davell

I'm fine with the move. But, we better be spending some money on a second basemen and/or a starting pitcher with upside, ie Sheets or Bedard......I'm sure we go get us a middle reliever like Calero or someone, but if our payroll is going to be in the 140-145 range, we can afford a 2B or SP as well.

It was on Jim Callis' chat yesterday on espn.com. He said he ranked Castro 13th on this list and that Vitters and Brett Jackson would be ranked in the 51-75 range. I wonder if that means he didn't have Jay Jackson, Cashner, and Lee in his top 100? Or if he just brought up the 3 highest?

My Card fan buddy keeps trying to tell me that a big deal for Holliday actually helps them with a future deal with Pujols, becuase Pujols wants to see them start spending money in free agency. I guess we'll see about that. I'd agree with your buddy actually. But, once Pujols IS signed, their spending spree is over.They have to keep him happy until then, because they don't want to see him SNIFF an open market.

Yeah, Wang seems like a boom or bust type. At his age, I don't see him coming together yet. In fact, I could see a "Suarez" start to his career, but hopefully he'll have a better work ethic and eventually get it. Hell, it's not too late for Suarez actually either, I just don't see him turning the corner. Burruel and Darvill could definitely make some lists next year, but Darvill seems pretty raw as well, doesn't he? I honestly know little about Burruel, other than his small write up from when he was drafted and that we most likely overslotted him some. What about the other Wang we signed?(and yes, I know that doesn't sound right :D ) He's more of a control guy, right? McDaniel needs to get back on track, it'll be interesting to see if he is in the rotation next year or back in the pen. Although, I thought he was just starting this year to get more innings, with the eventual eye of moving back to the pen anyway. I see McNutt as the bullpen arm down pretty far in the minors to keep an eye on, even moreso than Huseby...... To me though, the main thing you said is the fact that we have some VERY interesting guys to follow at this point. It's obvious some won't hit on anything, but the odds are in our favor for some of these guys to turn the corner and become top prospects. Wilken has done a damn good job over the last few seasons.....

All in all, it's a pretty positive look at our farm system from Sickels. There have been extremely few A's or A-'s given out so far by Sickels, so seeing us with 2 B+'s was a solid showing. And it's conceivable that Vitters could have a solid year in AA next year, which COULD move him up(obviously, it's just as likely he could struggle and go down)I figure Castro will wind up getting enough major league at bats to graduate. Jay Jackson and/or Cashner could wind up graduating as well. In fact, I think one or the other probably will. Hopefully the other shows improvement and moves into a B+. Brett Jackson could easily go up or down next year, but I'm very happy with him right now and there's enough out there to think he could move up his status as well. About the only guys who's grades I would think about disputing are Barney(not exciting, but I figure him as a C+ and think he'll have a long career in the majors, even if it's not for us. Searle and Archer seemed like C+'s to me as well. Both had decent years and have high upsides. I think that the guys who have the best shot at moving up in the rankes next year though are Hak ju Lee, Kyler Burke, and Logan Watkins. Lee and Burke, in particular, can truly put themselves on the map next year. Other guys I think can make jumps next year would be Rhee, Archer, Antigua, Searle, Raley, Kirk, and the Korean trio of Kim, Jung, and Na. All Rhee needs is some success coming off his TJS and he could be back in our top 5. Archer needs to build on what he accomplished this past year(although he's probably the easiest one to see regress as well) Antigua just needs to keep doing what he's been doing at higher levels and I think he'll wind up in Daytona for most of 2010 anyway. Searle will be interesting to see develop, not sure whether or not we'll see him move up to AA or not, considering his age. But, it's nice to have a young sinkerballer with potential. Raley could move quickly, especially since he's concentrating on pitching alone. Kirk will probably pitch in Peoria next year and if he shows enough, I could see his grade moving up some. It was encouraging seeing his K rate to this point in limited time. The Koreans should all show up next year, Jung possibly in Peoria and Na and Kim in Boise. Kim seems to be the one with the most breakout potential, if he shows power, he could really put himself on our map.

Castro and Vitters got B+'s. Both Jacksons(Brett first), Cashner, and Lee all got B's, with Carpenter, Burke, and Flaherty getting B-'s.....Lemahieu finished out Sickels top 10, with a C+. Other C+'S, in order, were Raley, Watkins, Caridad, Parker, Gaub, Spencer, Rhee, and Coleman. Finishing out his top 20 were Colvin and Beliveau...... Conspicuous by their absence were Archer, Searle, Huseby, Anitgua, Barney, and Castillo. All were rated as C's, as were Adduci, Bristow, Cales, Dolis, Guyer, Kirk, Lake, McNutt, Parisi, Rusin, Russell, and Thomas.

Sickels is in the midst of doing his list. Na won't be on his top 40, due to lack of info, but I just asked about Jung. There should be enough info on him for him to make the top 40 anyway...... On a side note, he just said that Vitters could either be a strong or weak B, but that he'll keep him at a B+ for one more year. Looking over other teams grades, it seems Sickels is very stingy in giving out A's or even A-'s. Should be interesting to see what Castro gets from him......

The Cubs rotation would be pretty pitiful without Z. And even if they made it to the playoffs, they wouldn't have a shut down guy they could go to. In my scenario though, isn't a healthy Bedard or Sheets close to what Z brings to the table? Hell, if the injury issues scare us too much, why not sign them BOTH? Salary-wise, we'd be losing about 11 mill a year by dealing Z. My guess is you could get both Bedard and Sheets for about 16-18 mill combined(no way do I see Sheets getting the 12 or so he's wanting) Right now, our payroll committments seem to be around 128 mill or. After trading Z, taking on Castillo and signing both Sheets AND Bedard, it would put us around 133-135 mill, leaving us with maybe 8-10 mill to sign or trade for a CF and a bullpen guy.....

Granted, I think there is NOTHING to that rumor about Z, but would a Castillo/Ike Davis for Z trade be all that bad? Davis would give us Lee's eventual replacement and Castillo could play 2B for us for the next 2 years, I suppose......The main thing here though, is the money saved from Z. You could go out and sign either Sheets or Bedard as a one year replacement and see if they recapture what they once were. Either way, after the 2010 season, you have more money freed up, to either re-sign Bedard or Sheets, or go after a different big name, if thats what you want to do. Like I said, I see nothing coming out of this article, but doing something like that may not even make us worse in the shortterm and it puts us in much better position for the future as well.

I'm kind of wanting to hear how Blanco and Lee are comparable value-wise......

The Cubs were considered to have an excellent farm system earlier THIS decade. Considering players graduate from the minors to the majors within 4-5 years usually(if not sooner) I have no idea how it could take decades to build a good system.

Count me as someone that doesn't think Z should be dealt right now. It's a nice idea, if it were possible, I just don't think it is. Not in this market. I really doubt the Yanks were going to give us much to begin with. It sounds like Cabrera and Igawa basically and I would have been megapissed if we had done that...... As Tim said, the Red Sox have enough pitching right now, so they aren't really an option. The Mets aren't either unfortunately. I don't see the prospects out there to make me pull the trigger if I'm Hendry. And I don't see any chance at all of the Mets parting with Reyes either. Plus, depending on HOW high the Cubs are on Castro, they may not think it makes sense to deal for a potential longterm answer at SS themselves......And yes, obviously if Reyes were to be acquired, Castro could be dealt for pitching. But, in the end, are you really gaining anything by doing something like this? Seems to me like all you could wind up doing here is ADDING salary, which doesn't seem very smart. The Angels? If you could get Z to waive the NTC, it's worth exploring. I think you'd have to get one of Conger or Trout. And then 1-2 of their group of pitching prospects with upside. Reckling, Richards, Martinez or Chaffee......Doubt you'd get them to part with major league talent personally(unless you want Santana as the main part of the deal), so unless you find a very solid starting pitcher somewhere else, they may not be a true fit either. Because, if you're the Ricketts, your first big move shouldn't be trading your ace and announcing we're taking a step back to all the fans.......PR nightmare, even if it may be the right thing to do Tigers for Miggy? I'm not saying I wouldn't do this, but I don't think the Cubs would. I'd say they are probably pretty gun-shy about taking a risk on anyone with character issues right now, even someone as talented as Miggy. The Dodgers aren't a fit because I see nothing out of them this offseason that tells me the McCourt divorce situation isn't affecting how they operate bigtime. I see that hamstringing them until it is settled. Hell, it wouldn't shock me to see the Dodgers get sold again once all of this mess is over and done with. In the end, the White Sox may be the best fit to deal Z. Straight up for Peavy. Guillen and Z have a lovefest going and Peavy loves the Cubs as well. Does it help us? I'd say so, assuming Peavy stays healthy. But, it's close to a lateral move. Maybe you wait this whole thing out and see if the market is better for him next year. That's what I'd do anyway......

With Marmol's lack of experience at closer, signing Capps to 2/8 or so, isn't a bad move as far as I'm concerned. I read something earlier that made it sound like we haven't even made ANY offer yet and we either would tonight or tell him to sign with the Nats.

It won't surprise me to see DeRosa signing a one year deal to "prove" he's healthy with someone.....

Benson is a definite. Charles has been phenomenal and although his matchup isn't good, he MAY still be a better play than Harrison, mainly because it's at least possible that even after his monstrous game, Mangini uses Jennings alot this next game. They are very hard to predict anything from. My questions are these: Palmer or Favre at QB? I think it's awfully risky to use Favre right now personally, as New Orleans can clinch home field throughout before he plays Monday night and if Philly loses, then it's hard to see Favre playing the full game for sure. Other question is pick 3 of these 5 runners? Jones-Drew, Ray Rice, Grant, Forte and Snelling. Jones-Drew has a bad matchup, but he's a definite. Rice has been a must start and played well against Pittsburgh the 1st time, but he's a tad scary for me this week. Grant has a very solid matchup and is coming off a game where they didn't run the ball at all, so he's probably going to get his fair amount of touches. Forte is almost definitely my worst option here, don't really see any reason to consider him seriously. Snelling is the guy who is making me think though......Solid matchup against Buffalo and I don't see Turner or Norwood playing or making an impact anyway. Any chance he's worth starting over Grant or Rice?

Minnesota is obviously interesting, but it brings up a whole other subject actually as well. How succesful would they be IF they had a larger payroll? Isn't it possible that larger market teams may have it harder in some aspects? I am almost postive that Beane didn't want to go to Boston because he didn't want a larger payroll, as it could affect how he thinks about player decisions......If I'm wrong on that info about Beane, please let me know, but I'm fairly certain he said something to that affect. I'm not making an excuse for Hendry either, because there is a very good payroll model going on up in Boston for large market teams, that to now anyway, we haven't paid any attention to at all. At any rate, a larger payroll makes it easier to cave in to fan expectations. Like keeping players that may or may not be beneficial to keep for the longterm.(extensions for players coming out of their arb years or re-signing players that are out of their current contract with said club, ala Lee next year) And to a much worse extent, it seems like some teams(us included) spend money just to spend at times......And while I am confident that no GM's look at it that way, there are always deals out there making you go, "we could have had the same production for 400K, instead of the _ millions we are paying this guy". To me, that's spending just to spend anyway......

I'm not suggesting to blow things up. Theriot is a complimentary piece, but is not core to the team in any way. If you can get value for him, I don't think the overall decline in production is that severe going to Blanco, Barney or some other stop gap option whether that is all year or until Castro is ready. I'd expect the difference between Theriot and his likely replacement to be about one win by the all star break, two wins all season. Does that make him a core piece? No. But it could certainly make a difference in a pennant chase should we find ourselves in position to make a run at it. If we're trying to squeeze the most out of our roster this season (as should always be the goal until we find ourselves not worrying about whether or not we make the playoffs), holding onto Theriot for just a bit longer seems like a good idea. While I'm not disagreeing necessarily with what you're saying here, everything truly depends on Castro. It's not totally impossible that he'd put up better numbers than Theriot in 2010 honestly. Not a call anyone can make until ST(and maybe not even then) but it IS a possibility that he could be ready for the full 2010 season. And IF that winds up being the case, we've probably gotten ourselves less in return for Theriot, if we keep him.

Either one + whatever garbage we run out in CF could probably have netted us Cameron. Hell, I figure if we sign Byrd, that alone would have been enough to get Cameron most likely, as far as money goes......My honest guess is that Cameron wanted to be in Boston, figuring he had a better shot at winning than he would have here.

I'm still shocked he gave a 30 year Soriano an 8 year deal. Yeah, I remember being pissy about the length of the deal too. I remember them reasoning it out, saying that Soriano was in such good shape that he'd be fine in the latter parts of the deal. In the end, he was the first guy we had signed that was considered the "top" guy on the market and I was pretty stoked about it, at first. Mainly because it seemed like we were committed to winning for the first time since salaries had escalated. I wish that we had went with Carlos Lee instead NOW and wasn't sure which was the better option then either actually. But, it's neither here, nor there really. Right now, it's obviously looking like a horrible contract and Hendry was the one who signed him and has to bear the brunt of it.

First off, I like what the Orioles are doing. They are definitely building up some great, young talent. That said, they are in the AL East, which has 2 teams that are ALWAYS going to be spending money and staying in contention. There also is another young team, which already has proven themselves to an extent that they O's will have to deal with, in Tampa. Bottom line, I wouldn't trade places with them for anything, for these reasons alone. Z has no place to go, now that the Yanks have acquired Vasquez. And considering the return the Braves got, I'm quite happy Z is still a Cub. Getting either Lee or Aramis to waive their NTC's would be hard to do first of all and secondly, what exactly would they bring in return as it is? Our farm system is on the upswing right now and it's certainly possible that Vitters could be Aramis' longterm replacement anyway. We don't have a good 1B prospect coming up, but there's always the upcoming draft to address that. I just don't see the advantage to trading either of them because it hurts us shortterm, where we still have a chance to make the playoffs with them...... As far as Theriot goes, I think he SHOULD be dealt as well right now. He'll lose value each year from now on and he's definitely not a "must have" guy for us to make the playoffs. Granted, I don't see his value as a whole hell of alot anyway, but in this case, getting something seems to be better than getting nothing.

I would have been fine with the massive overspending of a few seasons ago, IF it had resulted in a world series win. It didn't and that's the life of a GM with a large payroll. If you take gambles and they don't pay off, you're going to be squarely in the hotseat, which is where Hendry is and deserves to be.......

I'm fine with Capps honestly. But not BOTH Capps and Grabow. Assuming Capps gets 4 per year or so, that's 7.5 mill shelled out for relievers. Which seems to me would have been much better spent on Hudson anyway. Capps fits us much better than Grabow though, if Marmol struggles at closer, he's a solid guy to have as a backup.

Odd deal. Not sure how Cabrera really helps the Braves. Plus, didn't the Yanks get rid of Vasquez the first time because they didn't think he had the makeup to pitch in New York?

I think Z would probably waive the NTC to play for the Yanks, unless it's true that he won't play in the AL, since he wouldn't be able to bat......That said, assuming he would waive it, I'd certainly explore it to see what you could get out of them. Unfortunately, my guess is the Yanks wouldn't offer much, other than payroll relief and probably Cabrera.

Yeah, 5 mill for Crisp seems pretty high. Maybe it's because he only got one year? Not that I would have expected a team to sign him for anything more than that, considering he's coming off the injury...... At any rate, the market is odd. Crisp gets 5, but Cameron only gets 7.75? Podsednik wants 3/12 supposedly and Byrd wants 3/24 or so. And Ankiel supposedly is asking for the moon. What do they wind up with? No clue, because I'm not all that sure we have many teams even looking at any of them. My guess is Byrd gets 2/14 or 3/20, Podsednik gets 2/6 and Ankiel signs a 1 year deal somewhere, for worlds less than what he or Boras are thinking......