Good morning Neil and CCO.

Just one Comment; I do not understand the idea of Cameron being a Cub. I am not a big fan of Felix Pie but without a doubt he is a much better option than Cameron the strikeout machine [160 times to be exact]. His defense is solid, but the same goes for Pie. Maybe a full season is what the kid needs enen though I feel his time is running out and that he is not going to be much better that Corey Patterson.

I would either give Felix the full season [no questions asked] or trade him now while he still has upside.
-just a thought-

Good day all, let's get something done today!

agustin,

I agree with you about your statement, except for the part about Pie's time running out. He's only 22 with about 1/2 a season worth of time. I feel a full season batting 7th or 8th would do the kid good. He may very well be the leadoff man of the future, but putting him in there now would be going down the same road as Corey Patterson. Batting him down in the lineup I think would put less pressure on him and allow him to mature as a MLB hitter.

You wonder whether the Yankees talk of fading interest in Santana and our possibly changing directions re Roberts is hype, but Cameron to the Yanks and Cabrera to us for prospects works for me. In about 2 seasons, switch hitting Cabrera has averaged .275 and .340 OBP with 99 SO, 129 W and he had 16 assists in 2007. He is 24 and plays anywhere in the OF. I'd give up Marshall or Veal, Ascaino and Kroeger thinking I had a possible full time CF or a competent reserve anywhere in the OF.

Thanks for the info Neil.

JimK, you beat me to it, lol. I would welcome this trade in a heart beat. Pie can spend another year in Triple AAA grooming his new swing, and we still have a young outfielder who plays good defense and has a very good arm, plus it gives us another insurance plan in the outfield.
It will be interesting to see which way Hendry goes, and what he brings in.

Cameron as a back-up outfielder is not a bad plan. He could play left-and-right too if Pie is given an extended

A comment about our rotation, which a lot of you were talking about yesterday. I have a totally radical idea...We keep talking about the depth at starting pitching we would lose by dealing Marshall and Gallagher, and I tend to agree that I don't want Brian Roberts for that price, and want see what those kids can do. Come the trade deadline, teams will be wanting to unload starters if they are not going anywhere, if we trade these guys now then we lose leverage later in the season. Gallagher has been compared to Jake Peavey (I think on this site, maybe not), and although I don't think that's realistic, he might be at least half as effective, which would be better than Marquis and Dempster. All that said, if we do have to give those guys up, and I know a lot of you will get mad when I say this, Carlos Marmol as a starter could be really good. He is totally valuable in the bullpen, but if Wood stays healthy, Howry plays well, and Wuertz, who is the most under appreciated guy on the team, keep chugging along, we'll have the depth to try it. He had 5 starts in 2006 where he went at least 6 innings, which doesn't seem like a lot, but the point is that he did have quality starts going from double a to the big league level. His stuff is electric enough that he should at least be given a shot at starting again now that he's older and more mature.

Totally off subject, but I have a bet with a friend. Does anyone know who made more last year the NFL or MLB, he says he thinks the NFL killed the MLB, but I siagreed with him, if anyone know the answer I would appriciate it. Thanks

Nick...I'm disrupting your life today. Sorry about that. I don't know the numbers but the NFL has greater revenues than MLB. If "made more" means profit, you will never get the answer because the owners/players' conspiracy to get into our pockets for as much as they can won't make that info public.

Andrew...Marmol does seem capable of being an excellent starter too. But with old guy Howry and "fingers crossed" Wood, Mamol seems committed to relief.

Cameron expects to be a starter, is both older and expensive and is suspended for a bunch of games--which (happily) means he's just right for the Yankees. JimK

Andrew,

I don't think Marmol would be an effective starter, because he only throws two pitches. Fastball/slider. That can be dominant 1 or 2 innings at a time, but if he has to go 6 or 7 innings in a game, opponents will eventually just start sitting on the fastball.

If he developed another pitch, like a good changeup, then he may have "starter" stuff. I tend to think Rich Hill needs to do the same thing. He needs a changeup or cutter to go along with his curve/fastball. I know he's been working on a 3rd pitch for a couple of years, and if he does, that's when he may become an upper-echelon pitcher.

I think Marshall has a little more upside than Hill, once he refines his skills. Because he already has a fastball/curve/cutter. The same pitches Andy Pettite has been successful with for many years.

I'm starting to sway a little toward keeping the prospects, instead of trading for Roberts, because I think Marshall has a very bright future. And if we do trade for Roberts, I wouldn't be opposed to sending Hill instead of Marshall. I think Hill has hit his ceiling, and Marshall will continue to develop very steadily until he becomes a solid #3 starter.

Yea, i just read an article in CNN saying baseball is right on the heals of the NFL, but has not surpassed them yet.

Thank god these are just rumors. Signing Cameron would be a disaster. He's a starter and it's time for Pie to step up. With this current lineup, he can hit 7-8 and learn the pitching at the show. Cabrera I wouldn't mind as a reserve since I think Murton in on his way out.

I truly believe we are only a starting pitcher and a decent bat off the bench from being right where we want. Wait til the trading deadline to make any adjustments and don't sell the farm for overpriced trades.

Also, agreed on Marmol. Keep him in the pen. There is nothing like having that shut down setup man when middle relief or the starter blows up.

Marmol came up as a starter. He made the jump from AA to the show. He showed that he was not effective as a starter, just like Guzman. MAde the move to the pen and dominated. If anyone else is making a jump from the pen it is going to be Wood and I don't see that happening. There is no reason not to give Pie a shot at CF. He can hit AAA pitching well, now is the time to put him in the 7th spot and leave him there. I would really like to have Roberts but not for what they want. Gallager and Cedeno no problem but not three players. Especially if any of the players are Hill, Pie or colvin.

Looks like Cameron got picked up by the Brewers.

Cubs signed Chad Fox to a minor league deal today

Neil,

What's the story on Fox? I thought he was done due to injuries a couple years ago. He always had a great arm and terrific stuff when healthly.

Fox?? 10-11 career relief pitcher with a good year for the Brewers?? Age 37 and out of baseball for 2 years after an injury while pitching for the Cubs??

I hope the reason JH now has stockpiled 19 relief pitchers (and none of the recent 4 or 5 being the lefty we could use) is that he needs arms for trades. My guess is that the Fox move is a goodwill gesture for a good guy, and that he is not epected to make it out of spring training. JimK

Cameron has signed with the Brewers. Thank heavens he didn't sign with the Cubs. He is absolutely overrated. He is 35 years old and only has a career .251 average. I think we can get that out of Pie. Plus his age and upside are much more appealing.

Neil:

What, No FROM THE WIRE headline announcing the Fox
signing? LOL. If he makes the team we are already playing 1 pitcher short. The smart money here says he's released by April.

The Brewers signed Cameron, and Gagne ....

we signed CHAD FOX..... so far our offseason has comprised of the addition of Fukodome...

As usual, we will all spend hours debating minor details and perhaps watch the Cubs sneak by the Brewers... but this team has NO HOPE IN HELL of beating any serious AL team in any playoff series....

Jim Hendry is an imbecile!

baron... As Harry used to say, "Backwards JH would

be an elicebmi. Just one more small thought. Maybe Fox becomes a low minors coach. I'm off to the pub and a little night music. I can't take any more of this excitement.

Baron -

...and we signed Wood for a hometown discount... and jettisoned a bunch of unproductive yet high priced players.

You WANTED us to sign Gagne and Cameron? Really?

...and so far as the Brew Crew goes they LOST Cordero, Jenkins, Linebrink... but they did sign Jason Kendall so that makes their GM a genius (sigh)

Fox is signed to a spring training invite non guaranteed minor league deal. This signing makes less of a blip to our regular season roster than the Pagan deal... which was almost below the threshold of mentioning in the first place.

It's a VERY minor deal - the guy was pitching for us two years ago when his arm blew up - I'm figuring this was the Cubs throwing a bone to a good guy to give him a chance to showcase whether or not he's got anything left. I'd say considering the state of the current Cubs pen, there's less than no chance of him making the opening day roster.

Chill out (sheesh). We already know you hate Hendry... just don't hate him because he didn't sign Cameron and somebody on the scouting staff asked him to throw Fox a chance to pitch in the spring (sigh)

I agree with Brad. The Cubs should wait until the trade deadline to make any trades. This will give them time to see what Pie and Marshall do.

I am not certain Z has the maturity to be an ace. But the Cubs don't have enough to trade for Santana and I don't think there are any other ace pitchers available.

Let's see what the young guys can do and if a stud bat or stud pitcher becomes available, make a strong play for them.

I am glad they got Fukudome this offseason, because there doesn't appear to be much else.

Baron (smiling and shaking my head)
Dude, how can you say that JH is an imbecile? His job is to give Lou what he needs to win. In light of an impending sale, the hysteria over Fukudome and preserving the Farm, I think Jim has done a good job. A solid "B" Do not forget that Woody has stayed with us because of the way JH and the organization as a whole has stood by his side. Many GMs would have "tired" of waiting for Woody to get healthy. Give Jim credit. He was able to resign Lee, ARam, "Z" and of course do not forget that we have arguably the best outfielder in Baseball in Soriano. This team is being put together with a plan, a purpose to be competitive now but most importantly longterm as well. Jim brought in the likes of Juan Pierre, Kenny Lofton, Nomar, DLee, Aramis, Sori and now Fuks and perhaps the Roberts drama will come to fruition by ST........ All quality players and young!!

Baron, cill Bro. Take a deep breath and watch what happens at the Tradining Deadline. Jim knows what he is doing....... Hell we are all talking about perhaps being the NLCS Champs..... How bad can it be?

Barry