Saturday, November 29, 2008

O's Third Team in Peavy Trade??

Jeff Zrebiec and Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun say the third team in the Potential trade that nets the Cubs Jake Peavy is the Baltimore Orioles. They say a deal that could include Felix Pie going to Orioles for Garret Olson then flipping Olson with a package of players to the Padres to land the Cubs Ace Jake Peavy. While this could just be speculation, it does make a lot of sense. I also would not be surprised if Greene is in the deal either coming to Chicago or going to the O's(assuming Cedeno goes to one or the other). Maybe Marquis is also in a deal to the O's??

Here is my guess on the potential deal-

Cubs Get- Peavy and Greene

O's Get- Felix Pie, Cedeno, and Marquis

Padres Get- Garrett Olson, Josh Vitters, Sean Marshall, and Kevin Hart

We should find out by next week!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Big Peavy News!!!!

Yahoo's Tim Brown has the latest on the "Peavy Saga"-

Padres general manager Kevin Towers said Wednesday night he might have identified a third team that would facilitate sending the standout pitcher to the Cubs, who don’t possess the depth in prospects or big league-ready talent to meet the Padres’ asking price.

Talks are suppose to resume after the Thanksgiving holiday according to Tim Brown but I would not be surprised to hear something today just to get the deal done.

Brown suggests that the main chip in the deal could be Josh Vitters and I would agree with that. For the 3rd team involved, he does not have that info because Towers would not name the 3rd team. I have three guesses; the Twins( they have like Greene for a while and the Pads could get rid of Greene and Peavy in the same deal), Royals( all this Teahen talk and how he would just be an "addition" and not the starter in RF makes me think that he would be flipped to the Padres), and the Angels( they are currently in limbo with the recent Texiera and Sabathia race and maybe not be able to afford both, if the Angels are involved as the third team then I have a feeling Dlee is involved, going to the Angels to free up Cubs payroll. Also to give the Angels a good 1st baseman so they can concentrate just on Sabathia and sign Lackey to an extension).

Either way this is big news for the Cubs considering they could be moving toward the best rotation in baseball!


Wednesday, November 26, 2008

More on Peavy and a New Name on the Hot Stove? Guys for RF??

- We have heard back and forth, back and forth that the Cubs are in talks with Peavy and then no longer interested. Each day it is different news and it is starting to smell a lot like the "Roberts Saga" of last year. But still I have to let you know what is the latest on the Peavy Rumors so here we go-

***** Lou said that the Cubs do not need a starter and they have 6 starters already. He keeps saying they need a middle of the order lefty bat.

***** Sources say Lou's comment is just posturing because in realty he cannot talk about other players that are not either free agents or on his teams. It is considering tampering. Also if he came out and confirmed that the Cubs are in fact interested in Peavy it could disrupt the clubhouse because many of the players involved( or rumored) would be effected by his comments whether the trade went through or not.

***** The whole thing comes down to that Jim Hendry and Kevin Towers are the only people who truly know what is going on.

- In other news, the Cubs have a new name on the radar according to Jeff Passan, Rocco Baldelli. I am a big fan of Rocco's, he is another hard nosed player who has been through a lot of bad times in his playing career. He by no means is an everyday player because of his condition but would be very valuable as a 4th outfielder/5th outfielder on this team( especially if Pie is traded). Although it is purely speculation, I could see him here in a outfield sub role. Here is Rocco's stats.

- On a personal note, I think the Cubs should see what the asking price is for these outfielders-

Gary Matthews Jr.- Could swap Jason Marquis contract for his. They make the same amount next season, although Matthews has 23 million left on their after this coming season. He is a switch hitter who might benefit from switching leagues. He is a great fielder and would give Lou options in the outfield.

Ryan Church- A decent left handed hitter who plays the field well. Will hit for a .280 avg and about 15 homers. Might come cheap.

Brad Hawpe- The most ideal guy for RF at Wrigley!

Jack Cust- A big bat and I think he could play RF at Wrigley about as well as Ibanez or Bradley. Can straight up hit with power and decent OBP but low average.

Luke Scott- Not a sexy name but the guy can hit for good power numbers.

Aubrey Huff- Can play the corner spots in the infield and outfield. He put up monster numbers last season hitting .304 with 32 homers and 108 RBI. He is in the last year of his contract and the O's might be willing to sell high. He would be used primarily in RF for the Cubs. It should be noted that Jim tried to trade for Huff when he was with the Rays.

Nate McLouth- It was rumored before last season began the Pirates wanted Nate McLouth for Felix Pie straight up but the Cubs turned it down( if only we knew!) The Pirates are quietly shopping Nate to see what they could get for him. The Cubs tried to get him again at the deadline but the Bucs wanted a power arm and a deal was not reached. He would be great in RF for the Cubs both defensively and offensively!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Cubs Hot Stove Heating Up

The Cubs hot stove talk is starting to heat back up after a break so lets check it out-

- Yahoo's Tim Brown says that the Cubs along with the O's and Cards maybe the "surprise team" that made an offer to Furcal. Reports were denied yesterday about the A's, Braves, and Mets making four year offers. I really hope the Cubs land him, they need a leadoff man and more range at short.

- The Cubs are willing to give up some defense to get a middle of the order type guy for RF. This is probably why they have interest in Ibanez, Abreu, and Bradley.

- The Cubs will not trade Marshall or Fontenot for Mark Teahen. They just see him as a addition and not an everyday player.

- Lou still denies the idea of the Cubs interest in Peavy. I think Lou maybe left in the dark here. Here are some quotes from Towers-

"I think there's a chance of maybe putting together a deal with Chicago,'' Towers said. "At least I know he's willing to go there.''

- The Cubs will not move Soriano out of the leadoff spot until a lead off guy is acquired. One more reason to sign Furcal.

- Sweet Lou has some nice words about Raul Ibanez. I much rather have Bradley, Dunn, or Abreu but Raul is starting to grow on me some.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Royals want a bounty for Teahen?? Bruce Levine has more info!

- According to Phil Rogers the Royals want Sean Marshall and Mike Fontenot for Mark Teahen. They are absolutely crazy to think the Cubs will give up either one for Mark Teahen. To be honest I would not trade Marshall nor Fontenot straight up for Teahen. Both players are valuable to the success of the club next year and could be used in a more lucrative trade. Now I would not be opposed to the Cubs trading Cedeno or Hill or Randy Wells for Teahen but nor Mike or Sean should be in any deal involving the Royals.

- The Cubs do have interest in Raul Ibanez and Bobby Abreu but are not willing to go long term with anyone of them.

- The Cubs remain very interested in Furcal but also do not like his asking price. Furcal's agent says he wants a guaranteed 4 year deal and one team has already offered a 3 year deal worth 39 million dollars. Kinzer also said Furcal "could sign before the winter meetings"

- The Kerry Wood door is not closed according to Bruce Miles . He says the Cubs could offer him arbitration with him accepting it to stay in Chicago.

- According to Gordon Wittenmyer the Cubs have not contracted the agents for Adam Dunn or Bobby Abreu. It has also been said that the Cubs love Adam Dunn's bat but cringe at the thought of Soriano in LF and Dunn in RF, I tend to agree.

----- Here is the latest from Bruce Levine-

****** Bruce says that the Cubs are in fact still in on the Peavy race. Stating that the Cubs have been the only real team in serious negotiations with Kevin Towers. Bruce went on to say that the talks for Peavy have been tabled for the next 10 days taking it up to the week before the Winter Meetings.

******The Cubs are looking at the December 1st deadline when all bids must be submitted to purchase the club and that will also give them time to see what else is left in the budget. At that point if a group, like the Ricketts, emerge as the true leaders to buy the club then they could be approached about what can be spent on next year's club....and beyond.

****** Bruce said talks surrounding Brian Roberts and Chone Figgins have not taken place but Roberts could heat up if the O's do not sign him to an extension soon.

****** Levine said that Ryan Theriot's range and defense at SS is questionable at best and says the Cubs would like to have him play 2nd base next season if the acquire a guy like Furcal.

****** It seems that Hoffpauier will take over the Ward position this year. Playing off the bench to spell Lee and to spot start in the corner spots once in a great while.