Backtobanks

Certainly not interested in those two. I would think Rios is the only player on their major league roster we might want. Do they have any interesting prospects?

Lou made it sound like the changes would involve the pitching staff.

Guzman to the bullpen, maybe.....but not as closer. Marmol in the bullpen and eventually being groomed as a closer, possibly. Marshall in the rotation, possibly..........but 3 lefties isn't a great choice if you can help it. Soriano to 2B will never happen. A butcher at 2B can do a lot more damage than an adequate OF. I would love to see Soriano in RF if it wouldn't mess with his offense. I would love to see Derosa as a super-sub, but that would mean getting an everyday SS in a trade, probably not going to happen. My guess is Eyre will be traded for next to nothing, Wuertz will be given more responsibility, and Dempster will remain as closer (for now).

I honestly thought he retired by now. Good to see he's still around, though I don't know if he's still productive. And we can't find a taker for Jones?

Folks, when you rely on a guy with a career WHIP over 1.5 to be your closer, you are asking for trouble. Sure, Dempster got off to a decent start this year, but you knew his long term trend would eventually surface, and it did. He has always had a habit of working behind in the count and walking guys, and on top of that, he gives up more than 1 hit per innings pitched. These aren't exactly the traits you look for in a closer. Dempster is like many other closers that are 1 year wonders. The advance scouts get a read on these guys, and figure out a way to make life miserable for them. With Dempster its easy - all you do is make him throw strikes, and chances are, he will get himself in trouble by walking guys and then give up a hit or two because he turns to toast. Yesterday was obvious, first Dempster was looking down at the mound, like that was the reason he couldn't throw strikes, then he complained to the ump on a pitch 6 inches inside. If that ain't a sign a guy is blowing up, I don't know what is. I'm always amazed that managers worry so much about a closer's ego. If I was a manager I would have another reliever warming up when I brought my closer into the game. After watching closers for decades, I noticed that you can tell if they're on or off their game by watching them pitch to the first batter. I am surprised that these high-priced pitching coaches haven't figured that out.

Mazzone and Duncan couldn't straighten out Marquis.

Typing that "e" in Pie's name is a killer.

Things must be getting better, I remember when the Cubs used to pick up everyone else's castoffs.

Never bought into that. There's plenty of poverty in Latin America, even moreso than in US inner cities, yet there's no shortage of latin kids finding their way onto pro baseball rosters. Simple fact is baseball is no longer very popular with young African Americans. That's why the scarcity of black players isn't going away anytime soon. Jesse Jackson can bitch about it all he wants but it won't change anything. I think the bottom line here is that in the NBA and NFL these kids go straight to the big league...and the money. In MLB, that doesn't happen too often with much success and in today's society of instant gratification, kids don't want to put in a couple of years or more in the minors. They want the money and glory and they want it now. So, where are the protests about the lack of diversity on the field in the NFL and NBA? And don't Jesse Jackson and his minions have better things to do with their time and other people's money? I agree with what you said. In addition, being successful in high school, college, or the minors doesn't necessarily translate to success in the majors. The correlation between success in basketball and football at the college level is much greater than baseball. At the high school level it is even greater.

Maybe Lou can use his powers of persuasion to convince Soriano that not only should he bat in the middle of the lineup, but he should play RF too. Assuming it wouldn't affect his offense, Soriano in RF makes the most sense. A future OF of Murton, Pie, and Soriano would provide decent defense at the corners, spectacular defense in CF, and strong arms in CF and RF.

I can't imagine the Cubs getting Cabrera and then not being able to re-sign him. Can you imagine the uproar of getting someone like Cabrera, having him help you get into the playoffs, and then letting him walk?

The Cubs seem to lead the league in jumping out to a 4-5 run lead and then hibernating for the next 6-7 innings.

i can't see the giants giving up Lincecum if they're in it in July because he will likely have been one of the driving forces behind them still being in the race. Don't want any part of Ervin Santana or Jered Weaver either. Santana is AWFUL on the road. Weaver...well...meh. He's okay, but I think we could do better. Don't look at his run out of the gates at th beginning of his career as an indicator of future success. He also added about 120 innings last year from his professional debut, which I don't really like for his future. Didn't he have arm problems in march/april? If Z starts pitching well, we could do a whole lot better than ESantana or Weaver, I think. I would think it would be ESantana plus someone (Brandon Wood?).

Obviously, rap music isn't to blame for domestic violence, but it sure isn't helping the situation either.

Those are always 95% of the trade proposals here. I think it really just goes with the whole message board community idea. I'm sure SoSH gets just as many of them. right, but people should at least try to separate "wishful thinking" from "realistic idea." I mean, think about the players you're throwing in these trades - Eyre, Jones, Izturis, Marshall, etc. If you're so eager to get rid of them, do you really think other teams are willing to give much up for them? Probably not. I agree that some trade proposals are "wishful thinking", but it depends on the teams involved and their specific needs or mood. If a team needs a LOOGY to win their division, Eyre might be valuable trade commodity. Jones could have value to a team that needs a platoon OF. If a team is having a "fire sale", Marshall could be part of a trade proposal for an expensive veteran. As for Izturis, let's not forget the Tigers thought they needed a defensive IF (Neifi Perez) late last year. So let's not give up on the Izturis for Cabrera trade just yet :).

The key to this whole argument is that there's no hurry in trading him or signing him. The deadline that they set has already passed. Wait for awhile to see whether he corrects his situation or not. If he becomes the Zambrano of old, make him a good offer. If he continues having poor starts, make him a lower offer and if he doesn't accept, then trade him. If an injury shows up, obviously an offer can be made based on the probability of his return to top form. Another factor might be the success of some of our minor league prospects. Getting top price for a mediocre Zambrano might be in the best interest of the Cubs especially if our minor league prospects and the players we get in trade are ready to step into the starting rotation.

There have been hints of Toronto having a fire sale. Now might be the time to make an offer for Vernon Wells. Jones, Eyre/Ohman, and Marshall for Wells. I think he becomes a free agent after this season, but Pie should be ready for next year.

When you combine a bigger-than-life ego and alcohol (or drugs), you are going to have a combustible situation.

I would. Alfonso seems to have a great arm. Bruce Miles has been saying since the day he signed that Soriano should be the everyday RF for this club especially with Pie being groomed to become the everyday CF. Some of that was predicated on the belief that Jones could be dealt, which I still think can happen. He definitely should be in RF. I don't know if his offensive resurgence had anything to do with his move back to LF, but I wouldn't chance another move unless it was an emergency. He does have the arm, but RF in Wrigley is tough.

Just think of the Pandora's Box you would open by releasing your medical records. As others have pointed out, there could be something embarassing in your records (not having to do with steroids) that would be found out even if everything else was "blacked out". Secondly, you would be ostracized in your clubhouse and throughout baseball.

Checking everyone is not practical. It seems like they are targeting former or current Orioles. Do you think there is a slight possibility that there may be a reason (or leads) to substantiate why they are targeting Palmeiro, Grimsley, Sosa, Segui, Tejada, Tatis and Jerry Hairston, Jr.? But when someone is found guilty of steroid use, why should they be the only one. Point your finger at Bonds, Sosa, Palmeiro, etc., but what about Clemens, Giambi, et al. They are never going to uncover everyone who used (or uses) steroids, so call it the Steroid Era and move on.

It would be great if he was picked as a sub by LaRussa since he won't get voted in. He could be a valuable asset to an All Star team because of his versatitlity (2B, SS, pinch hitter, pinch runner).

The players union gave Sammy the OK to release his records. Why not just do it and end all the speculation? The standard is and should be higher for high profile athletes. This is his chance to develop some good will with the HOF voters. Look what happened to McGwire after his ridiculous performance under oath before Congress. He didn't admit using steroids but in the eye of the HOF voters, by dodging the questions, he might as well have. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2864613 The most obvious answer to the question is that there might be something incriminating in his records. My stance is that you can't pick and choose who's records to check, check (or test) everyone in baseball or no one until you have proof.

How can you say that any other team with the Cubs' payroll and farm system would have made the playoffs every year? Let's see if the Cards and Yanks continue to struggle, if Cashman and Jocketty are considered morons. Being a GM is a fickle job, you're either a genius or a loser (see Kenny Williams). Whether it should be considered or not, you have to admit that the Cubs have had an unbelievable number of injuries to key players during this time frame.

Why not just put Theriot at SS and have infield set??? I know we've discussed this, but the article acts as if this isn't a perfectly logical solution. This certainly isn't good to hear... Again, it sounds as if Theriot as starting SS is a tough decision, and Pie is not going to start much, if at all.... http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-070507cubsbits,1,6510210.story?coll=cs-cubs-headlines This article talks about how Murton is a bench player but may start against LHP. But another viable option is to have Izterrible starting and Derosa in RF. :roll: I think that all Lou is doing is trying to get everyone some playing time while protecting the egos of some of his veterans (Izturis). As much as I would love to see Pie playing everyday, right now Jones deserves to play. I also think Theriot at SS should be a given, but I do think there might be some chinks in the armor if Theriot played everyday. Derosa should never start in RF over Murton, especially with the lack of middle IFs on the Cubs.