5 years and 80 million.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3123200

I'm guessing Rowand's the next cf to sign and am thinking the Dodgers are the frontrunner.  Will be interesting to see where Andruw Jones goes.  Am wondering if the White Sox will grossly overpay Jones after missing out on Hunter.

Nice addition for Anaheim.  They play in a huge market so it's not a big deal for them to overpay some.  They need to improve their offense.  I have a feeling they'll go after Miguel Cabrera now..

Per ESPN1000 and a poster on northsidebaseball.

http://www.northsidebaseball.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=45214

Tampa needs pitching, but I'm guessing that Hendry won't part with either Hill or Marmol.  The Cubs would have to eat a ton of Marquis' salary to get him there..   Marshall's expendable though and maybe they'd take Gallagher and/or Veal???  

What prospects do you expect to make the team in 2008 & 2009, and who will be the biggest contributors???

Soto ~ It appears he has the catching job for 08.

Pie ~ Lots of expectations, but I won't be shocked if they go out and sign Aaron Rowand and try to trade Pie for pitching.  

Tyler Colvin ~ Seems they're very high on him.  Could he be starting in 2009??  

Gallagher and Hart ~ They seem like the two most likely to fight it out with Marshall for the #5 spot.

Eric Patterson ~ Doesn't seem like the Cubs are high on him.

Cedeno ~ I have a feeling that he'll edge out Fontenot in spring training..  Theriot probably starts over him.

Any other notable prospects??

With the playoff's starting, the bullpen roles probably change with more days off... Marmol and Howry are probably the primary set-up men for the majority of games instead of every other game..

Could Lou used Wood as the long reliever?  Perhaps bring him in in the 4th or 5th inning, if a starter is really struggling and pitch him for 2 or 3 innings?  I know Wood hasn't pitched more than 2 innings yet.  But he's been good in his last 2 inning outings and perhaps we see Lou extend him for 3 innings in the next day or two??  

I have a feeling that Lou will have a much quicker hook in the playoffs, since the pen's been very strong of late.

Marmol's been great all year and Howry and Eyre have been quite good of late.  Howry's ERA is under 2 his last 25 outings and Eyre's allowed 2 runs his last 21 innings..  

Dempster's been shaky, but he's still only blown 3 or 4 saves, and Wood is showing signs here and there..

With more rest days in the playoffs, Cubs pitching could really shutdown some teams, since they'll be able to use Marmol & Howry in more games..

Any opinions?

Didn't see this posted anywhere.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2007/07/latest-from-bas.html

Conine would give the Cubs a right-handed bat off the bench.  His ops versus lefties is decent, .784.  I assume they'd bring up Pie again and stick him in center or perhaps Hendry will make a deal for a CF???

Apparently the Cubs were watching his last outing? Per Buster Onley....

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2007/07/all-eyes-on-con.html

Maybe he'd fair better in the NL?  I dunno, but the White Sox may take Jock Jones in return and perhaps Eyre???????  Also, this would make Marshall available for a trade to Cincy for Griffey...  Jmo, and perhaps I'm very wrong, but I'm higher on Mateo than Marshall.  Just like his attitude.  Gotta like a guy who drills Roger Clemens. lol

I've already given up on getting Griffey.  Just going to be too costly and the Cubs don't have enough prospect depth to make a strong offer..  Hopefully, I'm wrong tho.

Lofton's obp is .378, and he'd be an ideal 60-70 game rental.  Murton or Cedeno should be of interest to TX, and the Cubs could throw in a pitching prospect..

The Cubs are getting very little out of CF and catcher currently, and Fontenot could cool off any day..  Lofton gives the Cubs 6 reliable hitters (Sori, Lofton, Lee, ARam, Floyd & DeRosa).  Sure the Cubs could use more power, with Lee becoming a singles and doubles hitter, but I doubt they address the lack of power at the deadline.

I don't recall so many kids stepping up for the Cubs since Jerome Walton and Dwight Smith in 1989...

Quick question for the prospect experts..  Can Fontenot play SS??  Imo Theriot will be around .250 by July, so hopefully Fontenot's ready to step-in.  

Although Theriot and Murton aka Mark Grace aren't as great as some thought, Pie, Marshall, Hill and Marmol have really picked up the team.  It appears Guzman, Pagan and Fontenot could really contribute too.

I believe!

The Yankees and Cubs both need to shake things up..    Yeah the Yankees' hitting hasn't been great, but gotta figure Jetah, Damon, Matsui, ARod, Posada, etc. can get it going.  They need pitching help, whereas the Cubs need help in general... lol

Soooo Perhaps Howry and Dempster and fillers for Abreu??  Abreu hasn't done much this year and he's a free agent after 2007 (has a $2 million option buyout), so his trade price tag shouldn't be huge.  Perhaps Howry can get it going in NY, and Dempster's been good this year and NY could possibly start him.  Yes the Cubs' pen has sucked, but the hitting's not great either.  Just roll the dice with Guzman, Wuertz, Marmol and Cotts in the pen..  Gotta try something different at this point, and maybe try to trade Barrett & Murton for relief.