Tedward

Jim Callis in BA's final Mock has us taking Tim Melville

Keith Law's final mock is up on ESPN. He says the reports on Kelly are a bit overstated and has us taking Andrew Cashner - TCU

Cedeno for ss

Steve (IL): Keith, the Cubs called up Eric Patterson instead of Murton. I don't agree with Murton being in the minors at all, but at the same time I'm anxious to see what Patterson can offer. Any chance he can become a capable leadoff hitter in the big leagues? He's got good speed and has posted a pretty good OBP while in AAA. Keith Law: (2:32 PM ET ) I've always seen Patterson as an extra guy - he's been old for his levels since he got into pro ball, so perhaps that's part of why I grade him low. I have no idea why they hate Murton. Just release the kid and let him play somewhere already.

Then there is this doozy from this morning's Wilmington News Journal from Eaton on yesterday's performance.... :shock:

That's what I thought. It appears that DLEE went deep. 1-0 Cubs still batting bottom 7

Well, someone must have had a good start today for the Cubs. Any idea who it was?

More Dusty from ESPN's spring blog......seriously, you can't make this stuff up.

Granted, he did throw a poor ball on the pick to Cromartie, but he only had two offensive sets in the game (never getting in during the 2nd half) with six total pass attempts. He was also robbed of a TD pass by the refs late in the first half. I would have liked to see him play in the second half instead of Booty.

http://hirejimessian.com/index.php/2008/01/18/i-wish-i-could-say-its-a-pleasure-to-meet-you/ Gee Mat Jew= Gary Mathews jr., if you're not thinking right. By the way, make sure to read the article (same on as in Baseball Discussions) for some classic Hendry quotes including some naughty language. So, would you be cool with: Soriano Roberts Lee Ramirez Fukudome Matthews Jr. Soto Theriot Rotation: Bedard Zambrano Lilly Lieber Marshall With Dempster/or Marquis and Derosa off the books, if you're wondering about salary. Sarge jr. can hit righties pretty well (.800 OPS) last year in addition to great D, so if you can find a platoon guy who can hit lefties (maybe get Payton in the Bedard/Roberts deal), production from CF would be sufficient. Just passing it along :wink: I have a hard time seeing this get done, Isn't Mathews, Jr. owed like eleventy billion dollars? $42MM more through 2011. I guess Hendry figures he won't be here then, so what does he care?

Callis in today's chat (1/16) Frank (Chicago): Jim, you think Geovanny Soto is the real deal despite previous mediocre seasons in the minors? How does he size up against Suzuki, Salty and Towles??? Jim Callis: (2:08 PM ET ) That's a good question. He never really hit a whole lot, and then he led the minors in OPS. I think he's for real, though I don't think his bat is really that good. I'd rank those guys like this: Saltalamacchia, Soto, Towles, Suzuki.

Ahhh yes. Scott Chiasson ........ My bad on Cairo. I hadn't realized he was in on that deal.

He may not have to. If the Cubs like what they see in ST, they could try and work out a deal with the Twins. It it comes down to that, hopefully we do a better job than the last time we were faced with this type of situation. IIRC, we ended up coughing up Eric Hinske to Billy Beane for a guy that ended up doing nothing for us. Didn't they trade Hinske for Cairo? No. I'm blanking on the guys name. He was a relief pitcher that we ruled 5'd away from Oakland and we swung a deal with Beane to keep him. The reliever never made an impact with the Cubs (no surprise) and MacPhail / Hendry gave up Hinske to get him.

He may not have to. If the Cubs like what they see in ST, they could try and work out a deal with the Twins. It it comes down to that, hopefully we do a better job than the last time we were faced with this type of situation. IIRC, we ended up coughing up Eric Hinske to Billy Beane for a guy that ended up doing nothing for us.

Details on the deal from the AP

He's a native Delawarean and a Blue Hen (went to UD) of course they should look at him. :wink:

Apparently we must have. I just checked the wire over at ESPN, and they only have Mark Prior listed on the Cubs non-tender list

Troll How is that being a troll? Teams are going to be interested in picking up Prior. I don't understand how him showing interest in having his team sign Prior can be considered trolling. Agree. Reds44 has been around a while and adds value. Just like Jake following the Bucs, we also have our resident Reds fan.

Well, here's an update from Rotoworld....

More on Lahey from Fleita - BA

that's not gonna happen. They get 2 #1 draft picks next year if they don't trade him. Those teams have to be able to beat that. That's not necessarily true. They are guaranteed a #1 pick from the Sandwich round, but if the team that signs Santana has a first round pick from #1-15 overall, it is protected, and the Twins would get that signing teams 2nd rounder instead.

Not sure on movement, but the 06' BA Prospect Handbook had his FB clocked as high as 97 MPH. According to the Trade Central report just posted on BA's site, his slider is a plus pitch. Going into last season, he was Atlanta's 21st best prospect in a system that was ranked 8th overall.

Kendall made B, missed A by surprisingly little. That's a good thing, nobody loses any draft picks for signing a B, so there is no disincentive to doing so, no reason to stall. Kendall will get signed this winter, no question about that. The issue is when. Before the recent contract, teams would rarely/never sign a guy like Kendall before the Cubs had a chance to decline arbitration. By waiting, they wouldn't lose anything. That's why to some degree FA kind of stalled until after the December arb day. I think the new contract has changed the landscape and the timeline for free agency. Now you can go to work as soon as you want. If a team likes Kendall as a veteran share-time catcher, they can sign him as soon as they like. Perhaps even before arb day. Obviusly I don't think that's likely. Kendall is really competitive, and likes to play. He's used to being the #1 every-day starter, and he's used to getting tons of millions. Yes, he'll sign. But he's not going to be guaranteed #1 status, he's not going to get paid a lot, and he's not going to be one of the top-5 winter targets for any teams. Focus on the important stuff first, fiddle around with low-impact guys like Kendall after the big stuff is settled. So I think it will take him a while to get the attention required to make a decision, and I think it will take him a while to realize and accept how little interest there will be in his services. But, you never know, maybe we'll get lucky somehow. While somebody is waiting on the big stuff, they have some time for little stuff and work out a Kendall deal. Or, maybe his wife wants things decided well before Christmas season, and tells him to decide early rather than dragging. Or, maybe there's some personal connection that causes him to sign bck with Pittsburgh, or near his wife's home area, or whatever. It would sure be cool if he did sign before the cubs had to non-arb him, and we got a pick there. The sandwich is probably going to be as big or bigger than a full round these days. So to go with no comp pick will be like losing a round. Good Call. Considering he is a High B, and a few of the A's have already re-signed with their current teams, this pick would appear to be in the first half of the sandwich round too.

Just thinking out loud, but what if the Cubs are trying to swing a bigger deal with another team and that team is insisting on DeRosa being part of the package?

Bobby Hill and Matt Bruback for Aramis Ramirez Hee Seop Choi for Derrek Lee