BigbadB

I don't dislike MacPhail at all, but you must admit that his slow moving pace and his overvaluing his players can be really annoying. I think he might be the wrong man for the job to rebuild the O's if you are an impatient O's fan. He might get it done, but it won't be done quickly. MacPhail does appear to be quite slow moving when making a trade, but I don't know if all the blame should be directed at him for this Peavy fiasco. 1) Cubs ownership is in flux 2) Cubs budget is currently higher than it should be for a team that is looking to add players 3) More than 1 team is needed to finish the deal 4) Other players appear to need to be traded in order for this particular trade to work for the Cubs 5) The market has been moving slowly for everyone due to the economy 6) Towers is getting raped on this Peavy deal no matter what. I can understand their slow response. 7) SP is honestly not the Cubs biggest need at this point, which requires Hendry to be working on more than just Peavy. 8) There are other teams Hendry can look to to get the package of players the Padres need. 9) Hendry might actually be required to actually move some payroll before a deal for Peavy goes down so as not to be stuck with a higher payroll than is allowed. 10) I'm sure there are plenty more, but I'm still on my first cup of java this am. MacPhail's name only really came up toward the tail end of last week. Towers is the one that has been the slow mover at this point, even though he was pretty clear in the early going that he wanted to get something done as soon as possible so that he could focus on the rest of the team's needs. I can't blame Towers for still being where he is at. He's partially to blame for giving Peavy no trade rights, but at the same time, Moores is the one who is forcing Peavy to be moved. I want this to be over as much as the next guy, but this is a very complicated situation. Even though Towers is forced to trade Peavy, and the Cubs appear to be the only real suitor, Hendry is still not the type of GM that will kick Towers in the nads with his current predicament. Hendry will see to it that Towers gets fair value for Peavy. In the big picture, that would probably be wise anyway. I would think a strong working relationship with small market teams who can't keep their high priced talent would be quite valuable in future dealings.

Personally, I don't put all that much stock into a GM's post season record. It's the GM's job to put a team on the field that can consistently get to the postseason. Obviously, the stronger the team the better. It's the players and managers who then need to continue to play in the playoffs the way they played all season.

Yeah, I probably should have elaborated a bit more on that. Houston certainly isn't a small market team, but their ownership has been spending frugally of late, thereby making them appear more like a smaller market team than they really are or should be. St. Louis has been the same way lately.

Very sad.

Only if they've completely forgotten what made them such a good team throughout the entire '90's and halfway through the '00's. I honestly can't figure out what they are trying to do. If there really was a huge window of opportunity right now, I could see going for it. But, Philadelphia is coming off a World Series victory and should be even better in '09 and you know the Mets will be spending freely this offseason with a pretty strong supporting cast already in the fold. It just doesn't make sense.

That's some imagination you've got there. So you hate every GM and not just Hendry? Did they kick your dog? Consistency is a virtue.

Go Braves, Go Braves!!!

I will go ahead and agree with Goony that a monkey could have put a competitive team on the field 5 out of 6 years, along with making the postseason 3 of those 6 years, given the resources Hendry has had to work with. Payroll has nearly doubled since Hendry took over and he already had a fairly stocked team of regulars and a highly rated farm system. What I have found to be the most troublesome with Hendry's tenure as the Cubs GM, is his constantly changing philosophies of building a winner. To me, he's been extremely narrow minded with what type of player can help him now and in the future. He gives the perception of tunnel vision when it comes to "getting his man", even if a better man is available and at his disposal. The lame quotes like "guys who can catch the ball" and "left handed power hitter" are only the tip of the iceberg with the problems I've had with Hendry over the years. I won't call it all bad. I like a lot of the players Hendry has brought to this team. At times, he's looked like a magician. However, over his full body of work, he just isn't getting the job done. Winning divisions when 4/5 of the teams in your division are crappy small market teams going nowhere ever isn't really the best indicator of your body of work. Switch us with Boston and Boston is winning more than 100 games a year while we are struggling to break .500. Epstein is a good GM. Hendry, not so much.

I guess there's always hope for improvement. At the same time, I've said from day 1 that he shouldn't bat any higher than 8th in the order. If he's a high risk to be caught stealing, do it from the bottom of the order. If he's a high risk to hit into a GIDP, let him do it from the bottom of the order. If he's got a respectable OBP, let him get on base in front of Soriano.

If Marshall ends up in a package to the Padres, I think Samardzija is in the Iowa rotation to start '09. Possibly Gaudin, also. I don't think you can go into the '09 season with so little depth in the starting rotation. If the Cubs get Peavey and they don't deal Marquis they will be fine even if they have to trade Marshall. Z Harden Lilly Peavey Dempster ---------- Marquis Gaudin I'm not sure what to make of Samardzija as a starter, but I think he'll be needed in the bullpen with Wood gone. Well, from everything we have been reading, the Peavy deal is contigent on the Cubs freeing up money, which means Marquis is gone. That leaves Samardzija and Gaudin as your only real options to fill in if someone in the rotation gets hurt. Guzman is done as a starter. Veal will be on some teams 25 man roster for at least a few months, if not all year as a LOOGY. I would guess Gaudin will be the long man in the pen and Samardzija will be getting stretched out in Iowa. I'm sure the Cubs can find someone off the scrap heap for dirt cheap, but I wouldn't expect it to be anyone decent enough. Maybe a Jerome Williams type guy.

I don't really see all that many "middle range FA starters" as being available. Even guys like Oliver Perez and Jon Garland are going to command dollars that small market teams can't afford. I suppose there could be a few nontenders out there, but it would be a real shocker that teams are so fruitful with starting pitchers that they can afford to nontender one. A guy like Randy Johnson isn't going to sign with KC. He'll get a deal with a team that has a reasonable chance to make the playoffs, or he will take his toys and go home.

If Marshall ends up in a package to the Padres, I think Samardzija is in the Iowa rotation to start '09. Possibly Gaudin, also. I don't think you can go into the '09 season with so little depth in the starting rotation.

You make it seem like getting rid of Marquis and a majority of his salary will be easy. Who is going to pay $9.875M for a back of the rotation starter next year? I'm assuming the the Cubs would pick up some, but I would think the team trading for him would have to pay him at least $7M next year. How much is a league-average starter worth for a one-year contract? Maybe not $7 million in this market, but it can't be that much less. You forgot to include the word durable. Marquis is a durable, league average starter. And there is definitely a market for that. Not at the price the Cubs are going to have to pay, but if they pick up 3 or 4m of that contract, you will definitely have some teams interested. Especially small market teams that don't have a shot at the higher end starters.

I don't buy this at all. The reason Mike Hampton and Jeremy Affeldt are the only ones to sign so far is because teams are no longer willing to cough up draft picks on players before the arbitration deadline, especially if they don't have to. Anyone who believes the Giants would sign Bob Howry before last night isn't facing reality. Anyone who believes that Bob Howry would go anywhere but Chicago if the Cubs offered arbitration is not facing reality. Now that the arbitration deadline has passed, teams will be much more willing to start negotiating with players (especially the players who were not offered arby). Rafael Furcal has been one of the most talked about free agents this offseason. Why? Because he's not going to cost anyone any picks. Sure, Tex and Sabathia are hot commodities as well, but those are two guys that teams are willing to cough up draft picks to land. After that list, everyone else is a gamble. Kerry Wood would have been a gamble worth taking, IMO. I'm fully expecting the Texas Rangers to offer Kerry a 3 or 4 year deal this offseason. I think they still would have done it even if the Cubs offered arby, but now they stand to sign him without costing any compensation. And this is where I think Hendry really screwed this up. Yes, there is always that gamble that Kerry doesn't attract the interest he desires and he accepts arbitration. But, if that day comes, you figure out a way to make it work. It's a one year contract. Bottom line, there are teams out there looking to spend money to make their teams better. 4 teams have expressed interest in Marquis. If the Angels lose out on Tex, they might have interest in Derrek Lee. If the Angels did get Tex, San Fran might have some interest in a guy like Lee, especially when they lose out on many of the free agents they are interested in. Lee for Nate Schierholtz and a pitching prospect would be a huge savings, and I think Schierholtz could match Lee's production right now. I don't think Wood accepting arby messes up the chances to get Peavy. The Cubs have plenty of trade pieces to reduce the payroll if put in a pinch. This is just a bad move by Hendry. Pure and simple.

Wow, they sure didn't baby Blyleven. By the end of his age 25 season, he had already amassed almost 2000 major league innings pitched. :shock:

How wrong would it be to move Mike Brown to OLB? Then you could go with Payne and Steltz at safety. I'd rather see Brown covering tight ends or backs on short pass patterns than Hillenmeyer or Roach.

The stories themselves change over time, and that's why reporters have to revise what they've reported. The market is moving very, very slowly right now. The Cubs still like Peavy, but there's no movement anywhere from any team on getting a deal done soon. With players such as Abreu and Ibanez, much will depend on the kind of money they're asking. That's also been slow to develop. As of now, I can't see the Cubs signing Abreu. I can see them making a run at Ibanez, again, depending on his asking price and how much the Cubs have to work with. Part of that will depend, too, if they're able to move a guy like Marquis. Right now, not much is happening anywhere. That may change once teams decide on arbitration for their own free agents. I would also have to imagine that these player's value to the Cubs decrease if they are offered arbitration by their previous clubs. The Cubs need to restock their farm system, especially if Peavy ends up coming over in a deal. As tricky as the Wood situation is, I think they need to offer him arbitration. Someone will give him a 2 year deal, especially a team like Texas. I think they should avoid Ibanez and Abreu, since both could be too expensive and cost draft picks. Milton Bradley won't cost picks. He's the guy they should be courting to play RF.

Renteria did some stuff against the Cubs that probably hasn't been too quickly forgotten in the Cubs clubhouse.

Theriot's AVG and OBP were definitely good last year, but in the big picture, it's really not all that good. Just to give you an idea how hollow those stats really are, here are a few comparisons for you: Theriot had 24 XBH's in 2008 The extremely hated Juan Pierre had 32 doubles, 13 triples and 3 HR's in his only year with the Cubs. That's twice as many XBH's as Theriot had this past year. One of the things that ate Cub fans alive was Slappy's inability to hit for extra bases. Yet, he had TWICE as many as Theriot had in '08. Neifi Perez had 45 XBH's in his final full season with the Cubs. The lack of power is staggering. If his batting average was sustainable, he wouldn't be completely worthless, but there aren't many here that believe he can sustain that level.

I thought the defense looked a little better last night than they have been. I think Graham earned a starting job for next season. I thought the safety play was pretty decent. I'm really starting to like Payne as a nice complement to Brown. With that said, I think they only need to focus on the defensive line and a little depth at the linebacker position this offseason on the defensive side of the ball. Hunter Hillenmeyer and Rashied Davis are guys I wouldn't mind seeing released this am or yesterday. They offer this team nothing at this point.

Unfortunately, it would seem to me that a better trade partner for the Twins is the Padres, themselves. The Twins have been in dire need of a 3b in forever, and are about to offer a ridiculous contract to an ever aging Casey Blake. Meanwhile, the Padres have 2 3b's, one of which is not that far from becoming expensive. A straight up trade of Delmon Young for Kevin Kouzmanoff would seem pretty fair, IMO, and it would make a lot of sense. Or toss in a prospect from one side or the other to make it fair. I don't know what we could really give the Twins that could turn Peavy into a Cub.

As the Cubs lead off hitter in '08: Reed Johnson: .302 OBP, 17 runs in 88 plate appearances, or about 1 run per 5 plate appearances Ryan Theriot: .419 OBP, 5 runs in 74 plate appearances :shock: , or about 1 run per 15 plate appearances Alfonso Soriano: .350 OBP, 76 runs in 492 plate appearances, or about 1 run per 6.4 plate appearances. Realistically, if a guy can average 1 run per 6 plate appearances, he's going to score 100 runs in a season. Just for fun: Brian Roberts: 107 runs in 702 plate appearances, or 1 run per 6.5 plate appearances. Roberts doesn't really generate anymore runs than Soriano. It's simply a myth.

The latest report has the Padres and Cubs taking a 10 day hiatus from trade negotiations. My guess is that they will resume talks on Monday or Tuesday of next week.

Why don't they just ask for Soto and Marmol, too.

Good to see the Bears with over 200 yards on the ground.