Backtobanks

Knowing how quickly MacPhail moves, we would be lucky to get him by January.

Pitching rules in the playoffs, but a hot hitter can really help dominate a short series. We've all seen what Soriano can do in the matter of 7-10 days, but sometimes it's the least capable hitter on the team that goes 15 for 28 during a 7-game World Series. The Cubs should be in pretty good shape because of their all around depth.

I'm going to assume this is the part you wrote and mixed into the othe quote. A) Theriot is tied for 5th on the team in games played. B) Who effing cares about how his average ranks in the NL? It's meaningless. It has no baring on who should be the Cubs MVP. Theriot has been a nice role player this year. Nothing more, nothing less. Exactly my point. As others have pointed out, nobody is the standout MVP of the team because of the depth of the team. Everybody is a role player on this team, while only Soto and Dempster are doing more than expected. Picking one MVP on the team is a personal choice, but listing the next 5 or 6 is really hard because of the depth of the team.

right. and those guys aren't as valuable as players who are "sluggers." i hear this "well, that's just not the type of hitter he is" arguments about theriot quite a bit. so does that mean you just don't consider his .367 SLG or whatever? hey, jason marquis just isn't the type of pitcher that strikes guys out, limits hits, or prevents runs. when you accept that he's just not the type of pitcher, you'll like him a lot better. I'm not saying that a singles hitter is as valuable as a slugger, but I do think that Theriot plays an important role on this team and shouldn't be overlooked because his slugging percentage is low. 20 years ago an overwhelming percentage of middle infielders were singles hitters and many of them were considered valuable members of the team.

It might not be a popular choice, but I would think Theriot needs to be in the top 5. He has been consistently good all year while playing every day, unlike Soriano, Soto, and Edmunds. I could not agree more. When I saw the list of the original 5, my first thought was that Theriot was not there. He does play every day and his defense is good. He's often and unsung hero, not a lot of flash, but I don't think the Cubs are where they are without him. He doesn't play everyday, his defense isn't that good, and he's only marginally productive. He plays a premium defensive position at about an average level (check any advanced metric you like, he's not terrible defensively) and has an OBP darn near .400. I don't care about the rest, thats enough to make him more than 'marginally' productive. I agree with those of you who point out the depth of the team and emphasize there isn't just one MVP, but I do think Theriot's value is overlooked by many of you. Some of the stats that people love to quote put a premium on slugging, overlooking the fact that not everyone can be a "slugger". (These are the same stats that make Adam Dunn a "great" hitter while Ichiro "sucks") Theriot is a very valuable role player on this team.

It might not be a popular choice, but I would think Theriot needs to be in the top 5. He has been consistently good all year while playing every day, unlike Soriano, Soto, and Edmunds. I could not agree more. When I saw the list of the original 5, my first thought was that Theriot was not there. He does play every day and his defense is good. He's often and unsung hero, not a lot of flash, but I don't think the Cubs are where they are without him. He doesn't play everyday, his defense isn't that good, and he's only marginally productive. He plays more than anyone else on that list, his defense is good enough, and he's productive enough to be the starting SS on the most productive team in the majors.

It might not be a popular choice, but I would think Theriot needs to be in the top 5. He has been consistently good all year while playing every day, unlike Soriano, Soto, and Edmunds.

Johnson and Edmunds are both FA this year. If the Cubs had Winn and Johnson for next year, it gives the team a lot of versatility and depth. Assuming an OF of Soriano/ Pie/Fukudome, Johnson and Winn (and DeRosa) could get a lot of playing time platooning (Pie), with injuries (Soriano), slumps (Pie and Fukudome), and pinchhitting.

I think Wood will be re-signed because of his loyalty to the Cubs.

Some of you missed my original point: IF Cuban wanted to make a splash in the offseason, what move (or moves) do you think he could make? I agree that re-signing Dempster, Wood, and Harden to a team that just won the WS would probably be enough, but those wouldn't satisfy Cuban's ego. BTW, since some of you are bringing up budget concerns, I could see the Cubs trading Lilly (especially if they sign Sabathia) to the Yankees and Marquis to anyone who will take him.

The Cubs have won the WS and Mark Cuban now owns the Cubs. Everybody is happy, but Cuban wants to make a big splash for 2009. What transaction do you think is possible? The top 2 possibilities that I could think of are going after Sabathia and trading for Carlos Beltran. I would think re-signing Dempster and Wood are pretty safe bets, so I didn't consider those moves.

he traded delmon young, who's been mediocre, for matt garza, who has been good and filled a big need (starting pitching). they signed carlos pena off the scrap heap last year, stole dioner navarro from the dodgers in 2006, shored up the bullpen with a few guys, and picked up some nice role players like gabe gross. it really shouldn't be an award based on what you did last offseason, but what you did to build the team on the field in 2008. Garza was the only one of those that happened in the last year. Hendry has done much more in the past year to improve his team. It's like Kendall and Trachsel got the awful out of his system, cause everything since then has been golden, with the possible exception of Kosuke(but that's nitpicking). yes but again, it's not (or at least it should not be) an award that rewards a general manager for the moves he's made in the past year. that would basically result in organizations with very good player development not being rewarded, and instead you'd be rewarding organizations with a lot of holes in their player development, forcing the general manager to go out and spend more money to acquire players. and really, what has hendry since the end of last season? soto, fontenot and samardzija don't count; they're player development. spent $12M a year on an outfielder who's OPS'ing below .800, sign a platoon CF that's been productive and acquire a very good starter and versatile reliever. so a few really good moves, but mostly this is the same team as last year. I guess you're one of those Hendry bashers. Signing Fukudome solidified RF, Edmunds/Johnson (both cheap pickups) platoon has been phenomenal, acquired a great (not very good) starter, and a versatile reliever is more than most GMs do in 2-3 years. As for the same team as last year, they have 2 different starters (40% of the rotation), 2 different starting OFs (67% change), a different closer, and much more depth. Doesn't sound like the same team to me.

Assuming the Cubs get into the playoffs (and hopefully much farther), I would think Hendry would certainly be the favorite for Executive of the Year Award. Adding Fukudome, Johnson, Edmunds, Gaudin, and Harden to an already-solid team should put him over the top.

The only stat that he has which is (or will be) impressive is the number of leadoff HRs. His power numbers as a LF are nothing special, his stealing days are pretty much done, and his defense borders between bad and great (throwing). No way he's a HOF player.

I wouldn't want to trade Lee, but since you brought it up, Lee + Pie for Loney + Kemp would be tempting during the offseason.

I think the Pirates made a good trade, but if I was the Dodgers GM I would have left the Red Sox out of it and added Either to LaRoche and Morris to get Bay. You get a very good hitter (Bay) with good defense who's signed for next year as opposed to an excellent hitter for two months with lousy defense.

I wouldn't say Dunn will come cheaply, but it sounds like there is very little interest in him. While we'd obviously have to give up something better than what the Reds will get back in draft compensation, but that'd sure be worth it for the stretch run (and our draft compensation). Frankly, I don't buy the whole "intradivision" pricetag in a situation like this where one team is way out and the player will be a rental. If the Reds like what we're offering more than 2 draft picks, then why should they hurt their team by turning us down? They aren't competing against us for the rest of the year. Given that Ibanez has some teams very intersted in him with the M's having a big asking price, I really don't think the cost will be that different for the two players. And definitely nowhere near the difference value. I saw on one site that there is no interest in Huff either and he's having a great season. I guess GMs aren't willing to give up prospects for 2-month rentals of one-dimensional hitters.

From MLBtraderumors.com: Time to check in with Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger. Graziano calls Adam Dunn "the man without a rumor." Even with his flaws this one is hard to figure out. John Maine's rotator cuff strain has the Mets looking at pitching. Graziano suggests names like Livan Hernandez, Paul Byrd, and Jarrod Washburn. The Mets have talked to the Tigers about Scott Schoeneweis. They'd have to replace him, maybe with Arthur Rhodes or Eddie Guardado. The Mariners will listen on J.J. Putz, but he won't come cheap. The Cardinals and Red Sox have interest. Putz is signed through '09 with an option for '10. The Yankees and Marlins have asked about catcher Gerald Laird, while many teams like Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The Braves are willing to trade Will Ohman and Mark Kotsay. Marquis is as good as the likes of Hernandez, Byrd, and Washburn. I don't know the contract status of the other pitchers, but I'm sure the money situation could be worked out.

You have to remember that Lou only had 3 lefties in the bullpen to face Branyon.

That would be a great deal for the Braves- 2 good hitters (Tracy and Owings) and a pitcher (Owings) for Tex.

Sounds good. What about Howry for Beltran? If the Mets don't win it this year, I wouldn't be surprised to see them shop Beltran. Unfortunately, the asking price would be slightly higher than Howry.

Harden through 6, Shark takes it from there. Bam, lights out city. Seriosuly, Id be willing to bet on LF Soriano CF Pie RF Fuku with Reed Johnson as the 4th. 2009 will probably be Pies last chance. He'll start the season, probably platooning with Johnson, and it it doesnt work out, they find someone else through a trade. I agree with you about Pie in CF. As this year's team has shown, we have a bunch of streaky hitters so Lou might not be able to be patient with Pie in CF. I'm sure there will be high expectations in 2009 for a repeat as World Series Champions.

Tie this thread in with the "Trade Marquis" thread. Trade Marquis (and pay part of his contract) to some team that needs a back-of-the-rotation starter and will give us a mid-to-low prospect. I'm sure a team will take him if the Cubs pay part of his contract, then trade Wuertz for Ross.

From MLBtraderumors: The Marlins would consider trading Cody Ross or Mike Jacobs for relief help There was talk that Hendry was asking about Ross earlier, so how about Wuertz for Ross? If that's not enough, add a prospect or two. Ross fills the role of RH bat off the bench and can play all 3 OF positions. 2008 - .255/.307/..496/.803 with 16 HR in 278 AB Career - .259/.322/.497/.819

Marlins Inquire On Bengie Molina By Tim Dierkes [July 27 at 3:31pm CST] According to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, the Marlins recently inquired on Giants catcher Bengie Molina. Frisaro believes the asking price may be too high, but the situation is worth watching. Molina, 34, is hitting .282/.313/.421 in 368 plate appearances this year. Molina rarely draws a walk or strikes out. Behind the dish, he's thrown out a third of attempted basestealers, fifth in baseball. Jason Kendall leads that stat by a wide margin, which is surprising to me. Molina is owed another $2.2MM this year and $6MM in '09, plus performance bonuses for games started as a catcher. He has some level of no-trade protection, though it's unclear which teams are included. Is this the same Jason Kendall that used the pitcher as a cut-off man on throws to 2nd base last year?