rawaction

Interesting to see what this team would look like without Pierre or Furcal. I always assumed the Cubs would get both.

Ha, I'm the first vote for the Falcons. NFC Championship last year. They will win the South, get a home game and win the NFC Championship this year.

Nobody has pointed out that this trade would give SF a Bonds/Abreu/Alou OF, while easily the most productive offensively, it would be sickening to watch defensively. Abreu in CF in SBC would be hilarious.

So for CF, it looks like: Pierre for 3 prospects (at least 1 a pretty good prospect) Finley for Patterson Bradley for Walker 1 year of a Slappy, 1 year of Keith Richards, or 2 years of a psycho.

Although, this was the first thread, I'm locking this because the other one has replies.

How exactly is Lugo better? Aside from last year in the OBP department, Furcal has been better in nearly every category throughout their careers. Lugo's 3-year splits: .281 .346 .402 .748 Furcal's splits: .285 .348 .429 .777 Close, but Furcal steals more bases and has a higher success rate. Furcal is also a better defender and it two years younger. Lugo historically strikes out more and walks less. Furcal hits for more power and is faster. Furcal will cost more, but will require no trade cost. You can say Lugo is more cost effective, but to say he is better is just plain wrong. I agree. But I'd go with Lugo because of the cost. I'm not sure about Furcal being better on defense either. But I would have to check the stats.

You picking IU? Cool. It's so on tonight! Watch for Rod Wilmont on Redick. He will be all over him. Also, if Ratliff comes back, those long arms will give Redick trouble. If Killingsworth can get Williams in foul trouble, IU will win. Of course, if they continue shooting 58% from the field, it won't matter if Williams scores 50. Williams will get his, but the key is stopping McRoberts, who doesn't look for offense, but will likely see a lot of time vs. the 5" shorter Vaden or a freshman, Ben Allen. And always, gotta stick all over Redick. When's the last time an IU/Duke game featured a huge athletic advantage for the Hoosiers? The crowd will be hype. Last time IU faced a #1 team in Bloomington, beat Michigan St on a last second 3. Last time IU faced a #1 Duke team, AJ Moye sent the shot block heard around the world.

Goony starting a thread? =P~ I think it's a solid idea. I could live with it too. But I think Texas is giving up too much. 3 starters for a downgrade at 2B and a SP. Only thing it does is save them money. I'm almost willing to go with Pierre and Furcal 1-2, just for the lineup stability, and hope for Floyd in RF. I'd like a SP too. Loiaza would have been decent if it was January and he was looking for a lesser deal.

Loiaza would be good in that park. Zito, Loiaza, Harden, Haren, Blanton is a pretty solid rotation. I think Zito is gone though.

Why do you think Kearns is better than Wily Mo, out of curiousity? I was wondering the same thing. Wily Mo strikes out 900 times a year. He strikes out just a hair more than Dunn. I'd put him in the second tier...he's young and has alot of upside. I think he could become what alot of people thought Kearns would become. Well, maybe 2nd tier if your concerned with the long term, 3rd tier if you're more worried about 2006 and you don't care about 2007 and beyond. What is there to like about Pena other than the raw power? He doesn't walk. And probably never will, as he hasn't improved (.06 BB/100 in 05, 04 and combined in 02-03) . That's why a team can handle Dunn's K's and not his. What do you mean he doesn't walk? So he doesn't walk as much as Giles or Dunn...that's the far end of the spectrum. He walks enough to put about a 50 point difference between his average and his OBP. And he's 24. You act like hitters don't ever refine their strike zone beyond the age of 24. That notion is ridiculous. He's another guy that was rushed to the minors too soon, like we did with Corey. They brought him up when he was 20. He's got a good ability to put the bat on the ball. If he can refine his judgement of the strike zone over the next year or two, he'll be a very good hitter. And again, if you're going for Pena, you're going for projected upside. He's a project, and I'd rather take a gamble on him than settle for a mediocre guy with no likelihood of improvement, like Jacque Jones or Raul Ibanez. You can't possibly dispute the fact that he doesn't walk enough. He's a career .060 BB/100 hitter. He was exactly on that number the last 2 years. And yes hitters do refine their strikezones as they age. I never said they didn't. But my point is, if you are gonna go with a young hitter with upside who doesn't walk, K's a ton, and has some power.....you might as well stick with Corey Patterson. At least Corey has had past performance to look back at. I agree he was brought up too early. But I don't see his zone getting better. I'd much rather go with Kearns as a project who at least has more of a clue of the zone.

I'd trade for Bradley and Wilkerson and play one in CF and one in right. I really doubt we get Abreu, but that doesn't mean I'd want to settle for Jacque Jones. I'd rather trade for Mench or Ibanez than play Jones. Juan Encarnacion is likely a better option than Jones, and I'm not really high on him. I'd see if the Diamondbacks would be willing to trade Tracy before I'd make a run at Jones. Jones may be a nice complementary player on the right team, but there's little about him that impresses me. I'd almost rather have Jeromy Burnitz back on a one year deal than to give Jones a three-year deal. Finally, if we don't trade for Abreu, the best option is still to sign Brian Giles. Hell, if we can afford to piddle away 7 million on middle relievers on three year deals, why can't we pay Giles 3/39? There's no way I'd play Wilkerson in RF (or Jones). Bradley could handle it. I think Encarnacion is a better option than both Wilkerson and Jones. There's no way the D'Backs trade Tracy if they have any sense, I mean why would they - doesn't he have a few years of arb. left? I don't want the Cubs anywhere near Burnitz, he was serviceable last year, but he's getting pretty old now. We're the Cubs, we have money, if Burnitz is back we should riot on Waveland people. I think Wilkerson could handle RF, but ideally you'd like better production from your RF. (However, Wilkerson would produce more than what Burnitz gave us last season.) Defensively, I don't think Wilkerson would have a problem in right. If Wilkerson were our RF and Bradley were our CF, I think the overall OF production would be ok. (Just think about a line-up where every hitter could post a 350+ OBP) As to why the D'backs trade Tracy: They have the following players for four spots: Luis Gonzalez, Connor Jackson, Carlos Quentin, Troy Glaus, Chad Tracy, and Tony Clark. While it baffles me that they would keep Clark, they just signed him to an extension, so you can pencil him in at firstbase. The smart move would be to trade Glaus and put Tracy at third. If they keep Glaus, they have Jackson, Gonzalez, Quentin, and Tracy for LF and RF. They could move Tracy because of that. Don't forget about Shawn Green.

Why do you think Kearns is better than Wily Mo, out of curiousity? I was wondering the same thing. Wily Mo strikes out 900 times a year. He strikes out just a hair more than Dunn. I'd put him in the second tier...he's young and has alot of upside. I think he could become what alot of people thought Kearns would become. Well, maybe 2nd tier if your concerned with the long term, 3rd tier if you're more worried about 2006 and you don't care about 2007 and beyond. What is there to like about Pena other than the raw power? He doesn't walk. And probably never will, as he hasn't improved (.06 BB/100 in 05, 04 and combined in 02-03) . That's why a team can handle Dunn's K's and not his.

I'm sorry. I'll run it by you next time I want to post in my own thread, Mom. Maybe you should if your post isn't funny or insightful. What's the point of this? Please just continue the discussion and let the sarcasm die.

I could agree with that, but I'd probably move Pena into the 3rd Tier. I'd probably put Chad Tracy in the second tier. Also, if Murton could play RF (and I have my doubts that he can), I wouldn't mind looking into Luis Gonzalez. (Put him in the third tier.) I'd actually put Tracy in the bottom of the 1st tier. He'd be the cheapest of that group to acquire, to pay, and has the most upside.

Why do you think Kearns is better than Wily Mo, out of curiousity? Much better clue at the plate, as far as strikezone judgement and control of it. The power is very comparable. Not much difference anywhere else.

Assuming that the Pierre deal goes thru eventually, here are the names I want in RF for the Cubs next year, of the names that are or have been rumored to be available: 1st Tier B. Giles B. Abreu A. Dunn 2nd Tier C. Floyd G. Jenkins M. Bradley B. Wilkerson R. Ibanez 3rd Tier J. Encarnacion K. Mench A. Kearns 4th Tier J. Burnitz J. Jones W. Pena

Man, gotta be able to pick up that 1st. A TD could have ended the game. BTW, the Bears have been a horrible screen team for the longest time. I don't know why. Nice to see them finally put together a good one.

Gotta love the 1-yard drive!

Soriano would be a welcome addition to the lineup in the 6th hole. I'd gladly take him in that role. If he's hitting at the top of the order, not so much. If the Cubs did get Furcal, trade for Pierre, and got a LH bat for the middle of the order, Soriano would make a potentially good lineup, great. Pierre Furcal Lee Floyd Ramirez Soriano Murton Barrett

Is Berlin ready to go today? THat'd be nice. He's as good as any non-Muhammad WR on the team now. When everyone is healthy, he also makes Wade expendable.

IU with another great offensive showing. 102 points. 2 straight games over 100, after not scoring triple digits in 4 years. Again IU was sick from the field shooting 59%, including 16-25 from 3. 29 assists on 36 baskets, just 13 TOs. All while missing yet another starter to injury (Sean Kline). That game should put us atop of major college basketball with 100.3 points/game, .576 from the field, and .583 from 3pt range.

Well, that didn't take long.

Jenkins is interesting. He's on the wrong side of 30, but he's a good player. For me, he'd be along the Cliff Floyd level of guys I would want around. Second tier, right after Giles, Dunn, Abreu. He has proven to overcome his biggest difficulty, staying healthy, the last 2 years. He produced an .888 OPS last season. If he can stay on the field, he may be better than most options 32 and over, because he could still be in his prime since he spent most of his prime years on the DL. He has 2 years left on his deal for $8M/year, I believe. He's a career .281/.349/.508 hitter, and while I'd like better OBP from the middle of the order, a mid 8's OPS is not bad. I certainly wouldn't expect Milwaukee to eat half of his contract. Add: Jenkins was also amazing after the break. 1.025 OPS after the break. 10th in all of baseball.

He also doesn't have a big long-term contract or require you to take on Mike Lowell. Better player doesn't necessarily mean that he will require more in a trade. There are plenty of other factors that go into a player's "worth".

Pal, I have 400 posts on a message board, that's what you know of me. Leave it alone. Exactly the reason I'd guess he asked more information about you. Whatever. If I was a janitor my opinion on the Cubs is less insightful than yours? Maybe everyone should leave it alone. In fact, if you are asking for it to be left alone, why continue to comment?