wastra

Figeroa singles to right. 1 on 1 out. Cintron up.

Fox grounds out.

No score after 1

Are his skills seriously declining, or was it just the knee issue? I know he had it scoped in the offseason and it bothered him most of last year. His .371 career OBP isn't too shabby

There are a couple of reports that the Giants are inquiring about him, and that the Yanks may consider moving him for pitching. The way I see it, he's more of a sure bet than Fukudome, but would cost at least Hill and another good pitching prospect (at least). But I think he could handle right, and he does fit Hendry's left-hand fetish. Would the Yanks, if they seriously entertain moving him at all, consider a deal of Hill, maybe Prior (?), and another prospect? (There's also the sticky little issue about his no-trade clause, so I realize this is really speculative on my part). He's under contract for 2 years, and is 32. Would it make sense for the Cubs to at least open some discussions as a plan B before the Fukudome sweepstakes are over? http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071209&content_id=2321865&vkey=hotstove2007&fext=.jsp And: http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071211&content_id=2322817&vkey=hotstove2007&fext=.jsp

I'm happy to hear this. It's rare for a player to show loyalty to a team in today's MLB. I like the contract, too. It isn't insulting in any way to Kerry because it is assuming that when healthy, he's great closer material since he has a nice base salary, and will get paid more for staying healthy, not being effective. for the Cubs, you can N-E-V-E-R have too much bullpen and pitching depth, so I don't have any problem with having Wood closing and letting Marmol set up again for another year or more. It's been far too long since I've felt like the Cubs could lock down a 1-2 run lead for the 8th and 9th. Mormol-to-Wood is a nice sounding back of the pen to me. Far better than Anybody-in-the-world-to-Dempster.

If I was confident that Hendry had the ability to land a decent RF, I might not be making nearly as much noise. I'm glad Jones is gone, but at the same time I wouldn't have minded him as a 4th outfielder if Murton could have been packaged in a deal to improve elsewhere, and as protection for Pie if Pie poops the bed. If I'm the GM, Jones is my insurance policy if I can't get Crawford or Fukudome. Once I have an upgrade in RF locked up, THEN I consider trading him, and only when I feel like I'm getting value in return. Only a day after Jones was traded, Minnesota traded us a PTBNL for Craig Monroe, the right handed version of Jacque Jones. Monroe is set to make nearly as much as Jones in 2008, and the Cubs aren't giving Minnesota any salary relief. Granted, Jones came from Minnesota, and they may not want him back. But, if you are a major league team in need of a cheap outfielder, you really aren't throwing yourself under the bus to trade for Jacque Jones. There will be many teams this offseason trying to position themselves for cheap outfield help like Corey Patterson, Geoff Jenkins, Shawn Green and Luis Gonzalez. Those teams that aren't willing to pay the price or the years to grab what's left of the lousy free agent class towards the end of this offseason might have been willing to cough up a half way decent prospect for Jones. To trade him for the likes of Omar Infante is assinine. With the addition of Infante, the Cubs have now had every crappy utility middle infielder in baseball in the last 10 years. The list is actually quite scary. If that's the best he could get for Jones, then he was better off just keeping him. I'm certainly not convinced that the 2.5-3m savings of not having Jones will be spent wisely. If Prior and Wood are both back and Fukudome is in RF, I'll give Hendry a flyer. But, it will never change the fact Hendry gave Jones away for next to nothing. I would bet that if Wood and Prior were both back and Fukudome is in RF, Hendry would get ripped by the bashers for bringing back two unhealthy pitchers (for too much money) and spending way too much for an unproven RF. It's okay, and I think most people here would agree, to take fliers on guys like Wood and Prior if (big "if", and the one Hendry never grasped until this year) you don't put ALL your eggs in their basket. So long as there are viable options should their history of injury continue, it's fine to let oft-injured, supremely talented guys TRY to get healthy and compete for innings. The problem was a couple years ago when they not only didn't have a plan B, they didn't have a C or D either. It was them or nothing, and it backfired in his face. Last year, there was some hope for Wood/Prior, but Hendry had at least stockpiled enough guys who were mildly competent enough to fill innigns should one or neither of those two be able to handle it. Hendry was generally not blamed for last year's halding of the roster surrounding those guys. The Fukodome situation is interesting. There aren't a lot of better options in the US, so you've gotta try something. At the least, an outfield of Pie and Fukudome will cover a ton of ground on defense.

Jenkins just looked last year like a guy at that stage in his career where he was seriously sacrificing his ability to get on base in order to maintain his power numbers. No thanks. Granted, that profile fits nearly every hendry signing for the past 4+ years...so...welcome aboard, Geoff!

I don't know. The wood and prior situations ahve been nightmares for us as fans, and I'm sure for the organization. However, I sort of thought last season was a step forawrd for BOTH. Why? Well, to be honest, it seems like the first time we've actually got a real diagnosis of what was really WRONG with both of them. They found the tear in Wood's shoulder that had been eluding them, so they finally knew what they were treating. Prior finally had real surgery, which might be a GOOD thing, given that he can finally actually being a real recovery phase. So, basically, if wood was worth a chance last year, you have to think he's worth more than just a 'chance' this year, given that last year's uncertanties are a little bit clearer. Last year, no one knew if Wood would be healthy because we didn't really know what was wrong with him. Same for Prior.

What are the chances that Augie Ojeda is back on our team? Seriously...Hendry put together a team that SHOULD have been at BEST 2nd, likely 3rd if not for playing in the worst division in baseball. He doesn't get credit for that. He's a terrible GM.

1 run. On a groudout. I hate this team.

same first pitch. :roll:

Now earn some of your effing pay, Soriano.

I love pinch hitting guys who have no power. :roll:

It's the SAME FIRST PITCH to every batter, and no one swings.

JEEEEEZUS! They're right down the effing middle! SWING!!!!

The only good thing I can say is that our new owner will want to endear himself to fans quickly, and will probably try to make a splash with a big acquisition. We need them. And btw- that was clearly a strike. He went.

yup. I hate him.

oh good lord.

I'm starting to hate Aramis.

Did that changeup even hit 50 mph? looked like a slow-pitch softball throw.

NOW DO SOMETHING, CUBS

I haven't been on this site, but I've had TBS HD all series.

Die, Augie, Die! Laces out!!!

SWEET JESUS, rich, this is AUGIE OJEDA. GET HIM OUT.