Little Slide Rooter

I mentioned this in another thread, but if they want to trade Rasmus, they can probably get what they want. Heath Bell would be a start, but they could also probably get an established young 2-3 starter. They could probably get Bell and any starting pitcher from the Padres if they chose to go that route. I know they would never send him to us, but if they did, Id happily send them any player or player combination aside from Castro. Marmol and Soto or Jackson would probably be the price. Id do it.

The Cubs got a former first round pick who had OPS'd .810 or better 3 out of 4 years in pro ball and who was only 22 and a tall, projectible 21 year old lefty who many on here liked quite a bit. That's hardly nothing for a guy who had a career 4.69 ERA and a 1.463 WHIP. They've lost some of their intrigue, as CCP pointed out, but at the time they were very intriguing prospects. Speaking of which, whats the deal with AJ Morris? They must have seen something in him sine they took a guy they knew would be out all year. Will he be ready to go next year? And Burgess and Hicks are still young enough that they're still intriguing.

Cubs get Robinson Cano, Adrian Gonzalez, David Price, Jeremy Hellickson, and Evan Longoria. Starlin Castro is cut into 3rds and the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays each get a piece. And they can split John Grabow and Koyie Hill to if they like.

James Russell accepts your challenge.

I'm not sure how experts view him, but I have rated him highly in the past. He has power that you can't teach, and is now more versatile than most other prospects. I picture him as a left-handed Mark DeRosa type who will have a chance in the majors at the corner spots and 2B. I think he may have some solid years where he hits for average and power, but won't be an everyday regular in the majors for his entire career. I expect solid numbers out of him in Iowa this year, and if he's back there next year, he will have a huge first half. I think (in the extremely unlikely event) if the Cubs go with a youth movement next year, he will be on the team and play all over the field. Unless you have a farm system like the Rays or Royals, youth movement is code for hopefully we'll contend in 3-5 years, which is unaccaptable for a team with the resources the Cubs have.

Could he be worth a flier? I know he was a biggish deal at one point. I think wed have 2nd crack at him on the waiver wire behind th Astros, if thats how it works.

Gorz might have been the only hope. I cant see Silva having been much better than any of our spot starters, and coupled with Jay jackson being injured, and then bad and Chris Carpenter being converted to the pen, we really didnt have much depth to speak of.

I have to root for anyone over the Brewers, and heres why. As a lifelong Cubs fan, Cardinal hate has been implanted in me. However, Ive never really known any Cardinal fans to reenforce that hate. Brewer fans, however, thats an entirely different story. Going to school for 5 years in Wisconsin, I know plenty of them, and everytime that a Wisconson team beats a Chicago team, they think they just won the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Championship, whatever. I know it all stems from Milwaukees massive inferiority complex toward Chicago, but still. After the Packers winning the Super Bowl, theres no way I could stand the Brewers winning the World Series, and yes, I know, Green Bay isnt any closer to MIlwaukee than Chicago is, but to them it may as well be a 15 minute bike ride. Therefore, I have to push for the Cardinals to take the division, and hopefully be promptly wiped out by the Phillies, Braves, or Giants. Granted, Id prefer the Reds or Pirates over the Cards, but realistically speaking, I cant see either of them pulling it off. This beaing said, if the Cards really are interested in moving Rasmus, they could probably get Heath Bell and any Padres starter they want. Maybe not Latos.

Considering the Mets are throwing in cash, i can only imagine what this does to the Brewers already dried up farm system. If the Brewers cant win it all in the next year or 2, Melvin could end up looking as bad as Hendry. Granted he hasn't thrown the cash around, but hes depleted what was once a very good farm system down to nothing.

One thing I think people need to keep in mind is that Wilken has no role on the international side of things. I was wondering as well what role, if any Wilken has in that side.

Everytime I see a new post in this thread, I rush to rip it open like a kid on christmas, but its usually just tube socks.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BNn5k2xtE-Y/TWQ6B5k6Z6I/AAAAAAAALZI/PnuERZfMB58/s1600/dustybaker.jpg Be afraid Ubaldo. Be very afraid.

unfortunately, these are the players that are (relatively) really easy to find Scott Sizemore, and Andrew Miller, and Franklin Morales, and Cameron Maybin were all each just acquired for i don't know, a pack of Big League Chew, and here we are hoping all our minor leaguers develop to be these types of players [expletive] it, just go for broke and fill the system full of high potential guys; more Goldens and Burgesses and Lakes and Rundles, please, and just go reap the benefits of other teams' impatience to find your average starters or role players That's the thing. I think he actually just did that actually. Our draft this year was MUCH different than in year's past. We've got as much depth as any system in baseball, so we finally took the upside guys this year to give us a different look. Money may very well have been an issue as well previously, but hopefully we sign quite a few guys out of this draft, because it could give our system a completely different look. I do remember a quote from Wilken saying Hendry had told him to find him "major leaguers" in the past. To me, that implies finding guys with less upside but high floors and Wilken has done a solid job of providing that. My guess is that his philosophy isn't the exact same as Hendry's(even though they are really good friends evidently) and we'll see him with more drafts like this one, if we have a new GM or not...... In the end, for me, I like him and want him around for years to come. "Major leaguers" is pretty much what Wilken has produced. Barney, Campana, Carpenter, Flaherty, etc. May all go on the fairly long big league careers, but I really dont see stardom and big contracts in their future. Maybe Ryan Flaherty can become a DeRosa type if he ever gets the chance to be a full time player, but thats about it, and its hard to tell what to ever expect from Jackson and Szczur. Thats why Id like them to sign guys like Baez, Vogelsbach, Dunston, and Maples with very high upsides even if it costs a bundle and we dont see them for another 5 years.

I thought Id mention that NSBB darling Steve Stone was on the Score the other morning, and pretty much said that no player on either side of town should be "untouchable". When they brought up Starlin Castro, he half jokingly said that maybe Starlin Castro and Andrew Cashner for David Price and Evan Longoria if the Rays were looking to save money. I dont think Id poo poo on that deal.

Tennessee also has Vitters. Peoria's rotation also just added Liria who might be more interesting than Del Valle, Kirk or Peralta. I forgot about Vitters and Liria. There are some interesting guys all around.

From what I gather, Wilkens MO is to fill the system with role playersand guys who can be everyday players but not quite stars and build them around the stars aquired through trade or FA, which is all fine and dandy if we can aquire said stars through trade and FA.

This really does make AAA much more followable, possibly bumped to the top of my minor league priority list. I like the recent moves, because before DJ and Marwin were sent there, depending on how you view Castillo, Colvin, Jackson, Cabrera, Gaub, Smith, and Mota, there really wasnt anyone on that team who Id view as a prospect, more so a spare parts shop. Now we have most of the guys who made the Smokies so exciting earlier in the year, and the only thing really exciting over there now is the pitching, and I guess Ha and to some extent Perez and Ridling. Daytona gets a lot more interesting with Szczur and Watkins recent resurgence, but not to much for me in Peoria aside from a few pitchers(Kirk, Peralta, Del Valle) unless some of the Hawks get the bump.

The thing about Brett is that its more of a done all he can do and learned all he was going to learn in Tennessee, and its time to move him up. As I recall, Josh Vitters initial promotion to Tennessee was under similar circumstances, where he wasnt doing so hot, but they pushed him through anyway.

After a hot start to July, Brett Jackson was back up to .270, but now after 3 straight awful ones, he's back down to .256. Still taking his walks though.

Logan Watkins is on some kind of tear. Wasn't he right up there with Hak Ju Lee at one point? Also very solid outings from Beeler and Rhee.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is that getting out from under the $5M deferred on Pena's deal could pay for all of the Cubs' best overslots from the June draft. So imagine the Cubs trade Pena for filler, and then the next day announce the signings of Vogelbach, Gretzky, Dunston, and Maples. Would that be reason enough to trade Pena just to get more filler? EDIT: I guess Tim just mentioned it ;) This. While its usually better to get prospects over money, Id much rather get the money to throw at some overslots than get some fringe prospects.

We sat back and watched Ryan Theriot become a Cardinal, and there wasn't a damn thing we could do about it. Seriously though, it happens. Once a player hits free agency, the former team no longer has any say in which team they sign with. Look at Carl Crawford. I could actually see Pujols staying away from the Cubs out of love for St. Louis and the greatest fans on earth, but Fielder doesn't strike me as a guy who would let loyalties stand in the way of the highest bidder, and Scott Boras certainly wouldn't.

The hell I don't! LISTEN KID! I've been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I'm out there busting my buns every night. Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes.

Since they will be without A Rod for 4-6 weeks, I wonder if we could get them to overpay for Baker or DeWitt and if they like, flip them Grabow in the deal. The good thing about DeWitt or Baker for them is that even when A Rod returns, they're still perfectly good utility guys.

5 of which looked very tempting, at least according to that game day image.