BigbadB

If the Cubs can't get Fukudome to cross the pond, #2 on my FA wish list would be Milton Bradley. Bradley will likely be cheaper and has much more upside. Jenkins is probably 3rd on my list, but I'd prefer the trade route rather than drop down to Jenkins. The money rumored to be offered up for Matsui would probably get the job done for Bradley. With Murton holding down the #4 outfield slot and Daryle Ward as a possible fill in until Bradley is ready, that's the route I'd probably go.

Words don't begin to describe how funny this really is. I liken it to the Jacque Jones/Omar Infante trade. Padres GM- Hey, we will give you a really crappy player for your starting CFer if you pay most of his salary. Cardinals GM- That offer is too good to pass up. You have yourself a deal.

It would be a brilliant move on the Cubs part to get a guy like Carlos Gonzalez, however, it will never happen. The Cubs aren't willing to give their own prospects a chance. How on Earth is someone else's prospect going to get that chance?

I don't think that's exactly what Bruce said. I think what he said sounded more like:

Rosenthal reported that the Cubs were likely to pick up Trachsel's option. Obviously, a few days later that turned out not to be true when the Cubs declined it, but there was a lot of hand wringing here during that time. :D Ah. I missed the sarcasm. Could have sworn I remember Tracshel getting his walking papers.

Bruce, please give Hendry my wish list. Thanks in advance! :D SS- Jhonny Peralta RF- Fukudome

Was I in sleep mode at one point? What's this business about picking up Tracshel's option?

Man I really hate ARod. Him and the Yankees were made for each other.

Did Chipper retire? Did the Braves find $55M Chipper's a FA?

Did Chipper retire?

There can't possibly be a market for Scott Rolen. Not that I think St. Louis has even a remote chance of signing Lowell anyway.

If I was confident that Hendry had the ability to land a decent RF, I might not be making nearly as much noise. I'm glad Jones is gone, but at the same time I wouldn't have minded him as a 4th outfielder if Murton could have been packaged in a deal to improve elsewhere, and as protection for Pie if Pie poops the bed. If I'm the GM, Jones is my insurance policy if I can't get Crawford or Fukudome. Once I have an upgrade in RF locked up, THEN I consider trading him, and only when I feel like I'm getting value in return. Only a day after Jones was traded, Minnesota traded us a PTBNL for Craig Monroe, the right handed version of Jacque Jones. Monroe is set to make nearly as much as Jones in 2008, and the Cubs aren't giving Minnesota any salary relief. Granted, Jones came from Minnesota, and they may not want him back. But, if you are a major league team in need of a cheap outfielder, you really aren't throwing yourself under the bus to trade for Jacque Jones. There will be many teams this offseason trying to position themselves for cheap outfield help like Corey Patterson, Geoff Jenkins, Shawn Green and Luis Gonzalez. Those teams that aren't willing to pay the price or the years to grab what's left of the lousy free agent class towards the end of this offseason might have been willing to cough up a half way decent prospect for Jones. To trade him for the likes of Omar Infante is assinine. With the addition of Infante, the Cubs have now had every crappy utility middle infielder in baseball in the last 10 years. The list is actually quite scary. If that's the best he could get for Jones, then he was better off just keeping him. I'm certainly not convinced that the 2.5-3m savings of not having Jones will be spent wisely. If Prior and Wood are both back and Fukudome is in RF, I'll give Hendry a flyer. But, it will never change the fact Hendry gave Jones away for next to nothing.

Wow. A measily 25m bump from his original contract. Someone will come along and beat that soon enough, and boy won't ARod be upset. :D

There is a thread in the minor league forum regarding Veal's move to the pen.

Per Rotoworld: Alex Rodriguez confirmed on his website that he's hopeful of remaining with the Yankees. "After spending time with (wife) Cynthia and my family over these last few weeks, it became clear to me that I needed to make an attempt to engage the Yankees regarding my future with the organization," A-Rod says in a statement. "Prior to entering into serious negotiations with other clubs, I wanted the opportunity to share my thoughts directly with Yankees' ownership. We know there are other opportunities for us, but Cynthia and I have a foundation with the club that has brought us comfort, stability and happiness. As a result, I reached out to the Yankees through mutual friends and conveyed that message. ... During these healthy discussions, both sides were able to share honest feelings and hopes with one another, and we expect to continue this dialogue with the Yankees over the next few days." So, A-Rod wants this and all indications are that the Yankees do as well. This might be wrapped up by the end of the week. Source: ARod.com Translation: "I want $350m and the Yankees are the only team rich enough to give it to me."

So Mike Fontenot's 2006 will be better than Omar Infante's 2007. Cool! Hendry really is a genius.

Couldn't the Dodgers have just signed ARod and hung onto Loney and Kemp?

What's worse is that it really wasn't all that funny.

i'm not sure the rangers should be laughing at anybody, considering how badly they suck Great minds sometimes think like me.

They probably shouldn't laugh too loud, because they still suck.

What he said.

This will end up being quite hilarious. Not. :roll:

Everything said so far is right on target. And you would think that the 100th year of futility would spark some interest in stopping the trend. How does one respond to 99 years of futility? Nah, we have no intention of pursuing the best player in baseball. We have our sites set on Omar Infante. :roll:

He didn't just paint himself into a corner, they nailed him to the corner and put the refrigerator on top of him.

Can we all agree that it would be an absolute brilliant offseason if all the Yankees do this offseason is renew contracts for Posada, Rivera, Pettitte and ARod to the tune of about a 40m payroll bump? Pettitte should ask for 25m if Rivera gets 15m. Pettitte was better than Roger Clemens last year, and he got that much.