Backtobanks

While we're all enjoying this great start, let's not forget that it's still early and we have a long way to go. Since everybody is hitting, I don't think we should be talking about replacing anybody 3 weeks into the season. It would be different if Theriot was slumping and Cedeno was hitting, but that's not the case.

You rang? I've been pushing for the Cubs to get Marte from the Pirates, but I'm not sure what the Pirates would want. During the Roberts' trade talks, there was talk of DeRosa and Dempster for Burnett (Good thing we didn't do that). I guess we'll have to wait until some teams are out of it to talk about someone like Burnett or Blanton. Speaking of Roberts, right now it sure is great that we didn't make that deal with DeRosa and Cedeno hitting well. Right now I would have to agree with Vance: Right now, let's not eff with this team one bit.

From ESPN: It would seem to make a lot of sense, in the aftermath of Alfonso Soriano's injury, for the Cubs to reach out to Kenny Lofton, who could play left in Soriano's place and help balance a very right-handed Chicago lineup. But this doesn't appear to be part of the Cubs' plans. What would they do with Lofton when Soriano comes back to 2 weeks? Oh, I can answer my own question........Lofton and Johnson platoon in CF while Pie is sent to AAA. Bad suggestion by Olney.

If you lift a lot of weights, your muscles get bigger. If you lift a lot of weights and take steroids your muscles get a lot bigger. I can pretty much promise you if I dedicated myself to a strict diet and specific workout program over 1 year you would see a remarkable difference. In 3 years it would be huge. Its very possible. Not to mention that these athletes have the best trainers, technology and equipment, PLUS rather than dividing time between family, job, workout, this IS their job and they're away from family. By the way, I'm not taking sides on the Sosa steroids discussion, I'm just pointing out that dedication and lifting weights weren't the only ways that some players used to bulk up. As for the "best trainers", you might be talking about the best drug dealers.

If you lift a lot of weights, your muscles get bigger. If you lift a lot of weights and take steroids your muscles get a lot bigger.

Why would the Orioles want him? They already have enough overpaid dead weight that they're trying to get rid of.

The Dodgers farm system has turned out some pretty good positional players and Hu was ranked high in their system. Would he be an upgrade over Theriot or Cedeno? I don't know the answer to that except to say that Theriot doesn't have great numbers, the arm, or the range to be an above-average SS. It looks like Cedeno is never going to get another shot at being the starting SS for the Cubs. My point is that Hu gives the Cubs another option at SS in either 2008 or 2009. All of this is based on being able to acquire him at a reasonable cost (Fontenot plus mid-level pitching prospect????). Using this scenario Hu would be replacing Fontenot giving the Cubs a player whose primary position is SS rather than 2B.

None of us know, but it's obvious that Cedeno isn't going to start for the Cubs. If Hu could be acquired for Fontenot plus a mid-level pitcher, he could be another option for SS next year (or this year if Lou ever tires of Theriot).

He's 22 years old. If he gets hit by a truck tomorrow and never plays again he'll be financially secure for the rest of his life. He signed this with essentially no ML experience, so there's the possibility that he busts as well. It's happened before. That's the trade off. He could possibly earn double that (I'd say it would be something like $5M, $10M, $15M tops but who knows), or he could take complete financial security right now. I know what I'd do. Going from $3M to $17M is a much bigger deal than going from $17M to $30M (OK, whatever his take-home actually is from these numbers). The utility of the second $13M isn't worth the risk. Also, don't forget that these pro athletes, their agents, and the stupid owners don't know the meaning of a contract anyhow. A few years into the contract, he will demand more money, an extension, or a trade and make all the money he was going to get without this contract. Pro athletes want the security of a long-term contract and then complain about the money.

Furcal wants Dodgers extension? Rafael Furcal says he wants to remain with the Dodgers, though he doesn't want to concern himself with talk of a new deal until the end of the season. Until then, he's leaving the matter in the hands of his agent, Paul Kinzer, who visited Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti during spring training and has had a few follow-up conversations. Kinzer said the 30-year-old Furcal was looking for a long-term deal that would allow him to "finish his career there." "There's no deadline," Kinzer said. "We'll give them every opportunity to sign him." Said Colletti: "We want him to be a Dodger, so at some point in time, we'll sit down and sort it out." -- LA Times If the Dodgers are going to extend Furcal, they have no use for Hu. Even if Hu isn't ready to start this year, he could be the starting SS next year. I don't know what the Dodgers would ask for, but a pitching prospect plus Fontenot (to replace Hu) sounds like a fair deal.

There's an old saying.....Jack of all trades and master of none. That sums up the "versatility" idea.

From Foxsports.com: Reasons to be patient and remember it's a long season: Five lowest batting averages (through Tuesday) among 201 big-league batters who have enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting race belong to David Ortiz (.113), Troy Tulowitzki (.149), Placido Polanco (.149), Andruw Jones (.149) and Casey Blake (.150). And the two highest earned-run averages belong to C.C. Sabathia (11.57) and Roy Oswalt (9.00).

Calling him up doesn't mean Lou would play him.

Gammons said that Lou is not happy with Pie and his .160 AVG or something to that extent, and went on to say that Crisp is the best defensive center fielder in baseball and that he could be a solution for the Cubs leadoff problem. Overall Gammons acted like it would be a good deal for the Cubs as a second option with Roberts being the first. Ok, that makes me feel better. It sounds like Gammons is speculating here, and I think there are several reasons why his speculation is way off: 1) Crisp hasn't started the season that well 2) He's day to day with a hamstring injury. Lou's already frustrated enough with Soriano's leg injuries. He isn't going to want to acquire somebody with a balky hamstring and an injury history. 3) Lou is working with Pie considerably, and from all his quotes seems to indicate that he knows that Pie would continue to destroy the ball if sent down (with all his quotes about how he just wants to translate the great production every time he's at AAA), thus making it useless to send him down. They're certainly not going to do anything with Pie until this week of hands on coaching is over and he's given another chance in the field. After Johnson's big game yesterday, Pie's chances of playing regularly are just about gone. Anytime Pie plays, he better get two hits or he'll be back on the bench.

I literally just suffered some brain damage. Obviously, Hendry is the beneficiary of the frequent flyer miles on the corporate credit card. As I poster said, I'm done believing anything positive that Hendry or Lou say about Murton. Actions speak louder than words.

Here we go again, jump all over Hendry and give Lou a pass. All of these negative posts about Hendry's decision to call up Patterson over Murton are ridiculous. I'm sure Lou told Hendry who to call up. For all of Hendry's flaws, allowing the manager to make all of the personnel decisions might be his biggest flaw. Yeah, I will jump on Hendry because he is a terrible GM like it or not. If Lou is calling the shots or Hendry it doesn't matter, it is still a terrible move. My point is that everyone jumps on Hendry for decisions that are made by Lou. The fact that you think Hendry is a terrible GM is one thing, but don't blame him for decisions that are made by "teflon" Lou. Not only is calling up Patterson over Murton a bad decision, but playing DeRosa in LF and Fontenot at 2B (over Murton and DeRosa) is also a terrible decision. Both of those decisions were made by Lou.

Good.

Here we go again, jump all over Hendry and give Lou a pass. All of these negative posts about Hendry's decision to call up Patterson over Murton are ridiculous. I'm sure Lou told Hendry who to call up. For all of Hendry's flaws, allowing the manager to make all of the personnel decisions might be his biggest flaw.

The real question is whether he will get playing time.

I've posted some of the same complaints when it comes to Lou over Dusty. I'm not a supporter of Dusty, but when push comes to shove, Lou usually goes for the veteran just like Dusty. Also, for all of the complaining about Hendry, a lot of these decisions were made in the dugout or at the request of the manager. I like Lou, but it seems like he has a teflon coating when it comes to criticism.

The problem is that Hill is a bit of a head case. Remember last year when he was doing some kind of "meditation" to relax during games. I really think he overthinks about pitching rather than letting his natural talent take over. Also, don't forget that he's left-handed which adds to his eccentricities.

This reminds me of the Roberts trade talk. People need to understand that the average 2B is defense first and offense second. Utley is pretty much in a league of his own. Roberts and Hudson are very good players, but totally overvalued because they bring some offense to a defensive position. The fact that Hudson is asking $15 million per year and the O's wanted 5 players for Roberts is ridiculous. Keep the 5 players and the $15 million per year contract and go with DeRosa.

I always thought Hudson might be an interesting option to the Brian Roberts trade talk, but not at those prices. D-Backs far apart from Hudson extension? The D-Backs have had intermittent talks with Orlando Hudson's camp about an extension since late in 2007, but the sides appear so far apart that it would take a major move by one to rekindle meaningful dialog. Hudson, a three-time Gold Glove winner who will become a free agent after this season, is said to be seeking a yearly salary similar to the $15 million Philadelphia's Chase Utley will receive in each of the final four years of his seven-year, $85 million dollar extension signed before 2007. -- East Valley Tribune

I've been teased about coming up with 3-way deals in which we end up with Marte. He would be a great addition.

Maybe Hendry ought to get in discussions with DD about a trade involving Wertz and Renteria.