KingKongvs.Godzilla

Doing things quietly has been the biggest plus of the Ricketts so far. Anything good happening with this franchise right now is down on the down low. It's probably because the only thing that should be done with noise is winning, which the ML team isn't doing.

+1 It's not that he's bad or anything. It's just that the Cubs GM job under new ownership hoping to make a big splash for now and the future isn't going to go with Josh [expletive] Byrnes. He lost out on the Mets job for the same reason IMO. If he comes in and works with/under the incoming guy then sure he's a great candidate for GM after this upcoming GM, but otherwise? Big meh.

Nolasco seems like one of those guys for whom a change of scenery could be HUGE. Given his propensity to have that "one big inning" it would seem something gets mechanically off that his pitching coaches haven't been able to pick up on. Or he could just be a headcase, who knows? He's a glorified Randy Wells. I mean really how much better can the scene for a pitcher get than a cavernous ballpark for a home park? If we were to target a NL East headcase pitching in a big park I'd look at Mike Pelfrey. He's been a productive pitcher for a while now, but I'm still seeing a guy who is still figuring it out mechanically and stuff wise. He hasn't been hurt, he remains athletic, he's been productive, he's got stuff...All traits I'd look for. I think he's a pitcher who could age well and really take a step forward in his late 20's/early30's. That said, neither actually interests me too much, and I guess I'll throw Billingsley in there. I'm looking at aces and psuedo aces (CJ Wilson, Trevor Cahill, Ricky Romero), big upside troubled youngsters (B. Anderson, Rick Porcello, Kyle Drabek, Brett Cecil, Chris Tillman, Ross Detweiler), and young power arms who rack up K's (Gio Gonzalez, Brandon Morrow). I don't know why I threw in Blue Jays pitchers either, since it's unlikely any would actually be available except in something spectacular. A solid pitcher like Floyd works too, definitely. He's not an ace, but there's worse guys to throw out there in a game 3. Another guy like that is Ervin Santana, who might be on the way out in Anaheim as he's a FA next year with Haren, who is the better pitcher and more likely they one they keep. Can't ignore that they have two really intriguing arms coming up in Chatwood and Richards too.

Solid pitcher and talent. Not the gem that Danks is, but could be a very good 3 in the NL.

Do you mean add Wilson and Fielder/Pujols and then re-sign Aramis? I'd be all for that, but it'd take a huge bump in payroll to do it. If you mean bring Aramis back for 2-3 more seasons instead of adding Wilson, I still don't think that's the right move. Aramis is a great player, but he's had some injury issues (especially of late) and is 33 years old. You'd be re-signing him for his age 34 and 35 seasons, which could be fine but could also end up being a pretty bad contract if he declines the entire contract and/or gets hurt again. Wilson is 31, but he was a reliever all but 2 years of his major league career, so the mileage on his arm is much lower than most 31 year old starters - meaning he should stay highly productive for longer. And while Aramis will probably only help us greatly for 1-2 more years, Wilson could be highly productive for 3-4 years. So the point still stands, even if Aramis might be the better option next year, the Wilson + Pujols/Fielder route could easily be better next year and will be better long term. I don't mean subtracting Wilson for Ramirez. I mean if you're going after two big name FAs why not keep the strong veteran player and open the window on '12 and '13 a little properly wider? If they're already spending the money...

I heard this too, and it's probably not so crazy to believe even if it's just a vague memory. Soccer is the next great frontier in American sports. Guys like Beane would be very interested in getting in on the proverbial ground floor. As someone who doesn't "get it" with soccer, I hope America gets bored of sports and moves onto math and science before soccer goes crazy here. Though I guess it's infinitely better than our dumbass version of football and it's 12 minutes of game time. He probably loves the transfer system setup in soccer. Buy players when they are kids for pennies on the $ and sell them high for a couple of million 3-8 years down the road. Of course this works a little bit better in Europe vs. MLS but its getting better. Like Jersey, I really have no idea what you mean. I did write that like a hack/lazy person: - Soccer is easy to make fun of. - American football, while entertaining in its 12-15 minutes of actual football, is both dangerous and mind numbing. - Beane, as mentioned before, is probably interested since everyone in baseball is pretty much heading in the same direction with the big difference being money. - I'd be happier if society was a little less sport-centric, but I guess it doesn't really matter (could just ignore it).

He's not the only one. IIRC both Yankees and Red Sox ownership have bought small chunks of ownership of a couple teams in Europe.

This makes sense to me. The Cubs don't need an Aaron Baker type prospect. It's very easy to survive without one really.

This is a really good point and one I should have brought up earlier. Bringing back Aramis is a 1-2 year thing tops, whereas both Fielder/Pujols and Wilson can help us quite a bit over the next 3-8 years. Simply put, bringing back Aramis is an all or nothing move for next year, whereas investing in Fielder/Pujols and Wilson can help us next year and in the future. Even if the overall upgrade next year were minimal, the 1B/P option helps us down the road, whereas bringing Aramis back does not. Well another way to look at it is that if theyre going to splurge on Fielder/Pujols + Wilson then why not splurge to bring back Ramirez in for a couple more seasons and bakery's team the best it can possibly be? I think some of this comes down to Soriano/Zambrano and what happens to them. This is just going to be a ridiculously busy offseason for the Cubs.

I heard this too, and it's probably not so crazy to believe even if it's just a vague memory. Soccer is the next great frontier in American sports. Guys like Beane would be very interested in getting in on the proverbial ground floor. As someone who doesn't "get it" with soccer, I hope America gets bored of sports and moves onto math and science before soccer goes crazy here. Though I guess it's infinitely better than our dumbass version of football and it's 12 minutes of game time.

Should be interesting.

Just to not give Al so much credit...the guy who covers the minors on BCB is Josh77. Al has other less informative things to write.

Laziest, most loafing .886 in history.

But he's really into the farm system.

I've never thought of Cashner as a high effort guy mechanically. For the most part I really like his mechanics actually....via the eye test.

What're the thoughts on LeMahieu by most here? Anything besides "he only hits for BA, and the hope is that he hits for more power and/or starts walking" is welcome. I think he's a legit long term 2B option, offensively and defensively.

Man, what happened with Mark Prior?

Gave up 2 runs on 3 hits and 0 walks in 2/3 of an inning, getting both outs via the strike out. He threw 23 pitches for the Smokies. I like no walks and the K's, hate everything else.

The Nationals also has LaRoche under contract for 2012. They could trade LaRoche if they signed Fielder or Pujols but it will be hard considering he is a mediocre player making little more than Marlon Byrd money. Oh did I forget he is coming off a torn labrum? To me trading LaRoche will be difficult. Two words, one name: Jayson Werth. I don't know if Washington is in a hurry to jump into another monster contract considering they have the worst NL contract already on the payroll. They could but I find it doubtful they will make a play for Fielder. I think the Cubs main rival for Fielder/Pujols will be Yankees/Orioles and the Angels. Werth's a better player than this year's numbers, and he'll be back to normal. It's only year one with that one, and he's there for more than that. Fielder between Zimmerman and Werth would be pretty damn good. Maybe throw Morse out there in LF where Nix sucks. I don't think the Yankees will play into this too much. Tex is there for 190 million or so, and they're not going to pay 200 million for a DH. Plus, the CC situation could get fun if he did opt out.

The Nats are the only team I'm scared of in the Fielder/Pujols chase once either one or both hit the market. They're trying over there, and 1B is definitely a need area. Mike Morse has the 7th highest OPS+ in the NL. And he's a pretty solid player overall, but he's still Mike Morse while those guys are Albert Pujols/Prince Fielder. They also have shown they want to and can spend, and there's enough talent to possible pique the interest of a big ticket FA (Strasburg, Zimmerman, Werth, Zimmerman, Storen etc).

He's also made the most outs, which kind of disappoints me. Very Juan Pierre-y, though he'll hopefully/probably pass him as a player. He already has. True.

The Nats are the only team I'm scared of in the Fielder/Pujols chase once either one or both hit the market. They're trying over there, and 1B is definitely a need area.

He's also made the most outs, which kind of disappoints me. Very Juan Pierre-y, though he'll hopefully/probably pass him as a player.

Isn't it WAY too soon to be declaring that? Yes, but it was a pretty questionable signing at the time too. Fenway pretty much negates one of his greatest abilities, defensive range as a LF, and he won't be in CF there anytime soon for multiple reasons (including he doesn't want to be there). He's still probably going to have a few really good seasons there. He's too talented not to hit at least a ton of doubles of there one year. At least a ton.

Yep, and ever since the Soriano contract where Hal and Hank overrode him Cashman has been loose lipped. I dont think the Yankees approve, but nothings been said publically. Cashman finally seems to be growing On the fans here in the Tri state area. As the Yankee GM he's dealt with haters hating from day 1.