Clem Fandango

Brett does a write up on wondering why no one apparently wants Soriano (and other things)... http://www.bleachernation.com/2012/07/16/lukewarm-stove-seriously-why-doesnt-anyone-want-alfonso-soriano-also-garza-dempster-barney-greinke-more/

Ozzie seems to think he and Zambrano are going to get mercilessly boo'd upon their return to Wrigley... http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/id/8170465/miami-marlins-ozzie-guillen-ready-return-chicago-chicago-cubs I'm sure they'll hear their fair share of jeers, but he's making it out to be like an apocalyptic hate fest is going to happen.

YOU DO NOT DEPRIVE THE GOOD PEOPLE OF CLEVELAND AN IKEA!!!

From Rosenthal...

I didn't even think of this possibility for some reason, mostly because he's good and his performance doesn't make the salary a burden. If we pick up most of the tab, if not all of the tab, that should definitely get a nice return. I hadn't even thought of that. Now I'm more eager to see what we can get.

From Morosi... nothing we don't already know

OMFG :shock: The "True Distance" on that one was apparently only 467 ft. Could've sworn it would've been closer to 500, but I guess not... http://hittrackeronline.com/hrdetail2.php?id=2012_2631

The Blue Wahoo's stadium is a thing of beauty, btw. And their staff/on-field entertainment crew is top notch. Definitely one of the best minor league parks to visit. Right on the water, cool breeze blowing in almost every day. Super awesome.

Wait for the 2nd homer... http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=23019693&c_id=mlb

You mean James Shields?

FTFY

At this moment, I think that possibility is small. But, let's see what next week brings. Not sure if that's what you're also implying, but I think we were both talking about the possibility of re-signing him in the offseason after he's traded, not extending him.

I switched over to the Blue Jays game yesterday after the Cubs game ended and the broadcasters were talking about how good Ryan Dempster has been and how valuable he can be to a team down the stretch. He's so hot right now.

Olt has a K-rate of over 29%, and is only in AA. So he's worse than what Brett Jackson was prior to the more challenging breaking stuff of AAA. So he's basically a good-fielding 3B version of Jackson? Are you intentionally leaving out the part where Mike Olt has a slash line of .292/.403/.574/.977 with 22 homers, 63RBI, and 51BB in 76 games? And a 14.7% walk rate vs. Jackson's 10.1%? Or an ISO of .282 vs. Jackson .226? Or a wOBA of .428 vs. Jackson's .366?

with all due respect, we need a large infusion of pitching into our system. I understand that, and I agree with you, but I think we have some nice extra pieces to be able to swing for pitchers in other deals, honestly. We'd likely need to deal Garza to land Olt. I'd imagine we could adjust the deal to add one of their pitchers to the deal from their Top 15 as well to get some pitching back. Dempster will likely yield a nice return for pitching (i.e. Gould from the Dodgers, or more now that he's become arguably the premier pitching target on the market right now). If we eat a large portion of the Soriano contract we should be able to get a nice prospect in return. If we were to land Olt (which I admit probably isn't likely), Vitters could possibly be swapped for a pitcher of equal value now that he's become expendable in that situation and he's made improvements. Vogelbach is never going to make it to the majors as long as Rizzo plays well so he could become a good bargaining chip in the future provided he keeps mashing the ball. I don't know. I know we need to get better pitching, but as someone else suggested, we could add the second tier guys in the offseason via FA (i.e. Jackson, McCarthy, etc.) to offset the loss. I think adding a Mike Olt type of bat to the system can be equally as important as adding pitching depth. Also, does anyone get the feeling the Cubs might try and resign Dempster in the offseason to a short term deal with option years? Just a baseless hunch, but I get that feeling they might try and do that.

Well yeah, but I was speaking more along the lines of having two young corner infielders who are a) both great all around hitters and b) have a strong fielding reputation. Would have the potential to be the best corner infield in the majors years down the line. Also helps that they'd be under team control for a very long time before they even hit their prime years. You can dream a few years down the line of maybe maneuvering the infield to have Baez/Castro up the middle, too. Olt, Baez, Castro, Rizzo? Sexy.

I REALLY want Olt in the system. To have Rizzo and Olt manning the corner infield would be so insanely awesome for the future of the franchise.

The circus continues...

Mike Olt

Well it's settled then. Zack Greinke will never be a Chicago Cub because he hates the spotlight. Next.

Seriously are Greinke's anxiety issues still a concern? The last time there was ever an issue with his social anxiety was what... 2006? 2007? It's been nearly 5 years, I think he's learned to control it at this point.

Now this from Jon Heyman... $44 of $46 million? There better be a top prospect in that kind of deal, that's absurd to get next to nothing in return for giving Soriano away for $1 million per year for the rest of the contract.

FWIW, saw this on Rotoworld

I sat out the full 15-days. Probably could've come back early, but played it safe.