KingKongvs.Godzilla

Another offseason I wouldn't mind seeing: Pujols 8 years 250 million Sign CJ Wilson 5 years 86 million Resign Shark at whatever 80% of last year's pay was. Trade: Ryan Flaherty, Chris Carpenter, Nick Struck/Robert Whitenack, Austin Kirk, and Reggie Golden to the Padres for 3B Chase Headley and LHP Clayton Richard. Trade Marlon Byrd to the Indians for RHP Zach Putnam. Sign Grady Sizemore at for 1 year 8 million with performance based incentives that can almost double it. Trade CL Carlos Marmol and RHP Randy Wells to the Phillies for RHP Phillippe Aumont, Jiwan James, Maikel Franco, and further fodder. Sign Jon Broxton to 1 year 5 million incentive laden deal. Sign former Yankees propsect Andrew Brackman to a minor league deal. SP depth: Wilson Garza Dempster Zambrano Cashner Richard Coleman Putnam Bullpen: Brackman Beliveau Gaub Putnam Aumont Russell Shark Broxton Marshall (Cashner can be bullpen or rotation since it's up in the air) etc. 1B: Pujols 2B: LeMahieu (Yeah...) SS: Castro 3B: Headley OF: Soriano Sizemore Colvin Jackson That's a rough version...I don't feel like I made the OF better here by getting rid of Jackson and replacing him with Sizemore...there's more upside, but way more volatility there.

Star. Possibly future superstar.

Amongst the short, hard throwing young RHs coming into the league I'd take Chatwood over him. I'd be fine with Morrow, and I'd really like to steal Cecil.

Garza for Drabek, Cecil, McGuire, Marisnick, and Hutchsinson

Intriguing? He'd be a must have. I wouldn't go that far. They're not going to just give him away and I wouldn't empty out the farm for him. Meh I'd live with the cost. He's a 25 year old switch hitting former top prospect who no one is truly down on yet and he's not a FA til after 2016. There'd be a fight toget him but the winner would be a lucky duck.

Intriguing? He'd be a must have.

I think he will, too. He obviously isn't going anywhere else, and his decision to retire or play could change at any moment, so he'd probably be fine with going year-to-year on team friendly deals until he decides to hang it up for good Seeing him as type B on the elias list, though, makes me wonder if Theo will avoid sentiment and nab the pick if Kerry would want to sign somewhere else instead of retiring. This would be the Theo thing and maybe even smart thing to do. Who's to say he wouldn't like pitching out in Arizona? Doesn't he live out there? Plus Theo don't catch feelings. Wood lives in Chicago year round. His wife is from the area and they have a child that gets special care from Children's Memorial which is 1-2 miles from Wrigley (straight down Halsted next to DePaul): "Part of Wood's insistence on returning to the Cubs centers around his youngest daughter Charlotte's health issues that are best dealt with at Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital. Kerry and Sarah decided last year that they would give up their home in Scottsdale, Ariz., and raise their children in Chicago. The driving force was Charlotte's medical needs." http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/2927/family-first-woods-priority-was-in-chicago My guess is that he signs for one year between 2-3 million. At the risk of sounding cruel, this sounded like one of those Sarah McLachlan @ 2 am commercials for Kerry Wood's youngest daughter. You could have just said they moved to Chicago...now I just feel depressed.

I can agree with this. I'm a big believer in the FA market also.

Why would Callaspo be cheaper coming off his best season while also entering your prime?

I think he will, too. He obviously isn't going anywhere else, and his decision to retire or play could change at any moment, so he'd probably be fine with going year-to-year on team friendly deals until he decides to hang it up for good Seeing him as type B on the elias list, though, makes me wonder if Theo will avoid sentiment and nab the pick if Kerry would want to sign somewhere else instead of retiring. This would be the Theo thing and maybe even smart thing to do. Who's to say he wouldn't like pitching out in Arizona? Doesn't he live out there? Plus Theo don't catch feelings.

I wouldn't give up Cashner for Danks. Agreed on McNutt, and also have to agree with toonster on the analysis of Archer/McNutt. I was writing the same thing then I guess wandered off somewhere. I'm not in favor of actively going about not making trades otoh.

Another name that I didn't mention because of how big time a talent I think Castro is. I think Price is basically skinny CC, and will be an elite pitcher/horse for a long time. I'm a big fan of Ryan Zimmerman amongst the 3B too, which I think hurts Longoria as far as having a bias. Still wouldn't do it.

Nice move, hopefully they bring him back.

OK so Kershawis one....everyone else I'd still have to be convinced...I didn't even name Justin Upton that's how highly I think of Castro.

I would put Matt Cain above both of them and Anibal Sanchez, Ervin Santana, and possibly even John Danks and Shaun Marcum above Greinke. ?!? Based on what? Wins? Greinke has had a very pedestrian 100 and 102 ERA+ over the last two years. Yes, his pre-2010 stats are very nice, but he's been a mediocre pitcher the last two years and that worries me. All the guys I listed have been better than Grienke over the last two years. I'm not sure I would take Marcum over him because of age, and Danks mediocre 2011 combined with his career K/9 make me leery. Wait so you are serious?

Oh no the whole offseason would have to be changed...I'm just saying generally I wouldn't mind Bedard brought in if he was behind a Darvish or Wilson in an alternate offseason scenario.

May, but probably won't unless they're trolling. McNutt wouldn't be so bad...TINSTAAPP...just get another one or dozen in the draft/amateur word...they'd recover quickly enough there.

I would too. I just don't think it'll come into play like that. If a Headley deal was to happen, I'd try to sneak out Clayton Richard with him. He hasn't been much, but he's got good arm strength as a lefty. Something like a Gorzellany type pickup, except within a bigger deal. Just someone to give some #5 innings too....or a candidate anyway.

People give Youkilis a lot of credit for being a patient hitter, but Jack Cust makes him look like Juan Pierre. I've often wondered if Jack Cust would make a good hitting coach. He does already have a baseball academy... and has had one since 1997 http://www.diamondnation.com/diamondnation_jacks/ I like the Generic Home Uni home page picture. The French teacher from my HS once told me that she taught Jack Cust, who was a big star in the NJ HS baseball world. My reply was basically in the area of "Jack Cust sucks." I remember this specifically because 1. I felt like an idiot with my analysis even walking out since I actually knew alot about Cust's misadventures early on in the Majors plus his minor league career, 2. he went on to dutifully prove that statement wrong in the majors with one of my favorite teams no less, and 3. I'm pretty sure that's the only thing I ever said to that lady. I now hope that he does become a hitting coach, and a top tier one.

I can get behind your moves on offense, though I'd probably just go with Baker/Flaherty at 3B instead of Kouz. If we're going to try to compete in 2012, though, I think more needs to be done on the pitching side than Bedard/Young. I wouldn't mind Bedard as the 2nd pitcher signing otoh, though I think I might prefer Chris Capuano. Davell, I like the moves on offense too, but I'm really hoping/wishing for a better 3B option.

It's a possibility. Though, I'm not overly worried about them trading Vitters in a Headley deal.

[expletive] THANK YOU. The point of having those nobody prospects is that they can become somebody, and the single most underrated way to guarantee that is to trade them for good ML talent. The farm system is ripe for a trade, and like you say I'm not all that worried about losing Hendry prospects. Barney, LeMahieu, Flaherty, Castillo, Clevenger, Dolis, Carpenter, Cabrera, McNutt,, Jackson, Szczur, Rusin, Gaub, Beliveau, Watkins, Crawford...*all* these guys are part of the future of the Cubs on the field? I like most of those guys in the long run to put up maybe even above average careers, but here? Meh. As far as Castro is concerned there's not anyone I can for sure name that I'd trade him for. Castro screams future superstar to me. I hate to get hyperbolic on a young player, but he really does remind me of a young Jeter (for the 0 that's worth). If only he were taller and biracial...

I think your logic is perfectly fine and I might think the same on a given day, but to me Headley would be a little like adding Garza last year. I don't mind paying the price to get a mere solid starter/above average talent onto this roster, especially a young/prime one that the current GM knows well and apparently really likes. The fact that he's cost controlled until after 2014 also really helps. The only thing that I wouldn't like about it is that I'm a big believer in The Vitters, who he'd be blocking at 3B. That said, I have had thoughts that Vitters could just as easily end up in LF as 3B, and that the bat is really all that I care about in his situation anyway.

I think it's pretty awesome too, but I'll bet none of these "kids" were considered cool when they were in school. I'm glad we have the not "cool" kids running our team rather than the meathead athletes who would've have been "cool". Did you guys all go to high school in an 80s movie? Seriously...The 2000's have been dedicated to the nerds...all the "cool kids" nowadays try to come off as nerds... I'm honestly [expletive] stunned that nobody even mentions that the Ivy League schools invading sports is not only a waste (in brains, I know sports were highly inefficient as far as operations go and could be better run as businesses), but even a little fishy/off (ELITIST!?!?!?). I mean really...it takes an Ivy League mind (actually multiple IL minds) to figure out how to put together a baseball team? Many of these minds (including some of my favorite like Mark Schapiro and Paul DePodesta) that they weren't all that in on baseball before working in the game. Now we talk about perfectly smart human beings as [expletive] "meatheads" because they dare to not bow before the power of statistics...or state that they blend both stats and scouting....or whatever they're supposed to say to please the masses who suddenly NEED to hear that a guy respects, likes, understands, or studies the numbers side. I could get a 9 year old to expound on the virtues of the numbers side of the game in pretty much any field, and I even think it's great because kids in this country do need to understand the powers of mathematics and mathematical analysis...it wouldn't make the 9 year old some special talent or expert. That's not meant to knock any individual or play up to the role of numbers hater that I thought I was getting here a few weeks ago. It is something that kinda sorta bothers me despite the many counterpoints that can be made and that I know are perfectly rational...w/e the rant is what it is...I just think the whole thing is kind of corny and plays up to this stupid "Us vs. Them" [expletive] that Theo Epstein and the Red Sox actually made steps in eliminating after it went on for half of the last decade. The Braves and Phillies don't wax poetic on numbers, but find success anyway and I bet they really respect that side of the game and have for years. In the end, all I want is this organization to succeed, and to succeed for a long, long time. To do that they will need, and have, their fair share of "meatheads" in the organization.

Sports are where MIT minds should be focused. No but really sounds cool...I'm guessing no relation to former reliever Brian.