I noticed that the Colorado Rockies released Brad Hawpe and he's now a free agent that can be signed by any team.  Looking at the numbers, I think Colorado pulled the trigger a bit prematurely.  He's less than one season removed from a 900 ops and put up nearly a 900 obs in 2008 as well.  He's 31, so he's not real young, but he should have a number of years left in him as well.   And I think he's a pretty good fit with the Cubs in that he's a right fielder and could step in for Fukudome.   He should be inexpensive as well.  (more after the Jump)

Continue reading this post »

I see that the Washington Nationals suddenly, and without any real notice, released Elijah Dukes today.  Should the Cubs give him a shot?  He's a young player that was considered to have a lot of talent but has had a few off the field run ins.  But maybe this is the splash of cold water in the face that he needs to put the talent back together.   If the hitting coach is the genius that he is made out to be, with Dukes inherent talent, this could be a true difference maker... or it could be the second coming of Milton Bradley

Is this weekend's 4 game set with the Cards the most important series of the year?  I think that it is the make or break series for the Cubs.  If they win all four, they will be the prohibitive favorite.  If they lose all four, they will collapse in a series of finger pointing.  And I think if they win less than three, they will give up.  I hope its a sweep or I am wrong, but I think that this is THE series that will tell the tale of the season.

<!--Session data-->

The news is now reporting that Zell is about to "lose" control of the Tribune and its going to go into a full blown Bankruptcy situation.   Losing Zell?  Normally that wouldn't really be a bad thing.  But in this case it would throw the whole Tribune situation up in the air and we could well see the deal canceled and lots of other problems develop.   The only "plus" is that, under bankruptcy, (and notwithstanding the screams of the players union) the Cubs could well seek to void the contracts of Soriano, Bradley, Lee and any other high priced talent.  The problem is that, under that kind of hatchet, the contracts would likely be chopped simply based on dollar value and not on baseball sense.  Thus essentially any high priced Cub could be launched... or they could have their contract sold if it has value... or the Court could order the sale of the ball park and the team separately to see if it brought in more money... or order it sold to the highest bidder in an open auction... or any variety of other actions....

Am I panicing?

The Rangers have placed Padilla on waivers.  The Cubs claim him, the Cubs have him.  No dickering around with a "no-trade" clause or negotiating for players.  The Braves released Glavine even though he looked pretty good in his rehab starts.  Do the Cubs need either of these guys as a number 4 or 5?  What about plugging Glavine into Dempster's spot in the rotation and moving Dempster back to closer?   What about Glavine or Padilla as a closer?   Glavine, in particular, seems to me to be cut out for the role at this point in his career.

Of course, the whole point, at least with respect to Padilla, may be mooted.  The Nationals are well in front of the Cubs in Waiver priority.  They very badly need starters and a way to show the fans a commitment to the future.  And they have a low payroll.  Claiming Padilla would instantly give them a much better starting staff and convincing Glavine to sign would give their young pitchers a role model.

The Washington Nationals had yet another Corner OF go down to injury yesterday.   First Wily Mo Pena and now Elijah Dukes.   Do they now become a "trade partner" for the Cubs?    They also need young pitching and other building blocks for the future.

What about Murton, Marshall and Gallagher to the Nationals for Cordero and Lopez.

It gives the Nationals  temporary fill-in for the injured corner OF's and two young pitchers to help stock the rotation and the team.   It gives the Cubs a bona fide, top of the line, young stud closer and a young SS with good experience and some upside.

A number of people have been commenting most recently on the worthlessness of the Cub young players such as Matt Murton and Ronnie Cedeno.   The comments, particularly those directed at Murton, to my mind, seem ill chosen because they represent an unrealistic set of expectations for a good major league player at an early stage of their career.  So I ask these folk the following question:

Exactly what standards would a young player have to meet in order for the young player to be considered anything other than a failure.  I don't want "creepy eye" answers (ie the player has to "look" like a player because such answers are of no value.  I want an objective test - such as hit .375 with a slugging percentage of .650 (which would appear to be the Dusty Baker minimum test)

The USOC has signed the Death Warrant for Wrigley Field.   Chicago is now committed to likely having to spend a fortune for the 2016 Olymipic Games.  Very shortly the nonsense about a 75,000 seat temporary stadium in Washington Park is going to be revealed to be just that -- nonsense.  (How in the world are the people going to get to or from that venue.)  The next step will be a "new" Wrigley Field built in the Atlanta Model (with a large portion of it temporary for the Olympics).   The question is simply going to be the location.  

But the Death Warrant has been signed and now the only thing between its execution is a reprieve (and perhaps only a four year reprieve) if the IOC selects Rio.

Driving home tonight I heard the hosts on WSCR proudly proclaiming how having Derrek Lee back will be of great help as he will save lots of A Ram errors. And, initially, I said, hey that's right. And then I got home and look at the statistics. Hmmmm. Last season, with Lee out for much of the season and the Cubs having to play "substandard" defensive players at first, A Ram had a BETTER FP with fewer errors. Hmmmm.

Sounds like the idea that Lee saves lots of A Ram errors may be a myth.

We have just concluded a rather interesting series on one very smart Cub fan's take on the top 100 Cubs of all time.   Well written and well supported.  That being said, often fans will overrate a popular player and underrate a very good player who is either quiet or is an outgoing and clear jerk.   With that being said, perhaps it is time to look at the most overrated and underrated Cubs of all time.  

I'll provide my justifications in a subsequent post, but my nominee for the most overrated Cub of all time is Ernie Banks and my nominee for the most underrated Cub of all time is Gabby Hartnett.

ESPN is reporting the death of Juan Uribe in a car crash while at home in the Dominican Republic.  This is sad news, and I think all Chicago fans should pause for a moment to remember him.  When something sad like this happens, we should stop for a moment to think about our families and loved ones and try to remember to appreciate them each day.

Here's the link.http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2691022

Petty Vandalism is just that.   It occurs when for no other reason than pure spite, a small minded person comes in and damages or destroys something just to damage or destroy it.

The problem is that if you know where the Vandal's live (1060west hint hint) it is possible to go over and defecate on their virtul lawn as well.   Gaius is one, we are many.  Wanna guess which blog can get  completely burried.  I suggest we give him one hour to stop and then.  There is power in numbers.

I realize that most of the posters on this forum think that it is a foregone conclusion that Baker is not coming back next season.  I hope that they are right, but I am afraid that they are wrong.   If the Cubs "finish strong", I can see Hendry keeping Baker noting that he had so many key injuries this year and he still kept the ball club together.  After all, look how strong they finished (8-3 in their last 11 games) and look at the young guys that have been developed for next season.  

And the interviews being given by Baker are the kind of interviews given by a Manager who does not expect to be fired, but expects to be back.   Consider some of the quotes being reported from the Dan Jiggets' interview about Baker doing his best.  And no comments from Hendry at all about Baker, which is also suggestive of the fact that he is not going to throw Baker under the bus.  

I think Baker is staying.

It may be time to revisit the question as to the identity of the Cub manager in 2007.  Right now, its clearly still the Dusty Baker show.  It was he, and not Hendry, who has announced that the Cubs are not going to be calling any players up from Iowa after the first.  It appears to be he, and not Hendry, that is continuing to direct the roster on the team and the continued use of the types of players valued highly by Dusty (fast, quick, weak hitting types).

But, the virtual certainty that Dusty will be back is now down to less than 90%.  

But if Dusty goes, when does he go?

I don't know if this has been noticed, but last night TheRiot stole his 6th base with only one caught stealing.  Six steals in less than 50 plate appearances.   Extrapolated out to the 550+ PA of Pierre, that's 66 steals and only 11 caught stealing .    And that's a very good number indeed.  In contrast, Bynum has 7 steals and 4 caught stealing in about 100 AB (that that ratio of steals to caught stealing means that he would have been better off not trying).

So, if speed is an important part of being a lead off hitter, and if TheRiot is, in fact, an extraordinary base thief, wouldn't he be a logical full time second baseman next year and lead off hitter?   It would solve a number of problems and allow the Cubs to explore other options in CF.