Jim are you a Cub or a Red Sox fan? Zambrano isn't going any where , he's our muscel in our rotation ,he makes other teams think about it twice to go after any of our hitters and believe me they know that, that big Z has their back. I can easly say that the Cubs fan our as fustrared as they ever been, you can easly compare there situation what with the mets have gone through the last 2 years losing their division on the last day of the season. i know we have made the playoffs by winning the division the last two years but being swept 2 years in a row its almost the same feeling or even worse . my point is that Hendry needs to do what Minaya did in NY he adressed their problem with a bang(their bullpen)and beleive me living in NJ all these Mets fan have forgotten about the last 2 season and the way they ended and they're looking forward for next season. I know Hendry is looking to dump Marquis before any other moves but I find my self looking at the news headlines,internet,cell phone, ect. hoping to see a move that would put a smile on my face; Go ahaed and make a move already!!! eventually somebody will be knocking on the door for pitching, thats always what everybody needs. All im saying is: have some cojones and pull the trigger : either speed or power but adress our lack of lefty hitting in our line up.

and beleive me living in NJ all these Mets fan have forgotten about the last 2 season and the way they ended and they're looking forward for next season

Unless Tex and Manny act before Christmas, I see Bradley and Abreu discussions on hold. In that case, Cubs' inactivity may last until the new year. I'm not sure most of us can take that much more torture.

For all of his flaws, Bradley will likely be ours. My guess is that Bradley will be an excellent contributor at the plate. My order of preference for a lefty bat in RF is Abreu, Bradley and a Hinske platoon with DeRo. Hinske is decent in the field, can play first and third, and hit 19 HR's last season against right-handed pitching. He's probably a $3-4 mil free agent.

In the wild and crazy world, and therefore unlikely to mean anything , Manny leaving the Dodgers and Tex staying with the Angels could produce some craziness. As I've mentioned before, there could be some Dodger interest in Soriano. And, should Zambrano be willing to move, I can see him going to the Red Sox--with Peavy at last coming to his "beloved" Cubs.

In a Red Sox and Padres trifecta with the Cubs, I can see pitchers Bowden, and Pawley going to the Pads from Boston as well as Hart and Pie from the Cubs. Peavy and the Sox top OF prospect, Josh Reddick (.311-23-91), a 22 lefty, CF at A/AA would come to the Cubs. Zambrano and Vitters would go to the Red Sox.

In effect we swap top prospects with the Red Sox, based upon organizational needs, and we give up Z, Hart and Pie for Peavy. The Red Sox have another stud pitcher to better match the Yankees new staff, and the Pads get a top arm in Bowden and good arms in Pawley and Hart plus our "diamond-in-the-rough", Pie. All three pitchers are big-league ready for the Pads.

Behind the preference of Peavy over Z is the view that Peavy is a better pitcher and (likely) a more durable one. Anyone agree or disagree?

Milton Bradley's DL Trips:

(All 15-Day DL)

June 2005 Torn Ligament (Finger)

August 2005 Torn Left Patella

May 2006 Strained Knee

June 2006 Strained Left Shoulder

April 2007 Strained Left Hamstring

May 2007 Strained Left Hamstring

June 2007 Right Calf Strain

July 2007 Strained Oblique

And let's not forget the freak injury near the end of the 2007 season when he tore his ACL in the right knee while being spun to the ground by Padres Manager Buddy Black as Black tried to get him away from the umpires. He didn't go on the DL because it was the end of the season, and his contract was expiring anyhow.

Thanks Joe. Where did you find that info?

Milton Bradley's ESPN profile page, under "log".

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/news?playerId=4245

Some players just go through those spells and then come out of them. I remember when you could set your watch by Aramis'trips to the DL. Very few players make through their careers without some time on the DL. Especially ones that blow out a knee when they got tackled by their first base coach to avoid a confrontation with the umpire. I am not defending Bradley's attitude, but he was provoked by the umpire, in that particular instance.

what about when he threw a chair at a fan in LA. Look a the # of games he has played in his career. Aramis has played over 120 games a year since 2000. 42, 77,98, 101, 141, 75, 96, 61, 126. Those are the # of games Bradley has played since 2000. His entire career.

Bradley's numbers are just too good to pass up, and in my opinion is the best FA option for that hole. So what if he's a hot head, Lou can handle him. I know a certain pitcher on the Cubs who throws fits on and of the field, stares down teammates after they make errors, and breaks bats over his knee when he strikes out.

I am holding out hope for a Roberts trade. The key to that happening is if the Orioles sign him to an extension or not.

One of my main barometers for next year's success will be if Zambrano realizes his lack of fitness training can't be compensated by youth forever. The last couple of years he has been breaking down fairly regularly. That's not very 18 million dollar acely of him. I want him to come to camp in shape, like Ramirez did last year. Remember how often Ramirez use to break down?

Bradley's #'s aren't the problem its his health. He has played more than 100 games only 3 times in his career. Can't find how many times he has been on the DL or the reasons why. This guy would be a huge mistake.

Speaking of hotheads, I've gotta agree with Steve Stoney... NO WAY on Milton Bradley. Absolutely no. It would be the worst signing ever. Why ruin good clubhouse chemistry for a guy with ONE good season, while paying him 10mil+ a year? If it's a left-handed outfielder we are looking for, I'd rather give Pie a chance again than take that disruptive personality. Have we become THAT desperate for left-handed hitting? I would actually give Bonds a chance to play than sign Bradley.

I like the Cardinals model. Which i think Lou is from the same school of thought. Cardinals did not have a great lineup top to bottom but they had a great deffensive team and won the World Series.

Do you remember how bad we sucked when Lou got here? It was painful watching the errors, boneheaded plays and lack of basic deffensive fundamentals. He cleaned house. Murton was awful, gone! Barrett was awful and a hothead, gone! Our deffense tightened up and we started winning.

No to Dunn!!

Plugging one hole to spring a leak on the other side. No way!

Aaron,

I think you're reaching on what we'd get in return from the Angels. If they take on Soriano's contract, I don't think we get much back. The Angels aren't going to move Figgins, Adenhart or Wood (let alone all three) in a move for an overpriced Soriano. It would be a salary dump to free money for other players. Now if we ate a chunk of Soriano's salary, then I think we could get some talent in return. I'm not advocating eating his salary ... just saying I think we'd need to do that to get value in return.

Aaron....we've been agreeing alot lately...but not on your man crush with Dunn...never....lol

You said that "If you're also looking for a big home run, Dunn gives you a better chance, averaging nearly 10 more home runs than Soriano" Where did you get that from? If you look at their career stats which I posted above...Dunn averages 40 Homeruns and 95 RBI to Soriano's 36 Homeruns and 96 RBI. So, doesnt seem there's much difference in the homerun category (4 not 10), RBI's are identical (1 difference) yet the person who seems to be able to come through over all in the clutch would be Soriano with his batting average being .282 against Dunn's .247. Yes Dunn walks a ton, but that's not what the job of your big bopper is supposed to be anyhow.

Other Dunn fast facts that show how BAD he is....

He does take a lot of walks...we've given that....but I pointed to his horrible batting average....don't let the pitcher get two strikes on him...because then it just gets worse...

0-2 count .118 Career Batting Average

1-2 count .112 Career Batting Average

2-2 count .152 Career Batting Average

Oh and as for clutch hitting that everyone is concerned with....down the stretch in the season...

August .223 Career Batting Average

Sept/Oct .223 Career Batting Average

Bring in the lefty to face him because....

.235 Career Batting Average versus lefties

Don't count on clutch hitting.....

.225 Career Batting Average with Runners In Scoring Position.

.214 Career Batting Average with Runners In Scoring Position and 2 outs.

Elliot,

spot on brotha...That's precisely what I was thinking too.

I don't like his defense, but last year, our only lefty power threat was 40 years old, and at the end of his career, and he still only hit 19 bombs for us. I loved Edmonds' production, but it's time to get a BIG lefty power threat. The last one we had was Burnitz, and we all know how that turned out. Before him, it was McGriff, and before him, Henry Rodriguez, so it's been quite awhile since we had a legitimate lefty power threat (ie.-can hit 30+ bombs).

I hate his defense, but like I've said before, I think his attitude was that the Reds just didn't care about winning, and a lot of those guys that were on the team with him were the same way. We've seen it before on our own team, where we're out of it from the get-go, and nobody cares anymore. Is that a great attitude to have? No but I'm pretty sure we've all felt the same way before in Little League, or at a job that was going nowhere, or something like that.

David F,

I completely agree with that assessment. In fact, I say you get the Angels to take on Soriano's contract, as well as sending them another player, then we get Figgins, Brandon Wood, and maybe an Adenhart or another top pitching prospect. Perhaps we sweeten the deal with DeRosa, then we turn around and trade for Roberts.

Roberts-2B

Figgins-CF

Dunn-LF

ARAM-3B

Bradley-RF

Lee-1B (if we can't offload him)

Soto-C

Theriot-SS

bench-Hoffpauir, Johnson, Fukudome, Fontenot, Javier Valentin

Here's why you do that....Figgins is a faster version of DeRosa, and Roberts is actually pretty versatile too, only he's mostly played 2B. You have two legitimate 50 stolen base, .290 avg and .355 OBP guys. That would ABSOLUTELY wreak havoc on opposing pitchers at the top of the lineup. Fukudome could then be a super-sub in the OF for Bradley. You then have 4 guys on your roster that can play/have played BOTH middle infield spots in Figgins, Roberts, Fontenot, and Theriot and can be interchanged, which makes the loss of Cedeno more palatable. In Figgins and Theriot, you have 2 guys that have also played the OF, so in a pinch, we have options.

From a flexibility standpoint, we gain a whole lot of leverage financially to sign Dunn, Bradley, and take on Figgins and Roberts, PLUS, go after Juan Cruz and Peavy.

With Soriano gone, we'd have $17 million, add $10 for the likely departure of Marquis, and $6 million for DeRosa, and we have $33 million. 11-12 goes to Dunn, 12 (on average) goes to Peavy, and I believe Figgins and Roberts both sit at around $6-7 million each, so we'd only add about $5-9 million, depending on how much of Marquis' salary we have to eat.

From the Angels perspective, it's kind of a no-brainer. Vlad is getting older, Anderson is likely gone, Teixeira is likely gone, etc., so they need a big bat. Unless they get Manny, Soriano is the best option for them, hands down, which, given Hendry's comments about Soriano at the end of the year, I believe it's quite possible we're not seeing any movement at all, because he's waiting on Tex and Manny to land somewhere, then start from there, but who knows?

I just think my proposed lineup gives us the most flexibility, and I hope and pray he can make something like this happen.

Dunn's defense might be worse than Soriano, but in clutch situations, when we need men on base, I guarantee you Dunn will give us a better chance than Soriano. If you're also looking for a big home run, Dunn gives you a better chance, averaging nearly 10 more home runs than Soriano, and gets on base 50-60 points more than Soriano. I know who I'd take, especially since we would add two 50 SB guys in Figgins and Roberts, so you won't miss Soriano's 15-20 SB at all.

If the Angels needed more, I'd say, Soriano, Marshall, DeRosa, and Theriot for Figgins, Adenhart, Brandon Wood, and either Reggie Willits or Sean Rodriguez.

As the Angels, you can't turn that down, especially with Aybar and Kendrick not exactly producing much, and Vlad showing his age (if 32 is really his real age anyway---never know), it'd be wise to add a proven shortstop with high OBP in Theriot, power with Soriano, a starter to step in right away for the departing Garland in Marshall, and a utility guy and Scioscia-type in DeRosa to replace the outgoing Figgins. That's a win-win trade for both sides. In trading Adenhart, Wood, and possibly Rodriguez, they're not losing much, considering they were blocked anyway.

WIN-WIN is what you look for, and that's the surest bet we have right now to offload Soriano. The Dodgers, it'd probably be a straight up Soriano for Eithier trade, and I don't know if I like that. I want it expanded, and I guess if Kent and Nomar indeed retire, then DeRosa could hold some value to them, and we might be able to get Eithier, Kuo, and Scott Elbert in the deal.

If it came down to a choice between Dunn or Soriano - no contest to me - I take Soriano every day of the week and twice on Sundays. He's a better all around athlete.

I just want him out of the leadoff spot :-)

Dunn has the reputation of being a masher - but compare the slugging percentage for Dunn and Fonzie for their careers - identical. .518 - and over the last three years, Fonzie's been a better masher - .560/.560/.532 vs. .490/.554/.513

Those are middle of the order numbers - somebody PLEASE figure out a way to make him see reason and move out of the leadoff spot LOL

However.... it's not an issue of whether we'll be able to unload Soriano in favor of Dunn

For all of the "trade away Lee" or "trade away Soriano" talk....

No way does either of those two guys get traded away unless at some point they make a public request to be traded.

For all of the many faults of Hendry - the Cubs are now a place where players WANT to play. And a good portion of that is that they feel respected by management. Fukudome signing here instead of elsewhere was all about respect. Dunn and Peavy this off season are pretty open about the fact that this is their favored destination.

Remember the by-gone days of yesteryear when premier players avoided Chicago like the plague? When the Cubs weren't even mentioned in passing for free agents because it was a given that they wouldn't end up in Chi-town anyway?

When lovable losers actually meant something? LOL

And that's part of the reason I doubt either Lee or Fonzie gets moved. The general player perception of the Cubs organization is positive - until they start signing players to big contracts only to move them two years later for something better.

Good call on the Slugging Percentage....I missed that in my argument above. I focused on the Total Bases and Batting Average.

Hands down Soriano is better than Dunn. They are clearly equal when it comes to homerun power.....and they both strike out alot. Where Soriano runs away from Dunn is that he has a much higher batting average meaning he can still be successful if he doesnt hit a homerun.

Further, though Soriano isn't exactly graceful in the outfield....he does have speed and a cannon of an arm which has led to numerous assists.

Lastly, Soriano when hurt has stolen 19 bases for us each of his two years. When healthy we can expect somewhere in the 30's or so. No way Dunn is going to do that.

I agree he has to be convinced to move down in the order...absolutely. Or at the bare minimum, as I suggested before, do the LaRussa trick and bat the pitcher 8th and put Pie or Theriot 9th. Imagine how many good pitches Pie would see hitting ahead of Soriano. That could be such a perfect scenario....

I don't see how you can put Dunn and Soriano is the same OF (with Fukudome in CF against righties) ... we'd lose a bunch of games with that OF defense. The Angels (if they don't sign Tex) are the only realistic destination for Soriano. You likely have to give him away for nothing to get them to take on his contract and free up the money. If we used that money to acquire Dunn and Bradley ... maybe it's a decent move. Most likely scenario by far though is that Soriano stays.

hi everyone. been a long time...

i just wanted to clarify some facts:

Adam Dunn is a career .380 OBP, so those of you here who say he doesn't get on base, please double check your references. Last year, the only regulars to have a better OBP than Dunn for the Cubs was Ramirez and Theriot.

In contrast, Soriano had an OBP of 0.344, his SECOND BEST of his CAREER. If you guys want to bash Dunn for being an all-or-none hitter, please do not leave Soriano out of that category. I've said it many times before, I was never a Soriano fan and got blasted for blasphemy when I criticized his signing in '07. Am I an Adam Dunn fan? Not really. His defense is horrific. But he draws a ton of walks, will rack up the pitcher's pitch counts, hits the occasional HR or two, and WANTS to play for the Cubs. We can always substitute for his defense in late innings.

As to a response to Leeeeee's question of why we need a more balanced lineup. During the course of a season, winning 98 games is possible as you will only see an ace pitcher 20% of the time. The problem exists when you face dominating right handed pitchers in the playoffs, with stuff that breaks hard away from the right handed hitters. How often have you guys seen Soriano, Lee, Ramirez swinging and nearly breaking their backs chasing those balls that dive away from them? I appreciate your researched stats of the righty/righty numbers, but have you seen any numbers against the premier pitchers? I don't know of any off the top of my head, but I'd be intereted to know them.

Elliot, you said "righty/righty numbers, but have you seen any numbers against the premier pitchers?" And I'm curious to know, too. (Help on Hotline? or Some calculator work later this weekend...)

The argument against Dunn cannot go forever. He's been a very good hitter in our division. He rarely hit because he's very selective at plate. Leaving his glove aside, Dunn's probably the 21st century version of Ron Santo (who was struck out a lot but also walked as a leader in his league).

We might be able to argue that our benchmen, like JimK suggested, are close to being that good a hitter. But let's not forget the platoon effect.

Well, I've been asking questions like these... what constitutes a winning team that goes deep into playoff?

A different team in a different time has its own limit of resources. The Cubs, which got on-base all year long but failed at the end, I'm afraid, will not look more resourceful with an aging group of batters out of Lee, Soriano, and DeRosa... yet I hope they prove me wrong...

As for the batting averages against premier pitchers...good question....and Neil actually did several indepth reports on that a few weeks ago. Neil can pinpoint you to the exact dates I'm sure.

As for comparing Soriano to Dunn....c'mon. Yes I will give you Dunn walks a TON leading to his high OBP. But to call Soriano an all or nothing hitter? No way. Not when his batting average is far superior to Dunn's.

Look at a stat called Total Bases. This includes all bases for each hit. Walks not included.

Here are their total bases each year from 2002 on....

YEAR SORIANO DUNN

2002 381 242

2003 358 177*

2004 294 323

2005 326 293

2006 362 275

2007 324 289

2008 241* 265

So you see, Soriano comes out on top almost every year. 2003 He killed Dunn when Dunn was injured and only played in 116 games. Yet, in 2008 when Soriano was injured and only played in 109 games he barely trailed Dunn.

Looking closer at 2008 Soriano had 5 more hits than Dunn in 64 less at bats due to injury.

Look at their average stats per year:

Dunn .247 40 HR 96 RBI

Soriano .282 36 HR 95 RBI

Almost the exact same average for Homeruns and RBI's. Yet Soriano has a much better batting average.

In 2 out of the last 3 years Dunn has hot .236 and .234.

In the last 2 years Soriano has hit .299 and .280.

Fine, Dunn walks a TON. Great....part of that is because pitchers throw around him and part of it is because his batting average sucks so bad he mights as well take the pitch if it's not down the middle for him to jack out of the park. Because the stats show if he swings and it's not a homerun, it's usually an out (evidenced by his low batting average).

So, for his extra walks you want to take on a crappy batting average and a horrible defender.

Be careful what you wish for....

Re. lefty bats, Our guys Theriot and Fontenot both hit over .300 against lefties and righties and have high OBP's. (Duh! How bad would it be if they hit 1 and 2 in the order?) Abreu hits both L's and R's well and he is the best 3 hole alternative out there (that we can consider). Re. Dunn, he will sign for 3 and about 10 or 11 mil. Abreu will sign for 3 and about $13 or $14 mil when Tex and Manny are signed.

Ready or not, humor follows. At least it's funny as it leaves here.

Suzy S....Did you know before your post, that you have the power to open up the flood gates of an Aaron Tsunami? He gives some thought to more combinations of variables than Rubic (sp) did with his cube. Rather than finding the gem in there someplace, I'm suggesting that you take two to give Gathright a chance to steal 2nd and 3rd and then hit the ball to the right side? Or just wait until the Blue break camp in March and see who the two catchers, the RF and 11 P's are.

And speaking of things Asian, I've had it with story links with names like Fu-Te Ni (above). It's bad enough that some Asian agent already has his client's signs all around Wrigley Field--some guy called No Pah King.

OK, it's a slow news day but Burger King has announced a fragrance scented with the Whopper aroma. I just don't want to know who wears that--and where he or she wears it.

Lows,

which is precisely why both the Astros and White Sux getting to the World Series in 2005 was a bunch of dumb luck...sometimes guys like Podsendik, who didn't hit a home run all year, came through in the clutch with a bomb, or Crede hitting a big home run, or Berkman with the Astros...It was all a bunch of dumb luck considering their OBP's....I showed that with my research above. In our case, we should've at least made the Wild Card in 2001 given our OBP, but our pitching was decimated, and we really had nobody we could count on, but Lieber.

You're right, the White Sux were not that good, and given who they have coming back this year, I'd be surprised if they even reach 3rd place in the Central, because, as most of you know, the White Sux want more speed...Now, what do we know about "speed" guys? Well, what we know about 99% of speed guys, is that their OBP sucks ass, as they're mostly agressive singles-type hitters.

We need guys that get on base consistently against all pitching. Homeruns are great, but I like what the league as a whole is trying to do in terms of an athletic lineup. He can mash, is he athletic, not really. He doesn't get on base all that much. Could he hit 50HRs playing at Wrigley 82 times?? probably...I would just like to get a guy that gets on base...the more you get on base, the longer the innings, the more chances for runs and bullpen pitchers...I look at the White Sox (the past few seasons) as being an example of the anti-offense. Sure, they hit tons and tons of HRs, but they don't really manufacture runs or get into bullpens. They lose a lot of games 4-3 because they'll hit a 3 run dinger but nothing else.

I often think people scoff at the likes of Bill James and Billy Beane, because they're so successful at what they do. I think, we, as Cubs fans fall into that category all too often for the sake of "tradition", etc.

I'm all about historical stats, and the correlation between stats and success, as many of you know...so...in keeping with that, I did research on how OBP relates to getting to the World Series, and what the OBP was for the WS champs. I only went back as far as 2000, so here it goes.

2000 Yankees: .354 OBP

vs Mets: .346 OBP

*Cubs: .335 OBP (rank 10th in NL)

2001 Diamondbacks: .341 OBP

vs Yankees: .334 OBP

*Cubs:.336 OBP (rank 6th in NL)

2002 Angels: .341 OBP

vs Giants: .344 OBP

*Cubs: .321 (rank 12th in NL)

2003 Marlins: .333 OBP

vs Yankees: .356 OBP

*Cubs: .323 OBP (rank 13th in NL)

2004 Red Sox: .360 OBP

vs Cardinals: .344 OBP

*Cubs: .328 OBP (rank 11th in NL)

2005 White Sux: .322 OBP

vs Astros: .322 OBP

*Cubs: .324 OBP (rank 11th in NL)

2006 Cardinals: .337 OBP

vs Tigers: .329 OBP

*Cubs: .319 OBP (rank 16th in NL)

2007 Red Sox: .362 OBP

vs Rockies: .354 OBP

*Cubs: .333 OBP (rank 9th in NL

2008 Phillies: .332 OBP

vs Rays: .340 OBP

*Cubs: .354 OBP (rank 1st in NL)

Now, I'm merely an amateur statistics guy, but it would appear that in order to be competitive (meaning, at least making the playoffs), you must either have a kick ass rotation, or a higher OBP than your peers.

Bradley, Abreu, Dunn. When looking at Hudson or Roberts, look at their OBP. Hudson has a career .346 OBP, while Roberts has a .355 OBP. Roberts averages 38 stolen bases, while Hudson averages 8. Hudson has slightly more power, averaging 13 hr, 70 RBI, while Roberts is at 10 and 60, but his average, speed, and OBP are superior. They're both the same age.

As I mentioned before, we have roster limitations to think about. Pie, Hill, Guzman, and others are out of options. We have to consider that whn making trades. Either you get what you can for them now, or risk losing them later for nothing. I'd prefer trading for Roberts than I would signin Hudson, especially when his injury was a wrist, and we all know what happened to Lee's productivity. If you get Roberts or Hudson, you almost have to trade DeRosa, and given the fact that DeRosa could bring a decent return, I'd almost prefer trading him ahead of time, getting good prospects that might be attractive to the Orioles, and combine them with Pie, Hill, or Cedeno for Roberts. Then, you still probably have enough to land Peavy if you wanted to. It's really a no brainer. If Hendry is hesitant to trade for possibly one year of Roberts, then he truly IS an idiot, given the fact he traded Ceda for essentially one year of Gregg.

Sorry, I failed to mention that Hudson has 2 gold gloves as well. His .321 avg. against rightys was better than any Cub, Bradley, Abreu, Dunn, Roberts, even Teixeira!

Bobby and everyone,

I understand all that, I guess I fail to see the advantage of having a balanced line-up. Here's my point: The idea is for the Cubs to hit better against righty's correct?

Bradley and Abreu are both Leftys that have intested the Cubs this off season. Did you know that they both actually hit Leftys better than they hit Rightys last year? To the tune of 25 - 30 points better. Sounds like every other Cub in the line-up.

Except one of course: Aramis actually hit better against Righties (45pts higher) and he's Right-handed. Manny Ramirez actually hit better against rightys too (30pts higher). He is right handed as well.

If the Cubs really need to get another free-agent, they should go after a guy named Ramirez or one who gets better when he faces a righty. No, not Adam Dunn, his .190 average against Leftys should make him a platoon player at best.

The guy the Cubs need is Orlando Hudson! He hits Rightys 50 pts better than Leftys. He adds speed and a decent .300 avg. and .370 OBP.

F.Y.I. Brian Roberts also hits Leftys better than Rightys

What do guys think?

I have way too much time on my hands...

Suzy S.,

The BoSox would never trade for Soriano, which is why we never should have got him in the first place. They are interested in high OBP guys that are gamers. There's a reason they're going after Teixeira...this is another reason why I HATE the Lee contract for us. That $13 million he's making would've gone to the wayside and it'd make Teixeira's contract more doable...You get rid of Marquis, and it all would've equaled out. I don't think it would've mattered anyhow, because I think Teixeira likes the AL a lot more, and he likes the East Coast...but, hey, you can dream, right?

There's really only 2 teams that would take on Soriano, and if the BoSox lose out on Teixeira, then you can basically kiss our chances of trading Soriano goodbye. Only the Angels and Dodgers would have a need for him, and be able to handle his contract. If Teixeira re-signs with the Angels, then Manny will probably go back to the Dodgers. If Texeira signs with the BoSox, it'll probably mean the Angels and Dodgers will get into a bidding war for Manny, and the loser might be open to a Soriano trade.

As for the Dunn situation...most on here probably know that I am a strong advocate for his signing. I do NOT, however, believe he'd be an option at all at 1B for us. If you think his defense is suspect in the OF, then you can't imagine how suspect it'd be at 1B.

If I were Hendry, I'd offer 4 yrs and $44-48 million for him, and put him in RF. People on here might say it'd be the worst defensive OF, but this is Soriano's 3rd season in the OF, and he'll hopefully get better, and we'd have Gathright (uggggggggggggggh), Johnson, and Fukudome for defensive switches---not the worst thing that could happen. However, if we add anyone, we'd have a problem...

Currently, our reserves are: Cedeno, Fontenot, Hoffpauir, Fukudome, and Gathright...that leaves no catcher, so one of those has to go, we make a DeRosa trade, etc. I think it's always wise for teams to carry 2 back-up infielders, 2 back-up outfielders, and one back-up catcher. There's no way in hell the Cubs will only take 11 pitchers, which is why the signing of Gathright was so damning to this team. He offers absolutely no value to this team. You might say he adds a speed element, but we have that with Cedeno, Theriot, Soriano, Johnson, and if we still keep Pie. ALL of those guys can actually hit. I'm not a fan at all of these so-called "glove" guys. We've had enough with Neifi, Izturis, etc.

I think keeping Fontenot is a must. IF we get rid of Cedeno, then perhaps Spears might be ready...or maybe a long-shot like Flaherty might be ready. But, keeping 2 back-ups is a necessity. Soriano, Johnson, and Dunn would be the OF, with Fukudome and Hoffpauir as back-ups. However, this creates a problem in itself, because Hoffpauir is minus in the OF and average at 1B. It's unlikely that we keep Hoffpauir, as much as I'd hate that. DeRosa can play 1B in a pinch, so we'd be covered there, plus, if we really needed to, we could put Dunn at 1B in a pinch. So...in that case, I would have to think either Gathright or Pie would be the other player on the roster.

Also, I wanted everyone's thoughts on the pen..

Right now, we have the following options: Ascanio, Cotts, Gaudin, Guzman, Gregg, Hart, Marshall, Patton, Marmol, Samardzija, Wells, and Wuertz.

Cotts, Wuertz, Samardzija, Gregg, and Marmol are virtual locks. That leaves to spots.

If Marquis is still with the team, then we're in big trouble. I would actually trade Marshall, Cedeno, Pie, and a few others not including Vitters or Guzman, if anything, because it frees up roster space. I would try to get rid of Fukudome as well, and as mentioned, Marquis. That would free up at least 5 roster spots. I honestly think Guzman deserves a chance, and Marshall's value might never be higher than it is right now. So, with trading those guys, if we can get Peavy or Roberts, that's great.

If we land Roberts, we trade DeRosa. If we land Peavy, then we have to trade Marquis...maybe even Harden. So, do you guys see the situation we're in right now? Hendry has backed us into a corner, and if you think other teams aren't aware of that, then you're crazy. He wants to shore up the rotation, yet, if he adds anyone without first trading Marquis, then he ruins any trade value left with Marquis. Similarly, with the signing of Gathright, he's destroyed the value of Pie. Teams number crunch, and they know your 40-man roster when they're dealing with you, so in order to be proactive, Hendry should go ahead and lay the groundwork for a free agent contract with Dunn, then work to trade guys like Fukudome, Pie, etc. When laying the groundwork for a Roberts deal, he should also have one in place for DeRosa, so he can complete them simultaneously. It's often why teams will add a third or fourth team to the equation----so they can offload different pieces without diminishing their leverage when they acquire another player. We could get at the very least one top prospect and one high ceiling prospect for DeRosa...maybe even 2 top prospects. Marquis and Fukudome should provide at least one top prospect and 3-4 mid-levels between them. This should replenish our system, and improve the organization tenfold.

but, hey, what do I know

Dunn ??? Noooooooooooooooo !!!!!!!!

PLEASE NO !!!!

Just what we need. Another guy who will

1.) strike out a ton (this guy can reach 200k's)

2.) Hit for low BA

3.) Play awful defense in OF

4.) Can't run

5.) and most of his HR's will be in meaningless situations (i.e blowouts) against weak middle relievers.

Guys, did you like Jacque Jones ?? Well, this is Jones, on steriods.

More K's, lower BA, worse defense, and yes, a few more HR's, but big deal !!

I guarantee you most of those HR's will come in blowouts against crappy middle relief pitchers.

I've said this for 2 months, this guy is horrible. We don't want him.

Please, God, NO !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Depending on what the Yankee's and LA do with Texeira/Manny...maybe even Boston.

I think JH should shop Soriano to those 3.

From the Yankees I would look for Damon.

From the Angels I would look for Figgens

From Boston...I would have to think about

it...BUT now that they are out of the Texeira thing...Soriano might be palatable to them. With Soriano and his contract gone...A solid lead off hitter on board and average to above average

outfielder...then you can fill in with a Dunn or other big bat.

I still do not get why people want to trade Soriano. I will give the fact he has not lived up to his "superstar" contract due to injuries these past two years. However, during those two years he has still a) produced very decent numbers b) despite not looking pretty in the outfield still made a mark on defense with lots of assists throwing runners out --especially at the plate and c) at times during both seasons literally carried the team for a stretch with his hot bat.

Throw in the fact he actually looked healthy at the end of last year...and I sure would like to see what he can do in a full year for us healthy.

As I've said before...if he wants to leadoff, fine. Then Lou needs to counter that and do what LaRussa does and move the pitcher to the 8th spot and insert a position player (Theriot) into the 9 hole ahead of Soriano. I'd even put Pie 9th ahead of Soriano. Think of how many fastballs he'd likely see (rather than changeups or curveballs) as opposing pitchers wouldnt want to walk him ahead of Soriano.

Raymond.....I was thinking about Dunn at 1st too, but I think his defense is going to be a big problem. Especially after having a gold glover in D. Lee. Right Field is probably the best option for him. I've never much of a Dunn fan, but he's much less risky than Milton Bradley. Dunn has never had any major injuries, he's not a primadonna, he has a great desire to play for the Cubs, and he'd be a menacing left-handed bat in the middle of all those righties. Despite his high strikeout totals, he's also a very patient hitter. Why not.....JH, get it Dunn!!!

A patient hitter? The guy hits .230 - .240 regularly. It's not even all about the strikeouts, it's the fact that the guy either hits a homerun, or an occassional double off the wall when the ball doesnt quite leave the park. Other than that all he does is make outs! He can't hit left pitching worth a crap either.

SO....imagine watching game after game and situations arise where we just need a clutch base hit from him to score a runner from second or third...and we are frustrated by just watching him make an out. OR...different scenario....we are down by three in the 7th....2 men on...here comes Dunn....get excited...our big bopper is up....oh wait....opposing teams manager is out to the mound...bringing in the lefty to face Dunn.....so much for his chance to rope one.

Add in his crap defense and....JUST SAY NO.

Leeeee- The cubs feel like they are too right handed and want to balance their lineup. Fukudome was supposed to do that, but with him strugling they need another lefty and the only place to do that without moving anyone around is right field

So long as the CUBS focus on getting "face of the franchise" big bopper bats like Sosa, Soriano, and now apparently Dunn, it's going to be tough to win a world championship, because they'll have these huge holes in their line-up that can't manufacture runs against elite pitching. These guys are all HOT or COLD hiters. Listen to Lou. Get some REAL consistency and speed atop your line-up (Theriot is an in-house, above average option), and spread the power out like they do now with Ramirez, Soto, DeRosa, and Soriano.

I would look towards the Chone Figgins rumors if I wanted to dream of a solid improvement for the CUBS line-up.

I would love to see what kind of numbers Dunn would put up in a full year at Wrigley, but man that would be one ugly outfield. Maybe if that happened we could put Dunn in left, Soriano back at second, and DeRo in right, but then you have to HOPE no one hits it to 2nd!

ew.....

The Cubs should sign Adam Dunn to play 1B and trade Derrek Lee.

Funny...

I've got a question.

Why are the Cubs so focused of aquiring a lefty bat? Is it to keep opposing pitchers off-balanced or is it because they believe that only leftys can hit right-handed pitching? Could there be a righty out there (Free Agent or via Trade) that is just as adept at hitting right-handed pitching and fills the "void" the Cubs are looking to fill?

It was reported by an annonymous source that the Cubs right field problem may be solved very soon. It appears Governor Blagojevich has put right field at Wrigley Field up for the highest bidder.

And oh...I couldnt resist.

Hendy...

Get-Er-Dunn!!!

Haha

Joe, I just wanted to say I do wish the best. There's many of us who have read the site and can't do much. But our thoughts and best wishes are with you and this situation. Sincerely.

Now as for Dunn. I brought it up in a post earlier, I want this dude furreal.

And maybe we can deal with Sori in right and Dunn in left. Dunn's numbers in LF were barely below league average according to some stats.

And maybe he could be a 1B at the end of the Lee contract.

Anytime a quality player wants to play here I'm down for it.

Same for when Peavy felt the Cubs were one of his best options and he WANTED to come.

Go Cubs and make the best decisions Jimmy H.

I truly appreciate that, Matt. That means alot.