You are right, Aaron, on ARAM being so delicate and not getting any younger. Cabrera would be a slight upgrade but remember he is up for a huge contract after next year and that should be considered. But I too read that either he is serious in loosing weight or he has a great public relation guy behind him. We will see in spring. I believe DLee will add some power this year [hopefully] because he has had time to heal and he had a noticeable rise in the amount of HR's he hit in the second half compared to the first half.



However, my point is that this is an already fine team that needs some pieces to take it to the next level. And even if Cabrera is an upgrade [and he showed he can do it in the big stage WS] we don’t really have a hole in third base or first. I would consider anything that could make the team better but the focus should be on our immediate needs to take this team to the World Series in 2008. Those needs, IMO, consist of one or two solid outfielders, a #2/3starting pitcher, a solid reliever, and maybe a SS and 2nd base.

1-Crawford OF

2-Bartolo Colon or Willis[2 guys that are down but can turn it around to be the aces of

Any staff]

3-K.Wood [I believe he is going to cost us and let us down with injuries, but I hope not]

4-Theriot can have the job at SS in the first half and see if he can keep it.

[I believe he can]

5-Inhouse option Eric Patterson/DeRosa on 2nd base

***If Dunn could be acquired then Pie is devalued trade bait. Dunn would be that left-handed bat we need and even though his defense would make us puke16 times a year, his bat would make us happy 40-45 times. Still Dusty aint’ giving us jack.

Notice that all of these upgrades could be done with less than the additional 25 million announced in payroll raise. And we would give up a lot of talent…but a lot that we either don’t use, give an honest shot at, have enough patience, and some that will never be IT.

Agustin....couldn't agree more man....absolutely dead on with the whole, "use 'em in trades while they're still worth something" guys like Petrick, Pignatiello, Samardzija, Murton, Cedeno, etc. should be used while we can get something of worth for them....see (Hill, Bobby; Choi, Hee Sop) Those were two highly touted guys that other teams valued. I think a case could be made for our guys....for unfortunate circumstances, just look at Corey Patterson and others. We just seem to get so little. Hill netted us ARAM, and Choi netted Lee. In most cases, real talent emerges right away. Guys like Griffey, Wright, Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, Cabrera, Dunn, Holliday, Helton, etc.... These guys hit the ground running....point being it is very rare----especially in the steroid testing era, that a guy would just come out of the wood-work to start throwing 100 mph when he was previously at 92-93, and start hitting 20-30 home runs when he was hitting 10 and under....you watch----it'll become increasingly rare. That's why when a big talent like an AROD, Cabrera, Dunn, etc. is available, and you need power----you do whatever it takes to get them.

ARAM is fragile....and a little older than Cabrera. Cabrera is versatile and can be used in the OF as well. He might not be the caliber of third basemen that ARAM is in the field, but he actually drives in more than ARAM, and he's not oft-injured.

I think you have to be creative where you can.....I thought a trade for AROD with ARAM would've been good (which was actually rumored)....WOuldn't you take that now?

It's the same reason why I would trade Lee for Joey Votto, and Murton, and pitching for Dunn. You get two power hitting lefties we seem to crave.....one an essential swap----decent power and great average (Votto), and great power, decent average (Dunn)...

Look, all I'm saying is Lee and ARAM are getting older. They still have significant value. Great teams do not hang onto great aging veterans---they trade them for younger emerging talent----often one performing prospect, and one or two high ceiling prospects that are currently in the minors. This helps keep your team young and fresh, and injects energy into it. ARAM and Lee are NOT high energy guys. Alfonso Soriano, Pie, and Theriot ARE....Dunn is emotional----not quite sure about Votto.....But these are huge talents that we ought to look into.

I equate Cabrera's career with Andruw Jones---both came up huge in the World Series and when it counted....I just think Cabrera is much like ARAM---doesn't care much about himself or performance because of the stage he's playing on....remember ARAM had a huge stigma that he didn't try and wasn't in the best conditioning while with the Pirates.

I think it'd be a huge coup if we were to get him. He's also rumored to have been conditioning his body since day 1 in the offseason, and would be open to a move to the OF for his new team.

Anyway, I don't know if anyone else agrees with me on this, but I think it's a necessity at this point. As I've stated, ARAM, Lee, and others are not getting younger, and the post steroid era has begun, so look for significant drops in production, and remember that Lee's injury might affect his power the rest of his career......Additionally, ARAM's leg issues will not magically get better. Which would you rather have...A slightly overweight third basemen that can change his body with more conditioning....still only 24 years old, mind you.....or a 30 year old who is playing in a 40 year old's body. It's just not going to disappear. Consider this....ARAM spent all last offseason conditioning his legs----which were a huge problem....even had the trainer down there monitoring him, yet still missed nearly 30-40 games. think about that for a minute....then, feel free to judge.

Also, think about Lee's drop off in power, the wrist injury, his speed dropping (as evidenced by the increase in GIDP's), and his age.....

By the way----taking a flier on Colon would be a very wise move.

Here is my counter offer Aaron; I would send

Ronny Cedeno, Rich Hill and Marshall to the Rays for Crawford [without second thoughts]

That would give us a superb outfield of Soriano/

Pie[Pagan] and Crawford

Then I would turn to the Marlins to buy back an undervalued Dontrelle Willis and are willing to part for a starter an outfielder and a catcher; Matt Murton/Jake Fox and Carmen Pignatiello.

We would have a starting rotation of Zambrano,

D-Train, Lilly, Marquis and Hart/Prior/Guzman/Petrick or Samardzija…One of them will be ready. And at some point I would consider a 6 man rotation to allow Marquis and

the others to stay fresh.

I would not touch Patterson and would use him instead of Fontenot or even save that trade for the wrong Matsui.

If we don’t trade some of the guys we have, they will soon be worthless. [murton/fox ect.

Nonsense, I forbid it! [why do we insist on changing the few things that are set?] Aramis is a much better 3rd baseman than Cabrera and not very different offensively. BTW Aramis did proove he wanted to be a Cub and I'm not sure if Cabrera wants to play ball...he does not even care about his body.

We need the son of Cindy Crawford in right field Bartolo Colon and Wood that is it.

Aaron, why would the Dodgers make that deal for ARam when they could get Cabrera instead? From what I've read, Florida is willing to make that deal, but the Dodgers haven't agreed to it. And even if Cabrera wasn't a possibility for LA, Kemp, Kershaw and LaRoche are too much to expect for Aram. Maybe you could get two of the three.

Agustin:

Ti amo man! Cabrera is a definte upgrade over Uribe

whom they just resigned for $4.5MM. Maybe they plan on having Uribe play 2b? Anyway, the last three years Garland has won 47 games and averaged over 200 innings pitched. Good trade for both teams. both players are in their walk year. Garland should have been still a cub but Ed Lynch felt the need to trade him for the great Matt Karchner back in 1998.

Bridgeport only has Buehrle and Vazquez left from that vaunted pitching staff.

Aaron: I would do that trade in a heartbeat! I would even pay for the airfare!

here's a proposed trade that I have....

ARAM to the Dodgers for Kemp, LaRoche, and Kershaw. Then we flip Kemp, LaRoche, Kershaw, and Gallagher/Veal to the Marlins for Cabrera and Willis.

hmmmmmmmmm...now that's thinking outside the box

What a boring day. Something is not right if we have to talk about the White Sox...Jim, you must be very happy?

As much as I don't like the Sox, I have to admit that Kenny Williams has made some pretty good decisions about when to let go of pitchers. I like this deal for the Sox.

I think thios trade may be the first shoe for the Sox...

Sox just traded Garland for Orlando Cabrera. I kind of wish we had taken a look at Garland...

Although, I don't see the Sox logic in trading him for a shortstop. They just signed Uribe to a contract, and they seem to have other needs. I don't see that trade working out for them.