Backtobanks

You have to be dreaming (not optimistic) to think we can trade Bradley for prospects and cash. Hopefully Colvin can show something because a contending team can't be running Fox and Hoffpauir out to RF on a regular basis. Acquiring Figgins or Hudson is a possibility, but you can forget the "reasonable contract" part.

Zambrano would absolutely waive his NTC to go play for Guillen. And that trade(which I don't buy for a second) would be an absurd heist for the Cubs. Zambrano would have to be crazy to want to play for Guillen. Guillen would call Zambrano every four-letter word (in spanish) in the book instead of being treated with kid gloves by the Cubs. The sportswriters would have a field day. You obviously aren't aware of the kinds of things that Z has said about Ozzie Guillen and the White Sox in the past. Zambrano has said so many things in the past that you never know what to believe. The last thing I remember him saying was that he might retire after this contract. One of the things that I do believe about him is he loves to hit and takes great pride in his hitting, so I don't believe he would go to the AL.

Maybe Colvin will show he's ready.

Zambrano would absolutely waive his NTC to go play for Guillen. And that trade(which I don't buy for a second) would be an absurd heist for the Cubs. Zambrano would have to be crazy to want to play for Guillen. Guillen would call Zambrano every four-letter word (in spanish) in the book instead of being treated with kid gloves by the Cubs. The sportswriters would have a field day.

I read something awhile ago about Jeremy Hermida might be DFA'd this winter. He might be a cheap possibility.

I said it before and I stand by it: Zambrano won't waive his NTC to an AL team where he can't bat. Actually I can't see Zambrano waiving his NTC unless the Cubs really make him the scapegoat for a terrible season and that would be a really stupid thing to do.

There's little reason to trade him since he's not going to net much of anything because he's not good enough to do so and what little value he has is best served in coming off the bench next season. He has little or no trade value by himself, but packaged with others he might be an interesting pickup for an AL team.

DeRosa + wrist injury (less power) + cost <<<< Bobby Scales

I agree with much of what you said, but assuming in-house prospects will replace "lesser" parts of the team isn't always true. Most managers (including Piniella) want veterans on the bench (especially at backup catcher) and in the bullpen. While I agree that Hendry tends to overspend on these type of players, veterans are usually going to cost you $2 million per year. As I post often, hindsight is 20-20. It's easy to sit here and assume Gaub or Gorzalenny can replace Grabow in the bullpen, Fuld/Colvin/league minimum player could replace Johnson, etc. If that were true players like Johnson, Grabow, etc. would have been out of jobs a long time ago. Until Gaub, Fuld, Colvin, Stevens, Caridad, Parker, etc. show something at the ML level, let's not assume they're capable of replacing someone just to save money.

Wild Card here we come.

Obviously, Bruce is pointing out that Zambrano draws attention to himself and that every negative happening is magnified. Same with Milton Bradley.

What makes you think the O's or Mets are going to give up all-star calibre players for non-elite prospects?

Hendry should let people know that he's willing to listen to offers for Zambrano. If he can get equal value, trade him. If he can't, don't trade him. Get past the contract issue unless you have or get someone to fill his spot in the rotation.

Until those others prove something in the majors, I don't see Grabow as the 3rd best LH.

3 of the teams he stated hed like to pitch for were the Yankees, Red Sox, and White Sox, so Id assume hed take a deal to an AL team. You know better than to believe anything Z says. He has a NTC and loves to hit, so unless somebody offers him a 3 year $100 million extension he won't waive his NTC.

Blah blah blah blah. Amen! If he didn't extend Grabow, people would be complaining that Hendry left them short a lefty in the bullpen. I'd rather start the year with Casey Fossum as a LOOGY than spend money 4M a year on Grabow. Apparently you have inside information about the negotiations.

Obviously an discussion of trading Zambrano would be limited to the handful of teams that could afford his contract. Add to that the fact Zambrano would want to stay in the NL to hit and you've about run out of options. Mets - expanded deal centered around Zambrano and Reyes (possibly including someone like Maine?) Braves - deal involving Vasquez plus Escobar? Dodgers - Furcal plus Billingsley? Of course, we could look into a three-way deal! :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: I can't see these kind of trades simply because one team usually wants to get out of a big contract, not pick up another one.

Blah blah blah blah. Amen! If he didn't extend Grabow, people would be complaining that Hendry left them short a lefty in the bullpen.

I can't see Zambrano going anywhere unless we get back a decent starting pitcher plus a starting SS/2B. Zambrano, with all of his antics and underachieving, is still a major cog in the rotation.

That's exactly correct. They didn't get lucky in the sense that they had a lot guys that played out of reasonable expectations (Jim Edmonds excluded). They just stayed healthy and most everyone played up to expectations. How often does that happen in any given year for any team? But that is exactly how Hendry plays it every year and it seems to me to be the thinking of many people in this thread. I like TT's post about incremental changes and I think that's the only way things will get better. It looks like the farm may be starting to produce some position prospects, so maybe things will get better soon. If not the Cubs are going to be worse next year than they are this year. But back to what to do this off-season with Z. If the Cubs can get great value for Z, make a trade. My thinking is that they can't due mostly to his NTC and backloaded contract. Every team has to deal with injuries, but when the injuries become excessive like the Cubs and Mets, the results show up in the standings. As I've stated before, healthy players next year will lead to a contending team. 4-6 week stints on the DL for Pujols and Carpenter/Wainwright would make the Cards look mediocre too. As for playing up to expectations, players like DLee, Ramirez, Bradley, Lilly, Harden, Zambrano, and Soriano (when healthy) have a pretty good track record to count on and expecting "typical" years out of them shouldn't be considered a "fluke".

I'm 62 and I'm in no mood for rebuilding. The other thing to remember is that rebuilding doesn't guarantee a championship team in 3-4 (or more) years. I'm frustrated, but it's a lot more enjoyable to watch an 85-90 win team than to watch some of the teams I suffered with through the 50's and 60's. The best thing about those teams was you could get tickets without scalpers and virtual waiting rooms.

I don't know why people don't think that 2008 wasn't a fluke season where everything went right for the Cubs. This is a good team that's built to be mediocre unless everything goes according to plan. It's not a great team. Also, to backtobanks the Yankees have twice the payroll of the Cubs and are built to weather injuries, as we've seen. Quit being ridiculous. Why would you think 2008 was a fluke? The Cubs had won the division in recent years and were favorites to be in contention. As for 2009, the team is a good team that became mediocre because of a ton of injuries and a few below-expectations seasons. As I stated before, most of the injuries were not to the players with an "injury-prone" label. As for the payroll, I don't understand what that has to do with the injury issue. The Mets have a gigantic payroll, but couldn't overcome a ton of injuries. Your original post used the "wrong side of 30" argument and my point that the Yankees have 12 players over 30 on their roster disproved your argument, so who's being ridiculous? Assuming Soriano is 100% and they don't get hit by a ton of "freakish" injuries, the 2010 Cubs will be picked at or near the top of the NL Central.

You have a "chicken or the egg" situation since you can't rebuild unless you can trade the guys with the NTC. Do you really think that Lee or Ramirez are going to believe a "threat" that the team is going to rebuild. Ricketts has spent almost a billion dollars on the team and now he's going to blow it up. :pig: :pig: :pig:

That's the big problem, there aren't many tradable players on the team. Lee, Ramirez, Zambrano, etc. have NTC, which complicates any kind of deal. Trying to trade Bradley and Dempster would mean eating most of their contracts and accepting very little in return. I would think that Fukudome and Theriot don't have too much trade value, which leaves us with Wells, Guzman, Marmol, etc. who are the youth we need to rebuild the team.

You can crap in one hand a wish in the other and see which one gets filled up faster. This team will always have injuries to contend with, especially with guys on the wrong side of 30. That's the thing, Hendry plans for the best and hopes the worst doesn't happen. He should plan for the worst and hope the best happens. You just can't go into a season with a bunch of guys on the wrong side of 30. Just ask the Yankees with Posada (38), ARod (34), Jeter (35), Damon (35), Matsui (35), Pettitte (37), Burnett (32), Rivera (39), Marte (34), Hairston (33), Molina (34), and Hinske (32). They're on a pace to win 103 games. Are you saying Hendry ought to prepare for the fact that Ramirez was going to dislocate his shoulder or Dempster would break his toe on the dugout rail. Hendry was prepared for the players with known injury histories (Harden and Bradley) with Johnson (broken foot from foul ball), Wells, Marshall, and Gorzelanny. No GM can go into a season expecting his "starting" lineup to be on the field 7-8 times (out of 162 games) and be prepared for that situation. Just ask the other NY team about that.