I'm not sure. A lot will depend on the perceived value at the time of the deadline. I know we couldn't get Billingsly, but I wouldn't mind Joel Guzman or Andre Ethier. hmmm guzman. they're set w/ furcal @ SS and LaRoche is ranked ahead of guzman by Baseball America. He may be expendable. perhaps howry & maddux could get that done. I wouldn't do Howry for Guzman even if Maddux wasn't included. To me, Howry and Eyre are extremely valuable as they are signed beyon this season. Other than Maddux, what pitchers are likely to be available? Livian Hernandez...maybe. If my assessment of the buyers and sellers is correct, the remaining teams don't really have vets approaching FA that would interest a lot of teams. For that reason, the Cubs have a chance to get a nice player from a team that needs another arm. While there should be some interest in Howry and Eyre, I'd hold them up for a very top prospect. They have proven they can get valuable outs late in the game. They are under team-control for 2007-2008 and the Cubs are under no financial constraints. If the Dodgers want Maddux AND Howry, the cost should be nothing less than Billingsly unless they want to give up Guzman and Blake DeWitt. true, maddux may be the best available. no one likes to deal pitching. i'd hate to see howry or eyre go and agree w/ your assessment, but the dodgers have been pretty reluctant to deal off prospects. perhaps things have changed some w/ coletti in charge now.