The Marshall-Wood deal went down. This is the last year Marshall is under contract and he will command a lot more money next year. Wood is a left handed starter under team control through 2015 and he doesn't cost much. Supposedly he had a real good 2010, but struggled this past year. Need to check the details as we may have received a minor leaguer or two in the deal.

[This message has been edited by Dr. Cub, Esq. (edited 12/21/2011 5:40p).]

**** this *****

quote:

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Cubs Planning "Complete And Total Rebuild"

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http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/12/cubs-planning-complete-and-total-rebuild.html

NSBB'ers seem to think the Marshall trade was a great one know that we know the 2 minor leaguers involved.

http://northsidebaseball.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=60436&start=500

since Mickey Morandini was mentioned at the top of that NSBB thread...

today's useless fun fact... do you remember that Morandini tied for 24th with Javy Lopez in the 1998 NL MVP race?

[This message has been edited by Dr. Cub, Esq. (edited 12/23/2011 1:51p).]

Holy Ditka...how long have I been out???

Looks like the Cubs are going to pay Zambrano's entire salary to pitch for the Marlins this year without even getting much in return.

Sun-Times fail

quote:

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Though Zambrano has full no-trade protection in his contract, he has made no secret of his desire to pitch for new Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen, who offseason friend from Venezuela.

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It's written in Guillenese.

Looks like they were basically the same pitcher last year and we save 3 million dollars to make Zambrano go away. Zambrano seems to have the better upside, but we haven't seen it in a few years and who knows if anyone will ever again.

Glad to get him out of the clubhouse. Volstad is only 25, so maybe he can improve on his mediocre pitching. He's a cheap option and under control through 2014, so that's worth something.

because i have nothing better to do, let's look at the all-time trades involving the Cubs and Marlins...

Cubs traded for...
Chris Volstad, Kevin Gregg, Lincoln Holdzkom, Zach McCormack, Juan Pierre, Derrek Lee, Antonio Alfonseca, Matt Clement, Jesus Sanchez, Manny Aybar, Dave Noyce, Ross Gload, Steve Hoff, Felix Heredia, Greg Hibbard

Cubs traded away...
Carlos Zambrano, Jose Ceda, Todd Wellemeyer, Sergio Mitre, Ricky Nolasco, Renyel Pinto, Mike Nannini, Hee-Seop Choi, Chris Donnels, Jose Cueto, Ryan Jorgensen, Julian Tavarez, Dontrelle Willis, Nate Teut, Oswaldo Mairena, Henry Rodriguez, Todd Noel, Kevin Orie, Justin Speier, Alex Arias, Gary Scott
...with some of the bold names being admittedly questionable...

factoring pre- and post-trade careers, I'll call it
Zambrano, Nolasco, Choi, Tavarez, Willis, Rodriguez, Orie, and Arias for Gregg, D-Lee, Pierre, Alfonseca, Clement, and Gload

even assuming Z has a huge comeback year and Volstad is an epic bust, I'll still give the Cubs the overall win on the trade scorecard

I had always assumed they'd gotten the best of us on those deals. Guess I was wrong, granted, we'll see how this last one pans out.

THIS BETTER NOT BE TRUE...
WBBM reporting Starlin Castro accused of sexual assault

sorry if the link is bad... I copied it on my phone
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/01/06/sources-cubs-starlin-castro-accused-of-sexual-assault/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_campaign=CBS+Chicago%27s+Most+Popular+Sports+Stories%21

FWIW, MLB Network Hot Stove was very high on how the Cubs fared on the Zambrano/Volstad deal

Just saw the Castro news.

Also, saw this posted on NSBB.

quote:

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With Z gone, and Wood as yet unsigned, there are no remaining players from the 2003 team.

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Cubs got Rizzo from SD which I like, but I'm bummed that Cashner was part of the deal. I have a mutual friend with him and am supposed to hang out with him next month.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-cubs-acquire-1b-rizzo-from-san-diego-in-4player-deal-20120106,0,1975213.story

FANTASTIC move in my eyes. I understand Rizzo is still a "prospect" and very much unproven at the MLB level, but you don't hit .331 (.404 OBP) with 26 bombs and 101 RBI at AAA as a 21 year old without some serious tools. He's pretty much hit at every level in the minors. He's left-handed and young.

It hurts losing Cashner, but the potential reward on this deal is undeniable. If Cashner wasn't coming off of a lost season with shoulder issues I may feel differently, but let's be honest, we've all been burned quite a bit by big, young, hard throwing pitchers in the memorable past

LOVE LOVE LOVE what Theo and company have been doing this offseason. It sounds like they are going to be able to get Soriano moved before Spring Training as well.

Theo indeed is a Touchdown...so far anyways

[This message has been edited by Theo is a Touchdown (edited 1/6/2012 5:57p).]

I've read from several places that the experts are high on our talent in the lower levels of our minors. It might be a couple of years, but I'm starting to get excited about what we may have on our hands.

as levine referred to him a few days ago... please welcome the newest Cub, "Paul Mulholland"

Levine is a ****ing moron.

another gem from levine...

quote:

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The Chicago Cubs were close to signing left-handed pitcher Paul Maholm on Monday, according to a major league source.

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the "source" is Paul Maholm himself!

it's like when AJ Pierzynski personally told Dan Patrick that the Giants traded him to the White Sox, but ESPN wouldn't let DP run with the story because he didn't have a 2nd source to confirm it...

Only a one year deal at $4.5MM. Club otion for $6.5MM with only a $500K buyout. Pretty good deal. Since the 40 man roster is full, speculation is that Garza will be dealt to Detroit today.

Looks like there will only be one Wood on the team this year.

quote:

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Brett Taylor @BleacherNation
RT @CSNChicago .@thekapman says Kerry Wood's time with the #Cubs appear all but over (via @CubsTalkCSN) cmcst.sn/aaaBA5

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http://www.csnchicago.com/blog/cubs-talk/post/Kaplan-Woods-time-with-Cubs-appears-all-?blockID=628204&feedID=619

I've heard Dempster and Wells are also on the block

The Cardinals found their repalcement for Pujols. They signed Koyie Hill.

awesome

Now it looks like Kerry will re-sign with th Cubs.

not so sure they trade Garza as it looks like Detroit doesnt want to give up Turner...Wood looks like he will we back!

--From baseballtraderumors.com

quote:

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Before re-signing with the Cubs, Kerry Wood agreed to a deal with another club and was preparing for his physical when the Cubs swooped in according to Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago. Levine hears that the Reds were most interested in Wood before he re-signed with Chicago, but it's unclear if they're the team he had the agreement with.

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quote:

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As many as eight teams have inquired about Alfonso Soriano, reports Levine. Most of those clubs are American League teams. Levine says Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts reiterated that he'll to eat most of the money owed to Soriano to facilitate a trade.

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I have a fever, and the only prescription is more MLBTR

1-year $3MM deal for Woody with a club option.

Changes coming to Wrigley?



The seating area reminds me of the Green Monster seats that the party patio looks like what the Sox put behind the RF seats at Fenway.

I'm OK with some modernization to Wrigley as long as the overall feel doesn't change.

right after they just spend how many millions to renovate/expand the bleachers out over Sheffield and Waveland? it only shows the bleacher boxes... would they raise the entire bleachers? or just have oddly tall sections next to the rest of the bleachers?