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Here's the link. Since it's a minor league deal, I really like the signing.

They've got a pretty good offense, but they're not third in the NL.

I also saw our friend Eric Patterson playing CF late in the game. Interesting, I missed that. Was Corey there? I don't believe so.

I like that lineup.

Kurkjan said it would prolly cost the Cards both Ramsus and Wallace to get Halladay, and for a pitcher with as many innings on his arm that might not be the best investment on there prospects. Even tho he is still good friends with Carpenter, he prefers to stay in the AL (the AL version of Jake Peavy) as he absolutely hates having to hit. If I had my guess, Halladay doesn't get move and all this talk is nothing more then a tease. I tend to think he'll stay as well.

What did he say for those of us who didn't hear it? The Cub offense hasn't been that good this year and the outfield defense has been worse. He thinks we'll start scoring more runs, but it won't be enough to overcome our outfield defense. He thinks the Cards will win the division - especially if they get Halladay. That and it will take 90 games to win the division and we cannot get there. He also mentioned that our bullpen hasn't been as good as expected -- yea, I think we can go with that -- but also that our starting pitching hasn't been very good either -- and that one was kind of a head scratcher. Yeah, I forgot about the 90 win thing. I missed the latter part, though. Not sure how the starting pitching hasn't been good.

What did he say for those of us who didn't hear it? The Cub offense hasn't been that good this year and the outfield defense has been worse. He thinks we'll start scoring more runs, but it won't be enough to overcome our outfield defense. He thinks the Cards will win the division - especially if they get Halladay.

I also saw our friend Eric Patterson playing CF late in the game. Interesting, I missed that.

Our friend Matt Murton is also starting in the minor league all star game.

This is really a worthwhile strategy if you can pick up guys who were once legitimately good for cheap.

$80 million in players in 2009 will also buy you: Torii Hunter Vladimir Guerrero Bobby Abreu Bobby Fuentes Juan Rivera John Lackey Chone Figgins We'll have to make good decisions with the money as we won't have much extra, but you definitely can build a good team around $80 million. And there's a decent chance we'll have more than $80 million to commit to 2012.

And what four MVP caliber players will be hitting free agency in that time frame? Between 2010 and 2012? I'd guess a few - doesn't Pujols come available by then? How many major FAs generally come available in a 3 year period?

Like I said, it's unlikely that we'll go into that season with only three players under contract. Once Ricketts takes over there will likely be some contracts signed. I doubt they will be of the Soriano size, but as certain guys' contracts run out (Lee, Lilly, Bradley, etc) I would expect more to be signed. The quality of those players will play a large role in our ability to contend in 2011 and 2012. My main point by throwing out that dollar figure was just to point out that we'll have a large part of our payroll available to commit to players by 2012 and don't have that many big deals still on the payroll by then.

Seriously? $80 Million could sign 4 MVP caliber players. That $80 million is also assuming we keep our payroll at $130 million through the 2011 offseason. The luxury tax by then, however, will be $178 million or more. If Ricketts is willing to go high enough, we could have as much as $120 million available by the start of that season.

The $80 million doesn't have to be spent entirely in that one offseason. Some can be used for valuable pieces in the next couple of seasons if any come available and some of the needs might be filled through the minor leagues. It's obviously no guarantee that we'll contend for the world series in 2012, but at the same time, there's no reason we have to be a bad team until 2015 or later.

That's a stupid bet. I don't know, I'd call it a push. We're an old team right now, our window is closing fast with the core we have in place right now. If we don't win it this year, or maybe next year, we're not looking good beyond that. We don't have the farm system nor the personnel in charge to quickly rebuild our franchise once we bust up the core to this team that we have right now. The Nats have some promise in the farm and could have have a good team in a few years if the ownership commits the resources necessary to bring in quality vets to fill the holes their farm doesn't. We're going to have to catch lightning in the bottle or work some very creative trades for some prospects to posture ourselves to be successful into the middle of the next decade. Or Vitters is going to have to become the next Babe Ruth. I don't think we're that far off contending again. I expect us to be competitive again in 2010 and then likely struggle some in 2011 (though we may still be able to be competitive). But then in 2012, we'll have $80 million available if we don't raise payroll a bit from where it is now. I don't expect 0 payroll increases over the next four years, though it could happen. We will have a lot of holes to fill with that $80 million, but if we make some smart moves we can contend. Then in 2013 we have just $19 million currently committed - contending then won't be an issue at all.

Looked infinitely worse. I'm going to give it a chance, but don't really have any expectations.

But if we do that, we look an awful lot like the Cardinals with a solid 1-4 and a load of easy out following them. Again, Id rather split it up so we have those guys at the top of the order, at least as long as Fawld can stay hot and then a gauntlet of Lee, Ramirez, Bradley, Soriano, and Soto when hes back to follow, but thats just a difference of opinion, no wrong, no right. The reason you want your best hitters at the top of the lineup is because they get the most ABs up there. Over the course of a season, the difference between the #1 spot in the order and the #6 spot can be over a hundred (maybe as high as 200+, I can't remember for sure). I would rather those at bats go to Theriot, Bradley, Lee and Aramis than go to Fuld. If the rest of our order looks like the Cardinals' order, then we should improve it instead of moving good hitters down in the order. Yes they can hit better than Fuld, but Soriano and Kosuke havnt been, Who knows, maybe his minors numbers are what hes capable of. With some guys it is, some guys it isnt, but as long as the other options arent producing, Id like to give him that chance. But Theriot and Bradley are producing, so why not put them up there and give them the extra ABs? Both are capable of much more than Fuld and are producing well now. Like I said, I'm ok with him spelling the outfielders here and there while he's hitting well, but he shouldn't be at the top of the lineup for an extended period of time. It takes too many at bats away from our best players.

According to the guy who seems to have figured the formula out, Harden is pretty safely in the A range for now. Interestingly, with the move the NL, DeRosa has gotten much closer to Type A status. But that assumes we offer him arbitration, right - i.e. it doesn't matter if he's a Type A or not if we don't offer him arbitration, just like with Woody. Right.

If he can replicate those numbers, sure they're not that terrible. The likelihood of him replicating those minor league numbers at the major league level in his first season is very, very low, though. The goal should be to get your best hitters at the top of the lineup. Even if Fuld replicates those (AA/AAA) numbers exactly, he's nowhere near one of our best hitters. Theriot, Bradley, Lee and Aramis have been our best hitters this year and last. Thus, the top of the order really should be Theriot, Bradley, Lee, Aramis. I don't have that much of a problem with playing Fuld when you can as long as he's hot. However, I don't think he should be batting leadoff. You're also not leaving any room for upside. Those AA/AAA numbers are likely Fuld's upside (which, combined with very good defense in center isn't bad at all for a cheap fourth outfielder), whereas Kosuke, Bradley and Soriano all can hit significantly better than that. If you bench them for an indefinite period of time, it's that much less likely they'll give us the great production they are capable of.

we have a lot to go off of. Fuld has a long career in the minors and has proven he can't hit. His career minor league line is .287/.370/.404. I wouldnt call that proving he cant hit. While its nice to have the high OPS guys at the heart of your lineup Id prefer the high avg. guys at the top of it. Ryan Theriots career minor league line was .271/.355/.337, and like him or hate him, he is becoming a very solid major league hitter despite the fact that hes not the high OPS type. Assuming what weve seen from Fuld is the real deal, a Fuld-Theriot 1-2 is more of a traditional top of the order with the big boppers coming up behind them. Am I saying that what weve seen from Sam Fuld is what we can expect in the future? Maybe, maybe not, but Id sure like to give him a chance and find out, especially while Kosuke isnt exactly smoking the ball. If you don't want Kosuke up there, the best duo at the top of the order would probably be Theriot and Bradley. I would argue, however, that Kosuke's approach suits him best at the top of the lineup and he's shown signs since moving there of perhaps warming up a bit. Fuld has been less than stellar since being promoted from high A ball.

we have a lot to go off of. Fuld has a long career in the minors and has proven he can't hit. His career minor league line is .287/.370/.404. I wouldnt call that proving he cant hit. While its nice to have the high OPS guys at the heart of your lineup Id prefer the high avg. guys at the top of it. Ryan Theriots career minor league line was .271/.355/.337, and like him or hate him, he is becoming a very solid major league hitter despite the fact that hes not the high OPS type. Assuming what weve seen from Fuld is the real deal, a Fuld-Theriot 1-2 is more of a traditional top of the order with the big boppers coming up behind them. Am I saying that what weve seen from Sam Fuld is what we can expect in the future? Maybe, maybe not, but Id sure like to give him a chance and find out, especially while Kosuke isnt exactly smoking the ball. If I recall correctly those career minor league numbers are inflated from the lower minors, and his numbers at higher levels are not good. I may be wrong, but I seem to remember that. You are correct. Fuld at low A: .300/.377/.433/.810 44:50 K:BB Fuld at high A: .300/.378/.422/.801 54:40 K:BB Fuld at AA/AA year one: .287/.376/.395/.771 43:50 K:BB Fuld at AA/AAA year two: .264/.358/.371/.728 52:58 K:BB Fuld at AAA this year: .286/.359/.397/.755 22:33 K:BB

Marshall is more valuable to the team as a starter than as a loogy. Lou really wants a loogy in the pen, though. So, if Ryan can come in and be a serviceable loogy (or better), then that would allow Lou to feel comfortable moving Marshall back into the rotation, thus using Marshall more effectively.

I'll watch it. I'll probably flip between it and whatever else is on, but I'll watch it.

They'd actually do well to trade him now - he's 31 so he's not likely in their long term plans. I'm guessing the general plan is, if offered a good return, they'll trade him. But, they won't trade him for the sake of trading him. Same w/ Jack Wilson. The problem is, we'd need a 2B back, as we have no one in the minors who's close enough to being ready to take over, even on a stretch. Same w/ Jack. Such is the Legacy of Dave Littlefield. Yeah, I'm not advocating dumping him for the sake of it - I'm just saying there's no real benefit to keeping him. He's not a 26 year old just coming into his own so if a good offer is on the table, there's no reason to refuse it.