Blueheart05

I wonder what we can get for him? If they want him, they are welcome to him. My question is, "Why?" A guy who tends to be a FB pitcher (though barely) over his career with a generally 3:2 K/BB ratio. His K/9IP is solid, but I don't know what COL would want him for. I think Wellemeyer is a decent pitcher with possibility of being a solid middle reliever, but why would COL be interested in someone with his skill set. Then again, these guys signed Joe Table too, so... Welly walks too many batters. His control can just go on holiday! Does anybody recall the Houston (?) game where the Cubs walked 5 in the inning? It all fell apart when Welly came in. I'm not a big fan of his game.

Getting back on topic, the Suntimes reports today that the Rangers have been looking for a number two starter in exchange for Mench. What are they thinking?

The Denver Post, via Rotoworld, reports that the Rockies are hot for Todd. lol I wonder what we can get for him?

Ya think? Don't work for The Score, but I think it's great that people in Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, China must listen to it more than I do. They can tell us what is said every minute of the day. 8) 8) 8) 8) Even I can't do that. I can understand why people in Iowa don't like The Score after B & B took on self-righteous Steve Alford and his raping basketball player. Many Iowa fans were mad at having this clown exposed. They have an agenda. I'm just a Cubs fan in the western suburbs, who only wants 3 things in 2006. The Cubs win the World Series, Badger gets a $100K+ job and Kerry Wood wins 25 games and makes me eat my words. I feel confident about 2 of them. I can't speak for other people but I live in Chicago and listen to The Score because I like sports radio. Normally, it is on all day in the background. Having said that, my view of the station has changed for the worse (and it has nothing to do with what has been written on messageboards). The Score is a very uncomfortable place for Cubs fans. The overwhelming majority of the hosts are biased White Sox fans who love sticking it to the Cubs and their fans. Mike North's most common insult is to say something is "Cubs like." The only two Cubs fans are Mike Murphy and Doug Buffone (Murph is always disgruntled and Douggy is uninformed). Things certainly will not improve now that they are the flagship station of the Sox. :roll: I know from my own listening that they "report" information that isn't true and greatly exaggerate stories. I listen because it's entertainment (that doesn't mean it doesn't make me angry from time to time).

No way. He did well in like low A ball. He's what, 25 or 26? Why waste a roster spot? He's probably going to get picked up by a team that can afford a project on their roster. Exactly! If the Cubs were going to have a "project" no the roster they'd just keep Corey. Just say no to Ankiel! :twisted:

Yes, but if they had gotten Burnett they wouldn't have. Now, they're in Plan B mode.

Honestly, for some strange reason I think Wood is going to make a significant number of starts in 2006; Maybe not 30 but 25 more more starts (just a feeling it's not based on anything else). Having said that, I'd feel more secure if we acquired an insurance arm. As it stands, we have Wood as a question mark, Zambrano, Prior, and a few number 4 or five starters. That's disconcerting.

I think you are going way overboard here. Vidro is an enormous risk, but at least he brings along with him the chance for very good production. With Neifi you are guaranteed crap. And Neifi would always be the fallback if Vidro did indeed fail. Trading Corey for him would be a risk, but nothing close to a guaranteed failure or dumb. I would rather take the chance of getting something out there than guarantee absolute failure, which is what Neifi does. Oh come on, you're exaggerating. Neifi's shortcomings are on offense which can be solved by hitting him low in the order. He's a steady defensive player. If need be, he could play the position (even though I am not advocating it). I don't understand why we should take a risk with a guy who's essentially damaged goods. Considering the guys we've had (and still have) that fit this mold, I want no part in taking a risk on players with preexisting injuries. Getting Vidro mught result in Neifi playing anyway...

NO, NO, NO. If Walker gets dealt for Bradley who would you rather see at 2B? Neifi or Vidro? I'm thinking Bowden would be dumb enough to take Patterson for Vidro btw. Neifi. At least he will play without having injury concerns. Vidro isn't someone that Hendry would take a risk on (which is why the cubs did not offer Nomar arbitration).

No, I'm not sure what you mean. Are you saying that Ofman apologized later about telling this story? If so, that wouldn't surprise me. Remember, Kinzer and Hendry (and the Cubs) have an ongoing relationship to consider. Kinzer is also Aramis' agent so it's not a good idea to have a story out there that tries to make the organization look badly. Also, even if the story is false, it would behoove Hendry to ignore it (rather than dispute its merits) because its a lose-lose proposition. Kinzer and JH need to maintain a positive working relationship. He certainly couldn't blast him the way Schurholtz (sp?) did. The story that George Ofman reported was also on WGN Radio(Kaplan) last night. So much for it being false and made up, if Kaplan reports it too. Big difference between reporting a false story and reporting private negotiations. The agents and Hendry are both big boys and would never be so petty to allow this story to get in their way. The Cubs aren't immune to trying to float stories out there themselves. Remember the Sammy tape of him leaving early? Did anyone ever actually see that tape? If so, please speak up. Wonder if the Cubs were just calling Sammy's bluff? Poor Oldcubsfan, Bruce got scooped again on a Chicago Cubs story. For someone who listens to Bristol Radio, you sure follow The Score alot. That's okay, I understand they have more than 70,000 listeners signed up to listen over the web. You have plenty of company. Frankly, I don't think negotiations are fodder for public consumption. What happens in the board room should stay there. Whomever it was that told Ofman the story, obviously, didn't consider the possible ramifications. The situation with Sosa was different altogether because it was a severed relationship. Kinzer and the Cubs have an ongoing relationship.

That's business and it doesn't surprise me if it's true. However, I think the idea that he's "micromanaged" is a bit harsh. This particular situation was a cause for concern (for lack of a better term) for his bosses because they were breaking other long held team philosophies to accomodate Furcal. The Cubs don't like to give 5 year deals and in this case, they included an option for a sixth year. All-in-all, I think they went above and beyond to get Furcal and they would have signed him if the Dodgers had not grossly overpaid.

No, I'm not sure what you mean. Are you saying that Ofman apologized later about telling this story? If so, that wouldn't surprise me. Remember, Kinzer and Hendry (and the Cubs) have an ongoing relationship to consider. Kinzer is also Aramis' agent so it's not a good idea to have a story out there that tries to make the organization look badly. Also, even if the story is false, it would behoove Hendry to ignore it (rather than dispute its merits) because its a lose-lose proposition. Kinzer and JH need to maintain a positive working relationship. He certainly couldn't blast him the way Schurholtz (sp?) did. That's exactly it. After he got the information he reported it, only to find out later that it was told to him in confidence, and that it was not meant for public knowledge. Basically none of us were supposed to have found out what happened behind the scenes, and his big mouth opened up and fired away secrets he wasn't supposed to tell. Thanks for the information! I wish I had heard it because The Score was playing the story up for a while during Boers & Bernstein and all the updates. In their typical fashion, they were giving the Cubs the business so, it would have been nice to hear Ofman eat crow.

No, I'm not sure what you mean. Are you saying that Ofman apologized later about telling this story? If so, that wouldn't surprise me. Remember, Kinzer and Hendry (and the Cubs) have an ongoing relationship to consider. Kinzer is also Aramis' agent so it's not a good idea to have a story out there that tries to make the organization look badly. Also, even if the story is false, it would behoove Hendry to ignore it (rather than dispute its merits) because its a lose-lose proposition. Kinzer and JH need to maintain a positive working relationship. He certainly couldn't blast him the way Schurholtz (sp?) did.

Considering this year's market, the Cardinals are going to have to give him a sweet deal to keep him. There are other teams willing to overpay. From the Cardinals perspective, I'm sure they want to re-sign him so that they can use Marquis as a bargining chip to acquire an outfielder or perhaps, another arm.

He was going after both Furcal and Pierre (to bat second in the order) all along. Now, I think he's looking at Lugo to bat second. More than likely, Hendry's trying to be low profile about the SS but the Cubs have been linked (in the local print media) with the DRays for both Lugo and Huff. I wouldn't mind Lugo at SS and Cedeno at 2B but we should pass on Huff.

I read that as well. The article I read also said that when the Braves disclosed Marte's injury, one (unnamed) team backed out. The Red Sox examined his records and deemed him worth the risk. Tampa Bay may have been the team that backed out afterall.

The Cubs should at least inquire about this situation.

LOL, I don't (I know you were being sarcastic). It's their fault... :lol:

Why? It's not their job to determine a player's value, not over a GM. Ultimately, the GM answers to the President and the President answers to the Board (who answers to the stock holders). The Chicago Cubs is a business with a chain of command. There is no business person (not even an entrepreneur) who doesn't have to answer to some higher authority (either directly or indirectly).

That's why STL always has been and always will be losers. LOL, Goony I know where you're coming from... (and for those that don't know, read the thread).

Not necessarily. They reserve the right to dictate how much can be spent for individual contracts (even if the amount does not exceed the overall budget). On a side note, the Tribune company has taken some serious financial hits lately. The stock has fallen considerably, they have forced a number of "retirements," and they had to pay many millions because of the interest in the LaTimes.

I can't answer that question for the Cubs but in light of the situation in St Louis (surrounding the loss of FA) it was revealed that Jocketty has an overall budget as well as a budget for individual positions. Grudz left because Jocketty has a "hard salarycap" of 2MM for 2B. Who knows, Hendry may have to work under similar circumstances (not necessarily 2 million but a limit that must be approved/rejected by higher management per position). St Louis Post Dispatch

The Yankees lost millions of dollars in revenue last year which is why they have been forced to curtail their spending. They also lost "37.1 million in 2004." You can read the entire article here: ESPN.com

Yeah that. Did you guys here Stone on the score today? He said he personally has heard from MacPhail that he will never sign the top free agent and let them go to the other teams and secondly he will never exceed the the yearly payroll to the point where it will hit the luxury tax. Not exactly the type of guy you want running the organization if you ask me. What in the heck is 2-4mil dollars when you resign scrubs like Rusch and Perez to 3mil each? How ridiculous is this. Do we really need a payroll of 175MM? Isn't that where luxury tax comes into play? I know we all want the new shiny toy and so called "hot" FA but a high payroll does not equate to a championship team. That's why you have a GM, Manager, Scouts, and the like; to help discover, develop, and motivate talent. I tend to agree with MacPhail in this regard. Did anyone notice the recent article detailing how many millions the Yankees lost last year? It's one of the big reasons why they have not gotten into the high stakes market this off season. I'm of the opinion that every franchise (even the most wealthy in the highest market) needs to exercise restraint.

Exactly, they gave an ultimatum and he took it.