I was going to say, one guy I would like to see the Cubs go after is Hawpe out of Colorado. It has been said that the Rockies are looking at Ohman. Maybe if we send Ohman, E-Patt, and Marshall to Colorado it might get Hawpe in Cubbie Blue.

From everything I keep reading, Hendry seems more than willing to stand pat until Fukudome makes his decision. Does this bother anyone else? I am not saying that he needs to jump on the next guy that comes available, but he if doesn't come away from the meetings with someone that can play right, I am afraid that we will be stuck with no one.

I think that if we were to get Hamilton and then play him and Murton, that would be a better combination that what we have had in the past year of two.

I like Hamilton as a 4th OF and only if we could get him cheap.

would you guys consider Hamilton from the Reds as a good idea? They seem to be willing to move him and I'm sure Dusty has 10 guys he would want to have from the Cubs.

Somehow I see him [Dusty] going for Barret so that he can torture us for years to come.

A few thoughts.....

* Ibanez is very good hitter but his defense would be suspect in RF. At times, I wish the NL had the DH.

* I downloaded from Itunes "Go Cubs Go" to my Ipod.

I swear that song jacks me up. Other purchases included Rob Zombie, Lenny Kravitz, The Ramones and

Depeche Mode.

Yup, Thanks guys. I like Raul Ibanez, he is solid.

O.K. Agustin...here is one for you that will be in tomorrow's update.

Mark Prior for Raul Ibanez. The Seattle paper that mentioned the notion does not feel it is a possibility....but he still mentioned it.

The same report mentioned Ibanez in right field at Wrigley could be a challenge for a guy that has played left field.

Does that help?

Also, the Cubs are scheduled to meet with Fukudome's agent tonight.

Agustin:

Maybe Hendry is taking a nap right now or sitting in a suana doing a crossword puzzle.

LOL..I'm with you agustin...

I WANT SOME _ _ _ _ _ _ _ CUBS RUMORS NOW!!!

Allllllllll byyyyyy myyyy seeeeeelllf, don't wanna be..... alll;l by yyyyyy myyyy seeeeeeiieellf.

I hope we take atleast two out of three in our next series against the Brewers. I hope Kuroda can give the bullpen a much needed breather.

I do have to add that F.Pie only has 22 years and he has an honest shot at becoming better, I really think he will be good but he is not ready and needs like 2 more years in the minors.

Hey Sam Fuld has less at bats than the Cubs batboy in the mlb team. Clearly he is not being considered for CF for those 6 abs. I am the first one to say that numbers talk, therefore, this kid has earned a shot. He has done a lot better in every offensive category than our beloved Felix Pie. Last I heard he was in the mix to be named MVP of the Arizona Fall League, so do not go crazy killing him just yet. He has proven himself at every level with solid OBP, a .297 Career average, good speed and spectacular defense.

IMO Felix Pie has potential and Sam Fuld has proven stuff. [Sorry to brake this news to all the Pie’s fans…including myself.

Dave in STL is "right on" with Ethier and Hermidia--with Ethier likely more doable. I would add again, Seth Smith of the Rockies. If some don't like Fuld because he is 0 for 6 in the bigs, they should love Smith. He made the Rockies playoff and series roster and was 4 for 7 in high pressure situations. In defense of the vertically challenged, the coming-on-strong Fuld is 5-10 and 180lbs. Some wouldn't guess that Hall of Famers' Yogi Berra and Joe Morgan are 5-7.

I'm guessing that JH's checkbook is a lot less than we think, and we won't do any $60 million plus signings. Trades will be the order of the day and for veterans having two or three year contracts or for younger, less costly players. Prior to the Padres for prospects has been mentioned on the site, and I would go for multi-player trade that gets us one of their available,lefty relievers, Joe Thatcher or John Hampton. Great Luck Jim Hendry! We're with you Win or Tie! JimK

Faithfuls,

Good news. This might be hotstove. I just heard from an interpreter from the Cubs organization: Fukudome has agreed to fly over here to Chicago and visit Wrigley this coming week before making his mind the end of December.

Cubs international scouting dept. seems to be doing a good job at establishing ties with Asian baseball.

Thanks to the interpreter for the scoop.

C'mon Trader Jim... land us 1 of either Andre Either from LA, or Jeremy Hermida from FLA. I know the Dodgers are dark horse Santana players.. ship them Pie & Marshall for Either. They can then send Pie, Andy LaRoche, & Clayton Kershaw to Twins for Santana. If Ned Colletti was smart, he'd keep Pie, pay all of Pierre's contract and ship him to the Twins... Just Kidding, well not really, but that'd never happen. If Trader Jim wants Hermida, better get on it... Trading Miggy Cabrera will satisfy FLA's depth problems with high level prospects... so, get it done before the MC deal. Wouldn't you all rather have 1 of these 2 as opposed to Kosuke Fukudome? I've seen these two play & hit & field in the NL for 2+ seasons... to send prospects who won't see Wrigley anyway seems immaterial to getting the "proven" piece for an NL penant.

Ok. I know this is probably not realistic for the Cubs, but how about Andruw Jones in RF? I know he doesn't fit the profile Jim Hendry is looking for (which is a left-handed slugger) and he's probably too expensive. He had a down year last year, but he's still only 30 years old with plenty of pop in his bat. And as we all know, he's a stud defensively and I think a move to RF would take less of a toll on his body. Then, we could hang on to Felix Pie and let the kid develop. We all know Pie can play great defense, but he hasn't figured out how to hit yet. Let Pie hit 7th or 8th in the order until he figures it out. Can you imagine this OF?

LF-Soriano

CF-Pie

RF-A. Jones

I know Andruw Jones isn't left-handed, but so what?? Anyway, it might not be possible financially, but I think it's worth considering. GO CUBS!!

I know there was a lot of interesting points on this post last week on the merits (or lack thereof) of "player potential".

Think of this. The Twins are demanding that Ellsbury is part of any package from the RedSox for Santana. By inserting Ellsbury the Sox have taken Buchholz and Lester out of the deal, leaving two other prospects injected with Ellsbury. Ellsbury started all of 33 games last year for the Sox. Think the Twins believe this kid has potential?

Now if I'm the Sox I'd take that deal. Santana included in the Sox rotation, and you don't lose a Buchholz or Lester in the process. Wow.

Wow, was surprised to see all the hostility directed on Sam Fuld yesterday. He's a young kid with only six major league at-bats. Geez. The kids plays hard and has solid plate discipline (he actually knows a ball from a strike).

I wonder how many here would have thrown Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury under the bus based on their 2007 season starts, but they ultimately were the lightening rod for Boston. We need to have patience with our young kids, and instill some faith in them. Same goes for Theriot. The guy plays hard every-day, and just finished his first year as a starter. A quickly we forget how wonderful an improvement he is over Neifi Perez.

IF we can land a Fukodome, the addition of him and Soto everyday in the lineup should provide a spark to the offense (and you can enjoy the Pie/Fuld competition).

As a sidenote, how interesting that no-one's heard from Prior directly. His silence I think speaks volumes that he wants out of Chicago.