RyCubsFan

this is certainly not bad news And no Mariners. So who does this leave? Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Rangers, Cubs, Red Sox, Tigers, and Padres (Not really sure about Rangers and Tigers.) Any other possible suitors? I don't think Padres will have the money. Red Sox, like the Cubs, have yet to make a splash in the Asian market. Yanks surely have to be the favorite, with Mets maybe not far behind. Here's hoping Hendry feels enough heat to make a splash.

It is clearly comparable. He was a free agent to be. Lee was a free agent to be. Ramirez had less incentive, but he still had incentive. Somebody made the claim that free agents with confidence in themselves don't sign before going through with free agency. Obviously Lee did. And Ramirez did last time. There is a comparison, saying otherwise is a just an outright lie. no, the lie is that the situations are comparable. Ramirez had a guaranteed contract for two more years. Lee didn't. not the same thing. pretty obvious. In Ramirez' eyes, yes there was a guaranteed contract. But it should not have been a guaranteed contract in the Cubs eyes. They should not have treated it as guaranteed since Ramirez obviously had the option to leave at the end of the year. What Gooney suggests would have been wise on the Cubs part. If they had treated him as a free agent to be, Hendry might not be in this position today. Hindsight, however, is 20/20. What if Hendry had upped the contract last spring--both in terms of annual salary and number of years--and Ramirez had an awful year? Suddenly, it would have made Hendry look bad for being impatient. With Ramirez health issues in the past, and the fact he had only one season that approached the level of production that he ended up having this past season, I do think it was reasonable of Hendry to wait to offer a new contract.

Let's hope he's more of an athlete and less of a doctor than Craig Krenzel. Craig Krenzel was exactly 0 parts athlete. Does simply STUDYING to be a doctor make one smart? I'm not saying he's not smart, but it seems to me that merely studying to be a doctor doesn't prove intelligence. It's simply an undgrad major. You don't have to be accepted to medschool or anything. What matters is how well he does in those classes, not the subject he's studying. Now back to the subject: DV rocks!

Walker's playing well!

Gotta love Kuroda's walk totals. Only 21 BB's in 189 IP last year. That certainly would be a relief on the Cubs staff.

So what's the timeline on this? When are the bids due? When will the winning bid be announced? Anyone?

I bid. Any information on the deadline for the Cubs to make an offer? For long is he posted?

I do like his 10 for 11 in stolen bases. That percentage certainly makes Ryan an asset on the basepaths. Edit: After tonight, make that 11 for 12!

Well, to be fair, Maddux had more on the Cubs before he was traded.

Great starting pitching from Taylor and Pawelek tonight!

Isn't that Pie's 3rd outfield assist in the past week or so?

Props to Ryu for pitching a great game.

What's the scoop with Castellanos?

How many assists is that for Pie this year? Has to be quite a few...

Must have loved Marshall's outing tonight. 11 GO/ 7 K's. Only one Fly ball out. Great outing from Sean.

I'd take Pie too as I made clear. But I do think that for 2007, Pierre would probably put up a higher OBP than Pie (maybe 60/40 odds). After 2007, I'd expect Pie to exceed Pierre in OBP.

E Patt with a 7 game hit streak since his promotion!

And B.A. against. Zambrano leads in both categories.

2005 NSBB Minor League Player of the Year -- EPATTERSON -- looks to build on his 6 game hitting streak since being promoted to Iowa.

Ugh...why waste nearly 20 million dollars (approx 10 mil / 2 yrs) on Pierre when Pie is arguably ready??

But if Gallagher had stayed at Daytona, he too would have dominated in the same fashion that Veal has. In fact, by walks/strikeouts, Gallagher was more dominant at Daytona than Veal was. How impressive is it that Veal is dominating competition that is beneath him? Is it as impressive as what Gallagher is doing in West Tenn? The fact that Gallagher's overall numbers (ERA, k's/9, bb's/9, etc etc) are very simliar to Veal's, while pitching at higher levels that Veal --at a younger age no less--tips the award to Sean.

haha....BUT, Gallagher arguably deserved it last year as well. He was my vote last year b/c of his scoreless streak and his age. He can't be robbed two years in a row!

IN DAYTONA: VEAL: 69 IP, 36 BB GALL: 78 IP, 21 BB At an equal level this year, Gallagher had better control. Veal's walks could spike at West Tenn too...we just don't know. (BTW, their Peoria walk totals: VEAL: 73 IP, 40 BB; GALL: 146 IP, 55 BB)

At least another 1/2 year...No reason to rush him. Why? He's had a good year in AAA. 119k's in over 500 at bats is not all that alarming. It's no where near Harvey territory. His OPS in August: over 1.000. He's responded well to every promotion. I see no reason why he couldn't do so in the big leagues as well next year. I do agree with a poster that he should not bat leadoff. I'd put him 7th in the order too. I'd much rather have Murton leading off. OBP OBP OBP.

Out of curiosity, while Veal over Gallagher? They have strikingly similar numbers, but Gallagher is younger at a higher level...