Archive for September, 2009
Ryan sure has been in the news a lot lately:
In today’s paper, Bishop, whom we’ve met before, writes of the Jets: The two constants have been the poise of their rookie quarterback and the defense. To which we can now add a third: a beat writer who doesn’t seem to have access to a thesaurus. Bishop’s stories have accounted for six “poise”s since Aug. 6. Sept. 15: “… the poise exhibited by Sanchez …” Sept. 13: “… displayed poise rarely seen from rookie quarterbacks …” This has now officially gotten out of hand. Sanchez had a nice broken-play touchdown run yesterday and a largely unremarkable day throwing the ball. The English language fairly bulges with hollow compliments for a performance like that. Sanchez was self-possessed. He was serene. Assured. Phlegmatic. He played with confidence and aplomb and equanimity. Any of those, and a thousand more, would serviceably evoke the notion of a quarterback who looks like a quarterback and doesn’t constantly throw the ball to the other team’s safety, which is all “poise” really means in this context anyway. Deadlines are a bitch, and all writers have their crutches, but for a reporter at our country’s paper of record to turn time and again to the same lame cliché shows a distinct lack of — oh, what’s the word? — sangfroid. Photo via GQ It’s Sloppy, but Jets Are 3-0, and That’s No Mistake New York Times
Another week, another victory for Mark Sanchez, another opportunity for New York Times Jets writer Greg Bishop to limn the quarterback’s lukewarm heroics with his favorite word. You know the one.
Sept. 25: “… Sanchez’s poise, pocket presence and decision-making” (this appeared online under the headline, “Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez has already shown the poise of a more experienced player”)
Aug. 6, quoting coach Rex Ryan: ” … wanted to see poise …”.
I want to see how this is going to effect the rest of the season.
Here’s a video of Ryan:
Young Ryan Howard - East Coast Extreme 11U Baseball Team
Every day could be opening day when you open up your checkbook and see the logo of your favorite MLB team prominently displayed. All 30 teams available. Coordinating labels and cover are also available. These MLB checks are only $27.90 at DesignerChecks.com
I wonder how Ray’s fans feel,
“
The Washington Nationals held a everything-must-go! charity auction over the weekend which included autographed baseballs from the likes of Wily Mo Pena and Ray King. NationalsEnquirer
“
what do you think?How do you think this news will affect the team this season?
Find great seating options, and great prices on baseball tickets - at TicketsNow! Going to a game shouldn’t cost you a fortune, so shop by section and compare lots of different tickets, all guaranteed to be 100% authentic and in your hands in time for the game.
Nobody can top hill nowadays,
“
Throughout this September, with the Cubs desperately clinging to hope of a postseason berth with a 16-9 start to the month, I kept thinking “stranger things have happened”. From time to time, as you know, I’d cite various other late-season pennant collapses or pushes, such as the 1964 Phillies or 2007 Rockies, as examples of why the Cubs could come back.
Now, though, if the Cubs were to somehow pull off a miracle finish, you’d have to say “stranger things have NOT happened”. With four teams ahead of them and an elimination number of one, the race is, for all intents and purposes, over.
It would, however, be fun if somehow the five teams wound up in what Baseball Musings’ David Pinto calls a “massive tie”. Today Pinto posts the way in which four teams could wind up tied for the NL Wild Card. That’d be fun to watch if only to see how Bud Selig would have to sputter his way through the method of breaking the tie. Right now the team with the best chance of pulling a “miracle” finish is the Braves, who on September 6 were seven games off the wild-card pace and who have now won six in a row and closed to within 2.5 games of the lead.
Yesterday, the Cubs missed their chance to have their first-ever four-game sweep of the Giants in San Francisco, losing to the Giants 5-1. Randy Wells didn’t pitch too badly, but he kept getting nibbled at; he allowed eight singles and two RBI doubles to a backup catcher (Eli Whiteside) who was hitting .197 at the start of the game. How many times have we heard that story this year? Give some credit to the Giants’ Matt Cain, who is one of the better pitchers in the league and who tied the Cubs in knots, throwing eight shutout innings before the Cubs got a consolation run off the Giants’ bullpen. The Cubs did get enough men on base in the ninth to force Bruce Bochy to call on his closer, Brian Wilson, to finish it off.
So the Cubs will come home for a season-ending seven-game homestand against two bad teams, the Pirates and Diamondbacks, with a chance to at least end the season strong. Some will say that if the Cubs win all seven (for example) and finish the year with 88 wins, that it would “fool” management into thinking there aren’t any problems. I disagree. Management clearly knows what they did wrong this year — the sending-home of Milton Bradley is evidence of that — and though this isn’t an excuse, injuries, particularly to Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano, held this year’s team back from winning more games.
The first win will give the Cubs three consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1970-71-72. The 82nd win will also make Lou Piniella the first Cubs manager to have winning seasons in his first three years since Charlie Grimm in 1933-34-35. That’s a worthy goal. And any baseball player with professional pride should want to win every time he goes on the field.
I was trying to think of comparisons in Cubs history to the disappointment we have felt over the 2009 Cubs, and “disappointment” is the right word. This wasn’t a bad Cubs team, just one that wasn’t quite good enough. That would make a comparison to 2004 inapt, because the 2004 Cubs were tremendously talented. Their late-season collapse wasn’t in any way comparable to 2009 — the 2004 team had the wild card in its grasp and blew it.
It’s not comparable to 2001, because that was a team of overachievers that probably had no business being in contention that long. That team wound up with 88 wins; the current bunch would have to sweep the homestand to do that — not an impossible task given the opposition. (We also wouldn’t want the 2010 Cubs to do what the 2002 Cubs did — lose 95 games.)
It’s also not comparable to the 1977-78-79 teams, Cubs clubs that either were in first place or nearby for a couple of months each, because this team had far more talent than any of those.
No, I think the best comp to the 2009 Cubs would be the 1970 edition. Similarly to 2009, the 1970 Cubs had to play after a season filled with wonders, only to have the previous year’s team collapse — 2008 in the playoffs, 1969 in September. And like this year’s team, after 1969 the Cubs made one significant change: they sent Oscar Gamble and Dick Selma to the Phillies for a washed-up Johnny Callison. Not only was Callison not nearly the player he had been three or four years before, but Gamble eventually became a productive player elsewhere. This forced the 1970 Cubs to play nonentities like Cleo James, Joe Pepitone, Jimmie Hall, a 33-year-old Jim Hickman, and even (for one game) Glenn Beckert in center field, much as the 2009 Cubs have mixed and matched at various positions. The 1970 Cubs got off to a hot start, racing out to a five-game lead by mid-June, and then lost 12 in a row. They never recovered — just as the eight-game losing streak this year put the Cubs in a spot from which they just barely got back into first place in late July before having an awful August.
But also like this year’s team, the 1970 Cubs had one brief “maybe” moment in September. On September 13 at Wrigley Field, the Cubs were down to their last out trailing 2-1, when Matty Alou of the Pirates dropped a routine fly ball. Given new life, the Cubs followed with three straight hits, winning the game 3-2 and moving them to within one game of first place with 17 games left. Unfortunately, the Cubs went 8-9 in those 17 games and finished five games out of first place, the closest they would come to first place in the 1967-73 era of contention.
Enough of the history lesson. Let’s hope the Cubs play some fun and winning baseball in the next week, because we will all miss baseball while it is away for the winter.
.:”
What do you think?
Here’s a vid of hill doing his thing:
Stephens County Georgia Baseball
Find great seating options, and great prices on MLB tickets - at TicketsNow! Going to a baseball game shouldn’t cost you a fortune, so shop by section and compare lots of different tickets, all guaranteed to be authentic and in your hands before the opening pitch.
Ryan is in the news:
Rank the reasons behind the Cubs 2009 demise from most important (1) to least (10). Thanks to reader dc60124 for the idea. Your choices after the jump with explanations or just go ahead and vote. The Bullpen - 5th most losses in the NL, 5th least amount of wins. 18 blown saves ranks in the middle of the pack. Heilman and Gregg gave up 21 HR’s between them. Carlos Marmol made Mitch Williams look like a control artist. Lou Piniella - Started offseason by demanding a left-handed power bat that proved to be the wrong Jinga piece to move. Replaced Aramis Ramirez for 50 games with the likes of Aaron Miles, Ryan Freel and Bobby Scales while hot-hitting Jake Fox sat. Never got through to Milton Bradley. Stuck with Kevin Gregg in closer role all year, killed a pony in front of some small children…. Aramis Ramirez injury - Cubs were 6-2 in May before injury hit, went 24-26 in the 50 games he missed, actually gained a half game in the standings. They did score lowest monthly total in runs in June (3.56 R/G) than any other month, May was second worst at 4.32 R/G and just 3.95 R/G once he hit the disabled list that month. All the Other Injuries - Zambrano x2, Lilly, Dempster, Harden, Soto, R. Johnson x2, Waddell, Guzman, Miles, Freel, Patton, C. Fox, A. Blanco. Plus non-DL injuries to Bradley and Derrek Lee along with a few others. Milton Bradley - nutcase, combative, didn’t bring any power with him, killed 5 innocent people who looked at him the wrong way. Alfonso Soriano - 85 OPS+, one of three worst regulars in baseball this year by Fangraphs numbers, refused to sit despite being hurt, defense made Adam Dunn go, “woah, you suck”. Geovany Soto - looked out of shape all year, home run balls last year died on warning track this year, OPS was in the high 500’s in May, warmed up to a low 700’s by July before hitting the disabled list. Mike Fontenot - Godenot was anything but, essentially hovering around a .700 OPS most of the season and playing most of the time due to other injuries and Lou sleeping in the dugout. Jim Hendry - The Brown touch, almost every move turned to sh** for him this year from trading away Marquis, Wuertz, and DeRosa and acquiring Gregg and Bradley. Willfully went along with haphazard left-handed plan, then apparently did little to smooth Bradley’s transition to media-frenzy Chicago, then waited until far too late to suspend supposed clubhouse cancer. Ran over old lady outside Wrigley Field… Sam Zell and Delay in Sale - Cubs had plenty of money to spend in offseason but rudderless ship during season made things difficult for Hendry to adapt in-season. Honorable Mentions: Cardinals suprisingly good, the Media, the Fans, Transmission, Larry Rothschild, Scalpers, Goats, Curses, Parachat Behavior.
Tell us your opinion.
Every day can be opening day when you open up your checkbook and see the logo of your favorite Major League Baseball team prominently displayed. All 30 teams available. Matching labels and cover are also available. These baseball checks are only $27.90 at DesignerChecks.com
Ryan doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into:
D. J. LeMahieu singled, doubled, and tripled, and scored two runs, Ryan Flaherty reached base four times (double, two singles, and a walk), scored twice, and drove-in a run, Michael Brenly doubled and tripled and scored twice, Dong-Yub Kim singled and tripled, scored one run, and knocked-in another, and Rebel Ridling had four RBI, but it wasn’t quite enough offense to provide a victory, as the Cubs and Brewers played to a 9-9 tie in Arizona Instructional League action at Fitch Park Field #3 this afternoon in sunny and VERY hot Mesa, Arizona.
The Instructional League features a virtual all-star team from each organization, which for the Cubs means most of their best prospects from Peoria, Boise, and AZL Cubs (Mesa), plus a few older prospects at Instructs to work on specific aspects of their game. Other players are there to learn a new position (3B-1B Jovan Rosa and IF-OF Brandon May are being converted to catchers).
All of the Cubs minor league coordinators and instructors are present at Fitch Park each day (Monday through Saturday), as are many of the minor league managers, pitching coaches, and hitting instructors, so the kids get a lot of intense instruction on a daily basis. The players work out for several hours before each game, and then the players who are not in the lineup that day work with instructors on adjoining fields during the game. .
The Cubs got off to an early 5-1 lead today, as starting pitcher Alberto Cabrera threw two-hit one-run ball over three innings while the Cubs scored a run in the 1st on a double by Flaherty and a two-out RBI single by Ridling, and then four more in the 3rd that featured two-run RBI doubles by Hak-Ju Lee and Ridling.
But the Cubs relief corps couldn’t hold the lead, as the Brewers scored seven runs on four hits, three walks, two wild pitches, and a balk in innings 4-5-6-7 off Rafael Dolis, Jose Rosario, and Austin Kirk (although Dolis and Kirk did combine to strike out eight Brewers in just four innings of work).
But the Cubs offense kept the pressure on the Brewers, scoring single runs in the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th to take a 9-8 lead into the 9th, as LeMahieu doubled and scored on an RBI FC in the 5th, Brenly doubled and scored on an RBI FC in the 6th, LeMahieu tripled and scored on an RBI single by Flaherty in the 7th, and Brenly tripled and scored on a one-out infield single by Runey Davis in the 8th (and then Davis promptly got picked-off 1st).
Corey Martin entered the game in the top of the 9th with a save opportunity, but he surrendered three hard hit singles, allowing the Brewers to tie the game. Martin was saved from further damage thanks to a fine running catch by CF Kyung-Min Na that the little Korean turned into a nifty 7-6 DP to end the inning and give the Cubs a chance to win the game in their half of the inning, but the Cubs left LeMahieu stranded on the base in the bottom of the 9th.
Outfielders Dong-Yub Kim and Kyung-Min Na are the latest Korean teenagers signed by the Cubs to big bucks bonus contracts, and it’s pretty obvious why Kim was rated by many scouts as the top high school player in South Korea. He is a big kid, a right-handed hitter with plus-speed and plus-power, the protypical five-tool outfielder.
Na is a litlle guy, maybe 5′6 130. He is a left-handed slap hitter who uses a toothpick for a bat, but he is fast runner (although Hak-Ju Lee is faster), and an outstanding defensive CF with s plus-arm. Na is so small he makes Tony Campana look like the Incredible Hulk. I understand Na was lost for several hours last week until the Fitch Park ground crew could mow the lawn and give the kid a chance to see over the tops of the blades of grass and find his way to the clubhouse.
While fellow Koreans Su-Min Jung, Hak-Ju Lee, and Jae-Hoon Ha were playing at Boise and Dae-Eun Rhee was rehabbing from TJS at Fitch Park, Kim and Na spent the summer at the MLB Australian Baseball Academy while waiting for their H2B visas to get processed.
The Cubs also signed three Taiwanese players this year (RHPs, Tzu-An Wang and Yao-Lin Wang, and 2B Pin-Chieh Chen), and they are supposed to participate in the AZ Instructional League, although they hadn’t reported as of last week.
Here is today’s abridged box score (Cubs players only):
LINE-UP:
1. Hak-Ju Lee, SS: 1-5 (F-7, 2B, 4-3, 6-3, 6-3), 1 R, 2 RBI
2. D. J. LeMahieu, 2B: 3-5 (6-3, F-9, 2B, 3B, 1B), 2 R
3. Ryan Flaherty, 3B: 3-4 (2B, BB, 1B, 1B, F-8), 2 R, RBI
4, Rebel Ridling, 1B: 2-4 (1B, 2B, FC, F-9), 4 RBI
5. Kyler Burke, RF: 0-4 (FC, F-8, K, K)
6a. Jovan Rosa, C: 0-2 (K, 5-3)
6b. Michael Brenly, C: 2-2 (2B, 3B), 2 R
7. Justin Bour, DH #1: 1-4 (K, F-7, 1B, 4-3)
8. Runey Davis, LF: 1-4 (L-7, K, K, 1B), RBI, PO
9. Dong-Yub Kim, DH #2: 2-4 (1B, 3B, FC, K), R, RBI
10. Kyung-Min Na, CF:Â 0-3 (BB, 6-3, K, 3-U), R
PITCHERS:
1. Alberto Cabrera - 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 1 K, 1 WP,1 GIDP, 6/2 GO/FO, 44 pitches (25 strikes)
2. Rafael Dolis -Â 2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 4 K, 1 WP, 1 BALK, 1/0 GO/FO, 50 pitches (30 strikes)
3. Jose Rosario - 1.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 0 K, 1/2 GO/FO, 17 pitches (8 strikes)
4. Austin Kirk - 2.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 4 K, 1 WP, 2/0 GO/FO, 37 pitches (24 strikes)
5. Corey Martin - 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 0 K, 1/2 GO/FO, 15 pitches (11 strikes)
ERRORS: NONE
CATCHERS DEFENSE No stolen base attempts and no passed balls
OUTFIELD ASSISTS: Kyung-Min Na (2) - 1) threw out runner trying to stretch single into a double, and 2) doubled runner off 2nd base on line drive to CF
.
What do you think?
Want to give yourself an edge? Want the same type of professional equipment that MVPs use? Want to buy it for less? Get free shipping on orders over $99 when you shop at BaseballRampage. These guys have everything you and your team could need, from bats balls and gloves to cleats, bases, even pitching machines.
I wonder how camp’s real fans feel, “
CLEVELAND - Ozzie Guillen interviews never get old.
The latest?
Guillen was asked about regrets from this season and had this to say:
“The only thing I regret, I don’t think Jose Contreras and Bartolo Colon were ready enough to help us out of spring camp,” Guillen said. “That’s what I thought. We brought them up to the big leagues so fast because we were desperate about who was the best guy we were going to take to be a starter. That’s the one thing. I think Gordon Beckham should be in the big leagues. Besides that, we really thought the problem in the outfield would be resolved, the third base problem would be resolved with Josh Fields. Things didn’t go the way they should be. One thing is those two guys weren’t ready. Besides that, we just didn’t play the way we should.”
He was then asked about what was left to play for, and had this gem:
“We got to go there and compete. That’s the reason I was pissed Saturday. It seemed like we didn’t compete and ‘Ok, let’s go through the season.’ That’s not the way to approach it because if we want it, like put this game over with, how about sending the money we make to Jerry Reinsdorf and Kenny Williams? I say, ‘We’re not going to play to win. Here’s your money back and play to get the season over with.’ If you’re going to think that way, then give the money back to those guys. Myself, and my coaching staff. If I sit here and say I don’t care what happens today, then look yourself in the mirror and you should be embarrassed because you’re getting paid a lot to being here and you got to going through the season. I don’t want to go through the motions. I don’t care. I don’t care what those guys think. I’m not going to go through the motions. I make the same move I made against Detroit that I go against Cleveland. Obviously, with Cleveland, I’m going to have a chance to play the kids. That’s the only difference. We go to Detroit and it depends how they are. We’ll go by the way we should. Right now, we got six games left and we have to win those six games. For what? Who cares. But we got to win those six games or be prepared. We still have people in the stands. We have fans watching the game. No matter what you play, you got to play for something. One thing about it, play for pride and thank God you’re playing baseball now.”
“
what do you think?This might be shocking news for camp fans, but some of you who will say that you saw it coming. I can’t say I’m all that surprised though. camp is awesome, I really hope this doesn’t affect the season.
Every day could be opening day when you open your checkbook and see the logo of your favorite Major League Baseball team proudly displayed. All 30 teams available. Matching labels and cover are also available. These MLB checks are only $27.90 at DesignerChecks.com
Ha, I can’t get enough of Ryan:
As the Cubs and their coaches and manager came onto the field for the handshakes and high-fives after their come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Giants, I saw something I don’t think I’ve seen all year.
A smile on Lou Piniella’s face.
Sorry it took so long, Lou, but that one was definitely worth a smile (and worth me staying up late to see the end).
For most of the game it appeared this recap was going to be written as a form letter, one I’ve written so many times (”Cubs pitcher throws great, offense impotent, insert name of pitcher here deserved better”). And for eight innings, the game set up exactly that way. Ryan Dempster threw another excellent game — he has a 1.73 ERA in five starts covering 36.1 innings in September, during which he has issued only six walks — but got victimized by a man hitting .178 coming into the game. John Bowker, sort of the Giants‘ version of Micah Hoffpauir, spent a good chunk of 2009 at the Giants’ Triple-A stop at Fresno, pounding minor league pitching at a .342/.451/.596 clip before being recalled in July. Like Hoffpauir, he’s really more of a first baseman than an outfielder; also like Micah, both players were in left field for their respective teams, and Bowker struggled at the major league level this year.
Not last night. Perhaps channeling Hoffpauir’s two-homer, five-RBI career day against the Mets last September (oddly, one year ago today), Bowker chose last night to have the best day of his 2009 season. He doubled in the Giants’ first run and then nearly sent a ball into McCovey Cove (it landed in the last row of the RF seats) for a homer, giving the Giants a 2-1 lead.
Other than those hits, Dempster held the rest of the Giants to five singles and a walk in seven innings; he lowered his season ERA to 3.68 and he says he’d like to start two more times in order to meet a personal goal of 200 innings:
He’s at 186 innings, and will make two more starts, opening the final homestand next Tuesday against Pittsburgh and closing the season on Oct. 4 against Arizona.
“That’s a goal of mine every year,” Dempster said of reaching 200. “I just want to win ballgames. I sign up to make as many starts as I can. If it happens, it happens. Today was a great win for us. If I can help us win a couple more ballgames, it’ll be awesome.”
Absolutely, and if Dempster can, say, finish the season with two wins in those starts and an ERA near 3.50, his 2009 season will be not that far off the pace he set in his first full year as a Cub starter in 2008, despite a rocky start that likely had a lot to do with the personal stress he was feeling due to the health problems his newborn daughter had in April.
Aaron Heilman threw another solid scoreless inning in relief; we’ve all bitched about Heilman plenty here, but in 14 appearances since August 12 he has thrown 16.1 innings, struck out 12 and walked only three and posted a 1.65 ERA. The key is the lack of walks; at the very least if he can keep this up, he will have trade value this offseason.
Heilman wound up with the win when Jeff Baker, down to his final strike and an 0-2 count, laid off a pair of out-of-the-strike-zone sliders and slammed the next pitch into the left-field seats for a game-winning two-run homer. Derrek Lee had stolen second base while Baker was batting to try to set himself up in scoring position to tie the game; unfortunately:
The Cubs may be a little shorthanded Friday if Derrek Lee can’t go. The first baseman aggravated his neck when he slid into second base in the ninth.
“Every time he slides, I cringe,” Piniella said. “What happened probably is when he came in, someone tapped him on the head scoring the run in the ninth, and I don’t think that helped the situation either.”
That’s why Hoffpauir moved from LF to 1B for the last of the ninth, which Carlos Marmol finished off without too much incident for his 15th save (and 12th in a row). It was one of the best games of 2009, preventing the Cardinals from clinching the NL Central for another day. I woke up this morning to a voicemail from my dad, who lives in San Francisco, telling me some friends invited him to the game. Glad he got to see such a good one — that’s two Cubs wins he has seen this year, including this one at Wrigley Field on May 14.
It’s nice to see wins like this; they give great hope for the future. Keep up the good work — let’s see more smiles on Lou’s face.
Finally, the winner of last night’s photo caption contest is KaliCub, who submitted this entry:
In a stunning display of one-upmanship, the Cubs fail when Jake Fox jumps and rest of Cubs fielders fall down, only to find out that Jake didnât catch the ball.
KaliCub, please email me your address so I can send you the DVD. Thanks for all the entries!
.
I want to see how this is going to effect the rest of the season.
Discover great seating options, and great prices on baseball tickets - at TicketsNow! Going to a game shouldn’t cost you a fortune, so shop the better way and compare dozens of different tickets, all guaranteed to be authentic and delivered in time for the game.
For all you fans out there, here’s some news about Hill:
“
The last time the Cubs faced Tim Lincecum, on May 5 at Wrigley Field, Lou sent onto the field a makeshift lineup that included Joey Gathright leading off in CF (the only game he started as a Cub), Kosuke Fukudome batting third, Micah Hoffpauir hitting fifth, and Aaron Miles starting at SS and batting second (surprisingly enough, he actually worked a walk off Lincecum).
I really have no idea why Lou did this; maybe he was thinking “we’re going to lose this game anyway to this pitcher, so I’ll give my regulars some rest”. And you know what, the spring training style lineup might have actually worked if Sean Marshall hadn’t given up a three-run homer to Bengie Molina in the first inning. After that, Marshall settled down and matched Lincecum well for the next six innings; each of them allowed a pair of runs between the second and the seventh.
Tonight, there will be a few sub Cubs in the lineup again (see below), but this time out of necessity due to injuries and several other factors. With Carlos Zambrano on the mound, maybe this time, the Cubs can beat Lincecum; they have done so only once before, on August 21, 2007, and that was primarily the fault of the Giants’ bullpen, though Jason Marquis matched up well with Lincecum that night. I was at that game in San Francisco; here’s the recap I wrote the next day.
There are only three visiting teams that have a winning record at AT&T Park. Believe it or not, last night the Cubs (now 17-16) joined the Dodgers (43-38) and, amazingly, the Pirates (15-14) on that very short list. (Hat tip to BCB reader bison for the link.)
Lineup via Twittermyer:
Fukudome, rf; Theriot, ss; Ramirez, 3b; Hoffpauir, 1b; Baker, 2b; Scales, lf; Hill, c; Fuld, cf; Zambrano, p
Paul Sullivan asks whether the Giants might be a good match for Milton Bradley in an offseason trade and posits whether Aaron Rowand would be a good return:
… both GMs are motivated sellers, and a Rowand-Bradley deal would not be out of the realm of possibility. Rowand has three years and $36 million left on his contract, while Bradley has $21 million and two years left on his deal. Obviously more players would have to be involved, unless the Giants were willing to pay the Cubs around half of the $15 million difference in the contracts.
Well. Rowand has had a mediocre year (and looked awful striking out against Carlos Marmol last night) and is two years removed from his fine offensive season with the Phillies. But he is an outstanding center fielder; getting him would allow the Cubs to move Kosuke Fukudome back to RF (perhaps he could platoon with Reed Johnson there?) and maybe Rowand has one more good year left in him. Maybe some of the difference in salaries could be made up by asking the Giants to take Aaron Miles in return, too. If a deal like this were made, the Giants would probably have to leave Bradley home during any series at Wrigley Field. It’s not the only option or even the best one, but it might be worth considering.
Finally, for the third day in a row, I found a fun photo for which I’ll run another caption contest. Prize again is a DVD of “Chasing October”. Previous winners can enter, but can’t win again (ballhawk and KaliCub, who won last night for this entry).
| Today’s Starting Pitchers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The crack in Tim Lincecum’s armor might be his recent performance. Is he tiring at the end of a long season? In his last six starts he’s a pedestrian 3-2, 3.69 with 20 walks in 39 innings. Maybe the Cubs can wait him out and get on base via walks tonight. The more pitches you make him throw, the quicker the Cubs can get into SF’s bullpen. Derrek Lee is 6-for-16 (.375) with a pair of doubles vs. Lincecum, but he won’t be starting tonight. And maybe someday, Lincecum will look like he’s older than 15.
Carlos Zambrano hasn’t faced the Giants since 2007, when they had quite a different-looking lineup than today’s, on August 23, 2007. Z threw OK that day, but allowed his opposing pitcher, Matt Cain, to hit a two-run homer. Overall Z is 4-1, 3.40 in seven career starts vs. the Giants, and has not lost (3-0) in six road starts (2.76) since the All-Star break. Edgar Renteria (12-for-31, .387) and Randy Winn (6-for-11, two doubles, a HR) have hit Z well.
Today’s game is CSN-centric; Chicago and Bay Area. In Chicago it’ll be on CSN Plus, so “check local listings” for the channel on your system (CLTV in Chicago and 285 for the HD version if you have Comcast in the city). For other games today see the MLB.com Mediacenter.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Giants site McCovey Chronicles. Grant, who runs the site, is one of SBN’s best writers.
Overflow comment threads will post today at 10:15 and 11:15 pm CDT.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
.:”
Post your replies.
Every day could be opening day when you open your checkbook and see the logo of your favorite Major League Baseball team proudly displayed. All 30 teams available. Coordinating labels and cover are also available. These baseball checks are only $27.90 at DesignerChecks.com
My how the sports writers love to speculate. They don’t start a rumor mind you, they get a few out of context quotes to make it seem like it’s from a real “the trade’s just about ready to be completed” source. We all know Captain Wrongway Phil Rogers loves to do this stuff in his Sunday ‘mlb whispers’ column. The newest wanna-be GM rumor comes from Paul Sullivan, the Cubs beat specialist from the currently bankrupt (can I count the ways) Chicago Tribune.
Pseudo GM, ‘Paul Sully-My-Reputation’ pulls out the two martini cocktail napkin and draws up trade possibilities for Milton Bradley this offseason. On a bigger picture level he categorizes two “how to unload Bradley scenerios”. Then he paints a classic bad contract for bad contract, real dollar salary swap with the Giants that oddly makes some sense (accent on odd).
Sully Scenerio #1:
A reverse salary dump or more accurately a salary eat and swallow (definitely not tasty). The team that will take on Bradley and the $20+ million remaining on his deal has no “bad” contracts of near equal value (because their inherently low payroll doesn’t have any big contracts of similar value). Kansas City and San Diego get mentions here. KC will have 2 years remaining on Gil Meche’s 5/55 deal but Meche has let everyone know he doesn’t like the big market spotlight. He was a passing consideration during the 2006 off-season where the Cubs rightly preferred to sign Bulldog Teddy Roosevelt Lilly. A deal with these teams would essentially be the Cubs unloading Bradley but still paying the rest of his contract for minimal minor league talent in exchange. I’m not sure if it’s worth discussing this since it’s probably about the same as just releasing him and eating the collard “green”(s). The Cubs have done this before and gotten Jerry Hairston Jr., Mike Fontenot and Jose Ceda level value as players on previous trades to get bigger salary players out of town. So current GM Hendry has gotten something out of that situation before with the most value extracted from the unloading of Todd Hundley’s big contract (2 years remained on a 4/24 deal) for Eric Karros and Mark Grudzielanek.
ESPN even got Padres GM, Kevin Towers to add this nearly tampering quote:
“I haven’t had any calls from Jim about him,” Towers told ESPN.com.
“But I think people kind of know what players we target. We have to take chances sometimes.”
“We took a chance on Milton the first time we had him, and he actually played pretty well before his knee injury.We could be in the market for an outfielder. I’m not saying it’s necessarily Milton. But our experience with him was rather a positive one. It wasn’t really a negative one.”
So it looks like Towers is trying to ‘target’ ex-Cubs in a paint-by-numbers fashion, starting at #22. That makes Bradley his obvious next target. I’m thinking Ryne Sandberg will be the Padres next manager based on this logic.
Here’s the inside poop from KC:
According to Royals insiders, upper management still considers Bradley a talented hitter who could thrive in a low-key environment such as the one in Kansas City.
Sully Scenerio #2:
Finding a trading partner with an ugly contract that makes a bigger financial committment than the current Bradley deal…and Sullivan seems to have found one!
So here’s the punch line:
Aaron Rowand for Milton Bradley. Doing the math it’s a 3/36 vs 2/21 swap. The Cubs would be on the hook for an albeit deferred, $15 million more. Hey, everybody likes Rowand and we all knows how laid back things are in northern California. Bradley would look a bit small (but comfy) in the Barry Bonds barkalounger. Hitting in front of happy go lucky Kung Fu Panda just might work for Milton.
If the Cubs want to swap bad contracts, as they did in the Hundley deal, the Giants may be Hendry’s best option. Center fielder Aaron Rowand has not put up the kind of numbers expected in San Francisco and has three years remaining for $36 million.
Rowand is two years removed from a 27-homer, 89-RBI season for the Phillies and would be a good fit in the Cubs clubhouse.
(addition: and Bradley would be two years removed from a 22-homer, .321/.436/.663/.999 line in Texas)
I hope that Paul Sullivan uses the napkin on that blue cheese (from the olives) dribbling down his chin. A deal like this would make Hendry’s biblical acquisitions: 3 Aaron’s and 1 Moses…shouldn’t the counter move really be a Pharoah Ramses II? That should get the Cubs a player who can really provide “protection” for the middle of the order (of course, that depends on how well the late Yul Brynner can hit).
One last thing…
As suspended Milton Bradley isn’t with the team, I’m thinking I should be looking for him under the bus. Shouldn’t players (in this case Reed Johnson) just keep their mouths shut rather than putting broken feet in them?
“Cubs fans would fall in love with him (Rowand), for sure,” Cubs outfielder Reed Johnson said. “He did well on the other side of town, and I know people … appreciate the way he plays the game.”
“But he (Rowand) takes responsibility for stuff,” Johnson said. “If you ask him, he’ll tell you he could be playing better than he is now.”
**The Grand (where’s) Waldo Hotel Bus**
Oddly, if they do get Rowand, it might just mean Reed Johnson might not be affordable as a 4th outfielder with Sam Fuld as a much cheaper option for that roster spot. With Fuld, the Cubs would be one player closer to a minyon, so that prayers for a World Series win could possibly get answered.
.
I have always been a fan of rios, I have to say, seeing stuff like this gives me mixed feelings.This will be shocking news for rios fans, but some of you who will say that you saw it coming. I can’t say I’m all that surprised. rios is sweet, I hope this doesn’t affect the rest of the team.
Shop for great seating options, and great prices on baseball tickets - at TicketsNow! Going to a baseball game shouldn’t cost you hundreds of dollars, so shop and buy from fans and compare lots of different tickets, all guaranteed to be authentic and delivered in time for the game.
Check out who is making news - Ray! This time, Joe Posnanski Doesn’t Get JP. For you convenience,
Joe Posnanski writes about JP Ricciardi, again, and points out some of the contradictions in the Blue Jays GM.
�You would really like J.P. if you got to spend some time with him,� one friend in baseball told me. �He�s really a good guy and a good baseball guy.�
�You would really hate J.P.,� another friend in baseball told me. And so it goes.
The article discusses the two sides of JP, is he a “scouts guy” or not, does he embrace sabermetircs or not, can he compete on a low payroll in the AL East or not? (you have to get through the Michael Jordan stuff to get to the meat of the JP commentary).
He also adds this comment which is new to me:
On the one hand he seems a smart guy, on the other hand several people who have worked for him have told me that he does not want dissent or thoughtful dialogue in his organization, which is pretty dumb for someone trying to beat the Yankees and Red Sox.
We have discussed JP a lot on this site but I think this article lays out the enigma that is JP.
The story also discusses an interview with JP that the Canadian Press published this week where JP says that whoever the GM is in Toronto the team will have trouble competing in the AL East. On one hand you can say that is the reality of life in the AL East but several writers have taken umbrage at that statement claiming JP is reversing his opinion when he was hired. Also other writers have complained about the defeatist attitide in his comments. Competing with Boston and the Yankees can do that to you.
Peter Gammons of ESPN is sympathetic to the Jays predicament in fighting the Yankees and Red Sox for a playoff spot each season. He writes in favour of adding an extra wild card to the playoffs.
On the other hand, it would be an advantage to teams such as the Rays and Blue Jays that compete against the economic powers in New York and Boston.
Joel Sherman of the NY Post agrees with Gammons:
But I do feel for the Rays, Orioles and Blue Jays who do have to compete annually with the Yankees and Red Sox. And it is because of them that I have added another reason for an extra wild card.
Back in the eighties and nineties teams like the Jays could compete with the Yankees and Red Sox because those teams were poorly managed. However with the big dollars in baseball now, and thanks in part to Michael Lewis’s Moneyball, teams are very aware now of the importance of good management. Today it is hard to see a time when the Yankees and Sox will fall back to earth. This is not really a baseball problem but an AL East problem. But baseball could turn into a north american version of european soccer where the same teams compete for the championships every year and the lesser teams compete to finish in the top fourth of the leagues knowing the top spot is out of reach. Will the AL East become a league where the Jays consider it a victory if they finish third?
.
This will be shocking news for Ray fans, but there are those of you who will say that you saw it coming from a long way away. I can’t say I’m all that surprised though. Ray is fantastic, I hope this doesn’t affect the rest of the team.
Take a look at a clip of Ray trying his best work:
Ray Baseball 2009
Find great seating options, and great prices on MLB tickets - at TicketsNow! Going to a baseball game shouldn’t cost you a fortune, so shop by price and compare lots of different tickets, all guaranteed to be 100% authentic and delivered before the opening pitch.