Joe Nelson is interested in the Cubs . . . but I am not interested in Joe Nelson. If we bring in Nelson, we may as well bring in Kevin Gregg. Or Goose Gossage. FORGETABOUTIT.

There's nothing in Nelson's performance last year to even justify the comparison to Kevin Gregg. Gregg gave up 13 home runs in the NL, blew 7 saves, and was responsible for at least three more losses. Nelson, on the other hand, gave up six home runs in the AL, where a pitcher is expected to give up at least 10 (granted, he played at Tropicana), had a 4.0 ERA in the AL (general rule is if you switch to the NL, take a point off, meaning his ERA in the NL would have been 3), and he showed better poise and command than Gregg ever did.

It wouldn't kill them to sign him to a no-risk minor league deal.

Well I guess we'll see if Jim Edmunds has anything left...he just signed a minor league deal with the Brewers.

Phew. Don't care me like that.

You had me thinking that they signed Jim Edmonds. He has a lot left and I'm still holding out hope that the Cubs would sign him.

Oh wait....Damn.

hey i wanna play for the cubs too i'm 52 and i can still hit and run pay me 200k and i'll see you in spring training

Well if you are coming off a TJ surgery and requesting a NTC you might have a shot. But you may have to commit to a 2yr 500k per yr deal.

On another note...Ricketts is on record as saying the bulk of the Cub's improvement will come through a better

farm system.

I'd really like to have a nut's and bolts conversation with Ricketts/Kenny/Hendry on just exactly

what that means in terms of increased resources...scouting/developing etc.

in addition to Maddux.

For point of reference...Here is an excellent article on what the Blue Jays

are actively doing to improve their

farm system:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove09/columns/story?/columnist=kunkjian_tim&id=4860251

Enjoy.

a link to arod's stats. just want to prove my statement on castro. you never know.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rodrial01.shtml?redir

Not sure how ARod's stats prove your statement on Castro. In fact, I'd say they help disprove your case. ARod's stats were significantly better than Castro at similar ages AND ARod did it at higher minor league levels. ARod had AAA at age 18. Castro has zero AAA at-bats through age 19. Even forgetting the stats, ARod was much more highly touted than Castro.

Other than the fact that they both play SS and are young prospects, what are the similarities in their skill set and/or stats?

As for a reason to not give Castro a shot at age 19? .... rushing prospects can often ruin them. If Castro tears it up n spring training, I can see the Cubs giving the starting SS spot to him ... I just think it would be a mistake. I hope I'm wrong and you are right. I hope he starts the season in the majors and contributed immediately. I hope he turns into another ARod. Heck, I'd be thrilled if Castro turned into a young Edgar Renteria. I'd love to eat my words here.

I really think we all want to see Castro

succeed...and would like it sooner rather than later....But we all have a case of Cubitis...too many highly touted

failures in our past.

There are other cases of prospects up early...notably Sammy Sosa with the White Sox and Texas.

Whenever Castro comes up...I want him to stay up....If he striuggles at the mlb

level...will Lou be patient enough to

stick wirh him?...That's the question.

It's asking an awful lot of a guy that has 111 abs in AA to be your starting ss.

Either way it's going to be interesting to watch this kid develop.

He has stated that he wants to be "not just good, but the best ss in the major leagues". I hope he makes it so.

Well, another day, another rumor. No way do the Cubs go after a middle reliever. What for? My goodness, the AAA staff have plenty of arms that can fill this roll. Do not trade Marshall. He has been a valuable asset for the last 3 years. He does not complain at all. He gives you everything that he has. The Cubs need these types of players. I bet with Lou and Larry showing faith in the youngsters and giving them the assurance that "hey, you are going to fail, but we are here to tell you that we got your backs". Yeah right, Lou telling a youngster that he has his back is like Lou telling Soriano he can bat lead off again. It will never happen. I have a feeling that the only reason there are rumors for another arm in the bullpen is because Ryno has call the Ricketts family and has said, "hey Ricketts, I want you to know something, I dont want that has been, overpaid, under educated manager up there in Chicago to touch any of my youngsters. the mind games Lou and Larry play with the staff are unbelievable. Now i have been fed a line of bull before, but cmon, they are filling the troughs with enough bull that an everyday rancher can take the year off........

everyday starting lineup

theriot

nady

lee

rameriez

byrd

soriano

soto

castro

as you can see, i have eliminated fukodome and baker. castro will make the opening day lineup at ss. no reason not to give this kid his shot. 19 or 20. who cares. does anyone remember a kid named alex rodriguez? wasnt he a youngster when he started? even escobar from the braves.

also, what about darwin barney in AAA. isnt he worthy of a ss position on the team.

I like what I have seen from Darwin Barney. He is a lot like Theriot with the bat and can play a good short with a strong arm.

Are you really comparing Castro to ARod?

Come on, man, did you look at ARod's minor league numbers? his 18 year old season - he moved quickly from A to AA to AAA and every stop he raked. I'm not going to retype it all here, take a look at it. Pretty impressive at 18. I don't think anyone in their right mind would say Castro has a chance because ARod was great when he was the same age.

Escobar was brought up to the majors at age 24 after 2 months of playing AAA ball ... what is the similarity to the Castro situation?

David, are you talking about Alcides Escobar?

Also, take a look at Elvis Andrus' numbers.

I was responding to the post comparing Castro to Yunel Escobar. Andrus is a fair comparison. It would not be out of the question for Castro to produce Andrus type numbers, adjusted to account for the fact Texas plays in a more hitter friendly park than the Cubs, in the majors this season. Maybe .250, a few homers, 25 stolen bases and some great defense.

here is mlb.com top 50 prospects by the way castro ranked no.22 http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=7150959&topic_id=7962336

Im a fan of signing Joe Nelson, he is a very solid middle reliever and if you look at his stats his ERA was 2.00 in almost 60 innings two years ago in the NL and it was only 4.03 in the AL East where half his outings were prolly against the Yankees, Red Sox, hell even the Orioles had a very good lineup.

Id like to see the Cubs go in this order for MR,

1. Heath Bell (not happening)

2. Frasor

3. Calero/Nelson

4. Gregerson

Thanks for posting SuzyS. Very good read. This explains why Harden and Sheets are signed but there aren't many rumors of interest in Bedard.

Neil,

If what Tracy said about Byrnes is true, why aren't we making a quick move to sign Byrnes to a league minimum deal? It seems like a no brainer. What am I missing?

David, I don't know. I was very surprised to hear Tracy talk so openly about Eric Byrnes.

I am not sure they have a spot for him after signing Nady.

If he is still out there in a couple of weeks, it might be a good move ... just to see what he has to offer.

where would brynes play is the reason he won't be signed>............nady, baker, tracy, blanco and hill are the backups at this point w/fuld, hoff, colvin, and winter league hero synder in reserve.

even if brynes would go to AAA; the above 3 OF are already there.....

joe nelson is junk.......not gonna happen.

I have to agree with Cubs 1967.

The bench is starting to take shape...

(if Nady passes his physical and I'm anxious about that).

There does not appear to be room for

Byrnes.

The pen...I don't really know where the Cubs are going with the pen. I just hope whomever they get throws strikes and gets outs...no Gregg types please.

Any guesses where Dye and Damon end up?

Suzy, I wouldn't be surprised if one ends up with the Reds. I've heard a lot of rumblings about the Reds being interested in Damon (XM Radio).

The Reds were interested in Dye last year.

You're right. I must have miscounted and thought there was another bench spot that would have gone to Fuld.

1 yr 1 mil + incentives. Would this leave us 3 Mil to add Hudson? or another bench bat? Maybe my calculations are off and/or maybe Nelson can't be had for 1 mil?

I would think you could get him on a minor league invite if they had any interest at all.

I'm with you on the 2b upgrade but I think the Cubs have decided to go with Baker and Fontenot. My preference would be for Lopez since I think he could fill our need as a leadoff hitter and a switch hitter to boot.

Although, if Rudy can get Fontenot to understand his warning track flyballs are doing no good, he may turn into a heck of a line drive hitter and still get his share or HR's.

Not that we should ever bank on what Bruce Levine says but I was surprised at how confident he was that Theriot would start opening day at 2B with Castro at SS. If the Cubs are showing that much confidence in Castro it would go a long way in explaining why they haven't even looked into Orlando Hudson or Felipe Lopez.

Aaron: I found the article on Bedard.

Guy's...some people have wondered over the last several month's if Eric Bedard

might be a good fit...here's an excellent

read on why he probably is not...

http://www.seattlepi.com/baseball/379752_bedard19.html

Suzy ... more on Bedard

http://twitter.com/TNTmariners/status/8348864051

I posted this on the last thread a few minutes ago but it might be more relevant here. It doesent look like Bedard would even want to pitch in Chicago due to day games.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3426985

Great article BD...Thanks!

again who the hell is joe nelson

Who the HELL is Joe Nelson?

(that's facetious, please don't reply)

I'm sure there are lots of aging veteran Free Agents, that will say they really want to play for...(whispering to agent...which newspaper are we talking to now?)...Chicago...(whispering to agent...Cubs or Sox?...stay neutral, great)...I love the City of Chicago and all its fans!

These guys are realizing the music is starting to stop and they didn't just take one chair away, there are not many chairs left. We could easily see players wait it out and let it play out into the season, so that when an injury happens, they can step up and say, will you pay me now.

With my Cubs goggles firmly in place, this is the year.

Cubs goggles. HAH!

This might be a good pick up on a 1 year contract. Keep Guzman and don't trade any of the young guys. It is bargain time.

I agree it might be worth the risks and we get to keep Guzman.

Now if Lou were smart he would pitch Guzman at Wrigley and keep Nelson for on the road where he is stronger.

The question remains can we afford him but I think we could get him at a 1 yr deal for 1 mil. It will still be a little higher than Calero or Gregerson but in the case of Gregerson we will not have to trade anyone and Nelson should not stop the forward progress of our young pitchers.

My big concern with Nelson will be walks and given the erratic nature of Marmol last year I am not sure how Lou will be able to deal with the stress if both keep giving free passes this year.

I think with Guzman, Nelson, Marshall and Caridad the Cubs would be well covered in the 6,7 and 8th innings.