Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

28 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 

Last updated 3-26-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 15
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs Bats Stay Smokin’ Hot

Cliff Andersen slammed a three-run homer and Brandon Guyer drove in three runs with two-out RBI singles in the first and third innings, as the Cubs Arizona Instructional League team drubbed the Oakland A's AZ Instructional League team 8-2 this afternoon at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa. The Cubs got off to a quick lead, and never looked back. Leon Johnson led-off the bottom of the first, dropping a perfectly-placed bunt down the third base line for a single. He then stole 2nd and advanced to third on a ground out, before Guyer came through with his two-out RBI single, a hard-hit grounder between second and third. (BTW, for those of you who have not seen him play, Brandon Guyer is a Matt Murton clone... they must have been separated at birth). The Cubs put the game away in the bottom of the 3rd, and they did it the hard way, too. With two outs and nobody on base, Ty Wright singled, and advanced to third on a line double down the right-field line by Tyler Colvin. (Last year's #1 draft pick, Colvin just arrived at Fitch Park last Thursday, having been working out with Team USA in preparation for its one-week "tour" through the Arizona Fall League at the end of this month, and then the World Cup in Taiwan in November). Guyer followed with a two-run single, and after Marquez Smith drew a walk, Andersen clobbered his moonshot far over the 15-foot high fence in RF. The Cubs added another run in the bottom of the 4th, as Gian Guzman reached base on a HBP to lead off the inning, followed by a line single to RF by Drew Rundle that chased Gooz to third. After Johnson popped-up to short, Wright grounded out to second, scoring Guzman. The Cubs finished their scoring in the 6th, as Jovan Rosa singled to lead-off the inning, advanced to second on a balk, and scored on an RBI single by Guzman. Meanwhile, the Cubs pitchers were shutting down the A's. LHP Chris Siegfried got the start, and went three innings (47 pitches), allowing one run on three hits and two walks. Siggy was able to escape further damage by keeping the ball on the ground (7/1 GB/FB), including a nifty 4-6-3 DP started by second-baseman Marquez Smith to end the first inning. Smith was drafted as a power-hitting third-baseman out of Clemson, but with the organizational logjam at 3B (Aramis Ramirez, Kyle Reynolds, Josh Lansford, Jovan Rosa, and Josh Vitters), he has been playing mostly 2B in Instructs, and he has done a fine job there, too. RHP Yuri Higgins worked the 4th and 5th innings, and although he tends to overthrow and will sometimes abruptly change his arm slot in the middle of an AB, he was effective, throwing two shutout innings. The final out in the top of the 5th was an outstanding diving stop and laser throw to 1st base by third-baseman Rosa. 18-year RHP Dae-Eun Rhee (signed by Cubs Pacific Rim Scouting Cooridinator Steve Wilson out of Korea this past July) made his second Instructs appearance in four days, throwing another 1-2-3 inning (4-3, F-9, 3-U) on just nine pitches, and wowing the scouts with his outstanding control and off-the-table splitter mixed with a 90 MPH two-seamer with movement. Once again, Rhee's parents (who accompanied their son to the U. S. from South Korea) got video from all angles, and were (needless to say) extremely proud of their son's performance today. 24-year old Colombian RHP Dumas Garcia (signed by the Cubs last month out of the independent South Coast League) had another impressive outing, getting the A's 1-2-3 (K-swinging, 6-3, K-swinging) on just 13 pitches in the 7th. Garcia has an odd habit of cocking his head to one side when he throws, and what he throws is a 94 MPH fastball mixed with a killer change. OF Kyler Burke (acquired from SD in the Michael Barrett deal) has left the Cubs AZ Instructional League team in Mesa and will be reporting to the Honolulu Sharks of the Hawaii Winter Baseball (HWB) league, replacing OF Ryan Harvey, who sustained a season-ending injury. INF Nathan Samson is the other Cubs minor leaguer hangin' loose in Hawaii this Fall. The Arizona Fall League (AFL) begins play tomorrow in the Valley of the Sun, and the Mesa Solar Sox (CUBS, BOS, HOU, MIL, and STL) will open the 2007 AFL season at Phoenix Muni Stadium versus the Desert Dogs (BAL, CHW, MIN, OAK, and PIT). Cubs players assigned to the Solar Sox are RHPs Matt Avery, Justin Berg, Sean Gallagher (replacing injured RHP Grant Johnson), and Rocky Roquet, SS Joe Simokaitis, 3B Josh Lansford, and OF Sam Fuld.The AFL is considered a fast track to the big leagues. Here is today abridged box score (Cubs players only): LINEUP: 1. Leon Johnson, CF (2-5, R, K, SB) 2. Ty Wright, DH #1 (1-4, R, RBI, K) 3. Tyler Colvin, DH #2 (1-4, R, 2B, K) 4. Brandon Guyer, LF (2-4, R, 3 RBI, K, SB) 5. Marquez Smith, 2B (1-3, R, 2B, BB, HBP) 6. Cliff Andersen, RF (1-4, R, 3 RBI, 3-RUN HR, 2 K) 7. Jovan Rosa, 3B (2-4, R, 2B) 8A. Mark Reed, C (0-2, K, SB) 8B. Josh Donaldson, C (0-2) 9. Gian Guzman, SS (1-2, R, RBI, BB, HBP) 10. Drew Rundle, 1B (1-3, BB, K) PITCHING: 1. Chris Siegfried - 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 1 K, (47 pitches -7/1 GB/FB) 2. Yuri Higgins - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (23 pitches - 1/3 GB/FB) 3. Dae-Eun Rhee - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (9 pitches) 4. Dumas Garcia - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (13 pitches) 5. Stephen Vento - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 2 K, 1 WP (17 pitches) 6. Jordan Latham - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (15 pitches) ATTENDANCE: 9

Comments

can someone please quit sticking reporters in front of cuban? longshot barely begins to cover the issue...and its his own damn fault.

seriously...a mark cuban piece is "fun" and its on the real-life pulse of many fans... but hey paid sportswriters, how about telling us some REAL news about the guys who are most likely to be the guys pushing REAL CUBS ISSUES because theyre not the funny circus sideshow. instead we get the side show while the next powers that be get the occasional business-page treatment. yeah, this is the real world and fans/readers want to read about cuban...but most people dont even know how zell/canning are...much less much about them.

For Arizona Phil? It seems like the Cubs have stockpiled some prospects more than ever on recall. What is changing here, that we havent seen in quite some time and who might be responsible for this?

The last thing Reinsdorf and his Brewer loving buddy Bud want in Chicago is a guy who'll spend $150 million a year on payroll and make headlines himself. As much as I'd like it to happen I just can't imagine it.

quite honestly...and not to rain on parades... but we're just hearing more about these lower prospect guys because we get more info abou them the past many years. we've had more than a few gems hidden in rookie/A/AA over the years we just never really heard much about with as much info as we can now. in the early 00s and before you had to go to a certain few websites and/or magazines...today you got blogs with guys like AZ Phil and expanded publications with good backing (scout.com, etc) out there giving us all a lot more info. we no longer have to rely on a few publications and the few friends/contacts we may have made...we got the shared knowlege of many people who read these publications and combine the knowledge of all the contacts. we've been talking about 19 year old ceda since he came over and have had lots of info to follow his career with...neat stuff.

hahahaha ryno! oh man... 1 "i dont know where it is" 1 "im looking right at it" 1 "im staring into space" 2 "we're looking at each other" sigh...

Kenny Lofton vs Josh Beckett, somewhere that strikes a chord...

while I agree Cuban is a longshot, if he puts in an offer that blows everyone out of the water, Trib's going to have a hard time explaining it to their stockholders. And MLB is going to have hard time explaining in court to the Trib stockholders why they weren't allow to maximize their profits in the class action lawsuit. Now I'm not naive enough to think that MLB can't manipulate the situation in their favor, just saying I don't think it's such a remote possibility as people want to make it just because Jerry Reinsdorf doesn't like him. Money talks and the owners I believe get a cut of whatever the Cubs sell for plus it raises the values of their ballclubs.

#10 - "any of you guys boras clients? shoot - let's buy this bitch, put in a jumbotron, and make some REAL cash."

Rob, I agree it will be interesting to see how this plays out, because Cuban is doing the only thing he can do to maximize his chances: he's garnering public support and taking his bid very public. That way, it will be difficult for MLB to make him go away quietly through the usual bureaucratic methods. It would be interesting if Cuban said publicly "I will top any offer by $100 million" or something similarly bold. His only real hope is an end run like that -- going through the normal formal process won't work, they will quietly shut him out. From his standpoint, if he really wants the team, he has nothing to lose. He has to be approved by the other owners, but it would be fascinating to watch the fireworks if they shut him out when he is clearly the high bidder.

although if I recall this correctly, I think Zell technically bought the Trib already and technically he's selling the Cubs so maybe the whole stockholder thing is a moot point. Not sure to be honest.... Still no matter who's behind the money, if it's $100 million more than anyone else's bid, you're going to start getting folks attention.

"Money talks and the owners I believe get a cut of whatever the Cubs sell for plus it raises the values of their ballclubs." This isn't the Expos, the owners don't get a cut. The second part is the main concern of the other owners though. There may be an old boy network, but I think Cuban's main problem will be fear that he's another Steinbrenner and that he'll cause salaries to escalate. The NBA's salary cap is much harder than MLB's. No one has seen Cuban operate in that kind of environment. The other thing is what if he becomes a Drayton McClain and gets rid of all the baseball people so he can throw money at Carlos Lees and Woody Willliamses of the world? What we want is a deep pocketed owner who cares, but who knows enough to let the basebabll people make the decisions, I doubt that Cuban would fall into that group. ************************************************ How come so little Josh Vitters in the Instructs?

a shimmer of hope from McDonough... "We're going to do all we can to make this team better," he said. He did come through last off-season...

"Barry Rozner not an Aramis fan" wow...when's he gonna call for marching in the streets? dude's got a...umm...strong opinion.

I hope so, Rob. The fans and players are going to want him so if he handles it right (and he may be an ass but he is a smart businessman) it may be very hard for the other owners to deny him. Let a Cub fan in Congress threaten to take another look at baseball's anti-trust exemption. That always gets the owners' attention. Of course, that's assuming there are even anti-trust laws anymore. The whole idea of busting up trusts seems like some quaint idea that went out when Huey Long got shot.

"The best thing about him is that he's a realist, and he doesn't pretend to have what he doesn't, or a play a way he can't." and wtf does that mean?

Thanks, AZ Phil. This is the second time you've come away impressed with Dae-Eun Rhee. I was wondering where you thought he'd be next April. He's young, so extended spring training seems likely but does he seem advanced enough for Peoria?

Rob, I was sent to purgatory for a fun little link to a funny internet video. Help a brother out.

My email to Barry Rosner: "You're an idiot. Would you please SHUT YOUR MORONIC MOUTH!!!! Ramirez is the best third baseman the Cubs have had since Santo left!!! That was over 30 years ago. And you don't like him cause YOU THINK he's selfish. No one on the team cares, but hack journalists like you do. And then you want Arod? AROD? Arod's attitude make Ramirez look like Ernie Banks! Who the hell needs a third baseman who hits over .300 with 30+ homers and 100 RBIs? Not you!" I actually sent this.

Let me guess, Chad. Did Rozner respond back with something along the lines of, "You might want to try watching the games next year"?

That Rozner article is really idiotic. I'm still baffled by Ramirez' disappearance in the playoffs, but to suggest trading him is beyond the pale. Rozner does two cheap things: he intimates that he's giving you insider information (those in the know see Ramirez as selfish), and he baselessly links Ramirez to the now-disgraced Sosa. Ergo, you emotional Cubs fans, move him out, am I right? No. There is no actual information in this piece to suggest that Ramirez is some kind of bad or selfish presence on the team. Having an injury checked out does not count. Running out popups and fly balls would look better, sure, but can we please end the practice of crucifying players because they're not flop-sweat weenies like Eckstein or Byrnes? I can remember exactly one instance in which Ramirez' lack of "hustle" actually mattered -- a 2006 game in which he loafed to first and turned a double into a single. Hardly a capital offense, especially when you consider the massive production Ramirez has brought, and can still bring, to a team that might as well have been playing a dead cat at third for decades. This kind of listless, selfish column-writing has to stop. Trade Rozner!

and there are some undercurrents that Rozner is JUICING. Unfortunately that article was written on a sugar high from the orange stuff. He'll have a headache when he comes down though.

I understand what's being said about Ramirez and Rozner, and I'm not unilaterally suggesting we trade Ramirez. However, IF the ownership transfer doesn't prevent it, I am in favor of ANY trade that improves and/or makes the Cubs reaching the World Series in 2008 more likely. Stone said it best on the SCORE yesterday that the Cubs have a very nice core returning next year, but they're still going to have to make moves to get farther than they did this year. ........and not to sit on the fence, YES I would gladly trade Ramirez for ARod if given the opportunity. In my opinion, ARod is an upgrade and the Cubs need to upgrade their hitting, need a legit #2 or #3 starter, and another bullpen arm (that could be Hart and resigning Wood).

Acquiring A-Rod is by definition an "upgrade" no matter where you play him in the field because he was the best offensive player in baseball this year and a capable defender. But I don't see acquiring A-Rod as likely. If Steinbrenner decides not to keep Torre as manager today, he will be doing it to win ASAP. And that means he will open up the checkbook to keep A-Rod. Between the cost of not resigning Torre (who was paid $7.5M this year; Girardi could probably be signed for less than half that), declining the $16M option on Abreu, and not paying Roger Clemens to make cellphone ads, Steinbrenner will have the cast to meet A-Rod's demands.

Puff piece on L. Rothschild in the Sun Times today, in which we hear for the thousandth time that Rothschild won the series with the Marlins in '97, that Jim Leyland wanted him, and that Mark Prior doesn't blame LR for his health problems. I've gone through my issues with Rothschild in these pages before: 1) The Cub pitching staff is pretty much a changeup-free zone. Rothschild seems to have missed that twenty-year trend. 2) Cub relievers are, in Len Kasper's term, "slider happy." Kasper applied the term to Marmol, who began the year as a fastball pitcher; but it applies even more to Dempster and Wuertz, who have lost all confidence in their fastballs, even though they throw fairly hard. 3) Who is Larry Rothschild? What is his pitching philosophy? Like it or not, Dave Duncan has an approach to pitching that you can capture in three words: pitch to contact. What Greg Maddux would tell pitchers under his tutelage is not hard to guess: Change speeds and move the ball around. If I had to guess at LR's motto, it would be "Keep throwing the same pitch until they hit it." 4) Rich Hill was better toward the end of last year than he was this year. Zambrano was better last year. Wuertz has not improved in three or four years. Marquis was good in April and May and then he reverted to being the same pitcher that the Cardinals left off of their playoff roster in '06. For the record, the Marlins scored 30 runs in the '97 Series, while the losing Indians scored 37, or 5.3 runs/game over seven games.

Well, my 3 days of mourning are up, so let the postmortem begin. Let's see: An expected regular season of roughly .500 ball, unexpected division title, expected quick exit from playoffs, but unexpected and embarrassing sweep. Overall not a horrible year when you step back and see where they came from, but with very few injuries, a horrible division and all the money spent this offseason, I know many other Cubs fans expected more. It was really disappointing to see some of our top players shit the bed in the playoffs. Soriano, ARam, Lilly, Hill and even Lee getting no XBH's and K'ing 4 times were the culprits. I would be remissed if I also didn't say Lou dropped the ball more than a couple times. The Z decision really set a bad tone in Game #1, that it appeared the team couldn't break. Overall Lou did about what I expected of him as a typical old school manager. I was a bit surprised he wasn't more "fiery", except for that one time this year. 85 wins and a division title, not bad. Gave us some excitement and made us want to watch baseball in SEPT and OCT. Hopefully they can build on it for 2008. Go Cubs!!

Link to the Rothschild puff piece referenced by VA Phil: "Rothschild should be revered" http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/594350,CST-SPT-cub09.artic… I thought newspapers were supposed to be objective in this country. This is clearly a "save my job" story inspired by Rothschild and a reporter who likes him. And with lead quotes from Mark Prior? Mark Prior? The article is accurate in stating that the Cub pitching staff was relatively injury-free this year. If you don't count Prior and Wood. Smarminess aside, someone deserves credit for that, but I think that has to to with the Cub training staff and Lou's decisions on when to use and take out pitchers. That said, it would be silly to make him the fall guy for the failure of two of our three starters in the three game sweep. That's just baseball. For the same reason we don't give credit to Rothschild for the the semi-trailer truck wide strike zone Dontrelle Willis enjoyed in the 1997 World Series, let's not blame him for the 2007 sweep.

Clearly there needs to be more changes to make this team better and WS caliber. Here are a couple that I hope the Cubs brass considers this offseason. 1) Need another very solid top of the rotation starter to go along with Z and Lilly. Z was not very good this year, and not what one would expect from their supposed "ace". He was very erratic, more so that usual with his ERA, WHIP and HR's allowed going up and his K's going down. Lilly did fine, not counting laying an egg in the postseason, and no reason to expect he won't put up similar numbers next year. Marquis, after having a good first 2 months, reverted back the Marquis I thought we were getting all along. I think it is much more likely he gives us the numbers from the final 4 months most of next year, which won't be pretty. Rich Hill did as good as can be expected. At this point, I don't know how much better we can expect him to get for next year. While Marshall can also fill into the bottom of the rotation, the Cubs clearly still need another top of the rotation guy. And that should be priority #1 in the offseason. 2) Upgrade at the middle IF Theriot & Fontenot are just not the answers. These guys are nice guys to root for and hustle and play hard, but their talent is limited. DeRosa, did better than I thought, but IMO he is still the perfect utility guy to play RF, 2B, 1B or 3B to give guys rests or in replacement for injuries. 3) Move Soriano down in the lineup Yeah, I know the splits, and yes I still don't think it makes all too much of a difference, but it would be my preference to have him down in the lineup with the leading HR hitter on the team, especially when he isn't able to run. 4) The Kendall trade, along with Bowen trade were a waste and did nothing to help the team. Soto earned the right to go into ST next year as the favorite for the job and as long as he doesn't blow it, should get it with Blanco as his backup. Also, Soto saves on money. 5) Improve OF (CF & RF - preferably LH) I know Hendry tried to dump JJ last offseason and he couldn't get any takers, so I can't imagine him being able to dump his this offseason after watching his SLG go down so dramatically, but if he can, do it. His defense, while slightly improved is still not very good and his power drop was amazing. Murton can't play CF and is a shaky RF at best. I wouldn't mind keeping him as a 4th/5th OF, but he would be more useful to us as trade bait. A decision needs to be made about Pie. Unfortunately the best one right now appears to stick him in Iowa for another year as he clearly was out of his league this year in the bigs. So that potentially can leave us with 2 holes out there. If we could get a very nice bat for RF, preferably lefthanded, I wouldn't go crazy if Pie ended up in CF Opening Day becaseu his defense is so good and it would also save some money to upgrade the other positions needed. 6) Trade Dempster I would never count on this guy in a big spot and he is relatively cheap in this market at $5.5 Million for a closer. We have Howry, Marmol or even Wood (if he comes back) that can close and likely not do much worse. 7) FIRE HENDRY I still think it is time for a new GM even though his team finally made the playoffs again. This team won 85 games in a horrible division, with very few injuries and spent a gazillion dollars this offseason to upgrade this team. Still not good enough, IMO. I understand with new ownership not yet being ready and won't be until after the new year, it will be very hard to make that change, but there are a couple good GM's out there now that would be a better fit than Hendry. At worst, I hope new ownership doesn't give him an extension and waits and see how 2008 goes before reupping him if that is their decision. Flame away...:) Go Cubs!!

the Cubs ... need a legit #2 or #3 starter What? I have said this over and over again. Lilly was one of the best #2's in the league. Hill was one of the best #3's in the league. While it would be nice to add another top starter, it is far from being a need for the Cubs.

Also let me add, I have bashed Selig many times on here about many things, but I have to give him props on leveling the playing field some. Here are the teams in the playoffs based on total payroll (salary ranks according to usatoday): #1 - NYY #2 - BOST #4 - LAA #8 - CHC #13 - PHIL #23 - CLEV #25 - COL #26 - AZ And teams that made it to the LCS were #2, #23, #25 and #26. Not bad... Also, let it be mentioned that the teams with the top 2 regular season records in each league made it to the LCS, which is nice to see too.

Need another very solid top of the rotation starter to go along with Z and Lilly. Seriously... everyone crying about needing another top starter is strange. There were only a handful (if that) of teams in MLB who had a better 1-3 than Z, Lilly, and Hill. And that was even with Z's struggles this year. And to say that they need another starter to go with Z and Lilly? Well Hill was better than Z all year, and had almost identical numbers to Lilly. Lets compare the two (L = Lilly, H = Hill): Innings: L: 207, H: 195 K's: L: 174, H: 183 ERA: L: 3.83, H: 3.92 ERA+: L: 119, H: 116 WHIP: L: 1.14, H: 1.19 BB: L: 55, H: 63 HR: L: 28, H: 27 Lilly was very slightly better, but in reality their numbers couldn't be much closer.

I think the way this team finished the regular season is a much more accurate indicator of their talent than the way this team began the season. If we got a first half similar to the second half, we win more than 85 games. That's not the GM's fault.

Dave, I would be happy with a #2/#3 guy. Doesn't need to be Johann Santana. But also, the Cubs had 0 starting pitching injuries this year, I can't imagine that happening to the Cubs back-to-back years. Also, i think marquis is going back to what he was with STL. I still would like a starting pitcher. 1) Z 2) Lilly/New Guy 3) Lilly/New Guy 4) Hill 5) Marquis/Marshall/Prior/Whoever else

Don't think Hendry will be fired by the new ownership. In five years as GM, he has had two playoff teams, which could have easily been three if not for the collapse of '04. I'm younger than most here, but isn't that unprecedented over a five-year period in the modern Cubs era? Of course, Hendry has also put together 2 very shitty teams, so his track record is far from spotless. I guess I agree with Manny..... I hope the new ownership waits to see how 2008 goes before agreeing on any extension. I'm definitely not on the "Fire Hendry" bandwagon yet though. All fans typically hate their GM's.... it could be a lot worse.

Again... I don't mind another starting pitcher. BUT... It is definitely not a pressing need. And there are VERY few decent starting pitchers available (at least via free agency). But I still don't get the idea that Hill is a 4. Or that the Cubs need someone to go along with Z and Lilly, even though Hill is as good as Lilly and was arguably better than Z this year.

Wes: "I think the way this team finished the regular season is a much more accurate indicator of their talent than the way this team began the season." I agree...The team finished the season 34-33 in their last 67 games.

I agree…The team finished the season 34-33 in their last 67 games. Or... The team finished 62-46 over their last 108 games. That is a .574 rate, which over a full season would be 93 wins. And before VA Phil starts complaining about partial season splits, if anyone thinks that the first 54 games would a good indicator of this team's ability, they didn't watch much baseball this year.

dave: "But I still don’t get the idea that Hill is a 4. Or that the Cubs need someone to go along with Z and Lilly, even though Hill is as good as Lilly and was arguably better than Z this year." Hill wouldn't be your typical #4, but that is where I would put him if we landed another #2/#3 starter. Of the three returning starters, I would guess that Hill would be most likely to have a down season next year from this one. OK, how about another starter to go with Z, Lilly and Hill...better? Oh yeah, can't have enough pitching!!!

And the team was 2-9 in the last nine games, including the playoffs. I think a number of players did have trouble performing under real pressure.

Time to flame a few of Manny's point (not really, just interjecting my thoughts) 1) Need another very solid top of the rotation starter to go along with Z and Lilly This doesn't exist without paying an arm and a leg. Ideally an upgrade would be nice, but not one of the most pressing needs especially at the price. While lacking a true ace, the rotation 1-3 is as good as any in the league and Marquis is a good 5. Only Lilly has much of an injury history, so tender Prior a contract and live with the 1-2 spots that are filled by Prior/Marshall/Hart etc. 5) Improve OF (CF & RF - preferably LH) In CF, let Pie play. We need some min salary guys to be productive. He's shown what he has in AAA. Throw him in to start the season batting 7th or 8th and see what he does. At least, he contributes good D. For RF, am I the only one who thinks Abreu looks nice if the Yanks decline his option? Lefty bat with good patience and OBP to bat 2nd in front of the big boppers. And I agree Soriano should move down in the order, but it may be a moot point to argue.

"The team finished the season 34-33 in their last 67 games." Nice manipulation of "how they finished". They also finished with the second best record in baseball over their last 100 games or so.

dave and Jedi- You both make good points. I mean if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but I just think no team can have enough pitching and if a good pitcher is available we should go for it. But you guys are right it isn't the #1 need.

Navin — October 9, 2007 @ 12:28 am Thanks, AZ Phil. This is the second time you’ve come away impressed with Dae-Eun Rhee. I was wondering where you thought he’d be next April. He’s young, so extended spring training seems likely but does he seem advanced enough for Peoria? ============================= NAVIN: Dae-Eun Rhee reminds me of Robert Hernandez. Same lanky physique, amazing poise for an 18-year old, and excellent control. I believe Rhee will almost certainly start 2008 at EXST, and then will probably go to Boise when the short season leagues begin play in June, although he could remain at Fitch Park for the entire '08 season (EXST, AZL Cubs and then Instructs). As of right now (and this is very much subject to change), I would think Ryan Acosta, Jeffry Antigua, Alberto Cabrera, Oswaldo Martinez, Dae-Eun Rhee, Ryan Searle, and Larry Suarez (presuming they are all healthy) will be the pitching prospects to watch at EXST 2008.

I whole heartedly agree pitching depth is a great thing if you can pull it off. If we have to give up something in a trade though, I'd rather have those assets allocated for a good RF or SS over another starter. That's why I think it's insane to non-tender Prior. As much of a fallboy as he's been the last few years, it'll cost about 3 mil or so for one year. Chances are he doesn't do anything or gets hurt again, but if there's even a 5% chance he becomes a legit 2 or 3 or even a league average pitcher again, it's worth it. That's a much better gamble than trading Murton/Cedeno, etc for known mediocrity or giving Lohse 3/44. I kid, but really Lohse in this market won't be too far off a Lilly contract.

In five years as GM, he has had two playoff teams, which could have easily been three if not for the collapse of ‘04. I’m younger than most here, but isn’t that unprecedented over a five-year period in the modern Cubs era? NL, 2003-2007 St.Louis STL 451 358 Atlanta ATL 450 360 Phildlpa PHI 434 376 Houston HOU 423 387 LosAngls LAD 419 391 SanFranc SFG 413 395 SanDiego SDP 410 401 ChicagoC CHC 407 403 Florida FLA 406 404 NewYorkM NYM 405 404 Arizona ARI 378 432 Colorado COL 375 436 Washngtn WSN 375 435 Milwkee MIL 374 435 Cincnnti CIN 370 440 Pittsbgh PIT 349 460 Hendry's done nothing special, especially given the resources at his disposal.

Hendry’s done nothing special, especially given the resources at his disposal. BUT.. .that also shows he hasn't been awful either.

Nice year by our staff and all but Z and his 100 walks a year aren't the makings of a true ace pitcher. Lilly won't be as good next year imo. I still hold out hope that Rich will progress. It's a nice top 3 and Marquis will do what he does, eat up innings, give you a shot to win 50-60% of your games. CURT SCHILLING for 2008!!!! But there's nothing else out there unless the Cubs can pull a trade with Marshall and some other pitching prospects. I imagine the 5th starter will be a battle of Hart, Gallagher, Marshall, Prior, Holliman and maybe even Samardzija. And somewhere in there they'll need to find another home run bat unless they're banking on Soto for extra power. Wouldn't mind an upgrade at SS.

dave: "BUT.. .that also shows he hasn’t been awful either." So is being nothing special and not awful OK with you? Mediocrity is not OK with me. And look at Ron Galt's numbers, the 3 worst teams over the past 5 years are in the Cubs division. So we play in a shit division, and had tons of money/resources to play with, but we are 4 games above .500....UGH!!!!!! And all that doesn't include a crappy farm system, that might very well be getting worse.

wish arod would just go sign his yanks extension... yanks are paying him "only" 16m on his contract as it is...tack on 2-3 years at 20+m a piece and the yanks STILL make out ahead while arod gets his loot. arod is gonna be a media enigma no matter where he goes so its not like leaving NYC is gonna take the spotlight off him...just the spotlight at familiar places. i dont see how the yanks can afford to not extend him and get into a bidding war for the suddenly-#1style-FA mike lowell.

What farm system is Manny talking about? I was wondering the same thing... And no - mediocrity is not acceptable. But I also think that you can kind of throw out 2006. A combination of injuries, bad luck, and bad decisions seems like an outlier in the last four years.

btw...what's with the talk of 'firing' joe torre? i heard he was under contract for 08 earlier, but everything on the net ive run across says he's a "FA". ...but a lotta the media are still using the word "firing"... what's what?

Rob G. — October 9, 2007 @ 10:12 am Rotoworld picked up on a LaRussa to Yanks rumor fwiw…. ============================ ROB G: And as for the Cardinals, how about Joe Torre? He had his best year as a player in STL. He even won an MVP there. And Joe Girardi would seem like a good fit in STL, too, especially since he wants to move back to the Midwest.

And as for the Cardinals, how about Joe Torre? Probably not cause Joe Torre wants to win. :) Cards seem like they might be in some trouble for a few years imo.

STL fans seem to be very distracted by the whole larussa thing and very caught up in it. let em... psst, cards fans...your problem isnt a 60 year old white dude who bats the pitcher 8th...its the pitching, stupid.

crunch, ARod wants and is going to get like 7-10 years for around $30 million per. The NYY just tacking on 2 years at around $20 million per would be a slap in the face. If the NYY really want him, they should come to him with a 5 year extension at $30 million per. Then ARod would make: 2008 - $27.0 million ($8.116 million paid by TEX) 2009 - $27.0 million ($7.1015 million paid by TEX) 2010 - $27.0 million ($6.087 million paid by TEX) 2011 - $30.0 million 2012 - $30.0 million 2013 - $30.0 million 2014 - $30.0 million 2015 - $30.0 million Total of $231 million over 8 years with TEX paying $21.3045 million of that. Then it would come down to if ARod wants to be a Yankee, because i don't see how anyone goes much higher than that to make it a nobrainer to go elsewhere for ARod. It will be very interesting though.

Rob G.: "What farm system is Manny talking about? dave: "I was wondering the same thing…" The one that has fallen in the rankings at BA now for the past 5 years and will stay the same or get worse this offseason.

irod's 13m option picked up. that's nearly 1.2m per walk... =p yeah, he's not getting paid to walk...i know, i know...

the one that produced 3/5 of our starting rotation, has another 3-4 guys potentially vying for a spot next year, and probably 3 starting position players next year and our future closer, not to mention a few bullpen arms? You mean that one?

"ARod wants and is going to get like 7-10 years for around $30 million per." who is gonna give him 30m? maybe if he was 26 instead of 32... i could see 20+, myself, but i dont see anyone giving him 30m-ish for that many years. 5yr 150m?

crunch: "i heard he was under contract for 08 earlier, but everything on the net ive run across says he’s a “FA”." Joe Torre is on the last year of his deal, so he will be a FA just like LaRussa in a few days. "…but a lotta the media are still using the word “firing”…" Yeah, many of them used the same word with Dusty too. Go Bad Journalism!!!

MANNY: I'd agree with most of your assertions, except, perhaps the #3 pitcher - but it couldn't hurt, either. If Hendry is fired - who is the replacement? Jocketty? Pry Scherholdz away from the Braves? Whomever it is, I'd like to have someone who will be able to field teams that will be in contention every year. It seems as if the top three starters are set with this org. Lilly, until the playoffs was a good #2 guy. I would think Marquis will be decent trade material - the club now has enough decent inventory to fill the #4 and #5 from within, I believe. And, don't forget: Ryan Dempster wants to start again!

Rob G.: "You mean that one?" HA HA Yeah that one. I think some Cubs fans WAY overvalue the Cubs "talent". It seems they like to fall in love with them. Oh well, i just want to see them do it at Wrigley and unfortunately for the most part they haven't been able to.

crunch: "who is gonna give him 30m?" We will see. SF, LAA, NYY, BOST, CHC all can do it for sure. We will see though. If he opts out of his deal, he knows he has at least $27 million per year lined up somewhere. Besides who becomes new Cubs owner, that might be the most interesting situation to play out this offseason for me.

E-Man: "If Hendry is fired - who is the replacement? Jocketty? Pry Scherholdz away from the Braves?" Neither of them would be bad, but also include Ryan, as he might be my first choice. Some good options, i think.

how can someone slam hendy and want "do nothing" jocketty...the king of the scrap pile pickup? jocketty has stood by for years riding his gambles of scrap pile pickups, extending injured vets, and riding pujols for all he's worth. even when he's got money to spend he throws it at weird crap.

I'll leave aside the "fire Hendry" debate because I think that's one we will debate until the new owners are in place. I don't want to fire him right now because I don't want the front office to be in a caretaker's hands through the winter. Hendry isn't great but he isn't Allaird Baird or Littlefield either. I agree with Manny's points 1-5. I think teams with our budget should always look to upgrade their starting pitching every off-season. But top-of-line rotation guys are not really available as free agents this year. But Carlos Silva could be useful. And I could see Hendry taking a chance on a Matt Clement as an injury reclamation project a la Wade Miller next year. As for our closer situation, it will be interesting to see if the Twins pick up Nathan's $6M option for next year. I expect they will, as that is a relative bargain for a closer of his caliber and he is eminently tradeable.

Dude, Jocketty won a title. End o' story. I'm happy with the Hendry/Piniella combo myself. Hendry relies on his manager probably to a fault (see Baker, Dusty) to let him know what the ballclubs needs are and where the deficinies lie. So far they seem to work well together. I guess the same could have been said in 2003 though. Hendry though is pretty well respected by his peers from what I gather, doesn't have any real "enemies" out there like Beane or Williams who refuse to do business with him. He certainly will do whatever it takes to fill the needs of the ballclub when they arise - also probably to a fault (see Pierre, Juan). Agents and players for the most part respect him. I do wish he had a little more of a "plan" on how a team should be built rather than just trying to gather whatever is the best available.

But Carlos Silva could be useful. And I could see Hendry taking a chance on a Matt Clement as an injury reclamation project a la Wade Miller next year. Oh no you didn't, Carlos Silva? That dude only has a job because he's Johann's little buddy. And I'll torch TCR if they bring Clement back. Nice 3-4 years ago, but we got 4-5 arms that can do what he'll be able to do.

Neither of them would be bad, but also include Ryan, as he might be my first choice. Considering the track record of Ex-Twins who join the Cubs, would we really want to take a chance on the guy who replaced McFail? Ryan's also still working with the Twins, just in a semi-retired role. He said he was burned out on the job, so he's not really available - at least not this year.

Poor Angels, I applaud their desire to build from within, but talk about a team that could have been so much better with just one more bat behind Vlad and they had plenty of prospects and opportunities to do so. I know they had a deal for Miggy in place before Angelos axed it, maybe they'll try again for that. If Arod isn't an option, they should jump all over Adam Dunn if he becomes available.

Well McDonough already said he was happy with Hendry and Piniella and new ownership won't be in place until next year. One more year of Hendry at least.

there's so little work to be done with the 08 team its not worth firing hendry anyway... biggest decisions seem to be...what to do with marshall/pie/j.jones/theriot and how they relate to possible trades/FA for the #5 pitching slot, who's guarenteed an OF slot and if anyone needs picking up, is there a SS upgrade worth having...and maybe a reliever. the overhaul (signings and extensions) was a thing blown through the past 2 seasons and the core is pretty much set.

I agree…The team finished the season 34-33 in their last 67 games. I know you agree. Go ahead and make your own sample size at home. They still went 7 over in the second half after going only 1 over in the first half. If they play that way all season and get to 14 over, then it's awfully hard to criticize this as an average team.

Rob G.: "One more year of Hendry at least." For the most part, unfortunately you are right. But, new ownership could send him packing if the team starts out like they did this year, knowing they aren't going to resign him.

crunch: "there’s so little work to be done with the 08 team its not worth firing hendry anyway…" It is if you aren't confident Hendry can do that "little work".

Wes: "If they play that way all season and get to 14 over, then it’s awfully hard to criticize this as an average team." Yes, IF, but they didn't.

Manny, We get it.......you don't like Hendry and you see the Cubs as a 'half-empty' glass. I don't like Murton as a starter either except as a LF on a team out of contention.

The thing, manny, is that I could show you 5 players saying that the reason that the team played poorly was because they struggled to adapt to Lou's managing style. It took a couple months to get used to that and the team played poorly. You'd still say that's Hendry's fault.

Rob G, I was not advocating Silva or Clement. Certainly not Clement! But I was looking at free agent pitchers and I could see Silva on Hendry's radar screen. Better than Marshall or even Gallagher? Probably not. Better than Marquis? Probably. I just do not want this team to get complacent and stand pat. We got lucky with no major injuries to the rotation last year. And I do not want to see us throw dollars at Eyre based on a couple good months. Try to buy low on Fuentes, look at Trever Miller. Bid for the best CF/RFs out there. Yes, it is tweaking, but important tweaking.

What's it called when you fixate on one part of a picture without looking at the whole thing? Myopic? "And look at Ron Galt’s numbers, the 3 worst teams over the past 5 years are in the Cubs division." And the best and fourth best team in the league and the league champions three out of five years... but the Cubs have had 3 playoff caliber teams in the last five years, and one that was competitive late into the summer. I guess you can blame him for Wood's, Lee's and Prior's injuries. I certainly thought he should have brought in another starter before 2006, but name one GM in baseball who would have said 'part ways with Wood and Prior' after the '03 season and I will buy both you and him new crack pipes. I like the Dodgers' girl for the next best GM in the game (Ng?). If Hendry goes after '08 to let the new owner put his stamp on things, hopefully she will still be available. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anyone else notice our right field is becoming our new third base? "The Cubs haven't had a good right fielder since they got rid of Sosa following '04"... Wonder how long that one will be going. __________________________________________ AZ Phil, you ducked my Instructional League question in #19.

I agree…The team finished the season 34-33 in their last 67 games. ======== and they finished 1-1 in their last two games and they finished 2-4 in their last six games and they finished 5-4 in their last nine games ...damn, this game is boring. (Can I say damn?)

"They had the opportunities and they didn't do nothing with me," he said, "so we'll see what happens. ... This is a business. Nothing against the New York Yankees." --- damn. that's m. rivera, btw.

if Indians care to throw some cash around, they might want to escape Joe Borowski as soon as possible with Rivera. I imagine a few teams will be in on the bidding.

"I like the Dodgers’ girl for the next best GM in the game (Ng?). If Hendry goes after ‘08 to let the new owner put his stamp on things, hopefully she will still be available." NO FUCKING WAY

they might want to escape Joe Borowski... ===== sounds like a perfect fit for the Giants (old and wobbly)

Yeah, we know Chad, women and minorities can't do certain things that white men can do, and vise versa. Can we just stop this now before it goes any further?

ng is still relative young, but she's done it all...from the scrub jobs of an organization all the way up. wsox, yanks, and dodgers organizations...that's not exactly hanging with a crew of idiots to groom you. she's handled arb. cases, she's been in negotiations, and she's not a novelty item. she's very professional...only like 38-40 or so, though...

Making the playoffs doesn't mean Hendry's teams have been all that great. Out of 80 team-seasons, they rank T-17, T-13, T-45, 78, and T-27. I would have fired him after 2006. It's hard to make the case to do it now, after a season that's perceived by just about everybody to be a success. Ask the next GM if he thinks 2007 was a success; (s)he's the one who's going to deal with all these contracts. I don't mean to ignite this debate, but perspective is frequently lost amid talk of playoff appearances and the "Hendry's better than what we had before" line of non-argument.

Soriano's going to be a beast of a contract no doubt, Lilly maybe by year 3 or 4. If we get another pitcher that can bump Marquis to the #5 spot that he's suited for it's not too bad (okay a little bad). Dero's deal is pretty cheap and his position flexibility makes it hard to believe that'll end up being a bad deal. Aramis and Z, cheap deals for their ages and production, well especially Aramis. If the Mark Grace version of Derrek continues then yeah, probably going to regret that one too.

Ron Galt: "I would have fired him after 2006. It’s hard to make the case to do it now, after a season that’s perceived by just about everybody to be a success. Ask the next GM if he thinks 2007 was a success; (s)he’s the one who’s going to deal with all these contracts. I don’t mean to ignite this debate, but perspective is frequently lost amid talk of playoff appearances and the “Hendry’s better than what we had before” line of non-argument." Very well said...Then add in the ownership question and "Teflon" Jim will slide by again.

A woman will never get the respect that she would need in order to run a major professional sports franchise. Call me any name you want, but this much is true. Oh, ask yourself, with such a great track record, why hasn't she gotten a GM job yet? I ain't just me.

To everyone flaming Rozner's suggestion that the Cubs trade Aramis and sign ARod: If the Cubs can make that move, they should do it in a heartbeat. It's not a one-for-one trade. The Cubs would be massively upgrading 3B AND acquiring legitimate talent (possibly a stud RFer?) for Aramis. That would definitely make the team a lot better going into 2008. Rozner's article might have been harsh, but making that move is a no-brainer.

There's certainly a bit of an old boys network there among the GM's but a lot of them are dropping by the roadside. As crunch has noted, she's been earning the respect of her peers for awhile and building relationships that are needed. Certainly an organization will be taking a chance that the MacPhail's, Gillick's and Wade's might not deal with her, but I'll be pretty surprised if she doesn't get the call one day. Is the assistant GM right now in LA or does she have another title?

#103 - Ron Galt I don’t mean to ignite this debate, but perspective is frequently lost amid talk of playoff appearances and the “Hendry’s better than what we had before” line of non-argument. --------------------------------------- I'll give you perspective..... Five years of being the Cubs GM Three years of being in playoff contention Two playoff appearances Is Hendry perfect? Hell no. Could we do a lot worse? Hell yes. Does he deserve to be fired? Not in my opinion.

Arod for Aramis plus $15 million and a bunch more years? It's a wash at best unless you think the Cubs will turn into the Yanks payroll. I'd consider it depending on what we can get for Aramis but he does have an NTC I believe and Hendry usually gives those out to the players he doesn't want trade anyway. I think the bigger issue with the article were the opinions on Aramis being a bad influence on the team and such.

Doug, The problem is not trading ARam to upgrade the team. the problem is WHY he wants Rammy traded. He doesn't like the 'no hustle' and all the bullshit. he thinks that Rammy is a cancer on the team that is bringing the team down. Big difference.

and yeah Arod is a better talent, I'm not saying that. But if the Cubs are going to operate on something resembling a budget, throwing $15 or so million at Arod or whatever the difference plus the years is going to cause problems elsewhere on the diamond.

how to you take an arguement about aram's D and somehow win it by comparing it to arod's D? seems to be a wash at best with aram having a better arm... yeah, the bat...yeah...everyone knows all about that...is it worth getting rid of aram for it? seems to be a better tactic to keep aram and spend the extra 10-15m (whatever) on a RF'r, reliever, whatever...

No more relievers, thanks. ----------------------------------------------------------- I think it's safe to say baseball executives are 20 years behind the times when it comes to working with women, but by the late 80's women were accepted by most in the workplace. She wouldn't do it, because it would be career suicide, but wouldn't be hard to slap a lawsuit on MLB for enforcing minority highering poclicies while ignoring women. You would think that every team would want to interview her just for that, though she may be turning down interviews looking for the right spot. ___________________________________________ I don't want Arod for 3rd, I want him for short. Arod is not worth 15 million more than Aram as a third basemen. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ One out of four NL teams goes to the playoffs every year. 2 out of 5 is above that average. Hendry was also inherited some contracts that were not so hot, as I recall. Scheurholz, as I recall, walked into a better situation than he did, Jocketty got lucky, Epstein has had $30 milion more in payroll, the Yankees minors were stacked when their GM took over. I agree that Hendry should have been fired after he made the horrid Maddux trade, and followed it up by giving three years to Marquis, but he's not going to be fired, he did a fine job in the off-season and didn't do anything particularly stupid during the year, he's going to be around for at least 365 more days, so get used to it.

so does ramirez have a no trade? i would think the angels would be a great place to play. werent they after him last year

"This is why you can’t have women in baseball." you're really good at lumping groups of people together as if theyre not individuals. makes it easier for the dehumanizing talk if you dont give them a chance to be human, i guess. ng's work in corporate management has nothing to do with any reporter, male or female.

"I agree that Hendry should have been fired after he made the horrid Maddux trade" I'll be the first to admit that Izturis was horrible but that trade was not horrid. In the end he gave away nothing and got nothing. But what we did get was the possibility that Izturis could recapture what he once had. He didn't.

Crunch that is not a reporter. That is the Yankee radio announcer. Big difference. Are you trying to say that women are NOT more emotional then men? they are. not everyone but almost all. Are you saying that men are not WAY WAY WAY better at handling their emotions than women? they are. Across the board again. And these things matter.

"Crunch that is not a reporter. That is the Yankee radio announcer. Big difference." if that's big then what's the difference between a trained corporate manager and a yankee radio announcer? we gotta measure that one with an ocean by that criteria. "Are you trying to say..." im trying to say there's a professional executive out there you wanna lump into this view of women as people who crumble around the presence of men. whoever put that idea into your head...well, i dunno.

Brian Cashman was just on WFAN in NY with "Mike & the Mad Dog" and he gave no support to Torre saying he has to have meetings with ownership (Big Stein) first. Cashman implied that basically no decision will be made till next week. They tried to get Cashman to say he wanted him back as manager, but he wouldn't bite. Sounds very bad for Torre. Oh well, no tears shed here.

Suzyn Waldman is the biggest embarrassment to MLB radio/TV announcers. I would rather listen to a one man booth with Ron Santo for 162 games than hear her even do 1 inning a game. She is horrible gamer, to an embarrassing level. If you haven't heard her when the NYY announced Clemens was coming back, check it out it was classic Waldman.

The worst part of the WFAN interview was that Cashman would/could not say that it was "possible" for Torre to return. He said he had to "respect the process." In short, Torre is done. Speculation is high that LaRussa is on his way to NY.

here's an interview from 2003... you can witness how unprepared, unmotivated, unknowledgeable, and straight out intimidated Ng is by the way she clumsily ducked these hard man-powered questions. *end sarcasm* this woman isnt someone's helpless mom...

Maddux got traded cause Maddux wanted to go to a contender preferably on the West Coat. In the end, Hendry was going to take whatever Colletti or Towers were willing to give him. Saying he should have taken prospects is assuming Colletti was willing to give him prospects, which he wasn't. Maddux was getting traded no matter what, there was no other option on the table.

Oh, ask yourself, with such a great track record, why hasn’t she gotten a GM job yet? How about the fact that she is still really young (at least for a baseball exec)? Crying? Over a division series loss? You have got to be kidding me! Right... because I have NEVER seen men cry about sports events.

Those were some real tough questions there. They really grilled here there. That was some composure!

So we couldn’t have taken 2 rookie ball prospects? Maybe... but I still don't think that the Izzy trade was a terrible risk to take. I never liked the Izzy trade, but I understood the mindset. The chances of Izzy being productive were probably significantly better than 2 rookie ball prospects being productive. He could have brought a very good glove, and a decent bat. Ironically his offensive production in 2004 was as good, if not better, than Theriot's this year... Again - it was a low risk deal that didn't work out. Every GM has similar deals. The Maddux/Izzy trade is hardly something to get upset about.

"Again - it was a low risk deal that didn’t work out. Every GM has similar deals. The Maddux/Izzy trade is hardly something to get upset about." No matter the outcome, this is what people should take from that trade. I'm with you on this one dave.

dave: "Again - it was a low risk deal that didn’t work out. " Cubs paid $2 million towards the remaining of Maddux's contract in 2006, plus having to pay Izzy over $4 million in 2007. $6 million is a pretty big risk, IMO.

Also, didn't Tim Wilkens have some prior connection with Izturis (in Toronto if I recall)? I think that tipped their collective decision on Izzy. Of course we got the postsurgical Izzy who was slower (not predictable as his hammy problems happened with the Cubs) and mediocre defensively (reputed gold glove was now copper, injured and surgical elbow).

$6 million is a pretty big risk, IMO. Money is rarely a risk for a team that can afford it.

So we couldn’t have taken 2 rookie ball prospects? Well I know I saw Colletti the day of the trade on my local CBS station saying that he wasn't going to give up any good prospects like they (the Cubs) were asking for... 2 nothing prospects or Izturis, maybe? But we still might get something from the Pirates for Izturis. If you don't see the potential upside in Izturis and why the trade was made, you should look harder. It was a risk, but one worth taking imo. It didn't work out, but everything I've read said Hendry was making that trade to accommodate Maddux.

6 million is only a big risk if it prevents you from making other deals or signing other players. Clearly, since in one year the big complaint from the anti-Hendry crowd has gone from being, "Hendry can't sign big name free agents" to "Hendry should have done better considering how much he spent on free agents," having izturis on the roster did not prevent Hendry from signing anyone.

dave: "How about the fact that she is still really young (at least for a baseball exec)?" 39 years old, which she will be next month is not that old for GM's in MLB in this day and age.

Bleeding Blue: "having izturis on the roster did not prevent Hendry from signing anyone." Nope I don't think it did, except having Izzy as the starting everyday SS and not someone else.

men (jordan played in that game and had just won a championship. worthy) cry (world series championship. life's dream accomplished. worthy) about (leaving the career he had know for 40 years. worthy) sports (adam morrison - PUSSY. you should have posted JJ Reddick too! An even bigger pussy) events (soccer players are all pussies).

39 years old, which she will be next month is not that old for GM’s in MLB in this day and age. How many GM's are younger than 39? By my quick count (I may have missed one or two): Epstein Byrnes Shapiro

I see. So women crying about sports - unacceptable. Men that Chad doesn't like crying about sports that Chad doesn't like - unacceptable. Men that Chad like crying about sports that Chad likes- worthy. It all makes sense now.

re: 144 so its come to excuse making for why you blast a woman for crying (which had NOTHING to do with kim ng to begin with) but its okay for other men...either theyre weak men or they have an excuse cuz winning is okay for crying? the crux to all of it is it has nothing to do with Ng and more to do with your world view...which is exceedingly scarey to package together with all the other views on sex, class, and race you have. why is it hard to accept that the "real world" works outside of these constraints? across the board stereotyping independent of personal skills hasn't held Ng back...and she's not where she is out of a token position...and she's pretty outspoken about the business, not her sex or its role. hell, she's on first-name basis with the inner workings of many club's rollers. a novelty act, she isnt...nor should what "some women" do reflect upon what she is. i think her perception of being a helpless novelty woman in management isnt shared by many. she's a fixture at the GM meetings as it is and has been for a while...she's no outsider or stranger.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3055752 Boras on Arod if he opts out... "One of the other things that Alex has that some of the other things that Alex has that few players have is he has network value," Boras said. "That means for a regional sports network he has an impact on in that may allow that regional sports network to increase by a half-a-billion to a billion dollars over a 10-year period because of the ratings increase that he will bring. His fan base will subscribe to that network to watch him play and they will sell more advertising. This has certainly been evidenced in New York."

everyone's looking forward to paying arod 20-30m a year for ages 38-42...count on it boras.

“…but a lotta the media are still using the word “firing”…” "Yeah, many of them used the same word with Dusty too. Go Bad Journalism!!!" Semantics. If Joe Torre said to the Yankees, "I want to sign a contract to come back" and the Yankees go, "We don't want you," it's essentially a firing.

"Maddux got traded cause Maddux wanted to go to a contender preferably on the West Coat. In the end, Hendry was going to take whatever Colletti or Towers were willing to give him. Saying he should have taken prospects is assuming Colletti was willing to give him prospects, which he wasn’t. Maddux was getting traded no matter what, there was no other option on the table." Wrong. 1. Releasing Maddux would have been better than picking up Izturis's contract for the remainder of the season. The Cubs already had two guys who do what Izturis 'does', not counting Theriot. 2. Even if you think that Izturis is worth having, the general consensus around baseball that he was a candidate to be released anyway. There aren't a lot of teams (other than the Cubs and Pirates) who like to carry $4 million backup shortstops, and the Dodgers had other better options. 3. Hendry gave them money to even the salaries, so for 2006 we didn't save any money, but we did lose money because Maddux was a drawing card and a souvenir driver. Chad is the only one with a Cubs Izturis jersey. 4. If you can get Ceda for Walker, I am pretty sure you can get a prospect for Maddux.

The only 3 teams that I think will be in the running for Arod are Boston, New York and San Francisco. The Giants seem to make too much sense in terms of a hole and willingness to sign old players to crazy contracts. Although it's probably not a bad investment in the long run. Besides Zito, the Giants really don't have anyone on the books to worry about and they obviously could use a new marquee player.

I still think that the Angels and Dodgers will at least be in the conversation. I also wouldn't be surprised at all to see the Cubs or Sox in the same conversation, though the Sox have a ton of payroll tied up on pretty lousy players.

anaheim's been strongly mentioned in the arod-thing, too. im just ready for hendry to shed some light on "what next"...reliever, OF'r, SS, SP, any of it...direction...

"His fan base will subscribe to that network to watch him play and they will sell more advertising." When players read his how do they take Boras seriously? At least the players who went to class in college.

Well Neal... Barry Bonds definitely brought both ticket revenue and increased tv ratings when he was going for the record. So Boras does have somewhat of a point. Though I am pretty sure it won't mean 500+ million dollars in added revenue to a team.

But yea - I doubt many people will be subscribing to a new network just to watch A-Rod play every day. I guess Boras has never heard of mlb.tv ...

"So women crying about sports - unacceptable." It is unacceptable for any play by play announcer to cry. Period. I will give the same accommodation for women as I would a man if she was to cry after winning a meaningful championship. However, until there is a meaningful woman's championship, the point is moot.

Nope I don’t think it did, except having Izzy as the starting everyday SS and not someone else. So then what did the $6 million have to do with it being a "pretty big risk?"

The Cubs will have to be in the conversation as they are one of a few teams that could actually make this deal. I put the odds of them making the deal at around 5% or lower.

chad... you should start a blog. I am sure chadhateswomen.blogspot.com would be available.

It is unacceptable for any play by play announcer to cry. Then how come you've never complained about Ronny? And please don't say there's a difference between pbp and color announcers here.

As of right now (and this is very much subject to change), I would think Ryan Acosta, Jeffry Antigua, Alberto Cabrera, Oswaldo Martinez, Dae-Eun Rhee, Ryan Searle, and Larry Suarez (presuming they are all healthy) will be the pitching prospects to watch at EXST 2008. AzPhil=========== Phil, what can you tell me about Martinez? He's had some interesting numbers when he's pitched, but he seemed to vanish from summer league. So I assumed he got hurt. Any info? Also, he lists at 6'0", not a lot of 6'0" RHP who are viewed as very good arms or prospects. What do you see in him that you liked? Also, what can you share about Antigua? I know the stats (very young, 6'1" lefty, most innings for winning DSL Cub team, no red-flags in his peripherals). Have you seen him in Mesa and have 1st-hand impression, or have some other info on him you've gotten from sources? The DSL team had some young players and won a lot. Do you have any inside or 2nd-hand scoop on any of the other guys down there besides Antigua? Rhee is 18, right? Last, you've seen Huseby numerous times, and come away impressed. That's fabulous. His BA report had him pitching mostly in the 80's, although getting up to 90-92 at times or something like that. From what you've seen, is that representative? Or would you say he's a bit faster than that? Thanks a ton for your reports, they are really fun to read.

"Then how come you’ve never complained about Ronny?" Ronnie is not the play by play.

"And please don’t say there’s a difference between pbp and color announcers here." There is a huge difference.

It is unacceptable for any play by play announcer to cry. ========== Ed Farmer makes me cry...isn't that close enough?

Mr. Take Off Your Top.... "I'd love to [start]," Dempster said. "I enjoy closing. I think I did a good job of closing. I did a poor job of pitching sometimes when it wasn't a save situation. If [being the closer] is the route they want me to go, I have to do a better job of it."

Cubs Convention Jan 18-20th MLB Winter Meetings Dec. 2nd-6th.

"The Big Z: The Carlos Zambrano Story" Sounds way more like the Big Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ex-Cub factor says the Rockies over the Dbacks LaTroy Hawkins vs Augie and Juan Cruz (team with the most ex-cubs loses)...unless LaTroy counts twice.

There is a huge difference. So if she did color it would be ok for her to cry?

The contested acceptance of play-by-play announcers crying? The offseason has hit TCR very quickly this year!

"So if she did color it would be ok for her to cry?" You find me a woman color announcer for a major sport and we will discuss.

hehe... chad, keep digging - if you dig far enough, maybe we won't be able to hear you any more! :)

I got news for you, they don't have a real color commentator. But if you must insist she is, then there is hope for me yet.

Furthermore, I don't give a shit what anyone calls her. I would not accept anyone crying for the reasons she did. She sucks at her job and I can't stand listening to her. I wouldn't accept it from a man or woman. You don't cry unless of extreme circumstances and was not one of them. Even then, compose yourself and act like a fucking professional. MAN OR WOMAN.

I don't hate women. I just refuse to believe the myth that has been forced down our throats for 30 years. Men and women are not the same. We don't think the same and we don't act the same. There are major differences in our brains and bodies. And it is entirely possible that men are better at things than women because of the way their brains are wired. But you keep keeping you modern men you!

Well " The Real Neal" claims you ducked his question at # 19 and if thats true, please dont forget my question at # 7. Just a comment about Kim Ng, I'm not against a woman for a gm position or scouting or even player developement but you better have evaluation skills which I dont think that she's ever scouted in the field from what I read. Also my brother went to the instructional game today in Maryvale, Az and the Cubs beat the White Sox 3-0 today. He said, " Ceda throws real hard"

"Just a comment about Kim Ng, I’m not against a woman for a gm position or scouting or even player developement but you better have evaluation skills which I dont think that she’s ever scouted in the field from what I read." This is the thing, Saberpeople don't think you ever need to see a player play. Just look at stat sheet. This is why they like a person like Ng. And the biggest reason I don't.

I’m not against a woman for a gm position or scouting or even player developement but you better have evaluation skills which I dont think that she’s ever scouted in the field from what I read. Disagree. A GM has know how to manage a staff and a team. A GM has to be able to put together a coherent plan on how a team can get good and stay good. Hendy is not out evaluating every player he is interested in. Every GM in baseball relies heavily on his scouting department. Further... just because one has never officially been a scout does not mean that said person does not have evaluation skills. And did Theo Epstein ever scout? This is the thing, Saberpeople don’t think you ever need to see a player play. Just look at stat sheet. Keep showing that you have no clue. This is why they like a person like Ng. And the biggest reason I don’t. Actually... up until this comment, the one and only reason you have given for not liking Ng was because she is a woman. So you would be perfectly fine with her as a GM if she had previously been a scout?

Theo Epstein is the poster boy for GMs I hate. Well... Theo Epstein has probably had more success faster than any GM that you love.

"Actually… up until this comment, the one and only reason you have given for not liking Ng was because she is a woman. So you would be perfectly fine with her as a GM if she had previously been a scout?" No. There are many reasons beyond the fact that she has no background in baseball before an internship with the White Sox. "Well… Theo Epstein has probably had more success faster than any GM that you love." I really find it hard to give that much credit to any GM who is allowed to spend as much as Theo is allowed to spend. I could probably do the same as I suspect you could too. "Keep showing that you have no clue." Sorry but you are wrong here. the concept of Sabremetric scouting was invented to take the bias of what the eye saw out of the equation.

No. There are many reasons beyond the fact that she has no background in baseball before an internship with the White Sox. Wow... smart. She started working full-time for the White Sox in 1991. But yea... no background in baseball.

Yes I would very fine with Ng if she had scouted and Hendry scouted oh by the way, so did Shapiro, Beane, Gillick, Minaya, Dayton Moore, Ed Wade and Neil "the 18th" Huntington even advanced scouted for Cleveland.

Yes I would very fine with Ng if she had scouted slamdog - my question was actually directed to Chad, not you, but thanks. Hendry scouted oh by the way What is your point? I never said Hendry didn't scout. I don't deny that most GMs were scouts at one point. I just don't see it as a pre-requisite. Theo Epstein has shown why it isn't necessary. Again - scouting is a valuable tool (even for sabremetric folk). But most GMs probably do more managing and planning than scouting.

I don't know Ng's full background, I would be surprised much like Theo that she hadn't watched a bunch of baseball games and has been asked a bunch of times what her thoughts are about a certain player. Just having the title of scout isn't mandatory imo although yes most GM's have been scouts somewhere along the way. Didn't Colletti start as PR intern with the Cubs or maybe just a PR job?

"Again - scouting is a valuable tool (even for sabremetric folk)." Not Billy Beane.

From that link:
Ng's primary responsibilities are to assist General Manager Ned Colletti in player acquisitions and contract negotiations, coordinate player transactions, work closely with the scouting and player development departments,... In 2004, along with her other duties, Ng assumed the interim position of Director of Player Development and was responsible for overseeing the Dodgers' Minor League department, including developing and evaluating all players in the farm system, appointing minor league managers and coaching staff, and overseeing the club's winter ball participation and relationships between the Dodgers and their minor league affiliates.
But yea - she doesn't have a clue about baseball or scouting.

I've must have heard it a dozen times on XM radio now, but the dirty little secret is that Billy Beane is widely regarded as having one of the best scouting eyes in the business.

"I really find it hard to give that much credit to any GM who is allowed to spend as much as Theo is allowed to spend. I could probably do the same as I suspect you could too." Chad, Look at GM's like Cashman, Colletti, Minaya they all have had money and burnt it. He dumped Pedro and Damon at the right time and signed Papi when he got DFA'd by Minnesota and very few people wanted him.

The problem I have with Ng is that she has worked with a whose who list of bad GM's of the last 20 years in Schuler, Cashman, Depodesta, and Collettiti.

Schueler too? Didn't the WSox have one of the best records in the 90's on a pretty mid-size budget?

"Billy Beane doesn’t have a scouting department?" Billy Beane doesn't care about his scouting department in so far as he doesn't care what they look like, how natural they are on the field or anything else you can see by watching a player play. Let's see Theo Epstein GM a team with limited means before you say he's any good. I don't think there was any talent in the way he built teams. Just went out and spent money on good players. I could do that.

Let me clarify that... I think that DePodesta is very wrongly attacked and made some very underrated moves in his short tenure. I definitely wouldn't consider him on a list of "whose [sic] who list of bad GM’s of the last 20 years."

Depodesta's biggest problem was not communicating within his organization and not letting the higher ups and Tommy LaSorda in on his plan. He figured he was hired to do his thing and didn't really have to answer or let anyone in on his plans that didn't need to be... There's a whole word of sabermetrics and the A's and Billy Beane out there for you to learn about Chad beyond Moneyball.

Billy Beane doesn’t care about his scouting department in so far as he doesn’t care what they look like, how natural they are on the field or anything else you can see by watching a player play. That doesnt mean he doesn't care about his scouting department. That means he wants his scouting department to look at different things than you would want them to look at.

"I’ll be the first to admit that Izturis was horrible..." CHAD! You ADMIT this???

or how about: misogynistmouthbreather.blogspot.com

[...] Cubs Bats Stay Smokin’ HotBaseball - No one on the team cares, but hack journalists like you do. And then you want Arod? AROD? Arod’s attitude make probably be signed for less than half that), declining the $16M option on Abreu, and not paying Roger Clemens to make cellphone [...]

[...] Cubs Bats Stay Smokin’ HotBaseball - No one on the team cares, but hack journalists like you do. And then you want Arod? AROD? Arod’s attitude make probably be signed for less than half that), declining the $16M option on Abreu, and not paying Roger Clemens to make cellphone [...]

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    18-year old SS Jefferson Rojas almost made the AA Tennessee Opening Day roster, and he is a legit shortstop, so I would expect him to be an MLB Top 100 prospect by mid-season. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Among the relievers in the system, I expect RHRP Hunter Bigge at AAA Iowa and RHRP Ty Johnson at South Bend to have breakout seasons on 2024, and among the starters I see LHP Drew Gray and RHP Will Sanders at South Bend and RHP Naz Mule at ACL Cubs as the guys who will make the biggest splash. Also, Jaxon Wiggins is throwing bullpen sides, so once he is ready for game action he could be making an impact at Myrtle Beach by June.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

    another awesome spring of pitching reports.  thanks a lot, appreciated.