September 1st couldn't arrive soon enough. After a dismal start with the Iowa Cubs, Brett Jackson is hitting .429/.524/1.000 (obviously a 1.524 OPS) with 6 home runs (including 2 on Sunday,) and a 7/8 BB/K ratio to bring his current slash line in AAA to .291/.392/.616 (1.008 OPS). 

 

I would say that the hand injury is considerably healed at this point, huh? I pray to God that he actually is played in September too. 

 

At this rate, he has to be the opening day CF.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/07/aramis-ramirez-on-trades-well-see.html

 

Continue reading this post »

I haven't posted a FanPost in years. The formula to do so has changed and I don't know how to hyperlink the thread title. Regardless, here's the link.

 

"In the meantime, look for Cashman to spend his saved money on shoring up the bullpen, with re-signing Kerry Wood a new priority. And in addition to re-signing Pettitte, he'll still be exploring the trade market with the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano, who experienced a turnaround both in temperament and results under the tutelage of new Yankee pitching coach Larry Rothschild the last six weeks of last season, a likely target."

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2010/12/15/2010-12-15_yankees_selfhelp.html

I know, this is not even sports related, but this is a big group of people in Illinois (mostly) and likely a few people have been recently married here.

Can anyone recommend a wedding DJ for Friday August 8th in Geneva, IL?

Continue reading this post »

According to Lou on Mike North's Morning Show on 670 WSCR AM, Lou states his lineup will look as following....

1. Soriano
   
2. Theriot
   
3. Fukudome
   
4. Lee
   
5. Ramirez
   
6. DeRosa
   
7. Soto
   
8. CF

Poll

Who should hit #3?

50%

Lee

89 votes

3%

Ramirez

7 votes

8%

Soriano

15 votes

37%

Fukudome

67 votes

178 votes | Poll has closed

Continue reading this post »

It's obvious that Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics are willing to trade off the few remaining veterans left on the team and rumors have swirled for months about trade rumors involving Joe Blanton and the Mets, what do you all think it would take to trade for Joe Blanton?

Continue reading this post »

Alright, there are still openings for the Bleed Cubbie Blue/Yahoo! Sports Super Competitive Roto League. Scoring will be standard 5 x 5 format (both NL and AL) meaning:

Offensive:

-Runs
-Home Runs
-RBI
-Batting Average
-Stolen Bases

Pitching:

-Wins
-Saves
-WHIP
-ERA
-Strikeouts

Lineups will consist as following:

C -
1B -
2B -
3B -
SS -
OF -
OF -
OF -
U -
U -
SP -
SP -
SP -
SP -
SP -
P -
P -
P -

Bench 1 -
Bench 2 -
DL 1 -
DL 2 -

As it stands, the following BCBer's are on in the league:

-TheBeerBaron
-miltowncubbie
-Cubfan1023
-johnny D
-Cubbieboy
-DartmouthCubsFan
-imthatfunkydude

Please, if I didn't add you to this, post your email address on this diary.

Any questions, contact TheBeerBaron.....E-mail address = ryanherda (at) yahoo (dot) com.

League entry fee will be decided as a group.

Thanks,

TheBeerBaron

I am sorry about this diary and many BCB'ers are going to be annoyed by this diary--but I am desperate to find a Nintendo Wii and I just wanted to investigate every possible angle.

So, if anyone knows how to acquire a Wii for near face value (and not the over exaggerated prices on eBay and Craigslist).....PLEASE let me know :)

A lot went on today in baseball.......just in case you missed it (and I didn't see anything about some of this in any diaries).....

-Danys Baez signed with the Baltimore Orioles for 3YR/$19M.

-Adam Eaton signed with the Philadelphia Phillies for 3YR/$24M.

-Randy Wolfe officially signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for 1YR.

-David Delluci signed with the Cleveland Indians for 3YR/$11.5M.

IMO, losing David Delluci is a big hit to the Phillies.......they are definetely going to miss his bat....

Hopefully Gil Meche and Vincente Padilla are signed by a team that ISN'T the CUBS in the near future so the CUBS can spend their money wisely and try for Jason Jennings.

According to an article in today's South Florida Sun-Sentinel regarding the Astros reluctancy to trade Willy Taveras, Florida is interested in Pie.

"Early indications are the Marlins will have a hard time prying Willy Taveras away from the Astros... Meanwhile, Cubs GM Jim Hendry says the team is not dealing touted outfield prospect Felix Pie, another player on the Marlins' wish list."

I would package Sean Marshall and Felix Pie for Dontrelle Willis in a second.....wouldn't you?

Here's the link.....http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-spmarlins17nov17,0,1206199.story?coll=sfla-sports-front

I'm at home right now listening to ESPN 1000 (yes, yes...I know most of your feelings regarding Chicago Sports Talk Radio--but,) and Levine was asked certain questions about what he thinks that the CUBS will do in the off-season...

According to Levine....

-The CUBS are high on the possible suitor's list for Ray Durham

-Could trade for Jake Westbrook for middle relief

-Are serious contenders for Alfonso Soriano

-Probably will not sign Ted Lilly, but are going to really pursue Gil Meche and Vincente Padilla

What are your thoughts regarding his impending price tag? My latest blog entry (http://mlb-threesixtyfive.blogspot.com/)discusses why and why not Soriano is worth Beltran type money.

Is $102M (6YR/$17M per) really worth it for a guy on the wrong side of 30--with a career .325 OBP.

I know your feelings Al, and I agree with you--for the most part. It's just $100M is A LOT of money!

I just read this off of PT...Take it for what it's worth....NOT OFFICIAL!

ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney is reporting that according to Major League Baseball sources, the Boston Red Sox may have posted the top bid for the right to negotiate with Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka.

There has been no official announcement, and the Seibu Lions, Matsuzaka's team in Japan, have until Tuesday to accept or reject the high bid.

But Olney is reporting that according to Major League Baseball officials who are monitoring the bidding, the Red Sox may have posted the top bid, with a figure between $38 million and $45 million.

Matsuzaka, who pitched for Japan's World Baseball Classic champions, is considered among the top prospects available this offseason.

If the Lions accept the top bid -- and according to the rules of the process, the team making the high bid is not disclosed to the Japanese team -- the winning bidder has 30 days to reach an agreement with Matsuzaka. If a deal cannot be reached, he would return to the Lions for the 2007 season and become a free agent in the spring of 2008.

My friend whom is just as addicted to baseball knowledge as we are all in NY just called me and said that the NY AM radio station he was listening to reported that the CUBS won the bidding for Matsuzaka. Reportedly the CUBS offered the Seibu Lions $28 million while the Yankees offered $27. He also went on to mention that tampering infractions were a possiblity.

Take it for what it's worth right now....just a rumor.....

I know that we've been discussing as of late, the possibility of Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski becoming the GM of the CUBS if and when Hendry is let go. The Boston Globe is reporting that the CUBS are interested in Dombrowski for the CEO/President position.

Detroit Free Press: "There are no GM vacancies now -- a rarity in the industry, for this time of year -- although the Boston Globe reported Sunday that the Chicago Cubs are looking at Dombrowski as a candidate to become their president and CEO."

Detroit Free Press/Pro Sports Daily

For my latest blog entry, I created a detailed account of what steps I would personally take--if I was the general manager of the CUBS.

It's no surprise that I include trading for Vernon Wells to replace Juan Pierre in CF--as I have been consistently babbling about Wells until my face and fingers turn blue.

I have 11 steps that I would take in order to take hold of the NL Central in 2007....

Tell me what you think...

http://mlb-threesixtyfive.blogspot.com/

For those of you that don't already know, I am using this rather shameless self promotion in order to receive feedback regarding my writing.

I would appreciate your thoughts.....

Thanks,

TheBeerBaron

From my blog http://mlb-threesixtyfive.blogspot.com/

The 2006 season has showcased one of the most prolific casts of rookie pitchers since the incredible class of '84 (Dwight Gooden, Roger Clemens, Jimmy Key, Orel Hersheisher, etc.)

Out of all the great young talents, I generated a top ten that I feel is accurate.......

Please feel free to share your opinions of my list, writing style and my blog.....if you so have the chance..

Thank You,

TheBeerBaron

According to the New York Daily News, John McClaren is going to Seattle to be the bench coach for Hargrove. Now it seems like Alan Trammell is going to be the bench coach for the CUBS.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/story/464204p-390626c.html

Next stop for Trammell: Chicago, where he is about to be tapped as Lou Piniella's bench coach with the Cubs. According to sources, Trammell had been approached by a couple of other clubs about a coaching position, but was given a full-court press by Piniella

I have started a new baseball blog that I intend to maintain daily as a means to build my writing portfolio. I know some people will degrade me for starting a diary regarding my own personal promotion, but I believe that there are some incredibly intelligent people on this board and I would love any criticism/advice from most of you.

The direction of my blog is to not solely cover the Chicago CUBS as you all know I love, but it's more to share insight on the league (and at times minor leagues) as a whole. The first two posts on the site are commentary pertaining to the CUBS but after the Piniella story has died down, I will focus more around the league.

I have been working with my girlfriend, a professional graphic designer, on the look of the blog itself and I would appreciate it if any of you could assist my in some of the formatting processes (for instance, the header of my blog is scaled to the far right....and I have no idea how to fix it)

Here is the link to the site....

http://mlb-threesixtyfive.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading!

Ok, here is SOME of the article....the rest of the article can be found here at Yahoo!.com/Canada

canada.com
Published: Friday, October 06, 2006 Article tools

Singer Jimmy Buffett was detained by French authorities after customs officials allegedly found him with more than 100 ecstasy pills.

The Grammy-winning "Margaritaville" star was not arrested and was freed after paying a fine of around $400.

Buffett's luggage was searched after his private jet landed at Toulon-Hyères International Airport. The singer, who was on his way to vacation in St. Tropez, denied he was carrying the popular party drug..........

Before I get about 50 "You have too much time on your hands" posts, I am going to say....Yes, I do.....

But, If you want to take part in the First Ever Simpsons Episode Tournament, please feel free!! The tournament is set up "March Madness" Round Robin style. Single Elimination.........I will post the results today at 4:00 PM CST today! So, you have until 3:30 PM CST to get your votes in!
I apologize in advance if I missed your favorite episode or episodes.......Realize, again...it's hard to please everone....especially when only 32 were selected.

*Shelbyville Bracket:*

The Cartridge Family (Homer Gets a Gun)

VS.

Deep Space Homer

*Springfield Nuclear Power Plant Bracket:*

Lisa's Date With Destiny (Lisa dates Nelson)

VS.

Marge vs. the Monorail

*Capitol City Bracket:*

Bart Sells His Soul

VS.

The Mysterious Voyage of Our Homer (Insanity Peppers)

*Krusty-Lu Studios Bracket:*

Flaming Moe's

VS.

A Milhouse Divided (Milhouse's parents divorce)

*Globex Corporation Bracket:*

Whacking Day

VS.

Homer vs. the Eighteenth Ammendment (The Beer Baron)

*Duff Brewery Bracket:*

Homer at the Bat

VS.

Homer's Barbershop Quartet

*Moe's Tavern Bracket:*

Mr. Plow

VS.

King Sized Homer (Fat Disability Homer)

*The Stonecutters Bracket:*

$pringfield (Legalized gambling)

VS.

Last Exit to Springfield (Homer becomes head of the Union)

*Springfield Elementary Bracket:*

Homer's Enemy (Frank Grimes)

vs.

Bart the Lover (Bart writes love letters to Krabappel)

*King Toot's Music Shop Bracket:*

Homer Goes to College

VS.

Burs' Heir (Bart becomes Burns' Heir)

*The Max Power Bracket:*

You Only Move Twice (Hank Scorpio

VS.

Cape Fear (House boat, relocation due to Sideshow Bob)

*The Qwick-E-Mart Bracket:*

Rosebud (Bobo the Bear)

VS.

Colonel Homer (Homer manages a country star)

*The Legitimate Businessman's Social Group Bracket:*

Lisa the Vegetarian

VS.

Homer and Apu (Who needs the Qwick-E-Mart?)

*The Phil Hartman Bracket:*

Homer the Vigilante (the Cat Burglar)

VS.

The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson

*The Alf Pog Bracket:*

Bart the Murderer (Bart makes Manhattan's for Fat Tony's Gang)

VS.

I Love Lisa (Ralph has a crush on Lisa)

*Can I Borrow A Feeling Bracket:*

Duffless (Homer gets DUI, quits drinking for a month)

VS.

Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy

I have been working on my Top 50 Simpsons Episodes list since the beginning of the week....taking in all factors, such as writing, timing, story line, etc.......Here's what I have so far...

1. $pringfield, or How I Learned Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling
   
2. I Love Lisa
   
3. Lisa the Vegetarian
   
4. Homer's Enemy (Frank Grimes)
   
5. Homer Goes to College
   
6. You Only Move Twice (Hank Scorpio)
   
7. Homer vs. the Eighteenth Ammendment (The Beer Baron)
   
8. Homer the Vigilante
   
9. Colonel Homer
   
10. A Milhouse Divided
    
11. Lisa's Date With Destiny
    
12. King Sized Homer
    
13. Flaming Moe's
    
14. Homer the Great (Stonecutters)
    
15. Homer at the Bat
    
16. Bart the Lover (Strap on your skates Gordie, you're goin' in)
    
17. The Last Temptation of Homer
    
18. The Mysetrious Voyage of Homer
    
19. Bart Sells His Soul
    
20. Bart the Murderer
    
21. Burns' Heir
    
22. Duffless (Homer quits drinking for a month)
    
23. Last Exit to Springfield
    
24. Homer's Barbershop Quartet
    
25. Homer and Apu
    
26. Whacking Day
    
27. Rosebud (Bobo the Bear)
    
28. Team Homer (Pin Pals)
    
29. Mr. Plow
    
30. Marge Vs. the Monorail
    
31. Das Bus
    
32. Cape Fear
    
33. This Little Wiggy (Skeleton Key to Springfield)
    
34. The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson
    
35. The Springfield Connection (Marge the Cop)
    
36. Bart Gets Famous
    
37. Deep Space Homer
    
38. A Fish Called Selma
    
39. The Twisted World of Marge Simpson
    
40. Sweet Seymour Skinner's Badasssss Song
    
41. Homer's Phobia
    
42. Lisa Vs. Malibu Stacy
    
43. Bart After Dark
    
44. Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes? (Uncie Herb)
    
45. Lemon of Troy
    
46. The Cartridge Family
    
47. Treehouse of Horror V (The Shinning)
    
48. Homer the Heretic
    
49. Secrets to a Successful Marriage
    
50. Selma's Choice

What do you guys/girls think?

Kerry Wood feels that he owes this team and the fans, according to today's Chicago Sun-Times

''This organization has given me everything I've got and gave me a chance to play baseball, and they drafted me. There's definitely loyalty here. I love Chicago, I love the fans, I love the stadium, I love Wrigley Field. I love everything about the situation I'm in, but I understand the reality of the game. Hopefully, it'll be only one conversation [with general manager Jim Hendry]. We'll talk and decide what's best for the organization and best for me, and hopefully that's staying here

Today, http://www.mlbtraderumors.com takes a look at what the CUBS may have in store for 2007

[editor's note, by Al] I deleted the rest of this because it contained the entire contents of an article on another site. If the diary writer would like to repost using PARTS of it, that'd be OK with me.

Over on the PT boards this morning, a friend of mine linked an article...

Here...

http://www.maurybrown.com/?p=333

Regarding draft pick compensation for free agent departure. Most of us are aware of the rules regarding draft pick compensation, so I will spare the drawn out details. The article states that as of this offseason teams will no longer be compensated for their departed players that signed with another team via free agency. I am not sure of the reliability of the actual link, but the person that posted the link is a highly respected baseball enthusiast that I speak to regularly. Has anyone else heard anything regarding this?? Could this be the main reason for the rumors of Jim Hendry possibly shopping Juan Pierre to Pat Gillick?

I am just curious. Anyone here a fan of either the Phish or the Grateful Dead? I found out about Bleed CUBBIE Blue via

http://www.phantasytour.com/phish/boards.cgi

I just wanted to see who, if anyone, is a regular PTer as well as a BCBer....

[Those of you that are wondering what the heck I am talking about, I apologize. Phantasy Tour.com/Phish is a web board similar to this, but obviously is catered to those of us that are/were obsessed with touring with The Phish.

Stop me if you read this, it's a month or two old......but it's hilarious if you haven't read it yet...

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/50033

Disabled List Offers Mark Prior Two-Year, $8 Million Extension
June 29, 2006 | Onion Sports

CHICAGO--Mark Prior, the right-handed pitcher who has spent the first few years of his career on the disabled list, is now considering accepting a recent two-year, $8 million offer from the DL that would keep him not playing through the 2008 season. "I couldn't even imagine the DL without Mark Prior--over the years, he has become the face, stiff right elbow, strained subscapularis muscle, and inflamed Achilles tendon of our organization," said Kirk Gibson, manager and longtime former member of the DL, which is currently rebuilding by claiming young arms such as Kerry Wood, Ben Sheets, and Mike Maroth. "We firmly believe that Mark's best injuries are still ahead of him." While Prior's agent says the pitcher is exploring his options, experts predict that it is "inevitable" that Prior will return to the DL and, with the loyalty he's shown in the past, likely finish his career there.

I saw an interview with Prior on Comcast Sports stating that he has talked with Larry Rothschild about doing a lot of off season work and are discussing the possiblity of pitching in the Arizona Fall League. As many of us on this board have become fed up with Prior's constant troubles (mainly myself and Mike63), I for one would be willing to give him one last chance if he actually put forth the effort to work on his game during the off season. If he goes through with this, it proves his dedication to becoming the dominate pitcher he rightfully should be.

According to the Newark-Star Ledger:

Floyd contemplates retirement
Monday, August 07, 2006
BY DON BURKE
Star-Ledger Staff
NEW YORK -- If the Mets win the World Series this fall, left fielder Cliff Floyd said he'd seriously considering retiring from the game.

The 33-year-old outfielder, who was not in the lineup last night due to a sore left Achilles' tendon that has bothered him all season, said he isn't sure how much longer his body, which has been riddled with injuries during his 14 years in the big leagues, will allow him to play.

"I just go with the flow, man," he said. "At the end of the season, I'll talk to (Mets general manager) Omar (Minaya) and see where it stands and what they want to do.

"But if we win the World Series, I'm going to take a look at a lot of things -- my health, my body. I might just walk away."

PLEASE RETIRE, PLEASE!!!!!! I want to make SURE that Jim Hendry doesn't sign him!!!!