Archive for August, 2009
Francisco needs to be traded -
I watched not one second of Friday’s affair. I managed about 10 minutes of Internet access and caught the 2-1 score, posted this premature comment and then later flipped on my XM radio to catch the final 5-2 win. The good news is the Cubs got a win and Milton Bradley and Alfonso Soriano went a combined 6/6 with 1 HR, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 2 Runs Scored and 2 BB’s. The bad news was the comedy of errors from the offensive heroes and the Cubs needing a dramatic come-from-behind win against a team missing their five best players. Some links and notes after the jump…
- Bruce Levine is sticking with the Minnesota Twins as the team awarded the claim on Rich Harden. How he got past the entire NL is a little confusing with the way he’s pitching and the rather minimal committment left on his contract. I don’t hold high hopes that the Twins would take the rest of his contract and give up top prospects for Harden. And it looks like the San Francisco Giants were awarded the claim on Aaron Heilman. The Sun-Times says a few more Cubs were claimed, but doesn’t offer up any names.
- In minor league news, 2009 first round pick Brett Jackson has been placed on the disabled list with inflammation in his right wrist. He should be back for Peoria’s playoff run as they have already clinched a playoff spot in the Midwest League. As of this writing, Iowa is a 1.5 back of Memphis and tied with Nashville with just over a week left in the PCL season. In Double A, Tennessee is tied with West Tennessee and the two teams finish the season with a five-game set.
- The Daytona Cubs aren’t going to be repeating as FSL champs, but they’ve thrown their second combined no-hitter in the last two weeks. Both times 20-year old pitcher Oswaldo Martinez was involved and he has not given up an earned run in 10.1 IP since joining Daytona.This time he combined with Mike Perconte on the no-hitter, last time it was a four pitcher effort with Martinez, Craig Muschko, Chris Siegfried and David Cales.
- Alfonso Soriano is set to have his MRI on Monday.
- I’ve got some Internet troubles at home, so dont’ expect much from me this weekend, hence this hastily done post.
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Any thoughts on The Blind Cub Squirrel Finds a Nut and Friday Notes?
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young sure has been in the news a lot lately:
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NEW YORK - OK, so maybe in the world of Ozzie Guillen grandchildren are overrated anyway.
Asked last week if he would give Jose Contreras another start this season, the White Sox manager responded, “I’ve got three kids, and I want to see my grandkids when they are born. I don’t want to get a heart attack before my time.”
Pennant races must make a man do crazy thing, because guess who is getting the start for this afternoon’s start against the New York Yankees?
“Saturday’s starter is going to be Jose Contreras,” Guillen announced after Friday’s loss. “I don’t have many choices. Our choices in the minor leagues weren’t very good. He’s going to start Saturday. We made sure we changed his routine, so we hope he pitches well.”
Guillen was asked why the organization decided to go away from calling up youngsters Daniel Hudson or Carlos Torres, and he pointed toward the fact that the roster somewhat had their hands tied.
“Because we don’t have another options at all,” Guillen said. “Then we don’t want to move anyone off the roster and we’ll see how it works.”
Contreras was finally yanked out of the starting rotation earlier in the week, after he went 1-5 with a 6.16 ERA in his last eight starts.
The Sox were hoping that the Saturday spot would be filled by Jake Peavy, but after taking a comebacker in his right elbow last Monday, they opted to give him one more start in Class AAA Charlotte Saturday night.
I’m willing to bet everybody saw that one coming! Thoughts?
Here’s a vid of young:
T206 1909-1911 Cy Young Ghost Baseball Card The Holy Grail
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You don’t need a reason to drink this weekend, but you may need a reason to watch a 49ers-Cowboys preseason game that doesn’t include “it was the only thing the sheriff would let me watch from the holding cell.”
The Cowboys insane video scoreboard and it’s special teams abilities will be a hot topic of broadcaster conversation at every Dallas home game (and some away games) this year, so bloggers—as is their wont—have been forced to invent a drinking game. A brief selection from the rules:
6. One shot if the broadcast cuts to Jerry Jones‘ uneasy face after Andy Lee punts the ball into his scoreboard.
7. Two shots if Coach Mike Singletary looks amused with Andy Lee punting the ball into the scoreboard.
8. One shot if any broadcaster makes an analogy between the new Cowboy Stadium and the Death Star.
It might not be that fun, but I guarantee you’ll be passed out before halftime.
Andy Lee Drinking Game Niners Nation
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I have always been a big fan of JONES, I have to say, seeing news like this gives me mixed feelings.How do you think this news about JONES will affect the rest of the team this season?
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haha, I can’t believe this guy,
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The Atlanta Braves third baseman is an avid hunter and since his home rests on a tract of land near the Mexican border, he often encounters many of brave illegal immigrants stealthily en route to a better way of life.
But Chipper’s a compassionate conservative, so instead of firing his shotgun into the air or unleashing coyotes on them, he just gathers them all up in the back of his truck, gives them some food and water and immediately calls the border patrol to properly dispose of them. What else is he supposed to do?
People say that it’s mean to call the border patrol, but who else are you gonna call? I mean, I’m not gonna spend my whole offseason driving illegals back⦔
Chipper Jones on 790 Atlanta SRI
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Post your replies below.
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Let’s push controversy aside for a while, shall we, and try to just enjoy a baseball game this afternoon?
The last time the Mets visited Wrigley Field was more than 16 months ago, on April 22, 2008. That isn’t that long ago in baseball terms, but of the eight starting Cubs that day, four are no longer with the team and one is on the DL. Five other Cubs who appeared in the game are elsewhere as well. As for the Mets, four of their starting eight from that game won’t appear due to injury and three others have departed.
Ronny Cedeno hit a grand slam in that game, just to remind you of blasts from the past. It’s still his only slam. (That’s just about the time we started calling him ONEDEC.)
Two very different teams will take the field at Wrigley this afternoon from that long-ago day in 2008 (the Cubs did face the Mets last September, still almost a year ago, when the Mets were desperately trying to win a playoff spot, which they lost on the last day of the season). The Mets have been decimated by injuries, both to their starting lineup and pitching rotation — the three Mets probable starters in this series, Pat Misch, Bobby Parnell and Nelson Figueroa, were definitely not the pitchers Jerry Manuel envisioned in his rotation in April.
OK, I suppose I can’t resist a couple of links and comments regarding the current Milton Bradley situation. Phil Rogers says the Cubs should just cut him, which would cost north of $20 million and I think is a ridiculous idea, but Rogers also offer some suggestions of other teams’ bad contracts that could result in a trade:
The only way to trade Bradley, according to executives with other clubs, is to up your ante to take on someone else’s bad contract. You know the names — the Blue Jays‘ Vernon Wells, owed $98.5 million over five years; the Giants‘ Barry Zito, $83 million over four years; the Astros‘ Carlos Lee, $55.5 million over three years, maybe the Giants’ Aaron Rowand, $36 million over three years.
The best of those scenarios involves the Rangers‘ five-year, $80-million deal with Michael Young, who at 32 is a productive player. He’s owed $16 million a year for four more seasons.
In a cost-cutting mode because of ownership problems, Texas might consider a Bradley-for-Young trade. But it wouldn’t do it during its ongoing playoff race and it’s going to be increasingly awkward for them to try to wade through a hugely problematic trade.
As Rogers says, Texas is in a playoff race and probably wouldn’t do it now. So are the Giants with Zito, who has actually pitched very well since the All-Star break. The Vernon Wells deal would be more palatable to the Cubs if it didn’t have five years and nearly as much money as Alfonso Soriano’s. But I’d do it. Wells is virtually the same age as Bradley (about eight months younger) and, though he’s had a couple of tough years since he signed his monster deal, at least he does have proven power numbers from the past, and could play CF, allowing Kosuke Fukudome to move back to RF next season (with Reed Johnson retained to back them both up).
And strangely enough, the best local media words on this situation come from the Tribune’s Steve Rosenbloom, who I almost never agree with and who often writes ridiculous bombast. But today he nails it, in a column titled Bradley’s response ought to anger those who take on racism seriously:
Racism is serious. If you are concerned or angry enough to put that in the public discussion, then you seemingly should be motivated to explain when and where this happened. How else do you take a step toward keeping it from happening again?
But when Bradley offers only cynicism and sarcasm, he diminishes the severity of the issue. Moreover, he does a disservice to those suffering abuse but who are willing to fight the fight head on.
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Under no circumstances does anyone deserve to be abused racially. Underachieving baseball player and racial epithets are dots that should never connect.
But Bradleyâs history and now his dismissive response to questions following his serious charges invite the suggestion that heâs looking for ways to shield himself from his problems, self-inflicted or otherwise.
One hundred percent correct, Mr. Rosenbloom. Bravo.
Try to enjoy today’s game.
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Pat Misch’s stats below are with the Mets only; see the pitcher box for his full-season stats.
There’s no profile photo of Pat Misch in a Mets cap available (at least not in that size), so you get one of him with his former team, the Giants. The Mets acquired Misch on waivers in July and he’s spent the last couple of months shuttling between Buffalo and New York, making 15 relief appearances with the Mets (after four with the Giants). He is a Chicago-area native who graduated from Glenbrook North HS in Northbrook in 1999 and has made three career relief appearances vs. the Cubs, all in 2007. This will be his first start as a Met. Only one current Cub has a hit off him — Koyie Hill (1-for-2), but that’s covering only eight total at-bats from all current Cubs.
Ted Lilly is 2-1, 3.86 in five career appearances (four starts) vs. the Mets. His last two starts against them, one in 2007 and one in 2008, were both wins, the last one in the April 22, 2008 game mentioned above. The current Met who has the most AB against Ted is Gary Sheffield; Sheffield is only 5-for-28 against him.
Cable-only today in Chicago (CSN) and New York (SNY). For other games today see the MLB.com Mediacenter.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Mets site Amazin’ Avenue.
Overflow comment threads will post today at 2:15 pm, 3:15 pm and 4 pm CDT.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
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I have always been a big fan of Young, but I have to say, seeing stuff like this gives me mixed feelings.This will be shocking news for Young fans, but there are those of you who will say that you saw it coming from a mile away. I’m pretty surprised though. Young is fantastic, I really hope this doesn’t affect the season.
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I like it when I see news about eyre:
Banners trashing Cincinnati’s front office were flying above the team’s training camp, until the FAA stepped in — at the behest of Mike Brown. The man can’t run a football team, but he sure can control the skies. WhoDeyRevolution
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Any thoughts on Bengals Owner Will Not Tolerate Messages From On High Nfl?
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News about Harrison:
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Len Kasper mentioned this during the game tonight, but Chiefs Rebel Ridling, Josh Vitters, Kyler Burke and Josh Harrison were all named to the Midwest League Postseason All-Star Team. Harrison was traded to Pittsburgh, of course. Chiefs manager Marty Pevey shared the manager of the year award.
Wish I had better news to report tonight.
Iowa Cubs (66-65)
The Iowa Cubs were derailed by the New Orleans Zephyrs, 8-1.
J.R. Mathes took the loss, allowing five runs on eight hits over 4.1 innings. Mathes didn’t walk anyone and struck out two.
Catcher Steve Clevenger was 2 for 4.
Tennessee Smokies (31-28)
The Smokies fell out of first place tonight when they were beaten by the Carolina Mudcats, 7-6.
Hung-Wen Chen got the start and picked up the loss. He went six innings and allowed five runs on seven hits. Chen walked one and struck out four.
Catcher Welington Castillo was 3 for 4 with two doubles. He had one RBI and scored once. Center fielder James Adduci was 3 for 5 with a run scored. First baseman Blake Lalli was 2 for 5 with an RBI.
Daytona Cubs (25-31)
Figures that the teams who have already been mathematically-eliminated would be the teams that won. The Daytona Cubs aren’t just playing out the string though, as tonight they tamed the Lakeland Flying Tigers, 6-4.
Starter Craig Muschko got the win. He pitched five innings and he allowed two runs on four hits. He was great around the plate as he didn’t walk anyone and struck out eight.
Luke Sommer pitched the ninth to get his second save. Sommer allowed one hit but no runs. He didn’t walk anyone and he struck out one.
Second baseman Nate Samson hit a solo home run in the third inning. It was his second home run on the season. Samson was 1 for 4.
Third baseman Josh VItters hit home run number three (and his second in three games) back-to-back with Samson’s shot. Vitters was 2 for 4 with two RBI.
Left fielder Tony Campana was 3 for 5 with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base. Shortstop Marwin Gonzalez had a double and a triple in a 2 for 4 game. Gonzalez scored once and had one RBI. First baseman Jake Opitz went 2 for 4 with two doubles. Opitz had one RBI.
Peoria Chiefs (35-22)
The Chiefs were robbed by the Quad City River Bandits 9-6 in 12 innings.
Starter Jeffry Antigua pitched 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on four hits. He only walked one and struck out seven.
Erik Hamren got the loss in relief. Hamren went two innings and allowed three runs, two of which were earned. He allowed two hits and walked two while striking out two. He also balked with an inherited runner on third in the tenth inning.
It was home run number 20 tonight for second baseman Ryan Flaherty. Flaherty’s home run was a solo homer in the bottom of the first. He went 3 for 6 with two runs scored.
Center fielder Brett Jackson also hit a solo home run tonight, his fifth for Peoria, in the fifth inning. Jackson went 1 for 5 with a walk and two runs scored.
First baseman Rebel Ridling was 3 for 4 with a run scored. Kyler Burke was 2 for 5 with an RBI.
Boise Hawks (30-33)
The Hawks were stopped by the Spokane Indians, 6-4.
Eduardo Figueroa started and took the loss. He allowed four runs over three innings, but only one of the runs was earned. He gave up six hits and didn’t walk anyone, although he did have two wild pitches. Figueroa struck out two.
Shortstop Hak-Ju Lee was 2 for 5 with two runs scored. However, he did have another one of those two error games. Lee does seem to make errors in bunches, although he does often go a while without making one.
First baseman Greg Rohan had two doubles in a 2 for 3 game. Rohand also walked once. He had two RBI.
AZL Cubs
Again, the mathematically-eliminated team wins.
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Let us know w you think!
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Thanks to quick reactions by their rookie shortstop, the Texas Rangers escaped with a victory after a nerve-racking ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. Elvis Andrus turned Melky Cabrera’s line drive into a game-ending double play, and Texas held off the New York Yankees 10-9 on Tuesday night in a potential playoff preview.
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I have always been a big fan of Andrus, but I have to say, seeing news like this gives me mixed feelings.How do you think this news will affect the team this season?
Searching for autographed baseball memorabilia? There is only one place you can go to ensure that the signatures are real - IronClad Athetics. These guys have lots of selection, and reasonable prices, plus they have an Iron Clad Signature Authenticity guarantee, ensuring that every signature is 100% real, no imitations and no forgeries. Get authentic autographed baseball memorabilia now.
The Deadline for signing players selected in this past June’s Rule 4 Draft (”1st-Year Player Draft”) has passed, and the Cubs ended up signing 31 of their 50 picks (including their top 12 picks, and 14 of their top 15), although two of the players they signed (17th round pick RHP B. J. Dail and 23rd round pick OF Jeffrey Pruitt) had their contracts voided last month and are now free-agents.
The Cubs also signed two Non-Drafted Free-Agents (NDFA), but one (LHP Daley Cox) has already been released.
There is no deadline for signing college seniors who have exhausted their eligibilty, but the Cubs signed all of the college seniors they drafted this year.
Of the 29 ‘09 draftees (plus one NDFA) signed by the Cubs who are still in the organization, 1st round pick CF Brett Jackson (Cal) has had the most-impressive pro debut, hitting 328/427/480 with 6 HR & 34 RBI and 13 SB (2 CS) in 50 games at three stops (AZL Cubs, Boise, and Peoria). 2nd round pick INF D. J. LeMahieu (LSU) has also performed very well, hitting 322/370/391 (combined) at AZL Cubs and Peoria, and 4th round pick LHP Chris Rusin (Kentucky) has had a nice debut (2.67 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP with a 8/24 BB/K in 27 IP combined at AZL Cubs and Boise).
A couple of JC guys are flying under the radar and could be steals. 32nd round pick RHP Trey McNutt (Shelton State CC) has an array of quality stuff and looks like he could start or relieve, and 38th round pick Bobby Wagner (a Canadian kid who played JC ball at Panola, TX) is a power-hitting lefty-swinger with a definite HR stroke who was drafted as a 3B, but was moved to LF at Fitch Park.
Jackson, LeMahieu, and Rusin appear to be the most advanced of the 2009 draft picks, and I would think that (barring injury) all three will likely open the 2010 season at Daytona.
2009 RULE 4 DRAFT
SIGNED:
NOTE: click on player’s name for current minor league stats
1. Brett Jackson, OF (Cal) - at PEORIA
2. D. J. LeMahieu, INF (LSU) - at PEORIA
3. Aaron Kirk, LHP (Owasso HS - Owasso, OK) - at AZL Cubs
4. Chris Rusin, LHP (Kentucky) - at BOISE
5. Wes Darvill, SS (Langley, BC) - at AZL Cubs
6. Brooks Raley, LHP (Texas A&M) - at AZL Cubs
7. Blair Springfield, IF-OF (MacArthur HS â Decatur, IL) - at AZL Cubs
8. Robert Whitenack, RHP (SUNY â Old Westbury) - at BOISE
9. Richard Jones, C (The Citadel) - at BOISE
10. Charles Thomas, 3B-1B (Edward Waters College) - at AZL Cubs
11. John Mincone, LHP (Suffolk CC â West) - AZL Cubs 60-day DL
12. Runey Davis, OF (Howard JC) - at BOISE
14. Danny Keefe, RHP (U. of Tampa) - at BOISE
15. Cody Shields, OF (Auburn U. â Montgomery) - AZL Cubs 60-day DL (TJS)
18. Matt Williams, C (Duke) - at BOISE
19. Sergio Burruel, C-1B (Trevor Browne HS - Phoenix, AZ) - at AZL Cubs
21. Greg Rohan, 1B-3B (Kent State) - at BOISE
22. D. J. Fitzgerald, INF (Dyersburg State CC) - at BOISE
25. Justin Bour, 1B (George Mason) - at BOISE
26. Steve Grife, RHP (Mercyhurst College) - at AZL Cubs
27. Corey Martin, RHP (Western Carolina) - at BOISE
28. Jordan Petraitis, 3B (Miami U. of Ohio) - at AZL Cubs
29. Tim Clubb, RHP (Missouri State) - at AZL Cubs
32. Trey McNutt, RHP (Shelton State CC) - at BOISE
36. Brandon May, IF-OF (Alabama) - at AZL Cubs
38. Bobby Wagner, OF (Panola JC) - at BOISE
39. Nick Struck, RHP (Mt. Hood JC) - UNASSIGNED
41. Jake Schmidt, RHP (Concordia U. â St. Paul) - at AZL Cubs
46. Glenn Cook, OF (U. of Miami) - at AZL Cubs
2009 Non-Drafted Free-Agents (NDFA) SIGNED:
Daley Cox, LHP (Santa Fe CC) - HAS BEEN RELEASED
Jesse Ginley, RHP (St. Petersburg CC) - at AZL Cubs
SIGNED - CONTRACT SUBSEQUENTLY VOIDED:
17. B. J. Dail, RHP (Mt. Olive College)
23. Jeffrey Pruitt, OF (Cal State â Northridge)
THE 19 WHO GOT AWAY (deadline is August 17th):
13. Chad Taylor, SS-RHP (Jefferson HS â Tampa, FL) - signed NLI with U. of South Florida
16. Keenyn Walker, OF (Judge Memorial Catholic HS â Salt Lake City) - signed NLI with Central Arizona JC
20. Eric Erickson, LHP (U. of Miami) - JR (rehabbing from TJS)
24. Gerardo Esquivel, RHP (De La Salle Institute â Chicago, IL) - signed NLI with Kansas State
30. Daniel Sheppard, C (Downers Grove North HS â Downers Grove, IL) - signed NLI with U. of Iowa
31. Andrew Clark, 1B (U. of Louisville) - JR
33. John Lambert, LHP (NC State) - JR
34. Rett Varner, RHP-OF (UT â Arlington) - JR
35. Kevin David, C (Oklahoma State) - draft eligible SOPH
37. Peter Mooney, SS (Palm Beach CC) - JC FRESH
40. Eric Whaley, RHP (Cardinal Gibbons HS â Ft. Lauderdale, FL) - signed NLI with LSU
42. Trey Ford, SS (Chaparral HS â Scottsdale, AZ) - signed NLI with Chandler-Gilbert CC
43. Colin Kaepernick, RHP (U. of Nevada) - JR
44. Frank DeJiulio, RHP (Daytona State CC) - JC FRESH
45. Addison Dunn, RHP (Warren Area HS â Warren, PA) â signed NLI with Kent State
47. Joey Jocketty, 3B (Ladue Horton Watkins HS â St. Louis, MO) - will attend Mami U. of Ohio
48. John Nasshan, RHP (Niles West HS â Skokie, IL) - signed NLI with Bradley U.
49. Christian Segar, OF (McQuaid Jesuit HS â Brighton, NY) - signed NLI with Bradley U.
50. Zach Cleveland, RHP (Central Arizona JC) - JC SOPH (will transfer to U. of New Mexico)
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I have always been a fan of Jones, but I have to say, seeing news like this gives me mixed feelings.How do you think this news will affect the rest of the team this season?
Shop for great seating options, and great prices on baseball tickets - at TicketsNow! Going to a baseball game shouldn’t cost you an arm and a leg, so shop and buy from fans and compare hundreds of different tickets, all guaranteed to be authentic and delivered before the opening pitch.
I can’t get enough of young,