don_kessinger_was_good

One thing's for sure: given his size, you can bet Brackman is the Cubs' first choice. I'd rather have Price though, if for no other reason that he's likely closer to the big leagues.

1. Trey Hillman 2. Cecil Cooper 3. Tony Pena All dark horses, but I've seen each name mentioned before in various places, and each fits your supposition of "teams still in the playoffs"; Hillman is in Japan. Still, my vote goes to Peoria Joe, I want him.

With Pedro down, I think the deep-pocket Mets make Schmidt their top offseason target. It's no secret the Yankees love Zito. I think if we're to make a starting pitcher splash, it almost HAS to be Matsuzaka, by default. And I'd be for that, it's a big gamble, but the potential payoff is huge. He's younger than Rich Hill, for crying out loud.

Ryan Dempster 2007 = Joe Borowski 2006?? Relievers are such a fickle bunch....I'd still prefer to pawn Dempster off on someone else and free up the cash, but there IS a chance he can be more effective next year. Some have noted that he looked hurt in the second half, maybe he pitched injured, who knows.

FYI--It's been said more than once around here that the Royals REALLY like Wieters. I expect them to take him with the 1st pick, leaving us either Price or Brackman. KC is unhappy with John Buck, and they feel they are pretty strong in young pitching at this point with Hochevar and friends. I predict Wieters goes to KC. Tampa is on record as wanting "more guys like Kazmir"--I think Brackman is theirs. So the prediction here is....The Price is Right! (guh, sorry, had to do it)...

Theriot was no pud in college, either. He's produced at every level. I'm beginning to think of him as our own version of David Eckstein, and that's not bad at all. We can certainly use a guy like that.

I'd like to make this my avatar if the picture weren't so big: http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2006-09/25668412.jpg

Sarge Lite can give better defense, OBP and power than Pierre at lower cost. And, the Cubs seem to like the idea of bringing him back. I'd much rather go for an Andruw Jones or Vernon Wells if that's remotely possible, but no way on Pierre and the $8MM+/year he's going to want. Yes Jim, you gave up Nolasco for him, another bad decision. But, what's done is done, it's a sunk cost. LET IT GO. Pierre must not be re-signed.

Don't let Dusty Baker fog your minds one last time. Despite where he has played, many are forgetting that Theriot is an excellent SHORTSTOP, it's a testament to his flexibility that he's been equally as effective at 2B, where Baker has almost exclusively used him. Getting Soriano and using Theriot are thus not mutually exclusive, not by a long shot. My ideal scenario would be to acquire either Soriano as a FA or Tejada via trade, and use Theriot (with Izturis as his backup if anything goes wrong) at 2B or SS, depending on which star we bring in.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2006-09/25668412.jpg

No more maybes. I want this kid penciled in as a starting 2B or SS for the Cubs in 07. I've seen NOTHING from Theriot that's not to like. He makes contact, he makes things happen, has terrific speed, excellent defense at two positions. Enough already. Even the "small sample size" argument doesn't hold water anymore. One position solved.

To add SLG to the team, there ARE other options than dumping Murt. The easiest is to just write a check for Soriano. If Tejada is ever going to be traded, this will be the offseason that it happens. Adam Dunn has underperformed and is eminently tradeable. The Dodgers are not enamored with JD Drew. Gary Sheffield and Jim Edmonds are both old and broken down, but neither will be back with his current team. Pat Burrell is unloved in Philly. Carlos Lee is a FA. Vernon Wells has been talked about. An interesting component of ALL those names other than Soriano and Burrell is that each is a proven OBP guy, too. I'm just sayin'.

We could REALLY use Willis. He's durable, at times he's electric, he's young, and he'd be an awesome complement to Zambrano. With our offense in shambles, and likely to get even worse if Ramirez does in fact leave, the only shred of hope for the Cubs is to get that starting rotation built back up to strength again. I would offer Florida ANY one of our minor leaguers (including Pie), and ANY one of Theriot, Cedeno, or the young pitchers other than Hill, and see if they bite. If it gets them interested, but not ready to bite, I might consider a third prospect of their choice as well. But no Murton, no Hill, we're going to need them.

While this sounds ridiculous, far-fetched, and completely made up--I mean, how does ANYONE know what KC or the Cubs will do on September 29th unless they are the GM--I'll play along with the original poster for a second. Dempster sucks. We don't need him, we don't want him, it was yet ANOTHER ill-advised bad contract on Jim Hendry's part. The Royals are slowly improving. They will get there via young players. Baird tried to buy some time with middling, veteran, over the hill free agents in the $5MM/year range--hmm, sounds a lot like Jim Hendry's methods. The new GM would really like to clear out that deadwood salary. He'd give his left arm to be rid of Mike Sweeney and his huge money. I could see the Cubs moving Dempster to a team like KC, only IF KC could realize significant budget relief as part of the deal. How are you going to do that with Dempster owed $10.5MM for 07 and 08? If you're the Cubs, you'd have to take Sweeney to make it happen. Since we have no use for a decrepit DH, you'd have to ask yourself whether you think it will be easier to move Sweeney in a follow-on trade, or Dempster to a different team. Sweeney makes $11MM in 07, so the money is the same as for Dempster, but over one season instead of two. Myself, I'd try to move Sweeney to someone like Detroit, Anaheim, Toronto or Baltimore, four teams that might be interested in a DH, but they won't take him at $11MM. You'd have to eat at LEAST half his money, and now we're back to square one--who's easier to move, Dempster if you eat $5MM of his money, or Sweeney if you eat $5MM of his? (Answer--Dempster). So, I put no stock in this "rumor." Zero.

I am nowhere near the Dunn fan many on the board are, but if you could acquire him at roughly a $5MM to $6MM marginal payroll increment, I'd certainly do that. In other words, if you could swap out Jones or Dempster say, plus a couple of prospects, it would be a fine acquisition. Dunn is the power bat needed for the 5 spot in the order to protect Aramis. I don't like the low average and the many K's, but the OBP and SLG are there. Jones, Marmol or Marshall, and Brian Dopirak for Dunn? I'm in. Give me Soriano at 2B and now we're talking.

Yes please, and twice on Sundays! I will even help pack up Hendry's office for free!

Why waste the time even lamenting this? The franchise is doomed as long as Hendry is there, everyone KNOWS he'll sign Pierre to a ridiculous deal, it's guaranteed. No. Hope. Whatsoever.

Zito please. Proven commodity. Cheaper.

BUSTED PICK.

1. Trade for Andruw Jones or Vernon Wells. 2. Sign FA Alfonso Soriano. 3. Sign Zito or Schmidt, or trade for a front-line starter. 4. Get a back of the rotation veteran starter like Lilly or Batista or Lieber. 5. Bring back Wood for the bullpen. Yeah, that'll happen. But if it did, problems are solved. I bat Theriot leadoff at SS and Murton 2nd in LF. Barrett is 8th (he actually hits well there), and then 3-7 of Lee, Ramirez, Jones/Wells, Soriano and Jock at 7th, what's not to like? I could also see Murton slid down to 7 or 8 in favor of getting either Wells or Soriano more at-bats at 2. Wood money savings alone would nearly cover Jones or Wells' salary. Pierre + Maddux money brings Soriano. If you can dump Izturis and/or Jock, the savings would cover item #4 above. The only new money the Cubs would need would be for Zito or Schmidt. Oh well.....

YYYYYYYYYESSSSSSS!!!!!!!! I can never get the linky thing to work, but there is a top page story on Yahoo Finance, or you can find the stories by going to the Trib's stock ticker page (Symbol=TRB). Basically, they're readying the company for a significant breakup thanks to the Chandler Trust and pressure on the board. When companies do this, they tend to sell assets that are non-core and will realize a book profit to help offset the goodwill premium associated with the stock's breakup value. Given that the Trib is carrying roughly a $400MM book profit from its investment in the Cubs (they paid just $20MM for the team 25 years ago), I think it's a given the Cubs get sold. Paging Mr. Cuban, Mr. Mark Cuban, please report to the courtesy desk for an important phone call.......

Durham won't be a long-term commitment because of his age, so he wouldn't block Eric Patterson if E-Patt continues to develop. Plus, even if Durham misses some games because of creaky old age injuries, you have Izturis and Theriot around, both of whom can cover some 2B. I go for Durham. If I get Soriano, I'm putting him in the OF.

Russ Branyan would be a perfect complement to Michael Restovich as two bench guys that can come up late in the game and hit a HR for you. They hit from opposite sides of the plate and cover reserve positions on the field for you too--Branyan can cover 3B, Restovich 1B, and both can play the OF (though badly). Perfect bench guys--not that the Cubs are smart enough to see that. Take those two guys, Izturis/Theriot (whichever doesn't start), Pagan, Hank White, and someone like Mike Fontenot and you have yourself a nice, flexible bench. Someone mentioned back of the rotation, veteran FA pitchers, I will say Mark Redman looked better than his numbers would indicate this year, particularly after the ASB. He wouldn't be a bad option as your 4/5 guy at the right price.

Wow, I'll remember not to send you guys the Welcome Package for Matt Cain's Fan Club. Sheesh, take it easy. I think his performance merits discussion, I didn't put him in my top 3 fer crying out loud. Do note the kid is just 21 yo, he's a keeper.

Matt Cain?? How about Oswalt and his 3.06 ERA and 148 Ks? You lost. I can name some more pitchers with better numbers than Matt Cain: Jason Schmidt, for instance. Josh Johnson. Bronson Arroyo... Cain leads the league with a 208 BAA and is top ten in nearly every other category. He is his team's best pitcher this year--better than Schmidt--and is getting stronger as the year goes on. Since August 1, Cain has in fact been the NL's best starting pitcher.