Gammons' Latest: Crisp, Piazza, Wells

Well, at the rate the Cubs are playing now I think they'd rather use Johnson/Pie and DeRosa/Cedeno over Crisp and Roberts.

That said, we'll see how long they can all keep it up.

"Peter Angelos might put the kibosh on any Brian Roberts trade."

I'm not an ESPNinsider - could anyone fill me in on what Gammons said about the supposed Roberts trade?

Tim, I´m a dodger fan and I´d would like to know if the Cubs or the Yankees the would be interested in D-Lowe and Jeff Kent. In my opinion, if the team keeps struggling like this, Colletti should trade those two players.

Why exactly do the Cubs need to acquire anyone? They seem to be sailing along smoothly.

there sailing now, but its april and all the central teams are a breathe away from first, i wouldnt be surprised if the central winner is determined by about a 2-3 game lead. the cubs outfield consist of a japan import, a hot prospect and a fill in the blank at left, and if any of these guys go down, your at minimal strength and are going to start falling behind, especially if the guy you lose is fukudome. you dont even need to give up anything to solve this problem with crisp. sean gallagher and a prospect to have this problem solved, no matter what happens, is a good idea no matter how you cut it, like crisp or not, even if he keeps hitting as good as he is or not. the above average bat, speed and wicked range he provides is an upgrade, i dont see how it isnt. its so cheap just to have that problem solved i dont get it.

If you are going to make an argument about the possibility of another outfielder going down, then the same can be made for a pitcher going down. You being a Red Sox fan would just love to see this trade happen, because at this stage, Crisp is very expensive DEAD weight.

Gallagher is off to another great start. He fanned 12 and only gave up 3 hits in 7 2/3 yesterday. I like the makeup of this Cubs roster right now. And remember, we had Cedeno in centerfield in winter ball, so we have flexibility there.

Keep Gallagher, we will be happy we did later in the season.

In regards to Jeff Kent, I am happy to speak for the Cubs and say no. No, no, no.

Ha. Gotta agree with Cub4Life there. Of course the Sox fan doesn't get it. Me being an O's fan, it would be equally disingenuous were I to make a similar claim with regard to Roberts. 'You guys are doing well now, but soon it's all going to fall apart...unless you trade for Roberts. I don't get it. All it would cost is Gallagher, Veal, Colvin, Vitters, Samardzija...' Nice for me and my boys, but... The reality is that the Cubs should- and almost certainly WILL- ride this hot run out before they decide to trade ANY prospects. Why send a promising kid out the door if you don't need to? And right now, you don't need to. You guys are playing great! Sure, Soriano's injury is troubling, but Hendry isn't going to push the panic button while the club's in first place and the rest of the Division is reeling.

As for the Roberts kibosh... F*%##'ing Angelos!!! Somebody PLEASE post or at least paraphrase Gammons' blog so we aren't just guessing blindly! (And Tim...linking to an Insider article..? That's friggin' cruel) Though I don't have the details, I know I'm gonna be pissed. I really thought the O's were committed to rebuilding. The Tejada and Bedard deals were a great start and brought back nice returns that could really provide a strong foundation for a return to the ranks of the relevant; still, Roberts is the litmus test for whether or not ANGELOS is committed to McPhail's vision. At first, it appeared he was willing to deal his little man-crush. If there's truth to Gammons' rumor (whatever it is), however, it's just business as usual in B'more. What's that gotten us? I

can't wait 'til Cal takes over.

"the above average bat, speed and wicked range he provides is an upgrade, i dont see how it isnt."

Crisp is NOT an above average bat. Crisp is Pie, and we have Johnson from the right side. In a pinch Cedeno can play center, as can Fukudome. We can bring Murton up...as well as Patterson, who can play 2nd and all 3 outfield spots. There is NO reason to trade a top 100 pitching prospect PLUS, for a guy that doesn't help.

"Crisp is NOT an above average bat. Crisp is Pie."

Stop repeating this garbage. Pie is batting .213/.268/.327 in 211 career at bats and while he's only had 40 at bats so far this season, he's off to another poor start. Until he actually shows some evidence of turning it around, he's NOT equivalent to Crisp.

I’ve got to agree with milehigh and cub4life here. If there’s any talk about Crisp, it’s coming from the Red Sox. Let’s not forget who wrote the article. With Ellsbury beginning to kick it into high gear, Crisp is becoming a liability for them. Of course they’d take Gallagher, who’s off to a hot start…AND another prospect. If I were a Sox fan, I’d want to do it too. Who wouldn’t want to pick up a couple of prospects for a guy who’s being paid a lot of money to ride your bench? If I’m a Cub fan, though, (and I am) I don’t want to mess with a good thing. The offense is clicking on all cylinders. What’s the point of adding Crisp to the equation? If the Cubs want defense, Pie has already shown that he can cover a whole lot of ground. And like Cub4Life said, keeping Gallagher may be a good idea at this point. He provides excellent pitching depth at AAA at no cost.

And milehigh, you have an excellent point on Angelos and Roberts. Without making any judgment on what was said or not said in the article, Roberts is the litmus test of how far Angelos is willing to buy into the rebuilding program. Roberts is such a valuable trading chip that it would be a shame to waste it. I doubt the Cubs still want to do this deal (at least not at the moment) but I think the White Sox should really look into it. Right now they’ve got Swisher leading off, I’m sure they’d rather have his bat down further in the lineup. And it’s not like they can’t use an upgrade at second base. IF McPhail doesn’t have the green light, however, it’s tough to see how he can enter into any serious negotiations with any team.

Oh...and by the metric systems last year, Pie actually has BETTER range than Crisp.

The Cubs need to hold on to their prospects for now. I wouldn't trade anybody unless Hendry can get a huge upgrade at short (Hanley Ramirez type) or a front-line pitcher.

I read the article. Gammons states there is “an increased belief” that Angelos won’t allow Roberts to be traded. It was pretty vague. Whether it’s true or not is almost irrelevant, the problem is that the perception is still out there.

Also, it’s Boston, not the Cubs, who are stating interest in a deal involving Gallagher. It looks like Boston is pursuing this. As many posters have stated, however, the Cubs don’t need to make a deal --especially one involving a good pitching prospect off to a good start. And Crisp is a much overvalued player right now. Reed Johnson has shown to be a solid hitter and Felix Pie, as Aduncaroo stated, is at least Crisp's equal in the field. That platoon is working fine. The Cubs don’t need Crisp regardless of the asking price.

Dan, I’m not sure SS is a need at the moment. With Theriot playing well and providing his usual spark and Cedeno finally playing up to his talent level, I think the Cubs can hold off on any deals until a real need arises. Let’s save those trading chips for a rainy day.

If DeRosa and Pie struggle and Angelos hangs on to Roberts, I can totally see the Cubs inquiring about one Juan Pierre and Kent to take over at 2nd. Kent comes off the books at the end of this year so the Cubbies will still be able to go after, let's say, Orlando Hudson instead of trading 4-5 prospects for Brian Roberts.

la16, I seriously doubt the Cubs will ask about Juan Pierre, they'll take Crisp first. Pierre has 4yrs/36M left on his contract. Including buyout, Coco has 2yrs/10.5M. And I will say for the record, Coco is better than Pierre.

the cubs will not be asking about Pierre. I don't think they will be asking about Kent either...but you never know what will happen at the deadline. I just don't see Kent's improved offense mixed with his much worse defense being that great of an addition. DeRosa is doing just fine...I don't think they will be touching this roster as long as they are playing this kind of baseball.

Pierre probably has the most negitive trade value of anyone in baseball not named Barry "the bust" Zito

"The Red Sox apparently wouldn't mind shipping Coco Crisp to the Cubs for Sean Gallagher and another prospect"

Shocking. The Red Sox "don't mind" sending a waste of money for a pitching prospect plus? Theo really is a genius.

On Kent and Lowe. Kent isn't going anywhere. He has a no trade and wants to retire at the end of the season anyway. Lowe is more intriguing, because he is a free agent next year with little likelihood of the Dodgers paying him what he will want to be a 5th starter and because he is still pitching quite well. I just don't see the Dodgers needing prospects and I don't see the Cubs parting with Aramis Ramirez for him, which is really what the Dodgers would want. Then again, if the Dodgers were to extend Furcal, package Lowe and Hu or Lowe, Abreu and LaRoche, perhaps they could pull a deal for Ramirez.

"The Red Sox wouldn't mind.." Well, I'm betting that the Cubs offered that trade already and were turned down when the Red Sox were asking for too much. Point is, that we don't need Crisp right now as Reed Johnson has been twice the player this year thus far. He also doesn't whine when he doesn't get his way.

I bet MacPhail wishes he would have made that Roberts trade. What is he batting now, .250 with 1 HR? Sure, he's got 8 SB, but who cares?

At least two of the guys that he would have received (Cedeno and Gallagher) are tearing it up so far this year. MacPhail wouldn't take three of our top prospects for Roberts? If he calls back, I'd tell him that we aren't offering three anymore, just two. That's what he gets for being difficult.

Remember when the Rangers wanted Matt Murton and a prospect for Marlon Byrd? What's Byrd hitting, .170 and he's on the disabled list?

It's funny that these teams get greedy and then it ends up biting them in the end (as with the Santana deal for the Twins). Serves them right.

BY THE WAY...did anyone watch Baseball Tonight last night? That show gets more and more nauseating by the year.

Let me get this straight: The Cubs have the 2nd best record in baseball, have scored more runs than anyone, and are on a five game winning streak. During the past week, they are averaging 8.4 runs a game.

So they bury them in the back of the broadcast? They briefly showed their highlights (two of them) before not discussing them at all afterwards and going straight to their stupid end of the show items.

I wonder why they wouldn't want to show that game's highlights? Oh yeah, I got it...it's because they swept their beloved Mets and killed them two days in a row. Wouldn't want that to be the top story on ESPN. What a joke.

Grinch, I totally agree with that. All ESPN cares about is the eastern coast.

What I don't get is why the Cubs aren't going after Crisp. The biggest hole they have offensively is in center. Getting Crisp would fill that hole, while keeping the great defense. I just don't understand why they need ANOTHER infeilder when they already have four good ones.

How's it going Crunchy, Adunc, Grinch, and last but not least MILEHIGH! Feels like a class reunion. glberns, Johnson is batting 339 with an OBP 415. I'll take "holes" like that ALL DAY LONG!

Yeah, ESPN rarely shows the NY teams being swept. Wouldve been great to see those highlights right off the bat. Instead we get breaking news of Girardi taking goodies away from the team and the nimwit owner calling people whithin the organization "idiots.". That station is a joke. And out in the West, NO ONE gives a damn about Joba. Most of us don't even know he is.

bobby kielty is a very patient man...