Well, if I were Thed -- I think I'd ask for the OK in writing before I wasted any more time talking with any 'trio'.

Maybe this was the plan all along. That Dempster is such a prankster.

Reports now speculating that the Yanks aren't even in talks and that this might nothing but 'friendly leakage' to juice the LAD talks.

'friendly leakage'

Wait, does this have something to do with that g spot thingy? Because I heard that that was a myth.

kind of interesting reversal to the cc/harden acquisitions of days bygone when cubs fans immediately jumped on the harden trade as a 'take that milwaukee--you can't one up us"

now the crew has traded zack for decent stuff and the cubs are dealing with one arm behind their back because of the player

of course, none of the cubs who were chortling are here now. we all know that drill. success has a 1000 fathers and all that

hang in there guys. this will be over soon and then it's back to being hopeful

hang in there guys. this will be over soon and then it's back to being hopeful

Hey, who's not hopeful? They're 15-9 in July, Rizzo's dominating, Castro's starting to round back into form, and Casey Coleman's on his way back to finally assert himself as a top-of-the-rotation starter!

kind of interesting reversal to the cc/harden acquisitions of days bygone when cubs fans immediately jumped on the harden trade as a 'take that milwaukee--you can't one up us"

now the crew has traded zack for decent stuff and the cubs are dealing with one arm behind their back because of the player

of course, none of the cubs who were chortling are here now. we all know that drill. success has a 1000 fathers and all that

hang in there guys. this will be over soon and then it's back to being hopeful

Watch, HW --- we're just 3 games behind you at this point ;-)

This could be Dempster trying to save face with Cubs fans, many of whom* plan to boo the crap out of him if he starts tonight. Or this could, as Zonk says, be TheoJed trying to convince the Dodgers that they're in a dogfight. Either way, I believe exactly none of it.

*"Many of whom" = Me.

*"Many of whom" = Me.

Seriously?

Watch, HW --- we're just 3 games behind you at this point ;-)

Also this!

zonk/brian

wouldn't surprise me if the brewers just completely fold. i like the guys but the combination of trading zack and the bullpen in tatters has the team in a weird combination of apprehension and resignation.

if they had kept zack i could see the brewers going on a late season infuriating hot streak where they pull back over .500 near the end finishing 5 or so games out

but with greinke gone, marcum on the dl likely for the season, and the general disappointment of letting a great opportunity not just slip away but blow up in their faces i suspect guys will do what they do and winning will be a byproduct of guys being a bit selfish versus the goal.

hate to write it. but that is my gut instinct.

now the crew has traded zack for decent stuff and the cubs are dealing with one arm behind their back because of the player

And now that you point it out, I really like how the Cubs did in this trade (EDIT: the Maholm/Johnson trade) compared to what the Brewers got.

hate to write it. but that is my gut instinct.

You think if they that happens, they'll shitcan Roenicke? The guy seems like a great manager when things are going good and a terrible one when things aren't. (Well, I guess all managers seem that way but I suspect you know what I mean.)

wouldn't surprise me if the brewers just completely fold. i like the guys but the combination of trading zack and the bullpen in tatters has the team in a weird combination of apprehension and resignation.

if they had kept zack i could see the brewers going on a late season infuriating hot streak where they pull back over .500 near the end finishing 5 or so games out

but with greinke gone, marcum on the dl likely for the season, and the general disappointment of letting a great opportunity not just slip away but blow up in their faces i suspect guys will do what they do and winning will be a byproduct of guys being a bit selfish versus the goal.

hate to write it. but that is my gut instinct.

I know you've got a bit of soft spot for Weeks, but even aside from the bullpen implosion -- to me, it was Weeks that really sunk the Crew this year.

A-Ram took a while to get going, but he always does. It took Roenicke some time to let Aoki play every day. But Weeks was nearly worthless for 3 months. He seems to have finally started hitting the last few days, and I know the bullpen has been comically bad since June -- but if I were to do the early post-mortem on the Brewers problems, my biggest stink eye is looking at Weeks. With Braun around and some nice complimentary pieces like Rameriz and Hart -- they didn't really even need him to bust out in a huge way -- they just needed him to pick up a bit of slack and he shat the bed but good.

zonk

weeks? c'mon. the brewers offense has been fine. sure a better weeks would have helped but in real terms what is the incremental impact? two games? maybe?

and who was going to replace weeks once gonzalez went down? izturis? taylor green?

there is no soft spot. this is simple math and logic. you don't dump a guy without a plan b and with gonzalez hurt the brewers plan b for second base was kind of taken. and the brewers were treading water while weeks struggled.

the season crashed and burned when the entire bullpen collapsed

weeks contributed but the centerpiece? not even close

Brewers runs scored per game in 2011/2012: 4.45/4.51. Runs given up: 3.94/4.68. Both the starting pitching and bullpen have gone south, but with a nine game swing in the Pythagorean between the end of last year and now, Harveys probably has a legitimate point about the bullpen.

if you want a guy who is escaping notice its randy wolf. boy that guy has stunk

the bullpen era is almost 5

if you want a guy who is escaping notice its randy wolf. boy that guy has stunk

Oh, I've (& others in my circle) have noticed.

the bullpen era is almost 5

and they still managed to 'save' one last night.

It's entirely possible that what Weeks has done to my roto team is coloring my judgment...

mrams

what's your 2.5 cents on ron?

Bruce Levine is saying he was informed by Dempster that Ryan would accept a trade to the Dodgers, Yankees or Rangers.

Bruce Levine is saying he was informed by Dempster that Ryan would accept a trade to the Dodgers, Yankees or Rangers.

Screw you, LAD, S-C-R-E-W Y-O-U!

Wait, does this have something to do with that g spot thingy?

Olestra, more likely.

Bruce Levine is saying he was informed by Dempster that Ryan would accept a trade to the Dodgers, Yankees or Rangers.

And New York and Dallas are closer to Vancouver than Atlanta is?

•The Brewers now have 21 saves and 21 blown saves as a team

courtesy brewcrewball

And New York and Dallas are closer to Vancouver than Atlanta is?

Ryan Dempster is straight-as-arrow-honest... he just can't read a map.

what's your 2.5 cents on ron?

Like many, annoyed with the whole bullpen usage and bunting, like a laminted play card held over his mouth a la Andy Reid. In fairness, that's a pretty big school of mgrs and frankly the arms have stunk. I don't typically saddle a manager with repeatedly poor execution on the mound. Some times your pen just stinks.

Since replacement managers must be the complete opposite of the fired disgraced manager (both in baseball and in business), he's been successful in that regard being the anti-Macha. I cannot believe there hasn't been a Nyjer Morgan caused meltdown/conflict, perhaps it is inevitable, but to me that's a fairly good barometer of how Roenicke handles the team. Now, too much of that leads not necessarily to complacency, but guys who are tempted to play with only themselves in mind.

I don't really see that, yet, but things could defintely spin further out of control, kind of like 2nd half of (most Yost seasons) '06 comes to mind when they were right around .500 at the 4th of July and stumbled a couple long streaks and much of it bullpen. In truth, I've been kind of checked out on this season since mid May, partly due to the little ones activities and work, but I'm inclined to support Roenicke barring future evidence.

Ron isn't Yost, which may be obvious, but it also says something else, it says he's a guy inclined to learn and perhaps reevaluate his approach.

Dempster to Texas, apparently.

And New York and Dallas are closer to Vancouver than Atlanta is?

Dallas is (Google Maps says by ~460 miles or so).

Evan Grant says Christian Villanueva and Kyle Hendricks to the Cubs for Dempster. Eh.

Rosenthal says Christian Villanueva and Kyle Hendricks to the Cubs for Dempster. Eh.

I think that's better than a supp pick and certainly better than anything the Dodgers have to offer if neither Lee nor Webster were gonna happen. I like Villanueva a fair bit and while I don't know Hendricks well, he looks like he has pretty phenomenal control and a solid K rate.

Just eyeballing the numbers for Villanueva and Hendricks, I really like this trade for the Cubs.

It's fine, I guess, and in line with what I expected before the dealing really got going, but it's a let down from the Delgado deal. Guess I had let myself believe that was the market for Dempster even though I damn well knew better.

But yes, it's clearly better than a compensatory pick.

Hendricks is certainly a curiosity with that extraordinary K/BB rate, but what's the upside for a guy like that?

I'm happy with it. It's value for two months of Dempster. I wish him well.

Also, a quick Orbitz search indicates no nonstop flights from ATL to YVR. Yes from DFW and of course many from NYC airports.

Hendricks is certainly a curiosity with that extraordinary K/BB rate, but what's the upside for a guy like that?

Curt Schilling?

Hendricks is certainly a curiosity with that extraordinary K/BB rate, but what's the upside for a guy like that?

He's a 2nd time draftee - didn't sign out of HS, so this is just his 2nd pro season after getting taken by the Rangers out of Dartmouth. Sounds a bit like Chris Young, but that's probably just the ivy pedigree.

It's Villanueva I really like - I posted it in the omnibus thread, but here's Sickels talking about Villanueva this past offseason as a breakout candidate:

People who follow Rangers prospects closely are familiar with this guy, but he's still also has a under-the-radar somewhat nationally and deserves more attention than he's received. Signed out of Mexico in 2008, he demonstrated a fine power/speed game in the Sally League last year, hitting 17 homers and stealing 32 bases with an overall .278/.338/.465 line. Scouts like his swing and he has decent plate discipline, plus he's just 20 years old. He also has a very strong glove at third base, although the Rangers are crowded at that position and he may end up playing second base in the long run. Villanueva has an impressive combination of youth, tools, and skills and could break through in a big way this year.

His 2012 line making the jump to High A has been pretty much the same (285/356/421, with 19 2Bs and 10 HRs).

The Rangers are so stacked that I think especially with Hendricks, he's a bit old for A ball simply because there's no room at the higher level inns -- something that isn't the case with the Cubs.

So, in the end --

The Cubs get

Christian Villanueva
Kyle Hendricks
Arodys Vizcaino
Jaye Chapman
Jake Brigham
possible PTBNL

for

Paul Maholm
Ryan Dempster
Reed Johnson
Geo Soto

I don't think that's a bad haul at all. It's not WOW level, but two legitimate top 100 prospects (albeit, one of them out for the season), a mildly interesting SP and a couple live bullpen arms.

Plus - you could still argue that their most valuable chit is still in-house and could be moved this offseason, or, still signed long-term.

With Rizzo hitting well, Barney rounding into a fine regular, and Castro -- even treading water -- the future isn't as gloomy as it was 6 months ago, I think.

Plus - you could still argue that their most valuable chit is still in-house and could be moved this offseason, or, still signed long-term.

Yeah, but clearly nobody wants Sor... Oh wait a minute, never mind.

Yeah, but clearly nobody wants Sor... Oh wait a minute, never mind.

The Tigers do ;-)

And starting tonight for the Cubs... Casey Coleman!

The Cubs have had a .500 record since (EDIT: May 25th). So much for that!

EDIT AGAIN: That first time the Cubs were 15 games under .500, A.J. Burnett outdueled Ryan Dempster in a 1-0 Pirate win. Dempster went to 0-3.

Casey Coleman is cosmic penance for all the mean things I've said about Dempster of late... still worth it, I think.

It's been too long since the Cubs had a supposedly promising starting pitcher who gave them absolutely no chance to win. They may have had some bad years recently, but the rotation has been mediocre-to-good. Aside from the brief periods when Juan Cruz and Carlos Marmol had not yet been sent to the bullpen, they haven't had someone like Casey Coleman since the triple threat of Ruben Quevedo, Micah Bowie, and Andrew Lorraine.

Do you not remwber last year? Ramon ortiz and rodrigo lopez both had starts for the cubs

Ramon ortiz and rodrigo lopez both had starts for the cubs

Casey Coleman DREAMS of being as "good" as Lopez was last year.

Very odd situation where the active roster only has 21 players on it for now. We know Coleman and Castillo are on their way up - who else? I'm thinking that Jackson was pulled from yesterday's game in case Soriano got dealt (looked like he would be), and don't expect him to be up tonight. So ... Dave Sappelt, who's been not-terrible of late? He seems like the logical Reed Johnson successor. Maybe Chapman gets added to the pen?

There's an extra spot on the 40-man, too.

Now I see Muskat tweeted that Cardenas is at Wrigley ... makes no sense, but whatever.

Brett Jackson hasn't exactly been beating down the door to the majors.

Vitters might be worth a look at third base. It's not like he's good enough so that you worry about his service clock.

Casey Coleman update: one out, one grand slam thus far in tonight's start.