BigbadB

Why? Cubs always seem to get the VERY short end of the stick when they trade with Baltimore.

Would you trade them along with say, Cedeno or Izturis, for Miguel Tejada? If the Cubs signed Schmidt? Yes!

Seconded.

This thread sucks, therefore, IBL!

Rotoworld is reporting that the Cubs might be interested in a Rodrigo Lopez/Jacque Jones swap with Baltimore. Ugh.

QFT

Even if there isn't room in the rotation for Guzman, he could be one very tough reliever.

Already fixed it. Damn typos.

First of all, Gallagher has never pitched an inning for the Cubs. He's actually yet to pitch above AA ball. He'll just be turning 21 at the end of this month. As far as the other guys? Greg Maddux posted 5.52 and 5.61 ERA's in his first two major league seasons. While I don't believe any of these guys are future HOFers, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss them as garbage. Marshall looked quite studly for many starts.

I hope to see it. And I'm not about trading him. I don't think it will take Hill to get Jennings. The Cubs can offer a nice package to get him with guys like Jones, Marmol, Marshall, Mateo, Ohman, Novoa, etc...

Haven't seen that offer. Gallagher and Guz is definitely too steep. Heck, I think I'd rather trade Rich Hill for Jennings than give up Gallagher AND Guz. so you'd rather have gooz and gallagher in the system than hill? no way. hill's been nothing but durable his entire career, and he's had a long(ish) period of big league success. if you take hill out of the '07 rotation and insert guzman, you're asking for a rotation with tons of potential holes and injuries. The Cubs seem to be one of the top options for Schmidt. Only Seattle seems to have the edge on him. If the Cubs want him, he seems to be there for the taking. If the Cubs also got Jennings for Hill, you have: Zambrano, Schmidt, Jennings, Prior, Miller, Guzman, Mateo, Marmol, Marshall. Going into 2008, or possibly even sooner, you have Gallagher, Veal and Pawelek in the mix, with potentially someone else stepping up, like the Cubs #3 pick in the draft in June. The Cubs could end up with the best overall pick if the top two teams go cheap for signability reasons. I like Hill and wouldn't want to give him up for Jennings. But, I'd rather trade Hill than trade Guzman AND Gallagher. I also don't believe Hendry would close the book if he got Jennings and Schmidt. He might still have enough in the coffers to get Lilly or Meche. Lofton should be fairly cheap, as might be Cliff Floyd.

Maybe that's the case, but if it means overspending to get that innings eater, it may not be worth it. Personally, I'd offer the world for Schmidt and be happy with that. Zambrano, Schmidt, Hill, Prior, Miller, Guzman and one of Mateo, Marmol or Marshall is enough to get started. If Jacque Jones and one of Mateo, Marmol or Marshall isn't enough, I'd be just as happy with keeping Jones.

I'm in Tim's camp that Guzman is ready for a break out year. With guys like Marshall, Mateo and Marmol in the fold, those are the guys I'd like to see offered up instead of Veal, Gallagher or Guzman. Guzman will be well rested and have the injury problems well in his past.

Haven't seen that offer. Gallagher and Guz is definitely too steep. Heck, I think I'd rather trade Rich Hill for Jennings than give up Gallagher AND Guz.

Izturis would make for a nice backup/protection at SS in Coors Field behind Tulowitzki. Jones, Izturis and Marshall (Cubs pick up some of the salary) for Jennings and Barmes. Sign Schmidt, Lugo to play SS and Lofton to play CF.

That's too much for Jennings. One of them and maybe Marmol or Mateo, but not Guzman and Gallagher. What's the deal with Clint Barmes? Was last year an off year because of injury, or is he really not all that good? The Rockies appear to be set with Tulowitzki at SS, which pushes Barmes out of a starting gig. Barmes seems like he has more upside than Izturis.

Did Pagan play winter ball?

Lots of interesting information in there. I still like Marcus Giles/Tim Hudson. Would love to see Baldelli in CF. Wish there were some decent SS options out there. Willy Tavares for Jason Jennings comparted to Sean Gallagher AND Angel Guzman is somewhat ridiculous when determining fair value for Jennings between the two clubs. Maybe Willy Tavares and Jason Hirsch

Gee, look for a reason to file a grievance for making one of the most ridiculous trades of all time? If you were dumb enough to think it was a good trade, you must live with the consequences.

O'Dowd asked about Hill, not demanded. Hendry could come up with a package that could net Jennings.

I'd love to see Walker back in Chicago. I'm just glad to see Hendry talking his players up these days, rather than dragging them down.

Beg to differ on Lofton. While I agree that Soriano will be leading off, simply because it's basically been promised, Lofton makes for a pretty respectable #2. He doesn't K much, gets on base at a very respectable level and is tough to double up. Being a lefty bat, he can get the ball to the right side of the infield much easier also to advance a runner. If he gets on, he can steal bases at will, even at his age. If Soriano can produce the same numbers as last year, the Cubs could go from worst to first in regards to OBP at the top of the order, which would be a rather good deal for Lee, Ramirez and whoever the other big bat might be.

What's the story with Pagan? Did he play winter ball? Would he be a fairly decent platoon for Lofton against LHP? Assuming the Cubs land at least 1 more decent bat anyway? I'm assuming Pagan is being looked at as the 5th outfielder going into the 2007 season, with someone like Trot Nixon or Cliff Floyd as the 4th and DeRosa as another option occasionally. Assuming also that Jones is included in a deal for a SP.

I wanted Lofton last year. Lofton would have been dirt cheap in comparison to Pierre, and he's a better player than Pierre. Lofton would not have cost any prospects, either.

I think there's a lot of reasons that a manager wouldn't do it. Some of these guys who should be platooned are getting everyday starter money. Some guys still put up such great numbers on their split, that their weakness isn't exposed as much. In some cases, a player can make the all star team even though they shouldn't be batting against particular pitchers. Some managers don't pay attention to splits. The Cubs completely ignored it last year with Jones. They seem to be more interested in BA w/RISP than vs. LHP or vs. RHP. I disagree that platoons are only for mid to small market teams. I believe the Yankees were employing platoons for an aging Paul O'Neill and Scott Brosius during their World Series runs. I want to say they also slowly groomed Cano into his everyday job with a platoon. Melky Cabrera is another guy that they could give a start to occasionally because his splits might be better than one of the other OF's. A platoon can keep your bench guys sharper at the plate. It gets them more involved with the games. Who didn't like the Henry Rodriguez/Glenallen Hill platoon? If you can't get a stud player that can hit RHP and LHP equally well, the next best thing is to get 2 guys at equal or less cost to do the same. The other thing a platoon provides is depth. Last year is another perfect example for the Cubs. The Cubs had no depth whatsoever. If Murton got hurt, who plays in his place? Angel Pagan? Freddy Bynum? John Mabry? None of those guys have shown they should get quality playing time. Signing a guy like Cliff Floyd might push Murton to the bench more often than if he wasn't here, but what Floyd brings with the bat is more than likely going to be more productive than what Murton can bring with the bat against RHP. Now you have a stud player that will still get plenty of PT. And if someone gets hurt, you don't lose a single step. Floyd can even play some 1b, and I can't even begin to tell you how much more valuable a guy like Floyd is when you compare him to John Mabry. If you sign Floyd, yep, he's probably going to take at bats from Murton. But, a platoon allows you to keep your starting guys rested more, gives the bench guys more PT to keep them sharp, and just gives the team many more options over the course of a season. And one of those options is trade value at the deadline. If Floyd is tearing it up and Murton is having an all star caliber season, Floyd becomes a nice trade option. Same can be said of Jacque Jones. When Cleveland was in the heart of their mini-dynasty, they were employing platoons. They had so much talent, they could afford to.