Cubs stuff with a nod to SoxFest (UPDATED)
We'll get a couple minor matters and some possible news about spring training out of the way here as we squeeze some Cubs stuff into our one-room apartment here. My Daily Herald colleague Scot Gregor (the longest-running Sox beat writer) is seeking fan questions for this weekend's SoxFest. Check out his blog:
http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/3293
So send 'em in, Sox fans (and Cubs fans, too).
There's a report from a local Fox TV station in Phoenix that the Cubs are "99 percent sure" to stay in Mesa for spring training and that Commissioner Bud Selig wants them to stay there. Waiting for any word from the Cubs on this:
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/sports/mlb/cubs/source-cubs-likely-to-st...
The East Valley Tribune, based in Mesa, has a story plus a pdf file on the memorandum of understanding on the proposed deal. Read it all here:
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/149767
I can see Bud wanting the Cubs in Arizona. They're the biggest draws out there, and the Cactus League needs them while Naples, Fla., wants them. The Cubs are kings of the Cactus League. In Florida, they'd share the spotlight with the Yankees and Red Sox.
A fan at last Saturday's Cubs convention asked team president Crane Kenney if he could be "fair" about the decision, considering he has a home on Marco Island, not far from Naples. I pointed that out in this past Monday's Cubs column and said it would be hard to imagine an entity as big as the Cubs making a decision like that based on one employee. Crane handled the potentially awkward situation well when asked the question. As he said, the decision rests with the Ricketts family.
We shall see.
The Cubs have signed a couple of familiar faces to minor-league deals and invited them to spring training but without invites to big-league camp. Catcher Mark Johnson was in big-league camp last year as nonroster guy, and he played 22 games at Class AAA Iowa.
Third baseman Scott McClain is back, too, after spending last year with Hiroshima in Japan. McClain was a spring-training sensation a couple times earlier in the decade, and it seemed like he might damn near make the club one year out of camp. He did get into 13 games with the Cubs in 2005. He went to Japan last year after opening the season with the Giants' Class AAA club. A nicer guy you won't meet, and it's possible both McClain and Johnson will be starting their "second careers" (read coaches) in the Cubs system. Good luck to both.
The rumor du jour is the Cubs are "negoiating" with former Cards releiver Kiko Colero. His name has come up before, but teams around baseball have been skittish about how healthy Colero is. There's a chance he still might come to the Cubs, but I'd look for more of a chance of a minor-league deal with no guaranteed dough.
Since we've got a couple of links already going, check out Jerry Crasnick's assessment of the remaining free agents. He shares my sentiment that the Cubs and Ben Sheets coming to a deal is a long shot:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove09/columns/story?columnist=crasnic....
I spotted that one on mlb trade rumors, Tim Dierkes' fine site.
Bruce, sounds like Josh W is available? Any insight on whether or not the Cubs might have interest? Not a good defensive player, and he has some injury issue that I don't recall at the moment. That said, I think he'd probably be better than Gomes/Dye defensively, and he has more power than someone like Nady. Of course those three are FA's, and Willingham may cost too much anyways (in terms of salary).
Would rather have Ben sheets then ANY of these outfielders!
I saw the Mets just got Gary Matthews Jr for a reliever and are only paying him $2M for the next two years. I know the guy has struggled, but for $1M / year it may have been a decent gamble to take.
Once they traded Bradley, they set their sites on Byrd.
Cubs just hired one of his best buddies as Assistant GM. Cubs need a starter(at least one) until Lilly comes back. Smoltz wants to start, and he could audition for a month for the Cubs. If he pitches well, Wells could go to the pen when Lilly is back and healthy. If Smoltz doesn't pitch that well, he can move to the pen and fill the setup(or some other role).
Bruce, I haven't heard much on the possibility of Eric Byrnes. Another blog has said that Hendry wouldn't consider him. I'm curious if you have any insight.
Byrnes was always overrated as a starter, and subsequently, overpaid. As a backup, though, he would seem like a solid fit. Still has solid pop and is a solid enough defensively in the corner OF spots. Splits are decent enough to suggest that he could perhaps be a solid platoon partner with Kosuke.
Out of the names currently available, he'd probably top my list on talent alone.
He's well down on the Cubs' priority list.
Seems like the best platoon option left on the market from a total package perspective (offense and defense). I'm not a huge Byrnes fan ... but guys like Dye/Gomes are, to say the least, limited defensively, and a guy like Reed Johnson doesn't offer enough pop. Nady would interest me, but I don't know how healthy he is, so I don't know where to view him. His arm has never been great, and the elbow injury does give pause for concern in that regards.
You'd really rather have Byrnes than Jermaine Dye?
Random order
1. Better defender at this stage. We still need a platoon option for Fukudome, unless we are going to shift Baker out there on a semi-regular basis. I prefer Baker as the FT 2nd baseman, though (with an occasional dash of Fontenot ... I mean, ideally, we'd dump Fontenot/Blanco, find a backup MI that can handle SS and offer enough of a bat and open up an extra bench spot ... but that isn't going to happen).
2. Better baserunner.
Combine that with
3. Byrnes has enough pop in his bat.
4. Byrnes has solid enough splits to split time with Fukudome.
Is Byrnes "ideal"? No. But he offers the best mix with what's left on the market IMO. If we simply want a big bat off the bench, then I'd sign Gomes. The difference in defense would likely be relatively inconsequential between Gomes and Dye - both are bad, and it's just a measure of how bad. Yes, Dye offers more pop, but there needs to be someone that can platoon with Fukudome in RF, and I'd much rather have Byrnes than Dye in the OF.
I didn't even consider cost until now, but Byrnes likely would be cheaper than Dye.
_____________
Nady is a long thought for me. His arm has never been that good, and the elbow injury gives pause for concern. But he does have a decent-solid bat, and overall, could likely be a decent enough defensive player.
sign with Texas? Bruce i agree, sounds a lot like Ben Harden.
I'm sure you are seeing the latest rumors about Gomes as the 4th OF. I don't know a lot about him. Do you know anything about this, Bruce? How is his defense and what sort of money do you think he'd want?
I'd prefer Nady to Gomes, but I think Gomes could be a useful piece for this team. There's an article in the Sun-Times that makes it sound like he would like to play for the Cubs and is fine with a fair contract since he didn't get a lot of ABs last year.
Nady is a more complete player than these other guys. Both Gomes and Dye are sub par defensively. Dye is actually one of the worst defensive players in the entire league by metrics. Nady is in what should be his prime, and has been solid over several years.
I would think Nady could probably be a starter somewhere though.
Risky! If it turns out that he can't throw, then he's no good to the Cubs. He'd need to got to the AL and be a DH.
Who do you prefer? The guy who had a sub .600 OPS over the last 2 months of last season? Or Eric Byrnes who has had more time on the DL than Mark Prior?
Who has had TJ surgery in the last5 years and not come back from it? They have that surgery down pretty well at this point. And I am sure if they sign him, he will have to pass a physical.
Don't be surprised if Gomes is signed. Time is getting away. Dye seemingly can't make up his mind, Nady wants more but his arm is uncertain after 2 TJ surgeries and Baldelli ALWAYS has health issues; but Gomes will provide the RH offense they are looking for and will take what the Cubs can give him. That will likely be no more than $1M on a 1 year deal.
That last point is important because the Cubs only have about $13M left to spend for the remaining players Hendry is looking for, and less if Jim wants to save some for July. When you couple these facts with another fact, that despite what was said by Piniella at the Convention about pursuing only free agents, the Cubs seem intent on trading for the reliever they are looking for. This would leave plenty of money to pursue Sheets, who looked better than expected and who would really solidify the Cubs rotation and put them back in the driver's seat in the NL Central.
He's no farther ahead or behind any other candidate in signing with the Cuis. The Cubs have talked to them all. It'll all depend on how much money each is after.
Spend a few dollars more and sign Jermaine Dye. At $3M it would be impossible for him to disappoint.
Awful is the way Dye played after the All-Star game, and at his age it legitimately opens the question of whether he is finished or not. If that were not so, he would have been signed already.
Awful would be having Dye (or any similar player) sitting on the bench in an unhappy state because he felt forced into a situation he didn't want and having a negative impact on team moral and chemistry. Now don't leap to the conclusion that Dye is a bad guy in the clubhouse, he isn't. Quite the contrary! He would never do anything overt to bring down the team; but unhappy players don't make good cheer leaders and their down attitude alone can have a cooling effect on a team. Furthermore, there would be a "story" there and the press would be constantly asking him to explain his feelings, etc. And the more his unhappiness attracts attention, the more likely it is to become a downer for the team.
I fully expect it to take $9M-$10M + incentives to sign Sheets. If as I explained before, Hendry can save cash by trading for the reliever he wants and give up no more than $1M to get Gomes or some other OF of equal ability, then Jim can make a strong push for Sheets and still have a couple of $M in the bank for July. The latter makes it much easier to approach ownership for a little more if it's needed, than to make that request with the coffers empty.
This is exactly the route I would be taking, and I think it is the route Jim is already taking.
What you saw from Dye, the second half of last season is still better than what you can expect from Gomes. Gomes is a .225 hitting, bad fielding, strikeout machine. I'd rather see Fukudome play everyday (even against lefties), than see a platoon featuring Gomes. You know what Gomes is? He's a right-handed hitting Micah Hoffpauir. Rather than sign Gomes, they'd have been better off hanging onto Jake Fox, who is a better hitter and fielder than Gomes is!
Not even close!
Gomes will only be playing against LH pitching, same as Dye, and Gomes has hit lefties at a 274 clip over his career and over 300 last year. I wouldn't even bring up D if you were touting Dye, which you are, and his AB/HR was 4.5 better than Dyes last year, too.
ONLY if you can guarantee that Dye will bounce back at age 36 and can play well for a full season, would I take Dye over Gomes. And you are in no position to do that. Not even Dye, himself, can do that. Ditto Nady!
Besides, Gomes WANTS to be a Cub, would be happy platooning with Fukudome, and will take several $M less, while Dye can't make up his mind.
Gomes is the sound choice in this group.
Gomes is a strikeout machine. His career average is a SO every 3.5 plate appearances. Dye's is a much more palatable once every 5.5 (which didn't vary last season when everybody said he was so bad). If you'd rather have Gomes, straight up, rather than Jermaine Dye then your baseball acumen is severely lacking and I can't help you.
Of the names thrown around, I'd rather see Reed Johnson back. He can play all 3 OF spots and play them very well, and he hammers LHP (.329 BA, .395 OBP, .878 OPS in 292 AB's over past three seasons. He could also fit in the #2 slot behind Theriot when he's in there instead of Fukudome, so they wouldn't have to switch the lineup all around when they face LHP. Lou would have to juggle the lineup if they brought in Gomes/Nady/Dye.
Good point!
I would rather have Reed back as well, if he weren't so injury prone. Were it not for that fact we wouldn't be having this debate because Jim would have already signed him.
Not a bad thought, but Reed Johnson has durability issues.
....just foul a ball off his foot and fracture a bone? That's a freak injury, not one that is restricted to a player who is prone to injury. I don't think he has a history of injuries. He's been a bench player his AB's and GP's are low for a player with that much major league service.
He DOES have a record of consistent lost time due to injuries. Most have to do with his bad back.
....corrected. I forgot that he missed as much as he did in 2008 and didn't realize he missed a couple months back in 2007. While I was looking at his game logs, I took a look at Gomes also and he missed several stretches of a week or more at a time. There are concerns about each of the corner OF's the Cubs have reportedly shown interest in. Maybe Hendry can swing a deal for a package of that corner OF and late inning RHRP he's after.
Hey Bruce, Luke Gregerson is one of the RHRP's whose name has been tossed out there. Do you know how legitimate the Cubs' interest is in him and if the Padres would actually be open to dealing him? He was just a 25 yr-old rookie this past season but posted some pretty darn impressive numbers (75IP, 62H, only 3 HR, 31 BB, 93 SO, .221 BA, .305 OBP. .311 SLG, .613 OPS, 1.24 WHIP, and in 143 AB's vs RH hitters .161 BA, .244 OBP, 203 SLG, .447 OPS) pitcher's park or not. He did miss a stretch of about a month in June, but I'm just wondering why the Padres would even be willing to trade a young, inexpensive pitcher.
you're right, back problems with Blue Jays
If the question is Gomes vs. Dye, sure Dye is the guy to target. But if the money saved by signing Gomes instead makes it possible to sign Sheets, I'm all for it.
I couldn't agree more.
Who would you rather have:
Ben Sheets
or
Randy Wells
C'mon! I respect Randy Wells for what he did, and how he handled himself, but..C'mon!!!! Not one of the 5 "projected" starters made all of their starts last year. Look at the lineups and parks in the NL Central. 20 "Ben Sheets" starts is better then 30 of any of the 5 that are competing for that last spot.
If he goes to the Cardinals, I guess we can prematurely start the "wait til next year" slogan
Hands down. When was the last time Sheets faced major league hitting? Sheets has never won more than 13 games and his .509 W/L % is hardly respectable. Sheets is a has been.
Randy Wells???? Really...okay, you have to be joking.
Don't forget the Cardinals rotation features:
Wainwright
Carpenter
Penny
Their lineup, just has Pujols and Holliday in the middle.
Compare that to
Zambrano
Dempster
and who?????Lilly in May?????
Ben Sheets only pitched on 1 quality team. A guy who can have no hit stuff every time he takes the mound...I'd take that over any 4th outfielder they think they need. They threw more money away on Aaron Miles and Milton Bradley just to get rid of them!!!!!
Even if they skip a start here and there, and your precious Randy Wells can spot start with a Sean Marshall type roll, Ben Sheets makes the Cubs legitimate.
Very well put!
When you consider some of the REALLY bad Brewers teams he played for.
Sheets also played for some pretty bad Brewers teams.....throw W/L out the door and look at his other stats. When Sheets is healthy and on top of his game he can be at true #1....that's just been tough for him to do. After the reports that he had a good session the other day I'd expect some team to offer a lot more than the Cubs will be willing to.
"When Sheets is healthy and on top of his game he can be at true #1....that's just been tough for him to do". ......sounds like somone we already have!
...like a couple of pitchers the Cubs had in the early 2000s.
He's had 1 arm injury, and he wanted to pitch through it!!! The other "injuries" were fluke, like vertigo and such. NOTHING like the pitchers in the early 2000's.
They paid 8 million dollars to limp Harden through 2 seasons! I can't believe for 6-8 million dollars and incentives this isn't a good move. If for NOTHING else, to keep him away from the Cardinals or Brewers.
That's the injury Wood had. He rehabbed throught it. Prior had shoulder surgery. Those are not "fluke" injuries.
Bruce...
I think you misread MCK. He was talking about Sheet's other injuries!
They'd still have Wells. So you'd have both.
I certainly hope I am wrong, but if I were a betting man (which I am), I would put my money on a bad year for Randy. He seems a bit of a fairy tale. Doesn't have great stuff. Never showed a track record success in the minors. He's not a young guy. I think he will struggle mightily in 2010 - and be out of the rotation by July.
Hope I'm wrong, but as I wrote on this blog back in October, I would have traded Wells in a second this offseason if someone were willing to pay based on his rookie success. Again - I really hope I am wrong and he does not have a Rich Hill-esque second act.
First curse word for Bruce while blogging? I'm now keeping count.
I said Bert Blyleven had the "damndest" or do you say "damnednest" curveball I had ever seen in my Hall of Fame blog earlier this month.
I can't wait until they announce it's 100% certain the Cubs will stay in Mesa. I don't want to go to FL and drive 1 - 4 hours to get to every away game while paying higher gas prices and spending my vacation cramped up in a car.
I completely agree that Mesa and the Cactus league NEED the Cubs. Even though the Dodgers give the Cactus league another marquee team, losing the Cubs would financially hurt every team that trains in PHX.
I see SoxFest is sold out - just wondering what the overall attendance is compared to Cubs Convention?