Soul

So you're saying Soriano and DeRosa are the right guys in front of the middle of the order? At this stage, I think the Cubs would be best off going with Soriano and Murton at the top. Right guys? Not ideally, but the best of what they have. That's an improvement as far as getting runners on for the heart of the order (moreso w/Murton hitting 2nd than the OBP diff. of Pierre/Soriano). It would help score more runs than say Soriano and a lesser OBP. If Soriano's going to be #1, Murton had better be #2. I don't think it's much of a stretch to think Murton could be around the 380 mark next year. If Floyd comes here, Murton's ABs will likely be significantly reduced. On days he plays I wouldn't mind seeing him bat #2.

Eh, after reading some Dodger forums, sounds like his arm is about as weak as Pierre's, in addition to probably not being able to play full time. I'd rather have Church. I'd rather have Church too, but last I heard the Nats wanted the farm for him. Is he that much more valuable than a year of Lofton and then Pie to give up as much as it sounds like the Nats want? I'd love him, but I'm very unsure about the cost. I think they wanted marmol instead of marshall... Pay up Jimmy!!! Yeah, doesn't sound like they want the farm for him. More like they want the best offer they can hold out and receive from the 3 or 4 teams asking about him. Seems his value is increasing by the day, so the longer this drags out and more CFers are off the market, could take more in terms of talent to get him. Certainly not the ridiculous demands of a Tampa Bay GM. But, Baldelli is another guy I'm interested in. Unfortunately, Baldelli is another guy who struggles with OBP, which has been a common theme this offseason, even if they have done a bit better than previous seasons. Using my Cubbie sense, I'm thinking Church is unpossible.

I think these guys do this sort of thing all the time. I do it my profession as well. Yeah, I think it's kind of common. Wasn't Prior or Wood working with a Rangers employee at one point? It's like a professional courtesy, which happens in all businesses. Yeah but the Rangers aren't likely to see Prior & Wood have much of an impact on their season, unless it's the WS (unlikely). We're talking within the division here.

Not only that, but don't we nearly always lose when Belushi is in the booth? Please cancel that appearance. Please. While we're at it, can we cancel ESPN's announcers? LOL. What's even worse is, with DirecTV there's a delay so I can't even turn the volume down and listen to Joniak. Ugh.

Not only that, but don't we nearly always lose when Belushi is in the booth? Please cancel that appearance. Please.

Things looking much better now. Damn you to hell Wuertz for not letting the home games on Comcast.

Going to guess Roberto Novoa and Glendon Rusch for starters. There's no danger in DFA'ing Glendon, even if they hold back hope that he can play mid 2007 or something. Nobody is going to claim him, so DFA him, let him choose to either stay in the organization or take his money and retire, and lets move on. Novoa would be more likely to be moved for a prospect who doesn't need 40 man roster protection yet. There are also a few positional prospects who it wouldn't be the end of the world to have to cut and lose. Brian Dopirak is an obvious one. Don't even know if he'd warrant a claim. That sub .700 OPS doesn't do much for anyone at this point. Jose Reyes too, unless there's something about him worth caring about that I'm missing. It certainly is disturbing that 2 years ago I was watching Dope pound balls out of the ballpark like a King, only to find that now he isn't posting over .700 in OPS. Will the Cubs ever be able to develop a power hitter?

This whole thing is Larry's idea. I have a whole host of feelings about this, but none of them are suitable for NSBB. :x Wow. How big do his cajones have to be to think he can succeed where Duncan and Leo-freakin'-Mazzone failed? I'd sure like to know why Larry would be working with Marquis in the offseason in the first place. That seems weird to me. I thought I read somewhere that Duncan had identified where Marquis was tipping off his pitches, and he wound up throwing his hands up in disgust because Marquis wouldn't work with him to get rid of the "tells." from mlb.com: "Jason called me shortly after they got done with the World Series and asked me if he could come down and throw," Rothschild told WGN Radio on Friday night. "He'd talked to [Greg] Maddux during the season and [Maddux] recommended that if he had a chance to let me see him." "Maddux and Marquis were teammates in Atlanta. Marquis threw once for Rothschild, and the two talked pitching mechanics. " http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061209&content_id=1758640&vkey=hotstove2006&fext=.jsp Yeah but doesn't that strike you as strange? Let's say Marquis signs with the Stros, and the pitching help Rothschild provided allows him to go 3-0 against the Cubs. Sounds like a bad practice to be fixing opposing pitchers, doesn't it?

I guess I'm a little confused why Bear fans would want the Saints to win yesterday. A Saints loss would have all but guaranteed the Bears the #1 slot in the NFC. Now if we lose tonight, we're only 1 game up for HFA over NO. A Dallas win would have been preferrable.

Well, the four bad games count as much as the six good games. It's not like those bad games shouldn't count. The troubling thing is that Rex has regressed over the last several weeks. Right now, Rex is playing at a level that is unacceptable. This is a big game for him. Good Rex should be able to put up a respectable performance against a bad team such as the Rams. Even if it's a ball control performance against a team that is weak against the run, that's OK. But if he is throwing picks on Monday Night, I can't think of a reason not to go to Griese. This is the biggest thing with Rex's bad games. One shouldn't expect him to maintain his early season play nor expect him not to have bad games, but one should expect him to at least level off to a more normal play. He's getting worse and worse, and that's why the bad games are so concerning. I think he needs to sit and clear his head. It's always this way with a player-----"oh you can't sit him it will blow his confidence" or "he's only going to get better by playing" He doesn't need to "get better." He needs to take a break and gain some perspective. A player's confidence is always much more destroyed by going on the field and failing miserably than by watching and learning. Tom Brady was benched this weekend, btw. Brett Favre was benched I think twice (might have been once) last season. I think we need to do what's best for Rex, and right now I believe that is letting him sit and learn without pressure for a little while.

I suppose miracles can always happen but it's a heck of a way to run a railroad inflating the market only so we can get caught up in it and wind up with a bunch of longer-term mediocre pitching. I might have preferred fixing the hitting/fielding holes this year, and then attempting to trade for pitching or acquire a choice FA through this season and next. That would have given us time to let a few deals simmer through 2 trade deadlines and what not. I think by shooting for the moon Hendry was doomed to wind up with a couple middle-of-the road pitchers. Not that I don't think they'll be an improvement over last year, but we would have had to go further for a championship IMO. Pray for those miracles. Or just pray for Prior to start being Prior again.

That's the first positive statement I've heard about Prior is quite some time. Everyone has written him off, but what if he bounces back and regains his dominant form? Then we have two ace pitchers, Lilly in his rightful #3 spot, Hill at four and Miller/Marshall/Marquis battling it out for the last spot. Sure, we can't count on Prior right now, but I can see it happening. You have not been reading very carefully, then. Most of the comments on the pitching staff the past couple days have been about what happens if everyone is healthy. Heck, I've had a front page article up about it for two days now! :D Is there any we can, you know, force Mark to stop being fragile and sucking? I want my 2003 Marky Mark back, darn it all!

I would have preferred a 2 year rebuilding plan, given this year's market.

Yeap. But don't dare criticize the great QB from Dallas. Aikman might have a hissy fit.

If the Bears get a bye they won't even play in the 1st round. Fine, the 2nd round, which would still be the 1st round for them to play in. I just don't see this at all. Have you seen the NFC? We're going to likely have HFA through till the Super Bowl, and I just can't imagine an NFC coming in there and beating us assuming that either Rex turns it around, or Griese is in there. And I don't think it's a stretch to say one of those will happen. I don't think we'll see either the Cowboys or the Saints until the NFC championship game...so who do you see beating us in the first game? Anyone. Like I said, it's nothing really concrete, I just feel really nervous about this team. I'm not even sure why. Because it hurt really bad to watch this team lay an egg at home in 2001 and 2005. That kind of pain sticks with you for awhile-------at least until your team gets past that point.

If that happens, I'm guessing we'll have a very angry and unhappy Lance Briggs on our hands. I can see him being a little irked at first, but he would be getting top 5 money so it's not like we would be getting him for cheap.

How many TDs did the Pack score? We get $1 off Papa Murphy's pizzas for every TD on Monday nights! 3 That's 3 bucks off. I think there's a smaller discount for FGs too. Could wind up being $4 off Papa Murphy's :D

This whole thing is Larry's idea. I have a whole host of feelings about this, but none of them are suitable for NSBB. :x Wow. How big do his cajones have to be to think he can succeed where Duncan and Leo-freakin'-Mazzone failed? I'd sure like to know why Larry would be working with Marquis in the offseason in the first place. That seems weird to me. I thought I read somewhere that Duncan had identified where Marquis was tipping off his pitches, and he wound up throwing his hands up in disgust because Marquis wouldn't work with him to get rid of the "tells."

If the Bears get a bye they won't even play in the 1st round.

How many TDs did the Pack score? We get $1 off Papa Murphy's pizzas for every TD on Monday nights!

Seahawks will lose, Seahawks will lose. Angels sing from heaven! Seahawks will lose!! 8-)

This whole thing is Larry's idea. I have a whole host of feelings about this, but none of them are suitable for NSBB. :x

Hmmm. Who is talking Cubs winning the World Series? I haven't heard it. If someone's talking Cubs WS in '07 they are sadly fooling themselves.

I thought Miami might play well @ home here. The 2 teams the Bears have lost to are actually very solid AFC squads. Miami just had a horrid start, but they were always much better than that.

We'll trade ya for Grossman 8-)