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mrschroeder08 partyvancaptain pee_callus25 Tags 2010 Preview 5 Million Dollar Black Hole AAAA Aaron Heilman Aaron Miles Alfonso Soriano Andres Blanco Angel Guzman Aramis Ramirez Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves B.J. Ryan Baltimore Orioles Bob Brenly Bobby Scales Bonehead Booing Boston Red Sox Brett Jackson Bullpen Canadian Concoction Captain Kneejerk Cardinals Carlos Marmol Carlos Silva Carlos Zambrano Chad Fox Chad Tracy Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Indians Cold War Colorado Rockies Contracts Cubs-Cardinals Rivalry Cubs sale Cubs Curtis Granderson Daniel Herrera David Patton Derrek Lee Designated Hitter Detroit Tigers Disabled list Dominance ERA+ ERROR Esmailin Caridad ESPN Sucks Eternal frustration Eternal Optimism Farewell Farney Florida Marlins Free Agency Future Gatorade Geovanny Soto Geovany Soto Gerald Perry Grades Houston Astros I-Cubs Injuries Jake Fox Jason Marquis Jason Waddell Jeff Gray Jeff Samardzija Jim Hendry Jim Wolf Joey Gathright John Grabow Jose Ascanio Kansas City Royals Kerry Wood Kevin Gregg Kevin Hart Kevin Millar Koyie Hill LaTroy Hawkins Legendary Lineup Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers Lou Piniella Luis Vizcaino Man Crush Mark DeRosa Marlon Byrd Micah Hoffpauir Middle Infield Midwestern Bias Milton Bradley Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins Minor Leagues MLB 2K9 Neal Cotts New York Mets New York Yankees Oakland Athletics October Offseason Opening Day OPS+ Payroll Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates Playoffs Randy Wells Rant Rich Harden Ryan Dempster Ryan Freel Ryan Theriot Sam Fuld Sam Zell Sammy Sosa San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Sandy Alderson Sean Marshall Seattle Mariners St. Louis Cardinals Steroids Strikeouts Suckiness Tampa Bay Rays TBS Texas Rangers Tom Gorzelanny Tom Ricketts Toronto Blue Jays Trade Tribune Company Tyler Colvin Von Joshua Waivers Walks Washington Nationals WTF Xavier Nady RSS Feed Back when I was young, my grandpa sat me down on his lap. He looked at me with his weathered eyes, full of wisdom. I remember what he said like it was yesterday. He said, "Boy, if you can only score 5 runs in 2 games against the 2010 Houston Astros, then you deserve to lose." Those words never rang true more than they did this weekend. First, let's talk about the first game. After scoring only one run in six innings, the Cubs had a conversation in the dug out. Blue Ivy has the exclusive transcript. Lee: Guys, you'll never guess what I just found out. Byrd: What's up, Derek? Lee: That man on the mound is in fact NOT Roy Halladay. Theriot and Fontenot: WHAT?!?! Soriano: No way. That guy can throw OFFSPEED pitches. It's got to be Halladay. Lee: No, guys. I'm dead serious. It's not Halladay. His name is Felipe Paulino. Theriot and Fontenot: WHO?!?!?! Lee: Exactly. Ramirez: So... we can hit this guy? Lee: Yea, man. We can. All Cubs: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. The Cubs would score 6, and fin. And sadly, it would be one of only two innings where the offense would show up. Carlos Silva gets the Steve Trachsel Player of the Game award for not only an RBI hit, but also 7 innings with only 2 unearned runs given up. Two starts in, and he has been very impressive. I am going to call the "Hang Your Head" award a no contest for that game. Every offensive starter got on base at least once, and no pitcher gave up an earned run. That is about as impressive of a game as you will see. Too bad it is downhill from there. Roy Oswalt turned back the clock Saturday, and if Michael Barrett were there screaming at him, I would have thought it was 2004. As dominant as he was, the Astros almost pulled one from the Cubs playbook and blew it late. Alfonso Soriano's error did not hurt the Cubs in the end, and his two hits included a key double in the 8th inning comeback. For those he gets the Luis Gonzalez (He was a Cub. Remember?) Player of the Game award. For being an 0-fer in the middle of the lineup, including a key strikeout in the 8th inning comeback, Marlon Byrd gets the "Hang Your Head" award. Though Marlon has been pretty darn decent in the first two weeks this year. You cannot get too upset with him. The real aggravation came Sunday, when the Cubs could only scratch across two runs against Wandy Wodwiguez and the Astros bullpen. When you do that, you are asking to lose. Ryan Dempster won the Joe Borowski Player of the Game award for another quality outing. He has emerged as the top starter in this rotation for sure. Carlos Marmol's first blown save wins him the "Hang Your Head" award. He can't save them all, but you darn sure need to save them against bad teams. Don't give me that "Geoff Blum is clutch" crap. If he can raise his level that much in the 9th inning and beyond, then he is an idiot who cost himself millions of dollars by playing at an inferior level from innings 1-8 for his whole career. If he is capable of hitting like that at will, then he should have been a perennial all-star. Therefore I think it is more a case of him getting pitches from the Cubs bullpen that he can handle. Still, you can't help but be frustrated by the man. Pitch around him next time. And now it is on to New York to face a team a couple of days removed from a 20-inning marathon in St. Louis. I expect more maddening play from the Cubs, especially with three lefties on the mound for the Mets. Also, interesting to note that Theriot will be dropped to eighth in the new and "improved" lineup. Ignore those footsteps, Ryan. It's just Starlin Castro coming. Posted in: Carlos Silva, Alfonso Soriano, Marlon Byrd, Ryan Dempster, Carlos Marmol Remember two days ago? (Even if you do not, you can scroll down on this page most likely.) I lobbied for a certain reliever to get eighth inning duties. Well I must thank said reliever for making me look stupid so soon after I made an argument for him. Though at this point, you can really make an argument for anyone in that bullpen to be the setup man. It is just that volatile. OK, award time. For the third straight day, the starter comes through, and the Jason Bere Player of the Game award goes to Carlos Silva. If there was ever more of an encouraging sign for the Cubs, this was it. Silva pitched his game. He was quick, he kept the ball down and he was effective. He is making his case for staying in this rotation when Ted Lilly returns, and I think no matter what, he has a good shot at sticking. Now to temper expectations, a man who struggled as mightily as he did in '08 and '09 is not going to magically become Cy Young. He will have bad games in a Cubs uniform. But tonight he showed that he CAN still be effective, and that was really, really important. This rotation has been impressive in the first week (so long as you exclude starters whose names begin with Z). And there is an obvious "Hang Your Head" winner tonight. I said two nights ago he would probably win his share, and tonight Esmailin Caridad looked horrible. He showed no composure when it was clear he was not getting his bread and butter pitch called a strike. It was Zambrano-esque how he showed his frustration. What's more, he was getting behind EVERYONE, and obviously that will be disastrous. Just not a good night at all. I will say, though, that I agreed with Lou's decision to make Caridad tough it out. I still believe Caridad has some good stuff, but it looks like his mind hasn't caught up. Tonight was really the first time he has faced trouble in his big league career, and he failed the mental test. I have also made a new rule for myself: be very slow to criticize bullpen decisions made by Piniella. The entire crew down there is such a crapshoot as to who will have a good outing or who will blow up. And I get that most bullpens are like that, but with all the rookie arms and wild veterans down there, this one is particularly buggy. On a positive note, D-Lee's home run is still flying. That was at least fun to watch. Posted in: Carlos Silva, Esmailin Caridad The eleven month saga of Milton Bradley's Cubs career is now over. The whole thing was a disaster from jump street, and continued to be bad, right up until the end. In the end, the Cubs owe $15 million and have a useless asset. It is pretty much akin to flushing money down the toilet, only without the need for a plumber. So I suppose that's a plus. Milton Bradley was traded to Seattle for pitcher Carlos Silva and, the most important part of the deal, $9 million. There was a $3 million difference in contracts between the two players, so the Cubs end up freeing $6 million over 2 years. They also open up a hole in the lineup while filling a need for the all-important seventh starter. It looks like Marlon Byrd will be the man to patrol center next year. Of all the remaining options left (Byrd, Ankiel, Podsednik, Damon and Fuld), he is probably the best remaing, but more on that later. In the meantime, let me just reiterate how terribly bad the Milton Bradley signing was. The man had issues in Cleveland, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego and Texas. Even when he lead the AL in OPS with Texas, they didn't want him back. How is that not a red flag? Like clockwork, Bradley imploded in Chicago, and the Cubs did nothing to help the situation. The eventual suspension, as well as the badmouthing and back talking by teammates continued to murder what would already be a thin market. To top it all off, the Cubs had a stated goal of getting rid of Bradley, which killed all leverage they had in potential deals with Tampa and Texas. Why would those teams bail the Cubs out if they knew the Cubs *had* to unload this headcase? The Cubs basically painted themselves into a corner where they had to accept a garbage for garbage trade to get any money back. That, my friends, is a classic example of buying high and selling low. Jim Hendry will never be a stock trader. Carlos Silva has no place on the Cubs, even with Ted Lilly's injury. With Zambrano, Dempster, Wells, Gorzelanny, Marshall and Samardzija the Cubs have six starters. Lilly makes seven. Silva had his best year in 2005, with a 3.44 ERA a 7.89 K/BB, and a 1.173 WHIP, but that is now five years ago. After a decidedly average year in 2007, Seattle inexplicably gave him a monster contract. He has responded with numbers that make him among the worst starters in baseball (5.97 fielding-independent ERA). He has been injured, which could explain some of his issues, but ultimately the Cubs have many better options already, making you wonder where Silva will end up. There is always the chance of a pitcher turning it around, especially going from the AL to the NL. He is a sinker ball pitcher, which could help at Wrigley. Bill James even predicts him to have an ERA under 5 this year! As a Cubs fan, I've held out hope for much more improbably things, so maybe Silva will end up being a solid fifth starter. Or maybe the Cubs can flip him (or one of their other arms) in spring training when injuries start affecting other teams plans. My prediction is actually the latter, with Marshall or Gorzelanny being the starter traded to possibly bring back a fourth outfielder. Meanwhile, Marlon Byrd seems to be inevitably coming to Chicago. The Cubs have an array of average options available to them, with Byrd having the best 2009, so I suppose that is the tiebreaker. I cannot argue with this move now, but there were better options that, once again, the Bradley situation ruined. Granderson was probably a pipe dream for what he ended up being traded for, but Mike Cameron was a great stopgap option. Those damn Red Sox snatched him up, however, and now anything the Cubs put in centerfield will be underwhelming. At least with Byrd you have some idea with what you are getting. Ankiel had a horrible 2009 and has been linked to performance-enhancing drugs. Podsednik had a very improbable 2009, but still demonstrated the baseball IQ of a labradoodle with the White Sox. Fuld has absolutely zero power and will probably kill himself running into the bricks if given enough time in center. Byrd will not give you great power (career high 20 HRs last year). He will probably not get on base at a great rate (.340 career OBP). His defense is nothing to write home about (-2.7 UZR last year). Anything more than 2 years at about $6 to $7 million is way too much, and even those figures are stretching. The Cubs need another outfielder however, so they will need to overpay a bit. Finally, this offseason is starting to take shape. Goal one was to undo the 2008-09 offseason. Goal two was to plug any holes left by goal one. That means there will be no great additions. The Cubs will ultimately be relying on bounce back years from Soriano and Soto, and they will sink or swim with those two. With that said, I do expect some measure of improvement from both of them. In baseball, ultimately you look to make the playoffs, and anything can happen from there. This team is already a decent bet to compete and win the division, despite all its troubles. It is also a decent bet to flame out again. What will be really interesting is in one years time with Lee and Lilly having contracts ending and Ramirez having an option to opt out of his final year. I think we will see much more moving and shaking then, but for now, tweaking will have to be the name of the game for the Cubs. Posted in: Milton Bradley, Carlos Silva, Marlon Byrd | ||