82TonyM

10) Johnson 11) Vitters 12) Szczur

8. Maples 9. Villenueva 10. Vitters

Went on Thursday morning. Upgraded my seats from 237 row 10 to 224 row 12. Little more in price but definitely worth it. Great view, no pole obstruction. Can see electronic scoreboard and right into the cubs dugout. Will be 3rd years having seats, cant believe have moved to down here so soon. Not sure I will move again to be honest as am pretty tapped out on price and not many seats in rows 7-10 are available in this price tier.

6. Jackson 7. Maples 8. Paniagua

Kaplan on Twitter: David Kaplan ‏@thekapman Cubs top prospect Javier Baez is undergoing tests after injuring thumb in AZ Fall League Checking for a break. Rest of fall league in doubt. :banghead:

Kaplan just stated the hole created by Eovaldi being traded means the Dodgers could be back in for Dempster to fill his rotation spot. Zach Lee back on the table?

Is it possible the Cubs get creative and pick Giolito at 6 knowing he likely declines. They could then overslot on the supplementary and most of the top 10 rounds with the savings and pick the high level talent they otherwise would not have been able to. They would also secure the 7th overall pick in next years draft which has more top end high ceiling talent by most accounts. Would this hypothetical even be a smart thing to do or am I over thinking this?

Bonser Liriano Nathan for AJ Pierzynski

Well Scott, you've been reporting a Garza trade that is 40 man neutral at best for the Cubs, so that doesn't fix the problem, does it? Thats what I asked him and some others said they expect other Cubs to go with Garza (Baker/DeWitt)

Swain saying he is trying to confirm its a 1+1 deal... which I presume means 1 year with an option

Look who had it first... :D

Is that the guy who claims to have broken a bunch of stuff, but really just tries to predict something that looks likely so he can claim he "broke" it? That's the one!

If it's Turner and Smyly, then I don't particularly care who's behind door #3. Me either. Now that would be getting pitching back. But out of curiosity, how connected is Goldstein to stuff like this? I dont know for sure but from following him on Twitter I get the impression he doesnt know anything about a possible trade but it is his opinion that he rates the players so high he doesnt think we can get both in a deal for Garza

Goldstein just said we wont get both Castellanos and Turner :(

Just tweeted:

These just being 2 teams that are desperately seeking starting pitching. The Marlins and Orioles are also known to be actively seeking I really don't get why nobody seems to be willing to take a chance on 1 year of Big Z, a year that promises to be a walk year as nobody will pick up the 19 mil 2013 option. He has a 9 mil buyout which I'm sure the Cubs would pick up or maybe split. Obviously, Z has his mental issues, but if there's ever a year that he'll act and pitch anything like a 18 mil pitcher, this would be it, and although his velo is down a bit he still has what it takes to be a 3 guy in most rotations, probably 2 for the Yankees depending on how seriously you take Nova. A lot of teams seem very reluctant to give Edwin Jackson 4 years and Z would cost less in terms of prospects than Garza, Floyd, Jurrjens, or Wandy. I'd be willing to eat a good chunk, if not all of the salary if we could get 3 decent prospects in return, possiblly 1 of somebodies top 10 and 2 high ceiling guys or big league ready types, but obviously nowhere near the caliber of guys we'd expect for Garza. I understand that Z isn't a guy that should be railroaded out of town, but the way the 2012 season's shaping up, if we have to pay the 18 mil anyway it could be more valuable to us if we got some prospects and let Z pitch elsewhere. Perhaps a change of scenery would do him well. Maybe teams will be more desperate in the summer. I've been saying all along that I'm surprised nobody has shown interest in Zambrano with the Cubs paying a big chunk of his salary and expecting very little in return. Zambrano who slot into a #3 or #4 starter in most rotations. Given his numbers and scouting reports from last year, it's not that surprising people aren't lining up for a potential headache that probably won't give you 200 innings. With new management and a new manager, the Cubs are better off giving Zambrano another chance to see if they can salvage something at the deadline. With the Cubs picking up $12-$13 million, it leaves Zambrano at 1 year/$7 million. That's as good a deal as you're going to find out there. Why would the Cubs pay $12-13 mil just for him to pitch for someone else?

Heyman on Twitter: "No real favorite'' in 5-team Garza derby Posted on: January 1, 2012 10:06 pm There is "no real favorite'' in the five-team Matt Garza sweepstakes, according to someone familiar with the talks. The teams involved the derby for the 28-year-old Cubs righthander at this point are the Yankees, Blue Jays, Tigers, Red Sox and Marlins. With the Cubs seeking young pitchers, it would seem that the Yankees, Blue Jays and Tigers could hold an edge ultimately. The Yankees have Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances, the Tigers Jacob Turner and the Blue Jays several well-regarded prospects at the lower levels. The Cubs are hoping to improve their young pitching stock, and Garza is the most marketable player they're willing to deal. The Red Sox earlier named Garza, who went 10-10 with a 3.31 ERA in 2011, his only one with the Cubs, as a target in Theo Epstein compensation talks, but it's unclear wether the Cubs would even consider trying to solve the compensation issue while making a bigger Garza deal with Boston. They wouldn't surrender Garza straight-up for Epstein, and it's possible the Cubs would want to keep Garza and the compensation issues totally separate. The Red Sox don't have pitching prospects to match the Yankees or Blue Jays but do have hard-throwing righthander Anthony Ranaudo, who was drafted by Epstein, the new Cubs president. The Cubs are obviously rebuilding but have been nonetheless tied to the Prince Fielder derby. A Cubs person suggested that while Fielder is the type of player they need, they aren't willing to pursue Fielder at all costs, a not unfamiliar refain for teams pursuing big-name free agents.

Short term upgrade from Turner to Garza to try and win in 2012 and 2013

I am in favor of partnering with whoever will give us the best pitching prospect. Right now J Turner sounds the most intriguing. I would favor a deal with Detroit with Turner included.

Is Jacob Turner the best prospect from any team that has been mentioned in these discussions?

What are your thoughts on Drew Hutchinson? His 2011 numbers (like all Blue Jays prospects) are fantastic, but his stuff doesn't seem as highly rated as Syndergaard's. My first thought looking at it is I would prefer Syndergaard of their right handed pitching prospects, but I might have Hutchinson over McGuire. I think I'd take Hutchison over McGuire as well, but I don't think we could get all 3 of him, Syndergaard, and Nicolino. In fact, we very likely won't get but one of them. Considering how poorly our minors look, as far as LHP goes, I think Nicolino is the best bet. If I were Toronto, I'd certainly think Syndergaard and Nicolino could both come back to really make me regret dealing them. Syndergaard slightly more than Nicolino even. The original package Levine floated was McGuire/Marisnick/Nicolino. Which I still think would be excellent. I think Hutchison has 2 potential, innings eater body too, so I'd like him more than McGuire. But, there's nothing wrong with getting a guy who's almost a sure thing to be a 3, which McGuire is. My perfect package would be Marisnick/Syndergaard/Nicolino, but I really think that's asking too much from them. Not to mention, I also think Theo probably wants to add something a little closer to the majors. Which would be McGuire or even Drabek. Davell, how would this package compare to the one we gave up for Garza? Thanks.

Got my appointment on Dec 1st at Wrigley to see if I want to change seats. I am hoping they show different seats in the stadium that are available to upgrade. Definitely looking forward to it!

Describe the qualities you deem most important in a manager in this era of baseball and more importantly for the Cubs organization next year and beyond?

Option B... Fuku all the way

Thought Soto and Sori were safe. Also their guy looked out at 3rd. Surprised Len and Bob didnt really say anything about either.