CubFanPhilly

Would've thought ARAM's .280 BA would look so out of place in the Cubs' lineup?

The win in Philly was a gift. Phantom HR and Utley's error in extras. Other than that, it's just been great execution.

Oh Baby!!!

I feel a gapper coming for Felix.

Atta boy Ronny!

Time for Lou to ask Fontenot if he had a nice apt. in Des Moines.

Time for a hit Fontenot.

I'd like to see three innings of Marshall.

Nice inning for Marquis.

I predict a Murton sighting in this game. A shame he wasn't starting.

Seven runs. 80 pitches and they're not out of the third? Wow. Can the Cubs play the Bucs every day?

Your rotation by the trade deadline: Zambrano Lilly Lieber Hill Marshall or Gallagher Marquis will be traded (along with about $5 mil. in cash). Dempster will be working mop up/middle relief in the pen.

A 500+ SLG would go a long way towards making up for Pie's likely .320-.330ish OBP. I think he'll struggle early, but if they don't prematurely pull the plug he'll figure it out. btw- I hate the idea of bringing in a Marlon Byrd or Coco Crisp. A much bettter Plan B would be a straight Murton/Pie platoon in LF and Soriano back to CF.

Glenallen's roof shot is included in the highlight homeruns. They estimate it at 500' if it hadn't hit that roof. Sosa's camera shed shot looks like it was about 450'. I'm guessing it was 480'+ if it were unobstructed. It looks like there were no HRs onto Sheffield last season. Surprising.

I don't think the Cubs ever intended to move him. I'm pretty sure they have always maintained that he's going to play in RF and RF only. It was just speculation that had him moving to center against left-handers, although that would be a better option that trading for Byrd. Kosuke said one of the reasons he chose the Cubs was to play RF exclusively. On the other hand Soriano was just quoted as saying he'd do whatever Lou asked of him. He's not the world's best CF, but his arm as speed make up for his poor routes IMO. A Murton/Pie platoon is a significant improvement over a Pie/Fuld or Pie/Byrd platoon.

Move Sori back to CF, platoon Murton/Pie in LF. Simple. And I know.... it'll never happen.

Wait - how much better than DeRosa is he exactly? Not enough better to justify giving up 2-3 prospects and a few million more in salary.

Any deal involving both Bedard and Hill is probably a a dumb move. Hill's cheaper, younger, has less service time, and no injury history. It's about as dumb as giving up a lot for Roberts (more expensive and only marginally better than DeRosa).

Murton, Gallagher & Patterson for Brian Roberts? Seriously? For what? A small upgrade at 2B? He's a switch hitter, better glove, more speed on the bases, but with very similar offensive production when compared with DeRosa. DeRosa + Murton at 4th OF + Gallagher in the mix for 5th starter + Patterson in a utility role + $10 mil. over the next two years >>>> Roberts + DeRosa as the super sub. If Roberts has this kind of trade value, we should be shopping DeRosa for a shortstop.

Huh? Why are replacements needed for Howry, Dempster, Eyre, Blanco and Ward? Each is under contract for 2008. Also, Hendry may have spent $12MM on Fukudome, but he also saved $3.5MM in cutting Prior, another $3-4MM ( we don't know the exact figure) in cutting Jones, and with Barrett/Kendall out of the picture in favor of Soto, yet another $4MM (roughly). Granted, raises are due to some existing players already under contract, but those are sunk costs. So far this offseason, Hendry hasn't spent a single NEW dime of the new owners' money. He was talking about the 2009 budget and none of Howry, Dempster, Eyre, Blanco and Ward are under contract for that year. They are for 2008, but not 2009. We not wait to cross that bridge? We may not want some or all of them. Indeed, the Cubs may not want any of them back. But my point is that Hendry (or whomever the 2009 GM is) will have little flexibility to improve the team because of the large contracts Hendry is handing out (and particularly with the backloading in those deals). If the new ownership doesn't increase payroll next season, the Cubs will have ~$6-7 mil. to spend replacing at least three bullpen spots (Howry, Eyre, and Dempster or Wood), possibly the 5th starter (if it turns out to be Dempster), and at least two bench spots (Ward & Blanco). If the new ownership bumps payroll $15 mil. (probably best case), you have $21-22 mil. to work with. The 2008 roster is more or less the 2009 roster unless a new owner pours a lot of additional money into the team or a new GM gets very creative. In my opinion, as it stands today, the 2008 roster is only 5-8 wins better than 2007. That's probably good enough to win the Central again, but that's a pretty mediocre outcome considering the resources Hendry's working with. I hope Fukudome is much better than I think he'll be (~800 OPS), because if not, this team is heading for a post-Hendry/Piniella dismantling.

Well, that's lousy news. Hopefully the Orioles are interested in Murton as a significant part of the Roberts deal. If not, Murton's trade value goes to ZERO as a 5th OF behind Soriano and Fukudome. --------- btw- It's interesting that there's so much praise for Hendry after signing Fukudome. Yeah, he got his guy. But what has he accomplished this off season? Faced with holes at SS, C, CF, RF he's spent $12 mil. upgrading the easiest position to upgrade, while banking on two rookies (C, CF) and an over-achieving (we hope) utility infielder at SS. Meanwhile he's already spent 85-95% of the 2009 budget without accounting for replacements for Howry, Dempster, Eyre, Blanco, or Ward.

Why are you putting Fuku in CF in all your scenarios and putting Pie in either LF or RF? I'm not opposed to the idea of shifting Fukudome to CF when Murton starts in RF, but that doens't seem to fit Lou's style (e.g., his handling of Soriano). Fukudome as the every day center fielder is less disruptive. I understand that Pie in a corner OF spot doesn't fully leverage his defense. However, I think Pie will struggle for awhile as he adjusts and I'd prefer something like a 50/50 or 40/60 platoon with Murton. If/when Pie establishes himself, switch him to CF for good. What I don't want to see is Fukudome and Soriano planted in the corner OF spots, Murton languishing on the bench or in AAA, while Pie struggles in CF and Hendry starts shopping for a stopgap CF. I think that's a plausible scenario if Lou names Fukudome the everyday RFer. Even if the Cubs think Murton is a 4th OF, a platoon in LF or RF at least enhances his trade value. While 150-200 ABs in 2008 would probably only result in him being dealt at his lowest potential value.

Skip Roberts. LF- Soriano CF - Fukudome RF - Pie/Murton Or better yet, move Soriano to RF and platoon Pie/Murton in LF. Dealing off Dempster and/or Marquis for something useful would be a lot more impressive than dealing Pie (et. al.) for a minor upgrade at 2B. Bedard would be a nice acquisition if it doesn't involve trading Hill, but I doubt that's possible.

If this is indeed the package, we could have topped it pretty easily. Fill enough of a smaller market team's holes cheaply and with a little upside and you can make these video game trades. Hill/Pie/EPatt/Marmol crushes this package. Subtract Hill and it's inferior. Include Hill and it's a bad move for the Cubs.

Marshall for Hamilton straight up? Why not? Perhaps ask the Reds to include Freel. Marshall, Fontenot, & Pagan for Hamilton & Freel. Add a lower level prospect, if necessary. Platoon Hamilton/Murton in RF and Pie/Freel in CF. Two regular lefties in the lineup and they add some speed/versatility with Freel. The deal only adds about $2.5 mil. to payroll. Work out a deal for Tejada offering some combination of Cedeno/Patterson/Ohman/Eyre/Veal/Hart. Call it an off season.