JudasIscariotTheBird

I know you are being sarcastic, but he IS the best trading GM in baseball. BTW, don't worry, were aren't trading Williamson for Graffanino. That would be stupid, even for Trader Jim.

Say what you want about Borowski, but I'll be looking for him at the end of my fantasy draft...

It's so much better than the cartoonish blue. I wish Zambrano had his own cartoon show.

I have a problem with both. I hate the idea of tenure in baseball. If you've had a job before, you're automatically assumed to be qualified for that job now. No, I think you do kind of agree with the idea, but maybe not to the extreme that Dusty and others do. Do you really think that Pierre has to out-preform Greenberg in SP to get the starting spot? Does Lee need to look over his shoulder and worry about Dope? Should Prior be concerned that if Hill out pitches him this Spring, that his job is at stake? Easy answer: no. Hard answer: what if they go 0-50 during the cactus league? Maybe? It's all relative.

Aside from a massive amount of injuries, is there any way that Angel makes this team?

Wood and Wade aren't similar pitchers. Wood has much better stuff. His K-rate and WHIP are a notch above Miller's. Willer isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but Wood is dominating. Isn't this Miller's first lengthy stint on the DL? Agreed. Wood puts up better K/9 rates, better K/BB rates, and better WHIPs than Miller. That's not a criticism of Miller so much as it is a reminder of how good Wood can be when he's healthy. Miller only pitched 89 innings in 04 and 91 innings in 05. He's had at least two stays on the DL. I won't argue that Wade is better than Kerry, but how much better is he? One more win for the Cubs over the season? Three tops? I just surprised that no one mentioned him in all of the pitcher conversation this threat had,

Well, everyone is talking about Wood's return, and at the top of their games, the two pitchers are pretty similar. I don't understand why the reports are always about Wood being hopefully heathy when a heathy Wood...er, I mean Wade is the same thing.

What about Wade? If healthy, he needs to be in the rotation. Who does he bump (if >85% healthy), and what chances do you give him of being healthy enough to pitch by the break? I say, 60%...and I like that.

Seconded, even though Len is better than expected.

4.07 ERA / 1.43 WHIP career in the minors? 33 and has only 20 innings of big league experience. Gave up 3 HRs for CO Springs. I don't think so. Giving up 3 HR in Colorado Springs is like giving up negative 3 HR anywhere else. If you think Coors is bad...

Murton: Although I think "Big Red" is already a given, I'm going to throw out "Brawny," by the way, if any of you haven't seen the "Innocent Escapades" on http://www.brawnyman.com then you are missing out. Pierre: "Styme" http://cache.tias.com/stores/gift/pictures/lr19a.jpg

Murton: Although I think "Big Red" is already a given, I'm going to throw out "Brawny," by the way, if any of you haven't seen the "Innocent Escapades" on http://www.brawnyman.com then you are missing out. Pierre: "Styme" http://cache.tias.com/stores/gift/pictures/lr19a.jpg

If Macias gets an extension, in the words of Colbert, the Cubs are on notice. I always know it's coming, but everytime he says that, I laugh. I laughed when you trped it for christ's sake.

Neifi Perez was playing in the World Baseball Classic. He hit a grand slam to win the a game in the 9th, but tripped over second base and tore his groin. Baker and Joe Morgan and two random people ran onto the field and carried him away on one of those things that royalty in Rome would travel around in. I woke up and immediately started laughing. What if that really happened...ah, to dream.

It actually wasn't the entire article but I get your point. Main points... 1) Mark Prior for Bobby Abreu. Will not happen. 2) "the only pitchers the Cubs are interested in trading are relievers or prospects. " 3) "minimal interest in Aubrey Huff to fill their right-field vacancy" 4) another quote - According to one team that inquired about Pie, the Cubs "don't have very many untouchables -- but he's one." I don't know how the Cubs can hope for a good OF bat w\o moving Pie but we shall see. Would you believe you could trade: Hundley Hawkins A.Gone Brendan Harris/Francis Beltran Bobby Hill Choi And get significant to all star production back for many of them? Hendry has a good track record of trading. But none of those players were the quality of Abreu at the time of the deal. Lee and Ramirez had still just shown glimpses of what they've become. Nomar was an injury problem with 2 months left on his contract. Karros and Grudz were bad, and I sure hope Hendry isn't targeting players of that caliber. I don't see an Abreu or Dunn deal happening without dealing Pie and/or Hill. But I agree that the Cubs could easily get guys like Wilkerson, Bradley, and other names that have been mentioned. WHAT!?! The most impressive off all of his trades: Hundley for Grudz and Karros and CASH!?! Karros and Grudz were bad? From what I remember, Grudz was surprisingly good, and Karros was mildly effective when used in a platoon. I mean, the trade was an absolute flecing all on its own, but Hendry had to rub it in and get cash with the deal. I still can't believe it. The day it was made I laugh/cried myself to sleep. Also, didn't we net Murton in the trade that got us Nomar? Every single trade that Hendry has made has been gold, unless there is one that I'm forgetting. ...now, just about every single signing that Hendry has made has been abysmal.

exactly. the price for kearns in no way inhibits Hendry from pulling off a blockbuster. I agree. If that original deal to get Kearns is true (who knows) then you aren't trading away a lot of high prized talent to get him. Worst case scenario, you have Murton and Kearns as your corner outfielders. That's not good, but it's better than what they have now (and at least has a chance to be productive). The other evaluator is whether Kearns can net you in trade more or less than Mitre and Nolasco would have netted. Personally, I think Kearns has more value than Mitre and Nolasco. Would the A's trade Mark Kotsay to the Cubs for Kearns? Would they trade Kotsay to the Cubs for Mitre and Nolasco? Not necessarily advocating a Kearns/Kotsay trade. I just know the A's want a power righty bat and Kotsay is a CF that can lead off. But, of the two trade proposals, I would imagine the A's would be more tempted with Kearns. That makes the trade even more worth it. I agree with you about the relative trade value of Kearns and Nolasco+Mitre, but I don't think Kearns is a Beane-guy. He Ks way too much. I'm willing to bet Beane doesn't care too much if Kearns ks. How's that? He means that Beene is smart. You CAN'T K too much if you have a good OPS. That's one of the 10 commandments of 'Moneyball'. Does anyone here care about Dunn's K's? Sosa's when he it 66 HR and hit for average? Now, if Kearns (or anyone) K's a bunch and doesn't get on base...then he just sucks. K's or no.

All these three ways with the Mets and Rangers rip off the Mets REALLY hard. There is absolutely no reason for them to make those trades.

I don't think anyone really KNOWS what his plan is. Who saw the Choi - Lee trade coming? Garciaparra? The repeated flecing of Pittsburg. And the mother of all trades: Hundley for Karros, Grudz, and CASH. (That trade nearly single-handedly sent us to the World series) Now, he does vastly over-pay for worthless players like Neifi, overpays decent middle relief, cannot manage a roster for ANYTHING, and stresses all the wrong tools...so, knowing this, why would anyone know what he is going to do or is planning to do. His moves are either so horendously poor, or outrageously great, that no on can see them coming. Looking at past deeds, I just hope he is involved in more trades than in the FA market.

I was pretty awestruck when the two British students that transfered into my department were baseball fans. I asked them if they were going to go to any MLS games, and they made faces like they bit into a lemon, and mentioned wanting going to Rockies games. I had no idea England even knew what baseball was.

I am not a big Pierre or Soriano fan, but depending on the pitcher, I probably wouldn't be all that upset. Neifi can be the 8th hitter on a team with a very good lineup and solid pitching, but that is all he can be. Who would backup at SS? Macias? Heh. No idea, but if Neifi got injured...wouldn't it be a fun problem to solve? To add to my question....I don't think we could get all those players without losing Pie. Is it still a happy offseason without him in the wings? I still say yes. I mean, the team would be UNQUESTIONABLY better or equal at every position than last year, except for Garciaparra over Neifi at short....I really don't understand why we paid so much for Neifi when Nomar probably wouldn't have cost much more. I'm getting off topic here, but does anyone else here think that Angel Guzman has a shot of making some noise next year if (/when) someone does down? I do, but then again, I liked Cruz over Zambrano way back when.

If trading away Cedano, Walker and pitching and starting Neifi at short meant that we picked up Abreu, Pierre, and Soriano, and signed a mid to high tier SP, would you be happy about the offseason or upset? I think I'd be a happy, even though it meants we put almost all of our chips on winning next season.

I found that out on a Frontier Airlines flight. ...been traveling lately?

I feel that way myself, to be honest. How about both? Cedeno is clearly equal if NOT better then Nefti with the Glove, either at SS or 2B, and his bat--still questionable---is better then Nefti. I believe Furcal/Cedeno would have a higher value then Walker/Cedeno. In all due respect, Cedeno is still an unproven major league ball player. It's not fair to compare Neifi/Cedeno, when Cedeno's sample size is so small. Maybe that's your opinion, but it's not proven to be accurate yet. I tend to agree, Cedeno, has a chance to better than Neifi in those areas. However, it's still only a prediction of what Cedeno's production will be. ...you aren't even trying to pretend you aren't Dusty Baker.

I want a manager that is simply not a moron, and can make me laugh. That's all I want. Not a "mastermind". Not a "player's manager". For those reasons, I want one of the two: "Sneaky" Valentine or "Stolen Base" Lloyd. They preformed what are possibly the funniest feats managers have ever accomplished in a game. McClendon got into a VERY heated arguement with the first base ump, and was thrown out of the game. In a fit of rage and hillariousness, he picked up first base, and literally stole it, taking it into the club house with him while still screaming his lungs out at the ump. Second place goes to Bobby V, for a game the Mets played against the Cubs. I can't even remember why he got tossed, but he did, and left to the club house...only to come back to the bench wearing a fake glasses/mustache combo thing that you might see a little kid wear that was dressing up as a spy for Hollowween. He sat there at the edge of the bench with one hand over his face, giving calls to the other coaches. It was priceless. He would have gotten away with it too, but the WGN cameras spotted him, and he was later fined for it. I really want one of these two great men.

Dusty IS a no win situation.