davearm

I'd say at this point, Reggie Sanders' most redeeming quality is that no matter where he plays, his team seems to reach the postseason: 2000: Braves 2001: DBacks 2002: Giants 2004: Cards 2005: Cards Even he couldn't help the Pirates (2003) and Royals (2006). But the '07 Cubs? A lock for the playoffs with Sanders ;)

Apparently you forgot the "I hate Scott Boras, and will never deal with his clients ever again" proclamation he made awhile back. The White Sox only has one Boras client on their teams, (Joe Crede), I believe, and the only reason why they haven't moved him yet, is because of two reasons: 1. there isn't a credible stopgap replacement on the FA market and 2. Josh Fields isn't ready. So I doubt Andruw Jones goes to the White Sox. That's a pretty good point. Except of course if they don't plan on resigning Andruw, then it doesnt matter who is agent is because they will never have to talk to him. He will if he expects to get Jones/Boras to waive the NTC.

For your 2007, why sign Floyd? JJones-AJones-Soriano would be a better and more productive OF than Floyd/Injury Sub(Pagan/Roster Filler/Ward)-AJones-JJones. Then after 2007, Soriano wouldn't have to move positions, something the Cubs have come right out and said they wouldn't make him do. Pie steps in and plays CF, and Andruw Jones can play LF, or walk and we get a 1st round pick, and a supplemental pick. As much as I may hate it, we didn't sign Derosa to the deal we did to have him play supersub. They'll give him every opportunity to start every day. Part of me wonders if they want him as Murton insurance as well, should he stumble or be traded this year, they could put Derosa in LF and have someone else at 2B. The point was to shoehorn 5 legit bats (DeRosa being #5) into 4 slots. Your plan would have 4 bats for 4 slots, and Pagan or whomever getting regular ABs at the first hint of trouble. I like my depth and rotation better. But as I said, the Soriano at 2B part ensures that it'd never get off the ground.

This whole Andruw Jones thing's got me thinking. I know this will never ever happen, but imagine... Murton is used as the centerpiece for AJones, along with, say, Howry and Marshall. Maybe it's a three-way deal, since Murton might not be what ATL really is after. For 2007... Sign Floyd to play LF Keep JJones in RF and AJones in CF Ask Soriano to move back to 2B for a year (here's the most unrealistic part) Ask DeRosa to move around -- platoon with Jones in RF vs LHP, keep Floyd fresh once or twice a week in LF, play 2B once a month, 3B once a month. For 2008 and beyond... Phase Pie into CF; phase JJones out Phase EPat into 2B, move Soriano to LF, phase Floyd out Re-sign AJones and transition him to RF Keep DeRosa in the superutility role Both scenarios give you 2 LHH and 2 RHH, between 2B and OF ==> lineup balance achieved (or at least improved).

Interestingly enough, yup. Considering how large the outfield is there, it will probably always play as a hitter's park. Even if the ball isn't going out at a high rate, there's a ton of room for hits to drop in. I always wanted to see them bring in the fences, and raise them higher. Cut down on the singles and the gap shots, even though you might get a few more HR. If you allow the OFers to cover less ground, it might help a lot. Agreed. The way it's built now, it would still most likely be a hitter's park at sea level. This whole conversation strikes me as bizarre. If I'm reading this right, part of what makes Coors such a hitter's park are the *deep* fences/large OF?!? If you put Coors Field at sea level, wouldn't you simply get Petco, or RFK, or Dolphins Stadium, or original Comerica (before they moved the fences in)? Those are all parks with deep(ish) fences/large(ish) OFs, and they're universally considered pitcher's parks.

Thats a worse offer for TB than what they already have on the table from the Braves (Davies and LaRoche). I don't recall seeing rumors with LaRoche included. I thought the DRays wanted James, and the Braves countered with Davies, to go along with Salty and/or Yunel Escobar. http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061208&content_id=1754894&vkey=hotstove2006&fext=.jsp In this deal I laid out, the DRays get more of what they need most (pitching), and skip on parts they can do without (C, SS).

ATL needs a replacement for AJones, and bullpen help. TB needs young arms. Cubs need a CF. ATL: Baldelli, Ohman TB: Marshall + Guzman/Marmol/Gallagher/Veal Cubs: AJones Getting Baldelli and Ohman for AJones seems decent, with Jones' FA only a year out. TB is freeing up their OF logjam a bit, and getting 2 quality ML-ready (or near ready) arms. Cubs dip into their pool of young pitching for another impact bat. Then turn around and deal Jacque Jones for prospect(s) to replenish the minor league pitching depth a bit.

As would I, but if last year wasn't a fluke for DeRosa then he will be very similar to Giles if my memory serves me correctly. The problem is, you know what you're getting from Giles, but I'm not positive DeRosa will repeat (though I'm fairly confident). Don't get me wrong, I like Giles, but IMO you can no longer claim "you know what you're getting" from him. His production's kinda been all over the map: he's gone from unremarkable (01 and 02) to fantastic (2003) to solid (04 and 05) to disappointing (2006).

They could if DeRosa plays like he did before September and SS was upgraded with anyone. Well as we all know deep down, the only realistic "upgrade" available at SS is for a healthy Izturis to flourish under Gerald Perry's influence.

With Pie, I'm not too concerned that making him the everyday starter right out of the gate this year will somehow ruin him forever. What I'm worried about is that Pie could turn into this year's Brian Anderson, and hit under .200 for the first four months of the year. I'm not real confident that this Cubs' lineup could withstand that sort of void for such a prolonged period.

Coco Crisp

By my count, they are at 39 with those 3 guys not yet counting. They could take 2 guys off the roster, but I think Hendry is hoping to make a trade to get the space. I agree. Unless there was something in the works, Hendry would just launch Coats and Reyes and be done with it.

kc, you've probably touched on this before. But my reading isn't thorough on these boards, normally. I'm not sure I follow you on this, and would be curious to see what you're thinking. I don't see any RH reliever surplus. Wuertz and Howry are value guys. Can't trade either one, because to go with only one good RH reliever is too few. Wood and Dempster are wildcards,might be useful but can't count on that. And Novoa is DL-insurance to park at Iowa. Neither Dempster nor Novoa has enough trade value to make it worth discussing. LH relievers, obviously we've got three where only two are needed. So, if there's an excess, that's the place. Hendry won't trade Eyre, even if you or I might consider doing exactly that. So, if there's an "excess", IMO, it's basically that you could afford to trade one of Ohman or Cotts. We know that Cotts has Aardsma-type trade value, meaningful but not great. Ohman, of course, has a lot more. Do you see us having more "excess" than I do? Could change later, for sure. Wood, Dempster, perhaps even Miller or Marmol might look like they can fill important roles in relief. But for now, the only "excess" I see is having two guys for the 2nd lefty spot. There's plenty of surplus. Viable opening-day BP candidates include: Eyre Cotts Ohman Rapada ---------- Howry Wuertz Wood Dempster Novoa Mateo Guzman Marmol ... plus Wade Miller, if Prior and the other 4 starters are good to go I count 12 or 13 bodies for 6 or 7 slots.

Good point, I wonder if that's why we haven't seen much on the Jones front, because he's been waiting to acquire another OF first so as not to trade from weakness. But if he trades Jones doesn't that create a weakness? The Cubs can always trade Jones during ST. Better to get the CF first and then figure out what to do with Jones. They could always psoture a Murton/ Jones Platoon or perhaps someone blows them away with a trade for Murton and they keep Jones. That's the whole idea. You can go ahead and take the offer you've got in hand for Jones once you've secured Crisp for CF.

Seems pretty likely that the deal's all done, but won't be signed until Hendry can tweak the roster to free up space. Same goes for Lilly and Ward, too. Neither is currently shown on the 40-man roster.

I don't think Hendry would have any reluctance whatsoever to taking on Crisp and his contract. That goes double if he's presently sitting on an offer he likes for Jones. And triple if the cost is just Will Ohman, who's not only redundant, but a guy Hendry doesn't seem real happy with after the contract squabble last spring. The Cubs are clearly playing for 2007, and Crisp would clearly help them in 2007. Whatever happens after that doesn't seem to be entering into Hendry's thinking a whole lot these days.

Other than the reason DeRosa came to Chicago was to start at 2B. When a 28-year-old .285/.361/.448 career good defensive second baseman comes on the market, you make sure you revise any plans you may once have had for Mark DeRosa-types. Alternatively, you could do yourself a favour and have made better plans for Mark DeRosa-types in the first place, plans not involving a starting job and a three year commitment. Hendry would have to go back on his word to make that happen. DeRosa came to start at 2B. It's not as simple as just making a decision based on numbers. Hendry would kill his relations with DeRosa, DeRosa's agent, and harm his image with future potential FAs. I wouldn't have locked in on DeRosa with Giles on the market (which was rumored at the beginning of the offseason). Unfortunately the decision has been made. There is no going back. I guess it really depends on how strong a commitment Hendry made to DeRosa. I agree with you that if, during the recruitment process, Hendry told DeRosa he'd get the first crack at the everyday 2B job, then he won't renege on that by signing Giles. However if he left things with DeRosa somewhat open-ended -- like he seems to have regarding Soriano's position -- and emphasized how much they like DeRosa's IF/OF versatility, then maybe there's a chance. I mean, I can't see DeRosa being guaranteed the 2B job indefinitely, seeing as the Cubs have EPat waiting in the wings. There has to be some understanding there that DeRosa's going to be moved around quite a bit over the next 3 years.

Mostly because he was injured and missed most of last year. I think it is way, way too early to write off Dopirak. I agree about not giving up on Dopirak, although the question of trading him is one of "when", not "if". He'll never get regular ABs with the Cubs with DLee entrenched at 1B.

Guzman has the most upside of the three, and I (perhaps too stubbornly) refuse to give up on that potential. The guy's only 25. He's still got a lot of baseball ahead of him if he can only stay healthy. Call me optimistic, but I think he's finally got the injuries behind him and he's going to be a big contributor right away. Marmol's got electric stuff and plenty of velocity, and he's also still real young -- and learning. I'd put him at #2, although he's more of a long-term value as opposed to a big part of 2007. Lots of positives with Marshall. Good stuff, good poise, lots of confidence. I just don't think he's got the same high ceiling as the other two, so he's #3.

BA now saying that Hamilton will be traded to the Reds for cash.

My thoughts too. That's an interesting power bat for the bench. I have a hard time believing the Cubs will be able to burn a 25-man roster spot on this guy all year, considering he should be expected to make zero contribution at the ML level given where he's coming from (50 ABs last year at low A, none the three years prior). Very fascinating pick though. Hope it can somehow work.

I think it bears mentioning that Michaels' lackluster production as an everyday player last year (.717 OPS, 87 OPS+) would suggest Hendry was right to ignore the SABRs and avoid Michaels.

I don't. I think the focus is Lilly and Meche, like we've been hearing all along. Zito will be choosing between the Mets for 5/75 and the Rangers for 6/100.

Where was Jim Hendry quoted? If that rumor is true, and Hendry is shopping him to everyone, and it's leaking, then how much leverage can he possibly have? What approach would you suggest Hendry take for moving Jones, if it's not to sit down with other GMs at the Winter Meetings and see what they'd give for him? Is he supposed to keep Jones' availability a secret or something?

Where was Jim Hendry quoted?