Backtobanks

Maybe Bowden's speculation about Crawford to the Cubs will come true. Hopefully they will take Soriano, Zambrano, and still be sending along some cash.

Not saying Francona would be a bad hire, but the stories of him losing control of the clubhouse has to be something to think about. hiring Francona + retaining Zambrano = TROUBLE? :-k

All of us have a lot of faith in Theo, but I'm tired of everybody acting like Theo has never made a mistake in his life. Theo has an amazing record, but he's not perfect (as his critics in Boston like to point out).

I think the most likely outcome is that the Cubs try to work things out. If a trade does happen, what does everyone see as the most likely trade partner for Z? I'm thinking Marlins due to the Guillen connection + opening a new stadium. I would agree with you about the Marlins. Z does have a NTC so I'm sure he would prefer the NL over the AL. The only way I could see an AL team would be a big market team (NY, Boston, etc.) where they could afford to offer him an extension if he pitched well in 2012.

As much as I love Greg Maddux, my impression of him is that he really doesn't want to work every day as a Major League coach. He has all the money he needs and plenty of free time for golf and I question whether he would truly be motivated to serve as a pitching coach. But he's such an intelligent guy that he may want to use his skills everyday. He's been hanging around not doing much the last few years so perhaps he's bored at this point. Also, there is the allure of getting to do something really unique with his brother. He wants to be in on the party when the Cubs win the WS.

From MLBTR: •Yankees - The Yankees' offseason is all about their search for starting pitching, though they'll look to add bench help and a second left-handed reliever as well. I proposed this deal 2 weeks ago and it still looks like what the Yankees are looking for (perhaps with a little tweaking with players/money) : Zambrano + Russell + Byrd/Colvin + Jay Jackson to the Yankees for Swisher (option picked up) + Hughes. Zambrano - reunited with Rothschild, in a "contract" year with a team that can afford his option if he pitches well, strict manager/team policies to keep him under control, veteran, contending team with fewer young players to blame. Yankees need pitching and get Z, a young, cheap, effective LHRP, and a decent prospect. Byrd could start in RF or Colvin could be solid LH 4th OF/RF. Budget isn't impacted much for 2012 giving them room for FA starter. Depth at catcher still can be used as trade bait to obtain another starter. Cubs get a middle of the order bat on a 1-year deal. Hughes has been disappointing but may benefit from change of scenary. Swisher starts in RF and possible platoon with LaHair at 1B ( if Pujols/Fielder not signed). Zambrano + Russell + Byrd/Colvin + Jay Jackson to the Yankees for Swisher (option picked up) + Hughes. Zambrano - reunited with Rothschild, in a "contract" year with a team that can afford his option if he pitches well, strict manager/team policies to keep him under control, veteran, contending team with fewer young players to blame. Yankees need pitching and get Z, a young, cheap, effective LHRP, and a decent prospect. Byrd could start in RF or Colvin could be solid LH 4th OF/RF. Budget isn't impacted much for 2012 giving them room for FA starter. Depth at catcher still can be used as trade bait to obtain another starter. Cubs get a middle of the order bat on a 1-year deal. Hughes has been disappointing but may benefit from change of scenary. Swisher starts in RF and possible platoon with LaHair at 1B ( if Pujols/Fielder not signed).

All of this discussion about Zambrano comes down to this: if we can get something decent for him and not eat too much of his contract, we should trade him. If we're getting next to nothing for him and/or we're eating too much of his contract, we should keep him. The question becomes what is a "decent" return and how much of his contract do we have to pay.

Got to go through the interview process with minority candidates to avoid the wrath of Selig.

I've been saying all along that there should be a market for Z as long as the Cubs are paying some portion of his contract and not expecting a ton in return. You can't convince me that Z isn't good enough to be a #3 or #4 starter on most teams. Obviously the issue is that he's been treated and paid like a #1 starter by the Cubs.

After Theo hires a manager, what do you think will his first on-field move be? Sign a big-name FA, trade Zambrano, make a blockbuster trade, sign a lesser FA, make a smaller trade, etc.

While most of us agree with you, I'm not sure Theo and his brain trust agree.

From MLBTR: •The Braves will reportedly listen on Martin Prado​ and Renck wonders if Seth Smith would be enough to pry him away from Atlanta. Prado should get about $4.4MM in arbitration and the Braves are in search of a corner bat. How about getting involved with this deal: Rockies trade Seth Smith to the Braves and Houston Street to the Cubs. Braves trade Martin Prado to the Rockies and Jair Jurrjens to the Cubs. Cubs trade Marlon Byrd to the Braves and Carlos Marmol to the Rockies. Braves have solid corner OF rotation of Byrd, Smith, Heywood, Constanza. Rockies get solid 2B (Prado) and closer/set up combination of Marmol/Betancourt. Cubs get rotation depth (Jurrjens) and closer/trade bait (Street).

Out of curiosity, how do you look at Szczur and Colvin as interchangeable pieces in a deal? I just thought the choice would be theirs as to younger, speedier, less power to more power with some experience.

Why is Jackson being thrown into every trade? I understand good young pitching is hard to come by, but the Cubs don't have a lot of up and coming bats in the system as it is. Plus, he's a high OBP player like Theo seems to like. Seems like one of the last guys we should trade. The obvious answer is that he's our top prospect and if you're going to get a decent player you're going to have to give up something of value. I'd be willing to give up some good talent for Gio Gonzales. The guy has had a few good seasons and is still young. He could be a rotation staple for 10 years. From MLBTR: •A's lefty Gio Gonzalez remains a viable trade option for many teams, including the Red Sox and Marlins. Meanwhile, the Athletics probably aren’t ready to contend. The club appears to be buying time until they can build a new stadium in the San Jose area. Until then, they may be in the mode of developing players and dealing them for players who might emerge a few years from now. Would Barney + Szczur/Colvin + Vitters + Carpenter/Dolis/Jay Jackson be enough to get him.

Why is Jackson being thrown into every trade? I understand good young pitching is hard to come by, but the Cubs don't have a lot of up and coming bats in the system as it is. Plus, he's a high OBP player like Theo seems to like. Seems like one of the last guys we should trade. The obvious answer is that he's our top prospect and if you're going to get a decent player you're going to have to give up something of value.

No, but they're both meeting tonight at my house over pizza and beer. ;)

Whether the Cards w/o Pujols or the Brewers w/o Fielder will be good could depend a lot on how good the Cubs are and what they do this offseason. Combine the fact that the Cards and Brewers will be not as good if they lose their 1B with their competition (Cubs) improving could make things interesting. Now if the Cubs sign one of Pujols/Fielder, you not only take wins off of one of those teams, but add it to the Cubs.

The good thing is we don't need to sign all, or even most, of the big time FAs that have been discussed. We simply need to sign 1-2 this offseason and then make a couple shrewd signings (Sizemore? Chen? Francis? Headley? Stewart?) or trades and this team is a lot better. With the money coming off the books, the much-heralded front office, the Cubs' history and tradition, and Ricketts' willingness to spend big on improving the team, we should have as good a chance as anybody to bring in a guy like Pujols or Prince or Wilson. The rotation will probably be better with one mid-rotation starter because of Wells and Cashner being healthy (hopefully) all year. There will be lots of competition for Sizemore. Headley and/or Stewart would help assuming they are available. You still have a hard time convincing me that LaHair>Pena and Stewart(possibly)/Baker/Flaherty>ARam. In addition, Jackson in CF is still an unknown. Obviously the moves would be great assuming everything goes right (Jackson lives up to potential, LaHair continues hitting, Headley becomes available, our pitchers remain healthy, Soto gets back to peak performance, etc.). My original point is that without making some serious moves this year, we will still have holes at 1B, 3B, and RF going into 2013.

After reading all of these posts based on getting PuJols/Fielder, Wilson, Kemp (next year), Greinke (or someone like him next year), letting ARam go elsewhere, etc., I'm wondering what plan B is when most of these guys go elsewhere. I'm a fan of Theo and I realize he's not going to win the WS next year, but 2012 is on the surface looking atrocious. I understand his philosophy, but I don't want gradual improvement for 4-5 years. Most of the suggestions posted look like a team that will lose 90-95 games. Also, letting the kids play or using "filler" players for 2012 is going to hurt attendance unless people will come out to possibly catch a glimpse of Theo.

1b, starting rotation. If you really wanted to, you could probably upgrade 2b or CF with a free agent as well. I'm starting to think that 2012 is really going to be ugly unless Theo has some magic trades to make. To me it's looking like Pena or LaHair at 1B, Flaherty/Baker/DeWitt at 3B, Byrd/Colvin in RF, and no Wilson in the rotation.

DeJesus on a 1 year team-friendly deal might not be too bad. LH, can play all 3 OF positions. Coming off of a bad year, but career numbers are decent.

Dierkes checks in with his predictions. Most interesting: Cubs signing DeJesus, Wood, Pinero. Sizemore to the Marlins, Pena to the Pirates, Ramirez to the Orioles, Beltran to the RS, Wilson to the Nationals, Reyes to the Brewers, Fielder to the Mariners, and Pujols stays with the Cards.

I guess we might have a different opinion on what the Mets could get for him, but with teams like the Tigers, Angels, and Cubs looking for 3B, I can't believe the price isn't going to be pretty high.

I think it's pretty awesome too, but I'll bet none of these "kids" were considered cool when they were in school.

You really think the Mets can't demand McNutt-level prospects? With a poor FA market @ 3B there would be lots of interest which would drive the price up.