Time To Move Along
We can all go about the business of counting the days until spring training. It appears that Miguel Tejada has mellowed out on his trade demand and he'll be staying put, for now. It could all be a smokescreen from the O's camp to get teams to pony up their offers, but this quote from Orioles GM Jim Duquette makes me think it's on the up and up.
"This is the first time we heard this directly from him. We're elated that he's chosen to stay. We're all committed to improving the team, and it's easier to do it with Miguel than without him."Doesn't mean Miggy won't change his mind in the middle of the season when the O's are hovering near last place, but for now, I think he's staying put. Speaking of smokescreens to get teams to pony up their offers, it appears that the deal of Patterson to the O's isn't quite set in stone. According to Bruce Levine on ESPN Radio 1000(yeah, I know, but I'm desparate for Cubs news), the O's, Mariners, Rangers and Nationals are all interested in Corey Patterson. More bidders, means more competition and maybe we'll actually getting something useful in the deal. Considering that Patterson should be considered nothing more than a prospect at this point, in the sense that you're not really sure what you're going to get in him, that's what the Cubs should expect in return. But with more suitors, hopefully a better prospect will come in the deal. The best deal I think the Cubs could swing would be to give Todd Walker and Korey for Kevin Mench and a low-level prospect from the Rangers system. I'd prefer not to trade Walker, but since it appears the Cubs are determined to, Mench would be a fantastic addition to the bench. Can hit for some power, can fill in either corner OF position, probably not a threat to take playing time from Matt Murton, but in case of an injury to an OF, you wouldn't suffer too much plugging him into the starting lineup. And of course, if the Cubs were smart enough to platoon Jacque Jones, he can mash the lefties. With Miggy apparently out of the picture, I think Hendry will get going on the final tweaks to the roster in the next week or so. And hopefully us Cubs fan can go on with the rest of our lives.
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