Chicago's Inside Pitch

Heading to Wrigley this morning through the rain to attend the news conference to introduce Tom Ricketts and his family. They want to hold it on the field, but that may not be possible.

Anyway, check back at dailyherald.com about 11 this morning for some stories. We'll have more here at the blog later and in Saturday's paper. For now, it's off to the ballpark.

Back in 2001, the Cubs made a terrible baseball decision when they put infielder Miguel Cairo and outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. on waivers and kept infielder Augie Ojeda on the active roster. Cairo and Matthews were quickly snapped up by other teams, and Ojeda was of little help as the Cubs fell short in their bid to win the NL Central.

Fast-forward to 2009. It seems Matthews wants to move out from the L.A. Angels with two years and $23 million left on the five-year, $50 million contract he signed before the 2007 season:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-angels28-2009oct28,0,3353674.story

Now that the sale of the Cubs from the Tribune Co. to Tom Ricketts and his family is finally done _ it took only three baseball seasons _ I’m sure Tom will be inundated with advice, which I’m sure already has poured in.

With that in mind, what’s a few more bits of free advice, which is always worth the price? So here we go, and feel free to add your own:

The White Sox announced Dayan Viciedo will no longer play in the Arizona Fall League due to inflammation in his right elbow.
Viciedo, 20, batted .333 (6-for-18) with 1 home run and 6 RBI in 4 games with the Peoria Javelinas. A teenage star in his native Cuba before signing with the Sox last winter, Viciedo played third base for Class AA Birmingham and batted .280 with 12 HR and 78 RBI in 130 games.
Brent Morel, who batted .281 with 16 HR and 79 RBI in 128 games with Class A Winston-Salem, takes Viciedo’s spot in the AFL.

After being voted American League Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News last week (the award was voted on by 338 major-league players), White Sox third baseman Gordon Beckham on Monday was named the league’s Outstanding Rookie in Players Choice Awards voting.
Beckham beat out Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus and Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher James Niemann for his latest honor.
In 103 games with the Sox, Beckham, 23, batted .270 and led AL rookies in doubles (28), RBI (63) and extra-base hits (43) while ranking second in home runs (14) and on-base percentage (.347).

We have a good discussion going, so I'll update here a little after noontime Friday that the Cubs have outrighted infielder-outfielder Bobby Scales to Class AAA Iowa, leaving their 40-man roster at 38.

It was an early wake-up call today, but thanks to Dan Jiggetts, Mike North and Jen Patterson for having me on the “Monsters in the Morning” show on Comcast. It’s always a riot. Of course, the Monsters asked me about Milton Bradley possibly coming back to the Cubs, and I said no. The question came up because the Cubs hired Rudy Jaramillo as hitting coach, and Jaramillo worked well with Bradley in 2008 at Texas.

Not interested in the World Series, which starts Wednesday and likely ends sometime before Christmas?
Here's a reason to tune in, especially if you're a White Sox/Ozzie Guillen fan.
For whatever reason, FOX TV wanted to keep this under wraps until midnight, so we'll go ahead and break the news as soon as the calendar hits Thursday...
OK, here is it _ Guillen has agreed to come off his boat and serve as FOX's pre/postgame analyst for the Fall Classic.
It's a major coup for the network, especially considering Ozzie has turned down similar TV gigs in the past. FOX should be ecstatic about landing major-league baseball's most interesting voice, but just to be safe, it had better make sure the dump button is in working order.

Look for the Cubs to unveil Rudy Jaramillo as their new hitting coach today at Wrigley Field. Cubs people confirmed early this morning that the team and Jaramillo have agreed to a multiyear contract. One report has it as three years and $2.42 million but the Cubs could not confirm that figure.

We had reported last week that Jaramillo was the Cubs' top choice. In reality, he was the only candidate general manager Jim Hendry seriously considered.

The 59-year-old Jaramillo comes to the Cubs from the Texas Rangers, where he spent 15 years and earned a reputation as one of the top hitting coaches in the game. He became available after the Rangers offered him only a one-year contract extension, which he declined.

The “official” Rookie of the Year announcement won’t be made until November, but White Sox third baseman Gordon Beckham obviously made a positive impression on his peers in his debut season.
Beckham on Tuesday was voted the American League’s top rookie by Sporting News, as selected by a panel of 338 major-league players.
Beckham, 23, came up from Class AAA Charlotte on June 4 and batted .270 in 103 games. He led AL rookies in doubles (28), RBI (63) and extra-base hits (43) and finished second in home runs (14) and on-base percentage (.347).
In 2008, Beckham was the White Sox’ first-round draft pick (No. 8 overall) out of the University of Georgia.

Don't know what you'll remember most about the So Taguchi era with the Cubs, but it's over. The Cubs today confirmed Internet chatter that they have released the veteran outfielder, who came up from the minor leagues in September to fill in because of injury- and suspension-related shortages. The Cubs' 40-man roster now stands at 39.

As far as hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo goes, don't be surprised if something gets done this week. I expect the Cubs to name Jaramillo their hitting coach and to give him the mulityear contract the Texas Rangers would not. As I blogged last week, the Cubs and Jaramillo have spoken (with the Rangers' permission because his contract does not expire until Oct. 31), and things are moving along smoothing, I'm told.