Outshined_One

Couple of counter-points... -Murton's power potential is probably on par with Brandon Sing and likely lower than Harvey and Dopirak. He's not some guy who's likely to end up as some also-ran on a AAA team. He's still relatively young and could have a good future ahead of him. -While draft choices are hit-or-miss, a good rule of thumb is: the more, the merrier. The best success rates in terms of prospects are in the first two rounds, so it's not like the Cubs' farm system will be taking a huge hit by doing this deal. -I agree, I love Jones as a prospect. Overall, he was probably the best lefty in this organization on the overall scale. I think Minnesota got a great player in him. However, this farm system has had a ton of lefties emerge over the past two and a half years or so. Sisco, Hagerty, Pinto, Connolly, Downs, Pignatiello, and other guys can allow for the void left by Justin Jones to be filled. Also, shoulder injuries for pitchers bother me...so let's just say I'm glad we won't be having to worry about THAT any more. -We didn't pay a heavy price for Nomar. We didn't trade Guzman or Pie. We didn't trade Clement. You say that Houston gave up little to get Beltran, yet they gave up a Top 5 prospect (a catcher, no less!) and a future closer with experience in the majors for him. That move KILLED their bullpen. I'd say we gave up an equivalent to Houston in terms of the overall scale of things (experience, talent, ceilings, etc). Look, the fact remains that our SS production this season has been absolutely abysmal. No one will argue that. Boston could have bent us over a barrel for this one...and yet we were the ones who ended up coming out of this deal smelling like a rose. Barring a catastrophe, this move will solidfy our offense and make our team CONSISTENT. We got a guy who's a contact hitter and doesn't strike out a whole lot. He's perfect for the 2 hole. We got the guy our offense needed.

I personally think we overrate Harris. He might end up as a good everyday 2B in the future, yes...but I dunno. Richard Lewis' presence helps. Jones was expendable to a lesser degree, imo, especially since Connolly and Pinto have come on. Jones may well have been better than them in the end, but I think the fact that those guys emerged this year really helped make this decision. Also, being on a rehab stint is not the most positive of things. I'm still completely unsure of where Beltran will end up in three years, though. Heck, we even ended up ADDING a prospect in this deal. That counts for something, imo. I've been aboard this thing since the A-Ram trade, by the way 8)

I predict one of the baby xenomorphs from Alien pops out of his chest in the 4th. However, he'll heroically stay in and pitch until the 7th, despite a gaping wound in his chest and Miguel Cabrera dragged off the field kicking and screaming as the xenomorph's first big meal.

I predict his elbow explodes.