Pardon the gratuitous rosterbation (is there any other kind, really?), but when the decision on Edgar is all we have to work with...

The Buccos are trying to shed salary and redundancy with "C" Ryan Doumit. We apparently need lefty bats (he swtiches, and is better from left side), and I frequently get the nagging feeling that "Whitey" is a waste of a roster space. 

So: we get Doumit for a c-level minor leaguer (and take the salary), get rid of Eli, and use Pablo as emergency 3rd catcher after Doumit pinch-hits late in games. Dude plays some OF, so we can stick him out there against tough RH pitching sometimes. Any way this scenario works?

I've seen the Cubs' 3b Ramirez pop up as a potential acquisition in a couple of threads, but really just in passing. Dude's had a horrible season to date, but he's also had a multi-hit game in 7 of his last 8 starts (and 5 of them all year, prior to this current streak). I'd like to think we could still buy low to add some thump to the lineup, but maybe that's wishful thinking. He'd likely be owed over $20m between this year and next (player option on 2011, club option in 2012), so we'd presumably have to offload at least a little salary to make it work.

What do you think? What would be a fair deal? Is a year and half of Ramirez's performance worth two-and-half of Durty's, if the Cubs are willing to eat a majority of his contract? Would it even be worth relegating Huff to the OF for the rest of the year (and next if he gets the rumoured extension)?

Lackey went to the Bosox - that much seems certain. And if all this 3-way stuff is also true, it seems that the LAnaheimers lost out on pretty much all the pitching they coveted. Also, the Halos have signed Hideki Matsui.

So: Is it time to go after Juan Rivera? Would Durty bring a return right now above and beyond his true value? What would we demand beyond Rivera in a deal for Sanchez. Napoli makes some sense, but I'd rather have pitching coming back. There isn't an easy fit, but maybe someone can figure it. Rooooos-ter-bation time, C'mon!

Well, it's come to this. I have 3 tickets for tomorrow night's game in LA that I won't be using, and it doesn't look like I'll be able to sell them. So, unless I get a call tonight from a guy who did express some interest on craigslist, I'd like to offer them to a McCoven member who can actually just take them and use them. They are nosebleeds, but right behind the plate (4TD). I paid $140 for them, and they will be free to you (though I wouldn't refuse some beer if you brought it over when you pick them up). 

Game time is 6pm. Road trip anyone? 

Big Money. Lil' Money. Lotta Money (Buster to you).

I've been thinking a little about the best way forward. Bengie clearly performed well this year, but he is also clearly not part of the future on this team. He's got a year left on the contract, and, one way or another, he'll be paid $6million for it. Not a bad deal, really. The thing is, if he's not part of the team going forward, then it might make sense to move him out this winter. This assumes that there is a market for him - a safe bet, to me - and that Pablito is ready to take over (yes, again). More on what you could get for him in a minute.

What I can't figure out is whether it makes more sense to arrange things so that Pablo catches in 2009, or if it is better to let him develop at a corner position if that's where he's liable to end up (see Lotta Money, above). My hunch is that you do want to see what he can do for you behind the plate this year, mostly because once you put away the tools of ignorance, well...you may well see the light (and never find out if ignorance was indeed bliss). Enough of that. Hopefully you get what I mean. It may also turn out that Posey has some major flaws as a catcher, though this doesn't sound especially likely.

So: who wants Pablo fully entrenched at an infield corner, so that he learns his place? And who wants him strappin' 'em on '09, if only to delay the inevitable? Since part of the puzzle is clearly what Bengie might fetch in the open market, I also present to you the following outrageous proposal:

Astros get Bengie (they have recently publicly said they in that market)

Giants get Miggy Tejada and lhp Tim Byrdak (or subsitute a reliever other than Valverde of your choice).

We'd either lose a chunk of change ($6.5m), or maybe the Stros cover some of it. Or maybe it's straight up, and they cover the difference in contracts.

Miggy plays 3rd, Pablo catches, and Ishikawa plays 1st (unless we go big here). Franny and Manny up the middle.

I know that Tejada was terrible last year, but that's partly why it might be a shrewd one-year move.

Anyway, skip the deal if you want. I'm mainly interested in the question in the initial segment.

The offseason is nearly upon us, and these last two days without mlb games have reminded me how badly I will yearn for "news" in the near future.

So: I want to see if anyone here is tuned into good baseball audio content on net. It doesn't have to be a podcast, per se, just something to take me away from work while my screen says I'm doing it.

I regularly download the BP radio clips, and generally like them (though their interview skills leave much to be desired). I also get the Baseball America podcast - has some good depth, but I'm not going to listen to them drone on about the top prospects in the Cape Cod league (though I know some of you will). I've also listened to David Pinto do the Baseball Musings webcast for the last few months, but, frankly, his solo voice usually bores me pretty quick. I used the do the Chron Giants-cast with Schulman, but it was fairly thin and infrequent.

I listened briefly to the Northern Cal Sports report (or network?), and I liked the tone and analysis, but don't need all the different sports. Is anyone up on the "the pitch"; saw this yesterday, and it seemed kind of interesting. Do I have to resort to the mlb and espn stuff. Surely there is something else out there.

Feel free to chime in with other cool podcasts you listen to outside of baseball (and sports!) I really like a couple of WNYC programs - "On the Media" and "Radio Lab" - and, of course, need to download my full compliment of CBC radio programs (to keep me honest, living south of the border).

Baggarly reports that we've made another swap with Fresno, this time for a fresh arm: Geno's going down, and Matt Palmer is coming up. Apparently this was needed because we've been abusing the bullpen over the last little while. Not as exciting as yesterday, but I'm all for seeing all these new guys.

Baggs also points out that we'll need to make another move to get the 40-man back down to size prior to today's game. He makes it sound like it will not be a trade. Maybe Merkin will be put on the 60-man?