rawaction

ND will have trouble with OSU's speed on offense. I picked OSU by less than 7. I think it will be a bit of a shootout (both teams over 20, possibly 30). But OSU will pull it out late.

Deng for Peja? Where'd you hear that? That would suck badly. Duhon for Childress? I'd probably do.

yeah, if they beat UK's asses this weekend, all will be forgiven.

Yeah. Monroe started off not turning the ball over and making the right feeds. Now, Calloway looks more impressive. Strickland can't disappear like that, just like Bracey couldn't the last few years.

Walker is not that patient. It's a common misconception. In 04, he had a BB/PA over .100, but in 05 he was at .072, that's barely over what Patterson did in 04. In 02 and 03 he was only at .075 and .074 respectively. If he hit his career average of .290 last year, his OBP would have been under .340. Career he's at .081.

i hope he's wrong. i'll take floyd or wilkerson over bradley any day. Why not both (Floyd and Bradley)? Can the Cubs pull off a trade for each? I think it's possible. Platoon Murton and Floyd in LF. because both murton & floyd should play full time. as i said, i would much rather have murton in lf & floyd in rf than bradley anywhere in the mix. Murton is no guarantee for 600+ PA of solid production, while Floyd is not a 600+ PA guy either. I'd take an OF of Murton (400), Pierre (400), Floyd (400) and Bradley (600), with Hairston and Mabry down the line. That would be affordable, flexible and productive. I'd love to get Murton 600 PA this year. But this offense isn't good enough to take the chance that he'll end up with a 750 OPS. Floyd would be nice to have, but he never plays a full season. Bradley would be great to have, and the worst that could happen is he's only out there for 200 PA (if he gets hurt or flips out), in which case you have Floyd and Murton to step in. Goony, I think that makes a lot of sense. It reduces some of the injury risk and also strengthens the bench which was a glaring weakness last year. Now just add Lugo and you would have something like this: Pierre Lugo Lee Floyd Ramirez Bradley Barrett Cedeno If you did what Goony suggests (stole my idea :P ), I don't think you need Lugo. Considering Tampa is standing firm that they want even more than Andy Marte for Lugo, I don't think Lugo is a realistic option anymore. Cedeno and Walker hold down the middle infield. The offense would be plentiful from the other 7 spots that even if Cedeno couldn't bat his weight, the Cubs could still put a lot of runs on the board. Pierre, Bradley, Lee, Floyd, Ramirez, Walker, Barrett, Cedeno May be the best solution for the Cubs. No great players (unless Lee repeats 04), but potential to be above average at every position.

OHMY GAWD, how could they trade Dewon Brazelton?? He was Tampa's #1 prospect, you can't trade a guy like that!! He was at the top of BA's prospect list, that is the bible, they're never wrong. Tampa is stupid and overpaid. :roll: if youre going to be insane, at least be insane in one thread, instead of letting this garbage spill over into other places it doesnt belong. I agree.

Floyd's a good player. I'd welcome him. Would like a bigger bat, but I've been expected Pierre and Floyd at CF and RF for a while now (expect Furcal at SS, though).

... are better than one... (isn't that a song?) I did edit my post: CF Pierre 2B Walker 1B Lee RF Huff 3B Ramirez C Barrett LF Murton SS Cedeno/Neifi I like the balance of OBP & power Pet peeve alert. Everyone always puts the LH batter between Lee and Aramis. But what's the point when that batter isn't close to the offensive force that Aramis is? Having Huff between Lee and Ramirez is just like having Burnitz there. You don't have to break up the 2 because they are RH. I'd much rather have Ramirez hitting with Lee on base than Huff. The only way to ensure that Ramirez hits every single time with Lee on base is to hit him behind him.

There's not a worse fit in the MLB. At least Jacque Jones is LH.

I actually think that in a contract year, Pierre will be around his career numbers .305BA/.355 OBP. But I still wouldn't have traded for him. I'd rather have Milton or Wilk. I still wish Furcal was a Cub. Hendry offered a fair deal.

I don't see how there aren't more upsets like this. Midweek games against an instate mid-major rival. That's a big time trap. Do like the Cuse and stay at home for the non-conference. Ah, I'm just bitter. Can't lose to this damn team when you have Duke, UK, UConn, and Charlotte on your non-conf schedule.

unbelievable, the worst/2nd worst MVC team beats the supposed 2nd/3rd best Big 10 team this year. also Northern Iowa beat Iowa in OT tonight. A great night for the Missouri Valley Conference. Man, that game sucked. Same ol' IU team. They still can't find a way to pull out a close game. They rush shots and make bad decisions down the stretch. That's not a well coached team.

good point. IMO, we need a decent fielding RF. Pierre has mediocre range for all his speed and Murton seems a little rough sometimes. It would be nice to have at least one gun in the OF. Where is all of this stuff coming from about Pierre being a bad defensive player? I've always thought he was considered to be a good CF with just a weak arm. I'm not saying you guys are wrong, just asking where this information is coming from. I keep seeing people say things like he takes bad routes on balls, or he gets late jumps. You people make him sound like he's another Moises. What I'm asking is, is he really considered that bad? I don't think he's bad, but compared to the rest of CFs in the MLB, he's clearly in the bottom 1/3.

Because Rich Hill is untouchable. Which is more accurate: untouchable or overrated? It depends. He's overrated by the Cubs most likely, which makes him untouchable in their minds. But I think he's somewhere in between. He could be a good pitcher, but not good enough where I would hold on to him when I could get an impact bat for him.

Because Rich Hill is untouchable.

I agree with Goony. If you got Bradley or Wilkerson for CF, you go with the other for RF or a similarly comparable player. With Pierre, you can't afford to go with an average bat in RF. I think an OF of Murton, Pierre, and Wilkerson/Bradley would be decent, but still you are looking at a strong likelihood of a of an OF OPS well under .800. That's not much of an improvement over 04, especially when you have a potentially weaker IF with no Walker or Nomar in the middle.

It actually wasn't the entire article but I get your point. Main points... 1) Mark Prior for Bobby Abreu. Will not happen. 2) "the only pitchers the Cubs are interested in trading are relievers or prospects. " 3) "minimal interest in Aubrey Huff to fill their right-field vacancy" 4) another quote - According to one team that inquired about Pie, the Cubs "don't have very many untouchables -- but he's one." I don't know how the Cubs can hope for a good OF bat w\o moving Pie but we shall see. Would you believe you could trade: Hundley Hawkins A.Gone Brendan Harris/Francis Beltran Bobby Hill Choi And get significant to all star production back for many of them? Hendry has a good track record of trading. But none of those players were the quality of Abreu at the time of the deal. Lee and Ramirez had still just shown glimpses of what they've become. Nomar was an injury problem with 2 months left on his contract. Karros and Grudz were bad, and I sure hope Hendry isn't targeting players of that caliber. I don't see an Abreu or Dunn deal happening without dealing Pie and/or Hill. But I agree that the Cubs could easily get guys like Wilkerson, Bradley, and other names that have been mentioned.

I don't think they would be paying that entire contract, especially giving up a great prospect like Marte.

I could have sworn I responsed in this thread, but I can't find it. Raw sums up my thoughts pretty well. I wouldnt' be thrilled, but it wouldn't be a bad option either. It would hopefully leave room for other help (bench, RH platoon for Huff if he falters as starter, pitching) and would improve some weak positions. Ok, what I don't get is that you stress OBP, amonst other posters whose opinions I actually value, but then when a chance for two HUGE OBP guys is talked about, you're not thrilled? I just don't get it. We aren't gonna get Dunn, we aren't gonna get Abreu - we aren't giving up Prior or Z. So Let's move past those two pipe dreams. I just don't get how these two don't fit the exact bill that you argue for. Huge OBPs? Wilkerson and Huff both had down years in 05. They have put up good (not huge) OBPs in the past, but their 05's make it less of a guarantee. I think the point he, and I, were trying to make is that Lugo, Huff, and Wilkerson are not difference makers. The Cubs had/have a chance to add a difference maker. Whether it's a longshot or not, Abreu, Dunn, and Manny all are possibilities. And they are what a team with a $100M+ payroll should be after.

Aren't they trying to deal Troy Glaus, so that they can move Tracy to 3B? You never know what a team is thinking, but I got to believe getting rid of Glaus, Luis Gonzalez or Shawn Green (limited NTC) is higher priority than dealing Tracy. Isn't Tracy a horrible fielder at 3B? I thought that's why they moved him in the first place? Yeah, 25 errors in 04 at the hot corner.

I wouldn't be satisfied, but I'd be ok with it. If Hendry makes every effort to get guys like Abreu and/or Dunn, which it seems he may be doing in Abreu's case, then I'm ok with those 3. But I won't be satisfied until this team stops overspending on $7 starters and backup MIs.

More support for Urlacher......he has been running faster than the DBs on every return this season. He's throwing blocks and outrunning everyone on the field.

Welcome to the board. All prospects are not created equal. I love Felix, but I would trade him for a difference maker. If we're talking Pierre, I'm keeping Pie.

I'd take Weaver if he's willing to take a Millwood like deal (1 year, $5-7M) in order to get a bigger payday next year. Boras did that with Millwood and it is paying off big time.