If you have a partnership with multiple partners (as the White Sox do, not that I’m necessarily recommending that), something personal like John Moores’ problems becomes less important.

Like I said, you might have to put another piece or two in a deal like that.

Assumng that Peavy doesn’t ask for a significant restructuring of his deal, you’ve got a top-of-the-rotation starter for the next four years at under 60 million dollars. Who would you rather pay that sort of cash to, Peavy or Oliver Perez?

I’m not even in favor of the trade, but every team should be lucky enough to be so hamstrung.

Peavy will cost you most of your tradeable players making it nearly impossible to get a leadoff hitter. Dempster costs money but unless it was Furcal you were after there really are not lead off guys to “buy” only to trade for.

… this team won 97 games. It doesn’t need Kevin Millar to start. It needs a guy like that in the clubhouse.

Do NOT underestimate what Matt Stairs, a similar personality, did for the Phillies.

I’m not prepared to guarantee it, by any means, but I think Jake may want to join the Cubs and push Towers in that direction. I’ve read sources say that Peavy wants to join a competitive team. He may look at the Cubs rotation, lineup – and the fact they’ve won their division two years running – and kick the door open for Hendry to get the deal done.

… but I’d probably do that deal.

… and no one could get them out of it.

If not Millar, then someone like him. Numbers don’t always mean everything. I’m not talking about putting together an entire roster of players like this, just one guy.

Hoffman is 41. He might be about done — he had quite a few spectacular blown saves in 2008.

Woody is much, much, much, much better than Hoffman.

(I may be missing a few "much"es there.)

… Pie and Marshall might be a starting point. You’d probably have to put at least another prospect or two in the deal to make it more enticing — someone above suggested Mitch Atkins and/or Welington Castillo.

is a bit harsh. I would rate him as slightly more than a throw-in at this point. Throw-ins are rarely as young as him and seldom put up numbers like he has in the minors. He has been exposed by the Cubs, but teams are willing to take a leap on the initial trade on the off-chance that the player has not been properly developed.

I don’t think the suggestion is for Millar to come on to “entertain the troops”. He would be able to contribute as a backup outfielder and fill the D Ward pinch hitter role. I think getting someone like Millar is a win-win. You need these guys to fit situational holes and the personality aspect would be a bonus. Demp is probably great at loosening guys up in the bullpen, but I like a guy like Millar in the dugout. But to go along with your question about how many “looseners” would of been nice for a Millar-type during game 1.

Because when Dempster blew up in game one, the entire team got tight and no one could fix it.

It would also help getting a position player, rather than a starting pitcher, to do that, because starting pitchers have specific routines they have to go through on their off days and also on starting days.

FWIW, Millar and Dempster are close friends who spent five years as teammates on the Marlins. Signing Millar would be a signal to Dempster to stay.

With the Marlins dealing Willingham, does that mean Jeremy Hermida is off the market? I would argue that the Cubs might be able to get him with a package that could include Felix Pie and Sean Marshall. This is pure speculation on my part, and likely they’d have to put another prospect in such a deal

Now where does it say that I think Marshall and Pie alone could get it done?

Also, last year’s rotation did just fine — and that’s with Harden not totally healthy and Z having, frankly, a mediocre year. Hendrickson (and it doesn’t HAVE to be him, I just threw out a few suggested names) would be a swingman, a reliever who might make an emergency start, not a guy in the rotation full time.

His numbers last year, in what was supposed to be his coming out party, were pretty weak. Worse OPS, in fact, than Fukudome. He looked poised to break out after ‘07, but at this point, he’s taken a serious step backwards IMO.

That’s better than most teams. Of course, the question is whether Harden stays healthy. If the Cubs do actually trade for Peavy, you would be looking at Z, Lilly, Peavy, Harden, Marquis/Hendrickson/etc. Maybe better but you have traded everyone else of value so there wouldn’t be much left to improve anywhere else. The people who are wishing for Peavy and Dempster are not looking at the salary numbers. No way does that fit especially next year when Peavy’s salary really goes up.

He had a solid 2008 season as a spot starter/long reliever. Although his durability is still somewhat in question, Sean looks to me like a great option as a No. 4 or 5 starter – and I would guess other teams might feel the same way.

He’s a very different pitcher when healthy than when injured or fatigued. The big problem is that he has tended to fatigue way too quickly to be a starter. If he can get past his durability problems, you are underrating him quite a bit to call him a #5 at best. If he can’t get past the durability problems, he’ll still be a useful ’pen arm.

At his age, his future is as a bench player — he knows it and I think anyone signing him would know it.

I think he could be a useful player playing against certain LHP. No one’s asking him to be a team leader. We would be asking him to be Matt Stairs.

Planting information, formalizing hearsay and confusing more than enlightening.
Outside the Tribsters, nobody knows what will happen just yet. Don’t believe what Sullivan writes.

that Peavy is younger and has a much longer history of success, and thus should command more money than Dempster.

Dempster surely realizes that he’s not worth Jake Peavy money.

Um, ‘cause Peavy’s better than everyone in the Cubs rotation not named “Harden”?

out of Petco? Of course his stats are a bit skewed at Petco. So what? Guys like Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale played in the old Dodger Stadium, when it was REALLY a pitchers park. I’d bet their road stats were not as good. Would you not have traded for them in 1965? (Sorry, kids — look ’em up)

The Cubs were a dominant home team last year in a so-called hitters park. Lilly gave up some dingers at Wrigley, you might recall. Still, he was a force for the Cubs. And, we all know the wind blows in half the time, anyway, so the ‘hitters’ park is a misnomer.

Fear about Peavy’s ‘road’ reacord is misplaced.

Healthy arm with some movement on the ball. In fact, one of the announcers mistakenly called him Marmol. Actually that might have been someone on this blog, but in any event, he looked good and healthy. And his initials are not B.H. so he’s got that going for him.

The answer – Gonzalez has looked worse at the ML level in 50 more PAs than Pie.

Pittsburgh would probably want Marmol or Samardzija, to start talks, if they’re looking at power arms in the Cubs system.

Argh.

and Abreu is an option. He adds speed and a bat Lou can put anywhere in the first 5 lineup spots. I don’t like Abreu’s defense, but there are worse options.

Hendry and Piniella are quite content with Ryan Theriot. I for one agree with them.

… that Lou didn’t manage this team very well down the stretch. However, in the absence of that sort of thing, it couldn’t hurt to have a player who helps keep everyone loose.

Kevin Millar is still a decent choice for a RH-hitting bench player. I doubt he’d cost very much. Signing him might insure keeping Ryan Dempster, since the two are close friends. This is what I mean when I say that there are factors beyond statistics that must be taken into account. We aren’t dealing with spreadsheets here, we are dealing with human beings with real lives.

…but I don’t see Lou as being the kind of manager who can keep a team “loose.” Mark DeRosa has said something along the lines of, “Playing for Lou is like playing for your Dad.”

Maybe there are some managers who are good at relaxing their teams, but I don’t think Lou is one of them – during the regular season or the postseason. That’s not to say he doesn’t have strong leadership skills, because I think he does. But he can’t do it all. So I don’t disagree with Al that – maybe – having a devil-may-care veteran like Millar around might help take the edge of when the pressure ramps up to postseason levels.

I totally agree. Teflon Lou needs to accept at least a modicum of responsibility for the twin melt-downs.

My concern is not his age per se, but that when younger he was a butcher in the field. His age becomes a concern when considering players don’t usually get better in the field with age.

I just can’t believe Lou would be infatuated with a player that was his “Felix Pie” years ago.

But, as you mention, he’s not young or particularly athletic.

There’s one exception to what you wrote – I don’t know why Lou would be infatuated with Ibanez. Ibanez withered under his last stint playing for Lou.

Let’s say this about Raul Ibanez – he’s, by all accounts, a nice guy.

its a matter of not willing as it is we are pretty limited to what we can do. reason being a big majority of this team is locked up and most of them are immovable. That also leaves the payroll pretty close to maxed out.

On what basis do you say Jim and Lou “aren’t willing to change the mix”? Are you saying you want to blow up a 97-win team?

The team was good enough to blow through just about everyone for six months. What is needed is to figure out why it failed once the calendar turned to October.

I see no evidence that managment isn’t “willing” to do that.

What exactly is the “something more” that’s required? Should the Phillies have done “something more” after getting swept out of the postseason in ’07?

… he has one of his little tantrums, or gets arrested again. No thanks.