Wonder how much this will actually help the bullpen.... It's may help to have an experienced veteran in there, but Im not sure if this was the right route to go....... I didnt even know that Howry was available! We could have brought up someone from the minors, in my opinion. But that doesn't really count! What's your thoughts on this move?

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100521&content_id=10278286&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc&partnerId=rss_chc

 Well, it looks like the Seattle Mariners didn't get a chance to talk with Jim Hendry. I saw on ESPN news this morning that Jim Hendry and the Cubs agreed on a three year deal.

 This, in my opinion, completes the "five year plan", the Cub's front office set a couple of years ago when  they signed Derrek Lee. The only one I think has a contract that exceeds that is Soriano.

 I like this deal. Not too long and not too short. Hendry is in his prime and teamed with Piniella, I think sky's the limit... unless the new owners disagree.

http://www.prosportsdaily.com/comments/hendry-close-to-extension--162012.html

What do you guys think? Poll coming....

I've learned some very sad news today. As many of you may have heard, Paul Newman passsed away at age 83. In my opinion, it is always sad to see somene go, especially one of the greats in the movie industry.

(I figured I'd start a FanPost due to the fact that Paul is a legend and due to the fact that every BCB'er probably has seen at least one of his movies.)

Here's a link from an article:

http://www.turnto23.com/entertainment/17571763/detail.html

My wife found this video. I say fake. Anyone can confirm this?

http://www.funnyjunk.com/movies/1455/How+Does+She+Make+That+Catch/

If not, Hendry, get this beast!

Have to get to seventy five words..... wish this would change so everyone doesn't have t oread text like this all the time!!!!!! Still not at seventy five words, gotta be getting close now..... nope... still need ten more words..... almost there... need four more... yes!!!

I know it's early, but how serious is this? How much will this hurt the team? Only good thing I can say is that when he went down with the calf injury, the Cubs did fine without him. But if he's out for a spell, do we dare go after a true leadoff guy? Or do we look at the farm system? Again, I know it's early, but just curious what you all think.

Before everyone freaks out saying this is only June, I jus twanted to know what people's opinions are.

I think we will lose one of Eyre or Howry. I think Dempster stays at an inflated price. Cendeno will replace Theriot, as much as I hate to say it. Wood will stay but not as closer. I'll sleep on it and post more later. Wife wants me to shut off computer and go to bed.

 I can't get some oof the posts to work, but if you look at the Padres news on this site:

http://www.prosportsdaily.com/mlb/padres/

You'll see a couple of links to the story. Here's some other links that I got to work:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h_j-Rm94kXiyI0ABLFizagzk8WGgD90N47U80

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080516&content_id=2712769&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Does this sound familiar? From MLB.com:

"Prior experienced discomfort in his shoulder while preparing for a bullpen session while at the Padres Spring Training facility in Arizona."

Prior was my favorite player. I hated to see the Cubs let him go. But Hendry, the Cub's staff knew what they were doing. Kudos to them. 

It seems as though The Big Hurt has been released due to his poor performance. The funny thing to me is that they paid him the remainder of his salary. They must have wanted that roster spot.

Kinda crappy if you ask me. He's a future HOF'er and he led the team in RBIS and HRS last year. Think of fan reaction if we released D Lee (typically a slow starter) in previous years or Soriano (his slow start this year)!

Here's a link to the article:

 http://www.thestar.com/Sports/Baseball/article/416530

Man! Just when the Cubbies have an offesive outburst, I can't see crap! I'd rather listen to WGN radio, in this case. I'm beginning to like comcast sports Chicago! time to head over to Cubs.com. Wow. I didn't realize that we're back at the minimum word or character limit again.  I sure hope the picture returns soon! (Al, sorry for the add on! But I just wanted to vent!)

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080323-national-league-central-teams,1,6935467.story

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080323-national-league-central-predictions,1,4300091.story

 I thought these were nice reads. So how far off or how close do you think these predictions are?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that more than Soriano's contract? Anyhow, the Tigers seemed to lock him up long term. Any thoughts on this deal?

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080323/SPORTS02/803230664/1050

Let me start by saying, "I hate Jay Mariotti". There, I said it. He's a shock jock of the newspapers. He put up an article about the race between Marmol and Wood. Who would you choose?

Almost forgot the link:

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mariotti/847567,mariotti031808.article

Not sure if this has been posted in the 1,785,963 1/2 posts made on the subject.

 The Cubs made the deal a little bit sweeter for the Orioles. Rumors are that the Cubs send Ronny Cedeno, Sean Gallagher, Donald Veal, and  Jose Ceda. The Cubs get: you know who.

Link:

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/842384,CST-SPT-brian14.article

So is this a good deal?

Please note: if this has been posted or talked about somewhere else, or if this is old news, please don't flame me. If that's the case, Al, please delete this diary. Thanks guys.

I got this link from a football blog that I am a member of.

http://www.websiteoutlook.com

Here's some I checked:

 Bleed Cubbie Blue: $11,234.70
MLB Trade Rumors: $75314.10 (Holy Cow!)
 Google: $1.2 Billion
MLB.com: $2.87 Million
 Cubs.com: $1978.30
IMDB.com (independant movie data base): $75.28 Million
 Yahoo: $2.41 Billion
My Space: $401.5 Million
 Youtube: $602.25 Million
Sportsblog.com: $8468
 Amazon.com: $77.71 Million
Ebay: $120.45 Million
Wikipedia: $267.67 Million Any other notables you guys can think of?

Welcome back to the NL Central, boys. The Reds signed the two former Cubs to minor league contracts.
That's all we need. Two guys with a grudge. I'm worried more about Patterson. He could reignite his career under Baker and we would see him alot.
Sorry if this was brought up. I used the "BCB Search" and it turned up zero results.

 Sergio Mitre was pulled after facing three batters. He reportidly has pain in his elbow. But from the article I read, they seem hopeful that it's not serious. But I beg to differ. It seems to me that is more than that.
 I hope not. I have always liked Sergio. So for his sake, I hope he turns out alright. He seems to get the raw end of the deal.

http://www.miamiherald.com/591/story/438461.html

 Per Espn news, Kieth Law just gave his projected rookie of the year awards for the American League and National League.
 I didn't really catch who he had for the American League, but he said that he believes Soto will get it because he pretty much has a lock on his position. He believes that since he's in the position to play everyday, he has the best chance.
 He went on to say that since Soto hits for average, some power and the fact that he's a good defensive catcher, that can only help Soto's cause.
Thoughts?

 I swore that I wouldn't start another diary, but I found this article and I figured that everyone here a BCB will enjoy it also.
 As Al noted, pitchers and catchers report today, so that's definatly good news. I wonder if I have the three hundred character minimum yet?! Oh yeah, here's the link:

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080212-cubs-spring-training-roster-c hicago,1,6397208.htmlstory

 Look, I'm tired of the Roberts/Bedard to Cubs or Bedard to Cubs or Roberts to Cubs, ect... too.
But I stumbled across this article and it got me thinking.
 Seems as if the Cub's FO as well their fans are desperate after the Santana trade. Not me so much. (Remember what Zito was to be for the Giants). But is it possible that the Cubs need to make a move to trump the Mets?
 Greg Couch of the Sun Times sums it up best. This is a great way to put it: "''We continue to talk,'' Orioles president Andy MacPhail, who could do more for the Cubs right now than he ever did when he worked for them, told the Baltimore Sun. ''We've had some other clubs chime in, as well.''
 Yes, Any McPhail could help us out more now than when he was with the Cubs. So, is this a precursor to a Bedard/Roberts deal? Why is the deal to the Mariners stalled for the moment?

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/couch/769492,013108couchweb.article

Well, looks like the only guy that appears in the dictionary before aardvark, has been sent packing again. David Aardsma has been trade from one Sox to the other Sox according to our favorite site, he has been shipped to Boston for a couple of minor league pitchers. (I can't get the Boston Globe link to work) In news not related to the Cubs but related to the White Sox, the Sox have made a push for Bartolo Colon. You can find that here. My question is, if we took chances on Fox, Lieber, Dempster, why not take a chance on Colon?

 First and foremost, Happy holidays to everyone here at BCB. Hope the best for everyone and their family.
 Secondly, I'd like to wish the same for Al and Mark and their family. Al, I hope you find the joy that you give us all in the form of this site.
 In that respect, I'll close this out hoping that everyone gets what they ask for, I'm sure you all deserve it!!

 I got this via MLBTR. It's funny to see or read, for that matter, other's opinion on Prior. The first poster, "Drama" is in the same dreamland that we were all caught up in.
 Here's my favorite line:
"And it's not like we're putting all of our eggs in one basket here. There are plenty of options for the number 5 spot. Glendon Rusch, Justin Germano, Shawn Estes, Clay Hensley...all of these guys will be fighting for that 5 spot."

 Anyone notice that Rusch, Estes, and Prior are our scraps? Note to Padres fans: Buyer's beware. Google it.

 Looks like no trade for Josh Hamilton. He's now in the AL with the Rangers. I guess they gave up a good prospect for him.
 No suprise here, but looks like Prior is headed for the Padres. He supposidly will make his decision in 24-48 hours.
 The Brew Crew like Lofton. We all know about the Dontrelle Willis extension. There's a long list of free agents.
 Poll coming: Who would like to see Mench playing for the Cubs? I would.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

Great news!! Only a couple more years fo Piniella's predocessor. I live near Ft. Wayne, Indiana where the minor league team, The Fort Wayne Wizards play. I was gonna take the boys to the game where The Wizards played Sandberg's team. I couldn't make it. I wish I had... it was the first game that Sandberg was ejected as a manager. Here's the link: http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-071218cubsbrite,1,7224143.story?coll =cs-cubs-headlines

Hopefully Al will allow a thread where we can post CLEAN funny pictures.

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb311/fuzzy1729/bbonds.jpg

 This picture is hilarious! I'm not sure if it will post on this thread, I don't know how to post pictures on this site. Hopefully it works. If not, click on the link.

 According to MLBTR, nine teams are interested in Prior, according to his agent, John Boggs. Possiblities are The Reds, The Rangers, San Diego. The Astros have confirmed their interest in him.
 Prior was my favorite player. I just don't knoe what I am gonna do with my shirt that has his likeness on it. I would hate for him to go to an NL Central team and return to form.
 I know alot of people in BCB hate him. But injuries aren't any player's fault. Blame Baker, Hendry, and the Cub's brass for decieving the fans.

Forgot the links!

MLB Trade Rumors post

It hasn't been out yet, but....
The Bergen Record says that there are no Mets on it but several Yankees. Roger Clemens has been leaked. Actually his trainer obtained steroids.
My question is do their records fall or have an "*" next to it? Everyone wanted Bonds' record to have it. How about Clemens?

 With everyone wondering what's next, here's how I see it playing out.

 From our favorite site, MLBTR, the Cubs were not the highest bidder on Fukudome. Interesting. This probably has been pointed out.
 IMO, the Astros made the moves they made due to the signing of Fukudome. It seems that the "next highest power struggle" seems to be shifting between the Brewers and Astros. The Cardinals are just too old.
 I'd expect Hendry to wait for the non tenders and see what he can pick through. An interesting aquistion IMO would be the one time AL rookie of the year, Kevin Mench.I always have liked him, and his potential is promising. Sure he may be a righty, but he's a healthier version of Cliff Floyd.
 There's rumors (mostly what I've read from MLBTR) about the Mets being interested in Marquis. The Padres seem desparate, being interested in Jim Edmonds.
 Alot could happen within the next few days. Let's see what happens. I don't think there's much room left for the Cubs to improve. The positional player seem set for the next 4-8 years, respectivly. I can only see bullpen help.

Possible non tenders (short list):

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2007/08/2008-non-tender.html

Edmonds/Marquis rumors:
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/