OF Options...

[Outshined_One]

"Uncle Lou" won't be back next year

 

I know, hence the FO comment.

[CubfaninCA]

 

Maybe they'd take Walker & Murton?? However, I'm not sure how good this Marte is projected to be. They may go w/ him in LF. Doesn't sound like Chipper likes the OF. Looks like they can go LaRoche @ 1b, Walker @ 2b, Betemit @ SS, Chipper @ 3b, Murton in LF, Jones in cf, Francouer in rf, and Estrada @ c.

 

Perhaps move #1 should be get Marcus Giles. Then sign Furcal. (Doesn't seem like there will be a huge market for him. Am not sure if him & M. Giles are buddies or not). Then sign Millwood. Get Marcus Giles, Furcal and Milwood and Brian may see the Cubs as serious. Since the Trib doesn't need to spend huge money on the pen, they should have enough cash for this.

 

The rumor in the Sun Times was Patterson and Walker for Giles. I don't see anyway that gets the deal done, but who knows? My guess is that the Braves would want a pitcher in there as well.

 

Marte is projected to be as good as any prospect in the minors. The kid is supposedly one talented hitter.

 

At Richmond this year, he hit 275/372/506. Prior to this season, I read more than one publication that labeled him the best hitting prospect in the minors. The Braves likely will move him to left unless they can convince Chipper to make the move back there to open a space for him. I don't see the Braves needing Murton for this reason, as well.

 

Hmmmmm.. How's their minor league pitching look?? How deep are they?? Smoltz is 38, Hampton's hurt again and Ramirez has struggled this year.... Hudson's real solid, Sosa's blown it up this year and Davies is supposed to be real good correct?? Would they have much interest in Jerome Williams?? I wonder if they'd take Kerry Wood. Mazzone could probably make him a Cy Young winner. If Wood's smart, huge IF, he'd waive his no-trade clause.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

 

Maybe they'd take Walker & Murton?? However, I'm not sure how good this Marte is projected to be. They may go w/ him in LF. Doesn't sound like Chipper likes the OF. Looks like they can go LaRoche @ 1b, Walker @ 2b, Betemit @ SS, Chipper @ 3b, Murton in LF, Jones in cf, Francouer in rf, and Estrada @ c.

 

Perhaps move #1 should be get Marcus Giles. Then sign Furcal. (Doesn't seem like there will be a huge market for him. Am not sure if him & M. Giles are buddies or not). Then sign Millwood. Get Marcus Giles, Furcal and Milwood and Brian may see the Cubs as serious. Since the Trib doesn't need to spend huge money on the pen, they should have enough cash for this.

 

The rumor in the Sun Times was Patterson and Walker for Giles. I don't see anyway that gets the deal done, but who knows? My guess is that the Braves would want a pitcher in there as well.

 

Marte is projected to be as good as any prospect in the minors. The kid is supposedly one talented hitter.

 

At Richmond this year, he hit 275/372/506. Prior to this season, I read more than one publication that labeled him the best hitting prospect in the minors. The Braves likely will move him to left unless they can convince Chipper to make the move back there to open a space for him. I don't see the Braves needing Murton for this reason, as well.

 

Hmmmmm.. How's their minor league pitching look?? How deep are they?? Smoltz is 38, Hampton's hurt again and Ramirez has struggled this year.... Hudson's real solid, Sosa's blown it up this year and Davies is supposed to be real good correct?? Would they have much interest in Jerome Williams?? I wonder if they'd take Kerry Wood. Mazzone could probably make him a Cy Young winner. If Wood's smart, huge IF, he'd waive his no-trade clause.

 

The Braves, I doubt, would have any interest in Kerry Wood's contract. They're already paying Smoltz and Hudson a nice chunk of change. They might have some interest in Williams. I could also see them being interested in Mitre or Hill as well.

[CubinNY]

I could also see them being interested in Mitre or Hill as well.

 

Oh my Len, I would hate to see Hill in the hands of Mazzoni.

[CubfaninCA]

 

Maybe they'd take Walker & Murton?? However, I'm not sure how good this Marte is projected to be. They may go w/ him in LF. Doesn't sound like Chipper likes the OF. Looks like they can go LaRoche @ 1b, Walker @ 2b, Betemit @ SS, Chipper @ 3b, Murton in LF, Jones in cf, Francouer in rf, and Estrada @ c.

 

Perhaps move #1 should be get Marcus Giles. Then sign Furcal. (Doesn't seem like there will be a huge market for him. Am not sure if him & M. Giles are buddies or not). Then sign Millwood. Get Marcus Giles, Furcal and Milwood and Brian may see the Cubs as serious. Since the Trib doesn't need to spend huge money on the pen, they should have enough cash for this.

 

The rumor in the Sun Times was Patterson and Walker for Giles. I don't see anyway that gets the deal done, but who knows? My guess is that the Braves would want a pitcher in there as well.

 

Marte is projected to be as good as any prospect in the minors. The kid is supposedly one talented hitter.

 

At Richmond this year, he hit 275/372/506. Prior to this season, I read more than one publication that labeled him the best hitting prospect in the minors. The Braves likely will move him to left unless they can convince Chipper to make the move back there to open a space for him. I don't see the Braves needing Murton for this reason, as well.

 

Hmmmmm.. How's their minor league pitching look?? How deep are they?? Smoltz is 38, Hampton's hurt again and Ramirez has struggled this year.... Hudson's real solid, Sosa's blown it up this year and Davies is supposed to be real good correct?? Would they have much interest in Jerome Williams?? I wonder if they'd take Kerry Wood. Mazzone could probably make him a Cy Young winner. If Wood's smart, huge IF, he'd waive his no-trade clause.

 

The Braves, I doubt, would have any interest in Kerry Wood's contract. They're already paying Smoltz and Hudson a nice chunk of change. They might have some interest in Williams. I could also see them being interested in Mitre or Hill as well.

 

Smoltz signed for 2 year and 20 million last offseason right?? Kerry would be a nice replacement for Smoltz in a few years. If Chipper was willing to move to LF, there could be a blockbuster. 1-100 chance of that though.

[BigbadB]

The one real question becomes, if he did decide to go somewhere for money, why on Earth would he choose Chicago? They have horrible lead off hitters, which gives his offensive production a real big hit. They haven't been to a World Series since 1945, which isn't a very good track record. They have regressed this year, and by the time Giles is looking to sign, may not have given any impression to a potential signer that they are trying to fix what made them regress.

 

I can only hope he'd come to Chicago, but we may not really know what he'll do until that day comes for him to make a decision. I really did like the idea someone came up with to do whatever was necessary to trade for Marcus. That would be a nice chip to have in your back pocket. Not only would it make it easier for him to think about signing, but it might not cost as much.

So then what is it going to take to sign him? If its a 4-year deal, I do it. Giles at 38 will probably still be pretty good. At 39, he could fall of some, but if I have to pay for a 4th year to get the first 3, I do it.

 

If its getting a proven lead-off hitter, I sign Lofton as soon as possible to show him we're serious.

 

As far as trading for his brother Marcus, I like that idea as well, but I'm uneducated as to what the Braves would ask in return. If they are unloading his contract to help resign Furcal, then it should be a little easier to get him, but still, I would imagine, a hefty asking price. The Braves don't seem to be dummies when it comes to making deals. Plus, I'm not certain how badly they will need to save money given the amount of rookies that are currently filling out their line-up.

 

The Braves have Wilson Betemit to take over SS in case Furcal leaves and they have Pete Orr who could take over 2B if Giles is traded. It all depends on who they value more, whether they truly believe that either Betemit or Orr are ready, and what their asking price is for Marcus.

 

Come on, Jim. You've pulled off miracles before. First with Hundley, then with Ramirez and next with Lee. Get us the Giles brothers and Lofton.

 

A good friend of mine pitched against Giles in high school. Said he was a brick house even in high school. He basically tore up Giles team, but Giles hit about .750 against him.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

 

Maybe they'd take Walker & Murton?? However, I'm not sure how good this Marte is projected to be. They may go w/ him in LF. Doesn't sound like Chipper likes the OF. Looks like they can go LaRoche @ 1b, Walker @ 2b, Betemit @ SS, Chipper @ 3b, Murton in LF, Jones in cf, Francouer in rf, and Estrada @ c.

 

Perhaps move #1 should be get Marcus Giles. Then sign Furcal. (Doesn't seem like there will be a huge market for him. Am not sure if him & M. Giles are buddies or not). Then sign Millwood. Get Marcus Giles, Furcal and Milwood and Brian may see the Cubs as serious. Since the Trib doesn't need to spend huge money on the pen, they should have enough cash for this.

 

The rumor in the Sun Times was Patterson and Walker for Giles. I don't see anyway that gets the deal done, but who knows? My guess is that the Braves would want a pitcher in there as well.

 

Marte is projected to be as good as any prospect in the minors. The kid is supposedly one talented hitter.

 

At Richmond this year, he hit 275/372/506. Prior to this season, I read more than one publication that labeled him the best hitting prospect in the minors. The Braves likely will move him to left unless they can convince Chipper to make the move back there to open a space for him. I don't see the Braves needing Murton for this reason, as well.

 

Hmmmmm.. How's their minor league pitching look?? How deep are they?? Smoltz is 38, Hampton's hurt again and Ramirez has struggled this year.... Hudson's real solid, Sosa's blown it up this year and Davies is supposed to be real good correct?? Would they have much interest in Jerome Williams?? I wonder if they'd take Kerry Wood. Mazzone could probably make him a Cy Young winner. If Wood's smart, huge IF, he'd waive his no-trade clause.

 

The Braves, I doubt, would have any interest in Kerry Wood's contract. They're already paying Smoltz and Hudson a nice chunk of change. They might have some interest in Williams. I could also see them being interested in Mitre or Hill as well.

 

Smoltz signed for 2 year and 20 million last offseason right?? Kerry would be a nice replacement for Smoltz in a few years. If Chipper was willing to move to LF, there could be a blockbuster. 1-100 chance of that though.

 

Kerry's deal and Smoltz's deal will end roughly at the same time, so that doesn't really make much sense. They could just sign Wood as a FA if the plan was for him to be a replacement for Smoltz.

[Tim]

Atlanta has Chuck James, Anthony Lerew & Kyle Davies to step into the rotation. James is especially promising and should be one of the top rated minor league pitchers this offseason. He's just about MLB-ready, too, as he made his debut a couple days ago.

[mg420]

Atlanta has Chuck James, Anthony Lerew & Kyle Davies to step into the rotation. James is especially promising and should be one of the top rated minor league pitchers this offseason. He's just about MLB-ready, too, as he made his debut a couple days ago.

 

how do those 3 compare to the cub's hill, pinto & nolasco?

[Tim]

Atlanta has Chuck James, Anthony Lerew & Kyle Davies to step into the rotation. James is especially promising and should be one of the top rated minor league pitchers this offseason. He's just about MLB-ready, too, as he made his debut a couple days ago.

 

how do those 3 compare to the cub's hill, pinto & nolasco?

James is clearly the best prospect of the six. I don't know as much about Lerew and Davies strikes me more as a #3-4 starter ceiling. Hill is still something of a wildcard. He could be outstanding, but is more likely to end up as a back of the rotation guy or reliever. Pinto has the stuff to be an outstanding starter, but lacks the necessary command. Nolasco made strides this year and is still young, but doesn't project to be a front line starter, either.