BigbadB

Lots of outfield assists this Spring. Who got that one?

Is it tomorrow that the veteran's committee is supposed to get the axe?

Cool. But, I am still curious about something. If Holdzkom elected to file for free agency, would the Cubs have been out the money they offered to take Holdzkom back? I'm trying to figure out which way it works. Houston offered him back to the Cubs. If the Cubs wanted him back, they have to fork out the dough. Is it before that point or after that point that Holdzkom could have filed for free agency? Kinda bogus if the Cubs gave Houston the cash to get him back and then they don't get him back. But, I'm not sure if that's how it would have worked.

I think he still is based off his signing bonus... Depends on how much crack and heroin he went through. :D

Sports bars will pay a big price to have the games at their place, especially if it's not available for home viewers unless they pay for it. The revenue stream from sports bars and "home parties" could keep advertisers attention, especially if advertising prices were lowered. How many sports bars are there in the US?

You forgot to list Murton and Barrett as possible bench options from the right side.

Thursday is the best night. I watch My Name is Earl, The Office, CSI Las Vegas and Shark. I can take or leave any other night. Sunday used to be the best with The Sopranos and Deadwood, but Deadwood is basically done and Sopranos is on what seems like another 2 year hiatus.

The Super Bowl will get there first, followed closely by all other major sporting events playoffs and such. NASCAR also. It's the direction they've been pushing. The premium movie channels used to get the new releases from the movie theaters. Now, they have to wait until In Demand is done with getting their PPV money with those movies. The premium channels have spent more time focusing on other things to keep their customers. Showtime and HBO have increased their boxing and weekly programming. It's becoming difficult to find a movie on HBO, and I have all of the HBO's that are available. Every time I turn it on, it's Rome, Entourage, Deadwood, Sopranos, Extras, Carnival, Real Time, Boxing, etc.... It may not be this year and it may not be next year, but sooner or later, all major sporting events will be on PPV.

Are you wanting Jones packaged because you feel Pie should be in CF on opening day?

You mean beyond the fact that Pagan's complete lack of baseball talent makes him worthless? I mean that if Jones could not play an adequate CF that Pagan's necessity, in the eyes of Cubs management, is more likely. Jones ability to play CF allows the Cubs to focus more on another position of need for the bench. I'm scared that the last roster spot may end up going to either Perez or Pagan. I'd much rather see McGehee or Coats.

Eventually, playoffs and World Series will be PPV events.

That's a pretty good team for a 20 team league.

If you want an honest opinion, I think you have the makings of a last place team, unless SB's are the only offensive stat and times on the DL is the only pitching stat. Assuming your league is SB, HR, RBI, AVG or OBP, power guys are much more important than SB's. Power dominates more categories of scoring than speed does, and you just don't have much power. In a 10 team league, this is just not a good team. Plain and simple. I'd peddle Pierre if you find someone in need of steals. I'd dump your entire bench except maybe Alou. Alou will likely have a field day hitting behind Reyes, Wright, Beltran and Delgado. He's old, but the Mets give him an ideal situation to put up a ton of RBI. Murton is a part time player, Biggio is probably a part time player as well, with Loretta and Burke on the Houston roster. Part time players really have no value on a fantasy team. I would never carry a back up catcher. The one day your starting catcher is off is the day your back up catcher's team is off. Finding a time to put your back up catcher in is too rare to waste a roster space. You're going to get killed in saves. Borowski and Dempster are probably both on top of the list to get replaced, but you do have Wood as Dempster's back up. Wood still scares me as a potential closer, because he is prone to giving up the walk. SP is so-so. I know you like Marquis, so there really isn't any point in me attempting to convince you to drop him.

I don't think I'd call it awful, but I am gambling on a few guys. Huff, Alou and Drew could all have returns to glory with a change of scenery. Bradley is an injury waiting to happen, but not a bad late round risk. Quentin is going to be a stud. Maybe not this year, but I can always hope. I have tremendous power and good AVG. I'm lacking in SB's, but I've always conceded SB's for power and AVG, since power makes up two of the stat categories, HR and RBI. I also like to dominate in pitching, so my bench is mostly made up with pitching. Rotating pitchers in and out helps me out in W, K and Saves. I might lose in ERA, but once again, my focus on IP helps me in more categories.

I joined a random public league, but most of the managers seem like they know what they are doing. Here is my roster by round (I had the 5th pick): 1. Ryan Howard - 1b 2. Miggy Tejada- SS 3. Carlos Zambrano- SP 4. Aramis Ramirez- 3b 5. Ben Sheets- SP 6. Huston Street- RP 7. CC Sabathia- SP 8. JJ Putz- RP 9. Howie Kendrick- 2b 10. Ervin Santana- SP 11. JD Drew- OF 12. Rich Hill- SP 13. Todd Helton- 1b/U 14. Michael Barrett- C 15. Octavio Dotel- RP 16. Moises Alou- OF 17. Aubrey Huff- OF/3b 18. Milton Bradley- OF 19. Daniel Cabrera- SP 20. Anthony Reyes- SP 21. Carlos Quentin- OF 1b- Ryan Howard 2b- Howie Kendrick 3b- Aramis Ramirez SS- Miguel Tejada OF- JD Drew OF- Moises Alou OF- Milton Bradley/Aubrey Huff/Carlos Quentin U- Todd Helton SP- Carlos Zambrano SP- Ben Sheets SP- CC Sabathia SP- Ervin Santana SP- Rich Hill SP- Anthony Reyes SP- Daniel Cabrera RP- Huston Street RP- JJ Putz RP- Octavio Dotel

And I think Jones gets ridden too hard on his defense. I think we will be pleasantly surprised how well he can play CF. I think Jones' ability to play CF makes Angel Pagan unnecessary.

Might be a good day to stick DeRosa in RF and let Theriot play 2nd.

I see no reason to exclude Coats as an option for the last roster spot simply because he hits lefty. What percentage of relievers are RH? Most. What percentage of lefty relievers are good? Not that many. Granted, with the Cubs dominant right hand hitting attack, the LOOGY will likely be used against a Lefty PH or Jones, but once that team uses their LOOGY, having a fallback option from the left side would be good, IMO. Assuming Floyd is healthy and playing decent, he'll probably start 60+ games, which then gives the Cubs more of a righty presence off the bench with Murton, Theriot and Blanco or Barrett. That would only leave Coats and Ward as the lefty bats. Take Coats out of the picture, and it's probably Tomas Perez, who can't hit from either side of the plate.

Yeah, this is just a conspiracy theory. Whether Prior or any other player has or hasn't taken steroids, the major league contract had zero to do with steroids. Were they even testing for steroids when Prior was drafted? I don't think so. It certainly wasn't the spoken word then like it is now.

Yeah, I'm curious about that too.

Add Rapada, Piggy and Novoa to the bullpen? Speedy team. Not a lot of pop.

Let's see the Royals top that line up. :) Looks like a few guys are in there to impress today, or else. First cuts directly follow today's game?

I believe I read at the time of his signing that it was a straight minor league deal, without an NRI to Spring Training. He may be reporting directly to the minor league camp. Interesting. I'd give Bobby Hill a shot at the 25th roster spot before I'd give Tomas Perez a shot, but oh well.

MLB is swamped with SS's who can't hit, and there really aren't going to be any upgrades available. I'm resigned to the fact that it's Izturis or Cedeno or bust. While I would love to see Theriot win the job, the outlook it not good. But, this team can win with a guy like Izturis hitting 8th. To get someone like A-Rod or Tejada will cost too much in talent, handicapping the team elsewhere. As long as Lou sticks Izturis in the 8th spot everyday, I can live with it. I can also hope Izturis hits better than I think he will. With the power that Soriano provides out of the lead off spot, I think it's important to have a guy hitting 8th that can get on base at a reasonable clip. Imagining Ward or Floyd or Murton hitting in the pitcher's spot late in games, the combination of Izturis finding a way to get on base and the PHer extending the inning for Soriano could give the team a whole new dynamic they haven't seen in awhile.

I hope you're right. But, I'm not convinced. Small sample sizes don't get me all that giddy. You are right that Izturis went on to have one of the most horrific months of all time. His batting average dropped from .349 to .275. 9 hits in the month of June. 24 straight games without a multi-hit game. Ugh.