vance_the_cubs_fan

Hawkins was much better than Novoa. Agreed.

Speier will become the scapegoat. It was nice knowing ya, Chris. I can understand the need to drink when your boss eats toothpicks, but you just can't drink and drive.

Nobody WILL ever be better then Sandy Koufax, as much as I like Santana/Liriano, they prolly don't deserve to be mention in the same sentence. At least not right yet. And we all know the history of how the Twins got Liriano and Santana, much to the dismay of the Astros (Santana original team) and the Giants. Now the Astros, imagine if they had choose to hold onto Freddy Garcia, Bobby Abreu, Carlos Guillen, where would the Astros be with those guys? Baseball is strange, sometimes. How do you know nobody ever will be better than Koufax? Have you been to the future and come back?

I think this is a good as time as any to post Rich Hill's AAA numbers: 6-1; 1.94 ERA; 61 H in 92.2 IP; 121 K. The season is lost, yet we keep giving starts to the inept Glendon Rusch while Hill lanquishes in the minors with nothing more to prove there. Get ready to have breast cancer on secondbase come Saturday.

I knew it was on ESPN, so I used their site to search for articles by their collumnists. That's how I beat you. :)

Be happy to. A Google search for "Mark Prior not worth trading for" yielded no quotes from any GMs. It did bring up a Yankees message board in which a Yank-me fan talks about how he wouldn't give up Robinson Cano for Prior. LINK Did a couple of other searches. Still can't find any quotes from any GMs saying they wouldn't be willing to give up a B level prospect for Mark Prior. Lets try ProSportsDaily. They are a great source. They compile articles from newspapers all over the nation that even mention the Cubs or Cubs players. Here we go, from the Daily Southtown... No quotes from any GMs, but some solid sense. Given the fact that he has spent much of this season on the DL and is currently on the DL, it is highly unlikely anyone is going to make an eye-popping offer for Prior. I certainly agree with that. The general managers are starting to kick the tires a bit on trade possibilities, one GM said this week. With that in mind, I called about a half-dozen talent evaluators and asked them to assess the value of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, should the Cubs decide to put either on the market. In other words, if Lastings Milledge or Delmon Young is an A-plus prospect, what would you give for Wood or Prior? Among these conversations, there was absolute consensus on three points: 1. Neither player has much value right now. 2. Unless the Cubs start turning it around very soon, in the dramatic way that the Astros and Athletics did last year, they should trade Wood before the July 31 deadline. 3. Circumstances will dictate that the Cubs keep Prior. "I'd probably give no more than a C-level prospect for either," said an NL GM. "You have to look at their history, and look at their track record, and you'd have to be very cautious. Maybe you'd give a B prospect for one of them, but the team trading for him would have to be in a right situation. It'd have to be somebody in the pennant race -- like Omar [Minaya, GM of the Mets], or the Yankees or the Red Sox. It's such a tremendous gamble that you'd have to have the financial wherewithal to take that kind of gamble." Another NL executive said: "I don't know what I'd give them, but it would be a heck of a lot less than someone like Delmon Young. A guy like Wood, I'd give a B or B-plus type prospect, or maybe a decent major leaguer. With Wood, you're talking about a guy who might make 20 more starts this year and then you've got to make a big financial decision." The Cubs hold a $13.5 million option on Wood for 2007 with a $3 million buyout, a huge chunk of change. "That's a big hit to take financially, for someone with his injury history," the NL exec said. And Prior? "He could fetch a little bit more of an asking price because you can control him for a little while longer before he becomes a free agent," the same exec said. "But he's got to show he's healthy. Trading for Prior is kind of dangerous. First, you're hoping he can be what he once was, and if he is, he's going to be very expensive with the two arbitration years." An AL talent evaluator said he thinks the best use of Wood would be as a power middle reliever (seventh and eighth inning). "I watched Wood the other night, and as a starter, I think he's a shell of what he once was," the evaluator said. "For Wood, because of his contract situation, I'd give up no more than a C-level prospect. He's declining, and he's got that big option. "For Prior, I'd give a B or B-plus. His upside is still great for me, and if he works it out, you suddenly could have the anchor of your staff for the next two years. You'd be taking a leap of faith on Prior, but it might be worth it." Getting rid of him along with Guzman and Wood for nothing in return. Not my idea of a smart move. I think Prior is going to have a long and successful career. Hopefully, it will be in a Cubs uniform. Here is why I think that. His recent performances showed that he was getting his stuff back. He was throwing again in the mid-90s and was regaining his location of his fastball. His breaking pitches were also sharpening up. He was looking to be fully recovered from his shoulder injury this spring. Many of his previous injuries were either fluky and having nothing to do with his pitching motion or relatively minor. And he has returned from them in good form each time. He is still quite young and quite good. Trading him now when his value is at its lowest would be a horrible mistake. Simply getting rid of him now would be an even worse mistake. Is it possible that Prior has fallen under the Cubs' curse and is also injury-prone like Kerry Wood? Yes. But its just as possible if not more so that he is not doomed to injury after injury until retirement. Let's try to keep that in mind. Okay? I remember reading the article he is talking about I will try to hunt it down. I found it. It's Insider content on Olney's blog. Here's the link.

spare me with the 'this one play is the definition of these two players' garbage. the play was a matter of physics, not physical ability. a 300 lb object in motion is going to move an off-balance 260 lb object at a relative stand still, especially when the 300 lb. object is also illegal pushed from the back by an offensive lineman, as clearly depicted in your artist's rendering. Urlacher was overrated. he was arguably the best defensive player in the NFL last year. see my debate with Vance a couple weeks ago regarding the meaninglessness of football stats. Bettis is Icky Woods with longevity. what do you say Vance? is Bettis the fifth best rusher of all-time? This post is just as meaningless.

They don't really have any room to talk since they've NEVER won the WS. Can anyone actually prove the Cubs have ever won a world series? I mean...there is probably nobody alive that remembers it, and I know they didn't have video back then. :? When I was in Chicago in June at Wrigley, I sat next to a man who said he was there for the last Cubs WS game against the Tigers in 1945. That's not exactly the last time they won one, but I did think it was pretty cool. Just out of curiosity...weren't you sitting next to Fred? :lol: Well, played. But no, not at this game!

We'll have to see how it works out. I love Lee Evans and have nothing but respect for the guy. He loves the game, he's a really nice guy, and was the most talented guy I've ever seen in person on a football field. That said, Dick Jauron prefers a really conservative approach to his offense. He is absolute murder on fantasy WRs, imo. I looked hard at Housh and decided to go with Evans. Evans will be the number one in Buffalo, so maybe he'll be a decent third receiver for me.

They don't really have any room to talk since they've NEVER won the WS. Can anyone actually prove the Cubs have ever won a world series? I mean...there is probably nobody alive that remembers it, and I know they didn't have video back then. :? When I was in Chicago in June at Wrigley, I sat next to a man who said he was there for the last Cubs WS game against the Tigers in 1945. That's not exactly the last time they won one, but I did think it was pretty cool.

And it's worse when one looks at Wuertz's numbers in AAA. Even Aardsma would be a better choice than Novoa. But, hey! Novoa is one of Dusty's boys.

We'll have to see how it works out.

I could see Boston willing to do a Pierre + Ramirez + Marmol/Marshall deal for Crisp, but that's overpaying as well. Crisp isn't a player they're looking to move. Sure we could get their attention with a package that helps them get some young players back, but they aren't going to make a deal for our over-the-hill guys.

What if we offered Z, huh smart guy? And why the hell would we do that? Sure, we could get nearly any player if you're willing to overpay. My point is the Red Sox acquired Crisp for a reason and aren't likely willing to move him.

The Red Sox gave up a lot to get Crisp and one of Theo's objectives was to get younger. There is no way, none, nada that Crisp is on the market.

Oops. Re-picked.

The team formerly known as Around the Joe Horn drafts Lee Evans, WR Buffalo Bills.

I'd prefer the Yankees throw in some cash rather than the prospect.

Excellent post, goony. Whether anyone loves Beane or hates him, his record with the payroll he has received speaks for itself. The only thing he lacks is the WS championships. And while that is the ultimate goal, like the Braves at least Beane puts his teams in a place to have a chance for the WS.

Due the MLB black-out rules, I won't be able to watch this one. I guess it's just as well.

I just want to go on record saying I advocated trading for Ibanez this offseason.

I voted Metallica.

I'm proud that I've seen my team win four superbowls. One when I was five and three during my twenties.

done!

DJaxx He has a new baby. I wonder if that's why he's absent. I'm next up, should we skip or keep spot starting?