Hosak8

I don't know that I agree with that. Walker is an everyday player, and would add a solid and steady bat to that lineup. He'd do the same in Seattle or Detroit as well. If I were Hendry (and I somehow doubt that Hendry is this astute any longer) I'd set up deals with both Texas and Seattle and see if one was willing to outbid the other. Regardless, Texas could use him in the lineup every day, and Kinsler would be my beginning asking price (I'd of course throw in money and/or a prospect).

According to CBS.Sportsline (via the Trib) the Rangers, Mariners, and Tigers are all interested in Todd Walker. Why would Texas do this with Kinsler there? Could we get Kinsler back for Walker and EPatt? Thoughts?

Wow. As far as wins go, he'll probably set a personal best this year. But he hasn't exactly been lights out. A 4.78 ERA (more than a run higher than his career), 27 homers allowed already in 122.1 IP, strikeout rate is down just a shade. You can make the argument that he's adjusting to a new league and that he's at least been healthy this year. But for that kind of money, I'd like to be fairly certain that I can get 200 innings out of him per season (something he has yet to do), and that he'll get that ERA back down. With their offense, run support isn't as much of a concern, so he can still win quite a bit there with an ERA in the mid-4.00's. But for an avg. of $10 million a year, you'd hope he could bring that down. All of what you said is true, but in baseball today, getting a guy like Beckett locked up for 3 years at only 10 million per is a steal, imo.

3 of the runs in Floyd's GS were Marshall's.

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You sign free agents because you have the money to, it's not a bad crop of free agents, and because you have a young enough, and talented enough team to compete very soon with the right veterans. Heck, do you think the Marlins wouldn't love to have 2 more veterans in that lineup right now? With two bats and one arm, they're a playoff contender. Add Zito and Schmidt to a pitching staff that includes Willis and Zambrano and OH MY GOODNESS. You have 4 Cy Young quality pitchers in your rotation. And a lineup that includes Carlos Lee and Miguel Cabrera to go along with so much young talent could score runs, imo. It would be the sheer definition of reloading... or in the case of the Cubs, loading.

Sorry, but I disagree with you on several points. The DOdgers would rather have a rookie with 2 weeks MLB experience in a pennant race than an All-Star caliber player at catcher? Not buying it. And, they are gonna' rely on Saito and Baez and be okay with that? I think they'd jump at the chance to acquire those three players. As far as the Angels go, there is no way we give up Lee for Kennedy, and if you think the Angels wouldn't deal a prospect for Lee, then we just have to agree to disagree. Figgins, Walker/Kennedy, Vlad, and Lee at the top of their lineup? Deadly, especially in the AL West, where a bat like Lee could put them way over the top. And, with the Mets, fine, give them Marshall too. Whatever it takes. The Dodgers already have 3 catchers on their roster w/ Hall, Martin, and Alomar. One would probably have to comeback to us. I think the point is that it's too much to send to the Dodgers for just Loney and LaRoche. It's not necessarily a situation where the Dodgers wouldn't be interested, but the dynamics of the trade would have to be different. If I were trading with the Dodgers I'd AND I was trading Lee (and just Lee) I'd have to get LaRoche AND Either at the very least. If I added an All-Star 3B and C it would be a heck of alot more. Yes the Dodgers have 3 catchers on the roster, and none are as good as Barrett. It's a pennant race, and if you can improve, you do so, and this would be a big improvement for them. And, Lee is not part of the Dodgers equation. But if Loney and Laroche aren't enough, then I ask for Ethier, or at the very least Izturis, who gives us another chip (either him or Ronny).

Honestly, I love Loney. He's killing the ball in AAA. THe part of the equation Ilike least is the situation at 3B. So, I might additionally turn around and offer Murton, Pelfrey, Laroche, and Guzman to Florida for Willis and Cabrera. That gives us the money to sign Carlos Lee, and then our lineup would be this: C- Mathis and Kottaras 1B- Loney 2B- Kendrick 3B- Cabrera SS- Cedeno LF- Lee CF- Milledge RF- Quentin SP- Zambrano, Willis, FA, FA, Hill/Marmol In 2007 we'd be exciting, in 2008, we'd be deadly.

Sorry, but I disagree with you on several points. The DOdgers would rather have a rookie with 2 weeks MLB experience in a pennant race than an All-Star caliber player at catcher? Not buying it. And, they are gonna' rely on Saito and Baez and be okay with that? I think they'd jump at the chance to acquire those three players. As far as the Angels go, there is no way we give up Lee for Kennedy, and if you think the Angels wouldn't deal a prospect for Lee, then we just have to agree to disagree. Figgins, Walker/Kennedy, Vlad, and Lee at the top of their lineup? Deadly, especially in the AL West, where a bat like Lee could put them way over the top. And, with the Mets, fine, give them Marshall too. Whatever it takes.

I will begin with the disclaimer that there is no possibility of any of this ever happening, by any stretch of the imagination. However, Most of these deals seem feasible to me, and even though we'd not likely contend in 2007, these deals would give us a very young, very fun lineup with potential for the long term. And, yes, this thread is postively Marlins-esque. We begin by firing Dusty and bringing in a manager who can develop young talent. It also wouldn't hurt to fire Hendry and bring in an imaginitive GM who has a clue... someone like Ricciardi (I know, not gonna happen.) I'd like to see Von Joshua as the hitting coach as well. Now onto the deals: Maddux (and a B prospect if necessary) for George Kottaras. (SD does this in order to try to win the West this year.) ARam, Barrett, and Dempster to LA for James Loney and Andy Laroche. ARam would block Laroche and Barrett and Dempster would allow the Dodgers to compete for the West right now. Lee and Walker to the Angels for Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis, and Dallas McPherson. LA needs bats, and Lee drives up what we get in return from LA. Mark Prior, Felix Pie, and PTBNL to the Mets for Mike Pelfrey and Lastings Milledge. NY is looking for another arm or two, and have expressed willingness to deal Pelfrey and/or Milledge for Willis. NOt sure that this would get it done, but you have to imagine that a healthy Prior makes the Mets the hands down favorite to win the World Series. Finally, anything necessary to Arizona for Carlos Quentin. Juan Pierre, and whatever prospects we have to throw at them. THen we find anyone at all who would take Jones and Neifi... for nothing. So, we finish 2006 with this lineup: C- Kottaras (L) and Mathis ® 1B- Loney 2B- Kendrick 3B- Laroche ® and McPherson (L) SS- Cedeno LF- Murton CF- Milledge RF- Quentin SP- Zambrano, Pelfrey, Marmol, Hill, and Guzman Pen- similar to now, only we add Wuertz to close. Talk about the excitement that that young team could create... and the money we'd have fr free agency. OKay, blast away.

I live about 20 minutes from Smokies Park, and have been to see the Smokies several times so far this season. Quite frankly, they don't have much. Of course, I said the same thing last season when they had this scrappy utility infielder named Dan Uggla. AA is just not where the DBacks have their prospects right now. As has been stated, Montero looks like a decent catcher, but I wouldn't go much above that. There are some arms, but nothing spectacular. Other than that, I see a roster full of career minor leaguers. Honestly, there isn't a player on the Smokies roster that I would like to see the Cubs deal for.

I agree on Kottaras, but he's not worth Aramis. I'd offer them Maddux and others for Kottaras. Kottaras looks pretty good in the little bit I saw of him in the Futures game. I know the Padres need hitting. How is there hitting at the catcher postion going.....Piazza/Bard? Would Barrett interest them for Kottaras? Granted the Cubs would need to find a catcher(this year and next) until Kottaras is ready. If they took Kottaras for Barret, the Cubs could then turn and deal Maddux for Toby Hall, who reportedly already wants out of LA. Not ideal, but it is a ready made catcher scenario.

I'm pretty sick of Dusty. He's full of crap.. and excuses. He talks about having a team with young players who weren't really ready as being part of the reason we're so bad? Look at the [expletive] Florida Marlins, DUDE. They have a ROSTER full of those kids, and are still 5 GAMES BETTER THAN WE ARE. Damn, Dusty, at what point do you stop making excuses and practice a little bit of accountability? You share the blame. So quit deflecting it, dude.

From cbs.sportsline.com: Not sure how either helps us at 1B, other than by allowing us to leave Walker there. And, I'm pretty sure that Soriano isn't the answer to our woeful OBP, though it would be nearly impossible to lower it any.

Natural progression of a talented young arm. Greg Maddux is no pitching coach/mentor. He's a good pitcher, sure. However, this idea that he somehow helps younger pitchers is merely a mirage. Atlanta never had a single young pitcher truly develop because of Maddux's presence (no way you can count Smoltz), and had several "can't miss" guys (like Chen and Marquis) who never came close to living up to the hype). NOw that he's in Chicago, can you point to anyone? Mitre? No. Wellemeyer? No. ANyone? No. I just don't see what he gets credit for...

Why do people think that Greg Maddux teaches young pitchers anything? He was little to no help to Bruce Chen, Jason Marquis, or any other young Braves pitchers in the late 90's. Nor has he shown to be much help with any of our current younger pitchers. So, why would he have made any difference to Garland? Not trying to pick on you, but I sincerely don't understand this idea that Maddux makes any younger pitchers better for having him around. If he did, Atlanta would have never let him go.

There's an .071 avg that begs to differ. I'd say it is an enormous void. I'm starting to worry that Jones, if he's lucky, will hit like he did the last two years, in which case we're looking at a 250 avg with a 300 or worse OBP. That's a huge void. I'm hoping that the issue will be addressed sooner rather than later. And you think Shawn Green is the answer? Or, do you just think Shawn Green is the direction we'll look?

From CBS.Sportsline today: 3 younger, less costly players, huh? Surely we can offer that. And, no, I don't mean Pie, Hill, and Murton, or any other silly proposal like that. However, Hill is expendable, as is one of the superfluous right handers in the system (take your pick). And surely we can find a positional player to fit some needs in Oakland. Outside of Harvey, Pie, and Guzman, I'd be willing to part with just about anybody. Zito will be costly, but we could offer him arby and either get a compensation pick for him or build around him, Z, and Prior in 2007. Adding Marshall full time to that rotation, as well as Guz would be a very good rotation. And, if EPatt progresses to ML ready, we'd have a very cheap, young middle infield, as well as LF and CF. We can afford Zito in terms of price and prospects. I'd really like to see what he can do in the NL.

I really don't want us to go after Zito. Ever since he won the Cy in 2002 he has been crap. I don't think we need to trade some of our good prospect for him. The way Zito is going, there is a good shot Marshall will be as good as Zito will be for the rest of his career. I know Zito has the potential for some good starts, but come on, Zito hasn't done anything an average pitcher couldn't do over the past 3 years. He has had 3 mediocre seasons. If we get an excellent deal for him, then yes, by all means trade for him. As for giving up quality prospects, which is what Billy Beane will want, definately don't do it. That's not exactly true. Yes, he had a tough stretch in the 2004 season, and his overall 2005 numbers aren't eye-popping. However, his mechanics got way out of whack in 2003, causing his unspectacular seasons in 2003-2005. It was corrected last year, and his second half numbers were all better than the first half. His ERA, WHIP, K's/9, and OppAVG were all improved, as was his record. Hardly crap, though I agree that we shouldn't give up too much for him. Marshall or Hill and another marginal player? Yep, I'd do that. Guzman and Pie? Nope. No way. Zito is a 16-12, 3.45 type of pitcher in the NL. I'd take that in the #3 or 4 slot in our rotation.

I picked this tidbit off on cubs.com---I know, I know, but---and I don't know how credibility is it, but....I think it should be interesting debate. Would anybody here at least consider a Felix Pie for Howie Kendrick trade? Surely you fellas aren't buying this? WHen questioned about the link for the story, here was his comment: This from a guy who has been a member of Cubs.com for about 6 days and has 90 posts. I don't buy it.

Is that Barrett's fault or the pitchers? Molina on defense is largely going on defensive reputation of a couple of years ago rather than his upcoming production, he's not as good as he was in his late 20s. Molina peaked offensively last year and will likely not produce the same numbers as he did last year. To give him a multi-year deal partially based on his offensive production last year and his defensive reputation of the past is a finanical mistake. You don't know that. Very presumptuous on your part. Now, if you had said that catchers over 30 typically decline, then yes, that's factual. But your statement had nothing factual about it. It's all your assumption. He said "will likely not". It was a fact that he peaked offensively, that's the best he's done. And it's also true that he will likely not produce the same numbers. Semantics... and untrue. Best season of his career? So far, yes. Peaked? Cannot say for sure. Did D.Lee peak last season? It was the best season of his career. Does that mean he "peaked"? Not so sure. And, again, you're assuming that he won't match his production this season. Maybe he won't. But, you're not qualified to say that... it's merely your opinion. Your opinion isn't fact. Nor is mine. I'm not pretentious enough to suggest that it's a fact that he will or won't produce offensively the way he did last season. Why are so many others?

Is that Barrett's fault or the pitchers? Molina on defense is largely going on defensive reputation of a couple of years ago rather than his upcoming production, he's not as good as he was in his late 20s. Molina peaked offensively last year and will likely not produce the same numbers as he did last year. To give him a multi-year deal partially based on his offensive production last year and his defensive reputation of the past is a finanical mistake. You don't know that. Very presumptuous on your part. Now, if you had said that catchers over 30 typically decline, then yes, that's factual. But your statement had nothing factual about it. It's all your assumption.

I suggested this weeks ago, but was scoffed at. After all, OBP is the only stat that counts in baseball, remember? Michael Barrett is "significantly" better than Molina (not my words, mind you) offensively... so much so that defense doesn't matter. I was told that Molina would be a HUGE downgrade from Barrett. I agree with you. I'd take Molina over Barrett every day of the week. Better defensively and comparable offensively. Plus, Molina would likely cost less than Barrett, and Michael would net us something in return in a trade. Tejada? No, not with the Orioles needs and asking price. But, a useful player? Certainly.

Just making a couple of random guesses; he could reverse the numbers and go with 12, or add them together and wear 3. Forgive me if those numbers have been retired by the Pirates; I'm not familiar at all with what their great players wore besides Clemente. When he arrived in the majors, he wore #17. Don't know that he'd wear it again, but that was his original #.

Well, they did draft a 2B in the Rule V draft. Someone from the DBacks organization. Even though they are my hometown team, I cannot remember which guy it was. Anyway... can't imagine that they'd draft a guy to sit him for a full season behind pokey. Dan Uggla? Yeah, I guess it was Uggla. Since they became a DBacks farm team, I haven't paid much attention to them. Now I only go for West Tenn games. When they were a Cards farm team, I would go frequently to see what the enemy had coming up. Now, if the rumors of the Cubs leaving Jackson at the end of 2006 are true, and the rumors that they end up in East Tennessee, I'll attend 30-40 games a season. Anywho... Uggla it is. And, it's surprising that Uggla would have been drafted. I never saw anything special about him. He moved around alot, and he's a gritty player (think David Eckstein with more versatility) but I'm really surprised that he would be drafted in the Rule V Draft,.