don_kessinger_was_good

This goes on to suggest the Dodgers wouldn't want much in return for Bradley, especially if they might non-tender him. The Cubs should be all over him. Koronka and Mitre.

I dispised Bobby Murcer (NY thing) more than any player and the Cubs traded my favorite player (Madlock) for him. That was my all-time Cub transaction low point Wow, we're birds of a feather. I was CRUSHED, CRUSHED, when the cheapskate Wrigley's sent Madlock out of town. He was my favorite player too, and had just won back-to-back batting titles for crying out loud! And for him, they got Murcer, Mr. Warning Track Flyball Out if there ever was one. What an awful awful trade.

Realistic trade: Jerome Williams, Roberto Novoa and Felix Pie for Bobby Abreu. Philly gets the #4 starter they need, middle relief depth which they need, and our best prospect. Two years down the road or so, they could be fielding an outfield of Michaels, Pie and Victorino, which could be awesome. They also get salary relief right now, helping to land a free agent starting pitcher, and have the money to replace Billy Wagner, who will likely leave. From the Cubs' standpoint, you give up a nice, young starter in Williams, but who will likely be replaced by a veteran free agent signee; Novoa, who is not a major piece of the puzzle (and not as highly thought of by the Cubs as Michael Wuertz); and Pie, whose upside is where Abreu is already at. Like the Choi for Lee trade, you're trading future potential (Pie) for immediate results (Abreu), in this case the disparity being great enough that you must include Williams, too. I think it is a fair trade from both team's perspective.

Mench==A younger Burnitz. Yuck. Let's move on.

Maybe it's because he's about to be moved as part of the Jerome Williams, Felix and Roberto Novoa trade package for Bobby Abreu that I've been salivating about.

Man oh man what happened to Sing? No big deal, Sing isn't a serious prospect. Like David Kelton and Micah Hoffpauir before him, Sing is one of those marginal guys that puts together some good seasons in the low to mid minors and fools you into thinking he's a legitimate prospect. In reality, his ceiling is as a bench player in the big leagues, and those guys are a dime a dozen. He seems like a nice kid though and is from Joliet, so I hope he makes it, but I'm not on pins and needles waiting to find out.

Ditto-ville. Betancourt and Scott Linebrink in San Diego are the two best setup men in baseball. Third time is the charm: we failed with Remlinger and Hawkins in that role. Need to get back on the horse and try again. Walker for Betancourt I'd do handstands if that happens.

I wish WE would sign Eyre, Sauerbeck, Dotel and Howry. We have the money, and I strongly feel a bullet-proof, deep bullpen is a must. OK, you wouldn't need all four with Williamson, Wuertz, Ohman and Dempster around. But two of the four, absolutely. Howry and Dotel, please.

Well stated Craig, and I would add even more forcefully that I think more of Koronka than Mitre and Wellemeyer, both of whom are hopeless IMO. You'll never make a difference at the big league level if you can't progress every year at the minor league level, and Mitre and Wellemeyer are simply incapable of getting over the hump, after multiple tries and multiple opportunities. They are no longer legitimate prospects, and much as it pains me to say (particularly in Welly's case), they have become organizational filler. You might think that harsh, but put yourself in the shoes of any team OTHER THAN the Cubs--would YOU be interested in Welly or Mitre? Would you trade anything of value for them? No? Then that's the definition of "organizational filler." Koronka has the advantage of being a lefty and showing progress. I don't think the Cubs will keep him because his ceiling is low, but he has value. I'd be surprised if he weren't part of a trade package this winter. It would also free up a valuable 40-man roster spot to protect someone younger, with a higher ceiling, that the Cubs want to keep--like Ryu or Marshall, for example.

Wrong. After 2006, Maddux will likely retire--he won't be on the Cubs at least--and Wood will go elsewhere for sure. That's a phat $20MM in freed up money. Even if say $6MM of that per year goes to the new big contract Lee will get, you still have $14MM which pays handily for one of these free agents, and one of the middle relievers I still hope to get. Bottomline is that if you can fit these new free agents into your 2006 budget, then you can CERTAINLY fit them into your budgets for 2007 and beyond, no problem.

Why not, it seems to be the organizational philosophy at the minor league level, that's for sure. Heck, we can just clone Z at let him play all nine positions. We'd win 100 games! :lol:

Also, not that this person would necessarily know just what Jim Hendry has planned--in fact, I would guess not, it's more like informed speculation. But a casual conversation with a certain former very tall, redheaded Cubs Cy Young winner--and area resident--at a dinner reception suggested that the Cubs are done with both Nomar and Patterson. As is Hendry's norm, he'll put in a good word and do whatever he can to help Nomar find the "ideal job", as it was put, as the Cubs really do like Nomar's attitude. He's an "organizational fit", as it were. As for Patterson, the Cubs simply want him to show SOMETHING in winter ball to make him attractive to some team in a trade. Absent that, they'll release him before they pay his likely $2.5MM to $3MM in arbitration for 2006. Just scuttlebutt.

Meat, As I have said all along, the Cubs have been acting like they really don't Walker back for at least 2 months now. I don't know if it's his defense or his durability or some lingering clubhouse issue. I think Hendry picked up his option, so that he would have the option of trading him. And considering Walker will only make $2.5M in 2006, he is easily marketable. They really seem to like Cedeno. If you read between the lines, he will be starting at 2B and batting 8th in 2006. I told you Walker would get moved in September, and I told you the reason why, it's no secret--the Cubs brass don't like me-first players who blab about every little thing the first time they see a microphone. Walker is a fine hitter with a desirable contract, but his negatives in the Cubs' opinions--poor defense, no speed, not the "organizational" attitude--makes him expendable. Especially with Cedeno ready to play, Hairston available for backup, and needs at other positions. The more interesting question is who do they trade Walker to, and for whom? From the beginning, I've felt they'll either deal Walker for a setup man for the bullpen (eg, Jesse Crain in Minnesota, or Rafael Betancourt in Cleveland), or in the most logical trade, send him to LA for Milton Bradley, straight up. The only problem with the latter is that there is no indication the Cubs are in the mood to put up with Bradley's histrionics, either. So the call I'm making is Walker for a setup man.

Who said Pie, Marshall and Guzman will never amount to anything and should be traded away? 1. The players I mentioned at least were Nolasco and Hill. 2. There is a difference between "will never amount to anything" and "do not fit in your team's plans." 3. There is the concept of aberrant outperformance, and the difference between selling high and buying low--and the Cubs' norm, selling low and buying high. 4. Rich Hill will not be a difference maker in a major league rotation, IMO, because he has battled control problems throughout his professional career, and because he relies on one difficult to hit--but difficult to throw for strikes--pitch. His fastball is flat and average. He's a lefty, and that curve when it is on is beautiful--but that signifies a future as a lefty reliever, not a 200 IP starter. So while teams still THINK he can be a 200 IP effective starter, which has more value than a lefty reliever, sell while his value is high and use to get holes filled elsewhere. 5. As for Nolasco, he failed once at AAA. He had a dominant season while repeating AA ball. That does not scream out "future 15 to 20 game winner" to me. Yet, some teams will look at his (admittedly good) 2005 statistics and offer high value for that. Again, I would take advantage of that and sell high. 6. The bottomline is that if you asked me to rank order the top 5 pitchers in the Cubs' minor league system, neither Ricky Nolasco nor Rich Hill would be on that list. If you can't be in the top 5 of the minor leaguers, then you are not a critical component of the team's long-term plans. So you wait for a short-term bout of overperformance from said player, and move him. 7. For the record, my list of top 5 Cub pitchers would be Guzman, Pinto, Pawelek, Marshall and Marmol, because I prefer to focus on projectability than on specific numbers at the low to mid-level of the minor leagues. But that's just me.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId=4486 Pierre has provided a .350 or better OBP in 4 of his 6 yrs in major league. So, yeah, I consider last yr an off-yr for Pierre. I think this could be a case of buying low, and getting a high reward. But, if we could get Pierre for Patterson and Mitre, then I do it, but anything more, I would look harder at Lofton. People thought Kenny Williams was crazy for trading Carlos Lee for Podsenick, and that look to be a outstanding move. Now, I am not suggesting to copycat the White Sox, but I could see Pierre (or Furcal, for that matter) making the same impact as Podsednick. But it would depend on who the Cubs have to give up. This has been my mantra as well--buy low, let's bring in Pierre. For Patterson and Mitre, are you kidding? That's highway robbery. Not only does Pierre have 3 seasons of 200+ hits, and 360+ OBP, but he's never stolen less than 45 bases in a full season, and never struck out more than 45 times. He puts the ball in play, and with his speed, that makes things happen. Pierre is no all-star, but he'd be an improvement for this team. I want him if the price is right. And I want Patterson to be one of the guys swapped out in exchange to help equalize the salary differentials.

When should the Cubs have traded Dubois? This time last year. He was coming off a monster season at AAA, and if the Cubs knew they wouldn't/couldn't go to him exclusively as the starting LF, they should have traded him. Same thing with Richard Lewis. He was the Southern League player of the year in 2004, if the Cubs organization didn't have high hopes for him, he should have been moved. This is why I really hope Rich Hill and Ricky Nolasco get traded for other talent this offseason, their value will never be higher and frankly, I don't like the long-term prospects of either compared to alternatives like Guzman, Pinto, Marshall and Marmol. Trade them.

Yep. Let's have Hendry evaluate these guys correctly and make these types of deals. Have we traded a prospect at his highest value? The only one that I can think of that's even close would be Hee Seop. I would say we got maximum value out of Brendan Harris and Justin Jones, to allow the Nomar trade to happen. Also, though many have forgotten it, we traded a lefty named Felix Sanchez to Detroit for another minor leaguer, Jon Connolly, and Connolly is clearly the better of the two. Where the Cubs screwed the pooch biggest IMO was with Cruz and Dubois, both if traded at the right time could have brought in a nice haul.

Sheffield: 2005- 291/379/512 2002-2004: 304/397/550 Burnitz: 2005- 258/322/435 2002-2004: 261/327/492 uhmmmm....Sheffield please. (I guess I should be careful. The last time I compared a player to Burnitz's suckitude, they wished for me to die.) While you're at it, why not add Joey Belle to your list too, he really could put up the numbers! :roll:

Pie + Hill for Ichiro. Fair trade for both teams; they save a ton of money and get our two best/closest prospects. We solve RF and leadoff in one fell swoop. Love it. I'll throw in a reliever if need be too, like Novoa or JVB or Wellemeyer. Trade for Bradley or Pierre for CF, keep Walker in this scenario for his high SLG at 2B, and now we have a lineup. My take would be: 1. Ichiro, 2. Bradley, 3. Lee, 4. Ramirez, 5. Walker, 6. Murton, 7. Barrett, 8. Cedeno. What's wrong with that lineup? I like it.

I wish Neifi would have won the GG, encouraging some team to think he really SHOULD be a starter and take him off our hands. We should demand a RECOUNT!

I've been on this crusade all offseason but....when will people give credit to deep and effective BULLPENS as a huge source of success for teams like the Sox and Astros? Our problem is that our starters often leave games early due to high pitch counts, and we don't have quality middle relievers to hand the ball off to in order to get to the closer. And conversely, because our middle relief sucks most every year, the manager feels the need to overextend his starters trying to reach his one or two effective late game relievers, leading to injury and loss of effectiveness for said starters. We need something like Politte and Cotts and Hermanson and Jenks and Marte. None are outstanding, but all are reliable and effective. Same thing with Houston's bullpen (though Lidge is outstanding, the others are decent, not great). So with all this money we have to spend, and if we feel emulating the Sox and Astros success is a desirable goal, then Hendry simply MUST pursue middle relief and setup help this offseason. Bobby Howry and Scott Eyre are terrific free agents available this year. Jesse Crain and Justin Duscherer and Guillermo Mota have all been mentioned as possible trading chips by their respective teams. I won't even mention how much I covet guys like Scott Linebrink and Rafael Betancourt. BULLPEN, BULLPEN, BULLPEN. Let's have a good one for once.

I want Sammy to come back to the Cubs so my autographed Sosa Majestic jersey, framed and mounted, has high value again. :-)

Would Sammy accept a platoon role at this point in his career? If the Cubs are unsuccessful at finding a new RF that is worth a damn, what if they offered Sammy and Burnitz $3MM each to platoon in RF? Burnitz IS a decent hitter against RHP, and Sammy's splits against LHP vs. RHP keep getting more pronounced as his career has matured--since he gets around later in his swing, the extra look he gets at LHP helps him get around faster. Since the OF ideas are looking bleak right now, I'm just trying to come up with possible alternative outcomes. Maybe the Cubs could try to get by and juuuuust enough offense--like the 03 Cubs and 05 Astros and 05 White Sox--and pour their money and resources this offseason into pitching instead. Trade for Barry Zito? Sign Kevin Millwood? Sign two new late inning relievers?

Waste of time. Sheff won't play for the Cubs. He's stated in the past he only wants to play on the coasts. He's a very prickly dude. Next idea.

Keep in mind that with Pierre, you're only on the hook for one more season--he's a free agent for 2007--and he's paid $6MM in 2006, which will be several millions less than Furcal gets. If you're someone wanting to wait on Pie and let him get one more year of minor league seasoning, then Pierre or Lofton for CF are the solutions that make sense. Myself, I say nutz to both and let's get Giles and Abreu. :-) With Giles, Abreu, Lee and Ramirez in the middle of your order, it wouldn't matter much WHO you had for your leadoff hitter. Walker. Murton. Cedeno. Hank White. We'd still score a ton of runs.