Mizzou

Or if nobody else was offering a major league deal, maybe they realized they didn't have to. Or maybe he told his agent to talk to the Cubs because he wanted to play for Dusty (a notorious fan of veterans). Or maybe they just couldn't find the roster space right now, and told him they were going to clear some space soon and would therefore have to go minor league with him, for now. Regardless, he's not going to have to mash, he's just going to show that he's their 5th or 6th best bench option. Given the makeup of this team, the crappy bench, the likelihood that Walker and Patterson will be gone, and Dusty's fetish for old unproductive ballplayers, Grissom will not have to do a whole lot to make the team. He might just have to prove he's healthy and still able to run around the bases and catch fly balls. Well, if he proves that he's the 5th or 6th best option off the bench, and Dusty knows what his place is, I'm completely fine with having him on the team.

Lenny Harris hit .262/.295/.357/.652 in ST of '03 and still made the team. Grissom had a hamstring strain last year, I don't know if that was his only injury. Yeah, but in fairness, Harris is and was a pinch hitting extraordinare.

Why does a minor league deal mean that? The Cubs are very thin on the bench and in the OF, are rumored to really want to get rid of Walker and Patterson, and have an affinity for old players. It's a big deal if Dusty takes to the guy, which is pretty likely. If they thought he was good to go as far as being a major leaguer, they would have just given him a major league contract. By giving him a minor league contract, they obviously don't believe with 100% certainty that he IS good enough to be on the 25 man roster. He'll have to prove that he is in spring training.

I thought Burnitz signed with Baltimore a couple days ago?

This is a minor league contract. That means that Grissom is going to have to MASH pitching in ST and prove that he is 100% healthy to get a spot with the Cubs. Not a big deal at all. By the way, what was his injury last year that kept him out for so long?

Are you kidding? She's smoking hot!

Yeah. Someone explain to me what the big deal is? Some have suggested platooning him in RF. I have no idea how good his d is. He's played a grand total of two games there in the past two years, so it can't be too good. He's been absolutely terrible as a PH in his career (.208/.297/.359) so I don't see any reason to sign the 36 year old Eduardo Perez.

The Cubs aren't at all to blame for making Sammy the way he is? For putting him on a pedestal and allowing him to become the megastar that he became? Believe what you wanna believe. I will, thanks. I was just asking your opinion of it.

The Cubs aren't at all to blame for making Sammy the way he is? For putting him on a pedestal and allowing him to become the megastar that he became?

I miss Sammy. Cubs baseball just isn't the same without him. He's the main reason that I started watching baseball again following the 94 strike. And it really pisses me off when people blast Sammy at every opportunity. People who can't appreciate what he did for this organization probably haven't been following the Cubs for longer than a couple years.

Nope. Yeah I don't know about that move either. He's had way too much of an up and down career for me to want him.

Hence the reason why I think the Orioles were the one to leak this rumor. I think the O's would become very unpopular in baseball circles if they made something like that up. I really do think Prior was\is on the table, too many sources had variations on this deal to have me believe otherwise. The press has been known to run with a rumor from time to time, haven't they? After all, they aren't selling actual news, they are selling newspapers. Its all about circulation and ratings. And with the absence of any quotes coming from Hendry confirming his willingness to trade Prior, the impirical evidence for your theory is non-existent. I'm not saying the O's started this rumor. But I wouldn't put it past Ken Rosenthal to write the article that started this Prior rumor without "filling in the blanks" a little to make his story sound a little more juicy than it actually was. I'm confused. Has Hendry denied he had Prior on the table? I thought he admited a deal would have been done if Bedard was included. Hendry has refused to publicly comment on the specifics of any deal. He's given his standard response that he'll do whatever is necessary to improve the team, or some variation. The fire started because unlilke Prior for Abreu, Hendry did not flat out say Prior was untouchable. With the difference of course being that Hendry was known to be speaking with Baltimore and it'd be inappropriate for him to comment on trade negotiations in the media. I've never once thought that he would trade Prior for Tejada.

Wow, what an amazing comeback!

Jesus Christ. Crossett, you SUCK.

I just flipped back over to the game... what happened to Bd Smith? Nevermind, I caught that replay.

Wow, Mizzou has looked like crap today!

11 pages later... Has anyone besides a Denver newspaper reported this? Anyone in, oh I don't know, Chicago said anything?

Neither Hairston or Mabry is close to being a "good enough" 4th OF. Hairston is. And signing Grissom would be a GREAT signing... oh wait, it's not the mid 90's anymore.

Do we have to discuss Giles everyday? Sorry, but it just gets a little old reading the same arguments over and over.

If it's the same game I'm thinking of (in Houston) we were down 2-1 and his two run homer gave us the lead and eventually the win.

Why would any team give up any top prospect for a player like Corey Patterson?

Naturally, Z gets blasted for that by most fans even though Bonds would have pitched a tent and stared at the ball for 30 seconds if he had hit a home run in that AB. Wasn't there a game in Milwaukee in 2003 where Z had a one-hitter going into the ninth inning? That's my favorite Z memory, because he looked completely unstoppable. The "should have been a no hitter for AZ" Was that the one where the only hit of the game was a botched call at first, or am I thinking of something else?

The no decision vs. Carpenter last season. He also shut them down in the game that Nomar got hurt. He was an out away from the complete game when Dusty pulled him to put Hawkins in. I think Z had a triple in that game as well due to Jimmy Maybeline taking a terrible route to a ball.

Very well thought out, Hosak, but I don't agree with your direction. A few comments: 1. I'm not ready to give up our three top prospects (in my eyes) for Jason Bay. Just my personal preference, but I wouldn't do it. 2. I'm probably one of the few, but I do expect DLee to match his 2005 numbers next year, or if not, to come very close. It'd be one thing if he had an extremely lucky month or something, but he didn't. He apparently figured something out in ST to cure his typical slow start. With that in mind, I don't see how you can expect him to NOT produce numbers similar to those that he put up last year. I wouldn't trade him straight up for Figgins, let alone along with others. 3. Sizemore is the better overall player and he gives you more pop than Pierre, but is he really worth giving up our leadoff hitter, our number two hitter, AND a top pitching prospect? Not in my opinion. I personally think we're an impact bat away from being the favorite in the NL Central. But if that impact bat costs us Mark Prior, then it's a step back.

I have nothing to add to this topic. I just want to know what Vance's avatar is all about.