Sammy Sofa

I'm completely missing your point. So Patterson's imrpovements are, what, solely the result of things he did by himself? Change of scenery? Crab cakes? Magic?

Though he did speak up enough to say he thought he was a "#6 type hitter"...and oh, how we and the local press mocked. Curses! He's a No. 2 hitter now. When did they move him into that slot? I could swear he started doing well for Baltimore hitting down in the lineup.

Anything short of Lee and Z tearing limbs off of everyone in sight will leave me unsatisfied.

Though he did speak up enough to say he thought he was a "#6 type hitter"...and oh, how we and the local press mocked. Curses!

So Aramis basically expects the pitchers to keep opposing teams to 1 or 2 runs or less every single game? Because given the offense the overwhelming bulk of this season, that's what they'd have to do for this team to win.

If only this was going to be a sweep at home. Much better chance of a firing then. I can't believe this season is barely half over.

Werd. That's why the first reply in this thread was me saying "Bwuahaha". There's no way on earth that A-Rod would accept a trade to the Cubs, and the Yankees wouldn't unload him anyway, especially not for a group of inept Cubs players. Alright, we'll be more careful and defer to the elders next time. Sorry for the trouble, sir.

Definitely. They were talking like he'd be back by June, so it looks like the ball was dropped in that regard.

I agree with signing Neifi for cheaper, but I don't know, the Miller thing just doesn't bug me. If he can get to or near his career numbers or show some spark in the bullpen, that million is money well spent. If he doesn't do anything, hey, that lone million wasn't going to be used any more productively. Neifi's five has a much better chance of keeping or signing people this team really needed...ah well. Such is the life of a Cubs fan.

Miller is down for just 1 for 1...if he works out, he can potentially earn more. Neifi is down for 2.5. for 2, and you know his this team is run he's getting the full ride. Again, Miller has a decent career to justify his deal. Neifi has...what, exactly? Decent defense and one of the worst bats in the history of the game?

It's a massive stretch to call this a waste of payroll a la Rusch or Neifi. Like you said, it's a million dollars...pretty much chump change for these teams. It's a gamble, but hey, it's not big loss. Trying to prop it up like it's some kind of disaster is ridiculous. The biggest problem is that Hendry only made a few stopgap moves in the offseason instead of really stepping things up...had he done those big moves, the Miller deal would have looked fantastic. But even so, it's nowhere near being a waste like Neifi. I'd take Neifi being used correctly for 2.5 than waste 1 million on a guy that won't pitch for you. Then I'm glad you're not running this team. I never thought Miller would amount to anything he once was. The Cubs could find any pitcher to have a 5 or 6 ERA in the pen for less than 1 million. Also, watch the Cubs give Miller a deal for 2 or 3 for next year. Perez has value and yeah, he is by far overpayed but Baker uses him way too much and thanks to Hendry he gets to for 2 years. But, just paying for a player to rehab is a waste of money and unlike a lot of people I don't think Miller will be any good even if he is healthy. But we have no idea what Miller can or can't do at this point. Yeah, it's a gamble, but its the nature of the deal...hence why on the MLB scale, only paying a million dollars for one year isn't even close to being a problem. It's pretty much win-win either way. If he can come back in any capacity and perform, hey, you got him for only a million bucks. If he can't do anything at all, hey it was only a million bucks. That kind of money is nothing on a payroll like this. And given the fact that Miller actually has some decent numbers in his history, it's not a bad idea to take a try on him post-surgery. Neifi Perez, on the other hand, is terrible...always has been and always will be. Nothing in his career has made even close to being worhty of one million dollars, much less the FIVE million dollars he's eating up right now. The guy is a last inning defensive sub at the best and he's locked into a two year minimum five million dollar contract. That's terrible team management and really not even comparable to the Miller deal.

Must we still talk of Hill as a starter? I want to see him tried out in relief so friggin' bad.

That deal doesn't seem like nearly enough offense to convince the Yanks to give up A-Rod. I think you'd have to make it Jones, Prior and Aramis.

Interesting idea...setting aside the wonderful but crazy Cabrera/A-Rod/Jesus type theories, this one potentially could be far more do-able. Atlanta seems like an organization smart enough that if you give them enough young, cheap and good players this could be done. If the Cubs snag Jones that way and still can sign C-Lee in the off season without having to trade off anyone like Aramis, Barrett or even Jaque, that's a pretty potent offense.

It's a massive stretch to call this a waste of payroll a la Rusch or Neifi. Like you said, it's a million dollars...pretty much chump change for these teams. It's a gamble, but hey, it's not big loss. Trying to prop it up like it's some kind of disaster is ridiculous. The biggest problem is that Hendry only made a few stopgap moves in the offseason instead of really stepping things up...had he done those big moves, the Miller deal would have looked fantastic. But even so, it's nowhere near being a waste like Neifi. I'd take Neifi being used correctly for 2.5 than waste 1 million on a guy that won't pitch for you. Then I'm glad you're not running this team.

I predict he'll be gone at the ASB. With the Williamson comments and the loses pileing up, they have to do somehting. Do they? They'll make the same mountain of money either way...what's the rush? I have the gut feeling that IF Dusty goes, it's not until the season is over.

Just hurry up and go on another 5+ game losing streak so hopefully Dusty gets the boot.

The logic of this trading mentality is nothing short of insane given how bad this team is.

It's a massive stretch to call this a waste of payroll a la Rusch or Neifi. Like you said, it's a million dollars...pretty much chump change for these teams. It's a gamble, but hey, it's not big loss. Trying to prop it up like it's some kind of disaster is ridiculous. The biggest problem is that Hendry only made a few stopgap moves in the offseason instead of really stepping things up...had he done those big moves, the Miller deal would have looked fantastic. But even so, it's nowhere near being a waste like Neifi.

Why not? It's not like it was an impossible idea...and with a year like this, what's there left to care about?

Count me skeptical. Me too, though I'm probably closer to the fence. The guy has some great career numbers, and despite them sliding in recent years, the steep drop off this year almost has to be a fluke...maybe.

If Pierre can keep up his offensive bump, I have no problem with him staying at leadoff until the end of the season or whenever he's dealt.

Only Z! is worth such attention at this moment. Blessed be his name.

I'd bank the O's demand at least Prior and Cedeno for Tejada, given Mark's health as of late.

Back to the original topic, while I agree with and cheer on what Williamson said, it hurts that this is pretty much killing his trade value. He was a guy I was really hoping to see come back and impress so the Cubs could use him as a decent trading chip, but now other teams are basically going to expect him for free after this tirade. Nuts.