vance_the_cubs_fan

Bayless is a sorry excuse for a journalist. There's no way you can look at Palmeiro and Sosa's numbers and not conclude they are HOFers. It's ridiculous to assume other wise. How Bayless has kept a job this long is beyond me. He's been run out of Dallas and Chicago.

From what I'm hearing, that's not enough. OBrien is really playing up the fact that he doesn't have to trade Dunn. It's believed they can work Dunn into the budget for next year. He does realize he will likely get more for him now that at any other time, but he's asking for a lot! Hill and Mitre haven't proven enough yet and Patterson's value is at his lowest.

I like winning, which likely means these Cubs will ruin my Saturday by losing. Go Cubs...you suck!

My feeling is that the Cubs are lacking the major league pitcher that the Reds would be looking for. Patterson likely would do the trick as far as major league position player, and they would likely want Rich Hill or another one of our top minor league pitchers, but I don't know that we have a pitcher they would value as much as Backe. Williams might fit the bill, but I'm not sure Mitre is valued as high as Backe. My source also indicated that what they are asking from other teams may be different than what they are asking from the Astros. He classified the Reds demands as "unreasonable." My perception is that the Reds are wanting the cream of the crop of whoever's minor league system they are trading with. My source also indicated that in talks over Dunn, Tavares's name came up. My guess is that if Hendry has held any serious discussions the Reds have insisted on Pie. It's a gut feeling. They likely asked for Pie, Dopirak, and maybe even two other players. Dunn may be moved, but right now the Reds are hoping to completely restock their team with the move. But one thing my source verified. The Reds are not scared to trade him within the division and are willing to use other teams fears as to where he will go to drive up the price. His feeling is that Dunn would not go to the Astros if Pupura is calling the shots, but that there was a possibility that McClain could step in and broker a deal over his young GM's head.

Spoke with my source and he says info is harder to come by with Pupura than it was with Hunsicker. Either way, apparently, the Astros turned down the Reds first proposal. The Reds wanted the Astros to part with Backe, Lane, and a minor league pitcher believed to be Patton. The Astros felt that was too expensive and said no. It doesn't mean there won't be a deal, but my source seems to believe the Reds are asking more than anyone is willing to part with. Apparently they want one young established major league pitcher, one established position player, and at least one top shelf minor league pitcher.

I don't forsee the Sox making it past the divisional round of playoff games.

3000 hits and 500 HRs make him a first ballot lock. Both of those numbers are considered to be automatic keys to enshrinement. Getting both, gurantees it on the first ballot.

Should I sell my Palmeiro autographs now? J/K I wouldn't sell them.

A 25 yr old with a career 899 OPS > 32 yr old with a 857 career OPS. This season, Floyd has an 891 OPS which is good, while Dunn has a 929 OPS which is phenomenal. Considering the ages and performance of the two, there is no way I choose Floyd over Dunn. He's a nice consolation prize if you can't pull the trigger on a deal for Dunn.

As much as I hate to say this, I hope the Cardinals sweep the Astros.

If the price is right, I'd take a long look at Floyd. I'd still like to see if Seattle would be willing to trade Ibanez.

I'm rooting for the Mets to beat the Braves tonight. Not like it will matter, because we still suck.

I can't say how realistic it is that he'll be dealt to the Cubs because I just don't know. I can say that the Cubs are very interested, and that the Reds do acknowledge that trading Dunn is their best option for bringing back a boatload of young pitching talent with high potential. I still feel that if the LA Dodgers gave the Reds some of their AA players, the Reds would be most inclined to trade Dunn there. But that leaves the question will Dunn put them back in the race. With all their injuries and pitching woes the Dodgers would improve with Dunn but not enough to get back in the race. I think the Dodgers see Dunn as much a move for the future as they do for this year.

Cubs Win! Back over .500. We still suck.

Mesa is just upset he plays on a team that sucks more than we do.

Nothing like drama at the old ballpark. :P

I would hope so!

It's a ten run lead. Why over-work Wood when it isn't necessary. The pen hasn't gotten much work due to the break. This is an excellent time to get the pen three innings of work.

Wow...Jr....just wow!

Excellent assesment and I agree completely.

That would be funny.

As bad as we suck, the Pirates must really suck to let us kick their arses this way.

Only 75 pitches for Wood through 6. That last inning was a nine pitch inning. I like the Wood that is out there today.

I like him, but I've never seen him as an everyday player - I don't know if that's because of constant injuries or how the Pirates tend to use him. He's one of many arbitration eligible players the Pirates need to make a decision on. He'll be a free agent after the 2006 season. He's earning $3M this season as a 5th year of service player, so he could be in line to earn as much as $5M in 2006. That's a little too much to pay him in my opinion. Decent idea, but I would aim higher. I'm going to have to agree. Wilson is an upgrade, but if you want to upgrade I'd go for a larger upgrade.

Is it just me, or does Hairston's defense in CF seem to be improving?