radarluv1

could this mean pujols is a better hitter?

you definitely lose something on defense, but getting lugo is not worth the extra costs IMHO

and a gold glover :D

good work on the tilda. i dont think my keyboard can pull that off. i think he has a brand of salsa out there. also, i've heard from several that hes a very likable fellow. he seemed to hurt the cubs every year, had a few solid seasons if i remember right.

is corey expected to be starting CFer next year?

it wouldnt matter because the cubs are pretty much skipping junes draft this year.

Overrated? :-s seriously?

i expected a more polished and poised MSU team. they looked real bad in the last few minutes. heck, everyone but dee looked bad.

dee with a solid first half :D

prepare to be pissed. :evil:

But the cost of Williams and maybe others to upgrade to Soriano isn't worth the upgrade. So who do you want batting 5th? With the team we have now, I'd probably put Murton or Jones in the 5th spot, leaning heavily towards Murton. Jones could show an increase in SLG playing in the NL Central, but that's quite a gamble that Hendry was taking. He's mostly a ground ball hitter. thats uhh, not good. :x

I'm worried about the MSU game.. We haven't played anyone really good except for UNC.. Mich St. has played a tougher schedule and i'm afraid that the last couple pancakes we've played might hurt us. Atleast its at home though so you never know.. THe team is still pretty young minus James and Dee.. I'd just let Jamar shoot a 3 everytime and we'd probably win.. 59% from 3, thats awesome.. and man he lets it go quick! it'l be interesting to see how well he shoots in the conference, as teams adjust.

its unfortunate that illinois really hasnt had as much competition yet this year. last year at this time, we had played very good wake and gonzaga, and decent oregon, georgetown, arkansas. this year replace wake and gonzaga with UNC, and thats where we stand. they are heading into B10 play a little too unseasoned, IMO. smith, randle and the post players could have really used a couple more top 40 opponents. now we open with potentially the most important conference game of the year with MSU.

I can't, even if I wanted to. I'm like one of those dumb chicks who sticks with their scumbag man even though he beats the crap out of her every freaking day. I'm in this mess for life. Here here. Its learned since birth. Its like an s.t.d. Ok, may be not that bad. std's can be cured (some of them). or have possible cures on the horizon. our best hope is some selective amnesia procedure, we wake up and all our cub gear is replaced with braves stuff and we have all those great memories of fulton county stadium. like that eternal sunshine movie.

There's room for negotiation either way. You lock up Zambrano to void his first free agency year. Another thing the Cubs like is "cost certainty". MacPhail has talked about it from the beginning. They like to know what they will be paying. 3/30 was just a general statement to point out that the Cubs are not risking having to pay either of these guys $14m per year anytime soon. In reality you have to give Zambrano a little more since he'd be a free agent sooner, and could get away with a little less with Prior since he's got more time to go (and he's had some injuries which will cast doubt). If either of these guys was a free agent you could be certain they'd be getting 5/65-70 easily. But the point of discussion is they aren't free agents, and aren't all that close either. Guys like that first taste of security. It's cool to make $2-3m a year, but you can't really retire on that at 26 if your arm blows out (you could, but not with the lifestyle they want). Getting a guaranteed 25-35m when all the team is obligated to do is sign you for 1 year at a time is what causes players to sign before free agency all the time. with zambrano i understand. but theres no reason to do this with prior, unless your talking a 4 year deal, which cubs dont do. buttering up prior with extra money now wont buy loyalty in 3 yrs and he's a FA.

Tree, if you somehow include a vicious critique of this signing in with the Wood surgery question at the Peoria stop, it's now up to $75. make it 90 (tickets are 15 dollars) and you're on seriously, you can write what you want me to say and everything. if i have to submit a question, ill just write something about how much i love pierre, and then read my own thing when i get up there. let's do this. well, that gives us one thing to look forward to.

I'd give Gonzalez an NRI, but considering his age, health, and production when he has been healthy, I don't think we can think of him as a guy who will produce, even if healthy. By my count, Ordonez still has 4/60 left on his deal, so half would be 7.5M per. he still has 4/60?? thats just crazy.

the braggin rights game looks to be a bore on paper, but it seems to never work out that way. for a few years the underdog always won. this is probably the worst mizzou team i can recall.

cuba may not be there after all. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051215/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbi_classic_cuba_denied which is just asinine. what are the vegas odds on the dominican team? probably too early.

how long ago did the new stadium get approved? if they started using the new stadium money before the new stadium deal was finalized, then this excuse doesnt hold any water. i also want to know how much they made selling off busch 2 stuff. its got to be in the millions.

Look out Dee is starting to find his shot, the further he gets from his surgery the better. Did anyone else notice the announcers talking about how great Luther Head is then not recognizing it was him sitting behind Dee and James during the game? If he is so great, why don't you recognize him. :alright: i didnt notice luther either, but i wasnt watching really closely. oregon just looked really bad, unless thats just the defense. randle needs to get in on the scoring more often, and arnold looked good today.

dont think we can trade rusch yet, though. i would rather just to a simple cedeno plus arms for tejada, if possible.

Mark Prior won't be a free agent until after the 2008 season at the earliest. When his current deal expires after 2006, he will be arbitration eligible. ok. that sounds better.

so it sounds like locking up prior for a few more should be on hendry pre-season to-do list.

prior is a FA after 06. if thats the case, how is he making less than Z? i guess i dont understand the progression from cheap years/arby years/FA eligibility, and how that can be circumvented.