Cubswin11

I think their are little league teams in this country that would be a better defensive team than one that included a MI of Theriot/Soriano and a OF of Manny/Johnson or Kosuke/Bradley.

I am thinking about making a website that is similar to mlbtraderumors.com. I felt I would run it by here first to see if you guys think it is a good idea? What does MLBTR do that you like/don't like? What would you change/keep the same? Are there certain websites/news outlets that you would like to get cited more/less? Any input would be great.

Doesn't Boras represent like 7 of the top 10 guys for this years draft? The Cubs might be lucky to have one of those guys fall to them if other teams are scared of the price tag. I remember the Weiters thing scaring teams and all, but he was going to get paid regardless he was the best college hitter in the draft and plays a premium position for offense. I do think Laporta signed a reasonable contract with the Brewers though. IIRC, the Cubs do have a good working relationship with Boras, correct? Just looking over the contracts a Cot's the Cubs don't have any current players, at least listed, that are represented by Boras. IDK who was the last Cubs was who was represented by Boras, but I never remember hearing anything about Boras/Cubs having any sort of issues.

Doesn't Boras represent like 7 of the top 10 guys for this years draft? The Cubs might be lucky to have one of those guys fall to them if other teams are scared of the price tag. I remember the Weiters thing scaring teams and all, but he was going to get paid regardless he was the best college hitter in the draft and plays a premium position for offense. I do think Laporta signed a reasonable contract with the Brewers though.

So it's Wednesday now and nothing will be announced tonight most likely, so if it was truly going to be announced by "midweek" we should probably hear something tomorrow :beg: :beg: :beg: , I just want it to be over

If we had Weiters we probably would only have to add like Cedeno and Hart or Atkins and we could get Peavy. I wanted either Vitters or Weiters and I am happy we took vitters, but Weiters trade value is much higher than Vitters right now he is a lot closer to being major league ready (he will be up by May this year Vitters will be in AA at best) and he is a top 3 prospect in all of baseball. I was slightly leaning towards wanting Weiters just for the fact he could move to 1B when Lee left and we had a unsettled catching position at the time if he stayed at cathcer, but I am completely fine with Vitters.

Keith Law just came out with his minor league ratings, but you have to have insider to see where the Cubs are. Does anyone have insider and know where the Cubs rank? And can you summarize what he said?

Vitters ranked #14 on Keith Law's top 100 prospects http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=law_keith&id=3840355

the vast majority of prospects ultimately are busts though. The vast majority aren't extremely well thought of. Vitters is much more highly regarded than most prospects. That doesn't mean he'll necessarily turn into anything, but he still has a greater shot than most. The vast majority of good to great teams out there get a strong aid from their minor league system. Unless you're the Yankees and can throw $250 million around, there are going to be spots that you must fill with cheap talent. That's where the farm system is most important. i don't disagree with any of that. you dont have to try and convince me of the importance of producing talent from the farm. i'm already convinced. but again, you dont let a kid who's never been above A ball (and frankly wasnt overly impressive in A ball) be a deal breaker in a potential jake peavy acquisition. I guess the biggest problem I had was that you seemed to not give Vitters any chance of being great - hence the Kevin Orie reference. The likelihood of busts is the reason you stack your farm as much as possible - in the event that a number of them bust. when we're talking about a guy who was fairly average in A ball, why should i give him any chance of being great? i don't get this post. first of all, .328/.365/.498 for an 18 year old in A ball is not "fairly average". it's pretty good. second, even if his performance was bad (which again, it wasn't), why would you be writing off an 18 year old that quickly based on like the first 300 at-bats of his minor league career? he was 18 How is a line of .328/.365/.498 fairly average for a 18 year old in his first full season? I would consider that very impressive considering he also battled a hand/wrist injury for a chunk of the season, along with adjusting to a whole new lifestyle and a much higher level of baseball. 99% of the kids his age in the country are still playing for their high schools/legion teams and worrying about who are they going to take to prom and studying for their ACT's/SAT's. Not figuring out how to play 3B in A ball and how to hit breaking pitches/stuff he has never seen before.

The difference is that Spring Training is mandatory for players, and it's actually part of MLB and its teams, it's important they get ready for the season. The WBC is completely voluntary and it is pretty much an exhibition. Players are also on strict training programs and starting to do stuff early can be detrimental to getting prepared for the season. A lot of the pitchers that were in the WBC last time had hard times staying healthy/effective throughout the season following it. Players get paid to play for their MLB teams and take part in events/games with their team, not to play in some meaningless exhibition. It would be different if players were making only thousands of dollars to play MLB, but when players are making $10+ million a year there is no need for them to go out and risk injury playing in an event that has no meaning, when they are being paid by a organization to play for their team.

I would be pissed if they don't. They leave the winter meetings with an understanding of what the Padres wanted but didn't pull the trigger, then Hendry makes moves to acquire players to cater to what the Padres were asking for, including Olsen who was the specific player they wanted, and Hendry did this for what? Shiggles? I don't buy it. It doesn't make sense. It'd be like a giant slap in the face to the Cubs fans if they didn't at the very least revisit trade talks. The players they traded and the players they acquired haven't made them much better, if at all. You don't make these moves that are exactly what the Padres were asking for Peavy and not go after Peavy. They needed to get rid of Marquis, they did. They needed young arms, they got them. They needed Olsen, they got him. And now they're gonna say "Well, we got what we wanted in Milton Bradley, go Cubs!" BS. It makes no sense. I agree that the talks will at least be revisited, if they haven't already started. The only way I could see us trading for Olsen without intention of trading him to the Padres is when Hendry/Towers were discussing players from other teams to get to the Padres in a 3-way Hendry or someone in the org. realized we could get Olsen and really liked him and thought he could be of use this year.

If I was Hendry/Lou I would be on the phone tomorrow telling all these guys to say no. It's only a matter of time until some big name player gets hurt and is out for a long period of time in this traveshamockery of an event, and I don't want it to be a Cub. Hopefully when the revised rosters come out no Cubs are on them, especially Z, Lilly, Harden and Soto.

Any idea what the timetable is for recovery from surgery of a "minor" tear in the shoulder? Prior still hasn't recovered, but he had a torn Labrum so I think Prior's was quite a bit more severe. If the timetable for Harden would have been 4-5-6 months he should have just of had surgery after the season and come back in May/June. After hearing this news we almost have to sign/trade another starter. We will be lucky to have Harden make 15+ starts and if Marshall is already in the rotation Gaudin/Shark/Guzman will have to take Harden's place leaving us with a below average rotation and bullpen. Not to mention if Z misses time (likely looking at the last two seasons) and Dempster feels some effects of pitching the most innings ever in his career last year (nearly 3x as many innings in 08 than in 07). I don't have a good feeling about our rotation this year :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Moores will remain the Padres owner for 3-4 years and Moorad will eventually take over but not for a few years. So a Peavy trade could still be possible with Moores in control. http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jan/10/padres-s11padres/?padres

I remember reading an article about his injury during the playoff series with the Dodgers. He basically needed to have TJ surgery to repair his injury, but at his age he didn't want to do it and have to rehab, so he decided to have a experimental procedure. They did some sort of a procedure where they injected plasma into his elbow, it was the first time it was ever done on a pitcher and the doctor didn't even know if it would work, or for how long it would help him be able to pitch. So it sounds there is some pretty significant risk with him. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/oct/03/sports/sp-dodfyi3

He probably had it already, the press conference to introduce him is at 2:30 CT.

Probably a marginal upgrade over Torres, but they needed to make a move to help them in their bullpen. It really doesn't matter who they have closing though if they don't add another starter they won't be competing this year. What is the Brewer's starting rotation this year? Can't be good at all. Parra and who? If the season started today probably... Gallardo Parra Suppan Bush Villanueva/McClung Gallardo has ace stuff, but he has yet to pitch a full season and I doubt they push him more than 180-190 innings this year, Parra hit a wall in the 2nd half but could be a legit 2/3 in a year or so and Bush/Suppan are similar, they are back of the rotation starters that will have games where they go 6-7 innings and then they have games where they get blown up and are out by the 2nd/3rd. Villanueva/McClung are probably best suited for the bullpen. Probably average to a bit above average NL rotation, but they really are lacking depth those are really their only starting options and they could be SOL'd if one or more of those guys get hurt and they don't add someone.

Probably a marginal upgrade over Torres, but they needed to make a move to help them in their bullpen. It really doesn't matter who they have closing though if they don't add another starter they won't be competing this year.

Ugh I read that too, this is truly Brian Roberts Part II. There is no way this deal is going to die for the remainder of the offseason. Hopefully the outcome is better this time...

They certainly are going to have some pitchers with some serious injury issues this year with Beckett, Penny and Smoltz but they are deep enough to sustain 1 or more of them missing time. I wouldn't be surprised to see 1 of Bucholz/Masterson/Delcarmen along with another prospect or two sent to the Rangers for Salty. They have 9 starting pitchers with Beckett, Penny, Smoltz, Masterson, Lester, Bucholz, Tazawa, Wakefield and Dice-K.

That seems optimistic to me. Last I read the Padres weren't even putting Peavy on the market anymore. This article makes it seems like the market is closing but they are still listening to offers and will discuss things with teams like the Cubs. Well i mean there is a report out there that supposedly it wasn't the cubs who pulled out but the Padres back in the winter meetings. So maybe the cubs were willing to make the deal, I mean before it was reported that the padres and cubs couldn't come to an agreement cause the cubs didnt want to trade marshall and derosa. Turn two weeks later, they trade derosa away, do you honestly think they wouldn't have parted with a package of Vitters, Derosa, Marshall, Pie and Hart/Guzman for Peavy ? I honestly feel the situation the cubs are in is almost identical to the roberts situation. I dont buy the cutting payroll argument and how the padres need to move peavy because if they were intent on moving peavy because of payroll reasons they wouldn't done it by now. I think the cubs chances are slim to none now because what makes people think a new ownership in SD would trade their Top player, most marketable player and fan favorite. Like i said the only way they trade peavy is if the cubs offer the farm system for him or if peavy forces their hand. Not to be dic* here, I think a strong argument can be made on either side here. But The same thing could be said about the new Cubs ownership coming in. What better way to win over the fans and show them you are committed to winning/spending than to trade for one of top pitchers in all of baseball. Doesn't work that way buddy, i'm pretty sure the new ownership would probably love to trade for peavy or bring peavy in and whatever. But we dont hold peavy, the padres do and must be willing to part with him. So no, the same thing can not be said because just because an owner wants a player, doesn't mean he'll get him. I know it's not that easy, and it's no like an owner can just say I want that player or this player and expect it to get done, and it takes both sides to be motivated to make a move. But if a deal hinges on the Cubs new owner approval, and the FO spins it the owner(s) made it possible to get done, it could do wonders for the owner(s) public perception before the first pitch is even thrown this season.

That seems optimistic to me. Last I read the Padres weren't even putting Peavy on the market anymore. This article makes it seems like the market is closing but they are still listening to offers and will discuss things with teams like the Cubs. Well i mean there is a report out there that supposedly it wasn't the cubs who pulled out but the Padres back in the winter meetings. So maybe the cubs were willing to make the deal, I mean before it was reported that the padres and cubs couldn't come to an agreement cause the cubs didnt want to trade marshall and derosa. Turn two weeks later, they trade derosa away, do you honestly think they wouldn't have parted with a package of Vitters, Derosa, Marshall, Pie and Hart/Guzman for Peavy ? I honestly feel the situation the cubs are in is almost identical to the roberts situation. I dont buy the cutting payroll argument and how the padres need to move peavy because if they were intent on moving peavy because of payroll reasons they wouldn't done it by now. I think the cubs chances are slim to none now because what makes people think a new ownership in SD would trade their Top player, most marketable player and fan favorite. Like i said the only way they trade peavy is if the cubs offer the farm system for him or if peavy forces their hand. Not to be dic* here, I think a strong argument can be made on either side here. But The same thing could be said about the new Cubs ownership coming in. What better way to win over the fans and show them you are committed to winning/spending than to trade for one of top pitchers in all of baseball.

That seems optimistic to me. Last I read the Padres weren't even putting Peavy on the market anymore. This article makes it seems like the market is closing but they are still listening to offers and will discuss things with teams like the Cubs. If new ownership isn't changing their position, wasn't their "position" to move Peavy to keep payroll around $40 mi.? So why would they all of the sudden keep him now if they aren't changing their "position"?

It's possible that a lineup that included Lee, Renteria, Rowand and Molina could shatter the record for team GIDP in one season.

It seems so easy. There has to be more to it, because I can't see why this hasn't been done yet. It could be the two teams weren't exactly close to completing the trade. It just seems too simple to be this hard. Then again, this is the Cubs. And about Cain, what would it take to get him? Obviously less than Peavy but if we still have to give up a lot I'd prefer Peavy. Why would it take less to acquire dirt cheap Matt Cain than to acquire ultra expensive Jake Peavy? Seeing as how the Giants want a middle of the order bat and have a opening at 1B probably Lee+ a prospect or two for Cain. The only problem with that trade is that who plays 1B for us? Hoffpauir probably shouldn't be getting 500+ ab's and the rest of the FA aren't great options Nomar/Millar/Mientkiewicz/Aurillia/Sweeney/Sexson. I suppose we could then sign Dunn to play 1B, but he might not want to play there, has been reported that he wants to stay in the OF, and then there is that whole defense thing... Those had better be a couple of awesome prospects. Oh, and, the Giants would likely have to be willing to extend Lee's contract to get him to waive his NTC (in the extremely unlikely event that he would do so at all). No it wouldn't have to be awesome prospects. DLee still has value and i'm pretty sure the Giants would jump at the chance to acquire him and DLee would probably waive his NTC to go to San Fran. I would trade DLee, Cedeno, Pie. The Giants would probably do it because it would give them offense and fill in some of the holes they have on their lineup. You could probably then try and convince dunn to play first and sign him. You may lost Defense but you gain a ton of offense Not that we would really have a need for him, but if we agreed to take Dave Roberts back in a trade I bet we wouldn't have to give up more than Lee, Hart and a low level prospect. Lee makes $13 mil. the next two years and Roberts makes $6.5 this year and is then a FA and cain makes 2ish 4ish and 6ish the next three. So we end up saving 4ish million this year and have more money freed up for next offseason.