TXCubsFan

Tejada for Hill/Guzman, EPatt/Walker, Pie, and Novoa/Wuertz. I don't see JH trading Murton or Cedeno. They seem to me to be heady ballplayers.

Can you blame him? :twisted:

I think a Floyd / Murton platoon for Murton's first full year in the majors is not a bad thing. I'd bet Murton would make a great PH as well.

I think this may happen. Will Carroll thinks the Cubs are close to getting Bradley. Pierre, Bradley, Floyd with Murton in for Pierre against lefties. Someone had suggested this some time ago. Floyd doesn't do well against lefties. A Murton / Floyd platoon would be a very good LF indeed. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/splits?playerId=3019

Upping the offer 2.5 million is not a "mere pittance." Fact is, Furcal wanted the cash. Atlanta would have given him stability, the Cubs would have given him security (years + cash), but he got greedy. Good riddance I say. (Of course, here's hoping Juan Pierre works out :lol: ). =D> =D>

Sounds like an agent's BS to me. If Furcal chose LA over CHI because of $500k in a $40 million deal, then he's either greedy or stupid.

Yes, the organization bears no blame in how they handled Kerry last year. :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: "Hi I'm Kerry Wood, I want to remain injuried and pitch in meaningless games to screw my next season, and possibly my career up, just to piss off Cubs fans that have held hope in me" In the end, it really doesn't matter. Kerry's days as a top notch starter are over. The Cubs need to trade him to a team like Texas that needs a top notch closer. His stuff and temperament are better suited to that role.

Nolasco and Pinto are an acceptable trade for Pierre. Giving Pie another year to develop makes the trade worth it.

Just about. Britney Spears appears to be headed for divorce. Time for me to make my move! :lol: Hey, dude, she's not THAT innocent!

The agent's commission was the reason. Furcal likely will regret not signing with either the Cubs or the Braves.

What do you have against Gathright? He's fast as lightning, but has no patience and no power. Macias without the talent. :lol:

Ugh, Nope...that is not our answer to success. I still have faith/hope the Cubs will be a strong team...just don't know who will be on it :) I have faith as well, but Hendry will wait to make a good trade during the season rather than a bad one in the off-season if it's necessary.

Disappointing, but Furcal isn't worth $13 million a year. I suspect Walker is still on the block. I can live with Neifi! at SS for part of this season if we can good players in CF and RF. Better that than paying $13 million per year for Furcal.

Trading DLee? :shock: [-X [-(

I'd have a tendency to believe AramisFan if he says he talked to Len over PM, actually. I agree. I can't imagine someone with over 1,500 posts on this board all of a sudden starting a bogus rumor.

I can't speculate how credible this proposed trade is, but it makes a great deal of sense for the Cubs. Since Hendry has locked up Dempster, Eyre, and Howry for three years, the Cubs can't develop Wood as a closer if he doesn't respond well to surgery. Mench would be a very cheap, productive RF (Abreu's numbers without the walks), and Zito would give the Cubs a LH starter who gives the Cubs 200 innings per year. As for the Rangers, they get a starter or closer, depending on Wood's recovery. Given the current price for a closer, Wood's salary wouldn't be out of line. If he gets his act together, he'll be a God send for Texas.

If Hendry is going to get an OF from AZ, then let it be Carlos Quentin.

Why the love for Marshall over Veal or Pinto?

I have to admit a certain inconsistency in my rankings this year. I put Pie, Guzman and Pawelek up there because of the ceilings they possess. But I knocked Dope and Harvey further down the list despite their ceilings because of my doubts about their being able to reach those ceilings without improving their plate discipline / pitch recognition. I've tried to be more consistent about these things before, but then again, I usually give myself until March to get these things straightened out. I've always put my list out after I get a chance to see the guys in Arizona in the spring and see who's put on a few pounds (or taken them off), play in scrimmages, etc. Then I have plugged that information into a systematic way of combining stats, progression of stats, information from scouting reports, information from first hand sources in previous years and my own eyes into a weighted ranking system. The system has changed every year, but at least there's been a system. There's a lot of gut feel in this year's ranking as no system was used. I do, however, have good reasons why I can justify each of those guys over each other. It's just that some of those reasons may not make sense when taken as a whole. :D In particular on Guzman...if he's healthy, I think he's going to push someone out of the rotation around June. Call me crazy, but I think this is the year he gets over the hump and stays on the bump. That player might well be Wood. If the Cubs are willing to eat a few million, they could trade him to a team looking for a closer at current prices! My feeling is that if Wood is healthy enough to pitch effectively, he's going to be more use as a starter. Tim, I had assumed that he's finished as a starter (i.e., limited to 100 innings per year). I agree, if healthy, he'll start.

I have to admit a certain inconsistency in my rankings this year. I put Pie, Guzman and Pawelek up there because of the ceilings they possess. But I knocked Dope and Harvey further down the list despite their ceilings because of my doubts about their being able to reach those ceilings without improving their plate discipline / pitch recognition. I've tried to be more consistent about these things before, but then again, I usually give myself until March to get these things straightened out. I've always put my list out after I get a chance to see the guys in Arizona in the spring and see who's put on a few pounds (or taken them off), play in scrimmages, etc. Then I have plugged that information into a systematic way of combining stats, progression of stats, information from scouting reports, information from first hand sources in previous years and my own eyes into a weighted ranking system. The system has changed every year, but at least there's been a system. There's a lot of gut feel in this year's ranking as no system was used. I do, however, have good reasons why I can justify each of those guys over each other. It's just that some of those reasons may not make sense when taken as a whole. :D In particular on Guzman...if he's healthy, I think he's going to push someone out of the rotation around June. Call me crazy, but I think this is the year he gets over the hump and stays on the bump. That player might well be Wood. If the Cubs are willing to eat a few million, they could trade him to a team looking for a closer at current prices!

If this amount of money were needed to bring Furcal to Wrigley, Hendry would go to Plan B and get Castillo from the Marlins and put Cedeno at SS. Egad!

Corrected.

I don't know if you can honestly be satisfied with "he'll figure something out." Just read this thread - that's what we thought last year with our LF situation. Quality GM or not, the Cubs and Cardinals both share quite the black hole in the outfield this offseason. I don't really understand why you're "working on pitching" either, I don't see any reason to dump Marquis, and finding a fifth starter shouldn't be so overwhelming it takes your eyes off the prize. I understand your post but Jocketty has proven time and again that he caan get it done. Remember the Cards are getting a big bat during the offseason - Scott Rolan. I would be upset if we had 30m to play with but we don't. The Cards can't have everything and I accept that. Hendry on the other hand... 1) Wastes money on players that don't make a difference. 2) Spends or will spend money on positions that have viable in house alternatives. 3) Doesn't seem to grasp how perfect of a fit Giles would be. However he might have something else up his sleave - we'll see. 4) Hasn't fired Dusty. Seriously, how many non-Cubs fans like Dusty and Hendry? I don't hear many people outside of Chicago and SF praising either of them. It seems like the objective opinion on both Dusty and Hendry is negative. What many on this board don't seem to understand is that Rusch and Neifi! are hedges against Wood being relegating to the bullpen and Furcal returning to the Braves. Hendry has been terrific in making trades, and he has enough pieces where he can protect himself against having to trade valued prospects (e.g., Hill, Pie) to put a major league team on the field. Neifi! isn't great offensively, but he might be enough in the first couple of months of 2006 while Hendry works a trade for a good 2B, if needed.

Quentin had a very successful AAA season in the AZ organization, can play CF and RF, and AZ has a surplus of outfielders. He is a walk machine with some power. I think the Cubs could start him in CF in 2006 and slide him over to RF in 2007 if Pie pans out. Any thoughts? Do the Cubs have spare parts that would interest the Diamondbacks?

I have a feeling one of either Murton or Cedeno will be moved in this trade. Beinfest is a very good GM. They will want someone who is ML ready. I will listen to updates on the local sports radio down here in S. FL. I'll let you know if I here anything different. Nolasco will be ML ready by midseason 2006.