I for one am soo excited that Ryno is with the Smokies.

I've never met Sandberg so I can't wait for the Smokies to come in to town to play the Baybears.

My calendar is marked! ^^

I love hearing how players want to play for the Cubs. If they could somehow unload Soriano for quality i wouldn't mind if Adam Dunn played left field. No way do I want to see him in RF while Soriano plays LF.

Let me ask you (JimTP) and Joe something out of curiosity.

Both of you seem on the same page about Dunn. Yes to Dunn, only if Soriano can be unloaded.

Here is my question. Lets say we can't get Bradley or any of our other options. Would you take Dunn as opposed to no one. Or would you just continue to say no to Dunn and hope Hendry just goes with Fukudome in RF again.

Just curious.

Jim (TP),

I hope you don't mind me weighing on on this conversation...

Even with Soriano, I am convinced that Dunn is the best option for us. I know, I know...his defense is bad, his average is bad, blah, blah blah. However, your preferences are slightly flawed. Abreu's price tag is insanely high, and considering he is 6 years older than Dunn, I wouldn't touch him. While he does have more SB's than Dunn, and a better average, he has 18 hr less on average, about the same OBP, and about the same RBI. He averages less walks, and about 30-40 less K's than Dunn.

As for Bradley, I was happy with it after thoughtful consideration, but I think that had a lot to do with hearing the Cubs were interested in him, so I just figured it was inevitable, and I'd have to warm to the idea, much like I had to with Soriano when I didn't really think it was wise to give him that many years at that much money, but I was just happy their was action, which clouded my better judgement, much like it was recently with Bradley. I keep coming back to Bradley's full seasons and games played: 98, 101, 141, 75 96, 61, 126.

Now, Bradley would cost you 3-4 years at $10-12 million per year. Now, we all know that your 1-3 starters, set-up man, and closer, are absolutely vital to your team. Hendry decided against locking up one of the better closers in the game last year because of his injury history, and he couldn't take that risk and spend that much on one position like that. Considering he used that judgement to make that decision, how in the world can he possibly sign a fragile mentally AND physically guy like Bradley for the same type of money (but more years) than he would've had to give to Wood (in the process, Hendry made the team weaker by trading Ceda for a woeful Gregg). How is that a good decision?

Abreu: 151, 152, 154, 162, 157, 158, 159, 162, 156, 158, 156

Dunn: 158, 116, 161, 160, 160, 152, 158

If you're hedging your bets, you have to go with Abreu or Dunn, and given the years Abreu would want, along with average salary, there's no way you go for him, especially with a much younger and powerful Dunn available.

Now, you look at peripherals, and you can see that both absolutely DOMINATE at Wrigley, but Abreu hits very well against lefties, and better with RISP (now, a lot of that has to do with the amount of walks that Dunn takes, etc.). So, based on that, you go with Abreu, but like I said, you have to weigh age, historical stats, and potential. Do you think Dunn could be even better with Gerald Perry? I would think so. Do I think Abreu will get better? Possibly for one year, but you can see nearly all of his numbers steadily declining over the last 3-5 years, which is quite alarming.

As for your trade ideas, I'd only take Hawpe out of any of those guys. I originally thought DeJesus would be great, but he's nothing more than a non-versatile, faster and lefty version of DeRosa (meaning, at best, he'll give you what DeRosa gave last year....at his very best, otherwise, you're looking at .280 avg, .345-.350 OBP, 15 hr, 70 RBI) Hawpe plays equally as well away from Coors, and he hits pretty damn well with RISP. He struggles though against lefties to the tune of about a .247 avg and .314 OBP.

Ethier might offer the best upside of anyone on your list, but the only way he gets traded is in a deal for Soriano, ARAM, or Zambrano, and there's no way we're trading ARAM or Z. Hermida would be nice as a sort of project with decent upside, but I wouldn't give up much for him, and the Marlins would probably want too much than he's worth.

As I've said before, if the Angels lose out on their top targets, I'd be on the phone with them right away to see what they wanted for Figgins. If they'd take on Soriano, then I'd do a swap of Soriano for Figgins and Brandon Wood or Sean Rodriguez, but a lot depends on where Manny and Teixeira land. After that, I'd be on the phone with MacFailed to see what they'd need for Roberts. I am 100% convinced that having both Figgins and Roberts would push us over the top. They offer versatility and speed, which is what we need. We need to capitalize on the values of Lilly and DeRosa right now, as well, and try to get the most for them while their value might be at an all-time high. Both are at/near the end of their contracts, so they might be an attractive chip to some teams.

If you trade Lilly, you open a spot for Guzman or Samardzija. Maybe then, you can even go after Peavy. After offloading Marquis, you extend a one year offer to Randy Johnson, and we're pretty much set.

But, to me, the last people I'd want on the team next year (that we have now, or have been linked to) are Bradley, Ibanez (thankfully he already signed), Gathright, Fukudome (because he's a distraction now, and will be all of next year unless he can make adjustments---unlikely), and Marquis.

If you think about the profile that Lou wants, it's consistency. Bradley is wildly inconsistent because of his injuries. Gathright is neither, because he's done NOTHING at all to show he even belongs at the MLB level, and he, unlike Pie, has actually had the opportunity to prove himself. Fukudome was inconsistent because he was amazing the first two months, then the league figured him out, and he looked like a lost puppy at the plate. As for Marquis, he'll throw a 1-2 hitter, then get shelled and driven out of the next game in the 3rd or 4th inning.

Guys like Abreu, Dunn, Ethier, and Hawpe might be Piniella-type guys. Guys we alreay have like ARAM, Lee, DeRosa, Soto, and Theriot were also Piniella-type guys, because they exemplified consistency. None of those guys went in prolonged funks at all like we'd see from Soriano, Edmonds, Fukudome, and others. You could tell that Soriano was wearing thin on Piniella at the beginning of the year, and toward the end as well. He's the most streaky hitter in the game.

We've seen guys like Ward, Edmonds, Wood, Marquis, and others either being let go, or on the trading block because he didn't like their inconsistencies. With Wood, hewas flabbergasted more by the blister than inconsistencies, but you get what I'm saying? So, if I were to look at the next guy to be traded that doesn't fit a Piniella-type guy, then it would be Soriano.

I think Piniella is a big fan of OBP, which is why he's had Perry with him, who preaches that. I think you will see guys that don't fit that description weeded out as long as he's managing the team, which is good for us. I believe our increase in OBP is precisely the reason we had so many wins last year. Just look at the guys we've been linked to, and their OBP rankings at their positions. Dunn, Bradley, and Abreu are all .370-.400 OBP-capable guys. Roberts also has a very high OBP among his peers at his position. Giles has a high OBP as well. This is very exciting to finally see that they've grasped this....

which is why the signing of Soriano is most perplexing, and definitely makes him stand out as the probable next guy to be traded.

Here's numbers from last year, plus career:

Soriano-.344 OBP (.329 OBP career)
Theriot-.387 OBP (.363 OBP career)
Lee-.361 OBP (.367 OBP career)
ARAM-.380 OBP (.341 OBP career)
Edmonds-.343 OBP (.377 OBP career,39yrs old)
Soto-.364 OBP (N/A)
DeRosa-.376 OBP (.348 OBP career)
Fukudome-.359 OBP (N/A)

Now, you look at all those numbers, and what's not shown is Fukudome's woeful numbers, including OBP at the end of the year, and in Edmond's case, he'll likely retire. Additionally, ARAM's numbers were skewed because he had no coaching with the Pirates, and his OBP dramatically improved with the Cubs, and he became more selective, plus, he was older, at 25 when he came to us.

Now, Soriano's number from last year, as well as his career OBP average sticks out like a sore thumb in relation to the rest of our lineup.

This also makes the signing of Gathright particularly confusing. Maybe Piniella see in him an opportunity to coach him into patience, and thus, a higher OBP, who knows?

Look at guys we got rid of/looking to get rid of: Pie, Eric Patterson, and Cedeno. These are all guys that have low OBP's. Now, someone mentioned Gathright's OBP vs Pie's OBP in the minors----perhaps this is why we got him,because Piniella was familiar with him, and knows how to fix him, who knows?

Question, you said above: "Now, you look at peripherals, and you can see that both absolutely DOMINATE at Wrigley"

While I can see how that would relate to Abreu, as he hit .352 with 12 HR's in 29 games for his career at Wrigley.....I don't see how you can say that Dunn absolutely DOMINATED anything. His career numbers at Wrigley are .286 with 23 HR's in 60 games.

While the HR numbers are decent, and they are identical between the two based on games played....the batting averages are far different. I wouldnt consider a .286 average dominating anything.

Dude Joe S., are you serious?

Dunn would be amazing at Wrigley field. Yeah, his defense is suspect, but what he does with the bat to the tune of 45+ HR and 115+ RBI would more than makeup for it.

The fact that you use batting average as your main sticking point shows the flaw in your argument. BA is a horrible statistic to correlate for offensive contribution. If you're going to use stats, at least use a half decent one like OPS or OBP..oh wait..Dunn's OBP is somewhere in the range of .380+. -_-;

Interesting baseball news.....former Giants first baseman Lance Niekro who really only had minimal impact in 2005 and 2006 and retired last year. is attempting to comeback in the minor leagues with the Braves. Why is it notable?

Because he is going to try to follow in the footsteps of his late father Joe Niekro and his Uncle Phil Neikro and become a knuckleball pitcher in the majors.

A lot of the time (but not always), "stats don't lie". That's true of statements too. JH said (above): We're lucky that (budgeted) payroll didn't go down. And he also said/implied, "A new owner has to approve a big, new contract."

I take the above to mean that JH has little unspent budget left and that he really does have to move Marquis (or someone) to add a Bradley. That means that Abreu is more out of reach (unless an appropriate contract is moved.

Marquis seems to have some appeal for the Mets and the Rockies--in some sort of subsidized deal. Ten game winners who mostly aren't embarassing do have value. (My adopted son, Seth Smith, told me in his Christmas card that he has his fingers crossed.) So maybe JH finds payroll dollars in a Marquis move.

And the stats say that we do have the inexpensive lefty bat/right fielder solution available in Eric Hinske (.263-19-55 against right handers. The 31 yearold Hinske can also play 1B and 3B. He made $800,000 last year. Platooning with DeRo that probably means 25 HR's in RF.

While we don't need both DeRo and Ty Wigginton, if a trade of DeRo (not being recommended) gets us another important piece, Wigginton makes a lot of sense. Wigginton (31) hit .340 with a .424 OBP against left handers last season and was .285-23-58 overall. He is primarily a third baseman but plays the corner outfield positions decently. He also plays 1B and 2B. He made $4.3 mil last year and probably will cost about $6 mil now. For a "paltry" $7.5 mil, we might get both Hinske and Wigginton--while Bradley will probably cost about $9 mil.

I live in Indianapolis, and thus got to see a lot of Adam Dunn... and I wouldn't want him on the Cubs at all.

He hits home runs, but he doesn't really drive in runs. Meaning, most of those HR's are with nobody on base! I know it's trendy to salivate over his OBP, but you pay a guy like Dunn to drive in runs, not walk. His downside isn't just his defense, it's his K's, BA, and lack of RBI's. And his lack of D would REALLY show up in the Wrigley OF.

That aside, does anyone have a link to that Kaplan interview with Hendry? I'd love to listen to that.

What about asking about Ichiro. He could leadoff play RF and help Fukudome. Plays evergame. A lock for 200+ hits. About 10 HR's, 50 RBI's, a 380 OBP. I wonder if they would trade him and what it would cost. Don't know if the Cubs could afford him but it would fill both holes.

Does anyone know when tickets go on sale in the majors?

cookachoo....As good as the posts are, I'm hoping that Neil doesn't put a "stop" on your and my consecutive posts from Indy. About Dunn, as the spouse says when asked, How's your spouse, "Better than nothing."

Soriano brings more to the table than Dunn, and we don't have room for both of them in the outfield. Unless, maybe the thought of that gets Dome to say, "I'm going back to Japan." I'm not obsessed with Hinske (if we need an inexpensive option), but a platoon of Hinske and DeRo would be more productive in RF than Dunn.

Low batting average... all or nothing when he connects.... is Adam Dunn perhaps related to Dave Kingman? Like a nephew or something? :-)

joe- sorry but A) Lilly isn't going anywhere becasue he is our numer two, B) Guzman is going into the bullpen becasue of injuries (think wood last two years) and C) We can't even get one great player likle peavy how are we going to get both Roberts and Figgins without completly giving up the farm and hurting our current team.
What about a Vernon Wells/ Soriano swap salaries are about hte same and wells is a centerfielder that is an average to above average fielder and younger. Then we could sign Dunn or Abreu and platoon Reed/Fukudome/Hoffpuer/Derosa in right with kosuke and reed helping in left as a late inning def. replacement

Jim, I am die-hard Ichiro fan. He's one of the most disciplined hitters in the game. He plays a stellar right field. He rarely strikes out for the number of AB's he racks up per season. And maybe he and fuk can become friends.

Here's another reason I like Dunn. If Soriano would ever move out of the leadoff spot, then you can have Lee batting 3rd, Dunn batting 4th, Ramirez batting 5th, and Soriano batting 6th. This combination is going to wreak havoc on opposing teams trying to figure out pitching matchups. No manager in their right mind is going to leave a right handed pitcher to face Dunn in late innings, especially if Theriot or Lee can get on ahead of him. Judging by Dunn's stats, he either strikes out, walks, or hits a HR. Needless to say, he only grounded into 7 double plays last year. Far better than Derrek Lee's 27 GIDP. So that brings up Ramirez, Soriano, Soto... all potent right-handed hitters. The manager is going to have to dig deeper into his bullpen to pull out ANOTHER right-handed reliever to face these guys. Having Dunn in the lineup is like having Juan Pierre on the bases in late innings. It wreaks havoc to opposing teams in ways statistics can't be used.

How about Adam Dunn - Mark McGwire as a comparison???

Big news guys...apparently one team finally wised up to Bore-ASS and his shennanigans.

The Angels have decided to pull the plug on Teixeira negotiations, because, as their owner said, Bore-ASS is using them to drive up the price. Evidently, Moreno learned that Teixeira had no intentions of re-signing, and were just using them to get the Yankees and BoSox to bid higher.

It sure seems like the BoSox will win the bid at this point, as the O's, Angels, and Yankees have all reportedly pulled the plug, and the Nationals' front office said they DEFINITELY expect him to turn down their offer.

With Manny apparently not a Scioscia type of guy, I doubt he'll sign with Anaheim, so that leaves the Yankees and Dodgers as landing spots for him.

Which brings me back to my previous posts....

1)Lee, Soriano, and DeRosa are prime candidates to be traded to the Angels
2)Marquis will end up being traded to the loser of the Tim Redding sweepstakes.
3)We will then trade for Peavy if we can offload two of the above players.

The Angels will be in need of a firstbaseman if reports are indeed true that they've ended negotiations with Teixeira. I believe Lee could be traded straight up for Figgins in that case. If they ask, we could make a HUGE blockbuster with Lee AND Soriano, but the day that type of trade happens is the day hell freezes over, LOL.

If Soriano is traded, Lee is going nowhere, and vice-versa. Honestly, I'd MUCH rather trade Soriano than Lee, even though Lee was my whooping boy this year...Lee's OBP is much higher, and he makes more contact than Soriano, though, Soriano has proven that he can literally carry a team on his back during stretches.

But, as it stands right now, I believe they'll at least call the Cubs on Lee, and if I were Hendry, I'd listen carefully, ask for Figgins...maybe even another minor leaguer, insert Hoffpauir at 1B, and IMMEDIATELY sign Adam Dunn. The reason you do that, is because as much as we all think Hoffpauir will succeed, Dunn is a proven guy that will, at the very least, replace Lee's numbers, while Hoffpauir might flame out, who knows? With Figgins, we gain flexibility, as I've mentioned before, to throw him at 2B, SS, 3B, or the OF, and it makes DeRosa expendable so we can insert Fontenot at 2B.

I think once Teixeira signs, we'll see a FLURRY of deals, and I hope Hendry throws our hat into those deals.

Greetings faithful, long time no posting... I think I'm finally ready to put the disapointment that was 2008 behind me and get prepared for circa 09.

I’m anticipating a big 15 days of MLB transactions.

Angels are supposedly pulling out of the Tex bidding so a Tex deal should come soon per the experts (Sox/Yanks). I expect this will open the gates for signings such as Manny, Abreu, Bradley, Dunn, Burrell, Giambi, etc.

Still not sure which RF I prefer but I think the decision will be made soon. Hopefully JH is ready to pull the trigger and we don't end up with Garret Anderson.

I too think the Angels' reported dropping out on Tex is interesting. I hope both Moreno's calling it quits and Henry's similar action with the Red Sox are true--for the good of the game we love.

Without Tex, the Angels will need a lefty bat desparately. Dunn could find a home where he could DH as well as defend on occasion. Maybe the Angels get Kotchman back from the Braves (where he didn't do as well as in L.A.) in a trade that includes Brandon Wood. Wood doesn't lead off (like Furcal might have), but he could play 3B with Chipper returning to LF.

I don't see DLee going anywhere. The Angels would likely opt for a lesser left-handed hitting first baseman than for Lee. As an aside, Scoscia said the other day that Manny could fit with the Angels--so don't rule that out or the Yankees/Dodgers.

As another aside, I don't think Figgins, though versatile with excellent speed, helps us as much as some think. He was .276-1-22 with 34 SB's last season. He would likely play SS for us since he doesn't have enough bat for the OF. That would be a little better production than Theriot--but not enough to not spend the bucks elsewhere where we need more help. Our new "gene pool" could still be limited to the possibles like Bradley, Hinske and Teahen and the likely too pricey Abreu.