Backtobanks

I'm going at this by process of elimination. I'm guessing it wasn't Juan Pierre or Jacque Jones.

I agree. The Cubs have spent money on pitchers like Scott Williamson and Wade Miller to come back from serious injuries, you might as well invest a little in a guy that has (had) a world of talent and is still young. Of course, that's assuming Prior would agree to some kind of reasonable contract spread over the next few years. I know the history of Mark Prior in Chicago, but if the Cubs follow the same path as this year (don't count on him and anything at all is a plus) I think re-signing him would be a wise choice.

There's always a market for a left-handed pitcher.

In the offseason, hope springs eternal (just ask Cub fans). During the season, teams have injuries, rookies don't produce, and needs become more apparent, so I do think there is a market for Jones. The question is when to trade him and what do you get in return.

It's great to be optimistic, but let's be honest. In the NL Central, if a team is playing .500 at the All-Star break they will be very much in contention. That's why all of those "the sky is falling" threads are ridiculous.

What do you mean by this? Teams make 2 for 1, 3 for 1 and 3 for 2 type trades every year. Pretty much every team has roster flexibility, where they can option somebody out, release guys or make call-ups if they make a deal that is not 1 for 1. Yeah but let's face it, no team is going to give us anything for Jones, Izturis, Eyre and Miller as a package deal. I think people need to start being realistic about trades. I was being sarcastic about packaging all 4 players, but I do think Jones, Izturis, and Eyre in 2 or 3 separate trades should be able to get us a decent backup middle IF and a decent prospect or two. I still believe somewhere sometime there is a market for Jones. Izturis might be of interest for a team that suffers an injury at SS. As for Eyre, he's a left-handed relief pitcher and there's always a market for them, even if they're crappy. The real question becomes when the timing is right.

Package Jones, Izturis, Eyre, and Miller for a decent middle IF and a good prospect or two.

I totally agree. It's not like you're putting Adam Dunn or Randall Simon at SS. Even if Izturis is still a Gold Glove SS, Theriot is miles ahead of him with good offense and average defense.

So if we put our best hitters 7th, 8th, and 9th, it wouldn't affect the number of runs scored? Obviously, you bat your best OBP hitters 1st and 2nd, with the RBI hitters 3rd, 4th, 5th, & 6th, if for no other reason than they will bat more often during the game (and season).

Shouldn't Lou ask Soriano to bat in the middle of the order instead of leading off. Theriot, Murton, Lee, ARam, Soriano, Barrett, Derosa, Pie sounds like the best possible lineup in terms of producing runs. Batting Floyd or Barrett on occasion wouldn't hurt the lineup. I know that the suggested lineup is really right-handed, but good hitters are good hitters irregardless of which side of the plate in which they stand.

Theriot belongs in the starting lineup until he proves differently. He is hitting a ton and his spark seems to add to the total offense. His only mistakes this year have come from over-hustling.

Maybe one of the reasons they continue to play Jones is that they're showcasing him to other teams. A "perceived" starter should be worth more than a bench warmer.

You do wonder why broadcasters, fans, and East-coast media can see it, but Rothschild has yet to make note of it. You honestly don't think he has? Well, if he has, I would think that the two of them would have corrected the arm angle problem by now. By looking at yesterday's game, it doesn't look like anyone is trying to correct the situation. Again, I hope it's poor mechanics and not a hidden injury.

You do wonder why broadcasters, fans, and East-coast media can see it, but Rothschild has yet to make note of it.

Brenley pointed out in Zambrano's last start that Zambrano seems to be throwing at a lower arm angle (almost sidearm) than in previous years. After he said that, I noticed the same thing. Has anyone else noticed this? If it's true, you would think Rothschild should have noticed it. Also, if it's true, I hope it's because of bad mechanics and not some hidden injury.

I've been a Cub fan for over 50 years, so I know I've tasted too much of the Kool-Aide, but I think it's irrational too panic this early. A player like Soriano is going to start hitting and Zambrano will start pitching (unless he's injured). The good that may come out of this poor start is that Hendry might be forced to make a blockbuster deal sometime during the season. With their poor play, I would think Jones, Miller, Cedeno, Eyre, and Izturis are trade bait. If Guzman, Cherry, and/or Marmol come up and show something, the trade bait could include Zambrano and Howry.

That might be the core of a deal, but I would think it would take some tweaking since Zambrano (although a possible free agent)>Santana and Murton (so far in the majors)>Wood.

I have been reading this board a long time. That being said, this is probably one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever read here. Actually, here or on any of many other baseball boards I read. I'm guessing that you are not a Chicago resident or if you are, probably not born here. Call it ridiculous and put your blinders on but I live on the South Side and the hate towards Sammy and Frank Thomas from Sox fans based on race is voiced even to this day, even with both of them out of Chicago. It is just a sad reality of life in Chicago. Racism runs deep, especially on the South Side. I'm giving you my observation of one reason why Sox fans hate Sammy, I'm not condoning it or maintaining that it is the only reason they hate him. Racism is alive and well on the South Side, but I don't think the hatred for Sammy and/or Frank is based on race. One of the most beloved players in Sox history was Minnie Minoso. Right now, one of the most popular is Jermaine Dye. I think it has more to do with being a pompous ass in addition to being African-American that the hatred might be based on.

You underestimate Charlie Manuel.

The bottom line is that there are probably so many users of steroids or HGH that it wouldn't be fair to single out anyone unless there was positive test results. When you look at some of the minor league players that were found, they weren't all big, muscular players and more than a few were pitchers. Call it the "Steroid Era" or whatever you want, but when you look at the numbers, players like Bonds and Sosa certainly belong in the HOF. Do you realize that blackballing the "suspected" steroid users could result in a Hall of Fame without the all-time HR leader, the single-season HR record holder, the only 4 guys who hit more than 60 HRs in a season, along with the all-time hits leader. Throw Clemens into the mix and you have excluded one of the top 2-3 right-handed pitchers in history.

I disagree. I'd use him in a platoon with Theriot for the first little while here. Give him 60-75% of the starts, and give the rest to Theriot (who Lou's trying to find ABs for anyway). Ease him in a bit by protecting him from difficult matchups vs. LHP for the first couple of months, while he gets acclimated to the bigs and (hopefully) builds some confidence. Then gradually ramp him up to 100% duty. The O's did this with their top prospect last year, Nick Markakis (also a LH OF). Worked beautifully, and the guy had a terrific second half after struggling initially. Today's Tribune basically shoots down Theriot in the OF unless there is an emergency. I'm not sure what Jones can get for us now, but I would think at some point a package of Jones, Eyre, and/or Miller should get us something decent. Also, I wonder about Piniella saying he wants a "set" lineup while playing around with the versatility of Theriot, Derosa, Murton, and Soriano. Something has to happen soon (trade Jones or Pie to AAA) because Piniella has said he would prefer to carry 12 pitchers.

As much as the Yankees need pitching, I can't imagine where they would be without ARod's hitting right now. Personally, I don't think ARod is going anywhere.

I'm not a big fan of trading Zambrano, but a deal like Santana and Wood would make me think about it. Getting a young, experienced pitcher like Santana would make the deal interesting.

We should have only signed Jones to a one-year deal back in the winter of '06. Yes, I'm sure he would have signed to those terms. Hindsight is always 20/20. Jones wouldn't have signed a one year deal, since he had better deals on the table. I'm sure Hendry looked at every opportunity to trade Jones and found all of the offers lacking. Before we offer Jones for the proverbial "bag of balls" because we have this glut of OFs, let's not forget that Floyd has a DL history matching Prior and Wood. Assuming Pie can hold his own in CF for the next week, I agree that a deal needs to be made and let Pie, Soriano, Murton, Floyd, DeRosa, and Theriot cover the OF situation.

I'm not that well versed, but it seems to me that Levin has no experience with a big time franchise. He's done a nice job with the Wolves, making it a family-friendly experience for the fans at a good price. But isn't this what all minor league clubs offer? The Wolves, by the way, are associated with the Atlanta Thrashers, not any Chicago franchise. It can be debated whether Levin has been responsible for the Wolves' success, or if it has really been due to solid player personnel moves coming from the Thrashers (who are, by the way, now reaping the rewards of those moves). In other words, if the Wolves were associated with the Blackhawks would we even be talking about Levin? I doubt it. I think Levin would be totally and completely out of his league. But hey, I could be wrong. Remember: we get to do this thing, in all likelihood, one more time before we die. Given that, do we want to give our beloved Cubbies over to a total wildcard like Levin? I'd prefer an experienced, successful big time owner. No way a guy who can make a team into a "family-friendly experience at a good price" should run a major league team. You need to be a greedy SOB who doesn't care about fans let alone families. As for the minor league comment, some people would argue that the Cubs have been playing like minor leaguers for quite a few years.