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Okay, that is melodramatic. But with a blowout loss yesterday and a terrible late meltdown today, we are getting a taste of all the different ways we can be frustrated. The only thing missing now is a walkoff. To the awards: The Jim Bullinger Player of the Game award goes to Ryan Dempster. Demp looked like the 2008 version tonight, and he also got it done at the plate (though Glaus did help him out on the error). His success hinges on his control. Tonight he was able to put his pitches in places the Braves just could not lay off, and nine strikeouts in six innings is evidence of that. We will see if he can stay as consistent as he did in 2008, but for tonight, good job Dempster. The obvious choice for the second 'Hang Your Head' award is John Grabow. Now anything negative I would say would come off as knee-jerkish so I will say this: go back to an older post 'Grabbing Grabow'. He is not a terrible player, and he will have good outings obviously. In my honest opinion he should not be paid what he is being paid, and he should not be the set up man for this team. Who should it be? I would try Esmailin Caridad. He looks like he has some really good stuff. I am sure he will get shelled some nights and will win his share of the 'Hang Your Head' awards. But he looked good last September, and he looked good (in one third of an inning) tonight. My bottom line: John Grabow is alright, but he is far from good. And more importantly he is far from what the Cubs think he is. Monday the pitching faltered big time. Tonight the offense sputtered and one bad outing cost the Cubs the game. It is a long season, and things will get better. I really do not want to see an opening series sweep though. Things could get ugly around here. This is my second warning, Cubs. Do not think I am bluffing. Posted in: Ryan Dempster, John Grabow, Esmailin Caridad Still trying to figure out that clever title thing. So the Cubs have begun their attempt at eliminating that stench that is still strong following the 2009 season. Yesterday, two moves were made by Jim Hendry. Based on at least one of them, I fear he still has not learned. First, Aaron Heilman's reign of terror is over. He was dealt to Arizona for two medium-to-low level prospects. That is admittedly a fine move, as you are not going to get much for a reliever of Heilman's caliber. The thing that I find interesting is that it was apparently a purely cost-cutting measure. Now for a cost-cutting measure, I suppose the Cubs got as good a haul as they could expect. Still, I would be shocked to see either guy make an impact, like, ever. But the Cubs are clearly trying to reduce salary. Here's another hint: don't sign relievers like John Grabow to deals worth $7.5 million! Now granted, I was expecting this, and I was expecting the Cubs to overpay, like always. And ultimately, this move will not kill any chances at a World Series title. Grabow isn't even that bad. My question is why does Jim Hendry keep on taking very shallow looks at players before signing them? It was clear he was doing this based on the good ERA Grabow posted last year. Fangraphs has a great article about that. Ultimately Grabow has probably been fairly lucky as he walks a lot of hitters and doesn't have the dominating strikeout numbers a Carlos Marmol has. Maybe he keeps it up, and as a Cubs fan, I hope so. But, like Aaron Miles last year, the Cubs probably could have found a much cheaper option to get the same production, such as John Gaub. Again, ultimately this move probably isn't a big deal. It is just disappointing to see that Jim Hendry is still sticking to his archaic guns when it comes to building a team. But hey, it has worked 50% of the time. Here's hoping this is in that 50%. Posted in: John Grabow, Aaron Heilman I will make another post later, as I have some thoughts about the current roll the Cubs are on, but first, a quick analysis for today's trade with Pittsburgh which saw the Cubs acquire John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny for Kevin Hart, Jose Ascanio and a single A infielder, Josh Harris. Bottom line, I think it's a good trade. I don't think it's great, but the Cubs have no where near the money or the farm system to make a great trade. So: I am giving Hendry credit on this one. We need a lefty in a bad way, and B.J. Ryan is throwing mid 80's heat in the minors right now, which does not bode well for him making an impact with the Cubs. Grabow, whose numbers against lefties are actually worse than his numbers against righties, is at least decent enough to either take some load from Marshall, or free up Marshall for a return to the rotation. Either one is fine. If by some chance Ryan regains his velocity, then we have a good stable of lefties available. The one thing about Grabow though that isn't as publicized is that he is on course to be a type A free agent. If the Cubs offer him arbitration, which they should, and he declines, the Cubs will get a nice draft pick, so either way, Grabow helps the Cubs beyond 2009. Tom Gorzelanny is a throw in that could be a decent pitcher this year or the next few years. He had a good season in 2007, but has been battling injuries and conditioning issues lately. His AAA numbers are promising, so he could do something. It can't hurt to have him around. As far as what the Cubs gave up, no big losses there. Kevin Hart has had a good run, but this is clearly a sell-high scenario. He had a couple of good starts, but his control is suspect and he's not super young. Honestly, I think Gorzelanny and Hart are roughly a wash, with Gorzelanny having a more proven track record, and Hart having more recent success. Therefore, we will see Gorzelanny or Marshall take that 5th spot until Lilly comes back. That didn't hurt the Cubs at all. Ascanio is an average bullpen arm, but with Gregg, Marmol, Guzman and the recent (though brief) emergence of Jeff Stevens, Ascanio adds nothing to the Cubs that they don't already have. Josh Harris is a low level prospect, so who knows what will happen? My bet is on not much. Overall, I cannot complain about this trade. I have to admit Hendry has done a decent job with the current situation he's in. (To be fair, he's the one that put the Cubs in the situation with bad contracts.) Maybe the current run has made me soft, but I think getting Jeff Baker for really nothing was a good deal, and Baker hasn't done too bad with the Cubs. B.J. Ryan was definitely worth a gamble, even if it doesn't work. And today's trade was another good, cost-efficient move that will help the Cubs long term. And let's be honest, the Cubs need all the long term help they can get. Posted in: John Grabow, Tom Gorzelanny, Pittsburgh Pirates, Kevin Hart, Jose Ascanio, B.J. 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