rawaction

I want to see Zambrano and Mike Tyson in a falls-count anywhere match. No rules, no ring. Just pure insanity.

Wuertz, Marmol and Guzman could be a great back 3 of the bullpen for a long time. I'd rather Guzman be starting, but that's 3 excellent arms and a lot of good sliders.

Really? Maybe the routes he runs in LF arent the prettiest but he sure does gun down runners at the plate and can gun people trying to leg out a double really well. I though all his assist last year might of been a fluke. I dont see it that way anymore. I'd say his fielding and arm pretty much offset each other to the point that he's okay in LF. Very good? No. That little freakin hop he does before every catch is gonna give me a heartattack. He is just ok. Great arm, decent range, but not what it should be for his speed. Strong arm. ACCURATE arm. Maybe not the range it should be. But what is his fielding percentage in LF so far this year? And how many catches can you count up that you thought he SHOULD have gotten? I didn't notice too many myself. But I'm just an average cubs fan that just watches the game. Adding to that, if you've got Soriano in LF (GOOD) and Pie in CF (GREAT) I think you can focus on getting a really good RF at the deadline or offseason. And that would be a very good outfeild, much improved defensively than we had shuffling everyone around earlier this year. And the thing is, if he's just average in LF, how much worse will he be in the supposedly hard to play wrigely RF? He has missed 2 balls that I thought he should have gotten to. And I have seen about half the games. I thought he looked more comfortable in CF personally. Either way, his defense has not been a problem.

I would love to have him on the team. But I wouldn't blame the Cubs for not going after him, especially when you have to trade something of value to get him. In light of recent events, I don't think there's anyway the Cubs even think about acquiring a player with his.....track record.

Trading Murton at this stage is putting the cart before the horse as far as not getting rid of Barrett 1st. If they're intending on getting rid of Barrett, let Soto get the majority of the rookie growing pains while Blanco is on the roster. While Blanco's defensive skills are starting to decline (his footwork isn't as sharp and neither is his arm), his best asset to the team will be to work with Soto. He is a leader on that team and what better way to exploit that than having him work with a player with the tools to become an everyday starting C over time. I have no idea what the Cubs could get from the A's. Not too familiar with their system, but I agree with everythign you said. I couldn't come up with anything either, in the case of Barrett, I doubt they could get much for him. I assume Murton could net more, but the question is... Who does the Cubs want to get rid of more between him and Jones? That almost has to be Jones. Definitely they want to get rid of Jones more, but Murton will bring more in return. And I don't believe they are too happy with his defense/baserunning (because the Cubs value that type of thing over getting on base). I wouldn't be opposed to just starting all over in RF.

Between Baylor and Baker, Hendry and Ed Lynch, the common denominator is the guy who brought them all in.....Andy MacPhail.

Other= MOISES [expletive] ALOU I win! And I am locking the thread now. Disappointed nobody else has mentioned him.

Really? Maybe the routes he runs in LF arent the prettiest but he sure does gun down runners at the plate and can gun people trying to leg out a double really well. I though all his assist last year might of been a fluke. I dont see it that way anymore. I'd say his fielding and arm pretty much offset each other to the point that he's okay in LF. Very good? No. That little freakin hop he does before every catch is gonna give me a heartattack. He is just ok. Great arm, decent range, but not what it should be for his speed.

I think suspensions generally mean no practice, but if this includes offseason camps I think that's pretty stupid. It's just for the 6-8 games he is suspended. He's able to practice and everything until the team takes off for San Diego.

Should be a good one. My pitching has probably overachieved a bit this year, and I will need more of that this week. We both picked up good bats (you-Delgado, me-Sheffield) Both have 1 two start pitcher. If Marquis' 2 starts can match Sabathia's (Marquis has actually been about 30-40 points better this year but is slumping), and the rookies can be pretty close (Lincecum vs. Owings), I'll take my chances with Santana, Hamels and Escobar, and my superior offense, even though he has 3 hot SPs in Lackey, Francis, and Beckett.

Trading Murton at this stage is putting the cart before the horse as far as not getting rid of Barrett 1st. If they're intending on getting rid of Barrett, let Soto get the majority of the rookie growing pains while Blanco is on the roster. While Blanco's defensive skills are starting to decline (his footwork isn't as sharp and neither is his arm), his best asset to the team will be to work with Soto. He is a leader on that team and what better way to exploit that than having him work with a player with the tools to become an everyday starting C over time. I have no idea what the Cubs could get from the A's. Not too familiar with their system, but I agree with everythign you said.

I agree that most of the world (NFL media and fans) believe that Grossman had more bad games than good. And they are completely wrong, but you can't really blame them. If you look at Grossman's 5 terrible games, they were: vs. Green Bay, national TV at Arizona, national TV at New England, national TV vs. Minnesota, most of the nation got this one on Fox vs. Miami, nobody saw it, but it was the Bears 1st loss after looking invincible. The fact that all but 1 of those game came in the 2nd half of the season, when the Bears were established as contenders put more light on Grossman's performances. That being said, I don't know how people can ignore 8 games with 98+ ratings, that's not something a bad QB can ever come close to.

Murton and Barrett would be perfect fits in Oakland. They could use a RH bat in the OF and as bad as Barrett has been, his offense has run circles around what Jason Kendall has done.

Was Abreu re-signed? I thought this was the last year of his contract also.

I don't think long-term contracts for relievers are bad. I don't think everyone makes bad decisions. I think the true moral is: Don't give multi-millions for the long-term to relievers unless they are truly lights out (see KRod, Wagner, etc) Signing Wuertz to a cheap 3-year deal isn't a bad idea. For Scott Eyre, it was not. Look at it this way, would the Cubs pen be significantly any worse with Rapada instead of Eyre, Cherry instead of Howry, Randy Wells instead of Dempster?

I cut him before this week. Torres had been horrible before and the Pirates didn't make a change. I figured they wouldn't now, especially since Capps still has to serve a suspension.

The team is well under .500, they've been blown out by teams just as bad, they've lost several 1-run games late. They know they are playing like crap. I don't have much of a problem with Lou calling out the team as a whole, but he has called out individuals at times (Barrett, Dempster, Murton). And I wouldn't have a problem with that if he was pulling all the right strings. Not just that, but he is also threatening to do something about the team and certain players, but doing nothing. When you are not putting your team in the best position to win, you are a problem too, Lou.

I hate this team. I haven't liked the Cubs since that piece of crap 05 season.

Oh don't get me started. I was about Draft Tex for months. V talked me into Prior. At the time my logic was they were similarly great, but being a pitcher, Prior was much more likely to break down physically, and the Cubs were devoid of offensive talent. Now that I think about it you did say that. I never thought of them as being similarly great. I thought Prior was a notch ahead of Tex. And I also believe that if you can get a great pitcher, you take that over a great hitter, because of sheer supply and demand. I figured Prior would need less minor league time (neither was in the minors for long).

YES! Turning point right here folks. Fight on team then 4 run fake rally, coincedence? I think not! Nobody fake rallies like the fired up Cubbies!

When you consider any deal for prospects, consider who the clown is that's picking the minor leaguers. Teixiera, please. I don't question Hendry's ability to locate a prospect (Murton), I just question what he values as a good major leaguer.

So, Teixiera? Either way, I'd rather get 25 cents today than have nothing in 6 months. should have drafted him in the first place. In retrospect, yes. Not winning but coming oh-so-close in 2003 screwed up this organization in so many ways. I felt that way in preretrospect, but I let the prior crowd talk me into Prior after the draft. I don't remember that. And I don't know why anyone would have rather had Tex than Prior before the draft.

If Zambrano is available, he will still be the most sought after pitcher at the deadline. If he becomes a free agent, he will be the most sought after pitcher in the offseason. Zambrano can and should net the Cubs good pre-arbitration talent and good minor leaguers. Despite his numbers, he would still significantly help any team, and give them a jump on re-signing him.

I think the fight just helps get rid of Barrett. He doesn't seem to be in favor with Piniella anyway.

E.