Chicago Cubs Headlines for Monday
Um, thisyearcub, I've got something we need to talk about, but I think you should have a seat first. No, Jay Z and Beyonce aren't splitting up. At least not that I know of.
This news is Cubs related, and involves one of your favorite players. We've learned via
ChicagoCubsOnline.com that Baseball Prospectus has heard some interesting rumors.
"According to a report from Baseball Prospectus on the eve of the GM Meetings in Chicago, "Catching has become an increasingly difficult position for teams to fill, yet there are some interesting names floating as trade possibilities : the Pirates' Ryan Doumit, the Rays' Dioner Navarro, the Rangers' Jarrod Saltalamacchia and the Cubs' Geovany Soto."
Do we really want Toe Thumbs catching every day? I guess I don't mind him catching every day, but I do mind him hitting every day. Does this mean they think Wellington Castillo is ready to make the jump to the big leagues? Is Jim Hendry upset that Soto stopped smoking pot and his supply dried up? Only time will tell, but this got me so excited, being the first real out-of-nowhere rumor of the hot stove. What say you, fellow Cub crazies?
Mr. Miles is doing his best to get us excited about the GM meetings at O'Hare starting this week. He's dangling a
Roy Halladay trade in front of our faces:
One interesting scenario has new Toronto Blue Jays GM
Alex Anthopoulos indicating he'd be open to trading ace pitcher Roy
Halladay, who becomes a free agent next fall after he's scheduled to
make $15.75 million in 2010.
Halladay has a no-trade clause in his contract, but
he's said he'd like to play for a contender, and the Cubs seem closer
to getting back to the playoffs than do the Blue Jays. To get Halladay,
the Cubs must move money.
Could Hendry package Bradley and prospects for
Halladay? Bradley could thrive in the relatively quiet environs of
Toronto, and Halladay would provide an instant jolt to the Cubs'
rotation.
I just can't see that happening, but I guess I'd love to be wrong about it. It sounds as though Jim Hendry and Randy Bush will be working diligently on the trade market this winter, so some crazy things might happen after all.
"The way the game's changed, there seems to be a lot more things
happening later than it used to be," he said. "My first couple years as
GM, there weren't a lot of deals done after New Year's Day.
Now you have a lot of players still available. Some (GMs) did some
great below-the-radar signings last year with the economics being very
down, signing players in early February or late January.
"We
have a few things we'll prioritize. Some of it gets affected by what
comes your way. All of a sudden, you've got a chance to get this guy at
a certain position, and you might have to change somebody else or move
him back to another position. I don't think you'll see 10 new players
and a lot of high spending in free agency. It's not that kind of year."
Thank heaven for some real, titillating Cubs rumor mongering, eh? One can only hope that Crazy Uncle Phil starts hearing some whispers soon.
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55 Comments
gravedigger said:
Trade Soto and he'll have a fantastic year. Keep him and he'll be fat and sucky.
Doc Blume said:
I expect Soto to rebound nicely in 2010. Overall, I just feel that this past season was a wake-up call for him.
(Cheep plug!)
Check out my review of the catcher position at C.D.E.
cubbiejulie said:
I expect him to undergo a lot of random drug tests.
Doc Blume said:
And a lot of un-random drug tests too.
flyball said:
trade Soto and Koyie Hill will start sucking, I'm the biggest Hill fan on this site (ok, I might be the only one) and even I know that he is not a season long everyday catcher
Doc Blume said:
Um...no...
I'm the biggest Hill fan on this site.
flyball said:
thats just because you're taller than me
gravedigger said:
Its almost time to go home right?
Doc Blume said:
Soto is not going to be traded...
Because...
a) They currently have no one to replace him.
b) Soto is cheep
c) They have a couple of positions they already need to fill with a limited budget.
d) Any replacement for Soto out there will cost too much money.
This just doesn't make any sense.
cubbiejulie said:
"Do we really want Toe Thumbs catching every day? I guess I don't mind him catching every day, but I do mind him hitting every day."
LMAO!!!!
gravedigger said:
This is why I love carl.
flyball said:
and I still can't stand that nickname
thisyearcub said:
Agreed. Doesn't even make sense.
Doc Blume said:
Neither does your nickname.
thisyearcub said:
Your head has the shell on it
cubbiejulie said:
(rolls eyes)
it totally makes sense.
flyball said:
does not
for 1 thing, his thumb was reattached, for another he only injured 1 hand so the plural is unnecessary
thisyearcub said:
And toes had nothing to do with it. They put wires in, so technically he could be the new Bionic Man. Or Bionic Commando...that was a cool Nintendo game.
AndCounting said:
I love this time of year. I'll never forget that car-ride home from a terrible day at work on November 25, 2003. Traffic out of the city was awful. It was one of those days in which I got to work when it was dark (6:45 am) and got home when it was dark (5:45 pm). The sole glimmer of visible sunlight to hit me that day was delivered through a radio report that the Cubs had landed Derrek Lee for Hee Seop Choi.
You just never know what trades will go down when the GMs get together, but I'd be willing to bet the Cubs make at least two significant deals before Turkey Day.
If the Cubs do wind up getting Halladay, I really don't think 2010 will suck as bad as 2004 (or 2009) did. Just a hunch. That's a humongous "if" though. I still think Hendry does something good soon.
cubbiejulie said:
The day that Hee Sop Choi got hit in the head was one of the greatest days in Cubs history. It was the day Eric Karros became our starting first baseman.
flyball said:
that was one of the scariest hits ever
Doc Blume said:
I've been thinking about this, I think we may be seeing a duplicate of the 2006 season this coming year.
That was the worst Cub team since 2003.
It will be Lou's last year, just as it was Dusty's in 2006. The team is stuck with some nasty contracts and some aging veterans. There are a lot of parallels starting to form here.
AndCounting said:
We can't let that happen. Can't we move the island or something to stop this?
flyball said:
forget the Island, sec, I think we need to open the Pub for the offseason
Doc Blume said:
Good call.
cubbiejulie said:
So there's this Twitter Meme going around, called "world's thinnest books," and I just have to post Adam's submission from last night.
@Adambuckled: Insults People Haven't Already Used to Describe My Skills, by Aaron Miles
Hee hee hee!
AndCounting said:
Ah, thanks. There were some real winners to come out of that one. Your Serena Williams "Bras I've Worn," was an instant classic. But I'm really bummed it's not available on Amazon.
cubbiejulie said:
I've never been able to watch either one of the Williams sisters play tennis for that very reason. I just. . . can't.
AndCounting said:
Somehow I manage.
Doc Blume said:
I stick to watching the tennis players from Eastern Europe. They're blonde and they grunt a lot. It's great.
thisyearcub said:
The Right Way to Cheat by Steve Phillips
Keeping Secrets by Falcon Henne
cubbiejulie said:
I don't want Roy Halladay, I want Matt Holliday.
But you were close.
Doc Blume said:
I'd take either.
AndCounting said:
I just want Festivus.
gravedigger said:
What? Why would you not want Roy?
Umbra said:
He's not an ace?
cubbiejulie said:
Not that I don't want him at all, but I'd rather have someone like Holliday first. You know, someone who can play every day and you know . . . hit the ball.
thisyearcub said:
If Soto was packaged to get Roy Halladay, I'd be down with that.
Otherwise, it would be a stupid move. Hill is mediocre at best, and W. Castillo is nowhere near ready.
FrankS said:
Didn't Castillo have a bit of a down year?
thisyearcub said:
Yes ... his numbers were down some compared to 2008, when he shot up the prospect ranks.
Umbra said:
"Could Hendry package Bradley and prospects for Halladay?"
No. No, he could not. Thought you knew this, Bruce.
cubbiejulie said:
Bradley and Soto might get Halladay. There are no fans up there for Milty to fight with.
AndCounting said:
The thing is, the Blue Jays need to deal Halladay more than the Cubs need to get rid of Bradley. That's not to say they are of comparable value by any means, but the Blue Jays have to face facts. They will be a mediocre team in 2010 with Halladay, and they are guaranteed to not have him on their roster in 2011. If he begins the season with them and gets injured, both Toronto fans would be extremely pissed.
Obviously the interest in him will be astronomical, but if he genuinely refuses to be traded to anyone but a legit contender the list of suitors gets drastically cut. I'm sure there are teams with more to offer than the Cubs, but with the pressure on Toronto to make a deal, it could happen.
I don't think the odds are great, but it could happen.
cubbiejulie said:
But with Milty, they will be contendas!
I dont' want to trade Bradley, but I think it's inevitable. Might as well get something decent for him.
Dmband said:
Roy Halladay is the best, most consistent pitcher in baseball. I would literally trade anyone to get him. Anyone. If we lose Harden, and with Wells going into his second year as a Starter, I am slightly concerned with our rotation...Halladay would alleviate all of those concerns...although I dont think its a good possibility, and also believe if Soto leaves he will be an all star.
thisyearcub said:
Agreed on the concern. Lilly is likely going to be out at least one month into the season (maybe two), and it doesn't look like Harden will be back, which is idiotic. I'm also worried about a sophomore slump from Wells; he had a lot of mileage put on his arm for the first time last year.
Get Halladay and keep Bradley may be my new motto.
cubbiejulie said:
Wait. Everything I heard is Lilly back in April. Where are you getting out 1-2 months? Just be virtue of the fact that the Cubs are always wrong? (Not that that wouldn't be justified)
flyball said:
I'd rather him come back a few weeks late and be ok the rest of the season than rush back and struggle for the season
hmm, you know without any context this could have applied to a few players over the last few years.
cubbiejulie said:
I agree, but I thought April was the timeline, not him trying to come back early.
Oh Cubs, what are you not telling me?
thisyearcub said:
The return was quoted as "sometime in April." I would go for late April given the major surgery, added on with rehab starts and the such. He really won't have a spring training either. Season begins on April 5. And I added (maybe two) for any setbacks that may occur. Hopefully there will be no towels involved.
Dmband said:
ps. In the phrase "I would trade anyone to get him"...I would exclude ARAM from that...
Doc Blume said:
Roy Halladay is scary...
He looks like Hans Klopek from "The Burbs".
Dmband said:
"Good solid floors.....good solid walls"
"What do you got in the basement there, hair Klopek?"
Lets just hope any slump, which is probably likely, from Wells, is offset by Dempster having a better year....
Doc Blume said:
Dempster didn't have a bad year.
And if people expect more out of him next year...they are likely going to be disappointed.
Starts: 31
ERA: 3.46
IP: 200.0
Ks: 172
BB: 65
Honestly, if you ignore the wins and loses, I don't think anyone should expect much more out of Ryan Dempster next year.
cubbiejulie said:
Agreed. I wasn't unhappy with his year. Especially given everything he was dealing with in his personal life. IIRC, he got zip for run support, no?
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