It's no secret the Cubs organization is in a state of panic. The rotation, bullpen, and line-up have all been juggled early and are in an on-going state of flux. Instead of having the highest paid set-up man in the history of the Majors, the Cubs need to make a move.
The Cubs actually have the delightful problem of too many pitchers, and too many outfielders. Though several in that category can be classified as "overpaid" and/or "underachieving" the Cubs do have a decent amount of talent out there.
So for a minute I will take the job of Jim Hendry, and here's what I would do, keeping in mind, its difficult to make early season trades.
First things first, pick up the phone with the Pittsburgh Pirates, or Washington Nationals. They are always in the market.
The Nationals actually have some good trade bait after having one of the better offseasons around the league, in addition to poaching Nyjer Morgan from the aforementioned Pirates at last year's deadline. The Nationals are having a decent season, but lack pitchers who can take them deep into the ballgame, overworking their bullpen early. On talent alone, the Nationals bullpen isn't too horrible and is actually better than the Cubs. The Nationals also have a problem up the middle of the infield as they try to make room for super rookie Ian Desmond, while having veterans Adam Kennedy and Christian Guzman who need to find playing time with the money they are making.
It is scenarios like this that Jim Hendry needs to be pro-active about and aggressively try to take advantage of if he wants to make it as a good GM. Why not call up the Nationals and see if Kennedy, a left-handed second-baseman who can bat at the top of the order, and Tyler Clippard, a late inning lights out arm, are available? I mean, its the Nationals, isn't everyone available?
I am sure some combination of Silva/Gorzellany/Fontenot/Samardzija gets the deal done. If you have to throw in a Jeff Gray or Justin Berg too, go right ahead. The deal and the contracts make so much sense for both teams, so why hasn't it happened?
The addition of Kennedy would give the Cubs a left-handed second baseman who could occasionally spell Ramirez at third as well. Kennedy had one of his best years last season hitting .290 and getting on base at a higher rate than Cubs current lead-off hitter, Ryan Theriot.
The addition of Kennedy to the top of the line-up makes Kosuke Fukudome expendable. Now don't get me wrong, I do not hate on Fukudome. He runs the bases, fields and gets on base at above average levels, but you can add him to the long list of Cub's not earning his pay. Plus, every time Fukudome is on the field, it is taking at-bats away from Tyler Colvin and Xavier Nady, who is putting together a decent start to the season in limited at bats. Fukudome and some cash, could be enough to get the Cubs a reliever from a team that could use some revenue from the fan base that Fukudome draws. The Toronto Blue Jays would be the perfect destination, and they have a plethora of good arms at the end of the pen (please exclude Kevin Gregg), a problem drawing fans, and a hole in Right Field after clearing Alex Rios, plus money to spend from clearing the terrible contract of Alex Rios.... I am sure Fukudome's translator can teach him "Oh Canada"
Sure from where I am sitting, these two moves seem easy, and in reality, they might not be that hard...
a team of
2b - kennedy
ss - Theriot
1b - Lee
3B - Ramirez
CF - Byrd
LF - Soriano/Colvin
RF - Nady/Colvin
C - Soto
SP - Lilly/Dempster/Zambrano/Wells/Gorzellany, Silva or Marshall
RP - Marshall/Grabow/Clippard/Frasor or Downs/Marmol
looks a whole lot better to me than the current set up in just two under the radar moves. If these new owners really are "committed to winning," pull the trigger now, before this gets out of hand.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Cubs in Disarray, Z to pen
The Chicago Cubs today showed that the problems in the organization run deeper than any of us imagined. Rather than pulling an early season trade to move one of the extra arms (most likely Gorzelanny) or move a guy who has bullpen experience (Carlos Silva) to down the left-field line, the Chicago Cubs relegated their opening day starter, and highest paid arm, to 8th inning duties. The move, which may be a very short term ploy to fire up the big man, is confusing at best.
Zambrano averaged 192 innings over the first full 8 seasons of his career with an ERA of 3.50. His record in those years of 104-66, means the Cubs win 61% of the time Big Z factors into the decision. In Zambrano's worst season yet, 2009, he still slated 16 quality starts, pitching 6 innings or more with 3 earned runs or less.
The top tier 8th inning set-up man typically pitch between 80 and 100 innings per year, meaning the organizations highest paid pitcher, will lose out 100 innings to the likes of Carlos Silva and Tom Gorzellany. Think about that statement before I even couple it with the fact the Cubs highest paid player is likely to hit .240, ride the pine 1 day a week and 2 innings a game, and can't even catch a fly ball.
There are so many numbers (excluding this seasons slow start from Z) which may be quantified to show what a bad move this it. Consider the fact that Zambrano's worst inning in recent times is not his last of the game, but his first. He often comes in jittery and a little too fired up to find the strike zone or miss bats. Every game that Z comes into in a close ball game in the late innings, he will be pitching his first inning with the game on the line. There is no 5 innings after to settle in, its do or die. Z has also been the Cubs first bat off the bench in situations where Lou has to burn a pinch hitter early. He can handle the bat for a pitcher and is a big, intimidating switch hitting presence off the bench. This added bonus from Big Z is lost, because now he isnt available 4/5 days to hit as you need to save him for the 8th inning. Of course, thats just the cherry ontop of the huge mound of whipcream the Cubs have piled up here.
This moves shows the world the Cubs organization is not only in a drastic state of panic, but lacks anybody from top to bottom with logical decision making skills. Not that we didn't know this before with large contract tenders to Soriano, Bradley, etc.
The Cubs, seriously, would have been better suited going to a 6 man rotation. Really. The Cubs are in deep trouble if this move is as necessary as ownership and management make it seem. Soriano is locked up at huge rates until the age of 39. Aramis Ramirez is in the worst slump of his tenure. Derrek Lee is a free agent after the season, with CHAD TRACY or MICAH HOFFPAUIR lying in the wings to take off first base?? Now the pitcher you lock up to be your franchise opening day starter is in the bullpen and not even your closer?
I hate to say this Cub fans, but wait til next decade. A new ownership committed to winning? Sure they hung a few nice banners to hide the crumbling facade of Wrigley, and raised ticket prices to the highest regular ticket price in baseball, but again, what did they do to make this 80+ win team better? I will give them many props for saving fans from the Milton Bradley disaster they created, but that is it.
Kenny Williams was quoted today as saying he turns off the TV when the Sox are bad. Jim Hendry better turn off alot more than that in the laughable state the Cubs find themselves.
Zambrano averaged 192 innings over the first full 8 seasons of his career with an ERA of 3.50. His record in those years of 104-66, means the Cubs win 61% of the time Big Z factors into the decision. In Zambrano's worst season yet, 2009, he still slated 16 quality starts, pitching 6 innings or more with 3 earned runs or less.
The top tier 8th inning set-up man typically pitch between 80 and 100 innings per year, meaning the organizations highest paid pitcher, will lose out 100 innings to the likes of Carlos Silva and Tom Gorzellany. Think about that statement before I even couple it with the fact the Cubs highest paid player is likely to hit .240, ride the pine 1 day a week and 2 innings a game, and can't even catch a fly ball.
There are so many numbers (excluding this seasons slow start from Z) which may be quantified to show what a bad move this it. Consider the fact that Zambrano's worst inning in recent times is not his last of the game, but his first. He often comes in jittery and a little too fired up to find the strike zone or miss bats. Every game that Z comes into in a close ball game in the late innings, he will be pitching his first inning with the game on the line. There is no 5 innings after to settle in, its do or die. Z has also been the Cubs first bat off the bench in situations where Lou has to burn a pinch hitter early. He can handle the bat for a pitcher and is a big, intimidating switch hitting presence off the bench. This added bonus from Big Z is lost, because now he isnt available 4/5 days to hit as you need to save him for the 8th inning. Of course, thats just the cherry ontop of the huge mound of whipcream the Cubs have piled up here.
This moves shows the world the Cubs organization is not only in a drastic state of panic, but lacks anybody from top to bottom with logical decision making skills. Not that we didn't know this before with large contract tenders to Soriano, Bradley, etc.
The Cubs, seriously, would have been better suited going to a 6 man rotation. Really. The Cubs are in deep trouble if this move is as necessary as ownership and management make it seem. Soriano is locked up at huge rates until the age of 39. Aramis Ramirez is in the worst slump of his tenure. Derrek Lee is a free agent after the season, with CHAD TRACY or MICAH HOFFPAUIR lying in the wings to take off first base?? Now the pitcher you lock up to be your franchise opening day starter is in the bullpen and not even your closer?
I hate to say this Cub fans, but wait til next decade. A new ownership committed to winning? Sure they hung a few nice banners to hide the crumbling facade of Wrigley, and raised ticket prices to the highest regular ticket price in baseball, but again, what did they do to make this 80+ win team better? I will give them many props for saving fans from the Milton Bradley disaster they created, but that is it.
Kenny Williams was quoted today as saying he turns off the TV when the Sox are bad. Jim Hendry better turn off alot more than that in the laughable state the Cubs find themselves.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Ringin in 420 - Bluegrass Style
After a long day of chillin outside and grilling, the evening of 4-20-10 was spent at a bar very timely named - Jerry's. The crew rolled up for Sexfist's Wicker Park debut. The Semi-Traditional Bluegrass band, originally from the north side of Chicago, has spent many days on the road, which attributes to their tight-knit sound.
The band is comprised of Ben Wright on the Banjo, better known as "Ben-jo", Eric Lambert, on the Guitar, Ryan Hinshaw on the Fiddle, and my personal favorite, Jon Goldfine on the Stand-up Bass. Gotta love a guy who can lay down a mean bass-line while lugging around an instrument twice his size.
Sexfist, more mainstreamily known as the Henhouse Prowlers, picked up the name when it was jokingly entered as their name in a battle of the bands, which needless to say, they won. Their harmonies are some of the best I have heard since the Beach Boys and their stage presence is phenomenal, regardless of the fact there is 1 microphone for 4 instruments.
Sexfist included personal favorites from its first album, like "Ain't it a Shame". Sexfist includes a few covers, with their own twist, of course. One of their most popular songs is a Guy Clark song, because we all know there's "only two things that money can't buy and that's true love & Homegrown Tomatoes".
Sexfist will be playing Brixies in Brookfield this Friday. The very large bar sports many pool tables and bar games, and a vast assortment of beers on tap. With Sexfist rockin til the wee hours of the morning, it is the place to be in suburbanland this Friday.
The band is comprised of Ben Wright on the Banjo, better known as "Ben-jo", Eric Lambert, on the Guitar, Ryan Hinshaw on the Fiddle, and my personal favorite, Jon Goldfine on the Stand-up Bass. Gotta love a guy who can lay down a mean bass-line while lugging around an instrument twice his size.
Sexfist, more mainstreamily known as the Henhouse Prowlers, picked up the name when it was jokingly entered as their name in a battle of the bands, which needless to say, they won. Their harmonies are some of the best I have heard since the Beach Boys and their stage presence is phenomenal, regardless of the fact there is 1 microphone for 4 instruments.
Sexfist included personal favorites from its first album, like "Ain't it a Shame". Sexfist includes a few covers, with their own twist, of course. One of their most popular songs is a Guy Clark song, because we all know there's "only two things that money can't buy and that's true love & Homegrown Tomatoes".
Sexfist will be playing Brixies in Brookfield this Friday. The very large bar sports many pool tables and bar games, and a vast assortment of beers on tap. With Sexfist rockin til the wee hours of the morning, it is the place to be in suburbanland this Friday.
E-603 at the Empty Bottle
Well, the Empty Bottle was Half Full, which isn't too shabby for the tattered old place off the beaten track on a Sunday night at midnight.
At $3 a pop, The PBRs were flowing with a scattered mix of JaMo shots raining down upon us. The walls were shaking, the bass was kicking, and highs were floating for a consecutive hour of non-stop mash-ups. Even with no mouse, E-603 was able to mix in multiple beats and overlays both in key and rhythm.
Ever been pissed about having to use the little trackball in the middle of your laptop? Now try it infront of a screaming crowd, while having to key up music on the exact 1/8th note... To those who say the mash-up genre requires no talent, there's my rebuttal.
E-603, of Nashua, New Hampshire made his Empty Bottle debut on April 18th, and rocked it. Paired with Panda Riot, he stole the show (and not even because I was let down to not see a mosh pit of Panda's breaking bottles). Even with the earlier time slot, allowing for less pre-show consumption, E-603 had the whole bar on its feet and one fan (this guy) jumping through his feet. Hey, anything to impress the ladies.
The show featured songs from his albums Torn Up and his first self-titled Album E-603. The pinnacle of the show, and one of the better moments of my life, had to be when he cued the Guns and Roses. All the white people in the building obviously simultaneous climaxed at the sound of a Slash solo pumping through the PA, but he pulled at everyone's heart-strings when the overlay of Whomp There It Is came through in harmony. Money and Girls was definitely the hit of the night as the Chicago crowd sang in unison reminiscing over the days the Bulls were finishing off a 3-peat.
The show ended, but the drinking did not. The very talented, and friendly, E-603 joined us for some Rum chugging in the back of a cab and some late night health food... I suppose the only flaw in the night was having the after party at a Vegan's house. No beef or queso in sight.
Be sure to check out E-603 next time he's in your town, or hop on his website and download his music. It's just as free as its supposed to be.
At $3 a pop, The PBRs were flowing with a scattered mix of JaMo shots raining down upon us. The walls were shaking, the bass was kicking, and highs were floating for a consecutive hour of non-stop mash-ups. Even with no mouse, E-603 was able to mix in multiple beats and overlays both in key and rhythm.
Ever been pissed about having to use the little trackball in the middle of your laptop? Now try it infront of a screaming crowd, while having to key up music on the exact 1/8th note... To those who say the mash-up genre requires no talent, there's my rebuttal.
E-603, of Nashua, New Hampshire made his Empty Bottle debut on April 18th, and rocked it. Paired with Panda Riot, he stole the show (and not even because I was let down to not see a mosh pit of Panda's breaking bottles). Even with the earlier time slot, allowing for less pre-show consumption, E-603 had the whole bar on its feet and one fan (this guy) jumping through his feet. Hey, anything to impress the ladies.
The show featured songs from his albums Torn Up and his first self-titled Album E-603. The pinnacle of the show, and one of the better moments of my life, had to be when he cued the Guns and Roses. All the white people in the building obviously simultaneous climaxed at the sound of a Slash solo pumping through the PA, but he pulled at everyone's heart-strings when the overlay of Whomp There It Is came through in harmony. Money and Girls was definitely the hit of the night as the Chicago crowd sang in unison reminiscing over the days the Bulls were finishing off a 3-peat.
The show ended, but the drinking did not. The very talented, and friendly, E-603 joined us for some Rum chugging in the back of a cab and some late night health food... I suppose the only flaw in the night was having the after party at a Vegan's house. No beef or queso in sight.
Be sure to check out E-603 next time he's in your town, or hop on his website and download his music. It's just as free as its supposed to be.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Cubs Season Preview
Welcome back to baseball on the Northside everybody. Time to get immensely excited but still know our team has a very slim shot at success. Be prepared for a very frustrating summer as they just linger in the wildcard race until the final weeks of the season and cannot beat the likes of Houston and San Diego to close the sesaon. Sounds familiar huh?
The Cubs entered the offseason lacking a bullpen, left handed power, a 2nd baseman, and a lead-off hitter. They will enter today's game against the Braves lacking a bullpen, left handed power, a 2nd basemand and a lead-off hitter. New owners committed to winning? really?
Carlos Zambrano will get the nod as the opening day starter, not because of his ability, but to justify his bad contract. Big Z has seen a declining number of wins ever since getting his big extension. Perhaps its the emotions running away from him, perhaps its the poor defense up the middle behind him, or perhaps its the fact he was consistently taxed for 120 pitch games when he first came up as a young man. Do the names Wood, Prior, Jeremi Gonzalez, Kevin Foster ring a bell? Big Z is still feeling the effects of the poor management approach of Dusty Baker who left his pitchers out there as long as he could, perhaps so he wouldnt have to throw away his $7 tooth pick to walk to the mound.
Z does not seem ready for the season or the Braves, i expect a short afternoon for the big fella as the outfied and middle infield will continue to struggle defensively causing the big right handed to lose focus on the batter. Sound like last season?
Offensively, the Cubs will have one of the best number two type hitters in baseball. This man can force contact, hit behind runners, bunt, and find holes. Unfortunately this man is Ryan Theriot, and he will be leading off completely wasting his skill set.
Kosuke Fukudome will bat in the 2 hole, again simply to justify his terrible contract.
Derrek Lee will bat third and is still the cornerstone of the team. After a very slow start to the sesaon, wrist problems seemed behind him last year as he put up MVP type numbers from June on. Lee enters a contract year as many think he is getting too old. The swing and defense are still there and I expect another .310-95-30-110 season out the of steady as they come D-Lee. The problem is the Cubs, after trading Jake Fox, and seeing the 29 year old Micah Hoffpauir is not MLB talent, do not have a prospect to replace Lee at first. Unless they pull a miraculous trade for Adrian Gonzalez, or overpay him in the off-seson, the Cubs are likely to end up paying D-Lee $12 mil when he's 39 years old... at least he'd be $8 mil cheaper than Soriano at that age...
Aramis Ramirez will be back in the 4 hole where he was desperately missed last season. Ramirez is hopefully at 100% and can go 150 games this year. Since the trading of Mark DeRosa, the Cubs have not had a back-up for the oft injured Aramis, and they did not address that position in the offseason. Ramirez can opt out of his contract after this season, and the Cubs again do not have someone ready to step in at 3rd base. If he can put together a solid year, they may be shelling out even more money to keep him around. A healthy Ramirez is good for .305-95-35-100.
New acquisition Marlon Byrd will bat 5th for the Cubs providing, if nothing else, huge biceps in the middle of the order. Byrd had a decent season last year but was in a power hitters park (eerily the same one was milton bradley before he came to the Cubs). Byrd will hit 20 home runs, or more, but at what average? with how many bad baserunning plays? with how many throwing errors? Byrd is a serviceable Centerfielder, but keep in mind he's playing next to the worst left fielder in all of baseball and a right fielder who doesn't speak english. Good luck Mr. Byrd.
Alfonsio Soriano will start the season as the highest paid 6 hitter in baseball history. He seems confident that he will have a bounce back year, but last season he seemed confident he wasnt all that bad. So take it with a grain of salt. Soriano did heat it up over the last week or two of spring training, and even stole a base. He's still a health risk and a terrible outfielder but when healthy, hes still scary. I'll be hopeful and say to expect .280-80-32-85-15. Thats a mediocre season for an outfielder, but imagine if that line came from your 2nd baseman? he's already a bad fielder in the OF, where a mistake costs a double and/or runs. But mike fontenot is a bad 2B, and a bad hitter, errors at 2nd, only cost a single most of the time, why not move the man over and open up LF for Tyler Colvin or Xavier Nady?
Mike Fontenot will be the 7th hitter on opening day, but how long after? Fontenot had a good first year campaign when he occasionally started against righties and pinch hit against righties. Since becoming and everyday starter, Mike Fontenot has done nothing but make me want to puke. He is not built like a baseball player, he is not fast, he is not good at defense, and he cannot hit left handed pitching for his life. Plus he only plays 1 position. He is not worth of a roster spot and should have been replaced by Kevin Millar, who at least brought comradery to the dugout. I expect the season to end with Theriot at 2B and Starlin Castro at SS, but Lou Piniella may not have enough brain cells left to think of that. Where's Sanberg when you need him?
Geo Soto will be relegated to the 8 spot, yes, behind fontenot. If thats not a slap in the face, i dont know what is. Geo was God awful last year enduring a sophomore slump, as some would call it. Personally i think its cuz he wasnt allowed to smoke blunts before games anymore... whoops. Geo, off the munchies, has lost nearly 30 pounds since last season. Many believe it will slow his power production, but I believe it will help. He is likely to stay fresher behind the plate which should translate into more energy for offense and better bat speed. Geo may not hit more than 20 home-runs, but he should be a double machine, driving the ball into gaps. .270-55-20-70 may not be out of the question for the former rookie of the year...
The Cubs staff will include Ryan Dempster, who is the hardest off season worker in all of baseball. This was displayed in his final spring start where he looked like a young Greg Maddux. Dempster by all means should be the Cubs opening day starter as he has been the model of consistency since coming over. He was slowed last year but a freak broken toe, landing him on the DL. Yet the man still put up very solid numbers and threw 175 innings.. thats right, with a DL stint. The man is a workhorse. With his numbers at Wrigley Field making him almost unbeatable at home, i expect him to have his best season yet. 16-7 with a 3.20 ERA is very possible for the funny man.
Ted Lilly will start the season on the DL, but knowing him, he will be back early. Lilly was the Cubs only All Star last year and perhaps, the Cubs only good signing in the past 3 off seasons. (see bradley, byrd, fukudome, Gregg, Miles, Harden etc.). Lilly is the poor man's Tom Glavine who is capable of 15 wins every year.
Randy Wells hopes to not be a fluke and prove the ney sayers wrong. He might not have major league stuff, but he has major league balls! he goes right after hitters - getting ahead of them and staying ahead of them. He was a hard luck man last year who got virtually no run support (should face the same problems this year) but still put up great rookie numbers. Wells should have no problem winning 12 games, which would be 15-16 if he only got 4 runs a game! Easier said than done with this bunch.
The fifth starter is still in the air if you ask me, but should be Tommy G. He had a decent season with the Cubs but more importantly would be no help in the bullpen. Carlos Silva and Schmegma (yea, thats his name) need to fill the holes in the bullpen with their power arms to bridge the immense gap to Carlos Marmol (who is actually the best set up man in all of baseball). Perhaps Michael Wuertz is available and we can bring him back eventhough we should have never let him go? As it stands, the Cubs Bullpen would be lucky to have success at a AAA level. Berg, Russell, Caridad? who are these guys?
Russell came out of nowhere as a former 14th round pick, his best attribute is the fact he's the son of a former closer. As a big, hard-throwing Lefty, maybe he's the wildcard that allows Marshall to come back to the rotation and makes tommy g tradeable, perhaps as a package with Fontenot for a 2nd baseman or better reliever, but I doubt it.
The brighest spot for the Cubs will be the emergence of Tyler Colvin, who unlike Brooks Kieshnick, Corey Patterson, Felix Pie, Eric Patterson, Kevin Orie, etc... is the real deal. With Heyward and Rasmus, dont expect a ROY but he will be good the 3 games a week that Lou plays him.
Expect the Cubs to go 84-78, 2nd in the NL Central and finishing 3 games out in the wild card. Sorry Cub fans, but we have to wait til next year
The Cubs entered the offseason lacking a bullpen, left handed power, a 2nd baseman, and a lead-off hitter. They will enter today's game against the Braves lacking a bullpen, left handed power, a 2nd basemand and a lead-off hitter. New owners committed to winning? really?
Carlos Zambrano will get the nod as the opening day starter, not because of his ability, but to justify his bad contract. Big Z has seen a declining number of wins ever since getting his big extension. Perhaps its the emotions running away from him, perhaps its the poor defense up the middle behind him, or perhaps its the fact he was consistently taxed for 120 pitch games when he first came up as a young man. Do the names Wood, Prior, Jeremi Gonzalez, Kevin Foster ring a bell? Big Z is still feeling the effects of the poor management approach of Dusty Baker who left his pitchers out there as long as he could, perhaps so he wouldnt have to throw away his $7 tooth pick to walk to the mound.
Z does not seem ready for the season or the Braves, i expect a short afternoon for the big fella as the outfied and middle infield will continue to struggle defensively causing the big right handed to lose focus on the batter. Sound like last season?
Offensively, the Cubs will have one of the best number two type hitters in baseball. This man can force contact, hit behind runners, bunt, and find holes. Unfortunately this man is Ryan Theriot, and he will be leading off completely wasting his skill set.
Kosuke Fukudome will bat in the 2 hole, again simply to justify his terrible contract.
Derrek Lee will bat third and is still the cornerstone of the team. After a very slow start to the sesaon, wrist problems seemed behind him last year as he put up MVP type numbers from June on. Lee enters a contract year as many think he is getting too old. The swing and defense are still there and I expect another .310-95-30-110 season out the of steady as they come D-Lee. The problem is the Cubs, after trading Jake Fox, and seeing the 29 year old Micah Hoffpauir is not MLB talent, do not have a prospect to replace Lee at first. Unless they pull a miraculous trade for Adrian Gonzalez, or overpay him in the off-seson, the Cubs are likely to end up paying D-Lee $12 mil when he's 39 years old... at least he'd be $8 mil cheaper than Soriano at that age...
Aramis Ramirez will be back in the 4 hole where he was desperately missed last season. Ramirez is hopefully at 100% and can go 150 games this year. Since the trading of Mark DeRosa, the Cubs have not had a back-up for the oft injured Aramis, and they did not address that position in the offseason. Ramirez can opt out of his contract after this season, and the Cubs again do not have someone ready to step in at 3rd base. If he can put together a solid year, they may be shelling out even more money to keep him around. A healthy Ramirez is good for .305-95-35-100.
New acquisition Marlon Byrd will bat 5th for the Cubs providing, if nothing else, huge biceps in the middle of the order. Byrd had a decent season last year but was in a power hitters park (eerily the same one was milton bradley before he came to the Cubs). Byrd will hit 20 home runs, or more, but at what average? with how many bad baserunning plays? with how many throwing errors? Byrd is a serviceable Centerfielder, but keep in mind he's playing next to the worst left fielder in all of baseball and a right fielder who doesn't speak english. Good luck Mr. Byrd.
Alfonsio Soriano will start the season as the highest paid 6 hitter in baseball history. He seems confident that he will have a bounce back year, but last season he seemed confident he wasnt all that bad. So take it with a grain of salt. Soriano did heat it up over the last week or two of spring training, and even stole a base. He's still a health risk and a terrible outfielder but when healthy, hes still scary. I'll be hopeful and say to expect .280-80-32-85-15. Thats a mediocre season for an outfielder, but imagine if that line came from your 2nd baseman? he's already a bad fielder in the OF, where a mistake costs a double and/or runs. But mike fontenot is a bad 2B, and a bad hitter, errors at 2nd, only cost a single most of the time, why not move the man over and open up LF for Tyler Colvin or Xavier Nady?
Mike Fontenot will be the 7th hitter on opening day, but how long after? Fontenot had a good first year campaign when he occasionally started against righties and pinch hit against righties. Since becoming and everyday starter, Mike Fontenot has done nothing but make me want to puke. He is not built like a baseball player, he is not fast, he is not good at defense, and he cannot hit left handed pitching for his life. Plus he only plays 1 position. He is not worth of a roster spot and should have been replaced by Kevin Millar, who at least brought comradery to the dugout. I expect the season to end with Theriot at 2B and Starlin Castro at SS, but Lou Piniella may not have enough brain cells left to think of that. Where's Sanberg when you need him?
Geo Soto will be relegated to the 8 spot, yes, behind fontenot. If thats not a slap in the face, i dont know what is. Geo was God awful last year enduring a sophomore slump, as some would call it. Personally i think its cuz he wasnt allowed to smoke blunts before games anymore... whoops. Geo, off the munchies, has lost nearly 30 pounds since last season. Many believe it will slow his power production, but I believe it will help. He is likely to stay fresher behind the plate which should translate into more energy for offense and better bat speed. Geo may not hit more than 20 home-runs, but he should be a double machine, driving the ball into gaps. .270-55-20-70 may not be out of the question for the former rookie of the year...
The Cubs staff will include Ryan Dempster, who is the hardest off season worker in all of baseball. This was displayed in his final spring start where he looked like a young Greg Maddux. Dempster by all means should be the Cubs opening day starter as he has been the model of consistency since coming over. He was slowed last year but a freak broken toe, landing him on the DL. Yet the man still put up very solid numbers and threw 175 innings.. thats right, with a DL stint. The man is a workhorse. With his numbers at Wrigley Field making him almost unbeatable at home, i expect him to have his best season yet. 16-7 with a 3.20 ERA is very possible for the funny man.
Ted Lilly will start the season on the DL, but knowing him, he will be back early. Lilly was the Cubs only All Star last year and perhaps, the Cubs only good signing in the past 3 off seasons. (see bradley, byrd, fukudome, Gregg, Miles, Harden etc.). Lilly is the poor man's Tom Glavine who is capable of 15 wins every year.
Randy Wells hopes to not be a fluke and prove the ney sayers wrong. He might not have major league stuff, but he has major league balls! he goes right after hitters - getting ahead of them and staying ahead of them. He was a hard luck man last year who got virtually no run support (should face the same problems this year) but still put up great rookie numbers. Wells should have no problem winning 12 games, which would be 15-16 if he only got 4 runs a game! Easier said than done with this bunch.
The fifth starter is still in the air if you ask me, but should be Tommy G. He had a decent season with the Cubs but more importantly would be no help in the bullpen. Carlos Silva and Schmegma (yea, thats his name) need to fill the holes in the bullpen with their power arms to bridge the immense gap to Carlos Marmol (who is actually the best set up man in all of baseball). Perhaps Michael Wuertz is available and we can bring him back eventhough we should have never let him go? As it stands, the Cubs Bullpen would be lucky to have success at a AAA level. Berg, Russell, Caridad? who are these guys?
Russell came out of nowhere as a former 14th round pick, his best attribute is the fact he's the son of a former closer. As a big, hard-throwing Lefty, maybe he's the wildcard that allows Marshall to come back to the rotation and makes tommy g tradeable, perhaps as a package with Fontenot for a 2nd baseman or better reliever, but I doubt it.
The brighest spot for the Cubs will be the emergence of Tyler Colvin, who unlike Brooks Kieshnick, Corey Patterson, Felix Pie, Eric Patterson, Kevin Orie, etc... is the real deal. With Heyward and Rasmus, dont expect a ROY but he will be good the 3 games a week that Lou plays him.
Expect the Cubs to go 84-78, 2nd in the NL Central and finishing 3 games out in the wild card. Sorry Cub fans, but we have to wait til next year
Friday, December 4, 2009
Cubs; New Ownership, Same Bad Management
Even with new owners who claim to be committed to winning, the Chicago Cubs are at it again this off-season doing everything wrong.
The poor off-season started early with the moves the Cubs did not make in a year of limited free agents at positions the Cubs needed to adress. After parting ways with Mark de Rosa last year, and allowing him to be traded back to the division rival Cardinals, the Cubs were left with a huge hole at 2nd base leaving Mike Fontenot the every day starter. The Cubs also have been missing a true lead-off hitter since Juan Pierre was driven out of town after just 1 season with the club.
On the market this year were two viable options to play second base and lead off. Chone Figgins was the spark plug for the Angels for the past few years consistently getting on base, putting pressure on the defense and scoring runs. He would have made a great combo up the middle with Theriot defensive and allowed for plenty of hit-and-run opportunities with the Riot hitting behind him in the order as a 1-2 punch. This pairing could have been the table setters thumpers like Lee, Ramirez, Soriano and Soto needed to be true run producers. According to several sources, the Seattle Mariners are close to locking up Figgins.
The next choice for the Cubs that would have made much sense was Placido Polanco. While he is not the typical speedy lead-off hitter, he works deep counts and carries a .303 career batting average and consistenly scores 80 to 100 runs a season. Polanco signed with the Phillies willing to accept a lower contract and move to 3B just for a chance at a winner.
Perhaps the Cubs passed on these 2nd basemen because the rumors of moving Theriot to 2B are true. Even so, moving The Riot to 2B just shifts the gaping hole to SS. Sure the young Andres Blanco looked very solid defensive and had a few clutch doubles at the end of the season, but with an aging team heavily invested in older talent, is this the year to start over at SS? I think not. The best SSs on the market this year were Orlando Cabrera and Marco Scutaro. Both of whom do not seem worth the money as Cabrera is getting older and Scutaro is coming off a possible fluke year. The Cubs already passed on Scutaro as he inked with Boston this week.
The Cubs also put alot of pressure on Aramis Ramirez for this season just as they did last year. Ramirez has never really been all that durable, with DeRosa spelling him occassionally in past years. Without DeRosa last year, the Cubs were lucky to have Jake Fox to fill in with his bat on the cheap. However, that insurance policy is no more. Fox and his $400,000 a year contract were GIVEN AWAY just to rid the organization of the awful Aaron Miles signing and contract. Miles hit .185 last season and was often paid to sit around and be 5 feet 8 inches tall.
In exchange for Fox, who had 35 Home Run potential, the Cubs received a few no-names and Jeff Gray, a 28 year old who has yet to establish MLB success. He seems to me just a cheaper and younger version of Aaron Heilman, who did not work out at all for the Cubs this season.
The Cubs have not addressed the problems with the most overpaid outfield in the major leagues. If the Soriano, Bradley, Fukudome outfield is still in-tact, it will still be making more money than the entire Florida Marlins roster with much less production. Fukudome has proven to be a terrible signing and the worst all star ever. Soriano is coming off his worst season as a pro and Bradley, well, we all remember him being sent home at the end of the season. I hate to say it but nobody is going to help the Cubs rid themselves of these problems. Therefore filling the hole up the middle was essential to bringing some change to the Chicago Offense.
The returning struggling offense will just put more pressure on the Cubs rotation. Carlos Zambrano who was inked to big money is coming off a mediocre year for a man making those kind of dollars. He will need to bounce back with an 18 win or better season if the Cubs hope to go anywhere.
Ryan Dempster regressed from his All Star year and was oft injured this season, including a freak broken toe. Knowing the kind of competitor Ryan is, he should work hard this offseason and bounce back.
The staple of the Cubs rotation has been and will be Ted Lilly. Lilly has been a rock and a slump stopper for the Cubs since being signed 2 years ago. He was finally shown the respect he deserves being named an All Star this season, tho he did not see game action.
Randy Wells will have to bring the same magic he brought last season. The tough luck pitcher still managed 12 wins with virtually NO run support and his 3.05 ERA was stellar. Wells, lacking the stuff of top tier major league pitchers has the guts to go after hitters, but will it be enough to maintain an established career as a winning pitcher? we can only hope so.
After that the Cubbies have a few question marks on the mound. Sean Marshall proved his weight in gold as both a reliever and a back-up Left Fielder to Alfonso Soriano and without lefty help down the left field line, the Cubs may be forced to leave him there. Tom Gorzelanny is still a project and we hope had can bounce back to his prior form but that remains to be seen. Jeff Samardzija looked terrible in his starts continually giving up long-balls and does not seem to be anything other than the 2nd coming of Kyle Farnsworth. One of these guys will need to step up and fill the spot as the Cubs fifth starter or the Cubs will have to look elsewhere.
With the money saved from finally letting Rich Harden walk, though a season too late, the Cubs are rumored to be looking at Vicente Padilla. Again I must wonder if the Cubs do their due diligence. Padilla made a whopping $12,000,000 in 2009 and is unlikely to sign for much less being sadly one of the better names in the free agent pool of pitchers this year. Padilla however really isn't anything special. He has a career record of 98-85 and a not so sexy 4.33 ERA, which has been inflating since he left the Phillies in 2005. This is one signing I hope does not happen
Hopefully this article is put to shame and the Cubs have something in the works to move Bradley and bring in another ACE or a true power hitting Right Fielder. It does not address the lack of a lead off hitter, but maybe, just maybe if Bradley and Fukudome can be moved for a stud in RF it opens the door for the young Sam Fuld to start in Center Field and lead off. He has shown his ability to play an above average defensive centerfield, he has shown he has the arm to play a stellar defensive centerfield and the man has the speed, patience and bat control to fill the void at the top of the Cubs order, all at a bargain. With no Chone in the future, let the Fuld era begin.
The poor off-season started early with the moves the Cubs did not make in a year of limited free agents at positions the Cubs needed to adress. After parting ways with Mark de Rosa last year, and allowing him to be traded back to the division rival Cardinals, the Cubs were left with a huge hole at 2nd base leaving Mike Fontenot the every day starter. The Cubs also have been missing a true lead-off hitter since Juan Pierre was driven out of town after just 1 season with the club.
On the market this year were two viable options to play second base and lead off. Chone Figgins was the spark plug for the Angels for the past few years consistently getting on base, putting pressure on the defense and scoring runs. He would have made a great combo up the middle with Theriot defensive and allowed for plenty of hit-and-run opportunities with the Riot hitting behind him in the order as a 1-2 punch. This pairing could have been the table setters thumpers like Lee, Ramirez, Soriano and Soto needed to be true run producers. According to several sources, the Seattle Mariners are close to locking up Figgins.
The next choice for the Cubs that would have made much sense was Placido Polanco. While he is not the typical speedy lead-off hitter, he works deep counts and carries a .303 career batting average and consistenly scores 80 to 100 runs a season. Polanco signed with the Phillies willing to accept a lower contract and move to 3B just for a chance at a winner.
Perhaps the Cubs passed on these 2nd basemen because the rumors of moving Theriot to 2B are true. Even so, moving The Riot to 2B just shifts the gaping hole to SS. Sure the young Andres Blanco looked very solid defensive and had a few clutch doubles at the end of the season, but with an aging team heavily invested in older talent, is this the year to start over at SS? I think not. The best SSs on the market this year were Orlando Cabrera and Marco Scutaro. Both of whom do not seem worth the money as Cabrera is getting older and Scutaro is coming off a possible fluke year. The Cubs already passed on Scutaro as he inked with Boston this week.
The Cubs also put alot of pressure on Aramis Ramirez for this season just as they did last year. Ramirez has never really been all that durable, with DeRosa spelling him occassionally in past years. Without DeRosa last year, the Cubs were lucky to have Jake Fox to fill in with his bat on the cheap. However, that insurance policy is no more. Fox and his $400,000 a year contract were GIVEN AWAY just to rid the organization of the awful Aaron Miles signing and contract. Miles hit .185 last season and was often paid to sit around and be 5 feet 8 inches tall.
In exchange for Fox, who had 35 Home Run potential, the Cubs received a few no-names and Jeff Gray, a 28 year old who has yet to establish MLB success. He seems to me just a cheaper and younger version of Aaron Heilman, who did not work out at all for the Cubs this season.
The Cubs have not addressed the problems with the most overpaid outfield in the major leagues. If the Soriano, Bradley, Fukudome outfield is still in-tact, it will still be making more money than the entire Florida Marlins roster with much less production. Fukudome has proven to be a terrible signing and the worst all star ever. Soriano is coming off his worst season as a pro and Bradley, well, we all remember him being sent home at the end of the season. I hate to say it but nobody is going to help the Cubs rid themselves of these problems. Therefore filling the hole up the middle was essential to bringing some change to the Chicago Offense.
The returning struggling offense will just put more pressure on the Cubs rotation. Carlos Zambrano who was inked to big money is coming off a mediocre year for a man making those kind of dollars. He will need to bounce back with an 18 win or better season if the Cubs hope to go anywhere.
Ryan Dempster regressed from his All Star year and was oft injured this season, including a freak broken toe. Knowing the kind of competitor Ryan is, he should work hard this offseason and bounce back.
The staple of the Cubs rotation has been and will be Ted Lilly. Lilly has been a rock and a slump stopper for the Cubs since being signed 2 years ago. He was finally shown the respect he deserves being named an All Star this season, tho he did not see game action.
Randy Wells will have to bring the same magic he brought last season. The tough luck pitcher still managed 12 wins with virtually NO run support and his 3.05 ERA was stellar. Wells, lacking the stuff of top tier major league pitchers has the guts to go after hitters, but will it be enough to maintain an established career as a winning pitcher? we can only hope so.
After that the Cubbies have a few question marks on the mound. Sean Marshall proved his weight in gold as both a reliever and a back-up Left Fielder to Alfonso Soriano and without lefty help down the left field line, the Cubs may be forced to leave him there. Tom Gorzelanny is still a project and we hope had can bounce back to his prior form but that remains to be seen. Jeff Samardzija looked terrible in his starts continually giving up long-balls and does not seem to be anything other than the 2nd coming of Kyle Farnsworth. One of these guys will need to step up and fill the spot as the Cubs fifth starter or the Cubs will have to look elsewhere.
With the money saved from finally letting Rich Harden walk, though a season too late, the Cubs are rumored to be looking at Vicente Padilla. Again I must wonder if the Cubs do their due diligence. Padilla made a whopping $12,000,000 in 2009 and is unlikely to sign for much less being sadly one of the better names in the free agent pool of pitchers this year. Padilla however really isn't anything special. He has a career record of 98-85 and a not so sexy 4.33 ERA, which has been inflating since he left the Phillies in 2005. This is one signing I hope does not happen
Hopefully this article is put to shame and the Cubs have something in the works to move Bradley and bring in another ACE or a true power hitting Right Fielder. It does not address the lack of a lead off hitter, but maybe, just maybe if Bradley and Fukudome can be moved for a stud in RF it opens the door for the young Sam Fuld to start in Center Field and lead off. He has shown his ability to play an above average defensive centerfield, he has shown he has the arm to play a stellar defensive centerfield and the man has the speed, patience and bat control to fill the void at the top of the Cubs order, all at a bargain. With no Chone in the future, let the Fuld era begin.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Bulls Fans Pissed-on BG's return
I heard alot of boos for Ben Gordon but almost as many people asking why the boos? I heard some rumblings of it being because he left for more money, which might make sense in this anti-capitalist state of mind we find the mass public in, but that is not why I was booing BG.
The bottom line is the man was a disease for the Chicago Bulls. It really was amazing to watch Gordon and Salmons on the court and just compare the two. Now i know they were not traded for one another, but essentially Salmons signaled the end for Ben in Chicago.
Ben Gordon played his typical game tonight. Sure, he had 18 points, but on 6-16 shooting. Many of these shots were off-balance and after a long series of dribbling.
He was 2-8 from downtown and consistently threw up 3s early in the shot clock. It looked like he didnt have teammates out there and the 0 assists back it up.
He committed 5 fouls, most of which were just down right silly fouls to begin with. Now I understand the man wasn't 100%, and if he was, he just wasn't in game shape his first night back. But if he knew this was the case, why lead your team in shots?
Now the Bulls did not play their best overall game, and I'm not sure they have since opening night. But there were stretches tonight when the team looked good enough to make it out of the first round. At times the energy was very high and the crowd reciprocated. Most of the excitement came on 2 seperate Brad Miller to Derrick Rose alley-oops. Both seemingly on set plays and both executed to perfection. Rose was good with 19-4-6 but did get a little sloppy with the ball in transition from time to time and had 5 TOs.
The story of the night had to be John Salmons. He played stellar defense, including his late steal which lead to a give and go with Deng. He hit clutch shots for the second night in a row. But most importantly, these shots came on either rhythym shots, or by cutting/driving to the basket. Salmons was on the attack all night.
A critical piece to letting Ben walk was to ensure Luol Deng would be back to normal this year, and hopefully even beyond. Luol being steady at 3 allows the Bulls to move Salmons back to the 2 and upgrade from a 6'3 body to a 6'6 man. Deng in the 3 stands a long 6'9 so the Bulls can now play big with Miller and Noah helping in the post. Deng so far has been brilliant. Sure he's had his off nights but they happen, the nice part about this year is they've been fewer and far between.
Deng was an animal early attacking the basket. He had the recognition to take Gordon into the post each time that mismatch ocurred and it worked early on. Deng finished with 14 and though the percentages were down he took decent shots. He added 8 boards but more importantly 4 off the offensive glass. It was nice to see him crashing the boards and banging around with the big guys.
Brad Miller and Joakim Noah just did what they do combining for 23-21-11. Their interior and high post passing may have won them the game as they continually hit players in rhythym increasing the chances of a made basket. If the Bulls Bigs can keep this up, it will be a nice change having big men who can get the job done offensively. Tyrus Thomas needs to be able to come back strong and productive to help out the duo as they 2 combined for 76 minutes...
The Bulls need to learn from this game and carry a little of the momentum into Cleveland where they've already won once this year. Big Bad Brad has been great at stopping the Shaqtus and Deng matches up nicely on LeBron. The Bulls need to keep turnovers to minimum and not give up 2nd chance points or easy buckets. If they play within themselves, they match up very well against these Cavs. Back to back division wins would be a great way to erase a dismal west coast trip from the memory especially in the process of getting healthy.
I would like to see more tick for James Johnson. The Bulls short rotation played a ton of minutes tonight and could probably afford to save the legs with back-to-backs on friday and saturday. Johnson was one of the lone bright spots against Utah dropping 10 and 5 in limited minutes on good percentages with only 1 TO. We have not seen him on the court since.
The bottom line is the man was a disease for the Chicago Bulls. It really was amazing to watch Gordon and Salmons on the court and just compare the two. Now i know they were not traded for one another, but essentially Salmons signaled the end for Ben in Chicago.
Ben Gordon played his typical game tonight. Sure, he had 18 points, but on 6-16 shooting. Many of these shots were off-balance and after a long series of dribbling.
He was 2-8 from downtown and consistently threw up 3s early in the shot clock. It looked like he didnt have teammates out there and the 0 assists back it up.
He committed 5 fouls, most of which were just down right silly fouls to begin with. Now I understand the man wasn't 100%, and if he was, he just wasn't in game shape his first night back. But if he knew this was the case, why lead your team in shots?
Now the Bulls did not play their best overall game, and I'm not sure they have since opening night. But there were stretches tonight when the team looked good enough to make it out of the first round. At times the energy was very high and the crowd reciprocated. Most of the excitement came on 2 seperate Brad Miller to Derrick Rose alley-oops. Both seemingly on set plays and both executed to perfection. Rose was good with 19-4-6 but did get a little sloppy with the ball in transition from time to time and had 5 TOs.
The story of the night had to be John Salmons. He played stellar defense, including his late steal which lead to a give and go with Deng. He hit clutch shots for the second night in a row. But most importantly, these shots came on either rhythym shots, or by cutting/driving to the basket. Salmons was on the attack all night.
A critical piece to letting Ben walk was to ensure Luol Deng would be back to normal this year, and hopefully even beyond. Luol being steady at 3 allows the Bulls to move Salmons back to the 2 and upgrade from a 6'3 body to a 6'6 man. Deng in the 3 stands a long 6'9 so the Bulls can now play big with Miller and Noah helping in the post. Deng so far has been brilliant. Sure he's had his off nights but they happen, the nice part about this year is they've been fewer and far between.
Deng was an animal early attacking the basket. He had the recognition to take Gordon into the post each time that mismatch ocurred and it worked early on. Deng finished with 14 and though the percentages were down he took decent shots. He added 8 boards but more importantly 4 off the offensive glass. It was nice to see him crashing the boards and banging around with the big guys.
Brad Miller and Joakim Noah just did what they do combining for 23-21-11. Their interior and high post passing may have won them the game as they continually hit players in rhythym increasing the chances of a made basket. If the Bulls Bigs can keep this up, it will be a nice change having big men who can get the job done offensively. Tyrus Thomas needs to be able to come back strong and productive to help out the duo as they 2 combined for 76 minutes...
The Bulls need to learn from this game and carry a little of the momentum into Cleveland where they've already won once this year. Big Bad Brad has been great at stopping the Shaqtus and Deng matches up nicely on LeBron. The Bulls need to keep turnovers to minimum and not give up 2nd chance points or easy buckets. If they play within themselves, they match up very well against these Cavs. Back to back division wins would be a great way to erase a dismal west coast trip from the memory especially in the process of getting healthy.
I would like to see more tick for James Johnson. The Bulls short rotation played a ton of minutes tonight and could probably afford to save the legs with back-to-backs on friday and saturday. Johnson was one of the lone bright spots against Utah dropping 10 and 5 in limited minutes on good percentages with only 1 TO. We have not seen him on the court since.
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