Roberts?

[CuseCubFan69]

Why must every one of Bruce's appearances turn into a press conference? Can we treat him like normal?

 

Bruce,

 

What is your favorite ice cream flavor and TV show?

 

I like strawberry cheesecake & cinnamon, and I'm also really into Lost.

 

You forgot you hate good byes.

[Bruce Miles]

Why must every one of Bruce's appearances turn into a press conference? Can we treat him like normal?

 

Bruce,

 

What is your favorite ice cream flavor and TV show?

 

I like strawberry cheesecake & cinnamon, and I'm also really into Lost.

 

Pralines and cream. "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

[BigbadB]

Why must every one of Bruce's appearances turn into a press conference? Can we treat him like normal?

 

Bruce,

 

What is your favorite ice cream flavor and TV show?

 

I like strawberry cheesecake & cinnamon, and I'm also really into Lost.

 

Bruce loves the limelight. Or is it that he loves the night life and that he likes to boogie? I keep forgetting.

[Bruce Miles]

Why must every one of Bruce's appearances turn into a press conference? Can we treat him like normal?

 

Bruce,

 

What is your favorite ice cream flavor and TV show?

 

I like strawberry cheesecake & cinnamon, and I'm also really into Lost.

 

Bruce loves the limelight. Or is it that he loves the night life and that he likes to boogie? I keep forgetting.

 

Actually, "Limelight" is one of my favorite songs from my favorite band, Rush. But enough about me.

[UMFan83]

If you feel like answering one more question Bruce. Your odds that the following happen:

 

-Cubs don't trade Prior

-Cubs trade Prior to a division rival (i.e. Reds)

 

My biggest fear is seeing Prior rise again with a team like Cincinnati.

 

Even if you don't get to my question, thanks for the impromptu Q/A session. It's one thing to answer questions when sitting in the press box at Wrigley, its another to come on here after running around a hotel convention room all day!

[BigbadB]

Actually, "Limelight" is one of my favorite songs from my favorite band, Rush. But enough about me.

 

Well, considering you also showed your age with this last response, I suppose that is enough about you. Of course, I'm probably older and have likely been to more Rush shows than you. :D

[Tracer Bullet]

Check out the career stats:

 

Teahan averages 14 HRs, 78 RBI, .274, .340, .429, .769

Murton averages 16 HRs, 55 RBI, .296, .365, .455, .820

Perhaps one of you stat geeks out there can look at those numbers and explain how Teahan has "more power", "a higher ceiling", etc. When I look at the numbers it looks like Murton is significantly better in most offensive areas. To me the only advantages Teahan has are his defense and the fact he's left-handed.

 

To be a bit fair, Teahen played against tougher pitching in the AL, especially considering how utterly putrid the pitching was in the NL Central was this year. Also, it was kind of an outlier year for Comerica this year, but since it's inception it's always been one of the ten toughest parks for hitters.

 

Comerica is Detroit. I don't like the comparison because Murton's numbers are probably a bit inflated due to situational hitting (platoon) rather than playing everyday. They are essentially the same type of hitter, with Teahen probably possessing more power.

 

A - I don't think Murton's numbers are inflated because he played sporadically. I think it's rare to have a player who plays better when they start almost randomly (it certainly didn't seem like a strict platoon, and the demotion to AAA didn't help).

 

B - take away all of his PH plate appearances and I think his numbers would actually go up. He had a couple HRs, but his game log shows a ton of 0/1s. If there's one thing we learned in '07, it's that Murton isn't a PH.