jersey cubs fan

The timing of this deal tells me that something else has to be brewing. Yeah, Wood can start negotiating with other teams soon.

But he has also hosed them Lee for Choi was a salary dump. Not sure that's the best comparison. And Willis et. al for Alfonseca/Clement is debatable. It doesn't matter if it was a salary dump, they still got crappy players back for a very good player. Except Lee wasn't very good when they got him and he's only had one very good season as a Cub. He's been a not at all special first baseman for the vast majority of his career.

He better be moving Gregg. This is a waste of valuable trade bait. An over 30 second tier reliever approaching free agency who is already making millions. ByebyeWood.

that was my thought, too, especially since the wrigley renovations would seem to be far more expensive and time-consuming. Really? More expensive than dealing with permanent left field and right field bleachers, and not just one level, mind you. I doubt they'd have to do much of anything to the structure itself. right, it's not like they'd be moving fences back, needing to do something about seats. If they move fences in , say, 10-15 feet (I have no real idea), what really needs to be done other than moving the walls. If you give an MLB owner another 10-15 feet of space where you can put extra seating, they're probably going to take advantage of that. I think they would probably alter the lower bleachers so they could add a few more rows, but the extra ticket sales would probably pay for that over time. Your only going to have extra ticket sales if you are selling out games and then increase your ticket sales. I don't think they are or will be the next couple of years. Exactly. This was a 99 loss team with Peavy, Hoffman, Greene and Giles. They won't be needing extra seating in '09, that's for sure. The local San Diego sports station is talking to Dave O'Brien (Atlanta) right now, but I'm not listening to it. They can do a couple things, one, leave the new space empty for a potential expansion later. Two, they can use that new space as an open space for people to walk around in, like they have in the outfield already. Three, make it a bar/restaurant or other potential revenue source.

that was my thought, too, especially since the wrigley renovations would seem to be far more expensive and time-consuming. Really? More expensive than dealing with permanent left field and right field bleachers, and not just one level, mind you. I doubt they'd have to do much of anything to the structure itself.

http://www.the506.com/nflmaps/2008-11-FOX.html Bears/Packers get the Buck and Aikman pairing, but it's not going to be seen in that much of the country due to a whole bunch of rather lame games airing at 1 eastern on Fox.

Very few teams, if any, solely go after one type of player. You can be into sluggers while at the same type being open to having Theriot-type players at SS. Who is looking for players with absolutely no power and little range at their positions? Teams with payroll issues are looking for guys who can provide adequate performance at their position for little money. That is Theriot, for now. Pretty soon he'll be making millions and be a complete waste.

Very few teams, if any, solely go after one type of player. You can be into sluggers while at the same type being open to having Theriot-type players at SS.

Yeah I remember reading that too. They said they wanted a MI, a speedy OF, and close to/if not already major league ready pitching. Building a team based on power is never going to win in that park. Speed, defense, and pitching is what will win playing there. On the other hand, being interested in a slugger doesn't mean building a team based on power. You need some power, unless you can magically find a whole bunch of punchless speed guys who get on base all the time.

If they don't pay Wood, my fear is we'll see Remlinger/Hawkins/Howry/Eyre 5.0 and waste much of that room on second tier relief arms. It makes logical sense to let Wood walk, but I'm pretty sure I would prefer they just bring him back at some reasonable rate.

Not sure we're drooling. It would be a nice experiment, with no guarantee payoff by any means.

That was my point. It was as if they tried their hardest not to boo.

This begs the question, how is a guy labeled as toolsy when none of his tools can be describted as anything but above average? Okay, he's got a "plus" arm, big deal. Remove the bolded comments and none of his description comes close to positive. Quick bat, average power, barely above average speed and a plus arm that struggles with the bat sounds like a career minor leaguer and potential 5 OF someday.

It makes sense, but it's Rosenbloom, who is contractually obligated to paint the bleakest picture imaginable at all times.

I wouldn't say negative but it's got to be close to zero. He's owed a good chunk of money for a team that can't afford to keep him, and he's coming off a horrible year. Most big money teams, the ones that would consider taking him on, are pretty much set at SS, either with guys who are producing, expensive guys they can't/won't replace or their own hot prospect. Greene is essentially a guy that's only attractive to a team that can afford to throw money around and that doesn't have decent internal options. Maybe somebody like Pittsburgh or KC, always good for an occasional "why would they waste their money" move, would be willing to take a chance. But I don't see SD getting a bunch of offers for the guy.

I do have to say that I don't think it makes a lot of sense that Hendry would trade Theriot in a Peavy deal without getting Greene back. They don't trust Cedeno, and they don't have the financial muscle to go out and spend like freaks. SD is desperate to be rid of contracts and a Peavy/Greene addition isn't going to kill the Cubs plans (although I do think it ends talk of Dempster returning).

Their size and popularity has never stopped ESPN from reporting nonsense as absolute fact. I don't think there is such a thing as "too big" a blog to post the occasional garbage story.

Tax planning is not tax evasion.

Because it isn't.

I wouldn't call you crazy, but I also wouldn't count on it. I was concerned the boo birds would be out in full force but it didn't seem to me that the fans were unfair with Rex on Sunday. Rex sucked because he's inaccurate, can't handle pressure and short. I'm not sure getting out of Chicago is going to help that this week.

It's a shame Favre isn't in this game, the Bears could count on him handing over the game the past few years. Chicago can't blitz. They aren't good at it and never have been. Their blitzes get picked up with relative ease and QBs have no trouble dumping it off.

He might connect but Kendall doesn't have the power to knock out Macha.

what's with the 2 blank boxes? Freaking ESPN.

It's looking more and more like defensive back is where they need the help. Payne has been a welcome addition, but Brown is washed up and neither Tillman nor Vasher young/healthy/good enough to be considered part of the strength of the team. Manning is well on his way to being a wasted draft pick. I'd take a true defensive end stud if possible, but without a top draft pick you usually don't find those guys, rather teams often stumble across gems later on.

Here we go. It's all tied up at the top. Minnesota is in Tampa which might give the Bears a chance to regain sole possession of first, although a GB win could make it a 3 way tie at .500. Chicago continues to lead in the points scored vs points against category. They weren't bad on defense this past Sunday, but they weren't as good as they needed to be with Grossman filling in for Orton. Kyle might be back, but I'm guessing he misses this game. The Packers are favored by 5.5, which should mean the Bears can cover again, which I believe they've done in all but 3 games this year. Green Bay is a pass oriented team, which probably bodes well for them against a very weak Bears pass defense. But they are inconsistent through the air. GB and CHI are fairly even in the giveaway/takeaway categories, with the Bears having a few more of each category. It's going to be cold and might even snow, Chicago is probably going to need to play their best game since the first Detroit game to pull out the win. If they have hopes for the playoffs, they'll need it, as the Wild Card is becoming less and less likely.