Just finished reading Mariotti's take on the Roberts supposed trade. I knew before I saw the headline what his take would be on it.

I appreciate his wit, and I agree with him most of the time, but this time I think his points ring a little hollow. To get all sanctimonious about "juiced" players now is pointless in my opinion. At least this guy admitted he did it, said it was a mistake and says he never did it again. He owned up to his mistake. Isn't that the kind of guy Mariotti is always crowing about?

Instead he makes a reference to the fact that no current Cub was listed in the Mitchell report. Hey, I was happy about that too, but c'mon....do you REALLY know whether any our guys ever used? Or are there a handful of them who did and now are just thankful they were never "outed"? The point is, we'll never know. And if the strong possibility exists that some of them DID use, then how can you get all high and mighty about Roberts?

I think we all just need to MOVE ON, realize that we live in this era and have to deal with it. I don't like it, and I wish it wasn't so, but it's REALITY.

Mariotti needs to chill.

Scott

I have ZERO problems trading for Roberts because of the steroid issue. My problem with trading for Roberts is that I don't see it as a MAJOR upgrade at middle infield. Not enough of an upgrade to trade as much as we are rumored to be. In the end, I will defer to the superior baseball acumen of LouHendry, but I don't see it.

Chad....I agree.

DeRosa will bat .270+ with 15+ HR's and 70+ RBI's. I like Roberts, but the cost seems very steep. I'd give Cedeno and either Marshall or Gallagher, but not both. And if need be, throw in a Marquis or Dempster.

I think Marshall will end up being electric someday. He has had some success already in at the pro level, had a decent ERA last season, and I think was starting to put it all together.

And if I remember correctly...wasn't Maddux pretty high on Marshall? I'll defer to that Hall of Famer pretty much any day.

In short, I don't want to see Marshall as part of this trade.

I would be ok with Gallagher, but not both Sean's.

Give them Cedeno, Gallagher, Dempster (or Marquis)and maybe another prospect (no top prospect). If they take that, great. If not, move on. DeRosa does the job. Move on and get a #3 SP in here so we have Z, Lilly, new SP, Hill, and Marshall (or Demp or Marquis whoever isn't in the deal) compete for #5

Byrun great points. I don't see the point in getting Roberts when you have Derosa. You add about 40 steals with Roberts and a witch hitter. Am I the only one that sees our rotation add starts to wonder who will be the 4th and 5th starter. I really don;'t want Jon Lieber or Dempster in that role.

It's too quiet again today. About some of the above, Marquis and Dempster carry salaries that are too high to meet MacPhail's plans. And they lack credibility (value) right now based on last year's issues.

Roberts passes my "smell" test re PED's, and he would enable strengthening two positions. His and whatever position DeRosa rotates to on an almost dailey basis or the injured guy's position he takes for extended periods. We need 60 HR and 220 RBI from Rameriz and Lee. Think where we would be without DeRosa if one of them goes down for a month or two.

JH's inactivity re Roberts could mean JH won't overpay for Roberts (as opposed to having to wait for MacPhail to do something with Bedard). If JH does little more before April 1st, he could have payroll limitations that he can't talk about. I do hope we get a strong starting pitcher and a Roberts/Crisp type (at least a Crisp type) who can be a top of the order guy and defensive standout.

Thinking about Marquis and Dempster and our needs, maybe JH is thinking we do something big and important as we get to the trading deadline. Our guys like M and D show what they can do. So do Gallagher, Marshall and Hart. Teams like the Jays see if they are going to be competitive. If not, they (and others) look more to do a "Sutcliffe" deal. We get a Burnett and he goes 10-2 for us. JimK

Loved the first line Neil - "Somewhere between truth and fiction lies the-would-be-deal that would send Brian Roberts to the Chicago Cubs". Ain't that the truth?

There's the one-on-one comparison between DeRosa and Roberts that talks about how he's only a slight upgrade - but there's more to it than that.

1) Roberts gives us a switch hitter to add to a lineup with only one regular hitting from the left side (Kosuke). For all of his super-sub status, DeRosa can't hit lefty.

2) Roberts in the leadoff spot moves Soriano lower in the order... and wouldn't we all like to see that? I have a feeling that it would take a player like Roberts to get Fonzie to be OK with it. I think he looks at guys like Theriot and thinks "I'm a better leadoff guy than him" but a player like Roberts is a legit MLB leadoff guy. DeRosa also can't hit leadoff.

3) And instead of thinking "he's not that huge an upgrade over DeRosa", can you say the same thing about Theriot? The rumor is that he'd be the SS - he came up as a SS and shifted to second. It doesn't seem farfetched at all. And he'd be a HUGE upgrade over Theriot. I love Theriot's moxie, but let's face it.

And that means DeRosa would still play almost everyday.

...so from THAT angle....

As for the guys we're "rumored" to be giving up.

Marshall pitched well last year no doubt, but Gallagher's not even the highest rated righty pitcher in our system - by Baseball America at least - that goes to Jose Ceda at #4, Gallagher is #5, and followed right after by Veal (a lefty) at #6.

So we're not gutting the farm - we've still got guys.

There have been excellent posts about Cedeno already (how he's had the job handed to him twice now and both Lou and Dusty sent him back to the minors).

So if the deal is Marshall, Gallagher, Cedeno... I'm fine with that :-)

Side note: I'm actually curious to see how Dempster does - he's obviously got stuff because you can't be a closer in the big show without getting folks out... but he lacks the overpowering blow-you-away stuff like Wood/Marmol. With some stamina built up (which I'm assuming he's been working on during the winter) I think he could actually be a decent #4.

We'll see though. And I like most of you would still like to see them add a starter... but I want it to be a GOOD starter. Bedard or Blanton - yes. Burnett - I'd love him too but there's no current talk about him being on the block so it'd be a shock to see hmi here for opening day... although I CAN see the JimK scenario of getting him at the deadline panning out.

What else is there though? We'd be just as well off with Dempster or maybe giving a youngster a shot in the fifth spot (or Lieber even). The fifth spot in the rotation is often the "experiment" spot for a team. The spot where you throw someone out there for a few starts and see if you catch something magic. Let's not panic if that's what we actually end up doing with that fifth starter slot.

I agree it'd be good to have another proven arm though - and I'd love to see it happen - but I just don't see the right deal being out there right now for the Cubs.

Like many of the posts here, I fully agree that the price for Roberts is becoming ridiculous. Yesterday MLBTraderumors expressed that any deal would have to include Pie, Hill and/or Colvin. That's probably not really credible as well, but that fact is that McPhail is not going to do the Cubs any favors, and he will milk what's perceived as desperation on our part.

With just the addition of Kukodome and Soto our offense received a huge upside bolt. And we'll also be greatly improved defensively with the two adds, plus Pie/Fuld in center. To "win it all" though will be determined on our starting pitching. While I'm not a big proponent on giving up Gallagher and Marshall, if we're going to do so, let's make it for a solid #2 starter in return. Pitching for pitching!! Either that or let the young kids pitch and rapidly develop under Pinella.

I would love to see the addition of a 2-3 starter instead of Roberts. I understand what he brings to the table but trading two starting pitchers is way too much for a position player where we already have some quality in DeRosa. I'd rather see a trade of Marshall and Gallagher for Blanton or Bedard. Where it is a 2 for 1 with the one having a huge upside.

I absolutely don't want Coco Crisp starting on my team. He can be a decent role player in the outfield as a late inning sub a la Pie at the end of last year. But after watching a number of Red Sox games, he just can't hit. Great speed and defense but we have that in Pie already. Whether Pie can hit doesn't matter since Crisp is a .260 hitter already.

I'd be happy to stand pat until the trading deadline and see what we have instead of over spending. By June we should know our needs much better than January.

This is exactly why I hate Phil Rogers: Not only does he give us completely wrong information about the deal, both happening or not, and the players involved, but he doesnt even follow the Cubs. I mean, his lineup is the dumbest thing I have ever seen. WHEN DID THE CUBS AGREE TO MOVE SORIANO DOWN!? It's not going to happen. Get over it. Lee hitting 6th? You've got to be s***ting me! No wonder everyone shot this down, he is dumb and wrong about everything.

Im going to wait until Bedard gets moved, if at all, before we start suggesting players in a Roberts deal, because, obviously, it depends largely on who the O's get from the M's...

The price tags for guys like Roberts and Bedard is ridiculous. How about we groom our own for once?

I say, invite all the young arms to spring training, and let them know that one to two slots are open in the rotation. Let the competition then begin!

Bryan,

I agree wholeheartedly. Certainly within all the names this posting group has highlighted in the farm, there should be two that can "rise to the top" to provide 10-12 wins each, which isn't much less than you'd get from a Bedard or a Haren.

Oops...I meant to say "Bedard or Blanton".

Mark and Bryan. I'm sorry, I can only speak for myself, but I am not interested in waiting any longer for "groom our own" to happen. Lets get Roberts, another starter, and worry about the farm system development after we win a damn world series. 100 years is too long, I have had good friends and relatives die waiting for a Cubs world series, and I just can't support waiting for are own guys to develop, because usuallay they don't anyway.

Jeff...You have a gift my friend! I am sold!

Fuk[dome]now, worry about the baby later. I don't want to wait either. An I agree...90% of solid prospects never cut it in the majors.

Man, if you think DLee is gonna bat 6th, you're nuts. Rogers is an idiot. Theriot can barely hit, imagine him getting at least a 100 more PA's than Lee? Insane. The only reason Theriot shouldn't bat 8th is that Pie should. I hope Fukudome gets to bat 2nd, no matter who is leading off.

Wow, looks like all the pro-prospect voices are coming out tonight in force. I, for one, say that if you want Gallagher, Marshall, and Cedeno for Roberts, you got it. Marshall hurts the most to me, but you've already got two loopin' lefties in the lineup, so three doesn't make much sense. Any deal involving Rich Hill, though? Heck no! That hurts too much.

By the way, if Roberts does come over, I fully expect him to give SS a try. It just makes sense to replace Theriot everyday instead of DeRosa. Also, even if we do get Roberts, Soriano is not moving down the lineup. We tried that, remember? Not pretty. I expect Roberts will bat no. 2, and Fuk will break up Lee and Aram - at least that's what I'd do with him.

If we do lose Marshall, I'm sure we'll go out and get another pitcher. I'd like a good #3 to give us a solid 1-4, and let Marquis, Demp, and all the other prospects battle it out for the 5th spot.