Rob

Are you on a quest to have crappy pitching? Marquis and Meche are not good. "Not good" is being far too kind. They're pretty horrid. I can see cases for Westbrook, Lilly, Padilla... but Meche, Marquis, and Batista should be nowhere near a pro ball club (except for the cardinals).

By my calculations, DLee makes about $80,000 per game. Figure about three hours a game... he's making near $450 per minute. Sorry, but you're coming up a little short.

uhhhh...no. Why? Outside of his anomoly of a season last year in a hitters paradise, DeRosa was never really good. I know it was a small sample size, but Theriot was pretty damn good last year when he got a chance. Theriot also showed a great approach at the plate from what I saw, so I don't see him entering a Cedeno-like slump. Fact is that if Theriot was really all that good of a player, would Jim have felt the need to get DeRosa? Probably not. Theriot isn't likely to hit 100+ points above his average minor league slugging again. DeRosa has been pretty good since changing his swing , has done it for a full season, and can play pretty much anywere on the field. He does more for the team then Theriot. Theriot will still get his chances anyway, unless he is horrible in the spring. That's like saying the Phillies wouldn't have grabbed Jim Thome cause they didn't think Ryan Howard would end up being a stud. By all accounts, they knew he would be... they just thought Thome was a decent signing for that time. Only difference is, Thome was worth risking the money on.

Indeed.

Are you kidding me? Jocketty can make the playoffs with a team he bought using the money he found in his couch...

Any time that I get the opportunity to make a snide remark, you can't speak badly of the thread.

better? You suck.

Assuming for a second that what you said actually makes sense, what the hell does it mean? Hendry appears willing and ready to go out and pick up as much trash as possible. The first drop in the bag being DeRosa. Man, are you always this negative? You ready to eat SERIOUS crow if DeRosa puts up good #'s next year? He doesn't have to eat serious crow if DeRosa puts up good numbers next year. He only has to eat crow if DeRosa puts up 13 million dollars worth of numbers over the next three years.

especially if Liriano is out for an extended time I thought Liriano just had TJS... if so, he's certainly out for an extended time. Halladay and Matsuzaka are the only ones in the AL I think will be able to compete on a year-in, year-out basis.

Just out of sheer morbid curiosity, which first basemen do you see as being better than Bagwell?

The Braves must have asked for Chris Young instead.

I'm wondering if this quota system is even in the new CBA. I haven't heard anything about it either way... but the way Hendry is going about his business suggests to me that either he doesn't know about the system or it's been disbanded.

I'm not sure Hendry can get all those guys. There is a limit to how many A/B guys he can sign. DeRosa counts as 1 already. Are we sure this rule is a part of the new CBA? From the way Jim Hendry is wheeling and dealing, and all the rumors still floating around, I have a hard time believing it is.

I'd give him a bottle of tequila and a note saying "Thanks for all the memories," but that's about as generous as I get. Simply put, we've got enough of a starting pitcher crunch in the minors that we don't need a scrub like Marquis wasting space in Iowa, let alone Chicago.

does "and" mean hendry would want both? there's no way they could afford drew and soriano... I don't know, I'm too happy (and drunk) to think straight.

I would honestly rather lose my left nut than watch Marquis desecrate a Cubs uniform next season.

I don't think so. The new CBA gave the clubs another year of control before players become eligible for the Rule V.

I'm certainly not rallying to have Barrett sent away, but I can see where the idea comes from. There are real concerns about his performance going forward which will most likely keep us from signing him to an extension. With that in mind, trading him away if he's not going to be part of a championship team this season makes sense. The only issue I really have comes with availability. The people advocating a Barrett for Wells trade are being ridiculous. That's essentially a lateral move in any event, and that's compounded by the fact that there is a perfect option availabe for CF in JD Drew, while the market for catchers is extremely weak. For me to be willing to trade Barrett away, I better be getting a very young player that will be under club control for a few years, or an older but excellent player signed to a contract for a few more years. Otherwise, I have trouble accepting the massive downgrade from Barrett to whatever crap is available on the FA market. (Bengie Molina? Washed-up versions of Mike Piazza, Javy Lopez, and Mike Lieberthal? Puh-lease...)

All of this stocking up on (s)crappy role players damn well better be leading to some mega-blockbuster trade... otherwise, I'm super-pissed.

Baltimore's GM, Flanigan is pretty weak. What he actually pulls off is pretty weak, but he's been rebuffed when he's the highest offer quite a few times now. He's trying to make some decent moves, but they never quite happen. I'm not convinced yet that the dartboard Hendry throws at isn't the real GM of this team.

Well, the writing is certainly on the wall for Cedeno. DeRosa, Izturis, and Theriot can all man short passably well. DeRosa and Theriot can swing the bat a little... whereas Izturis is probably our starting SS right now. I don't see the Cubs carrying Cedeno on the roster over Theriot at this point, as his only real skill at this point is an ability to play SS... which Theriot and DeRosa now both have. So yeah, Cedeno's out. As for how I feel about the signing itself... It could be a great thing if used properly... It could just as easily explode in our faces. Use DeRosa to platoon with Jacque, pinch hit, and fill in on the diamond when people really need a day off, that's fine. Even giving him a chance to win a role at 2B when a righty is on the mound would be fine... But if they hand him the starting 2B job and don't give Theriot or EPatt a chance to win it in Spring Training... and if they refuse to get Jacque out of the lineup against lefties... this would be nothing more than a waste of money. All in all, I want to know what the new skipper plans on using DeRosa for... but until I find out, I'm pissed.

That never happens. They just re-signed Valentine, who had a darn good year. Feasible... but Jacque actually does have some trade value after an above average year, with only 2/10 left on the contract. Might as well try to get something for him. Absolutely not. Barrett is worth a lot more than Burrell right now. Besides, Burrell doesn't fill a hole we cant do just as well filling by signing a free agent. Drew is a great signing but there's no way he signs for that little (years or money). Lugo would certainly be an upgrade, and I could handle that contract... but I'd rather look at a huge upgrade than a moderate one. ARod and Tejada both are available. Lugo should only be a fallback option. And Bengie Molina I wouldn't ever consider. He has no bat and he's hardly much of a defender anymore. If you absolutely must trade Barrett, Piazza is a better bet for next season than anyone else out there. Erstad shouldn't even be given a major league deal this year... he hasn't been anywhere near decent even since 2000... especially for a LF or 1B. There's no way on earth the Cubs brass bring back Walker.... but there are better options out there anyway like Durham and Loretta. Everyday lineup contstruction looks fine though, if that's your options... Unfortunately, it wouldn't be much of an offensive upgrade. The gain from Jones to Burrell is completely lost by the dropoff from Barrett to Molina... and that drop also covers part of the gain from Izturis/Cedeno to Lugo. We'd still probably score more runs... but that'd be merely a factor of DLee's health, Drew over Pierre and Lugo outperforming the crap we got from SS last year. No offense of course, but I'm not at all a fan of this idea.

Now would be a great one of those times for Hendry to stop working at a level over his ability like he has for the last three weeks. I could really go for his patented "token run" at the top free agent and instead going harder after what he feels is the #2 option.

Elijah Dukes is a hell of a ballplayer, but he makes Ty Cobb look like Santa Claus.

Goodness gracious. Do you realize how bad Pagan is? Obviously not. That said, I'd be quite pleased with either Drew or Soriano. If The Awful Hendry hadn't taken on Izturis' money, we might be able to squeeze them both in. Actually, that was part of my point.