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HoopsCubs

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  1. HoopsCubs
    :) You see - I've been telling you for years you have a future as the WSCR baseball insider!
  2. HoopsCubs
    Stone also said one more thing, which was obvious, but encouraging: Jim Hendry wants to have a good offseason. He is motivated and positioned well for 4 reasons: (1) has more than $30M to spend (2) has decent young talent in the minors, which he can trade (3) he was 4 games below .500 (4) he finished behind the Brewers
  3. HoopsCubs
    Marlins want Pie? I say let them eat Cake.
  4. HoopsCubs
    I'll take an off-the-wall guess. If the Pirates non-tender Ty Wigginton, maybe Hendry would grab him to back-up 3B and 1B.
  5. HoopsCubs
    Heard this on ESPN Radio AM 1000 at 11:20 AM CST. Bruce is in SoCal at the GM meetings. He has just reported that the White Sox have had preliminary discussions with the Rockies about Todd Helton. Nothing is imminent at all, but Bruce did say that while many will think this is an obvious leverage ploy to get Paul Konerko and his agent in quicker, the White Sox have always longed for a lefty power bat, and Helton fits the mold both offensively and defensively. The White Sox would probably trade El Duque or Jon Garland, Aaron Rowand and a pitching prospect. It is doubtful that Colorado would pick up any significant cash on Helton's contract for those players in return. Things are heating up... Meanwhile, Bruce did confirm that Hendry and Beinfest have had preliminary discussions on a Pierre/Patterson deal, which could involve a third team. Hoops
  6. HoopsCubs
    Heard this on ESPN Radio AM 1000 at 8:40 AM CST. Bruce is in SoCal at the GM meetings. He has just reported that it his strong belief that the only thing standing in the way of Furcal being signed by the Cubs is the Atlanta Braves. Braves still have exclusive rights for today. The Mets and Yankees are not seriously involved with Furcal at this time. Bruce interviewed Paul Kinzer, Furcal's agent, who also happens to be Neifi Perez' and Aramis Ramirez' agent, and he said his client would love to play with the Cubs and have Perez, Ramirez and Maddux as teammates. Bruce also stated that Neifi (we knew this) and Aramis (I don't think we knew this) are doing a daily sales job on trying to lure Furcal to the Cubs. From everything Bruce has seen, Furcal is the Cubs primary target, because he provides OBP (his term, not mine) and speed at lead-off and excellent defense, which are 2 of Hendry's 3 main priorities this offseason: leadoff, defense, pitching. Hoops
  7. HoopsCubs
    I'll throw a few more ideas out: Corey Patterson and 2 pitching prospects to Washington for Brad Wilkerson. Jerry Hairston and Roberto Novoa to Minnesota for JC Romero. Sergio Mitre and Todd Wellemeyer to Pittsburgh for Kip Wells.
  8. HoopsCubs
    3 players come to mind: Jason Bay, Miguel Cabrera and Adam Dunn. I don't think PGH or FLA would trade Bay or Cabrera, but I believe CIN would trade Dunn for Zambrano.
  9. HoopsCubs
    If Z and Burnett were the same age, I'd consider it. But Z's five years younger then AJ, and eight years younger than Abreu. He's also been the Cubs best starter over the past three seasons. Can't argue with your logic. Then, disgruntled or not, I would focus on figuring out a way to bring Gary Sheffield into town.
  10. HoopsCubs
    Huff: .321/.428/.749 Burnitz: .322/.435/.757 Near as I can tell, they are the same player. Burnitz is older; Huff is a whiner. My conclusion: stay away from both!
  11. HoopsCubs
    No rumblings. Just throwing it out there if we can't get Giles. There are more good pitchers available in free agency than good bats. If trading Zambrano meant getting Abreu, and then the Cubs turned around and signed Burnett, I think that would be okay. I'm worried about Zambrano's health. Zambrano is 2 years away from free agency - if he signs 1-year deals (Boras is his agent) the Cubs will pay him $5-6M in 2006 and $8-10M in 2007. For that same amount, you can probably get Burnett signed for the first 2 years of a 4-year deal. The Cubs had a chance to trade Lieber and a prospect for Rolen during Spring Training a few years ago. They didn't do the deal. 4 months later, Lieber is having TJ surgery, and Rolen went to St. Louis. If the Phillies offered Abreu and some cash for Zambrano, I'd do it. I'll reiterate - Brian Giles is my first focus.
  12. HoopsCubs
    None. Why would a player destined to be a Philadelphia Philly have any say-so in a Cubs matter?
  13. HoopsCubs
    http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/jeffgordon/story/EADB93CBA5570242862570B3005C1FE2?OpenDocument "Don’t get your hopes up for Brian Giles. I’ve always liked him and I assume he would provide power in the new Busch Stadium, which should play smaller than Petco Park in San Diego. Giles is three seasons removed from his last 30-homer season. He turns 35 this summer. On the other hand, we love his on-base percentage (even though we’ve never read “Moneyball”) and we know he can still run a little. But the bidding on Giles will start at three years and $21 million, then get stupid. Once the Yankees and Cubs get involved, the insanity will begin. I won’t blame Walt for bowing out." We think Hendry isn't interested, they think he is, X says yes, Y says no way, Z says maybe.... bottom line - no one knows. Hoops
  14. HoopsCubs
    I also do get the sense that Hendry feels Juan Pierre can rebound from his not-so-good OBP in 2005. My sense is that he'd want Dusty to bat Furcal first and Pierre 2nd if he got both of them.
  15. HoopsCubs
    Let's talk about this again. Baseball GMs gamble all the time. Let's say you are Hendry. If you suspected (based on what your medical people are telling you) that Zambrano was now a moderate risk candidate for injury sometime in 2006 based on recent minor injuries and his overall workload in the recent 2 seasons, would you then deal him for Abreu and cash, knowing you had the opportunity to get another pitcher through free agency or trade? Hoops
  16. HoopsCubs
    Hendry's plan is pretty clear to me: (1) Pitching (2) More pitching (3) Defense (4) Durability (5) Timely hitting He's trying to do what the White Sox and Astros did in 2005, and what the Marlins and Angels did in 2003 and 2002. Anyone who doesn't meet a significant number of those categories is out. Patterson is going to be dealt because of (5) and maybe even (3); Walker is going to be dealt because of (3) and (4). Burnitz and Garciaparra aren't being brought back because of (5), and (3) and (4), respectively. Rusch was brought back because of (2) and (4), and Neifi was brought back because of (3) and (4). Here's the line-up that I am now envisioning: Furcal Pierre Lee Ramirez right fielder (Encarnacion, Wilson, Mench, maybe Abreu depending on what Gillick wants) Murton Barrett Cedeno/Perez Rotation: Zambrano Prior Millwood or Burnett or Washburn or Livan Maddux Rusch Wood
  17. HoopsCubs
    Understood, but despite what the link says, I doubt the Dodgers would non-tender him. There are enough teams needing a CF with a decent bat that someone will surely offer the Dodgers a trade just to make sure the Yankees don't get first dibs if he's non-tendered, and becomes a free agent.
  18. HoopsCubs
    I'd be a little concerned having Bradley as the #5 hitter. Getting Castillo would be a huge plus - I like it!
  19. HoopsCubs
    This goes on to suggest the Dodgers wouldn't want much in return for Bradley, especially if they might non-tender him. The Cubs should be all over him. I like Bradley, and think Dusty can handle him. But we have to think like the Cubs: given a choice, you figure the Cubs would rather sign Kenny Lofton as a free agent than trade players/prospects for Milton Bradley.
  20. HoopsCubs
    Here are 2 links from today that give some insight on what St. Louis may be thinking: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/281C05FF16F97608862570B2001DA848?OpenDocument http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/berniemiklasz/story/7C3E959EED00B84A862570B2001C9A1D?OpenDocument "Jocketty predicted Sunday that transactions "will happen earlier" this year because of a relatively thin crop of free agents. With outfielder Reggie Sanders, second baseman Mark Grudzielanek and former 22-game winner Matt Morris no longer under control and few free agent alternatives to replace them, the Cardinals and numerous others probably will be more aggressive earlier in the process." "The Cardinals are among those teams interested in the availability of Los Angeles Angels outfielders Steve Finley and Darin Erstad in addition to the Cincinnati Reds' Austin Kearns and Adam Dunn. Accompanied at the meetings by assistant GM John Mozeliak and vice president for player personnel Jerry Walker, Jocketty also confirmed the club's interest in free agents Brian Giles and Jacque Jones." Hoops
  21. HoopsCubs
    As I have stated in other threads, I would take Wilson in CF just as long as a guy like Giles, Matsui, Sheffield, Abreu, Burrell or Dunn is playing corner OF. I don't want Wilson in CF if a guy like Encarnacion, Mench or Burnitz is playing corner OF.
  22. HoopsCubs
    Mench is 27 years old, but is likely not the impact bat we crave for RF. In 2005, he hit 264/328/469 with 25 HR's. From 2002-2004, he hit 276/337/496. Unlike most Rangers in 2005, his road splits aren't significantly different than his home splits. So, should we be interested in Mench and how much should we pay to get him? Vance, I would pass on Mench. I'd rather sign Reggie Sanders (for example), despite his age, than give up talent to get Mench. Hoops Hoops
  23. HoopsCubs
    Please, please, please, please... We'll even take Castillo off their hands if they'll sign Neifi. I'd say there is a good chance the Marlins could go after Garciaparra as well.
  24. HoopsCubs
    Hard to argue with his choices. Although, I feel the Angels, Mets and Orioles could be in the running for some of these guys too, namely, Damon to the Angels, Ryan to the Mets and Burnett to the Orioles.
  25. HoopsCubs
    Hard to argue with his choices. Although, I feel the Angels, Mets and Orioles could be in the running for some of these guys too, namely, Damon to the Angels, Ryan to the Mets and Burnett to the Orioles.
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