cubsfan26

I really don't want to elaborate any more, lets just say this person is close to the negotiations. Ok thats fair, I'll take it FWIW, but thanks for the info. I sure hope this source is correct.

Is this source with the Cubs? Peavys people? Or the Padres?

I guess according to Paul Sullivan if you pitch like an ace for a season, you are one until you stop pitching like that.

I would take Churchill comments as a grain of salt, and wouldn't pay any more attention to it then the guys who said the Cubs were now the favorites for Peavy last week. Churchill is a Mariners guy, and did scoop the Bedard trade pretty well last year. But I also remember him saying the Roberts trade will happen any day, and it never did. So lets just see what happens, but I wouldn't get worked up about this report, or take it really seriously.

I'd be fine giving up Jeff Samardzija if it got us Jake Peavy. Samardzija could end up being a solid number 2 starter one day or stud closer. But he's probably never going to be Jake Peavy, and I think he's replaceable out of the bullpen. I just hope we don't work out a deal for Peavy and Samardzija blocks the deal using his no-trade.

It sounds like Peavy might consider blocking a trade to the Braves if Escobar is included in the deal. Peavy wants to be on a contender next season, and doesn't want them to lose their starting SS I guess(or any other major piece). If this is true, it could be a big plus to the Cubs, because Escobar is probably the main piece the Braves are offering. http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2008/nov/06/padres-peavy-throws-curveball/?padres

I don't understand why people are acting like jerks towards this guy for just passing along information. It's not his fault some of you people believed posters over at the OH for having inside information, and the trade never happened.

How connected is your friend? Do you think he actually has a good source of this info? Any info like this should be taking FWIW, but there's nothing wrong with reporting stuff like this if you think it's valid.

Dave Kaplan also said the Cubs would only get Peavy or Dempster and not both. Which makes alot more sense, since they need to improve the offense and bullpen.

It sounds like Hendry is offering some type of package of Pie, Ceda, Marshall and Cedeno. To me that doesn't sound like it would be nearly enough. But with Peavy no-trade limiting the Padres in trade talks, this could end up being a Mets/Twins type situation with Santana last year. A package of Pie, Ceda, Marshall and Cedeno doesn't seem that much different then what the Mets gave up for Santana. But who knows if the Padres are dead set on trading Peavy like the Twins were last offseason. If the Padres don't get what they want they might just hold on to him for a little while.

If we do somehow get Jake Peavy(still think it's a long shot), there's no reason to resign Dempster. The rotation would be just fine with Peavy, Zambrano, Harden, Lilly and Marquis/Marshall(if he's not traded). It makes alot more sense to use the money that would have went to Dempster on other parts to improve the team.

I like the idea of this trade, I think Hermida is on the verge of a break out Carlos Quentin type season. So I would trade any prospect not name Josh Vitters to get him right now. Scott Olsen I don't see much of a upgrade over Sean Marshall, but he is younger, has better stuff and seems to be more durable. So I wouldn't mind Olsen as a 4th starter next year. It would also give the Cubs some options, and not put them in a spot were they need to over spend on Dempster or another starter. Even though I'm sure they would like to add another SP still, but they wouldn't need to.

They aren't normally because it's so dependent on the rest of the team. A guy can rack up a ton of RBIs due to having a good team around him, and that doesn't mean he's that good of a hitter. That said, Ibanez has done this in Seattle the last three years. I'm sure Ichiro is a good part of his RBIs, but the rest of that team is pretty bad. It certainly doesn't mean he's better than some of those other hitters, but it is definitely noteworthy when you look at the rest of the team that's around him. From looking at Ibanez numbers with men on base the last few years. I think it has more to do with Ibanez as a hitter, then the players around him for his high RBI totals. I agree normally RBI's total isn't something I would pay attention to either. But with Ibanez having a 907,936,921 OPS with runners on base the last three seasons, I think might be something to keep a eye on. Especially if he was added to the Cubs, with how well they got on base last season.

This was a no brainer in my opinion. Blanco is a pretty good back up catcher, but you can't pay a back up catcher 3m. When you have a catcher like Soto who hits and plays defense so well. The Cubs will try to bring Blanco back at 1-1.5m most likely. If he doesn't resign, then we will probably bring in another veteran back up catcher for that price.

Furcal. Also keep in mind Andy MacPhail was around then, and wouldn't let Hendry match the Dodgers offer even if he wanted to. The last two offseason, Hendry has gotten most of the free agents he wanted. His top hitter and pitcher in 06-07 were Soriano/Lilly and we got them both. He also wanted Gil Meche that year, but after signing Soriano/Lilly already he couldn't come close to matching the Royals offer. But if we didn't already sign Lilly, I doubt Hendry would have lost Meche to the Royals that offseason. Then last year of course Fukudome was the Cubs top free agent target, and Hendry got him. So if there is a free agent out there Hendry really wants, I'll be confident we can get him. Just like I'm confident that most of the time Hendry will get our own players resigned for market value or below market value. Hendry has some faults as a GM, but getting players to come here and resigning players is one of his strengths.

Due to Piniella, Jim Hendry pays alot more attention to OBP then he did in the past. Like many have said Hendry works with his manager to build a team. Adding a veteran, who hits for average and still has some power, but doesn't get on base. Is something we probably had to worry about with Dusty managing the team. But Hendry hasn't really gone after those type of players with Lou. Thats the reason why he got a contract extension and why most Cubs fans are actually happy he's back. Plus Lou mentioned he would probably add a LH bat through a trade, and wanted to get younger and more athletic. Adding a hitter who will be 37 next year is pretty much the oppsite of that. Plus I don't see Soriano moving to RF anytime soon.

When Lilly is bad he was really bad last year, and if anything I think that has mislead some fans. When a pitcher gets bombed as bad as Lilly does when he doesn't have it, it makes you forget quickly that he was pretty good in 6-8 starts in a row before that. Take away Lilly first three starts, when he had nothing. Then on April 17th he gave up 6 runs in 6 IP. But after that start he threw 4 quality starts in a row and was solid in 3 starts after those. Then on May 30th he gave up 7 runs(4 ER) against the Rockies in 3 innings. But after that he threw 6 outta 7 quality starts, and in his non quality start he went 7 IP and gave up 4 ER. Of course then on July 10th he gave up 4 ER in 2.2 IP and got bombed again. Then after that start he threw 8 of 9 quality starts, and his one non quality start was 4 ER in 6 IP. Then again on September 5th, Lilly gave up 5 ER in 2 IP, and we all know how good Lilly was his final four starts of the season. So anybody who doesn't think Lilly is that good, or is inconsistent your just reminded too much of his bad games. But when you look at the numbers Lilly was really good from April 17 to the rest of the year besides four starts.

According to a interview I read with Jim Hendry a week or two ago. I got the vibe Fukudome/Pie are gonna be fighting for the everyday job against RH pitchers, with Johnson in his same role against LH pitchers next year. Because he said Fukudome would have to earn a starting job, and Pie would get a chance to win the job. So I don't see how Lou saying Fukudome will get moved to CF, will hurt Pie trade value. It was more the writer assuming he would be in a platoon with Reed Johnson if being moved to CF. Once teams start hearing the Cubs are looking for a RF this offseason, their going to know that anyways. I do expect Pie to be trade bait, but I doubt Hendry would give him away for C prospects. I only see the Cubs trading him if they get a piece they feel they need. I think the Cubs would rather Pie play off the bench, like they did with Cedeno then trade him for average prospects.

I also think we need to realize(like it or not) that Marmol is going to be moved to the closer spot in the next year or two. Stud relievers like Marmol usually aren't set-up men for very long, and it's only a matter of time before he's moved to closer role. That could be another reason why Hendry might not wanna give Wood closer money beyond a year or two. So if Wood doesn't accept the deal he can just make the switch now, and add another reliever at a cheaper price.

I honestly don't blame Hendry for not wanting to go three years with Wood. Remember the last time he gave him a three year deal for over 30m? Well Wood started 36 games for us and pitched in a total of 47 games. Wood is gonna be asking for a very simliar contract, and I doubt Hendry would give it to him. Wood has been healthy one season now, after being hurt the four previous seasons. Maybe moving him to the bullpen will keep him healthy, but who knows how long it will last. Hendry will probably offer a one year deal at 8 or 9m with a vesting option for year two, or possibly go two years at 16-18m with Wood. So I guess we will find out how much Wood really wants to be a Cub. If I'm remembering correctly I think Wood wanted a two year deal last offseason, but Hendry stood pat on one year, and Wood finally accepted. So hopefully Kerry will do the same this offseason.

I find it hard to believe that so many MLB teams, scouts and experts couldn't tell if the guy can hit a sinker or not. Alot of teams were after this guy, and most of them were offering him 3 and 4 year deals at 30-50m plus. Thats a huge gamble for any team to make, and something you never see unless your sure the guy can hit. Thats why I feel there must be some correctable flaw he has with his swing. Guys like Kazuo Matsui, Iwamura, Iguchi, Johjima(was bad last year though) have all been serviceable major leaguers and Ichiro and Hideki Matsui have been good major leaguers. So I can't accept Fukudome is the sub 200 hitter we saw the last two months of the season yet. But thats probably just me not willing to accept that we could have a guy making 12m per year as a really bad 5th outfielder. I don't even wanna think about that, so lets hope Fukudome turns it around.

I don't think the Cubs or Fukudome will give up on each other yet. I think Fukudome will work hard this offseason and try to figure things out and the Cubs will help him. Then if this season guys like Reed Johnson, Pie, Fontenot and Hoffpauir end up taking his playing time and he doesn't improve. Then I think the Cubs and Fukudome will consider cutting ties. But right now Fukudome really only struggled the final three months of the season. So I don't think either will give up already.

Lets not forget Marmol wasn't on the team for most of the first two months of the season, and wasn't moved to a late inning reliever for a few weeks after he got called up. Because if I remember right, our bullpen was giving away alot of close games early in the season, and having Marmol could have easily been a 3-4 game swing. Plus Barrett defense, Izturis sucking, and Wade Miller sucking also set us back early in the season. So in my opinion the team that we saw the last three months of the season was better then a 85 win team, and was just set back because of it's start. Of course guys like Jacque Jones, Bob Howry, Scott Eyre and a few others played better. But alot of the teams improvement also came from adding Marmol, Marshall, and a few other things.

Any season we make the postseason is a good season. Baseball is to hard of a sport to make the playoffs in, so to discredit them because they only won 85 games and played in a bad division would be silly. Thats like saying 2004 was a good season because we won 89 games, even though we missed out on the wild card by 3 games. In 2007 this team had issues the first 53 games, and started out 22 and 31. But the point is they turned things around and had the best record in the NL(second best in baseball) after early June. Yes they had some luck playing in a bad division(as they had bad luck in 04), so they were able to come back from being in a big hole, but it's not their fault what division they play in.

In my opinion Hendry deserves an extension. He had a ton of pressure the last two seasons to get this team to the postseason, and his job was basically on the line. Yes he's had some money to spend, but alot of GM's have money to spend. How many teams have had pay rolls simliar or higher then us and missed the playoffs the last two seasons? Sure not every one of his moves have been good ones, and Fukudome does look a little scary right now. But most of Hendry moves lately have been good ones, and our regular season results speak for themselves. As for sucking in the postseason, I don't really see how we can really blame Hendry. Is it Hendrys fault that guys like Lilly,Hill, Harden and Dempster pitched good all season then had bad starts in the postseason? Is it Hendry fault that Ramirez, Soriano, Soto, Theriot, Edmonds/Jones and so on couldn't hit at all in the postseason? When a GM is putting together a team, it's very hard to know how good or bad these players will play, once the postseason starts. What happen in the postseason the last two years could have happen to any GM. It's not his fault that the good players on the team, didn't play like good players. It's not like the Cubs weren't good enough to beat the Dbacks or Dodgers. They just played alot better then us, and there's nothing a GM can do about that.