BigbadB

All day games please. With the MLB Extra Innings package in my office, games don't begin until 4pm most days, unless the Cubs have a day game. Oh, and the WCIU games have got to go. Those don't telecast on MLB EI for some unknown reason.

Both burned their ROY eligibility - Murton for PAs and Cedeno for days on the active roster. Well, that's quite a shame. What's the magic number for days on the active roster? 40?

Also, someone needs to be handed some serious credit for Cedeno. Wasn't Cedeno added to the 40 man roster after 2003? Cedeno hadn't put up an AVG better than .220 except for rookie ball back in 2000. He's been a stud ever since. Well, maybe not a stud in 2004, but he sure made a huge jump in 2004. 2005 has everyone penciling him in as a starter. I remember the headscratching over the 40 man roster move, but it's looking like a good call.

It may be true that Cedeno will become a special player. However, the only thing Joey Cora knows about baseball is that it's a very difficult game to play. And Cedeno can't be ROY. I thought it was only Murton that couldn't be ROY? :-k

Fielder is listed as 6'0", 260 lbs. at both ESPN and MLB. 260 might be quite generous. Now, I'm 6'1", 205 and I'm probably considered overweight by about 10-15 lbs. I'm considered a pretty big guy relative to the norm. Fielder will need to control this to avoid going the Mo Vaughn/Cecil Fielder/Kevin Mitchell route through the bigs. That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing considering the millions he can make before his knees give out, but it won't make for a long career. But, that's going to depend on how well and how long he can control that weight. The first knee injury he suffers could be his last.

Well, they do play against Cincinnati's pitchers what, 17 times next year? The AVG is probably close, and the RBI's might be close too if he hits 4th or 5th, but any farther down will decrease the likelihood. The HR's would be quite a shock for such a young rookie. Does he project to be like Ryan Howard? Just curious who he might be comparable to. I'm definitely not the one to ask that question. They seem to have comparable stats in the minors, but Howard started A ball out of college at the age of 22. Fielder will be starting at 1st base for the Brewers at age 22. They have completely differing frames. Howard is 6'4 and Fielder is 5'11. Fielder outweighs Howard by quite a bit as well. Fielder will have to work very hard to control his weight. Diffusion's projection on AVG might be closer than the .274 that is projected on this other site. But, Howard is a candidate to break the strike out record, while Fielder appears to make better contact. It will probably come down to how well either can handle a major league off speed pitch.

Well, they do play against Cincinnati's pitchers what, 17 times next year? The AVG is probably close, and the RBI's might be close too if he hits 4th or 5th, but any farther down will decrease the likelihood. The HR's would be quite a shock for such a young rookie.

Bruce stated he didn't think the Cubs org felt Nefei was an everyday player. I bet Hendry thinks the only true hole for the Cubs right now is at 2B or SS, hence miggy interest. What I believe is that Neifi was signed as insurance. Expensive insurance, yes, but insurance nonetheless. Now, Neifi is still the insurance man, because the Cubs line up is currently projected to feature BOTH Matt Murton and Ronny Cedeno. Now, most of us here will agree that there is nothing wrong with that. However, the most important person that needs to agree with that most likely won't, and that's Dusty. I don't see Dusty giving 2 of the 8 everyday jobs to two players that have proved nothing at the major league level. Maybe he'll surprise me this year, but I doubt it. If the Cubs don't land a corner outfielder to turn Murton into a platoon guy with Jones, which means Murton plays everyday, then I believe Cedeno will take more of a bench role. If the Cubs get a middle infielder that turns Cedeno into a part time player in the infield, then Murton will play everyday. Only on a rare occasion would I expect to see Dusty use Cedeno and Murton in the same line up, or only after it's been proven they are head and shoulders better than their competition at their respective positions. So, if the Cubs trade for a guy like Floyd or Huff or Ibanez, then I would expect Cedeno to have an everyday job while Murton plays partime with Jones. If the Cubs keep Walker or trades for a Soriano or Vidro, then I would expect Cedeno to have a bench job while Murton plays everyday. When Murton gets a start against a lefty pitcher, I wouldn't be surprised to see Hairston playing 2nd and Neifi playing SS that day. Or, maybe Hendry will actually have a much shorter leash with Dusty this year, since it is the last year of his contract. I would expect that the Cubs will do the honorable thing (not necessarily the right thing) and just quietly not renew Dusty's contract for 2007. But, a bad season from this team, and that choice may not be Hendry's to make.

Also, if Clement did happen to put it all together over the course of a whole season, he'd be an ace. The question is whether he can do that or not. He seems to go through periods of wildness. I don't know if it has anything to do with his asthma, but I hope he eventually does figure it out. He's one of the most enjoyable pitchers to watch when he's got his good stuff working.

It was completed a day or two ago. $2m/1yr. Ah, I stand corrected. Thanks.

I think the Brewers are making some good moves. They may still be another year away yet, but they are going to be a good team for years to come. It will be interesting to see what they do with it. The Cubs were sort of in that position in 2003, where they were getting good and still had plenty of room for improvement. Instead of progressing, they regressed and, IMO, are nowhere near the shape they were in in 2003. The Brewers will have cheap replacements for Lee and Clark with Krynzel and Anthony Gwynn in the next few years. The only surprise to me was that they didn't sign Washburn this offseason. One last thing of note: I haven't read anywhere that Kolb has actually signed by the Brewers yet. Kolb has Boras as his agent, and the Brewers declined to offer arby, so unless I completely missed the signing, it's not set in stone quite yet. I believe they were haggling over numbers the last time I heard anything.

I didn't read it either, but I'll guess 4th outfielder.

I think trading prior probably a 50 percent chance of being very regrettable. There has to be another reason that Hendry would move Prior outside of the fact he could get a little more expensive than anticipated. And it better be a darn good reason. Of course, it's only speculation right now, so...

I'm cool with Floyd. I half expected Murton to be more of a 4th outfielder/platoon anyway, since the chances that Dusty would play both Cedeno and Murton everyday in the same line up isn't all that likely. Given the Furcal situation, Cedeno pretty much defaulted into a starting job, which makes upgrading a corner spot in the outfield a higher priority. Murton will probably platoon with Jones against lefties, and get some occasional starts in place of Floyd in LF (assuming the Cubs did get Floyd via trade). I'd be a little happier with this offseason if the Cubs find a way to get Floyd or Huff or the like.

I believe he was talking about going to community college, which would allow him to spend a year playing baseball, but then come out in the draft next year. Sounds like he had serious plans to join a major league team. He had to have a pretty tall stack of scholarship offers that would trump a community college.

Patterson for Meche would surprise me. It doesn't seem like it would free up much money for a potential Tejada deal. Patterson for a B+ prospect or something of that nature frees up close to 3m, as would Walker if they found a way to move him. Could Walker be part of a deal for Tejada? Can Brian Roberts still play SS? I suppose Hendry could make it work, but I was thinking they were getting tight on the budget. I guess the scary part of that is that Prior very well could be part of a deal for Tejada.

it wouldnt matter because the cubs are pretty much skipping junes draft this year. He wouldn't fall to the Cubs in the first round, but he would push one more potential draftee down to the Cubs. Wouldn't he have signed up for classes if it appeared he wasn't going to get a deal done with AZ?

I can't compare their major league hitting since Fontenot has yet to get his shot, but minor league numbers show pretty comparable numbers with the bat. Both have about a .280 AVG in the minors with pretty comparable power. Fontenot has the added dimension of OBP.

Not to start a huge debate on comparisons between Neifi and Fontenot, but Fontenot is a much better all around hitter than Neifi, IMO. Neifi is better defensively. Based on organizational philosophies, Neifi is a tools guy and Fontenot isn't. Neifi is good with the leather and can switch hit and doesn't strike out much. Fontenot is not as good with the leather, draws too many walks and strikes out more often than Neifi. Fontenot makes more happen when he does put a bat on the ball, however. Fontenot isn't quite the second coming of Mark Bellhorn, but he's not that far off. Dusty had no use for a guy like Bellhorn. This organization just doesn't put any value on the ability to work the count and draw the occasional walk to get guys 90 feet closer to home. Bellhorn has power which little Mike doesn't. Without the power, Bellhorn has no value either. How much power can one expect from a utility infielder? Given the current roster the Cubs have, would you rather have a sub .300 OBP/slick fielding utility infielder, or would you rather have a .340+ OBP/decent fielding utility infielder?

Not to start a huge debate on comparisons between Neifi and Fontenot, but Fontenot is a much better all around hitter than Neifi, IMO. Neifi is better defensively. Based on organizational philosophies, Neifi is a tools guy and Fontenot isn't. Neifi is good with the leather and can switch hit and doesn't strike out much. Fontenot is not as good with the leather, draws too many walks and strikes out more often than Neifi. Fontenot makes more happen when he does put a bat on the ball, however. Fontenot isn't quite the second coming of Mark Bellhorn, but he's not that far off. Dusty had no use for a guy like Bellhorn. This organization just doesn't put any value on the ability to work the count and draw the occasional walk to get guys 90 feet closer to home.

Any mistreatment will never reach the fans in this instance. If he was ever mistreated by the Cub organization, Corey might share that with his brother, or has already shared that with his brother, but I doubt he comes out publicly about it. The only real mistreatment (IMO) that I can recall was when Corey was first called up, Baylor sat him on the bench more than he played him. If that's what you intend to do to a youngster/prospect, you might as well leave him in the minors to play everyday. Valuable time was lost in 2000 and 2001 with a grand total of 173 major league at bats. Meanwhile, the Cubs were throwing guys like Damon Buford, GMJ, Todd Dunwoody, Brant Brown and Michael Tucker out there in CF.

I still don't think the payroll is set at 105 million this season. What are we at now? I am assuming Patterson and Walker are gone. I'm assuming they will be gone as well. But, even with them gone, I'm not sure how they afford to take on Tejada AND Weaver. That's almost 20m in added salary. Tejada gets 12m in 2006 and Weaver will likely get close to 8m. The problem is that Patterson and Walker are NOT gone yet. It may require that to trade either one of them could possibly require the Cubs to take a bad contract back. I'm actually shocked that the budget is as high as 105m, personally. After the last 2 years of poor performance, I wouldn't have been surprised if the Trib reduced the budget rather than expand it. I'm happy they did, but I'd really be floored if they were allowed to spend even more than 105m when they had so much money available to spend this offseason as it is.

That sounds about right. Hendry may have to figure out a way to free up salary if he does get Tejada, which means Walker is as good as gone for nothing more than a prospect. And we know Patterson is definitely a goner. Maybe that's one of the reasons Hendry is considering Prior in a deal, because the 4-5m he'll likely make after arby would help free up the salary to add Tejada. I don't agree with it, but where else does Hendry free up salary if it is truly required in order to trade for Tejada? Not to mention the fact that Tejada will be locked in for several years. Maddux frees up money for the Cubs next year, but Zambrano will gobble up a bunch of that money. If the Cubs wanted to keep Pierre, there is little else left once you re-up Lee, Aramis and Barrett. Trading for Tejada without giving up Prior will create quite a salary issue in the next year or two.

I don't think it would be even remotely possible to sign Weaver if they took on all of Tejada's contract while sending minimum salary guys like Hill and Williams back to Baltimore.

Manny himself said, "I want out of Boston. I love it here, and I love Big Papi. I hate the Red Sox and need to go somewhere else. I could spend my entire career here. I want to go somewhere else in the AL where I am comfortable. I never want to leave this organization, it's what I know. Shampoo is better! I go on first and clean the hair! Conditioner is better! I make the hair silky and smooth!" That's what I thought he said. :D