On the other foot
ST. LOUIS _ Road trip! Let's see, the last time, I was at Busch Stadium, Mark DeRosa was on his way to the playoffs with the Cubs. Aaron Miles was a Cardinal. And Jason Marquis, the former Cardinal, was getting the last laugh on his old bosses again.
I guess things have changed a little. DeRo is battling a painful hand injury, but he's batting sixth for the Cardinals tonight. Marquis and his 15 wins are with the Rockies. And Miles? Well, he's about as far down on the Cubs' depth chart as you can get.
Had a chance to chat with DeRo for a few minutes before Tony La Russa broke it up and made him get to work in BP. Tony's a stickler that way. DeRo says he still doesn't understand why the Cubs traded him to Cleveland last New Year's Eve. We'll have more in the paper from DeRo (also online).
Lineup
Theriot, SS
Fukudome, CF
Lee, 1B
Ramirez, 3B
Hoffpauir, RF
Soto, C
Baker, 2B
Scales, LF
Lilly, P
Milton Bradley took BP, but Lou says he day to day. Methinks those days to days are numbered in Chicago, though. I can't see this going on past this year. The Cubs probably won't call up prospect Tyler Colvin from Class AA Tennessee unless Bradley can't play anymore this year. It would be interesting to see him, though. Tennessee returns home down 2-0 in the best of five Southern League championship series against Jacksonville. Casey Coleman, who won 14 in the regular season and 1 in the first round, goes for the Smokies tonight.
Reliever Angel Guzman threw on the outfield grass today, but he's apparently still sore, and, as Lou put it, he's running out of days for this year.
Enjoy.
I would pay him just to go away. I would not release him. I would not trade him. I would not let him play elsewhere. I would just tell him to stay home and collect his check. If he decides he wants to play here, play hard and keep his mouth shut, he could come back. Otherwise, he can collect his check and consider it retirement pay.
he's worth that to you huh?
that Bradley is gone? I think it could be relatively tough to move him and his contract. I do think there are a few teams that might take him (Giants, Mets), but only a few. Maybe a Milton Bradley for Luis Castillo trade? I don't know if that is such a good deal for the Cubs, and are you just trading one head case for another? Might be better to dump him and some cash for a couple of lower level pitching prospects.
I don't know anything about whether or not Luis Castillo is a head case, but he's one player that came to mind for me also. The Mets are supposedly going to be looking for a corner outfielder among other things, and there has been speculation that they may try to trade Castillo and go after Orlando Hudson. Switch hitter is batting .318 with a .416 OBP against RHP this year and he hit .298 with a .368 OBP off RHP over the previous three seasons combined. He's no slouch against lefties either, but would make a good platoon player with Baker. Castillo is a guy who draws more BB's than he strikes out, and while he isn't going to swipe 40+ bases anymore, he's still a threat to steal half of that. Castillo has two more years at $6M per year on his contract, so the Cubs would basically have two years of Castillo for a million dollars more than what they would owe Bradley for 2010 ($9M) plus a $2M buyout for 2011 (if a specific injury causes him to be on the DL at the end of this season) as per the following from Cot's Contracts.
Milton Bradley of
3 years/$30M (2009-11)
3 years/$30M (2009-11)
signed by Chicago Cubs as a free agent 1/6/09
$4M signing bonus
09:$5M, 10:$9M, 11:$12M
2010 and 2011 base salaries may increase by $0.25M for LCS MVP, $0.5M for WS MVP; $0.5M for MVP ($0.3M for 2nd in vote, $0.2M for 3rd, $0.15M for 4th, $0.1M for 5th) in any previous season
2011 may become $12M club option with $2M buyout if:
Bradley has more than 75 days on DL in 2009, or
Bradley is on DL at end of 2009 season with specific injury and not on active roster by 4/15/2010
Friday's loss to St. Louis was an easy outcome to predict. I tuned in for the second inning then back again later to catch the score tied 2-2.
It's a known fact that when the Cubs play in St. Louis and the score ties, the Cubs loose 95% of the time. Even if they take a lead, the Cardinals come back in the late innings and tank the Cubbies.
All the Cubs need now is at least one more loss in St. Louis, two in Milwaukee and the season is O-V-E-R!
Say 'g'night Lou!
Bruce,
Do you think there is anyway that the Cubs get DeRosa and use him as the regular RFer and #5 hitter in the lineup? Would seem to be a cheap option for the Cubs, and a known quantity in the clubhouse. I would assume that the Cubs could determine if he is going to be healthy. With Baker and DeRosa, we would have serious depth on the team. Or do you think the Cubs are more likely to pursue a player like Adam Dunn in a trade?
I've not heard, from Cubs people themselves, any interest in DeRosa. He'll be 35 before next season starts, and he may need surgery on his wrist. Their first order of business probably will be to see if there are takers for Bradley. If so, he will be moved. They haven't identified whom they might pursue yet.
says DeRosa would be open to returning to the Cubs. Just a follow up on this. I think he liked his time here and would probably play here cheaper than some places. Obviously, it would depend upon the length of the contract and how DeRosa's wrist is healing.
..look like a bunch of (bad) porn actors.
..look like a bunch of (bad) baseball players.
..welcome back to the road, Bruce! Too bad Cubs circumstances are so different this year. My guess is Bradley is as good as gone. What a waste...
While DeRo is obviously sorely missed this year, hopefully the three pitchers work out and then we can really assess that trade.