A number of you have begun to mention the convention, which takes place less than two weeks from now, and that you will be attending.
I'd love to get as many BCB readers together for some sort of gathering, sometime during the convention.
Right now, I'm thinking sometime around lunch on Saturday, so we don't miss the Baker/Hendry session, or the MacPhail session, both of which are usually in the morning on Saturday. Also, Saturday is generally the time when most people will be there for the longest period of time.
Thoughts and ideas for this appreciated.
One other note that was mentioned in the convention diary was this note from our favorite site, saying that the Pirates have some interest in Sammy Sosa, and citing this Dominican news article as the source.
My Spanish is pretty poor, so I ran this page through Babelfish and came up with this:
Insipid Sammy could be the next acquisition so that it is appropriated the right meadow.
With Eric Byrnes in route towards Arizona, the Pirates have turned their tentacles towards signing to the Dominican jonronero, that is free agent and is a player desired by several equipment.
OK, we all know you can get laughs from Babelfish's occasionally tortured translations (apparently, it parses "Sosa" as "So-so" and thus "insipid", and that's not so far from the truth these days), but the most important thing that can be gleaned from that article is that if the Pirates do indeed sign Sosa, Craig Wilson is likely odd-man out.
Wilson can play several positions. OK, he doesn't play any of them very well, but he could be serviceable as a spare outfielder. I'd much rather have him than the other Wilson who's rumored to be coming the Cubs' way, or Marquis Grissom.
Craig Wilson can hit. Yes, he's never hit well in Wrigley Field (lifetime .626 OPS in 91 AB there), but his overall lifetime OPS is .851, and he could probably be had cheap, and then the Cubs would have an "emergency catcher" who has actually caught a major league game (40 of them).
There's one more disturbing note in that mlbtraderumors link, though you have to scroll through the comments to find it. It references a NY sports radio report (WFAN) that alleges the Cubs are about to trade Rich Hill and Felix Pie to the Mets for Cliff Floyd and Aaron Heilman.
I don't think I have to tell you how big a mistake this would be. Yes, Hill and Pie are tradeable, but that's far less than they are worth. Think the Mets would take Corey Patterson and Angel Guzman instead?
Here's hoping for some positive news this week. Plus, think about the convention, and share your ideas about meeting.