Little Slide Rooter

Id prefer this team+Aramis and DeRosa, but once Ramirez returns, and if the rest of these guys can start heating up, there is a very good chance that we make it to the end game. Teahen would simply be a nice puzzle piece, and possible start at 2nd once Ramirez is back.

Pavano hasn't been terrible recently. 5 IP, 6 ER 4.1 IP, 9 ER That's not that great. Bad, but only 2 starts. 6-1, 3.00 ERA in previous 8 though. 54 IP, 47 H, 40 K, 10 BB Pretty solid. It really doesnt matter. Our offense cant seem to differentiate between John Danks, Anthony Swarzak, Joel Piniero, and Gavin Floyd and Jake Peavy and Chris Carpenter anyway.

I mention this in another thread, but 1 of Jeff Stevens Kevin Hart Mitch Atkins Randy Wells(preferably not Wells) plus 2 of Darwin Barney Josh Harrison Kyler Burke Sam Fuld Steve Clevenger Rebel Ridling Ryan Flaherty could get the deal done. I suppose if we want be more agressive we could offer up Tony Thomas or Tyler Colvin.

This. Teahan isn't going anywhere unless it's for seomthing of pretty good value. He's what they netted for Beltran, along with John Buck. If we sent them 1 of Kevin Hart, Jeff Stevens, Randy Wells, Mitch Atkins and maybe 2 of Steve Clevenger, Darwin Barney, Marquez Smith, Ryan Flaherty, Sam Fuld, Josh Harrison, Rebel Ridling, Kyler Burke, that could be good enough.

this

So is this going to get in on time? I dont know about Wrigleyville, but Its pretty nasty looking in Skokie.

Mark Teahen would be the closest thing to a replacement for DeRosa. If we could throw enough prospects at the Royals, we should be able to get him. I know hes been linked in rumors to the Cubs for the past few years now, but I dont know how serious any of it was.

It will be Blanco. The way the sale and financial concers are going, I really cant see them eating 1 2/3 worth of his contract. The only hope is if we can find someone dumb enough to at least take on part of his salary.

Did you hear that or are you just making a random guess? Heard that. Lou probably just said it to satisfy the ctitics becuase he doubts the game will get in, and tomorrow, it will be back to Miles and Blanco.

I don't see any way they let Fox play regularly against right-handers at third base. But the Cubs are in much worse shape at those two positions against left-handers (2B and 3B) so maybe Fox can win the job against them. It will be interesting to see who they put at second. It shouldn't be Fontenot. Miles is the logical choice with Blanco batting left-handed all the time, but Lou just replaced Miles in the lineup yesterday (and had Fontenot batting ahead of Miles against the last left-hander), so it will be interesting to see if he goes back to him today. Give me Jake Fox over Miles anyday. Just play Fox and Fontenot vs right handers. Against lefties play Fox and Im pretty sure Blanco has been batting RH recently, am I wrong? Honestly when they play Fox at 3rd I wish they would play Blanco at SS since hes a better fielder than Theriot, and can get to more balls. I know its not happening, but it would be the logical thing to do. Plain and simple, this team needs offense, and anyone who thinks Blanco or Miles will give more offense than Fox is crazy. Right now say to hell with the D, and start scoring runs. EDIT: Nevermind about Blanco batting RH he hasnt. I dont know why I thought he had. Hes traditionally a switch hitter, but I remember in one of the games this year they mentioned that he wasnt hitting RH because of some kind of injury or surgery to his wrist.

It was a big, well earned win. But make no mistakes, if they lose today, or tomorrow if this game doesnt get in, its back to Cob City for sure.

off topic, and not really a big deal, but what's with the cheap shot at Harden? he's only gone less than six innings twice in nine starts. that's hardly a "5-inning pitcher". i guess technically he's averaging less than six innings because of his two bad starts. I don't think it's a cheap shot, but it is a mischaracterization. The perception is that Harden can really only give you 5 and then you need the bullpen. In reality he averages pretty close to 6. So it's more like 5+ innings. But really, he's very likely to give you 6+ when he goes, the problem is he has been pulled after 3 a couple times this year, bringing down that average. And last year he did have 4 starters where he went exactly 5 and 2 more when he was pulled after getting an out or two in the 5th. I think it's a fair description, even if it's slightly inaccurate. You could call him a 5 2/3 inning pitcher, but that doesn't really flow well. Rich does have a lot of short outings, but thats not because of injury, its because he strikes out a lot of guys and walks a lot of guys, and when you do that, you're going to drive up you're PC fairly early in the game.

Doesn't it get old comparing a deal for Teahen to a deal for Teixiera, ARod, Ruth, Bay, and Beckett? I see outlandish trade proposals that aren't going to happen all the time on this site: trade DLee (NTC), get Adrian Gonzalez, etc. None of us (including the "experts") know what value a GM places on his team's talents or needs especially in this economy. The Harden and Garciaparra deals were both deals that nobody saw happening. The bottom line is that Teahen is a decent role player (not star) with an immediate replacement at 3B (Gordon) and the Royals have a big hole at SS which eliminates them from competing until it's filled. I think the main point is, we could probably get Teahen without getting fancy. Sure, Beimals a good lefty, but with the Cubs finances they way they are, theres no reason to go after too much. We could probably afford the remaining 2 mil or whatever on Teahens contract, and even if we couldnt, the Royals might be inclined to pay it if we were willing to overpay a bit in terms of prospects. Im not talking Vitters or Jackson, but a bit more than the normal market for a guy like Teahen, which would be like Kevin Hart+ 1 or 2 PTBNL or lower level prospects. Why would the Royals want to give up a guy who hits, isn't super expensive, can play 6 positions, and they have under control for a bit longer? Especially for some prospects that aren't very good? Because hes on a 1 year deal and a FA next year, and not a type A. Hes very versatile and has a decent bat, so he could cost more than the Royals want to spend next year, especially for a "super sub" so why not get a few prospects in return for him now.

The time of need is now, and the need is a 2B or 3B who knows how to use a baseball bat.

We have Aaron Miles now, so who needs DeRosa. Just because DeRosas good at baseball and Miles isnt, is that really worth a few extra mil?

According to the Score, the main hold up is that Ricketts doesnt want to pay the extra 50 mil for the WGN/CSN broadcast deal which is of no benefit to him. Also, Zell wants to hold on to 5% of the team for tax purposes. This is what I heard on Mully and Hanley this morning.

Waddels gone, Im starting to trust Heilman again, and we know what Marmols capable of. As for Patton, that little experiment needs to come to an end. Im sure hed have no problem making it through waivers and if they really want him that bad, a deal could probably be worked out. If not, oh well.

/posted on Indians board before this weekend's series Our pen really hasnt been that bad lately. Sure, Marmol blew yesterday, but even in those extra inning games, one of the pens was bound to give up a run eventually, and since our offense had no intention of scoring, our pen got tagged with the L. The pen definitely has been a whole lot better. Adding Ascanio and Marshall has helped. Gregg has been great for most of the past 2 months and Heilman has settled down. Their June numbers: Ascanio: 6 2/3 IP, 1.35 ERA, 1.20 WHIP Gregg: 8 IP, 2.25 ERA, 0.75 WHIP (and no walks) Guzman: 7 2/3 IP, 2.35 ERA, 1.7 WHIP Heilman: 6 1/3 IP, 2.84 ERA, 1.26 WHIP Marshall: 6 IP, 3.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP Patton: 2 IP, 4.50 ERA, 1.5 WHIP Marmol: 8 IP, 5.63 ERA, 1.63 WHIP If you went back into late May, you would find more evidence of the same transformation. The Cubs bullpen really isn't a bad bullpen anymore with all of the roster shuffling. They aren't as good as they have pitched recently, but they have 4-5 good guys to turn to at any given time. The Cubs even have enough depth at this point to go without Marmol for a little while and still be decent, although obviously Marmol when he's on makes this bullpen quite a bit better. Marmol has been painful. When hes on, hes on, but lately, thats been few and far between. How long before Guz gets that set up spot for a while? Carlos may just need some low pressure situations to find his groove. Or maybe he just needs to pitch in the ASG again. Worked last year.

Colvin is really thriving in Tennesee. I wonder if he cracks Iowa by the end of the season. Also, Darwin Barney is quietly having a nice season in Tenn. Hes hitting .330, and his .797 OPS is pretty good for a guy without a lot of power. Ive never seen him play, so I dont know if he projects to be a Ryan Theriot type or what, but hes another one that I could see in Iowa before the end of the year. Maybe the I Cubs can clear out some of those 30 year olds and give some actual prospects a chance.

/posted on Indians board before this weekend's series Our pen really hasnt been that bad lately. Sure, Marmol blew yesterday, but even in those extra inning games, one of the pens was bound to give up a run eventually, and since our offense had no intention of scoring, our pen got tagged with the L.

Doesn't it get old comparing a deal for Teahen to a deal for Teixiera, ARod, Ruth, Bay, and Beckett? I see outlandish trade proposals that aren't going to happen all the time on this site: trade DLee (NTC), get Adrian Gonzalez, etc. None of us (including the "experts") know what value a GM places on his team's talents or needs especially in this economy. The Harden and Garciaparra deals were both deals that nobody saw happening. The bottom line is that Teahen is a decent role player (not star) with an immediate replacement at 3B (Gordon) and the Royals have a big hole at SS which eliminates them from competing until it's filled. I think the main point is, we could probably get Teahen without getting fancy. Sure, Beimals a good lefty, but with the Cubs finances they way they are, theres no reason to go after too much. We could probably afford the remaining 2 mil or whatever on Teahens contract, and even if we couldnt, the Royals might be inclined to pay it if we were willing to overpay a bit in terms of prospects. Im not talking Vitters or Jackson, but a bit more than the normal market for a guy like Teahen, which would be like Kevin Hart+ 1 or 2 PTBNL or lower level prospects.

Probably the pitch that could've been called strike three on the 1-2. Apparently, after all these years Hawk still hasnt grasped the fact that borderline pitches happen many times a game, and sometimes they go you're way and sometimes they dont.

I hope this is just speculation. The win was nice today, but damn, we still need help out there. If I see Miles or Blanco in another starting lineup, Im going to lose it.

If they dont take Miles off our hands, I aint interested.

It was just the hunger talking. Apparently, a leadoff walk ate his lunch. And I recomend that you all go see The Hangover if you havnt already. I just thought Id throw that out there.