"I'd put a 70/Medium on Cespedes, which would put him in the 7-15 range on our overall Top 100 Prospects list"

"Cespedes would be an easy No. 1 prospect for any of the teams that J.P. mentioned."

I hope the Cubs can sign this guy.

I'm surprised no one has posted this yet. I saw that Al tweeted it, but wouldn't mind some conversation about what Goldstien wrote.

From my perspective, was glad to see Jackson a five star prospect. I was more than a bit surprised that McNutt slipped to 8th and that the conversation has switched to him being a reliever more than a starter. Wellington Castillo 3? Seems like a real high ranking for a backup/potential starting catcher. I also haven't heard too much about Marco Hernandez around here

Though it looks like there might be some rain tonight in St Louis, I don't think there's enough of a real possibility to cancel the game at this point. Also, it should clear up by 7:00. It gives the pitchers one more day to rest and may change the match-ups.

I disagree with this decision by MLB.

I'm speechless and grateful that I'm not a White Sox fan. I can't believe they actually won a World Series.

I'm sure he won't, but I'd love to see him have to spend some time in jail for this (more than just one night).

If there is someone most likely to leave because Hendry is gone, it probably is Maddux who was a special asst to Hendry. It seems that his responsibilities were pretty nebulous as it was. My guess is that Ricketts would probably rather keep him than not, but he would leave it to the discretion of the next GM, if Maddux even wants to stay with the team.

Also ... head scratcher:

"Maddux is eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot in 2013, and most certainly will be inducted in 2014."

Is he trying to imply that Maddux won't be a first ballot HoFer?

I thought this was a good, quick write-up of some of the experienced GM's out there.

However, about Friedman ... Last night I was listening to one of the sports radio shows and I learned something about Friedman I didn't know. Not only is the potential ownership group for the Astros seemingly interested in bringing Friedman as the next GM, but if that deal falls through, Friedman's father is leading a group that may be the next in line to purchase the Astros.

If that's the case, I doubt that Friedman does anything until that situation is sorted out. If the sale is finalized soon, then maybe the Cubs could be in play with the new owners of the Astros for Friedman's services, but if not, I think the Cubs have to wait as well. It wouldn't be a good idea to have a GM whose father is the majority owner of a rival team in the division.

Offhand, this doesn't look like much of a haul for the White Sox. A starting pitcher and utility guy for a very good reliever and starting pitching depth? Does this mean that the market for relievers is high? If so, that could be a good turn of events for the Cubs.

It looks like jackson is then going to StL for Rasmus though it didn't say if Toronto is adding any others.

I don't normally think that Rogers is all that informational, but I actually think this article is pretty good. The only thing I disagree (vehemently) with is that he feels the Cubs should pursue Pujols. I think its huge mistake and I'd rather agree with Bruce Levine that Fielder is the right guy for them.

Also, who is Ronald Guzman? Just saw a video of him. Looks like quite the potential hitter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3HXdeqX8DU

A bit of a fluff piece, for sure, but it talks about some things that I believe. Though Morosi doesn't come out and explicitly say it, he does concede that over the course of the next 7-8 years, Fielder may be a better player than Pujols. I'll go further and say that I think he will be. And he will be cheaper.

This article just makes me want Fielder even more to be the Cubs 1Bman next season.

"Sensible teams pay for anticipated future performance, not simply past success."

One of the things I really like about baseball as opposed to other sports is that the other team is viewed as the opponent, not "The Enemy". I really do enjoy that they can compete, but still be cordial, and even more than cordial on occasion.

Pujols is a class act. In addition, the respect that Hendry has around the league by players should not be dismissed.

I still don't want the Cubs to sign Pujols though. I'll give it a few more months to determine whether I think Hendry should stay or not.

I think this is good news for the Cardinals in their bid to keep Pujols. This works out to a 7 year deal at $22M per. Sure, Pujols will get a premium on top of that, but it seems that the market for big hitting first baseman is around $22M a year with the exception of the $25M signed by Howard because he accepted less years.

My guess is that the Cardinals will find the money to keep him especially since it seems that a jump from $22M for Gonzalez to $30M and over for Pujols is unrealistic.

So where does Fielder fit into all of this? More or less than A-Gon?

As far as I'm concerned, best of luck to Prior. I'm glad he had a good spring training.

Well, the championship parade has to be delayed for yet another year. Max Ramirez has been put on waivers. How can this team compete with Koyie Hill as the backup catcher? Damn you Jim Hendry! Damn you Mike Quade!

I saw this in a chat with Bruce Levine and I was wondering if I missed something along the way. I had not heard that Samardzija is no longer being considered for the rotation. If true, I guess this means that a right handed reliever is his ceiling at this point.

Northside Mo (Chicago)

Hey Bruce, what do you think about Samardzija not having a shot at the rotation? Seems like he made good progress in AAA last season with the intent of having a shot this season. Why cut it short?
Bruce Levine (1:21 PM)

I'm not a fan of how Samardzija has been handled. I think the Cubs showed they really don't have a handle on what his ability really is. And who he should be. This it the third or fourth change of job description for Samardzija. It's been a detriment to his ability to get better.

Nice article in the Tribune today regarding Dallas Green's thoughts on the Tucson tragedy. Thought you'd be interested.

Tragically funny, that is! As far as I'm concerned, the sausage got what it deserved for being a Brewer fan in the first place.

Just kidding. I'm glad that no one got hurt.

With the retirement of Thomas, it seems that the 2014 class is going to be quite good. Maddux, of course, will be a first ballot selection, but I find the other names interesting as well. Glavine is a maybe. Thomas is a maybe. I have a hard time seeing Kent or Mussina making it on the first go around.

This, I think, would be and absolute steal for the White Sox. They unload Konerko and get back one of the top firstbasemen in baseball. Moving from Petco to Comiskey should add a few HR's on his total straight away. The article also mentions that the White Sox may be including Tyler Flowers, Jordan Danks, and Daniel Hudson in the package to the Padres. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that any of these players are "Top Tier" talent. I can't believe that some other team couldn't put together a better package than what the White Sox can offer.

In any event, I'd like to hear how this wouldn't be a major coup for the White Sox.

I hope the Cubs make a serious attempt at this guy. He has unbelievable stuff not unlike Stephen Strasburg. I just hope he doesn't end up with the White Sox.

However, the more I think about this, there's no way the Cubs could outlay the cash it would take to get him with the current ownership situation. Perhaps if Chapman takes a few months before he signs anywhere.

I have never been bothered by these people in any way shape or form. I can understand if you don't want them within the confines of Addison, Clark, Waveland, and Sheffield, but a two block ban is ridiculous. This reminds me of when Bill Wirtz said that people couldn't bring in a bag of peanuts into the UC anymore because he wanted the peanut concessions. This seems like a money grab for the Cubs and quite petty. And to think they have Tunney on a leash like this.

If it weren't for the WBC, we'd be starting the season this week. With the snow throughout the Midwest, we'd more than likely be having to re-schedule games. This would have been the second year in a row. Perhaps MLB should consider later starts from now on?

This is certainly more proof that Peavy will become a Cub very shortly. It is nice to see that Maddux did land a job though.

I'm sure that logistics played a crucial role in his decision, but I really wish he was an instructor in the Cubs organization rather than anywhere else.