don_kessinger_was_good

Strange that, I thought their rotation was Pedro, Benson, Zambrano, Glavine and Trachsel. They also have J Seo who is pretty good. And Aaron Heileman.

havent the phillies already said that michaels is not available? i read it on here not too long ago. Phillies are now in a Tampa, Cincinnati and Cleveland type situation. Pat the Bat, Abreu, Aaron Rowand, Jason Michaels, Shane Victorino. Last I checked, in the NL only three of these guys can play every day. They've got to move someone. I still think it will be Abreu, but if they chicken out, Michaels has to be the one. They won't get fair value for Victorino since he's just hitting the big leagues, and they seem to love the idea of having a real CF for once like Rowand. Burrell is going nowhere. Hendry needs to have Philly, Tampa and Cincinnati on his speed dial, because they are our three most logical trading partners. Ignore all incoming calls from Texas please, Jim.

This thread shows absolutely no respect to Neifi. He's the man, dude, he saved this team in 2005! Where would we be without Neifi!! We're not paying him $3MM/year to sit on the bench, dude, Neifi can catch the ball.

I predict Hendry and Baker are going to get skewered big time this year at the Cubs convention regarding Neifi. The fans have to let them know that NO ONE in baseball except themselves think Neifi should EVER start for a ballclub, much less a putative contender. He was released by the flipping Giants, for chrissakes.

I have seen nothing, other than wishful thinking here, suggesting Dunn is being made available by Cincinnati. Kearns or Pena yes, Dunn no. If anything, the Reds are shopping Casey so they can move Dunn to 1B.

If you have young pitching and need young OF-ers, why would GMs be opposed to swapping prospects with a team that has complementary strengths and weaknesses, so both teams improve themselves? For example, maybe the Cubs trade Rich Hill for some team's hotshot OF prospect, a guy a year or two closer than Felix Pie is at so we get immediate help.

Depends on how creative he can get. The two names that jump out of course, given our needs, are Manny and Abreu. Honestly--were I Hendry, I'd sell the farm for Abreu. If you overpay, so be it, you need this guy to fill your biggest hole. If you trade three top prospects, the odds are only one of the three will actually pan out, based on past experience. So offer Gillick a threesome of Pie, Hill and Jerome Williams first thing Monday morning and take your chances. Maybe he bites if he was seriously considering just Erik Bedard for Abreu. If Pie turns out to be the real deal, Pie for Abreu isn't an awful swap, given Abreu's talent and our specific, IMMEDIATE needs. Short of the monster deal, there are a few names on the list that would interest me as improving the team. I like Javier Vazquez and Zito. Shawn Green and Raul Ibanez would be OF options for us. Milton Bradley, Jason Michaels and Juan Pierre as previously discussed at length. Wilkerson, Kearns, Brady Clark? I do think at this point Ronny Cedeno/Neifi Perez is your SS though, that is now set.

I didn't offer any comments on any names, OO. I was just trying to put together a comprehensive list of names I've read bandied about in various stories as being available in one trade or another. Sometimes, those names are high value guys because the teams willing to trade them have serious needs and they recognize it takes value to get value. For example, Texas being willing to trade Hank Blalock.

First, Vance's list is off slightly--Patterson will be traded or non-tendered, I think that's a given. Wuertz, rather than Novoa, gets the last middle reliever job I'm sure, though the money is the same. Jerome Williams is left off the list but should be on it, at least for now. There has been no indication the Cubs will tender Hairston, and even if they do, 2.2MM in arby seems a bit high. And the Cubs will certainly go with a 12-man staff (if Wood isn't traded), so only one, and not two, bench spots are needed (a reserve OF). Nonetheless, the total estimated dollar figure left to work with is still roughly 22-23MM, very similar to Vance's figure, it could maybe be as high as 25MM depending on some of these marginal cases. I chose to put together a list of every player I've heard about that is realistically on the block from other teams. Players with big league experience only, not minor league prospects. Players that are likely available, and not pipe dreams. For example, Albert Pujols is certainly available--if the Cubs offered Lee, Prior and Zambrano. So just realisticly tradeable players that have been mentioned in the press. And just for trades, no free agents are listed (we know those). I'll surely leave off some names, but a "shopping list" might make trade scenarios easier to construct in the post-Furcal environment here. So, my stab at it-- Atlanta--Andy Marte, Ryan Langerhans, Dan Kolb, Johnny Estrada Philadelphia--Bobby Abreu, Jason Michaels New York--Cliff Floyd, Xavier Nady, Victor Diaz, Kaz Matsui, Jae Seo, Steve Trachsel, Aaron Heilman, Kris Benson Florida--Juan Pierre, Paul LoDuca Washington--Brad Wilkerson Cubs--Todd Walker, Corey Patterson, Jerome Williams, Rich Hill, Roberto Novoa St Louis--Jason Marquis Houston--None Cincinnati--Wily Mo Pena, Austin Kearns, Sean Casey, Eric Milton Milwaukee--Lyle Overbay, Bill Hall, Brady Clark, Tomo Ohka, Russ Branyan Pittsburgh--Jack Wilson, Craig Wilson, Kip Wells San Diego--Ryan Klesko, Dave Roberts, Sean Burroughs San Francisco--Jason Schmidt, Pedro Feliz, Todd Linden Los Angeles--Milton Bradley, Derek Lowe, Edwin Jackson Arizona--Luis Gonzalez, Troy Glaus, Chad Tracy, Shawn Green, Javier Vazquez, Alex Cintron Colorado--None Boston--Manny Ramirez, Trot Nixon, Kevin Youkilis, Matt Clement, David Wells, Doug Mirabelli New York--Carl Pavano, Chien Ming Wang, Scott Proctor Baltimore--Erik Bedard, Jay Gibbons, Jorge Julio Toronto--Alexis Rios, Orlando Hudson, Miguel Batista Tampa--Aubrey Huff, Joey Gathright, Julio Lugo, Danys Baez, Toby Hall Chicago--Damaso Marte, Orlando Hernandez Minnesota--Kyle Lohse, Brad Radke, JC Romero, Juan Rincon Cleveland--Casey Blake Detroit--Dmitri Young, Franklyn German Kansas City--Mike Sweeney, Mike MacDougal, Jeremy Affeldt Texas--Kevin Mench, Gary Matthews Jr, Alfonso Soriano, Hank Blalock, Joaquin Benoit Oakland--Barry Zito, Charles Thomas Los Angeles--Steve Finley, Casey Kotchman, Brendan Donnelly Seattle--Ryan Franklin, Yorvit Torrealba, Jeremy Reed, Raul Ibanez

I'm not so sure; there's a big difference between a 3 year deal and the 7 year deal Boras was initially jawing about. Given the spot the Cubs are now in, would it be the worst thing to sign Damon for 3/30? 3/33?

13MM/ year versus longerterm security means its about the money... It's pretty obvious that it was always about the money. If it wasn't he would have re-signed with the Braves a long time ago. I think it is about the money but I think he is stupid at the same time. If he takes the Cubs offer (and I'm beside myself in joy that he didn't) he actually would have had more money. Now he will play in a pitchers park that will likely hurt his numbers and likely supress the value of his next contract. Not a smart move IMO. No way; unless he becomes completely debilitated, he'll come out ahead this way. 47-39.5=7.5MM. If Furcal has any playing competency at all, he'll certainly be able to get a contract for $4MM/year for 2009, don't you think? He has inflation working in his favor, too.

Give the guy a break, it was his agent that said it "wasn't about the money", not Furcal. Standard agent-speak for press consumption. I say bully for Furcal, I'd do the same thing, and if honest with yourself, you likely would too. He's getting nearly $4MM/year more from LA than the Cubs would have paid him (3/39.5 vs. 5/47), that is one HECKUVA lot of money. I'd take the dough.

Hendry needs to throw the farm at Philly for Abreu, and sign Lofton at this point. Those two moves would solve an awful lot of problems. Lofton, Walker, Lee, Abreu and Ramirez 1-5 would look awfully nice.

How is a 320 OBP, sub 800 OPS, and miserable defense something to long for? Put a fork in him, he's done. sub 800 OPS? sounds like furcal. Exactly. If the Furcal to the Dodgers story is true, there's no way Furcal is worth 13 million or even 10 million/year. I'd take Nomar at 5 million with some incentives based upon PA, and be content with the same production. Furcal OPS in 2004: 758 Furcal OPS in 2005: 777 Garciaparra can do that, for a fraction of the cost. Cedeno can do that for a minumal amount compared to both Furcal and Garciaparra. I don't want Furcal for what he's (apparently) going to get paid, but related to this post, you'll point how to me how Garciaparra will give GG defense and 46 SBs, right? And for a leadoff man, OBP is more important than SLG, so while Furcal and Nomar had comparable OPS', Furcal's 35 point advantage in OBP is not trivial. I love Ronny Cedeno, but he needs to hit low in the order, not leadoff. Hendry is going to need to go out and acquire that guy elsewhere.

How is a 320 OBP, sub 800 OPS, and miserable defense something to long for? Put a fork in him, he's done.

I agree, I'd rather go with Cedeno and fix holes elsewhere now. Since Hendry didn't get Furcal, that means he still has a war chest of like $22MM to $25MM to spend. And with the news this week that Kerry Wood is now uncertain to be available on opening day (gee, big surprise), I think this means the competition for AJ Burnett and Kevin Millwood is about to get a whole lot stronger.

C'mon, I like Nomar, but he's a shell of his former self, and he just can't play defense, no matter the position. You want to talk about someone "kicking him to the curb" that would be Boston, not Chicago. Let him go the AL and DH for someone, but he doesn't suit our needs well. We just can't rely on guys like Wood and Nomar and Guzman that no matter the talent, just can't stay healthy. I love Babe Ruth too, because he's the best player of all time, but he can't help my team because, you know, he's dead. Nomar 2006 does not equal Nomar 1998

And another teen poster bites the dust....

Wow, so I guess it WAS all about the money, all along, huh Kinzer?? Well, off to Plan B for Jim Hendry. What really irks me here is that I think you can scratch Milton Bradley off the list now too--there's no way the Cubs and Dodgers will do business. Overpaying for Juan Pierre, anyone??

I'm calling this is a fake.

I don't understand all the wasted bandwidth about Cedeno, Furcal, Walker, blah blah blah....we have Neifi Perez and Jose Macias, those guys are proven veterans that can play multiple positions, and they're gamers, dude. Did you know they can switch-hit, too? And they run the bases smart. I would save a bunch of money and just go with Perez and Macias as my double-play combination. Dudes can catch the ball.

Wow. The Star is reporting that the Royals could have had Castillo if they would have given up Andy Sisco--and Allan Baird said NO. Wow. KC offered MacDougal, but Florida wouldn't bite so they went to Minnesota instead. How sick do you guys feel now that Hendry's discard from last year, Andy Sisco, could have netted Luis Castillo?

Not at all, Kessinger WAS good, with the glove at least, for his day. Dude could really get after it in the hole, Kess was a master at the jump throw long before the Wizard of Oz hit the big leagues. And while overall he wasn't much of a hitter, most of the shortstops of his day weren't, either. And he DID have a couple of nice seasons with the bat. No, the biggest problem with Kessinger sounds awfully similar to what we complain about with Dusty--for lack of better alternatives, Leo would bat Don leadoff. How many RBI opportunities that cost Billy and Santo we'll never know. BTW, have you ever noticed Kessinger's career comparables list? Alfredo Griffin, Larry Bowa, Phil Rizzuto, Billy Jurges, Bill Russell, and...Ozzie Guillen his own self. That's a pretty respectable list of shortstops pre-1990s if you ask me.

I agree, didn't say I liked it. In Mench's defense, he has one thing going for him--the guy absolutely mashes LHP. If you found an appropriate platoon partner for him, as goony has pointed out before, he would be just fine. The problem as we know from experience is that our addled manager is completely incapable of properly directing a strict platoon situation. And hence, Mench is a bad idea. I think the driver behind the deal though is that Hendry, the toolsy fetishist, thinks Soriano is the cat's meow. Which is why ultimately I'm convinced we need a new GM before this organization can take the next step. How anyone can look at the Cubs shortcomings in recent years, and STILL lust after low OBP, high K-rate players with poor defense and lousy fundamentals, is beyond me.

From what I gather, Hendry's backup plan is to trade Williams, Patterson, Walker and a prospect to Texas for Kevin Mench and Alfonso Soriano. Soriano plays 2B, Cedeno plays SS, Mench plays RF. Then, he either still tries to bring in Pierre, or Bradley, or signs Kenny Lofton for CF. Didn't say I liked it, I just said that was apparently Hendry's backup plan. If he goes that route, he'll have money yet to spend, so I presume he then proceeds to spend the rest of his dough on a pitcher like Millwood, Washburn, Weaver or Burnett.