JeffH

And is there a way to follow it? 11 CT http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081211&content_id=3712768&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp You may be able to watch live, but you may need an MLB.TV subscription.

Don't be too confident. Has years of Cubs fandom taught you nothing? Never believe this team is going to do anything--- make the playoffs, acquire a player, win a game-- until it actually happens. Its not even 7:00 there. Hendry is probably just now waking up and noticng hes lying between a show girl and a half eaten rib eye. Or between an empty plate and a half eaten show girl.

I think the silence out of Towers the last day or so means something. Maybe Hendry threatened to beat the life out of him if he didn't dummy up.

End of the day this Friday.

I agree with the evil one.

The linked article says the opposite. I assume it's a mistake by Dierkes.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/sullivan/20081208-9999-1s8sullivan.html Nice quotes there. Vitters and his hand/wrist? I'm guessing there might be something wrong with Veal. Does ridiculously poor command qualify as a "medical issue"?

I'm no business/financial expert, but there may be some issue regarding the money that would be owed to Peavy in future years - it may be viewed as a "liability" and somehow affect the current value of the ballclub and, in turn, the sale. Others may be able to discuss this further.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/sullivan/20081208-9999-1s8sullivan.html Nice quotes there. Vitters and his hand/wrist?

Is Chad Fox Jim Hendry's brother-in-law?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=22&entry_id=33208&tsp=1

That's some imagination you've got there.

no, that's not why he had a high era. not at all. I believe you are misunderstanding his point.

Sifting through Hendry's individual transactions and picking out the good ones (I would even be willing to stipulate that there are more good than bad - it's irrelevant) is not meaningful. With the resources this organization has, there is no reason that the Chicago Cubs should be anything but a perennial powerhouse, winning 90+ games a minimum of six out of every ten seasons, with a couple of 85-90 win seasons in there also. There is also no reason that the Chicago Cubs should have anything but one of the very best farm systems in all of baseball, producing a consistent stream of top major league talent. Just because Jim Hendry is better than the ridiculous collection of knuckleheads who have held the title of Cubs GM over the past 30+ years doesn't make him good. He has some fine qualities, but he has demonstrated that he can't get the job done.

I would, most likely, not be a good MLB GM. That is irrelevant. Jim Hendry is not good at his job.

This is Kerry Freaking Wood, a legitimate difference maker out of the bullpen. If you have to, non-tender Chad Gaudin, Neal Cotts, and Michael Wuertz and get a backup catcher for $0.5 million. Maybe Hendry slept with Sarah Wood and he's trying to get Kerry out of town before he finds out.

Correct.

Now, watch Hendry sign Russ Springer for $4 million as a "veteran reliever".

What an absolute disgrace. In any decently run organization, Hendry would have been fired long, long ago. Of course, the Cubs let this pud puller run the show. Brutal.

Bruce, does Wood have 10-and-5 rights? Right now, he's a free agent. If he signs with the Cubs again, he will have them. I assume that the moment he were to accept an offer of arbitration - even before he "signs a contract" with a defined salary - he would have those rights. True? True. If he accepts arbitration, he's back on the 40-man roster and would have those rights. That's a shame. No chance to trade him if he accepts. Unless Hendry gets some sort of special dispensation from "ownership" (whoever that is at the moment), it seems almost a foregone conclusion that he won't offer arbitration.

Bruce, does Wood have 10-and-5 rights? Right now, he's a free agent. If he signs with the Cubs again, he will have them. I assume that the moment he were to accept an offer of arbitration - even before he "signs a contract" with a defined salary - he would have those rights. True?

Bruce, does Wood have 10-and-5 rights?

None whatsoever taken.

There are two separate days. Today is the deadline for teams to offer arbitration to their former players who declared free agency. Kerry Wood, Jim Edmonds, and Daryle Ward (and others) fall into this category. The other day (this year, December 12th) is sometimes referred to as the deadline for teams to offer contracts for the upcoming season to unsigned players under team control. "Unsigned players under team control" fall into two separate categories - those with enough service time to be eligible for arbitration (Chad Gaudin, Reed Johnson, Michael Wuertz, and others) and those with not enough service time to be eligible for arbitration (Geovany Soto, Sean Marshall, Randy Wells, and others). If the Cubs "offer a contract" to Chad Gaudin, they are, in effect, offering him arbitration (if the two sides cannot otherwise reach an agreement). If the Cubs "offer a contract" to Geovany Soto, they are essentially giving him a take-it-or-leave-it offer, as he has no leverage to negotiate a higher salary. You will sometimes hear this called "renewing a player's contract" and this class of player is sometimes referred to as "auto renewal" players (or "0-3 players", referring to the amount of service time they have). If Soto doesn't like his renewed contract salary, he can swallow hard and play or sit out. The latter is almost never done. Failing to offer a contract to an unsigned player under team control is often called "non-tendering" him, as in not "tendering" (offering) a contract. This can be done to either arb eligible players (fairly common, to avoid paying them an arb-determined salary) or to auto renewal players (extremely uncommon, as there is little incentive to avoid paying them a league-minimum-ish salary). You probably already knew most of this, but I hope this helps. Feel free to add, correct, or clarify as necessary.

I hope he DOES offer. Regardless, he is a poor MLB GM.