Backtobanks

Ascanio + Miles for DeRosa.

I think Patton has to stay or go through waivers, but I agree that Fox makes more sense than Cotts/Patton/Ascanio or Miles/Freel. Maybe they will call him up when they get to inter-league play to use as DH. Of course, by then he will be slumping or injured.

If the Cubs make the playoffs and get swept again, what would your reaction be? "Oh well, it's just a crapshoot, go get 'em next time fellas..."? Anybody who has paid attention to the recent playoffs should realize that the playoffs are a crapshoot. It's just a matter of which team is hot at that point. Look at how many times the "best team", the "best hitters", and the "best pitchers" fail in the playoffs. Look at the number of times a mediocre team, hitter, or pitcher is successful in the playoffs.

I've been a fan for 55 years and I'm always amazed that the baseball "experts" (managers and pitching coaches) haven't figured out that you can tell if a closer is having a good/bad day by watching the first two batters. Also, it's ridiculous not to have another pitcher warming up after watching the first two batters. I've heard managers say that it's an insult to your closer to have somebody warming up. I thought the idea was to win games and not worry about somebody's ego.

It would be great to have Fox coming in to pinch hit instead of Miles/Johnson/Freel. As one poster pointed out Fox/Hoffpauir would look great at DH for interleague games.

Heard a story about Theriot do weight training and having a bet with Lou about hitting 10 HRs. Maybe it's true. :-k

Gonzalez/Peavy would probably cost you DLee (plus cash), Marshall, Vitters, Castillo, Soto, and Marmol.

Now that one certainly qualifies.

Lee for Greinke! \:D/ \:D/ \:D/

Put Theriot, Johnson and Freel on the field at the same time and watch the grit fly. We would lead the league in grittiness and be last in runs scored.

I agree with the poster that stated that we ought to quit dreaming because Freel will be our 3B until Ramirez comes back. Of the other players mentioned, Wigginton or Loretta (probably not available) would be the best choices because of their versatility. A trade for Cantu would decimate our farm system. Players like Beltre and Mora would be useless once Ramirez comes back. Huff and Blalock probably can't play well enough defensively. Atkins and Kuzmanoff might be decent fill-ins if their asking price was really cheap.

Freel + $3million for Gathright might make it worthwhile. At least he has some experience backing up 3B.

It shouldn't be too big of a surprise when Lou uses Zambrano as a PH and Harden as a pinch runner over him.

I agree with your analysis, but I still think that the pitchers that the Cubs received were part of the overall plan, either to be part of the package or to replace the pitching prospects in the deal.

McPherson would have been a nice pickup, but I thought the Cubs should have signed Aurilia when he was available.

The real question is how much the Marlins would want because we can't afford to give up 2-3 good prospects for either of them.

What does this even mean? The "expectations" for Soto right now are generaly somewhere around "please don't be awful." Pretty sure he's talking about the manlove for Soto from last year. Where people would quote Geo 10 times. Fickle fans, very fickle. I can't wait to see these guys after Kosuke goes in a slump. Read the game threads, KF is a monster, once he goes 2-20, he'lll be a bum, and Fox should play RF, with Bradley beeing sccotted over. And yet again, people have reason to be critical or wary of Soto so far this year. This about as slumpy as a slump can get, if it's even that. He's had the weight struggles, the issues with his hand when batting and now the shoulder troubles. Offensively he might as well not even be in the lineup and now also defensively he's playing below adequate levels. Most here clearly did not expect Soto to repeat last year, but this is waaaaaaaay below expectations. It has little to do with being "fickle." Its not like hes knocking the ball into some hard outs. Its bad plate appearence after bad plate appearence. He just looks bad at the plate. Brenley has pointed out that Soto seems to be playing through some nagging injuries. His hand injury has eliminated all of his power and his shoulder injury has hurt his throws on stolen bases. I thought Lou was going to sit him for a few games, but he played yesterday.

From MLBTR: Free Agents Off On The Wrong Foot By Tim Dierkes [April 29 at 10:04am CST] It's way too early to label the busts of the 2008-09 free agent class. We're only about 12% into the season. But I still want to take a look at the slow starts among the pricier free agents. It doesn't take much to irritate a fanbase, initially. Mark Teixeira, Yankees: .206/.363/.381 in 80 plate appearances. This contract runs through 2016, so it's barely begun. C.C. Sabathia, Yankees: 4.73 ERA in 32.3 innings. So far we haven't seen the expected walk and strikeout rates. This one runs through 2015. A.J. Burnett, Yankees: 5.47 ERA in 24.6 innings. Home runs and walks have been the problem so far. He's signed through 2013. Oliver Perez, Mets: 9.31 ERA in 19.3 innings. Control has been the biggest problem, and there's already talk of moving him to the bullpen. Perez is signed through 2011. Milton Bradley, Cubs: .107/.324/.214 in 37 plate appearances. Bradley has started eight of the Cubs' 19 game so far and isn't off to a good start with the media. He's signed through 2011, unless he spends significant time on the DL this year. Rafael Furcal, Dodgers: .241/.326/.316 in 89 plate appearances. Signed through 2011. Kenshin Kawakami, Braves: 7.06 ERA in 21.6 innings. Kawakami left his pinpoint control in Japan. He's signed through 2011. Kerry Wood, Indians: 6.75 ERA in 8 innings. Vesting option for 2011. Brian Fuentes, Angels: 6.43 ERA in 7 innings. Vesting option for 2011. Pat Burrell, Rays: .238/.364/.317 in 77 plate appearances. Signed through 2010. Damaso Marte, Yankees: 15.19 ERA in 5.3 innings. Signed through 2011. Kyle Farnsworth, Royals: 9.95 ERA in 6.3 innings. Signed through 2010. Randy Johnson, Giants: 6.16 ERA in 19 innings. Signed through 2009. Trevor Hoffman, Brewers: Missed most of April due to oblique injury. Signed through 2009. Ty Wigginton, Orioles: .216/.256/.270 in 78 plate appearances. Signed through 2010. Jason Giambi, A's: .215/.311/.308 in 74 plate appearances. Signed through 2009. Brad Penny, Red Sox: 8.66 ERA in 17.6 innings. Signed through 2009. We'll cut it off here, at the $5MM+ deals.

I'm a big Soto fan, but Soto has been brutal this year. As others have pointed out, he looks like he's hurting. With all of the other injuries, playing Hill instead of Soto is about the only move that Lou can make.

The problem with bringing up Scales for a few games is that it doesn't solve the problem for the rest of the season. You can bet that Bradley and Ramirez will miss many more games over the course of this season in addition to the fact that the team needs a RH bat off the bench. Also for all of the agonizing over losing DeRosa, Tatis compares favorably with DeRosa: DeRosa - 34 yrs old .277/.346/.420/.766 13 HRs 65 RBI making $5.5 million Tatis - 34 yrs old .264/.346/.445/.791 21 HRs 81 RBI making $1.7 million

Fernando Tatis might be an interesting target for the Cubs. His career line is .264/.346/.445/.791 and most of his experience has been at 3B and corner OF. He might be a replacement for DeRosa providing versatility and some power off the bench. His contract is $1.7 million for this year.

I was honestly thinking that could be a possibility. It's very early for both the Cubs, Indians, and DeRosa, but right now his line is .195/.271/.338/.608 plus he is 34 years old. I'm a DeRosa fan, but he isn't the answer right now.

Time to figure out how to get Jake Fox up to back up Ramirez and Lee.

For all of the anxiety about the Cubs' slow start, we aren't alone: NY Yankees 9-8 Tampa Bay 7-11 Detroit 9-8 Minnesota 9-9 Cleveland 6-12 LAA 6-10 Oakland 6-10 NY Mets 8-9 Philidelphia 8-8 Milwaukee 8-9 Houston 6-12 San Francisco 7-8 Arizona 6-10 Colorado 5-11 Most of those teams were mentioned as would-be contenders in some publications. I'm as frustrated as everyone else, but there's a long way to go and things should improve once Lee, Bradley, and Soto start hitting.

I can picture him hopping every time a ball is hit to him at 2B. :grin: