The Cubs grabbed OF Joey Gathright. Gathright was signed to a one-year contract worth $800,000. A good price for a player like Gathright.
The OF had a down year offensively in 2008, but has serious speed (said to have been clocked at 3.3 seconds from home to first on a bunt) and a lot of upside. The left handed batter can play all OF positions and has played for Sweet Lou in Tampa.
Gathright adds another versatile player to the roster and another low-priced bargaining chip. This may impact Pie, who is out of options. Milton Bradley is still on the radar as an every day option in the OF.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
What's going down this offseason
Fukudome was invited to join the Japan team for the World Baseball Classic on March 5-23.
Cubs signed Reed Johnson ($3 million), Chad Gaudin ($2 million) and Neal Cotts ($1.1 million) to one year deals, avoiding arbitration and said they would offer contracts to Cedeno, Wuertz and Kevin Gregg (the reliever picked up from the Marlins).
If you were under a rock, you missed Kerry Wood moving on and the constant blabbing about Jake Peavy. The Cubs are also after a lefty bat, with the mercurial Milton Bradley in the fore of pundits minds at the moment.
Allegedly, the Cubs are trying to dump Marquis' salary and I don't blame them. Numerous other cubs (Fontenot, De Rosa to name a few) have come up in hot stove talk, but their value is obvious and the Cubs will not part with players like that without getting something good.
All-in-all, nothing much has happened since the end of the season. Team wasn't sold. No huge names in or out (I love Kerry and was sad to see him walk out of town, but he doesn't fall under "major moves" distinction). No major off-season troubles.
The Bears are about to drop off the NFL playoff picture, so we can start daily yammering about the upcoming baseball season any time now.
Cubs signed Reed Johnson ($3 million), Chad Gaudin ($2 million) and Neal Cotts ($1.1 million) to one year deals, avoiding arbitration and said they would offer contracts to Cedeno, Wuertz and Kevin Gregg (the reliever picked up from the Marlins).
If you were under a rock, you missed Kerry Wood moving on and the constant blabbing about Jake Peavy. The Cubs are also after a lefty bat, with the mercurial Milton Bradley in the fore of pundits minds at the moment.
Allegedly, the Cubs are trying to dump Marquis' salary and I don't blame them. Numerous other cubs (Fontenot, De Rosa to name a few) have come up in hot stove talk, but their value is obvious and the Cubs will not part with players like that without getting something good.
All-in-all, nothing much has happened since the end of the season. Team wasn't sold. No huge names in or out (I love Kerry and was sad to see him walk out of town, but he doesn't fall under "major moves" distinction). No major off-season troubles.
The Bears are about to drop off the NFL playoff picture, so we can start daily yammering about the upcoming baseball season any time now.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Cubs Collect Awards and Little Else
Congratulations to Geovany Soto, named NL Rookie of the Year, and Lou Piniella, named NL Manager of the Year.
Small solace for a season that ended in ignominious defeat.
All indications are that top pitcher Jake Peavy will be headed to Atlanta. Trade talks were reportedly serious with both the Braves and Cubs. The Atlanta deal is said to be better. The Cubs are allegedly trying to get another team involved in their deal to shine it up a bit.
If the Peavy deal doesn't happen, the Cubs surely have to resign Dempster.
Small solace for a season that ended in ignominious defeat.
All indications are that top pitcher Jake Peavy will be headed to Atlanta. Trade talks were reportedly serious with both the Braves and Cubs. The Atlanta deal is said to be better. The Cubs are allegedly trying to get another team involved in their deal to shine it up a bit.
If the Peavy deal doesn't happen, the Cubs surely have to resign Dempster.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Macha named new Brewers manager
Sporstline has the news.
I guess all the speculation as to who will replace Brenly was for nothing.
And no, Paul Sullivan, Santo was not the right man for the job. I love Ronny, but he needs to stay on the radio side. Not because he's a "homer" (which, in Santo's case just means he roots for the Cubs. He is not biased in his judgements), but because the TV booth needs a more sedate personality. I also would hate to spoil a great radio team of Santo and Hughes and likely result in both the radio and TV broadcasts losing a little luster. Santo is perfect for the radio. Let him stay there.
I guess all the speculation as to who will replace Brenly was for nothing.
And no, Paul Sullivan, Santo was not the right man for the job. I love Ronny, but he needs to stay on the radio side. Not because he's a "homer" (which, in Santo's case just means he roots for the Cubs. He is not biased in his judgements), but because the TV booth needs a more sedate personality. I also would hate to spoil a great radio team of Santo and Hughes and likely result in both the radio and TV broadcasts losing a little luster. Santo is perfect for the radio. Let him stay there.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Ramirez Wins NL Aaron Award
In the first ever fan voting for the Hank Aaron Award (the award given to the "most outstanding offensive performers" in each league), Aramis Ramirez won in the NL and Kevin Youkilis (Boston Red Sox) in the AL.
In years past, the award was given to the player with the best offensive stats. This year, fans were able to vote for players on the MLB website. Each team selected one nominee. It is no surprise that two of the league's most rabid fan bases voted their players to victory.
Youkilis had a pretty good year at .312, 29 HR, 115 RBIs, 91 runs, .390 OBP, .569 slugging.
Ramirez also had a decent year, but not his best, at .289, 27 HRs, 111 RBIs, 97 runs, .380 OBP, .518 slugging.
Youkilis is right up there with Ordonez (Miguel Cabrera was the Tigers' nominee and is also worth mentioning), Huff, Hamilton and Morneau. I liked Hamilton myself at .304, 32 HR, 130 RBIs, 98 runs, .371 OBP, .530 slugging, but you can make a case for any of these guys.
Ramiriez, on the other hand, was not even the best at his position. David Wright of the Mets hit .302, 33 HRs, 124 RBIs, 115 runs, .390 OBP, .534 slugging. However, Wright was inexplicably not the nominee for the Mets.
Jose Reyes was the Mets' nominee, boasting a .297 average with 16 HR, 68 RBIs, 113 runs, .358 OBP, .475 slugging. Granted Reyes' 56 stolen bases helped his cause, but I would have still given Wright the nod.
As usual, Berkman was up there with phenomenal stats at .312, 29 HRs, 106 RBIs, 114 runs, .420 OBP, .567 slugging) and Chipper Jones finished with a .364 batting average and an incredible .470 OBP (though incredibly only 75 RBIs). For my money, I can't believe Pujols didn't win at .357, 37 HRs, 116 RBIs, 100 runs, .462 OBP, .653 slugging. I cringe every time he steps in the box to face a Cub pitcher.
I'm not taking anything away from Ramirez. The fans made the selection. He was a formidable hitter throughout the regular season and constantly proved to be a clutch hitter and offensive force for the Cubs (until the great hitting blackout of the 2008 playoffs, of course).
In years past, the award was given to the player with the best offensive stats. This year, fans were able to vote for players on the MLB website. Each team selected one nominee. It is no surprise that two of the league's most rabid fan bases voted their players to victory.
Youkilis had a pretty good year at .312, 29 HR, 115 RBIs, 91 runs, .390 OBP, .569 slugging.
Ramirez also had a decent year, but not his best, at .289, 27 HRs, 111 RBIs, 97 runs, .380 OBP, .518 slugging.
Youkilis is right up there with Ordonez (Miguel Cabrera was the Tigers' nominee and is also worth mentioning), Huff, Hamilton and Morneau. I liked Hamilton myself at .304, 32 HR, 130 RBIs, 98 runs, .371 OBP, .530 slugging, but you can make a case for any of these guys.
Ramiriez, on the other hand, was not even the best at his position. David Wright of the Mets hit .302, 33 HRs, 124 RBIs, 115 runs, .390 OBP, .534 slugging. However, Wright was inexplicably not the nominee for the Mets.
Jose Reyes was the Mets' nominee, boasting a .297 average with 16 HR, 68 RBIs, 113 runs, .358 OBP, .475 slugging. Granted Reyes' 56 stolen bases helped his cause, but I would have still given Wright the nod.
As usual, Berkman was up there with phenomenal stats at .312, 29 HRs, 106 RBIs, 114 runs, .420 OBP, .567 slugging) and Chipper Jones finished with a .364 batting average and an incredible .470 OBP (though incredibly only 75 RBIs). For my money, I can't believe Pujols didn't win at .357, 37 HRs, 116 RBIs, 100 runs, .462 OBP, .653 slugging. I cringe every time he steps in the box to face a Cub pitcher.
I'm not taking anything away from Ramirez. The fans made the selection. He was a formidable hitter throughout the regular season and constantly proved to be a clutch hitter and offensive force for the Cubs (until the great hitting blackout of the 2008 playoffs, of course).
Sutcliffe Comments on Possible Cubs TV Opening
From an article in today's Chicago Tribune.
Sutcliffe mentions that he is always interested in doing something with the Cubs. The Red Baron is currently under contract with ESPN and had planned to be a Spring Training coach with the Cubs prior to being diagnosed with colon cancer in May. Sutcliffe has undergone one successful surgery and has another coming up in November, but everything is going as well as can be expected and the ex-Cub believes he would be ready for a full season of work in the booth if the opportunity was there.
I loved Sutcliffe as a player and what little exposure I have had with him as a broadcaster has been favorable. Yes, even including the 2006 incident where a drunken Rick Sutcliffe pops into the TV booth in San Diego to chat with Matt Vasgersian and Mark Grant That's funny stuff.
Sutcliffe mentions that he is always interested in doing something with the Cubs. The Red Baron is currently under contract with ESPN and had planned to be a Spring Training coach with the Cubs prior to being diagnosed with colon cancer in May. Sutcliffe has undergone one successful surgery and has another coming up in November, but everything is going as well as can be expected and the ex-Cub believes he would be ready for a full season of work in the booth if the opportunity was there.
I loved Sutcliffe as a player and what little exposure I have had with him as a broadcaster has been favorable. Yes, even including the 2006 incident where a drunken Rick Sutcliffe pops into the TV booth in San Diego to chat with Matt Vasgersian and Mark Grant That's funny stuff.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Grace shares his feelings
Mark Grace made some comments regarding the debacle known as the Cubs' 2008 post-season. He says they "laid down", "played tight" and "should be humiliated."
This naturally leads people to wonder if Grace's comments could hurt his chances at replacing Brenly in the TV booth.
I think honesty and calling it like you see it is not something that should be frowned upon. We know Brenly was willing to call players out. Grace is also still working in a part-time role for Fox during the World Series. Wouldn't it be a worse measure of a man for Grace to sugar coat comments about the Cubs so that he doesn't piss off potential new employers?
Besides, he was right. The Cubs failed miserably and did not live up to fans, analysts and their own expectations. If you look deeper into his comments, you see a man rather stunned that the team he saw as the class of the NL got drubbed out of the playoffs in short order.
I think this quote from Grace says it all, "I'm as disappointed as all the other Cubs fans." That's passion for the team he played 13 seasons for. That's honesty and critical review from an experienced ex-player. That's the heart of a fan coming from a former player.
That's what the booth needs.
This naturally leads people to wonder if Grace's comments could hurt his chances at replacing Brenly in the TV booth.
I think honesty and calling it like you see it is not something that should be frowned upon. We know Brenly was willing to call players out. Grace is also still working in a part-time role for Fox during the World Series. Wouldn't it be a worse measure of a man for Grace to sugar coat comments about the Cubs so that he doesn't piss off potential new employers?
Besides, he was right. The Cubs failed miserably and did not live up to fans, analysts and their own expectations. If you look deeper into his comments, you see a man rather stunned that the team he saw as the class of the NL got drubbed out of the playoffs in short order.
I think this quote from Grace says it all, "I'm as disappointed as all the other Cubs fans." That's passion for the team he played 13 seasons for. That's honesty and critical review from an experienced ex-player. That's the heart of a fan coming from a former player.
That's what the booth needs.
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