jersey cubs fan

name one

Maybe he "seems" like that kind of player to you, but virtually no player willfully takes a 50% paycut (assuming that's the difference). Kendall loved everything about the Cubs. I'm sure he'd view playing here as a satisfactory fallback. The Yankees have done this before, so have other teams, coming to an agreement but not signing. Plus, we're talking Jason Kendall, a worthless piece of crap of a ballplayer. Milwaukee could fine somebody just like him in a heartbeat.

The Brewers would be then running the risk that the Cubs would offer arbitration and Kendall would accept. Considering that they just traded their starting catcher and that whole process could take weeks (where most of the other catchers on the market are getting picked up by other teams) it's too risky for the Brewers to do that. Besides, even if for the extra money I doubt Kendall would come back to a team that didn't want him in any form when he has a starting job lined up somewhere else, so he'd probably sign with the Brewers even if the Cubs did offer him arbitration at this point. It's not just extra money, it's most likely a tremendous amount of extra money. I know it's unlikely, but it's what the Yankees would do if it involved the Red Sox.

Possible, but not likely. There's no incentive for them to wait. It's not their draft pick we'd be getting. But it is their biggest rival getting an extra one.

He does? How has he proven that he has the ability to return to 04 form? How does one go about proving they have the ability to return to form? If Mark was already back at that form, he'd be able to sign a 6/100 deal.

Agreeing to a deal and signing one are two different things. No need to rush that physical until after the arbitration deadline.

I think Marquis and Andruw are very different, and I doubt the reaction would be nearly the same. I absolutely hated everything about the Marquis signing. I wouldn't be a big fan of Andruw coming here, but he'd probably help, and I wouldn't hate it that much.

Perhaps they'd hold Vitters back in only because they thought those guys were rushed. Plus, Vitters plays a position that filled. Corey was the CF of the future, and Don Baylor was pushing for him to be the CF as soon as possible. Obviously Baylor didn't make that sort of call, and wasn't even in the organization at the time to make that call. But it kind of symbolized the savior status the organization placed on Corey, which meant he was going to be rushed. Montanez was also playing a need position they wanted to fill sooner rather than later. Vitters isn't going to see Wrigley for a few years even if all goes well, and there's no major league need to rush him anytime soon. Hopefully they won't be aggressive with the kid and will actually teach him to be a pro, instead of sitting back and expecting his pretty swing to solve any problems on its own (Kelton).

The problem is that performance incentives can't be tied to anything worthy tying them to. Typically it's a playing time incentive, to save teams from paying oft-injured guys. But that doesn't help the Cubs, because Andruw could give them 162 games of crap production. You could include incentives for being an all star or getting MVP votes, but those are pretty arbitrary and can be achieved without actually producing.

It boggles my mind that after all his repeated misses, Hendry is still looking to sign utility guys to multi-million dollar 3 year deals. My mind is literally boggled. Why in the world would any team give that kind of money to part-time players who aren't any good to begin with? Why waste millions on role players when they are so easily replacable? Spend the money on guys that make a difference Jim. You can't tout the value of a minor league system that produces nothing but role players, and then spend money on "proven veterans" because you don't trust the kids to fill roles. When you fail so miserably at producing your own stars, you have to buy them from others, and that costs money. Money you should not spend on crap.

The Cubs need offense. They don't really need more starting pitchers, especially not old starting pitchers. I don't think Lou liked having 3 lefties in the rotation most of the year. So, if they trade Hill in a package for a real bat perhaps then it might be worth discussing the 87 year old Chicken Roaster, but for now, he's got to be way down the list.

Just look for the guy paying $7.50 for Budweisers and tipping the bartender $2.50 for each one because he's using the corporate card.

transaction

I think you're wrong. There's nothing wrong with being nostalgic about Kerry Wood. He stands a very good chance of being an excellent relief pitcher for the next two years. And while I like him more than Prior, I feel much the same way about Mark.

As logical as it may be to not pay 2/10 for Kerry Wood, you'd have to imagine that Hendry is going to do something else with the bullpen if he can't keep Wood. That may mean spending 3/15 or higher on some other retread closer, or worse yet, trading assets for another Alfonseca and then handing out the 3/15 on top of everything. Aside from just wanting to see Kerry Wood stay on as a Cub, and believing he can be an excellent reliever for 70 innings a year, want I don't want is Jim Hendry wasting any more resources on outside relievers, perhaps the most overpaid assets in baseball.

Dontrelle is a 5th starter. He's got no business being in front of Hill. I'd take him and his likely $8-10m salary off Florida's hands in a Cabrera deal, but I wouldn't trade for him just to trade for him.

If I had to guess, I'd bet their animosity would be toward Bill and Bob, who are gone. Most of the time, when the specific people involved are gone, the exiled come back to the organization they grew up with, so to speak. Plus, he's got a personal relationship with both of those guys.

Screw you man. As a Blackhawks fan, this is GREAT news. \:D/ seconded, looks like they're finally ready to start getting their fans back. i'm incredibly excited for the hawks, he's a perfect fit. he saw the handwriting on the wall about oh, say, before he even took the position with the cubs. If the Blackhawks want to get their fans back they should try actually making the playoffs one of these years. Winning will do the trick much more so than having some American Girl and Precious Moments giveaways. My concern with McDonough as President is that all he knew about was how to hype the games and not how to win games. He was never going to challenge Hendry and his baseball operations group about how to build a team because he didn't have the baseball experience and credibility to do so. I share your concern, which is why he needs to be seperate from the hockey decisions. But I don't think it can hurt to try and do whatever possible to draw in Hawks fans. As much as they were their own worst enemy driving fans away, it's going to take more than a playoff drive to bring back fans. I think it was 2001 when they actually had a pretty good year, but by then it was too late and people had already given up on the team. There was very little excitement, nothing compared to what I sense is possible with the current core of young players. Also, if we are going to expect them to actually spend on stars, we are going to need to see huge increases in attendence and ratings. The Hawks were probably one of the few teams that actually was losing money when they said they were, because they were getting like 9000 people on a regular basis, without drawing in any TV revenue.

On espnnews.

What a terrible announcer.

If this somehow convinces Hendry not to sign Kaz, I will thank them for their work.

No, I wouldn't be happy. But he's Wood.

He does bring that marketing background that the BHawks deffinatly need. No doubt. It could work out real well if he delegates the hockey decisions to the right people. His apparant faith in Hendry makes me question whether he can do that. Bottom line is he can't be the guy who makes the final decision on Tallon, and he can't be the guy who decides on his successor, if he gets one. As long as he stays in the business side, it could work.

Not really, given his probable role. If he's closer, the salary is a lot lower than he might get on the open market. 2/10 might not be insane, but it's really high if it's all guaranteed. I'd actually be fine with giving him the change to earn more than 10, based on incentives, but would much rather prefer a much lower guarantee.