jersey cubs fan

i think that's likely. there is going to be a whole lot of rage around here if Hendry comes up a few million dollars short on Fukudome because he feels the need to over-pay the likes of Infante and K. Matsui (if that happens). I understand the pessimism but don't forget that Hendry can always trade Infante. Yes, he CAN fix all the mistakes he's made over the years. The likelihood is extremely low, however.

Only because Jim Hendry puts all his cards on the table well in advance. And when did he lay his cards out about Prior? Those executives thought he would be non-tendered because they thought that it was simply too much money for him, not because they expected the Cubs to make some sort of mistake. Because it's a fairly open secret that the Cubs and Hendry have taken issues with Prior, and have questioned his toughness, as well as the legitimacy of his injuries. Prior's name has been dangled for over a year now. It's coming out in the press that they want an option or he's going to be traded (team leak?). Of course other execs are going to sense the blood in the water. They feel the Cubs are either going to sign him, or practically give him away. What they don't want to do is non-tender and get nothing. Jim has been in his position long enough, and shown the same tendencies often enough, that other execs feel comfortable assuming what he's going to do.

Only because Jim Hendry puts all his cards on the table well in advance.

I think Jim Hendry thinks you can win games without scoring runs, so, who knows, maybe he would be interested in.

Staying overnight is not necessary, I've been in a city for a day, arriving in the morning and leaving at night, and feel that fulfills any standard necessary for having been there. I would lean toward just setting foot on the ground, provided it's outside the airport terminal.

I'm holding off my praise until you convince Hendry not to screw up this offseason by signing Matsui. It's the least a servant can do.

No.

So this now means he will be signed or let go. Those of you that want Prior back, hope that one of the Chicago writers says he will be let go. Can someone help me out here. I saw something about Prior not being a FA until after 2009, since he didn't accrue any ML service time this year? Is that right? With all the talk about having the option year added after next year, it can't be right, can it? I wouldn't think an option year would be necessary, since he'd still be under Cubs control. I'll see if I can get a link to where I saw that. At the beginning of the year, when he was sent to minor league camp, it looked as though he wouldn't accrue the service time in 2007 to become a free agent after 2008. However, with the disclosure of the injury and the subsequent surgery, he was eventually placed on the major league roster and then the DL, which was enough to push him over the threshold as soon as next offseason. If they decline to offer him arbitration this year, he will essentially be a free agent in two weeks.

So this now means he will be signed or let go. Those of you that want Prior back, hope that one of the Chicago writers says he will be let go. Could very easily be a little negotiating in the media, reminding Prior's camp the Cubs still have the right to trade him, anywhere.

Great idea. Selling as low as possible is always smart. Almost as smart as spending 14 for a guy on the DL. Who, aside from a poster here, said anything about $14M? There's not a chance in hell he gets that much. Wait, wait, wait...I said it, and only as the high end estimate of a deal where he likely met all of the incentives in the deal offered. Please don't toss that out there like I said the Cubs or anyone should just pay him $14 million per, because nobody said that. You still listed a guarantee (6-7m per year) that is obscenely high, given the circumstances. That's $12-14m guaranteed. They could just offer arbitration and probably pay him $3.5m or lower this year and worry about next year much later.

Low guarantee in 2008 (2m), incentives that can take it to 5-6 based on starts/innings pitched, with a relatively high team option for 2009, let's say $8m, with more incentives for starts/inning that could take it to 12-14. Make that team option kick in automatically if he pitches something like 180 innings this year. If Prior just signs a one year deal for 3-4m this season, and he pitches reasonably well for a significant amount of innings, he'll probably be able to get a 3/30 type deal next offseason, or at least a 1/12-14. You have to give him incentive for giving the team control of 2009.

$45/3 for Mariano, or $44/4 or whatever for Cordero, that is "big money". $4.2, that's not big money. When you have a $115 roster, and around ten guys who will be <$1 each, that leaves you with around $105 for 15 salaried guys. So the average salary for the salaried guys is around $7. $4 for a free agent is well below average. It's not "big money". It's the cost of doing business. Sure, I wish we'd have gotten him at $1 base, with a club option on year two that would cost $2.5 or $0.2 to buyout. But that's not the market. 45/3 and and 44/4 aren't big money. That's insane money. Kerry will get $7.65M if he's able to close for the whole 2008 season. That's still a lot of money for about 70 innings of work, much of it in undemanding situations. I also don't think it's realistic to expect him not to get lit up every now and then. He's not Mariano Rivera. I think you are seriously nit-picking here. Wood's money is going to a good cause, that is, somebody who can be extremely good at his job. It's better than spending $2.5m on a mediocre utility player. And you are underestimating the value of it only being a 1 year deal. Relievers get paid a fairly wide range of money. Obviously you'd love to pay them all $350,000 and get Marmol and Joba like effectiveness. But you can't fill out an entire bullpen that way. If the Cubs had a $70m payroll, I'd be furious about gambling like that on Wood. But at $115m-120m, it's not a bad bet at all.

Matt Clement, Mark Prior, and Carlos Zambrano didn't hurt... It also helps to have your non strikeout guys be like Ted Lilly, and being able to call up Hill from the minors. Farnsworth, Howry, Eyre, Ohman and Wuertz all struck out guys at solid rates for many relief innings. I think it's a combo of Hendry preferring big hard throwers, and Rothschild preaching a "miss the bat" approach.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3128280&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines If I'm reading this correctly he has a $4.2M base salary and $3.45M in potential bonuses? Doesn't that seem kinda steep for a reliever who's a really bad health risk? Assuming the bonuses are for saves and games finished he should get $7.65M if he can grab the closer slot and stay healthy. Still seems pricy to me. I know he had a nice finish last year but there seems to be a pervasive excess of optimism regarding Kerry's health situation. you think it's too much to spend on a guy with health risks even though i'm sure his incentives are related to him staying healthy. then you say if he stays healthy and closes games effectively it's too much to spend for a guy who isn't healthy. even though in your hypothetical, he's healthy. i don't get it. His base salary is too high for my taste. He could end up not pitching an inning and still get $4.2M. Also, just a hunch, but I really doubt the terms of the contract will make the performance bonuses hard to achieve if he can stay healthy. I'm guessing he'll just need to pitch enough to get like 25 saves. Thing is, I'm expecting him to have his share of bad games too. He could easily end up getting the whole $7.65M and still not be much of an upgrade over what Dempster, Marmol, or Howry would have been in the closer slot. All relievers have their share of bad games. That's what happens when one run allowed can ruin an outing. It's very doubtful that Wood will be healthy enough to pitch and also pitch poorly. He's probably either going to pitch and dominate, or be hurt and not pitch. At that point, it's $4.2m wasted. It's not that much, considering it's 1 year. You also have to remember it was almost a certainty that if Hendry didn't resign Wood, he would have gone out and spent on another reliever. Howry and Wood are basically making the same guaranteed money in 2008, and Demspter, the worst of the bunch, is making more than both.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3128280&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines If I'm reading this correctly he has a $4.2M base salary and $3.45M in potential bonuses? Doesn't that seem kinda steep for a reliever who's a really bad health risk? Assuming the bonuses are for saves and games finished he should get $7.65M if he can grab the closer slot and stay healthy. Still seems pricy to me. I know he had a nice finish last year but there seems to be a pervasive excess of optimism regarding Kerry's health situation. If he earns the bonuses them it probably means that he was healhty for the most part in 2008. And if he stays healthy there's little doubt he'll be very effective. $4.2 is the risk, $3.45 is what you hope you pay by having a great pitcher. I hope they pay him 7.65 in 2008, it will most likely mean very good things.

wow..I find that really creepy that you know him...or maybe it's just ironic...don't ya think. I would bet he doesn't really know him personally. People around hear "know" a few regular callers because they call all the time and related some personal information and are basically characters from a show. There was an old lady a few years ago who had some sort of respiratory issue and would cough throughout her calls into WFAN. The Mike half of Mike and the Mad Dog hosts an NFL show Sunday mornings and he has the same guys call in every time.

Jerome (who does sound like Pesci) is not indicative of all Yankees fans. Jerome is insane and the radio staions let him on for comic releif. Please do not act like Jerome from the bronx speaks for everyone. Jerome has health problems and is basically a shut in, with nothing else to do but scream about the Yankees and Knicks. So, please use a better sample group than that when bashing Yankees fans. Yes most fans do not want to give up Cano. I am in the minority. I think if it takes Cano to keep our young pitching so be it. Santana is one of the best pitchers available, but I think the price might be too high. Cano, Hughes, Kennedy and Jackson (or Tabata) is quite pricey for the rights to negotiate a 7/140 with him. I didn't tell the story to bash Yankees fans. I just found it quite funny. But it is true that the majority of Yankees fans hold a "we don't have to give up our best to get their best" attitude.

Right. I don't own an HDTV, sadly. Well you better be getting one soon The United States Government Are you referring to the requirment for digital signals? I don't believe that has anything to do with HDTV.

There is a caller, Jerome I believe, who calls into both 1050 ESPN and 660 WFAN in NY. Over the course of perhaps 20 minutes of radio listening the past two weekends, I've heard him rant about how he refuses to give up Cano in a deal for Santana. He also refuses to give up Chamberlain and Hughes. He might include Melky, but doesn't want to. Anyway, imagine annoying Bronx accent (think Joe Pesci in Home Alone, but as a 40 year old virgin who lives in his mom's attic): I'M NOT GIVING UP CANOOOOO!!! (host)You've got to give up something for San I'M NOT GIVING UP CANOOOOOOOOOO!!!! (spaces added as he emphasizes his point) (host)But why would the Twins trade I'M NOT GIVING UP CANO!!!!! (host)Then get ready to lose Joba and Hughes I'M NOT GIVING UP JOBA OR HUGHES, AND I'M NOT GIVING UP CANOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Kind of hilarious actually. But this is a fairly sizable opinion. NY never wants to give up a top 5 prospect. They expect to get whomever they want, without giving up much. And in a lot of ways, that's how Cashman has operated. He rarely gives up the better prospects. A few years ago it was Soriano, with Dangelo Jimenez being substituted in as the guy they would give up.

I would think no. I get the impression Lou wasn't keen on having 3 lefties in the rotation, always worrying about going with a lefty back to back. I think he wants a righty, and Dempster fits that bill in the short-term. I believe Marshall is likely on the block, and they will wait and see if Dempster can build up his value by pitching well in the first half, and if they can get something out of Gallagher, Prior or others by then. No one from the minors to take that role and trade both to get an impact RF or SS? I would think that Marshall, Dempster, Theriot/Cedeno and Murton plus maybe a prospect could get Tejada and sign Fukedome. You could have Pie in CF in this case and just get a journeyman righty CF. It's not impossible, but I just don't see it happening. I think they look forward to having that veteran right arm in the rotation, and I also doubt Dempster has much trade value. He's never been any good as a starter, and he was just okay as a reliever. $5m is relativley inexpensive for a mediocre veteran starter, but I'd bet most teams would rather not trade anything of value for such a player, considering there's nothing to support hopes that he'll be any good. In other words, I think he's more valuable in the Cubs minds than he is to any potential trading partner.

Yeah, and I'd take ARod at 5/50 million. Can you give Hendry any credit? I don't think he's ripping Hendry. If the choice was 2/5-6 or 1/4, I think a team would prefer the 2 year deal. If that was all he was getting offered, Wood really wasn't giving up much of anything. I'm sure getting to free agency 1 year earlier is worth more than $1-2 guaranteed millions, especially to a player like Wood, who has tremendous upside earning potential and already has a ton of cash in the bank.

I would think no. I get the impression Lou wasn't keen on having 3 lefties in the rotation, always worrying about going with a lefty back to back. I think he wants a righty, and Dempster fits that bill in the short-term. I believe Marshall is likely on the block, and they will wait and see if Dempster can build up his value by pitching well in the first half, and if they can get something out of Gallagher, Prior or others by then. From a leverage prespective(the value of Sean Marshall), wouldn't it have made more sense to trade Marshall before announcing Dempster to the rotation? I doubt that would make any difference at all.

I would think no. I get the impression Lou wasn't keen on having 3 lefties in the rotation, always worrying about going with a lefty back to back. I think he wants a righty, and Dempster fits that bill in the short-term. I believe Marshall is likely on the block, and they will wait and see if Dempster can build up his value by pitching well in the first half, and if they can get something out of Gallagher, Prior or others by then.

Now this would be a nice little positive heading into what I hope is a stretch of actual improvements to the team. It's time to start seeing some transactions. 1 year allows him to "make good" and get right back into free agency. He's made enough money so that the security of 2 years probably isn't worth the potential windfall he could make in 2009. A guy who hasn't made $45+ million in his career probably takes the guaranteed 2nd year.

Disappointing end to the circus trip, with an OTL and a loss on back-to-back nights. They did manage to get 6 of 12 possible points during the trip. This might be a pivotal time of the season right now. The Blackhawks are still "in" the playoffs, but barely ahead of the 9th and 10th place teams. They've got 11 of 14 at home through the end of December, followed by a stretch with a ton of road games. Kane and Toews are stuck in a rut, with neither getting points in recent games and both struggling in terms of +/-. There have been a few injuries recently as well. Now would be the time for Havlant to provide a much needed boost. I've been worried about 3 things regarding the kids: Too much pressure on them to carry the team; resentment from the veterans about the kids getting most of the credit/attention; and having one or both of them start to struggle at the same time the team struggles. It would be nice if a couple guys stepped in and lit it up for a few games to take attention away from Kane and Toews for a while.