Gammons' Latest: Bonds, Murton

Daniels has an IQ of 4

I know the Cubs want a flexible center fielder but Byrd seems like a weak guy to shoot for, especially if you're going to dangle Murton. Why not Murton for a 2B, SS, C, CF, or pitcher? Why limit it to Byrd/Crisp?

Mmmm.... a Crisp Byrd, sounds like a Burger King name to me.

"...that should be the final word on Barry Bonds to Tampa Bay"

Can we hold you to that? I'm tired of hearing the same fabricated rumor.

msk86, I as a Cub fan would love to hang on to Murton.
I as a Murton fan would love to see him realize his TRUE potential and get to play everyday.
IMO If you in anyway care about Murton and his carear, a trade is necessary. Sad to say because I will miss him!

I here wher your comming from msk86. We are on the same page my friend!

MO Boiler, you're right, but I don't see a Crisp/Murton deal workiong out for either team. Crisp will be quickly displaced by Pie and he'll be unhappy about becoming the 4th outfielder (then again in the NL, a bench player gets more playing time than in the AL). And for Boston, why trade Coco for someone who'll just become your new 4th outfielder. So unless the deal includes a prospect, I don't see this going down.

100% speculation by me... but what would you all think about a Murton for Freel deal?

Seems like the Cubs would like Freel's versatility -- quite solid in the infield or outfield.

Freel is not really needed on the Reds though, with Hopper and Keppinger.

Reds also need a RH bat with pop. Currently Encarnacion is about the only one.

Next year, Murton could be the LF or RF for the Reds if Dunn and/or Griffey aren't around.

Thoughts? I like it. I'm a Murton fan, and he just doesn't have a spot in Chicago. (He didn't have a spot there LAST year, and then they signed Fukudome!)

"Good kid with enough talent to be a starter but everyone looks at as solid bat, not glove. He's definitely not very good defensively, but he's certainly not so bad that he can't start for someone out there."

His problem is he's a "tweener". Not enough power to play the corner positions not good enough defensively to play up the middle. His best bet would be to go to the winter leagues one year and try to become a secondbaseman. His .820 career OPS would look good at second. He doesn't have to speed, range or arm to play center or short. Doesn't have the arm for right, third or catcher. Not enough power for left or first. Second is his only option.

moebarguy, what about Marshall and Murton for Heilman?

Yeah I agree with jrfukudome, DM, that a Freel trade would be really smart. If the Cubs added Roberts then that would give up two incredibly versatile players on our bench (Derosa and Freel), and both are pretty good players, so everyone on the team would be able to get some rest. Plus if Roberts needed rest then Freel could take over leading off for a day or two. Good call on the Freel idea.

Only issue is the interdivisional thing, but I think the Reds would do it if they could get Murton for Freel. An outfield of Griffey-Bruce-Murton is pretty solid in 2009, and by 2010 it'd be Bruce-Stubbs-Murton.

"what about Marshall and Murton for Heilman?"

As for this, I just don't think this is necessary. Heilman has yet to prove he's a good starter, and we already have enough starting options that aren't noticibly worse than him. We could use him in the bullpen, but considering the back is pretty much set with Wood, Howry and Marmol, he would just end up being a long reliever, essentially what Sean Marshall already does. And Marshall is younger and cheaper and we could keep Murton for a different move. The Heilman proposal just doesn't seem like a good move the Cubs right now.

Personally, I think that making a deal for Crisp would be dumb. He's a very good defensive center fielder, but he's weak with the bat. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Cubs already have a younger and cheaper version of Crisp (Felix Pie). Oh, and Pie has a heckuva lot higher ceiling than Crisp. I'm totally against a trade for Crisp.

I don't like the idea of trading for Byrd either. He's not that special, and, from what I've heard, the Rangers are delusional in their asking price. This isn't a move that would make the Cubs better than they already are.

If they wanted a center fielder and a left-handed bat that would change the complexion of the lineup, they should have gone after Hamilton harder. And, for the record, I'm still very much for a Roberts trade because of what I think it would do for the makeup of the lineup and their depth.

I'll give you Jay Payton and a bag of baseballs for Murton.

I hope all you Theriot haters checked out the game today.
You know, the guy who makes you throw up in your mouth who went 3 for 3 with 3 runs and an SB today.

hello everybody, I don't think because someone points out a players stats for last year, he hates the guy. Ryan Theriot did NOT perform as an above average ss over the course of last year. His OBP was lower than Soriano's.

All Cub fans wish he could perform like he did early in the year, for the entire year. But the fact is, until he shows he can do it, I for one will want to try and upgrade the position.

Lastly, I learned a long time ago, don't get too excited about what you see a player do in spring training or September.

Grinch, putting two of your three outfielders out of position just to get Murton in the lineup is foolish, especially when Pie has a good chance of putting up numbers just as good as Murton with vastly superior defense (in CF and in RF from Fukudome).

Simply, Murton is a great bat to have off the bench and OK as a starter if you can make up for his lack of power somewhere else (a luxury the Cubs don't have with Fukudome unlikely to hit more than 20 HRs, Lee's power still a question mark, etc.).

The only problem is that Murton doesn't work that well as a 4th OF because he can only play LF competently, RF barely, and CF... I don't even want to think about it.