jersey cubs fan

That can't possibly be true.

You think teams showing interest in Bradley don't realize there are going to be free agents available? I didn't say that now, did I? What I was saying before you attempted to put words in my mouth is that there might be discussion about Bradley now, but that's because the GM's around the league don't really have much else to discuss since a bunch of FA's can't be spoken to until they file for free agency. Bradley will probably still be a Cub when the free agent filing day comes. And once that day comes, he will become a forgotten man. I doubt that. He might go on the back burner, but as soon as guys start signing, teams left on the outside in those deals will go right back to thinking about Bradley. I think the general level of interest will remain relatively constant. As for this statement: I would think the last thing a new owner wants is a team that plays pooorly. I'm sure he'd love the players to all be good spokespeople for the team, however, wins are what sells tickets and drives ratings. When the team struggles, those things decline. And that is the last thing he wants. I am hoping that is what behind his insistence that the Cubs don't pay Bradley to perform somewhere else.

Why?

The difference is Hundley was an atrocious baseball player. That was entirely about getting crap off the books, they just got back two guys who happened to have bounceback years. Bradley is a decent player. You can't just throw crap against the wall and hope it sticks.

I'd be ok with an either or there. Either get free of the entire salary or bring back some serious talent. I don't see a great need (though it'd certainly be a plus) to get both. If they just get rid of the salary they are stuck without a quality bat, if they only get back talent, they have to pay too much for it. Bradley is an asset and they need to treat him like one. Hopefully that is what Rickitts is insisting on. A sunk cost is a crappy player who you might as well cut. But even in a down year Bradley was better than what they are likely to replace him with, and he's probably going to be better next year.

A tendency to throw a few picks, even if you characterize it as not to a detrimental point, doesn't really compare well with McNabb. Isn't he one of the least picked off QBs ever?

I'm sure they don't want to pay his entire salary or give up top flight young talent, but there's no way all the interest is from the idea that the Cubs will pay 80-90% of his salary. Especially after the comments from Ricketts. I already told you guys there was significant interest. I don't know how much we'll get back, but I'm pretty sure we won't be eating 80-90% of the deail On the other hand, Hendry may take back what we perceive to be a bad contract. Eating 20% and getting back mediocrity is still a horrible move. If they can't get the entire salary off the books and bring back serious talent, they can't justify making the move. prepare to be disappointed what you have outlined is absolutely impossible Only if they insist on trading him no matter the offer. He's an asset, and they need to get a similar asset. If they eat money, they need to get a better asset.

I'm sure they don't want to pay his entire salary or give up top flight young talent, but there's no way all the interest is from the idea that the Cubs will pay 80-90% of his salary. Especially after the comments from Ricketts. I already told you guys there was significant interest. I don't know how much we'll get back, but I'm pretty sure we won't be eating 80-90% of the deail On the other hand, Hendry may take back what we perceive to be a bad contract. Eating 20% and getting back mediocrity is still a horrible move. If they can't get the entire salary off the books and bring back serious talent, they can't justify making the move.

Fukudome 2/13 with 5 BB Bradley 3/15 with 2 BB and a HBP so that is a combined OBP of .361 over the 4 games that they were in the top 2 spots in the lineup. Small sample size, but I think that could be sustained for an entire season. Considering both of them have career and 2009 OBPs in excess of .361, yes, I would think they could sustain that for an entire season.

Who was also a highly touted early draft choice who was an even bigger disappointment in Arizona than Benson was in Chicago, and then went on to eventually enjoy a solid career elsewhere (and had multiple contract/holdout threats). And many of those veterans had their own contract disputes. It's hypocritical for these guys to pretend they are taking the high road with a holdout rookie.

I think somebody on here posted that Duncan makes $800,000 with the Cardinals and that's the most amongst coaches (non-managers) in MLB. Also, I think Jaramillo used to be second on that list and now has taken over first, at least for now. Per John Hayman on MLBN, Jaramillo's take is some $400,000 more than the next-best-paid hitting coach (Mattingly.) if he can help the offense to perform like we all know it can, he's worth every penny. What does that even mean? This isn't the Colts missing Peyton Manning for a game. The Cubs have had a weak-to-mediocre offense for much of the past decade. 2008 was the outlier, and those guys are all just older now. Couple that with the likelihood of a downgrade from Bradley and it really doesn't matter what the hitting coach does. He's had Soriano before, in some of his least effective seasons which were during his peak years. Soriano might rebound just be default, but this lineup needs improvements.

bingo Logic: failing the Cubs organization since 1908. But it can make a difference, and enough of one to where if you can sign one of the better coaches in the game you go ahead and do it. Fans expect more out of him than the organization does. Not much of a difference. Sure, if you can get a good coach you do it and be happy about it. The problem is that all the hype they are bringing to this decision is a strong indication that this is one of the biggest moves they plan on making. Plus, it's another example of Hendry unnecessarily showering his "one and only" target with a huge contract. And what is the evidence that this guy is so good? He's had a productive offense with an organization that emphasizes offense and plays in a hitter's park and had many PED users? And baseball people say he's a good baseball man? These guys claim everybody in the game is great at their job. They're all among the most respected at their job. Doesn't make him the best. This is a sideshow acquisition. Label him the best, pay him the most, hold a press conference, and voila, you've got yourself a headliner for the Cubs convention.

I'm not "reporting" anything. I have posted often that there probably would be a lot of interest in Bradley as long as the Cubs are desperate enough to trade him for cents on the dollar. I look forward to seeing some "actual" offers for Bradley. So far all we have read is there's more interest than expected and Ricketts has set a limit as to how much he will pay on Bradley's contract. I will be ecstatic to admit I was wrong if Hendry can get something of value for Bradley without paying a ton of money. If Ricketts has made it clear that Bradley won't be traded for pennies on the dollar and there is still significant interest in Bradley, wouldn't that be evidence, though? It's been reported that he set a limit, not what the limit was. If they pay half the salary it's still a huge problem unless they get a very big return of talent.

I thought it was kind of pathetic, actually. Daulerio somehow got upset that ESPN's PR department didn't admit Phillips' affair when he called them, as if that would ever happen. So he decided to just dump out his inbox of random ESPN sex rumors as an attempt at payback. I agree. A female executive attempted to sleep her way to the top at a media company? Who would have thought?

Get drunk, beat your wife, reconcile with your wife, get drunk again, smoke a cigar and have her deny you some kissyface on national tv. http://deadspin.com/5387723/another-long-night-in-the-brett-myers-household

How could the Bears have blackballed him, when hes on a team? The veterans treated him like crap. The Urlacher/Brown/Kreutz triumvirate apparently thought he never should have been drafted and they did their best to not welcome him into the team. Was it that they didn't think he should've been drafted, or they didn't like that he held out? I always thought it was the latter. I mean, he freaking cried like a baby on national TV about being treated like a piece of meat after he got drafted and then heldout. Then when he signed he was pissed that he wasn't automatically the feature back and whined that the vets were being hard on him (which they probably were). I hate to sound like a meathead, but the guy acted like a bitch from the moment he got drafted and then wasn't productive on top of it (due in part to the poor offensive line). He brought it on himself. He was productive early on. I didn't want to draft a RB in that draft, and I nearly gave up on him as soon as he cried, and I wasn't a big fan. But I still think the Bears and several Bears veterans screwed the pooch with how they treated him. Well, more so with how the coaches allowed the veterans to treat him. It's one thing to demand new guys to be subserviant, but he was an obvious mental case and they should have protected their investment.

Pat Burrell is neither left handed nor at all similar to Micah Hoffpauir.

i understand what you mean...to a degree...but it is kind of like pissing into the wind at this point bradley's ship has sailed far far away from this team It might pissing into the wind, but his ship hasn't sailed. Hendry can spend the entire offseason taking offers, and he doesn't have to accept any of them.

They get tired, but not at the same rate as the defensive lineman. The Oline is essentially operating at a light job pace all game while the defenders are constantly sprinting. Blocking takes less energy than trying to evade the block. And the continuity thing matters.

If everybody else is covering it it's kind of strange for the world wide leader to not cover it.

I really do not like all the hype surrounding this guy. He's just a hitting coach. The hitting coach for a team that has had one of the best hitters' parks for the past decade. They had this story all over the place, paid him a ridiculous contract for a coach and held a press conference just like they do with their big target free agent players. It just seems to me to be something they are going to use as a sign to the fans, "see, we fixed things." The hitting coach wasn't the problem. A new one isn't the solution. The flawed roster is the problem and unless it gets fixed, with more than just dumping Bradley's sourpuss it is going to remain a problem.

How could the Bears have blackballed him, when hes on a team? The veterans treated him like crap. The Urlacher/Brown/Kreutz triumvirate apparently thought he never should have been drafted and they did their best to not welcome him into the team.

Uh, no offense, but that's been proven already whether or not they beat the Yankees. I know, but now that they've done it, I am rooting for them to go to the World Series. But it's not like they haven't won a WS in a long time.

It's 4:15 now, where has the day gone?

Man, I so desperately hoped he'd fall to the Bears or they'd trade up for him. Hasn't Merriman been an embarrasment for a while now? Not that Clady wouldn't be a nice improvement.