dew1679666265

Yeah, the booing was rather silly to me. Rusch had some struggles in Chicago, but with his story I have a really hard time booing the man. And it's just ridiculous to boo your own players on opening day. I wasn't in support of bringing in Aaron Miles and I don't think he'll benefit the team very much by being in Chicago, but it makes absolutely no sense to boo him after two ABs this season. At least give him a chance to be awful before you boo the man. Good article, by the way, CCP.

"We're hitting the cover off the ball." "If the Cubs get a fifth starter..." Same here. I'm pretty much the same way.

I think it would increase interest if the articles were more than simply a game recap. There are roughly 10,000,000 pure game recaps available to people after a game, but if you do partially game recap and partially opinion, I think it'd be a bit more unique and garner more interest. For instance, the respective day's writer could give a short recap of what happened and then give some opinion on something that happened in the game (a move that was made that shouldn't have or vice versa, etc). Just a thought.

AI is now on the clock for the Steelers' pick, by the way. I PMd him.

nevermind

The Titans here will finally address the wide receiver depth issue with a pick quite similar to last year's WR taken in the fourth round - Lavelle Hawkins. There are two corners here I looked seriously at, but both have enough drawbacks that I chose to wait on them a bit and this receiver has more upside than either corner. So, the Titans select WR Demetrius Byrd from LSU. Byrd is a very talented receiver with quite a bit of upside. He's a bit of a boom or bust type of receiver, it seems, but has the athleticism to develop into a nice receiver - probably not a #1 type, but in the 2-3 range. Flames and CFNBM are now on the clock for Arizona's pick. I will PM them.

Well, no word from Skyballer, so I guess I'll advance onward. I have finally found a safety I feel good about selecting here for the Giants. That's the only need they have left, but I've been pushing it back since I haven't found any I and Skyballer liked at New York's pick. But now I have. So, the Giants select S Courtney Greene from Rutgers. There are some questions surrounding Greene's development and his senior year wasn't particularly impressive, but his junior year was good enough for him to be considered a day one pick and he could be a steal here if his true talent level is closer to his junior season.

Gregg: 1 yr / $4.2 million Wood: 2 yrs / $20.5 millon + 2011 option - 2011 option guaranteed with 55 GF in 2009 or 2010 (becomes a club option if it does not vest) That's according to Cot's.

I've got an idea who I want to see the Giants select here, but I haven't heard anything from Skyballer yet. So, I'll give him a little while to see if he has time to make the pick - otherwise I'll do it myself. I also haven't heard PCP's input for the Titans' pick yet anyway, so I'll wait a while for it too.

This is pretty much what I think. Lou has his downfalls and they hurt us more often than they should, but more importantly he has successfully implemented the best approach for the hitters and surrounded them with more than capable coaches to keep them on track. If Lou costs us X number of games this year with poor in-game decisions, he's won far more with the overall approach he's stressed to the hitters.

Seriously A quick look at the 40 man shows that our options are Fox or Fuld. On another note, how are there no other infielders or catchers on the 40 man roster? Not that I want a return to the days of 12 middle infielders on the 40 man, but this is ridiculous. It is a little bit, but remember that if the Cubs need an infielder or a catcher that it is very easy to add them with all the open slots they have. A quick count shows them at 35 players right now on the 40 man. They didn't want to start Castillo's clock yet so they haven't put him on the 40 man, and Mark Johnson shouldn't be put on the 40 until they actually need him. The bigger issue will be is that if infielders get hurt there are not really any decent options coming up from AAA except at first base. Scales or Blanco would probably be added to the 40 man if they needed them during the year, but they are almost certainly not major league level players. The Cubs have several intriguing infielders at lower levels but they aren't really options until at least next year. It would have been nice if we had kept Esteban German in Iowa in case Theriot or Fontenot went down. Did we cut him because he refused to go to Iowa?

You think Marmol would be more valuable to us as a closer than in his present role where he's probably more likely to come in with runners on in close games and such? I'd say it's pretty close, actually. Marmol isn't used exclusively in high-leverage situations, and presumably Gregg wouldn't be going exclusively to Marmol's role. If Gregg is going to be bad and the idea of Marmol taking only the one-run saves isn't going to happen, then yes, the Cubs are probably better off with Marmol closing. I'd wait a little while to make a decision, but if Gregg continues what he's been doing and Guzman continues to look lights out, I'd move Marmol to closer, Guzman into Marmol's current spot and Gregg into middle relief.

That DeRo trade just keeps looking worse and worse.

CCP and Exile are now on the clock for Indianapolis' pick. I PMd CCP.

If Mossaquoi develops, that'd be a nice duo of Andre Johnson and Mohammed Mossaquoi for Shaub to throw to. I think I have had a pretty good draft, getting Vontae Davis, Rashad Johnson, Antoine Caldwell, Zac Follett and Massaquoi. If Cushing is off the board (and Houston loves him), then I think they would be happy with possibly the top CB, a top 2-3 FS, an OLB who can play right away and a WR with 3 years as a starter who still has some upside. Yeah, that's a solid draft. Two of the top three players you selected are almost certain to be able to start immediately. Follett probably can as well and Johnson could compete for a starting job.

A run on offensive linemen starting up, it appears. soccer10k and the Raiders are now on the clock. I PMd him.

I'll go ahead and make the Patriots' pick. The Pats still don't really have any needs, but youth on the offensive line is always good. So, the Pats select some upside and a guy with versatility who can play guard or tackle. The Patriots select OL Ramon Foster from Tennessee. Foster is very big and quite strong, though he needs a fair amount of technique development. He's probably not ready to contribute in year one, but has the upside of a very good reserve or good starter. Vanilla Ice and the Falcons are now on the clock. I PMd him.

There's always the question of Harden being healthy in the future too, even if he does have a healthy season this year. I don't think it's a good assumption that getting Peavy means we can't afford Harden. We've always been good at keeping the elite players we want to keep. The last guy that we really wanted to keep that walked on us was Maddux. That wouldn't stop me from going after Peavy. Get them both for the postseason. Maybe we can keep both, maybe not. If we don't try, we only have one of the two for this postseason, then one of them next year. If we get him, then we have both to try to win the WS this year, and at worst, we only have one of the two next year. Maybe things work out and we keep both. Harden's the better pitcher (probably), but due to his health concerns I think I'd prefer to have Peavy for four years. Peavy's more likely to be healthy for the duration than Harden is (effectiveness is another question I guess, but there's no guarantee when/if either pitcher will fall off a cliff). I worded my last post badly. The risk of losing Harden for Peavy next year is worth the possibility of having them both for a postseason for sure, and the chance of keeping both beyond that. That, and the part about the health factor you mentioned... Yeah, I understood what you were saying. My post was more directed at Enn Tea, though, but your post was more easily accessible and I'm lazy. :D

I think he might stick in the majors for a little bit.

Carlos Marmol is the man. :D

Nice looking sliders by Marmol!

I'm not sure. I can give him the benefit of the doubt there.

I think Gregg is just getting the night off. Len seemed to think Lou may be going to a momentary bullpen-by-committee approach, though. yeah, i like the strategy. but if marmol blows it i'm going to hate it. I'll never hate putting Marmol into a close game.

That's strange, but awesome. That is going to be in my nightmares tonight. It's like Mickey Mouse on drugs.

I think Gregg is just getting the night off. Len seemed to think Lou may be going to a momentary bullpen-by-committee approach, though.