CubsFaninPA

Sorry if this has already been posted but there's a pretty good article on sportsillustrated.cnn.com from John Donovan. He expects Zambrano may have a breakout year in 2006.

Surprised no one mentioned Hairston. If, by chance, Walker is traded for Bradley, Hairston would still be in the mix for 2B. With no other moves in the inf, it would probably come down to him or Neifi.

The Cubs message board on ESPN is talking of a rumoured trade invloving the Cubs - Rangers - As. The Cubs get Zito and Mench and give up Wood, Walker, and prospects. Anyone else heard this or is someone just jerking us around?

Just curious and sorry if this has already been posted. Does anyone know just how much the Cubs will have available to spend on free agents this winter? If we assume a $100 million salary. Also has anything been printed concerning what the top FAs are expected to sign for. I realize possible salaries are just that, possible. But it might be interesting to see what the Cubs may be expected to have available vs. what certain players (Furcal. Millwood, Giles, etc) may expect to get signed for.

Growing up in Upstate New York in the early sixties, my friend and I used to play wiffle ball in his backyard. Standard game - over the fence was a run and anything else was an out. We used to pick a big league team and go through their line-up when it was our turn to bat. He was a diehard Cardinals fan and because of the rivalry, I would pick the Cubs. Del Shannon, Javier, Brock, and Flood against Williams, Banks, Santo, Beckert, etc. Must have warped me - I still follow them to this day.

Just saw on MLB.Com that Leo Mazzone signed on to be the Orioles new pitching coach!! Kind of surprised me, I knew he had talked to teams about this position, but hadn't heard the Orioles mentioned. Now we'll get to see if he can work the same magic with the O's as he did with the Braves.

Just sort of jumped in at lunchtime at work. I do have to disagree with the second statement that Dusty said. 'The only thing about teaching at the big-league level is you can't teach them until they make a mistake,'' he said. ''You don't tell a guy about the cutoff man until he misses it. You assume they know that stuff when they get here." A good teacher can put someone in a situation and teach before it actually happens. I don't believe you need someone to make a mistake in order to be able to teach them. That should be an on-going process and started before any mistake. JMO

If they did move Walker (and I don't think they should) that would leave Soriano at 2B.

I'm not sure id anyone has brought this up (didn't read back thru the thread too far), but MSNBC Sports has a story on about the Cubs in the lead for Soriano. They mention including Walker in a deal to Texas because the Rangers wanted him before he resigned with the Cubs. I believe they mentioned a three-way with the Mets as well.

I don't know about everyone else, but I'm starting to get awful frustrated. Of course, the feeling will last until the next game and then we start all over!

Hate to ask this, but what kind of power can the Cubs expect from him? I haven't follow his stats in the minors.

Even though Neifi has tailed off some, he's still contributed. Personally, I'd still like to see the Cubs use Nomar, if he's healthy, and get Cedeno more playing time. I've got the feeling that Cedeno is going to get sent back down so he can get the playing time he needs.

Just jumped in during my lunch at work. Disappointed to hear about Kerry, but I believe we need a couple of days to find out exactly what's wrong. As someone mentioned earlier, it could have been the heat or the humidity, or maybe he didn't warm up quite right. Kind of early to over-react. I've always been a huge Kerry Wood supporter, but doing what's right for the team comes first. That said, I don't think a trade is in the picture. I don't feel the Cubs are ready to give up on Kerry anytime soon, and the no-trade clause doesn't help. Food for thought, if it's not serious and he doesn't miss any, or much, time, what's the feeling about putting him in the pen? As Beer Kaese said earlier, set up your rotation if you're still in the running and don't mess with it. That way Kerry'd be looking at an inning or time each time out and maybe less strain on the shoulder.