Little Slide Rooter

On the other side of that coin is Joe Carter, another young player we traded early for a veteran pitcher, the difference being that we got some great years out of Rick Sutcliff. Had Sutcliff not have been as good as he was for us,that's a trade that we could still be hearing about to this day, but as is, nobody even bothers mentioning Carter as a guy that got away.

This is his third game back. Guess I havn't been following the Nats all that closely this year.

Well, that's cool and all. But one doesn't really have anything to do with the other. Kind of. People dont give the Phillies [expletive] over that trade. I know the Phils have been much better than the Cubs since, but still. Im sure tther teams have also traded away prospects or young players who have turned out to be stars for guys who did little to nothing for them. I guess I don't get why this trade still gets constantly blasted several decades later, almost as if the critics are saying that Lou Brock was the one guy who could have taken us to a World Series.

Or Brett Jackson.

He looks a lot less lazy as well.

which part has been quite encouraging, the .319 obp or the 21 errors? I was thinking more the .283 BA and .457 SLG. I think we just need to accept that he'll never be a guy that walks a lot and will ultimately end up in the outfield, hopefully with better results than Yonder Alonzo.

"I'M SOOOO REEEEEEEEEALLLLLLLLL." http://www.thaindian.com/images/sammy-sosa-after.jpg Though at least he looks normal in that Cialis commercial. He just thought that was his best bet for Cubs fans to embrace him again.

Are there inside-the-park home runs that don't somehow involve a play being botched? Isn't it typically an OF diving for a ball and missing it, so it gets behind him, and then the other OF is slow to back him up? Sometimes it's just confusion about your own home parks ground rules if you remember Geo chugging around the bases in Houston.

Believe

Yeah, it really wasn't Sammys fault that they didn't care to build a decent team around him until he was in his mid-late 30's.

I think those things are worth a decent amount if in their original packaging, however, much like with Star Wars, I believe that the more obscure guys who nobody ever bought like B.J. Surhoff and Lobot are the ones that are worth more. I went to the National sports collectors convention this weekend in Rosemont (yeah I'm a nerd), and trust me Starting lineups did not seem to be all that valuable. I mean maybe $20-30 and a couple of rare ones around $50 but nothing more that I saw. Nothings really worth what it once was I guess. Back when I was collecting cards, if you had a rookie card, you were good. Fleer or Donruss tended to be better than Topps or Score, but that was about it. The came Upper Deck, which was top of the line. Next thing you know, there was Topps Finest, Topps Chrome, Fleer Ultra, refractors, chase cards, and all kinds of other stuff. That's about the time I stopped collecting. I don't even know what the baseball card market looks like these days. It seems like gambling for kids to me. You spent $4 on a pack of cards hoping to get a special card worth $50 (or more), but of course you wouldn't be able to sell it for that unless you got it graded and put in glass and all that. I will buy a pack of baseball or hockey cards occasionally, but the whole industry has left me behind. I remember I'd get a card, and the Beckett would have it priced at $20, however, that was the price that the dealers sold it for, not the price that they would buy it for, which would be closer to $12. I guess it was a way for the youngans to learn about supply and demand. Didn't really matter than your 1988 Donruss Matt Nokes was priced at $3.25 if the dealers all had about 30 of them and didn't want any more.

The Cubs always get [expletive] for that trade despite the fact that about 15 years later they aquired the best 2B of the generation as a throw in in a trade for a guy with a career OPS in the mis .600s.

I think those things are worth a decent amount if in their original packaging, however, much like with Star Wars, I believe that the more obscure guys who nobody ever bought like B.J. Surhoff and Lobot are the ones that are worth more. I went to the National sports collectors convention this weekend in Rosemont (yeah I'm a nerd), and trust me Starting lineups did not seem to be all that valuable. I mean maybe $20-30 and a couple of rare ones around $50 but nothing more that I saw. Nothings really worth what it once was I guess. Back when I was collecting cards, if you had a rookie card, you were good. Fleer or Donruss tended to be better than Topps or Score, but that was about it. The came Upper Deck, which was top of the line. Next thing you know, there was Topps Finest, Topps Chrome, Fleer Ultra, refractors, chase cards, and all kinds of other stuff. That's about the time I stopped collecting. I don't even know what the baseball card market looks like these days.

Flaherty has really been struggling at Iowa. Kind of odd how he was raking at AA while Jackson was struggling, then they both head up a level and it's reversed. Vitters has been quite encouraging this season. Could he end up in Iowa before the end of the season, or are there too many infieders there? Also nice to see Ha getting back on track, putting up similar numbers to those he had at Daytona.

Besides being a cool guy, what's with your infatuatuation with CJ Wilson? I'll go out on a limb and assume it has something to do with the fact that we could really use another front end starter and he's by far the best guy on the market.

No reason to believe that he won't. That doesn't mean it's a guarantee. If nothing else, he can hit the hell out of lefties and serve as a 4th outfielder. You seem to be responding to me as though I'm saying that he's the greatest thing on the market and any contender would gladly hand over the keys to their farm system for 2 months of his services.

Dave does need a new sax player.

I think those things are worth a decent amount if in their original packaging, however, much like with Star Wars, I believe that the more obscure guys who nobody ever bought like B.J. Surhoff and Lobot are the ones that are worth more.

Chien Ming Wang's back, huh? Well good for him.

there's also no reason to think he'll continue producing well above his career norms. the dude has 3 walks versus 40 walks in 171 plate appearances and his babip is .409. anyone who trades for him and expects him to keep up the production he's had in 2011 is a fool. Again, if he was under contract through this year, that would be a valid concern for other teams, but we're just talking under 2 months, and there's no reason he won't keep up what he's been doing thus far, especially when you look at the Giants and D Backs who could definitely use an offensive boost off the bench. The Braves are still looking for a right handed bat, and while he might not be what they had in mind, there's not too much left on the market. YES THERE IS, i just gave you some reasons. his babip is .409, he doesn't walk and his power numbers are above his career normals. last year he had similarly atrocious plate discipline and his ops was .657. why do you believe that just because he's been very productive for 4 months that he's apparently guaranteed to continue being very productive for the next 2? Who said guaranteed? All that I'm trying to say is that a team looking for a bat off the bench may be willing to give up something along the lines of an Evan Crawford, Abner Abreu, or Jose Ceda type prospect for him.

Looking forward to having no option but Colvin in RF next year, were you? Even if there were some glimmer of Tyler Colvin as a starter for next year, I'd prefer throw up a prayer to try and move Soriano in the winter. Either way, unless they need the money, Byrd is probably the best offensive option of any outfielder we have, and if Fielder and Wilson are the plans, I can't see there being any extra cash to sneak in an OF as well.

Say what you will about Sammy, but he was Chicagos second biggest sports icon of the 90's.

there's also no reason to think he'll continue producing well above his career norms. the dude has 3 walks versus 40 walks in 171 plate appearances and his babip is .409. anyone who trades for him and expects him to keep up the production he's had in 2011 is a fool. Again, if he was under contract through this year, that would be a valid concern for other teams, but we're just talking under 2 months, and there's no reason he won't keep up what he's been doing thus far, especially when you look at the Giants and D Backs who could definitely use an offensive boost off the bench. The Braves are still looking for a right handed bat, and while he might not be what they had in mind, there's not too much left on the market.

Todd Walker, Michael Barrett and Mark DeRosa were all better players than Reed Johnson. The guys having a great season, and there's no reason to think he'll fall off a cliff in the next 2 months,plus there's no obligation past this season. No reason for teams not to go after him.

but you just typed "they're" in the same sentence as you typed "your." at least show some consistency. just go all out and write "more trouble than their worth." I'm trying but it's a work in progress.