Little Slide Rooter

That probably has something to do with it. At the time he was 23-24 years old. He certainly wasn't off to a great start to his big league career but it was too early to trade him for some guy just because the Padres had some slight interest in him as part of a trade for Peavy. Funny how a lot of people, not so much NSBBers were livid over the DeRosa trade, which turned out to be the only good thing that came out of that fateful '08-'09 offseason.

I dont see why anyone would be surprised here. Hoyerstein want young players who can help win now and 33-34 year old Aramis Ramirez does not fit that description. At a 1 year deal, they would have made an exception, but at 3 years it simply didn't fit the plan. 27-28 year old Prince Fielder, on the other hand very much does fit and that's the kind of cornerstone they need.

With Fielder gone and their window closing I wouldnt be surprised if they overpaid and jumped in to outbid themselves as soon as they knew that they'd likely be without Braun for 50 games.

Non of these arguements give any reason not to try to buy low on Loney if Fielder isn't an option. Besides, the Dodgers have already said that thu have no plans to NT Loney and plan on him as their 2012 1st baseman. With the Kemp extension meaning that if thy had any chance to afford Fielder to begin with they don't now, so it's hard to blame them for using the he might not be the best option, but at the price it's not worth giving Pena or Kotchman a multi year deal.

The corresponding Cubs have no money/interest in Fielder post should be materializing within the hour.

Obviously, Fielder is most peoples top choice. However, buyond that people seem to be lined up to shoot down every other option. It's not like there's a ton of good, realsitic options. FA: Carlos Pena Casey Kotchman Derrek Lee Luke Scott (if non tendered) Trade(somewhat realistic) James Loney Mike Trumbo Kendry Morales Adam Dunn (very risky but could be had) Trade (less realistic) Yonder Alonso Billy Butler (very expensive, not necessarily on the block) Justin Smoak (only if the Mariners sign Fielder) Gaby Sanchez (only if the Marlins sign Fielder) Mitch Moreland (only if Rangers sign Fielder) What we have: Brian LaHair Jeff Baker

Good luck. I still don't know why we ran him out of town for nothing and Joey Gathright who turned into Ryan Freel ended up with the roster spot.

Heres MLBTRs full list of non tender candidates. Again, Volstad would be my top target here. Pete Moylan, Manny Parra, and JP Howell are also possibilities. Maybe Keppinger as an upgrade over Barney. I'd also have interest in Luke Scott. Our racist media and fans would love him. Surprisingly, Blake DeWitt doesn't make the list.

To anyone who lives and dies by WAR, which I do not, over the past 4 years Prince Fielder has been on average 2 wins/season more than Carlos Pena. If Epstein and Hoyer view WAR that highly, it is conceivable that they may simply not view that as enough value to justify the contract difference between the 2 players. Obviously, Fielders much older, but if Epstein/Hoyer buy the arguement that Fielder will fall off a cliff in the next 2-5 years do to his physique they might prefer to give Pena, who will be 34 in May a 2-3 year contract. Definitely not what I want, but it's still possible. If nothing else, it would flush out the meatball population who will call for Hoyersteins heads before the season even starts.

Only if we miss out on Skip Schumaker.

Sign me up for Chris Volstad if the Marlins NT him, as long as he comes cheap.

I think that the oddity that is the big 3 team trade is worth discussing. There have ato be a lot of factors in play. Look at the Manny trade. Red Sox wanted Manny out of town for personel reasons. He was still an elite player, and they wanted a return that would still help them win now, not prospects. The Dodgers wanted Manny, but also wanted to win now and not give up any of their core players. Then, there were the lowly Pirates with a young, potentially elite player that they soon would not be able to afford, and everything worked out. How about this mid season deal? Cubs get Andre Ethier(great player, injury concerns, FA next year) good Dodgers outfield prospect Dodgers get Chris Young(pretty good OF, but not as good as Ethier) Aaron Hill(another power bat, but nothing special) D Backs get Marlon Byrd(serviceable, but weakest of the 3 outfielders) Darwin Barney/Blake DeWitt/Jeff Bianchi Trey McNutt Jeff Stevens(or any run of the mill reliever who's been up and down multiple times) Had B2B made a suggestion like this, what would the reaction be? The usual uproarious laughter? Probably, but looking at everything involved, it's very simialr to the Nomar trade, assuming all 3 teams are in contention. Even looking at the Colby Rasmus trade, they needed to make it 2 seperate transactions to get it done. Otherwise, how would this proposal be perceived? Blue Jays get Colby Rasmus Mark Teahen Trevor Miller PJ Walters Cardinals get Edwin Jackson Corey Patterson Octavio Dotel Mark Spellczek White Sox get Jason Frasor Zach Stewart

-some groupy he was nailing was taking this fertility drug so he'd get her knocked up. -when he told her he coul never like a skank like that she vowed revenge. - she learned online that this substance was banned by MLB and would destroy his reputation -as a peace offering she baked him a batches with brownies laced with the stuff -case closed

A lot of hispanic players do.

Yup. They had an offer out for Pujols, but when that fell through they spent the money on strippers, blow, and that guy they claimed off waivers from the Royals. And we thought that Hendry spent poorly. I don't know that I'd call that "spending poorly". It depends on the quality of the blow, how the strippers look, what happens in the VIP room, and what you can get for Barney. Mid-level They're from Wisconsin and have c section scars Whatever you want A 26 year old A ball reliever

Yup. They had an offer out for Pujols, but when that fell through they spent the money on strippers, blow, and that guy they claimed off waivers from the Royals. And we thought that Hendry spent poorly.

That would probably rank in my top 10 list of greatest things that have ever happened.

I agree with your assessment, but my thought was that the WS would get Alonzo with the thought of trading him to a team needing a 1B (Cubs) because of their glut of 1B/DH candidates. My point is that the WS wouldn't need to go out of the way to get something of real value. In this trade, they get a 4-5 starter, an injury prone meh starter whose already been busted for PEDs and an named prospect. Even if it was Szczur or McNutt, what the Cubs give up isn't going to net them Alonso let alone Wood as well. Broken down this way; Cubs fill their top need with a possible future star plus a young starter. I'm not sure exactly what Wood projects to be, but regardless, he's younger and probably has a higher ceiling than Wells so there's no reason that we should get him and not the WS who are giving up spending of actual value. The Cubs give up an outfielder with an expiring contract, a 4-5 starter and a mystery prospect. Again, if the Reds and WS wanted to work a 3rd team into an Alonso/Floyd deal theyd do a lot better. Reds get the front endish starter they need. Byers also a solid throw in for a team who already has a decent lineup and is looking for another respectable bat. However, considering the potential of Alonso, there no reason for them to give up something else as well, especially to the team that's giving up the least. In fact, they'd probably want us to throw in at least someone like Cashner. White Sox are getting garbage from both sides. In this scenario they get Volqez, a 3rd piece given up by the Reds whose damaged goods on multiple levels. They then get a back of the rotation starter from the Cubs. Keep in mind, Floyd is owed 7 mil in 2012 with a 9.5 team option for 2013, which is very team friendly for a quality starting pitcher so if they trade him they'll surely want something better than one starter with a huge question mark and another whose just Ok, so whether the Cubs prospect is Trey McNutt or Justin Berg, the White Sox would be stupid to even consider this. To sum it up: Cubs get a lot, give up minimal. Reds give up a lot and get a decent return if we throw in something like Cashner with Wood being out of the question. White Sox give up a valuable piece and get a bunch of garbage when they could get something like Banuelos or Betances and then some from the Yankees.

Why so? Like most 3 way trade proposals, it's unrealistic, but the difference here as opposed to your usual B2B special is that everyone involved gets something if value and nobody gets shafted. The only 2 players in the deal with any kind of real big league success are Seth Smith and Orlando Hudson and there are no top guys switching to one team with the Cubs giving up just role players and career minor leaguers.

When 3 team trades are done, it's usually because either 3 teams got together to fill each of their needs or it started with 2 teams but for one reason or another they couldn't get it done between just he 2, say team A and team B are trying to work out a deal for a specific player and theyre fairly close but they need another part, something that team B doesn't have, so either team C hears about this and jumps in with something or team A says that team C has a player they want so why not try to work something out. The proposal I fits in with 3 teams getting together to fill something for each. In yours, it wouldn't make much sense because Gavin Floyd, while not the ace he was predicted to be many, many moons ago is a very good 3 or even 2 starter under team control for 2 years on a team friendy contract. If they wanted to move him, they'd have no problem doing so and would want a package of quality prospects. I actually could see the White Sox and Reds trying to put together a 3 team trade involving Floyd and Alonso, but it would likely involve a 3rd team picking up Paul Konerko or ideally for them, Adam Dunn.

I have no idea what this means. It means he likes Braun and not the others Yup, I'm a notorious Brewers fan. That's why I was one of the few people here who was rooting against them in the NLCS, although I wasn't hoping for the Cardinals to go on and win the next round as well.

Then it very well could be a pain killer so he could play through injury. I don't know what all is considered prohibeted, but I know those things can be dangerous. In fact, when a lot of these WWE guys die young under mysterious circumstances these are the main culprit. Obviously they take a lot more than Braun would have been given. I'm assuming that if it's prohibeted, he'll get the suspension anyway but the Brewers don't have to worry about him turning into Tony Campana upon his return, however Braun always seems to have these nagging injuries but narrowly avoids the DL so they might be starting to worry about his health going forward especially considering his 35 year contract.

Good to know I'm back on your radar. I was beginning to feel neglected. Are Erik, Davearm and Hollansdsworths Mug on vacation? Still, if I make I trade proposal I acknowledge that it's not likely but everyone involve gets something of value. Never have I made a suggestion in which the other team involved seemingly go out of the way to help the Cubs while they acquire our spare parts. You mean like this one: Alternately, in honor of B2B, what if: Cubs get Headley Stewart Padres get Russell Seth Smith(they're reportedly shopping him) 1 good Cubs prospect, not Szczur, Jackson, or McNutt and ideally not Vitters. Rockies get Colvin or DeWitt LeMahieu (I'd prefer keep him and send them Colvin and DeWitt but if they're giving up Stewart and Smith in the deal I doubt they'd bite) Maine Hudson We'd be giving up 1 solid-good LH reliever or spot starter if your manager is an idiot, 1 potentially decent LH reliever, 1 good prospect, 1 guy who could be non tendered, and a young guy with a decent ceiling who would be made up for by the guys we're getting. Maybe we could even get a Padres prospect or Kyle Blanks out of the deal since the Padres seem to actually be getting the best take out of the deal. That trade proposal ranks right up there with any of mine. Getting Headley and Stewart while giving up Russell, Colvin/Dewitt, DJ, Maine, and a prospect. Nope the only guy with any actual value in this deal that we get is Headley. Stewart was a non tender candidate to begin with. We got him for Colvin and LeMahieu and got another decent prospect. Depending on Headleys actual value, which is debateable, its not unrealistic to think that he could be had for Russell, whom the Padres had expressed interest at the time I proposed this, and remember it clearly says one good prospect, which could be somewhere along the lines of Lake, Castillo, or Struck and would consider Vitters if wed get something else in return and then kick in DeWitt and Maine or another middling reliever. Remember we have no idea what the Padres would want for Headley. He has solid road splits though not much power but overall, he's far from a difference maker. Now as 2 separate transactions, these are far from unreasonable. I only brought it up as a 3 team because the Rockies are shopping Smith and the Padres Hudson.

Or at least one thread dedicated to silly trade proposals.

This was the thought that came to me. The division was already looking very weakened with Pujols and Prince both leaving it. Now with Braun out for 50 games, the Brewers (who I consider the only actual good team in the division) may well not be able to reach that 90 win mark. This makes it that much more possible for the Cubs to contend in 2012 and that much more important that we don't engage in a 3-5 year unnecessary rebuilding process. This season could likely be a huge turning point for the division. How to the Cardinals move on post Pujols? Do the Cubs try to win now with Fielder and a few other teams? The Reds could really use a frontline starter and certainly have the chips to get one with Votto or Alonzo, and even then how good are they really? The Brewers could be the favorites, but if they dont like the way things are going by July they can really help their future by moving Greinke, Marcum, K Rod, and Hart. The Phillies are the league favs once again but the rest of the NL doesn't have anything else awe inspiring. If we land Fielder and get good seasons out of Zambrano, Soto, Stewart, DeJesus, and whoever we keep of Byrd and Soriano there's no reason we can't contend. Im not saying we have a 95 game winner in our hands, but especially with the 2 added playoff spots(I think that starts this coming season) it should be an interesting sesason. We could use a front line starter but if we don't get one now perhaps we can in the summer if we contend.