Why not demote Grabow? Is it possible to demote him?

Own up, Hendry.

(Gordon W. in the Suntimes writes:

"The Cubs almost certainly will have a need for a right-hander in the bullpen if left-hander Tom Gorzelanny is bumped to the pen, as expected, with Zambrano's move back to the rotation. That would overload the bullpen with four lefties. Barring an injury, that raises the likelihood one has to go, making rookie James Russell a candidate to be optioned despite a 2.93 ERA.")

According to Ken Rosenthal, et al at foxsports.com (see here), the Indians want to package Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez. The Cubs could conceivably offer Geo Soto (injured, but not forever), Jake Fox and two top minor league pitchers.

A bona fide top starter and a veteran catcher who can still hit-- this would be a move worth making, especially in light of the Cardinals' recent moves.

It might be safe to say that 2009 is this Cubs roster's last chance to win the WS. Hendry is likely gone next year, and Lilly, Lee, Aram and Dempster will be one year older. So this is the year (again!)

Interesting stats from 2006 through 2008. Is Youkilis the only guy in MLB history to increase his batting average,  homers and RBI total each year for three consecutive years while decreasing his walks total in each of those 3 years?

It's odd-- but I suppose it is evidence of a pretty smart hitter who has been able to learn something new each year. I love walks, but for a guy like Youkilis, results seem to be better the more he swings the bat.

This is not an exhaustive list, but consider:

Gregg

Gathright

Heilman

Bradley

Miles

Dempster's big $

- loss of DeRosa

+ continued faith in DLee

Pretty easy to analyze: Hendry failed. The team is significantly worse than it was last year. If DLee can recover and if ARam is not out for 2 months + and if Dempster and Harden can pitch better and if Zambrano is better than a 3rd starter and if Bradley hits .330 over the next 100 games... well... if if if.

Sad.

In addition to the wonderful news that CPatterson and JHairston signed with Dusty's Reds, ESPN transactions from yesterday also reports the following:

New York Mets-- Named Darryl Strawberry special instructor.

I can think of a few unpleasant guesses as to what he is qualified to 'instruct'.

[This is only alleged at this point]

Leyritz arrested for DUI + DUI resulting in death of a human being.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3171228

LaRussa, Hancock, etc.-- no lessons learned, apparently. I'm no prude and I'm no saint, but deaths caused by drunk drivers are avoidable: stop drinking and driving.

Although we can only hope to slightly improve the fate of human beings with regard to diseases, wars, famines, etc., we would seem to be capable of taking a cab or calling a friend. But I'm dreaming, I know.

What a pisser.

If the Mitchell report results in BBWA limiting their choices of legit HOF candidates, maybe Andre Dawson has more of a shot now?? His numbers-- with no juice, I presume-- are really pretty darn good.
438 homers, an MVP, lots of gold gloves, great guy, team leader, etc.

It would be great to see The Hawk and Ron Santo make the Hall (or is Santo done? That stinks.)

I loved Lou's strategy of keeping Howry in the game last night. Yes, I know that in this case, hindsight makes the decision look good. But, in general, I've always been a proponent of keeping a guy in the game if he's pitching well, especially if he's only pitched one inning. Demptster has saved 28/31, but Lou's confidence in him is waning, perhaps, and justifiably so. With Howry, at least for the last few months, you know almost exactly what you're going to get and it's almost always a reasonable outing.

This move also tends to show that Lou wants to win, period, and doesn't care too much about stats (e.g., Dempster's 'save total').

Well, I've blown a whole chunk of my fantasy league 'free agent' funds to sign Steve Trachsel (dropping Sean Marshall at the same time-- so I feel a bit like Jim Hendry, minus the heart condition).

To celebrate, I will boldly (and stupidly) predict Trachsel's line tonight:

5.2 innings
6 hits
1 walk
3 strikeouts
3 earned runs

... and the Win.

Anybody else care to make a prediction?

Sad story about Antoine Walker being robbed in his Northside home. According to the Tribune article sources, Walker is packing his bags and leaving the city. Sad.

And as it relates to the Cubs: the article states that Antoine Walker's uncle is Chico Walker! Who knew!!?

The point is: even millionaires (i) can be nice guys, (ii) can be robbed in nice neighborhoods and (iii) can have uncles who played a few games with the Cubs back in the day.

Walker Robbed

This most likely does not require (or deserve) a diary. Still, perhaps it merits discussion with those of us who are superstitious about the Cubs.

Example of superstitious Cubs fan behavior:

You are sitting on left side of couch with beer in right hand. Cubs are winning 3-1 in the 7th. You have to pee. Badly. Instead, you stay glued to the couch until the game ends.

__

In my case, I was on vacation beginning Friday, June 22. As you all know, the Cubs have won 9 out of 10 games from 6/22 to 7/2. I have returned from vacation, but I encourage you all to finance my next vacation so that the Cubs may once again put together a great winning streak.

Sources: Cubs dump Barrett via trade to Padres
ESPN.com

Updated: June 20, 2007, 9:33 AM ET
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 Cubs catcher Michael Barrett was traded to the Padres on Wednesday, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.

It wasn't known immediately what the Cubs will receive in return for dealing their controversial catcher.

Continue reading this post »

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2738583

Well, no surprise.

And Lou has at least spent a lot of time promoting Matt Murton, so maybe my concern about Floyd taking ABs away is unfounded.

If the Cubs win the division in 2007, Floyd will be a good pickup, because it will likely mean that he was a contributor.

If the team stinks, he'll be just another has-been.

What's wrong with this sentence?:

"Marquis, 28, went 14-16 with a 6.02 ERA in 2006 and likely will seek an annual salary of at least $10 million. He allowed a league-leading 35 home runs and has only one winning full season -- 15-7 in 2004 -- on his resume."

Source: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/deluca/165003,CST-SPT-deluca08.article

Exnorthsider's comment: He's actually had some good seasons, and he could be an OK mid-rotation starter, but...

I'm not a big JJones fan, but look at the stats of Lugo and argue that Lugo would be a huge improvement. I'm not so sure. [Jones' career OBP: .328 (.334 in 2006); Lugo's career OBP: .340; (.341 in 2006)] And Lugo would cost twice as much, which takes away money for pitching.

Ken Rosenthal, 12/01/06: "The Cubs have discussed acquiring Rockies right-hander Jason Jennings for right fielder Jacque Jones, who would play center in Colorado. Such a move could lead to the Cubs' signing of free agent Julio Lugo to play center. Alfonso Soriano presumably would play left, and the Cubs would need to figure out right."

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6226820

[Please see other diary posted simultaneously]

Continue reading this post »

With Pie on the horizon (hey, that's a good title for a movie), maybe the Cubs should take a one-year trip down memory lane and sign Kenny Lofton. His numbers have not declined, he's a prototypical leadoff hitter, he plays Center and he would cost a lot less than Pierre. Sure, he could break down mid-year, but perhaps Pie would be ready by that point.

Bottom line: I'd rather have Lofton for one year than Pierre or Sarge-son for four.

Newsday.com reports (http://www.newsday.com/sports/printedition/ny-spyanks314954810oct31,0,5248755.story?coll=ny-sports-p rint) that Cashman has a deal in place for Sheffield. Presuming that (i) this rumor has merit and (ii) the Cubs are the trading partner, and ignoring most of the important details (e.g., who would the Cubs give to NY?), I think Sheffield would be fine for a year UNLESS Murton is part of the package to NY.

Sheffield will have another productive year if he's healthy, and he only has 1 year remaining on his contract. If the Cubs get Sheff, they can use the "found" money to buy some fre agent pitching or take on some big contracts via trade.

I guess the problem is: Sheffield can't play anywhere but LF, which means Murton is gone unless JJones is in the deal, which I would not predict.

Hmmm...  

Below are the first two paragraphs of today's AP story regarding the pending reorganization of Tribune Co.

A change in structure would affect the Cubs in some way, I imagine.

Any thoughts?

---------------------------------------

By DAVE CARPENTER, AP Business Writer

"CHICAGO - Directors of Tribune Co., under pressure from shareholders to boost the company's stock price, are signaling they may sell, break up or take private the company that owns the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, television stations and the Chicago Cubs.

The company said late Thursday after a special board meeting that it intends to make potentially transforming changes by the end of the year..."