I decided to delete the last fanshot for a couple reasons. That said, this still is news, particularly since clearing 40 man space is important now, so I decided to put it back up in case anyone wanted to discuss it.

Snyder leaving isn't that big of a shock, although I thought he had a borderline chance to stick around (since the upper levels of the Cubs system have few stopgap guys outside of the couple legitimate prospects). Of the minor league FA's that opted to leave (RHP Mitch Atkins/Jeff Gray, C Mario Mercedes and Mark Reed, corner IF/OF Russ Canzler/Scott McClain, Jason Dubois and Bryan LaHair) the only one that mildly has me disappointed is Russ Canzler. He was coming off a monstrous age 24 season in AA (.287/.372/.566) and had started to play 3rd and corner OF roles along with 1st base. That said, he had been in our system for a long time, and the chances are greater that 2010 was a fluke than a breakthrough. Furthermore, the chances of him getting a lot of AB's in AAA wasn't a guarantee despite his big year. It's probably a good move on his part. I don't think anyone will be surprised if Atkins/Canzler land with the Stockstills in Baltimore, although who knows.

Mercedes/Reed were, for the most part, well-regarded for their receiving skills, but they didn't have much offense and they were blocked by a lot of catchers from really having much of a future (Chirinos/Castillo/Robinson/Clevenger/Brenly/Flores) with Gibbs close behind and likely to pass them sooner than later.

Nothing significant in any of these moves. As of now, AAA, positionally, is shaping up to be rather intriguing in 2011. Spencer/Tony Thomas/Marquez smith/Brandon Guyer/tony Campana/Chirinos or Castillo should form the makings of a good lineup. The chances seem rather high that the Cubs will add a corner IF/OF FA ... a Brad Snyder type of guy ... to the mix (and Bruce Miles has indicated that the Cubs are open to him coming back, but are letting him explore his other options). Not a load of talent positionally, but enough guys who could ... and let me choose my words carefully here ... potentially find a cup of tea in the bigs. AA is where we have more positional talent, or at least, intriguing positional prospects, with Brenly, Vitters, LeMahieu, Flaherty, Lake, Brett Jackson potentially starting there. A long way to go, though.

He's now a FA. This isn't that surprising, but it is news, and I haven't seen it anywhere else yet, so using Bruce Miles' blog as a link. Anyhow, there simply was, IMO, zero chance that the Cubs were going to pay Angel the amount of money he likely would've gotten.

*Misread post initially - he is back on a minor league deal, with a NRI to ST. It's easy to remember the hype on Angel, but he really hasn't been that impressive in the bigs. I think he'll have a shot to battle for a middle relief job, as the team could use a power arm, but he's probably in the same mix as a Marcos Mateo type right now.

Did a quick search and didn't see this mentioned, so I thought it merited a fanshot. Anyhow, as the title states, Ricketts reportedly interviewed Wedge.

What's more interesting to me is that the article states that he's already interviewed Sandberg and Quade. Been a tad busy of late, so maybe that was already news, but for me, it'd be interesting when the Sandberg interview happened because of the letter that he wrote and the positive comments on Quade in it. Anyhow, sounds like the finish line is nearing.

BJax 8th, Archer 9th. Keep in mind that these lists are compiled through the people in those leagues, so that accounts for different placements. Guyer gets in at 14th.

Mildly surprised that the ranking for Guyer.

Castro didn't qualify, otherwise he would've been at or near the top. BA chat later today.

Been away, don't think the BA FSL list was discussed.

Archer 2nd, Brett Jackson 7th, Kenny McNutt didn't have enough innings to qualify for their list. Review on Archer was excellent in stuff - plus fastball (velo jump), plus slider, promising change. They questioned if Jackson would be a star, but suggested that he's a very complete player with some thought that he could hit .300. I like BJax better than a couple guys ahead of him.

It was a loaded year in the MWL. 2 Cubs ranked in the top 20 - Trey McNutt at 7, and Lee at 13.

I respect the heck out of McNutt's ranking - I thought they would leave him a bit more behind, but he deserves it. Mid-90's heater, good curve, decent change, solid control. Cubsfan has argued that he is a better prospect than Archer, and there is definitely a case for it.

I respect the heck out of Lee's ranking as well. I thought they might slide him higher, but this is very fair.

Other MWL guys of note -

Matt Cerda - If I did "future rosters", he'd be my 2nd baseman of the future right now. Excellent discipline, good "hit tool", and has some pop (not a lot, but enough to scare). He could be ... a better Mike Fontenot. His defense at 2nd is reportedly solid enough. I hope the Cubs shift Cerda to FT 2nd, and Watkins to utility player.

Nick Struck - Young, athletic righty was one of my possible sleeper/breakouts entering the year. Had a solid season. got worried when I heard from several people that he was hitting only upper 80's, but Nate Baliva, PChiefs broadcaster, indicated that he was in the low 90's most of the year, topping out around 93. That's good. Solid secondary stuff for age/development, and could add some more zip as he physically matures.

Whitenack/Jung/Antigua - all had solid enough seasons to warrant keeping an eye out for them, although all 3 likely profile as end of the rotation types if they develop enough.

Jae-Hoon Ha - Korean OF was initially tried at catcher, but that didn't work. Loads of tools. Hit well in Peoria, but some discipline issues. I'm still a bit wary, but there's a lot to like if he becomes more patient.

Wallach/Lopez joined late. Brett has been discussed, and he's an intriguing arm with some mid-rotation potential. Robinson Lopez has an excellent fastball, but a lot of work needed on the secondary stuff.

Frank Batista - If there's a sleeper arm/breakout arm for 2011, Batista would rank high. Mid-90's heat with a good slider.

Not the most surprising thing, as Boise wasn't exactly prospect laden this year. The most intriguing guy who got a solid number of AB's there is probably Arismendy Alcantara, who AzPhil over at TCR recently said was a shortstop who had a plus arm, plus range, and some pop potential.

Micah Gibbs offensive struggles were going to hurt him in prospect rankings. If he finds some offense, he's at least got a shot to be a backup backstop. Pin-Chieh Chen and Kyung-Min Na are speedy up the middle guys, but both have offensive work to do to move up.

Eliot Soto has offensive issues, while Pierre LePage's ceiling is limited.

On the pitching side, a lot of semi-intriguing arms there, like Brent Ebinger and Cam Greathouse, although both project more as end of the rotation lefties if they develop, otherwise they may be pen arms. Aaron Kurcz is being stretched out at instructs, and does have a mid-90's fastball to go with a good slider. Juan Yasser Serrano was a hyped Cuban signing, but IMO, was rather disappointing since coming over. Dallas Beeler has gotten a lot of hype this fall as a guy who has potential to get to the mid-90's while offering a solid 3 pitch arsenal. Guys like Fitzgerald and Jokisch deserve some more time. A personal sleeper is Matt Loosen, although his ceiling is limited.

Larry Suarez was the big LA signing a couple moons ago, but hasn't panned out. Jordan Latham had a DUI and missed last year, and was disappointing this year.

If there was a surprise, it was that Austin Kirk didn't make it. Not sure what to make of that.

I'll admit when I'm wrong. Nothing's set in stone yet, but for those of you hoping for Adam Dunn (count me in the middle ground somewhere ... depends on years/AAV), the chances seem to be growing. The week or two prior to this mostly suggested Dunn returning to DC. I hadn't seen this article until now (h/t MLBTR), but the news in the DC area the past few days seems to be suggesting that Rizzo and Co. will let Dunn test FA.

That said, as the article notes, the one guy that wants Dunn back in DC is the one guy that can really make it happen ... the owner. That said ... all indications are that Rizzo has the freedom to make the moves he wants to, so if this article, and other news in the DC area is correct, then Dunn might very well reach FA, which would be a mild shocker from where things were a few days ago.

Not the biggest news, but Bob pulls his name out of consideration for the Cubs job.

Still hoping Quade gets the interim tag removed, although I'm warming up to the idea of Eric Wedge.

"1 Jose Iglesias Glove is MLB-ready and bat has potential 20.7 AA BOS SS n/a B-
2 Danny Espinosa Decent bet to turn into a MLB regular 23.4 MLB WAS SS 2B B-
3 Manny Machado Highest offensive upside on this list 18.2 SS BAL SS DH B-
4 Darwin Barney Good D & contact but won't hit for power 24.9 MLB CHC SS 2B C+
5 Hak-Ju Lee Not built for power; does everything else 19.9 A CHC SS n/a C+"

Project Prospect is a fairly solid site that offers a unique voice and places higher emphasis on floor than many other rankings ... but let's just say that, while I agree with their blurb on Darwin Barney, and while I think Barney, in the right situation, could be a starting shortstop in the bigs, I really don't view him as the 4th best overall shortstop prospect in the minors. That said, he has a strong glove and he'll make enough contact, particularly since he's a good breaking ball hitter that, if he found a better situation, you could envision him as a starter in the bigs (more for a 2nd tier squad).

They've come out with their 1st base and 2nd base lists so far, with no Cubs making it either in the rankings or HM at those two spots (not that surprising).

Prospect ranking season is slowly coming again, and BA kicks it off with their Arizona League Top 20. One Cub made the list, Austin Reed. He came in 11th overall, which admittedly surprised me a tad with how high it was, but some folks didn't qualify it seems. That said, he had a very good run in Arizona, and has good upside. The 12th round pick has some mechanical work to do, but he's a big athletic kid whose fastball should get better in time, and offers two decent secondary offerings. He's definitely someone to watch in 2011, and he probably has a shot to break with Peoria, although the chances may be higher that he goes some sort of XST/Boise/Peoria path.

I didn't expect any other Cubs on the list. I liked a couple other arms that were in Arizona, like Ryan Hartmann and Collin Richardson, but they'll take some more time. Wes Darvill and Dustin Geiger are two of the more intriguing bats down there, Geiger showing the capability to play 3rd and offering some power potential. Darvill's the lanky Canadian 5th round pick from last year who plays up the middle. He may profile best at 2nd down the line, although Arizona Phil over at TCR noted that Wes played with more confidence at short despite his weak arm. There's some athleticism and there's some hope for power down the line as well. He did struggle at Boise before getting sent to Arizona.

Sergio Burruel still holds some intrigue, although he's not good behind the plate and doesn't offer power yet. Pin-Chieh Chen could develop into a top of the order 2nd base type. There's some other raw positional assets. Two other arms to watch might be Luis Liria and Marcos Perez. Liria has, reportedly, a nice changeup to go with a low 90's fastball. Yao-lin Wang bounced back a bit after getting demoted from Boise, Dallas Beeler showed good polish and could move fast. There's some other raw arms, like Tzu-An Wang.

The lower levels of the system are fairly weak at the moment, but there's always some talent there if the Cubs can develop it.

In his blog today, in response to another poster's comment, he says that he believes Quade has the inside track. His exact comment today is below.

I believe he's got the inside track. The Cubs did not call him the "interim" manager. (Alas, all managerial jobs are interim, aren't they?) He's done a nice job. He's not afraid to follow his convictions. He's good with the media (believe it or not, clubs ask questions about media-relations in job interviews for prospective managers). Why not?

Two blog entries by Zrebiec, first on Pie and Luke Scott and then on Pie and Crowley

I was rather fascinated reading the article and blog entry on Felix Pie from Zrebiec. It makes it sound like Pie had huge attitude issues prior to getting called out, along with a sense of entitlement. I don't recall huge attitude problems while he was with the Cubs, as the reports from the minors, that I recall, were that he was a good teammate and hard worker. The article notes the work that the hitting coach put in, along with Felix Pie changing his own perspective and working harder.

The article does indicate that Pie felt a lot more comfortable once he got regular playing time, and certainly, getting jerked around here didn't really help him, but it was curious to me to read about these attitude issues. He hasn't been good enough to make me wonder "what if ...", but he's clearly a more consistent player than he was in his brief cup of tea here.

Nothing really new added to the information on the Cubs search. Quade will be involved, Sandberg is presumptive favorite, Wedge/Brenly/Gonzalez all mentioned. First time I've seen Listach definitively suggested as a candidate, unless I missed an article. Continues to suggest that this is completely Hendry's call, for those that think Ricketts may try to tilt the process (of course, the only people that can answer that won't be talking ... but considering that Ricketts has tried to let his baseball people do their thing so far, I'd be a tad surprised if he stepped in and forced Hendry to go a certain way).

Found a quote to be interesting. Doesn't mean squat unless things start getting better sooner than later, but it was interesting to hear Crasnick say

"Cubs general manager Jim Hendry is refraining from blow-by-blow updates. But he might be the most well-connected GM in the game ..."

Very pleased. I am very, very excited about Wells potential.

Not sure everyone's heard yet, but major moves in the Cubs system.

1. Brett Jackson to AA - Arguably the top prospect in the system right now, he's been on an absolute tear. He'll never be a low K guy, but he balances out his K's with a fairly high walk rate. Early in the season, the power wasn't there, but it's there in full force right now. This is a well-deserved move that's been anticipated for awhile.

2. Rafael Dolis to AA - The hard throwing youngster has had a decent season in A+. His arsenal, IMO, is better suited for the pen, and I anticipate he'll be shifted to pen duties at some point in the near future. This feels very much like the Jose Ceda plan of a couple years ago. Don't be surprised if he gets a surprise look in the bigs late in the year, as he does have a 40 man spot.

3. Kenneth "Trey" McNutt to A+ - He's certainly dominated the low A levels. This will be a nice test for him, although the bigger questions will come this offseason and next year in regards to how his arsenal (namely a change of some sort) develops.

4. Ty Wright to AAA - Solid system OF gets a nice bump up.

5. Oswaldo Martinez to A+. Someone has to get bumped down.

H/t to Craig over at NSBB.

I thought this was an interesting article to read, particularly as it gives us insight into process. There's a lot of, for lack of a better word, controversy, in regards to the Cubs selection of Simpson, particularly now that he has signed for way under-slot. At the end of the day, it was good for the Cubs to figure out what a player would want to sign for. The fact that Simpson went under-slot doesn't necessarily implicate the pick as a signability pick. A flaw in the scouting process? Only time will tell. But as someone once said, scouting pitchers is a difficult thing, particularly youngsters, because what you see one day isn't necessarily what is there the next day (or something to that ilk). We know what others saw about Simpson, and we know what the Cubs saw. Here's hoping Jim Crawford is prophetic.

The other interesting note in the article is that Simpson may only get 35 innings this year due to heavy workload in college. With so much of the season left ... it's hard to see 35 unless they start him in the pen and wait until next year to shift him to the rotation. That said, if he really has that much workload from this past season, then we should play it safe.

I think there's been discussion about it, but now that reports are trickling out that Nebraska to the Big 10 (making it the Big 12 I guess) is all but certain, I figured another thread would be alright.

What do people think? For me, I think it would be weird, but eventually a positive. Leave aside all the money aspects. The number of teams in these mega-conferences may allow for better matchups, and fewer lopsided matchups. I'd still like to see the MWC and others get into the BCS, though.

That said, there seems to be some talk that Armageddon may not happen, and the Big 12 inviting one more (TCU per Teddy Greenstein) to keep it stable.

On a side note, if Armaggedon happens and Kansas is left in the dust, I wonder why no one has suggested that Kansas try to join up with the ACC and their basketball history? Just a though that crossed my mind. Sure, it would be an odd, odd fit (and another team, maybe K State, might need to be added to make scheduling easier), but some of the conference connections seem odd, relative to how we look at our conferences now, anyways. I mean, rumors of the Big 10 pondering Maryland? That would seem awfully strange to me, if Maryland wasn't in the ACC.

Could be much ado about ... welll, not nothing, but could be just Nebraska moving and another school sliding into the Big 12. Sure has made for a lot of intriguing discussions.

Disappointing (in that, I had hoped with Jay Jackson in the pen, that would give Cashner another month or so starting) but expected. Honestly, they could push Cashner for another month as a starter and get close to 100 innings, and then shift him to the pen (he pitched around 120 this year, so 150 ish is a reasonable target, and thus, he'd have about 50 innings or so of pen work from July and on in that scenario).

That said, this was an expected move. I've been saying for awhile that I think we'll get Jay Jackson in early June and Cashner sometime thereafter.