hawkeyecub

Ummm, what? First of all if you think Lugo is an average or below average SS and Wilkerson is in the same class in CF, you have absolutely no clue. And how in the world is he saying it's okay to lose as long as he's paying 6 bucks for his beer? He's pointing out that those three would all be upgrades, and significant upgrades in CF and SS. Besides that, the ridiculousness of saying that people accept losing because they like to pay $6 for beer? Who likes to pay $6 for beer? The more I think about this post, the more absurd it is.

Bradley is under contract but the Dodgers are sick of his issues and will ship him out for basically anything. If Beane is really offering Zito for him he's out of his mind. Bradley is arbitration eligible though. If he isn't traded by the end of the week the Dodgers could non tender him and Bradley would become a free agent. Gammons said on Baseball Tonight just a little while ago that the A's are trading for Bradley. Take it for what it's worth. Are or aren't?

Stark said we're really busy with a bunch of stuff going on. Actively looking for a leadoff man, then mentioned the same usual leadoff candidates we've heard. He said the Prior/Zambrano for Abreu talk lasted about two minutes, and we told them no way.

I don't agree with his "two or three" young pitchers for Kearns. Yes, low prospects maybe. Why not? Mitre + Nolasco is what was rumored yesterday and I definitely woulnd't have a problem with that.

Gammons said the Reds are talking to the Cubs and some AL teams about Kearns. He thinks they'll move some guys to get young pitching, so the Cubs would be a good fit.

You've really convinced yourself that you'd make a better GM, haven't you? I would make a better GM. And I am absolutely sure of it. :lol: Wow. Now that's good stuff.

fixed, and they might think about it Exactly. I can't believe how much people are undervaluing what these guys could bring. They aren't going to trade them both to the same team, because they couldn't get equal value that way. If they do trade both, they're going to want absolute top of the line quality studs, not a bunch of B prospects.

If you are watching it coudl you keep us informed? Thanks I'll try. Gammons just said the A's aren't going to trade for Bradley and they aren't going to deal Zito to the Dodgers, but they are trying to sign Frank Thomas. That's a surprise. Nice.

Give me a break, that's just ridiculous. First of all you have no idea what they would want. Secondly, the players they've traded away thus far are either very expensive or aging. Willis and Cabrera are neither. Again they don't need a bunch of Pinto/Nolasco type prospects. They'll want players who can be absolute studs. They've gotten enough quantity this winter, they want top end quality. Pie is really all we have that fits that mold.

I'd have to ask them to throw in Dontrelle for that price, too. I wouldn't, it's Miguel Cabrera we're talking about here :) Why not talk about willis? I have talked about this before. If willis and cabrera want to go, we have to offer an amazing package so we can get Pierre, Willis, and Cabrera. It's only the PERFECT fit. We need CF, RF and another starter. Willis, Pierre, and Cabrera bring us to the WS no doubt. They aren't going to give all three to the same team, and we don't have enough of what they're looking for to land all three. Probably not even two of them.

On the 8:00 update on The Score, they said the Cubs are currently pursuing Milton Bradley at the winter meetings. So yeah, apparently they did jump the gun. Good news.

It's pretty absurd to give out offseason grades at this point.

Could you post Kearns home-away splits too. GABP is also a hitter's heaven. From 2002-2004 Kearns hit .248/.335/.428 at home while hitting .243/.346/.463 on the road. Last year he hit .233/.307/.444 at home while hitting .246/.354/.459 on the road. From 2002-2004 Mench hit 289/.356/.514 at home, while hitting .262/.315/.476 on the road. Mench has benefitted greatly from playing in a hitter's paradise, Kearns' numbers have been consistently better away from GABP.

Right, but think about the source. It was written for a Pittsburgh newspaper. If it was posted online at around 11:00 their time. This rumor broke around 11:00 their time. For a story like that, I'm sure he had everything ready to be turned in by 9:00 their time if not earlier.

I like seeing that, but it's likely that article was written sometime this afternoon or early evening.

A's are getting prepared for a playoff push while the Cubs are preparing for 5th place in the division. Honestly are you just going to say the exact same thing in every post? For crying out loud it's December 5th and the first day of the winter meetings. It's not like he hasn't been talking to anyone. Multiple sources have reported interest/talks for Pierre, Wilkerson, Bradley, Lugo, Huff, Kearns, Dunn through trades. How about we at least let the next couple of days play out before proclaiming that Jim is doing nothing but sitting on his butt. Good Lord.

Yeah because there have been so many deals going down, Hendry is obviously doing nothing while everyone else is dealing on the first day...

Says the guy with a picture ripping on Neifi, Macias and Blanco? All three of those guys want to play for Dusty and the Cubs.

Well Walker beats that offer, although I don't know what the Dodgers would want with him now. Patterson might top it too.

They're in the same class offensively. Defensively, though, Mench is a LF who would be masquerading as a RF. Kearns is a top RF defender. Right. Also Kearns still has the greater upside. Those numbers are similar, but Kearns has done that while being injured at times and stuck in an overly crowded outfield where consistent playing time was hard to find. Last year when given more regular time post All-Star break he put up an .850 OPS. Mench has a little more power, Kearns will get on base at a higher rate. Kearns is the more complete player. Mench has battled injuries as well. Kearns is a little more athletic, but so is Corey Patterson. That doesn't always translate into success. Mench has been more consistent. Kearns is living off a reputation from his one good season. It's not just that one season and it's not just athleticism. The defensive difference just can't be overlooked nor can the age. Mench will be turning 28 in a month and Kearns is still 25 until late May. Mench had his best Major League season at age 26, which is what Kearns will be for the last 4 months of next season. Last year their numbers were almost identical even though Kearns is over 2 years younger and was juggled around during the first half. Again when given close to regular playing he put up an .850 OPS. There's just more upside with Kearns than Mench.

They're in the same class offensively. Defensively, though, Mench is a LF who would be masquerading as a RF. Kearns is a top RF defender. Right. Also Kearns still has the greater upside. Those numbers are similar, but Kearns has done that while being injured at times and stuck in an overly crowded outfield where consistent playing time was hard to find. Last year when given more regular time post All-Star break he put up an .850 OPS. Mench has a little more power, Kearns will get on base at a higher rate. Kearns is the more complete player.

Did you sleep through the entire 2005 season? Because I would find it hard to believe that anyone who remotely paid attention to last season would still think that. Yeah in 2004 they were almost identical, but Crawford actually improved last year while Patterson took an enormous step backwards. Crawford in '05: .301/.331/.469/.800 Patterson in '05: .215/.254/.348/.602 He also stole 46 bases while only being caught 8 times, good for an 85% success rate. Oh yeah and he's 2 full years younger and makes over $2.5M less than Corey. Honestly.

Kearns' decline caught me completely by surprise. But, unlike the decline of Patterson, Kearns had a history of very solid numbers, and didn't completely disappear. He's still a question mark, which is why I would think it's unwise to let Kearns to RF equal your biggest offseason improvement. No, not biggest offseason improvement. But I think we could really improve this team without making that big splash move. For example I think acquiring Kearns in RF, Bradley in CF and Lugo at SS would have a pretty big impact on this offense without any of them being major impact players individually.

The talent is there and always has been. He was once considered a better prospect than Dunn. In his first season he put up a .900+ OPS at the age of 22. The next season he put up a .820 OPS in half a season at the age of 23. He's solid defensively and has good patience and while he doesn't have monster power, he has pretty decent pop.

Yes. No. I'd rather have Murton than Kearns. I'd see if we could sub other players for Abreu. However, if Murton was the dealbreaker, I might. Is Kearns/Abreu better than Murton/Abreu or Murton/Huff? I don't know about that first part. Kearns has much more upside than Murton in my opinion. I think Kearns/Abreu is far superior to Murton/Huff.