tgk

Just by taking the time to write out these 3 questions, you have in fact, spent more time on the RF issue... I think he would be available in the right package. Detroit doesn't look to be going anywhere anytime soon, and they're trying to play catchup with 3 teams ahead of them in their division. They need a lot of help. The only question about Maggs in terms of the price tag is his health. If healthy, he would be a huge upgrade in RF. With the past couple of seasons, that has become a really big if. If I could be convinced that his knee problems were no longer a concern, then yes, I would take him in a heartbeat. However, I would certainly not give up Pie and pay that salary uncertain if I would ever get more than 81 games out of him. Like I said, it just came to me, and I'm not really sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, it wasn't that long ago that he was the "best RF in Chicago" over Sosa. He's not too old, 32-33, he missed time last year with a hernia, not a knee and he has the upside to be the best available option. As an added bonus it would drive the Sox fans nuts if he came to Wrigley and returned to form. On the other hand, what if he blew out his knee in May? I think I'd be adverse to paying too much in the way of talent, but I'd take the gamble on the contract, (I think it's for 4 more years at around 10 per - but I could be wrong). Boy, it sure is easy to spend someone else's money.

Sorry, random musings have led me here. :chin: I'm sure I haven't spent as much time on the RF issue as Hendry, although it seems like I have at times. Being as the rumored trades seem to be losing ground and the FA market is rather uninspiring, it might be time to look in a different direction. Question 1: Could Magglio Ordonez be available? No, he's not rumored anywhere, but he is coming off another season where he only played half the games and he still has a big contract. He played in 82 games, 305 at bats, 8 homers, 46 RBI, .302 BA, .359 OBP. Question 2: What would he cost? He missed the first half of the season due to a hernia injury not because of his knees. So would Detroit like to get out of his contract? Would it take Pie and a good pitching prospect or more? Could the Cubs lower the prospect cost by taking on salary? Question 3: Depends on #2, but is he worth the risk? He would solve RF for several years, and his power numbers should come back up in Wrigley. Assuming he's durable, with Murton in LF and Pierre re-signed, the outfield is set for three years or so and they could afford to trade Pie. He's probably not even available, but I just had the thought and wanted to hash it out here.

He was hanging out with Glenallen Hill and Mel Rojas in the "Most ridiclous ways to injury oneself" club. With Clint Barmes as the president. Don't forget Chris Brown: http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/brownch02.shtml I believe he once sat out a game due to a "strained eyelash." Here's my favorite: I don't remember who it was, but someone (not a Cub) missed a game because he put in his contacts after eating nachos with jalapenos. #-o That's gotta hurt.

He's not going anywhere in my opinion, but I do have one quesion. Does he have a no trade clause? If so, even though he's requesting the trade, he could really force the O's hand, a la Griffey with Seattle.

To put this in perspective, that's only 4 runs scored behind Furcal and second best among national league leadoff hitters last year. :shock: As such, it's hard to fault his runs scored. I would say that the 17 caught steals, along with the .326 OBP is why his run scoring wasn't where it should be. I have a dumb question that I'm hoping someone can answer. Does getting picked off 1st base count towards Caught Stealing? Yes Actually, I don't believe that is correct. It is only a caught stealing if the runner makes a break for the next base. I stand corrected. MLB rulebook 10.08 CAUGHT STEALING (h) A runner shall be charged as "Caught Stealing" if he is put out, or would have been put out by errorless play when he (1) Tries to steal. (2) Is picked off a base and tries to advance (any move toward the next base shall be considered an attempt to advance). (3) Overslides while stealing. NOTE: In those instances where a pitched ball eludes the catcher and the runner is put out trying to advance, no caught stealing shall be charged. No caught stealing should be charged when a runner is awarded a base due to obstruction. http://www.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/official_info/official_rules/official_scorer_10.jsp It's been a few years since I've been the official scorer at a baseball game. My mistake. Guess I should have looked it up first. :oops:

I'm not sure I want Bradley now. I want a 30 HR 280/350 guy in right and I'm not sure Bradley fits that bill. That's only a .630 OPS! :wink: We had a funny guy like you in Korea. We killed him. :D Master of the house Doling out the charm Ready with a handshake And an open palm Wow, A Les Miserables reference. :shock: Now folks, that what makes this board special. You don't get culture like that on other sites. I love the wife's verse though: Master of the house? Isn't worth my spit Comforter, philosopher and life long &%$^! Cunning little brain, regular Voltaire. Thinks he's quie a lover, but there's not much there What a cruel trick of nature landed me with such a louse God knows how I've lasted living with this $*^%*$ in the house EDIT: removed stray html code

To put this in perspective, that's only 4 runs scored behind Furcal and second best among national league leadoff hitters last year. :shock: As such, it's hard to fault his runs scored. I would say that the 17 caught steals, along with the .326 OBP is why his run scoring wasn't where it should be. I have a dumb question that I'm hoping someone can answer. Does getting picked off 1st base count towards Caught Stealing? Yes

We're expecting a baby, so I spend a lot of my time taking care of her. I was up to get her ready for work, and decided to check on the Pierre thing really quick. Needless to say, I didn't go back to sleep. :D You're expecting a baby and you're still not sleeping? It's not going to get any better. Good luck! That's what people keep telling me!! I haven't figured it out yet. We're just trying to make it through the morning sickness phase... A little advice from someone with two small children. First, make the effort to help out with the midnight feedings early on, it will buy you bonus points later. This is much easier if you're bottle feeding. What really blows is when the baby is nursing and she wants you to stay up for company. I found that very difficult. Second, and this is especially important once the child is old enough to be in a normal bed, make sure the your wife sleeps on the side of the bed in a direct line to the child. Inevitably, the toddlers will wake up and want their Momma, if they don't have to crawl over you there is a fair shot you can sleep through it. :P And one last thing, at least consider the lifetime of anguish you are inflicting upon the child before buying the Cubs baby clothes. I did it anyway and I just pray they'll forgive me one day.

I was hoping that Mitre would be in the trade and not Pinto or Nolassco! :D ESPN is still reporting it as 3 for 1. Andl the websites of the Trib, Daily Herald and Suntimes all still say a deal is close. The DH and Suntimes are last night's stories but the Tribune's site was updated at 7:43 a.m. It says the Marlins are looking for a better offer than the 3 - 1 from another team. If one organization would know what the Cubs are doing, it should be the Tribune, at least that would make sense. http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ I think we are gonig to have to wait this one out a little while longer. It will probably end up being the 3-1, but we'll have to wait for some confirmation.

Not only did we post the same thing, but used the same title and exactly the same post. You're scaring me. I have my scary mind-reading powers. The funny thing is I took a couple of minutes to double check and make sure there wasn't already a topic up. My waiting to be sure there was no double post caused a double post.

Not only did we post the same thing, but used the same title and exactly the same post. You're scaring me. I have my scary mind-reading powers. Burn the witch! first let's see if she can swim with a stone tied to her ankle. :D Knight: "So if she weighs the same as a duck then . . ." Peasant "she's Made of wood." Knight "and therefore. . ." Peasant "A witch, burn her!" I don't know, something about the baseball offseason inspiring memories of Monty Python doesn't give me great confidence in 2006.

Not only did we post the same thing, but used the same title and exactly the same post. You're scaring me.

for Dave Williams http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2250330

From Jayson Starks column on Pierre being the next to be moved: According to various sources who have had conversations with the Marlins' delegation, Florida has asked the Cubs for their top prospect, center fielder Felix Pie -- a potential deal-breaker. . . "Somebody is going to have to move a hell of a [young player] to get this guy," said an official of one team involved in these discussions. "If not, there are so many teams, somebody else will give up that [kind of player]." Later in the article he says: • The Cubs have targeted four potential leadoff men to replace Furcal on their drawing board, according to teams that have spoken with them. Those four are Pierre, Tampa Bay's Julio Lugo, Washington's Brad Wilkerson and Tampa Bay's Joey Gathright. Because the Cubs have made the leadoff spot their No. 1 priority -- as opposed to any particular position -- they haven't locked themselves into a pursuit of any one member of that group. The Cubs have no interest in Damon, according to one Cubs official. EDIT: for got the link (Insider Article): http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/insider/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=2248738&univLogin02=stateChanged

Yes, but Dusty poked him in the eye with the toothpick and was able to sneak out the bathroom window. :lmao:

I wouldn't say they got garbage for the other players. They recevied some very good prospects. The Marlins right now hold all the cards when it comes to Pierre: 1. They've moved so many other players that they've probably cleared enough payroll. I'm sure they'd still prefer to move Pierre, but with Delgado, LoDuca, Lowell, and Beckett off the books, they may choose to keep Pierre if they don't feel they will get enough in return for him. 2. There are a few teams looking for CF help, which can only help drive up the cost in terms of what players will go the Marlins in a trade. Get Wilkerson instead. All of that is true, but. . . There is absolutely no reason for the Marlins to keep Pierre. He is of no use to them next year, other than buying the beer for the under 21 players. My first boss taught me that the key to any negotiation was being willing to walk away without a deal. Call their bluff Jim, I guarantee that even if they can't get someone to overpay, Pierre will not be on their roster in 2006. Let someone else give up the farm, and if they haven't moved him by March, they'll be calling you and begging you to take him for a B-prospect, probably throw in some cash as well. Buying Pierre right now would be like buying an XBox 360 on Ebay. You'll get what you want, but you can get the same thing if you wait a couple of months for a fraction of the cost.

Hey, I can dream can't I? The reality is he'll find some bum like Woody Williams or Tony Womack who becomes magically better while with the Cards before crashing back to reality with another team. It really is quite amazing. :wall: I'm not bitter. :^o

Burnett is a high risk / high reward type of player. I don't mind taking chances on guys, but 10-12 million dollar chances aren't for me. The best you can hope for from Burnett is that he is good enough to justify the contract. Ideally, if you are signing someone who is a question, you want there to be a chance he can out perform the contract. (i.e. Dempster) In a perfect world, the Cards will sign him to a five-year deal and he'll be awful, eat up a bunch of their salary for two years but never go on the DL so they can't collect any insurance. Then, they'll trade him and a boat load of cash to cover the contract and he'll take off and win three Cy Youngs somewhere else. Yep, that would be beautiful. Unfortunately, it is what would happen to the Cubs. He'll be a great addition for the Cards if he signs there, everyone is.

Forgive my lame analogy, but if the Cubs don't get Furcal, they need to "Hit one out of the park" when finding a RF. I could live with Pierre (although I think they could do better) but if he's in center and Cedeno is at SS, presumably batting 8th, then the probable batting order is going to look like this: Pierre Walker (assuming he isn't traded, which is unlikely) Lee Mystery RF Ramirez Barrett Murton Cedeno That's not a bad line up, actually could be pretty good. But it hinges on the RF. With the money the Cubs have available, and considereing this everyone but Pierre (who will probably be replaced by Pie next year) and Walker figures to be around for at least a couple of years, they need a star. The have the talent in the minors to get one too. The question is, who is it? Unfortunately the team the Cubs match up best with is the Reds and they supposedly won't or don't want to trade within the division. But if it was me, I'd ask for Dunn and make it awful difficult to say no. They have the talent to offer a stud pitching prospect and with an outfiled that young - Murton and Pie would be cheap for years, they could lock Dunn up for a long time so they can afford to deal Harvey as well. You tell me, if you're the Reds does Harvey and Guzman for Dunn interest you? Heck, throw in Mitre if you have to. It would be difficult to watch another Cubs prospect take off with another organzation, but a shot at the WS would soften the blow. Get in Dunn. You need to take Guzman out of the proposal. I don't see any team gambling on him after his last few years of injury plague. And that's fine by me. Personally, I'd rather keep him too, he supposedly (I've never actually seen him) has the highest upside. However, it was just a name. I'm not famaliar enough with the Minors right now to pull the top pitching prospect out of my head, but the point is the same. It will take a couple of Blue chippers to get Dunn, and they can afford it.

Forgive my lame analogy, but if the Cubs don't get Furcal, they need to "Hit one out of the park" when finding a RF. I could live with Pierre (although I think they could do better) but if he's in center and Cedeno is at SS, presumably batting 8th, then the probable batting order is going to look like this: Pierre Walker (assuming he isn't traded, which is unlikely) Lee Mystery RF Ramirez Barrett Murton Cedeno That's not a bad line up, actually could be pretty good. But it hinges on the RF. With the money the Cubs have available, and considereing this everyone but Pierre (who will probably be replaced by Pie next year) and Walker figures to be around for at least a couple of years, they need a star. The have the talent in the minors to get one too. The question is, who is it? Unfortunately the team the Cubs match up best with is the Reds and they supposedly won't or don't want to trade within the division. But if it was me, I'd ask for Dunn and make it awful difficult to say no. They have the talent to offer a stud pitching prospect and with an outfiled that young - Murton and Pie would be cheap for years, they could lock Dunn up for a long time so they can afford to deal Harvey as well. You tell me, if you're the Reds does Harvey and Guzman for Dunn interest you? Heck, throw in Mitre if you have to. It would be difficult to watch another Cubs prospect take off with another organzation, but a shot at the WS would soften the blow. Get it Dunn.

From the Trib: If Furcal stays in Atlanta, Hendry is expected to heat up trade talks with Florida for center fielder Juan Pierre, turning over the starting shortstop job to Ronny Cedeno. http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-0511180197nov18,1,426595.story?coll=cs-cubs-headlines Sometimes the best deals are the ones you don't make. With Cedeno at short, Pierre in Center and a two headed Walker/Perez monster at second, Hendry has a ton of cash for a RF - all he has to do is pry Dunn away from the Reds. :pig: Oh well, any other viable, impact RF options (assuming the Cubs can't/won't sign Giles)?

I know I'm dating myself (chronologically, not socially) but that makes me think of the Nipsy Russell character in "Wildcats". Got any peanut brittle? :P

See what happens when your wife calls in mid-post? I got delayed a bit and ended up being redundant. :oops:

I think a lot of times, the team giving up the PTBNL gets to make a pool of available players (10-15?) who the other team also agree on at the time of the trade. Then after a certain time, they have to choose one. I'm far from an expert thaough, but I can recall some instances like that. It could also be that one/all of the pool of players is Rule 5 eligible and the Cubs are waiting until after the draft to pick.

From Jayson Stark's chat that just ended: Eric (Chicago): Any legs to this Juan Pierre to the Cubs rumor? If it gets done, would they give up their pursuit of Rafael Furcal? Jayson Stark: (12:28 PM ET ) The Cubs have had longtime interest in Pierre, who looks extremely likely to get moved. And the Marlins are one of the teams that has always been intrigued by Corey Patterson. So watch that front closely. But I don't see that impacting the Cubs' pursuit of Furcal, because they view him as the sure-thing SS/leadoff force they need most. Pierre, on the other hand, is more of a question mark after last year. But the way he bunts and handles the bat, he could easily hit second. He and Furcal would be one intriguing top of the order. In short, "No Report" Whole thing: http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=9866