SB Nation - Andres Blanco

Building A Cubs Champion: 2010 Edition

Al — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:15:22 -0000

by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Like it or not, one of the keys to the Cubs' success in 2010 is a resurgence by Alfonso Soriano. Here, he launches his game-winning grand slam vs. the Astros last July 27.

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Last year about this time, I made this post discussing what I thought should be the makeup of the 2009 Cubs.

Brave, isn't it, of me to post that link when I'd just as soon forget about it. I was shouted down and laughed at (people are still giving me grief for the Kevin Millar thing, and they were absolutely correct), and had the Cubs put that 25-man roster on the field last April, they'd undoubtedly have had a much worse season than they did in real life (case in point: Alex Hinshaw, who I thought was an up-and-coming LOOGY, threw only six major league innings in 2009, posting a 12.00 ERA).

So let me go about this project this year in a different sort of way. A year ago (actually, October 20, 2008 was the date I wrote the post about my proposed 2009 roster) we were all still stunned and angry that the 97-win team that had dominated the National League all season went three-and-out in the playoffs. This was before Lou's "we've gotta get more lefthanded" mantra led us to the Milton Bradley disaster, before popular favorites Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa were let go, and a lot of us were wondering, "How can we make a team that good into one that will win 11 games in October?"

Jim Hendry and Co. were asking themselves the same question, obviously, but came up with the wrong answer. Without rehashing what we've rehashed all summer long, clearly, it didn't work -- and not just because of Hendry's moves, but because players like Alfonso Soriano, Geovany Soto and Mike Fontenot seriously underperformed their 2008 numbers by considerable margins and for various reasons, and because Aramis Ramirez, who is the Cubs' best hitter, missed 50 games with a dislocated shoulder and wasn't at full strength the rest of the season, eventually playing in only 82 games.

I believe in what new owner Tom Ricketts said at his introductory press conference: that the Cubs already have the talent that can win the World Series, and only need a few tweaks to bring the club back to pennant-contending level. I'm also going to assume that what we've heard about player payroll is correct: that it will be increased, if only "slightly", from 2009, and thus will wind up at (approximately) $145 million. That will rank third in baseball, behind the Yankees and Red Sox.

Thus, instead of trying to build a roster simply by picking pieces from here and there, let's use that $145 million to put together a winning team.

Let's begin with players we know will be with the team next year, and their payroll figures (all numbers from the excellent site Cot's Baseball Contracts). These players are under contract for 2010 and will definitely be on the team, followed by their contract amounts:

Alfonso Soriano, $19,000,000
Carlos Zambrano, $18,875,000
Aramis Ramirez, $16,500,000
Kosuke Fukudome, $14,000,000
Ryan Dempster, $13,500,000
Derrek Lee, $13,000,000
Ted Lilly, $13,000,000

That's $107,875,000 for seven players. The Cubs also owe Jeff Samardzija $1,000,000 on the major league portion of his deal (whether or not he throws a major league inning) and $500,000 to the long-ago-released Luis Vizcaino, who pitched 3.2 innings in a Cub uniform. We're now at $109,375,000, leaving "only" $35,625,000 for 18 more players to fill out the Opening Day 25-man roster. That means there are going to be a fair number of minimum-wage players in 2010, because among the players remaining, a number of them are arbitration-eligible, meaning they will be in line for raises.

The first order of business is to remove Milton Bradley from the premises. We have had many long debates about whether and for whom he should be traded, but I believe this is top priority for Jim Hendry and will happen sooner rather than later. Disagree if you wish, but I think the best of many not-so-great scenarios is to send him -- and Aaron Miles -- to the Giants for Aaron Rowand. Between Bradley and Miles, they are owed a total of $23.7 million; Rowand is owed $36 million. Since in doing a deal like this, you would be relieving the Giants, essentially, of $12 million (approximately) by taking the third year of Rowand's contract, Hendry should ask the Giants to split the difference and pay half of Rowand's 2012 contract, which would split the total dollars (approximately $60 million) between the two teams, about $30 million each.

This would also accomplish equalizing the 2010 payroll -- or come close -- to what Bradley and Miles would have been owed ($11.7 million) and what Rowand is owed ($12 million). I think the Giants would be willing to do this, because you are taking $6 million off their 2012 payroll, while leaving their 2010 and 2011 payrolls where they are now, since Bradley is owed $12 million in 2011.

I concede that Rowand has had two pretty poor offensive seasons in San Francisco (at least in part due to injuries). But in 2007, he had a fine hitting year in Philadelphia, and I believe that he has at least a chance to return to that level in Chicago. If you were looking at the possible acquisition of Rowand in a vacuum, you wouldn't do it -- but the necessity of removing Bradley from the team makes this probably about the best way to accomplish that. At best, this could turn into a Hundley-for-Grudzielanek-and-Karros sort of deal.

So, now the Cubs have a center fielder (with Fukudome moving back to his original position, right field, improving the outfield defense at two spots), but we are now at eight players and have only $23,625,000 left. They're fortunate that Geovany Soto is not yet arbitration-eligible, so let's say the Cubs bump him up to $825,000 from the $575,000 he made in 2009. That's a pretty good raise, given the bad year he had. Now we're at $22,800,000. Backup catcher Koyie Hill made $475,000 in 2009 and had a good year for a backup. Let's move him up to $600,000, leaving $22,200,000.

I'm going to leave the double-play combination alone for 2010. It's likely that by 2011, Starlin Castro will be the Cubs' starting shortstop -- but for now, because Lou and Jim like them, Jeff Baker and Ryan Theriot will return. Baker made $415,000 in 2009 and had a good run after he was acquired from Colorado -- one of Hendry's best moves last year. Let's pay him $500,000, and Theriot $700,000, both up from 2009. That's 12 players, and $21,000,000 remaining for the other 13 -- we're getting to the point where we can actually think about signing a free agent or two or making a deal.

Among our 12 signed players so far are nine hitters -- so, given the current fad of having 12 pitchers on your staff, we have room for four more offensive players. I like Andres Blanco and Sam Fuld -- both performed well in backup roles in 2009. Neither hits much, but both play outstanding defense and neither is going to be expected to start more than a handful of games. Fuld made $401,500 and Blanco $400,000 (the minimum) in 2009, and let's give them both raises to $425,000. We are at 14 players and have $20,050,000 left. We'll need one more outfielder and also a guy who could fill the role that was filled in 2007 and 2008 by Daryle Ward, and in 2009 by Micah Hoffpauir.

Sad to say, I'm non-tendering Micah. He's 30 in March and didn't really do well most of last year -- he's a one-dimensional player, since he's really not a very good outfielder, and didn't do well in the dimension (hitting) he was supposedly good at. Since we're no longer locked in to the "lefthanded" mantra of a year ago, the Cubs can put the minimum-wage Jake Fox -- bumped up to $500,000 for his good performance of a year ago -- in this slot, and re-sign Rowand's close friend Reed Johnson for $3 million to fill in when his buddy hits the brick wall at Wrigley too many times.

So, we now have $16,550,000 left for nine pitchers -- which means we're going to have to fill most of the bullpen with minimum-wage guys. That's actually fine with me -- look at the disaster that was Aaron Heilman last year (in my opinion, Heilman should be non-tendered) -- and the Cubs have a couple of real good prospects, in my opinion, to fill middle-relief roles in Justin Berg and Esmailin Caridad. They get the minimum $400,000 each, leaving $15,750,000 for seven more pitchers. It was reported earlier this week that the Cubs are negotiating a two-year deal with John Grabow; reported figures are "between $6.5 and $7.5 million" for the two years. Let's assume for this post that it's in between, and Grabow gets $3.5 million for 2010. We've got $12,250,000 left and six spots to fill on the pitching staff. Carlos Marmol is going to close; he made $575,000 in 2009, so let's bump him to $800,000. Angel Guzman will be his primary right-handed setup guy (Grabow's the lefty setup guy, or should be, if Lou would ever use him right). Guzman made $421,500 in 2009; he could be renewed at $500,000.

Our payroll drawer is nearly empty (you can almost count the remaining Benjamins, right?); we have $10,950,000 remaining and still need to fill three spots, one in the pen, and two in the starting rotation, and here's where it gets a bit dicey (and this is why I left this part for last). First, you can fill one of the starting spots with Randy Wells, who made the minimum last year and certainly deserves a raise; let's put him at $750,000 (or maybe even a bit less; he's renewable, meaning you don't have to give him that much of a raise until he's arb-eligible next year), leaving $10,200,000. The Cubs have five free agents: Rich Harden, John Grabow, Kevin Gregg, Chad Fox and Reed Johnson. I already re-signed Johnson and Grabow above; Gregg and Fox, thanks for your service, see you in another uniform next year (and please, Jim, not another minor-league invite for Chad Fox. He's done).

But what to do with Harden? If you offer him arbitration, he'll almost certainly accept. To paraphrase Longfellow's nursery rhyme, "When he's good, he's very, very good; when he's bad, he's horrid". If Harden accepts arbitration, he's likely to get pretty close to all the remaining dollars in the drawer -- so reluctantly, we say goodbye to Rich, without the arb offer, unless you can somehow agree ahead of time to get him to sign for $8 million or so. That's not unreasonable given his $7 million salary in 2009 and his mediocre performance.

For the sake of argument, then, let's say we have this $10,950,000 available for our two remaining spots. One of those spots is going to go to Sean Marshall, who, I believe, deserves another shot at the starting rotation after doing a good job as a swingman in 2009. Lou misused him as a LOOGY -- Marshall can clearly do better than getting one LH batter out -- and I'd like to see Sean, now 27 and with four major league seasons under his belt, get a shot at starting. Sean made $450,000 in 2009, and could be paid $600,000 in 2010. In this scenario Samardzija makes the team, likely because the Cubs are paying him the $1 million whether he makes it or not. Otherwise there are other possibilities, including Arizona Fall Leaguers John Gaub and Andrew Cashner, or maybe someone else who will have a good spring (and please, let's not have another David Patton scenario), for this final spot.

That leaves $10,350,000 (or just under $10 million if you use Gaub or Cashner, who would make the minimum). You could consider signing someone like Jon Garland, who just got his option declined by the Dodgers and is a free agent. Garland made $7.25 million in 2009 and had a "typical" Garland year, which is as an inning-eater; you could probably get him for about $8 million for 2010. Garland has made at least 32 starts for eight straight years, and has pitched no fewer than 191.2 innings in any of those eight. Doing that would take the pressure off the staff, especially if Ted Lilly isn't ready for Opening Day, and would let Marshall play the "swingman" role again. Or you could give that last rotation spot to Tom Gorzelanny, who made $433,000 in 2009, and save the money for a midseason acquisition.

Note that I haven't gone all DeRomantic here and proposed bringing back Mark DeRosa, although I think he'd still be a solid addition, even at age 35, for the right price, and a note in this St. Louis Post-Dispatch article indicates the Cubs may indeed make DeRo an offer. I also haven't retained Mike Fontenot, who could probably be traded -- I mentioned above non-tendering Heilman, but it may be possible that both Fontenot and Heilman could be dealt, even for low-level prospects. In fact, my 2010 team as proposed above has only two players (Rowand and Garland) who were not with the Cubs at some point in 2009 -- unless they decided not to go with Jake Fox in the bench role and instead signed a free agent (or one who soon will be) such as Ross Gload or Chad Tracy, whose option was declined by the Diamondbacks yesterday. Still, despite all the travails, injuries and bad performances in 2009, the Cubs won 83 games. With performances returning to career norms, better health and a little luck, just a few tweaks could have us returning to the postseason in 2010.

Ten Lessons Jim Hendry Needs To Learn From The 2009 Season

Al — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:00:14 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

Example of a player Jim Hendry should not sign to an overpriced, multiyear contract.

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I suppose this post could have waited till next week, but once again we are faced with more than 48 hours between games -- for the last time in 2009 -- and so I thought I'd start some discussion this morning with these things that I think were done poorly by Cubs GM Jim Hendry since the end of the 2008 season.

Hendry got a three-year contract extension (through the 2012 season) after last year's successful regular season, with the hope that 2009 would be even better. It didn't work out that way; Hendry had about as bad an offseason last year as any GM in recent memory, but with new ownership poised to take over, it isn't the right time to blow everything up and start over. Hendry will be given at least one more year to get things back on the track we thought the Cubs were on during their two-year run as NL Central champions in 2007 and 2008.

Some of the problems with the 2009 Cubs were not Hendry's fault and many of them were beyond his control. It's not Hendry's fault that Aramis Ramirez dislocated his shoulder four weeks into the season and missed a total of 75 games (through yesterday). A-Ram produced above his usual level (.906 OPS, compared to his career level of .847) and I think we all agree that the Cubs missed his production in the two months he was out from mid-May to mid-July, not to mention that he wasn't at full strength on his return. To have produced the way he did after the All-Star break -- without complaining -- is a credit to Ramirez's work ethic and ability. It's not Hendry's fault that Alfonso Soriano played most of the year injured, though he perhaps could have insisted harder that Soriano have arthroscopic surgery in June, and maybe he'd have been ready in September. It's not Hendry's fault that all the Opening Day rotation starters spent time on the disabled list, forcing the Cubs to have 21 starts made by guys (Sean Marshall, Kevin Hart, Tom Gorzelanny and Jeff Samardzija) whose performance can best be called "uneven". (The Cubs were 9-12 in those 21 games.)

Credit where credit is due: give Jim credit for recognizing that Randy Wells could help the team as a starter, though I don't think anyone could have guessed he'd be as good as he has been. Credit for giving Koyie Hill the backup catcher job; he's been very good in that role. And credit for getting John Grabow and Gorzelanny for, essentially, nothing; Grabow will likely be retained as a key part of the 2010 bullpen and Gorzelanny, though his performance has been up and down, does have talent and will be in the mix for the 2010 rotation.

With that in mind, below the fold you'll find ten ideas Hendry must internalize and go by as he builds a roster for 2010. (Not necessarily in priority order.)

1. Stop fixing "problems" that do not exist. I think this is one we can all agree on; the troubles with the 2009 Cubs began with the decision made at the organizational meetings last fall that "we're not lefthanded enough", a mantra particularly of Lou Piniella's, due to the Dodgers' RHP-centric pitching staff in the 2008 NLDS. The Cubs didn't lose that series because of a lack of LH batters, but since Lou (and the rest of the staff) thought that was the reason, they went out of their way to identify a "lefthanded, middle-of-the-order bat" that they could insert behind Derrek Lee and ahead of Ramirez. We are all familiar with the expensive disaster that produced so I won't rehash it here. I caution Hendry about this because they are about to do the same thing -- fix a nonexistent problem. "We need a speedy leadoff man", goes the managerial mantra. Well, no, Lou, you don't. A leadoff man's primary job is to get on base. You already have someone who can lead off and do that -- Kosuke Fukudome, who ranks 8th in the NL in walks, despite having almost 100 fewer plate appearances than the leader (Albert Pujols). The Cubs are 22-13 with Fukudome leading off this year (that's a 101-win pace for a full season). The last time Hendry went after this type of player, he traded three useful minor leaguers for Juan Pierre. Jim -- do not get sucked into this trap again.

2. Stop bidding against yourself for players. The first argument against this, you might think, is "Jason Marquis", but Marquis did what he was asked to do -- if the Cubs had kept him this year and he had produced the way he did in Colorado, the Cubs would have gotten fine 4th or 5th starter value for the $7 million a year average per year over the life of Marquis' contract. True, Hendry could have likely had Marquis for less, since no one else had expressed interest at the time. And you can't make the argument "Alfonso Soriano" about this, either, because Soriano had been offered six-plus years by the Phillies and seven by the Angels; the Cubs were determined at the time to make a statement in the free agent market. Soriano was the top free agent after 2006, and yes, the Cubs overpaid to get him. He may still be healthy and productive enough to be worth the deal, at least for the next 2-3 years. (Heaven help the Cubs in years 7 and 8, though.) No, what I'm talking about is paying $30 million for three years' worth of the iffy Milton Bradley when absolutely no other team was even after Bradley, much less offering three years. Or giving a two-year contract to Aaron Miles for any amount of money, when we now know there was at least one option (Andres Blanco) right in the Cubs' own farm system who could have done a better job for the league minimum. Advice to Jim: when you're thinking about doing this, don't. Just don't.

3. Stop giving out contracts that are longer than they need to be. Related to the last point, there was no need to give Marquis a three-year deal; two plus a mutual option would have likely done it, and then if the Cubs really did want to deal him last year, they could have arranged for the other team to pick up the option (if that team wanted him badly enough) or simply decline the option and let him go to free agency. This is particularly true in the case of Marquis; the return for him (Luis Vizcaino) was worthless, because the Cubs wound up dumping him and eating the contract. The same thing applies to the Miles and Bradley deals.

4. Stop trading for guys you think are good because you liked them five years ago, or are fond of their college coach. You don't have to guess who I'm talking about here; his name is Aaron Heilman. (And several years ago, his name was Michael Barrett.) It's great for a GM to be loyal to his players, and Hendry is someone a lot of MLB players want to play for, for this very reason. But any Mets fan could have told Hendry that Heilman had lost whatever command he had last year -- you should have heard the booing for Heilman when he came in at Citi Field, louder than I think I've ever heard for any returning former player -- and though Heilman has been better the last six weeks, he still was not worth losing Felix Pie (Pie, though he went to Baltimore, essentially was part of this deal because Garrett Olson, who was acquired for Pie, was part of the deal to the Mariners for Heilman). And really, Jim, isn't it time to stop the Notre Dame-Wrigley Express? As far as I can tell, there are four active major leaguers who went to ND: Heilman, Samardzija, Craig Counsell and Brad Lidge. All of those guys have issues. Enough already.

5. Stop handing out one-year renewal deals to players like candy. Chad Gaudin didn't throw very well and had a noted off-field incident in 2008. He didn't figure to play a major role in the 2009 rotation or bullpen, yet the Cubs signed him to a $2 million deal in December to avoid arbitration. Then he stunk it up in spring training, forcing the Cubs to simply release him and eat the contract; the Padres and Yankees later got replacement-level production for the league minimum. The Cubs could have gotten this sort of production out of Justin Berg or Esmailin Caridad, as it turned out. Gaudin should have been non-tendered in December.

6. Don't waste half a year's roster spot on a Rule 5 pick that your manager isn't going to use. Maybe David Patton would have pitched better if Lou Piniella had actually used him more than once every five games. We'll never know, obviously, but Lou essentially wasted a roster spot by relegating Patton to pitching in blowouts or in long extra-inning games. The Cubs could have used an extra bench player -- since Aaron Miles was useless -- because Lou was working with what was for all practical purposes an 11-man pitching staff. Lou and Jim deserve equal blame for this one -- and I hate to say it, but BCB poster BLou was right about this one. At this point, maybe it's best for the Cubs to stay out of the Rule 5 draft for a while.

7. Do more careful evaluations of your prospects and young players to maximize their value, whether it be in the major league lineup or in trades. It's clear now that the entire organization was split on Felix Pie's progress. Two years ago, his trade value would have been a lot higher than "Garrett Olson", and of course, now it's probably far higher than that again. Hendry sold on Pie at the lowest possible point, and he and Lou together dragged down a former top prospect's trade value (they did the same with Rich Hill, who could have been dealt after the 2007 season for a pretty good return, although few would have suggested it after Hill put together such a good season). This is another reason why it's silly to have played Bobby Scales in left field for even one game. Scales is a great story and maybe he's a 25th guy on someone's roster next year -- but his trade value is close to zero. Jake Fox, on the other hand, might either be a useful spare part for the 2010 Cubs or might have some trade value, but scouts aren't going to see it if he sits on the bench, Lou. This is where a GM has to have some input with his manager, not simply let the manager dictate the roster. In general, GM's shouldn't be making out lineups -- but Hendry, in this case, could have let Lou know that Fox should have been playing (and Fox should have also been playing 3B from the day after A-Ram went down, too).

8. Don't automatically think that you have to sign expensive free agents to get better. Last offseason, rather than sign Milton Bradley, the Cubs could have approached the White Sox for Jermaine Dye. Dye could have been available by trade; at the time it appeared the White Sox were trying to dump contracts. In fact, I wrote about this possibility last November. Dye didn't have a great year, but he was at least as good as Bradley without the baggage, and with Dye having a $12 million mutual option that will almost certainly be declined by the White Sox, he might be available for not too much money and years (see points 2 and 3). There may be other players available like this -- and, in fact, Hendry almost has to use this route to be able to move Bradley's contract. Magglio Ordonez is almost certain to be on the block, and though he had a terrible season, it's possible he could rebound and he's a lifetime .308/.389/.513 hitter in Wrigley Field (relatively small sample size of 90 PA). NOTE! Do not assume that because I mentioned Ordonez, he is the ONLY player I'd go after for such a deal. He's only one example. Another such player is Luke Scott, who would have looked pretty good in a Cubs uniform in 2009, and who is likely headed for a hefty raise in arbitration. Maybe the Cubs can do that if they can trade Bradley elsewhere. The point of all this to Jim Hendry is: get creative, the way you did when you pulled off the Nomar Garciaparra deal in 2004.

9. Get "good clubhouse guys". I mean, this should be a no-brainer. Any Cubs fan who's been around even for ten years knows that the 2003 Cubs, managed by a player's manager, Dusty Baker, succeeded in part because they had strong clubhouse leaders, Eric Karros and Damian Miller. Miller and Karros were sent packing before 2004, and the 2004 Cubs, despite having more talent and ability than the 2003 version, collapsed in the final week. The acrimony there was visible in public, with players calling the press box to bitch, along with some high-profile public trouble between the team and its broadcasters. I'm not saying those were the only reasons for the success or failure of those two teams, but they clearly did have some impact, particularly with a players' manager like Baker who pretty much lets the clubhouse run itself. If there are no strong player-leaders, such a clubhouse is an "inmates running the asylum" situation and the results are predictable. Similarly, the Cubs lost strong player-leaders Mark DeRosa and Kerry Wood after 2008 and added one player who reportedly was not a good clubhouse presence. NOTE! I am NOT saying that the Cubs must go out and reacquire DeRosa and Wood. However, I am saying that I believe all successful teams have players like this in their clubhouse. Hendry needs to identify some such players who can both do this and be productive in the lineup, and acquire a couple of them. Without trying to ignite the stats debate again, I believe having guys like this does matter. (Of course, they should also be good players -- that goes without saying.)

10. Think outside the box. Jim Hendry did this when he managed to dump an unproductive Todd Hundley on the Dodgers and get back two useful players in Mark Grudzielanek and Karros, without whom the Cubs might not have won the division in 2003. He did it again in 2004 when he engineered the four-team trade that got Nomar to the North Side. He needs to be creative in his thinking again this year. Don't fall prey to the "this is what's wrong with us and we are going to go fix that no matter what it costs" thinking that helped ruin the 2009 Cubs. Be ahead of the curve; that's what helped the Cardinals do so well this year. Also, this could apply to the idea that Hendry might be able to find solutions just by looking in his own system for next year (say, Andres Blanco, Justin Berg, Esmailin Caridad) rather than scouring the waiver wire for someone else's discards (as he did this year with the Aaron's).

There may be more lessons than just these ten, but going by these simple precepts might help Jim Hendry build a 2010 Cubs team that will once again be the favorite to win the NL Central -- and this time, actually do it.

Lilly Outstanding; Lee Homers In 5-2 Cubs Win Over Reds

Al — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:19:44 -0000

More photos » by Paul Beaty - AP

Ted Lilly throws yet another terrific game at Wrigley.

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Say what you want about Jim Hendry's bad offseason in 2008-09 -- and I will have more when the season is over -- you have to acknowledge that his signing of Theodore Roosevelt Lilly was not only one of the better free-agent signings in recent Cub history, but is probably one of the best free-agent signings by anyone in the last few years.

Ted Lilly had another outstanding outing this afternoon, throwing six scoreless innings in a 5-2 Cubs win over the Reds. True, he threw a huge number of pitches (119 -- we were joking in the bleachers today that the only reason Dusty Baker left Homer Bailey in so long is that he was upset that Lou had let his starter go longer than Dusty did. Baker failed -- Bailey threw "only" 115 pitches), especially because he had several long counts in the early innings when he was piling up six of his seven strikeouts. His K of Ryan Hanigan with a runner on second in the sixth, on that 119th pitch, gave him a Wrigley Field ERA of 1.60 this season (in 84.1 innings), and now an 8-1 record at home. His season ERA of 3.05 now ranks 11th in the National League, just behind his teammate Randy Wells (2.96).

So give credit to Hendry for the Lilly signing; today's win was his 44th as a Cub against 25 losses, and his control this year has also been outstanding. He walked two today, but one was intentional.

While Ted was mowing down Reds, the Cubs were fashioning a nice 3-0 lead with hits by both mainstays in the lineup (Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez) and those who are auditioning for next year (RBI from Koyie Hill and Andres Blanco).

I was especially pleased to see Blanco in the starting lineup today. Ryan Theriot has hit .211/.250/.211 since August 15 (in 111 plate appearances) and clearly, for the third year in a row, Theriot has worn down over the long season. Had the Cubs realized that Blanco, rather than Aaron Miles, should have been the backup from day one, Theriot could have had regular days off during the season and the Cubs would have had better defense and only a little dropoff in offense. Blanco has been a pleasant surprise and, now hitting .250, should be the front-runner for the #1 infield backup slot next season -- if not to compete for a starting job.

Koyie Hill is another of only a handful of last year's offseason Hendry moves that worked. Hill has been great behind the plate and handling the pitching staff, and, hitting .241, is one of the better backup catchers in the major leagues this season. He's certainly earned the job again for 2010. Maybe it's not completely his doing, but the Cubs are 39-23 in games Hill has started behind the plate in 2009.

So while the chances of postseason play this year are still minuscule -- although if the Padres complete their current 6-3 lead over the Rockies, the Cubs will creep to within 7.5 games of the wild-card lead -- at least there are some things that give us hope for 2010. Also today, on yet another beautiful, sun-kissed summer afternoon, Derrek Lee hit his 32nd HR and is now only three RBI short of his second 100-RBI season. D-Lee's average is at a season-high .302 and he has hit 21 of his HR since July 1 -- which leads the National League in HR since that date.

BCB reader heine41 and his girlfriend stopped by to say hi today. Nice to meet you, and I told him that if the Cubs won that she'd have to come back every day. Sounded good, but it's kind of a long ride for them (from Peoria), so we'll carry on without them tomorrow night.

The Cubs are having a good September at 8-4, and it's always fun to beat the Brewers, who come into Wrigley for a four-game series beginning tomorrow. With 11 home games remaining, the Cubs are 42-28 in the Friendly Confines. Last year they were 55-26; they won't get there this season but still have a shot at 50 wins at home. In the 109 seasons since 1900, Cub teams have won 50 or more at home only 18 times. That's a goal to shoot for. Keep up the good work.

Some Postseason And 2010 Thoughts: Cubs vs. Reds Preview, Sunday 9/13, 1:20 CT

Al — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:30:33 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

This ground ball was one that was actually fielded correctly by a Cubs infielder yesterday.

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If you twist and turn away
If you tear yourself in two again
If I could, you know, I would
If I could, I would
Let it go -- U2, "Bad"

That song, performed by U2 in the first North American concert of their 360 Tour last night at Soldier Field (here's a review that sums up how I felt about it), is just about the way we've got to view the last 22 games of this Cubs season. "Let it go". Barring a baseball miracle the likes of which no one has seen, the Cubs are simply finishing up another championship-less year.

That doesn't mean we might not see something thrilling, a record broken, or some good baseball for the next three weeks, in addition to hoping for something positive to look forward to in 2010 (cough Andres Blanco and Jake Fox cough). Enjoy it while it's here, because we will miss the game over the winter when it's not.

I like this kind of thing even if it's very unlikely. Every September, David Pinto of Baseball Musings puts together scenarios for a massive postseason tie, with as many as five teams involved. The five-team scenario is nearly impossible, but looking at the numbers, the NL could have a three-team tie without too much difficulty between the Dodgers, Rockies and Phillies. That would create a NL West tie along with a wild-card tie. If it happens, watch Bud squirm while he tries to figure a way out of it that doesn't mess up the eight-day first round. Yes, eight days to play five games. Check out ALDS "A", which runs for eight days with three off days if it goes the full five games. Ridiculous. Both of the LCS also have three off days if they go the full seven. There's absolutely no reason for this.

Try to enjoy this afternoon's game.

Today's Starting Pitchers


Ted Lilly Cubs	vs.	Homer Bailey Reds

11-8	W-L	5-4
3.17	ERA	5.60
130	SO	58
32	BB	41
22	HR	12
vs. Cin	--	vs. Cubs

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Ted Lilly	11-8	24	24	0	0	0	0	156.1	135	60	55	22	32	130	3.17	1.07

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Homer Bailey	5-4	17	15	0	0	0	0	82.0	85	55	51	12	41	58	5.60	1.54

Despite being up and down from the minors to the majors for the last three seasons, Homer Bailey's only start vs. the Cubs was on September 30, 2007, the last day of that regular season, when the Cubs had other things on their minds besides beating the Reds. Bailey gave up a leadoff HR to Alfonso Soriano, walked four and gave up eight hits, only one of which (a single to Derrek Lee) was to a player who will be in today's game. "Homer" is a really bad name for a pitcher, don't you think? Let's hope he gives up a lot of them today.

Ted Lilly has faced the Reds only once this year -- on April 22 at Wrigley Field -- and pitched well, giving up only an unearned run in seven innings. The Cubs scored zero runs that day, however, resulting in a loss for Ted. Joey Votto has hit two HR off Ted in 16 career AB.

TV today is WGN -- no Reds TV. For other games today see the MLB.com Mediacenter.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Reds site Red Reporter.

Once again, just two overflow threads today -- 2:15 and 3:30 pm CDT. If there's a need for another one, please post as a FanShot.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

The Tale Of The Season: Cubs Defense, Marmol Fail In 7-5 Loss To Reds

Al — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 21:00:56 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

"If only you guys had played better defense, I could still be in this game!"

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Even I, the eternal optimist, have to admit that the task of making a baseball miracle and getting this Cubs team into the playoffs is probably impossible now.

The Cubs lost to the Reds 7-5 on another sun-kissed September afternoon that reminded all of us of the summer we missed, both baseball-wise and weatherwise. That wasn't the entire story, of course; the Cubs made a stirring comeback from a 5-0 deficit to tie the game in the bottom of the 7th, only to lose.

Wasn't that about the story of the entire season? We got teased from time to time, the team making us think they were about to make an extended run and get back into the race, only to fall back and have reality set in.

Today, the Cubs gave the Reds six outs in the third inning and no team can expect to overcome bad play like that. They were, in fact, lucky to get out of that inning with only two runs scoring. One of the three Cub errors in that inning was an unlucky one -- Aramis Ramirez couldn't have aimed the throw on Drew Stubbs' grounder better than he actually threw it. The ball hit Corky Miller in the helmet and ricocheted at least 100 feet away into about the fifth row behind the Cubs dugout. A run scored and runners wound up on second and third. This was after Derrek Lee, as sure-handed a fielder as the Cubs have, fumbled a bunt attempt by pitcher Johnny Cueto, which should have been an automatic out.

Even after that, the Cubs could have gotten out of the inning with no runs scoring. Darnell McDonald hit a ball to Ryan Theriot, who threw home to get Cueto. That left runners on first and third with one out, and Randy Wells got the tough Joey Votto to hit a grounder right to Lee for what should have been an inning-ending double play. Unfortunately, Theriot dropped the ball, and Brandon Phillips' subsequent single scored the second run of the inning.

Both of those runs were unearned due to the errors, and the three runs that scored in the third should have been unearned, too; Votto's ball that glanced off Lee's glove was scored a hit, but should have also been an error. That could have been a double play, too, and then even after a pair of walks Jonny Gomes' grounder would have ended the inning with no runs scoring.

Randy Wells deserved better, and the bullpen did a good job of keeping the Reds at five runs while the Cubs were hurriedly catching up; Geovany Soto, whose bat has come alive in this series, hit doubles in the sixth and seventh innings, driving in three of the five runs the Cubs scored to come back and tie. Ramirez was thrown out at the plate -- I would have sent him too, with two out and the tying run already in. It took a perfect throw and relay to get him.

But then, Carlos Marmol came in. Marmol has been very good since being anointed closer, but this was not a save situation and Marmol pitched like the old, bad, pre-closer Marmol. Even after a slick DP got him to two out and no one on, he walked a pair and gave up a two-run double to a .176 hitter, Drew Sutton. (Can you tell the difference between Drew Stubbs and Drew Sutton? I can't.) How can you do that? In any case, Angel Guzman should have been in this game instead of Marmol, but apparently, Guzman is deep in Lou's doghouse after the two had words the other day in Pittsburgh when Guzman didn't agree with Lou's decision to yank him.

That simply can't happen. Guzman was wrong to do that, but at a certain point, the manager has to put the guy in the game who has the best chance of doing the job at hand. In this case, in a tie game in the ninth inning, it was Guzman's role, not Marmol's.

So at this point, what to do? Play guys who have a chance to be contributors next year. Bobby Scales, thank you for your moment in the sun, but you're not going to be a Cub in 2010. Jake Fox should be in LF every day while Alfonso Soriano is on the shelf, in order to either determine his role in 2010 or increase his trade value. Same for Andres Blanco; he should be playing SS every day, particularly since Theriot is hitting .211 since August 15. Let's find out whether Blanco is someone who could be the primary backup infielder next year. And let's not put Aaron Miles into any more games, please.

I'll have lots more to say about 2010 once this season has finally ended. It's been difficult -- as you all well know -- in many ways. Until then, try to enjoy the rest of the season; perhaps there will be a thrilling comeback win, or a great individual performance to enjoy. It's still baseball, and we all love the game, or at least I hope you do. We'll miss it when winter comes. And next year will bring new ownership and new hope. Keep the faith; someday, the Cubs WILL win the World Series. In the meantime, I'm off to the U2 concert tonight at Soldier Field; maybe I'll see you there.

Winning Streak At Four: Cubs Defeat Reds 6-4 Despite Harden's Struggles

Al — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:53:04 -0000

by Jim Prisching - AP

Throw strikes, please. And the red caps? Um, nope.

View full size photo »

Summer arrived at Wrigley Field today, a couple of months late. Didn't anyone tell the weather folks that this is the weather we should have had in July?

Rich Harden apparently wanted to make summer last forever, as he threw an alarming 103 pitches in four innings before Lou had seen enough and sent Aaron Miles up to bat for him in the last of the fourth. Miles actually saw four pitches before grounding to second. (Harden probably could have done that, and then been lifted anyway.) It got so bad with Harden's lack of control that Lou actually had David Patton warming up in the first inning, despite the fact that Harden hadn't allowed a hit. Instead, Harden had walked the bases loaded and thrown 39 pitches to get the first three outs.

Thankfully, the Cubs had enough offense off Justin Lehr, who had shut them out in Cincinnati in August. Aramis Ramirez drove in three runs -- he now has 54 RBI, and with two more will move into second place on the 2009 Cub team list behind Derrek Lee. Think about that. 56 RBI is 2nd on the team, and Ramirez has about half the at-bats of the people he's passing. That's how difficult offense has been to come by at times for this team. Geovany Soto homered -- his first since August 10 -- and the Cubs hung on for a 6-4 win. Their playoff hopes with 23 games remaining and an 8.5 game deficit may be very slim (0.7% by Baseball Prospectus' estimate), but all you can do is go out there every day and win your game and see what happens.

Lou apparently decided to use the middle innings, with the Cubs leading 4-1 after Soto's homer, to audition pitchers for next year's bullpen. Perhaps we can cross Jeff Stevens off the list. Stevens gave up two singles and a three-run homer to Jonny Gomes, tying the game. For that performance, Stevens got his first major league win, because he was the pitcher of record when Kosuke Fukudome walked for the second time in the game, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Ramirez's single. This is proof positive that wins for relief pitchers are virtually meaningless. The official scorer does have the discretion to award the victory to someone other than the pitcher of record if he pitches "briefly and ineffectively", as the official rules state. Today was a perfect example of a game where that could have been the case. Aaron Heilman -- who's actually thrown better lately -- came in after Stevens and threw two shutdown innings, striking out the side in the seventh and throwing 22 strikes in his 34 pitches. Heilman deserved the win.

Also auditioning for next year was Esmailin Caridad, who has a good arm and also threw a good scoreless inning. He needs to develop a breaking pitch; perhaps the Cubs will send him to winter ball so he can work on one. Caridad, who will be 26 next month, could be an important part of the 2010 bullpen.

Carlos Marmol will definitely be the anchor of that pen -- it appears he has finally settled down now that he's been officially named closer. Despite a walk and single (which wouldn't have been a single if Andres Blanco had been inserted for defense in the 9th, as Koyie Hill was), Marmol stayed within himself and finished off the Reds for his 12th save.

As I said -- the chances are slim. But the Cubs are setting themselves up to have one of the better Septembers in recent memory; they're 7-3 and riding a four-game winning streak. Let's keep riding it. Keep the faith and go Cubs.

Pittsburgh Has Been Good To The Cubs: Cubs vs. Pirates Preview, Tuesday 9/8, 6:05 CT

Al — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:00:19 -0000

by Gene J. Puskar - AP

That slider's looking filthy again, Carlos. Keep up the good work.

View full size photo »

PITTSBURGH -- As I noted yesterday, the Pirates have become the Cubs' favorite punching bag (well, they have for a lot of teams, but the Cubs in particular). The Cubs have now won 10 of the last 13 games between the two teams at PNC Park; 12 of the last 14 overall; are 21-6 against the Pirates since the beginning of 2008 and 69-40 against them since 2003.

That's why it's good news that this Cubs team has six remaining games against the Pirates. If they are going to go on a miracle run with 26 games remaining, it's good to have nearly a quarter of them against a team they beat with regularity.

For those of you who read northpaw22k's FanShot about Prince Fielder and the Brewers' weird walkoff celebration on Sunday, you weren't the only ones upset; the Giants and one of the local writers in the Bay Area were also less than thrilled:

Look, I'm not against players having fun on the field. It's a game and fans buy tickets to be entertained. Every time a college football player gets flagged for the tiniest bit of exuberance, I shake my head. Let the kid enjoy the moment a little bit, huh?

But if you have any knowledge or appreciation for the culture of baseball, you know Fielder's stunt was over the top. It was disrespectful. And if he's going to pull stuff like that, he's got absolutely no right to take umbrage the next time a pitcher gets revenge with a fastball to the ribs. Hey, he's got plenty of built-in padding, anyway.

Fielder can risk retaliation if he wants. But it seldom ends there. He's putting his teammates at risk, too, and possibly putting his pitchers in a bad position. But I guess they all were active participants, so maybe all of them should be on alert.

100% correct, in my opinion. I have no problem with celebrations. But this one was way over the top.

More Cubs notes: our old friend Kevin Hart has been moved up in the Pirates rotation and will start against Z tomorrow afternoon. Also from that link:

Outfielder Sam Fuld on Sunday aggravated a minor wrist injury he suffered making that face-banging catch in Los Angeles two weeks ago and is limited for now to playing defense. He did it in the seventh inning Sunday, chasing down Dan Murphy's triple.

The tight hamstring that forced Andres Blanco out of Sunday's game in the seventh inning will probably sideline him for at least another day or two, manager Lou Piniella said.

Today's Starting Pitchers


Ryan Dempster Cubs	vs.	Zach Duke Pirates

8-8	W-L	10-13
3.96	ERA	3.71
136	SO	87
57	BB	41
18	HR	21
vs. Pit	--	vs. Cubs

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Ryan Dempster	8-8	25	25	0	0	0	0	156.2	158	82	69	18	57	136	3.96	1.37

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Zach Duke	10-13	28	27	3	1	0	0	182.0	196	80	75	21	41	87	3.71	1.30

Zach Duke has made 125 major league starts. 16 of those are vs. the Cubs, more than against any other team. He's got a decent 3.13 ERA in those starts, but is only 4-7, and 0-2 with a no-decision this year despite a good 3.38 ERA and going at least seven innings in all three starts. That's kind of what the Pirates are -- they aren't really bad, just not good enough. (No wonder he isn't smiling in the photo.) Current Cubs are hitting .335 (83-for-248) vs. Duke with 7 HR, including a pair by Jeff Baker in only 9 AB.

Ryan Dempster has started only once vs. the Pirates this year and it was one of his worst of the year, on May 25 at Wrigley Field. The good news is that five of the eight position players in that day's starting lineup are no longer with the Pirates, including Freddy Sanchez, who homered off Dempster. No current Pirate has homered off him and in Dempster's last outing at PNC Park, coincidentally vs. Duke on April 9, 2008, he threw seven one-hit innings. A repeat of that would be real nice.

Cable-only for TV today, in Chicago (CSN) and Pittsburgh (FSN). For other games today see the MLB.com Mediacenter.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Pirates site Bucs Dugout.

I'm going to stick to two overflow threads for the time being: tonight at 7:15 and 8:30 pm CDT. If things get too busy, please post a FanShot overflow; if I see there's a lot of activity the next couple of days, I may go back to three.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Indefensible: Cubs Defense And Managing Shoddy In 5-0 Loss To White Sox

Al — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 04:12:50 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

This kind of sums up the entire 2009 season.

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SOMEWHERE NEAR CLEVELAND -- Finally in for the evening after driving halfway to NYC from Chicago, before I recap the Cubs' 5-0 loss to the White Sox on Thursday, I wanted to say a few words about some of the behavior in the game threads.

We are all frustrated with the play of this team and particularly Alfonso Soriano, who's had a tough year while being injured and not really telling anyone for four months and trying to play through it.

Today's dropped fly ball really summed up not only his, but the Cubs' entire season. However, threatening him with death really isn't called for. This is baseball. It's a sport that's supposed to provide us with enjoyment, and perhaps one day the fulfillment of our dreams of a Cubs World Series. All I ask here is that you try to behave as you would around other people when you're on this site, particularly in the game threads, which I know can get kind of heated. Please keep it clean and don't make threats -- I know it doesn't feel very good to see losses like this. Just try to keep things in perspective. Thanks.

At this point in the season, with Soriano clearly still hurting -- it was impossible to tell, even sitting as close as I was to him in left field, whether his attempt to do his usual "hop" under A.J. Pierzynski's fly ball, or he just slipped on a piece of turf -- maybe it's time to shut him down. Soriano didn't make excuses:

"I slipped, and when I slipped I lost my balance," Soriano said. "I don't make an excuse, but that's the first time it happened -- that I slipped and missed the ball."

That wasn't the only problem, and in fact, as Aramis Ramirez went on to say:

"The last time I checked, we didn't score any runs," Aramis Ramirez said, "so even if [Soriano] makes that play, we lose, 1-0. Nobody wants to make a mistake on the field. 'Sori' doesn't want to make mistakes. Nobody wants to be embarrassed like that. We have to pick it up, that's the bottom line."

Ryan Dempster nearly matched Tom Seaver -- er, Carlos Torres, he just looked like Seaver out there Thursday afternoon -- by allowing no earned runs in seven-plus innings. Jake Fox's error on a routine pickoff throw allowed Chris Getz to go to second base in the second inning, where he scored on Alexei Ramirez's single. A 1-0 loss is tough enough to take, but then there was the managing problem.

When Fox led off the seventh inning, there was absolutely no excuse for him to still be on the bases. Your best bet defensively is to get him out of there in the next inning for Micah Hoffpauir, so why was he still running with nobody out? That is the one place, the ONE possible place, where Aaron Miles could have been useful. If Miles is running for Fox, he probably scores on Jeff Baker's single. Or maybe Mike Quade holds Fox (or Miles) at third base and there are runners on the corners with nobody out and then maybe Ozzie Guillen lifts Torres for Octavio Dotel. The Cubs have hit Dotel well since he signed with the White Sox -- and maybe then the whole game turns out differently.

Lou compounded his mistake of not using Miles in the one possible place where he could actually have been useful, by sending him up to pinch-hit in the last of the eighth for PH Mike Fontenot, who had already been announced to PH for Angel Guzman, when Ozzie called on lefthander Matt Thornton.

Now, think about this for a minute. Miles hasn't done anything useful all year. He's hitting .226 vs. LHP coming into this game, and .095 (2-for-23) as a pinch-hitter. Why on Earth would you put him in that situation at all, much less trailing 3-0 in the 8th inning? Send up Andres Blanco. Or Geovany Soto. Or even Carlos Zambrano, for heaven's sake. Miles grounded to short, which was utterly predictable.

Thanks, Lou. It wasn't all your fault, but it was yet another situation in which you used the wrong player in the wrong situation at the wrong time. Lou seems, again, disinterested and defeated, as noted in his postgame remarks, where he said about three sentences and didn't take questions. Maybe it's time for him to go.

It just wasn't the Cubs' day, and that started two hours before game time when a snafu resulted in anyone who had actually had their ticket scanned on June 16 (the original game date, and that included me) denied entry until the Cubs released those barcodes from their system (it took a few minutes before they figured it out, even though they had had two other postponed and rescheduled games earlier this year where no such problems occurred). Fortunately, they worked it out and everyone got in with a minimum of fuss.

And, the Rockies actually cooperated Thursday by losing, keeping the Cubs six games behind (five in the loss column) with 30 to go. It's still not an impossible task, but winning a few in a row right now would be the thing to do. Maybe starting in New York. Keep the faith. I'll report from Citi Field after Friday night's game.

The L Words: Lee, Lilly Lead Cubs To 2-0 Lancing Of Astros

Al — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:33:37 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Ted, we're sorry Lou didn't let you finish.

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Where was this all summer long?

Not only the baseball, but the great weather. Under a perfect, cloudless sky with low humidity and a light breeze blowing off Lake Michigan, Ted Lilly threw the best game of his All-Star season. Limiting the Astros to just four hits -- and two of them were dink hits that wound up being scored as doubles -- Ted threw eight scoreless innings, walking no one, and made Derrek Lee's two-run homer in the fourth inning stand up for a 2-0 Cubs win over Houston, maintaining the slim wild-card playoff hopes for another day.

D-Lee's bomb gave him 90 RBI with 31 games remaining, matching his total from all of last year, and giving him his fifth 90+ RBI season. He's driven in 100 only once, in his great 2005 season (107, which, thanks to Don't-Clog-The-Bases-Dusty, is the second-lowest RBI total for anyone who had 45 or more HR in a season. Only Troy Glaus, with 47/102 in 2000, had fewer), and is on target for his fourth 30+ HR year. Despite having playoff teams each of the last two years, the Cubs didn't have a 30-100 hitter on either one. The Cubs' last 30-100 man was Aramis Ramirez, who had 38 HR and 119 RBI in the lost 2006 season.

Just goes to show you that team effort is required for postseason play, and the Cubs had that today. They didn't hit much, but didn't need to, given Lilly's outstanding pitching performance, and in spite of a little shakiness from Carlos Marmol in the 9th, he settled down and registered his eighth save. Lou Piniella seems to have a pathological aversion to complete games -- the Cubs have only two nine-inning CG since he's been managing -- and even though Lilly had 105 pitches (69 strikes) through eight, I think I would have given him a shot at finishing.

Lilly was also helped out by some outstanding defense. Mike Fontenot made a diving catch of a Kaz Matsui foul popup in the sixth inning, and Andres Blanco made two great plays, a spear of a Jeff Keppinger line drive in the third, and ranging far to his left to stab a Miguel Tejada ground ball in the fourth. I don't think I need to say -- but I will anyway -- that Ryan Theriot wouldn't have made either of those plays.

In addition to his fine defense, Blanco slapped a double down the LF line and scored on Lee's homer, and laid down a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt in the sixth. That's one game's worth of good performances by Blanco in the field and at bat. Has Aaron Miles done all of those things in his entire season's worth of work? Tell me again why Miles needed to be on this team in the first place? Blanco could have given better production (he's got a .620 OPS, which is pretty bad, but it's almost 170 points higher than Miles') and better defense for a small fraction of the money spent on Miles.

Lesson learned, we hope, for Jim Hendry: sometimes the answer you seek is right in front of you.

I must make a Milton Bradley comment today -- he didn't run out a ground ball to short in the first inning, which led to some boos. Those, I felt were deserved -- you've got to run out every ball. What if Tejada had thrown the ball away?

Today was, apparently, senior citizen busload day at the ballpark; this was the last of the "value dates", with ticket prices relatively low, and many buses pulled up on Waveland discharging groups of seniors out for a nice outing on a beautiful early September day. As you may have seen via tweets from BCB's ballhawk, bleacher tickets were available on the street for as low as $5 (or maybe free by game time). The bleachers did eventually fill up, and the announced crowd of 39,192 had only about 5,000 no-shows; the park was reasonably full, and those who did attend enjoyed not only the win, but the quickest nine-inning game by time all year, two hours and fourteen minutes.

So -- time grows shorter. Keep winning, and hope the teams in front of you lose. Go Mets, Marlins and Phillies tonight, and let's beat those White Sox in the makeup game tomorrow afternoon. Keep the faith.

Cubs September Callups Announced

Al — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:02:01 -0000

More photos » by Paul Beaty - AP

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There will be eight players added to the Cubs' active roster over the next several days, now that the September 1 roster-expansion date has arrived.

Gordon Wittenmyer has the list, and all eight have been major league Cubs at one time or another already during 2009:

The Cubs plan to recall outfielder Micah Hoffpauir and right-hander Justin Berg from Class AAA Iowa and reinstate infielder Andres Blanco from the disabled list when rosters expand today.

Right-hander David Patton is expected to rejoin the active roster from the DL on Wednesday, and four more I-Cubs are to be recalled as the Class AAA season winds down: infielder Bobby Scales and right-handed pitchers Jeff Samardzija, Jeff Stevens and Esmailin Caridad.

I'd quibble with Gordo's description of Hoffpauir as an "outfielder", but the activation of Andres Blanco is good news. It means that we have likely seen the last of Aaron Miles in any games this year, unless some upcoming game goes deep into extra innings. As Josh tweeted yesterday, Hoffpauir is now the Iowa Cubs' all-time career RBI leader (281 RBI). This isn't necessarily a positive thing; it likely means a player has spent way too much time in the minor leagues. Also, with Jason Dubois swapped to the Mets and, as also noted in Josh's tweet, Chris Robinson leaving Iowa for the Canadian national team, Jake Fox is likely to be the Iowa team leader in RBI this season with 53, despite playing only 45 games there. (Not to mention that Fox is also tied for sixth on the major league Cubs with 39 RBI.)

Try to enjoy the rest of the season.