Backtobanks

Cameron and cheap are oxymorons.

I suggested in another topic: Baldelli for Pignatello. Anything more than that is ridiculous.

He could be the 2008 "spark" that ignites the Cubs like Zambrano and Barrett in 2007.

Some free agent predictions of interest by mlbtraderumors.com: ARod..........Angels Bonds.........Padres Rowand.......White Sox Jones..........Dodgers Fukudome....Giants Kuroda........Cubs Guillen........Cards Bradley........Cubs Stewart........White Sox Eckstein.......White Sox Haven't heard any discussion about Milton Bradley, but could be an interesting pickup for CF and RF if nothing else happens. Obviously, not the big name we're all hoping for, but could be a solid role player.

Their desire to land a premier 3b hasn't exactly been a big secret either. Word was on the street that they would do everything in their power to land Aramis if he went the free agent route last year. If they can get ARod instead, they have to be pretty happy that Aramis elected to stay in Chicago. The Red Sox have over $50 million in free agents this year (Schilling, Lowell, Taverez, etc.) and over $20 million next year. In addition they have a few players like Crisp who could be traded and save $4-5 million. Because of their financial flexibility and deep pockets, the Angels and Red Sox seem to be overwhelming favorites in the ARod sweepstakes.

Hoops wrote that the D-Rays are looking for a veteran pitcher to give them 190+ innings. Marquis, Veal, and Cedeno for Crawford.

Actually, I see the Cubs making a trade or two, but avoiding the free agent market with the possible exception of Fukudome.

" The Red Sox have over $50 million in free agents this year. If they let most of them walk, they have plenty of money for ARod.

Marquis, Dempster, Ohman to Reds for Griffey, Alex Gonzalez/Keppinger. Deferred financial payments to Griffey settled between the clubs.

You say the Rays want a veteran starter that can give them 190+ innings: Marquis, Veal, Cedeno for Crawford.

True, but he still pitched bery well in the AL East, which is no easy feat at all. If the Cubs could sign him for only 1 or 2 years, it's definitely worth pursuing since a shift to the much weaker NL Central (and NL in general) would likely reflect very well in his pitching, much like it did with Lilly. I still think someone is going to offer him more in a pitching-thin market than the Cubs who don't really have a need for a starter.

I would love to see the Cubs trade for Rocco Baldelli if the price was cheap enough. With his history of injuries, he might be very cheap and would be a great backup for Pie and Murton. See if they would go for Pignatello (or someone similar) for him.

I saw on two different sites that the Giants might offer Tim Lincecum for a big bat and they're thinking of picking up the options of Omar Visquel and Pedro Feliz. Memo to the Giants: You are an old lousy team and you need to rebuild. That means you keep Lincecum and turn down the options on Visquel and Feliz.

Yeah, it's pretty obvious he wanted out of NY, but Boras won't let him take a pay cut. No matter how much he signs for, Boras' "spin" will be that he got a significant raise.

They have money. They just opt to not use it. Same difference. Actually, I read somewhere that each team gets about $30 million this year from MLB.com, TV rights, or franchising rights. In other words, they're all making a ton of money.

If ARod and Boras had to take less money on a new contract. I know that there's always some sucker out there that will fall for Boras' game, but there are questions and discussion about all of the "favorites". Cubs - don't have an owner Red Sox - talking about bringing back Lowell Angels - Moreno told Selig he wouldn't go overboard Dodgers - ARod was never close to Torre Mets - Have Reyes and Wright Giants - Losing team White Sox - Cheap owner and losing team Phillies - need pitching to compete Marlins - no money It would be interesting to see what happens if the "interested" teams can only come up with offers of $20 - $23 million per year for 4-5 years. It will never happen, but it would be fun to see the lies, spin, and manipulation that would come from Boras.

Glendon Rusch To Attempt Comeback Southpaw Glendon Rusch missed the 2007 season because of a blood clot in his lung. He's one of the good guys in baseball, and we're rooting for him here at MLBTR. According to his agency, Rusch is ready to go and has declared free agency. The 33 year-old will throw a bullpen session for teams on Friday. He's been throwing for a couple of months now. Rusch has never had an arm problem, and he's lost weight recently. He's been throwing 86-88 with good command and should be considered for open fifth starter gigs. At worst, he makes a good swingman. I'm guessing he'd sign for $1MM with maybe another million or two in incentives :roll:

Scott would be a great addition either as a regular or platoon with Murton.

Actually, he's one of the few ESPN guys with a clue. Apparently he doesn't have a clue as to the fact the Cubs don't have an owner to authorize spending $260 - $300 million.

The Red Sox will free $52.6 million off the books for next year by letting their free agents (Schilling, Clement, Lowell, Gagne, Hinske, Tavarez, Timlin, Kielty, and Clayton) walk. They probably will trade Coco Crisp saving another $4.75 million ($5.75 in 2009). Also, Varitek @ $9 million and Ramirez @ $20 million come off the books after next year. If they spend $20 million replacing the eight free agents plus $30 million for ARod (replacing Lowell) they would be where they are now. Looking for the right combination of payroll and chance to win the WS, the Red Sox and the Angels have to be the top two teams.

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If money is the only hold up to signing Arod, we should deal Jones, Dempster, and Marquis if that will help. I can't believe we couldn't get rid of Jones and Dempster w/o having to pay much of their contracts if we take back basically nothing. Not so sure about Marquis, but it'd be nice if we could deal him and not have to eat much of his contract. We have enough end of the bullpen guys that one of them could step in and close. If we get ARod, I think we have to give Pie and Murton the keys to CF and RF for at least next year. With a rotation of Z, Lilly, Hill, Marshall, we could use Prior, Gallagher, etc as the #5. Basically, if ARod decides he wants to play in Chicago and he can play SS w/o severely injuring himself or others, I don't think we can afford to let money be the only obstacle. He turned down a huge chunk of cash to get out of NYC, so you'd think money isn't the only consideration for him. And at the same time, being a contender isn't enough by itself b/c the Yankees are obviously a perennial contender. It would appear that he wants to make a lot of money (though I'm not convinced he's going to demand $30m for 8 years) while playing for a contender in a place that he will also be happy. I'm guessing that narrows the list of options to Boston, LAA, and us. I don't see the Mets getting involved with Wright & Reyes already over there. If he really likes Lou, I would think his top choice has to be either here or Boston. Man, I've love to see what ARod could do facing NLC pitching. While I would love to see ARod on the Cubs, it isn't going to happen. The overwhelming favorites have to be the Angels and Red Sox. They both have the money and are capable of delivering the WS ring that he wants. Many of the other teams mentioned (White Sox, Mariners, Giants, Orioles, Marlins, etc.) are more than one superstar away from contending. The Mets have Wright and Reyes on the left side of the infield. The Phillies would still be without pitching and wouldn't have the money to acquire any pitchers after signing ARod. Getting back to the Cubs, it starts with the expensive long-term contract. Secondly, dumping Dempster, Jones, and Marquis for prospects and not picking up much of their contracts is unlikely. Finally, ARod would probably like to stay in the AL where he knows the pitchers and the DH position is available for later in his career. A third place finish in the ARod sweepstakes for the Cubs.

Assuming a lot of things. But I'm more skeptical; we've been paper champs before. Bedard is not a one-year wonder. He's been a solid pitcher for a lousy Orioles team for the past 3 years. Also, he's been putting up good numbers while playing in the AL East as opposed to the NL Central. If you don't like the deal, so be it, but you can't argue the fact that Bedard is a good pitcher.

I'll ask my usual questions when I see this type of proposal: A) Would you consider this a good trade if you were a fan of the other team? B) Do you really think the other team couldn't get a better offer for the listed players? To answer your questions: A) It depends on whether I was the type of fan that realizes that the Orioles need to start over. Obviously, if I was the kind of fan that thought the Orioles could be and would be competitive in 2008 or 2009, it would be a bad deal. I've been a Cub fan for over 50 years and in hindsight I wish the Cubs would have traded off their stars and started over many times in those 50+ years. The Orioles have no hope of being competitive in that division for the forseeable future. B) I would think the Orioles can probably get a better offer by trading Tejada and Bedard seperately, but you never know how teams match up in the trade market. Also, MacPhail having first hand information on all of these players and their potential could be an advantage or a disadvantage. As I pointed out in my initial post, the Orioles would be getting a lot of young players that have the potential to be good. In 2-3 years the players they receive could be 40% of their rotation, a starting SS and CF, and a solid loogy.

I was hoping Atlanta might take Marshall, Cedeno and another pitching prospect. Don't know if that would fly for the Braves. I'd like for the Cubs to keep Theriot as a utility guy. Who else is in the market to upgrade at SS this offseason? Cards? Astros? White Sox? Giants? Nats? Reds? Blue Jays? A's? Twins? I read one site that suggested that the Braves might take a young major league pitcher and another major league ready prospect for Renteria. If that's true, Marshall plus Cedeno fills that bill.