USSoccer

I'll say no. Moyes is overmatched, that midfield is really bad and the good skill players he has, he either doesn't use (Kagawa) or misuses (Kagawa).

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Just a hunch, but I'd wager that Levine knows a good looking young Asian man when he sees one. Ha cha cha cha cha

How would Glanville know what he looks like? How does he know that's not just some random Asian American fan? That's some random person (who I don't think is named Glanville) saying that Bruce Levine said that. Damn kids and their twitters and me not correctly reading it.

How would Glanville know what he looks like? How does he know that's not just some random Asian American fan?

now if you'll excuse me, i'm off to listen to some french rap. Those songs are his jam, though.

There's some room in between "spew the party line" and "be completely unobjective in your reporting".

i suspect he'll be smooth over there. he's always looked super natural at the other positions. I'm feeling you. Every now and then I wonder why the Cubs haven't tried to sign him.

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It's all part of our full-court press to sign Tanaka.

AND WHO PRAYTELL IS GOING TO PAY FOR THESE T-SHIRTS??? (Or the cannons) Ricketts is going to pick up a bunch of shirts from Orlando at those stores that offer 10 Tshirts for $5. He got a sweet deal on a metric ton of old Big Johnson shirts. He found a couple boxes of 2008 NL Champions t-shirts in Kenney's coat closet, so we can add those to the pile.

AND WHO PRAYTELL IS GOING TO PAY FOR THESE T-SHIRTS??? (Or the cannons) Ricketts is going to pick up a bunch of shirts from Orlando at those stores that offer 10 Tshirts for $5.

Neymar? [expletive] really, Messi? Clint's ballot is the one that makes sense out of those.

Whats the point of this field goal, now? There's less than 4 minutes left.

They do because he's asking SSR if he THINKS it's all for show. If SSR doesn't think the interest is fake and does think they will make Tanaka a real offer, why does it need to be signed to be proof of them not being in payroll hell for 5 years? If he thinks they are willing and ready to spend a lot of money on Tanaka, that should be enough for him not to think they are going to be in payroll hell for years. Because interest in a player is meaningless unless they actually end up paying the guy. I'm sure they are interested, but it doesn't matter in the least bit with respect to what it means about the payroll unless they can back up the interest with enough money to turn interest into results. If they are prepared to pay him a ton of money, that absolutely has implications as far as potential future payroll goes. It would mean there is at least money there to be spent. If they offer Tanaka the biggest contract and he turns them down for non-monetary reasons (which I think is a distinct possibility), I will be disappointed, but it will alleviate at least some of my fear that there just isn't any money there. I understand that. The problem is, is that the only definitive proof that they have the money to spend, is to actually spend it. Otherwise, you can claim whatever you want to try and appease these kinds of concerns.

They do because he's asking SSR if he THINKS it's all for show. If SSR doesn't think the interest is fake and does think they will make Tanaka a real offer, why does it need to be signed to be proof of them not being in payroll hell for 5 years? If he thinks they are willing and ready to spend a lot of money on Tanaka, that should be enough for him not to think they are going to be in payroll hell for years. Because interest in a player is meaningless unless they actually end up paying the guy. I'm sure they are interested, but it doesn't matter in the least bit with respect to what it means about the payroll unless they can back up the interest with enough money to turn interest into results.

Do you think that the Tanaka interest is just for show? Or is it a "FA doesn't want our money" thing on top of a limited payroll? It doesn't matter if its for show or not. I'm sure they want to sign him, but as N&G said, why would he sign here? What would compel him to come here as opposed to a team poised to content with better facilities? Interest is great, but they have to turn that interest into results. It completely matters within the context of the discussion between SSR and TT.... No, it doesn't.

Do you think that the Tanaka interest is just for show? Or is it a "FA doesn't want our money" thing on top of a limited payroll? It doesn't matter if its for show or not. I'm sure they want to sign him, but as N&G said, why would he sign here? What would compel him to come here as opposed to a team poised to content with better facilities? Interest is great, but they have to turn that interest into results.

No, I agree; at this point, unless you get Tanaka there's really nothing left out there worth spending money on; certainly not fricking Ubaldo Jimenez. Ellsbury was the one offensive piece that I thought would be an ideal fit, but that ship sailed. I don't believe for a minute we're going to sign Tanaka. There's no reason to spend just for the sake of it, but when opportunities to sign guys who can be good both now and when the vaunted wave of prospects arrive come up, you'd like to see the Cubs at least get ONE of the guys instead of being perpetually just missing out.

Woo hoo! I hate this time of year until spring training. At least we have the Cubs Convention coming up for a quick reprieve of propoganda. After that come the dog days until those first ST pics. Holy hell, the convention; what the [expletive] is even going to be the big event/unveiling? A jar of change that an intern brought in to donate to the payroll.

This is a ridiculous post. One, you'd do everything humanly possible to lock Javy and whoever else up early, ala Castro and Rizzo. Secondly, in case you hadn't noticed, we appear to be in a legit money crunch, due to ownership. Whether it's because they can't or won't spend.... That is up for debate, I suppose, but it's beyond obvious they aren't, either way. I seriously doubt anyone here wouldn't love to have a 150 mill+ payroll right now. But it's not happening anytime soon(new TV deal/renovation money) and it's quite allright to be cautious currently, when we MAY have the money to go after one relatively large contract. Tanaka makes total sense, based on age and upside. A guy like Ubaldo? He's got neither of those things going for him. This is exactly how I thought some would respond. Is there any guarantee at all that our stupid broke owner will somehow be more willing to spend in 2 years? 3? Do you have any confidence that any of the renovations will be close to done? None of those things-the TV deal, the renovations-are guaranteed to be resolved in the near to medium future, so basically the entire organization gets put in a holding pattern? Why would Tanaka want to come to a team that is completely handicapped and unlikely to contend due to fiscal constraints for the first 2-3 years of his deal? It's a cycle of suck that feeds on itself. We can't or won't spend, so we end up with a mediocre or worse product that doesn't generate as much in-season revenue as it would if it were good, which means we can't spend money, which means we can't bring in talent. Getting Ellsbury would have helped a ton, but he cost a lot, so that was out. Tanaka is no sure thing, but he'll probably be good, and signing him would help a ton. But again, why would he come here?

Apples and oranges. By the time Javy is due to become a free agent one would hope that we are then trying to sustain our success, not add a high dollar free agent to a steaming pile of dung. The financial situation should also be much improved by then. I'm just curious how it's apples to oranges...talent is talent, no? Adding a good player is not any different than retaining one; both help you get closer to your goal of winning. Adding Ellsbury to the current pile of offensive crap makes it less bad, doesn't it?

It's going to be very interesting to watch the same people who act like paying premium for talent is the devil handle what happens if Baez or another of the prospects truly hits his ceiling and wants to get paid like a superstar. Will tying up all the payroll still be the worst thing to do in the history of ever, or will it somehow be more acceptable because we developed the player?

I'm no fan of Fox and their broadcast quality; I thought NBC did a nice job this past season, and I do not want to listen to Gus Johnson call MLS games.

Roma got Radja Nainggolan (another young Belgian international) on loan from Cagliari; but he's more a DM Considering Roma's manager has been using Bradley to cover DDR, Radja coming in impacts him quite a bit.