JeffH

I'm not one of these characters that thinks that Soriano "stinks", but I don't want him. Take the money you'd pay him and put it toward A.J. Burnett.

Guys, I think we've made our point. Sorry if it seems like we're picking on you, Rich. The 40-man roster currently stands at 40. Wood is on. Moore is on. Neither Eyre nor Howry are on.

Rich, look above.

Rich, you're misinterpreting that link. There's no such thing as the "40-man active roster". The asterisks that show that a certain player is not on the active roster are a carryover from the regular season. They indicate which guys on the 40-man are not on the 25-man.

AND the whole italic part? Not necessary. I know that part is false.

AND the whole italic part? Not necessary. I know that part is false.

Eyre and Howry are on the 40 man active roster. Aardsma is not at this point. Please provide your supporting documentation for the bolded part of your statement.

Not true. Eyre and Howry have been announced and they're not on the 40-man roster yet.

Floyd for Patterson.

Even with his crappy offensive number he still had around a .340 OBP which is about 60 points higher than Neifi, and JH just gave him 2.5 mil/yr. I would have much rather had Hairston as the main backup to second base than Perez. Fair enough, but each move should be evaluated and considered on its own and not compared against some other foolish move. Hairston won't be worth the money he gets. Trade him, if you can.

Could I impose upon you to provide a link? The Trib article I'm reading doesn't say that.

I don't know how the Cubs really feel about Hairston, but I don't want him back next season because he's going to get $2-$2.5. Wave goodbye to him.

Why was he injured? Why was he terrible on the road? You're awfully confident for having little information to go by.

The article I'm reading says: The Cubs have mild interest in free-agent outfielder Preston Wilson, whom they pursued at the trading deadline before acquiring and dumping Matt Lawton. I don't know from where ftc got the passage he referenced.

I wouldn't write Hairston's name in ink just yet.

Wood is not on the 60-day DL. After Howry and Mabry sign, the roster will stand at 43 (but not really). Eyre has not yet been officially added to the roster. I assume that there is some deadline for doing that (and for Howry and Mabry, too), but I don't know what that is. Certainly these guys will have to be added to the roster before the Rule 5 draft on December 8th and possibly much earlier than that.

Furcal is not great. He is, however, unique. Need a leadoff hitter that gets on base pretty well? Furcal. Want to add a high percentage basestealer and generally improve your team speed? Furcal. Want to greatly improve your defense up the middle? Furcal. Jeff's offer to Furcal: $38/4 guaranteed. Fifth and sixth years vest at $10 each with 1200 plate appearances combined in the third and fourth years. If the combined fifth and sixth year vesting is not reached, the fifth year vests at $10 with 500 plate appearances in the fourth year. If the fifth year does not vest, Cubs have an option for the fifth year at $12. If the Cubs decline that option, Furcal has an option for the fifth year at $8. If either the fifth year vests (but not the sixth year) or the Cubs exercise their option on the fifth year, a sixth year structured just like the fifth year is added. A sixth year is not added if the Cubs decline their fifth year option and Furcal exercises his.

I don't, but a team trading for a player needs to do its due diligence when said player suffers a huge power dropoff and some injury issues the year that mandatory steroid testing is implemented.

If there's no reason to believe that Wilkerson was on steroids, he would fit beautifully in RF for us.

.350/.484 will be marginal for our 2006 RF? Man, you are in for a major letdown.

But Hendry has been all about depth, in rotation, in relief, and in the infield. Not so much in the outfield, though. :(

Carmen Pignatiello? Zero value.

Among the guys who could get a look in the major league Rule 5 draft are: lefty reliever Russ Rohlicek (Cubs); righthanders Rafael Rodriguez (Angels), Billy Sadler (Giants), Bob Zimmermann (Angels); catcher John Jaso (Devil Rays); first basemen Ryan Mulhern (Indians) and Brandon Sing (Cubs); and outfielders Adam Boeve (Pirates) and Jason Cooper (Indians). Twins righthander David Shinskie had a 7.22 ERA in 2005, but he also had arguably the best arm on a very talented low Class A Beloit staff and might get a bite. Callis is usually more reliable than this. Rohlicek was removed from the Cubs' 40-man roster. He was passed through waivers. Any team could have had him if they were willing to merely put him on their 40-man roster. Why would they take him in the Rule 5 draft three weeks later and be subject to the restrictions and requirements it brings? Sing was a six-year minor league free agent. Any team could have offered to sign him and put him on their 40-man roster. It doesn't seem as though any team made him such an offer. I suppose it's possible that a team did and Sing said, "No thanks. I'd rather stay with my hometown team even though they don't value me enough to roster me.", but that seems extremely unlikely. If that did happen, a team could take him in the Rule 5 draft "against his wishes", but that seems truly far-fetched.

Not official.

I would have liked to have seen at least one of Greenburg and Fontenot on our bench but I think there's a chance none of them are even in the Cibs org after Rule 5. I'll bet you my house against $10,000 of yours that Mike Fontenot is not selected in the Rule 5 draft.