17 Seconds

Probably just posturing by Towers to get the Braves to cave.

No offense to Dallas, but did anyone else hear this? I find it rather hard to believe that Towers would say that. Yeah, that doesn't sound right. I don't think Dallas was lying, but he probably paraphrased poorly or misunderstood.

Ask the 2004 Red Sox if they've heard of Mark Bellhorn. BoSox could name you everybody from that team from Martinez to Papelbon to Mueller to Youk. So that proves nothing. The point is that Bellhorn had more than one good year. Yeah.. he had 2. Dude's a stud Way to parse that out from absolutely nothing resembling that sentiment. Obviously I was being sarcastic but my point was pretty clear. The guy said he thought Ludwick would be a one-year wonder like Bellhorn. You implied that Bellhorn was far from being a one-year wonder, when really he wasn't. The comparison he made was fine. He really only had one great season.

I like that! I'd just as soon stay away from this rumor stuff, too, since most of it's untrue. My take on it is that where there's smoke, there's usually fire. I think that a lot of times the details of rumors get messed up/made up/etc., but that the basic rumor (i.e. Cubs have interest in such and such player) usually comes from truth. I pay attention to the player they are after and that's about it. I never pay any attention to the rumored "offers" and "names could include" stuff because that's usually just speculation and never ends up being right.

Last I checked, the Padres play in a pitcher's park too. 92 ERA+ for a career. Yuck. He's 25. And he's been over 100 three out of four years. And he's got a fantastic minor league track record. His minor league numbers aren't bad but I certainly wouldn't call them fantastic.

I give Hendry a lot of crap but it would be pretty amazing if he traded for Harden and Peavy in a span of about 4 months, especially with our farm system.

Ask the 2004 Red Sox if they've heard of Mark Bellhorn. BoSox could name you everybody from that team from Martinez to Papelbon to Mueller to Youk. So that proves nothing. The point is that Bellhorn had more than one good year. Yeah.. he had 2. Dude's a stud

1) Harden costs nearly as much as Peavy this coming year 2) Harden would leave as a free agent after next year but he heard it

Haha. The Mets giving Dempster a big contract sounds like an absolute disaster. let's hope that happens. What's more likely to happen? The Mets... A) Give Ryan Dempster a ridiculous 5 year contract B) Give Francisco Rodriguez a ridiculous 5 year contract C) Give both players ridiculous 5 year contracts I choose C. Anything over what Hendry has already proposed to Demp is overpaying since Dempster can't hack it in pressure situations. I can't imagine him faring any better in NY with the way things have gone over there the last few seasons. He'd have to be nuts to sign with the Mets. I was with you right up until there. Last I recall he couldn't handle 9th inning closer pressure in 2007, You mean when he saved 28 of 31 opps?

And all I'm saying is that (strictly from a competitive standpoint) is that it is. The Braves aren't anywhere close to the Cubs setup men injuries or not. Wait, what? I don't understand that statement. And I never said anything that you're saying. I simply said that it's not crazy to think a guy might not think his best chance to win a championship is with the Chicago Cubs. That's all. I'm sure if he could choose he'd still pick the Cubs.

It would make no sense whatsoever for the Padres to want harden as part of the trade.

I'm pretty sure most people across the league think he is. People love tools. They might also love him for his performance in AAA. In 2007

Didn't I just say the window was 2-3 years? And come on... you're really counting on Harden long term? Really I'm terrified about the offense. Every key player other than Soto is old and many of them have shown signs of decline. So Peavy wants to go to Atlanta cause he thinks they'll be better in 2012. Yeah, because that's exactly what I said, right? Reading comprehension can do wonders. Where did I even say he'd rather go to Atlanta? All I said was that it's not crazy to think he might feel better about going to the Braves than the Cubs.

Thanks for stopping by, Bruce. What percentage would you give to this getting done? 50/50...better than 50/50? I think the chances are better than 50/50. Unlike the Orioles, the Padres must move Peavy. They'd also like to get it done before the free-agent market opens. It's pretty much in the Padres' court now. It all depends on whose offer Towers likes. Wait... better than 50/50 that he gets traded to the Cubs, or better than 50/50 that he gets traded period? It is 100% he gets traded...better than 50/50 he goes to the Cubs. Are you sure? It was hard to tell and I didn't think the odds were actually in favor of the Cubs getting him.

Didn't I just say the window was 2-3 years? And come on... you're really counting on Harden long term? Really I'm terrified about the offense. Every key player other than Soto is old and many of them have shown signs of decline.

Maybe he watched the last 2 Octobers You mean the ones that Chipper Jones was watching on TV? I'm just saying.. it's not ridiculous to think that a guy who wants to win a title might not think his best chance is with a Cubs team that could not handle the moment 2 years in a row. Keep in mind that he's under contract for at least 4 more years. The Braves will probably be in a better situation than the Cubs 2-3 years from now. I doubt that. Beyond that, maybe. MAYBE. You're not concerned about all the aging Cubs players and backloaded contracts? The offense could be a huge mess in a few years. I'd say the window for this group is closing.

They were 20 games back because they had an insanely large amount of significant injuries. If they get Peavy and make a couple other moves they will compete for the division in 2009. And the significant injuries were to oft-injured soon-to-be 37 year old Chipper Jones, nearly dead John Smoltz, always injured Mike Hampton, already dead Tom Glavine and it was bound to happen sooner or later Tim Hudson. You can assume another 40 innings out of Hudson next year, but none of those other major injuries were at all flukish or unexpected, and they can't expect any of them to produce more in 2009 than they did in 2008. Atlanta needs a lot of help. There were a lot more injuries than those guys you mentioned. Those were the ones that made a difference. Name guys who were flukishly injured that can be expected to return healthy next year and perform better than they did this year. That's the only way you can pretend they are a couple moves away from contending again. I think you're really over exaggerating how bad they were last season and really underestimating how bad injuries destroyed their pen. Peavy/Hudson/Jurrjens/Campillo/whoever can win if guys like Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano stay healthy. They were only -25 in run differential last season and they pretty much mailed it in and shut guys down in the second half. Peavy, maybe another bat, and good health has that team competing in 2009. I don't think he's overexaggerating at all. You're only listing the pitching staff. They don't have Teixiera anymore. Who is going to step up and match the offense he provided? That's why I said they needed another bat. Plus it's not like they got a ton out of Tex. They got a .902 OPS for 381 at-bats and then got literally nothing out of Kotchman for the next 2 months. They got .279/.378/.458 (.836) out of 1B last season. How hard is that to replace?

Maybe he watched the last 2 Octobers You mean the ones that Chipper Jones was watching on TV? I'm just saying.. it's not ridiculous to think that a guy who wants to win a title might not think his best chance is with a Cubs team that could not handle the moment 2 years in a row. Keep in mind that he's under contract for at least 4 more years. The Braves will probably be in a better situation than the Cubs 2-3 years from now.

Maybe he watched the last 2 Octobers

Thanks for stopping by, Bruce. What percentage would you give to this getting done? 50/50...better than 50/50? I think the chances are better than 50/50. Unlike the Orioles, the Padres must move Peavy. They'd also like to get it done before the free-agent market opens. It's pretty much in the Padres' court now. It all depends on whose offer Towers likes. Wait... better than 50/50 that he gets traded to the Cubs, or better than 50/50 that he gets traded period?

They were 20 games back because they had an insanely large amount of significant injuries. If they get Peavy and make a couple other moves they will compete for the division in 2009. And the significant injuries were to oft-injured soon-to-be 37 year old Chipper Jones, nearly dead John Smoltz, always injured Mike Hampton, already dead Tom Glavine and it was bound to happen sooner or later Tim Hudson. You can assume another 40 innings out of Hudson next year, but none of those other major injuries were at all flukish or unexpected, and they can't expect any of them to produce more in 2009 than they did in 2008. Atlanta needs a lot of help. There were a lot more injuries than those guys you mentioned. Those were the ones that made a difference. Name guys who were flukishly injured that can be expected to return healthy next year and perform better than they did this year. That's the only way you can pretend they are a couple moves away from contending again. I think you're really over exaggerating how bad they were last season and really underestimating how bad injuries destroyed their pen. Peavy/Hudson/Jurrjens/Campillo/whoever can win if guys like Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano stay healthy. They were only -25 in run differential last season and they pretty much mailed it in and shut guys down in the second half. Peavy, maybe another bat, and good health has that team competing in 2009.

They were 20 games back because they had an insanely large amount of significant injuries. If they get Peavy and make a couple other moves they will compete for the division in 2009. And the significant injuries were to oft-injured soon-to-be 37 year old Chipper Jones, nearly dead John Smoltz, always injured Mike Hampton, already dead Tom Glavine and it was bound to happen sooner or later Tim Hudson. You can assume another 40 innings out of Hudson next year, but none of those other major injuries were at all flukish or unexpected, and they can't expect any of them to produce more in 2009 than they did in 2008. Atlanta needs a lot of help. There were a lot more injuries than those guys you mentioned.

Keep in mind we're talking about Bruce Levine and the media in general, guys.

They were 20 games back because they had an insanely large amount of significant injuries. If they get Peavy and make a couple other moves they will compete for the division in 2009.

Now this is officially Roberts: Part II. I e-mailed Churchill from Prospect Insider (he has a Cubs contact) for the first time since last offseason to ask what he's heard. He says it sounds like Atlanta is going to get him... even without Hanson or Yunel. Here's to 4/60 for Ryan Dempster and a 1.38 WHIP next season.