I think I would rather get a Hot Carl than Coco Crisp

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You've never served up a steaming, rich Hot Carl, have you?

Nope I have never dropped a deuce on anyone you've got me there

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This makes no sense at all.

Cubs bid on Darvish.

Interesting....

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Rumor is Blue Jays bid something ridiculous on Darvish... Rangers supposedly at $40-$49M bid.

I hope the Cubs didn't win it looking at those rumors.

The Blue Jays have money?

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I think the White Sox and Angels have something to do with it.

AA personally flew to Japan last season to scout Darvish so it shouldn't be a surprise they put a bid on him. I think Darvish is going to be a fantastic major league pitcher. He's not a typical Japanese pitcher who relys on a deceptive motion or trick pitch. Darvish is a classic drop and drive pitcher who generates lots of velocity from his 6' 5" inch frame. He works in the low 90's early in the game but as the game gets deeper his velocity goes up to the mid to high 90's (remind you of anyone??) Darvish claims to throw 7 pitches but only 3-4 are major league quality but that's plenty to get lots of major league hitters out.

This is not to say he doesn't come with some concerns. Darvish is only 25 yrs old but he's already thrown 1,268 innings. The team that wins the bid on him will have to closely monitor his workload because the Japanese season is shorter and starting pitchers work on 5 days rest as opposed to 4 days in the majors.

Anyting close to the $100M it took to sign Rice-K would be a mistake but if a team can sign him for around $50M-$60M and they don't overwork him they will get a top of the rotation starter for the next 3-4 years and possibly longer.

Cubs negotiating with Paul Maholm.

Couldn't agree more. Allowing Zambrano to be on this team next year would be a slap in the face to all Cubs fans. I sincerely hope all the talk about Zambrano being in the rotation and training more seriously are only meant to kindle some interest from other teams.

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I believe it's building interest from other teams, and trying to convince everyone involved it's a good idea at the same time. Ideally, I think they would like to launch him. But if he's getting in shape to earn his next contract, maybe he stays until the break.

Keep in mind, nobody is desperate right now. It's mid-December. Let's see how it plays out.

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This would be a good signing. Hopefully they can lock him up with a 2013 team option but he'll probably do a 1 year deal to get his value up.

Awesome. I have been hoping they would pick him up ever since the Pirates decided to part ways with him. This is a good, cheap signing with a good amount of potential upside.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Maholm was shut down last year with a bum shoulder. That's a HUGE red flag. Stay away from him and take a shot at Joe Saunders.

I like Saunders and have always thought highly of him. I figured he would command a decent amount of money though. Maholm, while a risk with the shoulder issues, would be an under the radar move and would come cheap imo. l thought he would be snatched up by the Orioles or Nationals already.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

When I wanted Saunders for the Cubs, I didn't realize his value in the market. Can't get him on the cheap.

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perhaps the cubs should look into anthony rizzo from the padres, now that san diego has acquired alonso from the reds. alonso is going to be a damn good hitter and he has to play 1st for the padres after the failed experiment of playing him in the OF last year, and that will make rizzo expendable. rizzo struggled last year badly and struck out at an alarming rate, but the asking price wouldnt be too high i wouldnt think, especially since the padres just devalued him by acquiring alonso. he is very young and has good left-handed power. hed be a hell of a lot cheaper than fielder, and this team is not one player away from contending anyway. I think id be taking a stab at getting rizzo, and use the money to improve elsewhere. a big fielder move doesnt seem right for this team right now.

I don't think there's any doubt they'll go after Rizzo. Theo and company drafted and developed him in Boston then Hoyer traded for him in San Diego as part of the Adrian Gonzalez deal. He would be the young left handed power hitting first baseman this organization desperately needs.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I just saw this and was about to post it here myself.

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If Theo and Hoyer can get the entire package the Padres got from Cincinnati, swapping in Rizzo, done.

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The Padres trading for Garza doesn't make sense. They just traded a 24 yr old starter who was under team control for 4 years. Why would they turn around and trade for a 28 yr old starter who is under team control for 2 years?? I would think the Padres would want a package of young players in return for Rizzo and not a veteran starter who is getting more expensive.

I completely agree. But if they want to be stupid, I'd like them to be stupid with the Cubs.

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After the rogering they just gave the Reds I wouldn't bank on that happening.

I'd be careful on Rizzo. He didn't do shit in 141 AB's in the big leagues last year (.141 BA with 1 HR). As to trading Garza, if they can't get a huge package, don't trade him. In fact, they should extend his ass so they at least have 1 decent SP locked in long term. Let's be honest, he is their only SP under 30 who has proven himself at the big league level.

The Reds deal is exciting for me on many levels. Latos is an injury waiting to happen, and the Reds just gave up way too much. There's now a deal for comparison. This is what a one or two starter will cost in a trade. If the Cubs could get that pull for Garza, I'm in. I'm also not against signing him long term.

I know Rizzo tore up the league that everyone with a pulse hits over .300. He was also the centerpiece of the Gonzalez deal. If San Diego is interested in moving him below value, I'm interested.

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I like Darvish a lot but they're saying the posting fee will be higher than Rice-K's $51M. $51M + for a posting fee and another $50-$60M to sign him is simply too much money. It sounds like the Blue Jays will win the rights to him so they better hope he's real good for a long time because they won't be able to absorb a miss like the Red Sox could with Rice-K.

The Cubs paying $51 million up front makes no sense. They are not players in this one. They maybe put a bid in, but it's mostly to say they did.

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