derosa - miles

oh no! what are all the ladies going to do with their #7 jerseys?!

i dont think anyone wanted to win a world series with the cubs more than d-ro. miles plays as many positions, bats from both sides and costs half as much. if he can do what he did with stl the last two years AND the cubs can pick up bradley and/or peavy, this is a job well done.

it's official, people!

fukudome is an honest to goodness cub! go get you #1 jersey now!

check out the links at the right for all the updates or join my facebook group: ...and a japanese outfielder will lead them

middle infielder

there has been a lot of talk about the cubs pursuing brian roberts from the orioles to play second base. i like the guy as a player (regardless of the steroid issue), but i don't see where he fits in.

de rosa was signed last year to play 2b, and he turned out to be one of our most valuable players. is this a sign that pie isn't ready, and that d-ro will be spending a lot of time in right field while switching k-fuk over to center? that's what it looks like to me.

a better option (and also being talked about in rumors) is chone figgins of the angels. i'm not sure what it would take to get this done, but it might be worth it. he can play all over the field including 2b, ss, and 3b....as well as center field. hell, why not trade pie straight up for this guy and throw in a young arm. not sure if the angels think that would help them, but it would sure help us. having two guys that can play anywhere (figgins and d-ro) would be an exciting luxury.

the riot and felix are not the answer, people, trust me. i know you love them, but....

this video is good, but the kid makes it creepy

this made me laugh

http://www.cobrabrigade.com/2007/12/fukudome_newest_cub.php

i really find this guy amusing. he is so apathetic you think he was a sox fan.

he says there are other options who are a) cheaper and c) known players ...really???...who??? he doesn't even name one who is cheaper and/or known. the only names i have heard are geoff jenkins (who would be exactly like what we had with burnitz) - a platoon player at best and ryan church - already traded to the mets.

sure k-fuk may cost a pretty penny, but salary doesn't mean anything in mlb. how could you say he is unknown? you can project stats from the japanese leagues just as well as you can from the minors or college if not better. see here or check out some of the diaries about it on bleedcubbieblue.com . he may hit for less power leading to a lower slg pct, but the guy is a virtual lock to be on base more than anyone else on the team. and who knows with wrigley's short power alleys he could hit 20+ HRs.

and who cares about blocking players?!? the only guy he mentions is colvin who hasn't even played a full season at AA yet! but apparently he is the next great cubs outfielder?? i thought that was supposed to be corey patterson, no wait, felix pie....yeah, still waiting...get my point!

here is the truth. you know what you are getting in k-fuk. disciplined at-bats, solid defense and a HR every now and then. he was BY FAR the best outfielder on the market. the best part? he didn't cost us and young talent - which is just that - talent, not a proven player. so, why complain...it's a win all around if you ask me.

a waste of $20mil

does anyone else think the mitchell report was an enormous waste of money?

were there any surprises? prob more of who was not named (sosa!) than who was. did you really think the rocket was not taking something?

i really hope selig does not punish anyone. it's water under the bridge...let's move forward.

players did it...we know it (did we really need to know names?)...let's test tougher and play ball again.

p.s. i also find it kinda funny that it seemed like espn forgot all about it after a thursday night nfl game between the broncos and texans. man, football really is the new pastime. btw, how many of the players in that game were on something...prob more than were named in the mitchell report (ha!)

added link: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=3154116

prior non-tendered

fine. good. whatever. to have prior back would have been just that. he has been teasing us for too long now, and the cubs see that as well. i totally agree to the cubs not signing him unless he agreed to a team option. the cubs have put too much time and money in him to not expect that from him.

personally, i think prior owes the cubs at least that. when the twins didn't have the money to draft him, the cubs gave it to him. they have given him contracts the past two years and got nothing back. time to cut your losses.

i've been thinking for a while that prior was never motivated to play in chicago. i probably got this idea since he was always complaining about his arm but no one could ever diagnose it (finally, they deemed it looseness in the shoulder joint). i also found it odd that wood was always around during his rehab stints and prior never showed up until the playoffs (and got way too much camera time).

time to move on for the cubs. i'm sure he'll latch on somewhere...he just has too much talent, but at this point you have to predict he isn't going to do anything until at least 2009...if ever.

deadspin speaks: http://deadspin.com/sports/mark-prior/the-cubs-finally-rid-themselves-of-their-savior-333465.php

gamblin' man

driving around on my lunch hour i was listening to murph on the score 670. apparently, he believes GM stands for two things: 1) general manager and 2) gambling man. i can't think of two better words to describe jim hendry's acquisition of kosuke fukudome.

first, the trading of jacque jones and craig monroe. two less than stellar guys, but major league quality guys. and what i mean by that is they have been around long enough to know what you would get and a platoon of those two guys would have been adequate in my eyes. not to mention in the end all they got were a minor league pitcher, a rule 5 guy and a player to be named later.

losing out on kaz matsui didn't have an effect on fukudome. i really hope that was the only reason they went after him, as he would be an upgrade over theriot at short but not de rosa at 2b.

so they traded their surplus outfielders and lost out on the japanese bait, and they weren't even sure he was coming to the states. then, when he does decide to come, there are at least 3 other teams that want him. of course i wasn't worried about the white sox, but have you ever been to san fran or san diego???? lots more asian faces there than here in the midwest. thank god, the guy is a smart man.

sorry for the rambling, but i was a little scared of the possibility of someone like geoff jenkins in right field. can you say jeromy burnitz?

check out fukudome's stats

also, join my fukudome facebook group: ....and a japanese outfielder will lead them

now, what will happen to prior and what about this brian roberts guy?!?!?

A home run of Fukudome sex

houston, we may have a problem

the cubs pursuit of kaz matsui may be over if the rumors are true of him signing with houston. how this effects getting fukudome, we'll see. but the other trade between the mets and nationals has me concerned too. ryan church is going to the mets. supposedly, he was one of the backup guys if we couldn't get fukudome. not that i want church anyway, i'm just wondering what the plan is now?

kaz matsui

hearing more about matsui coming to the cubs.

this is a move the cubs should make. i know a lot of people love "the riot", including me. i was one of the first to jump on the bandwagon....but he is just NOT an everyday player in the big leagues. then again, maybe kaz isn't either, but he is a switch hitter, would be a decent lead-off hitter, and could help in the acquisition of fukudome.

with kaz at short, d-ro at second with theriot as utility plus fukudome in right in replace of jacque, all that's left would be center (trade felix now, please).