Jake Peavy Rumors: Wednesday

I agree with you scrib on not holding a trade up on Marshall, I just didn't think that the cubs were looking to add him. If we have to part with him to get peavy, then that's what we have to do.

how about D.Lee for Peavy? Lee is past his prime and a lot of money is spent on him. Not to mention Hoffpauir up and coming with a big bat! Lee was a Padre at one time anyway. Peavy would complete the best rotation in baseball in years!

lee makes more money than peavy does... that's the whole reason they want to move him

Yeah Adrian Gonzalez is a lock at first base for the Padres. So that would make no sense to send our NUMBER TWO hitter (hopefully) over there.

"how about D.Lee for Peavy? Lee is past his prime and a lot of money is spent on him. Not to mention Hoffpauir up and coming with a big bat! Lee was a Padre at one time anyway."

Ha..

Ha..

Eh.. sad..

"Adrian Gonzalez?"

If you're saying the Cubs should try and get him, then I say I wish, but it's not happening.

Why don't we just go after Markakis while we're at it too?

Gonzalez is a great hitter and a plus glove at first, and he's the type of cornerstone player you build around. If the Padres don't get any closer to contention while Gonzalez is closing in on FA, then they'll consider dealing him, but I just think it's too early.

For the hell of it though:

Peavy and Gonzalez for Lee, Vitters, Marshall, Colvin,

I literally can't do it.

There's no plausible Peavy/Gonzalez deal that wouldn't hurt the ML team.

How about:

Lee, Soto, Marshall, Flaherty, Hart, Pie, and Stevens for those two?

Too bad I would NEVER deal Soto. Not yet at least. Not unless the deal is a joke. Like Soto for Hanley.

Agreed Portz. Sorry.. I read 2 posts and wanted to address them but I didnt put the other persons name in. I agree that unless we get roberts which is possible but doubtful, Sori is the 1 hole.

I like the lineup. DLee if you really look at it should have never been a 3 slot hitter. Besides 2005. If he can cut the GDPs down this year from last year he would be a perfect 2 hole. Never hurts to have your two hitter that can generate some pop every once in a while. I said it before people were all over him for having a bad year. He didnt have a bad year last year he just didnt have a great year for a 3 hole hitter. Power numbers were down but that would go unnoticed if he was batting 2 or possibly 5. So we will see what Lou decides to do.

"I think Soriano suffers from Manny-itis. He plays when we wants to."

CubCrazy, I get what you're saying but I think the distinction between the two is that Manny plays for money and Soriano plays because he likes hitting home runs. I don't really think Soriano takes time off because he doesn't feel like playing that day. iirc Soriano has come back earlier than expected from his injuries. Basically, his style is dictated by flash on the field, Manny's style is dictated by what he earns from being on the field.

Soriano isnt the showcase type. are you kidding me? he runs everything out 100%. if he hits one off the wall you better bet that hes flying out of the box to get that double no matter what.

Chris-

Any Roberts deal would almost assuredly include Mike Fontenot, and Miles is more of a utility infielder anyways so he'll be fine.

Sorry but Lee I dont think should be a # 2 hitter. For 2 reasons. He cant bunt. And why waste his stick there. I see him in the 5 hole.

My guess and this is only a guess. With Fukudome in the lineup.

Sori
The-Riot
A-Ram
Bradley
Lee
Soto
Fukudome (Possibly in the 2 hole because he can bunt well and can take a walk)
Fontenot

With Johnson in the line up

Sori
Johnson
A-Ram
Bradley
Lee
Soto
Theriot
Fontenot

Again this is just my guess... I have no Idea...

Yeah I am psyched to see what Fonts can do in a starter role. love that little bastard.

LoL, anyone else glad that the Cubs rumors are no longer involving Mark Teahan?

No worries Henry, I actually thought of lee there too but then thought about what would happen if it was late in a game and soriano didnt strike out. (sorry cheap shot at Sori)

I agree. Font/Riot. I am love little gritty players like those two. And no I have no affiliation with LSU baseball. :-)

Im always anxious for the baseball season to start. Im gonna like what the cubs put out there. Even if it was today. I think Lou will mix the lineup a bit. Id like to see ARam in that 3rd spot. Loving the rotation even though the 5 slot is still up in there air. If Dempster can have a year like last year and Hardens arm doesnt blow up. They should dominate the best division in baseball. Oh wait, the Central is god awful. So it should be easy.....right?

Adrian Gonzalez is going no where.

True that.

I am excited to see how Fontenot does this year starting at 2nd, but if we had a chance to get Roberts to lead off, then you cant give up that chance. You would have to choose Roberts, but I only make a trade if you can extend him to 3 years maybe?

If we can add Peavy or Roberts then I say this was a great offseason.

How did the starters get worse? Marquis is gone and they are worse? yikes. Apparently we have Miss Cleo on our hands. Why dont we wait and see how the season starts off or at least spring training before we start saying they are worse. come on now Ernie

Banks you're an idiot

Starters got worse?!? you know nothing about chicago cubs baseball. I am a better pitcher than Jason Marquis and i haven't pitched a game in my life.

Zambrano
Dempster
Lilly
Harden
Marshall? (I sure hope not)

I threw Gozo out there, but the Roberts talk is about the same thing...going no where.

When the new owners take over, then we'll see about a possible 5th starter pick up. Right now, it's in house. As for Edmonds, he gave what he had and was a nice pick up off the scrap heap. I am glad he helped and glad he was not brought back.

Which isnt a bad idea at all. Just in case. Z gets cramps. Hardens right arms ends up at the backstop. Someones getting rocked. Once again lets hope good ole Jimmy boy isnt done dealing and makes a move that makes Cubs not go hmmmmmm

You know I really wounldnt mind Guzman as that #5 starter. I was at the game that he started to end the regular season against the Brewers when they had their back against the wall. He had like 4 strike outs in 2 innings with one hit and no walks I believe. He did look pretty good.

Guzman is/was a very solid pitcher. Just needed experience. He got hurt and recovered really well. Hopefully with some innings he turns out to be what the cubs expect of him. But the cubs have had some guys that they expect to do really well that kinda take a dump. Ill say 2 left handed CF. No names though.

"Guzman our #5 and then we go after Roberts and Sherrill? Maybe we could get that done without Vitters."

I like the idea, but that package would cost you Vitters..

Then again, for both of those guys, I'd probably be willing to let go of Vitters if we didn't give up like a ton more.

If we could do something like Vitters, Pie, Marshall, Stevens, Archer, Atkins and Tony Thomas for Roberts and Sherill, I'd be all for it.

Sherrill would give us a very good lefty set up man to match with Kevin Gregg, which would make getting to Marmol much easier. A bullpen of Marmol, Gregg, Sherrill, Samardzija, Guzman, Gaudin and Cotts is quite satisfactory.

I don't feel the need to once again go over what Roberts would do for Chicago's lineup.

I see all these lineups being made but haven’t seen Fontenot thrown in the 2-hole... We all know how much Lou has asked for balance in the lineup and while we have a load of Right handed power, putting a lefty in #2 adds a great L/R combination.

Fontenot can bunt, pull the ball and hit screaming line drives to advance runners. He is also an above average base runner that hits for average and racks up extra base hits, all things that you want to see in you #2 hitter. Also Lou has praised Theriot in the #8 spot for his ability to get on base and turn the lineup over.

Barring a miraculous Roberts trade (I know, its never going to happen), if I were Uncle Lou, I would look at something like this…

Soriano
Fontenot
Ramirez
Bradley
Lee
Soto
Fukudome
Theriot

Let me know what you think…

So do Towers comments sound like he's still trying to trade Peavy? He says the Braves made an offer, but they wouldn't provide Escobar now since they don't have a backup at SS. He says that the Cubs were trying to acquire more players... are 3 fringe pitchers enough? Towers needs to just keep his mouth shut until something happens.

the last line is one of the reasons he aint got a 44 jersey hangin up in the clubhouse at Turner Field

Bleedcubbieblue
I like the lineup. I was thinking I would love to try Fukudome back in the #2 hole. We all know he can play like the guy we paid $12 mm/year to play. He is a great bunter, bats left, still has a good OBP. I would love to give him another shot. How about it?

Soriano
Fukudome
Ramirez
Bradley
Lee
Soto
Fontenot
Theriot

Anyone agree? Disagree?

"Starters got worse?!? you know nothing about chicago cubs baseball. I am a better pitcher than Jason Marquis and i haven't pitched a game in my life."

Umm, Cory5713, you're wrong. Marquis had a 99 ERA+ last season. That means he was essentially league average. Who are you going to replace him with? Having your 5th starter be league average is a pretty good deal. You Cubs fans may come to regret trading away Marquis if your 5th starter flops next season.

bleedcubbieblue and uww1

I have a feeling it would be more something like this:

Soriano
Theriot
Bradley
Ramirez
Lee
Soto
Fontenot
Fukudome

I think you leave Ramirez in the four spot where he has hit well and has been the best clutch hitter on the team for the last 2-3 years. Also you still want someone that can go from first to third in the three hole so a fleeter Bradley fits there best. Also his OBP would give Ramirex even more chances to drive in runs. I could actually even see moving Fontenot up a spot to gain a little more balance but my main point was having Bradley in the three hole.

Ya any of those look ok, I guess it will be up to Lou not us. Although sometimes I think I could do better then Big Lou :) LOL We all have good points though. We will just have to see what happens. Maybe Hendry isnt done yet.

uww1,

It's not about you removing $5M from your salary. I understand that Marquis was overpaid. But the issue all you Cubs fans keep talking about is how horrible Marquis pitched. And then you guys talk about replacing him with Pettitte or Garland, 2 pitchers who pitched WORSE than Marquis last season.
I just don't understand the extreme hatred of Marquis. He has provided exactly what he was supposed to when he signed.

I am hoping Hendry isn't done but I am not exactly hoping his other move is Peavy. We do need another arm though. I trust in Jim Hendry.

If we do not add another well above average arm to the rotation, I do not like the Marquis trade. I understand that we need to clear payroll, but it didn't seem to be a necesity to clear payroll for Bradley. Marshall is much to valuable as a swing man to put in the rotation and therefore I believe that there is still something in the works to add another starter. You just don't go trading away an above average 5th starter to gain 5MM in payroll space, just doesn't make sense. Hendry has to have something up his sleeve.

I know this thread is about Jake Peavy, but did anyone see the espn report about Smoltz going to the Red Sox? What the hell has Wern being doing, you all want to blame Towers.

Besides, you guys need to read the article in question before commenting. It doesn't say that a deal is being discussed it says it was discussed. Meaning it was confirming what we all know, that the Cubs and Padres could not agree on a deal.

Uwwi, I hope Fukudome is hitting in high in the order. He is such a key this year to turn last year's second half into a fluke...hopefully.

Masciob has it right if Fukudome tanks. Lou won't have much patience with him. If he sputters, he will hit 8th or get less playing time. Let's hope he does well.

"I just don't understand the extreme hatred of Marquis. He has provided exactly what he was supposed to when he signed."

No hatred here. His attitude was more 'me first', but he did his job last year for the most part.

Airman, I did not see about Smoltz and Boston. Interesting.

Hey bravesbacker. do you not like KT or Peavy talks? its hard to tell. beat it and dont read it if you have such a problem. no need in posting the same comment in different words every two seconds

Jay Jackson couldn't be included in a trade until June, because he's a 2007 draft that has to wait for one yr to be traded, he could possibly be included as a (tba)and then traded this June.

"

Umm, Cory5713, you're wrong. Marquis had a 99 ERA+ last season. That means he was essentially league average. Who are you going to replace him with? Having your 5th starter be league average is a pretty good deal. You Cubs fans may come to regret trading away Marquis if your 5th starter flops next season."

Great, Marquis had an ERA+ of 99, making him one of the better 5th starters in the game. He also was going to make 10M this year. Sean Marshall, who you all seem to undervalue, has had an ERA+ of 119 and 116 the last two years. He's had a rising K rate, declining BB rate, and a declining WHIP each year he has pitched. Is he a phenominal pitcher? No. Will he continue to post an ERA+ near 120 as a full time starter? Probably not, but he's the fifth starter! You can push him to long relief in the playoffs and never need to use him to start. You are all acting like our fifth starter will open game 1 of the NLDS if we make it, let's all calm down.

Also, Marshall is 26 and makes 10% of Marquis salary. How is that worse??

"Jair could very, very easily outperform both Peavy and CY."

Normally I really value your opinions, you have some great insight. Here, you are clearly overvaluing JJ. He is a phenominal young pitcher, but Peavy, if he stays healthy (no reason to think he wont, contrary to all the self made MDs around these parts), is definitely better.

JJ is too young, unproven to hold back from getting Peavy if that's what it takes. Since he was 23 Peavy has posted ERA+ of 171, 159, 134, 134 and an offyear of 99 as his five years of starting.

JJ posted an ERA + of 116. He had a higher WHIP than Peavy's worst full season pitching, and I could go on, but as I said, not important. JJ could be neck and neck with Peavy eventually, but he isn't at this point, and wont be next year. This is all opinion... we'd have to look back in 5 years to decide, but the evidence is not in JJ's favor at this point.

Batting Lineup:
1. Soriano
2. Theriot
3. Bradley
4. Ramirez
5. Lee
6. Fontenot
7. Soto
8. Fukudome
9. Pitcher

I would like to see Fukudome moved up to the top of the lineup until he fails to produce... Maybe swop Fuku and Theriot for opening day...

Soriano
Fontenot
Lee
Ramirez
Bradley
Soto
Fukudome
Theriot

Soriano
Theriot
Lee
Ramirez
Bradley
Soto
Johnson
Miles

The Cubs should now go get Brian Roberts..That would give them a legitimate second baseman. Instead of a utility guy..

Rob,

I guess you forgot abour Derosa's double play ground out in game 3 of 2007 NLDS against D-backs. One homerun in 6 playoff games harldly counts as a "playoff performer." There was just simply too many RH bats in the lineup. As such, the Dodgers didn't even use a LH pitcher in the entire '08 NLDS, albeit a short series. Also, I guess you forgot about DeRosa's error of a sure-fire double play in the '08 NLDS, game 2 that would of got the Cubs out of the inning before the game was broken wide open. Wake up and smell the coffee. Don't worry you are not alone in your love for DeRosa. Simply put, the roster was not properly balanced to counter good pitching, an, thus, not good enough to win in the playoffs. Something had to be done.