Rambo McDonald

You're saying that before 1974 when Yount debuted, not one SS in baseball OPS better than .600? edit: you could very well be correct, but none of this is a great reason, or even close to one as to why Logan Morrison should be rushed

Now it sounds like you are just pulling stuff out of your tuchus. I know errors are not the greatest stat when talking about how good someone's defense is but in his first 5 seasons in the bigs, your boy Yount had 150 errors. 150. You can let that sink in for awhile. One-hundred and fifty.

When healthy, Johnson is awesome (like a few have said)

The Klesko comps are right on for Logan. Not in what kind of player he will be, but the body is and will mature into being. Also, like lou said, if Morrison outhits Hermida in AA (.975OPS), he will easily be the best prospect in baseball. Rushing Morrison to the bigs is not a smart idea at this point. There's plenty of options around right now that kind fill in adequately (or better) while Morrison seasons a bit more in Jacksonville. I hear you I still don't see the physical comparison with Klesko but hey each with their own opinion. My problem with Morrison is that I just don't see what Jacksonville offers him in his development. He is too mature of a hitter for that level of pitching, What do you do if he starts devouring opposing pitching? Promote him to Triple A in the PCL?... Where pitching sucks even more? I don't get the age thing at all Raynor is too old...Stanton is too young...Readiness has no age. I remember an 18 y/o SS once that was given the starting job after a strong spring training once and he did pretty good for himself. In fact he made it to the HOF. Anyone ever hear of Robin Yount? You not seeing what Jacksonville and the Southern League (arguably the best pitchers league in the minors year in, year out) can do for the development of Logan Morrison is your problem, not mine. If he starts dominating in AA, that's fantastic. Let him do it for 3-4-5 months and give him a call to end the year. And yea, Robin Yount. I remember him. I remember him OPSing .622 as an 18 year old, followed by seasons of .674, .593, .710, .751 and .679 until he FINALLY matured into an actual hitter at age 24. The Brewers are lucky they didn't end his career. I won't claim to know what they were thinking, but it looks like this was out of necessity as they had no one else to play shortstop. This is a terrible comparison.

Nick Johnson would be on the DL the second he landed in South Florida.

what is failing? not being an all star? not being a solid player? not making the team ever?

The Klesko comps are right on for Logan. Not in what kind of player he will be, but the body is and will mature into being. Also, like lou said, if Morrison outhits Hermida in AA (.975OPS), he will easily be the best prospect in baseball. Rushing Morrison to the bigs is not a smart idea at this point. There's plenty of options around right now that kind fill in adequately (or better) while Morrison seasons a bit more in Jacksonville.

I really don't want to lose Allison. You just have to be curious about the guy... The what if's are fun to think about. He started off last year strong and tailed off, but I think after that first initial year back he could be back much stronger, and much more in focus. He got over that first hump... now it's a little more steady. Unfortunately, his stuff isn't nearly as good anymore. Great chance he is not selected.

I don't see why Leroux is being added to the 40-man, his numbers are not that impressive, and he's only reached High-A. He's got great stuff

Goldstein absolutely hates Volstad, called him a "fraud" in the podcast.

Everyone saw once again this year that when healthy, he IS a top 5 pitcher in the game. Which part is the top 5 pitcher in the game? the 4.07era? the 1.34whip? Look, I like Mad Ink as much as the next guy but these were his worst numbers (era/whip wise) OF HIS CAREER.

I think I saw 1.2mil buys...

Cubs are interested in DeJesus in return for Fukudome. Guillen has 2 more years on his contract: 09:$12M, 10:$12M Gonna be tough to dump that.

Better question, why is Jai Miller still playing baseball? He bats .250 in the MINORS, he should just give up on baseball period. I agree it would've been nicer to see us place Miller on waivers rather than Rabelo. Not that I think Jai will someday be a great pro but what the hell are you talking about? He's hit + .260 for two seasons in a row. His OBP has been + .349 for two seasons in a row. He has slugged .432 and 472 the last two seasons. He plays a solid outfield and has a strong arm. He has good speed and he walks alot. And he's just going to be 24. Hope that answered your silly question.

Gordon would probably cost Hermida and then some. KC would be absolute morons to move Gordon

Beyond hysterical.

What's the difference between Jeffrey Loria and a conoe? A conoe tips. what the hell is a conoe? :mischief

With the focus of the front office on speed and defense, I'm just wondering where Brett fits in, if at all, in the outfield picture. While he's certainly had injury troubles and hasn't hit well in his 100 or so AB's, but he certainly has the arm to play RF at DS. He has the arm to play on the warning track in the bermuda triangle. It's epic.

Shoulda kept Willingham if they wanted a .840 OPS guy (except much cheaper)

I was going to post this in the "Kevin Gregg Trade" thread but I decided it would probably destroy it by taking it off topic, but if this Gregg/Ceda trade looks so good and the front office made a good move, why would people be so vehemently against getting a 23 year old infielder with good credentials and two kids 19 and 20 years old who have decent pedigrees for two guys we all knew were getting traded anyways? Does it not dawn on people the same FO team made both trades? Could there be something we are missing in the Bonifacio move (like maybe a strategy or plan going forward that the FO is executing) because it's so much easier to complain and harp on what's wrong with everything when we're on the outside looking in? Or maybe it's that Bonifacio's track record isn't that great and he's looking like a utility guy at best right now. What good credential is he bringing? Yea, he's got "tremendous" defense and yet if he played the same amount of games as Coghlan this year, he would have put up 14 errors (to CC's 18). You all seem to harp so much on Coghlan's bad defense by his errors yet praise Bonifacio. And yea, Bonifacio has great speed. No chance you get an argument from me on their. But like they say, "you can't steal first base". Hard to believe the same group who made the Willingham/Olsen trade just pulled off the Gregg trade.

I do not see why we don't pursue a guy like Rocco Baldelli. Seems like the perfect Cantu-like scenario. He is talented, just inury-prone. He would be a low-priced option. He can't play everyday anyway. He has a form of Muscular Dystrophy called Mitochondrial Myopathy (atleast that's the strong rumor). He can run at full speed for very long. He's not what the Marlins should be looking for. That's true but didn't they cure it few months before the Postseason started? I thought he was over it and was on medication. There's a reason why he didn't play every game in the postseason for the Rays. He needed the days off

Baseball Prospectus (notably Kevin Goldstein) had Ceda as the Cubs #3 prospect heading into the 2009 season 3. Jose Ceda, RHP DOB: 1/28/87 Height/Weight: 6-4/275 Bats/Throws: R/R Drafted/Signed: Dominican Republic, 2004 (Padres) 2008 Stats: 4.80 ERA at High-A (54.1-41-28-53), 7.17 DERA; 2.08 ERA at Double-A (30.1-26-14-42), 2.89 DERA Last Year's Ranking: 4 Year in Review: The top closer prospect in the system began the year as a starter in order to work on his overall game, and returned to his dominating ways when moved back into the closer's role at Double-A. The Good: Ceda brings presence to the mound with the size, stuff, aggressiveness, and intimidation factor of a shut-down closer. He has the classic closer's combination of fastball/slider, both knockout pitches, with the fastball sitting at 94-97 mph and touching 100, while the power slider features plenty of depth and tilt. The Bad: Ceda overthrows both pitches at times, which can lead to control issues, as can his arm-heavy mechanics, which involve a significant amount of grunting. He experimented with a changeup while starting, but it was never any more than a show-me pitch, and nobody argues with the fact that he's a reliever only. His size is a bit of a concern, and he started to put on some soft weight last year. Fun Fact: When pitching in the ninth inning or later for Double-A Tennessee, Ceda allowed just two runs over 16 innings while striking out 28. Perfect World Projection: He should become a dominating closer. Glass Half Empty: Unless his control problems become a constant, or something else unpredictable happens, it's hard to not see Ceda pitching in the late innings. Path To The Big Leagues: The Cubs are set in terms of who pitches late in games for now, so Ceda's rise to the closer role with his current club could take a while. Timetable: Team officials think that Ceda is close to ready for the big leagues, and depending on the numbers game, he'll begin the season closing at either Double- or Triple-A. He could be up by the end of the year, giving the Cubs one of the most power-armed bullpens in all of baseball.

Like Ceda's arm alot

I do not see why we don't pursue a guy like Rocco Baldelli. Seems like the perfect Cantu-like scenario. He is talented, just inury-prone. He would be a low-priced option. He can't play everyday anyway. He has a form of Muscular Dystrophy called Mitochondrial Myopathy (atleast that's the strong rumor). He can run at full speed for very long. He's not what the Marlins should be looking for.

All in all, I'm sick of hearing how old he is. I'd rather have a 30 year old who'll put up an OPS over 800 than a 25 year old who hits an OPS below 750, at least if I'm interested in winning. That would require a payroll that has the ability to actually sign a starting outfielder worthy of an .800+ ops, which isn't possible for this team at the moment. So, as much as you would like to complain about Hermida, he IS the best option we have right now, no matter what. Josh Willingham and Cody Ross both had 800+ OPSes last season, as did 64 other OF. You don't think we could afford any of them? If by 64 you mean 31. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/battin...ull&minpa=0 Edit: I suppose you could be including non-qualified ones as well