thecubsfan.com

obligatory non-Lieber post

I could care less the selling the name of Wrigley story. I hope they don't, but I know they probably will. Just as much, I know people will keep on calling it Wrigley, so they'll likely be smart enough to sell it as something like "Wrigley Field, presented by Motorola." The Cubs will continue playing baseball in whatever they call the field and life will go on.

I'm much more bugged about this idea of selling Wrigley to Illinois State Facility Authority. I don't know that I can necessarily trust the state to manage an aging baseball stadium when they just blew multiple deadlines to keep the trains running and only accomplished that much with budgets held hostage so the Governor can start begging for votes. The Cubs have been historically mismanaged enough without a inept/corrupt state government getting involved.

I will grant that they've done a decent enough job with the Cell after the renovations, but they had to do the renovations because they screwed up so much in the first place.

This doesn't seem like a long term method of keeping the Cubs in Wrigley. Yea, the Tribune can tie them to stadium after selling them, but the new owner is going to want to break out of any disadvantage deal, and selling the stadium separate from the team is probably not going to benefit the new owners at all. Splitting the stadium from the team sends things down a bad road.

4 for 1

- Kosuke Fukodome's physical is supposed to be happening today, with the press conference tomorrow. He's supposed to wear #1 and will have KOSUKE on the back of his jersey, but I guess we know all that for sure tomorrow.

I said it before - this signing fits the needs of the team very well. It'd be nice if Soriano was dropped to 4 or 5 in the lineup, but as long as they have Fukudome batting before Lee and Ram, they should be driving in a few more runs. Last season, the Cubs were very reliant on power hits for wins, and Fukudome's presence should make them a bit more balanced.

Four years is just the right length. Kosukue will be 31 in April, and you'll probably not want to pay him big money for his 35 year old season. $12 mil a year is a lot, but he's so much better than the suggested alternatives.

I would not put much stock into any positional promise the Cubs have or will make to Fukudome before April 1st. Last off season, Soriano was told he'd be in one position for the whole season and DeRosa was told he'd be the everyday second baseman, and both promises were quickly broken. If the Cubs end up in a situation where Fukudome in CF makes more sense, that's where he'll be.

- Mark Prior being non-tendered was no surprise. Reading the coverage the next day, it was probably something both sides quietly knew for months, because of Prior's reaction to the 1y with team option deal the Cubs offered (the only offer they could make.)

I know that if Mark Prior blossoms somewhere else, the Cubs will be mocked for letting go of such a player, but he'd clearly hit a dead end in Wrigley. Too many scars from '04, '05, '06 and '07 that'll never heal right. I hope for him the same that's happened with Tyson Chandler. Chandler had peaked out with the Bulls, and I think needed to go some place out to become the near-All Star level guy basketball player he's become - and he's doing in the other conference, so the Bulls don't have to see him and regret what might have been (but never could be) more than two times a year. I hope Prior makes a (unlikely) return to form, but I hope he does it in place which doesn't play the Cubs often.

- I was regretting being out of the loop for most of last Thursday, because I desperately was interested in hearing the leaks and rumors from the Mitchell report (more than reading the actual report itself, which I know is odd.) It had occurred to me that Thursday was quite possibly the day when Sammy Sosa would be confirmed as to have used unauthorized PEDs. Instead of just rumors and guesses, there was going to be an actual investigation to back up assumptions. I actually saw The List just before leaving that morning, scrolled to Sammy's name, shrugged, (saw Wood and Prior and Neifi as well) and got going.

You can only imagine my delight when I downloaded a copy of the actual report, hit control-f, and only found Sosa in a section of "people who won't talk to me [the abridged version]". They got many other people, but they didn't get Sosa. (Or most of the other people on that fake list.)

Does this prove Sammy Sosa has never used steroids or HGH or anything else stronger than Flintstones Vitamins? Nah, of course not. I'd like to think he didn't, because it makes my memories better and all, and I'm more than willing to believe the stories about how he picked pitches to swinging at much better (because I'm sure I saw that.) If I could separate myself from my feelings and you asked me if I thought he used something, I'm sure I'd say yes, and he'll never be found out in the way those in the Mitchell report were - the purchases would've been done outside of the US, and only those extremely close to him would know and have no motivation to ever tell. But as long as Sammy's name doesn't come up on an lists or returned checks, here's still a glimmer of disbelief I can hold onto.

Objectively, I think not being on the list, and the list including enough names to push the "so many people were using, you should punish no one" viewpoint (which is crap to me, but I don't count) means 5% - 7% more votes when it comes to HOF time. And perhaps that's enough to push him from a high 30% - mid 40% guy to mid 40% - low 50% guy who gets a lot of attention forever and gets in on a veterans ballot (when all those in the same situation as he get to vote.) Everything helps a little bit.

- If the Cubs can make their team better by trading for Brian Roberts, I'm all for it. I just won't believe it has a chance until Erik Bedard gets moved.

nothing much happening at winter meetings

Jim Hendry on Ryan Dempster: "I have every confidence he's going to be a 14-, 15-game winner."

Apparently, he's planning on starting Dempster for at least two years.

----

The Brian Roberts trade rumors are nonsensical. Brian Roberts would be a fine addition, but the names that are being suggested for him are Sports Talk Radio silly.

Sean Marshall - Cubs don't think a lot of him, or Dempster wouldn't be moved to the rotation
Sean Gallagher - locked out of rotation spot for the foreseeable future, hasn't shown a lot in the pen
Ronny Cedeno - easily replaceable bench flotsam
Eric Patterson - lost a great deal of his value over the last year and has definitely been passed by Sam Fuld among future OFs
Matt Murton - remains Matt Murton

All four of these guys may have many years of MLB baseball in them, and probably useful contributions (maybe not Cedeno), but none of them are top prospects and it'd be a stretch to call them projected difference makers. If the Orioles were simply looking for more depth, it'd be one thing, but none of these guys seem like key parts of a successful rebuilding effort. $14.3 over two years is a good deal for the current market; it'll save the O's some money but it's not an unfair contract for the Cubs to pick up.

I can't see this happening for how little sense it would make for the O's, but since most of the story seems to be coming from the Baltimore side, I like the thought that there's a chance.

-----

2B Roberts
CF Fukudome
1B Lee
3B A-Ram
LF Soriano
RF DeRosa
SS Theriot
CA Soto

wouldn't be a bad lineup. Still feels like they're short on power, but it'll do.

goodbye, red bat

IT'S SO HARD
TO SAY GOODBYE
TO YESTERDAY

[does double finger point wave]

-------
- Jacque's first interview mentioning how much he hated being in Chicago will take - 24 hours? 48 hours?
- Omar Infante? Really? ehhhh.
- I guess the Tigers are trying to beat the Christmas rush!
- Project Make Felix Pie Stop Sucking is actually far more interesting.

a-boom

ORLANDO--Agents who attended yesterday's union meeting in New York were told that 11 current free-agents are named in the George Mitchell report which could come out sometime around the first of the year, and that all 11 players have been notified by the commissioner's office. Two agents who were there confirmed this today.

-- Boston Herald

You know how sometimes it's fun to root for chaos in sports? A massive BCS pileup tieup destroying the system is the biggie, but just as much for the possible four way tie the NL almost ran into this year? I like to root for those things.

Wouldn't it be awesome to see A-Rod's name on that list? ESPN imploding on itself would be quite fun for at least a day, his Yankees opt out goes down as the worst decision in the history of decisions, all the asterik debates get to begin anew - wait, no, that part is horrible, let's skip that. Someone would still sign A-Rod, because he's A-Rod (same reason Bonds is probably getting signed by someone) but have a heck of a press conference trying to explain it.

It's more likely to be people along the lines of Matt Clement or Aaron Boone, but at least the wording opens up fun possibilities.

10/25 Cubs Catch Up

I hope the rest of the World Series isn't like it was tonight. The one good thing is I waited long enough to start watching that I could cut out all the commercials and plenty of other junk during the show. By the time I caught up to the game, the game was a million to 1 and I didn't need to sit thru much more. Just in case it's a closer game, and I need to watch all nine inning, I think I'll wait a little longer (or watch the Fire playoff game.)

There's not a lot of Cubs stuff going on, but maybe enough to squeeze out a Thursday post.

They started ripping the field yesterday. Webcam footage (I guess) shows that all the grass is gone, and they're dumping excess dirt. Most of the time will be spent on getting the new grass in and set up, I guess. It'll be interesting to see if there's any visible difference. You could tell it crowned from the seats (at least most of them.) It wasn't as much as visible as it apparently is from the clubhouses.

Roberto Novoa got claimed by the O's, which served to remind us that Roberto Novoa was on the team all year. That's what preseason car accidents that break your shoulder do to you. I wonder if he got a playoff share.

Cliff Floyd was shopping himself to the Marlins. That wouldn't seem to fit with them, but it's a clear sign he's not coming back to Chicago unless he's getting a good spot; he doesn't need to stay in Chicago next year as much as last year and won't be taking a lesser role just to do it.

Ken Rosenthal says the Cubs are expected to pick up the options of Daryle Ward and Steve Trachsel. Ward makes a lot of sense, and I'm looking forward to his pinch hitting nearly as much as I'm looking for to a year of trying to spell his first name correctly. Rosenthal is usually accurate, but I hope he goofed about Steve Trachsel. Starting pitching is very thin in the majors right now, but there's still plenty of bad options out there, just as bad as Trachsel appears to be for '08 and a lot cheaper than $4.75mil a year. Trachsel was at best a luxury item at the end of the season to fill in holes, not something the Cubs need for 162 games. The Cubs are solid enough with their top five guys that they don't need to be spending money on a 6th.

Henry Blanco says he's 100% and will be back with the Cubs. Yay. He'll be backup, Soto will be starting, Kendall will be long gone. The Cubs.com interview with Jim Hendry pretty much confirms that. (The other interesting thing about that interview is how Hendry praises the new scouting director while subtly burying the old one.)

Red Dust

When trying to figure out where the Cubs are going to finish in the future, you've got to take a look at the rest of the division. Not that it's worth a close look yet, because the off season may change things, but you can pick up trends of where franchises are going.

The Brewers are obviously going to be pretty good for an extended period of time. I'd set a baseline of 80 wins for them; if everything goes completely wrong (like they don't fix the pitching), they still should be around 500. They've got a high ceiling from there, and will surely be the consensus pick for the division in '08.

On the other side, Houston doesn't seem to be going in the right direction, but I'm not sure it matters with the talent they have left. Pittsburgh could still pick smart people this off season, but they'd have years of rebuilding. St. Louis kinda seems to be now in the same situation, except they're going to waste the prime years of a top flight Hall of Fame player in the process.

The Reds are the wild card; they're always close on talent, maybe a starter and a solid guy in the bullpen from being competitive. (I always think of them as a strong offensive team, but they could use some help there as well.) The Reds usually put up a run of very good baseball during the season, usually early, before turning into their usual disappointing season, seven straight of those now. Still, a few smart moves and some luck, and I think they could be the third strong(ish) team in this division.

Thankfully, the Reds are not going to let that happen.

Reds hire Dusty Baker - Cincinnati Enquirer

[Reds GM Wayne] Krivsky said Baker "embodies winning, leadership, credibility."

ha!

"We're going to play exciting baseball. We're going to play fundamental baseball," Baker said.

hahahaha

"He had two of the most high-profile players ever to play the game when they were going through rocky times," [Jeff] Brantley said. "I'm talking about Bonds and Sosa. Dusty handled them both well.

"That's the key. It ain't going to be the pitching staff. It's going to be about how he handles (Ken Griffey Jr.)."

I don't even need to have witty/sarcastic remarks. This is so awesome.

Reading more in the Cincy papers, you can find Reds personal saying things like
- Wood had "the worst mechanics in baseball", so it's not Dusty's fault. (You'd think a coach might want to catch and correct that before he breaks his arm. Guess not!)
- Prior "hurt himself", whatever that means
- Kent Mercker thinks Dusty is great. In Chicago, Mercker confronted Chip Caray and Steve Stone, and Dusty protected him from punishment, so I hope Mercker would be appreciative.
- oh, the Chicago newspapers had it in for him, of course.
- Marty Brennaman may still heavily dislike Dusty, because no one can get him to say a quote otherwise.

I'm glad Dusty got this job, because it means Adam Dunn will be gone from the division very soon (surely to the Nationals as part of Jim Bowden's master plan to recreate his old 70 win teams). Maybe Josh Hamilton will be gone too - Dusty is much more a Norris Hopper guy. I'm not looking forward to the first Reds trip to Chicago (April 15) and am already rolling my eyes at the "how dare you boo a guy who brought you within five outs of the World Series" columns, but mostly I'm thrilled to discount a contender. It's not even specifically because they signed Dusty, though I love the idea of being able to watch him implode a team from a safe distance this time

The Reds problem is more talent evaluation than managers. The last couple of interim managers have turned things around for a while, and then dropped off in following seasons. The managers haven't changed how they run things during those stretches, and changing managers gives the same results, so you'd think it'd be time to try something else. By making a splashing manager pickup instead of going after more talent, the Reds management show they still don't have a clue. They could've used the extra money they're paying Dusty over what they would've given Pete Mackanin on improving the players on the field and it would've made a lot more difference.

The bonus is one less bad person on Baseball Tonight. You know, the Cardinals still need a GM and Steve Phillips is right there...

NLDS Game 3: Diamondbacks 5 - Cubs 1

POTG: RP Bob Howry (2 IP, H, 4 K)
Runner Up: 2B Mark DeRosa (2H, R but GIDP), 1B D Lee (2 H but GIDP)

No power, no win. One double on the night, 4 extra base hits on the series, and it obviously wasn't going to be close. Rich Hill dug a hole early, but it doesn't matter much when the Cubs only put up a 1.

I'm looking for something to say about the game, but there's really not. The grounding into double plays, 4 in the first 7 innings, was crazy annoying, but they would've been just as much an issue if they were only good for one out. The Cubs were hitting ground balls instead of line drives all series, and it's tough to get extra bases when your hitting the ball to the short stop.

Stephen Drew looked good at the plate, but looked at shortshop like he should be a third baseman.

Gut, instant feelings:
Ward - returns
Floyd - does not
Wood - stays
Prior - DFA, possible resign at a big salary cut
Monroe, Cotts, Novoa - same
Jacque/Marquis - no trade
Pie/Murton - platooning
Dempster - still the closer
Marmol - still the setup
Kendall - free agent
Blanco - back up catcher
Soto - #1 starting the year
Trachsel - history

Next Year's 25

01 CA Soto
02 CA Blanco
03 1B Lee
04 1B Ward
05 2B DeRosa
06 2B Fontenot (or Cedeno)
07 SS Theriot
22 3B Ram (oops! distracted)
08 LF Soriano
09 CF Jacque
10 CF Pie
11 RF Murton

12 SP Z
13 SP Lilly
14 SP Hill
15 SP Marquis
16 SP Marshall

17 RP Wuertz
18 RP Eyre
19 RP Marmol
20 RP Howry
21 CL Dempster

22 SS Cedeno or middle infielder
23 spare OF
24 left handed reliver (Ohman?)
25 spare reliever

NLDS Game 2: Diamondbacks 8 - Cubs 4

Cubs 0-2
Diamondbacks 2-0

POTG: C Mr. Soto (2R HR)
Runner Up: PH Daryle Ward (2B, 2 RBI), RP Kerry Wood (2 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K)

Ted Lilly and the Cubs are going to beat Doug Davis and the Diamondbacks today. I'm not even worried about it.

Shows what I know.

I was thinking about doing a liveblog last night, but opted to get some other stuff done while watching the game. If I had written then, or written this in the immediate aftermath of this game, this blog would've been filled with bursts of depression and anger. I waited till now instead and spared myself an embarrassing comments for the rest of my life (though it's another thing that makes this the least interesting Cubs blog ever.)

I'm trying to look at things rationally. Like at least Kerry got to make it back to postseason and be effective. And Soto's probably the Cubs starting catcher in '07 with Kendall only coming back if he'll be a backup and Blanco can't. (Though Soto didn't have the best game behind the plate, both in blocking ball and pitch selection; with Hill on the mound anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if Kendall was behind the plate and they just told the Diamondbacks to do their worst.) Even though Ram didn't get the big hit, they at least got some looks on Valverde.

The Cubs had two game loss streaks 19 times during the season. Before the team bottomed out at the start of June, they lost the third game 5 times and won twice. As the Cubs turned around, the Cubs followed winning streaks by winning 9 times and losing only 4. The Cubs have mostly been the first half team for the first two games of the series, but they've got to find their second half/later two-thirds ability if they're going to have a chance.

I think the Cubs still have it in themselves to send this back to Arizona, because the Cubs can get to Livan and win the game if Hill doesn't leave the ball up, and Z will win Game 4 all by himself if he has to (just to make a point about who should be silver slugger!) I'd be lying if I felt at all confident about a Game 5 back in Arizona - I'd also be lying if I told you I ever wanted to see Chase Field again - they were playing paddy cake in the top of the 9th in that home plate dugout! - but I'd like not to be crushed.

If the Cubs can get out to an early lead on Saturday - never be a better time for a Soriano leadoff homerun - the crowd can carry the club a bit. I just worry about how it'll be if it's agonizing early, because the Diamondbacks have taken the heart out of the lineup with the last two games.

Dick Stockton is an awful announcer. I swear, he confused "Cubs" and "Cowboys" when Michael Wuertz came in.

NLDS Game 1: Diamondbacks 3 - Cubs 1

Cubs 0-1
Diamondbacks 1-0

POTG: SP Z! (6 IP, R, 4 H, BB, 8 K; 2B)
Runner Up: 2B Mark DeRosa (H, BB, HBP)

I need to get this argument out of my system, because arguing with human beings, arguing with the radio and arguing with newspapers hasn't helped so far. Writing it out usually does the trick. Since the Cubs are indeed playing another game today, it doesn't serve a purpose to dwell on it.

Whatever time Z got yanked - after 6, after 7, after 8 (I've been arguing with someone who thinks he could've gone 9, which would've put him at 127 pitches and pitching in 3 days) - it makes absolutely no difference if the Cubs can't score any runs. Z pitching one more inning would not have changed the offense, you can't prove Z wouldn't have run into trouble, and even if he didn't, Marmol's always going to be the first guy out of the pen but now facing a better portion of the Diamondbacks order. You're getting the same result whenever you pull Z, and if the Cubs weren't going to score regardless, they're better off saving Z for a day where they might. (Let's take a moment to note that Arizona is going with a 4 man rotation, which means Z faces Micah Owings next time thru, not Webb. That's a much better shot.)

I find the whole argument about pulling Zambrano completely and totally insane and inane. It's like arguing if it's better to get to the North Side via Lake Shore or 90/94 - if you don't have enough gas to get you there, it doesn't matter which route you take. The Cubs ended up pulled over to the side before the big S curve and for all the complaining about taking the wrong route, the actual problem was not stopping at BP sometime earlier. In 2007 baseball, pitching can not be blamed for any lose where the offense scores 3 or less runs - it takes a heroic effort to win with little support.

Marmol's problem clearly wasn't the batters he was facing, but overthrowing the ball and pulling everything to the left because he was too hyped up, then trying to just get pitches over which got them cranked. Maybe Wood would've handled the moment better, but you've got to go with your best bet, and Carlos Marmol arguably has been the MVP this year.

I greatly admire Lou for believing in the move he made and refusing to back down from people who had decided what story they wanted to tell without taking a look at the scoreboard.

Sometimes, the other team is just simply better. This was one of those games. Tip your cap and try again tomorrow.

These things I know to be true

- The Cubs aren't winning the series if they score 1 run a game
- The Cubs aren't winning the series if Carlos Marmol turns into a pumpkin
- at least the first and probably the second problem won't be such an issue when the Cubs face the non-Webb pitchers.
- The Cubs must get ahead early to take the Diamondbacks bullpen out of the game.

I think I'm not really as mad about this as I am about the extremely annoying guy in the blue/white Under Armor-like shirt behind home plate all night. He had tickets in the surely most expensive section in the ballpark and he wasted them, so either he's filthy rich or someone was dumb enough to give him free ones. He clearly didn't care about wasting the money for the tickets, because he spent half the game turned around chatting with someone, a full inning flirting with the blond girl who was sitting in that section (and also not paying any attention) and the rest of the time watching himself on television. He gave Narcissus a run for his money, and the stupid "Hi [whomever]" signs he kept trying to hold up were unreadable even in HD but still very distracting.

This guy really should've been ejected after he tried the flashing Cubs logo thing, and I'm figuring it was only because the game was so close to being done (those people who left early just after can also get lost) and because he was in the expensive section - if someone did that in the bleachers, they'd be banned for life. At the least there was a payoff at the end, when he picked up a plastic glass of whatever and he got distracted or got yelled or whatever and the glass slipped from his hand and splashed onto the floor. Serves him right for standing around like a goof and acting the part all night.

(These are the kind of things you notice when the team's doing nothing at the plate.)

This dude, more annoying than anyone calling home on their cell phone and waving to the camera, gave me two ideas:

1) Baseball needs to find some fabric that allows one way viewing - you can see out, no one can see in, like a one way mirror - and use it to cover the area behind homeplate (as well as any visible basement area like where this guy was sitting). TV still has the whole rest of the stadium for reaction shots, and we don't have to stare at people who are purposely trying to distract attention from the game so we will look at them instead.

2) The next great idea for a cable station is to have no TV shows at all. Just turn a camera on in a public metro area, broadcast that camera's feed on your network, and promote it's existence. It'd basically be the most high profile webcam possible. Everyone who so desperately needs to be on TV can seek it out and do whatever, and it ought to be cheap enough that it can be added to every cable system in the universe and maybe those people can get the exposure they want. I'm not sure who'd bother to watch this, but if you can make being on TV not so novel, perhaps people will get over it when they get good seats at a sporting event.

Ted Lilly and the Cubs are going to beat Doug Davis and the Diamondbacks today. I'm not even worried about it.