cheapseats

I'd be happy to play.

1. Alex Rodriguez 2. Albert Pujols 3. Hanley Ramirez 4. Jose Reyes 5. Ryan Braun 6. David Wright 7. Chase Utley 8. Jimmy Rollins 9. Miguel Cabrera 10. Johan Santana 11. Matt Holliday 12. Ryan Howard 13. Grady Sizemore 14. Prince Fielder 15. Jake Peavy 16. Troy Tulowitzki 17. Victor Martinez 18. Carl Crawford 19. Alfonso Soriano 20. David Ortiz 21. Carlos Beltran 22. Brandon Webb 23. Vlad Guerrero 24. Ichiro 25. Derrek Lee 26. Russell Martin 27. Joe Mauer 28. Brandon Phillips 29. Brian Roberts 30. BJ Upton 31. Derek Jeter 32. Corey Hart 33. Josh Beckett 34. Manny Ramirez 35. Dan Haren 36. Robinson Cano 37. Justin Verlander 38. Erik Bedard 39. Aramis Ramirez 40. Cole Hamels 41. Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones 42. Adam Dunn 43. Mark Teixeira 44. CC Sabathia 45. Carlos Lee 46. Lance Berkman 47. Roy Halladay 48. Carlos Zambrano 49. Scott Kazmir 50. Francisco Liriano 51. John Smoltz 52. John Lackey 53. Chris Young (the outfielder) 54. Curtis Granderson 55. Brian McCann 56. Ian Kinsler 57. Magglio Ordonez 58. Jorge Posada 59. Khalil Greene 60. Carlos Guillen 61. Garrett Atkins 62. Felix Hernandez 63. Aaron Rowand 64. Geovany Soto 65. Chris Young (the weirdly proportioned pitcher) 66. Roy Oswalt 67. Aaron Harang 68. Ryan Zimmerman 69. Carlos Pena 70. Joe Nathan 71. Matt Kemp 72. Francisco Rodriguez 73. Dan Uggla 74. Gary Sheffield 75. Jonathan Paplebon 76. Daisuke Matsuzaka 77. Hunter Pence 78. Tim Lincecum 79. Rich Hill 80. Nick Markakis 81. Rickie Weeks 82. Kosuke Fukudome 83. Kenji Johjima 84.Fausto Carmona 85. JJ Putz 86. Takashi Saito 87. Jose Valverde 88. Todd Helton 89. Javier Vazquez 90. Nick Swisher 91. James Shields 92. Miguel Tejada 93. Brad Hawpe 94. Hideki Matsui 95. Travis Hafner 96. Edgar Renteria 97. Alex Rios 98. JJ Hardy 99. Chone Figgins 100. Billy Wagner 101. Joba Chamberlain

85. JJ Putz 86. Takashi Saito 87. Jose Valverde 88. Todd Helton 89. Javier Vazquez 90. Nick Swisher 91. James Shields 92. Miguel Tejada

Thank you, Felix.

That's what she said.

Lieber doesn't instill much more confidence in me (if any) than Dempster. Dempster and Lieber should spot start against the Brewers and other RH-heavy lineups.

I took a quick trip to Kissimmee to scout Hunter Pence.

73. Dan Uggla 74. Gary Sheffield 75. Jonathan Paplebon 76. Daisuke Matsuzaka 77. Hunter Pence

61. Garrett Atkins 62. Felix Hernandez 63. Aaron Rowand 64. Geovany Soto 65.Chris Young (the weirdly proportioned pitcher) 66. Roy Oswalt 67. Aaron Harang 68. Ryan Zimmerman

Did well today. Thanks to all for the tips.

Really? I think it's a total pain. I love it.

49. Scott Kazmir 50. Francisco Liriano 51. John Smoltz 52. John Lackey 53. Chris Young (the outfielder)

37. Justin Verlander 38. Erik Bedard 39. Aramis Ramirez 40. Cole Hamels 41. Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones 42. Adam Dunn 43. Mark Teixeira 44. CC Sabathia

Round 3 25. Derrek Lee 26. Russell Martin 27. Joe Mauer 28. Brandon Phillips 29. Brian Roberts

13. Grady Sizemore 14. Prince Fielder 15. Jake Peavy 16. Troy Tulowitzki 17. Victor Martinez 18. Carl Crawford 19. Alfonso Soriano 20. David Ortiz

1. Alex Rodriguez 2. Albert Pujols 3. Hanley Ramirez 4. Jose Reyes 5. Ryan Braun

I'd take Jose Cruz Jr. as a 4th or 5th OF. Not good at all last year, but he has hit lefties well over his career, and he projects to have a slightly above average EQA this year.

Lofton and Bruce both bat left-handed. How are they going to platoon?

Pie would really have to suck for Payton to be a viable fall back plan. PECOTA projects an OPS for .697 for Payton. I just have a really bad feeling Pie's not going to hit. Is that you, Dusty? :)

Pie would really have to suck for Payton to be a viable fall back plan. PECOTA projects an OPS for .697 for Payton.

It's been about 40 hours since you made this statement. Do you still believe it? :D

Lots were clamoring for Theriot when Izturis was the other option. Theriot was a better choice than Izturis. That doesn't mean SS isn't a hole for the Cubs.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=605

How do you figure they aren't a favorite? I'm not particularly stoked about this team's chances of doing anything serious in the playoffs, but I see no reason to think the brewers have done anything to get better than us. Their defense was brutal last year. Their defensive efficiency was .8 standard deviations below average. The Cubs were almost 1.5 standard deviations above average. They've made a difference just by adding Cameron, moving Braun to the outfield, and moving Hall to the infield. Yeah, I definately don't buy the fact that since they upgraded their defense a little bit that they're the favorites. It's going to be close I'm sure, but to say "we're not a playoff team in this division" is a little silly. I think it's pretty much a tossup at this point. I'd much rather the Cubs upgrade at SS, but if Roberts can be had without giving up too much it's a no-brainer.

Keep hoping. Votto for Blanton? Sure. Anything more? No way Why would the A's trade Blanton for one of Cincy's bench players? And it's not like Oakland is short on first basemen. Joey Votto is a bench player for us? That's news to me. He is unless Hatteberg is hurt. You have no idea what you are talking about. Wait and see.