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Vogelbach was signed and got 27 at-bats at rookie league this year.

The general flow of free agents is away from smaller teams and toward bigger teams, making the net effect bigger on smaller teams. Additionally, there aren't a lot of ways for a smaller market team to win. Bigger teams have all sorts of flexibility. Smaller teams, who actually try, would be more dependant on that flow back of comp picks. 2010 Supplemental picks Kaleb Cowart (Angels-1) - Pick from Mariners as compensation for Free Agent Chone Figgins Michael Foltynewicz (Astros-1) - Pick from Tigers as compensation for Free Agent Jose Valverde Kolbrin Vitek (Red Sox-1) - Pick from Braves as compensation for Free Agent Billy Wagner Cameron Bedrosian (Angels-1) - Pick from Red Sox as compensation for Free Agent John Lackey Michael Kvasnicka (Astros-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Jose Valverde Aaron Sanchez (Blue Jays-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Marco Scutaro Matt Lipka (Braves-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Mike Gonzalez Bryce Brentz (Red Sox-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Billy Wagner Taylor Lindsey (Angels-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Chone Figgins Anthony Ranaudo (Red Sox-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Jason Bay Ryan Bolden (Angels-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent John Lackey Asher Wojciechowski (Blue Jays-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Rod Barajas Drew Vettleson (Rays-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Gregg Zaun Taijuan Walker (Mariners-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Adrian Beltre Nick Castellanos (Tigers-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Brandon Lyon Luke Jackson (Rangers-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Ivan Rodriguez Seth Blair (Cardinals-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Mark DeRosa Peter Tago (Rockies-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Jason Marquis Chance Ruffin (Tigers-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Fernando Rodney Michael Olt (Rangers-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Marlon Byrd Tyrell Jenkins (Cardinals-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Joel Pineiro Todd Cunningham (Braves-2) - Pick from Orioles as compensation for Free Agent Mike Gonzalez Brandon Workman (Red Sox-2) - Pick from Mets as compensation for Free Agent Jason Bay Justin Nicolino (Blue Jays-2) - Pick from Red Sox as compensation for Free Agent Marco Scutaro 2009 A.J. Pollock (Diamondbacks-1) - Pick from Dodgers as compensation for Free Agent Orlando Hudson Randal Grichuk (Angels-1) - Pick from Mets as compensation for Free Agent Francisco Rodriguez Mike Trout (Angels-1) - Pick from Yankees as compensation for Free Agent Mark Teixeira Nick Franklin (Mariners-1) - Pick from Phillies as compensation for Free Agent Raul Ibanez Tim Wheeler (Rockies-1) - Pick from Angels as compensation for Free Agent Brian Fuentes Steven Baron (Mariners-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Raul Ibanez Rex Brothers (Rockies-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Brian Fuentes Matthew Davidson (Diamondbacks-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Orlando Hudson Aaron Miller (Dodgers-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Derek Lowe James Paxton (Blue Jays-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent A.J. Burnett Josh Phegley (White Sox-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Orlando Cabrera Kentrail Davis (Brewers-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent CC Sabathia Tyler Skaggs (Angels-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Mark Teixeira Chris Owings (Diamondbacks-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Juan Cruz Garrett Richards (Angels-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Francisco Rodriguez Bradley Boxberger (Reds-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Jeremy Affeldt Tanner Scheppers (Rangers-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Milton Bradley Michael Belfiore (Diamondbacks-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Brandon Lyon Matthew Bashore (Twins-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Dennys Reyes Kyle Heckathorn (Brewers-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Brian Shouse Tyler Kehrer (Angels-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Jon Garland Blake Smith (Dodgers-2) - Pick from Braves as compensation for Free Agent Derek Lowe Eric Smith (Diamondbacks-2) - Pick from Royals as compensation for Free Agent Juan Cruz Trayce Thompson (White Sox-2) - Pick from Athletics as compensation for Free Agent Orlando Cabrera Max Walla (Brewers-2) - Pick from NYA as compensation for Free Agent CC Sabathia Robbie Shields (Mets-3) - Pick from NYA as compensation for Free Agent A.J. Burnett Jake Marisnick (Blue Jays-3) - Pick from NYA as compensation for Free Agent A.J. Burnett 2008 Ike Davis (Mets-1) - Pick from Braves as compensation for Free Agent Tom Glavine Carlos Gutierrez (Twins-1) - Pick from Angels as compensation for Free Agent Torii Hunter Shooter Hunt (Twins-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Torii Hunter Jake Odorizzi (Brewers-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Francisco Cordero Zach Collier (Phillies-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Aaron Rowand Evan Frederickson (Brewers-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Scott Linebrink Conor Gillaspie (Giants-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Pedro Feliz Jordan Lyles (Astros-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Trever Miller Lance Lynn (Cardinals-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Troy Percival Brett DeVall (Braves-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Ron Mahay Ryan Flaherty (Cubs-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Jason Kendall Wade Miley (Diamondbacks-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Livan Hernandez Jeremy Bleich (Yankees-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Luis Vizcaino Bryan Price (Red Sox-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Eric Gagne Logan Forsythe (Padres-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Doug Brocail Anthony Gose (Phillies-2) - Pick from Giants as compensation for Free Agent Aaron Rowand 2007 Kevin Ahrens (Blue Jays-1) - Pick from Rangers as compensation for Free Agent Frank Catalanotto Blake Beavan (Rangers-1) - Pick from Astros as compensation for Free Agent Carlos Lee Chris Withrow (Dodgers-1) - Pick from Red Sox as compensation for Free Agent Julio Lugo Tim Alderson (Giants-1) - Pick from Dodgers as compensation for Free Agent Jason Schmidt Michael Main (Rangers-1) - Pick from Angels as compensation for Free Agent Gary Matthews Wendell Fairley (Giants-1) - Pick from Mets as compensation for Free Agent Moises Alou Josh Smoker (Nationals-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Alfonso Soriano Nick Noonan (Giants-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Moises Alou Jon Gilmore (Braves-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Danys Baez Todd Frazier (Reds-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Rich Aurilia Julio Borbon (Rangers-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Carlos Lee Clayton Mortensen (Cardinals-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Jeff Suppan Travis d'Arnaud (Phillies-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent David Dellucci Brett Cecil (Blue Jays-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Justin Speier James Adkins (Dodgers-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Julio Lugo Kellen Kulbacki (Padres-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Woody Williams Sean Doolittle (Athletics-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Barry Zito Eddie Kunz (Mets-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Roberto Hernandez Jackson Williams (Giants-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Jason Schmidt Neil Ramirez (Rangers-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Gary Matthews Justin Jackson (Blue Jays-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Frank Catalanotto Drew Cumberland (Padres-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Dave Roberts Nathan Vineyard (Mets-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Chad Bradford Josh Donaldson (Cubs-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Juan Pierre Michael Burgess (Nationals-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Jose Guillen Wes Roemer (Diamondbacks-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Craig Counsell Charlie Culberson (Giants-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Mike Stanton Matt Mangini (Mariners-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Gil Meche Kyle Lotzkar (Reds-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Scott Schoeneweis Tommy Hunter (Rangers-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Mark DeRosa Nick Hagadone (Red Sox-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Alex Gonzalez Trystan Magnuson (Blue Jays-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Ted Lilly Mitch Canham (Padres-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Chan Ho Park Jon Bachanov (Angels-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Adam Kennedy Corey Brown (Athletics-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Frank Thomas Brandon Hamilton (Tigers-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Jamie Walker Ed Easley (Diamondbacks-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Miguel Batista Ryan Dent (Red Sox-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Keith Foulke Cory Luebke (Padres-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Alan Embree Danny Payne (Padres-1s) - Supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Ryan Klesko Jordan Zimmermann (Nationals-2) - Pick from Cubs as compensation for Free Agent Alfonso Soriano Josh Fields (Braves-2) - Pick from Orioles as compensation for Free Agent Danys Baez David Kopp (Cardinals-2) - Pick from Brewers as compensation for Free Agent Jeff Suppan Grant Desme (Athletics-2) - Pick from Giants as compensation for Free Agent Barry Zito Scott Moviel (Mets-2) - Pick from Indians as compensation for Free Agent Roberto Hernandez Eric Sogard (Padres-2) - Pick from Astros as compensation for Free Agent Woody Williams Eric Eiland (Blue Jays-2) - Pick from Angels as compensation for Free Agent Justin Speier Eric Niesen (Mets-3) - Pick from Orioles as compensation for Free Agent Chad Bradford Scott Carroll (Reds-3) - Pick from Giants as compensation for Free Agent Rich Aurilia Brandon Workman (Phillies-3) - Pick from Indians as compensation for Free Agent David Dellucci I have nothing but crazed laughter at the fact that the Cubs two entries on the list are for Pierre and Kendall. I mean, I don't even know if that's a good or bad thing. At least we didn't resign them? Pierre and Kendall were gimmes as well. They were both already signed to contracts by the arbitration deadline so there was no risk in offering them arbitration.

Unfortunately, he might be the best option. It's really either him or Watford. Hulls is best as a decoy that the other team can't leave, Zeller needs to be on the floor and involved with the play but not someone you just want to give the ball to, and Jones isn't consistent enough to give the ball to in that situation. Oladipo can drive and either get fouled or pass it off to Zeller or Watford inside. That will be a problem for IU this year-their offense is so balanced, but they don't have a guy who can create mismatches down the stretch.

They stormed after beating us last year when we were like 24th in the country. Yeah, props to IU beating #1 but when is the last time Kansas, Duke, UNC, Duke, etc stormed the court? I'd be interested to see the examples they didn't after beating their rival at home who was #1 on a last second three. That perfect scenario of events doesn't happen very often. Strangely, it's the second time it's happened to IU in 11 years.

Yeah, like I said earlier on the page Zeller doesn't have that great of a post game yet. He makes good moves, but his 10 foot turnaround shot out of the post hasn't gone in very much at all so far this year. But he's one of the 3 best scorers for Indiana, he's one of their 3 best passers, he's one of their 3 best rebounders, and he's averaging 2.5 steals a game. He does a little bit of everything for this squad and is way ahead of where I expected him to be as a freshman. Watford hitting 3's is huge for Indiana because he can get that shot almost anytime and he's pretty streaky with them. The shots for Hulls have been so open for the most part that a shooter like him is going to make those almost all the time.

I'd have a hard time putting anyone as better (certainly no one is more important to Indiana). But it's a pretty close competition between Zeller, Hulls, and Watford with Oladipo and Sheehey right behind them.

Honestly the way IU has played we should be down by 20 but somehow it is a game. lol. Definitely some ugly out there. Both teams have been pretty out of control so far. There were some rumors that Elston was hurt this morning. It was supposedly debunked, but he wasn't seen in the 1st half. Hopefully he's ok because that would be a big loss with how he's been playing so far this year. BTW, Zeller hasn't shown a great post game so far this year. He needs to be a focal point of the offense, but if IU just fed it into him in the post like the announcers are advocating they might be in some trouble.

And on the roundtable college basketball article this week on ESPN, 3 different people picked IU over Kentucky as their upset. I have been surprised with how close everybody thinks it's going to be. I guess it must be because Kentucky hasn't had a true road game yet and people think the crowd will really shake them. I'm not very up on Kentucky, but isn't the key to beating them forcing them to shoot from outside and making your own outside shots? Indiana's more of a drive and score type of team and I don't know if that will work against Kentucky's shotblockers, and on defense Indiana doesn't have the big men to really guard Kentucky or much experience playing zone. Indiana will force a decent amount of turnovers though as they get lots of deflections.

I disagree, I think Barney makes a fantastic backup SS. Yeah, I'm thrilled with the arrangement of having Barney being the backup SS. With only 5 bench spots and no real way to get around having a backup C, any way to increase the flexibility of who you can carry on a bench is good with me. With Barney starting at 2B and Baker and Dewitt as backups off the bench, that means the Cubs just have to carry 1 player who can cover CF and then they have options with their last bench player.

Numbers: http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?P=Jeff-Bianchi A LeMahieu by any other name. Looks like 2011 was his return from TJS, so apparently the Cubs are taking a flier to see if he can return to his pre TJS numbers. On first glance, can't see his future as much more than a backup middle infielder though.

110-120 million would be my guess. The Cubs will still sign some pitching, and of course how big the contract is for whoever plays 1B will help dictate that. But I do think the Cubs hope that they find a way to get one of those two.

Signing stud free agents doesn't hurt the long-term. There's an over the top obsession with being financially flexible 7 years from now that makes no sense. I think the current management would disagree with you. If the reports about the Pujols offer were true, they were clearly willing to spend money. They just weren't willing to lose that flexibility when Pujols declines.

Completely disagree. First off, more than one reasonable target has been signed. Whether the prices were reasonable is besides the point, they were reasonable targets. Furthermore, the fact is they haven't done anything but make middling small market mentality moves yet. They've gone for a cheaper Fukudome with less patience in right field, and a more patient Colvin at 3B. They've made middling moves that probably don't represent all that much of an upgrade to what the Cubs began last season with, if any. So far they haven't done anything big market. They haven't done anything to significantly improve the 2012 team. This wasn't a dead franchise. It was a fundamentally flawed franchise in position to be in contention for the division next year with an impact signing or two, and the financial wherewithal to make that happen. The process of rebuilding the farm system will take time, but we're talking about parallel fronts and a team than can afford to do both. This isn't Pittsburgh. They can, should, and have to do both. Over the top pessimism is uncalled for at this point, but nonsensical claims about how unreasonable it is to expect these guys to make the 2012 team a hell of a lot better while also improving the farm system are just as blind to the facts. I think the parallel fronts thing has been a bit overblown. They've consistently said that they are willing to improve the short-term as long as it doesn't hurt the long-term. Then they go out and reportedly offer a shorter deal to Pujols for large money which is consistent with that philosophy. The signing of Dejesus does the same thing by helping the next two years but retaining flexibility. The Stewart move is trying to find an asset at a position where they probably just see stopgaps available otherwise. Now, does that mean the 2012 team is probably going to be bad? I would say so. It's hard to dramatically improve a team in an offseason when you aren't willing to even slightly hurt the long-term to do so. If they get lucky and get a Darvish or Fielder at figures (especially number of years) that they're comfortable with then that would fit in their box they've set out for themselves. They're going to do everything in their power to find assets and improve the team as long as it doesn't interfere with their bigger goal.

Seems like a hard cap+lack of max offer would do the trick here. Then you'd have teams with very different strategies-some willing to pay 50% of their cap to one guy while others spread it out. The superstars would have to turn down a lot of money to team up to any large degree. Free agent compensation might also help matters so a team isn't faced with getting nothing if they don't take whatever low ball offer that is out there.

Everyone knows Paul isn't coming back. Nobody is going to trade a better player for him, so of course Paul is going to be the best player in the trade. The Hornets were getting four players ranging from slightly above average to top quarter at their position, the Rockets were getting one of the best big men in basketball, and the Lakers weren't going to have enough assets left to get Howard anyway. You really think Orlando was going to accept just Bynum and whatever crap was left on the Lakers for Howard? Actually, yeah. That's why I think there was an uproar. In a vacuum, the Paul trade arguably makes the Lakers worse. But if a Howard deal is contingent on it going down and the other owners believe that, they're gonna wanna kill the Paul deal. Why would a Howard deal be contingent on a Paul deal? If I'm LA and I could trade Bynum+picks for Howard, I would do that regardless of if the Paul deal went through. The only thing that could possibly make the two deals related is if Howard wouldn't sign an extension unless Paul was also there, and even if he's saying that I would think LA would take the risk anyway if that's all they had to give up.

8th overall pick in 2007, had TJ surgery at the end of 2008. The fact that the Cubs apparently wanted him makes him have a small amount of intrigue-maybe they found some mechanical flaw?

A couple of Harris voters had some pretty hilarious ballots: And this one: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=df-fox_coaches_harris_poll_voting_analysis_120511

They can't do that without a baseball reason to do so. If I remember correctly, the Padres cut Todd Walker once his arbitration case was heard and ruled. I think it cost the Padres half of the awarded amount to cut him. 1/5, but the Padres were able to argue that it was reasonable that Walker wasn't good enough to make their 25 man roster anymore. If Walker had contested that and had a ruling that it wasn't reasonable for the Padres to think that, he would have been awarded the full amount. That's why it would be almost impossible to do with K-Rod.

This is all that I could find. Feels like a right-handed Burke who is one level closer to the majors. He seems to likely have major league talent, but whether he's polished enough to possibly stick I don't know.

This is the only scouting report I've seen so far on Castillo from a fan who went to go see his minor league team play:

Little bit of a different scenario in 2006. First, the margin between Michigan and Florida in the polls to begin with was much, much smaller than the margin between Alabama and Oklahoma State. It's possible that more voters switched this time the final week than did in 2006, but since the decision was much more split to begin with in 06 tipped the balance. Also, Michigan after they lost was never #2 in the polls. After the Michigan loss, it was USC 2, Michigan 3, Florida 4. So the voters never had to decide whether they were willing to put Michigan 2 until the final week when USC lost, and that's when they decided to leave Michigan at 3 and flip Florida at 2. In Oklahoma State's case, they lost after Alabama did. Finally, a small factor might have been that Michigan was done after their loss and Florida still had 2 more chances to impress the voters. Now, the SEC thing probably did have something to do with this rematch. I agree with that. But it's not a straight comparison to 2006 whatsoever. You're splitting hairs. Nothing is ever a straight comparision; but this is about as close as it will ever get. The SEC plays by different rules. When it was the Big Ten, team No. 2 already had their chance and the title game should not feature rematches. When it was the SEC, the best two teams should play in the title game, regardless of whether it's a rematch.* *For the record, I believe LSU and Alabama are the best two teams in the country. I have little problem with the rematch; I have a big problem with shifting goal posts. The bolded is the most important point. Oklahoma State had a much more impressive body of work than did Alabama, but since Bama had the 'better' loss and was in the SEC, they got the benefit of the doubt. ("Oklahoma State could NEVER move the ball on the almighty LSU defense! Ever!") I would argue it's more because Oklahoma State started outside the top 5 and had only one or maybe two high profile games before the last game of the season (Texas A&M-of course by the end of the year Kansas State and Baylor were better opponents than A&M). They never had any real chance for buzz. So voters did what they typically do. If Oklahoma had been the one to go 11-1 instead of Oklahoma State, they probably go to the title game instead of Alabama.

:lol: No, see, he's a mod. It's ok when they do it! This thread is not the place to discuss board policy. Take it up with Tim or a moderator.

That's not true at all. Teams do it all the time. I can think of at least 3 teams that have won the World Series in the 00's that got by with less than what the Cubs could go out and get. The Diamondbacks, White Sox and Marlins. Exactly. The rumors we've heard alone would probably be enough to allow this team to contend. There are a lot of available players out there. 1B has been well documented, even if you have to bring back Pena at 1B, it's conceivable that the Cubs could get Headley, a guy like Gio Gonzalez, a young SP from the Rays, there's players that will become available if you get rid of Soriano and later in FA (Beltran). The Cubs would still need a lot to go right to seriously contend, but there are plenty of pieces out there to make it closer to happening. I think you're saying kind of the same thing I've said. They don't need to build a team that competes for the WS for 2012, they just need to get better. One or two bigger moves (say Fielder and Buehrle, possibly Darvish/Cespedes) and a few smaller ones (DeJesus, and say Headley) improves this team, to the point that they should, with neutral luck, finish slightly over .500. Another couple of bigger siginings next offseason, and a few small moves, and they should/could be back at the top of the Central by 2013. Looking at the number of teams that have made that kind of improvement, it's not that hard, you just need to have a rough plan in place and follow it. Which side are you on though re: Garza? If you are on the "trade Garza side" then why would you pay money for Buerhle and get rid of a better pitcher? The gains you made on offense are already minimal because you have to replace Ramirez also, but then you also remain stagnant on a pitching staff that gets rid of its best pitcher (Garza) for a downgrade (Buerhle). That's a team that finishes slightly better than last year, but looks better doing. You would think the team will get at least 1 guy that will be in the majors in 2012 for Garza. I would be disappointed if the team traded Garza for all high upside low level guys (unless their haul was just fantastic). But if they traded him to try to fit other parts of the puzzle with an eye on signing free agent pitching in the next year or two? That would be a different story.

How is Fielder not elite? At worst he's one of the 3 best sluggers in the game today. Fielder is one-dimensional. He's very good at that one dimension. His all-around game is not in the elite category, for me anyway. His WAR numbers bear this out. I will plead ignorance here and will defer to those who know sabermetrics better than I do, but I seem to recall that 1B is one of the least important defensive positions, correct? I'd be willing to trade whatever deficiencies he may have in the field for what he could bring with his bat. 1B is the easiest position on the diamond defensively. That doesn't necessarily match up with its importance.

Okay, so maybe we are getting bogged down in confusion more than I realized. It's context dependent. Value can mean: A) How good is Player at helping a team win baseball games? B) How much can Player command in a transaction (contract or trade)? C) How much does controlling Player at his current contract status contribute to the team's ultimate goals? Under Definition A, Soriano has some value. Under definition B, Soriano has no value. Under definition C, Soriano has negative value. Unless more posters come down with Jersey-itis, I'll assume that most people can pick out which meaning is being used based on the context of conversation. It makes sense to trade Garza if you convince some team to make Garza's B larger than Garza's C. It'd have to be a ton, but in this fetid market for starting pitching and coming off a career year to date, I think you might be able to do it. The longer we hold on to Garza, the more his B and C go down. We'll essentially be spending some of his B and C value on wins. Nothing wrong with that, of course, because wins are good. What I'm saying is that when Garza signs an extension, his C goes down by quite a bit. But his B might not go down by that much. Salary just doesn't seem to be a big issue when discussing trades for star pitchers-the number of years under control does. So as long as the Cubs are willing to sign him to that extension, Garza can be viewed as a long-term asset (B), even though his value to the Cubs will be much less when he's making that big money ©.