vance_the_cubs_fan

when there's the annual article written about what great shape Carlos Zambrano is in. Link.

Has anyone heard from Texascub? I sent him a PM about his turn to choose, but I haven't heard from him yet.

Did someone imply that he liked the taste of crow?

http://www.neverendingthread.com/images/mainlogoNT.jpg

Not surprising considering the cap hit the Bengals would take if they traded him.

It appears the Dolphins are about to release Zach Thomas. Link.

Not anymore.

What makes it more bizarre is that George has been asking to be traded to a team where he would get more playing time.

Apparently, it was in his contract or something like that.

Devean George blocks the trade of Kidd to the Mavs. Link.

Hanley Ramirez

I'm about to start a draft, meph. I need my spread sheet!

Nothing unless he can prove his 2007 isn't the start of a sharp decline. On the other hand, Mark Derosa had a 102 OPS+ last season and a 108 OPS+ in 2006. Ray Durham had a 127 OPS+ in 2006, 104 in 2005, and 117 in 2004. I'm not ignoring his 65 OPS+ last season, but that is the one season that seems out of whack with his career production. I'm willing to believe it could be part of a decline into sub-league average OPS, but it's possible he could bounce back. If he does, he could be an upgrade over Derosa. He's on the list because I see him as a potential target. I doubt Chipper is traded. He has 10-5 rights and I think he'd want to stay with the Braves. Junior and Dunn could be options, but unless Soriano gets hurt or Fukudome is a bust, I don't see us going that way. To get Dunn, the Cubs would have move Fukudome to CF and Soriano to RF. I just don't see the Cubs considering it, even though I would.

I've read it one time through, but did not notice any grammatical errors. That was probably due to the fact that I was strongly focusing on the content. Excellent explanation, by the way. In the first paragraph there are a few instances where your verb agrees with the predicate nominative rather than the subject. It's a common error and easy to fix. :wink:

Yeah, yeah...I'm getting antsy. I'm assuming a few things here. First, I'm assuming that the team we have now is pretty much the team we break camp with. Secondly, I'm assuming that the team as constructed will be in contention in July. So, who are some players on teams that may be out of the race that might interest the Cubs in July. These are players who are on one-year deals or have expiring contracts. So, here's a short list. 1. David Eckstein. That's right, Mr. Grit himself. The Blue Jays play in the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox. It's not inconceivable that they will be out of the running in July. If so, the Cubs might look to upgrade Theriot by taking on Eckstein. 2. Orlando Cabrera. The White Sox will be lucky to win 80 games in the AL Central. If they've fallen fast enough by late July, a trade for Cabrera from the cross-town team might be a nice upgrade. 3. Milton Bradley. The Rangers took a one-year flier on Bradley. While he may help them win a few games, the Rangers are still a few years away from being serious contenders. If Pie struggles to take a firm grip on CF, Bradley could be acquired to give the Cubs some stability there down the stretch. 4. Ray Durham. Durham is in his last season with the Giants. I don't expect the Giants to be playing very well by the hot days of June, and Durham could find himself on the block. Based on his 2007 numbers, I wouldn't have much interest, but if Durham bounces back to closer to his 2006 numbers, he could be a cheaper to acquire option than the much sought after Brian Roberts. 5. Hutson Street. It's a long shot, but Beane loves to get value from closers by preying on teams in need of them. While the Cubs have some excellent candidates for the closer's role with Howry, Wood, and Marmol; if the closer's spot isn't settled in July, Street might be a good move. 6. Gary Matthews Jr. Matthews has been edged out of CF one year after signing a lucrative deal. He could be edged out of the starting picture altogether depending on how the Angels distribute playing time. If Pie proves to be a bust, the Cubs might try to upgrade CF by getting Matthews and hopefully some cash from the Halos.

According to Jamie Newberg the deal includes a clause that allows for Mench's release if he isn't on the Major League roster by June 1.

I'd be for it if Corey agreed to help Eric get to the park on time.

Ha ha, I hope everyone likes my team name.

Dusty's line-up will look like this... Lofton CF Freel 3b Griffey RF Hatteberg 1b Dunn LF Phillips 2b Gonzalez SS Ross C

Such crap journalism. I'm sure Sosa may not have always been the best teammate, and a lot of what he did may have been ego-driven, but I think Sosa usually gave his best out there. That article is horrible. They should replace Sosa with Todd Hundley. Then at least they would have gotten something right.

Can't trust CF to a rookie like Bruce. We can get a guy like Lofton who's proven. Bruce will get some AB's here and there, but dude, you just don't pass up a guy like Lofton.

I think some of the lack of interest in Sammy comes from comments that Sammy made regarding how much playing time he'd want and that he wasn't interested in a minor league deal this time around. Sammy isn't very good in the field any more, but he can still hit lefites very well. If he were willing to accept a very limited role as a power bat versus lefties, especially in a DH platoon, he would have value. As it is, it looks like he wants a larger role than that, and it doesn't appear that teams are wanting to give it to him. The HOF ballot in five years could be awful crowded with some controversial players if 2007 really becomes the last season for Sosa, Clemens, and Bonds.

I think we do a good job mixing immaturity around here. But hell, it's a baseball message board not a conference for world peace. I think we're entitled.

It's getting closer to the time, so let's give this another week or we'll start to double up.