Little Slide Rooter

It also needs to be noted that no deal has been made, nor is one close as far as we know. Hell, Ihe can offer Mark Pawalek, Sam Fuld, and Luis Vizcaino for Peavy, but that doesnt mean that it wont end with milk spraying out of Kevin Towers' nose.

What, were and not available?

??? I think you're misreading the second quote or something. Where did I ever say anything about the reasoning for his struggles? I never did. Read it again. The other dude was citing IP totals for some reason, as though he was possibly implying that Wuertz is injury prone or something. I don't know. All I said was that a big reason his IP totals were low was that Lou never used him. I never said anything about that affecting his performance. And you are? I don't get why are being critical of Lou here, other than for the sake of being critical Don't you remember that stretch of the season where Wuertz was on the roster but never ever pitched, even in garbage time? I remember it being discussed plenty of here and the game threads being full of "is Wuertz dead?" posts every day for like 3 straight weeks. I'm not really even criticizing Lou for it, I was just pointing out that he was on the roster but wasn't be used. It was just a simple observation. Sure, I recall the discussions about Wuertz, but I also recall that many of his walks occurred while he was making more frequent appearences. Shortly after that he couldn't find the plate at all (which led to him being sent down), and much of the frustration centered around overusing Howry (who was already pretty bad) when Wuertz was still around. Based on your use of the word "hate", it seemed pretty clear that you were being critical of Lou's decision not to use him, even after his control went away. Guess not. I remember the Is Wuertz dead talk. It was basically when Howry, Hart and co. were serving up batting practice to anyone interested

He could have. You have to admit its at least suspicious that he is acquiring the exact players that SD wanted in a Peavy trade. My guess is Hendry sees value in them so he doesn't mind keeping them, but his intention was to acquire them with the hopes of restarting the Peavy discussions, realizing that Towers is likely in a hard place and will eventually revisit things. My guess is that there have been no talks since the last round ended after the meetings, but hendry is well aware of the Padres situation, needing to shed payroll and how bad Peavy wants to be a Cub, so hes trading players who dont have a future with us and stocking up on young pitchers who could potentially interest Towers for when/if talks resume. Yea, that sounds about right. Towers is probably right about them not talking since the Winter Meetings. But Hendry knows what's going on and is setting himself to jump in if/when Towers calls him back and asks to reopen talks. However, we also need to think Hendry wanted these guys in case no trade for Peavy takes place. If nothing else, I think it was an exchange of 2 players whose former organizations had completely given up on them, and figured that maybe a change of scenery would do them good. Kind of like the DuBois/Gerut trade from a few years ago.

He could have. You have to admit its at least suspicious that he is acquiring the exact players that SD wanted in a Peavy trade. My guess is Hendry sees value in them so he doesn't mind keeping them, but his intention was to acquire them with the hopes of restarting the Peavy discussions, realizing that Towers is likely in a hard place and will eventually revisit things. My guess is that there have been no talks since the last round ended after the meetings, but hendry is well aware of the Padres situation, needing to shed payroll and how bad Peavy wants to be a Cub, so hes trading players who dont have a future with us and stocking up on young pitchers who could potentially interest Towers for when/if talks resume.

None of the guys we've gotten really seem like the kind of guys Towers would want for Peavy. The only move that is even marginal on its own is DeRosa. The others make perfect sense on their own. huh? the pads want pitching, which is exactly what the cubs have acquired. Presumably they want good pitching. All we acquired was minor-league dross no better than what we already had. They want young, cheap pitching. a 25 year old with the stuff is something that a good pitching coach can work with. Best case scenerio, they make a quality pitcher out of a prospect. Worse case scenerio, they still have Peavus money off the books so they can finally attempt to build a team.

Interesting. Giles has made it clear that he wont waive his NTC, do if Peavy really wants to be a CUb, he could really have Towers where he wants him.

Even without assuming a Peavy trade, this makes the Cubs better. They got probably as much value out of Pie as they possibly could have. Now, you're probably right. But if Lou had given Pie a real shot last year, maybe we're pretty happy with our OF and don't need to sign Bradley. Maybe his 10mil goes better elsewhere. Lou bungled the situation and refused to ever give Pie a shot. Hendry did the best he could with that... I'll grant him this is about as good a trade as we were gonna get at this point. Your saying "I wouldn't have minded this trade so much" led me to believe you hated the trade. When in reality, you hated that the trade had to be made in the first place. Which are 2 different things. Also, I wouldn't blame Piniella. Hendry is the one who kept getting him crutches in case Pie didn't kill the ball. Lou went to those crutches after 2 games, but Hendry put them there in the first place. Here we go again, don't blame Lou....blame Hendry. I've posted often that one weakness of Hendry is that he lets the manager dictate to him instead of vice versa and he doesn't interfere with the manager's on-field decisions. Hendry has a long track record of pushing for youth and allowing them to play, while Lou is great with young players who produce immediately. If they don't produce immediately they are sent down or replaced with veterans that Lou has asked for. Pie's lack of playing time can be blamed on many things (lack of success, contending team, Lou's reluctance to use him, etc.), but not on Hendry or the fact that Hendry tried to obtain depth in CF (Johnson, Edmonds, etc.). While I do agree that Pie was never given the right opportunity, and was sent down quickly, we also have to understand that this team, Lou and Hendry are under a lot of of pressure to win now, especially when we dont know what the new ownership is going to bring, and Felix was just not producing, so the options were to A. keep him in there, as part of a platoon, and if he doesnt produce, he doesnt produce B. leave him on the bench and let him rot, keeping him as a pinch runner, and mayeb an at bat once a week C. send him down to Iowa. At least with Baltimore, they're in a constant building process, and will be more patient with him, as the majority of that team will be growing together. Actually, C was not an option since he was out of options. He would have been picked up off waivers pretty quickly. I was more refering to his treatment last season.

Just out of curiosity, how high did Olson rank amongst Baltimores prospects? I know he was a late 1st round pick, but was he ever considered a top prospect? His numbers seem pretty average at every level hes played for, and aside from the fact that hes a lefty, Im not quite sure why the Pads were so high on him.

Even without assuming a Peavy trade, this makes the Cubs better. They got probably as much value out of Pie as they possibly could have. Now, you're probably right. But if Lou had given Pie a real shot last year, maybe we're pretty happy with our OF and don't need to sign Bradley. Maybe his 10mil goes better elsewhere. Lou bungled the situation and refused to ever give Pie a shot. Hendry did the best he could with that... I'll grant him this is about as good a trade as we were gonna get at this point. Your saying "I wouldn't have minded this trade so much" led me to believe you hated the trade. When in reality, you hated that the trade had to be made in the first place. Which are 2 different things. Also, I wouldn't blame Piniella. Hendry is the one who kept getting him crutches in case Pie didn't kill the ball. Lou went to those crutches after 2 games, but Hendry put them there in the first place. Here we go again, don't blame Lou....blame Hendry. I've posted often that one weakness of Hendry is that he lets the manager dictate to him instead of vice versa and he doesn't interfere with the manager's on-field decisions. Hendry has a long track record of pushing for youth and allowing them to play, while Lou is great with young players who produce immediately. If they don't produce immediately they are sent down or replaced with veterans that Lou has asked for. Pie's lack of playing time can be blamed on many things (lack of success, contending team, Lou's reluctance to use him, etc.), but not on Hendry or the fact that Hendry tried to obtain depth in CF (Johnson, Edmonds, etc.). While I do agree that Pie was never given the right opportunity, and was sent down quickly, we also have to understand that this team, Lou and Hendry are under a lot of of pressure to win now, especially when we dont know what the new ownership is going to bring, and Felix was just not producing, so the options were to A. keep him in there, as part of a platoon, and if he doesnt produce, he doesnt produce B. leave him on the bench and let him rot, keeping him as a pinch runner, and mayeb an at bat once a week C. send him down to Iowa. At least with Baltimore, they're in a constant building process, and will be more patient with him, as the majority of that team will be growing together.

With Pie, Jones, and Markakis, that could be a very nice young outfield they have over there in Baltimore. Too bad the rest of that teams miserable besides Roberts and maybe Huff. Maybe they'll be smart enough to build around these guys.

If we dont end up flipping a few of these guys to San Diego for Peavy, we'll have gotten a steaming bowl of nothing for the both of them. I just hope that Pie doesnt end up being more productive than the 3 headed monster of Fukudome/Johnson/Gathright.

If only Bruce were here with an update...

OK, now Im getting to believe it could happen. Preposal time: Olson Hill Vitters Hart 1 or 2 of the guys we got for DeRosa. Maybe another low level prospect.

Brewers 85-90 wins Reds 82-88 wins Cubs 81-87 wins Cards 76-81 wins Astros 72- 77 wins Pirates 65-70 wins The Brewers are not in the 85-90 win range. Yeah, for all of the "Cubs are worse than last year" discussion, what are the Brewers after losing Sabathia and Sheets? They haven't technically lost Sheets yet. Cubs are around the 85-90 win range. Yea and putting the Reds as being better than the Cubs is just silly. The Reds are the team Im most afraid of. the Cards and Brewers pitching staffs are both all arounf messes as far as Im concerned. However, if Dusty can get full production from Volquez, Harang, and Cueto, and Arroyo as a solid number 4, they could be in business, especially if Baily finally comes through. Keppinger, Phillips, Votto, and Bruce are a nice heart of the lineup.

If Harden does miss significant time, and there is no movement on the Peavy front, this might be the way to go.

My big hope is that somehow Hendry can get Peavy without giving up Vitters. Dont bet on it. Vitters would probably be the cornerstone of the deal.

We sure do seem to be stocking up on young pitching, which the Pads seem to be looking for. My guess is that the reason Towers and the Pads keep saying that no trade is in the works is because no trade is currently in the works, but with all of these new random pitchers, Hendry may be prepping.

It does seem coincedental that this news comes at the same time that we trade for Olson, who the Padres have had their eye on.

See you in July Richie.

I hear his grandfather went mad and went on killing spree when Rogers Horsby joind the Cubs. I wonder if Ozzie Smith is interested in a coaching position.

Its now clear to me that the Cubs mission should be to aquire Jason Isringhausen, Scott Rolen, David Eckstein, Matt Morris and Reggie Sanders just to see this guys head explode.

Equally hilarious each time its been posted, still, it doesnt warrant another thread.

Alright, an outfilder!

Unless the Peavy deal somehow magically happens, Im going to say we get next to nothing for them.