Injuries are there for pham, definitely. But I'd like to see him get some at bats and see what happens.

They're bringing Mabry back, yet talking about how guys already here need to produce more. So...

When you look at how much better some of these young hitters are at the big league level immediately upon their arrival/return from Memphis, I don't see how you can't give Mark Budaska a long look to replace Mabry.

The job he did with Piscotty was truly spectacular. He really reinvented him on the fly. And guys like Grichuk, Pham and Garcia have come back much better after stints in the minors.

Wanna bet that Piscotty's hitting with 15 HR pop next season after he spends time under Mabry? The guy is a genuine liability and that's pretty hard for a hitting coach to pull off. Very few of them make your hitters genuinely better (McGwire was one of those, IMO), most of them simply keep them from getting worse. Mabry is in that very small percentage of guys that actively makes hitters worse, IMO. He doesn't coach to their strengths and instead tries to shoehorn them into the approach he had as a hitter.

....and flush heyturd. **** yeah!

Damn Cubs can't hit elite pitching worth a shit. It's the off season for us so time for the "What ifs". What if we would have had a healthy Martinez to throw in game 2? The series would have been so different.:shake:

And a WTF trade rumor I heard from a Rays fan last weekend.........

Lynn, Wong, Grichuk and Gonzales for Longoria

Evan Longoria put up 4.2 WAR in 670 PA last year. Grichuk put up 3.1 in 350.

He's 30 years old, and while a good player on a decent contract per AAV (although too long of a deal), that is a ridiculously imbalanced trade. If I'm giving that many players and that much cost control up for a 3B, I better be getting back Arenado.

People down here think Longoria is a Pujols in his prime player.

This wasn't some guys opinion, he was talking about what the rays fans are hearing. The Cards are at the top of the list. Everyone is expecting him to be traded.

We can assume we are going to upgrade our offense, 3B is the only viable place that stands out. You can move Carp back to 2B or 1B. I don't see anyone trading a quality 1B to us without Reyes in there.

That's rape that would get a GM fired

The Cardinals would be giving up about 9 WAR + Marco, (eight years of cost-controlled offense, a #3 starter getting paid about 40% of his value, and a possible #4/#5 lefty with 5+ years of control) for a 30-year-old Longoria who probably won't top 5 WAR again while also taking on salary in the process.

Rumors of the Cubs being interested in Heyward starting turn up.

I like the idea of going after a position player instead of a TOR pitcher, but not sure how Heyward fits. I guess they could work really hard with Schwarber behind the plate and trade Montero then move Soler to LF and put Hayward in right instead of CF. Probably have to let Fowler walk and sign a borderline #2 type pitcher if that's the plan but then you are left with Austin Jackson as a starting CF and leadoff hitter.

Um yeah I think it's safe to say a lot of teams will be interested in Heyward. Heyward has said he would like to remain a Cardinal so it's up to the FO if they feel he's worth the big contract.

I bet there's probably only going to be 4 or 5 teams after Heyward simply because his price tag is going to be unaffordable for the majority of teams. The Cubs already throwing their name out there surprises me because he has no place on the team unless you put him in CF. Otherwise you are looking at trading one of your young players to make room or moving Schwarber to catcher when you have another LH offensive catcher.

If he's smart he will stay. He gets some big ass contract. They are going to expect him to carry a team. The fans will be all over him when they find out is not the player that's a centerpiece of a team.

If he can do what he did this year here, he will have a chance to win a WS and the fans aren't going to expect Pujols level performances. Seems like a goof fit for everyone, except PGM.

I'm sure Epstein would like to drive up the price if not for anything else. Nice timing basically telling Fowler he's not wanted anymore when trying to win an LCS. Seems like a very Cubs thing to do.

And they must be sold on Bryant at 3b, not to mention Schwarber's ability to stick at C long-term.

I have no doubt Schwarber could stick at C for 2-3 years, but he's not exactly a fit guy; I would think it would get harder and harder for him to stay behind the dish as he matures. I would also expect that being an everyday catcher would take a toll on his offense.

You could do a lot worse than Heyward in CF defensively (though Fowler's done a nice Heyward impression and would cost a hell of a lot less in terms of AAV and term). It just seems like they'd be selling out a bit on their long-term positional flexibility.

Heyward to Chicago seems like a long-shot to me, but stranger things have happened. They may just be getting involved to price enforce a little bit, especially with as well as he's played against them.

They should be looking for a long term solution at SS, and a decent backup for Yadi.