don_kessinger_was_good

C'mon, Sheffield is a punk, who'd want that jerk?? Ask your friends in Milwaukee and Los Angeles what they think of old Sheff. I'd be happy to send the Yanks Patterson though, Rusch too, sounds like a plan. Give me Eric Duncan and Colter Bean back in exchange, please. I'll use both as currency in my trade package for Carlos Lee.

The never substantiated rumor, but one which over the years nearly everyone has come to accept as fact, is that Ryno went to management and told them flat out--take your pick, Palmeiro or me, but one of us won't be here next spring or else someone might get killed. It was very ugly. Grace won the job by default. Even so, I do remember at the time, Palmeiro was the one that got moved to the outfield for a reason, the Cubs liked Grace better. Hard to get on their case here--both players were very very good for a long time. And Grace WAS the better all-around player.

Ole Miss Cub-- I need to know where you found the pic in your sig file, I want to know the name/artist for it. I'd love to get that print in a large size and framed for my game room. If anyone knows where I can get a high quality (color) print of Wrigley, large size, day game (no lights), I'd appreciate it. I have autographed jerseys from Ernie, Ryno, Fergie and Dawson, if only Billy would sign his jerseys on the BACK like everyone else, I'd be happy. C'mon Billy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let someone else overpay for Dunn, and give me Kearns instead. I'll sign Giles as a FA in the offseason, and take my chances with a 2006 outfield of Matt Murton, Brian Giles and Austin Kearns. There's a TON of OBP in that group. Absent further trades, I'll use Dubois and Greenberg as my reserve outfielders, and let Pie play a full year at AAA before I make a decision on him. I like Dunn's power and lefty bat, but with all those strikeouts and a poor batting average, plus his lousy defense and lack of speed, what is there to get all THAT excited about if he ever stops getting 100 BBs/season?? Suddenly, an Adam Dunn that gives you 40+ HRs and 100 RBI, but hits just .250 and has an OBP closer to .340 let's say (an entirely reasonable scenario)...well, that's a nice player I wouldn't refuse on my team, but I wouldn't pay the king's ransom the Reds will want for him. Patterson for Kearns, we'll throw in a mid-level prospect like Pignatiello too. That's the trade I want to make, Kearns is cheap and he'll be valuable long-term.

Turn Nomar into a 2B to reduce the strain on his legs, and give Cedeno the SS job.

Players I would trade Zambrano for, straight up: Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, Johan Santana, Jake Peavy. That's about it. I don't want players 30 or older, which is why no one like A-Rod, Vlade or the aforementioned Abreu is on my list. There are also a couple of package deals I would consider: Jason Bay AND Mike Gonzalez. Chase Utley AND Ryan Madsen. Adam Dunn AND Felipe Lopez. I won't hold my breath on the last one there though...

OF--Rick Monday. 370 OBP, good power, steals some bases, strong defense, can leadoff, plays CF. Monday is Mark Kotsay 30 years ago. Pitcher--Bruce Sutter. Best. Cubs. Reliever. Ever. Forget this sissy 1 inning and done business, Sutter will come into the game in the 7th and finish it from there. On back to back days. Add in Dempster and does it really matter if the remaining bullpen guys are any good or not? Nope. Bench--Keith Moreland is an excellent choice. Can play six positions and is a good hitter. I'll go with Jay Johnstone or Richie Hebner as the lefty complement to Moreland.

Yay Corey! Great attitude! Go get 'em at Iowa, tear up those pitchers....so we can get something more than a bucket of spit for you in trade later this month.

You're right. You're not.

I think Gomes can leadoff and play CF. At a bare minimum, he could be a stopgap solution there until Pie is ready. And, he should be somewhat cheap; Piniella sits him half the time for crying out loud. We know about Huff. Joey Gathright is another Devil Ray that intrigues me; not as a starter, but as a 4th OF/bench guy. He's one of the fastest guys in the league. No power, but makes contact. Nice bench option. So here's your monster Tampa offer: Mitre + Greenberg + Patterson + Hill for Gomes + Huff + Joey. Add in Murton and Pie and Dubois to the mix on our end, maybe mix in a little Austin Kearns later, and that's a nice set of appealing, young OF options for 2006.

I like to think I stay pretty up-to-date with our minor leaguers, and remember most names from the past....but Gissell, this one I am clueless. What is his background and the link to the Cubs? Looks like he has some respectable numbers there for Memphis (I like the ERA and 3/1 K/BB ratio)

Very shrewd observation. You're absolutely correct; the Dodgers' top pitching prospects have just as many injuries and question marks as ours do. Unfortunately, if Depo decides to trade them, LA DOES have better position player prospects than we do; in fact, quite a bit better.

I think the Japanese posting to the bigs has on the whole been quite successful, I don't know that any teams would shy away from a legit player. For every Kaz and Irabu there has been an Akinori Otsuka or Tad Iguchi who has exceeded expectations. Iguchi for example is no all-star, but I think, IIRC, the Sox are only paying him $2MM/year too, correct? He's a nice little 2B for $2MM, just as good if not better than Walker for similar dough.

Hendry needs to keep pushing a Patterson for Kearns trade, it makes too much sense on too many levels. Since the Reds need starting pitching so bad, and we need bullpen help, why not a Jerome Williams for Ryan Wagner component to the trade, too? Williams is more valuable to the Reds than Wagner is, fills a bigger need. So, my offer is Patterson + Williams for Kearns + Wagner. Good trade for both teams.

From the Successful General Manager's Handbook: 1. Never trade from a position of weakness. 2. Never try and outbid another team for a "hot" player. 3. Buy grossly underperforming players when cheap and unloved; sell grossly overperforming players when expensive and idolized. 4. Use prospect depth in trades; develop top prospects for use in-house. You may like Dunn, but Kearns makes more sense for Jim Hendry. I would also be keen to get the unfathomably-unloved Johnny Gomes away from Tampa and in our house. In our own system, Murton and Pie are not tradeable by me (at this point) since I think they can solve problems for us. OTOH, position player prospects Patterson, Dubois and Kelton I gladly trade because they are not a long-term solution for us; position player prospects Sing, Dopirak, Collins and Craig I gladly trade because they cannot solve ML problems for us. I will continue to withhold judgment on Ryan Harvey, but I'm quickly losing patience. There is no pitcher in our minor league system I wouldn't move in the right trade, because there is no Carlos Zambrano or Mark Prior currently in our system. Frankly, I think we are all guilty of grossly overrating our own pitching prospects. I don't think other GMs and minor league directors in baseball outside Chicago are nearly as in love with guys like Marshall and Pinto as we are.

If you think Murton, and especially Greenberg, will get anything other than rare, spot duty, then you're smoking something. Baker will never do it, and with him now sensing he's on life support, Baker's stubborn streak will only get worse. Hard Bake is upon us, he'll sit the kids out of spite. If (not looking likely now) they get the Marlins games in, I'd be shocked if Perez wasn't batting 1 or 2 at SS, with Hairston getting the other 1-2 slot at 2B, Hollandsworth in CF (yep, I'm calling it) and Macias in LF. If Lee is back, then Walker slides back to 2B and Hairston is on the bench. Hard Bake doesn't care about anything but Johnny B.

Have a good three week stay in Iowa and beat up on AAA pitching Corey--that way we can get something for your underachieving butt in a July 31 trade. Otherwise, we'll let you rot in the minors and waive you in the offseason. Have fun!!

Who cares about these moves? Dusty will never let them play anyway. I am as anti-Patterson as anyone on this board, but the #1 problem on this team does not have the initials C.P. The initials are J.B., and I can only hope the end is near for the underachieving nitwit.

Hendry and MacPhail deserve just as much vitriol as Dustbag. They don't have the balls to fire him--that makes them equally (if not more) culpable. These jerks don't want to win, what do they care? Wrigley is always full and their contracts are guaranteed. Once Wrigley is no longer at capacity every game, THEN, finally, MacPhail will get off his butt, call Hendry at the local bar, and tell him to put down the drink and fire Baker. Target date, unfortunately, isn't until September. But with this year already a lost cause, what the heck is two more months of pain....

The Cubs are below 500, trail the division leader by nearly two touchdowns, and five (5!) teams are ahead of them for the wild card. Our manager is mentally challenged, the team has the worst OBP in the league, there is no bench, and the team's best player is now injured. Put down the kool-aid, it's lethal.

Oops, almost forgot: where's the vitriol in this thread for Rothschild, Clines, Matthews and Dick Pole (just what the hell does he do, anyway??) The Cubs' pathetic, inexcusable, incorrigible approach at the plate falls directly on the laps of these two dimwits Clines and Sarge. When Baker gets fired, how about giving Von Joshua a shot at it? Has anyone noticed how well our guys at AA are hitting? High OBPs, plate discipline, good stuff. As for Rothschild, well, all I can say is wow. How he escapes the axe is beyond me. EVERY pitcher we have has regressed under Rothschild's presumed tutelage. Zamora was a horse's ass, OK, but he also got results and the pitchers respected him. Rothschild, you just get the feeling he's like a substitute teacher in grade school, all the pitchers ignore him and giggle behind his back. I don't have any significant complaints about Chris Speier, though considering who he replaced, it would be hard to complain if a tree stump got the job. I have no idea who the remaining coaches are, is Sammy's water carrier still on the payroll?

I vote for Barrett sucks. He's the most impatient hitter in the league, his OBP is embarassing, and he is unbelievably streaky. I don't care how much you're slumping, a 400 OPS for a full-time player over ANY three week+ stretch is downright embarassing. When he slumps, he SLUMPS. Barrett was a big big problem for us down the stretch last September if you recall, as well. Nope, don't like him much at all. Seems to have a big mouth too.

I am of the firm belief that this team needs to be a seller, and start making moves that will make the team stronger for 2006. To do so, you begin addressing anticipated weaknesses, and deal valuable pieces that you feel are replaceable. I suggest the Cubs trade Ryan Dempster; and if I include another pitcher like (say) Sergio, I'd like to send them to Boston for Hanley Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis. First: I love how Dempster has performed as closer. Terrific! Now be objective about this--did anyone really expect it? More important, does anyone think he can continue it? I don't. His career evidence suggests he won't either. This is a classic opportunity to sell high. Boston needs a closer, they are competing to repeat their championship, and Foulke is faltering badly. They'll overpay for a closer. They'll overpay for Dempster. We do not have Dempster under contract for 2006, and if (as I presume) the Cubs sign BJ Ryan or Billy Wagner this offseason, do we even need Dempster? We'll have Williamson (under contract), Novoa, Wuertz, Aardsma, Van Buren, Ohman already in-house. Meanwhile, we address needs. Ramirez can be our SS for the next ten years. People keep saying Boston will never trade him, but they just gave a long-term contract to Edgar Renteria, there's no room at the inn for Ramirez. Ditto for Youkilis, who has yet to gain steady PT from the Sox. These guys are both OBP monsters, and could be our DP combo for the rest of the decade. Lord knows we could use the OBP ability in our pathetic lineup. Further, this allows us to sell high with Cedeno and get other needed parts in later trades. Just trying to think out loud in this "seller's mode" here.....Dempster is a valuable chip, Hendry doesn't have the guts, but I'd trade him right here, right now. We'll get good pieces in return.

You need to change your signature; you're not Novoa's only fan.

Man, what the hell has happened to Jon Leicester?? Egads.....it'll be a LONG time before he gets back to The Show.