BigbadB

Depends on which Santana that is in your rotation.

Umm, I think you mean they have a long history of not developing position prospects. Uh, yeah.

Gordon still has to prove that he's ready to play in the majors everyday. If he proves that he can, he'll be at 3b and Teahen will be in a corner outfield spot. In the meantime, it's probably a good move on the Royals part to give Teahen reps at 3b and in the OF. Why? The only reason to hold him back is to delay his arbi clock. I think you're reading too far into my post. If he absolutely tanked it in ST offensively and defensively, there is the remote possibility that KC feels he needs a little bit more seasoning. My previous post is basically repeating the old adage that players have to earn their playing time. Maybe I should have stated that Gordon has to prove to the manager of the Royals he's ready to play 3b everyday. I'm quite certain Gordon WILL be at 3b on opening day.

Gordon still has to prove that he's ready to play in the majors everyday. If he proves that he can, he'll be at 3b and Teahen will be in a corner outfield spot. In the meantime, it's probably a good move on the Royals part to give Teahen reps at 3b and in the OF.

Where is the choice for "All the Above".

While I think I'd rather have Price, I doubt he's available when the Cubs pick. And because the Cubs have had a long history of developing position prospects and Wieters sounds like he won't need much development time in the minors, I voted for Wieters.

The fans sure didn't make Jacque Jones feel complacent last year. The lovable losers tag might have held up at one time, but those days are long gone. 2003 changed things forever, IMO. Big money is being spent. Ticket prices are going up every year. Quality talent is being brought in and promoted. The fans expect the Cubs to field a winner now more than ever. Dusty was the very definition of complacency. He was a bad fit to manage this club the last 4 years.

I'm fine with that. Someone should be planting a new bug in Hendry and Steinbrenner's ear everyday. Man I would love to see this lineup: Soriano Murt ARod Lee ARam Jones Barrett DeRosa Northside Murderer's Row. That is nice. It makes me worry what we gave up to get A-Rod with this line up, but I'll go ahead and assume it was Cesar Izturis and Cliff Floyd. :D

Run support in 2006: Jon Garland: 5.66 Javier Vasquez: 5.59

I'm fine with that. Someone should be planting a new bug in Hendry and Steinbrenner's ear everyday.

Tear it up at SS Theriot!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I absolutely love that line up. Ladies and gentlemen, the glass is half full and a new pitcher of koolaid is being mixed for our drinking pleasure.

I doubt it. Jones is just as mediocre as Lieber, only he's not a pitcher so he's not going to be valued as much. Nobody is going to be giving up top prospects for Jones. I'd like to move Jones and a pitching prospect, if Pie proves he can play, for a SS prospect. I agree with BbB that it's nice to have some depth in the OF but the lack of talent at the SS postion in this organization really bugs me. I'd like to see the Cubs do that too, but from everything being said in the front office, they like Izturis.

A deal like this would only make sense from a marketing aspect. Marketing doesn't win ball games. Last year, Hendry made an ill advised deal for Juan Pierre. He packaged 3 arms for a guy in the last year of his contract. This year, the 3 arms aren't here and neither is Juan Pierre (thankfully). The Cubs are currently rebuilding the farm system. They are not in a position to create more weaknesses for the sake of 30 more hits in 2007. The Cubs now have depth in the outfield, something they should at least experiment with for half a season and see how they like having good players rest other good players. I'm personally tired of watching guys like Bynum and Mabry playing in place of the starter because the team has zero depth. Depth is a good thing. If Soriano tweaked a hamstring in game 1 of the regular season, the Cubs could send Floyd, Murton and Jones out there not hamstring (no pun intended) the offense too badly. And then there's 2008, where Ichiro will be auctioned to the highest bidder. Are the Cubs in a position to win that auction financially? If not, then next year, they are out Jones, Murton, Marshall, Gallagher and Ichiro. A trade has to be analyzed for now and for the future. A deal like this could set the Cubs back for years. While we all want a 2007 World Series, it's not worth mortgaging the next 5 or 6 years to try to do it. Heck, we should probably worry about ending 2007 with a winning record first, before we even remotely consider a World Series. How many teams go from worst to first? The Cubs have a shot to do just that with the roster they have now, but the odds most certainly aren't in their favor. Ichiro doesn't change that. I'm all for a deal that would improve those chances, but Ichiro isn't that guy. Andruw Jones probably isn't even that guy, but I'd make a trade like the one suggested for Andruw Jones way before I'd make it for Ichiro. But, I wouldn't make that deal for Andruw Jones, either. If the Cubs are willing to deal Jones, Murton, Marshall and Gallagher for someone, I want more than a 1 year rental unless he's one of the best SS's in baseball (A-Rod) or one of the best starters in baseball (Santana). Those are the types of 1 year rentals I would consider for a package like that. While the outfield defense of Floyd and Murton will never compare to Ichiro, the offensive production from LF this year will not hinder the Cubs chances of winning ball games. The OPS difference of Murton/Floyd to Ichiro will be quite significant this year. I'm really not all that convinced that Seattle wants to let Ichiro go in the first place.

I don't know why a trade like this would take place. The Phillies are having trouble moving Lieber, wouldn't we have the same problem? I'm not sure Jones would be an improvement over the guys the Phillies have slated to play the outfield this year. The Padres would be stupid to trade Linebrink for Rowand. They already have Giles and Cameron in two of the outfield spots, and Jose Cruz Jr. and Termell Sledge are battling or are set to platoon in the left field spot. Sledge has been tearing the cover off the ball in ST. I don't see any reason to rush Pie or to part with Jones so quickly. We have in-house candidates to take a rotation spot if Miller AND Prior aren't ready to step in. Guzman looks to have his filthy stuff back. I'm enjoying the fact we have some outfield depth for a change. Give Pie another half season to prepare for the bigs and see if Jones has improved his trade value at the deadline.

Greene is always hurt. He makes incredible defensive plays when he's in there, but his defense isn't nearly as impressive when he is out with an injury.

There are not many players I would offer Murton, Jones, Marshall and Gallagher for. Ichiro is not one of them.

Excellent job throughout this entire thread, everyone!

That's an interesting line up. Colvin and Patterson are probably excited about playing with the regulars.

That's what I thought, but just wanted to make sure.

I'm surprised A-Rod is still a Yankee as of today. With all the hate that has been spewed in A-Rod's general direction, I have no idea why he's sticking it out in New York. It can't be because of the World Series rings, because he doesn't have one of those. I think I have to give him some credit for once for sticking it out. I never really cared for how he treated his former teams.

I wouldn't say most game threads are worthless, but yesterday's game most certainly was. Without a decent feed for the game (thanks for nothing Seattle broadcast team), it's a bunch of jibberish that you can't make heads or tails of.

Yeah, I think this will definitely weigh in on the decision.

I'd agree with that. Me too. If the main issue is with the language, I totally understand. Are you calling something I said in my post into question? If so, you might be reading my post out of context. This has nothing to do with people's passions about spring training games. The reason I posted "Come on, people. These are spring training games" is to point out the fact that the game threads are out of control (personal attacks/cursing) and the regular season hasn't even started yet. If they are this bad in spring training, how bad will it get during the regular season? I really don't care if someone lives and dies by every single pitch in ST. The importance of winning a spring training is subject to debate, which is what this board is for.

In other words, all of your guys are really sucking this spring. :D Thanks for the update, Vance!

It was quite clear what the characters meant. BeerHere did it quite a bit in yesterday's game thread. I believe I did say variations of curse words, so I think I made it clear enough to the people who needed to hear it. I've had it with editing posts and sending PM's about the same [expletive]! Bottom line, this community needs to act more maturely. You never know who might be reading this site. Bruce has all kinds of contacts. Immaturity destroys credibility.