17 Seconds

Who is ready to hear all about Tim Tebow for the next month? I know I am!

So who do we want to waste money on? I don't know of any options that wouldn't equate to wasting money except to stand pat or promote from within. Lou & JH seem intent on not using Hoff or Font or any other current Cub in RF. Seems to me we will waste money on somebody. Like I said, please tell me if you've heard any other names mentioned or have any other ideas. And if we want Peavy, we absolutely have to move Marquis. No way around it. Moving him will mean taking on somebody else's contract because of the economy. The only place to take on a contract is RF or the pen. If we trade Marquis for a reliever, we still can't get Peavy because we still have to sign 1 of these bottom-of-the-barrell FA RF's. What it all comes down to is that if we want Peavy, we will have to settle for a less than spectacular RF via trade. Do you want Teahen? I don't. What other RF are available via trade? I threw Winn out there because he is in his last year of contract and SF isn't gonna go anywhere with him in RF. WE, on the other hand, COULD win with him because the rest of our team is pretty darn good, especially if we have a rotation of Peavy, Demp, Z, Harden & Lilly and a CF of Dome and Reed (& possibly Pie) to make up for the defense of Soriano & Winn. I want Peavy. I have no idea who I would realistically want, because there is no way of me knowing who is avilable. I'm not a GM and I can't talk to other GMs. All I know if that Winn is a lateral move and is not really an upgrade over what we have. Like I said, I'd rather see what Fontenot could do over a full season and put DeRosa in right than pay Winn 8.5 million to put up a .780 OPS. Also, I don't really see what Peavy has to do with this. Winn makes 8.25 million next year. I'd imagine guys like Ibanez and Abreu (who I don't want by the way, but you keep mentioning their names) will get around 10 mil. Is that extra 2 mil or so really going to cost us Peavy? If anything, I'd think you'd NOT want Winn if you think payroll issues will affect getting Peavy. That's 8.25 million spent on a .790 OPS when we could already get that out of Fontenot. The bottom line is that Winn is not very good. If he was making like 2 million next year and we could have him for dirt cheap, then maybe. But 8.25 million? That's a big waste of the rest of our already tight budget.

Not only does ERA+ not tell the whole story, but average to slightly above average starters do not deserve 21 million over 3 years.

just like how there was no way zambrano would have an era under 4 in 2008?

He's renting a room at Moonlite Ranch. that place would be awesome if the girls weren't all shockingly unattractive I'm assuming he's referring to the moonlite bunny ranch. If so, then if by unattractive you mean "extremely hot" then yes, I'd agree (with one or two exceptions looking at their website). i've never looked at the site, but i've seen the show on hbo and 99% of the girls are BRUTAL looking. like, not even remotely attractive. trust me. i guess the site has a much bigger/better selection

the problem is that kelly johnson isn't selling high Well, you gotta think, after 2007 season, the Braves would've laughed at the thought of Ludwick for Kelly Johnson. Now, it's a realistic trade. I think it's much more likely (in this case) and arguably more valuable to have a second basemen who can hit 280/360/450 then have a corner outfielder that's 275/360/500. i'm not saying it woud be a horrible trade, i'm just saying it's not really "selling high" when you trade a .966 ops CO for an .800 OPS 2b If they don't think Ludwick will repeat his performance, then they are trying to sell him while his value is high. I.E. selling high. i always thought selling high meant getting the max/highest/truest possible value for a guy's recent success

the problem is that kelly johnson isn't selling high Well, you gotta think, after 2007 season, the Braves would've laughed at the thought of Ludwick for Kelly Johnson. Now, it's a realistic trade. I think it's much more likely (in this case) and arguably more valuable to have a second basemen who can hit 280/360/450 then have a corner outfielder that's 275/360/500. i'm not saying it woud be a horrible trade, i'm just saying it's not really "selling high" when you trade a .966 ops CO for an .800 OPS 2b

He's renting a room at Moonlite Ranch. that place would be awesome if the girls weren't all shockingly unattractive

the problem is that kelly johnson isn't selling high

stll though, blanco was with the braves exactly when it says he was

your post is all sorts of confusing

but their outfield (offensively) would be significantly worse. i guess there's a good chance that would be the case even if ludwick stayed though Depends on Rasmus production and the Ludwick drop off. It could be about the same or slightly worse. it's hard to get excited about rasmus' 2009 in the majors when his 2008 in the pcl was so crappy

What question?

Another mention of it- http://www.suntimes.com/sports/deluca/1315528,CST-SPT-deluca05.article

Has this been posted? http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2008/dec/05/padres-cubs-still-in-hunt-for-peavy/

but their outfield (offensively) would be significantly worse. i guess there's a good chance that would be the case even if ludwick stayed though

i don't know if you meant it that way, but holy hell that sounded racist.

If taking on Peavy's contract is being held up by the new owners needing to approve it, then why wasn't Dempster's deal also held up? Because none of this is true. I was at Wrigley today along with the other reporters. There is no deal in place with San Diego. Hendry asked us what the deal was. And the Cubs are not cutting payroll. I expect it to be between $140 million and $145 million. Then why the hell didn't they offer Kerry Wood arbitration? Because they didn't want to pay him $10 million a year, even for one year. From what I've been told, Wood and his agent made it pretty clear they wanted a three year deal, going all the way back into this past season. Wood never came to the Cubs and said he'd take a one year deal. When he was pressed during the press conference, he said, in effect, "Sure, I'd take a one year." And if he doesn't get the three year deal he wants from the right team, my guess is he'd explore it with the Cubs. For how much, I don't know. That's only my speculation. Maybe they'd do something for $6-7 million with incentives. Who knows? But the Cubs still want their left-handed bat, and they're going to try to move Marquis. If Wood were to have accepted arbitration, it definitely would have put a crimp in things. But all this talk about it being "officially" over between Wood and the Cubs in some sectors of the media made me laugh. That's not true at all, as you well know, because you guys know the rules. In effect, it might be over, and I don't think he's coming back, but you never know. Bruce do you think the Cubs will be comfortable with the state of the rotation if Marquis is traded to free up payroll, but no new starter is brought in to replace him? I find that a rather unlikely scenario myself, and I figure if Marquis is dealt that it is a significant indication Peavy is a go, but I'd be curious to hear your take. If Marquis is traded, it certainly would set the stage for a Peavy deal. The Cubs are one half or even one third of the equation still. If they couldn't get Peavy, they appear comfortable with Marshall in the rotation instead of Marquis. The Padres and/or another team would have to agree to something. The first priority is the left-handed bat. Ibanez, Abreu and Bradley all are names the Cubs are looking at, but they're willing to see if the price drops with guys like Ibanez and Abreu. I suggested Bradley in my blog the other day. As of now, nothing is close. That could change over the weekend and certainly by the time we all get to Vegas Sunday night. I just looked it up out of curiosity... in 2005 they signed Burnitz on the 5th of Feb... in 2006 they signed Jones on the 10th of Jan. If the Cubs are hoping to find a bargain for RF, there's probably going to be a lot of waiting around required. Actually Jones was signed in mid December

you mean the outrage at hendry for not signing him to a one year deal?

Do you think anything could get done at the meetings next week, or is it just likely to be more talk?

well that could very well be true. a lot of the speculation has been that atlanta's refusal to allow Peavy's NTC was what held things up

From Bruce in the Peavy thread- Like I've said all along, it sounds like Wood was just trying to save face with Cubs fans and was kind of full of it.

If taking on Peavy's contract is being held up by the new owners needing to approve it, then why wasn't Dempster's deal also held up? Because none of this is true. I was at Wrigley today along with the other reporters. There is no deal in place with San Diego. Hendry asked us what the deal was. And the Cubs are not cutting payroll. I expect it to be between $140 million and $145 million. So would a potential deal for Peavy have to wait until the ownership situation is resolved or could Hendry do it right now if Marquis is moved?

sounds like a great deal for the braves

i don't think most people here want to waste money on abreu or ibanez either, so i don't see why you keep saying that we have to get one of those 3 guys. i don't want any of those guys. winn would be a waste of payroll space considering it's arguable if he's even better than fontenot.