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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 They have a combined payroll of over $270 million. They were a combined 9-15 going into Monday. Too small a sample size? They have also combined for 0 playoff wins since 2007 despite both being in the top tier of major league baseball salaries. They are the Mets and the Cubs, and they are competing in the World Series of Underachievers. And the Cubs took game 1 (since losing is more indicative of underachieving, of course) convincingly. Marlon Byrd sure didn't help that, what with his three hits. He actually got on base in the leadoff spot, and for that he earns an Eddie Zambrano Player of the Game award. He has been good for the first couple of weeks, and for the time being, center field is not a worry for the Cubs. Ryan Theriot, however, is a concern as he earns the "Hang Your Head" award. The bullpen is clear of blame when the offense only scores once, and Theriot was a big reason why that happened. I guess the best time to be super patient is when there are two strikes on you, because that is when Ryan Theriot decided to take a pitch, only to be called out looking. The final line on him was 2 strikeouts, 1 GIDP and 1 walk (intentional, to get to Randy Wells who ironically had a much better offensive game). And Castro gets closer and closer and closer. It isn't time yet, but the more this team struggles, the better chance he has of coming up from AA, where he is raking. Jeff Baker has done a good job at 2B, so suddenly moving Theriot there is not such a forgone conclusion. History says Ryan will bounce back, but that is contingent on him changing his plate approach. His best year (2008) he walked (73) more than he struck out (58). Last year, that was not the case (93 K/51 BB). This year, he is continuing that trend. Strikeouts on their own are not indicative of bad offense. But Theriot's walks are going down, and he has no power to speak of. He needs to get his eye back, or he will be the odd man out come Castro time. And finally, remember that Soriano made $117K again last night. That triple turned double really reminds me why I don't like cheering for that man. Posted in: Marlon Byrd, Ryan Theriot 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 The three game series with Milwaukee was pretty much what was expected. Pitching was not good, and offenses were feasting. Since I am late on this post I'll be brief with my awards. Marlon Byrd wins his second Mario Encarnacion Player of the Game award. He had two hits including a two-run home run. He has shown a lot of power at the plate thus far, which is a bit surprising. Maybe Rudy Jaramillo really is that good with him. Carlos Zambrano wins the "Hang Your Head" award this time, after he avoided it opening day and had a decent game. He is pitching like he should be the one to leave when Ted Lilly returns. Obviously that will not happen, but it has not been a good start to the year for Z. Today begins a series that should be a feast for the Cubs. The Astros are even more atrocious early on than most thought, and the offense *should* continue their hot streak. Now it is time for the pitching to settle back down. Hi ho, Silva! Posted in: Marlon Byrd, Carlos Zambrano Well, that was about as bad as you can start off a season. The Captain Kneejerk in me wants to go off, but I will stay pretty calm and reserve me venom for two particular places. First, my awards. The first ever Julio Zuleta Player of the Game award goes to Marlon Byrd. I was thinking about James Russell and Sean Marshall, who pitched the only good innings of this one, but Marlon gave us a taste of what he can do. Not only homering, but making a statement, literally, as he came back to the dugout. Obligatory opening day joke: he is on pace for 162 home runs. The first ever "Hang Your Head" award goes to, and this is a surprise perhaps, Jeff Samardzija. Why? Zambrano blew, too. Don't get me wrong. But his trouble started with a couple of bad luck, bloop hits. A couple inches, and he may have pitched a solid game. Samardzija, however, showed he has no business in the big leagues. At this point, you worry. He has been up for parts of three seasons, and has shown zero improvement. We know Carlos Zambrano will get better, but Samardzija has just trended downward since an impressive debut month. Obligatory "he's a football player" joke: I hear the Bears are looking for a receiver. Finally, I officially put Jim Wolf right alongside Angel Hernandez in the "Umpires Need DFA's too" club. Pat Hughes called him out in the radio broadcast after the blown call on the McLouth trap. His responsibility in that play is to get as good of an angle on that so he can help make the right call. Instead he inexplicably runs down the left field line, gets a terrible angle, and also misses a blatant call. Did you know this isn't the first time that clown blew a call against the Cubs in Atlanta? Nope. He was the one who ejected Ted Lilly in that 2007 Sunday Night game. No warnings, no indications. Why did he do it? Because he "knew" Lilly had intent. This assbag also has a conflict of interests as his brother is Randy, the Brewers pitcher. I am not saying he intentionally ran from that ball, and it is pretty obvious he did not. I plead more incompetence on that one. But still, this dude should not be umpiring games that even indirectly affect his brother. Anyways, it is one game, so no panic button here. The Cubs blew away the Diamondbacks in a similar fashion in 2005. We all saw how that worked out for the Cubs. But man, oh man, they better straighten the ship up fast, or this blog will get ugly. Posted in: Opening Day, Marlon Byrd, Jeff Samardzija, Jim Wolf After a robust 2.5 month offseason, Blue Ivy is back and avergae as ever, and I could not be more psyched. Alright, I could be tons more psyched coming into 2010, but I do think the Cubs have a better shot than many are giving them. I think Soriano still has a little more left in the tank, maybe not five years worth, but some. I also think Soto and Zambrano will return to a better form this year. Obviously there are too many questions, especially revolving around pitching, to feel very confident. This should be a fun, if not up-and-down, year. With that said, I did not comment on a few of the acquisitions made by this team in 2010 (and New Years' Eve 2009). So I will do that now: 1) Marlon Byrd. For what was available, this was an OK signing. I do think it is a year too long and a couple million too much, but when we are dealing with the size of payroll the Cubs have, that is nitpicking. The key with Byrd is to temper expectations. He will be an adequate everyday center fielder. To expect more is setting yourself up for disappointment. Like I said before, there were not many in house candidates, although I do like the weight Tyler Colvin has put on. 2) Xavier Nady. I am iffy on this, and wonder if a Jonny Gomes would have been a safer route. It is coming out that Nady will not be available for full time work until June. Which of course begs the question, is 4 months of an outfielder coming off Tommy John worth 3.3 million. Of course, he was signed to be a platoon player, so this hardly makes or breaks the team. If he comes back and is his old self, he will be a solid contributor. Still, I worry he may not be his old self. If nothing else, Nady was a Cubs killer, so at least the Cubs won't have to face him. 3) Chad Tracy. I like this one. It is very low risk and low price for a left handed stick, who has proven he can hit, and can backup third and first. He is actually younger (by a couple of months) than Micah Hoffpauir, but has a track record of success, including a 27 home run, .911 OPS 2005 season. Granted, that is five years ago, and injuries have slowed him to a point where he was only able to get a minor league deal. The thing is: he is versatile, somewhat proven and not exactly old by baseball standards. The question this Spring for Tracy is whether he can regain some of that 2005-2006 form, or if 2009 has indeed shown that Chad Tracy is done. If it's the latter, the Cubs don't set themselves back at all, and if it's the former, they made a great find. I am rooting for the former. 4) Kevin Millar. Heh, heh. Again, low risk, so I cannot say it was a bad signing. On the contrary, any minor league deal has the chance of helping (albeit remote). There are differences between Millar and Tracy though that make me a bit less optimistic about this deal paying off. Namely he is 38, so his decline is likely to continue, while Tracy is 29 (30 in May). Also he is right handed. And while that is not the be all end all, I think that gives Tracy an added dimension that Miller cannot bring. I will say this though, Miller is clearly a fun guy. He was the emotional motor behind the 2004 Red Sox team. I don't know if that is worth a roster spot, but if he can earn it this Spring, great! Bottom line is out of Hoffpauir, Millar and Tracy, I only see one making it. Overall, these four signings are not going to put this team over the top. In fact, only three will probably be with the team in Atlanta on Opening Day... maybe even only two. Obviously, once again, and this is not any breaking news: the key to this season are the players who vastly underachieved in 2009. If they continue to underachieve, than even Kevin Millar and Chad Tracy will not be able to salvage 2010. Posted in: Offseason, Marlon Byrd, Xavier Nady, Chad Tracy, Kevin Millar 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 In 2007-08, it was Brian Roberts. In 2008-09, Jake Peavy was the name. Could the hot rumor of the 2009-10 Cubs offseason be Curtis Granderson? The Detroit Tigers are looking to shed payroll, and Granderson, a Chicago native, could be one of the players leaving. Granderson had an off year last season and has 3 years at $25.75 million left on his deal. The Angels and Yankees are rumored to be interested in the 28-year-old as well. I've read some opine that Granderson would be simply a left-handed Soriano. That is an extremely narrow view of him. First of all, to compare Soriano and Granderson defensively is to compare night and day. Granderson has shown a ton of range in a spacious center field in Comerica park. Not to mention the added benefit of moving Fukudome back to right, where he is an above-average defender. Second, the Granderson's WARP, even in a down year, was at 3.4. Fangraphs computes him to have been worth $15.2 million, which makes his salary a bargain (still). Why is this? Though Granderson's OBP was just below league average, he still showed tons of power in a big park. His OPS+ ultimately ended up about average, but he did not have the lopsided K/BB rate of Soriano, nor did he have the minus-minus-defense. Ultimately, if the Cubs were somehow able to pull this off, I think it would be great. He is just entering his prime years, so his physical abilities could still be reaching their full potential. Defensively alone, he would be a tremendous pickup. And at Wrigley Field, he could really do some damage with the bat. I mean, come on, 30 HRs with 81 games at Comerica. The one issue, pointed out by Keith Law, is that Curtis Granderson is pretty much an Aaron Miles against left handed pitching, OPSing a putrid .484. With Fukudome also having trouble against southpaws, a trade like this would suddenly increase the need for a right handed outfielder, maybe two. That would probably mean a return for Reed Johnson. There are definitely hidden costs to this trade. Ultimately, I do not think the Cubs have the resources, be they financially or in the farm system, to pull this off. If by some off chance, they do, I really hope Jim Hendry looks past Granderson's high strikeout totals (which should not be a factor) and can pull this off. The much greater chance is a free agent pickup. I had originally predicted Mike Cameron, but it looks like Marlon Byrd might be the man. To that I say "meh", he is an alright hitter. His K/BB was not impressive last season, but he did hit for much more power. In 2008, he had a great OBP, but not as much power. If he could put it together, then I would think this is a steal. And who knows, maybe Rudy Jaramillo (his former hitting coach) is the guy to help him do just that. Ultimately, the Cubs could do worse. But even though they are probably a pipe dream, these Granderson rumors make me wonder if they could do much, much better. (Stats from baseball-reference.com and fangraphs.com) Posted in: Curtis Granderson, Marlon Byrd, Offseason | ||