Outshined_One

Substantially better than anyone else in the farm system right now. He's not a can't miss player (few guys in the minors are), but his ceiling is something that is so incredibly tantalizing right now, especially since he started developing his power last season down in AA. You look at what could be with a player like Pie and you would likely see something along the lines of numerous All Star appearances. But, you also have to look at his floor. Pie does have his fair share of issues and will have to make adjustments as he moves along in baseball. There's the possibility that he could bust anywhere along the way, yes, but that's a given for any player. Given where Pie is now, I think that, if he had been brought up this past season, he would have been fairly similar to Patterson. Dusty would have seen him and horribly misused him as a leadoff hitter (he projects better as a middle/bottom of the order guy). Yet, he would have made some exciting plays in the outfield and would have shown flashes of what could be. His speed and arm are already well-developed and both are good enough to allow him to play CF quite well. The difference is, unlike Corey, Pie is not even old enough to drink legally. He's still growing into his body and maturing. There is plenty of reason to believe that he'll improve his K/BB given time and patience. This club could very well screw up Pie like they did with Patterson. I really hope that won't be the case. But...if they play their cards right, Pie will be a special player for the Cubs.

I think Ramirez > Pie is justified given that Ramirez plays a more valuable position in SS. But Lester > Williams? I'd be willing to buy that if they had comparable playing time in the majors, but Williams has an established track record in the majors and has seen his fair share of success. I think anybody keeping tabs on him knew that, coming into the season, Williams had a ton of personal issues. He was overweight. His mother had died tragically. His father was ill. He still wasn't over all of them by the end of the season, either. Yet, he managed to put up some solid numbers towards the end of the season. But, give him an offseason to get his head together and get himself back into playing shape and I think he could break out in a big way next season. He commands four pitches that range from average to plus. He has playoff experience. He's going to be 24 for all of next season. Lester will be cheaper for longer, but if I'm a GM, I think I would take Williams over Lester. But that's just my preference.

Lester & Ramirez for Beckett straight up is roughly equivalent to Williams and Pie (potential franchise player & solid young pitcher). Blalock, Arias, and Danks/Diamond/Volquez for Beckett, Lowell, and Mota is a bit tougher since I can't find a good comp to Blalock on the major league team. I guess Barrett would be a decent comp (he can play 3B). Maybe Barrett, Cedeno, and Nolasco? I don't know if the Marlins would be willing to take on Bare's salary, though.

Wasn't there a report circling around that had the Red Sox potentially sending Lester and Hanley for Beckett? Anyone remember if the Red Sox or the Fish proposed that deal? Actually, now that I remember, my Red Sox fan buddy mentioned that Anibal Sanchez might be subbed in for Lester...

Pie to me represents something important for this Cubs' team. There is A LOT to like about Pie. Along with his age, continuing maturity, and developing power, you also have a guy who bring with him an intense dedication to make himself a better player. Every report I've read about him talks about how he brings this incredibly exuberant to the table that is just infectious. He's won championships everywhere he's gone. I think that, given at least another half season down in the minors, he could improve his K/BB to an acceptable level. Is he the guy who could bring the Cubs to the World Series? Possibly. On the other hand, he's one of those rare and special players that many teams covet. If I'm the GM of any team in baseball and Jim Hendry asks me for any of my players (let's say I'm Jim Bowden and Hendry inquires about Livan), Pie is the first name to come out of my mouth. I don't care if he's asking for one of my superstars or a 25th man. Pie is the only guy in this system right now who falls under that category. There are some players who could end up reaching that point (Harvey, Dopirak, Guzman, Pawelek, and possibly one or two others), but none of them are there right now. This is pretty much expected since most farm systems aren't exactly overflowing with them (unless you're the Dodgers or Angels). I think the Phillies would be willing to do a trade for Abreu that didn't involve Pie, but it would be more costly. Murton, Williams, Moore, Pinto, and one lower level pitcher could do it. I don't think the Phillies have a ton of interest in pitchers like Hill, who are vulnerable to the homer. They also have pretty good depth at CF (nothing special, but some decent guys), so I think they'd be more interested in a guy who could fill in at a corner than Patterson. I'd love to see Abreu manning RF next season for the Cubs, that's for sure.

ESPN has confirmed it. 3 years, $16.5 million with an extra $2.5m possible through incentives.

I swear that a year or two ago, he signed a cheap contract for a decent number of years that went beyond arbitration. Edit: 5 years, $15m with an option for 2009.

For those of you curious, it's from Rotoworld. This strikes me as rather stupid. It would make more sense if the Marlins pick up some of Lowell's contract and the Rangers flip him to another team, but Texas doesn't have anyone in their system who can immediately come in and play 3B. I guess they could do something with Arias, but he profiles much better as a SS, especially from an offensive standpoint. Moving Michael Young to 3B wouldn't be bright, either. I'm curious as to what the specifics of this deal end up looking like if it goes through...

Think Henry Blanco, only younger.

$11m? What a joke.

Given the performance of Wainwright and the injury history of both Wainwright and Reyes, relying on one or both to chip in heavily to the Cardinals might not be the best of ideas next season. Then again, given the Cubs luck, both will likely end up pitching 150 innings apiece, be fully healthy, and post ERAs in the low threes next season.

Wow, that's a heck of a good deal. 4/40 is more market value for him, imo.

Speaking of PTBNLs, did the Cubs ever get a replacement from the Orioles for Crouthers since he retired?

See, I'd be fine with this justification normally and all, but the fact that A-Rod won the MVP while with the Rangers in 2003 despite the Rangers doing squat kind of blows the irrelevancy argument up.

The irony is annoyingly stupid. Face it, the Cubs would have been out of the race for the NL Central in April without Lee. He would have won this friggin' thing if the Cubs didn't have such a shoddy manager.

Leverage in negotiating with Furcal.

BA's 2004 Top Ten Prospects per Team report. They said he worked in the 88-92 range, but could dial it up to 95 when the situation called for it.

The fact that Sean Marshall is involved in trade talks is making me leery. Marshall is one of those high ceiling lefties who has performed admirably in the minors. He's had a history of success along with a few minor injuries derailing his numbers and playing time. He's a sinkerballer who can dial it up to the mid-90s. He has good secondary pitches. As far as I can tell, his injuries are unrelated and are not the lingering type. His ceiling is pretty good, to boot. Trading him to the Marlins in a deal for Juan Pierre might not be the best of ideas, imo.

I will officially laugh at anyone who goes ga-ga over Wilkerson, but doesn't want Dunn because of his Ks.

Remember the Todd Ritchie deal and how everyone laughed at the White Sox for how awful of a trade that was? Kinda odd to ponder about considering current circumstances.

I think it's more due to bunting and being able to move the runners over. Don't forget hustle. You gotta have hustle. And good chemistry, imo.

If acquired for a reasonable contract, I wouldn't mind him. That said, he won't get a reasonable contract.

Typical negotiating tactics, imo. If Hendry seemed willing to throw these guys into any given trade, I'd be more worried than if he decided not to trade them at all. Also, we don't know what kind of trade proposals Hendry has gotten involving those guys, save for the Marlins wanting to trade Pierre for Pie. For all we know, the Reds could have offered Hendry Milton for Hill and Murton, among other horrible deals.

They're also apparently in the running for Jim Thome, according to various sources.

Problem with the organizational attitude thing with Dunn and Kearns is two-fold: 1) As I mentioned, new ownership is taking over and will be the majority ownership. Considering there's a new group coming into town, I think that would likely herald a shift in philosophy of the organization...or at the least give Dunn and Kearns one more season to make an assessment. If the current GM, Dan O'Brien, is fired, Dunn and company will likely be choir boys. Also, with new ownership, I'd have to think that they would look to gain the fans' confidence. Shipping their two most talented players off to a divisional rival would be suicide. 2) Dunn and Kearns' main problems were with the Reds' former manager, Dave Miley. Ditto Junior Griffey. The problems with the departure of Danny Graves have been well-documented in Cincy. When Narron came aboard, apparently things eased in Cincy. Casey and Griffey both have the bad contracts. Both managed to up their value this past season. There are teams out there who would be willing to grab both, since I think they'd come cheaper than, say, Lyle Overbay and Carlos Beltran. Finally, Cincy fans don't "love" Cincy, despite what Chippy lead us to believe for many years ("The mayor of Cincinnati, folks!"). There have been plenty of grumblings about his lax attitude in the clubhouse along with certain aspects of his offensive production (DPs). He's expendable, as far as I can tell.