jersey cubs fan

Rolen or Inge? No freaking way.

I disagree. Unless the Cubs win the WS they can play the "Bring us to the next level" card. I can't see the fans revolting over Hendry getting fired. Nor do I see the press having much of a reaction since the new owner would simply be bringing in his own guy. I understand what you're saying, however, if the Cubs go out and win 95 games next year, there's going to be a significant amount of pressure to keep Hendry. My point is Hendry needs to go big to save his job. He probably can't just win 86 games and expect to be kept around. So why not go balls out. It does him no good to keep the farm system stocked for 2010, when there's no guarantee he has a job in 2009.

Cubs need offensive help much more than they need 5th starter help. i don't necessarily disagree, but are you honestly confident in the starting rotation right now? fukudome isn't going to win games all by his little old self you know Neither is Silva. And yes, I am confident in all the resources the Cubs currently have available to fill out the rotation.

Cubs need offensive help much more than they need 5th starter help.

That reads a lot less absolute than your first statement. I suspect he'd like that option too. Haven't read anything that suggests he's going to insist on it, though. Have you? I think he'd like that option, if only to use it as negotiating leverage for his next deal.

I tell you what though, if they end up with Figgins in CF, Roberts at 2B, and Fukudome in RF, I can live with that. Throw in a Pie and Prior for Greene trade (and blow the budget in the process) and you've got a very potent, if not excellent, lineup next year. While I definitely agree with this, I don't see how the Cubs have enough talent to get Figgins, Roberts AND Greene. Add in Fukudome and you've actually spent a ton in cash. This administration says they can't afford Tejada, and Figgins, Roberts and Greene is probably more than Tejada makes. I don't think Pie and Prior gets Greene, but let's pretend it does. Let's also pretend that it takes Gallagher, Murton and Cedeno to get Roberts. I have no idea what Anaheim would want for Figgins, but what can the Cubs offer them outside of Marmol that would bring Figgins? I don't really have any idea. He's not even on my wish list or anything, ignore him for all I care. But I suspect they are willing to clear out a large number of younger players, maybe Marshall, Veal, Ceda, some names like that. Wuertz would be a nice name to throw around in trade talks. Doesn't have a ton of value by himself, but everybody likes pre free agency relievers with a solid track record. Kevin Hart has to have some trade value with all the talk of him being in the mix. Maybe Kyler Burke has rebuilt some value. If EPatt doesn't go in one of the other deals, he may have value to Anaheim. Somebody else might be interested in Lahey hanging out in the back of their bullpen all season as a project. Does Ceda, Wuertz and Patterson get it done? I don't know, just throwing stuff out there. Jim seems intent on going for it this year, and has talked about trading away talent all offseason. They don't have blue chippers, but they are fairly well stocked with 2nd tier prospect talent. They can probably let Figgins walk after this season, letting Colvin slot into CF for 2009. I think Jim would be more than comfortable leaving the farm system with just Vitters, Colvin, Donaldson and Samardzija as the core group going into the next draft. If they can move Marquis and/or Dempster, and backload Fukudome a bit, they may be able to afford it as well. Hendry is probably working for his next job right now, or doing whatever he can to convince the next owner not to fire him. If the team does really well in 2008, the owners are going to have a tough time justifying making a move. And if he can do whatever he can to make 2008 as good as possible, within reason, then rely on Wilken and the scouts to restock the farm.

I tell you what though, if they end up with Figgins in CF, Roberts at 2B, and Fukudome in RF, I can live with that. Throw in a Pie and Prior for Greene trade (and blow the budget in the process) and you've got a very potent, if not excellent, lineup next year.

It reminds me of the single minded pursuit of McGriff when they already had a 1B doing a credible job. Yeah, it's an improvement, but how much of one? I think I'd be fine with Roberts and Fukudome as the centerpiece of the 2007/08 offseason. Neither plays the position that most needs improvement, but they may wind up with a lineup that can withstand the crappiness of Theriot at that point. You'd really need guys to hit their upper ranges though.

Bruce Miles is talking about some rather insane numbers, and I'm not sure it's that much beyond what we'll see. $15m per year for a guy who might wind up being nearly as good as Hideki Matsui someday, making considering more than Hideki makes right now. That would be some commitment.

I do not believe this is meaningful over the 162 game season. I think it could be over a significant part of the season. Teams have similar off days during the season. 8 times out of 10 there are two 3 game series per week for each team. The off days vary from Monday to Thursday. Those obviously even out unless teams skip their 5th starter, which doesn't happen too often. The only thing that really throws this off are injuries, rainouts, and the AS break. The difference isn't much between a #1 and a #5, as they are on back to back days. But the difference between a 1 and 3-4 can be seen throughout the season. It doesn't take much of a difference in schedule to completely throw it off. Some teams start on Sunday, others on Monday, and some don't start until Tuesday. Some use the off days to skip 5th starters, some use all 5. There are all sorts of scattered off days in April, not to mention rainouts and double headers. And some teams don't even have #1 starters, or their #1 changes during the course of a season. Just last year, Willis opened against Washington and Philly's #1 to start the season, Patterson and Myers. One guy got rocked and lasted 7 starts and the other turned into a closer. Then he goes out and faces a #4 and a #3. Then a 6th starter who got slaughtered all season long. Then another theoretical 3rd who wound up getting destroyed all year. Then another 3rd, before facing another 6th starter/swingman type. Then finally he faced another #1, although this guy didn't even start the season as a #1, Tom Gorz from Pitt. Anyway, no need to go through it all, but I think it's pretty clear it all gets mucked up rather quickly, and there's very little difference.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=winter_meetings If they come away with Marshall/Gallagher, Murton and Cedeno, plus 2+ solid young guys for each of those others, it could be a relatively successful offseason for Baltimore. Given that Bedard wants out anyway, they might be able to plug several holes, while giving up nothing but guys that probably won't be there the next time they flirt with .500 anyway.

I do not believe this is meaningful over the 162 game season.

[expletive] you that didn't do anything fun (it didn't edit this word, oops)

No, not at all. But when you say "at this point", you bring up a good point. The Cubs are in the position they are in at this point, because of how badly Hendry has screwed up in the past. So even a couple good moves wouldn't be enough to offset the big picture mess that has been the Hendry era.

The Chicago Cubs are like the safety school for "good baseball men" who fail miserably elsewhere but still need a job.

To platoon with Theriot? Eh, doesn't really do much for me, not if you have to trade for him plus pay his $2.15m in 2008.

Is it a change or is Lou just acknowledging that Dempster was never going to be handed a starting spot?

And he was actually talking about playing young guys like Phillips and Edwin E. and the like :shock: I did a double take. I had to make sure it was Dusty talking Dusty has always talked of playing young guys.

I switched over to espnews to see if they were doing any hot stove talk. Was nice to see they now have a PATRIOTS category right between NFL and NCAAF on the ticker.

Their preference for different cats makes them perfect trading partners. All this talk about Hendry's individual deals makes me wonder why so many people try and judge him on any specific trade. The bottom line is Jim has been in the Cubs organization for 12 years, he's been GM for over 5 years now. His signature is on every level of the organization, from the farm up to the manager. And the bottom line is the Cubs have been hugely disappointing. The results on the field have not come close to matching the resources allocated to the product on the field.

I had no idea he was that young. I also have no idea what kind of contract he might want. He's never played a full season in his career, so maybe he wants something like a one year make good contract with incentives and a significant player option for 2009 that can be achieved with 2008 playing time. I'd love to get 4 months of Bradley, even if he's nowhere near his 2007 level.

DRAFT TEX

Why do I get the impression that Baker still thinks he won the World Series and never missed an October?

I might settle for simply an average SS if he's still inexpensive. But then again, average would be a difference maker for the Cubs.

No doubt there's an element of risk, but you're overstating it with that comparison. Career numbers in Japan, 10 season sample for each: .305/.397/.543 Fukudome .277/.333/.387 Taguchi Everything I've heard is a lesser version of Hideki, perhaps with better defense. At least, that's what I'm picturing. Hideki came over on a 3/21, then signed a 4/52, which is an even $13m per year. Would it surprise anybody if Fukudome signed 3/39 right off the bat?