SB Nation - Chicago Cubs

Levine: Hendry and Friedman Discuss Pat Burrell/Milton Bradley Swap Once More

R.J. Anderson — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:10:42 -0000

May as well add another mark to the collection of posts on the rumor that just won't die:

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry has rekindled talks with several clubs over the past 24 hours. Of these meetings Hendry's had, he met with Tampa general manager Andrew Friedman and special assistant Gerry Hunsicker for more than an hour Monday night talking about the format of a Milton Bradley-for-Pat Burrell trade. There is a difference of $12 million in the two contracts, and Hendry and Friedman talked about the parameters of paring down the difference and the money.

ESPN Chicago

You can read the original analysis on the idea here. There's nothing new to add.

2009 SBNation Awards: Cy Young Award

Al — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:00:29 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Chiu - AP

Someday, Tim Lincecum will look older than 15. For now, he has to settle for Cy Young Awards.

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For the Cy Young Award, Mike & I agreed on our ballots right down the line -- and neither of us voted for the SBN winner, Tim Lincecum, who got 18 first-place votes. Carpenter and Wainwright appeared to split the Cardinal vote down the middle, so neither could win. No Cubs received any votes; none was expected to.

The AL voting was more predictable; you might only be surprised by the order of the runners-up.

BCB ballots:

Al: 1) Chris Carpenter 2) Tim Lincecum 3) Adam Wainwright   
Mike: 1) Chris Carpenter 2) Tim Lincecum 3) Adam Wainwright

National League

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tim Lincecum	San Francisco Giants	18	13	-	129
2	Chris Carpenter	St. Louis Cardinals	9	4	7	64
3	Adam Wainwright	St. Louis Cardinals	4	4	10	42
4	Javier Vazquez	Atlanta Braves	-	5	7	22
5	Dan Haren	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	3	4	13
6	Ubaldo Jimenez	Colorado Rockies	-	1	1	4
7	Cliff Lee	Philadelphia Phillies	-	-	1	1
8	Jair Jurrjens	Atlanta Braves	-	-	1	1

American League

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Zack Greinke	Kansas City Royals	28	1	-	143
2	Felix Hernandez	Seattle Mariners	-	17	6	57
3	Justin Verlander	Detroit Tigers	-	8	9	33
4	Roy Halladay	Toronto Blue Jays	1	2	11	22
5	CC Sabathia	New York Yankees	-	1	2	5
6	Jon Lester	Boston Red Sox	-	-	1	1

Cubs Baseball In Vegas... Stays In Vegas

Al — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:09:20 -0000

While the entire Cubs' spring training schedule has not yet been made public, today the Cubs announced that again in 2010, they and the White Sox will travel to Las Vegas during the spring campaign to play a pair of exhibition games. From the press release:

The Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox will play two exhibition games in Las Vegas next March for the 2010 Big League Weekend at Cashman Field, home of the Las Vegas 51s. The clubs will play on Friday, March 12, 2010 and Saturday, March 13, 2010. Games times are to be determined. The Cubs and White Sox will both feature split squads.

Ticket information is available by calling the Las Vegas 51s at 702-798-7825 or visiting www.lv51.com. The Cubs and White Sox will play a pair of spring training games in Las Vegas for the second year in a row.

SBN Awards: NL ROY

DyingQuail — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:00:54 -0000

by Tony Tribble - AP

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This was, by far, the most difficult category for me to make my selections and I believe it was the same for HLP. Although we ended up texting out a resolution, I know that we ended up with different picks.

At some point during that insanely depressing text conversation, I realized that I didn't have as firm of grasp of the ROY pulse because there were no Astros with possible hopes of claiming the title. Apathy really got the best of me in this incident. I guess next year we could have Gervacio, Jason Castro, and someone I'm not thinking of at this second.

The fun part of this vote is playing: can you spot the homer-ism? Not that I'm lambasting anyone for it, but there a couple that jumped out at me and made me snicker a little.

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tommy Hanson	Atlanta Braves	9	9	6	78
2	J.A. Happ	Philadelphia Phillies	6	9	7	64
3	Andrew McCutchen	Pittsburgh Pirates	8	3	5	54
4	Chris Coghlan	Florida Marlins	7	5	4	54
5	Dexter Fowler	Colorado Rockies	-	3	1	10
6	Randy Wells	Chicago Cubs	-	-	6	6
7	Garrett Jones	Pittsburgh Pirates	1	-	-	5
8	Casey McGehee	Milwaukee Brewers	-	1	2	5
9	Seth Smith	Colorado Rockies	-	1	-	3

Arizona Fall League: Matt McBride Homers, Aaron Crow Hit Hard Again

raygu — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:00:40 -0000

The AFL was back in action on Monday following a day off on Sunday. The Rising Stars game was very exciting for those who watched as the Indian's catching prospect Matt McBride hit a two-run homer off of Nationals pitching prospect Drew Storen.

Let's take a look at the performances from Monday's games:

Jose Tabata, OF, PIT-0-4, (.349)

Buster Posey, C, SFG-1-3, BB, K (.224)

Brandon Allen, 1B, ARI-1-4, K (.167)

Domonic Brown, OF, PHI-1-4, 2K (.256)

Thomas Neal, 1B, SFG-0-4, RBI, BB (.288)

Hector Gomez, SS, COL-2-3, RS, 2B, HR, RBI (.271)

Starlin Castro, SS, CHC-1-4, RS, SB (.414)

Bryan Peterson, OF, FLA-2-3, BB, RBI (.400)

Jay Buente, RP, FLA-2 Inn, 5 K (3.86)

Matt McBride, C, CLE-2-4, 2 RS, 3B, HR, RBI (.420)

Yonder Alonso, 1B, CIN-3-4, RS, RBI (.293)

Freddie Freeman, 1B, ATL-0-3, 2 K (.267)

Jonathan Gaston, OF, HOU-1-3, HR, 3 RBI (.226)

Ike Davis, 1B, NYM-2-4, RS, (.339)

Taylor Teagarden, C, TEX-0-3, BB, 2 K (.240)

Aaron Crow, SP, KC-4 Inn, 7 H, 4 ER, 4 K (7.94)

2009 SBNation Awards: Rookie Of The Year

Al — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:00:40 -0000

by Nam Y. Huh - AP

Randy Wells had a fine rookie year and finished sixth in SBN rookie balloting.

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Count me as one of those surprised at the SBN Rookie of the Year balloting. Neither J.A. Happ nor Chris Coghlan, the two players named at the top of the BCB ballots, won. Tommy Hanson is a deserving recipient, no doubt, but I was sure that Happ was going to win. The third-place vote I gave Randy Wells is, admittely, a homer pick.

The AL balloting, for which BCB had no vote, was very close, with only two points separating the top two. If I did have a vote for the AL ROY, it would have gone to Gordon Beckham.

BCB ballots:

Al: 1) J.A. Happ 2) Tommy Hanson 3) Randy Wells      
Mike: 1) Chris Coghlan 2) J.A. Happ 3) Tommy Hanson

National League

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tommy Hanson	Atlanta Braves	9	9	6	78
2	J.A. Happ	Philadelphia Phillies	6	9	7	64
3	Andrew McCutchen	Pittsburgh Pirates	8	3	5	54
4	Chris Coghlan	Florida Marlins	7	5	4	54
5	Dexter Fowler	Colorado Rockies	-	3	1	10
6	Randy Wells	Chicago Cubs	-	-	6	6
7	Garrett Jones	Pittsburgh Pirates	1	-	-	5
8	Casey McGehee	Milwaukee Brewers	-	1	2	5
9	Seth Smith	Colorado Rockies	-	1	-	3

American League

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Elvis Andrus	Texas Rangers	6	9	6	63
2	Andrew Bailey	Oakland Athletics	11	1	3	61
3	Jeff Niemann	Tampa Bay Rays	3	5	3	33
4	Rick Porcello	Detroit Tigers	2	7	2	33
5	Brett Anderson	Oakland Athletics	5	1	3	31
6	Gordon Beckham	Chicago White Sox	1	2	8	19
7	Nolan Reimold	Baltimore Orioles	1	-	1	6
8	Matt Wieters	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	3	6
9	Brad Bergesen	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	-	3
10	Ricky Romero	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3
11	Travis Snider	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3

Cubs could be players in Roy Halladay sweepstakes?

Eli Greenspan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:34:54 -0000

More photos » by Darren Calabrese - AP

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The Chicago Daily Herald wonders if the Cubs could enter the Roy Halladay sweepstakes this offseason. If the Cubs sent Milton Bradley with a package of prospects, centered-around pitching prospect Andrew Cashner and second baseman Ryan Flaherty, they might be able to land the prized ace.

The deal likely would have to include two more young prospects, perhaps Jay Jackson or Robert Hernandez, but surrendering those two allows the Cubs to hold on to Josh Vitters and Starlin Castro, who both are in the Cubs' future plans.

Having covered the Cubs minor league teams for ChicagoNow.com, an affiliate of the Chicago Tribune, I'd say adding only one of the latter pitchers mentioned would be worth the Cubs' while. Halladay is one year away from free agency and is certainly in a position to cash in, and that should be taken into account before any team pulls the trigger.

It is definitely shaping up to be trading market this offseason, so we can expect to see several teams enter the mix for him. The Dodgers and Angels could look to trade for him if they miss out on John Lackey.

Poll

What are the chances the Cubs land pitcher Roy Halladay this offseason?

Japanese pitcher eyes MLB

Eli Greenspan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:52:13 -0000

Former Yakult Swallows pitcher, now free agent Ryota Igarashi hopes to pitch in the MLB next season, according to ESPN.com. Igarashi, 30, posted a 3.19 ERA in 56 games this past season.

Most relieves who come over from Japan tend to be left-handed, but Igarashi's 44-27 career record with a 3.26 ERA may appeal to some teams willing to offer a low-based salary to the Japanese veteran.

Igarashi is probably looking at a minor league deal, meaning lots of teams could make a move for him. The Rangers and Red Sox have always pursued pitchers from the Japanese and Korean leagues, as have the Indians and Royals. The Cubs are looking to fortify their bullpen and are known to have a group of scouts constantly overseas.

2009 SBNation Awards: Manager Of The Year

Al — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:00:43 -0000

by David Zalubowski - AP

Rockies manager Jim Tracy shares a laugh with Lou Piniella. SBN voters named him the NL Manager of the Year.

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At the end of the regular season, all the SBN blogs cast their ballots for the same awards given out by the BBWAA. To make the vote comparable to the BBWAA vote, each site was given two votes, and NL blogs voted only for NL teams, AL blogs for AL teams. (And yes, I'm as puzzled as you will be to see a second-place vote for John Russell.) For Manager of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Cy Young, we voted for the top three and points are given as 5-3-1. For MVP, we voted for the top 10 and points are awarded as follows, 1st through 10th: 14-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Ballots were due the day after the regular season ended, so playoff performances and team results have no bearing on this voting.

As has been the case the last three years, I gave the second BCB ballot to Mike, who draws all the cartoons here. Today, I present the SBN Managers of the Year; after the jump you'll find the results for both the AL and NL balloting, and here are the two BCB ballots:

Al: 1) Jim Tracy 2) Tony LaRussa 3) Bruce Bochy
Mike: 1) Jim Tracy 2) Tony LaRussa 3) Charlie Manuel

The schedule for the rest of the week is:

Tuesday 11/10: Rookie of the Year
Wednesday 11/11: Cy Young Award
Thursday 11/12: MVP

National League

Rk	Manager	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Jim Tracy	Colorado Rockies	24	1	2	125
2	Tony LaRussa	St. Louis Cardinals	3	7	10	46
3	Fredi Gonzalez	Florida Marlins	2	6	5	33
4	Joe Torre	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	9	2	29
5	Charlie Manuel	Philadelphia Phillies	-	3	5	14
6	Bruce Bochy	San Francisco Giants	1	1	1	9
7	Bobby Cox	Atlanta Braves	-	1	4	7
8	Bud Black	San Diego Padres	-	1	1	4
9	John Russell	Pittsburgh Pirates	-	1	-	3

American League

Rk	Manager	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Mike Scioscia	Los Angeles Angels	9	8	3	72
2	Ron Gardenhire	Minnesota Twins	9	5	1	61
3	Don Wakamatsu	Seattle Mariners	6	3	8	47
4	Joe Girardi	New York Yankees	2	4	2	24
5	Ron Washington	Texas Rangers	1	4	4	21
6	Terry Francona	Boston Red Sox	1	1	3	11
7	Jim Leyland	Detroit Tigers	-	2	4	10
8	Joe Maddon	Tampa Bay Rays	-	1	1	4
9	Ozzie Guillen	Chicago White Sox	-	-	1	1
10	Trey Hillman	Kansas City Royals	-	-	1	1

MLB Trade Rumors: On the Beat with John Perrotto Version

raygu — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:00:37 -0000

by Eric Risberg - AP

about 1 month ago: Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Chad Billingsley takes a break on the mound after the San Francisco Giants scored their third run in the fourth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009. San Francisco won the game 7-2; Billingsley was the losing pitcher. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

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Every Sunday, John Perrotto from Baseball Prospectus puts out an article talking about possible trade rumors and signings, along with analysis of the goings on around baseball. Yesterday's article was chock full of names who could be available in trade talks this offseason, with some suprise names.

Let's take a look after the jump:

Here is a list of names who could be available in trade talks per Perrotto:

Chad Billingsley Kerry Wood

Dave Bush Bobby Jenks

Jeremy Guthrie Pat Burrell

Adrian Gonzalez Nelson Cruz

Heath Bell Ryan Ludwick

Glen Perkins Dan Uggla

Kenshin Kawakami Juan Pierre

Derek Lowe Ryan Doumit

Javier Vazquez Dioner Navarro

Carlos Zambrano Jarrod Saltalamacchia