Hector Villanuevas Pants

Even if everything you say in your post is true, are you giving Hendry a pass? Hendry created the mess by signing him. He signed him for more money than he was worth and for more years than he should have. There were other players available that were just as talented as Bradley. Hendry didn't even talk to some of those other guys. He said from the start that Bradley was his man. Less than 1 year later, he trades him for pennies on the dollar, which now puts the entire 2010 season in jeopardy after an already failed 2009. Fine. Milton sucks as a human being. But, Milton didn't force that contract. Milton didn't put himself on the Cubs roster. Hendry did. If Milton has to go, so should Hendry. It's time for Hendry to go.

Milton Bradly could be AL MVP next year with Seattle. It doesn't matter. He wouldn't have done that with the Cubs. Did anyone watch last season? I mean it was pretty miserable, so I wouldn't blame you if you decided not to or to forget it. But, as good as Milton Bradley can be, he proved to me that he is one of the most selfish, least professional, and least mentally tough players out there. Last year he got off to a slow start, and couldn't get out of that rut. Instead of taking responsibility for his poor performance and doing everything he could to help the team win, he became a malcontent, a clubhouse cancer, and a distraction. He blamed umpires for bad calls, Piniella and the coaches for not using him property, his teammates for not being his friends, the fans being racist, the media for being the media, and anyone else he could think of but himself for his poor performance. What evidence has anyone seen that Milton Bradley has learned anything from last season and would be able to apply those lessons to being a productive player in 2010 for the Cubs? Does anyone really think that he could have come back to the Cubs next season and even been remotely successful? Does anyone really think he could have handled the pressure of the intense media scrutiny, the constant booing of the fans, the skepticism of his coaches and fellow players to have a good year? It would have been a disaster from day one of spring training and could only end even worse than it already has, likely with the Cubs waiving him and eating his whole salary. Signing Bradley was a high risk, high reward signing by Hendry that was an absolute failure. The fact that the Cubs got $6 million from Seattle should be considered a win. I don't care about Silva. He's the equivalent of a bag of baseballs (a very large bag of baseballs). I don't care what Bradley does for Seattle next year because he wouldn't have done it with the Cubs.

The words "classy" and "Milton Bradley" should never be used in the same sentence unless you are referring to a board game.

Milton Bradley is a scumbag, and I celebrate the fact that he is leaving Chicago.

I know it's fun (and easy) to bash the Cubs, but the Hawkins for Williams/Aardsma trade is a clear win for the Cubs. Hawkins was easily one of the most hated Cubs since Todd Hundley and was only getting worse. Since the trade he has done nothing in San Francisco or Baltimore. Williams had potential, but was ultimately disappointing. It would have been nice to get something for him, but realistically his attitude and performance in Iowa rendered him worthless. I still have some hope that Aardsma could be OK. I'm not sure how anyone could say that they'd rather have Hawkins and his salary rather than Williams and Aardsma. And how the Cubs spent the money saved through this trade (on Neifi and Rusch perhaps) is immaterial to this discussion.

What's up with Theriot's mustache?

Another thing to keep in mind regarding Aram's solid fielding is the absence of DLee. He hasn't had the benefit of a gold glove first baseman. I say give Aramis some credit.

Dusty is not a good manager, but not everything he says is foolish. People here have fallen in love with Murton. He has had a very mediocre season. He has been given chances. He has shown very little power and does not appear ready to start in LF. Perhaps this is all Dusty's fault, but I don't think so. Not sure why everyone disses Pagan. He has tools, and he has played well so far. Better than Murton (although in fewer games). I'm not saying he will be a great player, but why not give him a chance. Perhaps they will both turn out to be OK.

Seriously. . . I am as big a Cubs fan as they come, but they are absolutely brutal right now. I can't even bring myself to watch the games anymore knowing what is about to come. The Sox, on the other hand, are a very good team. They play the game the right way and are quite likeable. Sure their fans suck, but when I'm home I don't worry about that so much. Thus, here is my confession...lately I find that I would rather watch Sox games as opposed to Cubs games. Does that make me a bad person? Am I alone?

My guess is this is an early April Fool's Day joke played by a radio station. I heard this on the Mike North Show, and they always have something on April Fool's Day (which happens to fall on a Saturday this year).

Against right-handed pitching, it wouldn't be a terrible move to hit Jones 4th since he hits quite well against rightys. Against left-handed pitching, I wouldn't hit him at all. This is where the problem will likely come unless Hendry picks up another out fielder who hits left-handed pitching, so Jones can sit.

In order to acquire a superstar, you likely will have to give up a supestar or an elite, can't miss prospect. I don't think giving up anything short of Prior or Zambrano will land Tejada, Abreu, or Ramirez. Reason being, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Boston (unlike Florida, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, etc) have financial resources and pressure to win now (or at least make it seem like they are trying in Baltimore's case). The Cubs prospects are decent, but not spectacular enough to swing the deal alone for teams wanting to win now. The major league talent the Cubs are likely willing to offer is also not that good. Walker, Williams, and Patterson are not really centerpieces of a blockbuster trade. I'm not ready to give up on Prior or Zambrano, but I don't think it's realistic to think you will land a proven MVP-caliber player with an unproven Pie and/or Hill as the centerpiece. Especially when your trade partner is a team that is not desperate to cut salary.

Dude, Florida REALLY wanted to unload a lot of salary. They managed to do it and still get value in return. If Tampa REALLY wanted make these deals, they would have done something by now. Tampa has always been a horrible trade partner. They have always asked way too much for their players and they rarely get deals done. This is a sellers market, Tampa has a lot of players people want, teams (like the Cubs) have shown they are willing to overpay, yet Tampa has made no moves. Nothing seems to have changed with the new GM. These are the main reasons why assuming that Koronka and Wellemeyer will be sufficient to get Huff is absurd in my opinion.

Waaaa? What in earth would give you that impression? One of my pet peeves this offseason has people throwing out ridiculously low-ball trade scenarios and then calling Hendry an idiot for not making that deal. If Huff is traded for anything equivalent to Koronka (a mediocre to bad lefty) and Wellemeyer (an inconsistant righty bullpen arm with a bit of upside) I'll eat my shoe.

After sleeping on it, I'm still really upset about the signing, but what makes me angry is the length of the deal. If Hendry felt Jones was the best available RF, fine. I disagree, but fine. However, why 3 years? Why lock yourself into mediocrity at best for that long? I really don't care for the signing (I was hoping for someone better), but I also agree that the Cubs can still be good if the starting pitching holds up (not bloody likely, but that's the Cubs the last few years). I don't see the contract as that terrible. Sure, three years is more than I would have liked, but roughly $5M/year is not an unwieldy sum if the Cubs wanted to move Jones in year three to play Pie even if they had to eat a bit of salary.