KC is trading Teahen because they have too many OF'ers. They would have no use for Pie (neither would any ML team really). I would think KC would need an arm or two in return for Teahen. I think Hart/Guzman would probably get it done.

Dunn is strictly a Left Fielder. Soriano, as bad as he is in Left at times, would be an out and out disaster area in RF. No way the Cubs go after Dunn. I like Abreau. I just wonder if the price tag is too high. If not, I would be happy with him. Forget Ibanez-too old.

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Go Cubs!!!!

They aren't going to give Dunn the $$$ he wants. If the reports are true that they are only slightly increasing payroll, signing Dempster (and letting Wood go) probably is a small increase. I still think they are going to move Derek Lee, possibly for some younger pitching/bullpen help. Moving him (w/out taking back much salary) then gives them more options this off-season.

They aren't going to give Dunn the $$$ he wants. If the reports are true that they are only slightly increasing payroll, signing Dempster (and letting Wood go) probably is a small increase. I still think they are going to move Derek Lee, possibly for some younger pitching/bullpen help. Moving him (w/out taking back much salary) then gives them more options this off-season.

If they move Lee will they be signing a 1B, or giving Houfpair a shot?

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

If they were to move Lee, they may be more willing to make a splash for a guy like Ibanez or Dunn....Right now, I don't think they have the payroll to add a big left handed bat without getting rid of a guy like Lee. I'm still not sure they would go after a proven/productive hitter like Dunn/Ibanez unless they are committed to moving Fukadome to CF. I think if they decide to stay as is, a guy like Teahen is the probable type player we are looking at.

Lee has a contract that pays him 13.5 million next season and he has a full no trade clause. Unless a contending team wanted him, I don't see him approving a deal. Plus, at that salary, with just 90 RBI while batting 3rd and leading the major leagues in DP's hit into, who's going to want to make a deal?

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Go Cubs!!!!

Yeah I have to agree I can't see alot of teams champing at the bit to get Lee on the roster. The Cubs would have to pick up a portion of his salary to move him most likely. I am no fan of the human DP machine but the Cubs are most likely going to have to make do with him at 1st for another year. I just hope that they find a way to move both him and Soriano down in the lineup to hide some of their sins.

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this lineup + mark teahen = no major improvement over last year. if they make that move, i sure hope they have something else up their sleeve, because i find it hard to imagine that they would go into next season with mark teahen as the "answer" in this lineup. they took a gamble on fukudome producing in the middle of the lineup last year, i dont want them to spend another year taking a flyer on another marginal left-handed hitting RF. get a proven commodity for RF this year, or stick with Fuk in RF and target Roberts or Furcal. at least Fuk is an excellent RF that can bat at the bottom of the lineup and take a walk. i wouldnt be so quick to give up on him, especially for mark teahen. if you can get abreu or ibanez or dunn or a big league proven hitter, thats one thing, but to abandon Fuk for mark teahen - thats the big lineup improvement for '09?

The Cub chubby for Roberts is hilarious.

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Almost as hilarious as your team thinking Ken Griffey Jr would help them down the stretch last year.

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i know it is fashion to pound on derrek lee, and to one extent i will agree - his power is gone. he is now a doubles hitter with occasional HR power, but he is not a 30 HR guy. as far as the DPs go, going into '08, the most he had ever hit into was 18. this year he hit into 27. not good, granted. here is something maybe you dont know, that the VAST majority of them were hit in april, may and june. in those 3 months he hit into 19! terrible! 17 of them were in may and june alone! the hysteria about that built up to volcanic proportions, to the point where every time he hit one, it was "DP Lee" and "6-4-3 Lee". well, in July, Lee hit .292 and grounded into 2 double plays. in August, he hit .301, and grounded into 3 DPs. in September, he hit .274, and grounded into 3 DPs. in 3 full months, he grounded into a total of 8 DPs in 290 AB's, which is close, and even LOWER than his norm. no, you cant throw out all the DPs early in the year and pretend they didnt happen, but for everyone who thinks he is a DP machine, and he hit into one every at bat down the stretch and was killing the team, that just isnt true. the guy is a good hitter, a very good fielder, and i dont get the talk about needing to get rid of him. i do get the talk about maybe moving him in the lineup, maybe getting more power in the 3 spot, but he is a good hitter, and they dont need to be shopping him around because he had a bad 2 months where he hit into a lot of DPs.

And what team won the AL Central?

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i dont have a cub chubby for roberts, i think anything but a productive middle-of-the-order lefty hitter is secondary, but id rather see fuk back in right and make a move for roberts or furcal than acquire teahen as the "answer" in right.

they don't have to give up on Fuk. He can play center. They need at least two left handed bats anyways. And Frank, I believe Roberts changes the entire team. So yeah, I think he's pretty important. What would your Sox have done without Pod and his career year in '05?

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Probably the same. Pods was ineffective in the 2nd half of the season due to injury, and the Sox had excellent pitching all around for the entire season. In the playoffs, I don't believe he had more than one stolen base, at most.

Whats hilarious about Roberts is that every off season we hear daily about his impending trade to the Cubs, and he still suits up with the Orioles each year. The last 2 NLDS have shown everybody that the Cubs need more changed than just Brian Roberts to win in the playoffs

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I don't think anybody here has espoused that just adding Brian Roberts to the current roster would guarantee playoff success. Why dont you focus on the myriad of needs for your roster on the South Side such as who is going to play 2B and how to dispose of Jose Contreras' corpse and let the grownups talk.

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Brian Roberts and a trade with the Cub.

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Sounds great we have this hot prospect Rich Hill who would be perfect for you guys

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A team like the Giants come to mind.

Stalking Brian Roberts for this long is kinda funny. He couldnt possibly live up to the hype at this point.

Maybe he would have calmed down dempster or stopped the benny hill themed fielding in the 2nd inning

I really don't think all that many Cubs fans are as excited about Brian Roberts as everybody around here seems to think that they are.

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I am a Cub fan its not everyone but the length of time hes been publically targeted is funny

Yeah I would like Hendry to either pull the trigger or publically come out and say they are not targeting him so we can move on with our lives. I am betting that the Orioles are being bastards and asking way too much for him.

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I'm a much bigger fan of leaving the OF as is and focusing on Fucal. Dunn as somebody already pointed out is all or nothing. Ibanez is old and will soon be bad. Teahen is just kinda eennhhhh, not the answer to the worlds problems. Brian Roberts will be an Oriole once again. If our lineup on Opening Day looked like this I would be a very happy Cubs fan.

Furcal
Theriot
Ram
Soriano
Lee
Soto
Johnson
Fuku / DeRosa
Pitcher

Ok, if we go by the "let's go all out for this year" theory on the Coo side, how about this one.

Fuku / Pie /Marshall / Fontenot for Dye and Contreras

Konerko to the Angels?

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Actually Frank, the part that is most hilarious is that the "Best in the Business" Mr. Bruce Levine and I spoke on this topic two or three weekends ago on Talkin' Baseball. He clearly stated the Orioles are looking into giving Roberts a long term deal and building the team around him, so they no longer have any interest in trying to move him. One thing I've learned in all my years of listening to sports talk radio....when Bruce talks, we all should listen!!! So Cubs Fans (myself included) need to give up on the Roberts deal.


Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce!!!!!

The Sun-Times said that if the Orioles don't make a deal with Roberts, then they'll trade him. One thing I've learned in all my years of reading newspapers... when the Sun-Times writes something...







...I'ts probably just a bunch of crap. You're right, the deal probably won't happen, which is good, because all it will do is give the slow half of Cubdom false hope for the next year. Even if they get him, he'll probably suck anyway, because they want him so bad.

this lineup looks pretty good, but they still need a left-handed run-producer in the middle if you really want to address what ails this team. this order has 2-7 all righty, with no real lefty alternatives off the bench with the exception of fontenot at 2nd. derosa would still get his AB's, given his versatility in the field. i like the ram-lee flip-flop too, it is time for ram to bat third and lee to go down in the order.