Salazar89

An .800 OPS? Performance for an entire season, not just half? The ability to make a throw all the way to the infield... And, Ewww...gamer... Okay, okay, I'm done now. 1. Zambrano 2. Ramirez 3. Lee 4. Marmol 5. DeRosa Let of the bait, before I reel you in. :D

5. Theriot - he is a gamer 4. Marquis- consistent performer 3. Jones - what more could you ask from an everyday player 2. Ramirez - clutch with a capital RISP 1. Lee - although I question his durability *give me 8 Daryl Ward's and I'll purchase tickets for late October

I set the over under at 2, for the number of game winning RBI's he manages in the Red's final series this year. Go Cubs!

per Bruce Levine on Mike and Mike

Platoon him with Floyd the rest of the way out... I doubt it would ever happen, but it sure would be a circus if it did.

Not advocating this, but in typical cub-luck the best player to meet the following criteria: RH bat can play right field plays for a team out of contention can provide power and drive in runs one year rental low salary commitment would only require 2nd tier prospects to acquire is the one player Hendry and Co. will not acquire. I imagine the rebuilding Rangers move him at the deadline

I have no problem with MLB blocking the deal, if that is indeed what happened. With the Cubs picking up so much salary, it is basically the equivalent of purchasing prospects from a team with less financial resources. A practice that is not in the best interest of baseball. It looks like the only likely trading partner is a team burdened with another player who is overpaid and underperforming.

Salt in the wound

If Meche signs for 4yrs does this make Marshall, Guzman, Mateo and Marmol expendable? Besides the pen, they don't seem to fit into the Cubs future. Perhaps a year fo running up stats at AAA would make a few of them attractive at the trading deadline. Zambrano Lilly Hill Meche Prior/Miller/Veal

The thing about Mutron that I like is his bat speed. IMO, he'll always hit for a decent to high average, and with his plate discipline he will be a valuable player. The main problem, IMO is the outdated idea that a corner outfielder must hit a high number of HRs. His swing is not likely to do that. He's a line drive hitter who will hit lots of doubles but not a lot of HRs. With a guy like Murton in LF a team will have to look for power somewhere else. For that reason, I think he'll have a long career with a lot of teams. I don't think many Baseball Men who played The Game will have the foresight to build a team without a power hitter in a traditional power hitting position. I don't think that idea is outdated at all. You need to get power in your lineup, and LF is at the bottom of the defensive spectrum, making it easier to stash a big bat there. Obviously it's not an absolute, but if you have a player that struggles to get to an .800 OPS like Murton, it puts a lot of stress on positions that it's much more difficult to get offense from. I understand where you are coming from, but if you have a guy like Murton, you have to think a little differently. He's not in Tony Gwyn's class but Gwynn was a corner outfielder. George Brett wasn't a HR hitter, neither was Don Mattingly, for the most part. Obviously, I'm not suggesting that Murton will have a career like those three but two of the three guys played on WS teams. Edit: I just saw the Andrew Jones talk in transactions. Trade for Jones and work out a deal with Aramis. Then you have three legitimate power hitters: CF, 3rd, 1st. Throw a boat load of cash at Soriano and put him at 2nd and you'd have four. Murton Soriano Lee A.Jones Aramis Barrett JJ Izturas That would be a pretty decent every day line up. Nice line-up, but that is adding at least an extra 40 million (Jones, Soriano and Lee) to payroll without addressing pitching. I'm all for it, but I don't see the Tribune opening up the checkbook that much.

The Giants are probably not going to resign Bonds which will free up a ton of money. They are going to be big players in the off-season for outfield talent. The bidding wars for Soriano and Lee this winter could be outrageous. If we can lock up Jones prior to the off-season at 13.5in 2007 I'm all for it. The bidding wars for Soriano and Lee this winter could be outrageous. Acquiring Andruw would put us in a much better bargaining position with Pierre as well.

After today's comments Henry seems set on Cedeno and Izturis up the middle. I see them signing Carlos Lee to add some power and shore up the rotation with a top tier signing. Unfortunatley, Murton looks to be the odd man out. C Barrett 1b Lee 2b Cedeno SS Izturis 3b Ramirez LF Lee CF Pierre (resigned) RF Jones SP Zambrano SP Schmidt/Zito SP Prior SP4-5 Hill, Marshall, Wood, Guzman, Marmol, & Miller

In 2007 the combination of Pierre, Izturis and Cedeno I would imagine marks the end of Matt Murton's days as a Cub. With little to no power from those three positions Matt will not be able to continue his development in left field. I fully expect to see Carlos Lee in Cubbie blue to help with the power outage up the middle.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/ Offers their two cents on the Izturis addition...................... Tradition had its disadvantages

According to the Fox Story, the cash is coming from the Cubs. Does that make it more likely there's a good prospect coming back? Should be a better prospect if we are sending cash considerations. This one came down to the wire.....I wonder who blinked at the end?