big_shooter17

If he goes in, it would be just another reason for Blyleven to be there. I'm torn on Mussina, but of course Bert should be there.

WTF are you talking about? Johnson is a tremendous outfielder. Are we forgetting that catch in Washington? It is called range. Johnson is good in the way that Jim Edmonds was good all of those years. I think that he is a good outfielder, but he definitely is helped with speedy outfielders. This was the case this year as well as in Toronto.

Could someone explain to me more fully why Soriano would not be suitable for RF. I know that you want a stronger arm in RF, but it seems to me that arm strength is one of Soriano's best attributes as an outfielder, to go along with above average speed. I do realize that he takes some bad routes to balls. I understand that with a guy like Reed Johnson out there, we need better defenders flanking him than Dunn. I also know that they say that with the wind at Wrigley, it is one of the hardest RF in baseball. I was just wondering if someone could clear this up for me because I am a little miffed. I also know that after seeing how Soriano hit during the CF experience, there may be some worries, but that was also during the cold months when he doesn't hit well no matter what.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/11/03/heyman.peavy/index.html Things just got a little less likely. Not sure what either of those teams would be willing to offer, but this certainly could affect what is needed to get the guy.

Getting Gregg along with Hermida would definitely make me feel good about things. These are two low priced guys who could help fill a couple of holes. JH needs to find a couple of solid players on the cheap so that we can retain our free agency eligible guys and/or pick up a couple of higher priced players.

This is likely to cause at least as much of an outcry as when the A-Rod news came out during last year's world series.

List of potential free agent LH RF: Griffey Hinske Bradley Abreu Ibanez Dunn Anderson I wonder with how much money Hendry will have to spend if Hinske will be on the radar. I'm not saying that he should, but looking at the potential free agent lh hitters who could play in rf, he is someone who could be a wild card guy.

With Boston losing tonight and the Mets and Yankees missing the playoffs, how will this affect the free agent market? Those AL East teams now will realize that they have to get more talent to compete with the Rays. Included in that, how will it affect resigning some our guys like Wood and Dempster. I know that they want to stay in Chicago, but due to the results of some of the highest spenders, how does everyone think that this will affect us?

It would mean potentially 1 more game for 8 teams while eliminating those 2 games from the regular season to fit the schedule (i know, just fewer off days) would mean 1 fewer games for 30 teams, some of which need that gate.

You do know that despite the homeruns, Mike Jacobs is a pretty crappy player as evidence of his career .262/.318/.498. So no thank you on Jacobs. You do know that Jacobs through 4 seasons (at a younger age also) has better numbers than Lee had at that point. Jacobs career OPS+ is the same as what Lee posted last year and he is a player on the rise while D-Lee is beginning to show that his career is certainly in decline. Also, Jacobs doesn't GIDP nearly as much. We also need to get more left handed, he's a possible answer.

Jason Bay OPS's 70 points less than JD Drew vs. LHP. I still think that most managers would have made that move. Let's just agree that Boston sucks a big one. I'm confident if Boston had up Ted Williams' severed head, he would have ripped a double off the green monster. That I can agree with.

Jason Bay OPS's 70 points less than JD Drew vs. LHP. I still think that most managers would have made that move. And from career stats, it looks to me like Bay has a 130 point OPS advantage over Drew against lefties.

Jason Bay OPS's 70 points less than JD Drew vs. LHP. I still think that most managers would have made that move.

I don't understand how this is unconventional, Chip. 4 for 7 is not nearly enough to base that decision when lh vs. lh is something that has been proven over time.

There was the trademark play of this game.

I wanted the Rays to win from the get go, but does it make me a bad person to almost want to see those band wagon rays fans feel something close to the pain that we all felt in 2003 by blowing this?

Casey looked pretty bad in that ab.

I would like to pull for the Dodgers, but my distaste for how Ramirez has been discussed by the media forces me to be very happy that the Phillies are pulling away a bit.

Singles hitters up front in the lineup wouldn't hurt as much when your 3 hitter wouldn't be a near guaranteed GIDP.

The Blue Jays shouldn't be so quick to think they've got hope. They've now got 3 legit contenders in front of them instead of two. I agree and once Burnett leaves this offseason and the injuries in their rotation, I think that the Orioles have a better chance of finishing ahead of Toronto than the Blue Jays have of finishing ahead of teams like Tampa and Boston. You would be surprised, though, how unknowledgeable most Blue Jays fans are and how arrogant they are with that team. I try not to talk baseball with my friends because it leads to dumb arguments. For example, I got into a heated one before the season when I said that I wouldn't be surprised if Tampa finished ahead of Toronto. This turned into an hour long near fight before I had to let it go. Now those exact same people are mocking me for my Cubs fandom. The other thing that annoys me is that I started following the Cubs when I was 10 and am 24 now. These guys started following the Blue Jays again 3 years ago because the management said that they were going for it again. Now, I can guarantee that one more season and they will be out of the baseball scene once again. They stop watching games as soon as the team is out of it, but yet declare how big of baseball fans they are. It all in all infuriates me.

I live close to Winnipeg, MB and most of the people that I interact with are Blue Jays fans (so they have an obvious inferiority complex, like many of my fellow Canucks as they are hopelessly jealous of anything American....another topic for another day) and they all bashed me and let me have it for having hope for this team. I expected nothing less.

Ok, let's say that there is some truth to all of this. Then, let's say that the Cubs honour Lee's respects and would send him to a California team. We know that Hendry has a working relationship with Towers and they have done a fair amount of dealings together. The Cubs could then potentially package Lee with Theriot and pick up Greene and Headley. I am not one to get into the fantasy trading world, but this would be a trade that could help both teams. The Padres would get a marquee bat in the middle of the lineup along with a young short stop. The Cubs would get a guy that they have had interest in before along with a potential RF replacement who hits switch. I know that the Padres and everyone else is very high on Headley, but maybe his value has dropped a bit with his past season and it'd be nice to see the Cubs buy low on someone like this and make him into something. If he doesn't work out, let him spend more time in the minors and give Hoff a shot to play more. Anyway, this would be a step towards become more left handed, would open the door to building for the future, and would allow the Cubs to go after Dunn or Tex to play first. I know that this is all unlikely, but I think that this would be a potentially good move for both teams. I know that they have Gonzalez, but maybe they could work a third team in. I dunno, just trying to think of possibilities.

Sell Theriot high, and sign Renteria for cheap. One of the smartest things that I have heard in a long time.

The last thing that I want to imagine is Manny Ramirez in a cramped clubhouse like the one at Wrigley during one of Lou's temper tantrums. He would turn into the Manny that was seen at the end of his Boston reign very quickly.

I realize that a 5 game playoff is a crapshoot. This said, the inability to win 1 game shouldn't be. You can run into a team or two that beats you in 5 games, but I don't think that I can believe that 6 straight losses is a case of unfortunate events. It has to do with a manager who cannot focus a baseball team when it matters most.