The Bradley Rumor Thread

[ryno4ever]

With the Cubs Organizational meetings going on now...and the GM meetings next week in Chicago, the hot stove is going to heat up, and the one piece to the Cubs puzzle that is going to have the most affect on how the Cubs go about the offseason--Milton Bradley--the rumors are really going to start flying. So, I figured we could keep all of the rumors, stories, and thoughts on him in one thread...

So, the latest in the tribune (http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2009/11/milton-bradley-the-rumors-keep-coming.html) today:

Fox's Ken Rosenthal quotes a source as saying "you would be shocked" at the level of interest in Bradley, who has two years and $21 million remaining on his contract. He mentions the Giants, Padres, Rangers, Blue Jays and Mets, all of whom have been mentioned before because most have tradeable players with with bad contracts.


ESPN blogger Buster Olney (on ESPN Insider) ran a list of overpaid players who might interest the Cubs, many of whome have been mentioned like Aaron Rowand and Barry Zito. But he also mentions pitchers like Oliver Perez, Dontrelle Willis and Derek Lowe.Two interesting names: Tampa Bay's Pat Burrell and the Angels' Gary Matthews Jr., who has two years and $23 million left while staring at limited playing time.



Next week should produce some fascinating tinder for the Hot Stove League as all general managers meet in one place. The Cubs already have hinted they will not eat all or most of Bradley's contract, so expect Monopoly-type-money names to be thrown around.

[Bockstock]

I think getting a SP is now the most important thing.

Hopefully the Cubs do.

[cubs161]

Rowand and Zito? zito has started to look better even though he hasnt lived up to what he was in Oakland, but i wouldnt be affraid of him, just his crazy big contract.

[Doba]

Rowand/Zito for Soriano/Bradley.

Hahaahah That would be a laugher.

[thisistheday]

This is what Tim Kurkjian (ESPN) had to say today. I find it to be mostly depressing.

After 2009, they have a lot of questions to answer.

The first point of business will be trading volatile outfielder Milton Bradley, but they likely won't be able to do that without picking up most of the two years, $20 million left on his contract. Then they have to sign, find or trade for a dominant personality for that clubhouse -- they haven't replaced the leadership they lost with the departures of Mark DeRosa and Kerry Wood last offseason. And, with the way their offense fell off last year, they have to find a big bat for the middle of the order, someone even bigger than Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez, and someone much, much better than Alfonso Soriano.

Then the Cubs have to ask themselves if their pitching is good enough to contend. Is Carlos Zambrano reliable enough to be a No. 1 starter for a championship-caliber club? Is Carlos Marmol the answer at the end of the game?

[SkullKey]

It's pretty hard to find bigger bats than Ramirez (when healthy - .317/.389/.516/.905 -- 14 HR, 65 RBI in 306 ABs) and Lee (.306./.393/.579/.972 -- 35 HR, 111 RBI in 532ABs) were last year. And don't forget that as recently as 2008 nobody (in the AL) was better than Bradley. And his career line - that's 828 PAs and 669 ABs - when batting 4th is a stellar .318/.434/.544/.983. (That's 3 guys with OPS from .900 - 1.000). He should be retained and bat between Lee and Ramirez; he shouldn't be considered batting anywhere else on this team. That would be a 3-4-5 nearly unequaled if they can repeat and stay healthy (which for Bradley is mentally healthy). BIG IFs!

Get Soto back to a reasonable form, bat him 7th behind Soriano - who should be able to produce reasonable numbers for a #6 and have them all follow Fukudome at #1 (American career OBP there .395) find a #2 (Theriot would be good - career OBP at #2 over .350; Aaron Miles has a career line of .327/.351/.385 at #2 - what the heck was 2009 all about) and the Cubs batting order can get right back to leading the NL in scoring like it did in 2008. 2009 could be considered a strong aberration.

" ... After 2009, they have a lot of questions to answer. ... "

After 2009 the main, just about only, question the Cubs really have to answer offensively is what the Hell happened in 2009? Pundits don't always know what they're talking about. They also fall prey to sensationalism to sell copy. These, however, are legitimate questions:

" ... Then the Cubs have to ask themselves if their pitching is good enough to contend. Is Carlos Zambrano reliable enough to be a No. 1 starter for a championship-caliber club? Is Carlos Marmol the answer at the end of the game? ... "

My cheap opinions: YES, over-all the pitching might be good enough even with Harden out of the rotation - he hardly dominated there in 2009 but was good. I think the Cubs can find a replacement possibly internally. NO - Carlos is slowly fading as a top pitcher, a big bounce-back would be huge. MAYBE - the Carlos might yet be a top closer but I've made it clear that I believe the Cubs would have been wiser to see in Harden could do it.

They really need to get ready for mid-season's (or end of year) appearance of Joe Mauer and Roy Halliday as available. Two massive talents! I am extremely encouraged by Mr Ricketts' comment that the Cubs should be one of the top 3 in payroll. And get Everett for a serious defensive upgrade (and cheaply) at the most important defensive position. The future could be very bright.

[SkullKey]

And for what it's worth Aaron Rowand - since it seems there is some chance the Cubs may end up with him - has a career line of .345/.391/.516/.907 batting 2nd. Easily his most productive position. It's his contract that sucks.

An outfield of (l-r) Bradley, Rowand and Fukudome would be a major improvement. As I stupidly dedicated an actual thread to arguing it's Soriano the team should be trying to move, not Bradley. That outfield and an infield 0f (l-r) Ramirez, Everett, Theriot/Miles and Lee could be one of the best defensive teams in the game (especially if they were able to add Mauer - and I think the Cubs are in a better position than most teams if Minnesota cannot retain him) and Bill James long ago demonstrated that what is often considered good pitching is really good defense - they're hand-in-glove.

Not gonna happen.

[HEYHEY]

You must dump Bradley at all costs. He will never be back. The die has already been cast. Take whatever you can get for him or nothing and let him rot. Hes a cancer. Ricketts is smart enough to know a bad investment and that's what business men do. Write it off

Zambrano is the key trade bait to fix this problem. You need good players and you don't have them now so its simple. Trade the guy that gets you the most and try to package him with some bad players'', like what they have now and get better players in return.

Will he be better somewhere else? we'll thats the chance you have to take to move forward. They don't have many options

The window is closing fast people

[thisistheday]

I like your perspective, SkullKey. :) I do, however, disagree that the Cubs ought to retain Milton. He is an extremely talented player and capable of putting up great numbers, yes. I just don't think he can do it here. He was not made for the pressure-cooker that is Chicago. It was kind of like watching a snowman try to survive in the Sahara... there is just no way he was going to last. It seems best for everybody involved that he be dealt.

That's the only point I've got the wherewithal to respond to at the moment.

[Bockstock]

They really need to get ready for mid-season's (or end of year) appearance of Joe Mauer and Roy Halliday as available. Two massive talents! I am extremely encouraged by Mr Ricketts' comment that the Cubs should be one of the top 3 in payroll. And get Everett for a serious defensive upgrade (and cheaply) at the most important defensive position. The future could be very bright.

I feel people are underestimating replacing Harden with any of the afore mentioned options (not to mention the loss of depth that would occur anyway). I remeber reading Harden's ERA was inflated by an above average HR/FB rate that was 50% higher than his career rate (just another number to point out how unlucky some of the Cubs were this year).

The Cub seem intent on replacing Harden with Samardzija, who has basicly averaged 1 HR/9 IP in his minor and major league career, terrible for a pitcher who's MO is supposed to be a grounball-sinker type.

I do agree with you on saving salary room for a midseason type move, but the Cubs seem intent on burning what salary they have piece-meal on low-impact players like Grabow, rather than spending the big chunk on a SP or even a decent CF like Cameron or Byrd.

[thisistheday]

Here's another 'un.

Sources: Bradley being discussed in 3-way deal
by Ken Rosenthal

CHICAGO - The idea, while described as a longshot, is at least one way for the Cubs to trade outfielder Milton Bradley.

Bradley to the Blue Jays. First baseman Lyle Overbay to the Mets. Second baseman Luis Castillo to the Cubs.

The teams indeed have discussed the framework of such a deal, though not in direct fashion, according to major-league sources.

The Cubs spoke to the Mets about Bradley-for-Castillo, while the Mets spoke to the Jays about Bradley-for-Overbay, sources say.

The Rays, however, remain the club most interested in Bradley, sources say, proposing an exchange of outfielder/designated hitter Pat Burrell for Bradley.

Burrell and Bradley each will make $9 million in 2010. The Cubs would need to pick up a significant portion of Bradley's $12 million salary in '11 to make a deal to work.

The three-team possibility, according to one source, has "some legs, but not much." The Jays are opposed to the deal, one source says — perhaps because new GM Alex Anthopolous does not want a trade for Bradley to be his first major move.

Still, the mere discussion of Bradley, Castillo and Overbay between the clubs offers insight into each team's thinking.

Castillo, who has two years left on his contract at $6 million per season, would add speed and on-base skills to the top of the Cubs' lineup, but is not an ideal fit. The Cubs eventually want to move Ryan Theriot to second to make room for top shortstop prospect Starlin Castro.

The Mets are in the same position they were a year ago — eager to trade Castillo and sign free-agent second baseman Orlando Hudson. The additions of both Hudson and Overbay would revamp the right side of their infield, and Overbay's line-drive stroke would play well at spacious Citi Field.

The Jays clearly are open to moving Overbay — they recently discussed sending him to the Diamondbacks for catcher Chris Snyder. A trade of Overbay would clear first base for Adam Lind, and Bradley could serve as a left fielder/DH.

The Cubs intend to move Bradley, and are willing to assume a chunk of the $21 million remaining on his contract. But they believe that there is enough interest in Bradley for them to avoid paying the vast sum that many outsiders project will be necessary to complete a deal.

[Bockstock]

Hendry's possible acquisition checklist:

Second Baseman - check
"Veteran" - check
Playoff Experience - check

[thisistheday]

As per Carrie Muskat's Twitter:

GM Jim Hendry says Milton Bradley may be back in 2010, and called the outfielder's '09 season a "major hiccup"

[ryno4ever]

Oh, man...... even the THOUGHT of it just made the offseason even more dreadful...

[LeeEila's/rant]

Not trading Milton is not the worst scenario for our Cubbies. I would rather keep the money and force him to play. If we have to eat all of that money it will inhibit us from addressing other concerns, I really think Lou screwed up that whole deal with Bradley. He never put him in a position to succeed when he was struggling and it may be foolish to expect Lou to do anything different this year but he may have learned his lesson.

[thisistheday]

Sorry to pollute the thread with every little thing I read... I'll quit soon. I promise. The following is from Paul Sullivan.

After spending the last two winters trying in vain to acquire second baseman Brian Roberts and pitcher Jake Peavy, Cubs general manager Jim Hendry hopes he can unload outfielder Milton Bradley in quick fashion.

But as the GM meetings began Monday, there was no certainty that was possible.

The Rangers might have the most interest, but sources insisted Texas would agree to a deal only if the Cubs ate most of the remaining $21 million on Bradley's contract. That's a route Hendry seems unwilling to take for now.

The Blue Jays reportedly want no part of Bradley, despite a rumor on foxsports.com of a three-way deal in which the Cubs would acquire Mets second baseman Luis Castillo for Bradley. New York would then send Bradley to Toronto for first baseman Lyle Overbay.

Bradley's reputation makes him difficult to deal, no matter how much money the Cubs are willing to eat. After Hendry told the team he was suspending Bradley for the final 15 games in September, several players applauded after the GM left the clubhouse.

Does that make it impossible for Bradley to return?

"Other people have had some major hiccups along the way and come back," Hendry said. "He's on your roster until proven differently."

Hendry met with GMs about trade possibilities Monday night and insisted the Bradley dilemma will not be a distraction in his offseason maneuvering.

Other Cubs-related items from the first day of the meetings:

--Rich Harden is holding out hope of remaining a Cub. His agent, Arn Tellem, is in Chicago and plans to meet with Hendry soon. The Braves also might be shopping starter Kenshin Kawakami, who has two years and $13 million left on his deal. Though Ted Lilly will open the season on the disabled list, Hendry said: "We don't feel we're going to pick up anybody in a trade better than Ted. ...We're always looking to get better on the mound, but Ted's situation doesn't factor in at all."

--The Cubs are focusing on re-signing free-agent left-hander John Grabow, who is expected to sign a two-year deal with an option for 2012.

-- Carlos Zambrano's agent, Barry Praver, said there has been no talk by Zambrano or the Cubs about waiving his no-trade clause. Praver also picked up Carlos Marmol as a new client. Zambrano is staying in Chicago this winter.

--Hendry didn't rule out the possibility of top prospect Starlin Castro playing shortstop in 2010.

--The Cubs plan to move Kosuke Fukudome back to right field, leaving them in the market for a center fielder.

[Bockstock]

Oh, man...... even the THOUGHT of it just made the offseason even more dreadful...

Why???

The player who is going to replace Bradley is going to be worse than Bradley no matter, sans for Harden.

This is going to be an $140 million dollar 81-85 win team next year the way things are going.

[LeeEila's/rant]

Theriot/Baker/Lee/Fuku/Aram/Fuld/Sori/Soto
Z/Dempster/Marshall/Gorz/Shark
onward to third place!!!

Third place may be a little ambitious for that line-up. Damn we need power !@

[LeeEila's/rant]

btw , After Hendry told the team he was suspending Bradley for the final 15 games in September, several players applauded after the GM left the clubhouse.
this is very bad , there is no hope for doing crap with this guy now. All we can do is bring him back and give BigZ a nod and a wink to whip his ass once a week .

[SkullKey]

As much as I don't like him I had to ask myself: "Just how bad was Bradley last year?". In the end it depends on what was expected (just like the season itself). Bradley's number, in a down year, were not that far from his career numbers.

He hit .257. Not that impressive - and a major disappointment for most of us - yet his career average is just .277. His OBP was above average. He's never been a true banger with a career SLG of .450. Is .397 that far short of .450? His 2009 OPS was .775 and just under his career of .821. The problem was people were expecting a re-do of 2007 & 2008 (OPSs of 1.004 and .999). Probably Jim Hendry more than most people. Remember: Bradley has hit more than 20 HRs once! :eek:

Why the weakish numbers? I don't know. But he did hit .99 higher as a right-hander than left-handed (.333 vs .234). And a lot of players have bad adjustment years in Wrigley.

He also got off to a very slow start and then his numbers went up every month until the bitter end (.118 - .268 - .273 - .275 - .308 - .196). July and August showed OPSs around .900.

[HEYHEY]

As much as I don't like him I had to ask myself: "Just how bad was Bradley last year?". In the end it depends on what was expected (just like the season itself). Bradley's number, in a down year, were not that far from his career numbers.

He hit .257. Not that impressive - and a major disappointment for most of us - yet his career average is just .277. His OBP was above average. He's never been a true banger with a career SLG of .450. Is .397 that far short of .450? His 2009 OPS was .775 and just under his career of .821. The problem was people were expecting a re-do of 2007 & 2008 (OPSs of 1.004 and .999). Probably Jim Hendry more than most people. Remember: Bradley has hit more than 20 HRs once! :eek:

Why the weakish numbers? I don't know. But he did hit .99 higher as a right-hander than left-handed (.333 vs .234). And a lot of players have bad adjustment years in Wrigley.

He also got off to a very slow start and then his numbers went up every month until the bitter end (.118 - .268 - .273 - .275 - .308 - .196). July and August showed OPSs around .900.

Doooode you leave out one imprtant stat. (RBI) he sucked. Lot of hits for nothing, or I should say less hits for nothing.

[Bockstock]

Doooode you leave out one imprtant stat. (RBI) he sucked. Lot of hits for nothing, or I should say less hits for nothing.

Smart teams like the Red Sox and Yankees know RBIs are pretty much meaningless.

Read the Theo Epstein article I posted.

As long as the Cubs hold on to these anitquated ideas of what makes a player worthwhile (wins, rbis, stolen bases batting averages) they'll never enjoy the success as some of these other teams.

Not making outs is the most important thing a batter can do on a consistent basis.

[thisistheday]

Smart teams like the Red Sox and Yankees know RBIs are pretty much meaningless.

Read the Theo Epstein article I posted.

As long as the Cubs hold on to these anitquated ideas of what makes a player worthwhile (wins, rbis, stolen bases batting averages) they'll never enjoy the success as some of these other teams.

Not making outs is the most important thing a batter can do on a consistent basis.

Somebody's on board the Bill James train! :)

I don't think the point, though, is that we need to unload Milton because he had a bad year. He is capable of being a productive player.
This man didn't get suspended for not living up to expectations. It is clear that he just wasn't able to fit in. It's best for everybody that he go someplace else.

[LeeEila's/rant]

Doooode you leave out one imprtant stat. (RBI) he sucked. Lot of hits for nothing, or I should say less hits for nothing.

He was never hit in the right spot until later in the season. He was only occasionally allowed to hit right handed. Lou screwed - the-pooch the whole time with him.

It doesn't matter judging from how his teammates reacted when he was suspended , I would say the there is only one way this will break .

[Bockstock]

This man didn't get suspended for not living up to expectations. It is clear that he just wasn't able to fit in. It's best for everybody that he go someplace else.

True

But it's fair to criticize the organization and the general manager, they've botched this kind of thing before. They have an excuse for everything, their only goal is that most of the fans buy it.

Let's not forget this is a manager who basicly prodded Hendry to ditch a bump of cheap talent last year for no reason than he wasn't going to give them a chance to play.

It will be interesting to see if Pie outpeforms both Cameron or Byrd.

[SkullKey]

I cringe every time I hear the name Felix Pie who won't turn 25 until February of 2010 and already has 568 premature Major League plate appearances (512 AB). His career line has somehow started to look O.K. for a 4th outfielder which he is with Baltimore and should still be with the Cubs.

Jim Hendry dropped his pants and bent over when gave Pie to Andy McFail almost 1 year ago. He gave up on the kid at age 23 and got in return the immortal and never to be forgotten Hank Williamson (not the singer) and Garrett Olson. Williamson doesn't even warrant a Baseball-Reference page and Olson so impressed the Cubs that 10 days later they traded him (with Ronny Cedeno) to Seattle for (drum roll) AAron Heilman. Henry's return on Pie is negative. Why did he feel compelled to get rid of him?

Alex Jones was one of the 3 AL Gold Glove winners in 2009. Baltimore fans believe their RF Nick Markakis is overall better. MLB votes for the 3 best OFs regardless of position so CFs almost always are the 3 picked - this cheats LF and RF in my opinion - Markakis might very well have also won a GG otherwise. The Baltimore fans opinion of Pie? They believe he is just a shade behind those 2. Who could tell me that the Cubs could not use a GG class CF - and what is it they're strangely looking for this off-season: a CF.

Not one of Hendry's best moves.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/thetoydepartment/2009/11/who_is_the_orioles_best_curren.html

PS - Look at Pie's August 2009 line for an idea of what he could be capable of. Hint: OPS over 1.000. 5 HR in one month. A lot of hitters strangely show an extreme preference for a specific spot in the batting order (see: Milton Bradley) and Pie is another one of those players. In a small but likely significant sample of 92 career plate appearances his line is .321/.370/.548/.917. batting 2nd. Why do you give up on a guy you're thoroughly misused at age 23? All that potential for $410, 000. I cringe.

[ICcubfan]

for Brian Roberts or Erik Bedard right? I also thought there was some combo of players including Pie for Tejada but I am old and feebleminded.:p

[thisistheday]

I can't disagree that disposing of Pie was a bad move, especially considering the return... I don't see it ending up the next Brock-for-Broglio type deal, though.

[TheBenjamin]

non of the trade rumors for bradley are all that good. we trade him and likely have to pick up another bad contract and eat part of Bradley's deal.

Cubs are in a no win situation with him. I talked about all the possible trade options which are out there if tyou wanna check out my blog.

worldseriesdreaming.mlblogs.com

[LeeEila's/rant]

I can't disagree that disposing of Pie was a bad move, especially considering the return... I don't see it ending up the next Brock-for-Broglio type deal, though.

Pie never played baseball until he was scouted for his body type , it is only expected thet his development would be retarded. To trade him at the time we were making a run for the series made perfect sense to get rid of him when it would take years for him to fully develop.

I agree it is not the next Brock deal as so many fans seem to flagellate themselves over each trade.

[thisistheday]

Another Sullivan article:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-11-cubs-bits-chicago-nov11,0,2469967.story

A Texan weighs in on the possibility of Bradley's returning to the Rangers:
http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/11/the-rangers-milton-bradley-dilemma.html

[Bockstock]

for Brian Roberts or Erik Bedard right? I also thought there was some combo of players including Pie for Tejada but I am old and feebleminded.:p

Yeah, it was some form of Prior, Pie, Hill for Bedard, Tejada back in 2005.

Obviously nobody thought there would be (and still is) a strong possibility that all three of those pitchers could be out of baseball by their early 30s.

Amazing.

[TheBenjamin]

Texas will take Bradley back... if the Cubs eat about 16M of whats left on his deal.

Cubs will taje a big hit when they trade him

[Bockstock]

To trade him at the time we were making a run for the series made perfect sense to get rid of him when it would take years for him to fully develop.

I don't disagree with this, but if the cubs seriously 'wanted to made a run for the series' the Cubs wouldn't have traded him when his value was at his lowest, they could have gotten a much better return in 2007 or even before 2008.

Not only that, Lou/Hendry thought giving Joey Gathright a guarenteed one million dollar contract was a better idea than holding onto cheap, cost-controlled talent, probably because Joey was Lou's bud from his TB days.

[SkullKey]

The latest. A lot of "same old, same old" with a few new details:

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/tampa-bay-rays-need-chicago-cubs-to-swallow-some-of-milton-bradleys/1056924

Rays' pursuit of Bradley may hinge on money
By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer

Published Sunday, December 6, 2009
[

INDIANAPOLIS — Cubs officials showed up at the winter meetings Sunday "confident" they'll be able to trade talented but oft-troubled outfielder Milton Bradley.

Rays officials arrive today and may get a sense of how serious they are.

The Rays have some interest in bringing in Bradley, 31, in exchange for DH Pat Burrell, 33, [hmmm - Toronto needs a DH I believe - and they love Randy Wells.] but the finances of such a deal are a major issue, specifically a potential difference of $15 million due the players.

Both make $9 million in 2010, but Bradley has a $13 million salary for 2011 plus can earn $2 million over the two seasons through incentives.

So whether there is even a deal worth talking about likely will come down to how much the Cubs are willing to put toward that difference.

If the finances are workable — and thus far they are not, with some reports that the Cubs are willing to put in only $5 million or so — then the Rays have to decide if they are willing to take on the 31-year-old switch-hitter who has caused controversy on and off the field at times but produced impressively when happy and healthy: a career .277 average, .371 on-base percentage and .821 OPS.

The Rays had interest in signing Bradley at last year's winter meetings — enough that executive VP Andrew Friedman and manager Joe Maddon took him to lunch — and Maddon said he wouldn't have any concerns with bringing him aboard now.

"For me, I would have no problems whatsoever if he became part of our organization," Maddon said. "If that were to ever happen, I'm pretty sure we'd get along pretty well."

Maddon said the lunch session revealed a different side of Bradley, and he also heard good things from close friend Bud Black, who managed Bradley in San Diego in 2007.

"You get all this what you hear, what you see and obviously some of the things that he has done," Maddon said. "Then you sit with him and you get a totally different perspective on him. … I found him to be a bright, thoughtful, family oriented kind of a guy. So I thought he was interesting."

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry wasn't saying much about the situation. "He's on the team until he's not," Hendry said.

The Cubs supposedly have three teams interested. Another is Texas, where Bradley had a tremendous 2008 season, but with the team for sale it could be a risky move — and something of a last resort — for general manager Jon Daniels to make without knowing how new ownership would view the acquisition. No third team has been identified.

MORE RAYS: Left-hander Brian Shouse has until midnight tonight to accept arbitration, but he is more likely to decline and remain a free agent. … The search for relief help includes some, but not a lot of, interest in arbitration-eligible Matt Lindstrom, who is likely to be traded by the Marlins but is coming off an elbow injury.

AROUND THE MAJORS: The Mariners' big-bucks deal with Brandon's Chone Figgins (a reported four years, $36 million) should be official today or Tuesday. … Cubs manager Lou Piniella expressed interest over the weekend in extending his contract, which ends after this season. … The Royals are working on finalizing a deal with Cuban left-hander Noel Arguelles.

© 2009 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

I'm hoping Bradley goes to the Rays personally.

[SkullKey]

At noon; precisely 68 years after the Japanese (or Yaps, as my Grandfather used to call them) attacked Pearl harbor:

http://espn.go.com/chicago/columns/blog/_/post/4722047/name/levine

Making a pitch

Cubs and Royals meet to discuss a Milton Bradley-for-Gil Meche trade

December 7, 2009, 11:44 AM

INDIANAPOLIS -- Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Royals personnel got together on Sunday night and had peripheral conversations about possible trade scenarios that could work for the two clubs.

Milton Bradley would be the type of run producer Kansas City would be interested in, while Royals pitcher Gil Meche is someone they would consider trading.

K.C. is looking for a run-producing outfielder and Bradley could fit nicely with the small-market Royals.

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry will meet Monday with several teams he's been talking to over the last few months about Bradley. On the list are: Tampa, Texas and the New York Mets.

Both Cubs manager Lou Piniella and White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen will have 15-minute media sessions Monday afternoon.

Now it's 4 - not 3 (or 2) let's get something done.

[Bockstock]

Royals rumor shot down by the Cubs.

If there are four teams involved that's pretty good.