We have to come up with a new word to use when a player signs a new contract. When I saw the headline that Dempster resigns, I thought he quit. Maybe it should be "re-signs" or "signs anew", just not resigns. It gave me a bit of a start.

John...great point. Changed the title of the article and added the dash. Never looked at it that way, thank you for pointing it out.

you know something, for what they are going to have to give up for RF in terms of either money or players (or both) for the likes of guys like Teahan, Dunn, Abreu, Ibanez, or Milton Bradley, I think they are just better off putting Hoffpair out there. I know it will never happen, but none of these potential RF's gets me that excited. I think Hoffpair would outhit Teahen and Bradley for a fraction of the cost.

And Ibanez and Abreu will cost a bundle and neither are good OF's. I think Hoffpair could easily hit 15-20HR, 70-80 RBI, bat .280. Could Teahan do that ? Doubt it. And I know Hoffpair would not win gold glove, but hey, we alrady have him and his salary is peanuts. We could use the $$ and prospects saved to improve somewhere else. The only name that I have heard as a potential that really excites me is McLouth, but we'll probably never get him either.

just my $.02

(I know I'm dreaming)

:-)

Adam Dunn ? no, no, no Please no !!!! The guy is a butcher in the OF, he strikes out a ton and has a low BA. people get so caught up in looking at those HR / RBI totals, but i will bet you that so many of those HR's come when you don't really need it (i.e blowout game) But, but, but when the game is on the line in the 8th or 9th and all you need is a flyball, or goundball, or a single, guess what you'll get from ole Adam when he faces that tough lefty out of bullpen ? The Big K !!! I will guarantee it !! I'm sorry, but NO WAY !!! These type of players are stat accumulators, IMO. (i.e they feast on bad pitching, like Soriano) but when they face good pitching (i.e in playoffs) fugetaboutit !! He gone ! Plus, do we really another strikeout machine ? We already have Soriano, Soto, & DPLee who strike out a lot. PLEASE NO !!!!!!

I will never understand the fascination with this guy. Not too mention with him and Sori in OF, we would have worst defensive OF in league.

ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!!! See my stats about him above.....

JUST SAY NO!!!!

I think that Teahen is a decent sleeper choice for the spot. Young, with some pop and decent speed. Would come cheap.

I don't think that Peavy is out of the question. The Padres NEED to move his salary..and Peavy WANTS to go to the Cubs. I think this works in the Cubs favor.

As for the last comment about JH, that is pure opinion and nothing factual. If Ceda was the player the Padres wanted, the trade would have already been done. Fact is the Cubs were second to the Braves from the start, and Ceda did not make one bit of difference to the Padres.

Yeah, I am determined to get a proven slugger that hits 40 home runs, 100 RBI, 100+walks, and .400 OBP

I am also PISSED to learn about this...

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/royals/story/897263.html

It pisses me off because it appears that signing Dempster has taken us out of the Peavy sweepstakes. Now, many on here, myself included, have mentioned the fact that Dempster had a career year, and we can't really expect much from him going forward.

It also pisses me off, because I'd rather the Cubs acquire a proven power bat for the OF, and Dunn and Abreu are the only ones on the market that can accomplish that. Now, in the original post I saw about Teahen on MLB trade rumors, Teahen was apparently mentioned in Money Ball as a potential future Jason Giambi (which begs the question, if Beane really felt that way, why didn't he trade for him?) I liked the Teahen idea originally, provided that he was a utility guy---not our starting RF.

Also, another note on the stupidity of Hendry. Apparently, his trade of Ceda to the Marlins for Gregg, significantly diminished our potential package for Peavy, and led to the comments of Towers that we might have to involve a 3rd or 4th team. WOW!!!

Looking at more Dunn numbers from the link Aaron provided:

Batting Average vs LH = .235

Mr. Clutch?

Batting Average in August = .227

Batting Average in September = .223

More Mr. Clutch?

After 0-1 count Batting Average = .199

After 0-2 count Batting Average = .121

After 1-2 count Batting Average = .129

After 2-2 count Batting Average = .166

Even More Mr. Clutch?

RISP Batting Average = .225

Batting Average w/2 outs in inning = .226

2 Outs and RISP Batting Average = .214

These are the reasons I was talking about in the post above. He is not a clutch hitter.

Mark Teahen...wtf???!!!! why would the Cubs consider Mark "I'm so good I play for the Royals" Teahen?! Makes absolutely no sense for me. We already have a Mark Teahen..his name is Kosuke Fukudome. Look at their stats...they come out even. Sure Teahen is cheaper, but it's not like the Royals would pick up all or most of Fukudome's contract to save us money. Bad bad move for the Cubs to even consider Teahen.

Rob....Bruce Levine mentioned the Cubs' interest in Mark Teahen over the weekend. Here is the link:

http://chicagocubsonline.com/archives/2008/11/rumornews111508.php

Aaron,

You are bound and determined to keep Adam Dunn on your Christmas List arent you? I MIGHT be willing to try him for a year, but I really don't like the idea.

Sure, you posted some of his numbers from Wrigley Field. That's 81 games. BUT...what about the other 81 games he would play at the other stadiums. Did you happen to notice how BAD his averages are at other stadiums? There were quite a few he is UNDER .200. Keep in mind he also is horrid against LH pitching, hitting .232. Think in a clutch situation the league won't bring a lefty in to face him? That defense would be just horrible.

The biggest point I try to mak about Dunn is that sure, I'm sure he will crush homers out of Wrigley. BUT, how many games will we faithful be watching a game, blogging along on here as we watch Dunn come up with runners on base and we just need a clutch hit and the guy strikes out and we are on here cussing about it? Dunn is basically an all or nothing player which is why his batting average is so crappy. So we'd be taking an all or nothing player on offense and a completely nothing player on defense.

I'm with you on Abreu. My feeling is that if he isn't used for a trade I give Micah Hoffpauir the shot in spring training. His bat deserves a shot. His defense is merely because he hasn't played much OF so he deserves a chance to get acclimated.

I'm glad to get Dempster back, and really hope we go out and get Peavy still. WOW..imagine Zambrano, Dempster, Lilly, Harden, Peavy!! That opens up the door for a Marquis trade, also Rich Hill (out of options) and gives us the best rotation in MLB.

Aaron... About Abreu. I've heard that he has a problem in the OF--but I don't know what it is. He had 609 AB's last year, which means he played all the time, and he had 2 errors and 10 asssists. He's not slow, having 22 SB's. And he hit .296 with 20 HR's and 100 RBI's (I believe) for the 6th year in a row. His OBP was .371 and he had 73 W's to go with 109 SO's.

I concede that Dunn will hit 40 + HR's and he is 8 years younger. But I don't see him meeting our need for an excellent 3-hole hitter and getting a lefty bat in that spot. What's not to like about Abreu?

Aaron - I think the idea of trading Lilly if we get Peavy has merit, but I think I'd rather keep him. He's not spectacular - but he's rock solid. We need a guy that's an innings eater - and he's been that through his career. With the questionable track record healthwise of Harden and Z - we need that anchor in case one of them goes down.

But I do think there would be a great market for him if we tried to move him.

I only like the Dempster signing if the Cubs trade for Peavy too.

Who could honestly say they feel good about this team, unless they get some proven October performers? Or at least some guys that have not failed yet. I am with Aaron, I want Hendry to flip as much of this team as he can. I know Soriano's contract is immovable and Lee won't waive his no trade, but there has to be something they can do. "Nice seasons" may be OK for you younger guys, but I've paid my loyalty dues. Now, only a W.S. championship will do, and we know for a fact that bringing back the 08 team will not get it done.

I don't like the Dempster move ... we may all be lamenting this deal in two years or sooner. I would have preferred to see this money go to Furcal ... who likely would sign the same deal.

Neil,

I like the idea of Bradley, and I've even stated the case for him, but now I might need to eat my words after doing more analysis.

Here's why:

Bradley's games played the last 7 years-

98, 101, 141, 75, 96, 61, 126

Now, when healthy (where have we heard that one before?), he can be a nightmare for opposing pitchers. He has a decent average in the .280 range and above, .370 career OBP, averages about 20 HR and 80 RBI, and better yet, he hits best during the day, and against finesse pitchers, which is what we struggle with most. It also goes without saying that his switch-hitting would add great balance to our lineup. But can we count on him for 140 games, much less even 100?!?!?

I know most everyone on here doesn't like Dunn, but he has absolutely destroyed the Brewers over his career (and us), and in fact, in 60 games at Wrigley, had one of his highest average outputs of any stadium:

60 games, 217 AB's, 48 runs, 62 hits, 11 doubles, 1 triple, 23 HR, 44 RBI, 49 Walks, 68 K's, .286 avg, .419 OBP, and an astounding .664 SLG

Now, think of him playing 81 games at our great ballpark. WOW!!!

It's almost too good to be true that he's available, and probably can be had for a decent price. We haven't had an opportunity like this since Carlos Lee was available (and we know his stats at Wrigley)

Check it out:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/bsplit.cgi?n1=dunnad01

I would sign him in a heartbeat, and I don't know what Hendry is waiting for. You have a bat like that available---you go get him. As I said before, if Howard was available, there's no doubt in my mind we'd have interest.

I would almost guarantee that you could get Dunn for 4 and $48 million or 3 and $36 million

It's a no-brainer to me. Abreu? Please, he's even less agile than Dunn, and doesn't have near the power and potential as Dunn, and he's 8 years older.

I'm getting really excited now - between this and the "reading between the lines" news that Padres' GM Towers is saying that it's come down to one team - the Cubs (which means Peavy has silently said to the Pads "I want to go to Chicago or I'm not waiving my no-trade") THAT is a rotation to be proud of :-)

good job jh

whats next peavey and abreu ?

Eddy, according to what Bruce Levine just said they are still working on Peavy and if they cannot trade for him, will turn their attention to Randy Johnson.

Levine also said they are looking at Milton Bradley.....will have more later.

My guess is that it was either to be Demp or Peavy--and I'm pleased we got one of them. The reported Furcal sighting is interesting but that means we top the 3 and $39 mil offer he has on the table (unless it's our offer that's on the table.) It's certain that Aaron's idea of $10 mil per won't get the job done.

I think JH is now focussed on Abreu--who is being offered arbitration by the Hankees. Three years and $40-42 mil could solve our (major) 3 hole and lefty bat needs. His health is more certain than Furcal's and SS is not a major need. The Rockies won't trade Hawpe (who would be a good alternative) because he is locked in for the next 3 seasons at the affordable annuals of $5.5, 7.5 and 10 mil.

Looking back on the post season, we'll likely say that JH went for winning now and accepted some age in the process. If we do get Abreu, I think he will move a few of our reserves and secondary players for some improved bench strenth--and a lefty reliever if Wood goes.

Yay....Dempter..

I want Kerry back...

No. I'm not over it.

Good try though Jim.

I think this is a decent signing. I mean, if you're going to give that kind of money to Lilly (and he hadn't done much in his career, and he's turned out alright for us), then this deal, with the cost of pitching going up---is a good deal for us.

Speaking of Lilly...what if the Cubs put him on the market to gauge interest? Guys that get you 15 wins, are around 200 innings, and have around a 4-something ERA are in high demand. What if the Cubs got Peavy?

We'd have Z, Peavy, Harden, Dempster, and Lilly (not to mention Marquis). I suggested a scenario like this (not involving Lilly, however), and it went something like this:

Z, Peavy, Harden, Dempster, and Randy Johnson.

In my suggestion in the community post, I suggested flipping Harden, but in this case, it wouldn't be necessary. You'd trade Lilly and Marquis to a team like the Rockies, Giants, or Padres (in a separate deal) and get top tier prospects. Perhaps even trading Lilly and Marquis to the Pirates, and eating a little bit of salary, might net McLouth. As for other teams, I'd just trade the likes of Lilly, Marquis, Wuertz, Lee, Fukudome, Colvin (and whatever other prospects it required) to get top prospects, and/or a guy like Hawpe, Teahen, etc.

I'd love a roster like this:

Z

Peavy

Harden

Dempster

Randy Johnson

pen: Gaudin, Cotts, Guzman, Ascanio, Gregg, Marmol, Wood

McLouth-CF

Theriot-SS

Dunn-RF

ARAM-3B

Soriano-LF

Fontenot/DeRosa-2B

Soto-C

Hoffpauir-1B

bench: Kroeger, Jake Fox, Nate Spears (if Cedeno is traded), Fontenot/DeRosa (whoever isn't starting), and Reed Johnson

***do you see how guys like: Marshall, Hill, Marquis, Wuertz, Cedeno, Fukudome, Pie, Hart, etc. just don't have a place on this team? That's 8 freaking guys with big league experience, and fairly good stats. I'm pretty damn sure we could use some to land the likes of Peavy and McLouth

I love the idea, Aaron.... that team would definitely give us the best chance at a World Series victory and I think it could be pulled off.

Who would have thunk this could happen 12 months ago. Many didn't think he would make the rotation out of spring training.

I am excited about this, still interested in pursuing Peavy. With teams dropping out of the hunt for him, we might be able to get him for a little less than was earlier speculated.

Glad to have Demp back for four more.

I still hope Hendry still tries to go after Jake Peavy. It seems like Peavy wants to play in Chicago and I think Jim could pull something off with somebody.

However, if getting Peavy means that Hendry has nothing left for somebody like Dunn or Abrea, then don't do it. We need a left handed bat more than Jake Peavy.

Furcal would be a great pickup even though it is highly unlikely to happen.

This made my day!!