A few things

[bigbird]

Spoke with my guy today as he went into the office for a bit. Kinda dead there. Passing on a few things I was told. As usual real into this as little or as much as you want.

He heard nothing about a blockbuster with the Rockies.

Reds dealings are dead at this time.

Payton will be traded before opening day. Several teams interested.

Recent talks with the White Sox and Pirates concerning deals not involving Bedard or Roberts.

Does not think a Bedard/Roberts deal to the Cubs will take place.

St Loius is doubtful for Bedard as they don't have enough talent. May inclcude a 3rd team.

Still says we'll try to void Gibbons deal.

That's all folks....HAPPY NEW YEARS

[Moose Milligan]

bigbird, thanks for being the man!

Who's interested in Payton? And what could we get?

Looks like Bedard might be our opening day starter after all...

[BirdinBama]

Muchas gracias, as always bb. Is there ANYTHING brewing for Bedard and or Roberts?

[coe76]

As always, thanks a lot for the insight. We appreciate your need to be discrete with the details. Sounds like the Hot Stove will simmer for a while longer regarding Bedard. The minor deals are a good thing IMO. It will help clear things out in case we do trade Roberts and Bedard. Good luck to the FO regarding Gibbons. Sounds like more work for all the attorneys! Keep us informed with whatever you can pass on. Best wishes for a Happy New Year!

[WEAVERMAN]

The best news here is in regard to Gibbons, he needs to start over elsewhere.

[Dr. FLK]

Teams interested in Payton? Can't they find their own inept, weak hitting, whiny OFer?

[Hank Scorpio]

Thanks, BB... Happy New Years to you and yours as well.

[Dr. FLK]

The best news here is in regard to Gibbons, he needs to start over elsewhere.

I doubt there are a lot of teams who want to give him a chance to start over with them. It seems pretty obvious to me that he is incapable of hitting without his "magic elixir." He is now half his previous size and has zero bat speed and plays lousy defense. But who knows, maybe there are some teams looking for a DH with no offense...

[sevens]

Teams interested in Payton? Can't they find their own inept, weak hitting, whiny OFer?

In all honesty. Let us hope NOT. Trade him.

Thanks for the information BB.

Happy new year to all.

[Sports Guy]

Uribe and Jack Wilson talks???

[blakesta]

Excellent, if we could get rid of Payton, that would be great. Voiding Gibbons contract would be beyond awesome but I think it really is doubtful.

[Mad Mark]

BB:

Thanks for the information, and happy new year to you, as well!

Should we take the "at this time" part of the Reds deal being dead statement as hope for its future revival?

[theobird]

Uribe and Jack Wilson talks???

That is exactly what I was thinking, SG. But please no Uribe. I would love to have Jack Wilson though. He would be perfect to handle the job until we can develop our own.

[furryburres]

The Payton thing really interested me. I didn't think many team would want a 35 year old left fielder that lost the ability to do what he used to do best, get on base, and hit for average. I guess he could come in in a super-utility role, but his fielding is also very iffy.

Totally expected the Reds deal being dead.

Who here thinks we could try and pry Jack Wilson from the Pirates as a stopgap? The 29 year old SS hit .296 this year with the Pirates. But more importantly, his OBP was .350, which happens to be a good number. He's also good for 9-11 homers a year. And we could conceivably flip him at the dealine for an ML ready shortstop, like Hu or something. But his fielding is quite below-par. I don't know.

With the Bedard and Roberts to the Cubs deal being dead, I'd probably think that the Orioles asked for at least Felix Pie being included in the deal, and the Cubs got scared and backed out. Whatever, it's all for the best. The Cubs just don't have enough for both Bedard AND Roberts. They just don't. No point pretending.

Due to all the discussion on the board about the Rockies, it had made sense that the Rockies might be the surprise NL team. But, I guess that Dan O' Dowd likes building his team from within, and emptying his farm sysytem for two players just wasn't going to happen.

Anyone want to guess on who that third team might be?

Kudos to McPhail for trying to cut the cord with Gibbons. Both the Orioles and Gibbons need to start anew, and this might be good for his career, if he goes to the NL. We'll just have to see.

So that's my take on things.

[clarence]

Gibbons will most likely find himself in an independent league.

I still think a "potential" #1 starter needs to be included in any deal for Bedard. I don't care if the guy is in High-A. Teams that don't have this guy or won't give him up better have an extra piece.

Is BRob to the Cubs still a consideration? I like the idea of Murton and Gallagher coming this way.