CUBZ99

Not a chance. If they are now just getting to review the clubs financial records, it cannot happen in two days and most of baseball is out for the holidays. First Zell would need to select who he wants to sell to and I think he has bigger fish to fry revamping the executive level of Tribune. Then it needs to be approved by the ownership committee. THEN, it goes to the owners who would have to meet and approve the deal. That doesn't happen in two days. Who the heck is O's Insider anyhow? Sounds like a blog which means don't believe it. This reply is absolutely hilarious. I love it. How did I miss this? Classic!!!!!! Again, care to explain why this is "classic"? Yeah, I am a little offended. Sorry but I don't spend my time reading every baseball tidbit and every thread on this board. I read what interests me and there was nothing to indicate to me that this person was not being serious. The reply to your post was probably in poor taste, but the original poster was making an inside joke regarding the O's. There would have been no way for you to tell that he was joking, unless you had followed the Roberts-gate scandal (regarding the outed Oriole Hangout insider). The poster kept saying "Roberts to the Cubs is IMMINENT" etc. etc. It came down to the point where he was stringing everybody along, and his "inside source" was setting him up with bad info to expose him. Do you see this deal happening before opening Day? And if it does do you think the Cubs and MLB will give Cuban a fair shot? or was Canning and Co. the chosen owner all along?

"Insiders" on Cubs.com are stating that the deal will be announced before 4 p.m. today. I'm convinced. :^o

They are talking about middle infield on Sports Central. Kaplan is saying that the Cubs have already told Theriot that he is their guy at SS on opening day. I don't think DeRosa is going to play SS. How have the Cubs not realized Theriot sucks? Nope, the conversation went something like ......Theriot is the Cubs guy and now that he knows he will be the everyday player, he will be in better shape coming into Spring Training next year. Apparently, the Cubs think he wore himself out last year.

They are talking about middle infield on Sports Central. Kaplan is saying that the Cubs have already told Theriot that he is their guy at SS on opening day. I don't think DeRosa is going to play SS.

FWIW on 720 WGN Kaplan said that one of his sources is telling him that the Roberts deal is going to happen.

He based his decision on family? because there is a japanese community in Chicago?

:lol: You really know how to rile other posters up don't you. Be prepared for the "strikeouts are just the same as any other out" avalanche that is coming your way. BTW I don't disagree with the OBP, the Cubs could use a guy that gets on base at a better clip than Soriano leading off.

We need to recruit some anonymous "insiders" to NSBB. The Hangout is really quite the website for seemingly accurate inside information. Good Stuff. :D

Asked if we're giving in on Pie: And when asked Would the Cueto/Votto and prospects from the Reds for Bedard and Gallegher, Murton, and EPatt for BRob from the Cubs be accurate?: Sounds like Gally, Murt, Patterson. BTW, this is the insider that broke the Tejada deal a few hours early IIRC. What thread did you find these quotes in? That board has good info but, it is a mess.

Marshall Marquis :lol:

This is ridiculous. Mark Prior is under no obligation to make positive contributions to your emotional wellbeing. We'll see how he feels when he doesn't get a Christmas card from me this year. :roll: Seriously I'm not going to cry myself to sleep. I guess I value loyalty more than most people. It's not like the Cubs were going to give him league minimum. I value loyalty to, but Prior doesn't owe me one damn thing, not does he owe you a damn thing. The fact that you or anyone else figures you are entitled to loyalty from Prior is laughable and absurd. The fact is, loyalty is a 2-way street. And the Cubs didn't exactly show Prior much. If you total the money spent on Prior from draft until now, we got our money's worth in 2003 alone. The system in baseball basically screws the player from draft until their arbitration years. After that the advantage starts to shift to the player. Many players long for free agency because it gives them a choice of their workplace and other conditions that most of us have all the time. I'm not going to make it sound like being a baseball player is a bad deal. Hardly from it, but I'm also not going to begrudge one because he chooses to take his work location, etc into his own hands. You talk about loyalty. And certainly, there are some fans who stuck by Prior through it all, but my guess is many of these same fans would not be willing to pay him millions next season if he didn't return until August and had a 6.50 ERA when he did. I'm sure if the Cubs offered Prior a guaranteed 2 year 13 million deal, he would have taken it. That's 3.5 million for this year and 9.5 that a pitcher of his caliber who is healthy might get in free agency. But of course, we didn't do that because there is the risk he won't be a valuable asset in 2009. The Cubs wanted insurance, and frankly I don't blame them. But if they were loyal to Prior, they could have made him such an offer. My guess is if they had guaranteed a market value second year, Prior would have taken it. The Cubs have been spoiled lately with fan favorites opting to stay in Chicago rather than taking more money in FA. Lee's deal at the time was probably below what he could have gotten on the open market, Ramirez had a bigger offer from the Angels, Big Z would have almost certainly gotten more than he recieved through free agency. We may never know the entire story behind Prior's exit. The Cubs are spinning it like Prior wasn't loyal and wanted to leave. Prior's agent is spinning it like it was a business decision. My guess is that a majority of the fans will buy into the Cubs spin and continue to dislike Prior. That said, why is it so absurd for someone to have an emotional attachment to a team or a player that the person roots for 5 months out of the year? MLB and the Cubs don't make money off of player's merchandise without some sort of connection.

This is possibly the most ridiculous thing ever posted on this site. And that's saying something. You must have not read any of his other posts. The best policy is to just not reply.

Definitely not true. Dubois was old doing that in AAA. Geo was not. Not sure I'm real sold on the age argument. For one, the difference is only a year (DuBois 25 in '04; Soto 24 in '07) For another, DuBois was getting his first crack at AAA, while Soto was spending his third straight year at AAA. I guess I just recall things differently that you guys, because I recall people being awfully excited to add a (perceived) middle of the order thumper to the Cubs' lineup, despite his well-recognized defensive and baserunning shortcomings. How did this discussion go from the Cubs being unwilling to trade their top prospects to a comparison of Dubois and Soto? Neither one of those guys are that highly thought of and if they were rated in the top five Cubs prospects at any time it was more of an indication of how weak the Cubs farm system is/was.

They can have Felix Patterson as far as I'm concerned. He needs to be traded before teams start figuring out that he's lost against major league pitching. He's supposed to be this burner on the paths and he steals bases at like a 55% clip. I don't think he's got much of a baseball IQ and I'm not keeping him around solely for defensive purposes. Felix Pie first 177 AB: .215/.270/.333 Alex Rodriguez first 184 AB: .223/.270/.348 Boy, I bet the Mariners are glad that they didn't give up and trade him away after the first 184 AB. But did the Mariners have a hispanic(sort of) SS prospect fail to meet expectations in the years prior??? HUH?? It's a great idea to temper enthusiasm on prospects, but so many people take this to the extreme. Every guy who puts up good numbers in the minors gets "Dubois LOL!!" Every guy who's fast with some power gets "Corey with a K!!! LOL!!!!" Every SP prospect who doesn't dazzle from day one gets "The great Juan Cruz HAHAHA" Every top prospect gets "HEE STRIKE OUT!!!!" I agree, give Pie some time. He has been successful at every level he has played at so far and is still very young.

I 100% agree +1

So your answer is that I don't have anything to do with them becoming MLB pitchers but again, what does your statement say? Do you still say that this statement you made is true? yeah. 99.9% of high school pitchers have nothing in common with MLB pitchers. Where did you get these numbers? He pulled them out of thin air. You don't automatically believe them?

Maybe it will drive the O's asking price down?

Prior of 2003 is a big loss, Prior of 2006, 2007 is no loss at all.

:lol:

For the last couple years Hendry would have been better off throwing Prior's money down a wishing well and wishing that the Cubs would win. It would have been just as effective.

You can trade him. Heck, you can let him pick wherever he wants to go and get a serviceable prospect for him. I know Hendry has done some dumb things, but you got to give him more credit than that. I'm sure if he could have gotten anything of value for Prior he would have taken it.

I would hate to lose Gallagher, but I would make that trade.

I would definitely not trade Murton unless the Cubs got great value for him. Murton would be a terrific insurance policy in case Soriano or Fukudome get hurt. Hendry shouldn't be trying to accomodate anybody, except the Cubs.

Good riddens indeed. Towel-throwing bum. Right? I don't know how I will miss a player that hardly ever plays.

Just caught the score's latest update. Offman stated that the Cubs are looking for another Starting pitcher and implied that they might get in on the action for Bedard. If they could get Roberts and Bedard without giving up Hill I'm all for it.