Little Slide Rooter

Although he did strike out 5 and walk none. And Beliveau Kd 3 in 1 inning with 0 R 1 H 0 BB. Yet we get to watch Scott Maine, Casey Coleman, and that guy we got off waivers from the Indians.

Yet they're not concerned by the fact that he's been in free fall for about a month now? Still, desperate as they are we should try to sell than in a most expenses paid trip to Alfonso Soriano, and if they want LaHair as well, more prospects for us.

And they could have ended up with really good relief pitcher in 2009. Suckers.

Alberto Cabrera is on the Iowa roster. Not sure when that happened.

So I combed the last 3 days worth of minor league threads, as well as the transactions thread. Even Wrigley Rat has yet to catch this, but Alberto Cabrera is now on the Iowa roster, so that's pretty cool.

Austin Kirk was good. Chris Rusin and Dae Eun Rhee were not.

So we've got Juan Pierre and now Reed Johnson. Can we get Todd Hollandsworth next?

It's not really a big deal to get the right combination of guys in the lineup every now and then. All the reports were he made strides defensively last year, and he played 1B in 25% of his games. I'm not bothered by it, but if they want to have him learn an alternate position, wouldn't a corner OF spot make more sense? I'm not saying that Rizzo's a lock, but we're a lot more likely to need help out there in the near future.

I guess I'm a bit perplexed as to why Josh Vitters is playing 1B tonight. One of the few guys in Iowa who can be referred to as a prospect, defense is something they've been working on yet he's playing one of the few positions we likely wont be in need of any time soon.

No, he's throwing off a mound on Saturday and at best, makes one start before the ASG. So, another start for Volstad, or Coleman gets a shot, or do the off days make a four man rotation work for a week? They won't need a 5th until July 3rd, so 6 days instead of 5. Somebody other than Dempster probably has to make a start. Should be Volstad. May as well give him another look befor breaking out the fork. As for Well, someone will probably grab him due to starting pitchers dropping like flies.

Much like in the draft, the key should be getting the best prospects back in return no matter the position. When the time comes, we'll be able to acquire pitchers. People need to remember that just because we may be operating like the Pirates at this time, we do have money.

Ladies and gentlemen, the one untouchable player on our roster.

He hasn't been very good lately, but perhaps Theo could take out a flier on him.

They don't really have much to give for Garza. and now this . They must have something, and this sounds like a chance for someone to grab them by the short and curlys.

DSL pitcher Daury Torrez Kd 6 with 1 BB in 6 IP, and he now has 26/2 BB/K in just over 27 IP. I'm not quite sure exactly what to look for in these DSL guys other than age, but with pitchers, I'll assume it's that type I thing. Oh and Old Man Encarnacion went 2-4 with a granny.

Johnson: Yes. We need offense. Even if we did sign him, Barney's still a great utility guy, unless someone really wants him. Polanco: 1,000 X no. I think Stewart's still under control for next year, and I'd rather he, Vitters, Lake. Valbuena, Cardenas, or even DeWitt over Polanco and his comically misshapen head. Hairston: No thanks. He's having a good year now, but at the end of the day, he's a slightly younger Reed Johnson that we haven't gotten sick of looking at for the past 2 years. Young: I'd prefer Upton, but if he got too expensive, I'd definitely give young a look. Upton: at the right price, yes. We could then have avery speedy OF of Jackson, Upton, and Szczur in years to come. Pagan: No thanks. I'd take young and Upton for their upsides, but Pagan is what he is, and Jackson or Szczur could easily be it for much cheaper Quentin: Bad defense. Will be expensive Bedard: yes Floys: yes, though he's been very good his past 2 starts, even though they were vs. the Cubs and Twins. Guthrie: I'd just as soon keep the old Paul Maholm. Sanchez: meh. I guess if cheap enough, but I'd much rather spend more for the other Sanchez.

Bingo. Unless you're the Rays pumping out stud pitchers like a puppy mill does Bichon Frises, it's not realistic to expect to be able build an entire team from within. Within a 3 year period, the Brewers produced Prince Fielder, Rickey Weeks, Corey Hart, Ryan Braun, and Yovanni Gallardo, and even rhey needed to spend money and trade their remaining prospects in order to contend. Anyone expecting the next Cubs playoff roster to feature Castro, Rizzo, Baez, Soler, Almora, Lake, Vitters, Jackson, Szczur, and Candelerio would be the ones suffering from delusion.

As of now, we seemingly have long term answers at 1B, SS, and a few rotation spots. Mayebe C and 2B. There's room for upgrades at every other spot. The question is, what do they consider enough of an upgrade to warrant the cost over their current player, or how comfortable they feel with the depth at said position on the farm.

It was just about this time a year ago that TT (and myself, and others) repeatedly made it abundantly clear that we didn't have to go through this year of suck. Epstein disagreed. What makes you so confident that this time will be different? I don't think it was about making a point. The available guys that they felt would be upgrades became more expensive than they wanted to pay, and they didn't find the alternatives attractive enough to go after. We had interest in Fielder and Pujols at "our price". The fact that they didn't make any big moves after other teams offered well more than they were willing to pay doesn't suggest to me that they don't plan on acquiring external options so much as if they don't get their guy, they won't automatically put the money toward something they don't feel fits in with their long term plans. Headley and Upton are each at the age where they could help us win now and in the future. Upton will be 28 in August, so if we could get him on a 5-6 year deal, he'd be 32-33 at the end.

I'd say our 22 year olds are pretty decent, too. Rizzo, Vitters, Lake, Szczur, etc. If either Vitters or Lake could become something close to Headley, especially his road splits. I think we'd all be thrilled. We do have some guys that will be ready to help as soon as 2013, but not enough in terms of quality or quantity that they'll be able contend without some significant external additions. I completely get where Theo and Jed are coming from in not signing free agents to ridiculous contracts or giving up too much in trade, but that doesn't mean that they should just pass on every option that will require spending or trading prospects. This being said, I like Headley and while he would cost a package of 3 young players or prospects, he's not an elite talent and would not require mortgaging the future. As I recall, in the winter when we were in talks, or at least rumors of talks for him, 2 name that came up were James Russell and Darwin Barney. If he were to cost those 2 plus one top 10-15 prospect with us getting one of their top 25-30 back as well, would anyone object? Yes, The San Diego Padres. Why wouldn't it work for us? Russell is our best reliever but he's far from Dennis Eckersley. Barney looks to be a productive player for years to come, but nothing special. As for a top 10-15 from our system, obviously, it wouldn't be a pitcher, because if our 2013 were to be put together today I suspect that the only pitcher on the list would be Maples who I woudlnt give up for him. It would probably include in no order Jackson, Soler, Baez, Almora, Vitters, Lake, Szczur, and perhaps be rounded out by Candelerio and Amaya. Who outside of that group would we refuse to part with for Headley? I also wonder if Volstad would interest him. Petco would be a far better place to reinvent himself than Wrigley.

I'll have what you're drinking/smoking. I don't think you could get 1 guy in the top 80-100 range for him. I think he could very well get a top 75-100 guy and then some. He's pitched very well and there are a lot of contenders looking for pitching and only so many front end options available. Depending on what the Brewers and Phillies do, at this point it's pretty much limited to Dempster, Garza, and Wandy. Also, you won't find many potential mid rotation starters available with 4-5 remaining years of team control. And let's not forget that there's difference between a top 75-100 prospect and a top 25-50. Unless we're talking about really young high ceiling guys, most teams hope that a top 75-100 pitcher becomes Travis Wood.

Is anyone else somewhat intrigued by Daytona reliever Scott Weisman yet?

I'd say our 22 year olds are pretty decent, too. Rizzo, Vitters, Lake, Szczur, etc. If either Vitters or Lake could become something close to Headley, especially his road splits. I think we'd all be thrilled. We do have some guys that will be ready to help as soon as 2013, but not enough in terms of quality or quantity that they'll be able contend without some significant external additions. I completely get where Theo and Jed are coming from in not signing free agents to ridiculous contracts or giving up too much in trade, but that doesn't mean that they should just pass on every option that will require spending or trading prospects. This being said, I like Headley and while he would cost a package of 3 young players or prospects, he's not an elite talent and would not require mortgaging the future. As I recall, in the winter when we were in talks, or at least rumors of talks for him, 2 name that came up were James Russell and Darwin Barney. If he were to cost those 2 plus one top 10-15 prospect with us getting one of their top 25-30 back as well, would anyone object?

The strength of our farm system is primarily in the lower levels, the under 21 crowd. I'm thinking that we could get Headley without dipping into that. I refuse to believe that they won't make any moves to win in the next 2-3 years while they strengthen the farm.

And that's why the good players should leave that gritty [expletive] to the Jeff Bakers.