The Voice of Reason

That may be an issue but I also think the Cubs view him as a defensive liability.

Since (according to Bruce and others in the know) Todd Walker "doesn't fit into the Cubs plans," should the Cubs pursue Hudson and leave Cedeno at shortstop? Hudson appears to be a mediocre hitter and good fielder. Thoughts? Orlando Hudson Tor .271 .315 .412 .728 Per JERRY CRASNICK ESPN I still think Orlando Hudson would be a good fit for either the Cardinals or the Cubs at second base. He's very athletic, fast and great defensively, and readily available.

Did they have a quality leadoff hitter in 1908?

Slow news day. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5163848

Doing PR for Victor Conte and BALCO.

Good point. OK will give them Neifi.

Hopefully some of the Cubs pitchers will have "lucky" years this year. :wink:

You're funny. what's the point in trading for bigbie and starting him? might as well have gone for the prize. could be a long year for the cards. See post in Rivalries. viewtopic.php?t=27419

From Jayson Stark, link to complete story attached. "That's a team whose window to win may be closing," said one GM. "They'll still be good. But they're getting thinner, and they're getting older, and they're getting more vulnerable." And what happened at these winter meetings -- when a starting pitcher they clearly wanted to sign didn't bite on the "You Should Take A Little Less Because We're The Cardinals" sales pitch -- could be an indication of just how much more vulnerable they really are http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=2253019

I think you may need to use Walker to get Bradley.

Keep in mind Boras is his agent and he is on record as saying that Millwood deserves a better contract than Burnett got (e.g., 5yr $60 million?).

Since when? I don't think old "Players Manager" Dusty did to well with "moody" veterans like Sosa, Alou, Hawkins or Mercker. That's why they're former Cubs. I'd much rather have someone like Wilkerson than an injury-prone, ticking time-bomb like Bradley.

Thanks. He also doesn't think the weak arm will be as much of a factor as some people think given the short power alleys in Wrigley - i.e., Pierre will be responsible for covering a lot less ground than he currently does at Pro Player and his average throws will be of a lesser distance.

Likes the deal. His view: Pros - Career .305, good leadoff hitter (when he hits .300), contact hitter, tons of groundballs (w/b good at Wrigley), good bunter, tons of stolen bases, very durable (162 games a year), covers a lot of ground in field, hits the cut off man, good characater, nobody works harder. Cons - No power, gets caught stealing a lot (25%), weak arm, doesn't walk a lot.

CardFanInChi Card Talk Forum User Post subject: Pierre Would Edmonds share CF and some eye shadow with him? CFIC you can have him. Good riddance. Pierre is a huge upgrade over Patterson (who will never be Lou Brock).

I'm sure I've followed Pie in Winter Ball as much as you have. Please do not suggest that I'm ignorant b/c we have a different opinion. I'd venture to say that Pie is just shaking off rust. It's a bit of a stretch to call Pie "oft-injurred." He had one injury, which wasn't even all that serious. There were no broken bones. The Cubs have been cautious not to make that injury any worse, hence they shut him down for the season. I agree that Pie should start this year at Iowa, and probably play there all year. I too would like to see a stop-gap, but I would MUCH rather the stop gap be Bradley and the one-dimensional Pierre. Here's a post I made about a month ago on Pie. It still stands. Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 12:21 pm Post subject: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don’t take my word for that Pie is going to be a star. Take Bobby Dickerson’s word for it. Dickerson was Pie’s manager this year in Double A: On Pie’s Attitude: Quote: On Pie’s Defense: Quote: On Pie’s Power Potential: Quote: On his Ability to Win: Quote: And, of course, the DiamondJaxx went to the championship this year. I believe that they would have won it had Pie been able to play. I repeat that Pie is going to be a star. Plus, he's a fun-loving, exciting young man. He's exactly the kind of player that wee all love to root for. He plays with heart, effort, and joy. So enough with the Pie for Pierre suggestions. It would be nothing short than a collossal mistake to make such a move. And while I am all for targetting Dunn or Abreu, I would do everything I could to get one of them without trading Felix. No one suggested trading Pie for Pierre and no one said Pie didn't have a lot of potential. But you clearly suggested Pie (from AA) is currently better the Pierre. Something that is not true now and may never be. To suggest otherwise, is pure speculation.

Welcome to the forum! Pierre is simply not a good ballplayer. He is completely one-dimensional. He's not a good defender. He hits for no power. He doesn't even have a good stolen base ratio. Keep him far away from the Cubs. Pie is already a better player than Pierre. He is simply an outstanding defender. You will see Pie win a gold glove in the future. Nor is he the second coming of Patterson at the plate. Pie continues to improve at every level in all facets of his game. He will be an impact player in the Bigs, and it would competely foolish of the Cubs to trade him away. I like the potential of Pie as much as the next guy and know a lot of posters here hate Pierre but saying a guy that's in AA is already better than an established major league player of Pierre's caliber is ridiculous. I'd take Pierre over Bradley based simply on attitude and work ethic alone. Throw out 2005 (like everyone does with Wilkerson) and use Pierre's career average stats - they're respectable. OK, Pierre haters >>> ATTACK.

So what are your recommendations? $15 million a year for Furcal? Prior for Abreu? Zambrano for Dunn? Pie, Hill, Guzman and Cedeno for Zito? Easy to criticize, harder to make valid proposals.

Agree. The only potential downside I see in getting Lugo and Huff (at a reasonable price) is I believe both are free agents in 2007. This of course, could work to the Cubs advantage if Cedeno and Pie prove in 2006 that are capable of playing full time. This would give you the option of not re-signing Lugo and Huff or re-signing them and trading Cedeno and Pie and getting much more in 2007 than you can now.

Looks like a possibility. Yes I know it depends on who we give up but assume Pie and Hill stay, all other prospects are available and Walker or Cedeno goes. Like everybody else, I want Dunn and Abreu but assume that's not feasible (i.e, Abreu for Prior). Discuss. It kills time while waiting to hear something.

I think Baker and Bradley could form a good relationship. Maybe just maybe Bradley come shere adn if he does I'll be ecstatic. Me too. How about we send Dusty to the Dodgers? :wink:

Why not just keep Dunn? I think it was "talk to the Reds about getting Dunn, less interest in Kearns, with possibility of using Kearns to get Wilkerson." Thanks for the clarification. I wonder if Hill would suddenly become available as part of a package to get Dunn?

Why not just keep Dunn?

Harold should stick to evaluating baseball talent. http://www.annabenson.net

Number 2 won't happen in that format. The Marlins want low-earning prospects without contracts like Patterson's and Walker's.