Sever82

Thats true but too many people are jumping the gun in thinking Soriano is Injury Prone. Before he signed with the cubs he was a 150+ games a season type of player. I wouldn't close the book on the guy or think he has no worth or that he's an average player after only two seasons with the Cubs. I understand the Cubs Fan mentality is if a player doesn't produce in his first yr you have to move foward and get someone else. Kind of how people gave up on Cedeno after his rookie yr, fukudome after this past yr, Pie after his first stint, etc.

That's the thing. I only like Bradley as an option if they have someone like DeRosa to fill in WHEN Bradley is hurt. When Bradley is hurt without DeRosa, now you have Gathright playing CF and Johnson/Fukudome playing RF, along with Fontenot playing 2nd everyday. I suppose that would be more tolerable if Jake Peavy was in the rotation every 5th day. Marshall has a lot of value to this team right now as Harden's insurance policy. I'm not sure the Cubs would actually have a viable 6th starter as the roster currently stands if Marshall had to be in the rotation. Derosa being traded definitely will signal either the arrival of peavy or roberts. No way Hendry trade Derosa and ends up with prospects for his farm system. Marquis is a step foward toward aquiring peavy or roberts but just that move alone does not put the cubs in a position to aquire them. If the cubs trade away Derosa and only land Bradley, that would be horrible period. People are sweating Bradley too much, he's a good hitter because he's not a great player or a player that would carry us to the WS. I feel peavy or roberts will have a greater impact to the cubs than bradley. I would honestly rather sign Dunn than bradley because of the health issue. Too many people are overlooking the health issue and assuming bradley will have a season similar to last year.

He's owed 106m ($17.7m per year). Yes, it is that bad of a deal, no he's not "very" productive and no, he's not "probably" going to have his best year as a Cub next year. There could be a market if they ate a big chunk, but I don't see the point in that. There are 150+ free agents still out on the market because nobody outside the Yankees is committing any money this offseason. How is Soriano not productive? And how do you know he's not going to have his best year as a Cub? If Soriano plays 140+ games he will no doubt have his best year as a Cub. That is a big "if" but its possible. Its just surprising how many people on this board jumped for joy when Soriano was signed, then get all geeked when he has a good game and goes on one of his hot streaks but then turn their back on him and say he's worthless when the season is over. So i'm guessing if soriano hits over .300 40hr 100+ RBIs with 20+SB .360OBP next yr that contract is till not good for you. Oh wait maybe you'll use the excuse that he's old at 32yrs old or past his prime, or maybe that he's just not good anymore.

The opening of a spot in the rotation (granted, we have guys like Marshall and Guz) may (or may not) suggest that we intend to acquire another SP. I think this is the best part of your post because I really do believe this. If the Cubs move Marquis they have to obtain a starter because they're not going to go into the season with Marshall or Shark as your fifth guy in the rotation. They see Marshall as a injury fill in or rest fill in, in the rotation. I've always said that once marquis moves, you'll see the cubs begining to move some additional pieces. If Derosa is moved, they better get peavy or roberts but i'd prefer peavy. The Bradley signing i'm worried about because of the number of games he has played the past few years. I would be happy if the cubs signed him to a 2yr deal with a 3rd yr option for 14 million plus 6 million in incentives that depend on the number of games he's out there for. If the cubs sign bradley for 10 million per i feel it would be a bad deal cause the guy can't stay healthy. To be honest a lot of you may disagree but i'd rather have Derosa on our roster rather than Bradley because at least with Derosa you know you can depend on 140+ games for the season and a solid offensive output.

I was reading on the ESPN board for the cubs, someone posted some quote they read on a board that basically said there was a market for Soriano which included several teams. As much as i want to believe the rumor i dont but it got me thinking. Do you think GMs would call Hendry if he put Soriano out there and offered to eat up some of his contract, he's owed 100 over 6 which isn't that bad of a deal in my opinion. But what kind of package could you get for him, he's still very productive and will probably have his best season as a cub next year. My dream scenario would be sending him to the dodgers for kemp and a prospect. Then forgetting about bradley and signing Manny to a two or three yr deal. Just a thought but i honestly feel there would be a market for soriano if the cubs offered to eat up some of his contract, nothing ridiculous but some of it.

Any Chance the Cubs look into these two? http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3798491 Or do we all just assume they're heading to the Yankees or White Sox?

Can anyone tell me how this guy is worth more than 20 million per season? I just dont see the hype on this guy, they're paying him as if he's pujols. I dont see this size of a contract being worth it for a good but not great player. Suddenly Soriano's contract doesnt seem as bad. I will be laughing it Texeira ends up like Giambi.

Wow you see I really dont get the point to a post like this. First of all where is the reasoning to say you would rather have Pie out there than Anderson. Looking at Anderson's numbers the past few years they're pretty much average numbers. What in the world has Pie done for the Cubs to make you think he would be better than anderson out there. I'm a big Pie fan and still feel he has potential but i'm not dumb enough to say i'd rather have him than anderson. By no means am i saying that the cubs should sign him because i'd prefer them not too but then again I wouldn't be mad if they signed him to a cheap contract. I'm pretty sure the same idiots posting those smartass remarks are the same ones who said "oh good no", "Sign Gaetti" when the cubs ended up signing Edmonds and how did that work out. Just because the guys is old doesn't mean he can't be of some use, its not the cubs would be signing him to a multiyear deal. Pie has potential, Anderson had production. Pie makes the league minimum, Anderson would cost several million. Anderson would be a signing that makes no sense at any level. Pie at least makes sense monetarily and with the hope of the type of production he's actually had in the minors given regular time in the majors. I agree that Pie has potential but saying that Anderson would be a signing that no sense at any level makes no sense. I wouldn't mind having Anderson in there as a backup or platoon type of player. He's not going to cost several million because i doubt anyone will give him a 7-8 million dollar contract. for 3 million maybe. For the Cubs Anderson makes more sense than Pie because the cubs are built to win now and have no room to wait for Pie to develop on the go. With Anderson at least you know what you'll get and what you get at this point, is more than what you'll get from Pie.

Wow you see I really dont get the point to a post like this. First of all where is the reasoning to say you would rather have Pie out there than Anderson. Looking at Anderson's numbers the past few years they're pretty much average numbers. What in the world has Pie done for the Cubs to make you think he would be better than anderson out there. I'm a big Pie fan and still feel he has potential but i'm not dumb enough to say i'd rather have him than anderson. By no means am i saying that the cubs should sign him because i'd prefer them not too but then again I wouldn't be mad if they signed him to a cheap contract. I'm pretty sure the same idiots posting those smartass remarks are the same ones who said "oh good no", "Sign Gaetti" when the cubs ended up signing Edmonds and how did that work out. Just because the guys is old doesn't mean he can't be of some use, its not the cubs would be signing him to a multiyear deal.

Why hasn't anybody mentioned his name. Supposedly in the news this past week is that he had been misdiagnosed on the disease he suffered from and the disease he actually has is curable. I think he is no doubt worth at least a one year deal to try him out. Doubt the Cubs will sign him but some lucky club will.

If you check out Rosenthal's post he confirmed that the mystery team was the braves. I dont think the braves jumped in just because they lost burnett, it wouldn't make sense for them to go from needing a pitcher to signing furcal while there is still some pitchers on the market. I know some analyst would guess to say that the braves might revisit peavy talks but if the rumors are true, peavy doesnt want to be a brave and i think Towers was even quoted in saying that he was doubting that peavy would even accept a trade to ATL. I'm still curious what kind of package the braves would want for escobar if the cubs asked. I'd imagine they'd ask for Marshall.

I'm really interested to see what they do with Escobar, i mean they can always just move furcal to 2nd but who knows. As for the Braves landing Peavy, i doubt it because supposedly if the rumors are true, Peavy doesn't want to be a Brave. What would it take to pry Escobar from the braves, obviously they need pitching.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ti-furcal121508&prov=yhoo&type=lgns Is there any chance we're the mystery team in the bidding for Furcal? Would be nice if we were, i would rather have furcal than bradley to be honest. Just wishful thinking but i'm wondering if anyone thought it was a possibly. I give it a 2 out 10 chance we're the mystery team. The only reason i give us any kind of chance is because the cubs wants a leady off hitter and left handed bat and they've showed interest in furcal in the past. Also just to keep it on the peavy talks http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3771576 I'm surprised no ones posted this article, If the padres were sold i would assume the new owner would want to keep peavy because he's the one superstar on that team. Thats if they get sold quick, i think they're selling process will be way faster than the Cubs but i doubt it will get done before spring training, but then again you may never know. In my opinion if they're sold, peavy is off the market cause i feel any owner coming in wont trade him.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8926844/Thursday-MLB-winter-meetings-blog Peavy is good as gone. I'm pretty sure he'll approve a trade to the Angels. If this post is right from Rosenthal, then the cubs are done with Peavy.

Wow this is a shallow way to look at things. Peavy has only had one GM and thats Towers. We dont know what kind of relationship he has with Towers. The way you are describing the situation its like saying if Wood wanted to go to the Yankees when he was a FA, do you honestly think Wood would've told Hendry screw this trade me to the yankees. Unlike some people, Peavy probably feels he owes it to the Padres to help them out a little. Just because Peavy doesn't speak up and say screw this trade me, doesn't me he wants to be a Cub. Its not a question about Loyalty, its a question about professionalism and respect. No, that is not how things work in the real world. Peavy signed his extension with the impression the Padres would build a team that had a chance to contend every year. The Padres failed miserably with that. Then, they decided that Peavy needed to be traded to meet a restricted payroll. Peavy owes nothing to the Padres organization and he should have zero reason to show professionalism or respect to the team that failed to meet their end of the bargain. No that is not how things work in the real world, not all of us are a-holes. Kerry Wood, Zambrano, Dempster, Ramirez showed some kind of loyalty. And how in the world do you know what was promised to Peavy? How do you know PEavy signed with the Padres because the Padres gave him the impression they would build around him? Maybe he just signed with SD because he was brought up in there system and because he lived in the area. "He should have Zero Reason" Wow talk about jumping to conclusions. This isn't the Kobe Bryant Situation where Kobe came out and said what was promised .People like you are missing the point that peavy never asked for a trade, he signed a contract when the padres were an average team, he never requested a trade this summer when the padres are coming off a horrible year. If it was such an issue for peavy he would've stood up and said something but he didnt, dont assume and act like you were part of the negotiations.

The Peavy talks are officially off. He is not going to the Cubs. Jim Hendry just confirmed that he told Kevin Towers that the volume of players the Cubs would have to give up, combined with taking on the remainder of Peavy's contract ($63 million) to make the deal happen was not the right decision for the Cubs organization at this time. When asked if the Cubs could pursue Peavy in the future, Hendry said he had "no idea." But the team is moving forward. More to come... Dont know what to make of this cause i would assume if it was possible in the future Hendry would've said something like "Maybe" or its possible i guess. But it does look like the issue was cutting some payroll (Marquis) and the number of prospects. We'll see though but i agree with the fellow who said that if we trade Vitters, we're not going after Peavy. I am a bit annoyed that Derosa probably was a factor cause he only has one more year in his contract.

Wow this is a shallow way to look at things. Peavy has only had one GM and thats Towers. We dont know what kind of relationship he has with Towers. The way you are describing the situation its like saying if Wood wanted to go to the Yankees when he was a FA, do you honestly think Wood would've told Hendry screw this trade me to the yankees. Unlike some people, Peavy probably feels he owes it to the Padres to help them out a little. Just because Peavy doesn't speak up and say screw this trade me, doesn't me he wants to be a Cub. Its not a question about Loyalty, its a question about professionalism and respect.

Rumors of arm troubles? What are you talking about, just because he was on the DL last year doesn't mean he has arm troubles. The guys has pitched over 200 innings how many years? If he had a record like Harden than i would understand but i feel an argument like this is weak. I mean if you want to go there, you can say Vitters has Wrist Troubles cause he has had a record with his wrist. Yes, you can and should mention Vitters' wrist. Yes, going on the DL means arm problems. They didn't put him there to clear up a roster spot for Josh Banks. And the fact that Peavy's had so many consecutive seasons of big innings should make you more wary, not less. I dont know, thats kind of a weak argument because you open up that statement to be applied to multiple pitchers. I mean you can say the same for CC, Big Z, Matt Cain, Santana, Dempster, etc. I dont think you can say someone has arm trouble or that the 200 inings should make you worried if they only visit the DL like once or twice. I mean Peavy could end up having surgery or on the DL or even never visiting the DL again, you dont know because he doesn't have a track record of having elbow or shoulder problems.

Rumors of arm troubles? What are you talking about, just because he was on the DL last year doesn't mean he has arm troubles. The guys has pitched over 200 innings how many years? If he had a record like Harden than i would understand but i feel an argument like this is weak. I mean if you want to go there, you can say Vitters has Wrist Troubles cause he has had a record with his wrist.

Did you read Bruce's post and then paraphrased it? Sounds like you did, just a thought.

'Tis a virtue Patience is indeed a virtue, and it's one Hendry is displaying right now. The Padres have painted themselves into a corner. Hendry can wait, and he should. On top of that, Peavy is a luxury, not a necessity. Posted by Bruce I think this well put, if it is indeed true that Hendry still has interest but want to be patient then i agree with Bruce. I'm only worried it might go from, he only wants to go to the cubs, to he'll go to the astros, angels or yankees. If peavy stays true to his word and only wants to go to the cubs, then maybe Hendry is being smart. But i still feel that if we enter spring training without peavy then hendry failed on this deal period. Peavy isn't a necessity but certainly would've energize the club for next season and possible help put us over the top for a WS.

I share the same feelings, you dont pass up an opportunity to land peavy. The cubs have no prospects of worth other than vitters. Even if the Padres were asking for Pie, Cedeno, Vitter, derosa, Marshall and Marquis, i'd still do that trade. The cubs have one of the worst farm systems, if you could land one of the top pitchers in the MLB for garbage than do it. Vitter and Derosa are the only pieces that have value. You're basiclly trading vitter and derosa for peavy cause anyone else added doesn't have much worth period.

I total agree with that, Johnson should not be looked at as an option, Marshall can probably put up as good of numbers as johnson does at this point in his career. I think its all about name recognition. I'm a bit down and dissapointed in all of this, i feel hendry dropped the ball in this trade, what if vitters flops and what derosa doesn't resign or his numbers go down then what, Peavy is 27 yrs old and a proven ace but yet we're passing on him cause we want to keep derosa.

I'm starting to get worried that Hendry second guesses too much, i feel it might come back and bite us. I mean last year roberts could've made us a better team. This year, what if Dempster flops and harden gets injured, we probably might regret not trading for Peavy. If the deal was vitters, pie, derosa, marquis and marshall, i would be annoyed if hendry didnt pull the trigger.

Where did that rumor come from? I haven't seen anything publicly said about the Cubs by Peavy. Does anyone have any links about anything Peavy has said? (I haven't been following this at all this offseason). I forgot where it was written, i think the tribune, someone posted a link on here but i wonder if the following post was before towers spoke to hendry? Supposedly hendry is talking to the media in 30 minutes: http://www.csnchicago.com/pages/new_landing/?Winter-Meetings-Blog-Towers-to-Extend-De=1&blockID=20047&feedID=661