vance_the_cubs_fan

If the Cubs were to get Peavy for a deal of Shark, Marshall, Pie, and Cedeno; I'd like the Cubs to use the money they would spend on Dempster to sign Furcal, move Theriot to second in a platoon with Fontenot, and use DeRosa in RF. I'd then look to upgrade the bullpen with whatever is left over.

If all it takes is Shark, Pie, Cedeno, and Marshall for Peavy, I'd do that deal right now assuming Shark's NTC doesn't get in the way. Cedeno is to inconsistent for my taste and if we shift Fukudome to CF, Pie will once again be a bench player or rot in Iowa. The upgrade to our rotation would be immense with Peavy. I don't have much confidence in Shark as a starter, and I think we could find guys to fill the spot in the pen. If we get Peavy, he anchors a top three of himself, Zambrano, and Harden with Lilly and Marquis bringing up the rear. The Cubs could then decide to spend money on Dempster or Wood or using what they would spend on those pitchers to go after someone like Dunn for the OF or Furcal for the infield.

Sun-Time article on Cubs's pursuit of Peavy. Link.

Chris De Luca is saying no Cuban. Link.

Rotoworld had this to say:

It appears that the Cardinals are in pursuit of Holliday. Link.

I liked Reyes when he pitched in Mississippi at AA, but he's been highly inconsistent in his stints with Atlanta. Morton also looked poor in his call-up as well. They are both younger than Marshall, and in Reyes case were more highly regarded as a prospect. I'd think teams would value Marshall over Reyes, but Reyes is younger and is regarded as having better stuff. Marshall is a more proven performer. Escobar is likely the centerpiece of the deal. Whether Reyes, Escobar and a prospect is better than what we could put together depends a lot on who that other prospect is. If it's Jordan Shaeffer, he's probably regarded as better than Pie, though I have my doubts. I think Pie is better defensively and both have problems with not taking a walk. If the Braves offer Escobar + Shaeffer + Reyes, that would trump a Cubs offer of Cedeno, Marshall, and Pie. The Cubs would have to add quite a sweetner to get it done over that.

I'd happily make that deal for Peavy.

Somehow, I missed that. The Braves make sense as Sheets wants to stay close to home. I talked to a guy yesterday who was the RA in the athletic dorm when Sheets was a student here. He says that Ben wants to stay close to his family. His offseason home is here in Monroe and his parents live near New Orleans. So, my guess is that Texas, Atlanta, and Houston would be his preference.

Ben Sheets isn't on the list either. The local paper here has an article on Ben Sheets's possible destinations... Link It's a perfect example of an article that says absolutely nothing.

The Cowboys might do better to just run out of the wing-t.

He can't come back out after halftime and still be starting can he? There's bad and then there's brad. I'd serioulsy would rather see Danny White out there than Brad Johnson. What the hell is Chad Hutchison doing these days?

I think I'm about to drive to New York and personally assainate Brad Johnson.

I'd rank them after today: 1. Bama 2. Texas Tech 3. Penn State 4. Texas 5. Florida 6. Oklahoma

I understand what you are saying vance, and Nick is definately a victim of his own ruthlessness so to speak. But a couple of reasons why he's not leaving Alabama: 1: Nick just turned 57 yrs old yesterday. Contrary to popular belief moving gets harder as you get older. He would only leave Alabama for the PERFECT situation. He won't Alabama for the NFL (he's done with the NFL, period). Personally, the perfect job to Nick Saban was the LSU job. That is the one job as I know of that he regretted leaving. If he had it to do again, he wouldn't have lefty LSU for the NFL. I know fans of other SEC teams absolutely would love for Saban to leave Alabama as quickly as he came (considering the recruiting classes he has brought to Alabama, and remember 2009 may actually be better then 08 class, when you can recruit the #1 RB, several top WR, and add some dang good OL prospects), but right now I don't forsee another school outbidding Alabama for Nick Saban. Not to mention Saban has COMPLETE control of the football program, unlike Alabama Polytechnic Institution near the Al/GA border. 2: The schools that can even approach what Bama is paying Saban, schools like USC/OSU/Michigan/FSU/LSU/OU/Texas these schools already have their coaches, and chances are they have their current coaches successors on their team. And quite frankly I don't see Saban leaving Alabama to take a step down job like Clemson or something similar. (if there are any Clemson fans on the board is offended by what I said, then I apologize, but it is true). I expect Saban to be at Alabama till atleast 60-63 yrs old, period. By then Alabama should have his successor lined up and ready to take over. I know you're cyncial, and I understand what you're saying, and I can't convince you why I feel this strongly about him staying. As I said earlier, the feeling I get is this...Saban has had one major regret in his career, that is leaving LSU for the NFL. He has said numerous times that if he could go back and change it,he would never have taken the Miami job. It's that simple. I know it's looks bad that he said he wouldn't take another SEC job, but let's face it, if it came down to taking a job you said you wouldn't and being unemployed, what would you do? I know he would not have been unemployed, but let's face it Saban did not want to stay at Miami. When he found out the NFL players are babies and would be polticians, he wanted out and Alabama gave him the means. Simple truth is this: We Alabama fans know Saban and his reputation, and yes Alabama has been burned by a weasle caliber coach (haha at you Texas a&m), but this is different. He doesn't need to check out the NFL anymore. Leaving Alabama would be a lateral move at best. Believe it or not the ony team I fear about coming and getting Saban is LSU. While Nick is focused at Alabama, and he is Crimson Tide at this point, Saban's heart will always be LSU. That is the god's honest truth. In fact when Saban retires, I guarantee you he will live out his days in Louisana. You may be right, but I've heard Saban's sincere statements before. I just think he is who he is and that's a mercenary in the likes of Parcells and Brown. I don't think it makes him evil. I also don't hare him for leaving LSU. I don't think he stays at Alabama as long as you think. I do think he'll be there for 3-5 years, but after that I think he leaves for something else.

Sorry I haven't had the time to take the donations and put them into packages. Be patient everyone; I'll get to it shortly.

I'll agree that Florida is probably the best team right now, but I won't agree that as of right now that they deserve to play for the NC. While the loss to Ole Miss may not mean much in determining how good they are, it means a lot when considering who deserves to be in the title game.

You go ahead and think that. I hope you are being sarcastic, I really do. Which school can offer Saban the money, the power (he's got full control of the football program, Moore the AD is essentially a figurehead) the tradition that Alabama has. Schools that fit this description (USC/OU/FSU/PSU/Texas) either already have their coaches or they will have their next coach in line to succeed their current coach. And outside of those kind of schools, Nick Saban isn't going to take a step down in the coaching hierarchy, ie leaving Alabama for a school like Clemson. That would be like Mack Brown leaving Texas for Baylor. Do you see that happening? Cause if you honestly do see that happening, please pass me what your smoking cause that must be some good............ Contrary to the pubic persona that Nick has shown, Nick and his family absolutely do love it in Alabama. There are two fears that Nick has admitted to: 1: He will never return to Morgantown, WV. Why? Because even at 57 he still has fear of following his father into the coal mines. Irrational? Yes. But it what motivates the man. 2: Saban has grown tired of being label a merc (I understand why people would call him that and I understand why Saban has grown tired of it). He's not leaving Alabama anytime. Now I understand you may be pushing my bottoms on this subject, and if that's the case, kudos to you kind sir. I just don't see Saban leaving Alabama. Saban has already done the NFL thing THREE TIMES (Browns/Dolphins/Oilers) and a coach of his statute does not take a step down in the college ranks. Put it this way, Pete Carroll is more likely to leave USC then Saban is to leave Alabama. Saban is a good coach and recruiter. I'll never say otherwise. On the other hand, he is a mercenary. My guess is if someone offered more money than 'Bama, he'd be gone. All the things he has said since coming to Alabama, he said while he was at LSU. He made the same comments at LSU about loving it there and wanting to stay there. When he left LSU for the Dolphins, he told friends at LSU that he would NEVER take another college job and that his dream was to coach in the pros. So, you can believe him if you want, but many of us have heard it before. Saban is just like Larry Brown and Bill Parcells. They are mercenaries. They will never stay in one place long because it's not who they are, despite their words to the contrary.

Maybe this will help him not to swing so much at everything.

Hi, There is an old saying that it is better to trade a guy a year early than a year late. DLee has been a decent 1B with one stellar year which he parlayed into a great contract. He is no longer a good #3 hitter and needs to be moved out of that spot. He is not enough of a bopper to hit cleanup either. While he seems to be a stellar guy, if we have any kind of a shot a Texiera and it would cost us Lee, I would be all for trading him. We also have Hoffpauir waiting in the wings and he has a lot more upside potential at this point than Lee does. One thing I like about Hoffpauir is this. When we had HeSop Choi you could look at his swing and see he had a big hole in it. When you see Hoffpauir hit there is a good solid swing and he makes good contact. Lee would fetch some good players in return. Lee also took less money to stay in Chicago and has a no-trade clause. By the time, a team added sweeteners to convince him to waive it, he would lose his value and net us very little in return. Hi, I am aware that he has a no trade clause. At the same time there was some discussion about him wanting to play on the west coast closer to his family. If anyone can work out something that is fair to all parties it would be Hendry. Personally I would love to see them trade Lee and land Texiera, that would be an upgrade. I would love to trade Lee and sign Teixeira too; I'd also like to win the lottery, and have a threesome with Jessica Alba and Keeley Hazell. But it isn't going to happen. First, Lee has a no-trade clause. It was included in his contract because at the time he signed below market value to remain with the Cubs. Now, his contract isn't really below market value, but Lee still would want a sweetner to waive it. If another team has to throw additional money his way, then they are not likely to give much of value. I'd love to trade Lee out west and sign Tex, but it isn't going to happen. Hendry may be a decent GM but he isn't a magician and that's what it would take to jump through all the hurdles needed to deal Lee.

Someone be sure to let Ed Wade know he's out there.

Hi, There is an old saying that it is better to trade a guy a year early than a year late. DLee has been a decent 1B with one stellar year which he parlayed into a great contract. He is no longer a good #3 hitter and needs to be moved out of that spot. He is not enough of a bopper to hit cleanup either. While he seems to be a stellar guy, if we have any kind of a shot a Texiera and it would cost us Lee, I would be all for trading him. We also have Hoffpauir waiting in the wings and he has a lot more upside potential at this point than Lee does. One thing I like about Hoffpauir is this. When we had HeSop Choi you could look at his swing and see he had a big hole in it. When you see Hoffpauir hit there is a good solid swing and he makes good contact. Lee would fetch some good players in return. Lee also took less money to stay in Chicago and has a no-trade clause. By the time, a team added sweeteners to convince him to waive it, he would lose his value and net us very little in return.

Jacobs has been dealt...so he could have been had, but not any more.

Adam Dunn for RF please.

Could have brought in Culpepper. Probably still could if Jerry acts quickly. He's got to be better than Johnson. At least he could get the ball deep to Williams & TO I mentioned Culpepper to a friend. What pisses me off about it all is that I and many Cowboy fans saw this in the pre-season. Johnson was horrible then. We felt that the Cowboys might bring in someone like Chris Simms and cut Johnson loose. Instead they signed Brooks Bollinger, but he hasn't gotten any reps in practice. At this point, they probably couldn't bring anyone in who could effectively start in the time before Romo gets back.