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I was thinking about what I would like to see for next year's OF. I'm on record saying that I'd like Lawton to come back and solidify the leadoff spot. And I'd like to go out and sign Giles, or obviously, trade for Dunn or maybe even Huff, Floyd, or Ramirez. But if Lawton is too expensive, I would like to see Hendry go after a cheaper alternative for the corner OF spot that one of the expensive acquisitions is NOT manning. Kearns comes to mind, as do players like Ryan Church, who seem like the odd men out. Well, that led me to thinking about a couple of Twins OFs. Those 2 are Lew Ford and Jacque Jones. Ford is having a very down year. After looking like a solid player last year, Ford's BA, BB/PA, SBs, and power have all dipped, while his K rate has gone up. I admittedly called Jones, "Corey Patterson without the upside" this offseason, but JJ has quietly walked in 10% of his plate appearances. Jones makes $5M this year and should price himself out of the Twins range. Ford could be expendable, because Jason Kubel could be back and is a pretty good OF prospect for the Twins. They also have several backups in place for the 4th OF/DH spots. Has Jones turned the corner? If there's one thing he's never been it's consistent. Just 2 years ago his BB/PA was under .04. His numbers have no type of trend whatsoever. If he was hitting his career .282 this year, his OBP would be in the .360s. Has Ford come back to Earth? He's not the toolsiest or youngest guy around.

And his trade value. If Corey performs more toward the level that he is capable of, I see no reason to trade him. His upside still far outweighs the value we would get in return for Corey. Plus, our outfield defense would be tremendous with he and Pie roaming out there. Corey looked very patient today, to answer someone's question. Today, he laid off both high pitches and pitches low and away. I was very encouraged by his approach today. Plus that catch! Exactly. I've come to grips with the fact that Corey Patterson will be traded and for someone without much value if he doesn't turn it around for the remainder of this season. But if he does start to hit again, there's no reason to trade him. His value to the Cubs (who need OF production in a major way) is much more than it would be in a trade.

4 of 11 so far. 3 Ks, 1 BB. Maybe the most encouraging stat: Only 2 times has Corey pulled the ball. One flyout and a double down the line. 2 of his 4 hits have come right back up the middle. 1 bunt hit. Fly out and a couple groundouts to the left side. If Corey comes back to hit well the rest of the season, Pat Listach needs to be the hitting coach in Chicago.

Not me. But I wouldn't mind having Kevin Millwood. I'd take Millwood. He still has the ability to dominate on any given day. He will likely fly under the radar this offseason, then again....with nothing else available, he could get big money.

If he can pitch this fall and remain healthy... I don't know that I've ever called a prospect a "sure-thing", but if Angel Guzman can stay relatively healthy, he will definitely be a good ML pitcher. No doubt about it.

Washburn's middle name is Smoke and Mirrors. He's not a very good pitcher, and gets very lucky with offensive support.

That would still be nice, but he was about that productive in Florida. Last year he was headed for a career year, before he wore down at the end. I think out of Florida, with the newfound confidence and respect that will come from this year, Lee will be significantly better than his career norms. My .290/.380 may be a little low, actually.

Why is everyone getting on Hendry for this? There is only one logical explanation for this move. Hendry put out an open promotion in the minors, nobody wanted to be on this team, and Koronka drew the short straw.

They got Pujols too? Darn!

I think Lee will be good next year, but not great as he has been this year. I still see him as a guy who could hit .290/.380/.560 for a few more years. He was a 2nd tier 1B up until this year. I think he can stay in the top tier for a few more years.

The way I see it is there isn't much FA wise in the OF. If the Cubs aren't gonna get 2 OFs this offseason (not likely), they need major production at SS. I'd love for them to get Dunn, keep Lawton (or similar high OBP player), and start Cedeno at SS (although, I'd love to trade for Lugo); but I don't see that as likely.

Are you listening, Jim Hendry? This man knows what he's talking about. I'm torn on Giles - he's definitely past his prime and it would just feel too much like picking up one of those guys who ends his career playing below average baseball, but if you can sign him to a short term contract that isn't too excessive I guess I'd do it. I would have no problem with Burnett, but I honestly believe since it's such a thin free agent market and there are so many teams with money who will be looking to bolster their pitching that we'd end up severely overpaying for him - I just have to believe some team out there will "sign him at all costs" and make him rich and I don't know that I want that to be the Cubs. I'd be ok with a 2-year deal for Giles. No more than 3, though. Yeah, I'd go 3 with Giles at the most. In the next 3 years, I expect at worst, a pretty good year (.950 OPS), a solid year (low .900s OPS), and a mediocre year (.850ish OPS). He'll get on base 40% of the time regardless if he can continue to be a .300 hitter or not.

We don't. He's the last player on the Padres roster they would get rid of, outside of Peavy.

I agree with Tim. Burnett and Giles have to be 1 and 1A in the FA market. Burnett has to be looked at simply because he's by far the most talented free agent on the market. As I said in another thread, I would seriously bring back mostly the same starters and strengthen the bench and bullpen. I'd try to bring back Lawton, Nomar, Williamson, Walker, and Dempster. I probably wouldn't offer Lawton arbitration, because he'd probably accept and get over $8M and probably wouldn't be a top A. But I'd try to sign him to a 2-year, $10-12M deal. I'd offer Nomar $4-5M plus incentives to come back. Cedeno becomes the backup SS (getting time if Nomar gets hurt) and 2B (getting time against LHPs). I'd look to add 2 relief arms, 1 lefty, 1 righty. I would look to trade for a young arm with one of those moves, and maybe sign a guy like Wickman for the other. Then I'd add some high OBP, versatile guys to the bench.

I think the most important thing about Sing's season is that he's got competitive numbers to Delmon Young (since promoted) and Jeremy Hermida, maybe the top 2 OF prospects in baseball. Of course, he's older than both...but his numbers can't be overlooked in a pitcher's league.

Exactly. He should be suspended if he walked out on the team.

Hey, the only thing that could get Baker fired quicker than losing is if he loses the control of the team. That didn't work last year.

Hey, the only thing that could get Baker fired quicker than losing is if he loses the control of the team. That didn't work last year.

Who has the Jaxx HR record? I know Patterson, Hinske, and Kelton all hit 20. But I don't think any of them got to 25.

I think ARod could be had. I do think in order for him to be made available though, they would probably have to have other parts in place, i.e. a CF or Soriano trade. They could replace ARod's bat with the CF and 2B bat, and could go with a #2 hitter, like Bill Mueller at 3B.

Nomar needs to get on a nice 25 of 60 streak, with a lot of doubles.

The 16 extra pitches hurt way more than the 2 runs. Zambrano will be lucky to go 5, or Dusty will make him go 7 with 140 pitches.

I don't need #1. Every manager will play hunches and lame matchups. They all gamble. If a manager gives you #4, then that's all you can ask for. As for the rest, I think Dusty can do #2 well if he has a veteran bench. For some reason he feels vets need regular work to stay sharp, while rookies learn from watching. I think it's the pitching coach's job to maximize a pitching staff. I do think a manager has to relinquish some responsibility and let the PC advise him on when to pull guys and the moves to make.

I don't know. It would be a tough call. If it was 2006, then I would easily take him for 2 years. But for 3, and him being 37-38 when it ends...I would have to think long and hard. I think he has been worth the money (not sure if he will be in 2-3 years), but signing Prior and Zambrano are much more pressing needs. BTW, I think ARod at SS is worth the money too.

Bring back this current team, exactly as it is right now.....and I honestly think the Cubs would be vastly improved just by having a better bench and bullpen. I'm not convinced that Dusty WON'T be here, and if he's gonna continually play the bench guys too much and not put the most effective team on the field, the best thing is to have a team that is better up and down. Don't give him a team where he can start Hollandsworth, Perez, and Macias. Don't give him a pen where he has 1 go to guy that he wears out by the end of June. Go out and get a BJ Ryan, Rafael Betancourt, and add them to Williamson, Dempster, whoever. Go out and get guys on the bench who will at least take a walk when they are called on to play in case of an injury. Go get a Mark Sweeney, Matt Stairs, Frank Menechino, Russell Branyan.