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biittner77

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Everything posted by biittner77

  1. biittner77
    I mean yeah Bolland is a 3rd line center and love him or hate him Bobby Lu is an All-Star goalie. But the Hawks are so thin at center as it is. Plus I'm pretty sure the entire Canucks team, front office and fans hate Bolland with a passion. The only people that think Bolland would get traded for Luongo are delusional Canucks fans who still think that they can actually get anything back in a Luongo trade. It's similar to Cub fans that think that Soriano will bring back "top prospects". This time next year, the Hawks probably will be talking about trading Bolland but that depends on the devlopment of possible replacements (Denault and Kruger)
  2. biittner77
    By then, you'd have to figure that one of those 3 NL Central teams would be out of the race. That means that about half the games would be against teams no longer in the race. Either way, numbers as a sept. call up have to be taken with a grain of salt due to sample size whether they're good or bad.
  3. biittner77
    From the prospect that they won't trade for Soriano, if I'm reading him correctly. What we don't know regarding Soriano is what the asking price has been. It's been reported that teams want the Cubs to pay all but 2 million of his remaining salary. If that's the case, than it's not worth it to the Cubs unless they get a player that actually has some legitimate upside. Think of it this way: if roles were reversed and the Cubs were trying to get someone like Soriano, who from our minor league system would you be willing to give up if the other team ate virtually all of the player's salary?
  4. biittner77
    This is the optimal plan. I won't mind this approach at all if that's what they decide to do. On the other hand, there may be some benefit to bringing him up now as opposed to waiting until Sept. Last year, the Padres rushed Rizzo and he struggled. Then he went back to AAA and raked. Rizzo is a more patient hitter than Vitters. However, I don't believe it's going to ruin Vitters to bring him up now and send him down when he struggles. In fact that might actually reinforce the idea that he needs to work on pitch recognition, working counts. There's something to be said for doing that against better competition than he'd see as a Sept. call up when he'd be facing some of the same pitchers that he's already had success against.
  5. biittner77
    I can't say I've paid close attention to the pirates this year but it seems like their offense consists of McCutchen and prayer. How strange is it to see the Pirates on the buying side of a salary dump type trade?
  6. biittner77
    A month ago? In a heartbeat. The way Soriano's playing now, I'd take Snider as the key piece, but try to get something tossed in. We could also expand the deal. They do need pitching. It's a shame that Volstad and Wells both insisted on being God awful instead of settling for bad. Maholm could appeal to them, but the way he's been pitching for us, that 6 mil team option will be a hell of a value, especially considering that we'll likely have to spring for two additional starting pitchers. There's not a single guy in our system, at least the upper levels, that I'm sold on as a big league stater. Struck's the closest, but I wouldn't expect to see him before next September at the earliest. Nobody is giving up anything of value for Soriano. He's on a nice streak right now but he does that from time to time.
  7. biittner77
    Who's saying that? Right now, Soriano isn't blocking anyone. If they are paying virtually his entire salary, they can keep him for the time being then release him in the off season or whenever they have an actual prospect that they want to bring up. I doubt anyone believes that Soriano will actually play out the remaining years of his contract. Lost season or not, they still have to field some semblance of a team.
  8. biittner77
    Cubs can't dump Soriano until they get someone in a trade that can play LF that can actually hit. Why? Because it would be a shame to get below average production from a position right now? Put LaHair there there for now, move DeJesus back to RF and have Campana and friends hold down CF until you callup Jackson. There's no reason to manufacture nonsensical reasons why they can't move Soriano when the opportunity arises. But if you're still paying Soriano- and they'd have to- and getting a lottery ticket back at best, what's the point? I'd rather they sell high on Lahair if they're really going to let Campana be an every day player. As far as Jackson goes, it's hard to say if he'll even be a Sept. call up at this point.
  9. biittner77
    Cubs can't dump Soriano until they get someone in a trade that can play LF that can actually hit. The only in house option would be Vitters but it would be a double mistake to rush him to the majors and take him off 3rd where he has more value.
  10. biittner77
    See also Maholm, Paul. Notably, there wasn't anywhere close to the same reaction as the Maholm signing even though we're paying him significantly more. Because Maholm was a really good value and is a starting pitcher. Reed Johnson wasn't. What is hard to understand about this? Spending any amount of money on 5th outfielders is stupid. We could've used Sappelt in that role. We could've used Campana in that role. It's not about how big of a mistake it is. It's about not making a mistake that didn't need to be made. Great, his numbers look ok because he has faced mostly lefties and has had good BABIP luck. Sweet! Still a completely pointless signing. I always thought that the point of signing Johnson was to buy more time for guys like Sappelt, who would benefit more from starting in AAA than getting 5th OF PT in Chicago.
  11. biittner77
    Wouldn't you prefer they take back Crawford? Otherwise Chicago is back to being stuck with a ridiculous cap hit of $8.0m on goalies. I think the key is getting them to take back some cap crap like Crawford, Montador or Frolik. Sure, but they're already taking back similar salary in Rust eze and they probably prefer a cheaper back up for Schneider. From a purely Hawks standpoint, sure, but I don't see the Nucks taking back Crawford. As for the cap hit, if Luongo does want to play that long, there are ways of getting out of cap hits like that eg. sending Huet to Europe.
  12. biittner77
    If I can embrace Jim Edmonds in a Cubs uniform, I think I could live with Luongo in a Hawks sweater. There's a pretty good chance he retires before the end of that contract. It's a lot like Hossa's deal in that respect. It really depends on what they have to give up to get him. The asking price had been high but everyone knows that both the player and the team want to part ways. If they took back Emery and rust-eze plus Frolik and maybe a draft pick that might be ok. They seem to want more than that. If I had to guess, I'd say that no deal gets done.
  13. biittner77
    Both the Bulls and Hawks offseasons have been a giant disappointment so far. Still time though.... I never expected Parise and didn't really want Suter for what he wound up costing in terms of years. I'm excited about the draft as I think they got a real steal in the 1st round. All they need to do now is replace one goalie on the current roster and it's pretty hard to argue that they're not the best team in their division. It would be more reassuring if they got another 2 way forward but as long as Hossa returns they've already got a very good top 6 if Saad is ready. Some things to consider: Stalberg is playing for a new contract and took a big step last season. Leddy should only get better. If they keep Monty and Hjammer, they have better depth on the blue line and Q won't have to ride Marlboro 72 into the ground for 29 minutes a night. If Crawford rebounds from his sophomore slump enough to be even league average, this teams wins the central.
  14. biittner77
    That won't happen. The Hawks score plenty already. They really don't need scoring as much as defense/goaltending. With the contracts that are flying around out there for defense, I'd put a qualifying offer out on Shea Weber. I don't believe they can do that since they sent their 3rd round pick next year for Oduya. If they made a qualifying offer big enough that the Preds couldn't/ wouldn't match, the Hawks would lose their 1st and 3rd picks as comp. They have to be your own picks too, not ones that they'd get for say Frolik. That sure ties up a lot of cap space for the Wild. At least now we'll see how the rest of the FA s shke out.
  15. biittner77
    Suter going to Detroit doesn't bother me, considering the guy he's replacing. Parise going there too means that they will be good. They usually are anyway so in a weird way I'd rather they go to scum than Minn. I don't see them going after Nash unless the asking price comes down. As much as Doan is no Parise, he should at least appease the HIT SOMEBODY! SHOOT! crowd with the added sandpaper, grit, toughness or whatever you want to call it. He also is a short term bridge to the up and coming talent like Saad.
  16. biittner77
    According to Capgeek, those 4 total up to 9.4 mil. But also, replacing 2 of those 4 players (with Suter and Parise being the other 2 replacements) with minor league fodder ads about another million to the payroll doesnt it? So we'd still be 1.6 short right? And that's only if we got rid of those original 4 for nothing tangible, which I guess is doable if we trade for prospects, draft picks, 2 way players. I'm not sure. All of the guys on that roster are signed but I'm not sure how/ where they count against the cap. Gooney is right that neither are worth 9 million. I was figuring high end as worst case scenario. If they each took 8 that would be a pretty good pay day and stays under the cap though realistically, 7.5 is more in line with what the Hawks should be comfortable doing. I can't help thinking, and maybe it's wishful on my part, that all of the Parise to the Pens has been a negotiating ploy to get a better offer from the Devils since going to the Pens would be 2nd only to the Rangers in terms of worst case scenarios. He did say, at one point, staying was his first choice. Everybody says that though.
  17. biittner77
    I cannot personally see a way we could afford both Parise and Suter without having to trade someone like Kane. And maybe that is their thought process. If they land either Parise or Suter or both, Kaner could be gone. assuming they each got 9 mil per, that's 11 million in space they'd have to clear. Hammer + Montador + Stalberg + Frolik should add up to about 11 million line up becomes: Toews- Parise- Hossa Kane- Saad- Sharp Bolland- Bickell - Shaw Kruger- Mayers- Carcillo/Bollig/ Hayes Keith - Seabrook Suter - Oduaya Leddy - Brookbank/ Olsen
  18. biittner77
    I'd be shocked if the bolded part happened, ie dumping him for little return.
  19. biittner77
    New drinking game: every time someone says overpay and defenseman in the same sentence, drink. You'll be drunker than Foley in 15 minutes. Defensemen are the LH relievers of today's NHL, someone is always willing to overpay. Drink.
  20. biittner77
    In the general scheme of things, is this any worse than the Reggie Jackson starting in RF when he's DHed all season and is batting .220?
  21. biittner77
    FWIW, I hadn't heard any buzz at all from any O's fans around here. People around here still tend to think about Soriano as that guy that had that great season for the Nats way back when and haven't been paying attention to the last years years as a Cub. So maybe people thought it would happen because management wouldn't have to sell the idea to the fan base.
  22. biittner77
    When someone offers someone of at least equal talent back, in other words probably never maybe, but the potential for a PPG season is one heck of a dimension Kane has a bad season by his standards but still had about 67 points. The Hawks were 5th in the league in scoring. If they really did need more scoring, why trade away one of their top scorers? If they do nothing at all on the blue line, they're already better than last season if they have a healthy Montador and Leddy continues to develop and adds some size. If you're saying you'd like a better goalie option, I can't disagree.
  23. biittner77
    Staal said he won't sign an extension with whatever team gets him in a trade. The feeling is he wants to sign as an UFA with Carolina. The Pens probably just keep him for their cup run and hope he changes his mind. kinda right, kinda wrong. staal traded to carolina for sutter, dumoulin, and the 8th pick which turned out to be pouliot. quite a haul for the pens, bastards. A pretty dumb move by Carolina who held all the cards in that negotiation.
  24. biittner77
    Staal said he won't sign an extension with whatever team gets him in a trade. The feeling is he wants to sign as an UFA with Carolina. The Pens probably just keep him for their cup run and hope he changes his mind.
  25. biittner77
    Right, that's why I like Bollig. Like Eager, he can actually skate a little. Not a lot, but along with his fists he deserves a roster spot. I guess I can live with Bollig spending most nights in the press box since they have shown that they want someone in that role . I just don't see him cracking the 4th line ahead of Carcillo or Shaw. It gets even harder for him if Kane actually sticks at center since that moves Kruger to the mix for the 4th line which in turn moves Mayers to wing.
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