No,I'm not comparing us or Finley to the Cards or Edmonds,we would both have an older Center fielder who has seen better days. That every once in a while has a good day.

I didn't mean to give up hope on Lofton, I like Lofton alot and think he could platoon with Pie and really teach him alot,I'm just saying before we go out and get a corner outfielder to learn to play center why not give Finley a shot. Yeah I know he's at the end of his career but he does know how to cover the ground in center,besides we would kinda look like the Cards with Edmonds LOL:) (but we have Pie in the waiting).

Aaron,

I absolutely agree about Stone. I think he would make a great addition to the Cubs in almost any facet, and that includes Manager, Scouting Director, GM, etc.

On a somewhat related note, I was thinking about this yesterday........ I would guess that if Pinella were our Manager for the last 5 years, Stone would still be a big part of this organization. You see, sweet Lou wouldn't let his players to lay blame on the announcers as Baker did (actually he also blamed them). That is another reason why I think the Cubs will be better this year. Lou holding his people accountable.

Getting back to your point, I still hope that someday soon Stone comes back home.

Jim Hendry's first two years on the job were solid.

The man truly does work hard. He did deserve a lot blame for last years slop of a team. I hope he takes care of himself better,he is very overweight and I am sure he dines out a lot. To complete a deal with Lily while undergoing angioplasty proved how much he wants to win.

Larry, I'd have to respectfully disagree with you on Finley----far far past his prime...not even a serviceable veteran bat at this point.

Anthony, I've liked Hendry as well, but the problem is, I don't think he should be the GM at all. You have too many meetings, budgets, etc. to worry about, and Hendry did a phenomenal job with player development. Consider where they were ranked under his responsibility----certainly better than they are now. He belongs in the scouting director/player development capacity with the Cubs. Granted MacFail and Lynch didn't fare much better, but you have to admit that Hendry did a phenomenal job with player development as we were ranked very high with him as our player development guy. I do feel with the recent hiring of Wilken, the Cubs might be headed in the right direction with that aspect of the organization...but Anthony, you hit it right on the nose----who'd you rather see as GM? Beane would be one for me....but how about this as a twist....Steve Stone. When you're an announcer, you have a bird's eye view of thousands of baseball games and can be very effective at evaluating talent---and I know many would scoff at that, but I feel he'd be tremendous, and you know if he got that position, Grace would be back with us in some capacity, and I'm sure everyone would be happy about that.

Jason-

I do believe that Gary Hughes is the special assistant to Jim Hendry and took over the day to day operations today while Hendry recovers. I'm sure the General Manager is surrounded by a pretty sound support staff, and he works hand in hand with not only Pinella, but a lot of the advanced scouts, of course the cubs would be in trouble if Hendry were to go out for a long period of time, and had this Arterial blockage led to a full blown heart attack, than we would be in the hands of Gary Hughes until he was replaced by someone in the organization on an interim basis. Not a bad question, but I don't think that if Hendry died tommorrow he would take all the secrets of the Cubs with him.

Larry,

Finley is an SIU Grad who patrolled CF for the Salukis during my Freshman year. I'm a big fan. I think, however, he is too far past his prime. The last 2 season he's hit .246 and .221 respectively.

Jason,

A very valid, and important, question. I have no idea how the hierarchy of the Cubs front office is structured. I would assume, however, that they do have contingency plans if Hendry couldn't perform his duties, for whatever reason. I've ALWAYS liked Hendry, even when he was being bashed last year. I can't think of another GM I'd want on the Cubs considering their current structure, except maybe Beane.

Has everyone forgot about the Cubs talking to Marquis? Maybe Spendry has him on the back burner. Center field hopefully will have Lofton in it but if not what about Finley,(he's from my home town,gotta root for those guys)all he's looking for is his retirement team no long term deal.He wouldn't be a bad option besides he has worn us out a few times when he was with Arizonia. Just another option that should cost a little less and give Pie/Patterson time.

Brian,

I thought Lou had a nickname already..."Sweet Lou", no?

Hubert,

You are right...Lugo was VASTLY overrated...that was a bad contract.

I have sympathy for Hendry's health...even though it sounds like he is fine now. But it does bring up a concern: is this guy healthy enough to be a full-time GM? Don't get me wrong...I appreciate the effort he is making, and I know he is working his butt off...but just because a guy is working himself to exhaustion doesn't necessarily mean he is working effectively. I never hear of Billy Beane having problems putting together a winner every year, and he does it on half the budget that Hendry has.

So does anyone know what Hendry's support structure in the front office is like? Let's say Hendry's health had been in more serious straits, and he couldn't make calls from the hospital...is there an assistant GM that has the power to make things happen in his absence?

Don't want this to sound cold-hearted, so save your bashing if that is what you think it is...in any large business, the doors stay open, even if the CEO dies, etc... But while the Cubs are big business, they have a relatively small executive team, compared to a big company. There isn't a bunch of VP's, that I am aware of, that answer to Hendry.

So if Hendry's health had tanked in early November, what would have happened? Or if he has to call it quits for health reasons next week, what happens?

I am sure he will be fine going forward...but anyone else remember Dusty Baker saying he worried about Jim Hendry's health, in a previous off-season? Now that seems to have been prophetic!

Or housten with C.lee and the Angels who gave Sarge Jr. 5-50. I can't stand the bias on ESPN. You think that they are a little AL biased.

Does anybody here REALLY think that any Cubs fans anywhere will care that we "bought" a WS? Sure the Cards and southsiders will bitch, but if this thing happens, then I bet they are drown out. If we even make it to the WS we will have the entire country rooting for us minus the AL team. I've never understood how people can hate the Cubs. Ever since I went to my first game at the age of 7, in 1984, ironic, people have said to me, " I can't stand the Cubs." How? Who the hell have we beat in the last 98 years? I can't wait for ESPN to tell me how awfull the Cubs are this year. And Tim McCarver, geese, don't even get me started. Look we are being aggressive. Are all of theese moves going to work out. No. What team put all the right pieces in place every time? I think that all we can ask is that Hendry attempt to win. Obvoiusly the guy knows something. Had any body ever heard of A Ram before he came to the Cubs? Interesting that "we paid too much" for Soriano at 17 mil per year, but you don't hear any body complain about A-Rams 15 mil a year avg.

When looking at this year's team, you can't just look at it as if they have added 1 superstar in Soriano. You must consider that Derrek Lee is in the mix or a full season. He is an MVP caliber player. So, I am viewing it as having 2 brand new studs on our team vs. last year.

Also, for the record, Detroit 06' was mostly the same team as they had in 05'. This will be Pudge's 4th year in Detroit and it will be Maggs 3rd. I think they biggest difference in Detroit this year was the maturation of their pitching and even more importantly THEIR NEW MANAGER. An old fashioned baseball guy who insists on the fundamentals, hard work and WINNING. Sound familiar ? So, on top of the new players on this team there will be a new atmosphere.

And lastly, I will repeat myself. The Cubs are NOT done. If you do not care for who we've signed so far, give it some time bc Hendry has at least 1 or 2 moves left in his bag.

Hubert I have to agree, I am one that is glad we did not sign Lugo, I would rather have Izturis, we have not had a good glove at Shortstop in a while and we need defense. And as for Barrett-keep him OFF the trading block, he is going to win us more games with his bat, than lose us games with his defense. Hope to see a trade soon for another starting pitcher.

I see all this talk about winning everything this year but I am only concerned with putting a good team on the field, playing good baseball and trying to win each game. I think the chips will fall where they may. Last year was abominal. It looks like the Cubs have finally put forth a program to WIN. Let's not get so far ahead of ourselves. Let's enjoy the season. Let's hope for fewer injuries than we have had lately. Let's enjoy Piniella, Soriano and the rest of the team. I like the fact that we will be competitive. I applaud what has happened so far and am hoping that 2007 will be the YEAR OF THE CUB.

Aaron, when you are ready to deal our established players with value like Barrett, D. Lee, Ramirez, Zambrano for a bunch of class A minor league pitchers, you may strike gold and get a Dontrelle type ... until then, no one is going to trade us top prospects for our rejects. We have done what the Tiger did from a free agent perspective ... they got Maggs and Pudge ... we got ARam and Soriano (stud free agents are stud free agents whether they come from your team or others). The Tigers won last year and we didn't because the Tigers young pitchers developed and were healthly and ours all got hurt. As for Hendry's work this offseason, I think he did as well as anyone could expect given the market and player circumstances (e.g. Schmidt wanting to play on the West coast). As for whether what he did will be enough to win ... the current roster won't be dominant, but if the breaks fall our way, it's good enough to get into the playoffs ... and anything can happen once you reach the postseason.

I agree Aaron. I get fustrated with our farm system. I always here that whe got one of the best in baseball, but nothing ever comes of it. The only young guys that I think could be "good" players that I saw last year was Murton, Cedeno, Marshall, Hill. Thats it. And out of those I would say Murton and maybe Marshall or Hill have a chance of being superstars. My opinion, its because we dont really firesale like other teams. We trade away our mid-range role players but not any of our top guys at the end of their contracts when teams are desperate for players at the trading deadlines. So we get mediocre prospects, instead of top knotch prospects. But of course, you have to sign them first.

The pressure is too much to win. we dont do what it actually takes,even though it is very unpopular to trade your top players to other teams for guys you never heard of, thats what it takes to build from within, instead of having to buy yourself a team(ala, Yankees,Red Sox).

P.S. Dont forget about Prior, Woods. They were pretty good prospects until the Cubs wore them out in the majors. Hopefully they will be again. I thinks Woods only shot is as a Closer but Prior has a good chance. Oh, don't forget about Zambrano. Other than Cubs fans, he is very underrated. He went through the same punishment as Woods and Prior and looks like he could be teh best of them all.

Aaron, there are a couple simple answers to ur questions.

- You can't just demand a "Pujols" type player come out of our farm system, Pujols is far and away the most devastating hitter in the majors. He's a once in a generation type talent.

- You can't sign Schmidt if Schmidt didn't want to leave the West Coast. Lord knows Hendry would've topped that 3/47 mil offer.

- Lugo is VASTLY overrated. Nuff said.

Finally, money doesn't grow on trees. The Cubs are like any business, they have payroll expense to think about.

Jerljr, Dempster has been mentioned in the rumor mill but Hendry and Piniella hace said he will go to Spring Training as the closer.

jerljr....I posted a comment awhile back about the Cubs should go pursue Gagne as an option...Here's my guess for who's on the trading block for the Cubbies:

Barrett

Guzman

Cedeno

Jones

Izturis

Novoa (should be, but mgt loves this guy for some ungodly reason)

Wuertz

Prior (if he has a good spring)

'Dump'ster

I would have to believe that Guzman....possibly Ryu would be the only young pitchers we have that Hendry would be willing to give up. Guzman's had his time to prove he's injury free and such, and Ryu doesn't really seem to have a fit. But I think he'd be loathe to trade Marmol, Marshall, Mateo, Veal, or Gallagher. As for Barrett, we have Fox waiting in the wings, along with Robinson (who we picked up from Detroit), among others, and Barrett enters the final year of his contract---one which finds Joe Mauer being a free agent this time next year I believe, unless they can offer arbitration, but I'm not quite sure on the rules with him since he signed a new contract in '04. Anyway, the free agent class next year looks extremely strong with the likes of Ichiro, Carlos Guillen, Dye, Pudge, Dunn, Rowand, Wells, Abreu, AROD (who can void and probably will w/ Boras' track record), Michael Young, Buehrle, Westbrook, and the very Jennings we've been rumored to trade for.

If you thought this offseason was exciting, you should wait til next season---ha ha...no pun intended.

My guess is that we hold onto Barrett to the deadline and see where we're at before we trade him...same for other guys like Izturis, 'Dump'ster, and maybe prospects...and if we're close, we'll probably make a trade with them as bait, or start a fire sale of sorts, retaining only Lee, ARAM, and Soriano, and possibly Zambrano......wait, what am I saying? We're gonna win it all next year....we're going 162-0...yes, we win the first game 16-0, and obliterate the Reds just like last year, on our way to an undefeated season.....oops, first loss, 6-8 to Reds, yes, we sweep the Cardinals, whoo hoo, 165-1....LOL, it's actually an inside joke that started a few years back with a friend of mine where we'd watch the first Cubbies game at a bar, and watched them blow out the Diamondbacks, and Reds last year, and both of us turned to each other and were like, "162-0 baby, yeah" only to watch them falter miserably out the gate. But I think that's the beauty of being a Cubs fan....that perpetual optimism that awaits every year. Wrigley Field is a magical place, and you can feel the excitement of every season just walking by the stadium. I don't think any other ballpark or team can say that. The fans deserve better than we've gotten. We've had a terrible run with crappy management, and while I'm optimistic that the Cubs have finally been proactive in signing people before we get all the leftovers, I must say I am still not that impressed.....When can we have a Dontrelle trade happen to us. When can we have a Chris Carpenter signing fall into our laps. When can we bring up an Albert Pujols from our system and have him instantly produce? Not since Jerome Walton and Mark Grace have we had any position players to really produce instantly coming out of our system...17 and 18 years respectively since they came around.

Sure we had Patterson----who was badly mishandled. We even had Choi, who, until his concussion, I believed had a real solid chance of sticking around. But they're too few and far between. DeRosa, Ward, Lilly? Is that the best we could do? No Lugo, Lee, Schmidt? Okay, okay...39 vs 16 million...yeah, I get it....but that's the price you have to pay sometimes to win a championship. It's what the Marlins learned in 1997, and the Yankees since them. If you don't have the minor league system to support you, you have to go get the best that you can, and overpay, just to win it all, then, if you're the Marlins, you have a firesale, and rebuild for six years later to win it all again, or keep a dynasty intact like the Yankees have. Either way, it's a win-win situation. But I am NOT at all impressed with our signings, except for Soriano, and you can't turn a 90+ loss team into a contender with just one impact signing. Look at the Tigers. They went out and got Pudge, Magglio, Rogers, Jones, etc. to compete. Granted Pudge and Magglio were together for the year before but Maggs was injured....anyway, enough rambling, you get the picture. I hope we have a big trade up our sleeves, or our farm system really comes through or it could be another long year

I guess were done for the day. GO CUBS!!!!

Trevor,

Sounds like you have a great fiancee, good luck to you and K-LO!

Austin, K-Lo is a nickname for my fiancee, always catches me off guard when I see that posted again in regards to Lofton! lol, :)

Dempster will be fine. He saved 26 in a row last year. He has the stuff and the mentality. He just needs to figure out whats wrong with his delievery and he will be just fine.

If not we have Howry who used to close.

Jon, here's how I expect the opening day 25 man roster to look like (given no further FA signings or trades):

SP

--

1. Zambrano

2. Lilly

3. Hill

4. Miller

5. Marshall

DL Prior

R

-----

6. Cotts

7. Wuertz

8. Wood

9. Dempster

10. Eyre

11. Howry

12. Ohman

C

-

13. Barrett

14. Blanco

OF

--

15. Soriano

16. Jones (or replaced with another if traded)

17. Pagan

18. Murton

IF

--

19. Lee (1B)

20. Ramirez (3B)

21. Izturis (SS)

22. DeRosa (2B, 3B, SS, LF)

23. Theriot (2B)

24. Ward (1B, LF, RF)

25. Cedeno (2B, SS)

I believe Novoa and Ohman are out of options and Wuertz may have one left.

Knowing the KC management, he's trade bait. Guarentee it. its the only thing that makes sense. It might not be till the trading dead line but they don't expect to pay that money for him. but they know a team down the road that is desparate for a starter will.

are there any rumors about a closer? We need one or are we going with demptser again.

so are there any rumors about a closer. move dempster back into a short reliever role and sign or trade for a closer. probably not, I guess.

Jay,

I dont think he is, he is our replacement for Mabry, I hope you wont be dissapointed in Cliff Floyd.

and Anthony,

Neither Jennings nor Penny are FA's so we wont be able to sign them, not will we get them both, but I love the idea of acquiring one of them...

I WANT K-LO!

Whats up with Kansas City. They have a horrible team that has absolutely ZERO chance of reaching the playoffs. Forget about Meche being dumb. Hes actually smart to the tune of 55 million bucks in the bank.

How about the KC management. In the grand scheme of things, the addition of Meche is going to change their postseason chances from 0.000000001% to 0.000000002% --- And they have invested 11 million dollars a year from their already meagre payroll on him.

Was their GM drunk when he made this move?

daryle ward i hope isnt our big left handed bat... hes an upgrade over mabry thats about it

For the sake of Bridgeport fans I hope they are up to something. Mariotti tore them apart today (I do not like him, but it was an anti-bridgeport article so I read it.) I do not know if they will spend the money for Wells, but with the Soriano signing it would help thier PR.

As for Penny, I would be a big fan of that. I am very pro-lofton to give Pie one more year.

As for DeRosa, he does not scare me one bit. Neil reference a quote from Lou a few nights ago where he said talked about DeRosa being a huge presence off the bench. He went on to say, he is the ultra utility guy. He means that DeRosa will still get 120-ish starts, but all over the place. It sounded like Theriot would be the every day player. And that makes sense, you have EP generating big time rumors (makes me nervous). I firmly believe second base is fine, but I would not lose sleep over DeRosa...if he is a bust, well, it is just money.

Also, and in conclusion, I am posting this question to the CCO folk...

Lou needs a nickname. Please share your thoughts below and we will see what we can come up with. After reading through hours of posts, it is quite evident that the fans who post here are very intelligent and perceptive, so I look forward to the results.

For the sake of Bridgeport fans I hope they are up to something. Mariotti tore them apart today (I do not like him, but it was an anti-bridgeport article so I read it.) I do not know if they will spend the money for Wells, but with the Soriano signing it would help thier PR.

As for Penny, I would be a big fan of that. I am very pro-lofton to give Pie one more year.

As for DeRosa, he does not scare me one bit. Neil reference a quote from Lou a few nights ago where he said talked about DeRosa being a huge presence off the bench. He went on to say, he is the ultra utility guy. He means that DeRosa will still get 120-ish starts, but all over the place. It sounded like Theriot would be the every day player. And that makes sense, you have EP generating big time rumors (makes me nervous). I firmly believe second base is fine, but I would not lose sleep over DeRosa...if he is a bust, well, it is just money.

Also, and in conclusion, I am posting this question to the CCO folk...

Lou needs a nickname. Please share your thoughts below and we will see what we can come up with. After reading through hours of posts, it is quite evident that the fans who post here are very intelligent and perceptive, so I look forward to the results.

Anthony - my thoughts exactly. and the problem is we don't really have the players to deal him so getting him this year is probably unrealistic. but he is a free agent next year and will be looking for huge $$$. i just don't want him in the NL central this year or with the white sox.

What does our 25-man roster look like so far? Hopefully some of you guys can help me figure this out. I'm going to throw a list of people we have out and whether or not we have options on them, if I know (and in most cases I don't). If I make any mistakes or anybody can add anything, please do help out.

SP

--

1. Zambrano

2. Hill**

3. Lilly

4. Miller

5. Prior

MR/LR

-----

6. Cotts

7. Wuertz (do we have any options left on Wuertz?)

8. Wood

9. Novoa (options?)

10. Dempster

11. Eyre

12. Howry

13. Ohman (options?)

14. Marshall*

(note: I didn't list Mateo, Guzman, Ryu or a couple of others because I fully expect them to start back down in the minors)

C

-

15. Barrett

16. Blanco

OF

--

17. Soriano

18. Jones (though likely to be traded)

19. Pagan**

20. Murton**

IF

--

21. Lee (1B)

22. Ramirez (3B)

23. Izturis (SS)

24. DeRosa (2B)

25. Theriot*

* Has options

** I'm PRETTY sure we have options

Rumors:

26. Another SP (Penny? Jennings? Westbrooke?)

27? Ward

28? Floyd

29. Lofton? (or another CF)

Did I miss anybody or anything? Mistakes?

Assuming my list is accurate, what do you guys think our opening-day roster will be? Trades you would make with our excesses? Will our signing guys like Miller as backup force us to carry too many pitchers this year? Will he be any good out of the bullpen if that is where he needs to pitch from?

Cliff,

Thanks for the tip. It's a great website.

Yes, the WhiteSox definitely are up to something. I would LOVE to have Vernon scouring CF for the Cubs !!

I have to admit that I knew little about Daryl Ward. But I just looked up his stats, and it looks like he'd be a fabulous bench player for us. Over 400 OBP against righties, plus 300 BA. I don't know what's not to like about adding a lefty like that for about 1 million. I'm sold (as long as that's not all we get, we still need a center fielder and maybe another pitcher).

Anthony - Rotoworld.com posted that Sportticker is reporting the signing. Go to rotoworld.com and search Daryle Ward. FYI, it is a great site to get up to the minute rumors and info.

Also... I have a bad feeling that the white sox have lined themselves up perfectly to swing a deal for Vernon Wells. Stay tuned.

If the Cubs signed Penny or Jennings, that really would make our staff formidable. You could then push Hill (as much as we love his potential, he's still is NEW) and Lily further down in the rotation taking pressure off of them. Also, we stil have the wildards in Miller and Prior, who I just absolutely love that we are not necessarily counting on. Last year we hoped, this year we are action.

ps. Meche to the Royals ? There is absolutely NO logic in that one. ???????

Does the possible (and probably) trading of Jones scare anybody else?

It's not that I think he's irreplaceable, and if he really did request a trade then I say we should get him the heck out of here. It just reminds me so much of Sosa. He wanted out, we let him go--and got virtually nothing in return.

I liked hearing a possible trade with Jones going out and ultimately us getting Jennings back. Hopefully we step up our pursuit of somebody like Jennings now that Meche signed with KC. I just hope we don't send Jones off for low-level prospects.

Anthony, I agree on Lily and Bonds.

As far as Ward, foxsports was reporting they were closing in on the deal, not sure if it has been completed for sure. My first impression isn't that bad about this guy being a lefty off the bench and backup 1B. He hit .308 in 130 AB's last year, nothing wrong with that is there?

Also, I don't think this means the Cubs aren't pursuing Lofton, Floyd, and a pitcher still.

Jim - Penny definately has melonoma of the head... LMFAO!!! But he is a hell of a ball player. His addition would get me over the hump to be optimistic for next year (with a Lofton signing simultaneously).

I've searched near and far and haven't seen any confirmations on the DARYLE WARD signing. Did this happen? If not, why post it?

Ryan, I agree with you on ESPN. Greengirl swears to be a Cub fan, but there surely isn't a lot of love for the Cubs. Actually they seem to favor and be knowledgeable about only the East Coast Teams (Yankess, BoSox, Mets,etc)

Lily is indeed a 2 Tier pitcher, but one that won 15 games. How many Cubs pitchers in the last X amount of years have won 15 games, including people you would consider to be Tier 1 pitchers? Not many I assure you.

As far as Bonds, he is a clubhouse cancer and I wouldn't want him if he was FREE. We all have seen what selfish non-teamlike players can do, and we don't need them here.

Being a Cubs fan forced to live in Cincy, I would like to see Dunn out of here just because I can't stand hearing about him on the local radio anymore. The guys got power, but he strikes out 200 times a year and is a AA level outfielder at best. If the Dodgers want him then great. If it gets us Penny, outstanding. The one thing I love about being in Cincy is that the Cubs are in town for 3 series a year and its usually the only time they fill their stadium, which really pisses them off.

LOL. That and we would have to have his hat specially made for that huge monsterous cranium.

Hope Meche likes the cellar. What a terrible move by KC. It's one thing for a team like to Cubs who might content to overpay for a final piece, but quite another for a perenial cellar dwellar to overpay for a risky signing.

As for Hamilton, Rule 5 draftees must be kept on the major league roster for the entire season or be offered back to their prior club ... you can't just keep the draftee on the 40 man roster in teh minors. The Cubs must have felt that Hamilton is not ready for the majors yet, and they are probably right. They didn't want to lose a bench spot.

Cliff's proposed Dunn/Penny deal is interesting. Would likely cost us Pie as we don't have other prospects that would be interesting enough to Cinci to give up Dunn. Deal would probably need to look something like Pie and either Ethier or Kemp to Cinci, Dunn to the Dodgers and Penny to the Cubs.

Yeah Jim, I just don't understand giving him away....as for Ward, I've scoured everywhere on the internet and can find nothing about it....You know what troubles me now though is hearing that the Cards might have interest in Bonds.....I say just get him for a Thomas-like contract, and platoon him with Murton. I don't care if he's a cheater....so was Sosa, and we embraced him for so long.....who knows if Poop-holes is either in St. Louis---you never know...we might as well get him....assuming that he can transport all that contraband to Chicago from the Bay Area without getting caught

I CANT BELIEVE HE SIGNED WITH THE ROYALS.. KANSAS CITY HAS A CRAPPY TEAM. HE CHOSE THE ROYALS OVER THE CUBS THATS CRAZY

What I'm reading says that Garland trade to the Astros fell apart. I think that one's dead.

DMac - nice thinking outside the box there. Are you thinking Dunn to Dodgers, Penny to Cubs, and whomever to the Reds like I am? I like your style.

just a random thought....sometimes trades involving players to be named later....or minor leaguers are often a precursor to something happening down the road involving a trade with that team or a three team trade. This is probably way off target....atually now that I am typing it, really off target considering the Reds are in our division. But the Reds are looking to move Adam Dunn. I dont mean necessarily Dunn to the Cubs, but it could involve a three team deal involving other players to the Cubs. Just a random thought.

Jon Garland to the Asstros?? And why did we give the Reds Hamilton?

Cliff,

Couldn't agree with you more buddy....I think Soriano is absolutely tremendous. Lilly is average at best, and DeRosa scares the hell out of me that he simply had a career year. Luckily for us, we have Theriot and Patterson waiting in case he royally sucks. You have to give Hendry props for trying though. I think Schmidt, Zito, and others might carry too much of a risk for what they're asking. As much as I liked Drew and his high OBP...maybe he is oft-injured for the life of his contract, who knows.....

Curiously that the Cubs would draft an outstanding talent like Hamilton, then give him away to the Reds. Didn't we just clear a spot on the 40 man with a Bynum trade? I don't understand that move...Power hitting outfielder that could use a second chance in a new environment, and we get Daryle Ward? I'd rather have Hamilton and his potential than Ward.

ESPN.com is reporting that the Meche deal is done with KC and it is for 5 years! I secretly hoped we would sign Meche but if it was gonna take 5 years then I'm glad we didn't.

Also, at least Meche will be wasted in KC. I don't expect to be seeing him in the playoffs anytime soon.

Anthony,

i may be wrong, but I don't remember ESPN EVER saying anything good about the Cubs. They thought it was ludicrous that Pinnella signed with us in the first place, and then crucified us for going out and spending too much money. Of course it was OK for the Yankees to do it all those years. I go to ESPN for highlights and thats about it, because their supposed "experts" are always down on the Cubs and are usually wrong about everybody else. Remember they said that the Cards had no chance against Detroit, after they said that they would get crushed in the NLCS against the Mets, even when they were up 3-1.

Cliff,

Would you have really been excited had we added a #4 starter in GIL MECHE?

I really think Lilly will be a good pitcher for the Cubs. He lost 7 games last year when he gave up 3 or less runs, he pitched in a hitters park, and in the AL East. I expect him to be around 13-15 wins with a sub-4 ERA.

Also, I think Ward is an upgrade over Mabry, its not like the big left handed bat was going to be a stud starter anyway...and he has untapped power. And the offseason is still young, look for Jones to get moved for a pitcher, as we are still negotiating with Kenny Lofton. It is clear Hendry is still in the market for another pitcher, this is not over yet.

cubs supposedly just landed the big left handed bat we have heard about... drum role please...

DARYLE WARD!!!

AND... Meche is going to choose the Royals over the Cubs!

So... the team that lost 66 games last year has added:

1 difference maker in Soriano

1 2nd Tier pitcher in Lilly

1 utility man in Derosa

Cubs = '07 Champs!!!

I trully am not trying to be a downer but I am trying to be a realist in a time of year that I and all of my friends have been optimists for over 30 years and every year get disapointed with the result.

Why didn't we protect Holdzkam? I've read in the past that he has electric stuff and was really turning the corner in offseason ball. He could turn into a top set up guy or closer.

We need to go after a possible Brad Penny trade hard.

Sox trade another pitcher in less than 24 hrs, Garland to the Astros for Buckholtz/Taveras..

Meche picked KC over Chi...lol...4/45mil sealed the deal...

Wow...

Hendry had an angioplasty....That seems a little more serious than just exhaustion doesn't it? And he's making phone calls from the hospital bed! Alright my respect level just increased for JimH.

Report on Foxsports said that Meche was close to signing with the Royals...say bye bye to Jacque!

I have to say I'm a bit surprised at all the people who are negative on Lily. I am NOT saying he is a #1 or #2 starter, but he did win 15 games last year. I was dissapointed that we didn't get Schmidt as well. I guess what I'm feeling is this: how can ANY Cub fan complain when for the first time in the history of the organization, we are actually trying to put together a winner. If I didn't know better, I'd think that some fans are just looking for a reason to complain. If I felt that Lily was the only pitcher we would get, then I would be bummed too, but I think there's one more coming.

I was listening to ESPN (Mike and Mike) this morning and they were all but crucifying this most recent move. At first this really bummed me out and then I remembered that Greenberg is wrong 95% of the time in his prognostications so I felt a bit better.

More good things to come this offseason.

Oh and I think that Lofton might be a good "band-aid" in CF, giving Pie some more time to get ready in the minors. My only real concern is that I don't know if he can handle playing everyday anymore. Maybe you could rotate Soriano over to center from time to time so he could gradually adjust to the position.

Soriano

Lofton

Lee

Ramirez

Barrett

Murton

DeRosa/Theriot

Izturis

P

That's a lineup that could put up a lot of runs on a consistant basis. Now imagine if we could land Brad Penny somehow.

Zambrano

Penny

Lilly

Hill

Prior/Miller/Marshall

That is one wicked team!!!

Nice job landing Lilly. He should be a solid fixture in the rotation. I still would like to see the Cubs trade for another starter (Penny, Westbrook, Jennings). Meche just doesn't seem like "the guy" to me. I can't complain though. Everyone I wanted the Cubs to go after they have and done so in a very aggresive mannor.

Keep up the good work Jimbo and get well soon.