This was a very nice show guys. Congratulations. I was very impressed with Aaron and the way he can assemble a coherent conversation that is both deep and accurate. The dude is smart, no question and cool. I agree 99% with everything said in the show and if I were the new owner I'd give Aaron a job. The 99% would go up to 100% if he ever got rid of the Adam Dunn pajamas and his man crush!

Neil you always do a great job. Thanks to this site, I'm just starting to feel better and getting over the fact that this team is not going to the playoffs this year. The offseason should be interesting at the very least.

Priorities

1-Duncan, I would even make him the manager and fire Piniella.[If he gets Big Z's respect by comanding it, imagine what it could do for him]

2-Harden, sign him as our closer.

3-Sign a SS and move Theriot to 2b. JJ Hardy will be traded and his value is at an all time low. But, I would go with Jack Wilson, Guzman, Bartlet,Ben Zobrist[dream] or Alex Gonzalez Bos[very bad name].

Aaron ... thank you for joining me tonight. Had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the discussion.

Jim in Tinley ... thank you for the phone call. And for the record, Sandberg in 2011!

Aaron,

So great that you were on the show tonight! You obviously have some well-thought-out opinions (regardless of the fact that some people may not agree with them), and it was great to hear your voice. Very nice. Do it again soon!

thanks Abby...I appreciate the kind words. I just like to do research as a hobby, and I'm kind of a stats nerd. I think it goes a long way to legitimizing what an organization is trying to do if the stats back up their decision making. It's not secret that I strongly dislike Hendry and the entire regime before him, and others don't agree with that opinion and haven't for awhile...others have come across the aisle, and realized why myself and others feel the way we do about Hendry and the state of the organization. It's almost like a whistle-blower on Wall-Street. Sure, they might say some unpopular things, but they're stating it like it is, and are honestly just trying to make a positive difference and affect change. That's what I'm about.

I am NOT an expert...wish I was, but I'm an average Joe Cubs fan that desperately wants to see a championship on the North Side. More importantly, I just want to see good baseball from the Cubs, and I haven't seen it all year, and that's very unfortunate.

Dam, forgot about the show tonight. Will have to listen in archieve.

Neil and Aaron, thanks for a great show...really enjoyed it.

Sometime in the next couple of weeks,

could we key in on the minor leagues again? Specifically who is rule 5 eligible///who should be protected and

who likely will not be?

Thanks again.

Suzy, once the season is over we will focus a show on the minors.

Thank you for listening ... and the great emails.

I know many are seeking some option for Soriano, but moving him to 2B would be a disaster...but could likely create a new comedy hour opportunity.

Would playing Soriano at 2nd next year just be complete and utter insanity? It would keep him away from the walls that he is so afraid of, infielders are closer together, so he could be bailed out easier, and you do have Lee at first to save most of his throws. Look at what Lee did for Ramirez. I am half kidding, but part of me says hmmmmmm.

normally, I'd have an emphatic "NO" here to your question, but if the Cubs cannot move him, for...say...a Barry Zito type of contract swap. However, in the highly likely scenario they're unable to unload him on someone, I would say you'd almost have to try him at 2B, right? A .250-.290 avg, 20+hr, 50+RBI wouldn't look all that bad at 2B, but it looks horrible in the OF. If you move him to 2B, and replace him with a Holliday, Crawford, Bay, Abreu, Dunn, etc. in the OF, then your offense becomes instantaneously better (if that makes sense). In that case, Fox, and Hoffpauir become expendable, and you use Baker still as a super sub for whenever Soriano inevitably sucks for an extended period of time.

Honestly, I've had a few variations of my wish list, but they all have a similar theme to it..."get younger, more athletic and versatile".

Here's what I would do:

1) Trade the following "in demand" (purely speculative by myself based on 2009 stats and/or recent stats): Lee, Lilly, Dempster, Theriot, Marshall, and Soto.

2) Try as hard as possible to trade useless players like: Soriano, Fukudome, Bradley, Fontenot, Patton, and Miles.

That equals 12 players for those of you that are counting, which would leave us with: Z, Harden, Wells, Marmol, Gorzelanny, Grabow, Guzman, Hoffpauir, Fox, ARAM, Baker, Fuld, Blanco, Koyie Hill, Caridad, Berg, and Scales. (I realize that's more than 25, but I'm merely stating who I'd keep out of what we currently have on the roster, along with the ones we'd get rid of)

3) Go hard after Matt Holliday for LF (assuming Soriano gets traded straight up for Zito or moved to 2B)

4) Go hard after Chris Davis and/or Mitchell Moreland of the Rangers, and use Fox and Hoffpauir as leverage, basically driving down their price, because we'd still have a position of strength to deal from (in reality). Both Davis and Moreland can play corner IF, and Moreland has played corner OF as well.

5) If Davis/Moreland doesn't pan out, then trade for Josh Fields for depth and/or as your starter

6) If the Soriano trade goes through, then go hard after Chone Figgins. If he won't accept 2 yrs $20 million with a team option at $12 million with a $5 million buyout (very generous) for a 3rd season, then tell him to take a hike, and take our chances with what we've got.

7) From trading players with some value left like Lee, Lilly, Dempster, Theriot, Marshall, and Soto, we'd be sure to get necessary prospects to make other deals. Other deals are: Dunn, Crawford, Uggla, Yunel Escobar, Chris Davis/Moreland, etc.

8) See what young players like Papelbon, Gaub, Parker, Jackson, Cashner, Colvin, Castro, Barney, and Snyder can do in Spring Training

If I were to rank my offseason acquisitions though based on team need, here's what I'd say (and I'm assuming all trades can happen):

#1: Crawford-speed element

#2: Dunn-power/RBI element

#3: Davis/Moreland/Fields-versatility, younger corner IF element

#4: Figgins-speed element, versatility

#5: Holliday-power/RBI element

#6: Ankiel-bench depth, reserve and/or starting OF (if we get rid of Bradley and/or Fukudome)

#7: Escobar-normally, I'd include this higher, but the probability that this even happens is so remote, it's even less likely than all the others listed above, because he's had a good year, AND because he might be a bad influence in the clubhouse, which we clearly don't need at this point.