Monday, August 17, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Bored? Bet on sports or play cards!
Bored?
Why not play some fun games while you're at it and have a chance to win some free money.
All you need is a creative username and password to get started on CentSports. Just for signing up, you are given a dime to start betting. If you can manage to win enough bets to turn that dime into over $20, then you can ask the people at CentSports to send you a check equal to the amount that you have won. If ever you go below a dime, then the website will give you another dime so you can start playing again.
According to an article on Forbes.com, there are three elements that make online gambling illegal: prize, chance, and consideration. However, since CentSports doesn't allow you to use your own money to bet on the games, there is no "consideration" involved. This is especially convenient because now you can not ever lose any real money even if you wanted to!
The website is completely supported by advertisements, so that's how they make their money. Now, with a few good bets, you could have a chance to claim a part of their earnings! What have you got to lose?
Sign up now: http://www.centsports.com/?opcode=479607
(If all of the numbers on CentSports are too confusing for you, click on this to get a good explanation.)
CentPoker was developed using much of the same idea as CentSports. On CentPoker, you play poker live with other users. Just as the case with CentSports, if your total exceeds a certain cut-off amount, you can have real money sent to you in the mail!
Sign up now: http://www.centpoker.com/?opcode=67010
Why not play some fun games while you're at it and have a chance to win some free money.
All you need is a creative username and password to get started on CentSports. Just for signing up, you are given a dime to start betting. If you can manage to win enough bets to turn that dime into over $20, then you can ask the people at CentSports to send you a check equal to the amount that you have won. If ever you go below a dime, then the website will give you another dime so you can start playing again.
According to an article on Forbes.com, there are three elements that make online gambling illegal: prize, chance, and consideration. However, since CentSports doesn't allow you to use your own money to bet on the games, there is no "consideration" involved. This is especially convenient because now you can not ever lose any real money even if you wanted to!
The website is completely supported by advertisements, so that's how they make their money. Now, with a few good bets, you could have a chance to claim a part of their earnings! What have you got to lose?
Sign up now: http://www.centsports.com/?opcode=479607
(If all of the numbers on CentSports are too confusing for you, click on this to get a good explanation.)
CentPoker was developed using much of the same idea as CentSports. On CentPoker, you play poker live with other users. Just as the case with CentSports, if your total exceeds a certain cut-off amount, you can have real money sent to you in the mail!
Sign up now: http://www.centpoker.com/?opcode=67010
Monday, July 13, 2009
Explaining how to play the odds
This is a tutorial on how to play on CentSports. To find out what it is, see the previous post.
----
So you want to play on CentSports, but you think it's too confusing?
Well, this should help walk you through what all the different numbers mean.
THE MONEYLINE:
If you just want to pick who will win the game, then the moneyline is what you want to play. On CentSports, the moneyline is listed in the middle.
For example, say you think that in the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers will win. Then, you could play the Dodgers -122 as shown below.
(Click on image to see larger size!)
Whenever you see a - sign in front of a number, that means that team is the favorite to win! The number after the - sign tells you how much of a favorite they are and gives you the odds that you will be playing.
-122 means that if you bet $1.22 on the game and you win, then you will get your original bet back plus a winning of $1.00. (This doesn't mean you must exactly bet $1.22. You can bet any amount you want and the computer will figure out how much you would win!)
If you see a + sign in front of a number, that means your team is the underdog. Because there is a greater risk when picking the underdog, you will have a greater reward. For example, you will notice that in the above picture, the Chicago White Sox are listed at +143. This means that if you bet $1.00 on the White Sox and they win, you will get your original bet back plus a winning of $1.43!
THE SPREAD:
Trying to pick who wins the game is not the only way you can play on sports. If you are feeling ambitious, you can play the spread. On CentSports, this is listed on the left column.
Do you think that the Dodgers will blowout the Diamondbacks? Then, pick Dodgers -1.5 (+140) like shown below.
(Click on image to see larger size!)
The "-1.5" part means that after the game is over, you have to subtract 1.5 from the Dodgers score.
If the final score was Dodgers 7 vs Diamondbacks 5, we would subtract 1.5 from the Dodgers score and get: Dodgers 5.5 vs Diamondbacks 5. The Dodgers still have a higher score, so you would win this bet!
If the final score was Dodgers 5 vs Diamondbacks 4, we would subtract 1.5 from the Dodgers score and get: Dodgers 3.5 vs Diamondbacks 4. The Dodgers no longer have a higher score, so this would be a lost bet.
Why would you want to make this bet? If you are confident that the Dodgers will blow out the Diamondbacks, then this bet will increase your winnings. Remember in our previous example, the moneyline Dodgers was -122.
But now look. What does the line say? It says Dodgers -1.5 (+140). Remember, the + sign means that you will win more money than you bet. If you bet $1.00 and the Dodgers do actually win by two or more runs, then you would receive your original bet back plus a winning of $1.40!
THE TOTALS:
Other times, you don't have to bet on the outcome of the game at all. Sometimes, you can bet on what the total score of the game will be. On CentSports, this is listed in the right-most column.
For the Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics game, the total is set at 8.5. It is your job to decide if the total score of the game will be over 8.5 or under 8.5. If you think it will be a high scoring game, you could pick over (-105).
(Click on image to see larger size!)
How much money would you win? Look at the odds.
Remember, the - sign means that you will win an amount less than your bet because it was a surer play. The odds are -105, which means that if you successfully bet $1.05, you would get your original bet back plus win an additional $1.00.
----
So you want to play on CentSports, but you think it's too confusing?
Well, this should help walk you through what all the different numbers mean.
THE MONEYLINE:
If you just want to pick who will win the game, then the moneyline is what you want to play. On CentSports, the moneyline is listed in the middle.
For example, say you think that in the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers will win. Then, you could play the Dodgers -122 as shown below.
(Click on image to see larger size!)Whenever you see a - sign in front of a number, that means that team is the favorite to win! The number after the - sign tells you how much of a favorite they are and gives you the odds that you will be playing.
-122 means that if you bet $1.22 on the game and you win, then you will get your original bet back plus a winning of $1.00. (This doesn't mean you must exactly bet $1.22. You can bet any amount you want and the computer will figure out how much you would win!)
If you see a + sign in front of a number, that means your team is the underdog. Because there is a greater risk when picking the underdog, you will have a greater reward. For example, you will notice that in the above picture, the Chicago White Sox are listed at +143. This means that if you bet $1.00 on the White Sox and they win, you will get your original bet back plus a winning of $1.43!
THE SPREAD:
Trying to pick who wins the game is not the only way you can play on sports. If you are feeling ambitious, you can play the spread. On CentSports, this is listed on the left column.
Do you think that the Dodgers will blowout the Diamondbacks? Then, pick Dodgers -1.5 (+140) like shown below.
(Click on image to see larger size!)The "-1.5" part means that after the game is over, you have to subtract 1.5 from the Dodgers score.
If the final score was Dodgers 7 vs Diamondbacks 5, we would subtract 1.5 from the Dodgers score and get: Dodgers 5.5 vs Diamondbacks 5. The Dodgers still have a higher score, so you would win this bet!
If the final score was Dodgers 5 vs Diamondbacks 4, we would subtract 1.5 from the Dodgers score and get: Dodgers 3.5 vs Diamondbacks 4. The Dodgers no longer have a higher score, so this would be a lost bet.
Why would you want to make this bet? If you are confident that the Dodgers will blow out the Diamondbacks, then this bet will increase your winnings. Remember in our previous example, the moneyline Dodgers was -122.
But now look. What does the line say? It says Dodgers -1.5 (+140). Remember, the + sign means that you will win more money than you bet. If you bet $1.00 and the Dodgers do actually win by two or more runs, then you would receive your original bet back plus a winning of $1.40!
THE TOTALS:
Other times, you don't have to bet on the outcome of the game at all. Sometimes, you can bet on what the total score of the game will be. On CentSports, this is listed in the right-most column.
For the Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics game, the total is set at 8.5. It is your job to decide if the total score of the game will be over 8.5 or under 8.5. If you think it will be a high scoring game, you could pick over (-105).
(Click on image to see larger size!)How much money would you win? Look at the odds.
Remember, the - sign means that you will win an amount less than your bet because it was a surer play. The odds are -105, which means that if you successfully bet $1.05, you would get your original bet back plus win an additional $1.00.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
New Blog
My blog on the Chicago Cubs has been moved to be a part of the MLBlogs network. It can now be seen here.
http://ekim52.mlblogs.com/
As of June 4, there are ten entries on the newer blog that can not be found anywhere on this page. All new entries will be posted on the new blog, without any more mention of them on this page.
http://ekim52.mlblogs.com/
As of June 4, there are ten entries on the newer blog that can not be found anywhere on this page. All new entries will be posted on the new blog, without any more mention of them on this page.
Piniella pushed right buttons
Recently, I've noticed more and more that manager Lou Piniella has not been making the right moves. However, he managed Saturday's 5-4 win against the Astros perfectly.
Yes, part of that perfect managing is how he handled the bullpen. Piniella let Randy Wells go six scoreless innings and pulled him after 97 pitches and a 3-0 lead. This was the perfect time to take him out of the game and the bullpen was lined up.
Angel Guzman threw a scoreless seventh and Carlos Marmol matched that with a goose egg of his own in the eighth. The offense tacked on another insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, but that wasn't going to change the plan for the rest of the day. Kevin Gregg comes into the game with a four-run lead and it's game over, right?
Gregg struggled, allowing the first five runners to reach, including two homers. But that's not Piniella's fault. The manager showed faith in his closer and stuck with him until the last possible moment he could. That's not his fault, either; Gregg just had a bad day.
Piniella went to Heilman to record two outs and then used Sean Marshall to turn around Lance Berkman for the final out of the inning. With the bench short-handed as Milton Bradley sat out the game due to his suspension, Lou needed to double switch. So, Aaron Miles entered to play second and bat second in the bottom of the ninth. As it turns out, Miles recorded the final assist of the top of the ninth inning and laid down a perfect sacrifice that eventually led to the winning run in the bottom of the ninth.
In that sequence of events, Piniella did everything exactly how he should have. But, to be honest, those in-game events were pretty run-of-the-mill. The game (for the most part) went exactly according to script and Piniella followed it to a tee.
The most impressive decision that Piniella made regarding this game was his choice to leave Wells as the starter. The rookie right hander was originally scheduled to start Friday's game that was rained out. I had suggested that Piniella should just skip Wells entirely, and stay in tune with the rest of the rotation.
Instead, he stuck with Wells and moved Marshall to the bullpen. And both Wells and Marshall played their roles perfectly in the win.
Yes, part of that perfect managing is how he handled the bullpen. Piniella let Randy Wells go six scoreless innings and pulled him after 97 pitches and a 3-0 lead. This was the perfect time to take him out of the game and the bullpen was lined up.
Angel Guzman threw a scoreless seventh and Carlos Marmol matched that with a goose egg of his own in the eighth. The offense tacked on another insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, but that wasn't going to change the plan for the rest of the day. Kevin Gregg comes into the game with a four-run lead and it's game over, right?
Gregg struggled, allowing the first five runners to reach, including two homers. But that's not Piniella's fault. The manager showed faith in his closer and stuck with him until the last possible moment he could. That's not his fault, either; Gregg just had a bad day.
Piniella went to Heilman to record two outs and then used Sean Marshall to turn around Lance Berkman for the final out of the inning. With the bench short-handed as Milton Bradley sat out the game due to his suspension, Lou needed to double switch. So, Aaron Miles entered to play second and bat second in the bottom of the ninth. As it turns out, Miles recorded the final assist of the top of the ninth inning and laid down a perfect sacrifice that eventually led to the winning run in the bottom of the ninth.
In that sequence of events, Piniella did everything exactly how he should have. But, to be honest, those in-game events were pretty run-of-the-mill. The game (for the most part) went exactly according to script and Piniella followed it to a tee.
The most impressive decision that Piniella made regarding this game was his choice to leave Wells as the starter. The rookie right hander was originally scheduled to start Friday's game that was rained out. I had suggested that Piniella should just skip Wells entirely, and stay in tune with the rest of the rotation.
Instead, he stuck with Wells and moved Marshall to the bullpen. And both Wells and Marshall played their roles perfectly in the win.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Dealing with the Cubs' injuries
I'm not sure who to blame for this incompetence, but the actions that went on in the top of the seventh inning are absolutely inexcusable! Lee should be on the disabled list.
For those of you that missed it, the Cubs had loaded the bases with just one out in the inning when Micah Hoffpauir's spot in the lineup came up. At the time, the Cubs were trailing but just a run.
Ken Macha called Lou Piniella's bluff and burned his only lefty, Mitch Stetter, in that spot. Derrek Lee was supposedly available to pinch-hit, but he remained in the dugout as Hoffpauir took the at-bat against Stetter, who had held lefties to a 2-for-22 clip thus far in the season.
As it turned out, Hoffpauir was no match for Stetter, who struck out the first baseman on three pitches and then Villanueva retired Soto to end the inning.
Derrek Lee is turning into Sammy Sosa here. He was once the leader of the ballclub and a daily fixture in the heart of the order, but now he has become an old washed-up has-been who piles on numbers in situations that don't matter. More outrageously, he's turned into a selfish player, who cares more about himself than about his team.
When asked about two days ago, Lee emphatically claimed that a move to the DL would not happen. "I promise you, that's impossible," said Lee. Why is it him that can make such ridiculous claims? The decision to go on the disabled list is not his; he should do what is best for the team.
I saw the downfall of Sosa two years before anyone else in the world did, and I've been saying the same for Lee for over a year now.
Lee has been completely unavailable for four days now. He is not the superstar that he used to be for which we should afford exceptions. Especially not with the team banged up right now. Even when healthy, Lee is not the best first baseman on this team, either offensively or defensively! While Hoffpauir is at-best an average fielder, Lee is not better; the Gold Glove in 2007 was an absolute joke.
But, in order to keep Lee from getting upset, the team has elected to keep him on the roster, instead of turning to Jake Fox. Fox is hitting .389 with 9 doubles and 12 homeruns in the first 95 at-bats with Iowa, but Lee is forcing true talent to rot in the minors. He would've been able to take the at-bat for Hoffpauir and while obviously I can not guarantee that he would have produced, one thing is for certain. He would've had a chance. Hoffpauir had no chance.
The residual effects of the squandered opportunity led to the downfall for the rest of the night. Without having the lead, Piniella elected not go to the bullpen that is short-handed and so bad. Announcers Bob Brenly and Len Kasper speculated that Dempster was done after his fifth inning of work, as had I. But, instead, Piniella was forced into using Dempster for the sixth and then trotted him out there again for the bottom of the seventh inning, after he had already logged 111 pitches.
With momentum squarely in the Brewers' dugout and a tiring pitcher on the mound, the Milwaukee bats were able to break the game wide open.
When it rains...: Len Kasper has used this phrase on more than one occasion to describe the Cubs' injury woes, but it seems all too appropriate.
When it rains, it pours.
Coming into Saturday's game with the Brewers, the Cubs had already lost Aramis Ramirez, Milton Bradley, Geovany Soto, Derrek Lee, Koyie Hill, Ryan Freel, Carlos Zambrano, Carlos Marmol, and Kevin Gregg for some period of time during the season. The Cubs have managed to use the disabled list only twice thus far, but Fox will become the third. In just the thirtieth game of the season, Chad Fox left in the eighth inning with an injury to his right elbow.
Fox has already undergone two Tommy John surgeries and had worked so hard to return the Majors. This return is most likely over.
Fox's spot in the bullpen will be replaced before Sunday's game. Jeff Samardzija has been up with the big club before, but it is unlikely he will get the call. Jose Ascanio has been pitching well, posting a 1.01 ERA in 26.2 innings, but the team appears to be trying to convert him into a starter.
That leaves the decision between Jeff Stevens, who has allowed no runs and just four hits over 14 innings and Greg Reinhard, who has allowed one run and fifteen hits over 18.1 frames.
For those of you that missed it, the Cubs had loaded the bases with just one out in the inning when Micah Hoffpauir's spot in the lineup came up. At the time, the Cubs were trailing but just a run.
Ken Macha called Lou Piniella's bluff and burned his only lefty, Mitch Stetter, in that spot. Derrek Lee was supposedly available to pinch-hit, but he remained in the dugout as Hoffpauir took the at-bat against Stetter, who had held lefties to a 2-for-22 clip thus far in the season.
As it turned out, Hoffpauir was no match for Stetter, who struck out the first baseman on three pitches and then Villanueva retired Soto to end the inning.
Derrek Lee is turning into Sammy Sosa here. He was once the leader of the ballclub and a daily fixture in the heart of the order, but now he has become an old washed-up has-been who piles on numbers in situations that don't matter. More outrageously, he's turned into a selfish player, who cares more about himself than about his team.
When asked about two days ago, Lee emphatically claimed that a move to the DL would not happen. "I promise you, that's impossible," said Lee. Why is it him that can make such ridiculous claims? The decision to go on the disabled list is not his; he should do what is best for the team.
I saw the downfall of Sosa two years before anyone else in the world did, and I've been saying the same for Lee for over a year now.
Lee has been completely unavailable for four days now. He is not the superstar that he used to be for which we should afford exceptions. Especially not with the team banged up right now. Even when healthy, Lee is not the best first baseman on this team, either offensively or defensively! While Hoffpauir is at-best an average fielder, Lee is not better; the Gold Glove in 2007 was an absolute joke.
But, in order to keep Lee from getting upset, the team has elected to keep him on the roster, instead of turning to Jake Fox. Fox is hitting .389 with 9 doubles and 12 homeruns in the first 95 at-bats with Iowa, but Lee is forcing true talent to rot in the minors. He would've been able to take the at-bat for Hoffpauir and while obviously I can not guarantee that he would have produced, one thing is for certain. He would've had a chance. Hoffpauir had no chance.
The residual effects of the squandered opportunity led to the downfall for the rest of the night. Without having the lead, Piniella elected not go to the bullpen that is short-handed and so bad. Announcers Bob Brenly and Len Kasper speculated that Dempster was done after his fifth inning of work, as had I. But, instead, Piniella was forced into using Dempster for the sixth and then trotted him out there again for the bottom of the seventh inning, after he had already logged 111 pitches.
With momentum squarely in the Brewers' dugout and a tiring pitcher on the mound, the Milwaukee bats were able to break the game wide open.
When it rains...: Len Kasper has used this phrase on more than one occasion to describe the Cubs' injury woes, but it seems all too appropriate.
When it rains, it pours.
Coming into Saturday's game with the Brewers, the Cubs had already lost Aramis Ramirez, Milton Bradley, Geovany Soto, Derrek Lee, Koyie Hill, Ryan Freel, Carlos Zambrano, Carlos Marmol, and Kevin Gregg for some period of time during the season. The Cubs have managed to use the disabled list only twice thus far, but Fox will become the third. In just the thirtieth game of the season, Chad Fox left in the eighth inning with an injury to his right elbow.
Fox has already undergone two Tommy John surgeries and had worked so hard to return the Majors. This return is most likely over.
Fox's spot in the bullpen will be replaced before Sunday's game. Jeff Samardzija has been up with the big club before, but it is unlikely he will get the call. Jose Ascanio has been pitching well, posting a 1.01 ERA in 26.2 innings, but the team appears to be trying to convert him into a starter.
That leaves the decision between Jeff Stevens, who has allowed no runs and just four hits over 14 innings and Greg Reinhard, who has allowed one run and fifteen hits over 18.1 frames.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Wells gets nod against Crew
The Cubs placed right-hander Carlos Zambrano on the disabled list four days ago and selected the contract of infielder Bobby Scales from Iowa. Scales, who hit .303 in 76 at-bats in AAA, went 1-for-4 in the Majors with his only hit coming off of Tim Lincecum.
Now, Zambrano's spot in the rotation has come up and manager Lou Piniella has pegged Randy Wells as the guy. In a corresponding roster move, the Cubs have outrighted outfielder Joey Gathright and then traded him to the Baltimore Orioles for utility man Ryan Freel. Freel is currently on the disabled list after being hit in the back of the head with a pickoff throw on April 20.
Freel is expected to be activated within a few days and at that point either Scales would be sent down to Iowa, or Lee or Ramirez will be sent to the disabled list.
Now, Zambrano's spot in the rotation has come up and manager Lou Piniella has pegged Randy Wells as the guy. In a corresponding roster move, the Cubs have outrighted outfielder Joey Gathright and then traded him to the Baltimore Orioles for utility man Ryan Freel. Freel is currently on the disabled list after being hit in the back of the head with a pickoff throw on April 20.
Freel is expected to be activated within a few days and at that point either Scales would be sent down to Iowa, or Lee or Ramirez will be sent to the disabled list.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Piniella sits team against Lincecum
Going into Tuesday's game, the Cubs had won four games in a row. But Tuesday's opponent was the reigning Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum and everyone knew that running the streak to five was going to be tough. Now, Lou Piniella is making it tougher.
The decision to play Koyie Hill over Geovany Soto is obvious; this is a day game after a night game. Ryan Theriot was also scheduled to get an off-day, despite the fact that he has hit three homeruns in the last four games. But, in addition to that, Piniella has decided to sit Milton Bradley, Aramis Ramirez, and Alfonso Soriano.
That leaves the lineup as:
CF Gathright
SS Miles
RF Fukudome
1B Lee
LF Hoffpauir
3B Fontenot
2B Scales
C Hill
P Marshall
To top it off, relievers Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg are unavailable for the most part.
It's true that all of the players sitting today certainly needed an off-day, but it seems like Piniella would rather sit all of them at once instead of sitting them one at a time over the course of about a week. It's a day game after a night game and it's get-away day, so if there was ever a time to do it, it would be now.
While, it's not exactly like this game is being conceded, I don't like it. Sure, it's our fifth starter against their ace, so losing this game isn't the worst thing in the world. But, over the course of a single game, missing one player really doesn't hurt too bad. For example, on any given day, Gathright could outhit Soriano or Scales could outhit Fontenot.
Therefore, sitting each of the guys one at a time would not drastically impact our chances in those games. But, this dramatically shifts the edge to San Francisco for the series finale.
The decision to play Koyie Hill over Geovany Soto is obvious; this is a day game after a night game. Ryan Theriot was also scheduled to get an off-day, despite the fact that he has hit three homeruns in the last four games. But, in addition to that, Piniella has decided to sit Milton Bradley, Aramis Ramirez, and Alfonso Soriano.
That leaves the lineup as:
CF Gathright
SS Miles
RF Fukudome
1B Lee
LF Hoffpauir
3B Fontenot
2B Scales
C Hill
P Marshall
To top it off, relievers Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg are unavailable for the most part.
It's true that all of the players sitting today certainly needed an off-day, but it seems like Piniella would rather sit all of them at once instead of sitting them one at a time over the course of about a week. It's a day game after a night game and it's get-away day, so if there was ever a time to do it, it would be now.
While, it's not exactly like this game is being conceded, I don't like it. Sure, it's our fifth starter against their ace, so losing this game isn't the worst thing in the world. But, over the course of a single game, missing one player really doesn't hurt too bad. For example, on any given day, Gathright could outhit Soriano or Scales could outhit Fontenot.
Therefore, sitting each of the guys one at a time would not drastically impact our chances in those games. But, this dramatically shifts the edge to San Francisco for the series finale.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Cubs disable Z, select Scales
The Cubs have finally placed a player on the disabled list.
Catcher Geovany Soto, outfielder Milton Bradley, and infielders Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee have all suffered injuries that have kept them out of the lineup for some period of time, but none had gone to the disabled list. Now, ace pitcher Carlos Zambrano will miss at least two starts as he is the first Cub to be placed on the disabled list this year. Zambrano left Sunday's game in the fifth inning after tweaking his hamstring trying to leg out a bunt hit.
For now, the team has selected infielder Bobby Scales. The switch-hitting 31-year-old infielder has been in the minor leagues since 1999 but has never been with a Major League ballclub. Scales came close last Thursday as Ramirez was almost placed on the disabled list. But, the team made a game-time decision to keep Ramirez on the active roster, who is in the starting lineup Monday.
In 21 games with Iowa, Scales hit .303 with 3 homers and 10 RBI's. Jake Fox is absolutely mashing the ball in the minors, hitting a robust .420 with 12 homers in just 81 at-bats, but unfortunately for him, he does not fill a position need for the team. When Zambrano's turn in the rotation comes back up, the team is expected to send Scales back to Iowa to make room for Randy Wells, who is 3-0 with the AAA club.
Catcher Geovany Soto, outfielder Milton Bradley, and infielders Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee have all suffered injuries that have kept them out of the lineup for some period of time, but none had gone to the disabled list. Now, ace pitcher Carlos Zambrano will miss at least two starts as he is the first Cub to be placed on the disabled list this year. Zambrano left Sunday's game in the fifth inning after tweaking his hamstring trying to leg out a bunt hit.
For now, the team has selected infielder Bobby Scales. The switch-hitting 31-year-old infielder has been in the minor leagues since 1999 but has never been with a Major League ballclub. Scales came close last Thursday as Ramirez was almost placed on the disabled list. But, the team made a game-time decision to keep Ramirez on the active roster, who is in the starting lineup Monday.
In 21 games with Iowa, Scales hit .303 with 3 homers and 10 RBI's. Jake Fox is absolutely mashing the ball in the minors, hitting a robust .420 with 12 homers in just 81 at-bats, but unfortunately for him, he does not fill a position need for the team. When Zambrano's turn in the rotation comes back up, the team is expected to send Scales back to Iowa to make room for Randy Wells, who is 3-0 with the AAA club.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Discussing Heilman's double switch
With Neal Cotts struggling to get out of the bottom of the seventh inning, manager Lou Piniella went with Aaron Heilman to face the Cardinals' Albert Pujols with a man in scoring position and two outs and a four-run lead.
The only trouble was that the pitcher's spot was due up second in the eighth inning. So Piniella decided to double switch, taking out the guy who had made the last out, Geovany Soto. This way, Hill is inserted into the ninth spot and Heilman's spot in the batting order is nine spots away.
Normally, this is a run-of-the-mill move.
The only issue was that the Cubs were incredibly short-handed as is. The five position players that were on the roster that did not start the game were Aramis Ramirez, Milton Bradley, Micah Hoffpauir, Joey Gathright, and Koyie Hill. The first two are clearly unable to play defense and Hoffpauir was already used to replace the injured Lee. That left Hill and Gathright as the only available position players.
After the double switch, Gathright was the last man left on the bench. Should anything have happened to another player, this could have spelled disaster. Just as one example, if Theriot had to leave the game, then Gathright would have to enter in left field, Soriano would play second base and Miles would have to play out of position at short.
Thankfully, the situation didn't come up, but it didn't seem like it was worth the risk.
The only trouble was that the pitcher's spot was due up second in the eighth inning. So Piniella decided to double switch, taking out the guy who had made the last out, Geovany Soto. This way, Hill is inserted into the ninth spot and Heilman's spot in the batting order is nine spots away.
Normally, this is a run-of-the-mill move.
The only issue was that the Cubs were incredibly short-handed as is. The five position players that were on the roster that did not start the game were Aramis Ramirez, Milton Bradley, Micah Hoffpauir, Joey Gathright, and Koyie Hill. The first two are clearly unable to play defense and Hoffpauir was already used to replace the injured Lee. That left Hill and Gathright as the only available position players.
After the double switch, Gathright was the last man left on the bench. Should anything have happened to another player, this could have spelled disaster. Just as one example, if Theriot had to leave the game, then Gathright would have to enter in left field, Soriano would play second base and Miles would have to play out of position at short.
Thankfully, the situation didn't come up, but it didn't seem like it was worth the risk.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Two hurt as Cubs drop third straight
Things certainly are not looking up for the Cubs.
After a blisteringly hot 8-4 start to the season, the Cubs have since dropped three straight, including the final two at home against the Cincinnati Reds and the series opener in Busch Stadium. The offense was held in check by Johnny Cueto, Aaron Harang, and Adam Wainwright, scoring only four times in the last three games (and three were unearned runs). To add injury to insult (in this case), both third baseman Aramis Ramirez and reliever Carlos Marmol left Friday's game early.
But, we need to all take a step back and take this for what it is. Before the year started, we knew that there would be stretches where we would win three games in a row and lose three games in a row. We've already had two separate three-game win streaks and now we're on the losing streak. This is no surprise and this is no cause for alarm; we all knew it was going to happen sometime.
At the risk of sounding cliche, the baseball season is a marathon. Currently, the season is less than 10% old; if this was a football season, we would only be a game and a quarter into it. And it's not like we've been playing poorly, either. It's not all loom and gloom. We are over .500!
But it seems like Piniella started to show the first sign of urgency, something that came way too soon. I'm glad that he finally realized that Lee needed to be moved out of the third spot, but unfortunately, it came at the price of Soriano being moved there.
(Let's cut the crap, people. If you still think that Soriano should be batting anywhere but leadoff, then you need to pay more attention to the games. Maybe two years ago this time, this would've been a conversation worth having, but we all ought to know by now that Soriano is not going to succeed in the heart of the lineup. That's over and done with, so get over it. Soriano is the leadoff hitter. Period.)
But, Piniella in his desperate attempts to shake the lineup around, moved Soriano out of the leadoff spot and I kind of feel like the changes that he made in the lineup were just for the sake of changes; they were hardly necessary! The team was 8-6 and were shut down by two of the league's better pitchers. Besides, it's not like the weather was exactly conducive to hitting those two days.
Throwing out another cliche: you can't win the pennant in April, but you can lose it. We need to forget about any hopes that we may have had about having a five-game lead in the division by the time we get out of school. That's not going to happen, but more importantly, that does not need to happen.
The team has been banged up, with injuries to Geovany Soto, Milton Bradley, and now Ramirez. Contrary to popular belief, the latter two will get healthy and at some point, all three of them would be hitting. For now, the Cubs just need to stay afloat.
And so far, we have been.
The injury to Soto caused back-up catcher Koyie Hill to start five games in a row. Hill collected a hit in each of those of five games and put up a .333 average while knocking home five runs. Would Hill be able to do this long term? Absolutely not, but he was able to hold down the fort for five games and lead his team to a 4-1 record during the span that Soto was hurt.
With Bradley's injury, Fukudome, Johnson and Hoffpauir all have been getting time in right field. This group of players have been able to put together a decent stretch and the Cubs are 4-4 in games in which Bradley has not started.
No one is expecting these replacements to fill in exactly for the guys they are replacing. And we all understand that if we were to count on them long term, bad things may happen. Both Mike Fontenot and Aaron Miles have shown that they are able to produce for small stretches of time and that's exactly what we need.
Meanwhile, it seems like Ramirez is out for an extended period of time. With Bradley banged up (though obviously OK enough to pinch hit), the only other usable pieces off of the bench are Joey Gathright and Micah Hoffpauir (and Hill). The team can not carry on like that, but the Cubs are rolling the dice and choosing not to place anybody on the DL.
Looking into the minor league system, infield relief could have come in the form of Bobby Scales who is hitting .370 with 2 homers so far in the earlier season. Also, the team may have turned to red hot Jake Fox, who has already hit 6 doubles and 8 homers, while batting .426 over the first fifteen games. In just 61 at-bats at Iowa, Fox has already driven in a staggering 25 runs!
Soriano hot: In 109 games last year, Soriano posted an 0-for- on 30 different occasions. However, this year, Soriano has started in all 15 of his team's games and has hit safely in 14 of those 15 games, including in each of the last 11 games.
But, it's not like Soriano has magically changed into a better hitter. He's put together some quality at-bats, but we know he's also put together more than his fair share of truly pathetic at-bats. The numbers support that claim. In the first 64 official times at-bat this season, Soriano has struck out 19 times, which is actually at a higher ratio than 103 strikeouts in 453 times at-bat from last year.
We all know that Soriano is a streaky hitter. But, hopefully he can keep this going just a while longer until the team gets healthier.
After a blisteringly hot 8-4 start to the season, the Cubs have since dropped three straight, including the final two at home against the Cincinnati Reds and the series opener in Busch Stadium. The offense was held in check by Johnny Cueto, Aaron Harang, and Adam Wainwright, scoring only four times in the last three games (and three were unearned runs). To add injury to insult (in this case), both third baseman Aramis Ramirez and reliever Carlos Marmol left Friday's game early.
But, we need to all take a step back and take this for what it is. Before the year started, we knew that there would be stretches where we would win three games in a row and lose three games in a row. We've already had two separate three-game win streaks and now we're on the losing streak. This is no surprise and this is no cause for alarm; we all knew it was going to happen sometime.
At the risk of sounding cliche, the baseball season is a marathon. Currently, the season is less than 10% old; if this was a football season, we would only be a game and a quarter into it. And it's not like we've been playing poorly, either. It's not all loom and gloom. We are over .500!
But it seems like Piniella started to show the first sign of urgency, something that came way too soon. I'm glad that he finally realized that Lee needed to be moved out of the third spot, but unfortunately, it came at the price of Soriano being moved there.
(Let's cut the crap, people. If you still think that Soriano should be batting anywhere but leadoff, then you need to pay more attention to the games. Maybe two years ago this time, this would've been a conversation worth having, but we all ought to know by now that Soriano is not going to succeed in the heart of the lineup. That's over and done with, so get over it. Soriano is the leadoff hitter. Period.)
But, Piniella in his desperate attempts to shake the lineup around, moved Soriano out of the leadoff spot and I kind of feel like the changes that he made in the lineup were just for the sake of changes; they were hardly necessary! The team was 8-6 and were shut down by two of the league's better pitchers. Besides, it's not like the weather was exactly conducive to hitting those two days.
Throwing out another cliche: you can't win the pennant in April, but you can lose it. We need to forget about any hopes that we may have had about having a five-game lead in the division by the time we get out of school. That's not going to happen, but more importantly, that does not need to happen.
The team has been banged up, with injuries to Geovany Soto, Milton Bradley, and now Ramirez. Contrary to popular belief, the latter two will get healthy and at some point, all three of them would be hitting. For now, the Cubs just need to stay afloat.
And so far, we have been.
The injury to Soto caused back-up catcher Koyie Hill to start five games in a row. Hill collected a hit in each of those of five games and put up a .333 average while knocking home five runs. Would Hill be able to do this long term? Absolutely not, but he was able to hold down the fort for five games and lead his team to a 4-1 record during the span that Soto was hurt.
With Bradley's injury, Fukudome, Johnson and Hoffpauir all have been getting time in right field. This group of players have been able to put together a decent stretch and the Cubs are 4-4 in games in which Bradley has not started.
No one is expecting these replacements to fill in exactly for the guys they are replacing. And we all understand that if we were to count on them long term, bad things may happen. Both Mike Fontenot and Aaron Miles have shown that they are able to produce for small stretches of time and that's exactly what we need.
Meanwhile, it seems like Ramirez is out for an extended period of time. With Bradley banged up (though obviously OK enough to pinch hit), the only other usable pieces off of the bench are Joey Gathright and Micah Hoffpauir (and Hill). The team can not carry on like that, but the Cubs are rolling the dice and choosing not to place anybody on the DL.
Looking into the minor league system, infield relief could have come in the form of Bobby Scales who is hitting .370 with 2 homers so far in the earlier season. Also, the team may have turned to red hot Jake Fox, who has already hit 6 doubles and 8 homers, while batting .426 over the first fifteen games. In just 61 at-bats at Iowa, Fox has already driven in a staggering 25 runs!
Soriano hot: In 109 games last year, Soriano posted an 0-for- on 30 different occasions. However, this year, Soriano has started in all 15 of his team's games and has hit safely in 14 of those 15 games, including in each of the last 11 games.
But, it's not like Soriano has magically changed into a better hitter. He's put together some quality at-bats, but we know he's also put together more than his fair share of truly pathetic at-bats. The numbers support that claim. In the first 64 official times at-bat this season, Soriano has struck out 19 times, which is actually at a higher ratio than 103 strikeouts in 453 times at-bat from last year.
We all know that Soriano is a streaky hitter. But, hopefully he can keep this going just a while longer until the team gets healthier.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Cubs 8-5, but not without concerns
The baseball season is already two and a half weeks old. All in all, those two and a half weeks have been very good for the Cubs; the 8-5 record will attest to that. But despite the strong start, there are issues that need to be addressed.
The bullpen is a problem. Aaron Heilman has seemed to step up as the seventh inning man and that has made the Cubs gameplan with a late lead clear. But, the troubles come when the Cubs are not winning late. For example, in the Cubs' 3-0 loss to the Reds on Wednesday, Ted Lilly was able to match Johnny Cueto pitch for pitch and keep his team in the ballgame. But eventually, he had to give way to the bullpen trailing by a run. Angel Guzman answered the call in the eighth inning and gave up a key insurance run that essentially shut the door.
I hear some of you saying "but the Cubs didn't score any runs at all, so it wouldn't have mattered." But that's far from the point. The bigger picture is what is troubling. And I'm not talking about what if the Cubs do score runs late next time (and it's happened before; already, opposing pitchers have blown 5 saves). I'm talking about this causing changes in the way manager Lou Piniella handles his bullpen.
Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg, as much as possible, should be limited to roles in which they are designed for. If the team can manage this, then there is very little doubt in my mind that these two pitchers will be successful. But when they are called upon to pitch in other situations and become overworked, that's when they will start to falter. A small scale example is when Cotts struggled to get out of the seventh inning against the Brewers on April 10. This led to a string of events which eventually ended in Gregg being asked to convert a four-out save. I'm not going to dwell on this further, because I already talked about that when it happened, but it's just an example of how other pitchers can make all of the rest of the team look better.
And the Cubs recognize this and are responding quickly, recalling pitcher Jeff Samardzija. The hope was to keep Samardzija in Iowa and let him develop as a starting pitcher, but as was the case last year, he is being called upon to be a reliever at the Major League level out of necessity. Luis Vizcaino has been designated for assignment.
Bradley out again: It appeared that the injured outfielder was healthy enough to play. Bradley was in the lineup hitting fourth in the Cubs' 3-0 loss to the Reds on Wednesday. But after an 0-for-4 day which included three strikeouts, the Cubs management is changing their story once again.
Piniella has now stated that he would keep Bradley out of the lineup until he is absolutely 100% and that he is far from that at the moment. Even despite that, the team isn't considering placing him on the disabled list and Bradley isn't considering dropping the appeal to his two-game suspension.
Earlier this season, Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett dropped the appeal of a five-game suspension because it was beneficial to the team. "If it was up to me, obviously, we would have gone through with this whole thing, because I don't think I deserve even one game," said the Boston right-hander. "When your boss tells you that something is best for the whole group, that's what we do."
Yet, Bradley will not be dropping his appeal. However, I think that Bradley would drop his appeal if the team asked him to. So far, we've noticed that Piniella hasn't quite lived up to his "tough guy" reputation that he developed in Seattle and Tampa Bay and he is turning into a player's manager. And it appears he's going to let Bradley see this thing through.
The bullpen is a problem. Aaron Heilman has seemed to step up as the seventh inning man and that has made the Cubs gameplan with a late lead clear. But, the troubles come when the Cubs are not winning late. For example, in the Cubs' 3-0 loss to the Reds on Wednesday, Ted Lilly was able to match Johnny Cueto pitch for pitch and keep his team in the ballgame. But eventually, he had to give way to the bullpen trailing by a run. Angel Guzman answered the call in the eighth inning and gave up a key insurance run that essentially shut the door.
I hear some of you saying "but the Cubs didn't score any runs at all, so it wouldn't have mattered." But that's far from the point. The bigger picture is what is troubling. And I'm not talking about what if the Cubs do score runs late next time (and it's happened before; already, opposing pitchers have blown 5 saves). I'm talking about this causing changes in the way manager Lou Piniella handles his bullpen.
Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg, as much as possible, should be limited to roles in which they are designed for. If the team can manage this, then there is very little doubt in my mind that these two pitchers will be successful. But when they are called upon to pitch in other situations and become overworked, that's when they will start to falter. A small scale example is when Cotts struggled to get out of the seventh inning against the Brewers on April 10. This led to a string of events which eventually ended in Gregg being asked to convert a four-out save. I'm not going to dwell on this further, because I already talked about that when it happened, but it's just an example of how other pitchers can make all of the rest of the team look better.
And the Cubs recognize this and are responding quickly, recalling pitcher Jeff Samardzija. The hope was to keep Samardzija in Iowa and let him develop as a starting pitcher, but as was the case last year, he is being called upon to be a reliever at the Major League level out of necessity. Luis Vizcaino has been designated for assignment.
Bradley out again: It appeared that the injured outfielder was healthy enough to play. Bradley was in the lineup hitting fourth in the Cubs' 3-0 loss to the Reds on Wednesday. But after an 0-for-4 day which included three strikeouts, the Cubs management is changing their story once again.
Piniella has now stated that he would keep Bradley out of the lineup until he is absolutely 100% and that he is far from that at the moment. Even despite that, the team isn't considering placing him on the disabled list and Bradley isn't considering dropping the appeal to his two-game suspension.
Earlier this season, Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett dropped the appeal of a five-game suspension because it was beneficial to the team. "If it was up to me, obviously, we would have gone through with this whole thing, because I don't think I deserve even one game," said the Boston right-hander. "When your boss tells you that something is best for the whole group, that's what we do."
Yet, Bradley will not be dropping his appeal. However, I think that Bradley would drop his appeal if the team asked him to. So far, we've noticed that Piniella hasn't quite lived up to his "tough guy" reputation that he developed in Seattle and Tampa Bay and he is turning into a player's manager. And it appears he's going to let Bradley see this thing through.
Friday, April 17, 2009
The stupidity in baseball
I know people are stupid. Hell, I know most people are downright retarded. But, the level of stupidity and ignorance of people never ceases to shock me. Just when I thought I had seen it all...
More and more, I've slowly been noticing that people are so stupid to the point that I can no longer even guess what the next stupid thing that comes out of their mouths would be. (Okay, actually by now, I was able to guess that people would want Marmol closing over Gregg.) But some things come so far out of left field that I never would've even dreamed of what they were thinking, even if I tried.
But this tops them all.
After Colby Rasmus -- who represented the tying run in Friday's 8-7 Cubs win over the Cardinals -- was walked on four straight pitches to lead off the top of the ninth inning, the Cardinals fans are adamant that we hit Albert Pujols intentionally. Apparently, they say this because a) they were so sure that everyone in the ballpark knew that Pujols was going to hit the go-ahead homer and that b) Piniella had said earlier that he wouldn't let Pujols beat him.
Right, so instead we intentionally decided to put the tying in scoring position and the go-ahead run on base with no outs in the inning. Ryan Ludwick, who had already homered twice, was on deck but that's hardly the point. Never mind who the on-deck batter was, any Major League hitter is more likely to drive in Rasmus from second than Pujols is likely to drive him in from first. (Look it up: Pujols had 81 extra-base hits last year in 524 at-bats and it would have taken at least a double to drive in Rasmus from first. But, with Rasmus on second, any type of hit ties the game. Are you seriously trying to tell me that no one else on the team can hit better than .155?)
Besides, what kind of savage are you? And what kind of baseball have you been watching in your lifetime? No pitcher in either the American or National League intentionally throws at batters just because they are too lazy to intentionally walk the batter. In fact, very few times will a pitcher ever intentionally throw near the batter and there's always a very calculated purpose when he does. Someone said he didn't believe the pitch was accidental because it didn't look like a slider. Are you kidding? Do you know what a slider is? (I'm trying to find video footage of that AB to put on this, so everyone can see it. If you can find a link, I would appreciate you letting me know.)
Actually, one Cardinal fan was so gracious enough to "give us the benefit of the doubt" that Piniella "has class". How noble!
Now, it would be very easy for me to say that this is just typical of Cardinals fans, but this kind of stupidity is not limited just to fans of the Cardinals. It's present among baseball fans all across the country and even people in their normal day-to-day lives.
More and more, I've slowly been noticing that people are so stupid to the point that I can no longer even guess what the next stupid thing that comes out of their mouths would be. (Okay, actually by now, I was able to guess that people would want Marmol closing over Gregg.) But some things come so far out of left field that I never would've even dreamed of what they were thinking, even if I tried.
But this tops them all.
After Colby Rasmus -- who represented the tying run in Friday's 8-7 Cubs win over the Cardinals -- was walked on four straight pitches to lead off the top of the ninth inning, the Cardinals fans are adamant that we hit Albert Pujols intentionally. Apparently, they say this because a) they were so sure that everyone in the ballpark knew that Pujols was going to hit the go-ahead homer and that b) Piniella had said earlier that he wouldn't let Pujols beat him.
Right, so instead we intentionally decided to put the tying in scoring position and the go-ahead run on base with no outs in the inning. Ryan Ludwick, who had already homered twice, was on deck but that's hardly the point. Never mind who the on-deck batter was, any Major League hitter is more likely to drive in Rasmus from second than Pujols is likely to drive him in from first. (Look it up: Pujols had 81 extra-base hits last year in 524 at-bats and it would have taken at least a double to drive in Rasmus from first. But, with Rasmus on second, any type of hit ties the game. Are you seriously trying to tell me that no one else on the team can hit better than .155?)
Besides, what kind of savage are you? And what kind of baseball have you been watching in your lifetime? No pitcher in either the American or National League intentionally throws at batters just because they are too lazy to intentionally walk the batter. In fact, very few times will a pitcher ever intentionally throw near the batter and there's always a very calculated purpose when he does. Someone said he didn't believe the pitch was accidental because it didn't look like a slider. Are you kidding? Do you know what a slider is? (I'm trying to find video footage of that AB to put on this, so everyone can see it. If you can find a link, I would appreciate you letting me know.)
Actually, one Cardinal fan was so gracious enough to "give us the benefit of the doubt" that Piniella "has class". How noble!
Now, it would be very easy for me to say that this is just typical of Cardinals fans, but this kind of stupidity is not limited just to fans of the Cardinals. It's present among baseball fans all across the country and even people in their normal day-to-day lives.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Why Lou picked Marmol
There's no controversy here. Kevin Gregg is still the closer.
Carlos Marmol was warming up in the top of the ninth inning while the Cubs were trailing 5-4. That's the right decision, because you can't warm up your closer on the road with the team trailing. Very suddenly, the Cubs took the lead, with a pinch-hit single by Johnson and the two-run homer by Soriano on the very next pitch and now the Cubs were now on top. There was already one out in the inning and knowing the Cubs offense, the inning could've ended just as quickly.
So Lou decided to keep going with his plan. There wasn't enough time to sit Marmol down and get Gregg warming up in the bullpen. Besides, Marmol was already throwing, so why waste him?
After the game, Piniella made his point clear to the press.
"Gregg is still our closer," said the manager. "I can't get them both up. I said that the other night in Houston. I can't afford to get them both up, because I lose them. We got Marmol up just in case we tied or went ahead, and that was the end of it. I said when the season started there will be opportunities for both of them, but believe me, tomorrow, if we get into a similar situation, Gregg will be the closer."
Carlos Marmol was warming up in the top of the ninth inning while the Cubs were trailing 5-4. That's the right decision, because you can't warm up your closer on the road with the team trailing. Very suddenly, the Cubs took the lead, with a pinch-hit single by Johnson and the two-run homer by Soriano on the very next pitch and now the Cubs were now on top. There was already one out in the inning and knowing the Cubs offense, the inning could've ended just as quickly.
So Lou decided to keep going with his plan. There wasn't enough time to sit Marmol down and get Gregg warming up in the bullpen. Besides, Marmol was already throwing, so why waste him?
After the game, Piniella made his point clear to the press.
"Gregg is still our closer," said the manager. "I can't get them both up. I said that the other night in Houston. I can't afford to get them both up, because I lose them. We got Marmol up just in case we tied or went ahead, and that was the end of it. I said when the season started there will be opportunities for both of them, but believe me, tomorrow, if we get into a similar situation, Gregg will be the closer."
Friday, April 10, 2009
Piniella loses game, Hill loses temper
Wow, that was ugly.
Rich Harden pitched six solid innings and Lou Piniella wasted it. After Koyie Hill put the Cubs ahead 3-2 with a clutch two-run homer, the game seemed to be set up for the Cubs. But, the weak bullpen that we were afraid of showed up. Bridging to Marmol and Gregg was so problematic that it created a chain reaction of bad events.
Heilman and Cotts couldn't get out of the seventh inning, so Piniella had to bring Marmol in. Those that know me well know that I love to play the matchups, so I'm not going to fault our manager for these moves in the seventh inning. When the top of the eighth inning rolled around, Mike Fontenot doubled to lead off the game and a clutch insurance run was on second base.
Ryan Theriot was not asked to bunt like he should have been, as Piniella decided to take his chances. Theriot came through anyway, grounding out to the right side of the infield, allowing Fontenot to advance ninety feet. After Hill was walked, I cringed at the thought that Piniella might actually leave Marmol in to hit. Thankfully, he didn't -- but he chose the wrong guy to hit for him.
Over the past two years, Piniella has developed a habit of using Marmol for more than an inning. This ultimately led to his struggles in the postseason in 2007 and a rough mid-season patch for 2008. I would much rather Marmol be used as a specialist out of the bullpen, much like he was today. I'd rather he goes less than an inning in a tough spot than more than an inning. At least, Piniella got that right and let's hope he sticks with that plan.
Aaron Miles should've been kept back, not only because Micah Hoffpauir was the best bet to be able to drive in Fontenot from third base, but because Miles was the emergency catcher for the game. Geovany Soto was unavailable due to a sore shoulder, which forced Hill into the starting role. Miles had to be taken out for a reliever in the next inning, so that move burned the emergency catcher off of the bench.
In any event, Sean Marshall was asked to come in the game in the bottom of the eighth inning to face Fielder. That sets up the lefty-lefty matchup, so I'm okay with that. After Fielder reached, Piniella went to Vizcaino for the string of righties that would ensue. I would've went with Patton, but that's just a personal preference; the fact that he made the pitching change was not wrong and I had no troubles with that move at all.
The puzzling move was when Piniella turned to Gregg with two outs in the inning. Sure, Gregg got out of the eighth inning, but that's not the point. The troubles that we so narrowly avoided with Marmol were negated by Piniella making the same decision with Gregg. Had Gregg entered to set up a righty-righty matchup, I would understand. I would not agree with throwing the closer for more than three outs, but I would understand. However, taking Vizcaino out of the game for Gregg did not make any sense.
For me to claim that Gregg was not at all responsible for the blown save would be wrong. After all, getting four outs in a single game is not impossible. But people are calling for Gregg's head already! Never mind the ridiculous notion that fans are calling for a closing change after a single blown save and never mind the fact that Marmol is nowhere near the closer that Gregg is, the brunt of the blame has to be squarely on the shoulders of the manager; he did not put his guys in the best position to succeed.
To top it off, immediately after the game-winning run scored, Hill showed his immaturity. He tried arguing a call that was not even close and then spiked the baseball into the ground towards his own dugout when he didn't win the argument. That play made the team look childish, as well as open up the potential for a whole lot of trouble. There was no way to tell where that ball could have ended up and there's certainly no room for that kind of carelessness on this ballclub.
That brought on flashbacks of the Peoria Chiefs incident last year, where Julio Castillo threw a fastball into the stands striking a fan, resulting in prison time for the young pitcher. Hopefully, Piniella will do something right and give Hill a good talking-to about his temper tantrum.
Soto still out: The lies are continuing from the Cubs' medical staff. What was supposed to be just a couple of days for Soto is turning into an entire week. The Cubs were so quick to point out that Soto suffered a similar injury in the minors and missed four days. Of course, there is no detailed record of minor league transactions; how can we check? They claimed this injury was much less severe, so he would be back even quicker.
Now, after missing two games (and an off-day in between), the team is announcing that Soto will likely miss the remainder of the series with Milwaukee. What the hell?
First of all, I'm very curious to find out why the Cubs medical staff has lied to us for the better part of a decade now. What are they trying to hide? Secondly, how does not being coy with the fans help the team? I would not be at all surprised to see Soto hit the disabled list about five days from now, after the team claims that the injury was worse than they thought.
Of course, at that time, Piniella will quickly say that Soto doesn't actually need the full fifteen days. Rather, the team needed the roster spot as they couldn't continue for a longer period of time without a backup catcher. But, the fifteen day limit will come and go and by then, there will be no mention of Soto's return. They will hope we forget who he is.
This was the pattern they followed with Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Derrek Lee -- and as recently as last September, Carlos Zambrano. Can you take anything they say at face value any more? I've been too naive in the past, but this ends here. I'm done expecting the truth from this franchise and I'm done hoping that they get things right. I just want to know one thing: do they think that we are stupid? or what do they have to hide?
Rich Harden pitched six solid innings and Lou Piniella wasted it. After Koyie Hill put the Cubs ahead 3-2 with a clutch two-run homer, the game seemed to be set up for the Cubs. But, the weak bullpen that we were afraid of showed up. Bridging to Marmol and Gregg was so problematic that it created a chain reaction of bad events.
Heilman and Cotts couldn't get out of the seventh inning, so Piniella had to bring Marmol in. Those that know me well know that I love to play the matchups, so I'm not going to fault our manager for these moves in the seventh inning. When the top of the eighth inning rolled around, Mike Fontenot doubled to lead off the game and a clutch insurance run was on second base.
Ryan Theriot was not asked to bunt like he should have been, as Piniella decided to take his chances. Theriot came through anyway, grounding out to the right side of the infield, allowing Fontenot to advance ninety feet. After Hill was walked, I cringed at the thought that Piniella might actually leave Marmol in to hit. Thankfully, he didn't -- but he chose the wrong guy to hit for him.
Over the past two years, Piniella has developed a habit of using Marmol for more than an inning. This ultimately led to his struggles in the postseason in 2007 and a rough mid-season patch for 2008. I would much rather Marmol be used as a specialist out of the bullpen, much like he was today. I'd rather he goes less than an inning in a tough spot than more than an inning. At least, Piniella got that right and let's hope he sticks with that plan.
Aaron Miles should've been kept back, not only because Micah Hoffpauir was the best bet to be able to drive in Fontenot from third base, but because Miles was the emergency catcher for the game. Geovany Soto was unavailable due to a sore shoulder, which forced Hill into the starting role. Miles had to be taken out for a reliever in the next inning, so that move burned the emergency catcher off of the bench.
In any event, Sean Marshall was asked to come in the game in the bottom of the eighth inning to face Fielder. That sets up the lefty-lefty matchup, so I'm okay with that. After Fielder reached, Piniella went to Vizcaino for the string of righties that would ensue. I would've went with Patton, but that's just a personal preference; the fact that he made the pitching change was not wrong and I had no troubles with that move at all.
The puzzling move was when Piniella turned to Gregg with two outs in the inning. Sure, Gregg got out of the eighth inning, but that's not the point. The troubles that we so narrowly avoided with Marmol were negated by Piniella making the same decision with Gregg. Had Gregg entered to set up a righty-righty matchup, I would understand. I would not agree with throwing the closer for more than three outs, but I would understand. However, taking Vizcaino out of the game for Gregg did not make any sense.
For me to claim that Gregg was not at all responsible for the blown save would be wrong. After all, getting four outs in a single game is not impossible. But people are calling for Gregg's head already! Never mind the ridiculous notion that fans are calling for a closing change after a single blown save and never mind the fact that Marmol is nowhere near the closer that Gregg is, the brunt of the blame has to be squarely on the shoulders of the manager; he did not put his guys in the best position to succeed.
To top it off, immediately after the game-winning run scored, Hill showed his immaturity. He tried arguing a call that was not even close and then spiked the baseball into the ground towards his own dugout when he didn't win the argument. That play made the team look childish, as well as open up the potential for a whole lot of trouble. There was no way to tell where that ball could have ended up and there's certainly no room for that kind of carelessness on this ballclub.
That brought on flashbacks of the Peoria Chiefs incident last year, where Julio Castillo threw a fastball into the stands striking a fan, resulting in prison time for the young pitcher. Hopefully, Piniella will do something right and give Hill a good talking-to about his temper tantrum.
Soto still out: The lies are continuing from the Cubs' medical staff. What was supposed to be just a couple of days for Soto is turning into an entire week. The Cubs were so quick to point out that Soto suffered a similar injury in the minors and missed four days. Of course, there is no detailed record of minor league transactions; how can we check? They claimed this injury was much less severe, so he would be back even quicker.
Now, after missing two games (and an off-day in between), the team is announcing that Soto will likely miss the remainder of the series with Milwaukee. What the hell?
First of all, I'm very curious to find out why the Cubs medical staff has lied to us for the better part of a decade now. What are they trying to hide? Secondly, how does not being coy with the fans help the team? I would not be at all surprised to see Soto hit the disabled list about five days from now, after the team claims that the injury was worse than they thought.
Of course, at that time, Piniella will quickly say that Soto doesn't actually need the full fifteen days. Rather, the team needed the roster spot as they couldn't continue for a longer period of time without a backup catcher. But, the fifteen day limit will come and go and by then, there will be no mention of Soto's return. They will hope we forget who he is.
This was the pattern they followed with Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Derrek Lee -- and as recently as last September, Carlos Zambrano. Can you take anything they say at face value any more? I've been too naive in the past, but this ends here. I'm done expecting the truth from this franchise and I'm done hoping that they get things right. I just want to know one thing: do they think that we are stupid? or what do they have to hide?
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Angels' Adenhart dead after traffic accident
I was going to write about the first series of the 2009 season. The Cubs just finished a three-game series with Houston to start the season, taking two games of the three. I was going to talk about just winning series and taking the season one step at a time.
Now, all of that seems so irrelevant.
Nick Adenhart threw six shutout innings last night, giving the Angels a 4-0 lead before leaving the game. The bullpen couldn't hold onto the lead and the Angels lost that game. Just few hours later, Adenhart lost the battle for his life. On his way home, the car Adenhart was riding in was struck by a drunk driver who ran a red light. Adenhart was taken to the hospital at UC-Irvine, where he died as a result of the injuries he sustained.
You will be in our prayers, Nick.
Now, all of that seems so irrelevant.
Nick Adenhart threw six shutout innings last night, giving the Angels a 4-0 lead before leaving the game. The bullpen couldn't hold onto the lead and the Angels lost that game. Just few hours later, Adenhart lost the battle for his life. On his way home, the car Adenhart was riding in was struck by a drunk driver who ran a red light. Adenhart was taken to the hospital at UC-Irvine, where he died as a result of the injuries he sustained.
You will be in our prayers, Nick.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Just the way you draw it up
So far, everything has gone exactly according to plan.
The Cubs clicked on all cylinders in the first game of the season against the Houston Astros. As Len Kasper was so quick to point out during the game, the defense bailed out Zambrano in the first few innings of the game and then Zambrano put the game on cruise control, shutting the Astros down the rest of the way.
The offense did its job, jumping on the board early with homeruns from sluggers Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez. Scoring three runs off of Astros' ace Roy Oswalt in seven innings is no easy task and the Cubs' staff made it stick, as if reading from a finely-tuned script. Zambrano pitched into the seventh inning, and the middle guys bridged the gap to set-up man Carlos Marmol very nicely. The bottom of the ninth inning was a little more eventful than most would have hoped, but Kevin Gregg converted the save nonetheless and the Cubs are 1-0 in the 2009 season.
I was also very impressed by new outfielder Milton Bradley. He had himself a great day on the field defensively and an even better day at the plate. Sure, he might have went 0-for-3, but Bradley had three really long extended at-bats including a walk, which translated into a 3-for-4 day for Mike Fontenot who was hitting behind him.
The team seemed to be very pleased with the way things turned out after game 1 out of 162 and was in good spirits afterwards. Cubs' catcher Geovany Soto had called Piniella to the mound in the seventh inning, because he thought his right-hander was suffering from cramps; it turned out to be a false alarm. After the game, Zambrano commented that he thinks "Geo is the one who has to have Lasik surgery," alluding to the surgery he had in the off-season.
He continued to joke about his at-bat in the top of that inning. Zambrano swung for the fences three times (and missed three times) with a man on first and nobody out. "I don't know the bunt sign," he said. "There's no bunt sign for me. Two Silver Sluggers?"
The Cubs seemed to be really happy after the first game and they have good reason to be. If the first game is any indication of what the rest of the season is going to be like, 2009 is going to be one really fun season!
The Cubs clicked on all cylinders in the first game of the season against the Houston Astros. As Len Kasper was so quick to point out during the game, the defense bailed out Zambrano in the first few innings of the game and then Zambrano put the game on cruise control, shutting the Astros down the rest of the way.
The offense did its job, jumping on the board early with homeruns from sluggers Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez. Scoring three runs off of Astros' ace Roy Oswalt in seven innings is no easy task and the Cubs' staff made it stick, as if reading from a finely-tuned script. Zambrano pitched into the seventh inning, and the middle guys bridged the gap to set-up man Carlos Marmol very nicely. The bottom of the ninth inning was a little more eventful than most would have hoped, but Kevin Gregg converted the save nonetheless and the Cubs are 1-0 in the 2009 season.
I was also very impressed by new outfielder Milton Bradley. He had himself a great day on the field defensively and an even better day at the plate. Sure, he might have went 0-for-3, but Bradley had three really long extended at-bats including a walk, which translated into a 3-for-4 day for Mike Fontenot who was hitting behind him.
The team seemed to be very pleased with the way things turned out after game 1 out of 162 and was in good spirits afterwards. Cubs' catcher Geovany Soto had called Piniella to the mound in the seventh inning, because he thought his right-hander was suffering from cramps; it turned out to be a false alarm. After the game, Zambrano commented that he thinks "Geo is the one who has to have Lasik surgery," alluding to the surgery he had in the off-season.
He continued to joke about his at-bat in the top of that inning. Zambrano swung for the fences three times (and missed three times) with a man on first and nobody out. "I don't know the bunt sign," he said. "There's no bunt sign for me. Two Silver Sluggers?"
The Cubs seemed to be really happy after the first game and they have good reason to be. If the first game is any indication of what the rest of the season is going to be like, 2009 is going to be one really fun season!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Patton, Guzman claim final spots
Opening Day 2009 is upon us and Lou Piniella has finalized his list of 25 players that he will take into battle on the first day of the season. The Cubs -- coming off of back-to-back division championships -- are the early favorites to three-peat (as Phil Jackson would say).
Rule 5 selection David Patton and out-of-options Angel Guzman were pegged as the final two relievers out of the Cubs bullpen meaning that the Cubs had to release Chad Gaudin to make room. Gaudin, who was acquired in the same deal that sent Harden to the Cubs last summer, was originally believed to be in competition for the fifth spot in the rotation. However, Sean Marshall ran away with that race in the first half of camp, and Gaudin's spring training kept getting worse and worse. Ultimately, he ended with a 10.26 ERA, allowing 26 hits and 19 earned runs over just 16 2/3 innings in the exhibition season.
Angel Guzman also struggled in the spring, posting a 7.30 ERA across 12 1/3 innings pitched, but the second half of his spring training was considerably better than the first, which apparently encouraged Piniella. However, the only reason why any of this is even an issue is because David Patton -- a 24-year-old who has never pitched above class A ball -- threw marvelously in the spring, allowing just 14 hits and 2 earned runs in 14 1/3 innings.
The team took David Patton to the new Yankee Stadium for the final two games of the exhibition season and he got the nod to pitch in the fifth inning of the second game. Despite allowing a hit and two walks in the inning, Patton was able to escape the jam without giving up any runs and secure a spot on the roster. The team is convinced Patton is ready.
Patton and Guzman join Carlos Marmol, Aaron Heilman, Luis Vizcaino, lefty Neal Cotts, and closer Kevin Gregg in the bullpen. Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly, Rich Harden and Marshall are the starters in the rotation. Jeff Samardzija seems like he was unfortunate for having options left, but he was probably better suited to start the season in Iowa as a starter anyway; there is no room for him on the big league rotation.
Geovany Soto and Koyie Hill, who recently beat out Paul Bako for a spot on the roster, are the team's two catchers and Derrek Lee, Aaron Miles, Aramis Ramirez, Ryan Theriot, Mike Fontenot, and Micah Hoffpauir are the team's infielders. The outfield will be patrolled mainly by the big four: Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome, Milton Bradley, and Reed Johnson while Joey Gathright is expected to play in many situational roles and jump over cars, when necessary.
Based on the way that the Lou Piniella has used his young guys before (Hart and Soto in 2007), I fully expect that Piniella will throw Patton into the fire the first time possible. Instead of letting the new players sit around and start thinking too much about the big pressure situation, Piniella hopes these players can get out there and perform before they really know what hit them. If the game is tied in the seventh inning or so with Zambrano's pitch count quickly on the rise, I would not be at all surprised if Patton is the man that Lou hands the ball to -- especially since there aren't many other appealing options in the bullpen.
Based on the lineup Piniella has used so far this spring, I expect to see Soriano taking the first at-bat of the season for the Cubs. He'll be followed by Miles and Lee. All indications point to Piniella using Bradley in the cleanup spot to break up the righties and put that league-leading .436 on-base percentage from last season in front of the slugging Ramirez. He'll be followed by Soto hitting sixth, Fukudome hitting seventh and Theriot in the eight-hole.
Zambrano will bat ninth and pitch in the opener against Astros' ace Roy Oswalt. On Tuesday, Dempster will answer the call against lefty Wandy Rodriguez, where Johnson is expected to get his first start of the season in center field.
Lilly will meet Brian Moehler in the final game of the first series and then Harden will oppose the Brewers' Braden Looper. Because of the extra off-days, Piniella could theoretically wait until April 19 to throw Marshall for the first time, but I suspect Marshall will be handed the ball in the fifth game of the season.
Rule 5 selection David Patton and out-of-options Angel Guzman were pegged as the final two relievers out of the Cubs bullpen meaning that the Cubs had to release Chad Gaudin to make room. Gaudin, who was acquired in the same deal that sent Harden to the Cubs last summer, was originally believed to be in competition for the fifth spot in the rotation. However, Sean Marshall ran away with that race in the first half of camp, and Gaudin's spring training kept getting worse and worse. Ultimately, he ended with a 10.26 ERA, allowing 26 hits and 19 earned runs over just 16 2/3 innings in the exhibition season.
Angel Guzman also struggled in the spring, posting a 7.30 ERA across 12 1/3 innings pitched, but the second half of his spring training was considerably better than the first, which apparently encouraged Piniella. However, the only reason why any of this is even an issue is because David Patton -- a 24-year-old who has never pitched above class A ball -- threw marvelously in the spring, allowing just 14 hits and 2 earned runs in 14 1/3 innings.
The team took David Patton to the new Yankee Stadium for the final two games of the exhibition season and he got the nod to pitch in the fifth inning of the second game. Despite allowing a hit and two walks in the inning, Patton was able to escape the jam without giving up any runs and secure a spot on the roster. The team is convinced Patton is ready.
Patton and Guzman join Carlos Marmol, Aaron Heilman, Luis Vizcaino, lefty Neal Cotts, and closer Kevin Gregg in the bullpen. Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly, Rich Harden and Marshall are the starters in the rotation. Jeff Samardzija seems like he was unfortunate for having options left, but he was probably better suited to start the season in Iowa as a starter anyway; there is no room for him on the big league rotation.
Geovany Soto and Koyie Hill, who recently beat out Paul Bako for a spot on the roster, are the team's two catchers and Derrek Lee, Aaron Miles, Aramis Ramirez, Ryan Theriot, Mike Fontenot, and Micah Hoffpauir are the team's infielders. The outfield will be patrolled mainly by the big four: Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome, Milton Bradley, and Reed Johnson while Joey Gathright is expected to play in many situational roles and jump over cars, when necessary.
Based on the way that the Lou Piniella has used his young guys before (Hart and Soto in 2007), I fully expect that Piniella will throw Patton into the fire the first time possible. Instead of letting the new players sit around and start thinking too much about the big pressure situation, Piniella hopes these players can get out there and perform before they really know what hit them. If the game is tied in the seventh inning or so with Zambrano's pitch count quickly on the rise, I would not be at all surprised if Patton is the man that Lou hands the ball to -- especially since there aren't many other appealing options in the bullpen.
Based on the lineup Piniella has used so far this spring, I expect to see Soriano taking the first at-bat of the season for the Cubs. He'll be followed by Miles and Lee. All indications point to Piniella using Bradley in the cleanup spot to break up the righties and put that league-leading .436 on-base percentage from last season in front of the slugging Ramirez. He'll be followed by Soto hitting sixth, Fukudome hitting seventh and Theriot in the eight-hole.
Zambrano will bat ninth and pitch in the opener against Astros' ace Roy Oswalt. On Tuesday, Dempster will answer the call against lefty Wandy Rodriguez, where Johnson is expected to get his first start of the season in center field.
Lilly will meet Brian Moehler in the final game of the first series and then Harden will oppose the Brewers' Braden Looper. Because of the extra off-days, Piniella could theoretically wait until April 19 to throw Marshall for the first time, but I suspect Marshall will be handed the ball in the fifth game of the season.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Piniella tabs Gregg as closer
As Spring Training draws to a close, the roster is getting clearer and clearer.
Earlier today, manager Lou Piniella picked Kevin Gregg to be his closer to start the season. There was speculation that Carlos Marmol would be announced as the closer, but his performance with the Dominican Republic team during the World Baseball Classic and in Cubs camp has left Piniella to choose Gregg.
This is absolutely the right move.
I know a bunch of idiot fans out there want Marmol to be the closer, because he is liked more or because he throws harder (Gregg throws pretty hard, too). But Marmol has been suiting us very well in the eighth inning spot and that is his role. After all, Gregg has been a successful closer.
----
Kevin Gregg
Age: 30
Bats: Switch, Throws: Right
2006 LAA: 78.1 IP; 3-4 record, 4.14 ERA
2007 FLA: 84.0 IP; 0-5 record, 32 saves, 3.54 ERA
2008 FLA: 68.2 IP; 7-8 record, 29 saves, 3.41 ERA
Career (6 years): 18-21 record, 62 saves, 4.00 ERA
----
A friend of mine was quick to point out that this does allow Piniella to continue to abuse Marmol like he has been. Over the past couple of years, Piniella has run Marmol out there in a five-run game or for two innings too many times. While there's no guarantee that he would've used Marmol any differently had he remained as the closer, the fact that he is the set-up man does give Piniella more liberties.
Earlier in the spring, Sean Marshall was already named the fifth starter in the rotation, meaning that there are two roster spots left up for grabs. The race for the backup to Geovany Soto is expected to come down to the wire and while Paul Bako is probably the better choice for 2009, the fact that the Cubs would have to part ways with Koyie Hill if he doesn't break camp may influence the decision.
The final roster spot will be decided in the bullpen. Currently, there are nine relievers still with camp: Gregg, Marmol, Chad Gaudin, Aaron Heilman, Luis Vizcaino, Neal Cotts, Angel Guzman, David Patton, and Jeff Samardzija.
Clearly, the first five names on that list were always expected to make the roster and Cotts, being the lone lefty on that list, will also make the roster. This leaves one spot for three pitchers and I fully expect it to go to David Patton, meaning that Samardzija starts the year in Iowa and the out-of-options Guzman will be lost.
Earlier today, manager Lou Piniella picked Kevin Gregg to be his closer to start the season. There was speculation that Carlos Marmol would be announced as the closer, but his performance with the Dominican Republic team during the World Baseball Classic and in Cubs camp has left Piniella to choose Gregg.
This is absolutely the right move.
I know a bunch of idiot fans out there want Marmol to be the closer, because he is liked more or because he throws harder (Gregg throws pretty hard, too). But Marmol has been suiting us very well in the eighth inning spot and that is his role. After all, Gregg has been a successful closer.
----
Kevin Gregg
Age: 30
Bats: Switch, Throws: Right
2006 LAA: 78.1 IP; 3-4 record, 4.14 ERA
2007 FLA: 84.0 IP; 0-5 record, 32 saves, 3.54 ERA
2008 FLA: 68.2 IP; 7-8 record, 29 saves, 3.41 ERA
Career (6 years): 18-21 record, 62 saves, 4.00 ERA
----
A friend of mine was quick to point out that this does allow Piniella to continue to abuse Marmol like he has been. Over the past couple of years, Piniella has run Marmol out there in a five-run game or for two innings too many times. While there's no guarantee that he would've used Marmol any differently had he remained as the closer, the fact that he is the set-up man does give Piniella more liberties.
Earlier in the spring, Sean Marshall was already named the fifth starter in the rotation, meaning that there are two roster spots left up for grabs. The race for the backup to Geovany Soto is expected to come down to the wire and while Paul Bako is probably the better choice for 2009, the fact that the Cubs would have to part ways with Koyie Hill if he doesn't break camp may influence the decision.
The final roster spot will be decided in the bullpen. Currently, there are nine relievers still with camp: Gregg, Marmol, Chad Gaudin, Aaron Heilman, Luis Vizcaino, Neal Cotts, Angel Guzman, David Patton, and Jeff Samardzija.
Clearly, the first five names on that list were always expected to make the roster and Cotts, being the lone lefty on that list, will also make the roster. This leaves one spot for three pitchers and I fully expect it to go to David Patton, meaning that Samardzija starts the year in Iowa and the out-of-options Guzman will be lost.
Friday, March 20, 2009
WBC: Japan and Venezuela group winners
Japan and Venezuela have advanced to the semifinals of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, with Korea and the United States advancing as the group winners.
In the semifinals this weekend, Japan will square off against Jake Peavy and the United States while Korea will lock horns with Venezuela's Carlos Silva.
While, I do not wish to delve into this subject too much, there are three issues that I need to get off of my chest.
A. Why did Japan choose to start Shuichi Murata in the meaningless game against Korea? Yes, they got their precious group win, but now have lost their star slugger for the rest of the tournament.
B. Why is Venezuela throwing Carlos Silva in the semifinals?
C. Why was the second round paired the way it was? It's hardly the "world" baseball classic when Japan and Korea have met up four times in the first seven games and the same for US and Venezuela. The Asian teams do not need to fly to California to play each other over and over again.
In the semifinals this weekend, Japan will square off against Jake Peavy and the United States while Korea will lock horns with Venezuela's Carlos Silva.
While, I do not wish to delve into this subject too much, there are three issues that I need to get off of my chest.
A. Why did Japan choose to start Shuichi Murata in the meaningless game against Korea? Yes, they got their precious group win, but now have lost their star slugger for the rest of the tournament.
B. Why is Venezuela throwing Carlos Silva in the semifinals?
C. Why was the second round paired the way it was? It's hardly the "world" baseball classic when Japan and Korea have met up four times in the first seven games and the same for US and Venezuela. The Asian teams do not need to fly to California to play each other over and over again.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Marshall kicks off second round with perfect 3
The starting pitchers are making their second time through the rotation and Sean Marshall, Jeff Samardzija, Aaron Heilman, and Chad Gaudin all seemingly looked good, staying alive in the race.
However, Marshall appears to be pulling away from the pack. Marshall was the first pitcher to throw more than two innings this Spring and he did so in grand style, tossing three innings of perfect baseball as the Cubs topped the Athletics by a 6-4 clip.
Personally, I do not mind the competition, but feel that Marshall is the best option for job so I am glad that he has emerged as the early favorite. I also feel safe considering that Piniella feels the same way; Lou will only turn to someone else if he clearly deserves it. Part of me also hopes that Kevin Gregg can win the closing role while Marmol is gone. Piniella has said that he won't decide until Marmol gets back, but it is possible that Gregg can unofficially decide the race in the next few weeks. Gregg is an all-star closer and I don't understand why we're so quick to try to find someone else.
On that note, Gregg improved his chances with another scoreless inning. Pitching in the fourth, he allowed just a hit, but no walks or runs. It may seem odd that candidates for the closer's role are pitching so early in the game, but Marmol and Gregg have been the first reliever out of the bullpen the entire Spring. There's actually reason behind this, though; managers tend to pull their regulars halfway through the game, so pitching early ensures these candidates will face Major League caliber batters.
It's also encouraging to see the offensive threats start to pick up. Soriano and Ramirez, who have both had little playing time thus far, homered in Monday's win. Both did so in their typical fasion, too; Soriano to start the game and Ramirez coming through with a clutch two-on, two-out homer.
Jake Fox also homered for the second time this Spring and he looks to try to win a spot on the roster. Now that he's no longer just a catcher, there theoretically are more roster spots open to him. But since Gathright makes the team as the fifth outfielder because he is out of options, Fox would need to outplay Hoffpauir to be the sixth infielder on the team.
However, Marshall appears to be pulling away from the pack. Marshall was the first pitcher to throw more than two innings this Spring and he did so in grand style, tossing three innings of perfect baseball as the Cubs topped the Athletics by a 6-4 clip.
Personally, I do not mind the competition, but feel that Marshall is the best option for job so I am glad that he has emerged as the early favorite. I also feel safe considering that Piniella feels the same way; Lou will only turn to someone else if he clearly deserves it. Part of me also hopes that Kevin Gregg can win the closing role while Marmol is gone. Piniella has said that he won't decide until Marmol gets back, but it is possible that Gregg can unofficially decide the race in the next few weeks. Gregg is an all-star closer and I don't understand why we're so quick to try to find someone else.
On that note, Gregg improved his chances with another scoreless inning. Pitching in the fourth, he allowed just a hit, but no walks or runs. It may seem odd that candidates for the closer's role are pitching so early in the game, but Marmol and Gregg have been the first reliever out of the bullpen the entire Spring. There's actually reason behind this, though; managers tend to pull their regulars halfway through the game, so pitching early ensures these candidates will face Major League caliber batters.
It's also encouraging to see the offensive threats start to pick up. Soriano and Ramirez, who have both had little playing time thus far, homered in Monday's win. Both did so in their typical fasion, too; Soriano to start the game and Ramirez coming through with a clutch two-on, two-out homer.
Jake Fox also homered for the second time this Spring and he looks to try to win a spot on the roster. Now that he's no longer just a catcher, there theoretically are more roster spots open to him. But since Gathright makes the team as the fifth outfielder because he is out of options, Fox would need to outplay Hoffpauir to be the sixth infielder on the team.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Cubs trounce Sox, go to 4-0
It's not like Micah Hoffpauir has to work hard to make the club out of spring training. Lou Piniella likes him and his versatility a lot and Hoffpauir has been projected to make the roster since the end of last season.
But the soon-to-be 29-year-old (tomorrow) isn't leaving anything to chance.
Hoffpauir went 2-for-4 in the 13-0 thrashing of the cross-town Sox on Saturday, including an RBI single. He is now 6-for-15 (.400) with 2 homers and 8 RBIs for the spring. The Cubs are 4-0 and now the only NL team yet to lose.
The race of the final spot in the rotation also continued to heat up. During the first two games of the season, Jeff Samardzija, Mitch Atkins, Sean Marshall, and Chad Gaudin all pitched two strong innings to make their case and righty Aaron Heilman followed suit. Heilman threw two scoreless innings, allowing just a hit while fanning four batters. Rule 5 pick David Patton also tossed two scoreless frames in his bid to make the roster.
In other news, reliever Carlos Marmol has decided to represent the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. Earlier this week, Marmol announced he would stay with the Cubs during the entire exhibition season to focus on the competition for the closer role with Kevin Gregg, but he has since changed his mind. Gregg threw a scoreless inning against the Sox on Saturday.
Koskie signs with Cubs: The Chicago Cubs have signed infielder Corey Koskie to a minor-league deal. He will report to Fitch Park after his tour with Team Canada is over.
Koskie's best season was in 2001, when he hit .276 while homering 26 times and driving in 103 runs with the Twins. However, after that, Koskie's batting average and production have been on a steady decline.
In 2006, he hit .261 with 12 homers and 33 RBIs in a partial season with the Brewers. Post-concussion syndrome has kept Koskie from playing since.
But the soon-to-be 29-year-old (tomorrow) isn't leaving anything to chance.
Hoffpauir went 2-for-4 in the 13-0 thrashing of the cross-town Sox on Saturday, including an RBI single. He is now 6-for-15 (.400) with 2 homers and 8 RBIs for the spring. The Cubs are 4-0 and now the only NL team yet to lose.
The race of the final spot in the rotation also continued to heat up. During the first two games of the season, Jeff Samardzija, Mitch Atkins, Sean Marshall, and Chad Gaudin all pitched two strong innings to make their case and righty Aaron Heilman followed suit. Heilman threw two scoreless innings, allowing just a hit while fanning four batters. Rule 5 pick David Patton also tossed two scoreless frames in his bid to make the roster.
In other news, reliever Carlos Marmol has decided to represent the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. Earlier this week, Marmol announced he would stay with the Cubs during the entire exhibition season to focus on the competition for the closer role with Kevin Gregg, but he has since changed his mind. Gregg threw a scoreless inning against the Sox on Saturday.
Koskie signs with Cubs: The Chicago Cubs have signed infielder Corey Koskie to a minor-league deal. He will report to Fitch Park after his tour with Team Canada is over.
Koskie's best season was in 2001, when he hit .276 while homering 26 times and driving in 103 runs with the Twins. However, after that, Koskie's batting average and production have been on a steady decline.
In 2006, he hit .261 with 12 homers and 33 RBIs in a partial season with the Brewers. Post-concussion syndrome has kept Koskie from playing since.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Gaudin stretched out; Bradley leaves early
If the first two Cactus League games are any indication, the 2009 season should be a great one.
The Cubs dispatched the Dodgers behind Micah Hoffpauir's grand slam in the exhibition opener, while Jake Fox and Joey Gathright teamed up to pummel the Brewers in the second game.
Meanwhile, position battles are already starting to heat up for the team. Lou Piniella apparently is going to give almost everyone on the roster a shot at the fifth spot in the rotation. Jeff Samardzija led off the opener with a two inning start, allowing two runs on three hits. Mitch Atkins followed with two innings of one run, three hit ball.
Then, Sean Marshall, the favorite of this race, got his chance to show what he was made of at the beginning of the second game. He threw two innings while allowing just a run on four hits. Even reliever Chad Gaudin is getting a look this spring for a spot in the rotation. He threw two innings and allowed a run, as well.
Micah Hoffpauir and Joey Gathright have made their case to be on the roster once Opening Day rolls around. Hoffpauir's grand slam gave the club the win in game one and Gathright's 3-for-3 at the top of the order helped kick-start the offense in the second game. Not to be outdone, utility man Jake Fox went 2-for-3 and hit a three-run homer himself.
The only downfall so far is that the Cubs' new most-prized possession, Milton Bradley, is already facing injury problems. He left Thursday's game against the Brewers after drawing a walk in the first inning. Bradley cited a sore quad as the reason, but promises to be back in by the end of the week.
All in all, 2009 is shaping up to be a wonderful season!
The Cubs dispatched the Dodgers behind Micah Hoffpauir's grand slam in the exhibition opener, while Jake Fox and Joey Gathright teamed up to pummel the Brewers in the second game.
Meanwhile, position battles are already starting to heat up for the team. Lou Piniella apparently is going to give almost everyone on the roster a shot at the fifth spot in the rotation. Jeff Samardzija led off the opener with a two inning start, allowing two runs on three hits. Mitch Atkins followed with two innings of one run, three hit ball.
Then, Sean Marshall, the favorite of this race, got his chance to show what he was made of at the beginning of the second game. He threw two innings while allowing just a run on four hits. Even reliever Chad Gaudin is getting a look this spring for a spot in the rotation. He threw two innings and allowed a run, as well.
Micah Hoffpauir and Joey Gathright have made their case to be on the roster once Opening Day rolls around. Hoffpauir's grand slam gave the club the win in game one and Gathright's 3-for-3 at the top of the order helped kick-start the offense in the second game. Not to be outdone, utility man Jake Fox went 2-for-3 and hit a three-run homer himself.
The only downfall so far is that the Cubs' new most-prized possession, Milton Bradley, is already facing injury problems. He left Thursday's game against the Brewers after drawing a walk in the first inning. Bradley cited a sore quad as the reason, but promises to be back in by the end of the week.
All in all, 2009 is shaping up to be a wonderful season!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Cubs keep dealing; Wuertz, Hill out
Jim Hendry continues to deal players out of options, trading lefty Rich Hill to the Orioles and reliever Michael Wuertz to the Athletics. The returns aren't much, but at least it's something.
Andy MacPhail has agreed to give us a player to be named later in return, based on Hill's performance. Tim Dierkes points out that it's a no-risk move for the Orioles who "can afford to let Hill take his lumps at the big league level."
Billy Beane has sent minor leaguers Richie Robnett and Justin Sellers to the Cubs.
It's unclear if any of the players recieved in return will benefit the Cubs at any point in time. However, two things are clear:
a) By trading them now, Hendry at least gets something in return.
b) It unties manager Lou Piniella's hands a little bit. Piniella has five spots in the bullpen locked up already by Aaron Heilman, Chad Gaudin, Luis Vizcaino, Kevin Gregg, and Carlos Marmol. There aren't many other good options for Piniella, though he has a host of mediocre pitchers to choose from. The list contains names like Jeff Samardzija, Neal Cotts, Jeff Stevens, Kevin Hart, Angel Guzman, Randy Wells, and Rule 5 pick David Patton. Wuertz previously was holding one of those roster spots hostage because he was out of options.
Also, this string of moves opens up two roster spots. There have been some minor talks involving Randy Wolf and the Cubs. He could certainly fill the fifth spot in the rotation.
Andy MacPhail has agreed to give us a player to be named later in return, based on Hill's performance. Tim Dierkes points out that it's a no-risk move for the Orioles who "can afford to let Hill take his lumps at the big league level."
Billy Beane has sent minor leaguers Richie Robnett and Justin Sellers to the Cubs.
It's unclear if any of the players recieved in return will benefit the Cubs at any point in time. However, two things are clear:
a) By trading them now, Hendry at least gets something in return.
b) It unties manager Lou Piniella's hands a little bit. Piniella has five spots in the bullpen locked up already by Aaron Heilman, Chad Gaudin, Luis Vizcaino, Kevin Gregg, and Carlos Marmol. There aren't many other good options for Piniella, though he has a host of mediocre pitchers to choose from. The list contains names like Jeff Samardzija, Neal Cotts, Jeff Stevens, Kevin Hart, Angel Guzman, Randy Wells, and Rule 5 pick David Patton. Wuertz previously was holding one of those roster spots hostage because he was out of options.
Also, this string of moves opens up two roster spots. There have been some minor talks involving Randy Wolf and the Cubs. He could certainly fill the fifth spot in the rotation.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Done deal: Cubs sign Bako
The Chicago Cubs have finally officially announced their signing of Paul Bako. The one-year deal is worth $725,000 in base pay with a possible $300,000 more in incentives.
Paul Bako is projected to be the team's back-up catcher behind last year's Rookie of the Year, Geovany Soto. Lou Piniella will likely only carry two catchers, so Koyie Hill is now projected to start the year in Iowa.
Paul Bako is projected to be the team's back-up catcher behind last year's Rookie of the Year, Geovany Soto. Lou Piniella will likely only carry two catchers, so Koyie Hill is now projected to start the year in Iowa.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Cubs nab Heilmann; trade Cedeno, Olsen
Jim Hendry has added competition for Sean Marshall in the fifth spot of the rotation.
The Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners agreed on a trade that sent right-hander Aaron Heilman to the Windy City in return for infielder Ronny Cedeno and lefty Garrett Olsen. Olsen was acquired by the Cubs in the deal that sent Pie to the east coast and was originally seen as a potential piece to the Peavy puzzle.
Heilman had a sub-par season last year, but had three really good seasons immediately before that. Heilman, who was a starter at the beginning of his career, has primarily been working out of the bullpen recently. However, all indications point to him being allowed to compete for a rotation spot should the team fail to land another big-name pitcher.
----
#49 Aaron Heilman - Pitcher
Throws: Right
Age: 30
2005 NYM: 108.0 IP (53 app, 7 GS); 5-3, 5 hld (5/6 sv), 3.17 ERA
2006 NYM: 87.0 IP (74 app, 0 GS); 4-5, 27 hld (0/5 sv), 3.62 ERA
2007 NYM: 86.0 IP (81 app, 0 GS); 7-7, 22 hld (1/6 sv), 3.04 ERA
2008 NYM: 76.0 IP (78 app, 0 GS); 3-8, 15 hld (3/8 sv), 5.21 ERA
Career (6 years): 22-33 record, 69 hld (9/25 sv), 4.24 ERA
----
I see this as a very positive move for the Cubs. Ronny Cedeno was out of options and Garrett Olsen was the product of trading Felix Pie. The basic end result is that we traded two out-of-options players that really didn't have a significant role on the team for Heilman.
Granted, I'm not expecting Heilman to be able to produce big for the ballclub. But, at the least, it gives Marshall competition and Heilman is more than suitable to plug Marshall's spot in the bullpen (even though he's not a lefty) should he lose the competition. Heilman is not eligible for free agency until the end of the 2010 season, so as long as he is a useable piece for the next two years, it's pretty good return for Cedeno and Pie.
Heilman is only set to make $1.625MM in the next season, so the added payroll that the Cubs take on due to this move is not that great (although the payroll is a little more flexible with Ricketts taking over).
This two-for-one move from Jim Hendry opens up a roster spot. While the obvious way to fill it is with Paul Bako, who is expected to sign for $750,000 (higher than my previous estimate of $500,000), there are supposedly talks about former Cy Young winner Jake Peavy as well as free-agent Randy Wolf. There's a little merit to these talks now that we know the team is going to be sold, but I am still a tad suspicious about the rumors. Tom Ricketts has still yet to take over the reigns of the club and Kevin Towers has sworn that Peavy would be his opening day starter.
Correction: After counting the number of players I had on the right-side of my blog for the Cubs' forty-man roster, I noticed that I had one player too many. Carmen Pignatiello is no longer with the team and since has been removed from my list. The names on the right-hand side of my blog are now accurate, and for added emphasis, I have specifically stated there is one roster spot empty at the moment. Does anyone know when Pignatiello became a free agent?
The Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners agreed on a trade that sent right-hander Aaron Heilman to the Windy City in return for infielder Ronny Cedeno and lefty Garrett Olsen. Olsen was acquired by the Cubs in the deal that sent Pie to the east coast and was originally seen as a potential piece to the Peavy puzzle.
Heilman had a sub-par season last year, but had three really good seasons immediately before that. Heilman, who was a starter at the beginning of his career, has primarily been working out of the bullpen recently. However, all indications point to him being allowed to compete for a rotation spot should the team fail to land another big-name pitcher.
----
#49 Aaron Heilman - Pitcher
Throws: Right
Age: 30
2005 NYM: 108.0 IP (53 app, 7 GS); 5-3, 5 hld (5/6 sv), 3.17 ERA
2006 NYM: 87.0 IP (74 app, 0 GS); 4-5, 27 hld (0/5 sv), 3.62 ERA
2007 NYM: 86.0 IP (81 app, 0 GS); 7-7, 22 hld (1/6 sv), 3.04 ERA
2008 NYM: 76.0 IP (78 app, 0 GS); 3-8, 15 hld (3/8 sv), 5.21 ERA
Career (6 years): 22-33 record, 69 hld (9/25 sv), 4.24 ERA
----
I see this as a very positive move for the Cubs. Ronny Cedeno was out of options and Garrett Olsen was the product of trading Felix Pie. The basic end result is that we traded two out-of-options players that really didn't have a significant role on the team for Heilman.
Granted, I'm not expecting Heilman to be able to produce big for the ballclub. But, at the least, it gives Marshall competition and Heilman is more than suitable to plug Marshall's spot in the bullpen (even though he's not a lefty) should he lose the competition. Heilman is not eligible for free agency until the end of the 2010 season, so as long as he is a useable piece for the next two years, it's pretty good return for Cedeno and Pie.
Heilman is only set to make $1.625MM in the next season, so the added payroll that the Cubs take on due to this move is not that great (although the payroll is a little more flexible with Ricketts taking over).
This two-for-one move from Jim Hendry opens up a roster spot. While the obvious way to fill it is with Paul Bako, who is expected to sign for $750,000 (higher than my previous estimate of $500,000), there are supposedly talks about former Cy Young winner Jake Peavy as well as free-agent Randy Wolf. There's a little merit to these talks now that we know the team is going to be sold, but I am still a tad suspicious about the rumors. Tom Ricketts has still yet to take over the reigns of the club and Kevin Towers has sworn that Peavy would be his opening day starter.
Correction: After counting the number of players I had on the right-side of my blog for the Cubs' forty-man roster, I noticed that I had one player too many. Carmen Pignatiello is no longer with the team and since has been removed from my list. The names on the right-hand side of my blog are now accurate, and for added emphasis, I have specifically stated there is one roster spot empty at the moment. Does anyone know when Pignatiello became a free agent?
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Ricketts wins bid to buy team
The end is finally in sight for the uncertainty in the Cubs ownership.
A group headed by Tom Ricketts has reportedly won the bid to purchase the team with an offer of $900MM. The details have not yet been finalized, but all indications point to there being a significant amount of time for the deal to be put in place and before the start of Opening Day.
Thus, this move, for the first time this off-season, truly legitimizes the chances of Jake Peavy coming to the Cubs. This doesn't mean that a Peavy trade is next, or anything of the sort, however the possibility is now out there. Before, I refused to believe whatever rumors were out there about Peavy being traded, but now I'll at least believe these rumors.
The Padres are reportedly over their budget for the 2009 season as well. That could just as easily change if Jeff Moorad is able to purchase that franchise before the start of the season, however if the Padres ownership remains the same until April, things could change.
I'll be keeping a running track of the Cubs' salary on the right side of my blog -- which now includes Michael Wuertz, who signed a one-year deal totaling $1.1MM -- until the sale of the Cubs is made official. If and when Ricketts takes over, there will no longer be such a strict budget for Hendry to work with, so it'll be a moot point.
Ricketts wants to win.
A group headed by Tom Ricketts has reportedly won the bid to purchase the team with an offer of $900MM. The details have not yet been finalized, but all indications point to there being a significant amount of time for the deal to be put in place and before the start of Opening Day.
Thus, this move, for the first time this off-season, truly legitimizes the chances of Jake Peavy coming to the Cubs. This doesn't mean that a Peavy trade is next, or anything of the sort, however the possibility is now out there. Before, I refused to believe whatever rumors were out there about Peavy being traded, but now I'll at least believe these rumors.
The Padres are reportedly over their budget for the 2009 season as well. That could just as easily change if Jeff Moorad is able to purchase that franchise before the start of the season, however if the Padres ownership remains the same until April, things could change.
I'll be keeping a running track of the Cubs' salary on the right side of my blog -- which now includes Michael Wuertz, who signed a one-year deal totaling $1.1MM -- until the sale of the Cubs is made official. If and when Ricketts takes over, there will no longer be such a strict budget for Hendry to work with, so it'll be a moot point.
Ricketts wants to win.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Odds & Ends: Cubs sign three, add two more
The Cubs made a flurry of moves in the past week. None of the moves were really large enough for me to make any comments, but the moves combined might be worthy of a single post.
Firstly, the Chicago Cubs have traded outfielder Felix Pie as expected. Pie was out of options and was the sixth outfielder on the Cubs' depth chart. By trading him now, the Cubs get lefty Garrett Olsen and minor-league right-hander Hank Williamson from Baltimore. Olsen is expected to compete with Cotts and Stevens for a spot out of the bullpen, assuming Marshall is named the fifth starter.
There are more Jake Peavy rumors, but there's no way that's happening. The Cubs' ownership isn't going to change soon enough and the Padres' ownership situation doesn't make a Peavy trade likely either. Jim Hendry may have amassed enough prospects for Kevin Towers to be interested again, but there's no room in the Cubs' payroll.
Additionally, the Chicago Cubs have signed Kevin Gregg and Ronny Cedeno to one-year deals worth $4.2 million and $822,500 respectively. Also, the team has inked So Taguchi to a minor-league contract that could total as high as $900,000 if all of the incentives are reached.
Unconfirmed reports also suggest that the Cubs are close to a one-year deal with Michael Wuertz.
Firstly, the Chicago Cubs have traded outfielder Felix Pie as expected. Pie was out of options and was the sixth outfielder on the Cubs' depth chart. By trading him now, the Cubs get lefty Garrett Olsen and minor-league right-hander Hank Williamson from Baltimore. Olsen is expected to compete with Cotts and Stevens for a spot out of the bullpen, assuming Marshall is named the fifth starter.
There are more Jake Peavy rumors, but there's no way that's happening. The Cubs' ownership isn't going to change soon enough and the Padres' ownership situation doesn't make a Peavy trade likely either. Jim Hendry may have amassed enough prospects for Kevin Towers to be interested again, but there's no room in the Cubs' payroll.
Additionally, the Chicago Cubs have signed Kevin Gregg and Ronny Cedeno to one-year deals worth $4.2 million and $822,500 respectively. Also, the team has inked So Taguchi to a minor-league contract that could total as high as $900,000 if all of the incentives are reached.
Unconfirmed reports also suggest that the Cubs are close to a one-year deal with Michael Wuertz.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Cubs-Rox complete pitcher swap
As expected, the Chicago Cubs have traded Jason Marquis to the Rockies for reliever Luis Vizcaino. In addition, the Cubs have agreed to pay $875,000 of Marquis' contract, which totals $9,875,000 for 2009.
The Cubs bullpen has been depleted by off-season departures and while Vizcaino will join the bullpen, this move doesn't exactly help; it'll force another reliever into the fifth slot of the rotation.
----
Luis Vizcaino
Age: 34
Bats: Right, Throws: Right
2006 ARZ: 65.1 IP; 4-6 record, 25 hld (0/1 sv), 3.58 ERA
2007 NYY: 75.1 IP; 8-2 record, 14 hld (0/3 sv), 4.30 ERA
2008 COL: 46.0 IP; 1-2 record, 1 hld (0/1 sv), 5.28 ERA
Career (10 years): 34-27 record, 98 hld (7/26 sv), 4.34 ERA
----
The bullpen will be headed by Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg. Chad Gaudin will also be returning to the team and Mike Wuertz is out of options. I feel that lefties Sean Marshall and Neal Cotts will make the Major League roster, but one as a starter. After Vizcaino, that leaves one more spot.
Jeff Stevens has a good chance to make the roster as the second lefty out of the bullpen, but Piniella has shown in the past that he's not afraid to go with just one southpaw. Jeff Samardzija, Kevin Hart, Angel Guzman, and Randy Wells are at the head of the list of right-handed possibilities.
The Cubs bullpen has been depleted by off-season departures and while Vizcaino will join the bullpen, this move doesn't exactly help; it'll force another reliever into the fifth slot of the rotation.
----
Luis Vizcaino
Age: 34
Bats: Right, Throws: Right
2006 ARZ: 65.1 IP; 4-6 record, 25 hld (0/1 sv), 3.58 ERA
2007 NYY: 75.1 IP; 8-2 record, 14 hld (0/3 sv), 4.30 ERA
2008 COL: 46.0 IP; 1-2 record, 1 hld (0/1 sv), 5.28 ERA
Career (10 years): 34-27 record, 98 hld (7/26 sv), 4.34 ERA
----
The bullpen will be headed by Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg. Chad Gaudin will also be returning to the team and Mike Wuertz is out of options. I feel that lefties Sean Marshall and Neal Cotts will make the Major League roster, but one as a starter. After Vizcaino, that leaves one more spot.
Jeff Stevens has a good chance to make the roster as the second lefty out of the bullpen, but Piniella has shown in the past that he's not afraid to go with just one southpaw. Jeff Samardzija, Kevin Hart, Angel Guzman, and Randy Wells are at the head of the list of right-handed possibilities.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Milton Bradley signs for three
The Chicago Cubs have filled their hole in right field. Milton Bradley has agreed to a three-year deal that sends the oft-troubled switch hitter to Wrigley Field. The deal is for a combined $30MM, but that doesn't account for all of the other costs that the Cubs had to pay to free up that kind of money.
As we are all familiar with by now, Jim Hendry and the Cubs have been troubled financially. In order to free up the money, the Cubs had to trade Mark DeRosa to the Indians and have a tentative agreement in place with the Rockies to trade Jason Marquis. This deal is expected to free up between $8.5MM to $9MM and we can expect that amount will make up Bradley and catcher Paul Bako's salary for the 2009 season.
The Bako signing has not yet been announced, but he is expected to sign for $500,000. The details of the Bradley have been announced. He gets a $4MM signing bonus and $5MM for 2009. In 2010 and 2011, he will get the remaining $21MM, while the team has the option of buying out the final year of the contract if Bradley's health is in question.
I know I've been ranting, but let's analyze the series of moves that were put in place for this deal to happen one last time. The team lost (or will lose) Mark DeRosa and Jason Marquis, while gaining Jeff Stevens and Milton Bradley. While it's not clear what kind of a contribution Stevens will make to the Major League club in 2009, it won't be much. To discuss what he might bring in the future is one thing, but it's pretty clear that Hendry was going for it now. So, we ought to analyze this deal based on what the immediate impacts are.
Last season, DeRosa's numbers were: .285, 21 HR, 87 RBI, .376 OBP, .481 slugging.
In comparison, Milton Bradley posted: .321, 22 HR, 77 RBI, .436 OBP, .563 slugging.
(To be fair, Mark DeRosa had a career year. But, Milton Bradley also performed far better in 2008 than in any other season.)
What the Cubs should have done is keep Kosuke Fukudome in right field. Despite all of his struggles last year, Fukudome's total numbers were not completely awful: .257, 10 HR, 58 RBI, .359 OBP, .379 slugging.
While there are slight issues with leaving Fukudome as the every-day right fielder (such as Joey Gathright then has to become the fourth outfielder), the offensive production hasn't changed much; the DeRosa-Bradley comparison is similar, as is the Fukudome-Fontenot (or Miles/Cedeno, if you'd rather) comparison. So, who would you rather have? DeRosa & Fukudome starting? Or Bradley & Fontenot?
While the DeRosa & Fukudome duo is slightly inferior offensively, they more than make up for it defense. That's not the point though; to make all this happen, we had to unload Jason Marquis.
Analysis of Marquis' numbers recently shows that he's a lock for 12 wins and 190 innings. Though, he fell short of both of those marks last year, that was because he made only 28 starts because he was constantly skipped. Now, in his place, the fifth spot in the rotation has to be filled with someone from the bullpen, whether that be Sean Marshall, Jeff Samardzija or Neal Cotts. This has two effects: the number five position in the rotation get considerably weaker (for which I predict a net-loss of four games) and the already-decimated bullpen loses even more depth (another two games?).
Bradley might out-hit DeRosa, but not by six games' worth.
The rotation was supposed to be Zambrano-Lilly-Harden-Dempster-Marquis. Under those circumtances, if MSC (that's Marshall, Samardzija, and/or Cotts) has to spell Rich Harden every now and again, that's not a problem. Now, one member of MSC is forced to fill in permanently, and giving Harden a breather will now require a second player from the MSC trio. Knocking on wood, it's scary to think what might happen if Harden (or anyone else) goes down for any extended period of time.
For all of you who are thinking, "But what about Jake Peavy?"... Forget about it. Jim Hendry has never been completely forth-coming to the fans (like when he fabricated three meetings with Ivan Rodriguez's agent prior to the 2004 season). There never was a realistic chance that we could have gotten Jake Peavy.
Barring an immediate ownership change of the team, Hendry's pocket book has been maxed out for quite some time. This is evident by how exactly the math checks out; Hendry unloaded $8.5MM and added roughly the same amount. We've always suspected that $140MM was the ceiling for Hendry and he's right at that number again. I have been keeping track of the team's payroll on the right-side of the blog. The number shown currently does not yet account for the other 25 players not yet under contract.
The total reads $122.6MM. Gregg, Cedeno, and Wuertz will add about $8-9MM, meaning there is roughly $10MM left for the other 22 players. That sounds about right; the league minimum has been raised to $400,000.
Looking ahead: But dwelling on the past or what could have been has to stop eventually. At some point, we need to look at the team we have right now. Jim Hendry had a 97-win team last year. He made us weaker, but not by much. I still suspect the team to be able to win about 90 games and that should be enough to defend the division championship. After all, the Brewers aren't exactly getting better.
The lineup will look something like Soriano, Theriot, Lee, Bradley, Ramirez, Soto, Fontenot, Johnson, Pitcher. That's not too shabby. We finally have that left-handed (in this case, switch hitting) bat in the middle of our lineup to break up the right handed hitters. However, Lou Piniella should wise up and move Lee out of the three-hole, though it's hard to see who else hits there.
I am advocating that Bradley hits ahead of Ramirez for the same reason why I wanted Fukudome ahead of Ramirez: put that gigantic on-base percentage ahead of a run-producer like Aramis. Moving Bradley, Ramirez, and Soto each up by a slot in the lineup might be the right thing to do, but Piniella probably won't consider hitting Lee sixth.
On a minor note, this move most definitely means the end for Felix Pie. He is out of options and becomes the team's sixth outfielder (behind Soriano, Fukudome, Johnson, Gathright and now Bradley). However, he should still draw moderate interest from other teams. Somebody please clarify if I'm wrong, but if I recall correctly, when a team receives -- via trade -- a player who is out of options but not yet eligible for free agency, that team is given the opportunity to freely add a fourth option year for the new player.
As we are all familiar with by now, Jim Hendry and the Cubs have been troubled financially. In order to free up the money, the Cubs had to trade Mark DeRosa to the Indians and have a tentative agreement in place with the Rockies to trade Jason Marquis. This deal is expected to free up between $8.5MM to $9MM and we can expect that amount will make up Bradley and catcher Paul Bako's salary for the 2009 season.
The Bako signing has not yet been announced, but he is expected to sign for $500,000. The details of the Bradley have been announced. He gets a $4MM signing bonus and $5MM for 2009. In 2010 and 2011, he will get the remaining $21MM, while the team has the option of buying out the final year of the contract if Bradley's health is in question.
I know I've been ranting, but let's analyze the series of moves that were put in place for this deal to happen one last time. The team lost (or will lose) Mark DeRosa and Jason Marquis, while gaining Jeff Stevens and Milton Bradley. While it's not clear what kind of a contribution Stevens will make to the Major League club in 2009, it won't be much. To discuss what he might bring in the future is one thing, but it's pretty clear that Hendry was going for it now. So, we ought to analyze this deal based on what the immediate impacts are.
Last season, DeRosa's numbers were: .285, 21 HR, 87 RBI, .376 OBP, .481 slugging.
In comparison, Milton Bradley posted: .321, 22 HR, 77 RBI, .436 OBP, .563 slugging.
(To be fair, Mark DeRosa had a career year. But, Milton Bradley also performed far better in 2008 than in any other season.)
What the Cubs should have done is keep Kosuke Fukudome in right field. Despite all of his struggles last year, Fukudome's total numbers were not completely awful: .257, 10 HR, 58 RBI, .359 OBP, .379 slugging.
While there are slight issues with leaving Fukudome as the every-day right fielder (such as Joey Gathright then has to become the fourth outfielder), the offensive production hasn't changed much; the DeRosa-Bradley comparison is similar, as is the Fukudome-Fontenot (or Miles/Cedeno, if you'd rather) comparison. So, who would you rather have? DeRosa & Fukudome starting? Or Bradley & Fontenot?
While the DeRosa & Fukudome duo is slightly inferior offensively, they more than make up for it defense. That's not the point though; to make all this happen, we had to unload Jason Marquis.
Analysis of Marquis' numbers recently shows that he's a lock for 12 wins and 190 innings. Though, he fell short of both of those marks last year, that was because he made only 28 starts because he was constantly skipped. Now, in his place, the fifth spot in the rotation has to be filled with someone from the bullpen, whether that be Sean Marshall, Jeff Samardzija or Neal Cotts. This has two effects: the number five position in the rotation get considerably weaker (for which I predict a net-loss of four games) and the already-decimated bullpen loses even more depth (another two games?).
Bradley might out-hit DeRosa, but not by six games' worth.
The rotation was supposed to be Zambrano-Lilly-Harden-Dempster-Marquis. Under those circumtances, if MSC (that's Marshall, Samardzija, and/or Cotts) has to spell Rich Harden every now and again, that's not a problem. Now, one member of MSC is forced to fill in permanently, and giving Harden a breather will now require a second player from the MSC trio. Knocking on wood, it's scary to think what might happen if Harden (or anyone else) goes down for any extended period of time.
For all of you who are thinking, "But what about Jake Peavy?"... Forget about it. Jim Hendry has never been completely forth-coming to the fans (like when he fabricated three meetings with Ivan Rodriguez's agent prior to the 2004 season). There never was a realistic chance that we could have gotten Jake Peavy.
Barring an immediate ownership change of the team, Hendry's pocket book has been maxed out for quite some time. This is evident by how exactly the math checks out; Hendry unloaded $8.5MM and added roughly the same amount. We've always suspected that $140MM was the ceiling for Hendry and he's right at that number again. I have been keeping track of the team's payroll on the right-side of the blog. The number shown currently does not yet account for the other 25 players not yet under contract.
The total reads $122.6MM. Gregg, Cedeno, and Wuertz will add about $8-9MM, meaning there is roughly $10MM left for the other 22 players. That sounds about right; the league minimum has been raised to $400,000.
Looking ahead: But dwelling on the past or what could have been has to stop eventually. At some point, we need to look at the team we have right now. Jim Hendry had a 97-win team last year. He made us weaker, but not by much. I still suspect the team to be able to win about 90 games and that should be enough to defend the division championship. After all, the Brewers aren't exactly getting better.
The lineup will look something like Soriano, Theriot, Lee, Bradley, Ramirez, Soto, Fontenot, Johnson, Pitcher. That's not too shabby. We finally have that left-handed (in this case, switch hitting) bat in the middle of our lineup to break up the right handed hitters. However, Lou Piniella should wise up and move Lee out of the three-hole, though it's hard to see who else hits there.
I am advocating that Bradley hits ahead of Ramirez for the same reason why I wanted Fukudome ahead of Ramirez: put that gigantic on-base percentage ahead of a run-producer like Aramis. Moving Bradley, Ramirez, and Soto each up by a slot in the lineup might be the right thing to do, but Piniella probably won't consider hitting Lee sixth.
On a minor note, this move most definitely means the end for Felix Pie. He is out of options and becomes the team's sixth outfielder (behind Soriano, Fukudome, Johnson, Gathright and now Bradley). However, he should still draw moderate interest from other teams. Somebody please clarify if I'm wrong, but if I recall correctly, when a team receives -- via trade -- a player who is out of options but not yet eligible for free agency, that team is given the opportunity to freely add a fourth option year for the new player.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Cubs to add Bradley, Bako
Bruce Levine is reporting that the Cubs have agreed to terms with Milton Bradley. They are just waiting to clear some payroll before announcing it.
Also, another source indicates that Paul Bako is expected to join the Cubs for about $500,000. If so, Blanco would make the second now-former Cub player that Jim Hendry promised us would return for the 2009 season, but ultimately does not end up returning.
The funny thing is that both Wood and Blanco would have agreed to one-year deals at very reasonable salary levels.
Also, another source indicates that Paul Bako is expected to join the Cubs for about $500,000. If so, Blanco would make the second now-former Cub player that Jim Hendry promised us would return for the 2009 season, but ultimately does not end up returning.
The funny thing is that both Wood and Blanco would have agreed to one-year deals at very reasonable salary levels.
Miles to Cubs; DeRosa, Marquis to be traded
The Chicago Cubs have continued to clear salary, dumping just under $9MM by trading away utilityman Mark DeRosa and pitcher Jason Marquis.
DeRosa is now property of the Indians, who sent Jeff Stevens and two other minor league pitchers to the Cubs. DeRosa had a career year last year, hitting .285 with 21 homers and 87 RBI, while playing six different defensive positions. DeRosa was projected to be the starting second baseman for the 2009 Chicago Cubs, but that role is now up for grabs. Aaron Miles, who signed a two-year deal worth almost $5MM, is expected to be in competition with Cedeno and Fontenot. Miles hit .317 with the Cardinals last year.
Additionally, the Cubs are expected to announce that they will be sending Jason Marquis and $1MM cash to Colorado for Luis Vizcaino. Marquis posted another solid season in 2008, going 11-9 with a 4.53 ERA, despite making just 28 starts because he was skipped many times in the rotation. Marquis was slated to be the fifth starter in the rotation, but now the team has to fill that spot internally. Sean Marshall heads the list of candidates that also include Angel Guzman, Neal Cotts, Jeff Samardzija, and even Rich Hill.
Jim Hendry appears to be trying to free up money to plug the gaping hole created by Kosuke Fukudome's struggles. The team is set on moving Fukudome to Edmonds' role last year, platooning with Reed Johnson in center field. The problem is that we've got someone making $11.5MM as a part-time player and Hendry is dumping key pieces of the puzzle left and right to open up money to sign Milton Bradley.
----
Milton Bradley - Outfielder
Age: 31 (in April)
Bats: Both, Throws: Right
2006 OAK: .276 avg, 14 HR, 52 RBI, .370 OBP; 96 games, 351 AB
2007 total: .306 avg, 13 HR, 37 RBI, .402 OBP; 61 games, 209 AB
2008 TEX: .321 avg, 22 HR, 77 RBI, .436 OBP; 126 games, 414 AB
Career (9 years): .280 avg, 103 HR, 399 RBI, .436 OBP
----
While filling the center field spot with someone already in the organization doesn't seem too appealing, it certainly seems like a better option than the mess that has been created now. One year does not change Kosuke Fukudome and I fully expect him to be able to match what my expectations of him were this time last year. That's about a .280 average with 15 homers and 30 doubles, stretched out over an entire season.
We're all so quick to forget that Fukudome hit .310 in the first two months of the season (plus March 31) with 6 homers, 16 doubles, and 2 triples. We all knew that Fukudome was performing over his head at the time and we all expected a downfall when the pitchers in the league would make an adjustment. Of course, we didn't expect him to fall as far as he did, but now that he's had time to make a counter-adjustment and become accilimated to the hype of both the American and Japanese media, I feel he has a good chance to find some sort of happy medium.
However, for the moment, let us make the ridiculous assumption that Fukudome does not rebound and remains a .250 hitter in the Major Leagues. Even so, he would be real close to the offensive production from our current options at second base and would make up the difference on defense. In this scenario, adding Milton Bradley would be a lateral move to keeping Mark DeRosa, meaning that we have unloaded Wood and Marquis for no reason.
Like him or not, Jason Marquis is a lock for 12 wins if he is given the full season to pitch. The same can not be said for any other pitcher within the organization that has a chance to fill Marquis' spot in the rotation. And the combination of Vizcaino, Stevens, and Gregg do not make up for Wood.
DeRosa is now property of the Indians, who sent Jeff Stevens and two other minor league pitchers to the Cubs. DeRosa had a career year last year, hitting .285 with 21 homers and 87 RBI, while playing six different defensive positions. DeRosa was projected to be the starting second baseman for the 2009 Chicago Cubs, but that role is now up for grabs. Aaron Miles, who signed a two-year deal worth almost $5MM, is expected to be in competition with Cedeno and Fontenot. Miles hit .317 with the Cardinals last year.
Additionally, the Cubs are expected to announce that they will be sending Jason Marquis and $1MM cash to Colorado for Luis Vizcaino. Marquis posted another solid season in 2008, going 11-9 with a 4.53 ERA, despite making just 28 starts because he was skipped many times in the rotation. Marquis was slated to be the fifth starter in the rotation, but now the team has to fill that spot internally. Sean Marshall heads the list of candidates that also include Angel Guzman, Neal Cotts, Jeff Samardzija, and even Rich Hill.
Jim Hendry appears to be trying to free up money to plug the gaping hole created by Kosuke Fukudome's struggles. The team is set on moving Fukudome to Edmonds' role last year, platooning with Reed Johnson in center field. The problem is that we've got someone making $11.5MM as a part-time player and Hendry is dumping key pieces of the puzzle left and right to open up money to sign Milton Bradley.
----
Milton Bradley - Outfielder
Age: 31 (in April)
Bats: Both, Throws: Right
2006 OAK: .276 avg, 14 HR, 52 RBI, .370 OBP; 96 games, 351 AB
2007 total: .306 avg, 13 HR, 37 RBI, .402 OBP; 61 games, 209 AB
2008 TEX: .321 avg, 22 HR, 77 RBI, .436 OBP; 126 games, 414 AB
Career (9 years): .280 avg, 103 HR, 399 RBI, .436 OBP
----
While filling the center field spot with someone already in the organization doesn't seem too appealing, it certainly seems like a better option than the mess that has been created now. One year does not change Kosuke Fukudome and I fully expect him to be able to match what my expectations of him were this time last year. That's about a .280 average with 15 homers and 30 doubles, stretched out over an entire season.
We're all so quick to forget that Fukudome hit .310 in the first two months of the season (plus March 31) with 6 homers, 16 doubles, and 2 triples. We all knew that Fukudome was performing over his head at the time and we all expected a downfall when the pitchers in the league would make an adjustment. Of course, we didn't expect him to fall as far as he did, but now that he's had time to make a counter-adjustment and become accilimated to the hype of both the American and Japanese media, I feel he has a good chance to find some sort of happy medium.
However, for the moment, let us make the ridiculous assumption that Fukudome does not rebound and remains a .250 hitter in the Major Leagues. Even so, he would be real close to the offensive production from our current options at second base and would make up the difference on defense. In this scenario, adding Milton Bradley would be a lateral move to keeping Mark DeRosa, meaning that we have unloaded Wood and Marquis for no reason.
Like him or not, Jason Marquis is a lock for 12 wins if he is given the full season to pitch. The same can not be said for any other pitcher within the organization that has a chance to fill Marquis' spot in the rotation. And the combination of Vizcaino, Stevens, and Gregg do not make up for Wood.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Cubs sign Gathright, three others
I've been busy with finals so I haven't really been able to keep up with the Cubs news.
However, in the past week, the Chicago Cubs have signed outfielder Joey Gathright.
----
Joey Gathright - Outfielder
Bats: Left, Throws: Right
2006 combined: 134 G, 383 AB; .238, 1 HR, 41 RBI; 22/31 SB
2007 KC: 74 G, 228 AB; .307, 0 HR, 19 RBI; 9/17 SB
2008 KC: 105 G, 279 AB; .254, 0 HR, 22 RBI; 21/25 SB
Career (5 years): 408 G, 1145 AB; .263, 1 HR, 96 RBI, 78/105 SB
----
Gathright, 28 in April, puts the future of Felix Pie with this organization in serious jeopardy. Pie, 24 at the start of next season, is already out of options and was not likely to make the 25-man roster anyway. Pie is a lifetime .223 hitter in the Major Leagues, but could still draw interest from other teams.
Also, the team has avoided arbitration with pitchers Chad Gaudin and Neal Cotts as well as outfielder Reed Johnson, by agreeing to one-year deals with each of them. The team has tendered contracts to their other three arbitration-eligible players, which includes newcomer Kevin Gregg.
However, in the past week, the Chicago Cubs have signed outfielder Joey Gathright.
----
Joey Gathright - Outfielder
Bats: Left, Throws: Right
2006 combined: 134 G, 383 AB; .238, 1 HR, 41 RBI; 22/31 SB
2007 KC: 74 G, 228 AB; .307, 0 HR, 19 RBI; 9/17 SB
2008 KC: 105 G, 279 AB; .254, 0 HR, 22 RBI; 21/25 SB
Career (5 years): 408 G, 1145 AB; .263, 1 HR, 96 RBI, 78/105 SB
----
Gathright, 28 in April, puts the future of Felix Pie with this organization in serious jeopardy. Pie, 24 at the start of next season, is already out of options and was not likely to make the 25-man roster anyway. Pie is a lifetime .223 hitter in the Major Leagues, but could still draw interest from other teams.
Also, the team has avoided arbitration with pitchers Chad Gaudin and Neal Cotts as well as outfielder Reed Johnson, by agreeing to one-year deals with each of them. The team has tendered contracts to their other three arbitration-eligible players, which includes newcomer Kevin Gregg.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Wood not offered arbitration
The Chicago Cubs have declined to offer arbitration to any of their players, which included Type A players Kerry Wood and Bob Howry. While the team was not expected to offer arbitration to other compensatory free agents such as infielder Daryle Ward and outfielder Jim Edmonds, the team was expected to offer arbitration to at least one player.
As per the collective bargaining agreement, the Cubs would have received two draft picks if Type A free agents that were offered arbitration signed elsewhere, however, the Cubs are now no longer entitled to those draft picks.
The risk in offering salary arbitration was what to do if the players accepted. Wood had shown an interest in signing a one-year deal with the Cubs, a move that Jim Hendry felt he could not afford. Moreover, Wood would have had no-trade rights as a ten-and-five player, meaning that trading him would have been difficult.
To offer a small amount for salary arbitration could have been disasterous, as the players could counter with a ridiculously large offer and still win the arbitration case, and the Cubs appeared they were not willing to offer a larger amount of money. Thus, the team decided to forfeit the opportunity for draft picks and officially cut their ties with Wood.
This move also brings into question how much money the Cubs have available for Jake Peavy. If the ownership of the team is in limbo so much to the point that Hendry couldn't risk Wood accepting arbitration, where is he going to get the cash required to pay Peavy $86MM for the next six years?
As per the collective bargaining agreement, the Cubs would have received two draft picks if Type A free agents that were offered arbitration signed elsewhere, however, the Cubs are now no longer entitled to those draft picks.
The risk in offering salary arbitration was what to do if the players accepted. Wood had shown an interest in signing a one-year deal with the Cubs, a move that Jim Hendry felt he could not afford. Moreover, Wood would have had no-trade rights as a ten-and-five player, meaning that trading him would have been difficult.
To offer a small amount for salary arbitration could have been disasterous, as the players could counter with a ridiculously large offer and still win the arbitration case, and the Cubs appeared they were not willing to offer a larger amount of money. Thus, the team decided to forfeit the opportunity for draft picks and officially cut their ties with Wood.
This move also brings into question how much money the Cubs have available for Jake Peavy. If the ownership of the team is in limbo so much to the point that Hendry couldn't risk Wood accepting arbitration, where is he going to get the cash required to pay Peavy $86MM for the next six years?
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Cubs, Dempster agree to four-year deal
It seems like Jim Hendry truly is going to air it out for the near future.
The Chicago Cubs have signed Ryan Dempster to a four-year deal that is severely backloaded. Next year, Dempster is due only $8MM, leaving some additional room for this off-season. However, Dempster will make $12.5MM next year and $13.5MM in 2010. By then, Soriano will be getting $18MM anually and Zambrano will almost get $18MM, Ramirez will get $16MM and Fukudome will make $13MM. But right now, it looks like we're going to worry about the future in the future.
With Dempster now, I calculate $115.4MM committed for next year. I estimate the six arbitration eligible players to be paid a combined $13MM (nearly half of that to Kevin Gregg). I fully expect Blanco to be re-signed at about $1-2MM and the other 22 players that fill up the roster should get a combined $9MM or so. That means we're knocking on the door of $140MM already. (Note: This is a correction in the math from the previous post.)
Clearly, Hendry seems to have taken himself out of the race for any more big names like Abreu or Peavy. Now, sources report that the Cubs have shifted their focus on Mark Teahen. The Royals, who recently added Coco Crisp, appear to be ready to move him. But how useful will Teahen be? Moneyball compared him to Jason Giambi, but the numbers thus far have not been impressive.
----
Mark Teahen - Kansas City Royals
Right Fielder
2005 KC: .244 avg, 7 HR, 55 RBI, .309 OBP; 130 games, 447 AB
2006 KC: .290 avg, 18 HR, 69 RBI, .357 OBP; 109 games, 393 AB
2007 KC: .285 avg, 7 HR, 60 RBI, .353 OBP; 144 games, 544 AB
2008 KC: .255 avg, 15 HR, 59 RBI, .313 OBP; 149 games, 572 AB
Career (4 years): .268 avg, 47 HR, 243 RBI, .332 OBP
----
I don't see how that kind of production is better than what we expect out of Fukudome. For whatever reason, Fukudome struggled at the end of the year. However, the things that he showed he was capable of doing in the beginning of the year was absolutely mind-boggling. I can't even begin to count the number of times I asked myself, "Is there anything this guy can't do?"
Kosuke Fukudome is not the .217 hitter we saw in the second-half of the season. We all know that. For 2009, I'm still expecting Fukudome to put up numbers that we all expected him to put up at about this time last year. And I'm talking about the educated projections (.280/.370/.460) accounting for the change in leagues, not just a simple copy and paste from the Japanese numbers.
Playing the Numbers Game a Different Way: Let's assume for the moment that regardless of our right fielder, Carlos Zambrano will win 16 games. Ted Lilly has won 15, 15, and 17 games in his last three seasons, so counting on him for another 15 wins seems reasonable. Jason Marquis (if given the chance) is a lock for 12 wins and expecting 12 wins out of Harden's spot (whether it's actually Harden or someone making a spot start) is not unreasonable either.
That leaves 35 wins between Dempster and the bullpen to get to 90 for the year. That seems like it's do-able, whether it's Teahen in right field or DeRosa in right and Fontenot at second base.
The Chicago Cubs have signed Ryan Dempster to a four-year deal that is severely backloaded. Next year, Dempster is due only $8MM, leaving some additional room for this off-season. However, Dempster will make $12.5MM next year and $13.5MM in 2010. By then, Soriano will be getting $18MM anually and Zambrano will almost get $18MM, Ramirez will get $16MM and Fukudome will make $13MM. But right now, it looks like we're going to worry about the future in the future.
With Dempster now, I calculate $115.4MM committed for next year. I estimate the six arbitration eligible players to be paid a combined $13MM (nearly half of that to Kevin Gregg). I fully expect Blanco to be re-signed at about $1-2MM and the other 22 players that fill up the roster should get a combined $9MM or so. That means we're knocking on the door of $140MM already. (Note: This is a correction in the math from the previous post.)
Clearly, Hendry seems to have taken himself out of the race for any more big names like Abreu or Peavy. Now, sources report that the Cubs have shifted their focus on Mark Teahen. The Royals, who recently added Coco Crisp, appear to be ready to move him. But how useful will Teahen be? Moneyball compared him to Jason Giambi, but the numbers thus far have not been impressive.
----
Mark Teahen - Kansas City Royals
Right Fielder
2005 KC: .244 avg, 7 HR, 55 RBI, .309 OBP; 130 games, 447 AB
2006 KC: .290 avg, 18 HR, 69 RBI, .357 OBP; 109 games, 393 AB
2007 KC: .285 avg, 7 HR, 60 RBI, .353 OBP; 144 games, 544 AB
2008 KC: .255 avg, 15 HR, 59 RBI, .313 OBP; 149 games, 572 AB
Career (4 years): .268 avg, 47 HR, 243 RBI, .332 OBP
----
I don't see how that kind of production is better than what we expect out of Fukudome. For whatever reason, Fukudome struggled at the end of the year. However, the things that he showed he was capable of doing in the beginning of the year was absolutely mind-boggling. I can't even begin to count the number of times I asked myself, "Is there anything this guy can't do?"
Kosuke Fukudome is not the .217 hitter we saw in the second-half of the season. We all know that. For 2009, I'm still expecting Fukudome to put up numbers that we all expected him to put up at about this time last year. And I'm talking about the educated projections (.280/.370/.460) accounting for the change in leagues, not just a simple copy and paste from the Japanese numbers.
Playing the Numbers Game a Different Way: Let's assume for the moment that regardless of our right fielder, Carlos Zambrano will win 16 games. Ted Lilly has won 15, 15, and 17 games in his last three seasons, so counting on him for another 15 wins seems reasonable. Jason Marquis (if given the chance) is a lock for 12 wins and expecting 12 wins out of Harden's spot (whether it's actually Harden or someone making a spot start) is not unreasonable either.
That leaves 35 wins between Dempster and the bullpen to get to 90 for the year. That seems like it's do-able, whether it's Teahen in right field or DeRosa in right and Fontenot at second base.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Cubs add closer Kevin Gregg
The Cubs have added closer Kevin Gregg from the Marlins for minor league reliever Jose Ceda.
Ceda was initally acquired from the Padres in 2006 in a deal that sent Todd Walker to the west coast. In 180 minor league innings, Jose Ceda fanned 227 batters while allowing just 113 hits. He did, however, allow 98 bases on balls.
Kevin Gregg had a great year last year, nailing down 29 saves and 4 holds. He also led the league with 7 relief wins. The bad news is that six-foot-six right hander also lost 8 games and blew 9 saves. The even worse news is that it seems as this may be the end of the line for Kerry Wood in a Cubs' uniform.
----
#34 Kerry Wood
Relief Pitcher
1998 CHC: 13-6, 3.40 ERA, 233 SO; 166.2 IP
2000 CHC: 8-7, 4.80 ERA, 132 SO; 137.0 IP
2001 CHC: 12-6, 3.36 ERA, 217 SO; 174.1 IP
2002 CHC: 12-11, 3.67 ERA, 217 SO; 174.1 IP
2003 CHC: 14-11, 3.20 ERA, 266 SO; 211 IP
2004 CHC: 8-9, 3.72 ERA, 144 SO; 140.1 IP
2005 CHC: 4.23 ERA, 4 holds, 77 SO; 66.0 IP
2006 CHC: 4.12 ERA, 13 SO; 19.2 IP
2007 CHC: 3.33 ERA, 24 SO; 24.1 IP
2008 CHC: 34/40 saves, 3.26 ERA, 84 SO; 66.1 IP
Career (10 years): 77-61, 34/40 saves, 3.65 ERA, 1407 SO; 1219.1 IP
----
Kevin Gregg comes at a lower price than Kerry Wood. Playing the numbers game that I've been playing all winter, we know that Jim Hendry had about $20-25MM left to spend this off-season. Gregg made $2.5MM last year, but that number is expected to go up with arbitration.
Take Brian Fuentes for example. He went to arbitration before the 2008 season, asking for $6.5MM. The arbitors awarded him $5.05M instead. Clearly, they thought he was worth less than $5,775,000. The numbers in the two seasons prior to this case that Fuentes entered with (50 saves, 8 holds, 13 blown, 3.27 ERA) are similar to those of Kevin Gregg in his most recent two years (61 saves, 10 holds, 13 blown, 3.48 ERA).
Of course, there are other issues to consider when trying to predict Gregg's 2009 salary, certainly. But with all things like ballparks, teams, and baseball inflation aside, it looks like Gregg will not make much more than $6MM next year. That leaves $19MM left.
Ryan Dempster wants a five-year deal worth $70MM. The Cubs would rather pay him $50MM for four years. Assuming that Hendry re-signs Dempster and they come to a compromise of something like $55M for four years, the contract might look like something $10MM-$14.5MM-$15MM-$15.5MM. That leaves under $10MM of the money left and Blanco is certainly going to get his share of that (though that's not very much).
It would leave about $8MM plus whatever we can move of Marquis' salary. Even if we eat half of that, we'd still be recouping $5MM, giving Hendry $13MM to work with. That's enough money to make some noise. Theoretically, Hendry can get Wood with that and create an all-star bullpen. But, it's more likely he could empty the farm and get Peavy or help the offensive with a left-handed corner outfielder like Raul Ibanez.
Correction: I forgot to account for the twenty or so players that are expected to make near the league minimum. While $400,000 per player doesn't seem like much, when there are 20 players, that adds up. It's more likely that Hendry is done after the signing of Dempster.
Awards still piling in for Cubs: After a magical 2008 season in which the team won 97 games, the post-season awards are piling in for the Cubs. Geovany Soto was already awarded Rookie of the Year by a 31-1 vote and now Lou Piniella is manager of the year. Also, Carlos Zambrano, who hit .337 with 4 homers and 14 RBI, is the NL's receipient of the Silver Slugger award at his position.
Ceda was initally acquired from the Padres in 2006 in a deal that sent Todd Walker to the west coast. In 180 minor league innings, Jose Ceda fanned 227 batters while allowing just 113 hits. He did, however, allow 98 bases on balls.
Kevin Gregg had a great year last year, nailing down 29 saves and 4 holds. He also led the league with 7 relief wins. The bad news is that six-foot-six right hander also lost 8 games and blew 9 saves. The even worse news is that it seems as this may be the end of the line for Kerry Wood in a Cubs' uniform.
----
#34 Kerry Wood
Relief Pitcher
1998 CHC: 13-6, 3.40 ERA, 233 SO; 166.2 IP
2000 CHC: 8-7, 4.80 ERA, 132 SO; 137.0 IP
2001 CHC: 12-6, 3.36 ERA, 217 SO; 174.1 IP
2002 CHC: 12-11, 3.67 ERA, 217 SO; 174.1 IP
2003 CHC: 14-11, 3.20 ERA, 266 SO; 211 IP
2004 CHC: 8-9, 3.72 ERA, 144 SO; 140.1 IP
2005 CHC: 4.23 ERA, 4 holds, 77 SO; 66.0 IP
2006 CHC: 4.12 ERA, 13 SO; 19.2 IP
2007 CHC: 3.33 ERA, 24 SO; 24.1 IP
2008 CHC: 34/40 saves, 3.26 ERA, 84 SO; 66.1 IP
Career (10 years): 77-61, 34/40 saves, 3.65 ERA, 1407 SO; 1219.1 IP
----
Kevin Gregg comes at a lower price than Kerry Wood. Playing the numbers game that I've been playing all winter, we know that Jim Hendry had about $20-25MM left to spend this off-season. Gregg made $2.5MM last year, but that number is expected to go up with arbitration.
Take Brian Fuentes for example. He went to arbitration before the 2008 season, asking for $6.5MM. The arbitors awarded him $5.05M instead. Clearly, they thought he was worth less than $5,775,000. The numbers in the two seasons prior to this case that Fuentes entered with (50 saves, 8 holds, 13 blown, 3.27 ERA) are similar to those of Kevin Gregg in his most recent two years (61 saves, 10 holds, 13 blown, 3.48 ERA).
Of course, there are other issues to consider when trying to predict Gregg's 2009 salary, certainly. But with all things like ballparks, teams, and baseball inflation aside, it looks like Gregg will not make much more than $6MM next year. That leaves $19MM left.
Ryan Dempster wants a five-year deal worth $70MM. The Cubs would rather pay him $50MM for four years. Assuming that Hendry re-signs Dempster and they come to a compromise of something like $55M for four years, the contract might look like something $10MM-$14.5MM-$15MM-$15.5MM. That leaves under $10MM of the money left and Blanco is certainly going to get his share of that (though that's not very much).
It would leave about $8MM plus whatever we can move of Marquis' salary. Even if we eat half of that, we'd still be recouping $5MM, giving Hendry $13MM to work with. That's enough money to make some noise. Theoretically, Hendry can get Wood with that and create an all-star bullpen. But, it's more likely he could empty the farm and get Peavy or help the offensive with a left-handed corner outfielder like Raul Ibanez.
Correction: I forgot to account for the twenty or so players that are expected to make near the league minimum. While $400,000 per player doesn't seem like much, when there are 20 players, that adds up. It's more likely that Hendry is done after the signing of Dempster.
Awards still piling in for Cubs: After a magical 2008 season in which the team won 97 games, the post-season awards are piling in for the Cubs. Geovany Soto was already awarded Rookie of the Year by a 31-1 vote and now Lou Piniella is manager of the year. Also, Carlos Zambrano, who hit .337 with 4 homers and 14 RBI, is the NL's receipient of the Silver Slugger award at his position.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Soto tops among NL freshmen
Coming into the season, most expected two Cubs to be atop the Rookie of the Year race when the 2008 season was all said and done. But, as the season progressed, it became increasingly obvious that one rookie was more than holding his end of the bargain and one was not. When the year had actually come to a close, the top three rookies in the league were obvious. And the writers got it right. Sort of.
The overall standings went Soto-Votto-Jurrjens, but not everyone voted that way. One voter went Votto-Soto-Bruce (presumably) and on the end of the spectrum was Soto-Fukudome-Votto. In fact, two people didn't place Joey Votto on the ballot anywhere and three voted for a non-rookie. In one of the more crystal clear races, the writers managed to spray the entire dartboart. Only 16 of the 32 voters made the obvious choice.
While the Rookie of the Year race was obvious in both leagues, I figured that if there was going to be any question in one of the leagues, it would have come from the American League. At least there, the favorite is a corner infielder and the runner-up is a middle infielder from a championship team. Yet, no one went Ramirez-Longoria in the Junior circuit.
----
Geovany Soto - Catcher
Chicago Cubs
2008 (494 AB): .285, 23 HR, 86 RBI, .364 OBP, 35 doubles, 2 triples
Joey Votto - First Baseman
Cincinnati Reds
2008 (526 AB): .297, 24 HR, 84 RBI, .368 OBP, 32 doubles, 3 triples
----
After you first look at these numbers and are surprised to see that Soto had 2 triples (and then you remember than one of his homers was an inside-the-parker), the reaction may be to compare the numbers and think it's a close race. Consider that Votto had 32 more at-bats (about 9 games) and Soto pulls ahead as a slight favorite.
But, that's not the main difference. Other than his offensive numbers and stellar defense, Joey Votto doesn't have much more to add to the argument. Geovany Soto has tons more.
He is a catcher that appeared in 141 games. Votto plays a position where 25/85 has come to be expected. Soto handled the second-best staff in the league with complete confidence and relative ease. Soto carried his team -- the best team in the league -- on his shoulders, both on and off the field, for days at a time. On a team full of leaders like Lee, Ramirez, Zambrano, and Howry, the clubhouse still looked to Geovany Soto at certain times. After the trade deadlines passed, the Reds clubhouse was led by "veterans" like Corey Patterson and Paul Bako.
There's no doubting that Geovany Soto was the overwhelming favorite in this race. But, Votto's numbers are impressive and should be worth something. That something should have been an unanimous second-place finish. Instead, Jair Jurrjens managed to steal some second-place votes from Votto.
----
Jair Jurrjens - Starting Pitcher
Atlanta Braves
2008 (188 IP): 31 starts, 13-10, 3.68 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 139 K
----
From Jurrjens' numbers, it's a wonder how guys like Bruce and Fukudome ended up ahead of Jurrjens on some ballots, but taking into account his home ballpark makes it equally puzzling as to how six people ranked Jurrjens right behind Soto.
One thing is for certain though. Soto was the Rookie of the Year in 2008 and has the potential for a special career ahead of him. By the time the 2009 season starts, it won't matter that Soto did not win unanimously or that he even won at all.
But until then, congratulations Geo! You certainly deserved it.
Braves, Cubs in pursuit of Peavy: The Cubs and Braves still appear to be the front-runners for the Jake Peavy sweepstakes. However, there are two major obstacles standing in the Cubs' way. The most obvious is the price tag that Peavy brings. If we believe that Hendry has only a limited amount of money to work with, blowing a good chunk of that on Peavy doesn't seem very efficient. The major drawing factor, however, is the Peavy is only owed $8MM in 2009, which is nearly $2MM less than Jason Marquis.
But, Peavy's salary balloons after 2009, going to $15MM in 2010 and as high as $22MM in 2013. The contracts of Alfonso Soriano and Carlols Zambrano are similarly backloaded and unless the new owner(s) plan(s) to rival the Yankees in spending, the team could be in a horrible situation in the near future. But, there also exists a more immediate concern.
Jim Hendry appears to be interested in acquiring both Peavy and Dempster, who has decided to test the open market. Dempster is expected to get a $70MM offer for five years from the Yankees and while he might be rumored to be giving the Cubs a discount, he has also stated that he would be less willing to take a pay cut if the Cubs add Peavy as well. So how much does that leave for Wood? The team can ill-afford to lose Wood without adding a comparable closer. The bullpen, which was a strength in the recent past, is now a complete detriment to the team after Carlos Marmol.
Chances are, however, that it might be academic. The Padres are looking for major-league-ready pitchers in return. The Braves are willing to part with Jo-Jo Reyes and/or Charlie Morton. The Cubs would have to get another team that's willing to give up young pitching, involved in three-way deal.
The overall standings went Soto-Votto-Jurrjens, but not everyone voted that way. One voter went Votto-Soto-Bruce (presumably) and on the end of the spectrum was Soto-Fukudome-Votto. In fact, two people didn't place Joey Votto on the ballot anywhere and three voted for a non-rookie. In one of the more crystal clear races, the writers managed to spray the entire dartboart. Only 16 of the 32 voters made the obvious choice.
While the Rookie of the Year race was obvious in both leagues, I figured that if there was going to be any question in one of the leagues, it would have come from the American League. At least there, the favorite is a corner infielder and the runner-up is a middle infielder from a championship team. Yet, no one went Ramirez-Longoria in the Junior circuit.
----
Geovany Soto - Catcher
Chicago Cubs
2008 (494 AB): .285, 23 HR, 86 RBI, .364 OBP, 35 doubles, 2 triples
Joey Votto - First Baseman
Cincinnati Reds
2008 (526 AB): .297, 24 HR, 84 RBI, .368 OBP, 32 doubles, 3 triples
----
After you first look at these numbers and are surprised to see that Soto had 2 triples (and then you remember than one of his homers was an inside-the-parker), the reaction may be to compare the numbers and think it's a close race. Consider that Votto had 32 more at-bats (about 9 games) and Soto pulls ahead as a slight favorite.
But, that's not the main difference. Other than his offensive numbers and stellar defense, Joey Votto doesn't have much more to add to the argument. Geovany Soto has tons more.
He is a catcher that appeared in 141 games. Votto plays a position where 25/85 has come to be expected. Soto handled the second-best staff in the league with complete confidence and relative ease. Soto carried his team -- the best team in the league -- on his shoulders, both on and off the field, for days at a time. On a team full of leaders like Lee, Ramirez, Zambrano, and Howry, the clubhouse still looked to Geovany Soto at certain times. After the trade deadlines passed, the Reds clubhouse was led by "veterans" like Corey Patterson and Paul Bako.
There's no doubting that Geovany Soto was the overwhelming favorite in this race. But, Votto's numbers are impressive and should be worth something. That something should have been an unanimous second-place finish. Instead, Jair Jurrjens managed to steal some second-place votes from Votto.
----
Jair Jurrjens - Starting Pitcher
Atlanta Braves
2008 (188 IP): 31 starts, 13-10, 3.68 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 139 K
----
From Jurrjens' numbers, it's a wonder how guys like Bruce and Fukudome ended up ahead of Jurrjens on some ballots, but taking into account his home ballpark makes it equally puzzling as to how six people ranked Jurrjens right behind Soto.
One thing is for certain though. Soto was the Rookie of the Year in 2008 and has the potential for a special career ahead of him. By the time the 2009 season starts, it won't matter that Soto did not win unanimously or that he even won at all.
But until then, congratulations Geo! You certainly deserved it.
Braves, Cubs in pursuit of Peavy: The Cubs and Braves still appear to be the front-runners for the Jake Peavy sweepstakes. However, there are two major obstacles standing in the Cubs' way. The most obvious is the price tag that Peavy brings. If we believe that Hendry has only a limited amount of money to work with, blowing a good chunk of that on Peavy doesn't seem very efficient. The major drawing factor, however, is the Peavy is only owed $8MM in 2009, which is nearly $2MM less than Jason Marquis.
But, Peavy's salary balloons after 2009, going to $15MM in 2010 and as high as $22MM in 2013. The contracts of Alfonso Soriano and Carlols Zambrano are similarly backloaded and unless the new owner(s) plan(s) to rival the Yankees in spending, the team could be in a horrible situation in the near future. But, there also exists a more immediate concern.
Jim Hendry appears to be interested in acquiring both Peavy and Dempster, who has decided to test the open market. Dempster is expected to get a $70MM offer for five years from the Yankees and while he might be rumored to be giving the Cubs a discount, he has also stated that he would be less willing to take a pay cut if the Cubs add Peavy as well. So how much does that leave for Wood? The team can ill-afford to lose Wood without adding a comparable closer. The bullpen, which was a strength in the recent past, is now a complete detriment to the team after Carlos Marmol.
Chances are, however, that it might be academic. The Padres are looking for major-league-ready pitchers in return. The Braves are willing to part with Jo-Jo Reyes and/or Charlie Morton. The Cubs would have to get another team that's willing to give up young pitching, involved in three-way deal.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Maddux set to retire
I guess I knew that Greg Maddux wouldn't pitch forever and that he was close to the end of his career, but when I read this was the end of the line for him, it was the second time in a month that the game I love so much brought me to tears.
He is, without a doubt, the greatest pitcher that I've ever seen and he accomplished all of that with so much class and dignity. Unlike some of the other "stars" in the game, Maddux was always quick to deflect praise onto his teammates and take the blame for all things. Maddux's mind worked in ways that we can't even imagine. Sure, most of us are able to remember how a pitcher retired a certain batter in the last at-bat, but Maddux remembers every single pitch in previous at-bats and could probably remember specific things that happened more than, say, five years ago. He's taught all of us so much about the game and the entire sport owes him.
Maddux used his ability to understand how the game works, not a 100-mph fastball, to achieve extraordinary accomplishments. To win even ten games in seventeen non-consecutive seasons would be unbelieveable, but he won fifteen games in seventeen straight years and reached double digits twenty straight times.
----
#31 Greg Maddux - Pitcher
Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres
1986 CHC: 2-4, 31.0 IP, 5.52 ERA, 1.77 WHIP
1987 CHC: 6-14, 155.2 IP, 5.61 ERA, 1.64 WHIP
1988 CHC: 18-8, 249.0 IP, 3.18 ERA, 1.25 WHIP
1989 CHC: 19-12, 238.1 IP, 2.95 ERA, 1.28 WHIP
1990 CHC: 15-15, 237.0 IP, 3.46 ERA, 1.32 WHIP
1991 CHC: 15-11, 263.0 IP, 3.35 ERA, 1.13 WHIP
1992 CHC: 20-11, 268.0 IP, 2.18 ERA, 1.01 WHIP (Cy Young)
1993 ATL: 20-10, 267.0 IP, 2.36 ERA, 1.05 WHIP (Cy Young)
1994 ATL: 16-6, 202.0 IP, 1.56 ERA, 0.90 WHIP (Cy Young - unanimous)
1995 ATL: 19-2, 209.2 IP, 1.63 ERA, 0.81 WHIP (Cy Young - unanimous)
1996 ATL: 15-11, 245.0 IP, 2.72 ERA, 1.03 WHIP
1997 ATL: 19-4, 232.2 IP, 2.20 ERA, 0.95 WHIP
1998 ATL: 18-9, 251.0 IP, 2.22 ERA, 0.98 WHIP
1999 ATL: 19-9, 219.1 IP, 3.57 ERA, 1.35 WHIP
2000 ATL: 19-9, 249.1 IP, 3.00 ERA, 1.07 WHIP
2001 ATL: 17-11, 233.0 IP, 3.05 ERA, 1.06 WHIP
2002 ATL: 16-6, 199.1 IP, 2.62 ERA, 1.20 WHIP
2003 ATL: 16-11, 218.1 IP, 3.96 ERA, 1.18 WHIP
2004 CHC: 16-11, 212.2 IP, 4.02 ERA, 1.18 WHIP
2005 CHC: 13-15, 225.0 IP, 4.24 ERA, 1.22 WHIP
2006 CHC/LAD: 15-14, 210.0 IP, 4.20, 1.22 WHIP
2007 SDP: 14-11, 198.0 IP, 4.14 ERA, 1.24 WHIP
2008 SDP/LAD: 8-13, 194.0 IP, 4.22, 1.21 WHIP
Career (23 years): 355-227, 5008.1 IP, 3.16 ERA, 1.14 WHIP
----
In the prime of his career, his numbers are literally mind-numbing. Through 1994-95, Maddux threw 411 innings and posted an ERA under 1.60! He threw 200 or more innings 18 times and 230 or more innings 11 times.
Maddux was a complete baseball player. In today's era of specialization and lack of attention to detail, Maddux still played the game the right way and did all the things he was supposed to. He was one of the greatest bunters in the history of the game, converting 180 sacrifices successfully and was unargueably the best defensive fielder at his position, now with a record 18 Gold Gloves.
Maddux finished his career strong, throwing 194 innings in his final season, while posting a 4.22 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. It's clear that Maddux could have continued pitching longer and still had many wins left in him, but in a final act of unselfishness, he chose to walk away. Maddux didn't wait until he became an old washed-up has-been that nobody wanted and he didn't demand respect until years after his prime. He walked away from the sport under his own terms.
In five years, Cooperstown should be lucky to have the privilege of adding a man like him. Of course, Maddux won't see it that way.
He is, without a doubt, the greatest pitcher that I've ever seen and he accomplished all of that with so much class and dignity. Unlike some of the other "stars" in the game, Maddux was always quick to deflect praise onto his teammates and take the blame for all things. Maddux's mind worked in ways that we can't even imagine. Sure, most of us are able to remember how a pitcher retired a certain batter in the last at-bat, but Maddux remembers every single pitch in previous at-bats and could probably remember specific things that happened more than, say, five years ago. He's taught all of us so much about the game and the entire sport owes him.
Maddux used his ability to understand how the game works, not a 100-mph fastball, to achieve extraordinary accomplishments. To win even ten games in seventeen non-consecutive seasons would be unbelieveable, but he won fifteen games in seventeen straight years and reached double digits twenty straight times.
----
#31 Greg Maddux - Pitcher
Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres
1986 CHC: 2-4, 31.0 IP, 5.52 ERA, 1.77 WHIP
1987 CHC: 6-14, 155.2 IP, 5.61 ERA, 1.64 WHIP
1988 CHC: 18-8, 249.0 IP, 3.18 ERA, 1.25 WHIP
1989 CHC: 19-12, 238.1 IP, 2.95 ERA, 1.28 WHIP
1990 CHC: 15-15, 237.0 IP, 3.46 ERA, 1.32 WHIP
1991 CHC: 15-11, 263.0 IP, 3.35 ERA, 1.13 WHIP
1992 CHC: 20-11, 268.0 IP, 2.18 ERA, 1.01 WHIP (Cy Young)
1993 ATL: 20-10, 267.0 IP, 2.36 ERA, 1.05 WHIP (Cy Young)
1994 ATL: 16-6, 202.0 IP, 1.56 ERA, 0.90 WHIP (Cy Young - unanimous)
1995 ATL: 19-2, 209.2 IP, 1.63 ERA, 0.81 WHIP (Cy Young - unanimous)
1996 ATL: 15-11, 245.0 IP, 2.72 ERA, 1.03 WHIP
1997 ATL: 19-4, 232.2 IP, 2.20 ERA, 0.95 WHIP
1998 ATL: 18-9, 251.0 IP, 2.22 ERA, 0.98 WHIP
1999 ATL: 19-9, 219.1 IP, 3.57 ERA, 1.35 WHIP
2000 ATL: 19-9, 249.1 IP, 3.00 ERA, 1.07 WHIP
2001 ATL: 17-11, 233.0 IP, 3.05 ERA, 1.06 WHIP
2002 ATL: 16-6, 199.1 IP, 2.62 ERA, 1.20 WHIP
2003 ATL: 16-11, 218.1 IP, 3.96 ERA, 1.18 WHIP
2004 CHC: 16-11, 212.2 IP, 4.02 ERA, 1.18 WHIP
2005 CHC: 13-15, 225.0 IP, 4.24 ERA, 1.22 WHIP
2006 CHC/LAD: 15-14, 210.0 IP, 4.20, 1.22 WHIP
2007 SDP: 14-11, 198.0 IP, 4.14 ERA, 1.24 WHIP
2008 SDP/LAD: 8-13, 194.0 IP, 4.22, 1.21 WHIP
Career (23 years): 355-227, 5008.1 IP, 3.16 ERA, 1.14 WHIP
----
In the prime of his career, his numbers are literally mind-numbing. Through 1994-95, Maddux threw 411 innings and posted an ERA under 1.60! He threw 200 or more innings 18 times and 230 or more innings 11 times.
Maddux was a complete baseball player. In today's era of specialization and lack of attention to detail, Maddux still played the game the right way and did all the things he was supposed to. He was one of the greatest bunters in the history of the game, converting 180 sacrifices successfully and was unargueably the best defensive fielder at his position, now with a record 18 Gold Gloves.
Maddux finished his career strong, throwing 194 innings in his final season, while posting a 4.22 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. It's clear that Maddux could have continued pitching longer and still had many wins left in him, but in a final act of unselfishness, he chose to walk away. Maddux didn't wait until he became an old washed-up has-been that nobody wanted and he didn't demand respect until years after his prime. He walked away from the sport under his own terms.
In five years, Cooperstown should be lucky to have the privilege of adding a man like him. Of course, Maddux won't see it that way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
