MLB

[The Argonaut]

"Rays' owner plans to sell team if no new stadium deal in Tampa"=Derek Jeter is going to be the Magic-Johnson-style face of the ownership group that buys the Rays within the next ten years

[Electromatic]

Build your own stadium if you want it.

Public money for stadiums is beyond stupid.

[Green Habit]

Build your own stadium if you want it.

Public money for stadiums is beyond stupid.

I'm sure Atlantans know this better than anyone else at this point.

[Chris_H_2]

Lester!!!

[philpritchard]

So now where does Boston turn? From the start I assumed they would get two of the big names, whether by trade or signing free agents. Scherzer? Shields? Hamels? Zimmermann?

At least other stuff can start happening now.

[Norah]

If the Nat's are serious about listening on Zimmermann that should be the focus.

[EJ]

Lester!!!

Wow, that is shocking. I haven't been paying attention to this one, has this been rumored about for awhile?

[philpritchard]

Lester!!!

Wow, that is shocking. I haven't been paying attention to this one, has this been rumored about for awhile?

Lester to the Cubs has been one of the major rumours since before the offseason started.

[EJ]

Lester!!!

Wow, that is shocking. I haven't been paying attention to this one, has this been rumored about for awhile?

Lester to the Cubs has been one of the major rumours since before the offseason started.

I'm impressed. They have a really solid looking rotation now.

[Chris_H_2]

I can't hide the fact that I'm giddy. And want to believe that Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer did everything right, and that Lester picked the Cubs over the Red Sox. But I'm also a realist, and can't ignore the fact that the Red Sox blew it. Lester basically picked the Cubs because of the way the Red Sox played this.

Nevertheless, if the Cubs can go out and get someone like Brandon McCarthy as a solid 2/3 starter, and perhaps add a bat, they may sneak up on teams next year and be one of those dark-horse contenders that no one sees coming in the spring.

[philpritchard]

I can't hide the fact that I'm giddy. And want to believe that Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer did everything right, and that Lester picked the Cubs over the Red Sox. But I'm also a realist, and can't ignore the fact that the Red Sox blew it. Lester basically picked the Cubs because of the way the Red Sox played this.

Nevertheless, if the Cubs can go out and get someone like Brandon McCarthy as a solid 2/3 starter, and perhaps add a bat, they may sneak up on teams next year and be one of those dark-horse contenders that no one sees coming in the spring.

I think people DO see them coming at this point, though. They have an established star in the middle of the lineup surrounded by some amazingly talented young position players and they now have an ace to anchor their rotation. Not all of those prospects are going to pan out, but they don't all have to to make that lineup look good. Just hitting on a couple of them can turn things around. They could get really good, really fast.

[numbers]

If Zimmerman is available, the Sox should go for him. I wouldn't be opposed to seeing if the Phillies would throw Cliff Lee into a Hamels trade. It gives you a year to figure things out.

[Chris_H_2]

It's going to be very interesting to see what the Tigers do with David Price. They may try to trade him and re-sign Scherzer, or let Scherzer walk (which is the more likely scenario) and still trade him or let him walk and get the draft-pick. Either way, they have some major decisions to make. And so far, Dave Dombrowski hasn't done too much despite the obvious, glaring holes the team has to fill.

[Chris_H_2]

I can't hide the fact that I'm giddy. And want to believe that Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer did everything right, and that Lester picked the Cubs over the Red Sox. But I'm also a realist, and can't ignore the fact that the Red Sox blew it. Lester basically picked the Cubs because of the way the Red Sox played this.

Nevertheless, if the Cubs can go out and get someone like Brandon McCarthy as a solid 2/3 starter, and perhaps add a bat, they may sneak up on teams next year and be one of those dark-horse contenders that no one sees coming in the spring.

I think people DO see them coming at this point, though. They have an established star in the middle of the lineup surrounded by some amazingly talented young position players and they now have an ace to anchor their rotation. Not all of those prospects are going to pan out, but they don't all have to to make that lineup look good. Just hitting on a couple of them can turn things around. They could get really good, really fast.

Yeah, I guess I more meant seeing them sneak up as early as next year. Most people see them coming. But I think the consensus is that they're still 2 years away at the earliest.

Despite losing out on Russell Martin, their offseason still has been pretty solid. They got Maddon, his bench coach Martinez, re-signed Jason Hammel, traded low-level prospects for Montero, and now signed Lester. Not bad.

[philpritchard]

If Zimmerman is available, the Sox should go for him. I wouldn't be opposed to seeing if the Phillies would throw Cliff Lee into a Hamels trade. It gives you a year to figure things out.

I still think the Phillies' asking price for Hamels is going to stay high enough that they don't trade him.

Do they have any kind of payroll limit? They're already up over $160 million for this year.

[pnjguy]

I can't hide the fact that I'm giddy. And want to believe that Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer did everything right, and that Lester picked the Cubs over the Red Sox. But I'm also a realist, and can't ignore the fact that the Red Sox blew it. Lester basically picked the Cubs because of the way the Red Sox played this.

Nevertheless, if the Cubs can go out and get someone like Brandon McCarthy as a solid 2/3 starter, and perhaps add a bat, they may sneak up on teams next year and be one of those dark-horse contenders that no one sees coming in the spring.

I think people DO see them coming at this point, though. They have an established star in the middle of the lineup surrounded by some amazingly talented young position players and they now have an ace to anchor their rotation. Not all of those prospects are going to pan out, but they don't all have to to make that lineup look good. Just hitting on a couple of them can turn things around. They could get really good, really fast.

Yeah, I guess I more meant seeing them sneak up as early as next year. Most people see them coming. But I think the consensus is that they're still 2 years away at the earliest.

Despite losing out on Russell Martin, their offseason still has been pretty solid. They got Maddon, his bench coach Martinez, re-signed Jason Hammel, traded low-level prospects for Montero, and now signed Lester. Not bad.

We both know Cub fans in this town are going to go batshit crazy if they're not contending for at least that second wild-card spot.

[Chris_H_2]

I can't hide the fact that I'm giddy. And want to believe that Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer did everything right, and that Lester picked the Cubs over the Red Sox. But I'm also a realist, and can't ignore the fact that the Red Sox blew it. Lester basically picked the Cubs because of the way the Red Sox played this.

Nevertheless, if the Cubs can go out and get someone like Brandon McCarthy as a solid 2/3 starter, and perhaps add a bat, they may sneak up on teams next year and be one of those dark-horse contenders that no one sees coming in the spring.

I think people DO see them coming at this point, though. They have an established star in the middle of the lineup surrounded by some amazingly talented young position players and they now have an ace to anchor their rotation. Not all of those prospects are going to pan out, but they don't all have to to make that lineup look good. Just hitting on a couple of them can turn things around. They could get really good, really fast.

Yeah, I guess I more meant seeing them sneak up as early as next year. Most people see them coming. But I think the consensus is that they're still 2 years away at the earliest.

Despite losing out on Russell Martin, their offseason still has been pretty solid. They got Maddon, his bench coach Martinez, re-signed Jason Hammel, traded low-level prospects for Montero, and now signed Lester. Not bad.

We both know Cub fans in this town are going to go batshit crazy if they're not contending for at least that second wild-card spot.

I don't know. I think people have bought into the re-building philosophy, and the Cubs have made no secret about their own realistic expectations of competing starting in 2016 despite signing Lester. I mean, at most, Lester is worth about 4-5 wins, and Montero 1-2. That still doesn't put them anywhere near a playoff spot.

[pnjguy]

I can't hide the fact that I'm giddy. And want to believe that Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer did everything right, and that Lester picked the Cubs over the Red Sox. But I'm also a realist, and can't ignore the fact that the Red Sox blew it. Lester basically picked the Cubs because of the way the Red Sox played this.

Nevertheless, if the Cubs can go out and get someone like Brandon McCarthy as a solid 2/3 starter, and perhaps add a bat, they may sneak up on teams next year and be one of those dark-horse contenders that no one sees coming in the spring.

I think people DO see them coming at this point, though. They have an established star in the middle of the lineup surrounded by some amazingly talented young position players and they now have an ace to anchor their rotation. Not all of those prospects are going to pan out, but they don't all have to to make that lineup look good. Just hitting on a couple of them can turn things around. They could get really good, really fast.

Yeah, I guess I more meant seeing them sneak up as early as next year. Most people see them coming. But I think the consensus is that they're still 2 years away at the earliest.

Despite losing out on Russell Martin, their offseason still has been pretty solid. They got Maddon, his bench coach Martinez, re-signed Jason Hammel, traded low-level prospects for Montero, and now signed Lester. Not bad.

We both know Cub fans in this town are going to go batshit crazy if they're not contending for at least that second wild-card spot.

I don't know. I think people have bought into the re-building philosophy, and the Cubs have made no secret about their own realistic expectations of competing starting in 2016 despite signing Lester. I mean, at most, Lester is worth about 4-5 wins, and Montero 1-2. That still doesn't put them anywhere near a playoff spot.

A lot have, but i think most are still stupidly bitter about the past 2 years and this signing is the cookie they've been waiting for. Patience and Cub-dom don't usually go hand in hand. Got to hand it to Theo, everything seems to be falling into place. Even if it doesn't work out in the end, its really the way it should have been done.

[Fuck You Jobu]

I can't hide the fact that I'm giddy. And want to believe that Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer did everything right, and that Lester picked the Cubs over the Red Sox. But I'm also a realist, and can't ignore the fact that the Red Sox blew it. Lester basically picked the Cubs because of the way the Red Sox played this.

Nevertheless, if the Cubs can go out and get someone like Brandon McCarthy as a solid 2/3 starter, and perhaps add a bat, they may sneak up on teams next year and be one of those dark-horse contenders that no one sees coming in the spring.

Hollywood is never wrong....

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-l ... 35047.html

[Fuck You Jobu]

I can't hide the fact that I'm giddy. And want to believe that Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer did everything right, and that Lester picked the Cubs over the Red Sox. But I'm also a realist, and can't ignore the fact that the Red Sox blew it. Lester basically picked the Cubs because of the way the Red Sox played this.

Nevertheless, if the Cubs can go out and get someone like Brandon McCarthy as a solid 2/3 starter, and perhaps add a bat, they may sneak up on teams next year and be one of those dark-horse contenders that no one sees coming in the spring.

I think people DO see them coming at this point, though. They have an established star in the middle of the lineup surrounded by some amazingly talented young position players and they now have an ace to anchor their rotation. Not all of those prospects are going to pan out, but they don't all have to to make that lineup look good. Just hitting on a couple of them can turn things around. They could get really good, really fast.

Yeah, I guess I more meant seeing them sneak up as early as next year. Most people see them coming. But I think the consensus is that they're still 2 years away at the earliest.

Despite losing out on Russell Martin, their offseason still has been pretty solid. They got Maddon, his bench coach Martinez, re-signed Jason Hammel, traded low-level prospects for Montero, and now signed Lester. Not bad.

We both know Cub fans in this town are going to go batshit crazy if they're not contending for at least that second wild-card spot.

I don't know. I think people have bought into the re-building philosophy, and the Cubs have made no secret about their own realistic expectations of competing starting in 2016 despite signing Lester. I mean, at most, Lester is worth about 4-5 wins, and Montero 1-2. That still doesn't put them anywhere near a playoff spot.

If this is the case, that puts the Cubs @ about 81 wins. Figure a couple more for Hammels and Maddon. Plus the youngsters should play better this year. I think WC #2 is conceivable.