UMFan83

I didn't want Ibanez at all. But if the Rays can convince Bradley to go there, the Phillies get Ibanez, the White Sox get Abreu, does that leave us Dunn?

If that were true, the Padres broke that rule a couple of times.

Prediction: Yankees sign Burnett (rumors are that they will outbid the Braves for him), Braves call up Towers and ask whats up.

Unless Towers reconsiders. I'm not really sure what Towers was thinking publicly excluding them and further minimizing his leverage in this situation. Why be so open about it? Towers took a hatchet to the offseason plans from day 1. This is his mess. Well, I suppose he shares it with Moores, but Moores won't be taking responsibility. There was little reason for them to lay all their cards on the table. Towers very easily could have went to Peavy and his agent and requested to keep things mum about a trade. Towers then could have come back with "we have about 10 teams interested in Peavy" to gain some leverage. Instead, they were very open about what teams Peavy might have interest in, which eliminated most of the teams from expressing interest. Look at the DeRosa interest right now. There might really only be 2 or 3 teams interested, but the Cubs have it up to 10 teams. That's called leverage and working up a guys value to get as much return as necessary. Towers blew it from the get go. I'm not sure how interested he is in staying on board a sinking ship, but he can't be winning many points for future jobs right now. Their minor league team is a joke. The major league team is a joke. The trade of David Freese for Jim Edmonds is going to bite them in the behind. And then not meeting budget could be the final straw. The problem with telling the Cubs there are 10 teams interested is that they might not have jumped in on the negotiations in the first place. Throughout the process the Cubs have seemed like reluctant suitors, first drawn in because of the situation Towers was in and the fact that at most he could go to 4 other teams besides the Cubs. When it seemed like the Braves were the only team bidding, that is when the Cubs picked up their pursuit. All along Hendry has known that the Cubs have a contenting rotation with or without Peavy, so this was never going to be a desperate move by Jim. Maybe if this was December 2006, but not now. Now that the process has been drawn out between the Cubs and Padres, the Cubs are much more serious about their pursuit. But give Jimbo credit, he didn't lose perspective of the fact that, although Peavy would be the best pitcher on the staff, he was more of a luxury to the team than a necessity and he was not willing to mortgage his payroll limits, organization depth and possibly 25 man roster depth to overpay (in his mind) for Peavy.

It's not dead unless they somehow figured out a way to move other money and keep Peavy.

V is the Roman numeral for 5. I've never heard anyone pronounce it as Rule V. Stop being Kyle. Except that using V is incorrect. When you make a reference to a document, as this does, you cite the section correctly. In this case, this is Rule 5 of the Collective bargaining agreement. It's a specific reference -- Rule 5. The Amateur Draft is Rule 4, FYI. True. It does look weird to call it the Rule V when its the Rule 5. It's not like when people ask how many HRs Soriano hit last year they respond XXIX interchangeably with 29. I wonder why Rule V has been misused so much.

I would say it would depend on whether he can give them either 2-3 consistent innings as a long reliever or have the ability to get one LHB out at a time as a LOOGY.

Who is the last player the Cubs have drafted in the Rule V draft and kept all season?

Probably not. Do they even have a lot of potential roster spots open on the 25 man this season?

Apologies if this was posted somewhere already:

These teams have talked enough that all 3-4 teams should know what the other sides want. Theres no real need to discuss other players/terms/money etc. Right now its just a matter of all sides agreeing to the trade IMO. If they don't then either the trade dies, or it gets put on the backburner until someone budges. Everything I've read suggests that despite other moves, Jake has to go this offseason, so no matter how many times Towers imposes a deadline, Towers will eventually have to blink.

Who says KRod will be the closer and Putz the setup man? Putz is a better pitcher, KRod is a bigger name.

I don't think that's leverage, since Churchill is not a reporter and doesn't post this anywhere. They'd have no reason to lie/posture to him. He's just a friend. Who knows how legit that source is, though. Somehow word got to Churchill through some sort of media connection that the Padres say that there was 20% chance of a trade happening. How is that not trying to get leverage? Not sure why you'd assume Churchill's Padre info is coming "through some sort of media connection" rather than from someone within the SD org. DISCLAIMER: I have no earthly clue where Churchill's getting his info, except for a mention a long while ago that he knows/communicates with someone in CHC's front office. I know he has a Cubs contact, but I am assuming he is at the Winter Meetings, being a Mariners beat writer (correct?). So he has access to a lot of sources right now. churchill owns a site called prespectinsider.com. He is in no eway associated with the Mariners. He just has connections. I don't understand why you'd think the Padres would use him as leverage when he doesn't even post the info I didn't say they specifically used him as leverage. I'm saying he's probably at the meetings and heard some sort of misinformation that the Padres are putting out there.

I don't think that's leverage, since Churchill is not a reporter and doesn't post this anywhere. They'd have no reason to lie/posture to him. He's just a friend. Who knows how legit that source is, though. Somehow word got to Churchill through some sort of media connection that the Padres say that there was 20% chance of a trade happening. How is that not trying to get leverage? Not sure why you'd assume Churchill's Padre info is coming "through some sort of media connection" rather than from someone within the SD org. DISCLAIMER: I have no earthly clue where Churchill's getting his info, except for a mention a long while ago that he knows/communicates with someone in CHC's front office. I know he has a Cubs contact, but I am assuming he is at the Winter Meetings, being a Mariners beat writer (correct?). So he has access to a lot of sources right now.

What do you expect the Pads to say? They aren't motivated to be honest here. Their motivation is to say whatever helps gain them leverage so they can get more. Right now, their only leverage is their ability to keep Peavy. That's kinda what I just said about leverage..

I don't think that's leverage, since Churchill is not a reporter and doesn't post this anywhere. They'd have no reason to lie/posture to him. He's just a friend. Who knows how legit that source is, though. Somehow word got to Churchill through some sort of media connection that the Padres say that there was 20% chance of a trade happening. How is that not trying to get leverage?

I know its likely just leverage, but I hate to see the Padres claiming 20% odds of this trade getting done. Ugh. It really is Brian Roberts all over again. What reassures me is following the Santana trade talks last year there was such a roller coaster ride of emotions before it finally got done.

It may be opinion, but one thing they said is true. This deal is getting more complicated, not easier.

That's a heaping helping of "A-Rod to the Cubs" bullcrap. So you're saying BigBird made it up?

I think the silence out of Towers the last day or so means something. Yeah it means Hendry told him to shut the hell up so they can get a deal done.

http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/espnradio1000/blog?id=3738908 Yayyyyyyyyyy Please be Bradley.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3761008 Has Zambrano slipped so far that he's now getting matched up with AJ Burnett in salary negotiations?

Chuck Garfein is supposed to be talking with Hendry within the hour again, just like last night. Today feels like deja vu. Did we learn anything new today?

Shouldn't be hard to score more than 20 like Atlanta gave up to NO. I am not sure about more than 32 but its possible.