Bruce Miles

Jim Hendry is not an idiot. He is, however, a very bad MLB GM. Good morning, Bruce. Bruce, what's up with Kosuke? Is this Royals interest genuine? Royals probably do have interest. They have a connection, with their manager. They also got some revenue-sharing dough to burn.

Thank you. Hey, are the GM's up yet or are they still sleeping after Pacman Jones took them out last night? Good question. Haven't seen any GMs. The writers get to enjoy lunch with Lou in a few minutes. Then he holds his winter-meetings media session. Should be fun.

Enjoy: http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=90141

The word "untouchable" was the writer's choice. Jim never uttered the word "untouchable." All he said was "We're not trading Pie, and we're not trading Fuld." That doesn't mean they'd never consider it. At this point, both players figure somehow into their plans. At some point, sooner or later, one or both could get traded if something comes along. I think we're making much too much over some of Jim's comments. I didn't weigh in on the "Life would be easier..." thread, but Jim said it partially in jest and with a chuckle (I didn't use the quote in my story). Yes, they would prefer a left-handed hitter, and yes things would be different if Murton were left-handed. And you've got to remember that these comments are made off-the-cuff and in group sessions where sometimes questions come one right after the other. You may disagree with Hendry and the organizational philosophy, but comments such as these, especially given the context in which they're made, don't make someone an idiot.

Bruce loves the limelight. Or is it that he loves the night life and that he likes to boogie? I keep forgetting. Actually, "Limelight" is one of my favorite songs from my favorite band, Rush. But enough about me. OMG my new favorite writer, as I listen to Counterparts. I either gain friends or lose 'em because of Rush (and maybe even the Cubs). The new Rush album is a good one.

I thought the new CBA made it a 40% cut. Not if you're a 5-plus guy, as is Prior.

We've heard that a number of teams are interested and Prior's name has come up with a number of teams. Do you have any sense for how much they could get for him? For example, if he could net the caliber of B+ prospect they got for Ohman/Infante, would that be surprisingly good return? Or would you expect more? There was a San Diego rumor, for example, with three B prospect names included. I have no idea what Prior's market is worth at this point. Would the Cubs be lucky to get one B or B+ prospect? Or is there enough interest that they might harvest a couple of pretty interesting prospects? Any feeling? Or is the interest really misleading, and nobody's really offering any more than one Pignatiello or Jake Fox type C prospect? Seems to me they'd probably like to resolve things either way, preferably before the 12th. But if the rumored interest is at all accurate, it would seem that there must be teams who think he's worth the tender price even if the Cubs don't. So I don't see why the 12th needs to really be a deadline. Tender him, and you can still trade him later even if you still can never reach a mutually satisfactory contract. Tender him, but remember, you can't cut him more than 20 percent. The Cubs would love to non-tender him and sign him back the next day at a lesser deal. That's what they did with Michael Barrett in December 2003. They traded for him, non-tendered him and then re-signed him. Prior made $3.575 million this year. If he's tendered, whoever has him runs the risk of paying him a ton of dough for him to rehab into the seaon and then risk losing him. Any team will want some give from Prior.

They should have it wrapped up one way or another by Dec. 12. They're getting a good amount of interest from other teams. They've got to see if they can come to some reasonable deal. If Prior were a four-plus guy rather than a five-plus guy, this would be less complex. The fact that he can leave after 2008 changes things from both sides' perspectives. Any idea what are the odds of him staying? Oh and muchos gracias senor! Odds, I'd say, are 40-60 of him staying. They'd like to get something in return if he won't agree to a year plus a team option deal.

They will not actively pursue a LH reliever from outside. No free agent, but if one is part of a trade, they'll listen. They're not looking to dump Cedeno. They still see value and the possibility he can beat out Theriot. Once RF gets done, they're about settled. Swisher seems way, way out of the question. The A's will want half the universe for him considering he's a cornerstone of the team. You're right in thinking most of the talks are exploratory. Most of these explorations, such as will happen with Roberts, end up nowhere. But teams have to ask.

They should have it wrapped up one way or another by Dec. 12. They're getting a good amount of interest from other teams. They've got to see if they can come to some reasonable deal. If Prior were a four-plus guy rather than a five-plus guy, this would be less complex. The fact that he can leave after 2008 changes things from both sides' perspectives.

Well, considering you also showed your age with this last response, I suppose that is enough about you. Of course, I'm probably older and have likely been to more Rush shows than you. :D I attended three Rush shows this past summer and have been to 13 since 1976, when I was 19.

Bruce loves the limelight. Or is it that he loves the night life and that he likes to boogie? I keep forgetting. Actually, "Limelight" is one of my favorite songs from my favorite band, Rush. But enough about me.

Pralines and cream. "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

Still waiting for his decision. The Cubs will be able to outbid most other interested teams. I look at this as a Soriano-type situation, where the Cubs will come out blazing from the get-go and make a big offer.

Oh, I thought you were going to say the Cubs owed the Reds a favor for hiring Dusty. 8-) Actually, I had a nice little chat with Dusty today. The Cubs claim they haven't talked to the Reds about Hamilton. I do know that Lou likes him and got excited when he heard he might be available.

Possibly, but I don't think they're real hot after him.

Nothing imminent. Yes, I am in Nashville. The Cubs never were considering Dempster to Toronto. That was a media creation. They say they've not talked to the Reds about Hamilton. They're not trading Rich Hill or Felix Pie. So, what are they doing? Hey Bruce, Maybe they are going to do exactly what Hendry said he was going to do. He's going to push strongly for Fukodome and if he can't get him, he said he has "an inventory" of players that he's going to use to find a left-handed bat or two via trade: I took that to mean these players are being shopped: Cotts Guzman Marquis Marshall Mateo Ohman Petrick Prior Fox Cedeno Fontenot Infante Murton Pagan Patterson I'd say this post and those names are quite accurate. You can scratch Ohman off the list, Hoops. :D

http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/wm/archives/2007/12/bedard_long_sho.html#more I don't see this happening at all. Baltimore wants way more than what the Cubs want to give up. They'll start by asking for Hill and Marmol. The Cubs are trading neither. Bedard will end up elsewhere if MacPhail moves him at all.

Always hard to predict that. If they find out Fukudome is coming over here, they'll focus on that. So much hinges on that. That's the thing, by trading JJ so early we've really put all our eggs into Fukudome's basket. If we don't land Fukudome, has Jim thrown around any other names in your presence as a backup plan? No, this organization is pretty tight-lipped about whom it's going after. They've not volunteered anything. Hard to say if anything around baseball is "near completion" because the talks are so fluid. Bruce, Does all the speculation and subsequent confirmation-seeking make these meetings interesting/exciting or just an undesirable necessity for you? I imagine it starts with energy but grinds you down by Friday once the meetings have ended. Thanks for all the input! The winter meetings tend to wear on everybody after a few days. This place here is so huge it's hard to find anybody, and it takes 10 minutes just to walk from the media workroom to the lobby of the Cubs hotel, and it's all in the same complext. The speculation is all part of it, and it's what makes following baseball fun. You get tired of chasing baseless stuff, but that comes with it. I'm hapy when the week is over, yes.

Always hard to predict that. If they find out Fukudome is coming over here, they'll focus on that. So much hinges on that. That's the thing, by trading JJ so early we've really put all our eggs into Fukudome's basket. If we don't land Fukudome, has Jim thrown around any other names in your presence as a backup plan? No, this organization is pretty tight-lipped about whom it's going after. They've not volunteered anything. Hard to say if anything around baseball is "near completion" because the talks are so fluid.

Always hard to predict that. If they find out Fukudome is coming over here, they'll focus on that. So much hinges on that.

I'd believe what Bruce says over anything spewing out of Bruce Levine's mouth or MLBTradeRumors. They're not always wrong, but rumors like Nick Swisher are just flat-out off-base. I haven't heard McLouth. I'll ask, but he's not seen as a starter. I believe the infield thing has cooled and that they'd be happy with status quo.

Nothing imminent. Yes, I am in Nashville. The Cubs never were considering Dempster to Toronto. That was a media creation. They say they've not talked to the Reds about Hamilton. They're not trading Rich Hill or Felix Pie. So, what are they doing? They're working on stuff just as every other team is. We need the disclaimer here about taking two parties to agree to get a deal done. It ain't that easy.

Nothing imminent. Yes, I am in Nashville. The Cubs never were considering Dempster to Toronto. That was a media creation. They say they've not talked to the Reds about Hamilton. They're not trading Rich Hill or Felix Pie.

The Royals aren't doing this trade.