Favorite MLB Team?/MLB Talk

[beastley]

peavy's pretty much already a cub

[beastley]

ps juan rivera is good

[Goat Gosselin]

If there were any lingering questions about whether the Cubs had pulled back from pursuing San Diego ace Jake Peavy in a trade, manager Lou Piniella answered them this week.

The Chicago Sun-Times' Gordon Wittenmyer asked Piniella at an event in Chicago on Sunday whether the Cubs were still pursuing starting pitching in the wake of their four-year contract extension with free agent right-hander Ryan Dempster.

"No," Piniella was quoted as saying in Tuesday's Sun-Times. "Starting we don't need. We're set. We've got six good starters, and they're all experienced. Getting Dempster back was the key. We're in good shape with our starting pitching. Bullpen-wise, [we're looking for] possibly one more experienced pitcher. We've got a lot of young kids out there."

He was referring to starters Dempster, Rich Harden, Ted Lilly, Jason Marquis and Carlos Zambrano, each of whom reached double-digit wins in 2008 (if you include Harden's first half in Oakland), plus left-hander Sean Marshall, who bounced between the rotation and the bullpen.

Marshall, though, has been mentioned in reports out of both Chicago and Kansas City as one Cubs player who could be used to acquire outfielder Mark Teahen from the Royals.

Piniella's comments make the Cubs the second team to publicly distance itself from rumors about Peavy, who is being shopped by the San Diego Padres. The Braves, considered at the time the leading contender to land Peavy's services, stopped actively pursuing the right-hander on Nov. 14.

Cubs starters were 69-40 in 2008 with a National League-best 3.75 ERA and a Major League-best .237 batting average against.

Hot Stove

In the same Sun-Times article, Piniella seemed to offer an endorsement for free-agent outfielder Raul Ibanez, who played for Piniella in Seattle from 1996-2000. The Cubs are looking for a left-handed bat to hit in the middle of the order, and Ibanez has been mentioned as one possibility.

"Raul can hit, there's no question," Piniella told the newspaper. "He's a professional bat, and he's that type of hitter that we're alluding to. ... And he's a great guy, no question. I like the guy. He's a professional hitter; he plays hard; he's a good player."

[John_Locke]

I still think the Yankees will end up with CC

[wildebeast71]

Here is a list of Class A and Class B free agents who were not offered arbitration yesterday, meaning teams can sign them without forfeiting draft picks:

C Paul Lo Duca (Class B)

C Ivan Rodriguez (Class B)

C Greg Zaun (Class B)

2B Jeff Kent (Class B)

2B Mark Loretta (Class B)

SS Edgar Renteria (Class A)

SS Juan Uribe (Class B)

OF Moises Alou (Class B)

OF Garret Anderson (Class B)

OF Pat Burrell (Class A)

OF Adam Dunn (Class A)

OF Luis Gonzalez (Class B)

OF Bobby Abreu (Class A)

OF Ken Griffey Jr. (Class B)

DH Frank Thomas (Class B)

LHP Randy Johnson (Class B)

RHP Braden Looper (Class B)

RHP Greg Maddux (Class B)

LHP Jamie Moyer (Class A)

RHP Brad Penny (Class B)

LHP Andy Pettitte (Class A)

RHP John Smoltz (Class B)

LHP Randy Wolf (Class B)

RHP Eric Gagne (Class B)

RHP Trevor Hoffman (Class A)

RHP Jason Isringhausen (Class B)

RHP Kerry Wood (Class A)

RHP Luis Ayala (Class B)

LHP Joe Beimel (Class B)

RHP Doug Brocail (Class A)

LHP Alan Embree (Class B)

RHP Bob Howry (Class A)

LHP Arthur Rhodes (Class B)

RHP Rudy Seanez (Class B)

RHP Russ Springer (Class A)

[tlock]

a lot of old guys out there...a couple of gems though, but i think most of those guys will be overpaid

[beastley]

renteria's still considered class a?

[wildebeast71]

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So is Jamie Moyer, those teams have to be hoping that they get signed away. 2 draft picks in return for those guys what a deal.

Renteria batted .270 and is 33 years old
Moyer is 45 years old and had 3.71 era last year, 4.19 career

[Goat Gosselin]

just stumbled on this story and have been laughing as i read it so i thought the others may get a chuckle

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[jizzay]

Yes, the Red's traded Freel for Ramon Hernandez. maybe we can shoot for fourth place next year.