In my 12 team 5x5 mixed keeper league, I just lost Ryan Zimmerman to the DL.  I have a replacement at 3B already but looking to be proactive in the prospect arena.  Both Jerry Sands and Julio Teheran are available. 

Which would you recommend picking up?

I can see Sands up soon to take over LF in Los Angeles, but did not realize Teheran was already at AAA until this week!  I think I am a little weak at OF already (Braun, McCutchen, Rasmus, Morrison, Venable, Raburn) so I lean towards Sands, but Teheran is a stud who could help my pitching as well.

Thoughts?

After watching the Cubs-Dodger game tonight, I think it is clear we must get this season salvaged quickly by starting the fire sale as soon as possible.  Get on the horn, Hendry, and start selling of anything to anyone who will take them.

First, since Lou has already said this year is it for him, let's send him to retirement a bit earlier.  It will put both him and us fans out of our misery.  (I mean, really, Lou, Fontenot at SS tonight?)  Let Trammell finish the year off and then go from there.  I am still not sold on Ryno taking the reigns, but there is time to figure that out.

Second, begin tearing this team apart since even Pinella thinks we will be sellers!  Some places to start:

• Xavier Nady to the Rangers.   
• Derrek Lee to the Angels or Giants.  
• Ryan Theriot to the Giants or Tigers.
• Mike Fontenot to the Giants or Tigers. 
• Ted Lilly to the Mets (and quickly before he loses any more trade value). 
• See if Carlos Silva can bring anything useful back given his success this year. 
• Pay someone to take Kosuke Fukudome if possible. Yankees?  
• Will anyone take Carlos Zambrano from us now?
• Move Bob Howry to someone needing some bullpen help.
• Can Aramis Ramirez be dealt at all?  Maybe the Angels could shore up 3B with him.
• Am I missing anything here?

Obviously, these will not all happen, butI think we need to look to the future.  If Ken Rosenthal sees a bright future for the Cubs, we can too, and start to make it happen now by getting some useful pieces for 2011 or 2012.

I think we just need to own up to the fact that the season is lost, and has been lost from Day 1.  Even though we had a nice series against the lowly Diamondbacks, we cannot win anything when we cannot beat the Pirates or anyone else in our own division.  This is the kind of team that will tease us with a little run here right before the All Star break, but just does not have enough to make a serious push at contention.

Sorry to vent, but I just think we need to face the facts.  If we decide to hold on for now and by some miracle this team does put a real winning streak together (Heck, even the White Sox did that!), then I will be the first person to eat my words here - and be very happy to do so!

 

P.S. Does anyone else here hate Rafael Furcal as much as me?  First, he goes to LA instead of Chicago.  Then he hurts Lee. Now he is on fire and beating us while we are already down.

I am surprise no one has posted this trade rumor yet, but think it definitely warrants discussion.


According to Chicago Tribune sources, the Cubs and Angels are involved in talks surrounding trading our beloved first baseman Derrek Lee to the Angels to replace their recently injured first baseman Kendry Morales.

Is this a good idea now at this point in the season given how poorly we have played?

What kind of return could we expect or who should we target?

Who replaces Derrek at first if he is dealt? Nady?

I have also read elsewhere that the Angels have been in contact with the White Sox about trading for Paul Konerko as well.  Should we try and beat Kenny Williams to the punch here?

Poll

Should we attempt to deal Derrek Lee to the Angels?

34%

Yes, run up the white flag now.

143 votes

51%

Maybe, but it depends on the return.

212 votes

10%

No, there is still lots of season left.

44 votes

3%

No, let's wait until closer to the trade deadline.

16 votes

415 votes | Poll has closed

Which young starting pitcher would you rather have for 2010 and beyond, the Cincinnati Reds' Homer Bailey or the Boston Red Sox's Clay Buchholz?  Both seem to have a ton of upside, but plenty of drawbacks. 

I think I give the edge to Buchholz, but what does everyone else think?

Will Bailey ever make good on his potential?

Can Buchholz survive in Beantown or will he be shipped off to some place else (SD?)?

Poll

Who will be better in 2010?

22%

Homer Bailey

63 votes

77%

Clay Buchholz

213 votes

276 votes | Poll has closed

According to Rotoworld.com:

Continue reading this post »

Long time reader, first time poster.

I have had my eyes on pitcher Jake Odorizzi of the Brewers and I can get him if I trade his owner both outfielder Kellen Kulbacki (Padres) and pitcher Jason Knapp (Phillies).

Now other than his draft position, I do not know a ton about Odorizzi or how he has done this year.  

Can anyone enlighten me more on his potential and his progress this year?

Should I make this deal?

Poll

Should I make the deal to get Odorizzi?

27%

Yes, pull the trigger.

12 votes

72%

No, hold onto Kulbacki and Knapp.

32 votes

44 votes | Poll has closed

With all the talk about a power hitting left handed OF, I have yet to remember if I have heard any talk about Brian Giles possibly filling that void. 

Granted he is NOT a power hitting OF and not a true CF. But I believe he can play some CF or we can discuss moving Fukudome to CF again. That would be the first question to answer.

Regardless, his current numbers .300/.398/.440 are exactly what has made this team successful. Solid on-base skills. Also, if I remember correctly he rakes at Wrigley Field too!

Maybe we should start a "Free Brian Giles" campaign to get his out of the Titanic which is the San Diego Padres.

Am I being redundant here? DId I miss a discussion of Giles elsewhere? Thoughts?

I just read this article via our favorite website (www.mlbtraderumors.com):

http://eastwindupchronicle.com/east-prospect-watch-lee-hak-ju/

It seems we signed the next Derek Jeter, albeit a lefthanded hitter and Korean.

I am not sure about everyone else, but it is nice to see us getting him. Hopefully he pans out like Jeter did for the Yankees or he could be the next Hee Seop Choi.  Has anybody else heard anything here? I am tired of talking about Edmonds.

I am not sure if this is "diary-worthy" (Seinfeld pun intended), but I am going to run with it.

Can someone explain what the deal is with the Yankees considering to deal Hideki Matsui? And for a reliever?

Our favorite site has the story: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2007/12/yankees-bullpen.html

The Giants seem to be talking a couple of pitchers for him. That seems cheap.

Am I missing something, or does this appears like something we could/should follow up on as well?

Could an OF with both Matsui and Fukudome in RF & CF be viable or realistic? I know Matsui has played a little CF in NY and Fuku is supposedly capable. This also allows for us to deal Pie for pitching or to fill another hole as well.

For sake of refernce, Matsui's 2007 line: .285/.367/.488 plus 25 HR

I understand the talk about Fukudome for the RF hole - that seems like a no brainer and something that would greatly benefit the lineup.

But I am curious why there is no talk about using Pie as trade bait (Bedard? Santana?) and going after Jones for CF...I know his average was down but his power numbers were decent enough given he was on the Braves. Plus he is only 30 and only a year removed from a back-to-back 40 HR seasons.

I would feel a lot better about this lineup especially if Pie could be the centerpiece of a deal for another SP:

Soriano
Fukudome
Lee
Ramirez
Jones
DeRosa
Soto
Theriot

Sorry if this is redundant, but I could not find much talk about Andruw Jones anywhere.

Alrighty, I need a break from all the rumor-mongering that is going on here. So I went ahead and updated the 2007 Cubs on my XBOX on MVP Baseball 2005. Of course this was before the Daryl Ward acquisition. Sorry.

Anyways, the 2007 Cubs defeated the 2007 Houston Astros 7-3 last night behind 6 strong innings from Ted Lilly, who also struck out 10. Lilly outpitched Roy Oswalt, who we lit up for 7 runs. Lilly did give up solo HR to Carlos Lee and Jason Lane though.

The scoring was capped off by a Jacque Jones grand slam in the 6th inning. (I think he is making a case for staying now!) Soriano added an RBI single and Derosa an RBI double. Izturis was 3 for 4 as well in the 8th hole.

Also, Kerry Wood looked sharp coming in to close the game out in the 9th inning after following Neal Cotts in the 7th and Michael Wuertz in the 8th. Cotts gave up a solo HR as well though.

Anyways, have fun with this.

I am hearing that the Cards are now in on the pursuit of Jason Schmidt. This rumor can also can be found here.

I know we have had plenty of Schmidt diaries, but to me this is different now that the red birds might be involved. All the more reason to get him.

I am not too excited about us landing Lilly for $10-12 million while watching St. Louis come away with Schmidt. Lilly is a waste in my opinion. It would have been better to have brought Maddux back for the amount we are rumored to be considering on Lilly.

CBS Sportsline reports that Alfonso Soriano has rejected their contract offer to him effectively confirming he will not return to the Washington.

The offer was for 5 years and $70 million.

Does this mean we need to offer more, or that he just really does not want to play in Washington next season?

As I am sitting here watching the Red Sox-Yankees on ESPN, I keep seeing Tony Pena on the bench there in the Yankee dugout. For one, I had forgotten that he was coaching there now, and secondly I was wondering about people's opinions of him as a possible managerial candidate to replace Dusty.

I honestly do not remember if Tony Pena was even on Al's poll awhile back there, and do not remember much of his brief stint with the Royals other than they had one good run at the AL Central.

So, I am looking for thoughts on Mr. Pena as a possible candidate for managing the Cubs next year if we are not blessed with the return of Dusty's Gang.

P.S. I hope Jeremy Papelbon can be anywhere near what is brother is looking like so far tonight getting out of that jam! 98-99 mph with 90 mph splitter and slider! Insane.

Alrighty, I believe this has been discussed multiple times in other diaries, but I do not remember a diary about it specifically.

As I sit here tonight watching the ESPN game between the Phillies and Mets listening to probably the worst announcer, Joe Morgan, I cannot help but feel a growing sense of frustration about the development of Cubs position players over the years. We seem to be alright at developing pitching prospects, but the position players are frankly killing us.

What a blessing to watch 4 of the best young players in this game - David Wright, Jose Reyes, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard. These guys are good. To hear that the Mets have locked up both Reyes and Wright through 2012 or so is a scary thought when it comes to being competitve in the NL.

What exactly is the Cubs problem in this area and how can this problem be eliminated? ?

Is it how we draft young talent?

Is it who coaches them in the minors?

Is it how and when we choose to move them through the system?

Who determines this development and what needs to change?

The bottom line is that we cannot always sit back and hope for a free agent to fill a spot, especially since we never sign the ones who could help or want to be here (read Ivan Rodriguez, Miguel Tejada, Carlos Beltran, etc.)

The core seems to be there for a solid team over the next couple seasons - Zambrano, Lee, Ramirez, Barrett, Howry, Eyre, <cough> Prior, and Pierre if he is kept.

I just think it is going to be too difficult to build a team without developing some guys on our own.

Sorry for the long post, but had to get them out somewhere, and my wife would have just nodded and said, "I'm sorry."

Our favorite rumor monger has reported that the Braves placed Andruw Jones on waivers. Now he can veto a deal, but wouldn't he look nice in CF next season, with Pierre shifting over to LF?

Unfortunately there is probably no chance of making a deal for him, but should we put in a waiver claim and see what happens?

Speaking of all this waiver waire talk, look who the Boston Red Sox just placed on waivers according to rotoworld.com, our old pal Hee Seop Choi.

I say we get rid of Nevin the same way and bring Choi back to play first. I mean, come on, we passed on Jim Thome because the job was all Choi's a few years ago when things were happier. Let us complete the circle.

Now a lot of folks have talked about adding Mr. Abreu to the Cubs for awhile. Rotoworld is reporting:

"ESPN's Jayson Stark believes the Yankees will acquire Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle from the Phillies for 2005 first-round pick C.J. Henry and right-hander Steven White."

This doesn't seem like a ton to get him now, does it? (Although I do not know these two prospects very well.)

Is this a chance for us to add Abreu?

Or should we just move on since there is nothing to see here?

Did anyone else see this recent article?

I did not know that we traded Mark Prior to another team? What exactly did we get in exchange for Prior? I better have been something along the lines of a Miguel Tejada.

Here is the recent article about his new team and contract extension:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/50033

Amazing that he could command this much money though!

So much for Cubs being the frontrunner for the young Pena:

From rotoworld.com -
According to ESPNDeportes.com, the Mets have signed 16-year-old catcher Francisco Pena to a minor league contract with a $750,000 bonus.
Francisco is the son of Yankees coach and former big-league catcher Tony Pena and the brother of Braves prospect Tony Pena Jr. He's supposed to be a very good defensive catcher and a promising hitter. The Mets could announce the signing next week. Jul. 9 - 9:05 pm et

Ok, I am with most everyone on cleaning the proverbial Cubs' house yesterday - despite the nice game, Rusch needs to go, Neifi should not be here any longer, Nevin needs to be shown the door, Williamson has worn out his welcome, but then there is Pierre.

If we do gut this team, should we deal Pierre?

1. He is finally coming on like he is capable.
   
2. Who bats lead-off next year?

I am leaning towards getting him locked up for at least next year now because I do not want us scrambling for a lead-off man again. I think Pierre has enough left for a couple seasons to justify locking him up. It would be one less piece to take care of in the off-season. Plus, it would make the trade to get him have some additional value.

What does everyone think here? Am I correct or crazy or both?

I am reading all over rotoworld.com about other teams signing Latin American prospects up.

Examples (from http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playernews.asp?sport=MLB):
1. Nationals signed shortstop Esmailyn Gonzalez to a minor league contract with a $1.4 million bonus.
Gonzalez, 16, agreed to terms on the first day Latin American prospects are eligible to sign. The Nationals compared Gonzalez's glove to Ozzie Smith and say he could potentially have the bat of a Miguel Tejada. They added that he's working on a cure for cancer that should be completed within the next couple of months. Jul. 2 - 4:03 pm et

2. Red Sox signed outfielder Engel Beltre and shortstop Moises Tejeda to minor league contracts.
Beltre reportedly received a $600,000 bonus and Tejeda got $550,000. The 16-year-olds were ranked second and fourth, respectively, on ESPN's ranking of the newly available Latin American prospects. Beltre is a left-handed hitter and center fielder with power potential. Tejeda is a toolsy shortstop with a big-time arm. Jul. 3 - 3:01 pm et

3. Yankees signed catcher Jesus Montero to a minor league contract.
Montero, 16, was regarded as perhaps the top player eligible to be signed out of Latin America this year. To win the bidding, the Yankees gave him a bonus in the $2 million-$2.2 million range. He's reported to have terrific power potential, but he probably won't be able to stay behind a plate. First base could be his future home. Jul. 3 - 1:47 pm et

My question is where are the Cubs in all of this? I can understand Boston and New York, but Washington? We have to compete with them.

Are we really lacking as much as it seems we are in scouting and signing Latin American players? Same really goes for Japanese players. Am I missing something here or is this not a major concern?

Lot of reports out there about either of these guys being available. I know there is a lot of talk about Carlos Lee or Carl Crawford - both of whom would look great in a Cubs uniform, but I think we should try and wait until the off-season to sign Carlos Lee and that Crawford would be too pricey.

What about focusing on either Jones or Tejada if reports are true about them being available? Andruw Jones would look nice in CF, and Atlanta may need to move him soon.

There has been a lot of talk here about blowing up this team and rebulding, but we need something other than just Lee to build around offensively.

It seems that Ryan Freel is struggling a bit over in Cincy. Maybe now is the time to scoop him up.

I know, I know, all we need is another light hitting 2B, but he has been mentioned here numerous times and seems like a nice "buy low" candidate for us. He is a real sparkplug and we could use that. Wonder what it would take.

Anybody else have any "buy low" kind of guys out there you can think of to help either the remainder of this year or into next?

Isn't it sad when even Jeff Conine has hesitations about coming to play 1B for us?

I mean the guys is hitting .211 in Baltimore.

Have we fallen this far?

From Rotoworld.com
Jeff Conine told FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal that he wasn't sure whether he'd be willing to accept a trade to the Cubs. Since he was signed as a free agent, Conine has no-trade protection until June 15. "They're one of those (historic) franchises, like the Yankees and Red Sox," Conine said of the Cubs. "Even with all their futility, the passion that (Cubs fans) have for baseball is pretty amazing. Wrigley (Field) is a pretty cool place." It was reported last week that the Cubs were interested in Conine, but the Orioles weren't looking to make a move just yet. May. 3 - 1:23 am et

Any thoughts on picking up Carlos Pena once the Yanks do not bring him up on May 2nd? According to rotowire.com he has an out clause in his contract and they speculate he may use it to fill in for D-Lee:

"Pena has a clause in the minor league contract he signed with the Yankees that allows him to become a free agent by May 2nd if the Yankees haven't added him to their active roster, the Booth Newspapers report.

This should mean Pena will be in the majors by May 2nd as he would likely exercise his option for free agency to sign with the Cubs, who lost Derrek Lee for two months due to injury, if the Yankees don't promote him."

I posted these elsewhere but thought it might be better to consolidate them here about last night's game, although Mark's was good! =)

I was at the game last night, and we looked hapless at the plate - give the credit to Lowe and Saito, as they looked very good. Why do we not jump on some of these Japanese guys for the bullpen?

Speaking of the bullpen, I was impressed with Eyre, but unimpressed with Howry and Ohman.

Overall, we beat ourselves by walking too many batters - Zambrano was all over the place, but as Al put it, he did appear more "settled" down, even if he worked extremely fast.

How come there has been no mention of Neifi's stellar defensive play in the 9th? Too bad he could not get the ball out of the IF, or hit his way out of a paper sack for that matter.

My question was, why did Dusty not have Neifi bunt with no one out and runners on 1st and 3rd? Mabry was coming up, and that could have put 2 in scoring position. Also, would have made for a nice squeeze play, although we know what Dusty thinks of those.

Lots of Cubs fans at Chavez Ravine though as usual, unfortunately I had to sit next to the big hispanic guy who thought he was funny by making South Side and White Sux references while also giving play by play out loud like the White Sux announcers. He LOUD! You can SHUT your mouth, YES!

And for a word about Dodger stadium and its fans...

#1 BEACH BALLS:
Dodger fans are obsessed with their Beach Balls - YES, they were booing quite often when someone would hit the beach ball over the edge or a stadium person would take them away.

#2 THE WAVE:
Dodger fans are pathetic.

They also have a knack for deciding to start the wave during the intense parts of the game when they should be watching and cheering. Last night it was 1st and 3rd for LA and no one out and they are pissed because some people would rather watch the game than pay attention when they are supposed to do the wave. Pathetic.

#3 THE COMMERCIALS:
Do not get me started on the commercials between innings on the jumbotron. I go to games to avoid commercials.

I loved being able to go to Wrigley last week and having it to compare to Dodger Stadium this week, where I have to go to see my Cubs. A good reminder.

So, what are the opinions on the new bleachers from today's game? I am coming out to Chicago from CA for Tuesday's game versus Cincy and want to know where to sit.  I have not been out there in the bleachers for about 10 years!

Any recommendations?

Where do any of you regulars like to sit?

How early should I be there to pick a decent seat?

Thoughts on this rumor from our favorite website (www.mlbtraderumors.com):

Cubs/Red Sox/Mariners Trade Possible
A reliable source told me today about a three-way deal that is "imminent."  It's always risky to throw around "imminent," but I'm just quoting him here.

Here's the scenario:

BOS gives: Bronson Arroyo, Tony Graffanino, PTBNL

BOS gets: Jeremy Reed, Will Ohman

CHC gives: Corey Patterson, Ohman

CHC gets: Raul Ibanez, Graffanino, cash

SEA gives: Reed, Ibanez, cash

SEA gets: Arroyo, Patterson, PTBNL