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HoopsCubs

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  1. HoopsCubs
    The question of trading Hairston should be one of timing. If Jim Hendry thinks the Cubs have a run in them to get back into the wild card lead, then trading Hairston now would be silly. He's been one of the biggest reasons why the Cubs swept the Marlins. The other thing to keep in mind is that we don't know if Todd Walker is coming back in 2006, and we don't know if Fontenot/Lewis are going to be any good on an everyday basis in 2006. Therefore, I submit that until the Todd Walker contract for 2006 situation is resolved one way or another, Hairston goes nowhere.
  2. HoopsCubs
    Their incentive is that they are a low budget team with tons of financial decisions to make this offseason. Even though Lawton is a free agent, they still owe money to Cleveland to pay for Arthur Rhodes. They owe raises to Jack Wilson and Solomon Torres. They have to decide whether to pick up Jose Mesa's option, or not. They have to decide whether to trade Mark Redman, or let him pick up his player option. And, they have a bunch of arbitration eligible guys in the Winter that they have to make decisions on: Kip Wells, Josh Fogg, Craig Wilson, Oliver Perez, Ty Wigginton, Davis Ross and Mackowiak.
  3. HoopsCubs
    I think Zambrano is easier to trade than Wood. He hasn't reached free agency yet, he's younger, he's been more dominant lately and he's been relatively injury free. So, why do the Cubs deal him? Because he will bring back an elite bat. And the Cubs organization is more pro-Wood than pro-Zambrano. I can tell you for fact that some in the organization do not like Zambrano's mental make-up or maturity. And the fact that he's represented by Boras, and tends to be be brash and cocky, is going to lead to some arbitration squabbles very soon. If Wood and Prior show signs of health, and Rich Hill continues to trend nicely, I wouldn't be surprised if the Cubs made a blockbuster winter move like trading Zambrano, Patterson and a prospect for Padilla and Abreu. Is it probable? No way - relatively improbable actually. BUt would it come as a shock if it happened? Not to me.
  4. HoopsCubs
    Bump. Might be relevant to talk about this some more and review our previous thoughts/responses in lieu of probable selling.
  5. HoopsCubs
    Not true XZero77. Barry Zito is not a free agent until after the 2006 season. While the A's do not have to pick up his $7.2M club option for 2006, they would still control his rights for the 2006 season. That's not to say that they won't attempt to trade him, but it will require a high price in return. With Dotel, Durazo and Hatteberg all free agents (and none expected back), that clears $12M in payroll right there. That will easily pay for the $1.7M raise if they pick up Zito's option. True, they are a low budget team, but they don't need to give Zito away, and should and will hold out for excellent talent in order to unload him.
  6. HoopsCubs
    A la Fred McGriff in 2001, it's conceivable that Wilson might ask for an extra year to be added to his contract in order to accept the deal.
  7. HoopsCubs
    Poor starts and no hitting, oh, but then again, you knew that!
  8. HoopsCubs
    Which is why trading Wood or Zambrano for an elite OF bat, and then signing AJ Burnett is not too far off the beaten path strategy-wise. Execution-wise is a whole other ballgame.
  9. HoopsCubs
    http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-marnot08jul08,0,6048900.story?coll=sfla-sports-headlines Looks like the Marlins are interested in Affeldt and either Matt Stairs or Terrence Long. KC wants a young corner outfielder from Florida in return according to this report, so it fits well with the Murton inquiry.
  10. HoopsCubs
    I'm not sure if you meant to say Phil Rogers, and said Bruce Miles instead. Mr. Miles did not single out Baker at all in his column in terms of blame; he also indicated that there were significant organizational issues. Like it or not, this team missed Moises Alou big time.
  11. HoopsCubs
    ESPN AM 1000 baseball insider, Bruce Levine just reported (at 6:10 PM CDT) that his Cub sources are telling him that it is quite possible that Corey Patterson will be sent down to the minors in the next 1-2 days to work on swing adjustments and pitch selection. No timeframe given for how long he'll be there, if sent. Bruce said that as much as fans are clamoring for Hendry to trade him, Hendry realizes that Corey has very little trade value right now, so he has no immediate plans to deal him. Corey is in the line-up tonight, but if he has a disastrous night or two, that could cement the move by the week-end. In other news, Bruce characterized the talks between the Cubs and Royals for Mike MacDougal as "serious." Cubs minor leaguers would be involved in any deal. Hoops
  12. HoopsCubs
    That might be. By the way, I think Mark Kotsay has a $6.5M player option for 2006. There has been some speculation that he'd opt for free agency aftre the 2005 season in hopes of getting a 3 year $16-18M range deal. I believe that $6.5M figure may go up to $7.5M in the event he's traded.
  13. HoopsCubs
    Or, Gammons is full of beans. Either scenerio could work. Just looking at his OBP in a vacuum, Payton doesn't appear to be a prototypical Beane guy. He might be destined for San Diego.
  14. HoopsCubs
    Yeah, but the Braves sure as hell would. Truffle, Pardon my ignorance, but does this "hottest woman" have a name? Yes, she does - my girlfriend (I wish). Actually she's Josie Maran, champion of the NSBB Offseason Hottest Chick Poll. I'm proud to say that I was the driving force in her inclusion in the poll. I guess you could say I've been behind her all the way. (again... I wish) I don't recognize that name, but I'll assume she's a popular model or actress.
  15. HoopsCubs
    Yeah, but the Braves sure as hell would. Truffle, Pardon my ignorance, but does this "hottest woman" have a name?
  16. HoopsCubs
    He's got a no trade clause. And if he waives it, I would predict he'll only waive it for a NL contending team. Furthermore, I predict that the only 3 teams I see him approving are San Diego, Atlanta and Arizona in that order. Hendry will have to pay at least $5M of the $9M owed to him in 2006, for either the Padres, Braves or D-Backs to take him on. I see the D-Backs having the most need for him, but they are a bubble team right now.
  17. HoopsCubs
    ESPN baseball writer takes a look at what contenders need in this linked story. No mention of the Cubs or Astros, though, so I assume he thinks the Wild Card is coming from the NL East. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?id=2101737
  18. HoopsCubs
    Luis is making $10M this year and $11.5M in 2006. There is a club option for 2007, but you figure he'll become a free agent after the 2006 season. With Sosa, Hawkins, Remlinger off the books after this season, and potentially some of Burnitz, Walker, Hollandsworth, Garciaparra and Rusch gone too, $11.5M is affordable in 2006.
  19. HoopsCubs
    I would argue that the Cubs must upgrade at least 2 of the following 3 positions, if not all 3: LF, CF and SS. A SS upgrade is almost impossible outside the organization. Our best hope there is that Dusty lets Cedeno play and/or Nomar comes back strong for the final 2 months. Both are improbable. In terms of what's available then, I would say priority has to be CF and LF. A Kotsay acquisition definitely addresses CF. But what to do in LF then? Murton might be the dark horse here. I still like the idea of getting Stairs.
  20. HoopsCubs
    Oh lord, wouldn't that be great. Juan is 29. He's been a regular player for 7 years now, and has been a consistent 700-760 OPS player, and at least for the past 3 years, he's consistently declined significantly in the second half. So, while his 2005 numbers look nice, they are completely out of whack with his career, and not likely to be sustained. Career: .266 .315 .441 2002 - 2005: .260 .313 .435 I wasn't advocating that Hendry get him. I was pointing out that he's being shopped.
  21. HoopsCubs
    Agreed. I'll take Matt Stairs over either of those 2 guys any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
  22. HoopsCubs
    For what it's worth, after the Latroy trade went down, Levine said that Hendry had talked to the Mets and the Marlins about a bigger trade that would have included Latroy and other Cubs players or prospects. Rather than do a bigger deal, Hendry decided on Williams and Aardsma. I'm just guessing, but I'd think a deal with the Mets would have included Looper and Floyd or Cameron. A Marlins deal might have included Encarnacion or Conine (ugh) and Mota or Jones. From everything I've read, Juan Encarnacion is still very available. At what price, I have no clue.
  23. HoopsCubs
    By the way, if we got one of those KC relievers, I wouldn't mind seeing Matt Stairs and Tony Graffanino come along for the ride too. Stairs over .800 OPS and Graf's ability to play 3B/2B would mean less Todd Hollandsworth and cutting Jose Macias.
  24. HoopsCubs
    Can't remember where I read it, but it referred to Rusch and Patterson as the 2 best "available" trade chips Hendry has.
  25. HoopsCubs
    But he's still better than Jose Macias. If the Cubs did not have to pick up more than $500K and didn't have to give back more than a marginal prospect, I'd make the trade.
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