JeffH

What good are you?

The only person that can say for sure that Jake Peavy is not going to the Braves is Jake Peavy himself. Maybe that's Donnie's source.

Assume that everything you read in this thread is nonsense and you'll be golden.

Andy Dolan is very, very dumb.

I can't speak for "everyone", but I'm perfectly fine with it.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2008-11-06-peavy_N.htm?csp=34 With hearing how impatient the Braves are being in this deal, it's obviously them. If no trade has been made by the 14th then maybe it means the Braves are out? I thought it'd be us, since we want to get a deal with Dempster done before that date? Hendry is not a "set a deadline" kind of fellow.

What do you expect when you have one of the worst amateur player procurement and development organizations in baseball?

Have I ever mentioned that John Perrotto is very, very dumb?

Definitely. The bullpen is nowhere near being a disaster or even really a liability. Bullpen pitchers are typically such crapshoots anyway. The Cubs hae a bunch of cheaps guys they can plug in there...sign Wood, boom, done. Even if we sign Wood, there's still too much uncertainty in bullpens from year to year to call it a mess or solid. Wuertz could pitch like a dominant closer, or he could have a year that justifies him getting sent back to AAA, options be damned. We still have to find a replacement for Howry whether or not we keep Wood, and who knows if Wood would make it the year and be that great. Marmol may look like Cy-Young Gagne next year, or he could turn into Latroy when put in that closers spot. Gaudin is prone to hot and cold streaks as well, and I think will also do some starting next year as a 6th man. Hart, Ascanio, Ceda, Cotts, Shark, Gooz are all good enough where they could be outstanding contributors to the pen next year, or any or all of them could suck. Such is the fickle nature of bullpens, and why it's not a good idea to throw alot of money at them. It's better to throw a lot of guys at them, and hope you get a good idea early on who is in for a good season. Either way, I don't support calling the bullpen a "mess," we're potentially in as good of shape or as bad of shape as any other offseason as far as the pen goes in recent history. If anything, we're in good shape, as we have at least one guy who should be the lights-out stopper type. That's a good starting point in and of itself. I'd like to get one more decent BP arm via FA or trade in the 2 million range (or maybe 2 if Wood isn't brought back), as we've got 6 good young candidates to relieve, but I wouldn't count on more than maybe 2-3 of them sticking at most at any given time. I don't count Marshall as a potential BP arm, as I think he's a sure bet to be traded in one deal or another. I don't consider the bullpen to be a concern, especially if they bring back Wood. Just eliminating Howry should make them better. If you have Wood in the fold, here is a list of potential bullpen candidates: Wood Marmol Samardzija Guzman Gaudin Wuertz Cotts Cashner Ceda Veal Leave the bottom three guys in the minors to start the season, and you have a very solid 7 man bullpen. I'm sure another lefty reliever will be on the priority list, since Cotts is the only real threat to break camp with the team at this point. Ascanio, Hart, Wells, Caridad, and Roquet.

No offense to Dallas, but did anyone else hear this? I find it rather hard to believe that Towers would say that. He definitely said it. Thanks, David. That's some wild stuff.

No offense to Dallas, but did anyone else hear this? I find it rather hard to believe that Towers would say that.

Josh Vitters, Drew Rundle. Tony Thomas, Brandon Guyer, Jovan Rosa, Starlin Castro, Junior Lake, Dae-Eun Rhee, James Russell? I was thinking more Hernandez and Suarez. Forgot Suarez and was going to go in and edit him in, not sure how valuable Robert Hernandez is. Welington Castillo? Marquez Smith? Ryan Flaherty? Alessandro Maestri.

I wonder if Olsen could be a piece in a Peavy trade.

Jim sure has athletic prowess. Evidence that golf and bowling are not "sports"? Jim Hendry is good at them.

The difference in picks is pretty negligible(unless Affeldt is the reliever signed), and I didn't include the return on Lee both for simplicity's sake and so that we didn't get into a "we're getting too much/little for Lee" debate, which wasn't my intention. Sort of. Losing two type A players and signing 2 others does have its advantages. If the Cubs did that, they would: lose their first and 2nd round pick but they would gain Anaheim's first rounder, Arizona's 2nd rounder (I believe Arizona is the last team whose 1st round pick is protected), and 2 sandwich picks. So the Cubs would pick up 2 extra high picks with the swap. It would be even better if the 2nd type A free agent was also among the best 15 teams and they would effectively swap their 2nd for another team's first. Even if it just is 2 extra sandwich picks though, that is still significant. Dempster to LAA and Wood to ARZ, or vice versa?

It's really only a $6 million decision.

Ah, the three-way trade proposal in which our team winds up with the two best players in the deal. It must be November.

If Hendry whiffs on Peavy because he doesn't want to relinquish Vitters, he's an even worse GM than I believe.

I believe that Jim Hendry is a horrible GM, but even I don't think he'll do this.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/transactions

General Manager, but we whiffed on that one.

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_baseball_marlins/2008/10/trade-front.html OK, but can he play?

Seems like they're playing pretty fast and loose with the term "rising star".

Which Bruce? Good Bruce or Dumb Bruce?

That's a shame.