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In 2004, they added Beltran to get that boost. In 2005, Berkman came back from knee surgery and lifted the offense. I don't think they really have any secret formula. Keep in mind that they also choked away the division in 2003. No player in history could contribute that much for a rebound like that occur in either '04 or '05. In '03, Williams was there and Garner took over in '04 (halfway I believe). Berkman or Beltran can't have that dramatic of an impact, it certainly helped, but it wasn't all or nothing.

Spears is the scrappy little white guy everyone loves. His ceiling is that of a slightly better version of Eckstein, same type of approach to the game. Perez is a LH'er who had shoulder problems in the past, has a live arm, and has struggled w/control at times. Spears probably projects in the 20-25 range and Perez in the 30-40 range as far as Cubs prospects. I'll miss Corey.

I hope it's Britton as one of the names TBNL.

The Astros over the last two years have shown an unusual ability to play better as the season progresses, that's well documented. Flip a coin as far as which will have the better record next year at this stage. That'll be decided by injuries, unusual player flucuations, mid-season moves. Neither are great in-game managers, I think Garner gets more out of his talent than Baker, though. As far as the Cubs/Cards line-up. Rolen coming back will be huge for their team, even though Nunez had a fluke year. It'll be a close race as far as runs scored and how the line-ups will be made up will play a role. If Neifi is starting at 2B, STL will score more runs unless some players go beyond their expected production or fall short. W/Walker or Hairston starting at 2B, it'll be interesting.

The same Marrero that had a .894 OPS in 2004'. The Marrero that has a .973 OPS vs. Lh'ers over the last 3 years, that includes his '05 season with the Royals. He'd be the best RH'ed option off the bench.

You mean like Cordero, Street, or Jesse Crain?

If the Cubs had a chance to get Britton/Bass for Patterson and passed it up for Drese/Watson, that would be a tough pill to swallow. Personally, I can't see the O's offering Britton and I can't see the Cubs rejecting that offer. Bass is your typical 1st round toolsy SS shifted to 3B, who hasn't advanced in the field enough defensively to play SS and shifted to 3B despite not hitting. But, he's too aggressive at the plate and hasn't hit for enough power or contact to be a viable prospect anymore. Britton is a very good relief guy, unlike Cubs recent relief pitching prospects, has above avg. command. To go with that command, he has a mid 90s FB and a plus change. He would likely be between 10-15 as far as Cubs prospects. His numbers from last year (High-A) 6W 0L 1.60ERA 46G 6SV 78.2IP 47H 15R 14ER 5HR 23BB 110K 110 strikeouts while only allowing 70 baserunners total. Drese is your typical fluke sinker-baller, his '04 season was a fluke and any improvements would be b/c of a drop in BABIP. As SSR mentioned, the Cubs have too many of these btm of the rotation types as it is. Watson is a CF'er with good range, decent arm, good speed, can hit for a decent avg., but doesn't draw BBs and can't hit for power as he's a slap-hitter. To quote BA, "For him to become an everyday center fielder in the majors, though, he must become a more patient hitter. Otherwise he'll just be the second coming of Endy Chavez." The Cubs don't have a strong track record of developing patience at the plate.

Louisville. Also, the Reds AAA affil. is in Louisville.

I hope Welly doesn't read this board. He's gonna think no one likes him. Todd deserves to be in an organziation that would likely have a plan for him. He'd be closer to his hometown as well.

Bruce, I don't think Hendry has wrceked the farm system, but while it has improved since the mid 90s, it has gone down since it's peak as the #1 rated farm system (according to BA) in '02 to likely middle of the pack heading into '06. They have switched from utilizing their own scout out in the Pacific Rim to utilizing the Major League Scouting Bureau. Since the departure of Leon Lee, they have not signed a player since his depature several years ago. They haven't signed a player out of Australia even longer than that, Morrissey was the most productive of those signed from Down Under, but it appears they left that program as well. My main concern is with the lack of emphasis in the DR and especially Venezuela. Pie was the last prospect signed internationally to be worthy of a top 10 ranking within the Cubs system. If you use Baseball America as a primary tool in regards to the minors and compare the top 10s of earlier this decade to the the present, you'll see a dramatic drop-off in highly touted international players within the Cubs farm system as well as the overall drop during that same timeframe. That has occured under Hendry's watch, if they've reallocated those resources towards increasing the ML payroll (which has increased compared to '02) to increase the rate of winning or speed up the rebuilding process from '02, it has obviously been a failure so far.

I'd still love to him on the Cubs. Tampa has a terrible transit system and Chicago's is right there w/BART (SF and Oak) and behind NYC as far as top notch public transportation. :)

I would assume that any move from here on out will be minor, something drastic would have to happen for it to change (i.e. injury). They have roster decisions to make surrounding Wellemeyer as well as rumored trade candidates Patterson and/or Walker. All in all, WYSIWYG.

Henry is out for the game. I don't think Palmer is coming back but they are doing an MRI right now. Hendry makes a better Nose Tackle than WR.

They should be flagged for it, as should most end zone celebrations and O'Neal after that tackle.

Right now, the 3 teams that I wanted to win are 0-3 and the other is down 10-0. Hopefully, next week will make up for it.

The refs need to get control of this game. Not even halfway thru the 1st quarter and it's out of hand.

They better as pumped up to face Carolina as they were the 1st time. B/c Carolina's O-Line hasn't forgotten how the Bears front four made them the Bears' B******.

If the Cubs are looking for a new GM at the end of the year, I'd go after Dayton Moore 1st. Of course, like most involved with the Braves, they tend to stay there. I do think the Cubs are a better fit for him than Boston would've been, it'd be worth finding out. Then, let him pick the manager and if I had to guess, he'd choose Fredi Gonzales.

I'd like to see him used as more of a start starter. Ideally, Ramirez should get about 140-145 games, especially with some days off early in the season as he is prone to muscle injuries moreso than anyone else on the team. Between being the primary DH during IL and spot starts & even if everyone stayed healthy, he could get 30-35 starts.

When the production matches the payroll, I'll give Hendry credit. When the production matches the talent, I'll give Baker credit.

There's little doubt in my mind that Branyan would be a significant upgrade to this bench. Perez Hairston Branyan (hopefully) Mabry Blanco Hidalgo (hopefully) That'd be expensive and ideal.

Looks like Bears vs. Panthers. It's odd that Orton was able to have his best game of his career and Manning can't do anything.

I think the Bears can score 20-24 points against the Giants. I doubt the Giants can score 17 points against the Bears.

You're probably right, and I've always thought that Hendry would sell Corey for cents on the dollar this winter. It's just tough knowing that the guy has a lot of potential, is fairly young, and if he goes to the right situation, he's going to be productive. There's always a possibility of that occuring & if that occurs, the Cubs will have to look in the mirror and wonder went wrong. They'll have to decide if there was something different they could've done as far as relaying the message to where he could grasp it better or what they could've done better in any aspect that could brought Corey having his production match his talents. Of course for Corey to take that next step, he'll have to look in the mirror and do likewise.

Corey's struggles and the reasoning behind them are not conducive to that of sitting for long stretches on the bench or occasional ABs vs. a RH'er late in a ballgame. As a 5th OF'er and given Corey's current state, it'll be nearly impossible for him to build up his trade value beyond its current low point and certainly not worth trying to build it up when there are 3 million reasons why not to.