don_kessinger_was_good

Whitlock is reporting it as hearsay, this could well be reporter rumor-mongering, which seems to be rampant. I suppose Whitlock could have overhead something though if some Royals and Cubs people crossed paths in a Ryan Church discussion. In any event, he's saying the numbers he's heard that the Cubs have **on the table** (his words) for Schmidt is 4/60, guaranteed all four years. No other info. FWIW.

Hendry should jump on this, but he won't. Nats need help everywhere, so there's no reason he couldn't acquire Church if he wanted to. Mateo and Will Ohman? Izturis and Roberto Novoa? Sean Marshall straight up? I'd do any of those, and each would help Washington. Cubs could sign Lugo for SS and be looking pretty good on offense.

SIGN JASON SCHMIDT, IT IS OUR ONLY HOPE OBI-WAN, HELP US! (then you can turn your attention to getting us Tejada, please)

The Cubs also just hired a very good batting coach who's expertise is in getting hitters to be more selective at the plate. Perry might work wonders with a guy like Dunn.

That was the plan that I had. Murton can play RF, he's not THAT deficient defensively, and Hendry can sign his boy Cliff Floyd as backup. Take it easy there, Vance. You sure there aren't some more slugs you'd like to spin off, too? :D I don't think anyone in baseball is going to get excited about Ryan Harvey or Brian Dopirak. And Dempster is a poor choice, he's been in Cincinnati once before, and he didn't leave on good terms. Jones, Marshall and Ohman however, that might be a conversation starter if Kent Mercker is truly finished. They need a loogy, and we have three.

If an 855 OPS and 99 runs scored qualifies as awful in your book, then sign me up for a team of awful players, please. You do know how many runs scored our LEADOFF man had in 2006, right?

Why not Adam Dunn? Because he's a terrible baseball player? I really have no idea why his name is continually brought up. You're right of course. Why anyone would want a LH hitting guy who just turned 27 years old within the past month, with a lifetime 900 OPS, 380 OBP, and already 198 career HRs is beyond me. The guy is a slug.

Sorry, my two slot is reserved for Lugo. Dunn bats 5th.

In many ways, Padilla reminds me of Jaime Navarro, and we know how that one turned out. None of these guys are really turning me on at all, especially for the money. Rather than pursue diluted and debatable talent, I think Hendry should just suck it up and get genuine quality, spend the extra $$ for someone that can actually help the Cubs get better. The only guy I see that can do that via the FA route is Schmidt. Do that, and then get your #4 starter via trade, team would be better for it. Just say no to signing two middling FA starters at a combined $20MM/year, please. Don't. Do. It. I don't really buy the Navarro comparison. By this time is his career, Navarro had already had 2 disastrous seasons that Padilla has thus far avoided. Plus, Navarro actually had two good seasons for the Cubs. I'm all for Schmidt and somebody else, but I'm fine with Padilla and Lilly, or something similar. I want max production for the $$. Padilla and Lilly are going to cost you $20MM/year. Schmidt will cost $15MM, maybe $16MM tops. With that $4MM to $5MM, you can snag a Jon Lieber (Philly will cover part of his $$ to move him), or move some talent for a Westbrook or Jennings, which would likely involve a net increment of salary around the $5MM mark. Schmidt + anyone like that > Padilla + Lilly, for equal $$. We need a #2 starter, not four #4's.

I just heard another blurb that Cincinnati is more than willing to move Dunn. They need/want more young pitching. Hendry seems committed to going with veteran starters over young pitchers, at least for 4 of his 5 slots. And we have a LOT of young pitchers. I acknowledge there are (very) significant holes in Dunn's game, but what assets he has, are tremendous. He is the LH hitting power bat for corner OF that the Cubs apparently want very badly. He is a significantly better hitter than Jock Jones, despite the high K-rate and low BA. Dunn would allow the Cubs to move Murton to RF and most importantly (IMO), put Soriano in CF where he has max value. Then, you could sign Cliff Floyd as your 4th OF and occasional platoon partner for Murton in RF, and the offense looks pretty good. Sean Marshall, Will Ohman and Scott Moore for Adam Dunn. Discuss.

In many ways, Padilla reminds me of Jaime Navarro, and we know how that one turned out. None of these guys are really turning me on at all, especially for the money. Rather than pursue diluted and debatable talent, I think Hendry should just suck it up and get genuine quality, spend the extra $$ for someone that can actually help the Cubs get better. The only guy I see that can do that via the FA route is Schmidt. Do that, and then get your #4 starter via trade, team would be better for it. Just say no to signing two middling FA starters at a combined $20MM/year, please. Don't. Do. It.

Boldface is mine. You see, this is what I hate about the Hot Stove, a lot of these guys like Rosenthal don't make the distinction between actual scuttlebutt, and off-the-cuff guessing. I guarantee you Rosenthal has not heard that Texas is offering 6/102 to Barry Zito. Instead, he is ruminating to give himself something to write about. It's just like the pap Phil Rogers subjects us to all the time. Here's my Winter Meetings Blog entry, Ken. The Cubs could offer Jason Schmidt 4 years, $60MM. Really, they could. The Cubs could also trade for Manny Ramirez and Miguel Tejada. Quite the scoops, huh?

http://www.baseball-reference.com/l/lillyte01.shtml http://www.baseball-reference.com/p/padilvi01.shtml He said, "explain," not "post links." If you have an opinion, bring it here. And if he has a problem with me posting links providing the obvious explanation, allow him to defend himself. Otherwise, mind your own business. Well maybe I would like to hear your explanation. Here's a thought: maybe other posters thought the same thing! Until you know what I'm thinking, STFU, and http://community.allhiphop.com/images/smilies/aktion034.gif Someone with 170 posts needs a timeout. Now.

I wonder if Barry thinks he'd look good in blue pinstripes. Of course, we also have a somewhat dilapidated stadium, but it's a fixer-upper, with charm! And on the historical register fer cryin' out loud. C'mon Barry, you know you want to stay in the NL.

Would you trade them along with say, Cedeno or Izturis, for Miguel Tejada? Probably. Soriano Murton Lee Ramirez Tejada Jones Barrett DeRosa would be the best lineup in the division and probably in the NL. Hate to quibble, and it's moot since the Cubs won't get Tejada...but I'd bat him 4th to be honest, with Ramirez 5th. Tejada has superior OBP and I want as many guys on base as possible in front of Aramis, our most reliable RBI man. I would also flip-flop Jones and Barrett as you have them, Barrett is the far superior hitter and would provide better protection for Aramis IMO.

Trivia question: When was the last time the Cubs had two lefties in their starting rotation (Hill and Lilly)? If Marshall beats out Miller for the 5 spot, they could have three. Have the Cubs ever tried that before? Does it matter in the NL?

The Cubs have the money and the need, I can only fathom that Hendry looks at Schmidt and sees the potential of a Kerry Wood/Mark Prior disappointment blowing up in his face again and he just doesn't want to go there. Though vastly inferior pitchers, the guys he seems most interested in appear to at least be durable. But shouldn't they be good, too??

Roto now picking up via Jason Stark the Lilly signs with Cubs rumor, he's repeating the 4 yrs/9MM per numbers, which would be better than some of the other numbers bouncing around, but still too much. Jason Schmidt, please.

We're trading him for whoever is necessary to get the free agent pitcher's agents to think the Cubs have some leverage in negotiations. That's actually not a terrible idea, but then if we deal him for a pitcher, who is going to play in the OF w/ Murt and Soriano? Lofton? Manny Ramirez?

Other than Tejada, there is no one on the Orioles likely available that I want. Don't waste your valuable time barking up this tree again JH--trade with other clubs, please.

Why? Cubs always seem to get the VERY short end of the stick when they trade with Baltimore. What has Baltimore received from the Cubs? A broken down Sosa, and a CF who still can't get on base. I guess I fail to see the robbery. Corey Patterson is clearly a fatally flawed player, but he is major league talent with some very definite skills--strong defense, outstanding speed, occasional power. In exchange, the Cubs were given one of the worst non-prospects I think I've ever seen in such a trade in Nate Spears, who is not just bad, he is putrid and will never reach even AA ball. That qualifies as robbery.

Would you trade them along with say, Cedeno or Izturis, for Miguel Tejada?

Walker would be ideal for the bench and splitting time with DeRosa. He's an ideal #2 hitter or if Lofton is brought in, he's disciplined enough for the eighth spot. Unfortunately, I think that ship has sailed. Walker didn't exactly help his marketability with his brutal performance after leaving the Cubs. He's in the same boat as someone like Aaron Boone this offseason, he'll need to accept a bench role with someone and maybe if an injury arises, he can get some regular PT again.

Sign Lofton, and do what it takes to get Tejada on the Cubs. All non-pitching problems solved at that point.

Bonds has played his entire career in the NL. He's very hung-up on his stats, I don't think he'll want to split up his numbers across leagues. Just like Maddux insisted on NL-teams only, I wouldn't be surprised if Bonds feels the same way. If he doesn't return to the Giants, what team do I fear he'll sign with? The Cardinals. They have the money, they have the need.