BigbadB

They were thinking that mediocre veteran pitchers are worth more than unproven prospects, which, interestingly enough, seems to be the way the baseball world is thinking now. Thankfully, Hendry has only been acquiring that type of pitcher via the free agent market. Before the offseason got too deep in moves, I was kind of looking forward to what the Dodgers would be like next year with a line up of: Furcal Ethier Nomar Kent Loney Martin Kemp Betemit Now, it's looking more like: Furcal Pierre Nomar Kent Gonzalez Ethier Martin/Lieberthal Betemit I wonder how much better they think their new line up is?

Hendry subcribes to the "earn it" policy. Some guys don't get it done in ST, others step up. Pagan stepped it up bigtime. If what you say is true, Hendry is a worse GM than anybody realizes. Spring training is about the absolute worst time to be making decision about your 25 man roster. A great amount of the time teams are playing people who won't even make the 25 man roster and might never make it for even a cup of coffee in MLB, not to mention the limited number of ABs in the six weeks of get in shape, golf after the game, don't go on road trips, split squads, get in to get some work done baseball. Shoot, I've already mentioned some of the myraid problems with evaluating talent during ST. One last thing, if what you say is true Brandon Sing should have been on the 25 man roster out of spring trainging last year. And the year before "Die Hard" what's his name should have been on the 25 man roster. You list a lot of good reasons for why ST shouldn't be the be all/end all of earning a job at the major league level, but the biggest one to me is that Arizona and the dry air makes a lot of guys look better than they are. They typically play day games in warm weather and the ball off the bat there is nothing like a hot, humid day in the Midwest. If Chase Field didn't have a roof on it through a huge percentage of the summer (besides fans dying of heat exposure), it would battle Coors Field as the best hitting park in baseball.

I think Lou does not like his work ethics. I read this somewhere but can't find the link. Good to see you, Roadster. Where you been hiding?

I like Baldelli. Gabe Gross would be interesting as well. And you might as well include Jacque Jones, because I like him as an option over the likes of Darin Erstad, Steve Finley, Bernie Williams and Brady Clark.

I wouldn't mind Pagan as the 25th man, but is Pagan starting Hendry's idea of how to win a World Series in 2007? He watches really good players get signed by other teams in his previous years as a GM, then this year he panics and overpays for mediocre/crappy players or players that don't fit the need as much as other players. His future unemployment is his own doing.

Isn't it going to be harder to get back and forth to Canada after the new year? I seem to recall they'll require passports or visas from everyone? At least that's they way it will be in Mexico. Thought it was the same for Canada.

It was a good offer. Tampa better hope one of those outfielders knows how to pitch come Spring Training. Doesn't look like they are going to get any of them moved at this point.

Good for Toronto.

To me, it's about giving up 3 prospects for a 1 year rental. Stupid. The Cubs did it last year with Pierre, so I guess it was Houston's turn this year.

Didn't Minnesota non-tender David Ortiz after the 2002 season? Think there might be at least a couple of bitter Twins fans? :D

That's not what I recall. I seem to recall Walker gave up opportunities for a guaranteed starting 2b job for other teams in order to join the Cubs, even though Grudz was already on the team. Looking at baseball-reference transactions, Grudz was re-signed December 7th and Walker was signed January 6th.

Crisp, Baldelli, Church interest me. In a win now frame of mind, Wells and A. Jones are interesting. Finley? ugh.

Agreed. The bullpen guys need regular work. Not overworked or underworked. Regular work.

Dempster was pretty good with regular work. Regular work comes from leading a lot of games in the late innings. They don't need a closer.

Vernon Wells, Andruw Jones, Rocco Baldelli, Ryan Church to name a few CFers that are available this offseason, and the 2nd big outfield bat Hendry claimed he was going to get this offseason is Brady Clark? Way to shoot for the moon! Rowand and Jones would be a really good platoon. But, I think Hendry would put Rowand in CF, Jones in LF and Murton on the bench.

He has one of the wimpiest arms I've ever seen at SS. But, as someone stated before, he makes up for his weak arm with a very quick release. And though I wouldn't call it a lunge, there is a pronounced move that helps him get the ball to 1b.

So it's one less offensive player and more pitching points?

Church made the most sense, even before Lofton was signed. We have the players necessary to get Church. Church is also about as inexpensive as it gets.

Sounds like he would come to the Cubs for cheaper, but after last year he shouldn't be expensive at all. He's nothing more than a platoon guy at this point as well. I'd offer 2m base with incentives that could reach 5-6m.

The Dodgers have Saito, Broxton and Brazoban for the pen, along with an assortment of other arms. For what Dempster costs, they could just bring back Gagne, which they don't seem interested in doing. If they want 2/3 of the outfield that finished in last place last year, more power to 'em I suppose.

This line up is definitely going to put a scare into just about any left hander that steps on the mound. Using last year splits except D Lee: Soriano: .293 .401 .581 .982 DeRosa: .342 .394 .589 .983 D. Lee: .333 .439 .673 1.112 (2005 splits due to injury) Ramirez: .261 .345 .521 .866 Murton: .301 .385 .485 .870 Barrett: .313 .396 .663 1.059 Jones: .234 .261 .416 .677 Theriot: .346 .460 .519 .979 I think Ramirez can do better in the OPS department with extra protection against lefties. Figure out someone to play in place of Jones and let's hope lefties start everyday against the Cubs. Ryan Church: .265 .321 .429 .750 Cliff Floyd: even more useless than Jones against lefties.

I'm guessing he'll be in Iowa.

Plus I think some team out there will give Huff a full-time job instead of just a backup/pinch hitter. Cubs could give Huff an everyday job as well by sliding Soriano to CF and put Huff in RF. Trade Jones and one of the kids for a a SS prospect. Huff will likely get a pretty rich deal, and one more rich than the Cubs will be willing to spend at this juncture, I would imagine.

This is where Aubrey Huff makes more sense than Floyd. But, Huff might be a lot more expensive than Floyd.

Eh, after reading some Dodger forums, sounds like his arm is about as weak as Pierre's, in addition to probably not being able to play full time. I'd rather have Church. I'd rather have Church too, but last I heard the Nats wanted the farm for him. Is he that much more valuable than a year of Lofton and then Pie to give up as much as it sounds like the Nats want? I'd love him, but I'm very unsure about the cost. I think they wanted marmol instead of marshall... Pay up Jimmy!!! Yeah, doesn't sound like they want the farm for him. More like they want the best offer they can hold out and receive from the 3 or 4 teams asking about him. Seems his value is increasing by the day, so the longer this drags out and more CFers are off the market, could take more in terms of talent to get him. Certainly not the ridiculous demands of a Tampa Bay GM. But, Baldelli is another guy I'm interested in. Unfortunately, Baldelli is another guy who struggles with OBP, which has been a common theme this offseason, even if they have done a bit better than previous seasons.