Now that they dumped Milton, this is the best leverage you can have with anyone you might have been talking to!

If Marlon Byrd is the targeted player, then you make him the formal offer and tell him he has 12 hours to respond.

You can do this NOW and only NOW as you most likely told everyone you cant do anything until the Milton deal is done!

I am not asking to sign guys , just to sign them right now, I am asking to sign them now because you have some leverage. At least a good negotiator would have some leverage!

Players are starting to get concerned they wont get deals and are looking for offers.

"Marlon, we got $5 Millon for you, for 2 years plus $1 mill in bonuses. I need to know inthe next hour or we need to move on" Then call Xavier Nady and so on!

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Yeah I cannot wait to hear the bitching when we end up with Xavier Nady

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

I agree, it will look funny when the Cubs sign Nady and both him and Lee are playing first base and nobody is playing centerfield.

I can't agree. Look at last winter how things went....the bargains, were guys like Abreau, who wanted big money, turned down better offers initially (including with the Yankees) and then wound up having to take a 1 year deal for just 5 million. There will be some bargains again this winter and they will go to the teams with patience. Is Marlon Byrd so good that you can't risk losing out to another team (signing him)? NO-in fact he has a history of mediocrity, with 1 decent season in his resume-last year. So should the Cubs be in a hurry to pay (or over-pay) for mediocrity-HELL NO! If they are not going for a top tier guy like Holliday or Bay, no reason to be in a hurry. Let the players sweat a bit about whether or not they are going to get a deal and the numbers may be a whole lot better and the contract length shorter-which is huge, when even considering a guy like Byrd, with a less than impressive resume. If it's one of the few available (desireable) bullpen arms you seek, there is some urgency, but for someone like Byrd-NO. Losing a race to sign Byrd, may mean winning that race in the end.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Who does Boras represent?
He doesn't blink first.

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There goes one over the fence..Tru Link Fence..Beauty, Privacy Security....Call Tru Link.
Murph's Union 76 Truck Stop....A great Thanksgiving Tradition!!!!

WOO LIFE!!!!

STEVE! I said AT OUR PRICE! It is getting very close to that point! I used Byrd as an example !

If you are going to play Cubs expert here read the whole post and understand the art of negotiation.

You can make these guys sweat! Ricketts needs to be involved because I dont think Hendry knows how to make an offer that is not open ended and telling the guy he can take all the time he needs!

YOU MAKE AN OFFER AT YOUR PRICE WITH A DEADLINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No Need to OVER OFFER! But TRY AND GET WHO YOU WANT AND WHAT YOU WANT TO PAY!

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Scott Boras would play you like a fiddle.

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There goes one over the fence..Tru Link Fence..Beauty, Privacy Security....Call Tru Link.
Murph's Union 76 Truck Stop....A great Thanksgiving Tradition!!!!

WOO LIFE!!!!

Boras should just sit back and let Hendry bid against himself. That tactic has been a BIG winner for other agents.

BORAS Has been playign the Cubs like a fiddle for years!!!!!!!!

Maybe it is time for Hendry to use all the good will he has paid for with Boras??

hendry has signed this guys players for years makign the Ex Cub Farmhand (yes Boras was in the Cubs farm system and paid for his law schooling!)

Anyone remember Bobby Brownlie for $10 Mill!!!

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

No...he hasn't. As far as I know every deal the Cubs have made with Boras has been pretty fair.

Also, typing in all CAPS doesn't help make a point.

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JohnKirk wrote: I dont get it...

It's been nice knowing you for these few posts BronZ. Farewell

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

Why?

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JohnKirk wrote: I dont get it...

i love all of these threads imploring the cubs to sign all of these cast-offs. enough already. this is the best off-season the cubs have had in years.

It's very hard to believe you're ok with them doing nothing this off season. They are in a shit division that could actually get worse if the Cards are unable to sign Holliday and DeRosa. A couple moves (like trading for Granderson) and this team could win the division. If I were a cub fan I'd be screaming bloody murder (like Bigfan) that they are letting this opportunity get away.

The offseason is far from over.

Last year fans bitched at the Cubs jumping too quickly in the offseason.

The year fans bitch at the Cubs for not jumping quickly in the offseason.

And once again Keyser, you are full of it, because no matter what the Cubs do, you will be posting how stupid it is. So go shine your Juan Pierre statue.

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

i dont care about winning a weak division. i want a team to be built for a drive deep in the playoffs, and this team isn't. this core of players has been banging its head against a wall for years, and it isnt happening. this core of players does not have what it takes to go the distance. the quicker the plug is pulled BEFORE all of the parts have no value, the better. this is the year you can disassemble it and get some return (young talented players) on some of the pieces. if you dont, you will end up with a roster of has-beens that nobody wants anymore, and it will be quite a few years before the cubs recover. if they do it now, they could be a serious contender again in a few years, if they make some wise trades for young major-league or AAA talent.

derosa sucked last year, especially down the stretch. the cubs were wise to trade him when they did.

what opportunity? to win the division again? they couldnt last year, what make anyone think that JJ Putz and Mike Cameron or Scott Podsednik or Marlon Byrd wouldmake it happen this year? and even if they did, what makes anyone think that the roster they have failed with the past several years would all of a sudden click and go deep in the playoffs?

nope, pull the plug.

Yeah that platoon of Fontenot and Miles worked out great.

no, they were bad too. this team has many holes to fill, which is why you pull back the throttle and re-evaluate what the fuck you are doing. throwing band-aids on the problem like marlon byrd or mike cameron are a recipe for failure. too many holes to fill. the cubs are being wise right now.

What about trading for Granderson? He's 29. Melky Cabrera? He's 25. Jeremy Hermida? He's 25. Dan Uggla? He's 29. How about trading for a young pitcher like Brandon Morrow? He's 25. There are good, young players available this off season, Hendry doesn't have to sign band-aids. It's just hard to believe that after 1 bad season you're wanting them to fold up shop when there are moves that could be made that will improve the team for this season and beyond.

no, because those are all each one guy, one guy that will require more resources to retain. this team is more than one guy away. they wont sign all of those guys to fill a variety of needs.

this team has underachieved since 03. they have had lots of chances to win with lee and ramirez and zambrano and dempster and soriano. too many resources are wrapped up in these guys. they don't have the makeup to win, and until you lose some of these guys, it doesnt make any sense to sign any of those others.

its not a snap judgement after one year. it is a fact after years with this same core. it isnt happening. to try and add "one more piece" is a path we have already been down. it isnt going to work.

Ok but I don't think that's reason to just stand still. I believe the cubs have a good opportunity to win next season and should be far more aggressive in filling their needs this off season. What's that saying, if you're not moving forward you're moving backwards?

edit: ya know Hendry actually is moving backwards. The three moves he's made this off season was to trade guys he signed last off season. Heilman, Miles and Bradley. Sheesh. That's horrible.

Really? 88 wins and 97 wins is underacheiving? How in the world can you say that this team underacheived "since 03", but be perfectly fine with Jim Hendry standing pat and doing nothing to make this team better? Just beacuse "its a path we've been down before?" Its a path Hendry has been down before, and because he made shit moves, you're ok with it. The fact that he still has the "GM" title is laughable.

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They don't have the money, as far as we can tell, to make any significant acquistions this off-season. In fact, it seems that they have had to cut payroll (Miles and Heilman) to add payroll, not to mention moving Bradley and attempting to pick up additional cash savings before moving forward.

Even now, just by getting Bradley out of the clubhouse, I think the argument can be made that they have actually gotten better. Harden was their only significant loss this off-season, but he brought uncertainty to the starting rotation so that's a loss that is one they don't mind as well (though they should have traded him to Minnnesota).

As long as they have Zambrano, Dempster and Wells to open the season, I think they will be right in the middle of the NL Central. Hopefully, Lilly isn't out for more than the first month, and he can actually pitch at the level that he has made Cubs fans expect during his time year.

At this point, I'd prefer to see the Cubs give Sam Fuld the chance in CF, especially since they are only looking at Marlon Byrd. Go cheap in CF, and Fuld did show that he'll play some defense. That's not the worst scenario in the world. Fukadome can still move back to RF.

Jeff Baker played well in the 2nd half last season, and I'd give him 2B to open the season.

Just because Hendry has money doesn't mean he should spend it. Perhaps flexibility to address trouble spots as the season progresses wouldn't be a bad idea.

IF Hendry absolutely feels the need to bring in a few guys, as my guess would be, and I'm not sure of all the free agent options off the top of my head, I'd like to see him bring him a utility player who can provide improved depth at 3B in particular. I also would be ok if he added pitching depth. You can never have enough options there, and another bullpen arm would probably help out.

Again, though, don't spend just to spend. Find value in the free agent market - it's a buyers market, and only moreso as we get into January and closer to spring training.

frank, sometimes i really dont know what the hell you are talking about. 88 wins and 97 wins, and getting swept in the 1st round both years isnt under-achieiving to you? come on, think about it.

standing pat is the right move when you are totally over-extended as is.

I agree they don't have a lot of money to spend on a big time free agent but the guys I mentioned are relatively cheap and it would mostly cost talent to acquire them. They dumped some salary this off season and have Lee ($13M) and Lilly ($12M) in the last season of their contracts.

I disagree about the team being better after the Bradley trade.

Fuld/Byrd/Ankiel/Panzy < Bradley

Gorzo/Marshall/Samardjiza/a guy with a broken arm > Silva

im with you, the bradley trade isnt very exciting to me.

What were many of you expecting to get back in the Bradley deal? It was always going to be a bad player with a bad contract, and the only hope would be that the Cubs would make up some of the money that they gave to Bradley. You shouldn't be excited about the trade, but you should be happy that you removed a cancer and major distraction from the team.

Bad contract, yes. Bad player, not necessarily. Rather than opting to 'save' the most money they could have opted to get a player back that has some value. Pat Burrell would be a useful 4th OF/backup 1st baseman. Gary Matthews Jr would also be useful as a 4th OF/switch hitter off the bench. Luis Castillo had a .387 OBP, stole 20 bases and is a sure handed defensive player (.982 fielding%) at a position of need (2B). This philosophy of trading away players with value for players with zero value didn't work in the Jason Marquis trade and I don't think it's going to work in the Bradley trade either.