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I keep hearing WVU rumored for the SEC and have no idea why. They bring nothing beneficial to the conference, except a good basketball program (for the SEC). I know you hate this idea, but if Va Tech isn't interested (and I see no reason why they should be with the ACC expanding) then Missouri is the best school for the SEC to add. Brings the St Louis/KC markets, is a solid football program, and would be one of the best basketball programs. Mizzou is a far better option for the SEC than WVU, USF, Louisville (none of these three bring anything), or anybody else I've seen rumored.

The decision would ultimately be made by the new GM, but surely that'll be the case.

The point I've been making this entire thread is that we should let Aramis walk to (hopefully) free up the money to sign Wilson and one of Pujols/Fielder. Wilson is a better short and long term investment than Aramis at this point. And that isn't a very smart point to try and make. Your solutions to fill the position are garbage. My solutions are salary-based - you shoot a little higher if Ricketts bumps payroll up at all. If it stays as is, then you make do with what you have. Baker is extremely productive against lefties and as long as Flaherty/LeMaheieu is decent, we'll have above average offense at third. Why do you think an aging, injury prone 33 year old slugger is a better 3 year investment than a 31 year old elite pitcher who only has 2 years of ML starting experience under his belt for 4-5 years?

Trading Byrd, Soriano, and Z and getting next to nothing in return (other than a little salary relief) would be of little benefit to us. You'd be going into the offseason with 3 holes in the OF (one presumably would be filled by BJax, though) and two open spots in the rotation, with Wells being a major question mark as well. A Reed/Colvin/LaHair platoon might fill Soriano's void, but there's no way we'll replace Byrd's production for a cost remotely close to how little he's being paid. We should have the funding to sign both Fielder/Pujols and Wilson without dismantling half our team in the process.

The point I've been making this entire thread is that we should let Aramis walk to (hopefully) free up the money to sign Wilson and one of Pujols/Fielder. Wilson is a better short and long term investment than Aramis at this point.

Titans looking like an actual NFL team this week, who'd have thought it. Not that I believed the Ravens were the unstoppable juggernaut they appeared to be last week, but I really didn't like our chances. Hasselbeck's looking like he did 2-3 years ago and Britt's been completely uncoverable. CJ still struggling though.

Tennessee clearly has little to no offense without Justin Hunter, and it appears he'll be out most of the, if not all, season. Terrible break as losing him probably eliminates any chance we had of 8-9 wins this year. Unless he returns really quickly or the coaching staff does some great adjusting, it looks like we'll do well to win 6-7 this season. To top it off, I'm convinced we had a shot at beating Florida had Hunter not gotten hurt.

The thinking for me behind going after a top of the rotation guy is that our system is full of 3-5 type starters who should be ready within the next couple or three years. Much like the reasoning for going after a premiere bat, a top of the rotation pitcher is something the system simply won't produce for the next few years (maybe Ben Wells is our next best shot). It almost seems like a waste of money/prospects to pursue a non-TOR guy since we've got so many of them nearly ready in the minors. If we're going to spend big money, it should be on something we won't have anytime soon - a legit TOR guy. And the benefit to Wilson specifically is that going by the mileage on his arm, it's like signing a guy in his mid-20s. He's only been starting for 2 seasons now.

I wouldn't oppose looking at a trade, especially if the bidding gets really intense for Wilson, but I have some of the same concerns as KKvG has. Wilson is clearly better than any of the three you mentioned with the only possible exception being Shields. With them being inferior pitchers, they'd have to be open to significantly less money than Wilson would get for it to make sense.

Justin Hunter tweaked his knee during the first drive of the game and won't return today. I'm really concerned that he's going to be out for a while - just hoping it's not an ACL tear. And the Tennessee defense just forgot to cover Chris Rainey. No offense and at 30-7, this one's over.

I'm not sure of the exact percentages, but I'd say you're not far off. I'm not arguing we won't see a dropoff from Aramis to a Baker/Flaherty platoon, I'm arguing that that dropoff will be less than the increase we get going from McNutt/Whitenack/Struck/Cashner/middling FA/whoever to CJ Wilson. And that Wilson provides us with much more long term value than Aramis does.

Baker career v lefties: .533 SLG/.894 OPS Aramis career v lefties: .528 SLG/.877 OPS I'll concede that Flaherty is unproven and definitely a big question mark entering the year, but he'd only be facing righties in this scenario which should help his productivity. If he proves to not be ready, we have LeMahieu and DeWitt who can be tried in that role and I'd be all for seeking out a left handed hitting platoon option in FA/trade as well if the money is there. Really, though, if Baker can produce as he has throughout his career against lefties, you don't need a huge year out of his platoon partner to get better than league average (.706 OPS) production at third. Obviously we want to shoot higher than middle of the pack and I think this platoon can.

Aramis is also 33 years old, has had extensive injury issues, and will want big money over probably 3 years. I hate being critical of Aramis as he's probably been my favorite Cub over his career, but he's more than likely going to be regressing over the course of any new deal and will be less valuable to the team each year. A platoon of Baker/Flaherty would be less productive than Aramis going into next year for sure, but it can still be better than league average and freeing up Aramis' salary allows us to make a significant upgrade in the rotation - which this team really needs with major question marks in 3 of the 5 rotation slots. By settling, I mean a very good, but old and injury prone third baseman is not as good an option as a legit top of the rotation starter with very little mileage on his arm. Re-signing Aramis wouldn't be a bad move per say, but it's not the optimal move. Even if we bring Z back, there's plenty of reasons (laid out very well by CCP in multiple threads) to think he's going to decline to some degree - possibly a lot - starting next year. Couple that with major question marks surrounding Wells' viability going forward and who we'll put in the fifth rotation slot (Cashner? McNutt? JJackson? There's not a lot of reason to be confident in any of them being quality arms next year). The rotation after Garza and Dempster has the potential to be a major problem next season and signing Wilson adds some much needed stability to that rotation. There's certainly a real chance we may miss out on him, but we also have as much as or more than anyone else to spend on FAs this offseason - we have a very legitimate chance to land both Fielder/Pujols and Wilson and I think we should try. If it doesn't work, then you readjust at that point, but you don't pass up two great long term options simply because it'll be difficult to sign both.

Should the Cubs have the mentality that we should immediately settle because we might get outbid? Assuming we don't decrease payroll (which all of this is based on anyway), we'll have as much as or more than anyone else to spend this offseason. It's certainly no sure thing that we'll get 2 of the top 3 free agents on the market, but I don't think we should throw in the towel without an effort either.

Ugly blowout or ugly ugly? It's a good bet to say any game involving Baltimore will turn ugly, just by the way the football is played. A little of both, but mainly ugly blowout. Like you said, the Ravens force ugly football to be played, but the way the Jags manhandled both our lines, the Ravens will do it that much easier. I don't think this game will be close, but I hope I'm wrong.

Whether Baltimore is really as good as it looked last week, the Titans are a really bad team. Even disregarding the Steeler game, the Ravens are good enough to make us look silly if we don't improve significantly from one week to the next. If they really are as good as they showed last week, this game will be an embarassment.

It may or may not be enough, but my plan would be to let Aramis walk and then sign two of Wilson/Pujols/Fielder. You'd replace Aramis at third with a platoon of Baker (~.900 OPS v lefties) and probably Flaherty. There's a good chance you're still getting league average or better production at third (despite an obvious dropoff) and you significantly upgrade at 1st and top of the rotation. If it's enough to compete next year, great - and I think it could be. However, it's a better long term plan as well since Aramis would be here for 2-3 years max (and possibly declining in that time) while Pujols/Fielder would be here 6-10 years and Wilson would be here 4-5 years (and likely in his prime given his minimal mileage on his arm).

That doesn't free up a roster spot for LaHair, though. LeMahieu and Flaherty would replace Baker and DeWitt's spots even if you believe both should be gone. And I'd disagree that Baker should be gone. LeMahieu isn't going to be close to the hitter against lefties that Baker is and he could be very valuable should we let Aramis walk this offseason. I'd strongly prefer to keep Baker around.

Baker's not a bad hitter when used properly - against lefties only. His overall numbers are hurt considerably because he's faced too many righties, but he can be very valuable as a power bat (.900+ career OPS v lefties) off the bench against lefties.

As much as I like Aramis, I still prefer CJ Wilson to him. And Pujols/Fielder is a necessity.

I have a feeling the Titans/Ravens game is going to get really ugly, really quickly.

Eric Berry is the only guy I'd consider comparable to Peyton Manning in the love for him in Knoxville. Had he stayed for his senior year like Peyton did (leaving was the right choice though), he might be as beloved as Peyton around here.

On gut feeling I'd go Stafford, but don't take my word for it. With Colston out: S Moss v Arizona R Meacham v Chicago

I'm already getting nervous about the Florida game. It's going to be extra tough being a road game in the Swamp, but this is a very winnable game. The key is going to be containing Rainey and Demps and Bray playing smart. If we don't turn the ball over, we should be able to score a decent amount on Florida. And the only real offensive weapons Florida has are Rainey and Demps. If Dooley can win this game, he'll become a legend in Knoxville.

One game into the season I think I had the Titans overrated. This team is really, really bad. The offense was completely inept, Hasselbeck was terrible, and the line couldn't open anything for CJ. Defense wasn't very good either, despite keeping the Jags out of the end zone. I'm hoping it was just early season struggles after the lockout/new coaching staff/new QB/etc, but I doubt it. This team looks really bad.