vance_the_cubs_fan

Toliver to LSU Hell yeah! Get McKnight in the fold, and we could have a top 3 recruiting class!

Maybe he wants to hit 1000.

count me in Done. Check your PM's.

LSU is ranked #5, but could jump significantly if they can sign McKnight and Tolliver. I'll be watching the decisions those two young men make closely in the morning.

As an update, I have the following people confirmed for tickets. Me (9) Fred (2) Abe (4) I still have a few remaining if any are interested. In addition to the seats I've discussed previously, I have four seats together in section 214. These are on the same level as the ones in 218, but they aren't club seats, meaning they don't have the waiter service, etc. These are $20 each rather than $40. If anyone is interested, let me know.

C- Barrett 1b- Pujols 2b- Kinsler SS- Young 3b- Tracy OF- Dye OF- Patterson OF- Util- SP- Zambrano SP- Peavy RP- Lidge RP- P- Smoltz I'm liking how my team looks thus far.

Since I pick during the wrap around, it's easier for me to sober up prior to my picks. :D

Melvin has been quoted a number of times that Hall will start in Center! As he should. I believe the Brewers have a guy named, J.J. Hardy, who plays the ss position pretty well. Unfortunately, Hardy hasn't shown he can be of much value offensively.

MLB isn't worried about limiting the market for EI. In their view, the fans that choose not to switch in order to recieve the package either will switch to MLBTV or just watch the in-market team. With the regional sports networks, most areas are covered with an in-market team. In fact, it's been said that MLB prefers fans be fans of the "market" team as that increases revenue for those teams.

I too am very encouraged about the development of the change-up.

It would be a better deal if they planned on using him at SS instead of LF.

1-1) Albert Pujols 1-2) Jose Reyes 1-3) Johan Santana 1-4) Alfonso Soriano 1-5) Alex Rodriguez 1-6) Carlos Beltran 1-7) Ryan Howard 1-8) Miguel Cabrera 1-9) Carl Crawford 1-10) Chase Utley 1-11) Derrek Lee 1-12) Chris Carpenter 2-1) David Wright 2-2) Lance Berkman 2-3) Grady Sizemore 2-4) David Ortiz 2-5) Vladimir Guerrero 2-6) Manny Ramirez 2-7) Mark Teixeira 2-8) Travis Hafner 2-9) Derek Jeter 2-10) Carlos Lee 2-11) Matt Holliday 2-12) Carlos Zambrano 3-1) Jake Peavy 3-2) Aramis Ramirez 3-3) Justin Morneau 3-4) Joe Mauer 3-5) Paul Konerko 3-6) Miguel Tejada 3-7) Jason Bay 3-8) Hanley Ramirez 3-9) Jimmy Rollins 3-10) Roy Halladay 3-11) Brandon Webb 3-12) Dan Haren 4-1) Garrett Atkins 4-2) Ichiro 4-3) Vernon Wells 4-4) Brian McCann 4-5) Roy Oswalt 4-6) Felix Hernandez 4-7) Ben Sheets 4-8) Bobby Abreu 4-9) Jeremy Bonderman 4-10) Andruw Jones 4-11) Victor Martinez 4-12) Jermaine Dye 5-1) Michael Young 5-2) Robby Cano 5-3) Rafael Furcal 5-4) Francisco Rodriguez 5-5) Bill Hall 5-6) Cole Hamels 5-7) Brian Roberts 5-8) Joe Nathan 5-9) Adam Dunn 5-10) Ryan Zimmerman 5-11) Carlos Guillen 5-12) Chone Figgins 6-1) Daisuke Matsuzaka 6-2) Jim Thome 6-3) John Lackey 6-3) B.J. Ryan 6-4) Carlos Delgado 6-6) Billy Wagner 6-7) Rocco Baldelli 6-8) Rich Hill 6-9) Troy Glaus 6-10) Justin Verlander 6-11) Aaron Harang 6-12) John Smoltz 7-1) Ian Kinsler 7-2) Johnny Damon 7-3) Mariano Rivera 7-4) Jered Weaver 7-5) Huston Street 7-6) Brett Myers 7-7) Matt Cain 7-8) Scott Kazmir 7-9) Curt Schilling 7-10) Felipe Lopez 7-11) Hideki Matsui 7-12) Nick Swisher 8-1) Bobby Jenks 8-2) Jason Schmidt 8-3) Rickie Weeks 8-4) C.C. Sabathia 8-5) Dan Uggla 8-6) Juan Pierre 8-7) JJ Putz 8-8) Randy Johnson 8-9) Howie Kendrick 8-10) Rich Harden 8-11) Prince Fielder 8-12) Michael Barrett 9-1) Brad Lidge 9-2) Chris Young 9-3) Chipper Jones 9-4) Jeff Francoeur 9-5) Pat Burrell 9-6) Scott Rolen 9-7) Erik Bedard 9-8) Gary Sheffield 9-9) Trevor Hoffman 9-10) Richie Sexson 9-11) Barry Zito 9-12) Dontrelle Willis 10-1) Todd Helton 10-2) Takashi Saito 10-3) Mike Piazza 10-4) Delmon Young 10-5) Chad Cordero 10-6) Josh Beckett 10-7) AJ Burnett 10-8) Jonathan Papelbon 10-9) Tom Gordon 10-10) Julio Lugo 10-11) CC Sabathia 10-12) Corey Patterson 11-1)Chad Tracy

Prior in 2005 had an ERA+ of 116. In 2004, it was 113. So with the exception of last season (ERA+ 64), Prior is at least 13% above the average pitcher.

Well, a little more on the Soriano deal... So, it appears that the Cubs originally tried a 7/122 deal instead of an 8/136.

Stark has an article on ESPN.com in which he discusses the money the Cubs spent this offseason and whether or not the team is improved. Link. A few notable quotes: And maybe the summary...

We need to speed this thing along. I'm using BP's projections and team tracker to help me make my picks. My subscription ends in three days, and I'm not sure I want to renew.

It appears that the Cowboys plan to interview Rivera and Colts QB coach Jim Caldwell on Monday. Link.

Nah, I'll pass on that dude. I will however trade that rcappy Miggy for the even more crappier Albert pujols. While I won't do it straight up, a deal may be able to be reached.

Head to Head for football. In baseball, I usually play in at least one roto league and one h2h league.

With Lee and Berkman already entrenched, I don't see a Dunn to the Astros deal happening. Had they not signed Lee, it would be the most likely destination. Dunn to the Rangers could happen. He would rake it in that ballpark and have the option of being the DH.

Yes, and the article goes on to mention Arod's opt out clause.

Bruce, How do you envision the rotation and bullpen shaking out?

Ah well...it was fun considering this for a few days.

1-1) Albert Pujols 1-2) Jose Reyes 1-3) Johan Santana 1-4) Alfonso Soriano 1-5) Alex Rodriguez 1-6) Carlos Beltran 1-7) Ryan Howard 1-8) Miguel Cabrera 1-9) Carl Crawford 1-10) Chase Utley 1-11) Derrek Lee 1-12) Chris Carpenter 2-1) David Wright 2-2) Lance Berkman 2-3) Grady Sizemore 2-4) David Ortiz 2-5) Vladimir Guerrero 2-6) Manny Ramirez 2-7) Mark Teixeira 2-8) Travis Hafner 2-9) Derek Jeter 2-10) Carlos Lee 2-11) Matt Holliday 2-12) Carlos Zambrano 3-1) Jake Peavy 3-2) Aramis Ramirez 3-3) Justin Morneau 3-4) Joe Mauer 3-5) Paul Konerko 3-6) Miguel Tejada 3-7) Jason Bay 3-8) Hanley Ramirez 3-9) Jimmy Rollins 3-10) Roy Halladay 3-11) Brandon Webb 3-12) Dan Haren 4-1) Garrett Atkins 4-2) Ichiro 4-3) Vernon Wells 4-4) Brian McCann 4-5) Roy Oswalt 4-6) Felix Hernandez 4-7) Ben Sheets 4-8) Bobby Abreu 4-9) Jeremy Bonderman 4-10) Andruw Jones 4-11) Victor Martinez 4-12) Jermaine Dye 5-1) Michael Young 5-2) Robby Cano 5-3) Rafael Furcal 5-4) Francisco Rodriguez 5-5) Bill Hall 5-6) Cole Hamels 5-7) Brian Roberts 5-8) Joe Nathan 5-9) Adam Dunn 5-10) Ryan Zimmerman 5-11) Carlos Guillen 5-12) Chone Figgins 6-1) Daisuke Matsuzaka 6-2) Jim Thome 6-3) John Lackey 6-3) B.J. Ryan 6-4) Carlos Delgado 6-6) Billy Wagner 6-7) Rocco Baldelli 6-8) Rich Hill 6-9) Troy Glaus 6-10) Justin Verlander 6-11) Aaron Harang 6-12) John Smoltz 7-1) Ian Kinsler 7-2) Johnny Damon 7-3) Mariano Rivera 7-4) Jered Weaver 7-5) Huston Street 7-6) Brett Myers 7-7) Matt Cain 7-8) Scott Kazmir 7-9) Curt Schilling 7-10) Felipe Lopez 7-11) Hideki Matsui 7-12) Nick Swisher 8-1) Bobby Jenks 8-2) Jason Schmidt 8-3) Rickie Weeks 8-4) C.C. Sabathia 8-5) Dan Uggla 8-6) Juan Pierre 8-7) JJ Putz 8-8) Randy Johnson 8-9) Howie Kendrick 8-10) Rich Harden 8-11) Prince Fielder 8-12) Michael Barrett 9-1)Brad Lidge

The Harball Times has a good article today comparing the next FA crop with the one from this past winter. Link.