Now, off to BP and BA and MILB.com to find out more about Ronny Morla and Matt Spencer, especially Morla who I don’t recall ever having heard of. PS, we Dodgers fans have HUGE respect for the A’s minor league and farm system, the belief being that the A’s do about as well as anyone around in teaching skills and work ethic.

I almost got games & days confused. Thinking more a 3 day weekend of some kind, but since I haven’t actually figured out vacation time yet.

I don’t think I have to go to Mesa to see the Cubs – sure, most of the vets won’t make the road trip, but spring training is more about sorting out the non-vets anyway.

I think I’d actually go to WM weekend, but for the DG/ROH stuff and related wackiness rather than HOF (especially after the reports of last year.) Axcess might be okay, but I’m not really interested in autograph signings and the interaction stuff.

Cameron’s definitely the best option. But I’m just worried about how many teams will want him, and how many years he’ll end up demanding for it. Defensive CFs can last long, but you don’t want to be holding on to them when they fall out. He really should be on a one year deal, but he’ll do better.

When it comes down to it, I don’t believe the St. Louis Cardinals have the money & prospects to afford Halladay. Even with them making the Holliday move last season, it’s looking pretty clear it was a half season rental which still only happened because Holliday’s value was so low. Even with the new stadium, St. Louis really hasn’t raised it’s payroll, and would have to churn out an insane amount of prospects if 50% or more of their payroll went to Pujlos and Halladay. If there’s any two players I’d try that trick with, it’d be those two, but I don’t know that you can put enough good pieces around them.

The thing about the NLCentral is you never have to be worried about a team making a big splashy move against the Cubs that way.

- Pirates & Brewers focus on building from the farm system, with vastly varying level of success, supplementing with midlevel free agents (at best)

- Astros & Reds go for big splashy move to fix everything in one fell swoop, but pick the wrong guys and don’t surround them with enough help to make it work. If the Astros could possible find a way, I’m sure they’d make a run at Halliday, and I’d let them do it.

- Cardindals focus on reclamation projects, but are pretty well locked up in what they’re going to spend on pitching.

I expect the Cubs will extend Lilly, as soon as it’s safe to. They love him in the same way they love Dempster, and at least it’d be a better player to overpay.

My guess is Castro does not see the MLB until the end of September, at the earliest. Theriot only moves to 2B this season if a Miguel Tejada is looking very affordable in January, and even then they might go with Jeff Baker and spend the money elsewhere. They’re so overrun with backup middle infielders (as always), there’s really no need to spend money at the positions unless you’re getting a big increase in production.

And Miles will get cut sometime in July or August, but not before taking another long DL stint and a longer rehab.

With Lilly out, I think they’re committed to Samardzija starting. If he doesn’t grab the spot in Spring Training, it’ll probably be too late to switch him back, so off to Iowa he’ll go (at least for a while.) No idea where it ends up.

$500 + tickets + trans = when do I get that tax refund? Hmmm. (No, I think I actually might be able to swing it.)

Cheapest flight from Chicago to Phoenix
Leave 3/17, return 3/21, would see 4 Cubs games
$333 non stop, $322 one stop after fees (as low as $303 if you stay a whole week)

Cheapest hotel room:
Motel 6, Phoenix Airport, $172.76 (close to Oakland A’s stadium, this would save much $ in gas and be less expensive overall than the Super 8 below)

Super 8, I-17 and Northern, $167.50

Cheapest Mesa Motel room is $211.96 at any Motel 6 there – the one by the Superstition Freeway is actually pretty nice, all redone

Of course rooming with someone saves $$$$$$

Food – depends what and when you eat, one can REAL cheaply in Phoenix – or not, a lot of that is based on how much ball park food one conusmes

Sosa: No comment, couldn’t care less

Budget: several similar comments in the press would indicate that once Hendry finds someone to take the Bradley contract, presumably before Christmas, Hendry will then have in his head the amount that he calculates he can spend, now and in July. Not sure that he’s sold on Granderson. I think Granderson would just kill right handed pitching at Wrigley, and some of the fly ball outs will be fly balls out of the park, but I would not spend 26 million on him. As always, the devil is in the details – for who goes so that Granderson can play? Save the money and go for Cameron. Here in San Diego, the Padres openly and for attribution said their biggest off-season mistake in 2007 was letting Cameron go.

No to Byrd. No to Burrell.

Lilly? Do you trade him (after his first 2 wins after returning form surgery, his price will be Randy-Wolf-esque) or Dempster or Zambrano to get the money for Roy Halladay? Maybe, maybe not on the surface but what if it is specifically to keep the Cardinals from getting Hallday? What price tag do you put on having to face him 20-30 times the next 5 years versus his representing you versus STL 20-30 times the next 5 years? If Grabow is worth 7 million, how much is Halladay worth considering the above?

Cubs, what would you do in this scenario if you were convinced that an NL Central rival was close to signing Hallday?

Roster:

I’m going to guess by July 1, Castro is in at SS and Theriot is moved to 2B, Miles as a backup; my guess ins this scenario: Hendry will want t to hold $ close (well, close in comparison to NYY, NYM, Boston, Angels CWS) to have the financial wherewithal to try to go for the needed July 31 acquisition (RF Ethier from Dodgers? A bullpen arm or two and maybe the prize catch from next year’s off-season, Zach Greinke) that will clinch the playoff spot.

Only other major comment is I’d think a Samardzija-Grabow-Marmiol 7-8-9 firm back end of the bullpen would be effective. But in a year in whose pos-season every closer except one blew a crucial game at a crucial time for his tama in the post-season, maybe closing-by-committee is not such an odd concept.

Will the new owner spend, though?

Cubs final ST schdule up now at cubs.com. ~85 days ’til pitchers and catchers, as of today 11/20.

Anyway, starting Sunday, the posts will flow, and hopefully a conversation as well.

I was really sad to see the Cubs schedule the 18th AND the 19th away from Mesa. That disrupts my carefully-planned out schedule, if any visitors from Chicagoland decide to hike out to ST in 2010. If not, then it actually doesn’t matter too much – six of one or half dozen of the other whether I go 3/18-3/21 or 3/19-3/22. 6 games in 4 days either way as Fri and Sat nights have games.

While pushing for anyone and everyone to come to ST in 2010, a side note – 2011 will be the final season EVER for spring training baseball in TUCSON, so there will be quite a bit of history, sadness, and nostalgia in ex-Mayor Rondstadt’s Old Pueblo the final week of March 2011. Somthing to put in one’s pipe and smoke while cogitating.

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Yo soy tu gominola, osito gomi gomi gomi gomi gominola – add it to Kurt’s Haloween 2010 iPod playlist. Now, I bid you farewell, as I must envia al dos dos seis seis seis.

I wonder why no one ever answers.

My chart posting here needs some work.

Noneheless, 23 of what will end up to be 33 or so (counting SS) games are posted now http://www.springtrainingonline.com/features/master-schedule-cactus.htm.

The Cubs have not released their spring schedule yet, but most everyone else in the Cactus League has, and therefore you can see from those schedules most of the Cubs games.

I’, looking at a trip of 3/18-3/21 inclusive (6 games) or 3/19-3/22 inclusive (5 games).

Sniff, no one want to go to Wrest Hold Mania (Fan Axe Ess, Hall of Fame) with me.