Cubzfan64

That was the original rumor I heard going on as soon as he was designated for reassignment so I was surprised the other day when I heard the Cubs mentioned. My guess is since I only caught part of the conversation they were probably only trying to come up with teams where he would get his chance to start rather than be a 4th outfielder. The Oakland thing does seem odd to me in that it's likely he won't get any more playing time there than he did in Boston, but I guess he doesn't have any say in where he gets traded to. I do know that he was pretty vocal in Boston and apparently rumor has it he got in Francona's face about playing him or trade him near the end.

I'm going with the "in their prime" context as well: 1. Rafael Palmeiro - position player (put him in RF) 2. Lee Smith - solidify the closer spot 3. Mark Grace - bench only because I'd love to see him come up with the games on the line. If it has to be a "true" bench player, I guess I would pick Glenallen Hill

You never know.... perhaps a "demotion" to the minor leagues after having such a taste of the big leagues will be what Corey needs to really get through to him on what it's going to take for him to reach his potential. I'm also not that encouraged by his comments, but actions speak louder than words so I'm still hopeful he can become the player he SHOULD be based on the raw talent. I just keep thinking that if the right hitting coach can get through to him - someone he respects and trusts - he'll get back on track. I'm not ready to give up on him yet - especially now that his trade value is likely at an all time low. There's very little to gain and potentially alot to lose by shuffling him off as an add on to another team. He's a darn frustrating ballplayer to root for because you see the potential talent flash often enough to get you hopeful but he just can't seem to get over that hump.

I heard a couple guys on the local sports station in Boston mention the Cubs and Yankees as potential suitors for Jay Payton. I caught only a brief part of the conversation so I couldn't tell if this was an actual rumor or something they just happened to think might work. Anyone closer to the Cubs or Chicago media heard anything at all about this?

I couldn't help myself - I turned the volume back on and the first thing I see is Moises Alou and some stats on Filipe, Matty and Moises as All Stars - did I hear correctly that Buck said that at one time in the 60's all 3 were playing in the outfield in the ML at the same time or did I mishear something? Wouldn't that make Moises somewhere around 60+ years old?

That was a neat advertisement with Tiger Woods - bad for the advertiser though because it was so good and kept my attention so well that I have no idea what the ad was for :-P

Wow - THAT was an All Star play by Castillo at 2B

Oh, I think he was there - at least early in the season. I imagine having an offense behind you that can score buckets of runs at the drop of a hat can have an affect on how you approach pitching - you don't have to force yourself to try to be "perfect" with every pitch.

Yah, for whatever reason the AL just has had much better offenses the past few years, their pitching has been good enough and the NL pitching has been somewhat sucky - all together it means AL wins and NL losses And wasn't there that rumor last year that the reason Clemens gave up 6 first inning runs was that Piazza was tipping off the AL hitters? Hehe - I hadn't heard that, but I do remember that as much as I wanted the NL to win last year it was hilarious seeing Roger getting clocked!!

Yah, for whatever reason the AL just has had much better offenses the past few years, their pitching has been good enough and the NL pitching has been somewhat sucky - all together it means AL wins and NL losses

Nice pick off throw and tag

Dang, that would have been a slick DP if Lee had come up with that one - tough play though as he was moving off the base, just saying it would have been pretty cool to see.

I know the game "counts" now, but I don't want to see Ramirez hurt himself on a weird slide into 1B or something - it would however be typical Chicago Cubs luck. How bad is a foot-first slide? He was pretty far to the right of the bag as he ran down the line - it would have had to be some kind of odd hook slide for him to reach the base. Besides, he got tagged a few steps down the line from 1B, if he had tried to slide, my guess is he would have come up short of the base.

With his cranky groin and various other aches. No thanks LOL, "cranky groin" - I'm gonna have to use that one on my wife and see what happens :-P

I know the game "counts" now, but I don't want to see Ramirez hurt himself on a weird slide into 1B or something - it would however be typical Chicago Cubs luck.

Alou and Sosa werent all that bad at the ASG last year. Yah, you're right - I guess I was thinking about all the times Sammy went there and looked overmatched

There we go!!! Way to go Carlos!!! LOL Seriously, it's nice to see Cub hitters not look like crap at the plate in the AS game for a change.

When is his contract up? He's due for a BIG raise. I'm not sure, but I think he signed that contract when he came to Boston from Minnesota - I'd have to look it up, but I believe he still has at least 2 years left on that.

I usually don't pay alot of attention to the All Star games although I watch them casually each year. I honestly didn't realize the AL has won the last 9 WS in a row - that's actually pretty amazing!

One of the very best "bargains" in MLB...... David Ortiz - $5.25 million/year

Just a quick tip for you fans out there..... The game is alot more enjoyable with the sound turned off - why is it that I hate so many "big time" baseball announcers???? Buck McCarver Joe Morgan Chris Berman They all irritate the heck out of me!

What a fricking tool!!! (not you!!) was it Joe Buck that did that or McCarver?? Either way, one is a complete idiot for not getting it right and the other's a moron for not catching the mistake. For that matter, NOBODY said anything to him to correct him??? What a jack&^*

In this day and age I always hate to see a team move a young, inexpensive better than average arm for any position player - mostly because even better than average pitching is just so dang hard to come by and in the long run it's pretty tough to win a championship just by bashing the ball - you need the good starting pitching in most cases. If we had a guy or two of very good talent ready to come up to the big club and pitch, I would say Zambrano would be one of the few players we have who could truly bring us good talent in return in a trade, but I don't see us having those arms down on the farm to replace, and I dislike the idea of trying to build a winning team by overpaying for free agent pitchers. The Cubs really have alot of options open to them and quite a bit depends on what happens before the trade deadline. It's my wish more than anything that we either have a very hot streak and force Hendry's hand to make a good deal or two that puts us back on the map as serious contenders, or I hope we have a terrible losing streak that forces us to play some youngers to see what they can do for us in 2006 and trade a little of our big club talent for things that might help us in 2006/2007. The worst thing that could happen is that we flounder through until the end of the month and we either sit still and not do anything, or we make some desperation moves. Back to the question - would I trade Z for Abreu - yes, I think deep down I would do that, but it would seriously hinge on me finding a really good arm somewhere that would help us right away next year (be that as a free agent or whatever). Gambling is all risk and reward - the higher the risk, the higher the potential reward. It's risky to give up Z because he has the potential to be the next ace starter, but if you get something back that's a "known" quantity like Abreu, it's certainly something to think about. In most cases, I would rather risk the potential talent for a known commodity. You just have to be able to stomach the fact that you might be trading a Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio now and then - I think in the long run though, as long as you evalute the "known" commodity you are trading for correctly, you end up on the winning side of those trades more often than not. Sorry for the long winded answer :-(

My guess is that by the time he hangs up the cleats he will have 600+ homers and still be the only player with 4 strait years of 50+ homers, etc. Those numbers alone will make him a first ballot Hall of Famer unless there is significant proof of steriods, etc. He may not be the most beloved player among his peers or the media, but his accomplishments cannot be ignored unless dismissed as steroid enhanced, etc. I understand what you're saying, and his streak of 50+ homer seasons (as well as breaking the Maris record) would put him in good standing, but I just have this weird feeling that alot of the folks who vote for the HOF will hold off because of the steroid potential - I honestly don't know if Sammy ever did them or not and I doubt we will ever really know. What I do know is that Sosa was amazing during the years where apparently steroid use was/is in serious question and his numbers changed drastically at a very inopurtune time for him because of the questions. His body shape in 2005 seems different to me too (and I've heard it mentioned numerous times by other people as well). I just think there are alot of baseball "purists" out there who vote for the HOF who will tend to not giving him the benefit of the doubt rather than looking past it. Who knows - I guess we'll find out in a few years.

Possible - isn't Julio Franco actually going on 72? :wink: