dew1679666265

I think we've gotten the better of Billy Beane trades in the past. This is probably the first time he got the better of us as far as I can recall. Whether Beane got the best of the Cubs is still open to question at this point. Gallagher has gone from No. 2 starter to out of the rotation for Oakland, as his velocity dropped as spring training went on. Eric Patterson is in the minor leagues, as is Murton, with Colorado. If Harden stays healthy and makes 25 starts and most of them are of the quality variety, then I think the Cubs get the better of this deal. But it's too early to judge now. Thanks for the info, Bruce! And I agree. Gaudin was a toss-in anyway and did moderately well for a little while last year for us. The key to the trade was Harden, and he's been very good since arriving in Chicago. The only way I see the Cubs not winning this trade is if Gallagher becomes really good for the As.

Here's ESPN's expert picks. There are 21 predictions overall and all but four are picking the Cubs to win the Central. The four who don't pick us (Matthew Berry, Chris Singleton, Peter Pascarelli and Eric Karabell) picked the Cardinals to win the division. Jorge Arangure Jr., Rob Neyer and Gene Wojciechowski picked the Cubs to win it all.

I don't understand the concern about the line in 2010 or 2011. The line is about the easiest thing to shore up in the draft, it won't be hard to address that hole when the time comes. That's a hard argument to win considering the Bears haven't shored up the OL in any drafts recently and had to bring in 3 free agents just to make it respectable this year. The positive, though, is that this draft is very deep on interior offensive linemen. If Angelo chooses to address it in this draft, he should have a multitude of strong options even in the third and fourth rounds.

You're calling the Gaudin for Peavy deal then? :D

I don't think we'll have to go into full rebuild mode unless management cuts payroll severely. However, this current group of Cubs probably has a window of only a couple of years to win. Otherwise, there will have to be a "reloading" or "rebuilding" period - whichever you prefer to call it.

To keep this moving along a bit, I'll go ahead and take Flames' pick since there's been no sign of Mark R in this thread. So EhDubya and the Bills are now on the clock. I'll PM him.

The Titans also signed Patrick Ramsey to a one-year contract. He's an upgrade over Chris Simms, but I'd still prefer to see Vince get some snaps over him. The veteran QB market is beginning to thin a bit.

Bah, I go to another forum for a few minutes and you beat me to it. :D Mark_R and Flames are now on the clock with Green Bay's pick. I have PM'd them.

I can see that. I like Daniels more than a lot of people do, though I prefer Cantwell and Harrell as pure QB prospects.

Thought I'd mention Scott's gone already.

What are some Raiders needs? Also what kind of defense do they run? 4-3 defense. Could probably use a guard but best player available would probably work as well. Here's an updated list of the "best" players on the board: QB: Graham Harrell (TTU), Hunter Cantwell (Lou), Curtis Painter (Pur), Stephen McGee (TAMU) RB: Javon Ringer (MSU), James Davis (Clem), Rashad Jennings (Liberty), Andre Brown (NCST) WR: Kevin Ogletree (UVA), Mohammed Mossaquoi (UGA), Taiquan Underwood (Rut) TE: Shawn Nelson (SMU), James Casey (Rice), Cameron Morrah (Cal) OG: Louis Vazquez (TTU), Tyronne Green (Aub) OT: Xavier Fulton (Ill), Joel Bell (Furman), Ramon Foster (Tenn) C: Edwin Williams (Mary), Alex Fletcher (Stan) DE: Brandon Williams (TTU), David Veikune (Hawaii), Kyle Moore (USC) DT: Alex Magee (Pur), Vance Walker (GT), Roy Miller (Tex) OLB: Jonathan Casillas (Wisc), Tyrone McKenzie (USF), Zack Follett (Cal) ILB: Dannell Ellerbee (UGA), Worrell Williams (Cal), Jasper Brinkley (SCar), Scott McKillop (Pitt) CB: Brandon Underwood (Cincy), Captain Munnerlyn (SCar), Bradley Fletcher (Iowa) S: Curtis Taylor (LSU), Derek Pegues (Miss St), Darcel McBath (TTU) I think these players are still undrafted, but if anybody sees one that is. let me know and I'll fix it. For the Raiders, I'd probably look at one of the two guards - Ramon Foster can also play some guard as well. Vazquez is a massive, powerful road grader who doesn't do much else. Green has some nice potential but is pretty raw. Foster has all the physical skills needed, but needs some refinement. As for BPA, Ellerbee is up there, along with Ringer and probably Cantwell.

Sorry fellas...I appreciate Dew picking up my slack. What'd you think of the pick, if you're still around? I had a tough time finding a good pick since I'm not extremely familiar with what the Seahawks will be doing under Mora. It works. We need depth your right, but Ruskell usually throws curveballs in there. I actually was going to pick Chase Daniels That'd definitely be a curveball. Daniels is interesting, though.

Sorry fellas...I appreciate Dew picking up my slack. What'd you think of the pick, if you're still around? I had a tough time finding a good pick since I'm not extremely familiar with what the Seahawks will be doing under Mora.

Raisin and the Jags are now on the clock. I PMd him.

No sign of mhuber for 24 hours, so I guess I'll make another pick. The Seahawks have next to no depth on the interior of the offensive line, so guard will be the pick here. Louis Vasquez is probably the best guard left on the board, but I'm afraid he's too much of a road grader and nothing else - and thus not a good fit for Seattle's offense. So, the Seahawks select the next best guard on the board, Cornelius Lewis from Tennessee State. Lewis is still strong, but much more quick and agile. He's also got some good upside and potential. Rocket and the Bengals are now on the clock. I'll PM him.

I hate attitudes like that. I think the truth is Holt doesn't want to play in the cold, and he doesn't want to play on grass. Both will tend to slow him down and make him look older. I'll bet he's willing to take a significantly less attractive situation to play inside, on turf. We'll see if it falls that way. He seems legitimately interested in Tennessee, though. He visited here, making me think he's considering us. And the Titans play outdoors on natural grass. Though you may be onto something about him not wanting to play in the bitter cold. He's visited Jacksonville and Tennessee so far. It could just be the cold. Some of these guys really, really do not like it. Well....I mean nobody likes it, but you get what I'm saying. Yeah, it could well be the cold. Jacksonville doesn't get that cold in November and December and while Nashville gets pretty cold, it's nothing that compares to Chicago.

I don't think anybody's touching him until his legal troubles are resolved.

I hate attitudes like that. I think the truth is Holt doesn't want to play in the cold, and he doesn't want to play on grass. Both will tend to slow him down and make him look older. I'll bet he's willing to take a significantly less attractive situation to play inside, on turf. We'll see if it falls that way. He seems legitimately interested in Tennessee, though. He visited here, making me think he's considering us. And the Titans play outdoors on natural grass. Though you may be onto something about him not wanting to play in the bitter cold. He's visited Jacksonville and Tennessee so far.

NCCubFan already had the Bears jersey with Cutler's name on it, but you're the first I've seen with Cutler actually in your avatar.

oh i know it. i used to hate it too, but when i went back and thought about how many teams are participating in ncaa d-i basketball, i realized that the NIT is not a joke like people think it is. i'm not saying that penn st could've won the national championship, but the NIT title game pitted a team that beat michigan st, purdue, michigan, minnesota and illinois twice against a team that beat providence, arizona st, oklahoma st, washington st, aTm, kansas and texas. they aren't great teams but they're pretty good. Yeah, the NIT is basically a tournament of potential cinderellas. Teams barely good enough to make the tournament and perhaps make a run in it, but who don't get the opportunity. It's fun.

making the NIT was totally better than making the big dance and either losing in the first or, if an upset, the second round. i know the NIT gets dumped on a lot, but there are 344 d-i teams and penn st and baylor are better than at least the teams that didn't make the ncaa tourney plus at least most of the teams seeded 13 and higher. that's like 50th out of 344 - the equivalent of something like the peach bowl in ncaa football. congrats to cornley and "i beat off in the library" pringle and "i busted my face open" morrissey. I don't dislike the NIT, but I knew there was general distaste for it on the board.

typical contrarian article to the general public's view of the trade. Or just maybe what he feels. Mike Mulligan thinks the positives outweigh the negatives. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/1507812,CST-SPT-mully02.article Cutler maybe a little sensitive and not really thick skinned but after giving up what we gave up for him its hard for him not to feel wanted here. I don't think there is much to be worried about his toughness. It's pretty funny to see these "thin skinned" and "not mentally tough" references regarding Cutler after his reputation in college. All through college, the one thing that impressed everybody was his mental toughness. Leading a badly undertalented Vanderbilt team over Tennessee in Neyland for the first time in decades, going between the hedges and beating a very good Georgia team. Competing with Florida in the Swamp. Cutler throughout college and in the draft was a tough gunslinger. "The next Favre" they said. Now he's "not mentally tough" and "thin skinned." Ridiculous.

http://www.thecubreporter.com/2009/04/01/i-cubs-get-thumped-river-cats#comment-129098 I'd say the Cubs know Jerry Blevins really well.

Alright, no sign of Mike Aller, so I'll make the pick, I suppose. The Browns have addressed a pair of needs on the defensive side so far, so now it's time to address a need on the offensive side. Earlier in the offseason, they dealt Kellen Winslow to the Bucs, so they are in need of a TE. Sitting on the board right now is probably a late second to (more likely) early third round tight end. So, the Browns select Chase Coffman, TE, Missouri. mhuber and the Seahawks are now on the clock. I'll PM him.

Tennessee has announced a new 6-year deal for Bruce Pearl. He's staying at Tennessee! =D>