Cubswin11

Doug Free just got resigned by the Cowboys per Clayton on SC. That's one OL off the board for the Bears, IDK if they were ever interested in him or if it was realistic.

K-Rod was getting some very generous strike calls in the 8th inning. He has to be responsible for 5 or so of those 11 clear balls.

And LaRussa jumps in with these Gems I get why Rasmus requested a trade last year with a douche of a coach like this. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110726&content_id=22331588&notebook_id=22333220&vkey=notebook_stl&c_id=stl&partnerId=rss_mlb

Because if anything, it's speed that the Eagles lack on offense/Special Teams........

Samardzija has been very impressive out of the pen this year

All the regional FSN feeds for teams, which I think every team has except the Cubs, White Sox, Red Sox and Yankees, started this year to show the strike zone tracker with pitch counts in the bottom corner of the screen during every ab.

C.C. has a perfect game through 6IP with 11K's. FWIW.

I wonder where he is getting that information since indications lately out of most of the local sources are that the Cubs may be looking to hold on to Pena to hedge their bet against not being able to sign Fielder or Pujols. I don't get how keeping or trading Pena this year increases or decreases his chances of staying here next year?? Or how keeping him this year is a "hedging" of their bet in case they can't sign Pujols/Fielder. He's going to be a FA anyways at the end of the year. I think there is just as good a chance that Pena is a Cub next year if he is traded or stays the rest of the year in Chicago. Unless he has explicitly stated he doesn't want to be traded and Hendry and co. go against his wishes and trade him and it pisses him off so much he won't consider returning here in the offseason.

Marlon Byrd also??? He only had one season of 500+ plate appearances before the Cubs signed him and was considered a 4th OF/platoon guy most of his career before signing here. Also was Dempster ever considered a top prospect? I'd say signing him on the cheap and getting averagish years out of his as a closer and now well above average years as a starter was exploiting the market. What about Barrett? He gave us 3 years of WAR's of 1.6, 1.7, and 2.0 according to Baseballreference.

Other than Parker who are some of the D'Backs better pitching prospects? If any? Bobby Borchering is also intriguing as a power hitting corner infielder. He's only 20, has a nearly .800 OPS and 18 HR in A+ this year.

I think Kemp is a tremendous player and would happy to have him. I have the same thoughts/concerns on him as you lay out here. If we were to target a Dodgers OF I would almost prefer Ethier, he'd probably come a little cheaper (either in a trade or when he hits FA) and has had some very good years and would be a nice 3-4-5 hitter in the lineup.

I'd rather see what it would take to get Kemp or Ethier from the Dodgers. If we are talking about trading Marshall to fill an OF void. I think Ethier would come a little cheaper. Obviously it would take more than just Marshall to get one of those guys (especially Kemp). Will the Dodgers be able to move any of their higher-profile guys though, given their current financial state? Even if it meant shedding payroll, I'm assuming they can't until the bankruptcy/ownership situation is sorted. I am not exactly sure, but I think they can go about business as usual. They might not be able to take on major contracts but I would think they could trade guys if the trade(s) kept the payroll about the same or lower. The trade(s) just might need to be approved by MLB or some sort of bankruptcy court or something along those lines.

I'd rather see what it would take to get Kemp or Ethier from the Dodgers. If we are talking about trading Marshall to fill an OF void. I think Ethier would come a little cheaper. Obviously it would take more than just Marshall to get one of those guys (especially Kemp).

I would definitely think he is in line for a September call up and if he has a good fall/spring I think he could be in line to win a utility role with the team for next season. Especially if he can handle 2B/SS/OF adequately and one or more of Baker/Dewitt/Johnson do not return.

I could see the Cards/Rays working out a deal. Maybe Rasmus and a mid level prospect or two for Upton, 1 of Davis, Niemann, Sonnanstine, and one of the Rays bullpen arms.

I can see the Cubs getting one nice arm for Johnson like they got for Todd Walker a few years back. Was that Jose Ceda, who in turn got us Kevin Gregg?

Here we go again. Jeeze Marmol is not right, right now.

GEO \:D/

Quade can go [expletive] himself. Castro should probably ignore 99.9% of the things Quade says to him the rest of the year.

All of those are pretty defensible. Brownlie was a Top 10 talent who slipped because of signability. Harvey was a possible #1 pick, while Markakis was thought to be a reach where he was drafted as a hitter (most saw him as a pitcher). Pawalek, again, was a top 10 talent who dropped because of signability. And Vitters was a consensus top 5 talent as well. Hayden Simpson or Tyler Colvin are one thing, but none of these were questionable in terms of overall talent. Development is/was a different story, of course. Defensible, but ultimately wrong. There may or may not have been others with similar opinions about the players the Cubs took, but the fact is they were the ones who took them and they were the ones who missed out. Development is an issue, but you can't dismiss the problems they have had drafting just becasue there are reports that other people thought relatively highly of the guys the Cubs took. If you were really good at drafting, you would do a better job than the Cubs have done. All those guys the Cubs took had equal or greater talent of the players they were drafted over at the time. The guys the Cubs took all had good amateur track records and like most have said were regarded by most of baseball, not just the Cubs, as some of the most talented players in their drafts. I really think player development is most to blame for those guys not turning out as prospects/major league players. I'd place the blame Hendry/FO for not having better coaches/mentors/trainers in the minor league system rather than blaming them for taking the "wrong" guys. It's pretty evident our player development in the minor league system is flawed and needs fixing, especially when it comes to position players.

Aramis for Alvarez Not that we'd get Alvarez but I could see us and the Pirates matching up for a trade or two if they are willing to take on some salary. I would imagine they'd have some interest in Aramis, Dempster, Zambrano, Byrd, Fukudome, and Baker.

Is Prior pitching somewhere in the Yankees minor league system still? I have heard nothing about him since Spring and they signed him.

Those are the types of tattoos like a 19 year old college chick gets

Drop: Morneau Add: Berkman

I was just going to ask this. Pena should at least be a Type B FA right?