Little Slide Rooter

Worse yet, so was Tony Campana. Fools!

May Javy forgive you. Ryan Theriot hasn't been listed yet.

It's a good thing the Brewers grabbed him before Theo realized that he was Cuban.

Wasn't everyone laughing at Melvin for the Ramirez contract last year? .300/.360/.540 He's a pretty solid GM and has made moves Greinke/Sabathia, etc. to keep them competitive despite the small market. He's got a lineup that can score runs and SP was their biggest area of need. Giving up first rounders and first round draft money is exactly what a smaller market team that is clearly a distant 3rd best (at best) in its division should be doing. True, and a total rebuild is probably not too far in the distant future. One more year of wear and tear on Hart / Weeks / Ramirez and they could be in really bad shape next year. The Brewers brought up a very enviable core during the mid 00s and have managed to keep their window open longer than many expected. This is what allowed them to go out and empty out the rest of their farm system for Sabbathia, Greinke, and Marcum as well as splurge on guys like Suppan and Wolf. I'm not saying that they were good ideas, but that production from within allowed them to act like a big market team. This being said,it's hard to really fault Melvin for taking what he had and go all into win now mode they way he did when the opportunity was there. Before the CBA, small market teams were at a pretty big disadvantage, especially when sharing a division with the Cubs who were big spenders at the time and The Cardinals who always manage to stay in contention.

I saw this, but haven't heard anything on what's going back to the Angels. I heard the Angels where taking on all but $5M of his contract. Wouldn't the Cubs have done something very similar for Soriano? The only thing I can think is the Yanks don't want to pay anything, on top of not giving any talent... The motivation for trading Soriano is all about getting talent in return, not money. Asuming that we did eat some 90% of Soriano's contract to trade him, we'd likely be asking for at least a return comparable to that we got for Mark DeRosa. Probably better or else we likely would have moved him by now. There's no urgency to trade Soriano, or even anyone chomping at the bit to take over his spot, and while a rough first half could crush whatever trade value 2012 replenished, it's certainly worth the gamble if nobody's making a worthwhile offer. If the Angels get anything more than an organizational and maybe a long-shot lottery ticket, I'll be shocked.

Does Jeff Antigua still register as a prospect? Still only 22 and has solid BB/K rates.

Chone Figgins. I still say that one of the biggest mistakes this offseason was not going after Keppinger. Nah, we're likely looking for a band-aid until Ian Stewart's ready. If anything. we'll be looking for a Ramon Martinez/Rey Ordonez/Andres Blanco. So Ronny Cedeno sounds about right. How does that have anything to do with not getting Keppinger being a mistake (assuming he was willing to sign here for a reasonable amount). Depends on the reasonable amount. Starlin Castro has SS for the long term, unless he's moved to 3rd by Baez. The organization seems to love Barney, and I can't imagine anyone giving up enough to make him worth moving in their eyes. In the short term, Stewart will still likely be given the opportunity to win or lose the 3rd base job when he's ready. Beyong that, Vitters needs to be given that shot next Spring at the latest, unless they opt to move him to OF. Keppinger would be a utility guy, and while 3/12 was a great price for him, the front office is a frugal one, and they seem just as happy pulling Brent Lillibridges and Luis Valbuenas off the scrap heap to fill those spots. Remember, Jeff keppinger's 31 years old, and his road to the contract he was given is very simlar to that of Aaron Miles.

I'm not saying that he was by any means a must have, but being a product of Jed Hoyers old system and the fact that he's a 21 year old low level guy as opposed to a AAAA scrap heaper that they're picking up as a big league band-aid or depth makes the move somewhat intriguing to me.

Chone Figgins. I still say that one of the biggest mistakes this offseason was not going after Keppinger. Nah, we're likely looking for a band-aid until Ian Stewart's ready. If anything. we'll be looking for a Ramon Martinez/Rey Ordonez/Andres Blanco. So Ronny Cedeno sounds about right.

I think Sullivan should have tried to use another quote. At least Dale didn't call him "Sappy" Would that be any worse than him calling himself Sappy? Sadly, His twitter handle is SappySappelt.

First time I've seen that last part. Not sure why they don't just give Watkins a shot. He's pretty much ticketed for a utility role if he makes the big leagues.

Apparently Dale Sveum loves Brent Lillibridge. So will Cubs fans no doubt. In Dale's defense, he himself was a noodle-bat utility infielder who got by on hustle and grit rather than talent. I suppose I wouldn't care either way about Brent being our 25th man so much as knowing that the radio waves will be jammed with calls about how he's a real ball player the moment Starlin Castro bobbles his first grounder.

While the natural reflex is to view such a move as a non entity, there's probably a reason that we wanted him. Chances are that he never see's AAA, but there must be something that our guys saw in him to peak their interest. That and he's from Jed's old farm.

So the Tigers, a win now team want a closer and a RH OF. Someone flash the Theo Signal.

Where would this slot Peralta in our top prospects list? somewhere between 30-40?

I'd have to think so and probably the long man/spot starter spot. As far as the greater good goes, he'd be best in Iowa as depth. While we may be deep in starting pitching, with the exceptions of Jackson and maybe Shark, there are no sure things.

Wasn't the beginning of the end for Choi that brutal collision with Kerry Wood? Maybe I'm just remembering it that way because that's my last memory of Choi other than being traded for D. Lee.

Not even. Keep in mind, for 2.5MM if he can be a serviceable 4th OF it's a win.

45. Carlos A Rod 46. Malave 47. I've already forgotten

Random question; is Jay Jackson still something that exists in any capacity?

Mike Olt is a top 25 prospect as of this offseason. This isn't Travis Snider we're talking about. A guy who could be a star 3rd baseman would be well worth giving up 1 season of a very in consistant closer and two solid but far from sure thing prospects. What it comes down to is that Olt may also be far from a sure thing, but he has the potential to be an impact player and perhaps heart of the order bat for years to come as soon as 2014. He may be top 25, but he has struck out as much as Brett Jackson in the minors and is only 3 weeks younger than him. I'm not very high on him. That's not to say that, if he is as good in the field as they say, he can't still have a career as a productive player (and - to be fair - he has a lot more power than Jackson, which is a big deal... the comparison was just about their inabilities to make contact), but I think he's being overrated as a prospect right now. To me what it comes down to is that our system seems loaded with guys that have a good shot at being big league players, be it as regulars or backups. However, aside from the big 4 and maybe Vogelbach, we don't have many that projet to be impact players. Olt is a guy who could be an impact player in the very near future. He could also easily be Matt LaPorta or Travis Snider, but It's a gamble I'd be willing to take. Marmol has some value at this point, which could go up in the next few months, but the bottom could also drop out. Who knows what Candelario could ultimately be, but he won't be it for a good 4-5 years. Zych seems like a pretty solid relief prospect, but again, our system is deep enough that it's worth the gamble.

Worse yet, the cork will hit Starlin Castro in the eye, blinding him causing him to stumble into Anthony Rizzo who will in turn tear his ACL beyond repair trying to step out of the way, thus stepping on Javi Baez' achilles, severing it with his clete. Oh the horror.

Cabrera continues to disappoint me. I keep hoping that flash in 2012 at AAA was real. Aren't they going to try and make him a starter again? Makes sense he's going back to AAA then. That's my thinking. After a rough go early on, they're likely scrapping the idea of him in the big league pen and going to get him stretched out as a starter in minor league camp ASAP. McNutt and Watkins are probably being sent so they can rack enough as much PT as possible.

Can he really be worse than Jake Fox at 3rd? Would you say that Fox got "meaningful innings" at 3rd? He wouldn't have with the current regime.

Mike Olt is a top 25 prospect as of this offseason. This isn't Travis Snider we're talking about. A guy who could be a star 3rd baseman would be well worth giving up 1 season of a very in consistant closer and two solid but far from sure thing prospects. What it comes down to is that Olt may also be far from a sure thing, but he has the potential to be an impact player and perhaps heart of the order bat for years to come as soon as 2014.