Little Slide Rooter

Looks like the guy, or his agent is dillusional. He'll get 12 mil/year tops. You know theres something wrong with the country when were in a financial crisis nationwide, meanwhile we have ballplayer haggling over an extra 4 mil like it's nothing.

Maybe those who feel that neither Mike Fontenot nor Aaron Miles have what it takes to be full time starters should take a look back at DeRosas stats before he was given the opportunity to be a full time player by the Rangers in '06. Im not saying that Miles or Fontenot will duplicate what DeRosa gave us last year, but they deserve a chance. We have a good enough offense to make up for if not, and if wors comes to worse, we have a Johnson/Fukudome and Miles/Fontenot at the 7 and 8 spots which is sill better than anything else in the division.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/01/dodgers-working.html Before people start puking and over dramatizing, Im not suggesting that The Cubs sign him, just that he could be an interesting option for some team looking for a power bat, especially of they could get him for a deal similar to what we gave Edmonds last year, especially since the Dodgers will be stuck paying him into sometime around the turn of the century thnks to their brilliant GM. Man, the Dodgers are becoming the Yankees, but stupid.

He greatly enjoyed hitting in Arlington. Home: .358/.466/.679/1.145 Away: .290/.410/.462/.872 While his home stats were pretty amazing, his away stats were damn good too.

If it was all about money, we should have pursued a cheaper left handed option - such as Jeremy Hermida or Luke Scott. Then we don't downgrade at 2B. Or, we could have gone the free agent route, traded DeRosa and signed Adam Dunn. Then we don't have to worry about 70-some odd games from Hoff/Reed/Gathright when Bradley's hurt and we get very similar (if not slightly better) production. Trading DeRosa and then signing Bradley might be the worst thing Hendry could have done. The Marlins already made it clear that an offer for Hermida would have to blow them away, and MacPhail reportedy loves Scott, and we've already learned how fun it is to deal with him, especially over a player he loves. While I do like Bradley, I wouldnt have minded going after DeJesus from KC, they were trying to pawn off Teahen on us, and he wouldnt be an upgrade over anyone.

Looks like B Rob could en up in Chicago after all

Players don't come cheaper at the deadline, they get more expensive because of higher demand. Need will be greater and more teams will be willing to take a chance on players - thus we'll have to pay more. While you may or may not end up paying more, by the time that time rolls around, there may be players available that were not in the offseason, and especially if your going for a rent a player whose about to be a free agent, a team thats all but out of the post season picture may want to unload him for some prospects. But why pass up good options like Adam Dunn and Jeremy Hermida for a hypothetical player that might become available around the trade deadline and might be cheaper than the current options? If there's a chance to improve the team now (which there is) you don't make it worse with the thought that you can improve it later. You make it better now and then further improve if the opportunity is there and you can take advantage of it. :confused: I see what he's saying now. Sorry West Side Rooter, I misread it the first time. I still say trading away DeRosa for iffy prospects and Marquis for crap in order to acquire a player who will only play 85-90 games for you is not an improvement. Thus, there's no reason to make the move unless you feel very confident you can make another move very, very soon (before the season). I think it was all about money. Lou was putting pressure on JH to land him a lefty one way or another. The only way to afford a quality player was to move some salary, and aside from Marquis, DeRosa was the easiest to move, with the most amount of potential trade partners. It is my honest opinion that the rushing into the Dempster contract screwed a lot of things up. Even if someone else would have gobbled him up, Lowe would still be on the market, as well as several plan Bs, such as Oliver Perez, Jon Garland, and Ben Sheets if we were feeling lucky, which may not have mattered, as we may have already had Peavy by now.

Players don't come cheaper at the deadline, they get more expensive because of higher demand. Need will be greater and more teams will be willing to take a chance on players - thus we'll have to pay more. While you may or may not end up paying more, by the time that time rolls around, there may be players available that were not in the offseason, and especially if your going for a rent a player whose about to be a free agent, a team thats all but out of the post season picture may want to unload him for some prospects.

Maybe Hendry just feels that with the addition of Bradley, The Cubs are hands down the best team in the division, especially with the lack of movement from the Cards and Brewers, and when the time comes, and the trade deadline approaches, he'll get what he needs for cheaper.

Granted, hes a significant downgrade offensively and defensively from Hank, hes also $2+ million, and backup catcher is a position where we can afford a downgrade, especially when were saving that much money.

The guy is a raging douche. The fact that he talks Cubs really doesn't help because he doesn't know Howry.(are we still using that?) The 1st time I met him about a month ago, I thought he isnt so bad. Then I actually had a converstaion with him, oh my he has issues. How dare they talk Bears and Bulls during football and basketball seaon.

That definitely has to be something good. I doubt that players visit a potential new teams field unless its something serious. Otherwise, isnt it just phone calls between the GM and agent?

I suppose they have a point there. They may as well add Ron Artest into the mix. 2 guys like that might be a bit much to handle, especially for a young team. I know we have Zambrano, but hes more of a free spirit than a basket case.

If the chose is between playing for a contender like the Cubs, or a 2nd tier team like the Nats, imagine what team Bradley will sign with? The only way the Nats will sign Bradley is if they severely overpay for him. And really, the Nats need another OF like the Cubs need another backup 2nd baseman. I'm not concern about the Nats for Bradley. It means that much like Roberts and Peavy before him, the deal is not as "done" as we've been lead to believe. Seriously, just because Washington isnt a good team, doesnt mean that they wont throw more money at the guy than hes worth, and he wont accept. Remember, as stated, they were about to dump a truck load of money on Tex, and now that hes out of the pictre, they still have said truck load of money, and nowhere to dump it. If they were willing to offer Tex that kind of money, surely they can afford Bradley plus another decent free agent. Granted, it would be like the Giants chosing Rowand as their cornerstone-a player who would be a great addition to a contender, but not the type of guy that they can take an all around bad team and make a contender. The whole point of them going after Tex was so they'd have a franchise player/superstar that would draw attendance and a guy they thought they could build a team around. Milton Bradley is none of these things. With a team like the Nats, theyd be better off with Bradley and 1 or 2 other players of his level than on player like Texeira. Maybe they're thinking in those terms, and maybe Bradley would just assume be one of the main attractions on a team like the Nats than another piece in the puzzle for the Cubs. Plus the fact that Washington would be a much lower pressure atmosphere, and a lot of people are questioning whether MB would be able to take the Chicago fans if things go wrong.

If the chose is between playing for a contender like the Cubs, or a 2nd tier team like the Nats, imagine what team Bradley will sign with? The only way the Nats will sign Bradley is if they severely overpay for him. And really, the Nats need another OF like the Cubs need another backup 2nd baseman. I'm not concern about the Nats for Bradley. It means that much like Roberts and Peavy before him, the deal is not as "done" as we've been lead to believe. Seriously, just because Washington isnt a good team, doesnt mean that they wont throw more money at the guy than hes worth, and he wont accept. Remember, as stated, they were about to dump a truck load of money on Tex, and now that hes out of the pictre, they still have said truck load of money, and nowhere to dump it. If they were willing to offer Tex that kind of money, surely they can afford Bradley plus another decent free agent. Granted, it would be like the Giants chosing Rowand as their cornerstone-a player who would be a great addition to a contender, but not the type of guy that they can take an all around bad team and make a contender.

the avg. isnt really that inexplicalbe. His avg. has always been in the .290s, but its the career OPS in the .600's thats the issue. The funny thing about Miles is that his career number dont seem all that different than DeRosas until his breakout in 2006 when Texas finally gave him a chance to be a full time player.

:roll: :banghead: Im not sure where there getting the Miles for leadoff theory. His career .289 avg. looks good for a leadoff hitter, but the career .329 OPB leaves much to be desired, especially for a spot whose job it is just to get on base.

Im not sure if this means anythin at all, I just founf it interesting. On mlb.com, I was looking over the Cubs depth chart, and at 2B, it weant Aaron Miles Ronny Cedeno Mike Fontenot With all of the other positions, they seemed to go by who woul get the most playing time first, so I was wondring what this means for Font, if anything.

Murph was on vacation, and ZZ was hosting, but Murph was in the office and went on for a bit to talk about the Cubs moves.

Soriano has pretty much proven that he can't hit in the middle of the order because he isn't disciplined enough. Soriano's value decreases once he is put in the middle of the order because people in the middle of the order are pitched differently. So his discipline isn't a problem at leadoff? I dont think that problm is him as a leadoff hitter, its the fact that his bat would be more valuable in another spot, more of an RBI position.

Forgot a few tidbits -He also said that Pie is a goner, and good riddence. -Gathright is a signifacant upgrade over Pie as a 25th man(apparently he doesnt know the meaning of floor vs. ceiling) -He really seems to dislike Pie -If we do fail to get Bradley, which he highly doubts, we'll go after "Aaron" Dunn, and if that falls through, wed re explore Teahen or Dejesus with the Royals.

Nothing we havnet heard before, just rehash -The DeRosa deal wasa good one, and he considers Miles as an upgrade defensively, and considers him a legit leadoff hitter, and Soriano should be moved to 6th -Milton bradley will be signed "as sure as we are sitting here". He likes the idea of Bradley a lot. He says Bradly will probably have at least one mental episode each season, but his bat makes him worth it. -Peavy talks have not yet re opened, but he thinks they will, and Hendry has the upper hand, in fact, he says that with the amound wed be taking off the Pads books, we should give up nothing AND get their top pitching prospect asa throw in. Obviously not going to happen, and he was just talking. -While he loved DeRosa as a super sub, he says that a team with him as a starter is not a world series team. He thinks we sol high, which was the right thing to do. His ideal lineup: Miles 2B/SS Theriot SS/Fontenot 2B Lee 1B Ramirez 3B Bradley RF Soriano LF Soto C Johnson/Fuku CF

This means 1 of 2 things: A. The Peavy deal is back on B. They were told theyd need to free up more money that Marquis to get Bradley. Either way, this offseason has been upgraded from fruitless to interesting.

Why does everyone seem to wand MB as a number 3 hitter? While he would be a great addition to the team, he has a career .280/.370/.457 line, averaging about 13 HRs/season. Thats a nice OPB, but the power numbers are more along the lines of a number 5 hitter. A number 3 hitters slg should be closer to the .500 range, which coincidently, Aramis is, along with averaging HRs in the high 20's. Also, I really dont like Lee in the 2 spot. It's the leadoff hitters job to get on base one way or another, so why would we want the double play king lurking behind him? Also, a big part of the number 2 guys job is bunting the leadoff guy over if he gets on, and Lee isnt going to do a lot of that, nor should he. When hes not busy hitting into the twin killing, he still has some nice power.