is dewitt gonna be our starting 2nd basemen or is fomnty or baker gonna start?

so who plays 2nd tonite fonty or baker

Do I have wrong Kyle Smit? Says he ERA is currently 7.84...when called up from A it was 5.36...Last year was 6.55

Inland Empire 66ers

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ibp&cid=401

Looks like JH got 2 more arms and a utility IF, saved a little payroll. Not bad. It also shows us, he knows the season is over. Lets start thinking 2011 and not play guys who won't be back.

Diamond to fill Lilly's spot works for me.

Lets see Colvin play some 1B, he hasn't played 1B since college.

wallach is class a pitch is 6-0 3.72 era

Brett Wallach A ball 6-0, 3.72 era starter

84.2 IP 1.37 whip 92 k's

Dewitt plays 3rd (his natural position I think) so what's the chance they move ARAM before the deadline?

Brett Wallach not bad numbers and is 20-21 years old...Kyle Smit, they must know something about him, as his stats suck...

Stark tweets that the pitching prospects going to the Cubs are Brett Wallach and Kyle Smit.

Kyle Smit is at AA, just sent up.

A ball - 5-3 2.49 era reliever, 6 saves

Still looking for Walch

ok whats hendrys next move fuk or nady maybe?

Given the Haren deal, that return sounds about right. I don't like it, but that's the market right now. We can't blame JH for not getting enough unless we know a better deal was out there ... and there likely wasn't a better deal.

If you think we should keep Lilly and Theriot instead of making the deal, then blame JH ... but don't blame him for not getting a top prospect in return.

The Cubs were in a position of power in a trade with the Dodgers, they didn't have to trade Lilly and the Dodgers didn't really have any other options out there. Unless the 2 minor league players are of note this is a F-.

Cubs get Brett Walch and Kyle SMit

sent 2.5M

Maybe the Cubs are poising themselves to take a run at Fielder during the winter.

Doubtful but the salary dumping could be tied to that.

Cubs have to give 2.5 mil.

That's the X Factor, what happened on the money side of the equation........and they may still be working that out.

Jim Hendry did NOTHING but lose salary...maybe Ricketts has spoken...OR could be dumping salary without losing it, which could open up to eat Fuuco's salary..

The Cubs will get DeWitt and another player, likely a minor leaguer according to CBS' Danny Knobler. The Cubs will pay "a significant amount of Lilly's salary."

Dee Gordon sounded to good to be true. I really doubt it is Gordon, unless the Cubs paid all of Lilly and Theriot's pay.

Yep deal is done

If that's what they got then Hendry yet again screwed the pooch. He's great at taking established players from teams (Lee and Ramirez) but this dude cannot maximize a return when selling. This should open the eyes of the Ricketts that Hendry is a goof that needs to go.

Depending who that third player is this would be a terrible trade for the cubs.

Agree, with it is not Dee Gordon JH has blown it again.

Dewitt, AA Pitcher and possible 3rd player

From Ken Rosenthal

Dee Gordon would be a perfect fit, he could be starting second base soon, and hitting leadoff, and Castro as the second hitter would be a hell of a top of the lineup.

This is like Christmas in July, I'm so excited to see what we got......LOL

It's probably that ugly raindeer sweater you get from that crazy aunt!!!

better get more than theriot num 2

It's like pulling a slot machine, what are we getting back?

Blake DeWitt, AA pitcher and possible a third player

According to Jim Bowden (XM Radio), Lilly and Theriot have been traded to the Dodgers

From Jayson Stark:

Cubs on verge of trading Ted Lilly to Dodgers. All indications are that Ryan Theriot also going to LA in deal.

Peter Gammons sees Lilly going to the Dodgers in the next 30 min. Just said it on MLB.

From Chris DeLuca:

Including Theriot will seal Lilly-to-Dodgers deal from Chicago's view. Dodgers are in a 1-horse race.

Peter Gammons just reported that Ted Lilly will be a Dodger in 30 minutes.

why wouldnt u trade theriot for kelly johnson he has 17 hrs is hendry stupid oh wait nevermind

Kelly Johnson will take more than Theriot.

Even better, Blake DeWitt = Mike Fontenot (if he played...)

Blake DeWitt = Ryan Theriot except bats left...

He is also under team control for 3+ years and at a lot less money. He is also a utility guy, who missed most of last year.

The problem is we have plenty of utilitymen in Fotenot and Baker.

DeWitt is just as you pointed out cheap but not a solution to the lack of speed this club has nor the hole at leadoff.

Dee Gordon looks like a good prospect but does not help in addressing any of the real issues this team has and that is the mess in the bullpen, besides the offense.

I agree with the others that DeWitt is not an upgrade but a trade of Theriot for Theriot and we save money.

We will just have to wait and see what happens and what the plan is if JH even has one other than being reactionary.

Who says they are going to keep him. The right prospects, could be enough, Dewitt may be out of waivers and they would have to release him to make space for Theriot. There could be many reasons, for him being part of the deal.

ya same hrs and rbis less sb why trade theriot for theriot

Team control and less dollars!!

A little over 2 hours left ... and the Rockies just got another hit.

LOL

From Levine:

Cubs front office has had discussions about moving Tyler Colvin to first base next season.

Sounds like the Cubs are looking at having a battle for who will play 1B next season between LaHair, Hoff and Colvin.

Wonder if any others will get thrown into the mix?

Latest from Rosenthal:

Source: Dodgers trying to make Lilly/Theriot deal work. DeWitt to Cubs if it happens, along with at least one other.

When Hak-Ju Lee is ready I could see Castro at third.

Castro should move to second if/when Lee is ready.

As Tony has mentioned, it is always good for an organization to have quality depth.

I think we all agree that the Cubs should build depth in the organization.

Right now though we are all only guessing on what the Cubs will do with Lee and Castro and all the other Cubs prospects.

For all we know Lee may never even make the ML club or might be a trade chip or used for something else.

We will just have to wait and see.

Of course, it will depend on if any player makes it, or if players who are already on the MLB, being able to keep producing.

If we can't speculate here, where can we?

Castro will move to 2B at that time, to go along with Brett Jackson in CF, should give us one of the best up the middle defenses in baseball.

A lot will depend on what the Cubs decide to do with Dee Gordon if they even get him. Play him at SS, 2B or OF?

Let us wait and see if the Cubs get Gordon and then we can all speculate from there.

Yeah, I could see that too. He could once he fills out hit 20+ homers a season. Vitters is definitely still a big question mark so a possible move in a couple of years of Castro to 3B is not a long shot or unrealistic.

Ok, if the Cubs decide to get Dee Gordon then what about Hak-Ju Lee. The Cubs will probably then look at moving Dee Gordon to play 2B versus short because I think Lee and Castro will be the priorities there unless the Cubs decide to move Castro instead to 2B.

Like the idea of having Dee Gordon bring some much needed speed but he is probably still at least a year away.

Hak-Ju Lee is 2-3 years away.

Gordon could end up a CF

Always good to get athletic players.

Possible, but the Cubs outfield situation in the minors is stacked with Jackson and Snyder and we have Colvin and Byrd so really do not see that. Jackson will probably be on the club next year and unless Soriano is traded then the Cubs still need to decide if Colvin will play 1B or become a trade chip to free up room for Snyder.

I personally do not think Colvin will end up at 1B for us next year.

As we have seen, a team needs lots of inventory, to get guys to make it at the MLB level.

3 team deal done

Ludwick to Padres

Westbrook to Cardinals

Indians get prospects

Well at least Ludwick will get to feast on Cubs' pitching for eight more games this season.

If we can get Gordon for Lilly and Theriot, it's a win for us.

Absolutely, even if Dewitt comes along for the ride.

Bruce Levine - Cubs and Dodgers moving toward deal for Lilly & Theriot that would net prospects & Blake DeWitt. Levine added, if Dodgers' deal does not happen, Lilly to Yankees remains an option. Three to four teams interested in Ryan Theriot.

Jon Heyman - Giants now in play for Kelly Johnson - dbacks rejected sfgiants offer of joe martinez plus another for kelly johnson.

Whose needs all the stress in the dugout? I think Carlos Zambrano adds a lot of stress to the other players who have enough stress trying to win ball games. The head office should think seriously about trading him and keeping some good, worthy ball players. No baseball player is so good that they can disregard the respect for the other players. I believe in team work.

MLB just did a spot on the Lilly to the Dodgers and talked about Dee Gordon.

That the Dodgers may have to move him to get Lilly.

From Jayson Stark:

Sounds like Cubs likely to send both Lilly & Theriot to Dodgers.

According to Bruce Levine, there is not a lot of interest in Mike Fontenot, Xavier Nady and Jeff Baker

I am shocked!

I sure hope that if the cubs do trade Lilly and Theriot to the Dodgers, that we don't get Blake Dewitt as the centerpiece, and a couple other mid level prospects. We better get atleast one top prospect in that deal.

I agree, Dewitt does nothing for me. Hope they just go the prospect route and get the best they can get.

Maybe if Rickett's lets go of a little money they can get a better prospect.

Lilly and Theriot will not net a top prospect.

If Lilly and Theriot doesn't net the cubs one of the dodgers top prospects, then you trade Lilly to other suitor, and do the Theriot, Russell for Kelly Johnson deal. Because if Blake Dewitt and a couple mid level prospects are return from dodgers and we pick up money that is a terrible deal.

It depends on the prospect. If we are making them take Theriot, they are making Dewitt part of it.

Dee Gordon would be nice.

Tony, if the Dodgers are offering Gordon in the deal for Lilly, Hendry should chip in a little more money. I really like what I have read about Gordon.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=strang001dev

From Tim Brown (Yahoo Sports)

Dodgers growing more optimistic they can acquire Lilly...

What prospects are the Dodgers offering for Lilly and or Theriot? I've heard Ely, but not really sold on him.

Rumors suggested Dee Gordon yesterday ... Dodgers top prospect and son of Flash

Neil, I just went back and compared Cashner's stats to Samardzija's stats during their rookie years. Cashner 1-4, era 6.26, ip 27.1, hr 6, bb 14, so 18. Samardzija 1-0, era 2.28, ip 27.2, hr 0, bb 15, so 25. So why do give Cashner a free ride for his performance so far. Samardzija is pitching very well in Iowa.

I don't think anyone is giving Cashner a free ride. But I do see more of an upside in Cashner than in Samardzija.

I will say the Cubs have mishandled Samardzija ... even to this day. I have heard/read so many conflicting reports about their plan with Samardzija moving forward.

They will have to make a decision on him by next spring. The Shark is out of options after this season.

Neil, after last night how can you see more of an upside to Cashner. That performance last night has put this team into a major shock. His last few times out have been poor at best. If he is going to be a starter then put him back in AAA and keep him there. That is what they should have done with Samardzija. Both pitchers have faired better as a starter instead of out of the pen.

This is Cashner's first trip to the bigs that is how.

Padres get Ludwick

Cardinals get Westbrook

Indians get prospects

Joel Sherman just tweeted Padres may be backing out of deal.

Ludwick gets some clutch hits for the Cards, I think they might miss him more than they think. Just last night he leadoff with a 2b in extras and scotred the winning run.

I think teams will figure out Jon Jay as he plays a little more.

When Lilly is traded does that move Z back to the rotation or do they bring up someone from AAA to show what they can do?

I have heard they will bring up Thomas Diamond and Z will be left in the pen.

Diamond has put up some nice numbers this season. What are the chances that he fulfills the potential he had when he was drafted?

That is the big question. Diamond's numbers look good but I am concerned about his velocity. A once power arm appears to have learned how to pitch. No one will know until he is given a shot.

Neil, Ryan Ludwick deal done.

Any chance Lilly goes somewhere besides the Dodgers? How serious are the Yankees, Twins, and whoever else about acquiring him?

It seems the Dodgers and possibly the Yankees are the only two teams left in on Lilly. I ma hearing mixed reports on Yankees interest in Lilly.

Twins could happen but Lilly would have to waive his ntc to go to Minnesota ... Twins on his no-trade list.

Looks like Ryan Ludwick is on the move in the Jake Westbrook deal ...

Tom Krasovic reporting the Padres are liking their chances of getting Ryan Ludwick in a three-way deal..Padres would give up 2 prospects

Ludwick doesn't seem like the kind of player that would succeed in SD. Many of those homers are going to turn into warning track outs.

Agreed ...

Ken Rosenthal - Cubs, Dodgers working phones hard on Lilly. Theriot possibly in Lilly trade between Cubs, Dodgers as well. Trade is not done.