Jehrico

They were talking over on the Braves.Scout message board about Raffy getting booed at the Hawks game. Seems Atlanta fans already think he's gone. Too bad that organization is in ATL, b/c that is a very poor sports town. They don't even sell-out their 1st round playoff games. ATL fans opinions have about as much credibility as Marlins fans! The two most under appreciated organizations in all of sports. I went to some Atlanta games when I lived in Georgia back in '02 and '03. I was always able to get front row seats between the dugout and bullpen on the 3B side from scalpers at around $50-$70 each for day games. That's how low demand is. It doesn't matter who the opponent is, to get similar tickets at Wrigley field, you'd be chipping in over $300 each at a minimum. ATL doesn't appreciate what the franchise has been able to do.

I'm betting on the Pack this weekend.....to cover the spread, but the Bears will still walk away with the W.

NO FREAKING WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There's only a few untouchables on this club this offseason: DLee, Aramis, Zambrano, and Prior. Everyone else is fair game in my book for the right deal.

You can read the rest of the article at the link above His agent said it wasn't just about the money, we'll see. If he picks LA over us, then yes, it is just about the money. If he picks Atlanta over us, we'll, then maybe he could stick to his guns that he was too loyal to the organization to leave them. I can't see why anyone would want to go play for the Dodgers, unless it is for the money. What a horribly, horribly run team.

This is GM speak for "I know I need another starter, I want another starter. However, I'm not going to display that I really need another one so that I can maintain my position when it comes to negotiations, as I don't want to be dealing from a point of desperation. I'm not going to overpay for a starter."

Where do I sign up for that plan? All we'd need to do then is somehow make sure Neifi isn't starting over RonnyC, and get a decent bat for RF.

I don't think we have to outbid the Dodgers...we just have to not get blown out of the water by them. 5/55 would easily trump 3/39. If I was committed enough to do 5/50, I think I would go the extra 1 per if I had to.

How about bringing Nomar back to play 2nd? I would think that would be easier on his body, and he'd be an upgrade defensively (I would think) to Todd Walker, without dropping any offense. Start RonnyC at SS. I could go for that middle infield, but the big question mark is, can Nomar handle playing 2nd without hurting himself? What do you think?

please tell me you're not a) calling finley a superstar and b) comparing finley (career .781 OPS) to nomar (career .911 OPS) and c) saying that finley, age 41, is bound for a good year because he's in his contract...er...retirement year. No, no, no, no, no. I was hoping that Jim could get another throw-in prospect equivalent to Murton, like he did in the Nomar deal. And the Superstar reference, while used extremely loosely above, was referring to Finley in his best years, which were pretty good (although not as good as Nomar's best though). Murton wasn't a throw in. Hendry said he would not make that deal unless Murton was in it. We would have gotten Cabrera for the same thing we gave up for Nomar and Murton. He was a throw-in in the sense that the highlight of the deal was by far and away Nomar. Hendry knew who he wanted, no doubt, but that doesn't change the fact that he got Boston to throw him in to complete the deal.

please tell me you're not a) calling finley a superstar and b) comparing finley (career .781 OPS) to nomar (career .911 OPS) and c) saying that finley, age 41, is bound for a good year because he's in his contract...er...retirement year. No, no, no, no, no. I was hoping that Jim could get another throw-in prospect equivalent to Murton, like he did in the Nomar deal. And the Superstar reference, while used extremely loosely above, was referring to Finley in his best years, which were pretty good (although not as good as Nomar's best though).

Unless he's planning on another move involving one or two of thier other outfielders...

Patterson getting traded is a foregone conclusion, I think. I'd rather see him traded to the AL where he won't terrorize us like former Cubs always seem to do. If we can't get Bradley, and the other alternative is Pierre, I could live with CPatt for Findley and a prospect. Maybe we can get another prospect like that other guy that was a throw in for the last aging superstar that was in a contract year that played a premium defensive position that we traded for?

Jerome and Pie might merit consideration, but we'd probably have to sweeten the pot beyond that.

He's laid low when the competition had similar needs before and it burned us though. Think back to when they traded for Scott Rolen...We could have had him for Bobby Hill and a couple of others. Had we gotten Rolen, St Louis would have been left with nothing, and I doubt they would have made a move on Aramis with the baggage he had while he was still in our AAAA club.

The timing of either of these moves is interesting...if we trade Walker for Bradley, that takes LA out of the 1B race as Kent slides over. They'll focus their attention on Furcal (as they're supposedly pursuing Nomar to play 3b, I believe), and might have the means to outbid us. That would leave us with Neifi and Cedeno holding up the middle. So, I would rather wait until we find out on Furcal before we pull the trigger. However, the Yankees are getting extremely frustrated at their inability to land any of their targets, and CF still remains a black hole they know they MUST fill before the offseason is over. They're holding out hope for Giles, but I think they realize their chances of getting him are slim to none. I think they'll move soon on Bradley by throwing money at the Dodgers (which would further help them in their pursuit of Furcal). That could mean it would be prudent for Jim to move quickly on this deal. Best case scenario, they accept Patterson sooner than later and Walker is kept for a future deal.

I'm becoming less and less enthusiastic about any trades with FL. They're no longer desperate to dump payroll, they won't give up Castillo or Pierre cheaply. We'll likely get fleeced in prospects in order to get either. I don't think I want to see any deals with FL now.

You don't think Walker is a productive 2b, or am I misinterpreting you?

If he wasn't claimed off of waivers, then he should be back in our system.

In order to assure Neifi isn't starting, I'd be willing to overpay a little bit. 5/50 is doable for someone who isn't injury prone, but is consistant like he is.

Randel "I never saw a pitch I didn't like" Simon. Man I loved him. He would swing at anything...and make contact. He was a guy Hendry traded for and he was a decent pinch hitter. I wish Hendry could figure out how to get a quality bench guy via the free agent route. Todd Hollandsworth was a pretty decent FA bench pickup IMO. At least before Dusty decided he was starter material. That's why it's so hard for Hendry to find a good pinch hitter via free agency ](*,)

It was a photoshop job. How do you know that? Look at the pic closer. If it were on tv the video would be floating around. So, maybe it wasn't taken off of video. Thousands of people have taken still cameras to games. I'm pretty sure that was a real picture. are you kidding me? Look at Mac's arms in that picture, one is horribly small because it was photoshopped. I mean, its a funny picture, but it's one of the most obvious photoshops ever. I haven't seen that photo in awhile...I don't recall that. Anyone have it?

It was a photoshop job. How do you know that? Look at the pic closer. If it were on tv the video would be floating around. So, maybe it wasn't taken off of video. Thousands of people have taken still cameras to games. I'm pretty sure that was a real picture. Are you really basing your Edmonds is gay argument on a picture of him patting somebody after a homerun? When he has 2 kids and one on the way? I never said he was gay. I just mentioned him being in that photo.

Give them Dusty and don't worry about it!

Personally, I think it was absolutely unnecessary. Personal insults are never harmless. More than anything, they reduce the value of your own argument. Personal insults drive down the value of this community. You class "you're making things up as you go along" as a personal insult? I take your point about the Cubs having an imperfect record when it comes to deciding which players to protect on the 40-man roster, but, unless you've heard a single dissenting opinion in this particular instance, someone that believes either that Nolasco should have been left off the roster or Pignatiello added, or both, then my point is still valid. Yes, implying that I was "making things up as I go along" is insulting, as you are trying to drive down someone else's reputation. It's slander. Not too different than calling someone a jerk. As to your earlier post, you commented on me making opinions based on seeing Nolasco once. For starters, I never qualified myself as a "scout," nor did I offer my opinion before it was asked. Now that I relook the thread, you're the one that asked me what I thought of them. I answered, and never did I imply that I had extensive experience watching them. I offered up what little insight I had based on my limited experience I had observing them. Nor did I ever say they should have protected Pigs or anything of that nature.

If Williams goes anywhere I'll be ticked. I really liked the trade that brought him here, and I think he showed a load of potential. I'm not saying he'll ever be a Z or Prior caliber starter, but I could see him being a very solid #3 guy. He's not someone you want to get rid of easily. That's one thing that really irked me about the Rusch signing. I can appreciate Hendry's desire to have a lefty in the rotation, but it just seems that Williams has far more potential (for far less cost) then Rusch. On the flip side, that could potentially make Williams more valuable to another team. I would think that teams like Cinci or Philly could have a lot of interest in a guy like Williams who could be an effective SP for few dollars. if maddux doesnt return and/or wood gets injured again, both rusch & williams might be in the rotation. i really like what i saw of williams last year too. i also think rusch would make a very good #5 starter and could win 12-15 games next year if he starts the whole year. That's a possibility. I just wasn't at all impressed with what I saw from Glendon in 2005. I'm concerned that 2004 may have been a fluke. Maybe the yo-yoing back and forth from RP to SP had a negative effect on him. But I prefer not to take that chance at $3 mil (or whatever he's getting this year) when you could get equal or greater performance from Williams for far less cost. That's what makes me believe that Williams will be traded for an OF bat. Hopefully of the impact variety. Maybe Glendon has a little Farnsy in him, with the every-other year thing, which would mean he should be pretty decent this year. Then, hopefully, we'll trade him in the offseason.