Little Slide Rooter

Aramis is a premium talent.

I suppose we can just hope that they never had any interest in Ankiel or Podsednik at all, and all the talk was just to scare people into accepting Bradley staying.

I know, I just find it odd. They have Quentin, Rios, and now Andruw Jones, so they were then looking for a DH such as Matsui, Vlad, or Thome. I guess they could put Pierre in left with Rios in center and between Jones and Quentin, they have their RF and DH.

Dont worry, to the other side of town. Not a bad deal for the White Sox, is what I would say if they had any use for Juan Pierre when they already have Alex Rios..

Barry Lamar "And introducing our new bench coach, Hitler!"

Is Johnny Damon an option at all? Would he be willing to sign a contract similar to Camerons?

"And introducing your new GM, !"

Much like the 2008 Cubs, the Cards playoff epic fail was a team effort. Hollidays drop was just a memorable moment. Just like the Red Sox and Buckner. The Red Sox were moments away from securing a World Series victory. The Cardinals were close to tying the NLDS 1-1.

Much like the 2008 Cubs, the Cards playoff epic fail was a team effort. Hollidays drop was just a memorable moment.

The fact remains, Pujols and Holiday are literally the same age, seperated by 1 day. This means if this happens, in 5 years time, the Cards are paying about 40 mil to 2 35 year olds, and between that time, guys like Carpenter, Wainwright, and maybe Rasmus will be up for big money as well. Is this really a wise decision for them for the not too distant future?

My money is on something in between. Something along the lines of .270/.375/.450 with 15-20 HR, and I will gladly take it. While Im happy with the Lee/Ramirez 3-4, and Soriano at 6, what we need is a legit #5 guy, which Marlon Byrd, Rick Ankiel, and Scott Podsednik are not. Ryan Church may be the way to go unless another option shows up, or they do the sensible thing and keep Bradley. Hendry has to know that his job, and maybe career hinge on this season.

Still not as big as the Soriano contract but big. This could get sticky for them when its time to extend Pujols, unless of course they dont mind spending at leat 5 years with Pujols, Holliday, and whatever prospects or scraps they build around them.

Would something along the lines of Sean Marshall and Tyler Colvin be enough for David Dejesus? Maybe throw in a mid level prospect. Hes probably the best case scenerio at this point.

As far as Im concerned, Id rathe just sign Ryan Church and platoon him with Fuld or Colvin than sign any of the affordable options, aka the scraps.

Unless Jim pulls some miracle wad of money out of his ass to sign Bay or Holliday, they really need to suck it up and hang on to Bradley.

We really dont need Matt Capps. Hes a decent pitcher, but its not like Mariano Rivera of Jonathon Papelbon just became a free agent.

There are plenty of people here that would like to just keep him. Some would like to see his value brought back up if he really has none at this point and then maybe see if they can get a return of some sort for him at the deadline or next offseason. I haven't read a thing that says keeping Bradley is an option, however. We read reports that Cubs brass set up a make shift office in the lobby of the hotel at the winter meetings that seemed like a desperate attempt to catch every GM coming or going to see if they could sell them on Milton Bradley. Knowing that Bradley can read just as well as the rest of us, I'm sure he's already got his bags packed. Between getting suspended for the remainder of the 2009 season and then Hendry spending the entire winter meetings begging other GM's to take him, I'm sure the relationship is probably strained beyond repair. The situation is beyond maddening. First off, we dont have the money for an upgrade, so we'll be lucky to end up with a break even(Cameron), but more than likely looking at a downgrade like Byrd, Ankiel, or Podsednik. Also, weve just paid 3 mil to the hitting coach who helped Milton to the best season of his career, although Arlington obviously helped as well. If we were somehow saving up for Bay or Holliday, trading Bradley for peanuts might be acceptable, but in the cuent state of things, Milton is the best option by far. Im sure any players who have a problm with it will get over it if wining is important to them. What needs to happen is to have some kind of meting with Milton, Lou, and Jim, and any additional players who may wish to get invloved and work things out. As for the fans, if Milton puts togther a great season and hopefully helps us to the promosed land, Im sure it wont take any of them long to forgive Milton. This is business, not summer camp, and Im sure in every business, there are guys who dont like eachother, and in such a case, they learn to work with eachother, and if they want to stay away after work, thats there business. And if we kep him, and things still dont work out, if they want to trade him mid season or next offseason, I doubt the return will be any worse that it would be now.

Id take Ryan Church over Byrd, Ankiel or Podsednik any day of the week, and Id be very interested in Capps and Wang as well.

I wonder if the White Sox signing of JJ Putz and hunt for a DH/OF would make Bradley for Jenks worth exploring.

Nothing wrong with talking to their agents. Sure, assuming they were talking about somebody else and they just happaned to have the same agent as the unknown worthy players. I still say nothing wrong with talking to their agents and finding out what their asking price is at this time. Somebody like Ankiel might be a bargain as a 4th OF later on. Scott Boras and bargain are not terms that are often used together.

Sometimes, guys just need a chance. If he were on a team like the Royals or Pirates, maybe hed get that chance, but on a team trying to put together a chanpion with a rapidly closing window, not going to happen anytime soon. He seems like he could be a platoon/4th outfielder if nothing else.

The problem is that there might be 10-15 other teams interested in Cameron's services, especially once it's determined they can't have Bay or Holliday. The longer Hendry waits, the less likely Cameron will be there. It's not like Hendry can afford to overpay Cameron since the money he thought he would be saving for Bradley probably isn't going to be there. Im assuming Cameron is well aware of this, and isnt going to jump all over the first deal offered. Id be surprised if he signs before Bay and Holliday.

I know that Ankiel and Pods are nothing more than plan E and F, but if it came down with it, wed probably be no worse off re signing Reed Johnson and platooning him with Fuld or Colvin, or even Hoffpauir if they dont mind keeping Kosuke in RF. Id rather explore a trade for DeJesus than any of those options.

I really cant see this ending well.

"Milton Bradley was spotted singing 'New York, New York' in a bar." "According to Milton Bradleys agent, hes dissapointed because hed already gotten used to life as a member of the mystery team."