It would be nice to get Pierre. The guy works hard but I really don't like our chances going up against the Yankees. Who else is out there? Is Damon going to be asking for too much?

There are Wilkerson rumors abound.

Wow. What a crappy weekend. I was stunned by the Furcal to the Dodgers news. I honestly thought it was between the Cubs and the braves. And now the Yankees appear to be going after Pierre. While they don't have a lot in their farm system, I'm afraid they could drive his price up and the Cubs could overpay for him. I will be upset if they trade Pie. And now the rumors are that the Cubs are still going to trade Walker for some outfield help and leave the middle infield to Cedeno, Hairston, and Neifi. I will be sick if that is the case. I love Cedeno, but I hate Hairston and Perez should be a utility man only. Now I REALLY want to go to the Anatole and talk to Hendry.

Here's the most recent update:

-Zito from the As for Williams and a couple prospects.

-Burnett is signing with the Cards.

-Patterson rumors are abound, with him being mentioned in a deal for Wilkerson or in something to the Dodgers. The fact that his name and him being traded are being mentioned in the same sentence warms my soul.

Williams?

I am guessing jerome williams. Here is something i got from TCR.

quote:

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FoxSports 590 did their own update (read not Fox sports update) in St. Louis says that a deal is being finalized Jwill, KPat, Walker for Soriano & Mench....really seems like the Rangers are getting fleeced here, but I guess they will save a bundle of money. Be great if it were true.

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http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-051205cubs,1,974000.story?coll=cs-home-headlines

quote:

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Cubs target Lugo, Huff
Hendry willing to deal pitching to improve hitting
By Dave van Dyck
Tribune staff reporter

December 5, 2005, 11:22 PM CST

DALLAS -- Cubs general manager Jim Hendry began zeroing in on his trade targets and presented a list of pitchers he would be willing to include for a pair of new outfielders as the first full day of baseball's winter meetings was completed Monday.

Hendry met with several teams and talked with others by phone, including the Devil Rays about a possible one-stop-shopping deal and the Reds for a second time about right fielder Austin Kearns. He also planned to meet with the Marlins about center fielder/leadoff man Juan Pierre.

The Cubs' shopping list includes these names:

• Devil Rays right fielder Aubrey Huff, shortstop Julio Lugo and center fielder Joey Gathright, all of whom might be included in a multiplayer deal. Gathright is not the hitting talent of Pierre but is a good center fielder, and Lugo could fill the leadoff spot. Huff is a power-hitting left-handed hitter—an important ingredient—who is considered average defensively.
• Pierre, who is getting strong interest from several other teams. If the Cubs don't work the deal with Tampa, then he becomes the No. 1 objective. One source said the Cubs and Marlins had talked extensively at the general managers' meetings a month ago and that the teams "were a good fit" for a trade, but Marlins officials arrived here only Monday afternoon.
• Kearns, a Hendry favorite, is a right-handed hitter who has never quite reached his potential because of injuries.
• Rangers left fielder Kevin Mench, although he might cost more in return that the other players because the Rangers want front-line pitching. Mench bats right-handed.
• Cliff Floyd, a left-handed-hitting outfielder and another Hendry favorite but who won't be available until the Mets decide whether they can obtain Manny Ramirez from Boston.
• Bobby Abreu, who fits all the criteria Hendry seeks in a right fielder—left-handed bat with exceptional power and on-base ability, but it is unlikely the teams can find a fit. Abreu is owed $30 million over the next two years and the Phillies will not trade him unless they get a No. 1 or 2 starter. Hendry said Monday that he has "no intention of trading [Mark] Prior or [Carlos] Zambrano, and Kerry Wood has a full no-trade clause."

Hendry said he was "willing to talk with anybody [about] trading a productive outfielder."

Hendry admitted he would have to trade pitching to get any of his desired players, although it is understood that Corey Patterson and Todd Walker also are readily available.

"I would say for us to make a significant deal [for an outfielder] that pitching is going back [in return], whether it's prospects or lower guys," he said.

According to a well-informed source, these are the choices of names Hendry is giving such teams as the Marlins, Reds and Devil Rays, all of whom are seeking young, inexpensive players:

• Sergio Mitre, who spent part of last season with the Cubs and has shown flashes of being very good.
• Jerome Williams, obtained last season for LaTroy Hawkins and who also has shown signs of being good. He was 6-10 with a 4.26 ERA for the Giants and Cubs last season.
• Todd Wellemeyer, who appeared mostly in relief with the Cubs last season but has been a starter in the minors.
• Ricky Nolasco, a promising Double-A pitcher considered a good prospect.

Teams have been told that top pitching prospect and left-hander Rich Hill is pretty much untouchable.

Hendry also said he didn't feel a sense of urgency in making a big splash because of the White Sox's world championship or because former Braves shortstop Rafael Furcal was lost to the Dodgers.

"The urgency for me is rectifying coming off a bad year," he said. "If the White Sox hadn't won, we would still have 79 in the win column and that's not acceptable as long as I'm doing this."

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baseball tonight during the day on ESPN flirted an idea of Abreau for Prior. I need the sick icon.

ESPN needs the dumbass icon. That will NEVER happen.

they are showing the cubs projected lineup and it sucks. No OF what so ever. It is awful.

Well, there is still a lot of time to make some moves, but I am not too hopeful right now.

Trade imminent (supposedly).

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2005/12/wscr_cubs_trade.html

Radio this morning said it was tentative for Pierre giving up Mitre and some prospects.

From ESPN.com:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2250647

quote:

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Cubs acquire Pierre for three pitchers

DALLAS -- The fire sale continues.

The Florida Marlins have tentatively agreed on a four-player deal that would send Juan Pierre to the Chicago Cubs, for three young pitchers --Sergio Mitre and prospects Renyel Pinto and Ricky Nolasco, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reported early Wednesday.

The deal is pending physicals examinations.

So far this offseason, the Marlins have traded Carlos Delgado, Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, Luis Castillo, Paul Lo Duca and Guillermo Mota. Pitcher A.J. Burnett, who signed with the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, left via free agency.

The 28-year-old Pierre hit .276 and stole 57 bases this past season and is eligible for arbitration. He earned $3.7 million last season.

Pierre is expected to lead off and play center field in Chicago.

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[This message has been edited by Old Style (edited 12/7/2005 7:36a).]

nice move by Cubs.

Anyone know much about Nolasco? The numbers I saw that he had looked good. But, I had heard that he was having trouble with his curve and was getting beat up for it. Here are the numbers I saw.

quote:

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Nolasco was 14-3 with a 2.89 ERA for Double-A West Tenn in 2005, striking out 173 hitters and walking only 46 in 162 innings.

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I also read somewhere that Pinto was supposed to be the headliner of our AAA starting rotation at the beginning of this year. I understand that he has been having control problem as of late.

quote:

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Pinto, meanwhile, was 10-3 with a 2.71 ERA for West Tenn, striking out 123 hitters and walking 58 in 130 innings.

---

...

Regardless, I'm glad to see that we have Pierre. He will definitely change the face of our offense for the better.

His contract is supposed to expire at the end of the year if I'm not mistaken. We'll have to see how the year plays out.

He is eligible for arbitration. Should cost us about $5 million this year.

So that should still leave us with some more spending money right?

Good trade for the Cubs. You had pitching depth so your system is still okay on arms.

No doubt Hendry will make a few more moves. He has to.

It appears that Mitre may not be part of the deal after all. Still waiting on official word of the trade. It might just be Pinto & Nolasco for Pierre. If so, that might free up Mitre as part of a package deal for Kevin Mench. Rumor is that the Rangers are high on Mitre.

ivy- We should still have plenty of money to spend. Just think of how much less we are paying just by getting Sosa and Burnitz off of the payroll. Add to that, think of how much we were willing to spend on Furcal. Some of that went to the 2 relievers, but there should still be plenty of wiggle room for Hendry to add another player or two. I have a feeling the Cubs will either add Milton Bradley or the Tampa Bay duo of Aubrey Huff & Julio Lugo.

The official status of Cubs fans' after the trade:

http://theheckler.com/index.php?page=0000-DH-05-12-07&idrub=64&idsite=1

Good move. Even if he doesn't play like he did in '03, as a leadoff hitter, he is still a piece of the puzzle that we need.


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at tamu-and-baseball.com

Hopefully these guys don't end up as good as D-Train has been for the Marlins or soon their entire rotation will be ex-Cub minor leaguers.

Don't know if anybody saw the yahoo rumor mill with Prior possibly going to Phils for Abreu... I find it hard to believe it's even a notion.

It will be interesting to see how well Dusty uses Pierre. I said earlier that he could really change our offense but that also depends on how our offense is run. Fortunately, Pierre is a smart disciplined runner something we have been lacking for a while.

I'm really liking what Hendry is doing getting some of the little pieces (Eyre, Howry, Pierre). We've got all the big pieces: big bats, starting pitching and a closer; we just need the role players (and a healthy season).

quote:

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Don't know if anybody saw the yahoo rumor mill with Prior possibly going to Phils for Abreu... I find it hard to believe it's even a notion.

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The only place this talk is coming from is from the Philadelphia media. NO WAY this happens. Hendry would never live to see Prior in a Phillies uniform. If anything, the Cubs need to add a starter right now, not trade one of the best away.

An article on the Cubs chase for Huff

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2005/12/cubs_still_chas.html

Not interested in giving up Hill or Guzman for Huff. Don't know much about Marshall, though.

With Boston shipping Renteria out it'll be interesting to see how the SS market will be affected. I see $ going up.

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Wrigley Field construction pictures:

http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/story/2005/12/8/134941/280

When I visited in '02 I broke off a piece of the outside brick wall that is no longer standing there. It was right about where that truck is in the last picture. I wonder if that was the original wall?



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[This message has been edited by AgRyan04 (edited 12/9/2005 3:22p).]

tejada is unhappy, I would like to see the cubbies make a move.

quote:

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Taveras might be available



Williams, 24, is the youngest pitcher in the rotation and has a promising future. But he has yet to pitch a full season in the majors. Each time Wood misses a start, it will put more pressure on Williams. Rusch has earned a hard look in the rotation, but he seems the classic fifth starter. In 27 outings as a reliever last season, the left-hander was 2-1 with a 5.14 ERA. In 19 starts, he went 9-9 with a 4.32 ERA.

Free agent Jarrod Washburn should have been an option. Hendry has shown little interest in the left-hander, but the former Los Angeles Angels starter who went 8-8 with a solid 3.20 ERA would be a nice addition, taking some pressure off Williams.

It's too bad Wood's future is so murky. The Houston Astros, in need of pitching and always in the market for homegrown stars such as Wood, are listening to offers for center fielder Willy Taveras, the runner-up in National League Rookie of the Year voting. With the Astros showing more trust in Chris Burke during the postseason, Taveras has become a hot name on the trade market.

Taveras, with his speed and bunting ability, would be the perfect fit to bat behind Pierre. He would immediately become the best outfielder on the roster. But the Astros aren't going to give him away -- especially to an NL Central rival.

What we learned from the Pierre trade is the Cubs' cupboard is bare after the exit of pitching prospect Sergio Mitre.

Makes you wonder how that hole in right field is going to get filled.

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A friend of mine passed me this article and I would agree that our work is not done in regards to getting some more acquisitions but this guy has a little too much of that Sun-Times slant.

For one if we added Taveras he wouldn't automatically be the best OF in the lineup. I don't believe he is better than Pierre. Willy had a good season but he tapered off in the second half. His performance this year will go a long ways toward proving that he can be successful in the bigs now that other coaches and pitchers have a more complete scouting report on him. I honestly don't see him as a clutch hitter and I don't think he has a threatening bat. Whenever I saw him play at MM he seemed to only hit dinkers and IF singles. If you get on you get on but I don't know how that will work with Pierre batting before him.

I'm not really sure how he can say that our cupboard is bare after the trade of Mitre. We do have plenty of prospects and I'm more worried about giving up Nolasco and Pinto, who seemed to have better recent performances than Mitre (granted they were in the minors). Mitre had his chance and although he had flashes of brilliance his inconsistency was more the norm.

I'm not too big of a fan of de Luca's work.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/deluca/cst-spt-deluca092.html

[EDIT] Read the whol article as these were some of the disagreements I felt more strongly about. I think he's a little off base on some of the other things he said.

[This message has been edited by bluestainedivy (edited 12/10/2005 12:18p).]

The difference between Pierre and taveras is Taveras has a cannon of an arm.

Drool. Tejada?

http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/story/2005/12/10/141841/50

Tejada would be nice but the only name I've heard consistently being thrown around in a possible trade is Zambrano's. We would lose pitching but our offense would go through the roof. I'm not sure how I feel about losing Zambrano.

I also find it a little staggering that we're in serious need of another starter. It seems like just a couple of years ago our farm was full of prospects.