Backtobanks

4 pages so far on something as straight forward as Prior asking for a raise. As someone stated, arbitration means each side submits a number and the arbitrator picks one. Prior would have to be crazy not to submit a raise as his number. What's he going to do, submit that he get's a cut in pay? Actually, what I think is that the length of this topic just shows how starved for baseball news all of us Cub fans are.

I don't think the Cubs have any plans to put Soriano in CF, but putting him there for 1 year wouldn't block Pie. As many posters have written, I don't really care about Jones wanting out of Chicago. He has a contract to play for the Cubs and if they can't get something of value for him and have a decent replacement in the OF, then keep him and play him. If he pouts and slumps, the pressure on him will get even worse and he would jeopardize any future contracts he might want to sign with another team. In other words, I would expect Hendry to do his best and try to trade him for someone that would help the Cubs, but Jones should act professionally and honor his contract by giving his best effort.

This sounds like a good deal to me. It solves our "dump Jones" problem, gives the Pirates a solid left-handed hitter, and gives us a good CF who can very easily slide into being the 4th OF when Pie is ready. The Nats would get a a fair CF and some help in the bullpen.

According to Benmaller.com: The Twins' Justin Morneau, who filed for salary arbitration Friday, was the second-most productive offensive first baseman in the major leagues last season, according to Glenn Gostick's sophisticated rating system, behind only Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees. My question is: What kind of "sophisticated rating system" would rate Giambi as the most productive offensive first baseman in the major leagues? Question #2: How far down the list did Pujols end up?

and yet the WS Champs are in the NL Central.

I don't see any team in the NL Central that looks any closer to 90 wins than the Cubs. The Cards, Reds, and Pirates look no better than last year, the Astros look worse, and the Brewers look a little better after a very disappointing season. On paper and with our share of health (long overdue), I think the Cubs have as good a shot as winning it as anyone else. They certainly should be the most improved team over last year.

when he makes me feel like he deserves two more typing motions. 27 HR and .833 OPS for $5mil doesn't deserve 2 more typing motions? And I'll be ok with trading jones when we get someone who can hit 20HR atleast and ~.800 OPS. Or if not atleast a high OBP to make up for a lack of either. Until then, KEEP JONES!! He's a very good #5 hitter! I agree. One of Hendry's weaknesses is that he seems to feel it's necessary to trade a player once he decides (for whatever reason) that the player should be traded. There's the old saying that "sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make", and this might be a perfect example. I understand that Jones wants out and Hendry has given his word that he would try to trade him, but Jones is a decent OF and shouldn't be traded away for nothing. Get a decent replacement and get something of value for Jones or keep him.

If things go right (Prior healthy, Hill continues to pitch well, overall health, and reasonably good seasons from Soriano, Lee, ARam, Barrett, and Murton), I think the Cubs have a chance to run away with the Central. That being said, I do think that the starting pitching is deep enough, the bullpen and bench are solid, and the offense is good enough that the Cubs ought to be considered favorites and they should be in contention all year.

My only comment on using wins to evaluate a pitcher is that I don't care how good our starting pitching is, but if they average 15-17 wins each, the Cubs will be in the playoffs.

That has the makings of a pretty bad rotation, especeially that question mark guy. My hope is that Guzman breaks out and Prior is healthy. Miller is a shell of his former self and even if healthy will not be the same pitcher he was in Houston. I disagree with the comment about the makings of a pretty bad rotation. If Prior is healthy, this becomes an extremely good rotation. If Guzman breaks out and/or Miller is healthy, this is a good rotation. Don't forget that you still have Marshall et al to back up or take over for someone in the rotation. Of course there are question marks, but show me any team that doesn't have question marks, especially at this time of the year.

Hey Bruce - if you are willing to give us some interesting insight, who were some of the worst when going through tough times? Who were some of the nicest players to deal with, and who were some of the toughtest? I understand if you don't want to touch that, but it would be real interesting to know from a fan's perspective. Dempster always has been one of the best, if not the best. Murton was fine, and I never had one problem with Jacque Jones, although he could get a little defensive. He usually had a smile. Barrett is terrific, and Derrek Lee is the same win or lose _ quiet but very gracious. Zambrano has been good to deal with. The most impressive thing I ever saw with him was when he volunteered to serve as interpreter for Juan Mateo. I remember when Carlos could barely speak English. He did a great job as interpreter, and I told him so. I wasn't a big Phil Nevin fan. He always carried the "I'm a jock and you're not" persona. Some of that rubbed off on Ohman, who can be very engaging at times. Prior and Wood seemed to go into shells a little bit. I suppose you can't blame them for not wanting to talk about injuries every day. Over the years, I've gotten on really well with most of the guys. Who was the guy who threw a ball by some media members' head? Stynes? What about the former media relations person? I was listening to the score the day they said she was leaving, and Boers/Bernstein were going off on her talking about how everybody in the media felt she treated them like crap. Stynes threw a ball at a Tribune reporter back in 2002. True to form, he missed. The Cubs' media-relations director left at the end of 2006, but I got along just fine with her. I'm sure the way the media guys are treated depends a lot on the attitude they bring to the clubhouse. If some writer or reporter is a jerk and coming in to put a negative spin on everything the player or the team does, he/she will be treated negatively. If you are a fair and balanced reporter and show some respect, respect will be given to you. That might explain why Bruce gets along well with most of the Cubs. I would guess this is especially true in dealing with the over-the-top egos that many professional athletes (and reporters) possess.

Season hasn't started yet. I'm convinced both Rocco Baldelli and Andruw Jones will get traded at some point, just have to hope that Hendry gets himself involved in one of those deals. Baldelli is the one I'd prefer, because he's obtainable at what ought to be a more acceptable price, and he's signed I believe through 2008 or 2009, I forget which. That would give the Cubs protection in case Pie doesn't pan out. Sean Marshall, Scott Moore and.....? One other player should be enough to acquire Baldelli. The Rays need to make room for Dukes and Upton, otherwise they are wasting what value they have. Marshall, Moore, plus ? won't even get you a return phone call. Remember that Tampa is noted for being hard to deal with plus they will be trading a young and cheap star. I would think that they're asking price would start with Hill (not that Hill would be the one traded). Also, once the word gets around that Baldelli is really available, I would think there would be lots of competition in acquiring him. I would love to get Baldelli, but I think Hendry is more likely to go after someone that would fit (and accept) a 4th OF's spot once Pie is ready (i.e. a player like Church, pre-injury Wilkerson, or Clark).

$13 million over 2 years guaranteed for a guy with a sugically repaired shoulder sounds like a bit of a gamble. Then again, Mulder isn't really an overpowering pitcher, so maybe it will work out for the Cards.

Everything that I had heard was that Rowand is semi-available because they want to play Victorino, so I doubt that this would happen. I don't think he would get in the way of Pie if Pie is anywhere near as good as his hype says.

why should we just assume rice and dawson were clean if we're assuming gwynn and ripken might be cheaters? For that matter, how can we know anyone, from any era, was clean. There were illegal drugs back in the early days that might have improved performance, but the scientific community didn't test for them. If a writer has a problem voting for any player, that's fine, but to turn in a blank ballot thereby casting doubt on all players is wrong.

He had very good numbers, but apparently needed to show a little more love.

The other amazing thing is that it looks like he will turn in a blank ballot for all players during the "steroid era" (1993-2004), so he might be sending in blank ballots for a few more years. He has a right to his opinion, but if I had anything to do with it, I would take away his privilege to vote for the HOF.

Paul Ladewski is making sure he gets his 15 minutes of fame. According to Benmaller.com: Cal Ripken Jr. won't be the first unanimous selection to baseball's Hall of Fame when the results are announced at 2 p.m. Tuesday. That's a certainty because Paul Ladewski of a suburban Chicago newspaper has revealed that he submitted a blank ballot because he doesn't have enough information to consider the merits of any players from the steroids era (1993-2004). He told the Baltimore Sun that he doesn't suspect Ripken or Tony Gwynn of using performance-enhancing drugs, but that he can't be sure they didn't.

As many posters had written in the past, Prior's health is the key. If Prior gets back to his pre-injury form, the Cubs rotation will be one of the best in baseball. One reason is that it slots all of the pitchers to a place where they should be. The last few seasons, the Cubs had a #4 starter (Maddux) in the #2 slot. Putting Hill and Lilly in the 3rd and 4th slot (in either order) relieves them of the pressure of competing against another team's 2nd best starter. It isn't that much different from the roles in the bullpen. When you have your setup man pitching in the 5th inning it screws up everything.

For what team?

I think there's another deal to be made. Looking at all of the players that are on the roster, I would think that the following players are possible trade candidates: Jones Izturis/Cedeno (depending on the trade target....Tejada?) Dempster Eyre/Ohman Marshall Novoa Mateo/Marmol/Guzman Players who have zero trade value now, but could be involved in a midseason trade: Prior Miller Theriot Moore

I'd still love to see Craig Wilson on the Cubs.

i'd take zambrano over any of those three, and that's probably what the yankees are thinking too. I dont think many would disagree, but that still doesnt mean they have to trade Johnson. You can say that again (oh, wait; you DID say that again). :D :D Rumor has it that the Yanks believe they can lure Clemens for a full year and in order to do so had to get rid of Johnson since they are not the best of friends. And that they are stockpiling prospects for a Santana/Willis trade. Although, I think they have quite a ways to go unless they are going to give up hughes on that front. Both teams are going to want quality over quantity. And right now other than Hughes thats Tabata and Duncan and thats it. Owings and Nippert would help, but they probably still need to get more. But at least Cashman has a plan here. Willis maybe, but no way they could get Santana.

No thanks, I'm trying to cut back on sweets.

i'd take zambrano over any of those three, and that's probably what the yankees are thinking too. Let's hope they don't get that chance because the Cubs have signed him to an extension.