Little Slide Rooter

So what type of deadline do you think were looking for for some kind of closure on this thing? Is the Thursday deadline still in play before Towers ends the talks?

Getting Johnson after all of this would be like expecting a PS 3 for christmas and getting tube socks.

This has got to be th most insane trade related roller coaster ever. I cant remember this kind of on again off again howry, in real time no less. Even the Roberts fiasco wasnt this ridiculous. I demand closure one way or another.

No, its worse, because everyone wants Peavy to come to the Cubs.

Hey, guess who would never waive his no trade clause, especially if this deal gets done?

Sounds like nobodys more pumped tah Jake

I'm sorry to do this to you guys, :D) So this is the trade according to OH: Cubs get Peavy from SD Orioles get Pie, Marquis + 4 million cash from CHI Phillies get Derosa from CHI SD gets Hill, Vitters, Cedeno from CHI, Olson form Bal, Happ from PHI It's nice that we get Peavy but why are we making our offense weaker? I wouldn't worry about it. I strongly doubt that anyone will ask Hendry to give up six players to get one in return. My personal hope is that by including DeRosa in the deal we can keep Vitters. I think that we can get a similar level of production from the combination of Fontenot and a potential Rule 5 pick like Jesus Guzman. I really dont foresee a scenerio in which this trade goes down and Vitters isnt involved.

Too may conflicting sources are becoming a downer. Sure, we all want to believe the "deal is imminant" "it would be a shocker if the trade didnt go down" and the "deal is already in place" crowd, but it would be foolish to completely dismiss the "no deal is close" and the "no deal can get done without first figuring out the ownership situation" crowd as well. Chances are, the truth issomewhere in the middle, but it will be one hell of a buzzkill if Thursday rolls around, and Toewers has had enough and hangs on to Peavy.

I dont think i'll be alone in being ticked off if Hendry is the one thing that causes this thing to not go down.

Where do I sign? Seems like an awful lot to give up from our major league team. This team is built to win now, and losing DeRosa and Marshall really hurts our flexibility when Soriano, Harden, Zambrano and Peavy go down at some point. We still have Samardzija and Gaudin (hopefully). Marshall isn't that huge of a loss, though I'd love to keep him. And then who replaces one of them in the bullpen? And do you really see Samardzija as being Marshall's equal? Furthermore, what happens if we sign Bradley, and can't play DeRosa in right for the 60-70 games Bradley will miss? This trade looks good on paper, but we're really losing a lot of flexibility I'll admit that it will sting a bit to lose DeRosa. But, if Bradley is missing time, you put Fukudome or Hoffpauir out there and play Johnson in center. I would imagine the Cubs could find someone else on the cheap to fill in when necessary. As temporary call ups, the Cubs could bring up Jake Fox, Sam Fuld or maybe Josh Kroeger will still be around. Hopefully, Colvin can become an option sooner rather than later. Lou hates Fox for some reason, Kroeger will probably sign a minor league deal somewhere where he has a shot at making the big league club, and the Sam Fuld train has long since boarded, left the station, derailed, and burst into flames. The ultimate LOL moment will be when we sign Corey Patterson to a minor league deal.

So does this mean I should stop checking in between here and mlbtrade rumors every chance I get hoping to read about a done deal?

Exactly. The only reason I wouldn't be sad about giving up Dero would be that it's highly likely that last year was a career year. I like Dero a lot, but if it's going to land us Jake Peavy, I'll be okay with it. Even though I don't think Peavy will be as good outside of Petco, he's still one of the best pitchers in the game. Dont be so sure. Until going to Texas, DeRosa was a career utility player. Once he became an everyday starter, hes been getting progressively better. Im not saying hes going to become A Rod, but I woultnt be surprised if he continues to put up numbers similar to last year, especially in his contract year.

Man, you people need to read the thread This was proclaimed false a while ago by Bruce. among others. this has been explained like 432 times in this thread over the past 12 hours Yea. Nice attitude. I have extermely limited time online and I'm going to spend it reading over 64 pages so I don't have to risk offending posters who apparently are privy to every fact on this subject. You guys take yourselves waaaaay too seriously. This is a game. Lighten up. Welcome to NSBB. Everyone is privy to every fact on every subject. Thats why so many teams are pounding on our doors offering us GM jobs. :grin:

I honestly dont believe that JH will be given the go ahead to spend any more money if this deal goes down. Maybe for something cheap, like Edmonds. As for Hermida, I highly, highly doubt that we'll have the young talent to trade for anything of use after this deal goes down. If Pie, Marshall, Cedeno, Atkins, Castillo, and Vitters are all invloved as rumored, we're pretty much out of tradeable assets. Granted, we still have some prospects that would be interesting throw ins, but there will be nothing left as a main pieve to build around.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081208&content_id=3706693&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp Now that mlb.com is posting articles like this, you know its getting close. Sites like rotoworld and mlbtraderumors will post anything they hear from anyone, but mlb wont unless theres at least some reliable source. Anyway, by all accounts, it seems like the Pads know what they want and its all available, so the only obstacles now are Hendry and our TBD owner. Make it happen Jim. Make it happen.

Tonite>Tommorow

realistically, if we do end up getting this done, and we do end up picking up as much of Peavys contract as Towers wants, I doubt JH will be able to spend any more big money, and if anything, maybe Edmonds will get a 1 year deal and slap together CF and RF between Johnson/Fuku/Edmonds/Hoffpauir.

Doesnt he have to become a free agent first? Sorry, mispoke with excitement... we'd have enough to take on Roberts' contract if we were to choose to trade for him. would not have enough to give up for him though. If we give up what we are rumored to in this deal, we wont be doing anymore trading any time soon. Bradly or Abreu, thats another story.

Doesnt he have to become a free agent first?

Do we have two Marshalls? :P You forgot about the little known Steve Marshall, a PTBL in the Neifi Perez trade. No, I just made him up.

So who do we all think is leaving town if this deal gets done? The names that have been kicked around: Marshall-likely Vitters-likely Guzman-possible DeRosa-possible Marshall-likely Hart-possible Pie-likely Atkins-rumored at one point or another Marquis-possible Cedeno-possible-likely Probably a handful of lower level guys who arent even on the radar.

http://hotstove.mlblogs.com/ please be true please be true Hendry......the ball is in your court. Make it happen. If some TBD owner is the one thing that stands in the way here, I want him or her dead.

Damn, looks like this howry just got real.

Angel Guzman could easily be the player whose injury history Jim Hendry was upfront about. I dont know about moving DeRosa. The main focus of the off season was supposed to be offense. Pitching wasnt even really on the radar until Paevy entered the picture. If we do end up moving DeRosa in such a deal, I hope theres a real possibility that we can get someone like Bradley or Abreu as well. I don't have a problem with moving DeRosa. His value is at an all-time high, and we have a very similar player making the league minimum available... one who also fits management's obsession with left handed hitting. If DeRosa is the piece that puts the deal over the top, you pull the trigger without hesitation. Soriano Fontenot Lee Ramirez Bradley Soto Fukudome Theriot Peavy / Zambrano / Harden / Dempster / Lilly I'm ok with that. Soriano Theriot Ramirez Soto Bradley Lee Fontenot Fukudome P Sounds better to me. Im thinking weve seen the last of Lee at the 3 spot. And by thinking, I mean hoping. Also, this also hinges on actually getting Bradley. Remember, Lou has made it clear to the world that a bat is his top priority, and while its not in his hands, Im sure he has a lot of say in the matter. I dont think hed take too kindly to moing one of his better and more consitant offensive players, even if it is for one of the best ptichers in the game unless he gets another bat as well.