SB Nation - David Patton

The State of the Rockies: Pre-Winter Meetings Edition

Jabberwocky — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:45:02 -0000

Yes, Rockies fans, it's that time that you've all been waiting for: Hot Stove Season. Now that arbitration offers have been made from clubs to some of their free agents, it's time for the free agency period to begin in earnest--or at least it will when those who have been offered arbitration decide to accept or decline it (the deadline for that is December 7th). Then at the Winter Meetings in Indianapolis (the 7th through the 10th) GMs will have a pretty good idea of where the free agent market stands and what their teams' needs are.

Given the way the chips have fallen so far, it's looking increasingly like the Rockies won't make any moves of great consequence at the Meetings, though the possibility of a big trade looms insidiously just under the surface as the Rockies look to shape their roster and payroll for the 2010 season.

In this belated edition of Purple Row Academy I will do my best to break down how the upcoming Winter Meetings and the Rule 5 draft will affect the Rockies. In addition, I'll offer up some analysis on the Rockies' arbitration offers to Jason Marquis and Rafael Betancourt plus a look at some free agents the Rockies have targeted (an expanded target list for the Rockies from the last edition).

Winter Meetings

Running from next Monday through Thursday, the Winter Meetings are a hot stove afficionado's dream--where trade buzz runs fast and furious while agents make their best pitch to GMs about their clients. A lot of deals will get talked about, but likely very few will be consummated.

As you'll see below, the Rockies don't really have a lot of flexibility with either roster slots or payroll, so they will likely be on the reactive, listening side of the trade proposals and free agent players rather than being proactive about it. One eventuality that could and should be pursued by Dan O'Dowd is the potential trade of Brad Hawpe.

O'Dowd has downplayed the possibility of such a move, but that's what he needs to be saying at this juncture to maintain the strength of Hawpe's trade market. Were he on the open market, Hawpe would probably be graded as a high second-tier corner outfielder/DH option, a man that would command higher than a $7.5 million salary for 2010.

I've written about it in detail before, but Hawpe is the rare trade asset whose value to another team (particularly in the AL) is MUCH greater than it is to the outfielder-rich, lefty-saturated Rockies PLUS the opportunity cost (giving Smith/Fowler/Gonzalez more plate appearances and $7.5 million of payroll flexibility) happens to be a better alternative than simply keeping Hawpe.

While the Rockies are looking to contend in 2010 and therefore might be more likely to have a more aggressive outlook on short-term payroll, this move would likely pay off now and in the future for Colorado--even if all the Rockies receive in return are prospects (though I believe the return would include a MLB-ready young back-end starter). After all, the Rockies have Matt Murton in reserve or they could use Eric Young Jr. in the outfield.

Beyond a potential Hawpe deal though, I don't see the Rockies making too many waves next week.

Rule 5 Draft

That includes the Rule 5 draft, to be held next Tuesday the 8th. Teams can select players from other MLB organizations' minor league systems that have not been protected on the 40 man roster. For a $50,000 fee, if a team selects a player he becomes their asset, so long as he remains on that team's 25 man roster or DL all year, after which time the player may be sent down.

Looking over the players that are eligible for the draft, the only one that is of interest to me is one pointed out by Keith Law, Angels prospect Bobby Cassevah. He has average fastball velocity but has extreme groundball tendencies (70%), an ability that is valuable at Coors Field--particularly out of the bullpen. I don't see it happening though, because while the Rockies have two spots open on their 40 man roster currently, I don't foresee a 25 man roster spot being open.

As for whom the Rockies could lose, OF Cole Garner and RHP Craig Baker have been mentioned as possibilities. That's the downside of having a deep system like the Rockies do--they lose prospects to the Rule 5 Draft (David Patton and Everth Cabrera last year) because they have too many to protect.

Arbitration Offers

One offer I like and one I'm not such a big fan of but can live with--about par for the course, I guess.

Jason Marquis

Given the high demand and low supply of even second-tier starting pitching, there is a very low chance that Jason Marquis will accept arbitration from the Rockies--pencil me down for 3 years, $25-30 million from the Mets (pencil them into the playoffs the next three years).

Marquis could decide to remain a Rockie, and in doing so garner a 2010 salary of $10-11 million or so, but my guess is that he'll take the security of a longer contract with a similar amount of guaranteed money per year. It's a good time to be a free agent for Marquis, despite the economic situation--teams want solid starting pitching and supply is very low. Accepting arbitration and risking a down year would not only hurt Marquis' bargaining power next year, but also there's a stronger pitching free agent class in 2010 (headlined by Roy Halladay, Josh Beckett, Cliff Lee, and Brandon Webb), so getting a long-term deal just makes good business sense for Marquis.

Rafael Betancourt

It's a different market and different situation for Betancourt. For one thing, he's older (35 on Opening Day) and he's a right-handed reliever, a market with considerably more supply and less demand.

There's no denying that Betancourt was a great performer that solidified the back end of the Rockies' bullpen in 2009. However, it's highly unlikely that there is a team out there that is willing to surrender a high draft choice and give Betancourt a multi-year deal--or one that at least would pay him what he would get in arbitration from the Rockies (around $6 million is what I've estimated).

At this point it would likely be a poor business decision for Betancourt to do anything but accept arbitration with the Rockies due to his Type A status and age. The Rockies want Betancourt back, but they have a Plan B in LaTroy Hawkins should Betancourt refuse arbitration.

As others in this community have opined, this offer of arbitration hedges the Rockies' risk with Betancourt. For some, the worst situation that could happen for Colorado was that Betancourt would walk and the Rockies would get nothing out of the deal. With the arbitration offer, that won't be the case--heck, Betancourt could reject arbitration, test the open market, and then sign with the Rockies for a lower cost. I don't see this happening though--I fully expect Betancourt to do the smart thing and accept arbitration.

Personally, I'm not sure that getting Betancourt back for anything over $3 million is such a great deal for the Rockies, but then again, I happen to value relief pitching at a lower level (and am extremely wary of its variability) than most people. However, if there's any year for the Rockies to pay a little extra for a few more marginal wins, it's this year. The Rockies are in contention now and should be encouraged to take steps to ensure at least a 90 win season.

Roster and Payroll 2010 Update

Projecting Betancourt at receiving a $6.4 million award (as I've outlined here) in arbitration, this is how the Rockies' 2010 roster and payroll currently looks:

Players Under Contract (Torrealba and Embree are team option buyouts)

Player Name	ML Service Time	2010 Salary	Add. Min. Obligation	Years After 2010
Todd Helton	12.059	$16,600,000	$23,700,000	1
Aaron Cook	7.02	$9,833,000	$10,583,000	1
Brad Hawpe	5.058	$7,500,000	$500,000	0
Jeff Francis	5.04	$5,875,000	$0	0
Troy Tulowitzki	3.033	$3,500,000	$25,750,000	3
Manuel Corpas	3.076	$2,750,000	$3,750,000	1
Ubaldo Jimenez	2.087	$1,250,000	$8,000,000	2
Yorvit Torrealba	8.03	$500,000	$0	0
Alan Embree	15.059	$250,000	$0	0
Matt Belisle	4.02	$850,000	$0	0
Randy Flores	5.061	$650,000	$0	0

Total		$49,558,000	$72,283,000

Pre-Arbitration Players (Phillips projected as back-up catcher)

Player Name	ML Service Time	2010 Salary
Eric Young Jr.	0.042	$412,000
Dexter Fowler	1.027	$413,030
Franklin Morales	2.01	$414,060
Paul Phillips	2.06	$427,450
Ian Stewart	1.154	$416,120
Carlos Gonzalez	1.06	$415,090
Seth Smith	1.119	$415,090
Matt Daley	0.155	$412,000

Total		$3,324,840

Arbitration Players (assumes Atkins non-tendered, Murton not on roster)

Player Name	ML Service Time	2010 Salary	Difference from 2009
Huston Street	5	$8,775,000	95.00%
Jorge De La Rosa	5.015	$5,600,000	180.00%
Clint Barmes	4.122	$4,225,000	160.00%
Taylor Buchholz	3.14	$1,055,000	0.00%
Jason Hammel	2.153	$2,026,560	380.00%
Chris Iannetta	3.029	$1,867,500	350.00%
Rafael Betancourt	6.079	$6,405,000	83%
Ryan Spilborghs	3.072	$788,500	90.00%

Total		$30,742,560	167.25%

Grand Total Payroll: $83,625,400

The 2010 payroll including Betancourt would be the largest Rockies ODP ever (up over $8 million from last year), and it isn't complete. This roster has 24 players on it (because Buchholz will begin the season on the DL, plus Torrealba and Embree will not actually be on the team) and the open slot is for a utility infielder to replace Garrett Atkins.

Now I don't believe that it's quite this simple--I think that Torrealba, McKenry, or another option could supplant Phillips at backup catcher while a player like Corpas, Daley, or EY2 could be sent down to AAA to begin the season--but barring a trade there is only one definite opening on the 2010 Rockies that will be filled on the free agent market. For that reason, I'll be concentrating on players that fit the utility infielder mold or that have been prominently mentioned as free agent targets recently.

Free Agency Update

In the last edition I provided a list of potential free agent targets for the Rockies and all of them remain available at the moment (though Jose Contreras is looking like he's headed to Japan). In particular, Jamey Carroll has drawn a lot of interest, while Pedro Feliz has found himself jobless due to Placido Polanco signing in Philly.

While Feliz would be my ideal target to fill the Rockies' utility infielder void, let's look at the free agency targets (those that plied their trade for others last year) that the Rockies have expressed interest in (pitching and hitting) from most interesting in my estimation to least:

Justin Duchscherer: The Duke represents a possible market inefficiency that the Rockies could exploit to bolster their starting pitching depth. Twice an All-Star for the Oakland A's, Duchscherer's last couple of years have been derailed due to injury (hip and elbow) and depression. However, the 32 year old righty has shown himself to be an above-average starter and reliever--and he would likely be in search of a cheaper one year deal to build up his market value. Plus, he was once traded for Luis Vizcaino (and his second best career comparison per Baseball Reference is Betancourt). Colorado could be the perfect landing spot for him at a price around $2-3 million (with incentives for more).

Orlando Hudson: O'Dowd has downplayed the Rockies' interest in Hudson, but the possibility of Hudson in the lineup every day with Barmes as a super-utility player is nonetheless intriguing. Since the Dodgers declined to offer the 32 year old Hudson arbitration, signing him costs no draft picks. I'd bet on Hudson commanding a salary around $5 million per year for anywhere from 1-3 years. Hudson has been at least league average (2 WAR or greater) every year since 2004, so this price would likely be a bargain. This is the sort of move that a Hawpe trade could enable with increased payroll flexibility, but as it is I don't see it happening because the Rockies really are attached to Barmes at second.

Bobby Crosby: To be honest, given the Rockies' lack of roster and payroll flexibility, I would much rather sign Crosby than Hudson to fill the one remaining roster slot. The 2004 AL ROY has the versatility and right-handedness to fit the Rockies' super-utility role to a T. He would come fairly cheaply considering all the hats he'd be wearing (I'd estimate in the $2-3 million range) due to the fact that he has played poorly (an understatement really) since his 2004 campaign. While his career .302 wOBA is worrisome, Crosby has positive fielding value and will be moving from a tough AL hitter's park to a permissive NL run-scoring environment--and at worst he would be a cheaper version of Garrett Atkins circa 2009. The Rockies could certainly do worse for a utilityman.

LaTroy Hawkins: Hawkins would be Betancourt's replacement, pure and simple. The 37 year old will probably perform worse than Betancourt but will also get paid less (around $3.5 million) to do it. I'd rather Betancourt just accept arbitration than to have Hawkins back, honestly--I have this vision of Hawkins as being Alan Embree 2.0 next year for whatever reason.

Noah Lowry: The 29 year old former Giant lefty has been sidelined by injuries the last two seasons, making him a huge enigma and a gamble for any team that is interested. If the Rockies can get him on a minor league deal that would be ideal, but if signing him required a major league deal it probably would be too rich for the Rockies' budget.

By next week, after the Winter Meetings, we should have a much better idea of where the Rockies stand in free agency and trades, plus a much firmer handle on how the 2010 Rockies roster will look.

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.

View full size photo »

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.

Cubs, Gorzelanny Lose Ugly To Diamondbacks, 12-3

Al — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 22:05:49 -0000

More photos » by Paul Beaty - AP

"Oh, brother," says Gorz, "I should have asked to start last night."

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If you missed the FanShot I posted, the Cubs announced this afternoon the policy for refunds for yesterday's rainout:

All paid tickets for the Oct. 1 game are eligible for a refund. Refunds are available by sending the tickets to the Wrigley Field Ticket Office at 1060 West Addison Street, Chicago, IL, 60613. All refunds must be requested before Dec. 31, 2009. Tickets will not be eligible for exchange for 2010 or any future seasons.

Refunds will be made by check. Please allow four weeks for delivery. The original purchaser of the ticket or tickets will receive a refund to his/her credit card instead of a check if that was the original method of payment.

Also, word around the ballpark today was that the reason the umpires waited so long to call last night's game was some sort of edict that had come to teams from the MLB offices that they wanted "all games" to be played this season if at all possible. Only a call directly from Bud Selig finally got the game to be cancelled.

That's about the only good news I can bring you from Wrigley Field today; certainly, the Cubs' depressing 12-3 loss to the Diamondbacks didn't have any. Tom Gorzelanny got hit, in fine Chicago fashion, early and often; Chris Young, who seems to have hit about half of his career homers against the Cubs (in reality, only five of 70), smashed a ball that the wind carried onto Waveland with two runners on in the first inning. By the time Rusty Ryal hit a three-run double off Gorzelanny in the fourth, it was 7-0 and if the umpires or the MLB offices had had any sympathy for the (approximately) 15,000 who showed up today (tickets sold: 33,786), they'd have called it after the fifth inning with the score still 7-0 and the Cubs with only three singles.

Instead, a parade of five Cub relievers gave the visitors from Arizona (who had some very chilly-looking fans wearing their garb walking around outside Wrigley this morning) five more runs. Only Justin Berg, who threw two very nice innings, and John Grabow, who struck out two in a scoreless frame of his own, pitched well. I can't imagine we'll see Jeff Stevens back next year -- he got hit hard -- nor should David Patton, a waste of a roster spot, return in 2010. Aaron Heilman, who had actually gotten his season ERA under 4 (3.97) before today's game, gave up a HR to Eric Byrnes, his second of the game, a two-run shot, and Heilman's (perhaps) farewell to Cubs fans shows him with a season ERA of 4.16. I like Berg, incidentally, a lot, and I think he will be a significant contributor to the 2010 bullpen in middle relief.

The Cubs managed three consolation runs off Billy Buckner and reliever Blaine Boyer in the seventh, but that was all on a day when some off-and-on showers that didn't even show up on radar screens dotted the ballpark. It seemed a fitting way to say farewell to a rainy season. Rain may dot the area tomorrow, so be prepared for another postponement. It'd somehow feel appropriate.

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.

Fat Lady Clears Throat; Cubs Lose To Brewers 9-5

Al — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:30:15 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

The proverbial "managerial wheels" were turning last night. The Cubs still lost.

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NOW what do you do with Rich Harden?

One of the more exasperating talents in recent years to wear a Cub uniform, Harden has had great success this year in night games (6-3, 2.66 before last night's game). So you figured that he'd be ready for a good performance against the Brewers. Unfortunately, Harden suddenly remembered that he was pitching at Wrigley Field (3-6, 5.90 before last night's game), and gave up hit after bloop hit in three innings of work. It took him 71 pitches to get nine outs and at that point, Lou had seen enough and sent Aaron Miles up to bat for him. It seemed a good idea to get Miles out of the way early, but he actually got a hit and scored a run. The last time Miles did both of those in the same game was on August 8 in Colorado, where he hit his only triple of the year.

In any case, Harden's bad outing -- he was charged with only two earned runs of the five he allowed, because a tough grounder that glanced off Aramis Ramirez's glove was ruled an error after the fact -- helped lead the Cubs to 9-5 loss to the Brewers in a game they simply could not afford to lose in their desperate charge to get back into the wild card race. With the Rockies hanging on, barely, to win 4-3 over the Giants late last night, the Cubs trail by 6.5 games with 18 to go.

Deficits like this have been overcome in the past, and more than once. But it's getting more difficult each day.

Much as I hate to admit it, BLou was probably right about David Patton. Can we declare this experiment over? I'm not sure if the Cubs had anyone else who could have occupied the slot given over to the Rule 5 acquisition for three months, but Patton, who will be 26 next May, came in to relieve Harden and wasn't really any better. He walked two, gave up four hits and was charged with four earned runs when Justin Berg allowed a two-run single in relief of him in the fifth inning. Actually, that single by Corey Hart was the blow that put the game away, because without that the Cubs would have reduced the deficit to 7-5 instead of 9-5, and then you've got a much closer game.

The Cubs had plenty of baserunners -- sixteen of them, courtesy of 13 hits and three walks, but hit into a pair of rally-crushing double plays. The most deflating of those occurred in the eighth inning when the first two men reached base, only to see Ryan Theriot hit into a DP. Theriot actually had a good night, reaching base safely in his first four plate appearances with three hits and a walk, but when crunch time came he failed.

Lou actually appeared to be awake last night; I think the Cubs moving back into marginal contention energized him, at least for a while. He double-switched the pitcher's spot three different times, including yanking Milton Bradley out of the game after he grounded out with two runners on to end the third inning. Paul Sullivan says there might have been something beyond a double-switch involved:

Bradley looked so disinterested during his second-inning strikeout that Piniella yanked him after the third. Piniella downplayed it afterward, saying it was only a double-switch.

I agree with Lou, although the score was 5-2 at the time and Micah Hoffpauir, who replaced Bradley in right field, didn't do any better, flying to left and hitting a comebacker before he was removed in another double-switch.

So the Cubs face the task of mounting a long winning streak starting today and getting some help if they're going to overcome the 6.5 game deficit. Impossible? No. Unlikely? Yes. But I'd like to see them finish the season strong. And as for Harden... frustrating, maddening, aggravating, whatever other adjectives you'd like to add. He's got top-line ability, but many times looks like he has no idea what he's doing out there. Sullivan's article says:

Piniella said he may give Harden an extra day of rest before his next start, inserting Tom Gorzelanny into the mix.

Gorzelanny (and the nine-days-missing Sean Marshall, too) threw well last night in relief. That's a good idea. The Cubs can pick up a half-game with a win today. Keep the faith -- it's not over, not yet.

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.

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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.

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.

Cubs Minor League Wrap -- August 30

Josh77 — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 05:28:49 -0000

If you can believe it, I turned off today's Cub game and watched opera on PBS instead. That's how bad things have gotten. (No, I'm not an opera fan, but my wife is and my baby girl loves all music. So there was a bit of making the rest of the family happy going on there. But my wife is a baseball fan too, so it wasn't to stop an argument of anything.)

It may be the Dog Days of August in the majors, but it's crunch time in the minors.

Iowa Cubs (71-65)

The I-Cubs won their fifth game in a row today with a 2-0 shutout of the Oklahoma City RedHawks.

Starter Mitch Atkins has had a rough season, but today he was great, throwing six shutout innings. He allowed only five hits. He gave up one walk and struck out eight.

David Patton, John Gaub and Blake Parker each tossed a shutout inning to end the game. Parker got his 21st state with a perfect inning. He struck out two.

Shortstop Andres Blanco led off the bottom of the first with a triple and scored on a groundout to give the Cubs a lead they would never relinquish. Blanco was 1 for 3 with a walk. Catcher Chris Robinson went 2 for 3.

The I-Cubs are in second place in the PCL American North Division, tied with Nashville and one-half game behind Memphis. The Cubs hold the tie-breaker over Memphis, but Nashville has the tie-breaker over the I-Cubs. They have seven games left: four against Omaha and three against Albuquerque.

Tennessee Smokies (34-29)

The Tennessee Smokies were mauled by the Mobile Bay Bears, 5-1.

Andrew Cashner ran into trouble today, giving up all five runs in six innings. One of the runs was unearned. Cashner allowed six hits. He walked two and struck out only one.

Right fielder Tyler Colvin hit his thirteenth home run today. He was 1 for 4 with the one RBI.

West Tennessee also lost, so the Smokies remain tied for first. The Smokies have two more games left with Mobile, and then play a five game series at West Tennessee that will decide the second-half champs.

Daytona Cubs (27-35)

The D-Cubs were beaten by the Clearwater Threshers, 4-2.

Starter Craig Muschko took the loss. He went seven innings, allowing four runs on nine hits. Muschko walked one and struck out three.

DH Brandon Guyer hit his second home run tonight, a solo home run in the ninth inning. Guyer was 2 for 4 with a double and the home run. Guyer scored twice. First baseman Jake Opitz went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI.

Peoria Chiefs (39-23)

The Chiefs banged out 24 hits as they harvested the Cedar Rapids Kernels, 16-5.

Jeffry Antigua started and got the win. Antigua pitched six innings and allowed five runs, four of which were earned, on seven hits. Antigua struck out five and walked no one.

Josh Whitlock got the three-inning save, but he really earned it. He was perfect for three innings. He struck out one.

First baseman Rebel Ridling was 4 for 6 with a double and four RBI. Ridling took over the Midwest League lead with 96 RBI.

Left fielder Nelson Perez was 5 for 6 with two doubles. Cruz scored twice. Second baseman Ryan Flaherty went 2 for 3 with a walk, two runs scored and two RBI.

Third baseman David Macias went 2 for 6 with an RBI and a run scored. Shortstop DJ LeMahieu was 3 for 6 and scored three times. Catcher Mario Mercedes went 2 for 6 with a double, three RBI and one run scored. DH Junior Lake went 2 for 6 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Center fielder Jose Valdez has had a successful start to the Midwest League. He went 2 for 4 with two runs scored and two RBI.

Boise Hawks (31-36)

The Hawks snapped a six-game losing streak by cleaning up the Tri-City Dust Devils, 2-1.

The Hawks pitching staff allowed only two hits tonight. Starter Kevin McNutt went three innings and allowed one run on one hit. He walked three and struck out three.

Austin Kirk made his Boise debut a successful one. He picked up the win by pitching three innings and allowing no hits. He walked one and struck out three.

Daniel Keefe pitched the final three innings and got his fourth save. He gave up one hit and one walk while striking out four.

Shortstop Hak-Ju Lee was 2 for 5 with a stolen base and a run scored. First baseman Justin Bour was 3 for 3 with two walks, a double and a stolen base. Left fielder Derrick Fitzgerald went 3 for 5 with a steal.

Cubs Minor League Wrap -- August 27

Josh77 — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:20:34 -0000

Hak-Ju Lee and Jose Valdez were named to the Northwest League Post-season All-Star Team.

I think everybody needs some good news tonight and I'm glad to say I've got some tonight. So we're going to lead off with it.

Peoria Chiefs (37-22)

The Peoria Chiefs clinched a playoff spot tonight with a 2-1 victory over the Quad City River Bandits.

Starter Aaron Shafer got the win tonight with six shutout innings. He allowed four hits. He walked one and struck out two.

Kevin Kreier got his third save of the year with two shutout innings. Kreier allowed one hit, issued one walk and struck out three.

Center fielder David Macias went 2 for 4 and scored both runs. Third baseman Ryan Flaherty was 2 for 3 with a walk.

Because the first and second place teams in each half make the playoffs in the Midwest League, the Chiefs clinched a spot tonight. Their magic number to win the second half division title is three.

Iowa Cubs (68-65)

The Iowa Cubs kept their playoff hopes alive by taking a double-header from the Oklahoma City RedHawks by identical 2-1 scores.

In the first game, James Russell started and pitched five shutout innings. Russell allowed four hits, walked one and struck out seven.

David Patton got the win with an inning of relief. Patton didn't allow any runs or hits, but he did walk two. He did not record a strikeout.

Blake Parker allowed an unearned run in the ninth inning, but recorded his 19th save anyway. Parker didn't allow a hit. He walked one and struck out two.

The Cubs only had two hits in the first game, but one of them was a two-run home run in the sixth inning by shortstop Andres Blanco. It was Blanco's sixth home run this season for Iowa. Blanco was 1 for 3.

In the second game the Cubs scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh, including a game-winning RBI single by Andres Blanco again. Blanco went 2 for 4 with a double in the second game. Catcher Steve Clevenger was 2 for 3 with a run scored.

Esmailin Caridad started the second game and allowed one unearned run over three innings. He allowed two hits, walked no one and struck out five.

John Gaub got the win in relief. He walked two and struck out two in the one scoreless inning of relief he pitched.

Tennessee Smokies

Had the day off.

Daytona Cubs (26-32)

The Daytona Cubs tamed the Lakeland Flying Tigers, 8-5.

James Leverton started and picked up his ninth win. He went 5.1 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits, including a pair of two run homers. Leverton walked one and struck out five.

Henry Williamson was perfect in 2.2 innings of relief. He struck out five.

Right fielder Brandon Guyer did what we've been waiting for him to do for quite a while: he homered. The three-run home run was his first home run for Daytona (he had hit one for Tennessee) and he went 1 for 4.

Left fielder Jonathan Wyatt was 2 for 4 with two runs scored. First baseman Jake Opitz had a triple (but didn't score) in a 2 for 4 game. Shortstop Nate Samson went 1 for 2 with two walks. He scored twice and had two RBI.

Boise Hawks (30-36)

The Boise Hawks lost to the Spokane Indians, 4-2.

Yohan Gonzalez was very good in relief in this game, tossing three perfect innings from the fourth through the sixth. Gonzalez struck out three.

Left fielder Robert Wagner provided all the Hawks runs with a two-run homer. It was his fourth on the season. Wagner also doubled in a 2 for 4 game.

AZL Cubs

Lost to the Giants, 6-4.

Cubs Minor League Wrap -- August 24

Josh77 — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 05:12:45 -0000

Man, summer colds suck. They're even worse when you're trying to take care of an infant. Then you're responsible for cleaning up two people's messes.

Jeremy Papelbon was named Southern League Pitcher of the Week.

Iowa Cubs (66-64)

The Iowa Cubs zipped past the New Orleans Zephyrs, 7-4.

Starter Mitch Atkins improved his record to 7-11 with a strong start tonight. Atkins went seven innings and allowed two runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out five.

David Patton's rehab appearance did not go well. He gave up two runs on a home run in the eighth inning and got in trouble in the ninth before Vince Perkins was summoned from the bullpen to get the final out. Patton went 1.2 innings and allowed the two runs on two hits and three walks. He struck out two. Perkins got his third save while facing two batters. He walked the first one and then struck out the final batter to end the game.

Left fielder John-Ford Griffin had two doubles in a 2 for 5 game. He scored twice and knocked two in. First baseman Micah Hoffpauir also went 2 for 5 and had one double. Hoffpauir had three RBI and scored once.

Tennessee Smokies (31-27)

The Smokies remained in a tie for first place tonight as they filleted the Carolina Mudcats, 16-9.

Andrew Cashner has been struggling, really for the first time in his professional career. Tonight he couldn't go the necessary five innings to pick up the win, despite leaving with a 13-5 lead. Cashner went 4.1 innings and allowed five runs on seven hits. The really bad news was that he walked five and struck out only one. Two of the runs Cashner allowed in the five-run first inning were unearned, however

Dustin Sasser was given the win in relief. Sasser threw two shutout innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out two.

The Smokies banged out 19 hits tonight, led by Tyler Colvin, who got his batting average up to .305 with a 4 for 6 game. Colvin doubled once. He had one RBI and scored once.

Catcher Welington Castillo was 3 for 6 with two doubles. He scored once and had two RBI. First baseman Russ Canzler went 2 for 5 with a double and a walk. Canzler scored twice and had two RBI. Shortstop Starlin Castro was 2 for 6 with two doubles. He had one RBI and one run scored. First baseman Blake Lalli had a four RBI night. He also scored once in a 2 for 4 night. Center fielder James Adduci was 2 for 3 with three walks. Adduci scored four times. He also stole a base.

Two Smokies homered tonight. Left fielder Ty Wright hit his ninth homer in the first inning with a man on. Wright went 3 for 4 with a double and two walks. He scored three times. Second baseman Tony Thomas hit #11 in the second inning with the bases empty. Thomas was 1 for 3 with two walks.

Daytona Cubs

Had the night off.

Peoria Chiefs (35-21)

The Chiefs had been bludgeoning opponents lately, but tonight they used their pitching and defense to shut out the Quad City River Bandits, 2-0.

Austin Bibens-Dirkx has made six starts for the Peoria Chiefs, and in those six starts he's gone 5-1 with a 1.70 ERA. (He also has one win as a reliever.) Tonight he had seven shutout innings and allowed only four hits and one walk. Bibens-Dirkx struck out six. ABD is 24 and washed out of the Mariners organization, so we need to temper our enthusiasm a little. Still, if he keeps this up, signing him out of the independent leagues is going to be a major coup for our scouting team.

Chris Huseby got the save number 18. Huseby pitched 1.1 innings and allowed only one hit. Huseby struck out two.

Third baseman David Macias was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored. First baseman Rebel Ridling was 2 for 3 with a double.

Boise Hawks (30-33)

The Hawks lost to the Spokane Indians 14-5.

Starter Robert Hernandez allowed three runs on four hits over four innings. He walked three and struck out six. The rest of the pitching staff were worse.

Second baseman Logan Watkins was 2 for 3 with two doubles and two walks. Watkins scored once. Third baseman Greg Rohan had two doubles in a 2 for 4 game. He scored once and had two RBI.

Left fielder Robert Wagner hit his third home run tonight. Wagner was 2 for 4 with two RBI.

AZL Cubs (11-13)

Did not play. Their season ends Friday night.