Amazing_Grace

I hear he wont sign a minor league deal. Hes going to wait until he's fully ready to go, and wait for someone to offer him a big league deal. It shouldn't be the Cubs. The odds of him being good aren't any better than the odds of Marshall or Gallagher being good, and we have plenty of relievers.

That surprises me. Not the part about the Brewers but us being 2nd. Everything I've been hearing suggests the Cubs don't have the prospects for Sabathia. What's with the Yankees not even being on this list. They have plenty of young guys to trade and more payroll freed up this offseason than they'll even be able to spend. What I'm hearing is that the Yankees have just gotten the farm system back in shape and don't wanna blow it all on Sabathia. They'd be more willing to trade for a Randy Wolf or Joe Blanton. Wow, that's surprising. I suppose they reason they can always just sign the guy this offseason and give up nothing, but it just seems very un-Yankee like not to go out and make the big trade.

He's nearing the end of his arby years and will cost a lot more after the season. Well, that being the case, wouldn't we then be trading for a guy who may not help us this year due to injuries and will be a very well paid injured player after this season. Beane is not an idiot. If he thought Harden could stay healthy, he'd hold him this year, pay him the 7M next year, and then trade him for a king's ransom after he'd been healthy for the better part of 2 seasons. I'm sorry but this has Mark Prior part 2 written all over it.

That surprises me. Not the part about the Brewers but us being 2nd. Everything I've been hearing suggests the Cubs don't have the prospects for Sabathia. What's with the Yankees not even being on this list. They have plenty of young guys to trade and more payroll freed up this offseason than they'll even be able to spend.

Good decision, we're not going to fall out of contention because Z misses 3 starts, but we MUST have him healthy down the stretch.

If history is any indicator, Hendry won't target someone that everyone is in a bidding war over. He just rarely does that. Typically, he finds a player who is dissatisfied with his current team (Nomar), or is underperforming with another team (Barrett), and/or takes on payroll from teams trying to save money (Ramirez, Lofton, Lee). I'd bet he won't be looking at Sabathia long if he's even available as the bidding with the Yanks, Mets, and others, could be huge. Burnett for one of Murton/Cedeno/Patterson and Ceda would be a Hendry type move. So would a package of Bradley+Padilla for Murton, Hill/Marshall, Ceda, and Patterson. Making decent trades is the one thing I have some faith in JH to do well, as it's the one thing he's done a fair job of during his tenure as GM. Other than Maddux for Izturis and the Kendall/Trachsel trades last season, his record has been pretty good on that front. I heard the BBTN guys saying that the Mets and Cubs would both like to be aggressive but don't have much in the way of prospects to do it. They seemed to think the Cubs didn't have enough to go after a Sabathia or Bedard, but they mentioned Burnett. CC has Yankees written all over him. As for CF, assuming Edmonds cools off, I think the Cubs go after someone fairly mediocre and inexpensive like DeJesus or someone good but horribly overpaid (so that there are maybe only about 5 teams that could even think of doing the deal) like Vernon Wells or Carlos Beltran. My predicition is that the Cubs will land AJ Burnett as their pitcher. If they want a lefty bat (and I can't see them giving up on that entirely), I think they'll revive the Roberts talks (anyone think the O's will get as much now as they could have gotten before the season) and either move Fukudome to CF, or possibly leave Edmonds there depending on how well he's doing. DeRosa can still get plenty of ABs playing every position on the field other than C and CF filling in for other guys, or he can be dealt for someone else if the opportunity is there.

I'm not entirely sure why Beane would even be willing to deal a young pitcher that's been very good when healthy, unless he was convinced that he wasn't going to be healthy that often. If Beane doesn't think the chance of him staying off the DL is worth the risk, I'm not sure I do either. We've been down this road before. Mediocre and healthy is better than great but can't stay off the DL.

...or at the same time. I think the Blue Jays would like to get out of Vernon Wells' contract. Burnett and Wells for every spare part we have. That'll be going all in for this year. Problem is between those two we'd be taking on a lot of contract. Wells' contract is awful and Burnett's is not wonderful either. The only way this would happen is if the Cubs sent some salary back in the deal, and there aren't many likely candidates to deal. We don't know how much, if any, salary the Cubs can take on with the impending sale. If they did this deal, it would put the Cubs close to BoSox territory in terms of payroll.

I think Harang would be about as good a bet as Burnett would. I don't know if Cincinnatti or Chicago would want to risk trading within the division though. The Cubs could end up watching whoever they send help the Reds be contenders for years to come, and the Reds could end up looking stupid like the Pirates did after 2003 for sending a key long term contributor to a division rival for basically nothing. If this could be done with Pie, Murton, Cedeno and low minors guys without including Hill, Marshall, or Gallagher, I'd be pretty happy. The latter three are the only Cub prospects that I would be worried about coming back to bite us that badly.

I hope the Crisp talk dies quickly. Offensively, he's not better than what we have, and defensively, he's not better than Pie so there's no reason to do this. If Bruce is right, the Cubs aren't really looking at CF as a need anymore. I don't have that much faith in Edmonds, and one of Theriot/Soto or both are likely to slump in the second half. I'd still like to see what we could get in CF after we acquire a SP.

Beltran would be a great pickup, no doubt. He's been a solid player who isn't that old. His contract is bad, but as jersey pointed out, it's not hideous. I can't see the Cubs taking the whole thing straight up though. The Mets would either have to eat salary or take on Marquis for this to be palatable at all, and it still leaves the Cubs in need of a solid #2 starter. I think the Yankees or White Sox might have a better shot. On the other hand, another team that might get into a Beltran sweepstakes is St. Louis, and that might tempt the Cubs to make a better offer to keep him out of STL or try to swing some sort of three way that sent Beltran away from the Cards.

Three years of declining numbers are still a lot better predictor of what a player is likely to do than 68 ABs over less than a month. If he's still putting up an .800+ OPS at the end of July, then I'll have more confidence he still can produce. I am going to take a bit more convincing, but Lou's instincts on Dempster and Theriot seem to have been right so far this season, and a lot of people thought that relying on these guys to be major contributers was pure looney. It's too soon to accept him, but I can't really complain too loudly at this point.

There's no way to get MLB teams to play their starters in a game that doesn't count, and there's no getting around how damned inconvenient it is for a major league team to travel to a little town out in the middle of nowhere during a long season when they're flying all over the place. The travel conditions are a guarantee the players will continue to hate it, and the injury risk will guarantee no owner will risk the health of marquee players. With those factors in mind, MLB's options are thus 1.) cancel the game 2.) Continue to force an awkward exhibition game to be played in the middle of the season that nobody outside of Cooperstown NY cares about. 3.)Alter the dimensions of the field such that it's reasonable to play a regulation game. 4.) Replace MLB players with minor leaguers or retired players. Option 2 is basically the status quo that nobody's happy with. Option 3 would be nice but for the fact the whole point of the field is that it's supposedly part of baseball history (whether baseball was "invented" there is open to historical debate), and altering it would be to make the park historically inaccurate. If MLB were willing to do that, and put an off day either before or after the game for both teams, then you could continue the game. If you go with Option 4, the game loses a lot of what little fan appeal it had in the first place. Baseball opted to just put an end to it, and given their choices, it was the right call.

Burnett would be a good choice for the Cubs. I'd still wait to see if Sabathia is available before moving on Burnett for two reasons. First, if Sabathia is available, he'd be the better player to acquire. Secondly, if Sabathia is available but the Cubs don't have enough to get him (which is a definite possibility), the price on Burnett will drop because the contenders will be pushing hard for Sabathia. Even if C.C. is never available, it's likely going to cost as much or more to acquire him now than at the deadline.

Or it's just because Patterson has been outperforming Murton in Iowa. I don't really see the anger over Patterson being called up. I'm glad. I've always defended Murton and think it's ridiculous the way the organization has jerked him around, but he didn't really earn this callup. If He was putting up his 2007 Iowa numbers right now, then it would be different. As someone else said, a 26 year old corner outfielder who is slugging under .400 and OPSing just over .800 in the PCL doesn't deserve to be called up, I don't care what has happened in the past. He's experienced enough in AAA and at the major league level that he should be ripping up the pitching down there. Not to mention Patterson offers more versatility then Murton. Matt, likeable as he is...is a LF, plain and simple. Whereas Eric, can play 2b, to which Lou could put Dero in LF, and is, IMO a significant upgrade over Fontenot. Or Lou could put Eric in LF, and leave DeRo at 2B. Or on occasions, Lou can put Patterson in CF. I like Murton, and I don't like how he was handled by the Cubs, but he is done with the Cubs IMO. The best bet for Murton and the Cubs is to move him to a team that can use him. People are really quick to forget that Murton has proven himself in the majors. He had a very good season in 2006. I would look at those numbers before anything he's done in AAA. It can't be easy for Matt to stay motivated when he's basically been shoved off to the minors after proving himself over a whole season in 2006. That said, I don't hate the Patterson callup either. I'd have called up Murton and Patterson and left Hoffpauir (the guy is 28, not a prospect, plays the same limited position as Murton, and there's no upside to using him as anything but a PH). Patterson has put up good numbers in Iowa this year, but what I like about him is that his minor league numbers the two seasons before that suggest he has a more patient approach than his brother did. He hasn't shown great patience this season, but the potential is there. He's certainly done well enough to deserve a callup. If Patterson does well, it gives us another option in CF for when Edmonds starts to suck again.

Whether you agree with the decision making or not, the Cubs aren't making much of a mystery about why they brought up Patterson. Lou has been talking for a while about how he would like them to have more lefties in the lineup. Patterson accomplishes this because he can play him in LF and DH Hoffpauir in the interleague road games giving the Cubs 3 LH hitters in the lineup. Secondly, both Lou and Hendry talk a lot about having a prototypical lead off hitter so with Soriano out they are taking advantage to put that type of player at the top of the lineup. With the success Theriot is having batting second I am sure Lou doesn't want to mess with him too much. Maybe at some point Fukudome is tried at leadoff but I think first Lou needs to be convinced that Hoffpauir or Edmonds can slide into the 5th hold and produce on par with what Fukudome is giving them in that spot currently. I said that was the only "good" reason I could think of. I should have mentioned I can think of quite a few stupid reasons to go along with it (what hand a guy hits with being the stupidest there is). I really don't think very highly of Lou's "must-have-lefty-behind-Ramirez" nonsense. The most asinine thing about this situation is that the Cubs spent all offseason trying to land a LH to hit leadoff. Now they have a LH hitter in RF whose numbers suggest he'd be awesome in that role and Lou won't move him there. Fukudome really should hit leadoff with Soriano 3 and Ramirez/Lee 4 and 5 in either order. With Soriano out, you just move everbody up 1 spot and hit EPatt or whoever 8th. Fortunately, studies show that batting order doesn't have much to do with overall production. The current lineup is producing because the players are producing individually, and that is by far the more important issue. What Hoffpauir does is kind of irrelevant in my book since he really can only play LF and 1B, and when Soriano comes back his position is gone. Edmonds conceivably could hit well enough to move up to 5th, but I'm not gonna hold my breath on that one. I'd just like to get Edmonds out of the lineup and off the team.

Well, the Cubs don't bat a lot of ninth innings at home. How many times has there been a bottom 9th at Wrigley, the 8 losses plus however many 9th inning comebacks and extra inning games there have been.

I can only think of one good reason to bring up Patterson rather than Murton and it's this. If the Cubs are dead set that they're not moving Fukudome to CF, then it makes sense to play someone that can move to CF when Soriano returns. I doubt Patterson is going to hit well enough to win that job, but it's something that the organization may be thinking about. If he put up a line something like .275/.340/.450, then the Cubs could slide him over to CF and go hard after another starter and possibly a lefty reliever. It would seem the same logic would apply to Pie, but for whatever reason, the organization seems to think he doesn't fit in with the team this year.

Agreed. This ain't Matt Karchner people. CC would clearly make the Cubs the favorites to win the World Series. Whether they make it or not is besides the point. The Cubs didn't have a realistic shot to win it all last year. With CC they would. You have to do what it takes to get that. Same here. I was a little apprehensive because I hadn't seen that monthly split, but now I'm definitely sold. Do what it takes, Pie, Hill, Gallagher, whatever. Absolutely. Nobody in the Cubs system is such a can't miss prospect that they couldn't be dealt if Sabathia was available. After 100 years of failing to win a WS, this is a gamble you have to make. I would basically deal anybody and everybody that isn't on the current Cubs ML roster, and a couple that are on it. Incidentally, aren't we all glad we didn't deal half our best trading pieces for Brian Roberts. The O's have gotta be kicking themselves now.

I was merely expressing some incredulity at the idea that poster had access to Lou's feelings on Pie via his position at Joe's Stone Crab. Obviously Pie's numbers this year are meager. (Though I submit he never really had a chance to perform, so I'm wary of declaring him incapable this season based on that tiny sample size.) My point was that we don't need inside information to tell us that Lou doesn't like it when guys don't produce (he's benched nearly everybody for some stretch at this point). The credibility of the Crab Shack guy notwithstanding (maybe its true maybe it isn't, none of us know), it should be pretty clear what Lou thinks of Pie based on his actions, and really shouldn't surprise anybody. If Lou thought much of Pie's chance to produce this year, he'd have played him more.

You were supposed to not post in Edmonds threads while he was going good. Now he's gonna tank. oh no, you're wrong. this is my, how would you say........"my i told you so wet dream"? :D And look how well that worked out for Felix and Ronny. oh, felix wasn't going to play, anyway. for whatever reason, lou hates him, that's not going to change until hendry forces his hand. might as well sit back and relax while edmonds does well--and be smug, very very smug. Lou tried to work with Felix. The reason he hates him is his strike zone awareness sucks as does his plate discipline. He thinks he is Soriano when the Cubs were hoping for a Carl Crawford/ Willie Mc Gee type. More inside info? Not inside exactly. I work in the "PR" side of things in the rest. biz. I have worked for Gibsons/ Hugo's and now for Joe's Stone Crab Chicago. I deal with the Cubs all the time. I have friendly relationships with the players, front office, you name it. We even cater to the clubhouse. Even my owner Rich Melman is a possible partner in a potential new ownership group. I deal with athletes on a nightly basis. Just last night i had OJ Mayo in, for example. I'm a sicko Cubs fan just like you! Hope everyone understands, and welcome anyone in to Joe's to see me. Just pm me. So somebody in the organization admitted Lou hates Pie and gave the reasons why...to the guy from Joe's Stone Crab? Regardless of who said what to who about what Piniella thought about Pie, Pie's plate discipline is, in fact, pretty bad. Believe what you want but I believe the numbers. His minor league IsoD has ranged from passable to awful so even when he puts up good OBP, it's because he's hitting well over .300. Pie isn't a .300 hitter at the big leagues (he may be one day but he won't be this year) which probably means we're talking about a guy who would, this season, struggle to keep his OBP above .310-.320, and quite possibly have an OBP under .300. That's pretty awful, and I wouldn't be satisfied with that if I had a good chance to make a WS run this year.

If Sabathia could be gotten, you get him, even if it's a rental. Nobody in the Cubs system is a great enough prospect to forego the chance to try a 1-2 of Zambrano and Sabathia in a WS run. The question will be whether the Cubs can offer a better package than someone else. Hendry has some pieces that other teams might like (Hill, Cedeno, Pie, Patterson, Murton, Marshall, Gallagher). He doesn't have a "can't miss" prospect, but a lot of these guys have put up solid ML numbers and everybody always wants young, ML ready pitching.

I really hope Hendry isn't counting on Edmonds to do anything except occupy a spot on the roster and play good defense until he figures out how to actually get production out of CF. Greinke and Penny would both be good pickups for us. I'm all for it. DeJesus I could take or leave. He basically is what we're all hoping Theriot will continue to be, a decent hitter with no power whose value comes from the fact he plays a premium position and gets on base at a good clip.

You could name almost any other CF in MLB and the Cubs would have a better shot at trading for him than Hamilton. This just wouldn't happen.

So is anyone really surprised to here this at all? They've realized Edmonds is done and now realize they've destroyed any chance Pie had to be productive this season by benching him then sending him to Iowa. Lofton has a better chance of being good offensively than Edmonds (that's like saying you have a better shot at surviving in a ship wreck vs. a plain crash but oh well). Lofton's defense, however, won't be as good. If they are seriously giving thought to Lofton, then they had better give some serious thought to some other unconventional solutions such as playing Cedeno in CF or moving Fukudome and trading for a RF. Seattle managed to convince Ichiro to move to CF. I'll bet the Cubs could convince Kosuke to at least try it out. Like vance, I'm hoping for Milton Bradley. He won't light the world on fire but he won't stink up the joint either. Whatever the end solution is, I hope it's neither Jim Edmonds nor Kenny Lofton.