Chicago Cubs

That's good news. It's my hope that this will be the beginning of a chain of good news for the Cubs throughout the off-season.

 

Yeah it's my hope too but I guess I'm a little more pessimistic about it. I REALLY wanted Mark Cuban to get the team. It'll be hard to say what philosophy the Rickett family takes but I hope they aren't going to be penny pinchers in the FA market.

Interview with Tom Ricketts

 

Well that sounds encouraging. I hope the change in ownership really makes a positive change for the team.

 

I hope so too. I fear though that the Ricketts talk big but will be penny pinchers in these hard times and we will be stuck with this 09 core next year.

 

Not sure that the 09 core is bad...

 

The Bullpen was(for the most part). We know Soriano is so spuratic in his swing. Jeff Baker looked decent but will he be consistent. A-Ram needs to be healthy. The outfield scares me to be honest. Koskue Fukudome is the most consistent outfielder and he hits for average. I am trulym afraid the clown won't be gone and signing Jaramillo was a move to appease him.

 

You have to hope Ricketts takes a page from the Henry/Red Sox book for his operation of the Cubs. The first thing he has to do is buy out Milton Bradley or pay for another team's albatross.

 

Yeah I agree on the bullpen. And Fukudome.

 

I think Sam Fuld is a very exciting player to see develop. I hope he gets a spot on the roster after Spring Training. I don't see the Cubs going after any free agents other than resigning Jon Grabow. I'd like Derosa but I'm also very naive

 

We'd all like Derosa.

 

Which is why it eats at me that they don't try to sign him! DeRosa said Chicago is the best team to play for plus Jaramillio was his hitting coach in Texas. Baseball is a business and after the horribloy disapoiting 2009 season a sure fire way to get Cubs fans hopes up high would be to resign DeRosa. And yet the Cubs beat writer shrugs off the fans as stupid and not knowing about baseball. He's 35 years old they say and had a poor September. 'll tell you one thing the St.Louis Cardinals won't have those biases.

 

The Cubs offseason has not been impressive, but it sounds like the Ricketts want to evaluate the entire organization in 2010. I fear, based on reports of the cost to purchase the team, that the Ricketts will be going young, i.e. cheap, for the next few years.

Anyway, here are some moves that they could do right now to improve the team:
1. Move Theriot to 2nd and install Blanco as SS until Castro is ready. Theriot is a poor defender at SS but I think would be ok at 2nd. Denfensively, Blanco was real impressive, although I know he can't hit much. I don't agree with people who think Castro should be up in mid-season, I'd rather give him a full year at AA since he has only played there a few months. I hate when the Cubs rush their prospects and play them when their not ready.
2. Keep Samardzija and Marshall in the BP. Jeff has really only one effective pitch with his slider sometimes working and sometimes not. To be an starter you need 3 good pitches, and I don't know if he will ever really develop a 3rd. Also, it gives the BP a flamethrower, which they don't really have besides Marmol. Marshall always pitches better out of the BP. He can be a good spot starter at times, but should stay in the pen most days.
3. Sign Marlon Byrd. I really wanted Mike Cameron, but he's gone. Sam Fuld is a nice bench player, but he cannot be a full time starter. Byrd had a good season at Texas(where have we heard that before) and would be reunited with the hitting coach. Also, they need to sign another outfielder, because Soriano cannot play 140+ games and Fukudome needs to sit when his swing goes haywire.

I think the Cubs, if everyone is healthy, have the best talent in the division and should win the Central. However, they will get swept out of the playoffs if they don't make some moves.

 

They've signed Byrd. I don't know if I'm truly excited about it but I think he was the last really decent outfielder left in FA that the Cubs had the money to sign. I can't express how glad I am that the clown is gone and better yet we didn't have to pick up the tab. Carlos Silvia could be a good addition to the bullpen. At least he gives some sorely needed bullpen depth. I think we are going to get a career year out of Fukudome where his average will become even more respectable. When he's on he's the kind of hitter the Cubs sorely need. Jeff Samardzija's lack of development is the Cubs fault and the Cubs fault alone. They rushed him to the majors because he was a popular prospect and because they overpaid him. He needs at least one more pitch to be Major League ready. I think the Cubs will give up on him after this year if he doesn't show much improvement. Castro isn't going to be ready until '11. I don't want another Cubs prospect rushed and ruined.

 

'The Hawk' has landed

Andre Dawson has made the Hall of Fame. A great figure of Cubs lore and he has a legitimate chance of representing the Cubbies on his Cooperstown plaque. His best years were in Montreal no doubt but he played through pain here. He rose from a last place season to claim NL MVP honors. I think it's safe to say that we will have a #8 flag hanging above the Friendly Confines very soon. Big Z, Alfonso, Soto, and all of the other underachievers ought to take a good look at the Hawk

 

Very deserved for Dawson. Very deserved. He needed company, but that's for another thread.

 

Greg Maddux has come home

 

THAT is ****ing awesome.

 

While as a Braves fan I would have loved to see Maddux come back to Atlanta, I still appreciate this move. My only hesitation would be that I don't really see him as a front office guy - I would have expected him to be a pitching coach or manager before going into the front office.

Still a nice move for the Cubs, though.

 

As far as I understand he will be working the the pitchers at Spring Training as well.

 

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Congratulations on the Hall of Fame, Andrew Dawson!!!!!

 

He deserved it on sportmanship alone. A little disappointed to see he's going in as an Expo, especially since he went on record saying he wanted to go in as a Cub. His statistically best years were in Chicago but I guess I see the Hall of Fame's reasoning based on history. It's sad to see how Bud Selig and the MLB kind of screwed Montreal.

I hope the Cubs retire his #. I'll be at that game when they do

 

As we move closer to Spring Training, the state of the pitching staff, especially the starters, is very worrisome.

Zambrano has the stuff of a #1 but has a head full of #2 sometimes. Lilly is hurt and who knows if he will pitch as well as he has after coming off shoulder surgury. Dempster is a nice #3 but I wonder if, after pitching 200+ innings the last two years, his arm will hold up. Wells had a nice rookie year but I doubt he will ever be as effective. Gorzelanny is actually a good #5 to have and I think we will pitch like he did when he first arrived in the majors with the Pirates. The rest of the candidates for starter (SM and JS) I think are much better suited for the bullpen. I know there are a couple of starters from AA (Jackson and Cashner) who are suppossed to be good but you can't ever rely of prospects to pan out.

Speaking of the bullpen, I can't wait to see Marmol as the closer for a full year. I think he will be the best closer in the NL this year.

 

Pitching will continue to be a problem for the Cubs unless they really do some cultivating of minor league prospects and some smart trading. But then pitching across the league is not exactly brimming over with excellent pitchers. Seems like a weak pool right now.

 

Seems like there really aren't many teams out there that are comfortable with their rotation... and understandably so. I'm not sure what the Cubs have in the minors right now - any possible solutions there?

 

I've got some nice Cubs goodies from my camera that I thought you guys might enjoy taking a look at.

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This is a gaze at the #31 retirement ceremony from last year. You can kind of make out both Fergie Jenkins and Greg Maddux. Fergie's party is seated to the left, and Greg's party is seated to the right. I was in the Upper deck at Wrigley so I couldn't get a great look but I took as many photos as I could.

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This is a photo of my Mark Grace autograph. I met Gracie at this years Arizona Diamondback fan fest. I don't have a picture of him and I, and it kills me that I don't, but meeting him was a thrill. He's a personality and he was great to all his fans. The autograph tickets to get his signature sold out before any of the major Diamondback players of today. I actually had to buy my ticket from a scalper, but believe me it was worth it meeting him. I'll tell you one thing though, Arizona is a Cubs state.