For the record, Patterson did not come up strong. 2003 was his 4th year in the league. He came up in 2000 for a small stint and hit .166. In 131 at bats in 01' he hit 221 and in his first full season in 02' he hit .253.

And of all the options I've heard, I'd have to say Wilkerson would be my choice for CF. Either him or Pagan, but I like having a guy like him coming off the bench. Finley is too old and way past his prime. Church?? I can't even comment on this bc I don't see ANY logic in it at all.

GO HAWKS !!!!

I think history shows that having Soriano at second would be a train wreck defensively.

agustin -

You said, "as for Pagan, if you let him play on a daily basis and does'nt get hurt; you probably won't get to see Pie too soon in the Bigs."

My response is... good. You can never have too much young, cheap talent. If Pie is as good as he says, there are lots of options for what to do when he's ready to make it in the Bigs. Trade him, or trade Pagan, or trade Murton. On the less likely side, you could shift Soriano back to second (eep! on defense) and DeRosa to the bench.

The only thing I don't see as an option is not playing Pagan solely for fear that he'll turn into a star. If he did, and Pie did, that's a problem that every general manager in baseball would love to have.

I agree with you guys (Jon and Trevor) give Pagan a chance in center, I loved what I saw from him last year.

I have no problem with Pie in CF next year, assuming the Cubs think he's ready. I think an outfield of Murton-Pie-Soriano would be fine. We wouldn't have to count on Pie to hit, just field. Murton CAN hit.

This is of course, if we trade Jones, which I still think will happen.

A lineup like this can do a lot of damage:

Soriano

Izturis

Lee

Ramirez

Barrett

Murton

DeRosa

Pie

And, you never know, Pie could come up like Patterson, where he hit .298 before he got injured in 2003...

However, I think this is more of a second half lineup (I think they will probably give Pie a chance then). But, I can't see Jones playing for the Cubs in 2007: They have Murton in left, and Soriano in right, unless they play Jones in CF...

Im looking for a Jones/Ohman deal (or something like that to happen)

BTW,

Soriano will lead off. It was guaranteed to him by JH and Lou when he signed.

If we had signed Lofton, he would have batted 2nd. Maybe that is why he didn't want to sign with us...if we really did try...

Lofton is 40 years old! We have Pagan, soon Pie and maybe Patterson. Jones may stay put here from what we know right now. Murton, won't play center, but will play in the outfield. I don't think we have anything to worry about for now in terms of our outfield. Hey, maybe Spenry has something up his sleeve, you know with that time in the hospital, he's been thinking. I don't mean to make light of Hendry's illness. GO CUBS!

No way Jones has the same Range or even close to Pierre. They are night and day on defence. Pierre was always in position and got to almost every ball hit near him. Pierre might even have a better arm. (ouch)

With all the options out there I would rather put Pagan in center. Maybe even sign Bernie Williams to platoon with him.

Statistically, Jacque Jones will be a offense upgrade to Pierre and not much different on defense. Even though he can't throw he has fair range and a respectable bat. Platoon him and Pagan in Center, Soriano and Murton in the corners. Murton does not need Floyd or anybody to keep him from developing...he has proven enough to be a regular starter. As for Pagan, if you let him play on a daily basis and does'nt get hurt; you probably won't get to see Pie too soon in the Bigs. He is that good, plus we don't want Pie to be the next Corey Patterson because of the high expectations. He needs more Triple A. Now Corey was nominated for the best comeback player and well deserved! I just think we don't need to loose our investment on either one of our last year rookies[Marshall etc.] for a Ryan Church????

This pitchers will surface after that harsh experience. See ya guys! Go Cachorros de Chicago!

I would be fine with Pagan in CF. You can't put Jones on the bench so he has to be traded. He would do well defensively but on offence I am not sure. He could be very good. Has speed, power and he can hit if given at bats.

I'd say make do with Pagan unless something unexpected comes up. Don't pull Pie up until we know he's ready. So yeah, basically I agree with everything Jon just said. :)

It's not as simple as "Lou can deal with one rookie in his lineup." The Cubs, as a team, will very likely be able to survive one rookie. Will the rookie be able to survive the Cubs?

Look at Patterson. Regardless of what you think of him, it's pretty obvious that the fans drove him out of Chicago and probably deeper into a slump than he would have been had he not gotten booed on his home field. If Pie struggles, will the fans force another top prospect out of the organization for nothing in return?

Similarly, it's pretty clear to me that Pie still has some developing to do. His average is a bit low, his base stealing was mediocre (but looks like it's coming along), etc. Is bringing him to the Majors prematurely going to stunt his growth as a player, even if everybody is immensely supportive?

I think the general consensus is another year at AAA is ideal for Pie. If that's what the Cubs' baseball people are saying, that's what we should do. If we could tolerate a year of Pie in center, we could tolerate a year of Pagan--and that's assuming all other free-agent and trade options fall through or are otherwise undesirable.

I think the Cubs will now give Pie every chance to win the job out of Spring Training.

If I was a GM, and I just bought the biggest position free agent (Soriano) and a bunch of other free agents, and you were a well-paid and big-time coach...then I think asking you to make do with 1 rookie in your lineup is fair.

Yes, Lofton was originally in the Houston system and I believe he was dealt to Cleveland for the immortal Eddie Taubensee (one of the top catching prospects in the game at the time).

I think at this point JH may wait on the CF spot until spring training unless a nice deal comes his way (for a Brady Clark or other lesser name). We won't see a push for A. Jones, Wells or another top name.

I had to look up his stats to see all the teams hes played for. Had no idea that he broke in with the Astros, and I guess I wasn't paying enough attention in 02 with his 1/2 season with the White Sox. He has to be the most sought after 40 year old journeyman of all time.

I guess we just acquire him in July when the Rangers are 15 gamesd out of first place.

Is Bob Dernier available???

Maybe he didn't want to go to a team that he has already been with. I wish we would of signed him to an extention when we had him.

DANG IT!!!!!! I don't know now. Maybe take a chance on Bernie. I really didn't wnat to see Soriano lead off. Rather have him back a little. But I would rather have them go for a Pierre-type player.

I don't like waiting for the three-run homerun.

It works against mediocre pitching but against the good ones, nope.

That sucks. JH I think at this point may try to aggressively trade. With his stats, jones has to have some value. Of course with the money we've been throwing around, I wonder if we're starting to look desperate to the rest of the league?