Baseball Diamond News

Angel Guzman and other news

2010-03-06T22:50:00.003-06:00

Well it looks like Angel Guzman doesn't have an angel looking over him. This poor guy has had more injuries derail what was a really promising career. Now it he has a tear in his shoulder that has an unpredictable recovery rate for surgery or he can try to rehab it without surgery, but that also will take a while. Now what gets me angry is the Ricketts family bought this team and won't spend any money on free agents. Kiko Calero would have been a perfect fit in our bullpen and signed a minor league deal with the Mets yesterday worth up to 1.5 million if he makes team and hits performance bonuses. Unless it has been Kiko's dream to pitch for the Mets, the Cubs could have offered him 1.5 million with a major league roster and say up to 800K in performance bonuses or even given him 2 years. I am pretty sure he would have taken that deal, it would have had the Cubs covered due to any injury (which they never seem to plan for) and it would have still been better than the deal they gave John Grabow this off-season. The Cubs could sure use Michael Wuertz now as he was given away and has now turned into a pretty solid reliever in Oakland (Thanks Hendry).

Wow, Carlos Silva looked like everything I thought he would out on the mound. Hopefully if he has a few more outings like this they Cubs just let him go. Honestly, if they consider themselves contenders, Carlos Silva should not be anywhere near the final 25-man roster. The good thing about today's game was Carlos Marmol struck out 2 guys and did not walk a batter. That is progress. That is about all I watched today as I had to go to airport to pick up wife and while listening to it on radio, I decided I didn't want to watch what I dvr'ed when I got back.

Cubs News

2010-01-30T01:42:00.001-06:00

Well a couple days ago the Cubs signed Xavier Nady to a one year deal. It is not a bad signing as he is a right-handed bat that hits lefties well so Fukodome doesn't have to do it and he can let Derek Lee have a day off here and there in the hot summer months. I know he is coming off his second Tommy John surgery, but I think he can hold up for one year especially since he isn't a pitcher. A guy I was hoping to get was Jonny Gomes, though I know his defense isn't too good.

I think the next free agent the Cubs should focus on is Orlando Hudson and see if they can get him for a 1/6 million dollar deal. There isn't a big market for 2b's right now and it looks like the Nationals are only offering 3 million dollars. This would be an upgrade at 2b, making Baker and Fontenot backups which is a better spot for them on a team if the Cubs want to be contenders.

The Cubs also signed Chad Tracy to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Chad hasn't really been useful in a few seasons and I don't see him sticking to with the final roster.
A pitcher I hope the Cubs really watch this spring is NRI Thomas Diamond. He is best known for being part of the Rangers top pitching prospects DVD (John Danks, Edinson Volquez, Thomas Diamond) a few years ago. Diamond's career got sidetracked in 2007 he had to have Tommy John surgery and since he has been back has had a harder time finding the plate. This winter he looked good in the DWL, but that doesn't really mean he will do well in MLB. I just think that he is only 26 and was once a top prospect, so it can't hurt to give him a serious look in spring.

Congratulations to Andre Dawson for making the Hall of Fame and it was nice to see he wanted to wear the Cubs hat, but I do think the Hall of Fame made the right decision in saying the Expos are the team he was on in his prime. He may have gotten more publicity in Chicago, but he played his first 10 years in Montreal. I just wonder where are they going to find an Expos hat?

What were they thinking?

2009-12-21T20:56:00.003-06:00

By now every Cub fan has given their opinion about the Carlos Silva-Milton Bradley trade, so now I will give mine.

I have no idea what Jim Hendry was thinking. I understand that last season Milton Bradley was a bad year for him all around, but these are all grown-ups, right? If this was all the Cubs could get for Bradley, then why not keep him and work out things out like adults. Bradley is primed for a rebound year, while Carlos Silva is well primed to get lit up again. Carlos was good for the Twins in 2005 and had a decent season in 2007, but in 08 he was bad, and in 09 before being shut down he was just awful. I am hoping that the Cubs aren't planning on putting Carlos Silva in the rotation except for if they need to due to injuries.

Right now I see the rotation in April, it looks like Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, Tom Gorzelanny, Randy Wells and Jeff Samardzja/Carlos Silva. I have left out Ted Lilly due to his surgery and don't think he will be ready until May. This is not a Division winning rotation, let alone a Championship rotation. This is going to be a LONG LONG SEASON...

Neal Cotts and other news

2009-12-14T00:18:00.002-06:00

Neal Cotts was non-tendered which is no big surprise. Neal had gotten plenty of chances to prove himself as the Cubs lefty reliever, but never stepped up to the opportunity. This move saves the Cubs 1 million dollars and gives them an extra spot on the 40 man roster (currently at 37).

I read somewhere (rotoworld.com, I think), that the Cubs have some interest in Matt Capps. I know he had an awful year for the Pirates last year, but that was because he had an abnormally high hr/9 rate (1.66) and BABIP (.370). Neither is consistent of what he has done throughout his career and he even increased his k/9 and he increased the ground balls batters hit against him. Now after saying all that, as long as the Cubs don't brin him in to close, I think it would be a great move. Especially since he was non-tendered by Pirates and would probably cost the Cubs about 1.7-1.9 million a year and if he puts up his past numbers, than he would definitely be worth it.

Just an idea

2009-12-09T10:07:00.002-06:00

I saw the other day that the Atlanta Braves designated OF Ryan Church for assingment. I think he would be a great fit for the Cubs. He can step in and start when needed without hurting the team and would fill many needs. He would be a good lefty bat off the bench, a good baserunner and lastly he isn't bad on defense. I know in past he has had some injuries, including the lingering concussion problem, but it is not like he will command 10 million dollars a year.
I have also read lately that the Milton Bradley trade talks haven't progressed and if the Cubs want to get anything useful for him, it is becoming more evident that they will need to eat more of his salary. I would almost say with his talent the Cubs should keep him if they can't get anything for him, but this is a time where I would say it is definitely "addition by subtraction". I know Luis Castillo isn't much these days, but he may be better than putting Mike Fontenot at 2b as the starter.

Mike Cameron and other tidbits

2009-12-06T23:18:00.003-06:00

I have been reading that the Cubs are interested in getting Mike Cameron to take over the Center field spot. With Mike, you know not to expect too much in hitting for average, expect a lot of strike outs, and get some above average defense in center field. The problem is that he will command a bunch of money and Hendry will probably want to give him a 3 year contract. He will be 37 in a month and if Bill James predictions amount to anything he expects him to decline to the point offensively he won't be worth the money Hendry is going to offer.

Instead of going for Cameron, how about this, sign a RF that produces some runs, keep Fukodome in CF and re-sign Reed Johnson to platoon with Fukodome in CF. Reed can't hit righties too well and Fukodome can't hit lefties at all. Then trade Milton Bradley for Pat Burrell (if that rumor has any legs to it) and then either keep Burrell for 4th OF and ph or trade him for another player with more mobility or ability to start at 2b.

The Cubs have also been rumored to be interested in either Mike Gonzalez or Rafael Soriano from the Braves. While both have been offered arbitration, it would be worth signing one of the to split the duties with Carlos Marmol in the late innings. I am not sure if the Cub's first round pick is protected, but even if it is not signing one of these guys would tremendously upgrade the Cubs bullpen.

I am back!!!

2009-12-03T20:42:00.003-06:00

Well just like the Cubs, I decided to take last year off. I was disgusted with the way the sale of team was going, the management and the players, so I watched them from afar. Also I have to admit I was really really wrapped up in Chicago Blackhawks hockey. I was going to wait until New Year to come back, but over the last few weeks, the Cubs have made a few moves that I disagree with.

First was signing John Grabow to a 2/7.5 million or something type deal. John Grabow walks too many batters. In 2008 he walked 4.38 per 9 innings and then in 2009 he walked 4.98 while only striking out 7.09 per 9 which was his lowest in his major league career. I understand that he was better than any lefty we have had over last few years, but that isn't saying much. The Cubs could have signed him for a lot less or found a replacement for about 3 million less over 2 years than what they are paying Grabow.

Second, not offering salary arbitration to Rich Harden. I understand we have a huge salary, but that was a what 8-10 million dollar for a starter that we will try and replace and surely get someone that will underperform. And that was assuming he would sign the contract, had he signed elsewhere we could have gotten compensation of picks for him. If we weren't going to offer him arbitration, then in July or August he should have been traded for any prospect we could get as it was very obvious to anyone in June that the Cubs weren't going anywhere. If this is the cheapness the new ownership is going show us, I would almost wish we were back in the Tribune's control.

The last transaction that has me perplexed is the trading of Jake Fox and Aaron Miles (he I don't care is gone, very happy actually) to the Oakland Athletics for RHP Jeff Gray, RHP Ronny Morla and INF/OF Matt Spencer. Jeff Gray will help out in the pen and is a hard thrower though it doesn't translate into many k's per 9. He does however not walk anyone and that was a major problem last year. The other 2 may or may not ever turn out to be spare parts, but not much about them out there. What I don't like is the Cubs never gave Fox a chance, and I mean ever. Since they drafted him all they did was find flaws or a reason not to play him. All he ever did was hit, especially last year. The Cubs should have kept him to play a utility role, but a very active one. Giving a rest to Soto, Ramirez, Soriano, Lee, and whoever we put in RF once a week. He probably would have helped put up nice numbers, but we won't know.

I also read that the Cubs have asked Theriot if he would move to 2nd base in case Starlin Castro can start at SS. Well Theriot was a +7.7 UZR, while the year he was at 2b was a 4.1, so he is better at SS it shows. Secondly Theriot weak bat suites him more at SS than 2b. Lastly, if you are a contending team, you should not count on a 19 year old SS to be your starter with no more than a 122 pa's in AA. Things like this make me question why Hendry is still GM.

Things I am glad about now:

First, next year Kevin Gregg is not going to be on team. It was very obvious before the trade that he was overrated, but after the trade, it proved that he was utterly useless.
Next is I am happy the Cubs are going to dump Milton Bradley. While he can get on base, he is such a headcase he needs to go. All I have read lately is that the Rays might be sending Pat Burrell to the Cubs for him. If that is the case, hopefully we can quickly trade him or trade Soriano as we don't need 2 high paying left fielders, but I'd rather have Burrell than Bradley.
I am also very happy that the Cubs got Rudy Jaramillo as hitting coach. I know some of his stats were padded by Arlington, but he still has a good reputation and good results as hitting coach.
Another move that tickled me is no more Aaron Heilman as the Diamondbacks were so kind to take him off our hands for Ryne White and Scott Maine. Ryan White got high compliments from Will Lingo in Baseballamerica.com last year."

Will Lingo: He is indeed. Arizona picked up several polished college hitters in last year's draft who could move quickly, and White also is the best defensive first baseman in the organization already. He's athletic enough to play in the outfield if necessary. He's a strong all-around hitter, and the question will be how much power he develops. The best comparison I heard for him (on the optimistic side) is a slightly more powerful Sean Casey.

", but had an offseason last year in minors. Hopefully he can turn it around in 2010 and beyond. Scott Maine is a hard throwing left hander who strikes out over 1o per 9 and could have been a viable replacement in the pen for Grabow.

So what is next for the Cubs? I am not sure, but with Winter Meetings coming up, let's hope they can revamp this team.

Sorry for being gone

2009-02-08T21:34:00.002-06:00

Dell has had my computer for 2 months and still has it, but tonight I am writing from wife's laptop.

Since I have been gone Cubs got rid of DeRosa, Hill, Pie all for nothing which I still can't understand. I also don't understand trading Cedeno for Heilman, but at least they got something for him. A good thing is that Jason Marquis is off the team. Nothing against him as a person, but he wasn't very good for the Cubs.

I am happy about the signing of Milton Bradley and truly hope that Lou can keep Bradley under control. I also know that getting about 120-130 games a season is the most too expect, butif he can do that and hit like he does it will be a major improvement in the Cubs lineup. I also understand why the Cubs wanted another switch hitter, but paying Miles that salary and dumping DeRosa for nothing just wasn't a good trade off.

What the Cubs were thinking with Pie, I don't know. If they weren't sold on him last year, then trade him then, not after the season when teams know you have no option to dump him, waive him or sit him on bench all year, none of which were good options.

More later....

Why sign Joey Gathright?

2008-12-18T00:34:00.002-06:00

I am not sure in what category the Cubs think that signing Joey Gaithright was an upgrade anywhere? He has never been good offensively and with Felix Pie out of options, it isn't likely he can help.
Rumors about the Cubs trying to sign Milton Bradley make more sense to me than the above signing. Milton will bring a switch hitter to the lineup and when healthy is one of the top hitters in the league. He has a problem with self control at times, but I have a feeling that Lou Pinella will be able to help keep him in place.
As I said 2 years ago when the Cubs signed Jason Marquis that in his 3rd year of the contract they would be begging anyone to take him. It looks like that is true now, but I don't take any credit because almost everyone else in the baseball world said the same thing.

Welcome Gregg and goodbye Wood

2008-11-13T23:18:00.002-06:00

Today the Cubs traded for relief pitcher Kevin Gregg from the Florida Marlins. In return the Cubs gave them Jose Ceda. Ceda has the talent to be an effective reliever in the near future, but the Cubs were looking for a pitcher to take the place of Bob Howry (who wasn't too effective last year) and Kerry Wood who now looks like he isn't going to be back. Kevin Gregg is a pitcher who was a closer for the Marlins, but really isn't much more than a 7th inning reliever. He unfortunately has too many meltdowns to be effective.
I would say this would be a step up for the Cubs if I knew that they would sign Kerry wood or Francisco Rodriguez from LAA, but neither will be happening while Mr. Zell still owns the Cubs. In other news I don't think that the Cubs will get Jake Peavy with what names I have heard mentioned, but it would be a step up over Ryan Dempster who is also looking like he is leaving.

Was I wrong

2008-10-16T18:06:00.002-05:00

Boy was I wrong in that last column I wrote. I have been taking time to reflect on what happened and all I can come up with is that the Cubs need a total REHAUL of the whole team. This team has proven it cannot handle the pressure in the playoffs. Why? I have no clue, they win all year, get paid enough cash, but come crunch time they just suck.

My next question, is why did Lou have the rotation that he had? You need to put your BEST pitcher starting first, so why didn't Rich Harden start g1? They had plenty of time to set that up with their record in regular season. Then throw Dempster 2nd because he was lights out in Wrigley. Game 3 should have been Ted Lilly with Zambrano going g4 or Harden if his arm was up for it. Don't worry about how Carlos feels by not going in the top 2 guys starting, this is al about winning and winning now and the Cubs staff wasn't put in the best situation to do so.

There were many other problems, like not taking pitches, walking other guys, not hitting, awful fielding, so there are many things that need fiing.

Cubs Will Win Tonight

2008-10-02T20:46:00.002-05:00

I have been very very quiet lately, but I am going to come out and yap during the playoffs. I missed writing yesterday, but I won't miss any more days before games during the Cubs playoff run.

Last night the Cubs looked overwhelmed out there. It was almost as if they were camera-shocked. I think Big Z will shine tonight, though in his last 8 starts besides the no-no, hasn't been that good. I also think Mr. Soriano will have a much better night at the plate. Hopefully Big LOU put Fukodome lower in the order, but I do like him out in RF as he plays decent fundamental defense in right field.

The key for the Cubs, is Zambrano throwing strikes. Dempster last night couldn't get out of the fifth due to the lack of control he had out on the mound and while I know it is easy to second guess, maybe Lou should have taken him out 2 batters earlier and put in either Marshall or Marquis at that time. There is no reason to carry them if you aren't going to use them in situations that your starter is struggling.

My prediction Cubs 5 LA 3.

Time to Re-Group

2008-09-10T00:01:00.002-05:00

Well I was being quiet because they Cubs were on a streak and I didn't want to do anything that would change their luck, but that seems to have happened without me writing.

What has gone wrong? Well with Zambrano and Harden both out with injuries and hopefully with Harden they were just being on the safe side or if they weren', if the Cubs make the postseason it will be a short run. Also Fukudome has lost all confidence in his swing and looks like a Single A player at the plate. Hopefully the Cubs are letting him regroup and working with him, he needs to stop trying to pull the ball and lay off the curve ball (easier said then done).

I am hoping Carlos Zambrano injury is not serious, but I have a feeling the truth isn't all coming out. Why would he miss his MRI? What makes me more worried is that he hasn't looked good since July and already had his start delayed due to a "dead arm" and we all know the Cubs honesty with pitchers and their injuries.

Tonight the lost to the Cardinals in the bottom of the 9th on a close play at the plate. I was sitting on the couch and told my wife when Mr. Pujols was coming up with men on, why not walk him, he is only batting .360 and always kills the Cubs. Well we all know what happened next. I am not saying walking him, would have let to the Cubs winning, but it seems that when you are struggling you don't let the best hitter in league beat you.

The only good thing is that the Brewers keep sucking and losing to teams that they probably should be beating. As they lost tonight 5-4.

Cubs acquire Harden

2008-07-08T21:38:00.002-05:00

Cubs today acquired 2 pitchers that will help solidify their playoff quest. Today they acquired Chad Gaudin and Rich Harden for only Matt Murton, Sean Gallagher, Eric Patterson and Josh Donaldson. I can't begin to start to say how happy I am. I know Harden has a history of being as brittle as a 95 year old's bones, but hey when he is healthy (and he is currently) he is a top of the line pitcher. With Chad Gaudin the Cubs get a good swing man who will be more dependable than Jon Lieber is.
I have no idea why the A's would do this deal, except that Mr. Hendry must have some good pictures of Billy Beane doing things he isn't suppose to. While I was worried the Cubs would not be able to hold off CC and Ben Sheets, with this acquisition I think the Cubs might be able to. They still could use a dependable lefty in the pen (though Neal Cotts has improved lately) and one more bench player.

GO CUBS!!!

Cubs keep on trucking

2008-06-26T12:43:00.002-05:00

When the Cubs lost Soriano earlier this month once again due to a pitch that hit him in his hand and then lost their Ace Carlos Zambrano due to a sore shoulder, one would think that things would start falling apart, but no. Minus the awful series the Cubs played in Tampa Bay, they have been winning and looking like a contending team. Dempster has been unbeatable at home, Edmonds this month has been a God-send (Stop hating on him Rob George) and while not spectacular Eric Patterson has done well since his last call-up.

So what does this mean for the Cubs? It should bring them the extra confidence they need that they can overcome the bumps in the road and still succeed. The players know that Soriano will be back after the All-Star break and hopefully Carlos will be back soon too. If they continue to play well with the addition of both of them, the Cubs hopefully can start to pull away from the Cardinals and the Brewers.

I expect the Cubs to look for another experienced bat off the bench, a lefty and maybe another SP before the trade deadline. Doesn't that look familiar? I seem to say that every year, but every year that is what they are looking for. Scott Eyre and Neal Cotts both have been disappointments since joining the organization and I doubt either will be back in 09.

Cubs still winning

2008-06-09T15:38:00.003-05:00

Well since my last post when I called Edmonds washed up and the Cubs mediocre, they have played pretty decent ball and Edmonds has refound his hitting stroke somewhat. Also Jason Marquis pitched a beautiful game last night (but I will wait and see if he can repeat before giving him accolades). Another good thing is that Lou has seemed to learned from his mistake earlier this year leaving Soriano out in the 9th inning on defense and has been replacing him with Reed Johnson late in games.
The Cubs still need to find another starting pitcher and another reliable reliever wouldn't hurt either. Off the top of my head I have no idea who they should acquire or who is available, but the sooner they address the problems the better off the team will be.
Note to Ronny Cedeno: Learn to slide into 2nd base and not overslide it..

The best trade not made this year: At the moment the Cub's not acquiring Brian Roberts from the Orioles.

Congratulations Dr. Abcarian

2008-05-27T23:38:00.004-05:00

My sister Ariane just graduated from EVMS. Congratulations Dr. Ariane Abcarian.

Ramblings

2008-05-27T23:22:00.003-05:00

Sorry it has been so long since I have written. I have been trying to watch the Cubs and decide what I think of this team. At times I think that they look like contenders and could be a real threat, then they go and lose easy fly balls that cost games verses teams like the Pirates. So what I have decided is that they are just mediocre. Unless they make some changes they won't really improve much either. One of those is improving the CF position. I think that without a major trade, the Cubs should put Fukudome in CF and bring Matt Murton up to play RF. Heck Murton is only batting around .350 in the minors and Fukudome has shown that he is fundamentally sound and has the range and smarts to play CF. This then would let Cub fans be out of the misery that is Jim Edmonds in CF. I wouldn't mind him on the team if he was good, but since he sucks now, isn't going to get much better and is a hated Cardinal player, it is just time to release him.
Also the Cub's need to acquire another starter that is consistently good. Ryan Dempster has exceeded all my expectations this season and until he reverts back to old form over and extended period of time, I am not going to use the nickname I have been using for him. Along with Ryan the Cubs have Carlos Zambrano (who is looking better this year) and Ted Lilly (been very below par this year) as their top 3 (in no order). Sean Gallagher has shown ability and if he puts in a few more performances half as good as today's, he will have a believer in me as at least a 5th starter, but what about the 4th? Jon Lieber has sucked when he started and Jason Marquis is too inconsistent and been too awful in the second half of the season throughout his career to depend on him. Who should they get? I am not sure, maybe Greg Maddux back as my dad suggested, but I do know they need someone.
I promise to write more soon.

Cubs' Update

2008-04-16T13:47:00.002-05:00

The Cubs are off to a decent start this year compared to last season, but they still have a long way to go. There are a bunch of fundamental mistakes being committed by the team and a bunch of people's heads not being in the games at the right times early. I am hoping that this will pass soon, but these are major league players and it feels like I am saying this about the Cubs every year.

Last night Alfonzo Soriano hurt himself doing his stupid hop, which in the past I have questioned. The Cub's have no one to blame but themselves for this injury as there is no reason for them to continously let him hope without them correcting it. In the past Soriano has said it helped him concentrate on the ball to the glove better, but if a 130 million dollar man has to do that to keep concentration on the ball, well he probably isn't worth 13 million let alone 130 million. This would be a great time to call up Matt Murton, but for some reason I hear the Cubs are going with Eric Patterson. This is stupid and hurts the Cub's. Murton's numbers as a MLB are about the same as Alfonzo's since he joined the Cubs. I don't know why the team doesn't like him, but if they aren't going to bring him up they might as well trade him soon so he doesn't just rot in minors. He has talent and is a good hitter who minus a one month stretch for Dusty has been pretty reliable.

In other news Rich Hill will get another chance to prove he is worthy of being a starter, but I have a feeling if he doesn't perform well, it will be a long time before we see him starting for the Cubs. Though the Cubs should be more worried about Ted Lilly because not only is he getting hit, but his velocity is down and he hasn't been able to get through five innings.

Opening Day

2008-03-31T20:44:00.002-05:00

Today was opening day again and unfortunately the Cub's came up just short. In an exciting 9th inning newcomer Fukudome hit a 3-run homer to tie it up, but the pen who had given up 3 runs in the top of the 9th, then gave up another in the tenth and could not overcome that.

What I observed today is that Theriot and Soriano batting 1-2 is probably not the best idea. I didn't like it when I heard it, but I really don't like it after getting to see it in motion. The Cubs think too highly of Theriot and by putting him at the top spot in the order are setting him up for a big fall. Though I am not a fan of Soriano leading off, if the Cubs are so determined to get him to bat at top of lineup I think he should be 1 and Theriot should bat 2nd.
Another thing, what is up with Zambrano and his forearm cramps? I ask this because today was not a warm day by any means and yet Carlos cramped up again. I am not sure what is happening but I know that it can't be a normal thing. I have no idea what would be causing it. Though I thought I saw him looking at his finger more than his forearm, but what do I know and when have the Cubs ever lied to us fans?

A random thought, why is Matt Murton not on the team? I think it is silly that he is in AAA. The man can simply hit and even early in spring training he even said Matt had one of the best swings on the team. I don't get it. Management must not like him much. He is a way better option to have to pinch-hit then Fontenot is.

More Cuts

2008-03-22T14:30:00.002-05:00

Well as soon as I said a nice thing about Neal Cotts he has to go out and pitch of a stinkner of a game. Now he finds himself being optioned back to Iowa with Sean Gallagher and Jose Ascanio who both were optioned a few days earlier. Also Koyie Hill was reassigned today. Koyie didn't have much chance to make the team from his performance with the Cubs last year and didn't do much to impress in camp. I doubt we ever see him in a Cubs uniform again, unless we get a major injury at the catch position.
Another player that was reassigned was Josh Kroeger. At one point he was a very good prospect for the Diamondbacks, but now is just a Quad-A player. If Felix Pie fails this year and the Cubs need an emergency guy, Josh might get a look if puts up good numbers in AAA, but I doubt that he will get the chance and if he does I don't think he will be able to do anything meaningful for them.

The roster is now down to 36 and there are 3 players that are non-roster invitees that still have a good chance to make the roster. They are Casey McGehee, Micah Hoffpauir and Alex Cintron. If Alex makes the team, it will be at the cost of Ronny Cedeno going to AAA with a very unimpressive spring and the fact that he has been hobbled with a minor injury lately hasn't had much chance to turn things around. McGehee and Hoffpauir both won't make the club, but one of them might make it for a bat off the bench as they are hitting the heck out of the ball, but it isn't clear who wouldn't make it if one of them does.

Cubs Update

2008-03-14T23:58:00.002-05:00

Well I have been under the weather the last 10 days so sorry for not writing.

Since the last time I wrote, the Cubs first cuts were sending these non-roster invities back to minor league camp Esmailin Caridad and Jose Ceda and left-handed pitcher Geoff Jones. Outfielders Tyler Colvin and Andres Torres, infielder Bobby Scales and catchers Welington Castillo and Josh Donaldson.

In that all were young and really had no shot to make the team and were kept around for the split squad games to get some big league exposure.

Then the Cubs optioned Adam Harben to AA. Who?

Next the Cubs sent Jake Fox and Juan Mateo to AAA and Jeff Samardzija to AA. None of these were a surprise as Samardzija is in only his 2nd year and has a way to go. Jake Fox has no where to play on the Cubs as his defense isn't good enough behind the plate to beat out Henry Blanco as a backup and Juan Mateo is coming back from surgery last year so wasn't expected to make the team.
The same day the team re-assigned these non roster players pitcher Ed Campusano, infielder Luis Figueroa and catcher JD Closser. I was a little surprised that JD didn't get a longer look, but I guess that is how far his stock has fallen in a few years. The team then released Shingo Takatsu. This was a signing that no one in Cubs nation could understand why it was made, any of us fans would have signed a contract for 1/10 of the price.

Then today the Cubs reassigned infielder Andres Blanco. I thought he might have a small chance to make the team if the Cubs had traded Cedeno and Fontenot had completely stunk, but neither has happened.

Now why is Ryan Dempster even in the running for a spot (4 G, 10.2 IP, 8 ER, 6 bb, 6 k), not just in the rotation, but on the roster? Marquis is putting up a good spring (3GS, 9 IP, 9 hit, 2 ER, 4 bb, 3 k), but I am sure come 2nd half he will be the same Jason. Sean Marshall is putting up good numbers (3 G, 8.1 IP, 8 hit, 3 ER,4 bb, 6 k) and Jon Lieber's numbers are real good (3 G, 10 IP, 7 h, 2 ER, 1 bb, 8 k). So with this the Cubs should pick Lieber and either Marshall or Marquis and forget Dempster as a SP. Now let's look at pen:
We have Wood, Marmol, Howry, Eyre, Wuertz all making the pen without much debate. That then leaves 2 spots right? The Cubs need 2 lefties out of pen this year and Neal Cotts who got hammered in his first outing this spring has put up 4 scoreless innnings since, so unless he melts down that leaves 1. Why not Kevin Hart, who did well last year and is putting up decent numbers this spring (6 G, 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER,0 BB, 4 K)? That then leaves Ryan Dempster off the roster. I know he is due 5 million dollars this year, but isn't it worth eating that contract if it will help you win 5-7 more games this year when you are trying to win the division and also the World Series?

Spring Training Update

2008-03-03T11:02:00.000-06:00

The Cubs got bad news yesterday when it was announced Alfonzo Soriano has a fracture in his middle right finger. He is only expected to miss a few days and not a serious injury, but any injury to your franchise player (at least paid that way) is not good. I expect it to bother him for a little while, but should be normal before the season starts. This also should give Matt Murton some more PA’s and maybe he can peak the interest of another team (if the Cubs are still looking to move him), though I hope he stays in Chicago.

Also in the news is Jason Marquis sounding off that he doesn’t want to go to the pen and should be traded if that is where he is goig to end up. Well then I say trade him. To ANYONE!!!! He is the biggest waste of 20 million dollars since the Cubs signed Todd Hundley back in the 90’s. Heck even Ryan Dempster would be a better starting pitcher over the course of a full season then Marquis is. Marquis has this uncanny ability to suck after the all-star break for the past few years and no matter where he goes it still happens. So get rid of him now (if possible) to prevent him from being a cancer in the clubhouse.

Neal Cotts has pretty much put the final nail in his coffin with that last performance unless he can somehow get everyone else he faces out from now until end of camp (not likely). Also Shingo hasn’t looked too good in his two appearances so far (imagine that) and his chances are fading quickly.

In other good news for the Cubs and their fans, Mark DeRosa is back on the field and doing fine after surgery was down to correct his irregular heart beat. He is not likely to play until March 10, but until then he will be hitting and fielding.

Baseball Season starting

2008-02-23T16:28:00.001-06:00

Spring Training has started and now it is time for me to start writing again. Unfortunately on Friday I did not get opening day tickets so once again I will be forced to buy it from a scalper, fun stuff.

The Cubs Mark DeRosa was rushed to the hospital today from camp due to an irregular heart beat. According to the reports it seems as though Mark is going to be fine, but I am no doctor and the Cubs have been known to lie.

Besides the start of spring has been quite so far besides the fact that Pinella said that Fukodome will bat 3rd, Lee 4th and Ramirez 5th, which I think isn't a bad idea. Does this mean that DeRosa is going to bat 2nd or Theriot? Theriot might make more sense.

Too much pitching?

2008-01-18T22:51:00.001-06:00

Since my last post the Cubs have signed 3 more pitchers. Usually I wouldn't complain about signing pitchers especially if it meant that Dumpster and Marquis would be gone, but that is not the case. First this week the Cubs signed Chad Fox to a minor league deal. Everyone might remember him when he was a Cub in 2005 and Dusty Baker put him on the mound in a game he most likely shouldn't have been in and blew out his arm. At the age of 37, I don't expect much from him, but maybe the Cubs felt they owed him one. Next they signed Jon Lieber to a 1 year 3.5 million dollar deal with incentives that could earn him 4 million more. This isn't a bad signing if it points to the departure of Dumpster or Marquis or even both, but it doesn't look that way at moment. This also means there is no way Sean Marshall or Sean Gallagher will pitch in MLB unless a bunch of injuries. Lastly they signed Shingo Takatsu to a minor league contract. Why? He was awful his last year in MLB and then went back to Japan for 2 years. In his first year back he put up decent numbers, but last season he was awful. What makes the Cubs think that he will all of a sudden get his ability back at the age of 39. Though as I write this I suspect they signed him so he can make Fukudome feel more comfortable in training camp, if that is the case, good job Cubs, just don't keep him on MLB roster.

Cubs trade Pagan

2008-01-05T14:03:00.000-06:00

The Cubs traded OF Angel Pagan back to the team they acquired him from, the New York Mets. In return they received 2 prospects, OF Corey Coles and Ryan Meyers.
Two seasons ago Corey Coles was rated the best strike discipline in the minors for the Mets and hit pretty well .341/.407/.421, the only problem most of his hits that year were singles. In 07 his numbers weren't as good. One good thing is he can always fall back on pitching as he was a pitcher before he was in professional baseball.
Ryan Meyers there isn't much on, but from what it looks like there isn't much of a ceiling on him. He looks to have good control of his pitches, but after that his stats weren't very impressive.
The only reason I can figure the Cubs made this deal was to clear a spot on the 40 man roster as neither of these guys look to see the light of day in a Cubs uniform. This also puts more faith/pressure in Felix Pie to succeed in CF as Angel Pagan was currently the best option as backup CF.

Idea?

2007-12-10T20:56:00.000-06:00

Mr. Hendry if you are reading, I will say you are welcome right now for this great idea. Why not trade for Erik Bedard?

The Cubs shouldn't just ask for Bedard, but ask for Brian Roberts and Ramon Hernandez added to the trade. This would cost the Cubs a lot, but the Orioles are rebuilding and the Cubs should help them do that. Start by offering Felix Pie, Sean Marshall, Sean Gallagher, Tyler Colvin, Geovany Soto and Tony Thomas. This would give the Orioles a bunch of prospects while helping the Cubs distance themselves from the rest of the division. First off it finally gives them a true lead-off batter, who as a bonus is a switch hitter. That lets the Cubs could move Soriano down in the order to either 4th or 5th. Bedard gets inserted into the rotation as their #2 starter behind Zambrano and puts Lilly as third starter giving him better pitching matchups. The team could then insert either Marquis or Dumpster as the 4th starter if they don't want 3 lefties in a row and then put Rich Hill as the 5th starter. While losing Soto hurts, Ramon Hernandez gives the Cubs an average dependable starter. They then could probably acquire Estrada cheap to give them a decent duo.
Then the Cubs need to offer Kosuke Fukudome a more enticing deal then the Padres. If he is half as good as people are saying, then including him in the Cubs lineup and putting DeRosa in either RF if Fukudome goes to Center or in the Super-Utility role only makes the team that much tougher. If Fukudome goes to right field the Cubs will need a CF and don't have many in their system if they make trade above. They would have to find one as a FA, Cameron (though he will be suspended to start year) and Corey Patterson are the cheap solutions, but if they really want to get serious about winning WS with their 16% increase across board on ticket prices, then sign Aaron Rowand. I know he is asking for a ton of money, but heck the Cubs are about to make a ton more money this year, and if I am correct, they made a ton of money last year. This then would make the Cubs a solid team all around with the only weakness as Kerry Wood's unproven closer role and needing another lefty out of pen. Getting that lefty will be easy, they should just trade Matt Murton since they seem not to want to use him, he would probably bring in a pretty decent lefty.

Cubs make a trade

2007-12-04T12:45:00.001-06:00

Cubs traded Will Ohman and Omar Infante to the Braves today for minor league pitcher Jose Ascanio. While Bobby Cox tried to talk up Ascanio, I think it was more of a move to rid themselves of 3.5 million (which I would say good move, but after raising ticket prices 16% not like they don't have the money). Infante leaving probably means that the Cubs are happy with the progress that Ronny Cedeno has shown over last few months. I like Cedeno, but he still has to prove that he can hit major league pitching consistently and off the bench. Ohman didn't figure in the Cubs plans especially after being left off the playoff roster last season, the change of scenery might be good for him also.
The Cubs have been very quiet this off-season in improving their team and need to get the ball rolling soon. If they think they can just sit back with the same type of team as last year they are very mistaken. Also I have no idea why I keep hearing Nate Mclouth rumors. He sucks and I don't care if he is lefty, he doesn't get on enough. I understand not wanting to have a bunch of righties in the lineup, but if they can hit righties and lefties, does it really make a difference?

Sign Wood, get lucky on Matsui.

2007-12-01T20:46:00.000-06:00

The Cubs signed Kerry Wood earlier this week to a 1 year deal worth about 4.25 million with him being able to get a bunch more in incentives. I think that this is a good deal and he should be better as a closer than Dumpster was last season. This also mean that Dumpster and Marquis are both suppose to be in the rotation and that doesn't bring me much faith in success. I am hoping that the Cubs can trade one of them for anything, a low end prospect would do. This also would open up a spot in the rotation for the Cubs to use one of their young guys or get a decent veteran.
Kazuo Matsui decided that he wanted to go to Houston instead of Chicago and that is a good thing for the Cubs. I have never been a fan of Kazuo Matsui and he his offensive numbers for last year really aren't that great especially if you consider that he played in Colorado last year. I think what the Cubs have within their organization is just as good and much cheaper.

Why?

2007-11-16T23:26:00.000-06:00

Why are the Cubs thinking of giving Kaz Matsui any contract at all? He is not an upgrade and if we give him a 3 year contract, does that mean the team is giving up on Eric Patterson already? I am sure the Cubs are happy to use Mark DeRosa all over the place, but didn't he sign here to get a set position, won't this make him a little unhappy?
Though maybe this would mean that Patterson plus some other players will be leaving in a big trade.
On a side note, I wouldn't mind seeing Aaron Rowand in CF. He hustles on defense and won't hurt you on offense either. I know he wants a huge contract, but heck if Marquis can get 21 over 3 years, Rowand with 3x as much.

More Purging

2007-11-13T13:50:00.000-06:00

Today the Cubs purged more junk off the roster by sending Craig Monroe to the Twins for the infamous ptbnl. Unfortunately C-MO couldn't get his hitting back after the Cubs acquired him late in the year and with the salary he is about to command in arbitration, it was a no brainer that the Cubs weren't keeping him. I am betting the Twins will try to sign him, but won't go to arbitration with him. If that is the case, then I expect the prospect the Cubs acquire won't be much of one, but it is still better than having C-MO around.

Jacque Jones traded

2007-11-12T12:25:00.000-06:00

The Cubs have rid themselves of a player that they should have never signed 2 years ago, Jacque Jones. The Cubs will help cover some of Jacque's contract and also acquire Omar Infante. I think if Omar makes the team that means that Mr. Fontenot or Ronny Cedeno will not be making it again.
I do like this deal for the Cubs as it forces them to get a new CF (or play Pie) and Omar isn't too bad of a utility player. He isn't the best of guy off the bench, but I think he is going to be much more effective than Fontenot was in the 2nd half of the year.
When I saw the Cubs had made a trade with the Tigers though, I have to admit I was hoping Dempster was headed over there. Maybe he still can.

Good Bye Trachsel and Floyd

2007-11-03T15:56:00.000-05:00

The Cubs declined both the options for Cliff Floyd and Steve Trachsel which will end their tenures as Cubs as I doubt that the Cubs try to re-sign either of them. Neither did too much for the Cubs, Floyd (who I said wouldn't do much) did not amount to the management's expectations this year and didn't do much in the playoffs either. Trachsel who was a cheap acquisition didn't do a thing for the Cubs and didn't even make the playoff roster so losing him is no suprise.

The Cubs did exercised the option of Daryle Ward though for 1.2 million dollars. This was a good idea as he did a respectable job off the bench and that is their expectation of him next year too, so for 1.2 million, it is not a bad gamble as he usually is a decent hitter off bench.

Sigh

2007-10-15T22:28:00.000-05:00

Well the Cubs didn't show up at all for the post season. The players nor the coaches did their jobs right and the Cubs got swept easily by the Diamondbacks. I could go on about what made them lose and what they did wrong, but that has already been done and well, they did nothing right.
I am not going to be sad to see the end of the Jason Kendall era and hopefully the Cliff Floyd era ends also.
In upcoming articles I will be writing on what the Cubs need to do to improve the team and their chances in moving further into the playoffs. Unfortunately they can't clone Dusty Baker a few more times and give one to all the other teams in the NL Central (thanks Cincinnati).
In other news, I just want to say I am personally cheering for the Rockies for the only reasons 1) Otto is from there, 2) Mr. Francis.

Cubs play the D-backs

2007-09-30T19:41:00.000-05:00

I have been absent due to going out with some old friends after the Cubs clinched and then the next day I had an awards dinner to attend for my father. So I am recovered and writing again. The Cubs play the D-backs in their playoff series and I think this matchup will be good for them.
I will go into that later, I am just happy to say that I was completely wrong in the beginning of the year and that the Cubs won the division.

Another thing I need to announce is the winner of the Bobblehead doll this year is George Blas and he will be receiving it as soon as I get his address. The Cubs won 85 games and George guessed 84. Congrats George.

Umpires

2007-09-24T12:14:00.000-05:00

After what happened to Milton Bradley yesterday with the umpires, I thought I would do a small rant. I am not a big Milton Bradley fan (as a person), but from what I saw yesterday he wasn't at fault. The problem I have been seeing over the last 5 years and I know others have too as I have heard in on talk radio and ESPN, that the umpires need to just shut their mouth. They are not figures in the game and they are not their for fame, if so they need a new job. They are their to call balls and strikes and call guys safe or out besides that they don't need to do anything else. Now I see umpires eject guys for just turning their head and giving them a bad look, that is ridiculous and needs to stop. I understand that the league doesn't want a bunch of complainers in it, but the instant ejection needs to go, but even that is not the worst thing that the umps do. It is this baiting they do with players that gets the players riled up and then leads them to be ejected. There is no reason to bait a player, even if that player says a few words to the ump they don't like, as long as it doesn't cross they imaginary line that has been setup in baseball for decades, then the ump should let it go. If Bud Selig doesn't take action soon against the umps, I can see this problem in next few years escalating to the point where there will be a physical fight soon and once that happens the credibility to umpires will be severely damaged.
Also I hope that Bradley gets day verse this ump (not physically) and gets him fired, sues him (for his now injury), or something of to those sorts.

Cubs get closer

2007-09-23T21:37:00.000-05:00

Well this morning I got lucky enough to get 1 ticket for g1 of the playoffs this year and when that happened I had a feeling the Cubs would do well today. Why you ask? Just figured it was good luck and it was. Not only did the Cubs win today, but the Brewers lost making the magic number 4 now. Currently the Cubs are playing real good baseball and hopefully like they can carry it over into the playoffs like the White Sox of 05. The White Sox went through a slump in August and September only to wake up at the end of September and win the WS. Now I don't know if this will also happen for the Cubs, but one can wish. I know all season I have been on the negative train, but now time to turn positive. I know they are not in it yet, but the odds are looking good and I think they have enough talent to win the division with the lead they have now. Before anyone yells at me for jinxing them, I said I think, not that they are, so I will deny any jinxing.
I just wanted to give props to Ronny Cedeno and Matt Murton today for a great job at the plate in helping the Cubs win and also to Mr. Zambrano, who pitched 6 great innings today to get the win. Carlos set the tone for the Cubs today striking out the first 4 guys he faced today, this showed the crowd and the team that the good Zambrano was on the mound today. The problem was for the first 4 innings Tom Gorzelanny was almost as good (which verse Cubs he always is good), but then in the 5th the Cubs finally started to hit Gorzelanny.
Tomorrow the Cubs get their final day off of the season and then go to Florida to face the Marlins for 3 games and then to Cincinnati for their final 3. If the Cubs finish 3-3 on this road trip, then if the Brewers lose at least 1 game, they win division, but that is not the attitude they need to go into it with. What they should be thinking is win the first 4 games so that rookies can pitch the next 2 games and then the rotation can be set for the playoffs. Though if the Brewers keep losing them maybe the playoff starting pitchers might be able to get a couple more days off.

Brewers Lose

2007-09-20T21:22:00.001-05:00

The Cubs have the night off, but the Brewers have just officially lost. GO BRAVES!!! The Cubs are in first by 1.5 games now and officially destiny is in their own hands. If they win every game (not saying they will or can) they win the division, before tonight it could have been a tie if the Brewers did the same thing. Not that they should have been doing this before, but the Cubs no longer need to look up and see if how the Brewers are doing.

Close one

2007-09-20T12:08:00.000-05:00

Wow, I really thought the Reds were going to win last night in that 8th inning. What a dumb call by the Reds 3rd base coach to send the runner home when he hadn't even gotten to third base when Alfonso had fielded the ball and was throwing it home. That was a beautiful throw by Soriano and great technique by Geovany Soto at the plate to make sure the ball did not come out. Then in the bottom of the inning my boy Matt Murton got a base hit, wait let's scratch that, got a fielder's choice 7-4, to get the go ahead and winning run home. That was a crazy play because Adam Dunn who usually has ZERO defensive skills made a nice attempt on the ball (and was close to catching it if not catching it) and it forced Derek Lee to hold up at first base for a while and was forced out at second. Even Ryan Theriot held up and tagged up just in case (head up base running) to make sure there were no questions about anything. While this was going on, the Astros gave up a 4-2 lead in the 9th to the Brewers and I was thinking jeez, but the Astros pulled it out in extra innings and the Cubs remain 1 game ahead of the Brewers. Tonight the Cubs have an off night while the Brewers play the Braves (go BRAVES). From here to the end of the year, the Cubs have 9 games left (Sept. 21-23 vs. Pittsburgh; Sept. 25-27 at Florida; Sept. 28-30 at Cincinnati)and the Brewers 11 (Sept. 20-23 at Atlanta; Sept. 24-26 vs. St. Louis; Sept. 27-30 vs. San Diego). The Cubs advantage is that they are playing teams with a combined record of 200-256 while the Brewers competition is 234-220. The advantage the Brewers have is 7 of their 11 games remaining are at home, while only 3 of the Cubs 9 games remaining are at home.

This should be a great race to the end and I am hoping it doesn't end up like 1998 when we had to play a playoff game to determine winner of division, though the last time that happened Steve Trachsel was the Cubs starter and they won, maybe he can do it again for them if needed.

Close Call

2007-09-15T11:38:00.000-05:00

Well I was sitting on the couch last night watching the game with my wife when she noticed that THE Dumpster was in and said,"Why did they put Dumpster in, they are going to lose." At this time it was 5-1. I was also on the phone with my father at the same time and he gave up the homer he said he we go, and I jokingly said, at this pace he will give up 2 homers and get 3 outs so we are ok. Wow I was almost right. Thankfully Howry only gave up a couple of singles before getting So Taguchi to pop out and the Cubs held on to win 5-3. Why does Lou insist on putting Dumpster out there as a closer. I know he has a bunch of saves, but lately he has been giving up a bunch of runs or a ton of base runners while luckily not letting one in. We as fans don't need this and the Cubs as a team don't. I suggest letting Dumpster and Bob Howry switch roles from here to the end of the season. See how it goes, maybe Dumpster can turn himself back into Dempster.

Today is a double header as I was wrong in previous post saying this was a three game series. In the first game it is Braden Looper verse Ted Lilly and I think the Cubs should win this game. I also like the fact that Geovany Soto is starting at catcher in this game. I Publish Postwas hoping to see Matt Murton out in RF, but Daryle Ward is starting there instead. Daryle has been key over the last few days, so he deserves to start today. Also I see that Mark DeRosa is starting this game at 3b giving Aramis Ramirez a little time to rest for the night cap game. With Ramirez being banged up a little bit this year, I have to agree with this not because I think it would affect Ramirez in tonights game, but in a week or so it might have an effect on his body. In the game tonight Sean Marshall makes his first start after being sent to the pen when Cubs acquired Steve Trachsel. I think Sean is going to have a fantastic game tonight because he should have a small chip on his shoulder and want to prove that he should never have been removed from the rotation in the first place. At least that is what I hope happens.
I know everyone usually says a split is a good thing to get out of a doubleheader on the road, but if the Cubs can win both here not only does that essentially knock the Cardinals out of the race, but puts even more pressure on the Brewers to win, which I don't think they have handled well.

Cubs win in Houston

2007-09-13T09:52:00.000-05:00

WHOA!!! The Cubs actually held on and won last night. I was watching the game and as Dumpster gave up that triple I was thinking I was going to get to write a column on how he let the Cubs down and how they were blowing their chances. Well they won, but let me tell you I still think that he is not an adequete closer for a playoff team and if despite winning last night, they still are blowing their chances. The can't win a series vs the Pirates and if they don't win tonight it will be 2x in a row going to Houston in key situations and not winning either series.
On that triple Dempster gave up, it should have been a double, but I don't know what Felix Pie was thinking or doing when he over ran the ball by a few feet. That was just awful and almost cost the Cubs the game.
Rich Hill came out and looked impressive after a slow start in inning 1. This is the type of game Rich needed and hopefully it will bring him more confidence as lately he has looked liked he has lost a little of the confidence he had earlier this season. If the Cubs can get Rich back on track, I think they will be in good shape this last month.

The Cubs are currently tied with the Brewers for 1st and the Cardinals are now 4 games back. After tonight the Cubs play the Cardinals in St. Louis in a vital 3 game series. I know I say a lot of series are important or vital, but if the Cubs can manage a sweep the Cardinals will all be but eliminated from contention as they have already lost 6 in a row and that would put them at least 6 games out of 1st. If the Cubs win 2 out of 3 the Cardinals will still have a chance, but will be left with no room for error. I have to say I like the fact that Pinella switched the rotation to let Zambrano pitch against the Cardinals and Trachsel against the Astros.

UGH

2007-09-07T11:25:00.000-05:00

So I am at work yesterday all happy the Cubs are going into the top of the 9th inning winning and then what happens, the Dumpster shows up and gives up 5 hits and 4 runs to lead the Cubs to a lose. During this time of year (I know this has been said a billion times), this is not the time for major malfunctions. The Cubs are lucky enough to be in the weakest division in baseball and even have a pretty easy schedule the rest of the way, but for some reason they just aren't winning the games they need to be winning.
Another thing that is REALLY bothering me is when did Old Lou catch ALS? I understand that screwing up a double switch might happen during one game because the pitcher got to the mound before he told the umpire of double switch, due to Lou arguing with ump at end of inning, but to happen again a few days later? This is atrocious. How can a major league manager do this again in the same week? Hasn't he been managing for years? Wasn't he also a player before that? Doesn't he have bench coaches that are suppose to remind him of not screwing up again? If these minor things keep happening (and I am sure he has made other gafs this year, but can't think of them currently off top of head) then management needs to think in going in another direction. This team is barely holding the division lead, it can't afford mistakes like these from LOU.

Cubs make 2 minor transactions

2007-09-01T14:08:00.000-05:00

The Cubs sent Buck Coats to the Cincinnati Reds for a PTBNL and sent Clay Rapada to the Detroit Tigers to finalize the Craig Monroe deal. I was hoping to see Clay in a Cubs uniform this year especially since they needed lefty help out the pen, but I guess that management felt he wasn't a better option than Wil Ohman or Scott Eyre, which must mean he truly disappointed them in Iowa this season.

Cubs acquire Trachsel

2007-09-01T13:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday the Cubs acquired Steve Trachsel from the Orioles for Rocky Cherry and Scott Moore. I don't know why the Cubs gave up so much for the slowest pitcher in baseball. Remind me when he pitches to get a book out so I can read a page in between pitches. Scott Moore doesn't play defense too well, but he could have been an effective guy off the bench to play the corners that bats lefty. I am sure the Cubs could have just given them Rocky Cherry for Steve and the Orioles would have been fine, especially the way their bullpen has performed lately.
My other thoughts on getting Trachsel are these. First I think it was smart by Hendry to get another starting pitcher, especially a righty, because Sean Marshall has been getting some bad matchups and not performed as well in the 2nd half. I am also not saying that the Cubs dump Marshall, but a playoff run is no time for him to gain his experience. Secondly as I stated earlier, it is good that he is righty as having 3 lefties in the rotation was hurting the team. Thirdly in August Steve was pretty good at not letting runs cross the plate, yes he gave up a bunch of hits, but who cares if they don't score.
Why don't the Cubs play Matt Murton? Craig Monroe hasn't been to good this year and yes I was glad to get him, but for coming off the bench. Murton whose OPS in August was .920 in August in 72+ plate appearances. Since when is that not good enough to start? Sometimes I wonder about the decisions Lou is making. Like yesterday when he left Cliff Floyd in to pinch hit against the lefty Trevor Miller, any reason he didn't put in a righty?

Have to love Power

2007-08-28T11:55:00.000-05:00

The title of this article is due to the fact I had no power for a few days and my parents didn't have power even a few more days than I went without. Now that the power is restored and my life is back in order I am online to write about the beloved Cubbies.

The Cubs are still in first place after struggling in Arizona only because the Brewers and Cardinals also struggled in there respective series. This upcoming series is VERY important to the Cubs because it is verse the 2nd place Brewers. If the Cubs don't come out and play hard and consider this a playoff series, they might as well just pack it in for the season. With Soriano coming back tonight the team is getting the boost it should need for the final 5 weeks of season to hold off the other teams. The Cubs need to win 2 of 3 if not get a sweep here, I know I said this before (Cinci series) and they failed, but they really need to now.

Since my last post the Cubs also acquired Craig Monroe from the Tigers for the infamous PTBNL. I know C-MO has not been any good verse righties this season, but this is still a decent pickup for the Cubs. As for the moment his bat is more valuable off the bench than Jake Fox. Now when will the Cubs figure out what to do with Felix Pie. It is too late to send him back to Iowa as he has sat the whole month of August, but if they don't start playing him soon, they are not only going to hurt his future development, but most likely bring down his trade value as other teams will wonder what his flaw is for not being in lineup of Jones (who has been EXCELLENT in August).

After this 3 game series the Cubs then face the Astros who just fired their GM and manager. Going 4-2 in those 6 games would do a lot in getting breathing room from at least one of the 2 teams on the Cubs butt and also bring some confidence back to the team. The one good thing about the Astros series is that it is in Chicago and not Houston (where for some reason during my lifetime, the Cubs have had a hard time winning there).

Big Series

2007-08-14T17:51:00.000-05:00

This is a big series for the Cubs because they need to sweep the Reds. I know that in the past when they play the Reds it usually is a close series, but this Reds team is 17 games under .500 and it should be what is needed to wake the Cubs up. The Cubs are running out of time to keep going into these funks where they win 1 and then lose 2 and it goes on for 10 games or so. Only 4 games behind the Cubs now are the hated Cardinals who come into town this weekend for a 3 game series.
This series against the Reds has the Cubs throwing Zambrano, Lilly, and Marquis verse Harang, Dumatrait and Livingston. I think the matchups favor the Cubs in the first 2 games, but the third game will on depend on what Jason shows up on the mound. Last game Marquis threw a great game until he hit Jeff Baker in the head which then Pinella took him out right after as he was visibly shaken and that and hopefully won't have a lingering effect on him as the Cubs need Jason at his best.
Also (though I don't know for a fact) Aramis Ramirez should be back for this series and that is key as the Cubs miss the threat of his power in the lineup, especially with Soriano out.
This will also allow Murton to get out of the clean-up spot where he is not well suited and he can drop down a spot or 2.

One to forget

2007-08-12T00:06:00.000-05:00

Tonight's game is just one to forget. Nothing really went well for the Cubs today. On the field and on other fields, as the Astros had 1 more out to go to beat the Brewers tonight, but then gave up back to back homers to Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder to lose the game 7-4.
In the Cubs game it was tied until Mr. Carroll came up and hit a Grand Slam verse Rich Hill. Carroll not known for his homer power as he has 2 this year and both verse the Cubs, got a fast ball straight down the middle and it barely made it over the wall. After that it was just down hill as Michael Wuertz was the only Cub not to give up a run, Sean Gallagher came in and got hammered (now probably headed back down to minors) and Scott Eyre wasn't any better in his time on the mound tonight (2 bad appearances in a row). About the only good thing to come out of the night was that Felix Pie went 2-4 (though he had 2 k's).
Hopefully tomorrow Cubs starter Sean Marshall can do better, but like Hill Coors isn't probably the best place for him to excel in. He will be facing Tim Harikkala who has not pitched in the MLB in a few years, so that is a bonus for the Cubs.

You're Welcome Mr. Hendry (2nd half needs revisited)

2007-08-11T13:34:00.000-05:00

I wrote this article around the all star break and pointed out the Cubs needed to do 7 things.

1) Get rid of Izturis and bring up Cedeno. Done, your'e welcome Mr. Hendry.
2) Play Pie everyday or send him down, let Murton come up and start. Well Pie was down, but is back up due to injuries, but I don't think he will be up long again. Murton has come up and is hitting the cover off the ball, see what happens when he gets a consistent job. Again, you're welcome Mr. Hendry.
3) Improve in catching. Traded for Jason Kendall, who is no superstar, but is a huge improvement over Rob Bowen. Mr. Hendry you think should leave me a comment thanking me.
4) Get a reliable lefty. Well they sent down Oh-MAN and that is addition by subtraction. While I thought about getting a reliever, Mr. Hendry solved the problem by just getting rid of one. Well Mr. Hendry I owe you a thank you, Thank you.
5) 12 pitchers. Still with 12 pitchers, but that is fine as long as one of them is not Oh-MAN, though I think the Cubs would be better off with another bat and Sean Gallagher in the minors. Mr. Hendry you can still correct this.
6) Stop Walking people. Well this one still is up in the air as I haven't looked it up yet, but I think they aren't doing any better from watching the games. Come on Mr. Rothschild.
7) Luck. Well the Cubs were getting some luck going their way until some injuries. Come on Lady Luck, us Cub fans need you.

Looks like the Cubs have been following a lot of what I said and they have gained 4 games in 31 days on the 1st place Brewers and remain only .5 out of first. At this pace the Cubs should win the division by 5 games and if that happens. You're welcome Mr. Hendry.

Cubs Update

2007-08-11T11:33:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack up updates since daughter's birthday, but unfortunately for me I caught the flu and this is the first day I have been well.
The Cubs started slumping as soon as I said congrats and I was starting to get convinced that they were getting good, but the good news is so were the Brewers. Now the Cubs hit Colorado and have started winning again and hopefully can keep it going. Though it will be tougher with the losing Soriano for up to 6 weeks (but gives Murton a shot to prove he belongs in lineup) and Ramirez wrist hurting.
Something that irked me today from the Chicago Tribune. Did anyone see the picture of Jacque Jones getting caught in rundown in paper? Why would they put that in the paper when A) the Cubs won, B)many other pictures to put, C) Jacque went 4-5 at the plate. Over the last couple of weeks Jacque Jones has been hitting the ball pretty well and getting on base, so why put a picture of him failing at something? I didn't and still don't like that signing, but the Tribune can't be putting pictures like that up when he is doing so well. Maybe they just want to remind us fans the otherside of Jacque Jones.
I have seen the Cubs put in a waiver request for Scott Posednik of the White Sox, well first the Sox won't be dumping him to the Cubs. Secondly this is only a good idea if you plan to use him off the bench, Scott is not a starter and I think over the last year and a half has proven that he isn't a too good as a starter. If the Cubs could get him for a mid-level prospect and plan for him to come off bench instead of rookie Eric Patterson then this is definitely an upgrade for the season (as Eric needs more time in minors) and then when Ward comes off DL, they can also send Pie back down to get more PA's in.

First place Cubs

2007-08-02T11:34:00.000-05:00

Wow, in late May, who would have thought the Cubs would be tied for first place this time of season? I for one was not a believer, but little by little the Cubs have started making me believe they can win the division. Ok, I understand it is a pretty weak division this year, but that is not the Cubs fault. This team has a lot of guys doing the little things to win games and for the most part the pitching has been pretty good, minus a few here or there (Marquis, Erye and a lot of times Ohman). The Cubs will be sending down Rocky Cherry (I assume) on Friday and bringing back Kerry Wood. This can only help the team as I said before, and I will also state again I don't think Kerry Wood will be a great pitcher, but if he can be adequate then I think just his presence will help give the Cubs a boost in the clubhouse. He is a well liked guy (from what I have read) in the clubhouse and that extra boost might be what the Cubs need to get past the Brewers and stave off the Cardinals late run (assuming they have one).
I don't like the fact the Cubs didn't go get another bat to PH for them with Daryle Ward out and the bench full of young guys. I understand it has been working so far, but I think in September and October (if the Cubs can get there) the experience of a veteran will prove more beneficial than having either Pagan, Cedeno or Fontenot coming off the bench.

Just Because

2007-08-02T11:30:00.001-05:00

Early birthday for my daughter, thought these pictures were cute.

Cubs win 2 of 3: Also make some moves.

2007-07-27T17:49:00.000-05:00

The Cubs did a good job in St. Louis winning 2 of the 3 games. The first 2 games the Cubs did everything right, but in game three it was just one of those games you forget about and go and play the next evening. The next series is verse the Cincinnati Reds and the Cubs should win 2 of three in this series. The Reds have been very disappointing this year and with the way the Cubs have been playing since mid-June things are looking good for that result.

The Cubs called up Matt Murton and Rocky Cherry today and sent down Jake Fox and Billy Petrick. This move helps the Cubs bench out and brings them a very reliable righty bat to come off the bench and start in RF when Floyd needs time off and in LF if Soriano should need a day off. Billy fate was sealed after that debacle of an appearance last night in St. Louis and Rocky gives the Cubs that unnecessary reliever that they want.

There aren't many days until the trade deadline, but the Cubs so far have stood pat after getting Jason Kendall. I think if the Cubs are going to want to be series post seaosn contenders they need to go out and get a veteran bat for off the bench. These young guys have all done well, but when it comes time in the playoffs, will they be able to do it with the spotlight on?

Cedeno called up

2007-07-24T19:00:00.000-05:00

Scott Moore's time was brief as the Cubs sent him down today and recalled Ronny Cedeno. Moore was not needed now that Derek Lee is back and Cliff Floyd is feeling better. This now gives them a backup SS and maybe even split some starting time with Theriot there. I think Ronny deserved his recall after the way he hit in the minors, but I also think that if the Cubs are just going to let him sit on the bench they might as well send him back down. I say that because he is swinging a good bat right now and to let him sit on the bench and not play would most likely cool him off. Jake Fox is currently still up on the team, but I am not sure that will last much longer. He is not getting any PT and he needs that to improve as he was just coming up from AA.

Tonight is a key game for the Cubs because it is against St. Louis and while they are 5 behind the Cubs currently, the last thing the Cubs or their fans want to see is them getting hot. And a way to do that is beat the Cubs up this series. So the Cubs need to go down there thinking of this as a playoff series and needing to take at least 2 of 3. Anything less should not be acceptable. I know all season I have said the Cubs suck and they have no chance, but some how the team has put themselves 3.0 games out of first place and they actually do have a shot. I think that the next thing they need to do is trade and acquire a GOOD veteran for the bench, not in the caliber of Jose Macias, Nefi Perez, John Mabry or Todd Hollandsworth. This will only solidify their chances and also get Jake Fox back to the minors where he belongs.

Cubs make some minor moves

2007-07-20T22:05:00.001-05:00

Today Daryle Ward went on the 15-day DL with a strained right calf and I don't really know how he got hurt on that play, but I guess he did. To replace him the Cubs brought up Scott Moore who will probably stay as long as Derek Lee is serving his suspension. I suspect after that is over that the Cubs will swap him and Ronny Cedeno. Since Izturis is gone the Cubs need a backup SS and Cedeno makes the most logical sense. Though in the past Scott Moore did play SS, so maybe if he shows in 4 games that he can him MLB pitching, they will keep him up.
The Cubs then sent Sean Gallagher back to Iowa and activated Ryan Dempster. Gallagher got the save the other day by going 4 innings in relief for Carlos Zambrano. This move strengths the pen (yeah I know I said it) and not because of getting Dempster back as closer, but it keeps Scott Eyre further down in on the bench. With 2 inexperienced minor league pitchers on the team there was a chance of Scott getting in a useful game. Now he is further down behind, Dempster, Marmol, Wuertz, Howry and even Ohman (Oh-Man). And even better news is that Kerry Wood is pitching well in the minors while getting the ball up to 95 mph. If he can come up and provide some relief that would make Scott the last guy on the bench and maybe the team will even see fit then to just eat the rest of his contract.

Izturis Traded

2007-07-19T13:09:00.000-05:00

Today the Cubs traded Cesar Izturis and cash considerations to the Pirates for a player to be named later. To take his spot Jake Fox has been brought up instead of Matt Murton who still is failing to impress management. I still think Matt Murton is more ready than Jake Fox, but the Cubs feel that Jake has shown more. In the minors Murton who got off to a slow start has been hitting the ball well enough to get his batting line up to .311/.394./.538 which to me is pretty good and as anyone that reads this knows I think he has a great swing.
While I am happy in dumping Izturis, I have to say, bringing up Fox doesn't really improve the roster and I am still not sure what Jim Hendry plan is for the stretch run for the Cubs. They seem to need more power and another righty bat off the bench because while Ward has been hitting for average, he has not been hitting any homers. This then leaves it up to Fontenot, Pagan, and Hill to provide power, which none really provide. I also understand Fox has some power and I like his potential, I just don't think he is ready to help the Cubs who have been showing some life since June.

Funny fact about the trade, Izturis was actually in the starting lineup and on the field for batting practice today.

Cubs trade for Kendall

2007-07-18T12:16:00.000-05:00

The other day the Cubs acquired Jason Kendall from the Oakland A's. The Cubs traded Rob Bowen and Jerry Blevins to them and received some cash to pay for the 13 million that Kendall is due this season.
My thoughts on the trade are that while Jason Kendall is washed up and probably not worth 3 million a year, he is still better then the combination of players the Cubs were throwing behind the plate. Kendall is known to be a good pitch caller and is a better 2nd half player. Taking this into consideration it was no brainer for the Cubs. You are probably thinking, didn't you say he was washed up? Well yes I did, but a washed up Kendall is still better than what the Cubs were putting behind the plate. The only problem I really have with this trade right now is that Jerry Blevins got traded. Why you ask? Well it is not that I think he will be a great pitcher, though I hope he becomes one, it is because he went to the University of Dayton, my alma mater. I had been following his progress in the minors and was hoping he would get a chance to play in Wrigley one day, he still may, just probably not in a Cub's uniform. This deal also allows the Cubs to send down Geovany Soto when Ryan Dempster is available to come off DL.

Cubs Update: What is needed in 2nd half

2007-07-09T11:22:00.000-05:00

Well since the last time I wrote, the Cubs trade for Jacque Jones fell through. I don't know the exact reason, but I assume it has to do with money. I have read many rumors on why it fell apart, but they are all so different I don't know which one to believe. All I know is he is still a Cub.
The Cubs had been on a roll until they went to Pittsburgh and lost 2 of 3, but they have managed to creep back into the division race and are currently 4.5 games out of 1st.

What should the team do to get into first after break?

1) First thing they need to due is replace Cesar Izturis. I'd say bring up Ronnie Cedeno who is tearing up AAA, but with Theriot and Fontenot up, that would just be repetitive and not too helpful. To replace him they need to go out and trade for a utility guy that has some consistent pop and won't need to play everyday (unless they go out and acquire a FT Shortstop). By the way, let me say I am very glad the Cubs didn't listen to me earlier this year and say sign Julio Lugo, man has he been awful in Boston.

2) They need to either play Pie everyday and let him take his lumps or they need to send him down to the minors and bring up another bat to come off the bench. The way the Cubs are using Felix is helping no one and only going to hurt the Cubs in the long run. Maybe bring up Matt Murton (though he hasn't been showing much in AAA) or go out and trade for CF/RF who can help out, as Angel Pagan is getting too much PT for a contending team.

3) Improve hitting at catching. I don't care if this means calling up Jake Fox or Geovany Soto, but neither Koyie Hill or Rob Bowen are getting the job done at the plate, though Hill has been good defensively and the Cubs are winning with him calling the pitches. I know they say Henry Blanco is coming back soon, but he wasn't a good hitter before and I don't really think he will be much of a hitter when he comes back.

4) Get a reliable lefty reliever. Scott Erye and Will Ohman are not consistent enough or good enough to help the Cubs. I joke around that Ohman's name is perfect because when the Cub fans see him come in they say," Oh man," as the runs cross the plate.

5) What is up with needing 12 pitchers? The Cubs keep saying they need 12 pitchers. Why? I don't get it. Maybe they are thinking that Marquis shouldn't have been given the contract he was given as he isn't eating up many innings, but still no reason to go to 12 pitchers. When that happens, you need to make some changes to the front 11 pitchers as a 12 pitcher is overkill.

6) Stop walking people. The Cubs keep walking too many people, especially the first guy a relief pitcher faces out of the pen. Do the Cubs need to put a guy up to bat in the pen when the pitcher is warming up to get him more ready? I don't get it.

7) Luck. No one wins anything without a little bit of luck and the Cubs will be no exception.

Jones Update

2007-06-27T13:51:00.000-05:00

Well it looks like Mr. Jones will be a Cub for a little longer. The deal fell apart last night, with the problem being how much the Cubs were going to pay of his salary. Hopefully for him and the Cubs he is traded soon.

Jacque Jones traded (maybe)

2007-06-26T17:50:00.000-05:00

According to the Florida Sun-Sentinal the Cubs have traded Jacque Jones to the Marlins. It seems the Cubs will be sending the Marlins some money and receiving a prospect in return. According to ChicagoBaseball365.com the Cubs will also be sending the Marlins a player to be named later. This is addition by subtraction as Hendry has finally realized that he should have never signed Jones. This now means the Cubs can add their 12th pitcher, but I think that they should bring Murton back up and split his time with Floyd out in the OF.

While it is not official yet, I don't expect to see Jones on the field. More to come when more info is released.

Bring out the Brooms!!!

2007-06-25T11:59:00.001-05:00

Well the Cubs swept the Sox at Us Cellular this weekend and their pitching kept looking great. Zambrano, Hill and Marshall shut down the White Sox while the Cub's offense was able to score enough runs for them to win. In game 1, Carlos continued his revival on the mound after a month of struggling. It might have helped that the Cubs got a 2-0 lead in the top of the 1st, but after the leads Zambrano has blown this year who knows. It was close until the top of the 9th when the Cubs scored 3 more and went on to win 5-1. Then in the next game the Cubs scored the winning run on a suicide squeeze, which would never have been called with Baker and if it had, the person doing it surely wouldn't have executed it. In game 3 there was a crazy play which while it was happening I was yelling from my parent's couch that it was a deadball and no one could be out due to Uribe being in basepath when Pagan ran into him. What gets me that is a basic rule and on the replay it even looks as if the 3rd base umpire called it right away, but then there was confusion and a long debate amongst the umpires and even the announcers (one an ex-manager) had no clue what was going on.
My concern about the upcoming series is Aramis Ramirez didn't look to healthy on the bases and now that there is no DH, can he perform on the field? I am hoping he can, but it also wouldn't be the first time the Cubs activated a guy a little to early.

Barrett traded

2007-06-21T13:50:00.000-05:00

Michael Barrett was traded yesterday to the Padres for Rob Bowen and minor leaguer Kyler Burke. The Cubs have said this trade has nothing to do with what happened with either Zambrano or Hill, but since they received so little I don't agree with that. I think this is an awful trade and I don't see the Cubs improving with Hill and Bowen switching up at catcher. Unless the Cubs are about to go out and acquire another catcher or Jake Fox has suddenly learned to be defensive, I think this is the wrong move.
I was so hoping the Cubs would not give up a homer to Sosa, but it happened last night as Jason Marquis let him hit #600. The Cubs should have just walked him or thrown him junk last night, so they would not be the team to let him get to that milestone number, but I know they have to think about winning game first.
In other moves I missed Matt Murton was sent to the minors and since he has been down there is hitting 3-15 with all three hits extra base hits. He also has walked 4 times, but these are not the numbers the Cubs want to see. Matt needs to get his average back up for him to be recalled back up.

My Thoughts

2007-06-09T22:52:00.000-05:00

Well it has been about a week since I last posted and right now I am sitting on the balcony staring at the ocean in Florida. I am taking a week away with my wife and daughter and currently I am borrowing someone's wireless.

Since the last time I posted, Barrett and Zambrano got into a fight, Lou got ejected and then suspended and the Cubs did very well under Alan Trammell. My thoughts on the Zambrano-Barrett fight is that both guys need to use this as a turning point for their season as they both have been under performing on the field. Zambrano as I have stated before needs to be more level headed and stop getting so emotional. I think that when this happens he will become a more effective player. Barrett has had a bad year and needs to focus more and he has even stated that he needs more focus. On a side not Zambrano did very well his last start after the fight.

Lou lost his head the day after the fight and it probably was more planned than he says. He needed the focus off the team and on him and I think it was great. I do think the league was wrong by saying he touched the other umpire and I do have a major problem with the umpires being allowed to push Lou Pinella and have no recourse, but Lou gets 4 games because he touched the umpire and excited the Cub fans.. I don't disagree with the 4 days, but the umpires should get a day or so on the bench too if the touch a player or a coach (unless it is to stop obvious physical harm, then it should be allowed on either end).

It was nice to see Alan Trammell having the Cubs play well and win a few games. I always liked him as a SS for the Tigers growing up and was hoping to see the 1984 Cubs play him, but the pain of that season still hurts me to this day, even more so than the 2003 season. I still think the Cubs would have beaten the Tigers, but we will never know. Also last years Tigers were a major product of Trammell's coaching and even coach Leyland said that.

Why?

2007-06-01T14:57:00.000-05:00

Why are Zambrano and Barrett fighting in the dugout? Both of them have had a crappy day and no matter what was said neither should be made at each other, but at themselves. This is the type of things we as fans expected from Baker's team, but this is not his team anymore. Maybe I was right in my last post, the team needs to clean house and dump them all and start over.

Fundamentals

2007-06-01T14:25:00.000-05:00

I have said it before and will say it again, when are the Cub's going to learn to play fundamental baseball? I am watching this game and Theriot missed a pop-up in inning one that should have been recorded an error, but was a hit. Then later in same inning, why the heck is Barrett calling for an 0-2 fastball to Andrew Jones, when that is what he got the first 2 pitches? Result an rbi hit. Then later DeRosa should be covering the middle of he IF with Harris on 1st and Renteria batting, he is not what happens, he misses an easy ground ball if here were in the place he was suppose to be in. Then in this inning DeRosa is about to catch a pop-up and Matt Murton calls him off and drops it, resulting in another run. These things are what have been killing the Cubs for years and are not changing anytime soon. I was just teasing with my dog-walker Mike, that the Cubs should cut everyone in the organization, including the vendors and start from scratch. All I can say it couldn't be any worse than it has been for the last 99 years.

Added:
Well as I continue to watch this debacle of a game the Cubs have made 2 more fundamental mistakes costing them 2 runs. Jacque Jones committed one, by 2-hopping the ball to the cut-off man and Barrett on the pb, recovered and threw the ball into left field which allowed Thorman to score.

When is Lou gonna learn?

2007-05-28T22:50:00.001-05:00

Why doesn't Lou let Michael Wuertz go 2 innings when he is pitching well? Instead he goes to Howry or Eyre, both of whom have really sucked this year. Not only did Howry and Eyre blow it for them LA, today Eyre came in and gave up 2 runs in less then 2 innings which turned out to be the runs that lost the game 5-3. The Cubs gave both of them too big of contracts last off season and I think that they should put Howry in long relief to see if he can get back into form and well my opinion on what to do with Eyre is not as nice. They should eat his contract as he is done. He has pitched too many times and innings over last few seasons it looks like and he really doesn't have anything left.

Drives me Crazy

2007-05-23T17:15:00.000-05:00

I want to vent because this weekend I went to the White Sox and Cubs series (all 3 games) and I want to vent about the ignorant drunk fans. I am a collector of sports jerseys and where them all the time, for games one and two I wore an Athletics jersey and a Devil Rays jersey to the first 2 games. The reason I am bitching is neither team is a threat to the Cubs or even in the same division as the White Sox, but I had a bunch of drunk fans get in my face and tell me how much I suck and I should go home back to said home city (which for me is 4 blocks from Wrigley). Well what made it worse was 95% of the idiots would then yell go Cubs after shouting ignorant phrases to me. I know it has been this way at Wrigley since the late 90's, but it is getting very hard to step into Wrigley and enjoy a game these days due to the drunks and the vendors that are in your face every three seconds (that is a story for another day).
Now before I get a ton of hate mail, I am not saying all fans are like this or even most, but it is becoming very prevalent at Wrigley and I just wish it would change.

What are they thinking?

2007-05-23T17:06:00.000-05:00

For the life of me I can't see why the Cubs are trying to turn Angel Guzman into a closer. I understand Ryan Dempster needs to be relieved of his duty as closer, but this solution is one of the worst I have seen. Please someone buy the Cubs and fire everyone from top-down. Angel Guzman is a guy that has a history of arm problems and has been struggling to get past the 6th inning due to fatigue. So what role do the Cubs decide to put him in? Well closer of course, why not, since a closer has to pitch 2 sometimes 3 days in a row. And Angel has definitely shown in his career that he can pitch with the greatest of endurance (notice the sarcasm). Just another move by an organization that has no clue. Let me also say I have nothing wrong with Sean Marshall coming up and starting, but I just think it is for the wrong reasons. Hopefully he can come up and do well, but I don't think it will help much as the Cubs sometimes are just too lifeless out in the field.

Throw Strikes

2007-05-15T20:25:00.000-05:00

I don't get how a pitcher can't just throw strikes when they need to. There is no reason the Cubs should have lost last night, but thanks to Mr. Wuertz (a pitcher I really like) decided to walk the last 3 guys he faced. His last pitch on the 3-2 count wasn't even close, which as a fan really ticks me off. Just throw the ball down the middle, if he hits a hr, so be it, but don't walk in the winning run. That is just obscene. The Cubs are destroying the Mets in g2 as I write this so it will be up to tomorrow's game to see if the Cubs can win the series.

In other news Rocky Cherry was optioned to Iowa and the Cubs brought up IF Mike Fontenot who had 2 plate appearances last year. This is a good move for the Cubs I think because
overall there starters have gone long enough in games that there is no need for 12 pitchers and with Derek Lee out for another game or so, having another bat off the bench couldn't hurt (unless it was Jose Macias or Nefi Perez).

New York Mets Series: A Good Test

2007-05-14T17:14:00.000-05:00

This upcoming series with the Mets is a good test to see if the Cubs are going to have any chance to compete this year. The Cubs are 35 games into the season, which is a little more than 20% of the season being done. At this point I would have to say the Cub fans are a little disappointed in the record at the moment. That being said the Cubs did start out much worse than their record is now. The Mets at the moment are 10 games above .500 and the Cubs will be facing Glavine, Maine and Jorge Sosa, while throwing Marquis, Zambrano and Hill against them. If the Cub's can win 2 of 3 in this series it would bring them back to .500, but hopefully some confidence in winning a series verse a very good team on the road.
To win the series the Cubs need to do a few things: First thing is they need a very strong performance out of Zambrano because without him improving they have no shot this season. Secondly they need to run the bases much better, I understand that Soriano was favoring his hammy, but in knowing that, he shouldn't have tried to score. It is small mental mistakes like that, that cost the Cubs runs and kills rallies and momentum. Third thing they need to do is work more counts. I know they have been better this year than in the recent past, but that is not saying much. With Glavine on the mound tonight, they need to make him throw a bunch of pitches and not just swing at first pitch because usually doing that results in a ground out with Glavine pitching.

Cubs improving

2007-05-10T13:36:00.000-05:00

It was about 2 weeks ago when I was in the midst of chaos in the house that I talked to my buddy Mike Marron on the phone and we were both convinced that the Cubs would not see .500 again this year. They were playing fundamentally unsound and not doing the little things that needed to be done (almost a repeat of last year). I told Mike I didn't expect to see improvement in the team until next year because it takes a while for a team to relearn the fundamentals. I compared it to playing basketball and then not playing it for 4 years and the trying to play again. In your mind you might know exactly what to do, but translating that to performance is a different story. I don't think the Cub players have forgotten the fundamentals, but I think under Dusty Baker they weren't practiced or preached for so long it will take some time getting them back and being able to translate those fundamentals into wins.
Since that talk the Cubs for the most part have proven me wrong by winning 9 of their last 11 and should have won the extra inning game verse Pittsburgh, but failed to get a run in with no outs in the 8th and then blew the lead in the 9th (along with many other problems that game). I am hoping that the team is learning from Lou that if you do the little things that the wins will come. If the team continues on this pace, I might be owing my buddy a nice dinner, but it will be one bet I don't mind losing.

Pie sent down

2007-05-10T13:33:00.000-05:00

The Cubs sent down Felix Pie today and recalled Angel Pagan to the team. This is the right move for Pie because he has only been used as a late inning replacement this month and that is not what he needs to be doing to improve. He needs to play everyday and if that is in Iowa so be it. Angel Pagan really doesn't do much to improve the Cubs, but he adds some speed to the bench and helps out by being a late inning defense replacement for Floyd when he is in the game.

Mark Prior

2007-05-05T11:52:00.000-05:00

Well I know this is a little late, but better late than never. By now everyone who is a Cub's fan knows that Mark Prior had surgery and it revealed a lot more than previously thought. First I have to apologize to Mark Prior for questioning his willingness to play with a slight injury as I was wrong, sorry Mark. The Cubs blew this from day one as they had no backup plan for someone to take his spot in rotation and forced him to try and pitch, while not really trying to diagnose him right and fix the problem a couple years ago. Also I think we have seen the last as Mark as a Cub and not because the Cub's won't try and bring him back, but I think he is done with the hassle of being a Cub and doesn't want to deal with the management that mismanaged his career. I don't know if he will be able to come back and be what he was, but I think under the right ownership and some hard work, Mark can become a serviceable pitcher in the majors again.
I really wish the Cubs had put a leash on Wood and Prior in their early years and had given Dusty Baker someone he could have trusted in the pen because these guys could have been something very special. I know that Wood had already been hurt prior to Dusty taking over as manager, but he didn't help Kerry keep stress off his arm. Let's just hope that Carlos Zambrano's troubles are not because Dusty wore out his arm with his high pitch counts. If so, maybe the Cubs can hire a good lawyer and sue to get some money back (not like it would be re-invested in the team).

Back

2007-05-05T10:12:00.000-05:00

Sorry for not posting lately, my life has been hectic. First it was selling the condo and then buying the house. Once that settled I was ready to write and then tragedy hit my circle of friends. A good friend of mine Matt Cote, his wife Vanessa Cote passed away last week giving birth to their 2nd child. Vanessa was the nicest person I have ever met and no matter what happened always had a smile. Her and Matt had been together since Freshman year in HS and they were the perfect couple. Since that happened I haven't been in the mood to write, but now I am back. Later today there will be a post and going forward will be constant postings.

Angel Guzman

2007-04-18T14:55:00.000-05:00

According to rotoword.com the Cubs are going to let Angel Guzman have 2 starts down in AAA Iowa and if he does well might bring him back up to replace Wade Miller. This would be a very smart move as Wade Miller hasn't shown much this year and I don't think it is due to a lack of trying. Unfortunately injuries haven't been kind to Miller and I don't think he can be an effective starter anymore. Angel on the other hand I think can be a very helpful addition to the rotation.

Also yesterday Felix Pie played in his first major league game and looked pretty good. He had an RBI double and threw a man out at the plate. I think if he can keep it up it would be wise to keep him in CF when Soriano is healthy and put Jones on the bench and Soriano out in LF so he doesn't have to run as much and hopefully doesn't re-injure his hammy.

UGH!

2007-04-17T12:07:00.000-05:00

I was out of town this weekend in Dayton, Ohio for a baseball draft (I know a little late) and missed watching all 3 games. I did see the first 4 innings on Friday before leaving and listening to Zambrano meltdown on the mound. As much as I like Carlos, he needs to see a shrink or get his head on straight some other way. He gets too emotional and when things go bad for him he tries to reach for that something extra and if the first guy he does that to gets on it is over for him. I know Lou probably didn't want that sound bite from after that game to be replayed over and over, but it was the truth and maybe the Cubs will start to listen. The next game which they won was on draft day and the only game on at the house I was at was the Indians vs. White Sox game, so I payed more attention to the draft. I then heard the 3rd game on the Reds radio station on the way home (which was some very good listening I might add), but that ended up being a wasted effort by Lilly since the offense decided not to show up at all.
So why the UGH?
Well last night as I was bowling for a buddies team, I see on the screen above me, the team's major signing looking injured. Alfonso Soriano is suppose to get an MRI today to see the extent of his left hamstring injury, but according to rotoworld.com Soriano expects to miss at least 5 days, which isn't good when a player is saying that. I expect to get more grim news today and hear that he is out for about at least 3-4 weeks with more than a minor strain (hopefully I am wrong). If that is the case, I fully expect to see Felix Pie up in the majors in the next few days.

Prior leaves game early

2007-04-12T16:55:00.000-05:00

Well this isn't the news the Cubs or the fans wanted to hear, but today Mark Prior left his extended spring training start after only 2 innings with shoulder discomfort. Prior is scheduled to go see Dr. Yocum later to check on his shoulder. I am positive it will reveal he needs some type of surgery thus probably putting the end to his career as a Cub. I don't want to blame Baker, but in 2003 he did ride him and Wood for all they had and they haven't been the same since. With this injury and Wade Miller not looking sharp, I am wondering if the Cubs will send Miller to the pen for long relief and let Angel Guzman become the starting pitcher. If they are going to do that I would bring up a pitcher and send down Guzman for 2 starts to stretch out his arm. I think they have a better chance to win with Guzman as a starter then they do with Miller.

Cubs Thoughts: Milwaukee games and Opening day

2007-04-10T13:27:00.000-05:00

I have not posted in a few days and that is because I have been going to many Cubs games and Easter Day falling in there. I went to Milwaukee this weekend to see the games on Friday and Saturday night and got to see the Cubs win both games. I have never been to Miller Park with the roof closed and I must say it is nice and warm in there when it is. Another tip is if you ever go there and stay in a hotel take a Cab to stadium, the longest time ever to park a car there.
Getting back to the games, it was nice to see that Zambrano looked sharp and so did Rich Hill. The hitting looked good overall and the defense wasn't too bad. The 3rd game, I watched at my folks house and it wasn't as nice. Wade Miller looked less then sharp and has had his next start pushed back to April 18 and if he doesn't do good there I don't think we will see much of him as a starter anymore (which isn't a bad thing).
Yesterday I went to opening day (20th time in 22 years)with my old pal Tracy Legel and got to watch the Cubs lose the game in the 8th inning. My biggest complaint is why do you make a double switch and then not leave Wuertz to pitch the 8th inning? When I saw the double switch take place I was sure Wuertz was in the game for 2 innings, but Lou decided that he should go with Howry who has not looked sharp yet and hopefully comes around. Then with a 3-2 count lets Adam Everett hit a 2-run homer, a guy who has a career slugging percentage of .363. Besides that decision the Cubs had plenty of opportunities to score runs, but couldn't get the clutch hit(s) they needed. I am hoping this doesn't become a theme again this season as it got very tiring to watch last year.
As I write this article, the Cubs are losing 3-0 to the Astros.

Cubs starting off slow

2007-04-05T16:29:00.000-05:00

The Cubs have lost their first series of the year to the Reds 2-1 after losing today 5-2. The Cubs who were hot as can be hitting in spring are cold as the weather has been here in Chicago the last few days. The one thing I have learned from these last few games is that Carlos Zambrano should NEVER start game 1. He can be there ace, but it seems on opening day that he gets too excited and just overthrows the balls. Ted Lilly looked real good yesterday and Marquis wasn't bad himself today and deserved a win today, but Soriano got picked off 2nd and the pen wasn't good today. Also not sure why Cliff Floyd didn't get to bat against Stanton today, I know a lefty vs lefty situation not ideal, but as big a fan as I am of Cedeno, I still wouldn't have had him ph for Floyd.

This weekend they play the Brewers and I am actually going to the games on Friday and Saturday, it should be fun and I will be cheering on as loud as I can.

Last Chance to enter Bobblehead contest (free)

2007-04-01T11:21:00.000-05:00

Can you guess how many wins the Cubs will have this year?

I am going to have a competition and it is free to enter. The only people not able to win are anonymous posts, if you don't want to sign up to blogger that is fine, just send it in via email and put in header "Cub's Win Competition".

From now until the first pitch of opening season, I want people to send me how many games they think the Cubs will win. I will have 5 tie breakers in this order.

How many wins for Zambrano?
How many hr's for Soriano?
How many plate appearances for Cliff Floyd?
Who will lead the team in saves?
How many stolen bases will Cubs have as team?

Now for the big question, what is the prize?

It will be a Derek Lee boblehead doll.

So go ahead and get your guesses in. DEADLINE is 1st pitch Cub's opening day!!!!

More Cuts

2007-03-29T10:07:00.000-05:00

I have been a little bit sick lately and haven't really felt well enough to write, but feeling much better today. Over the last few days the Cubs have made some roster moves and again none of them surprising.
The first of the moves was sending Felix Pie to AAA. I think this is the smartest thing they have done in a while. He needs more time to learn to bat and there is no need to rush him like they did with Corey Patterson and ruin him. Some Cub fans might disagree, but as I said a few weeks earlier I don't think that they will win many games and this is the best action for the future. The next cuts made that day were assigning the following guys to minor league camp: Koyie Hill, Tomas Perez (thank goodness),Les Walrond.
Then this morning the Cubs sent Mark Prior, Rocky Cherry and Angel Pagan all to the minor leagues. While I love Angel Pagan's name, it might be best that he is not on the roster at the moment. He had a great spring last year, but after that he got injured and didn't show much after that. Rocky is a guy who had a great spring this year, but from the beginning of the camp was a huge longshot to make the team. While Mark Prior going down would have been a shock from the start of the camp, as things played out and with Wade Miller becoming the 5th starter there was no room on the roster for him. Hopefully he goes to Iowa with an open mind and becomes a glimpse of his former self.
The Cubs still have Juan Mateo on the roster, but he will be sent down to the minors and probably open season there on DL. Kerry Wood and Angel Guzman are fighting for the last spot on the roster (not really), with Guzman probably going to win and Wood go on DL. The reason Guzman is going to win, is because Wood shoulder hasn't been as cooperative as it should be and might have to once again start the year on the DL trying to strengthen it.

Roberto Novoa sent down

2007-03-22T13:36:00.000-05:00

Like I thought the other day Roberto Novoa has been sent down to Iowa to start the season. He started the camp with a sore shoulder and then when he did pitch he had a hard time throwing strikes which led to a 11.57 ERA, though he held the opposition to a .200 batting average.

It also looks like Ronny Cedeno will be making the Cubs roster out of camp. The team is impressed with his improved offense and defense. It can't hurt to have Alan Trammell helping out on defense and also can't hurt that Baker's swing always philosophy is gone. Though for overall development of Ronny this might not be the best thing, but he is better to have on bench than Tomas Perez.

Cubs Cuts

2007-03-21T13:24:00.000-05:00

Over the last 24 hours the Cubs have made a number of cuts, none of which are surprising. The team sent the following 3 guys to AAA: Sean Marshall, Carlos Marmol and Geovany Soto while the following non-roster players were sent to minor league camp: Ryan O'Malley, Carmen Pignatiello, Casey McGehee, Micah Hoffpauir and Jake Fox. The team is now down to 36 players in the major league camp with only 2 real races going on. One is the final bullpen spot and the other is for the spot of utility IF or OF.
The bullpen spot is down between Rocky Cherry and Angel Guzman both of whom could end up in the minors if Kerry Wood shows that his arm is healthy enough not to end on the DL. This might be best for Guzman so he can get some innings in the minors as a starter and be the first person recalled to take Wade Miller's place if he falters or gets hurt. I left Roberto Novoa out of the equation becuase I suspect the Cubs will have him start the season on DL to make up for his missed time (though I don't think much of him while he is healthy).
The last spot on the bench looks to be between Buck Coats, Ronny Cedeno, Angel Pagan and Tomas Perez. While I stated early in camp that I wanted Cedeno to be starting SS, I think Izturis has earned the job and it would be better for Cedeno to be in the minors. That said, I think either Pagan or Perez will win the spot on the roster. I say this because even though Coats has come out of nowhere, there really is no place for him to play and he wouldn't help the team overall. Pagan has the inside track due to last season, but he also has been hampered by lingering injuries during camp and isn't any better than a 5th OF anyway. The Cubs might just decide to keep non-roster invitee Tomas Perez. My problem with Tomas Perez is that he is a clone player of Jose Macias (who is available again, maybe I shouldn't say this). This would be the equivalent of having a 24 man roster like the mid 80's experiment.

Michael Wuertz and other pitching updates

2007-03-19T22:34:00.000-05:00

Lou Piniella announced today that Michael Wuertz has made the team unless he gets injured before the end of spring training. I think this is a great decision because as people who know me, I am very high on Wuertz as a setup man. I know that Bob Howry is the primary setup man now and he has done a good enough job to keep it, but if he gets hurt or needs a day off I currently have more faith in Wuertz, than I do Kerry Wood.

Wade Miller has won the job for the 5th starter in the rotation. While I am not high on him, there are plenty worse guys out there to have as a 5th starter. Hopefully Wade can get his velocity up a little bit as the Cubs get into the season and can show that he is worthy of staying in the rotation.

It looks like another season with both Mark Prior and Kerry Wood trying to build up arm strength and most likely to start the season on the DL. The Cubs are saying Wood's arm problem is just a strain, but we all know how accurate the information the Cub's give out about injuries. Mark Prior, well he just has no velocity and isn't pitching well either. He is regressing at an ever speedy pace and I wonder if he can ever turn it around.

Ryan Dempster

2007-03-14T19:13:00.000-05:00

Ryan Dempster has also decided to donate to Derek Lee's charity, Project 3000. He is giving $50,000 to start and 1,000 for each save. He also had a real funny quote, "I'm actually going to do more than Michael," Dempster said. "I'm going to do $100,000 for every home run I hit." I hope Dempster hits a homer, not to screw him, but to help the charity. As I said earlier when Barrett said he was donating, I think all the Cubs players should do something for the charity, even if it is just a little contribution.

Cub Roster Cuts

2007-03-13T00:08:00.000-05:00

Today the Cubs made their first round of cuts and none of them were a real surprise. If I had to pick some though one would be Scott Moore, but he became an early cut due to a sore shoulder that has kept him out most of the spring. Another was Clay Rapada who people had been saying might surprise people early in the off-season, was cut most likely due to Cotts now being in the pen. Here are the rest of the cuts: Brian Dopirak optioned to Double-A Tennessee, Samardzija optioned to Class A Daytona. The following 10 players were all sent to Minor League Cam, pitchers Jason Anderson, Sean Gallagher, Adam Harben, Ben Howard, John Webb and Randy Wells. Infielders Mike Kinkade and Eric Patterson and outfielders Tyler Colvin and Chris Walker.

Prior sucks again, maybe an Angel can save us

2007-03-11T15:16:00.000-05:00

Well Mark Prior went out there again yesterday and didn't look good. Once again he couldn't get any of his breaking stuff over the plate and his velocity was that of a turtle. He had a quote on the Chicago Cubs website about his velocity that cracked me up, "I'm not worried about the velocity," Prior said. "It'll come. It's not something you lose."
If velocity is something you don't lose, then how come he doesn't have it? And I would like him to ask other pitchers that have had continuous shoulder problems if they have lost velocity and if it ever came back. A lot of times it doesn't and when it doesn't, Mark is either going to have to learn how to actually pitch the ball or he will become another one of the many 1st round flops the Cub's have had.

Angel Guzman put in three solid innings of work and has looked good all spring. He has put himself in the running for the 5th starting spot and if he continues to pitch the way he is, the Cubs will have to give it to him ahead of Wade Miller or Mark Prior. I know I would rather have Angel over Wade, and if Mark keeps up at this pace then I would surely want Angel of Mark.

My Predictions

2007-03-10T01:10:00.000-06:00

Well my buddy Mike Marron called me tonight and we got in a small disagreement on how the Cubs will finish. I told him I don' t think that they will be at or above .500 this year. He called me crazy and bet me a dinner on it. Mike I can't wait until the season is over and I am at Joe's Stone Crab eating some nice big stone crabs.

Here are my predictions below for the year. Maybe I can win my bobblehead doll.
Cubs record. 77-85 (that is for my sister, kind of like The Price is Right)
How many wins for Zambrano? 15
How many hr's for Soriano? 38
How many plate appearances for Cliff Floyd? (too many) 310
Who will lead the team in saves? Dempster
How many stolen bases will Cubs have as team? 81

Contest reminder

2007-03-09T13:34:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to remind people I have the contest I have going on. It is a chance to win a free Derek Lee bobblehead, anyone can enter.
If you want either enter as a comment (not anonymous because I won't know who you are) or email via contact link. In email put "Cubs Contest" in title. The deadline for entering is 1 second before the first pitch to the Cubs in Cincinnati on April 2.

Contest

Not a good day at office for Cubs pitchers. Other notes.

2007-03-08T18:05:00.000-06:00

Today wasn't a good day on the mound for either Wade Miller or Kerry Wood, though Wood has the worst day of the two. Along with Mark Prior sucking in his last appearance the race for who is going to be 5th sp not really enticing (I know Wood going to be a relief pitcher).
From what I have read Mark Prior's velocity is down a lot. This should be a concern to the Cubs and us fans. Why? Well it just means that he probably will never be worthwhile, not even as a relief pitcher if he doesn't turn it around. I don't know if his shoulder is shot or if he just doesn't give a damn. I sometimes think that he has money now and just doesn't try in the off-season to build up his arm strength so he is not coming into camp throwing 85-87 mph.

Felix Pie is hitting the ball well this spring and hopefully can keep it up. I don't think he will keep hitting at this pace (.421), but if he keeps doing well, the Cubs might give him an early call-up this year and move Soriano to RF and take Jones out of the lineup. This I think not only would make the lineup better, but also help the team improve defensively.

Cub Rantings

2007-03-05T00:45:00.001-06:00

I know that it is only spring training, but the Cubs are not off to a good start. Today getting shellacked by the White Sox and have still yet to win a game. The good thing about it is mostly the guys getting hit hard and the errors made on the field are from players most likely not to be on the team. Mateo and Marmol, who were both long-shots to begin with, were hit in their first appearances and need to show something more if they expect to be even consider for the last spot in the pen.

Wade Miller started the other day and did semi-decent, though I read at www.rotoworld.com that his velocity was still down. I am really hoping that Mark Prior shows something this spring to take the 5^th spot in the rotation because I have more faith in Prior than I do in Miller. I don’t think Miller can be effect over a season if his velocity does not increase.

Matt Murton has been starting in LF because Cliff Floyd still isn’t ready for game duty, and the Cubs expect him to start around March 10 or so. Hopefully Murton keeps hitting well and earns more playing time for the upcoming season.

Another thing I wanted to comment on is Michael Barrett giving $10,000 for every homer he hits to Lee’s Project 3000. I think more players on the team should do the same, maybe not the same dollar amount or even same charity and then the Cubs organization should match the amount. This would be great for the community and charities and would also be nice publicity for the Cubs and the Tribune Company. If the Cubs hit 200 homers (that would be near a 25% increase over last year), it would cost them $2,000,000 to help good causes and make people feel like they are giving back to the public.

Pinella announces Spring training opening lineup

2007-02-28T15:50:00.000-06:00

Today Lou announced his starting lineup for the first game of spring training and it had Matt Murton in LF. Hopefully he shows Lou this is the right decision and can win the starting job out of spring training. Lou is also batting him second which I think will be a good spot for him, but I also hope that he doesn’t press too much and it hurt his OBP.

People that have been reading this blog, know that I am high on Murton and think he has one of the best hitting strokes on the team. He may never be a major power hitter, but he should always be able to get on base and hit the ball in the gap a lot for many doubles. His defense has improved, though that is not saying much, but it is now tolerable and hopefully this spring he can work on his fundamentals and improve some more.

One name in the lineup I hope is changed by opening day is Izturis. I am hoping that Cedeno can beat him out at SS as offensively I still think Ronny has more potential than Cesar has and defensively though Izturis might have more range, I don't think there is too much drop off.

The Lineup is as following:

Soriano CF, Murton LF, Lee 1b, Ramirez 3b, Barrett C, Jones RF, DeRosa 2b, Izturis SS, Marquis P

Ron Santo

2007-02-28T00:31:00.000-06:00

I was hoping to look online today and see that Ron Santo finally got into the Hall of Fame, but as I said I was hoping. I knew that he wouldn’t because the Veteran’s Committee is a joke and should be overhauled. I say this not because of just Ron Santo, but since the last overhaul to the committee there has not been anyone voted in. If they are not going to vote anyone in (and some of these gentlemen deserve to be in), then why have them?

It was nice though to see that he is getting closer to getting in and maybe after the next vote he can get in. I don’t know what else he has to do, his numbers for his era and for a 3b are some of the best out there. The fact that he did it with diabetes in that time is another incredible achievement. He may not be the greatest announcer (as in getting what is going on in game), but he is one of the greatest ambassasdor’s for the game and hopefully next time the Committee will see that. I haven’t read any reactions of his yet (if there are any out), but I am sure he will be disappointed, but at the same time keeping going on. His love for the Cubs and baseball is something that almost no other Cub fan can ever achieve and I hope, no I know, this won’t break Ron’s spirits.

Cubs Tickets

2007-02-23T12:16:00.000-06:00

I woke up today a little late and completely forgot that the evening before I went to Wrigley Field to get a wristband to get tickets for the upcoming. It hit me about 1 hour after being up and I saw a blue wristband on my left wrist. I then checked online and realized that I was less than 800 away from the number that was drawn. I then rushed to get my baby ready and we headed over to Wrigley.

I am glad to say that once again I will be going to opening day at Wrigley. It pretty much an annual tradition for me as I have missed only opening day twice since 1984 and hoping to keep going no matter where I live in the future. This year I might bring my daughter if the weather is warm enough (come on GLOBAL WARMING), but if not I haven’t figured out who I am going with, as I got 4 tickets today for it. I will bring her to some other games this year if she can't make opening day because I broke down and purchased tickets for a few other series. The series' I purchased tickets were verse the White Sox (I figure I can sell them if I can’t make it) series, 2 of the Brewers games, 1 Seattle game, and 2 games for when STL comes in town.

Can you guess how many wins the Cubs will have this year?

2007-02-14T10:21:00.000-06:00

Cubs trade Jae Kuk Ryu

2007-02-14T10:11:00.000-06:00

Today the Cubs trade pitching prospect Jae Kuk Ryu to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for 2 minor leaguers, Andrew Lopez and Gregory Reinhard. If you noticed I didn’t put the word prospects in front of their names for a reason. It is because neither is considered more than a fringe player. I am not sure why the Cubs gave up on Jae Kuk Ryu, but hopefully it doesn’t come back to haunt them. The one thing about Reinhard is that is seems to be a hard thrower, in 195.1 career minor league innings he has 187 strikeouts.

Over the last 3 years neither player the Cubs acquired had been mentioned in Baseball America’s to 10 team prospects or in the team chats. Jim Hendry said the Cubs acquired these guys with Tim Wilken’s influence, well let’s hope Mr. Wilken’s knows something that the rest of the baseball community doesn’t.

IBL

2007-02-04T13:31:00.000-06:00

I haven't written about my IBL team in a while so I will write a quick note about the Chicago Cougars. Last season I finished on a good winning streak and made the playoffs only to be eliminated in the 1st round 3-1. My team's pitching did not show up for the playoffs and PHI teed off on whoever was pitching, except the game I won, which my starter Benoit threw a 1-hitter.

This off-season I have been busy trading. I traded 2 2nd round picks this year and a 3rd round pick next year to move up to the 7th spot in the draft and took PHI Cole Hamels. Starting pitching is not a need for my team, but I really like his potential and didn't think I should pass on him. Though now I am wishing that maybe I had not pulled the trigger because with one of the picks I traded I probably could draft another SP I like as much as Hamels, though not as MLB ready and I would still have another 2nd rounder to draft a good young prospect this year.
Then I was in major need of a CF to backup and platoon with Corey Patterson, so after discussing many trade opportunities and failing, I finally found one that fit my teams needs and went and pulled the trigger. I received from PAD, ARI Byrnes and PAD#3 (08) for DET Thames. Thames will have a nice card next year, but I already have plenty of left fielders and I also don't think Thames has much of a spot on Detroit's roster after disappearing to the bench during the playoffs and world series. Byrnes crushed lefties, was above average defensively and lastly adds some speed to my team, which is lacking next season.

The pick-by-pick part of draft only got through 1-19 this year, due to CRE putzing around for 3 weeks and delaying the draft. That means the rest of first round will be finished on Monday and the 2nd round done on Wednesday. I have the 2-3 pick in the draft and I am hoping to upgrade my 2b position because Ron Belliard and Todd Walker are not the way to go if you want a contender and both their futures seem pretty short now.

Jeff Samardzija

2007-02-03T22:32:00.000-06:00

Finally got my computer back up and running as Dell replaced all the parts but the monitor and hard drive. So here goes some catch-up.

The Cubs signed a 5 year, 10 million dollar major league deal with their 5^th round pick Jeff Samardzija on January 19, 2007. There also are club options for the years 2012 and 2013. Samardzija played in Boise and Peoria and did well at both places. He was considered a 1^st round draft pick, but teams past on him as most thought his allegiance would be to football and not be sign able. I can also understand why Samardzija took the deal instead of going the football route. His stock was declining and he might not have been a 1^st round pick in the NFL draft, and also who wants to catch passes up the middle and get drilled by big NFL players, when you can make 10 million dollars without ever worrying about that again.

Will this investment pan out?

No one can answer that, but if he is as good as advertised or at least 80% as advertised then with the price for starting pitchers these days, then yes he will be worth the investment. If he is just another over-hyped Notre Dame player from Jim Hendry then he might disappear quickly in the minors and make him think about the NFL.

Will be back shortly

2007-01-26T12:53:00.001-06:00

Sorry for not writing, I am doing this from a computer not at home. My main laptop died again and I am waiting for Dell to fix it. I will write about Floyd and Samardzjia when I get back online.

Rusch

2007-01-26T12:53:00.000-06:00

I know I said I would write when computer fixed, but I just saw this, Glendon Rusch has been released. First before anything I want to say I hope he is doing well and doesn't have any bad long-term effects from the clot. Now let me say, YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have to say this is a good thing for all Cub fans as Glendon was never the pitcher he was advertised when he came into MLB and besides those 3 good months in Chicago a couple years ago, he was pretty much a disaster here.

Cubs sign Tomas Perez

2007-01-13T21:32:00.000-06:00

The Cubs signed utility player Tomas Perez to a minor league contract. I can’t figure out why Hendry would waste any money on this player because if he makes the team, then the Cubs might as well pack it in and I really don’t see why Iowa needs a 33 year old utility guy who doesn’t do much of anything. He can’t hit and doesn’t have blazing speed and every year his OPS gets worse (starting in 2000).784, .711, .699, .672, .566, .510. Maybe Hendry was getting the shakes for a Macias or Perez fix and Ronny Cedeno just wasn’t doing it.