TheDude

I would be very surprised. Dealing Kearns gives them no salary relief and does nothing to help mitigate the financial crunch that forces them to deal in the first place.

Always thought of Looper as a younger JoBo poised for failure. He would be a gamble. I'd pursue Howry first.

If anything, the news for me is that Hendry is pursuing Giles, and it looks like the first reported instance of the Cubs being in the race for Giles services. Previous reports/articles (except for in Chicago) did not list the Cubs as a player. I did not think the Cubs would have a chance at Giles. I don't mind being proven wrong.

Gammons is almost never right about such things, but those two signings would be huge. I'm not so sure about that. If he is commenting that, at this early stage of the game, the Cubs appear to be the most aggressive, there is nothing wrong with that. Gammons is not wrong often about which teams are talking to which players. He only has a bad track record when making final predictions.

:shock:

That's what the problem is. Hendry has set up this offseason to be another failure. His lack of moves last offseason when decent options were available are really going to hurt us now that not many options are available this offseason. I want to be optimistic about this offseason but I just can't. Hindsight can be clouded. I see this said all the time but it isn't a very complete or fair statement. Many of the marquee big names signed last offseason by other teams spent many games on the DL and (assuming same injury in Cubs uniform) would have been labeled a JH failure anyway.

Another thread derailed so people can bash Dusty, Macias, and Perez. How original! On topic - I think Gammons is spot on with the returning players. Wagner and Konerko probably stay put. Manny won't go anywhere. Ryan and Burnett will get big deals, that's a bit of a no-brainer. With regards to Garciaparra - why wouldn't it be feasible to play Murton in right? Because of his arm? Nomar in right? I'm not sure why Nomar on the Cubs means Murton doesn't play the other corner spot.

Really? I just saw that he was on the MLB.com website as someone who filed for FA.

A three-year offer in the 21 million range!!! :shock: No, wonder he filed. But, in the depressing news category... No mention of the Cubs there and once again, I see the Cardinals mentioned as a suitor. :( I'm calling it now (A's moves): -Giles signs in Oakland -the A's, in an effort to shift budget resources, trade Barry Zito to the Atlanta Braves for Marcus Giles (plus other minor details) -then they trade Kotsay to the Yankees (no idea on details). -then they sign Randy Winn to man CF for them.

If Burnitz retires, I am going to actively recruit him for my beer league softball team.

I don't know whether or not players have more knowledge. They certainly have more rumormill intel though. But in this case, it's already been widely reported that Furcal is an off-season target for Hendry. It's also fairly widely known that Hendry could be looking for another starter. So it really doesn't seem a stretch for someone like Dempster to throw those names out there.

Even the Yankees and their 200 million dollar payroll take gambles somewhere on their roster with a young guy. The bottom line is the Cubs are not going to fill every position on the field, in the rotation, and in the bullpen with proven commodities. It just won't happen. So knowing the team is going to gamble somewhere, Murton isn't a bad gamble at all.

What makes you say that?

Are you kidding? How do you suppose most guys become closers...they're just born into it? No, typically they are set-up men first, or in rarer cases converted starters or dominant college closers. Asking Hawkins to close the first time was acceptable. Going back to the well after his failures was not. Same for remlinger in the few times he was asked. If Dempster falters for the first two months 2006, are you suggesting Dusty is an idiot by turning to a lights-out set-up guy to fill the role?

Sign another closer to close. If you offer Wagner or Ryan something around 3/30, they'll sign, regardless of Dempster's presence. You really think the Cubs would do that to Demspter? Trust him with a role. Watch him kick tail in that role. Reward him with a new contract to continue in that role. Then do a 180 on him? I'm sure Dempster is a pro, and would take it in stride, but I don't see Hendry as that type of GM.

You are setting an impossible standard. "Sustained success" and sports in the same sentence is typically an anomoly, and those that can achieve it make it into the most prestigious lore the sports offer. What Epstein did was bring in the right people for that team and that year. He also brought in the right coach for that group of guys. He has been instrumental in re-stocking their farm system. Just like the Red Sox and Yankees payroll doesn't adhere to "league averages", their coaches and GMs pay scale won't either. Epstein and Cashman know this, and if they can work out a big payday, good for them.

Why would a reputable closer willingly "step-down" from his established role as closer to take less money and be a set-up man? I've seen this idea in a few threads now (Guardado, Wagner, Ryan, etc), and I don't understand why anybody thinks it'll fly. The Cubs won't sign another closer at closer money to set-up. Established closers are going to want to close for whatever team signs them.

There figures to be a ton these...should we just sticky one thread called "Declined Options" and sticky another thread called "Declared Free Agents" or "Going to Arbitration"? Or something similar?

World Series next year? I'd be happy with a 90 in season and some momentum going into 2007. "2007 ROY Pie leads Cubs to championship", sounds sexy, no?

I feel more frustration than anything. The Sox win may be a cause for celebration for locals, but for us non-local Cubs fans who don't give a rats howdy about the Sox, it's salt in the wound.

I'm looking forward to people accepting that Hendry and Baker are still the men running the show and a new set of jokes that haven't been retread in hundreds of threads already. :)

Well, that is a title of a THREAD which is where you go to have DISCUSSION about a topic-thank you for intriging and enlightening jolt into the discussion- I am just like many fans out there who are begging for the Sox to sweap so we can get on with the offseason-just trying to pose questions for discussion- In the future I will outline a descriptive analysis in the thread title so you may determine your availability to interact- Prospects I don't believe are the rub of a deal like this-it is all about money and the right situation- The Sox want Manny and his contract gone, the Mets want Manny but would be fiscally responsible with both Beltran and Manny, and the Cubs need offense and heave money to absorb some contracts- But prospects are critical to the deal. You have the Cubs and Mets landing superstars, and the Red Sox landing two players who shared part-time duty last year. The Red Sox would be looking for some serious talent compensation, and names like Pie alter people's opinion of the deal. All I am basically saying is the the deal you outlined is too incomplete to give a definitive thumbs up or down. Others have run with more detailed idea since. And BTW - I wasn't asking for a detailed analysis of your topic idea. Just a hint about the topic. "Would you" as a topic title could be about dancing naked in a lily field singing Free Bird.

I don't think your deal looks right. I'd have to see the other minor league pieces of the deal. My answer would be, maybe. And is it really too difficult to put any sort of indication what your thread is about in the title?

With Dusty around he can earn and still be benched. This is true of any manager.

I've always wondered why people that are dark in complexion are considered different things in different cultures or areas. Is being black not a possibility if your from the Caribbeen or South America? In the article, Joe Morgan is quoting as using the phrase African-American. In that context, it is pretty clear he is referring to American born black folks.