This is the crew chief opining--and I do have the support of another member of the umpiring crew.

Will the real Joe S. please take the field? That would not be the one who didn't "Just ask what happened", but took the accusatory position that what should have remained Aaron's private matter was a fabrication.

"Calling Out" is likely best left to site mission specific stuff--like that someone's opinion on the considerable value of Marquis or that Soriano gets you Beltran doesn't make sense. Stuff like calling a person a bag of any kind or any thing, or suggesting that a person has an unfortunate skin disorder or an inclination to fabrication falls outside the mission of this site, is juvenile and (in athletic terms) is both unsportsman-like conduct and unnecessary roughness.

It's likely clear to most on this site that the person starting the unfortunate diatribe shouldn't have. It may not be clear what constitutes the three levels of maturity in conversation. And so, this explanation. At the ADULT level, the husband asks his wife, "Do you know where my shoes are?" At the PARENTAL level, she says, "If you had put them where they belong, you would know where they are." In a hurry and stressed, the husband at the JUVENILE level responds, "Up Yours!" Recovering his adult sense, he later calls the florist.

Knowing that even parental level conversation is iffy on CCO and having just intervened in that way, I will now get on with my likely illusion that Soriano can and should be traded. At least I'm only expecting one good quality player and a couple of good prospects. And I am willing to put Marquis in the deal.

You're killin me....I'm starting to wonder if I'm bantering back and forth with a 13 year old with a bad case of acne who can't get out to meet girls....but in any event....as I said before, it was a simple question....you "drop hints" to impress...I just asked what happened with it...kinda simple isn't it?? But you can say you'd kick my ass or I'm gay or whatever you'd like to not talk about the real issue which is you were called out and thats the only way you can respond. I'm cool with that. Maybe you can write one of your 1000 word essays on why you want to work for MLB...just don't stay up past your bedtime.

Joe, Joe, Joe...LOL, you're such a tool dude...just the way you talk.

Joe, you're gay.

Then, you'll say, "no I'm not!!!" or something to that effect....

Then, using your logic, I'll say, "well, the fact that you responded, trying to defend yourself only lends to the fact that you are, indeed gay"

Yes, you will eat crow over your remarks. Why? Because I've already had 2 interviews, and there's a lot of other factors which is none of your business. I've said that on here before, that it's what I really want to do, which, is why I even mentioned something. Sure, maybe I'm counting my chickens before my eggs hatch, but I'm confident.

I shouldn't have to explain myself, but since you're clearly a douschbag and drew me into this, I WILL defend myself, because I'm not going to let someone say that. Period. End of story.

Aaron, Aaron, Aaron....such hostility. Did I hit a nerve? Sorry dude, it isnt personal....but I call em as I see em....was just a question man....see most people won't "brag" or "drop hints" until something like that is official. For so many reasons. Think I'm the only one in here that thinks what I wrote? Doubtful. Just the only one who wrote it. Then to see your response....yeah, just furthers my doubt. I'd love to be proved wrong--I'd eat a slide of crow pie in front of everyone here....so...rather than flap gums on here....it's real simple....rather than get mad (which I'm sure anger management classes can be found in your area--I'm certain your new potential "boss" would not like the temper)....just prove me wrong and get the last laugh...doesn't get any easier than that.

Joe S., I'd promised myself when I came back on here I wouldn't be drawn into fights picked by idiots, but you really crossed the line, and given who I am, if I saw you, I'd kick your ass....enough said about that. That was a jerk-off comment from a someone who doesn't even have a life---you---in all likelihood.

I've been working for the past year with an owner of a major league team. I am not allowed to say, because it could affect job prospects, but if you don't believe me, kiss my ass....if you said it to my face, I would plant you..Understand? So don't go spouting off on here, trying to smear me when you have no clue.

Not a bad idea on Ibanez Joe S. He has hit 20-25 HR a year at the Cavernous Safeco field while maintaining a very decent .350 OBP.... he can't be too hard to get too.... that might be the perfect tweak to get him to play RF and have Fuku split between RF, CF and the bench

And when Hoffpauir wins ROY JimK, the faithful here can talk about how bad he sucks and where to trade him...lol

So, Aaron, you mentioned in a post awhile back about something you were working on with MLB I believe, wasn't it? Any movement on that? You said you "couldnt talk about it" yet... so I'm very curious to know if that wasnt just talk coming out of the proverbial backside.......

As for "reality" I think if any free agent is likely to land in Chicago it will be OF Raul Ibanez who is lefty and can play LF, RF, and even 1B. he has a good average and hits for some power. He is one of Lou's boys from his time there....

Blanco has been a favorite in the locker room, has been Geo's mentor...and actually hit decent this year...as opposed to some views I say it's very likey Blanco has his option picked up.

Wouldnt suprise me that shortly after the meeting on October 19th that the Cubs pick up Blanco's option and announce a deal with Woody and Dempster.

well we can forget tex. he is a boras client and he will absolutely go to the highest bidder and it will not be us(hopefully). we do not need to blow a 97 win team up but when u play like we did all year and lay an egg in the post season people tend to get a little irrational. i believe the something needs to be done about dlee. he is my favorite player and he is a staple in the clubhouse but he is no three hitter. we need a three hitter and move him down to about seven and our lineup will be stacked.......bb

Oh, what the heck. We'll do a couple of tweeks and win with deeper pitching and by exceding our quota of Puerto Ricans (in honor of Agustin). We'll sign free agent pitcers Ben Sheets, Randy Johnson and Brian Fuentes. We'll let Blanco go and bring in the younger, switch hitting, FA, catcher Javier Valentin, another of Agustin's many cousins. He hits with power against right handers and will give us another lefty to go with Hoffpauir and Fontenot when Lou wants to power up. When Dome suffers ineffectivitis (as one of the Faithful calls it) we'll play Hoffpauir in right and he will go .310-28-92 and win ROY--if he's still elgible. When Soriano goes down for his early season 40 game rehab, we'll bring up Dubois and he'll hit .320 with 16 HR as a stand in.

Left Power Hitter has to be a no.1 Priority.

The Stat they cited about the Dodgers... In the regular season -- they did not pitch a lefty in ONE SINGLE INNING against the TOTALLY right handed Cubs lineup.... Fukudome?? OOOHHHH JOE TORRE almost wetted himself with fear.....

I'd even take a $10 million flyer on Dunn to play RF/1B...... only because I can't think of anyone else ---- (UNLESS WE GET ICHIRO!!!!)

Cary, you're right on....my posts have been kind of long, but I want it to be thorough...additionally, I'm a very impatient person by nature, so this offseason---and length of it, is already killing me. I'll be a lot more at ease once (hopefully) Hendry makes some moves. I like the core of this team, but I do not like the way our lineup is compose. As of this moment (keep in mind, FA's not included) this is the way we would be composed:

Soriano-LF

Theriot-SS

Lee-1B

ARAM-3B

Soto-C

DeRosa-2B

Fukudome-RF

Pie-CF (Johnson and Edmonds are both FA)

Z

Harden

Lilly

Marquis

Marshall (Dempster is a FA)

Gaudin

Samardzija

Marmol

Ascanio

Hart

Guzman

Wells

(Lieber is hurt/will retire, ditto Fox... Wood, Wuertz, Cotts, and Howry are FA's if memory serves correctly---Wood and Howry for sure...and Cotts and Wuertz I believe are too--at least arbitration guys)

***Wood might be the only FA brought back, so looking at the pen and what we'd have, we'll probably have at least 3 spots to fill given our current options.

Bench-Cedeno, Fontenot, Blanco (if his option is exercised)...Ward, Johnson, and Edmonds are all FA's

Edmonds will in all likelihood, retire. Ward should not be brought back, and I doubt Blanco will be back, and Cedeno might even be traded given his antics with our head trainer at the end of the year.

If that's the case, then we'd have 4 bench spots to fill.

By my estimates, that'd leave us 7 spots to fill. So, like it or not, there WILL be changes to our team. If you give Hoffpauir the shot he deserves, then there'd be 6 spots left. I guess you could pencil in Wells (but he was injured at the end of the season after a strong showing---a la Ryan O'Malley). You could also move DeRosa to super sub, or something to that effect, and I highly doubt the Cubs would go with either Pie or Johnson in CF, so that'd bring the total up to about 7 spots to fill.

Guys, can you imagine running that same damn lineup out there next year?!?! For the most part, those guys, outside of ARAM, Soto, and DeRosa, really didn't impress much last year. Okay, so some of you say, "well, guys like Lee got us to the playoffs in the first place" Will you still be saying that with another early round exit next year...because they suck in the postseason for us...you might cite Lee's average, but he had no big hits, especially when he had chances.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion on this site. I'm enjoying the ideas being presented. Valid or not, it's pretty interesting input (for all us armchair GM's). So if anyone is "fatigued", see you in April when the season starts.

Cam Bonifay and Dave Littlefield are unfortunately no longer GM's of the Pirates. I would love McClouth, but that is another fantasyland trade possibility. With Jason Bay traded, McClouth is the only poster-boy left in Pittsburgh; and he isn't heading into free-agency like Jason Bay was. The Pirates will ONLY trade McClouth if they get a young star back they can put on the website. And the only young star we have is Soto.

I am sorry, I am just getting fatigue from all the "trade the team" rumors. Some other site had a "why don't we trade Soriano and Theriot for Carlos Beltran". Unless that reader has naked pictures of Omar Minaya, that isn't happening either.

Bryan, I almost forgot about McLouth...I love your idea for that, but, I just don't see that happening. I don't know what the deal is with his contract situation given his service time...all I know is the following:

http://baseball.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_baseball_arbitration_works

A player and club who cannot agree on a contract may agree to salary arbitration, provided that the player has enough service time in the majors. The following players are eligible for arbitration:

(1) Players with at least 3 but less than 6 years of service in Major League Baseball;

(2) The top 17 percent of players with at least 2 but less than 3 years of Major League service. These are known as “Super 2” players. To qualify as a Super 2, a player must have accumulated at least 86 days of service in the previous year. Historically, the cutoff point for Super 2 status is 2 years, 128 days of service, though the requirement has been as high as 2 years, 140 days in years past.

(3) Players who have filed for free agency may also go through the arbitration process if their former team makes an offer of arbitration and the player accepts.

He has totals of 41, 106, 137, and 152 games played. I don't really know how that works though with service time. According to arbitration rules, he doesn't appear eligible, which would, in turn, mean that the Pirates would have absolutely no reason to trade him given their horrible attendance, record, and financial state. They're always looking to unload guys that are going to cost them later like: ARAM and Giles in the past, Bay, Nady, Marte, etc. I'd love McLouth for CF, and would trade Pie, Cedeno, and a top pitching prospect in a heartbeat for him. But it has to make sense for both teams. It certainly makes sense for us, but not them, and we wouldn't want to trade more than Pie, Cedeno, and say, Marshall/Hill/Veal/Atkins for him. Samardzija and Ceda woul probably appeal to them,but it wouldn't make sense for us, robbing us completely of our depth, and they DEFINITELY wouldn't want a major league contract.

I know that the Pirates have wanted to rid themselves of Jack Wilson's contract, so perhaps Cedeno and Theriot would make sense, but obviously, that's not enough. We could include Vitters, yet they already have Andy LaRoche. But do you really want to trade one of your best "ceiling" prospects? We just don't have much to offer that they could use. Hoffpauir would play first, but they have Adam LaRoche. What they need is outfielders. All they'd have for next year would be Brandon Moss, Nyjer Morgan, and either Jason Michaels or Steven Pearce. All of them combined couldn't even come close to McLouth's production, so if we were to make a trade with them, in my opinion, we'd have to involve a third team to give them what they need.

Matt, I understand your thinking with the no-trade clauses and us being hand-cuffed...HOWEVER, keep in mind that a lot of people in baseball didn't even give us much love this offseason because of our roster changes. They pointed out that all we did was sign a great hitter from Japan, yet unknown commodity in the bigs, and we still had holes in the rotation, pen, CF, and no lefty power threat. I have the article somewhere in my house...it was USA Today's columnists before the season, and it was spot on. Though we surprised everyone, including, perhaps our own guys with the way we performed, we still had glaring holes that were plugged by the following:

RF-Fukudome did alright, then completely collapsed from June-October.

CF-Pie was up, then struggled, sent to AAA, and Edmonds was signed.

Power lefty- Edmonds supplied this, albeit with a sub .250 average, and he's said he might retire this offseason.

Rotation-Dempster was switched, and did an UNBELIEVABLE job...in fact, too good to be true given his career stats, but will he follow through with another solid campaign? We traded spare parts for Harden, and he struggled to stay healthy, and now, we find ourselves in much the same predicament as last year with our rotation.

Bullpen-WOW!!! to say it was a carousel would be an understatement: Wood, Marmol, Howry, Pignatiello, Wuertz, Fox, and Lieber, were the ones we had out of spring training (b/c I believe Eyre was hurt), then we had Eyre, Cotts, Ascanio, Marshall, Gallagher, Hart, Samardzija, Gaudin, Wells, and Guzman.

That's a lot of atrition in the pen, and something we have to correct this offseason. A stable pen helps an unstable bullpen, and vice-versa. Either you go after guys like Lowe or Sabathia that can take you deep into games, or you must get some solid pen guys.

I guess we'll see how everything shakes out in November with the non-tenders, option declines, and some trades, but I think we have to aggressively pursue Teixeira, as many have suggested on here. Additionally, it wouldn't hurt to get a bat like Dunn, Bradley, Manny, or Beltran (via trade). It also wouldn't hurt to sign Furcal, as he has better range and a stronger arm than Theriot, and WAY more extra base power, which, if you keep Lee, you must have in the top of the order, which, I believe is why Piniella stopped putting Theriot before Lee towards the end of the year, because he knew of Lee's ground ball tendencies.

No matter how you slice it we really need to jetison Lee, Soriano, Marquis, Cedeno, Wuertz and Ward. While I know it's a "recruitment ploy", these non-trade clauses really handcuff a team.

Whether you place Soriano as #1 or #3, the guy is just not a "gamer", and kills us with his lack of plate discipline in the cluth. You will never win a WS with him as he can't (and won't) make hitting adjustments. And as many of this group have stated already, he feeds off of the lower-echelon pitchers, which obviously you don't see come playoff time.

Derrick is just aging (and I think has lost his mojo for the game). Marquis places too much pressure every outing to the middle relief, and the rest, well, they just need to go.

To me, Texeira has to be a high priority, followed by a Peavy (thru trade) or AJ Burnett. Also, I'd like to see us maneuver with our favorite trade victim (the Pirates) for CF McLouth. I would take him over Soriano any day, and we have the right trade pieces to make that happen. So I can see...

McLouth LF

DeRosa 2B

Texeira 1B

Ramirez 3B

Soto C

Hoffpauer/Fdome RF

Johnson/Pie/Edmonds CF

Theriot SS

No, no.

Lee aint a 8 hole hitter either:

Last try, haha

I see Lou's predicament now....-.-

Theriot

DeRosa

Soriano

Ramirez

Edmonds

Soto

Lee

Fukudome

I guess Lee could fill a 7 hole spot in the very deep 2008 Cub lineup...

Hell. I dont know. =D

I take that back.

I wouldnt want DP-Lee in the two hole to double off the singles hitting Theriot.

Switch DeRo and Lee.

You say its only a few minor adjustments, man. But its really about 100 million dollars worth of adjustments.

Your team is a better team, but its unlikely to happen. The team we have now is built to win, we just have to get the players in their right spot in the lineup.

Soriano is a three hitter.

Theriot is a leadoff hitter.

Lee is a 2 hole hitter.

Fukdome is a five hole hitter (If back on track)

Yet, all of those guys were in places where their value is diminished.

Not cool.

I do want to see some roster adjustments and I'll figure out what to do there come November.

But I think the 2008 Cubs would have been better off:

Theriot

Lee

Soriano

Ramirez

Fukudome

Soto

Edmonds

DeRosa

The only problem I admit there is the lack of a power leftie.

Thats what I REALLY want serviced in the offseason

I'm in agreement with almost everyone on here....you don't just blow up a team that won 97 games, and I understand the concern that some have about what has been suggested on here, but the fact is, it's just a littl tweaking. I listed a few positions as priority, so obviously they aren't all going to be accomplished, but it's a start. I really hope Hendry goes after guys like Teixeira, Bradley, Dunn, Lowe, Sabathia, Furcal, etc. Why wouldn't you? If you had a chance to improve your team overnight, wouldn't you do it too? Lowe, Sabathia, Furcal, and Teixeira all have something in common....they all produce very well during the season, and all have postseason experience. What that means, is they probably will not be easily rattled in pressure situations, and will produce well for us during the season to get us there.

Look, I know Soriano and Lee have no trade clauses....however, many other players have had those clauses in the past, and once approached to waive the clause, they usually do, because they know that they probably aren't wanted, so it's an awkward situation for them if they come back to that team. Now, keeping that in mind, I don't think it'd bother Soriano, and he'd want to stay, because that's why he signed long-term to begin with---he went from the Yankees to Rangers to Nats to Cubs, all in a few years, so he wanted stability...that might be a difficult sell to him, but he might prefer to be around a lot of other Latin players and a Latin GM with the Mets, so who knows?

Aaron, I like that you want to improve, several problems with your trade scenarios.

First, Lee, Soriano have no-trade clauses. They have to WANT to be traded. Neither of them seem to hate Chicago, and I doubt anyone wants to give them more money to facilitate a trade. I have never heard of a player waiving a no-trade clause without getting money in return, UNLESS they really hate it somewhere (and even then, they can get something in return, like Man-Ram did).

Second, if they did waive no-trade (it is possible), Lee and Soriano would not net any prospects in return. In fact, we would likely have to take on somebody else's large contract. If you were a GM, would you sign Lee on a 2 for $26mil, or Soriano 6yrs for $106mil? Probably no, but that's what's left on their deals, so you have to help someone eat it.

Trading Marquis is feasible. I would not do that unless we resign Dempster or another good pitcher, and we decide Marshall or Samardzija should be in the rotation. Marquis is a decent #5 starter, better than we can sign or trade for reasonably on the open market. Which is also why he actually has some trade value at $9.875 mil. Not alot, but some. When Carlos Silva gets $48mil, you have to be careful about relying on the FA market to fill out rotation slots.

I would prefer Marshall in that slot over Marquis, but if we are trading a starter, Marshall would bring ML-Ready value back in another area of need, like CF or LHRP.

If we want to fill holes through trade, the only expendable trading chips of value we have on the ML roster are Marshall and Pie. Rich Hill and Wuertz have a little, but not much. Marquis has a little market value. So does Fontenot.

I personally think trading Soriano is dumb. He is a great player. He is a frustrating player, but a great one. We could not replace him without spending a pile of money on someone else, because we don't have anyone internally for LF, or at least someone with his ability.

Teixeira, Beltran (trade w/ Mets for Soriano, Theriot, and maybe a prospect), Furcal, Dunn, Sabathia, Lowe, Orlando Hudson, Affeldt, Gagne, Ivan Rodgriguez..those are probably, in that order, who I would target in the offseason.

You replace Lee with Teixeira

Soriano with Beltran

Theriot with Furcal

Fukudome with Dunn

Marquis with Sabathia/Lowe

Cedeno with Hudson

Howry with Affeldt

Wuertz with Gagne

I am replacing technically only 3 starters: Lee, Soriano, and Theriot

Soriano and Theriot would be in the same trade for Beltran, so you'd have to replace Theriot. Soriano is a selfish player who is streaky, which we DO NOT need, as evidenced by when all 3 of our big guys would go cold at the same time, and we'd be screwed. Plus, he isn't that great in the OF. The routes, errors, and other miscues in the field led to more runs than he prevented with his arm.

Lee is 33, and looking every bit of his age. He might be a good guy, but, let's face it, this might've been one of Hendry's worst signings outside of Soriano in terms of length of contract and prior stats didn't warrant it. Teixeira, by far, is the best FA out there, and is seeking something like 16-18 per year----not much difference from what Lee makes.

Furcal would be a great replacement as a table setter for us.

Dunn might not be great in the field, but his bat would sure win some games, and it'd give us the power lefty bat we so desperately seek...and need, and with Beltran and perhaps Pie in the OF, his defensive deficiencies would not be as magnified.

As I mentioned before, I'd try to sign Lowe first, because he'd come easier than Sabathia anyway, but even more so, because his sinker fits well in Wrigley.

Here's what I know...I might be an armchair GM right now, but I have seen:

-Dunn, Bradley, Furcal, Ibanez, Hudson, Lowe, Sabathia, and trading Soriano and/or Lee, bantered about in mainstream media. I am NOT making any of this up. More times than not, mainstream media is wrong about rumors, but usually they have legs from somewhere, so it's not as far-fetched as some might think.

We already know that Lee drew the ire of Piniella for his lack of clutch hitting, GIDP's, etc. We know that Soriano did likewise, and he keeps getting these leg injuries. We know that Hendry is fond of Furcal, and tried getting him before, as well as Hudson. We know that both Lou and Hendry have said we need a power lefty bat. We also know that both of them want a table-setter, and have said as much ALL damn year, even before Soriano's injuries. We know that Lou is tired of Marquis, and has very little patience for pitchers that nibble and don't throw strikes, and consistently give him more than 6 innings.

I know that all of the players mentioned fit that bill. I know that we could send Lee to the Angels (who wanted to sign both him AND Soriano in the past), the Giants, or the Athletics---all of whom have 1B issues---especially if the Angels lose Teixeira. I know we can gain valuable prospects in exchange for Lee, for Marquis, and perhaps, in the Soriano trade with Theriot for Beltran. I know that we can use these prospects to make bigger trades later on, and our system is finally starting to produce major league ready talent: Theriot, Fontenot, Pie, Cedeno, Hoffpauir, Wuertz, Marmol, Samardzija, Marshall, Hill, Soto, etc. Over half our team could be homegrown next year, depending on trades. I think it's time to employ the Yankees philosophy of the 90's, where you keep the outstanding ones, then ship out spare parts in packages for up-and-coming starters.

The future is definitely bright, and with some tweaking as I've mentioned, we'll make it to the Series...FINALLY. But, believe me, if Hendry only makes one significant FA signing (Fukudome) as he did last year, we might not even win the division.

I think it all depends on who buys the team and if the sale is completed soon. Not sure the economy is going to have any serious effect on the new owner.

I dislike the idea of babysitting a pitchers arm all year. You might get a bunch of quality starts but there too much risk and managers need predictability for planning. I think the trade market will discount this so it is likely to be a season long hand wringer. I'd prefer to trade him for a lesser but more stable value. Tough trade as only a handful of teams might be interested. Best thing might be to just put him on a lot of rest through the first half and if he really shines take the opportunity then to move him to a hopeful. As to free agents Lowe would be a good choice for Wrigley. The Cubs will not be serious competitors for Sabbathia unless sommething dramaticaly changes. Hendy likes to tinker and work around the periphery. I would not trust him to make a major commitment anyway.

Umm.... Jason Marquis has a 3 yr, $21 million contract --- which is $7 million per..

$7 million is no.5 starter salary in baseball today....

Jim Hendry is not very bright, but this was a no-brainer..... 150 Harden Innings is worth more than 220 Marquis Innings fer sure.

Harden I believe started off as an outfielder, and was switched to a starting role. His problem is he throws very hard, and has an over-the-top motion that puts a lot of pressure on his shoulder (very Prior-esque, except Harden doesn't have the same solid mechanics). Both Harden, Wood, Prir, and Zambrano all have something in common....They all throw high 90's, and are primarily strikeout pitchers. As you know, if you strikeout a lot of hitters, your pitch count will inevitably go up.

I have a theory on why all these pitchers have gone down, and haven't been as effective. Pitchers were, perhaps, the biggest abusers of PED's, and not just steroids, but HGH, which helped them recover after starts of throwing 120+ pitches. If you look now, guys like Webb, Hamels, Cliff Lee, Dempster, Billingsley, Lowe, Moyer, Lohse, Danks, Mussina, etc. all are more finesse-type pitchers. I think gone are the days that over-powering Wood/Prior/Clemens/Randy Johnson/Smoltz-type guys dominate the league.

I don't mean to get started on a witch-hunt sort of thing again, but it might affect your choice for a shutdown starter. A guy like Lowe might be the best bet, lowest risk, good stats, and best fit for Wrigley as a groundball pitcher. Consider how many home runs Dempster gave up this year (something like 8), and you'll see how effective he was with his splitter, getting a lot of groundballs outs, and he was like 14-3 at home. That's why you go after Lowe. He is 35 years old though, so.....

so what is the reason for the drop in velocity?

"Hendry said Cubs player development director Oneri Fleita had spoken to reliever Carlos Marmol, who was injured in a car accident in the Dominican Republic early Tuesday. A truck hit a car carrying Marmol, a cousin and a friend in Bonao, and Marmol required seven stitches in his forehead."-mlb.com

I have a lot of doubt of our rotation for 2009. Will Z and Harden stay healthy? GM Hendry wasn't sure of the later, still. Z showed some wear now. We don't even know if Marmol and the Shark can carry on their durability (90 IP for 2009?).

I will repeat what I thought was priority in offseason 2007: a solid 3rd starting pitcher. No "internal option" right now can fill that hole.

Yeah....I agree about the "Prior" connection.... One worry I have about the season is counting on Harden who has health issues....and now possibly Zambrano having issues as well.... I feel like it could be Wood/Prior Part II.....

We need Rich Hill to bounce back....and sign a top line pitcher...hopefully Sabathia....and bring back Demp.....

JJ, from what I have read, Harden seeing the doc was more for precautionary reasons than anything else. The drop in velocity and the shot he received in early September ran up the 'red flag'.

On Harden, he is and will always be a health risk. This past season was as healthy as he's been during his career. A 'healthy' Harden would be great for next season but most not be depended upon to make 30+ starts.

God, its like Ive seen this story in 'prior' seasons, if you get my drift.

Yeh, Skijackz. I feel it too.

I think Im just skiddish from the "employee".

He looked good in game 3. An offseason worth of rest will do him loads of good.

Why am I getting a Prior feeling about this injury?

neil what exactly is his injury now?

I'm just glad he didn't have "Genetic Looseness".

Smartest move Hendry has ever done.

Ace #1 locked up for 2009.

That's a good start!