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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. 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And today may signal the end of trying for it this season, as after dropping a series at home to the lowly Nationals, reports are now saying Harden and Heilman have been claimed off waivers. Now, this is not a surprise, as many teams send their players through waivers after 7/31 in order to see if they clear, thus making them trade-able again. The fact that there are published reports indicates that this may be more than that. Teams can always use pitching, even if it is Aaron Heilman, and the Cubs may see if they can get something of value, as this season now appears lost. Now here is where it gets a bit intriguing: Rich Harden is a type-A free agent, and Aaron Heilman projects to be a type-B free agent this offseason. This means, assuming the Cubs offer arbitration (and they should), if these two bolt for another team, the Cubs get draft compensation. Judging by the Cubs history in player development, it is debatable whether or not that actually is worth anything. Still, that is potentially 3 draft picks, and with hope eternal that the minor league system straightens itself out, that does have value. So we sit until Monday to see if indeed the Cubs are throwing in the towel. The bottom line is the Cubs NEED to get more than a bag of peanuts for these two, because keeping them until the end may warrant a decent reward. BTW, nice to see the Cubs passed on Adam Dunn to get Milton Bradley. Who needs all those home runs anyways? Free Agent Info from http://www.scribd.com/full/17307814?access_key=key-b51zwnu6cmptu1y7vn6 Posted in: Rich Harden, Aaron Heilman, Waivers With a sale finally near completion and a team on the very fringe of a pennant race, the Cubs are in quite a situation. This year looks increasingly lost, but it looks like some change up front may be on the horizon. What that means on the field is anyone's guess. The core of this team is in place for a while, but Hendry has wiggled out of bad contracts before with good results (Todd Hundley anyone?). I suppose Hendry may not be around long enough to do that though. Who's to say? This last game against the Dodgers was almost a chance to relive 2008 all over again. Dempster pitched like it was a contract year. Marmol was not as wild as Paris Hilton at a Las Vegas bachelorette party. (OK I give up on metaphors.) The Cubs even caught a couple of breaks. It was nice while it lasted, and with the Nationals coming into town, maybe it can last a little longer. The Tribune brings up an intersting point regarding Rich Harden, who is a free agent at the end of this year. That presents a sticky, sticky situation as talent-wise, Harden is probably the best pitcher the Cubs have. But there was another ridiculously talented pitcher with injury issues the Cubs had prior to this (heh heh) and that didn't work out all that well in the end. Honestly, I'm reluctant to say what to do. On one hand, we are sitting in a contract year, which has burned the Cubs many many times before. On the other hand, Harden is 27 unlike Dempster who is 32 or Soriano who was 31 when he signed. That tells me he is entering his prime. In a perfect world, the Cubs find someone to take Ryan Dempster. Maybe they can take on another bad contract in return, but one with less money due and in a place where even adequate would be an upgrade (second base for instance). You have a starting rotation of Z, Harden, Lilly, Wells and Gorz in 2010. Since I cannot think of a concrete example of how that could happen, and signs are doubtful Ricketts can open up the pocket book right away, you at least offer Harden arbitration. He will probably walk, but you get a nice draft pick in return, and with luck, the Cubs will have the personnel in place to actually make a good pick and develop it. Z, Lilly, Dempster, Wells and Gorz is still a respectible starting five. Still, 20-20 hindsight tells me (once again) that the Dempster contract was a bad idea, as the Cubs' hands may be tied in locking up a much more talented Canadian. So a story that I heard rehashed today, but was making the rounds this spring was the personnel the Ricketts family might place at the head of the organization lead by former A's GM and Padres' CEO Sandy Alderson. First of all, Alderson would be a GREAT hire. Alderson really helped bring statistical analysis into the front offices of baseball, and he had great results, including 3 AL titles and 1 World championship. His emphasis on on-base percentage was the basis which Oakland and Boston, among others, would build multiple playoff teams. The Cubs for too long have been drafting 'tools' guys, athletes with little strike-zone discipline, that almost never pan out. Alderson, and a new GM (potentially an assistant GM from Boston) could institute a top-to-bottom change in philosophy, from how they trade and sign free agents, to how they draft and develop players. The latter is the key, as a good farm system will circumvent any need to hand out overpriced contracts to marginal superstars like Soriano. Look at Boston (ugh). They have a payroll that is currently smaller than the Cubs. But they have homegrown talent all over: Pedroia, Youkilis, Ellsbury, Lester, Papelbon to name a few. They know what they are doing over there. They won't win the World Series every year, but with a healthy payroll, a farm system producing a constant flow of players, and a some know-how on where to spend when one needs to: those are the 3 keys to a perenially successful organization. The Cubs have 1, and sometimes they demonstrate 2 and 3, but not nearly enough. I think Sandy Alderson can really help the Cubs moving in the right direction. Worst case, the Cubs end up like the Padres. Oh wait, that would be pretty bad, wouldn't it? Posted in: Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster, Sandy Alderson The Cubs winning streak ended today as Rich Harden was not his sharp self. I get the feeling he does not like pitching at Wrigley field. Maybe we can do a platoon like Milwaukee attempted last year, with Harden pitching on the road and Ryan Dempster pitching at home. We can call it the Canadian Concoction, and it will be the most dominant platoon in baseball. Nice to see Derrek Lee hit a home run though. The title has to do with the event in Tampa Bay though. Joe Maddon had a major brain fart and listed two third basemen on his lineup card, while meaning to put Evan Longoria in the DH spot. Because of that error, Tampa lost the DH and had to bat their starting pitcher THIRD. THIRD!!! Now while I would call it the right way to play, for arguements sake we will just say Tampa had to play National League style baseball, a major handicap as Cleveland got to use their DH. Well, good work Cleveland, as they gave up an RBI double to the starting pitcher, Andy Sonnanstine, and they lost the game despite the major advantage. That would have this blog livid, if we were a Cleveland Indians blog. Anyways, just thought I would post that due to the sheer humor of the situation. Posted in: Rich Harden, Canadian Concoction, Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Indians, Designated Hitter | ||