View Full Version : The 2009-2010 Chicago Cubs Offseason Thread
TheMojoPin
10-27-2009, 09:10 PM
New era (fingers crossed), new thread.
The Cubs' sale is finally complete. (http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091027&content_id=7559158&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc)
We've got Ricketts.
weekapaugjz
10-27-2009, 09:31 PM
We've got Ricketts.
you'd better get some vitamin D in you.
Ritalin
10-28-2009, 02:44 AM
I wanted Cuban.
TheMojoPin
10-30-2009, 08:02 PM
Ricketts formally held his press conference today and has been all over the local sports shows. Obviously, all of this is talk but he keeps repeatedly stressing that the key to the Cubs winning is whipping their farm system into shape and focusing on developing players from within instead of just relying on trades and FA's. He's also said that the payroll will see a small increase this offseason so Hendry does have some room to work with. He also seems pretty knowledgable when it comes to Sabermetrics, which bodes very well.
MLB.com: The No. 1 question Cubs fans have is can this team win a World Series?
Ricketts: As someone who knows the sport well, you know there's no magic. There's no number you can spend. There's no one player who can make all the difference in the world. The key is you have to consistently make the playoffs. Once you're in the playoffs, anything can and will happen. If you get the hot hand in the playoffs, before you know it, you've got champagne all over you.
The way to get to the playoffs, and the way to keep on that World Series track, is to be consistent, and the way you're consistent is player development. To bring in the right players and have the scouts and the coaches on the same page when they try to turn those players into contributors at the Major League level is key.
In the (Arizona) Fall League, I think there's a good argument that we're on the right track for player development and on the right track for creating that kind of consistency. In the end, when someone says, 'How are you going to win the World Series?' there aren't two different answers. The answer is you get to the playoffs, and you get to the playoffs by having as much flexibility as you can with personnel. That comes from player development.
TheMojoPin
10-30-2009, 08:17 PM
Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney also made comments today that in the next few years that as the Cubs' broadcast deals come up with Comcast and WGN that the Cubs will set up their own cable channel a la YES.
Both he and Ricketts also talked about how renovating and modernizing Wrigley while still keeping it "classic" are top priorities in the immediate future.
TheMojoPin
10-30-2009, 08:20 PM
From NPR:
NPR EXCLUSIVE: NEW CHICAGO CUBS BOARD CHAIR TOM RICKETTS
SHARES IDEAS FOR IMPROVING FRANCHISE
ON NPR NEWS’ WEEKEND EDITION, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31
EXCERPTS BELOW; AUDIO TO BE AVAILABLE SATURDAY AT 10AM AT NPR.org
October 30, 2009; Washington, D.C. – In his first national broadcast interview since his family completed their purchase of the Chicago Cubs, the franchise’s new board chairman Tom Ricketts tells host Scott Simon on NPR News’ Weekend Edition that he plans to retain the team’s management, saying of General Manager Jim Hendry and Manager Lou Piniella: “Jim has done a good job of kind of bringing the team up to the level that they are at,” and “Lou is one of the best managers in baseball.” The exclusive interview with Ricketts will air tomorrow, Saturday, October 31 on NPR News’ Weekend Edition. Excerpts of the interview are below; the full audio will be available Saturday at 10AM (ET) at NPR.org, where there is a companion story now: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/200 ... owner.html
Though the Ricketts family currently has no plans to shake up management, in the interview with Simon the new chairman shares many ideas about how to improve the franchise, including developing property adjacent to Wrigley Field, how family ownership benefits fans and using the Boston Red Sox as a model for both rehabbing a landmark vintage ballpark and turning a losing club into a winner. Excerpts from the interview follow:
• On why he wants Piniella to stay on as manager, Ricketts says: ”We think Lou is one of the best managers in baseball. He has an option to return next year, and from what I understand, I think he is planning to.”
• Asked about the future of Wrigley Field, he states: “First of all, we want this to be the best franchise in baseball, and you can’t be a world-class franchise and have third-class facilities.” He goes on to say that “there is land that is just adjacent to the stadium, along Clark Street, that the team owns and we intend to develop that into a part of the stadium, that will give fans more options on game day, but as importantly free up space inside of the stadium to build in some of the clubhouse functionality that other teams enjoy.”
• Even if park improvements cause higher ticket prices, Ricketts says one thing fans “should keep in mind is that with family ownership now, we intend to reinvest all the profits that we can get on the team and put that back into preserving Wrigley Field and to putting a better team on the field. So it's not like it's going away to some kind of corporation and never will be seen again."
• On how he wants to build the team, Ricketts says: “Undoubtedly the way to build the long-term winner is through player development. You got to draft the right people and you got to have scouts and coaches that are coordinated and working together to turn the right players into real producers at the major league level. Free agency, I think, is something you look at when you got a hole to fill or when you haven’t been able to produce a player from your own system. The real key for consistent performance and trying to win the division every single year is developing our own players.”
• Asked whether any other sports franchise is a model for the Cubs, he responds: “I think obviously what they've done with Fenway is a good thing for us to look at in terms of how to improve the stadium. Because we really do want to preserve and keep improving the special experience that Wrigley Field is. On the field we also wouldn’t mind copying the Red Sox. I think it's time for the team to push forward and to win a World Series.”
• Asked if he’d welcome Steven Bartman back to Wrigley Field, Ricketts says: “I don’t have any issue with him. And on top of that, I think one message that we have out for every fan is let bygones be bygones. What’s happened in the past is behind us. There is no curse. There is no Billy Goat, there is none of that stuff. Let’s move on. We’re one of the best teams in baseball. We will be the best team in baseball going forward. And we just have to look forward, not backward.”
All excerpts from the transcript must be credited to NPR News’ Weekend Edition. Television usage must include on-screen credit with NPR logo.
Weekend Edition, NPR’s weekend morning newsmagazine, is hosted by Scott Simon and Liane Hansen and reaches 5.3 million listeners weekly. The show offers a mix of hard news and cultural stories with care, accuracy and a wink of humor, courtesy of Simon and Hansen. To find local stations and broadcast times, visit www.NPR.org/stations
Fans “should keep in mind is that with family ownership now, we intend to reinvest all the profits that we can get on the team and put that back into preserving Wrigley Field and to putting a better team on the field. So it's not like it's going away to some kind of corporation and never will be seen again."
I'm liking this guy.
keithy_19
10-30-2009, 08:24 PM
I'm liking this guy.
I know nothing about him but from what he's saying I think he's pretty damn good for the Cubs.
And for the TV network, they could call it 'ONO'.
That was awful. Sorry.
Ritalin
10-31-2009, 02:57 AM
From NPR:
I'm liking this guy.
Not bad at all actually.
What does he mean by expanding Wrigley to give the fans "more options"? That almost always means bad shopping and restaurants.
Where is the extra room to expand?
TheMojoPin
10-31-2009, 07:08 AM
Not bad at all actually.
What does he mean by expanding Wrigley to give the fans "more options"? That almost always means bad shopping and restaurants.
Where is the extra room to expand?
He goes on to say that “there is land that is just adjacent to the stadium, along Clark Street, that the team owns and we intend to develop that into a part of the stadium, that will give fans more options on game day, but as importantly free up space inside of the stadium to build in some of the clubhouse functionality that other teams enjoy.”
Wrigley is already surrounded by bad shopping and bad restaurants. I'd rather more of them be owned by the team so the money goes to them.
cougarjake13
11-01-2009, 05:44 AM
good for the cubbies
TheMojoPin
11-06-2009, 08:58 PM
Sammy Sosa has turned white. (http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2009/11/pictures-sammy-sosa-white-altered-appearance/)
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/11/2009/11/500x_sammywhite.jpg
Maybe this is all a plan to sneak back into a baseball as a new person. (http://deadspin.com/5399166/sammy-sosa-re+emerges-as-shiny+suited-latino-zombie)
Ritalin
11-06-2009, 09:20 PM
It's all that human white hormone he took.
Marc with a c
11-06-2009, 09:22 PM
same thing happened to underdog.
ozzie
11-07-2009, 05:07 AM
From NPR:
I'm liking this guy.
x2
Ritalin
11-07-2009, 09:35 AM
Maybe you're just liking each other?
MacVittie
11-08-2009, 06:23 PM
Not a good look in my opinion. Apparently this is part of some skin rejuvenation process.
http://www.wpix.com/media/photo/2009-11/50376198.jpg
http://www.americansuperstarmag.com/sites/default/files/images/sammy-sosa-2_0.jpg
CofyCrakCocaine
11-08-2009, 06:25 PM
he's turning into mr.potato head.
Marc with a c
11-08-2009, 06:25 PM
the skin really brings out his eyes.
RhinoinMN
11-08-2009, 06:30 PM
He'll be touching young boys in no time.
King Hippos Bandaid
11-08-2009, 06:30 PM
looks like the Steroids finally hit his chin
razorboy
11-08-2009, 06:30 PM
I don't see the problem.
Suspect Chin
11-08-2009, 06:37 PM
http://www.the-reel-mccoy.com/movies/2005/images/ThePhantomOfTheOpera4.jpg
TheMojoPin
11-08-2009, 06:40 PM
Not a good look in my opinion. Apparently this is part of some skin rejuvenation process.
http://www.wpix.com/media/photo/2009-11/50376198.jpg
His face is so squishy in the first photo. He looked like a Dick Tracy villain.
MacVittie
11-08-2009, 09:18 PM
His face is so squishy in the first photo. He looked like a Dick Tracy villain.
Why did this get merged to the Cubs thread? Sosa isn't a member of the Cubs and has not been for some time. I thought a transformation this bizarre deserved its own thread.
Suspect Chin
11-08-2009, 09:27 PM
Why did this get merged to the Cubs thread? Sosa isn't a member of the Cubs and has not been for some time. I thought a transformation this bizarre deserved its own thread.
Because Mojo knows better than you and always will.
TheMojoPin
11-08-2009, 09:49 PM
Why did this get merged to the Cubs thread? Sosa isn't a member of the Cubs and has not been for some time. I thought a transformation this bizarre deserved its own thread.
Because it was a topic that was already being discussed here and in the MLB thread days before you started your thread. It was going to be merged with one of the two and I picked this one.
IMSlacker
12-01-2009, 10:46 AM
No arbitration for Harden, Gregg or Johnson. (http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2009/12/cubs-wont-offer-arbitration-to-harden-gregg-johnson.html)
Why does Hendry hate draft picks so much?
TheMojoPin
12-01-2009, 10:50 AM
No arbitration for Harden, Gregg or Johnson. (http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2009/12/cubs-wont-offer-arbitration-to-harden-gregg-johnson.html)
Why does Hendry hate draft picks so much?
Lord only knows. I ultimately understand not offering arbitration to Wood because there was a good chance he would have accepted and he would have cost way too much and I definitely understand not offering it to Gregg giving how stingy the FA market is these days, but not offering it to Harden is insane. Both he and Johnson should be resigned much less just offered arbitration.
Losing Harden so needlessly is going to REALLY suck given how great he is when healthy:
* 3.39 Lifetime ERA (behind only Pedro, Santana, Oswalt, Peavy, Webb, Unit & Smoltz among active starters)
* 9.4 K/9IP (behind only Unit, Wood & Pedro among active starters)
* .633 win % (behind only Pedro, Santana, Oswalt, Halladay, Hudson, Unit & Cliff Lee among active starters)
* 1.237 WHIP (14th among active starters)
The only way this is justified if it's for health reasons and the Cubs' medical staff are almost positive that he's going to need major surgery sooner than later.
TheMojoPin
12-03-2009, 02:48 PM
OK, this offseason just got a little bit more tolerable:
CUBS ACQUIRE RIGHT-HANDED PITCHER JEFF GRAY
AND TWO ADDITIONAL PROSPECTS FROM OAKLAND
SEND INFIELDERS AARON MILES AND JAKE FOX, CASH CONSIDERATION TO OAKLAND
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2009
CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs today acquired right-handed pitchers Jeff Gray and Ronny Morla as well as infielder/outfielder Matt Spencer from the Oakland Athletics for infielders Aaron Miles and Jake Fox and a cash consideration. Gray has been added to Chicago’s 40-man roster.
Gray, 28, went 0-1 with a 3.76 ERA (11 ER/26.1 IP) in 24 relief appearances last season with the Athletics. The righthander walked only four batters in 26.1 innings pitched while striking out 19. Gray did not allow an earned run in 15 of his first 19 outings, turning in a 1.71 ERA (4 ER/21.0 IP) through September 19, before allowing seven runs in his final five outings to increase his season-ending ERA to 3.76.
The six-foot-three, 196-pound Gray split the 2009 campaign between Oakland and Triple-A Sacramento. Gray went 2-2 with 16 saves and a 1.54 ERA (7 ER/41.0 IP) in 37 Triple-A relief outings. Combined between Oakland and Sacramento last year, Gray posted a 2.41 ERA (18 ER/67.1 IP) and walked only 10 batters in 67.1 innings pitched.
Originally selected by the Athletics in the 32nd round of the 2004 June Draft, Gray made the jump from Single-A Kane County at the start of 2006 to Triple-A Sacramento by the end of 2007 before making his major league debut with Oakland in 2008. He is 0-1 with a 4.35 ERA (15 ER/31.0 IP) in 29 career major league relief outings and is 21-21 with 36 saves and a 3.38 ERA (139 ER/370.2 IP) in 212 minor league outings (24 starts). He has allowed only 15 home runs in 370.2 minor league innings, an average of one home run per 24.2 innings pitched.
Gray is a native of Texas City, Texas and pitched collegiately for Southwest Missouri State University.
Morla, 21, pitched last season for Single-A Vancouver and went 1-7 with a 4.86 ERA (34 ER/63.0 IP) in 17 appearances, 12 as a starter. The six-foot-four, 200-pounder struck out 73 batters and walked 24, an average of 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings and a three-to-one strikeout to walk ratio. Morla also allowed only four home runs in 63.0 innings pitched, an average of one home run allowed per 15.2 innings pitched.
The right-handed pitcher originally signed with the Athletics as a non-drafted free agent on February 10, 2006 and is a native of Hato Mayor, Dominican Republic. He is 7-15 with a 4.52 ERA (99 ER/197.0 IP) in 48 appearances (36 starts) in three minor league seasons with Oakland’s rookie-level team (2007) and Vancouver (2008-09).
Spencer, 23, was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2007 Draft and acquired by Oakland in the 2008 trade that sent pitcher Joe Blanton to the Phillies. The left-handed batter and thrower combined to hit .289 (141-for-488) with 34 doubles, 19 home runs and 91 RBI between Single-A Stockton and Double-A Midland last season. He began the season by hitting 10 home runs in 30 games with Stockton to earn the promotion.
The six-foot-five, 240-pounder is a .281 hitter (321-for-1142) with 42 homers, 186 RBI, a .338 on-base percentage and a .463 slugging percentage in 300 career minor league contests. He played collegiately at Arizona State University.
Miles, who turns 33 on December 15, signed a two-year contract with the Cubs on December 31, 2008. He batted .185 (29-for-157) with five RBI in 74 games with the Cubs last season.
Fox, 27, batted .259 (56-for-216) with 11 home runs and 44 RBI in 82 games with the Cubs last season. He was originally selected by Chicago in the third round of the 2003 June Draft.
Fuck off, Miles. That's a hell of a lot more than I expected for him and Fox, though it just highlights how stupid it was to overpay for someone like Grabow when you can get cheap bullpen help like Gray and from within your own system.
Though if the Cubs' rumored interest in Ankiel plays out I will hurt someone. STOP SINGING SHITTY CARDINALS PLAYERS.
Suspect Chin
12-03-2009, 08:37 PM
OK, this offseason just got a little bit more tolerable:
Fuck off, Miles. That's a hell of a lot more than I expected for him and Fox, though it just highlights how stupid it was to overpay for someone like Grabow when you can get cheap bullpen help like Gray and from within your own system.
Though if the Cubs' rumored interest in Ankiel plays out I will hurt someone. STOP SINGING SHITTY CARDINALS PLAYERS.
How can you be happy about this? Gray and Morla sound decent at best and Spencer has only been up to AA for half a season--he has a long way to go.
Yeah Miles sucked and I'm glad to see him go but it will cost $1 million to get rid of him.
Jake Fox had a great season last year when he got in and was one of the few clutch players we had.
Suspect Chin
12-03-2009, 08:41 PM
Although I am happy to see the Cubs making moves this year. I had to watch the Cardinals make several great moves last year down the stretch while the Cubs remained pathetically stagnant.
spoon
12-03-2009, 08:47 PM
Because it was a topic that was already being discussed here and in the MLB thread days before you started your thread. It was going to be merged with one of the two and I picked this one.
So as always, your anal retentive ways dominate and a topic gets buried under a very broad/general thread. Yah, makes sense.
And as you did to my team's thread via your "ruling" shouldn't this be in the MLB thread too? Come on man.
TheMojoPin
12-03-2009, 09:02 PM
How can you be happy about this? Gray and Morla sound decent at best and Spencer has only been up to AA for half a season--he has a long way to go.
I'm not talking like these guys are amazing prospects. The pitchers are likely just going to amount to bullpen guys, but they're cheap and can be useful which is more than anyone can say about.
Yeah Miles sucked and I'm glad to see him go but it will cost $1 million to get rid of him.
It doesn't cost the Cubs anything. They'd be paying Miles $2.7 million if they held onto him. Now they save $1.7 million.
Jake Fox had a great season last year when he got in and was one of the few clutch players we had.
Fox was fun to watch, but he's not very good. He can't hit a slider or really anything offspeed to save his life, he's not patient at all, he's terrible against lefties and he's horrendous defensively. Barring a miracle he's going to be a platoon DH or a useful bench player at best. Spencer actually has comparable numbers through the same age in the minors except he's much more patient and is better defensively.
TheMojoPin
12-03-2009, 09:06 PM
So as always, your anal retentive ways dominate and a topic gets buried under a very broad/general thread. Yah, makes sense.
It didn't get buried. That thread was started days after the discussion had already died off in 2 seperate threads. It's the same thing we've done thousands of times over since the beginning to try and cut down on duplicate threads. Jesus Christ, you're such a random nitpicker about the stupidest shit.
And as you did to my team's thread via your "ruling" shouldn't this be in the MLB thread too? Come on man.
That was a joke. Nobody gives a shit if you want to start another Blue Jays thread.
IMSlacker
12-11-2009, 05:33 AM
The troughs survive Wrigley bathroom renovations. (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-talk-wrigley-field-bathroomsdec11,0,7445107.story)
Huzzah!
Suspect Chin
12-12-2009, 05:38 PM
The troughs survive Wrigley bathroom renovations. (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-talk-wrigley-field-bathroomsdec11,0,7445107.story)
Huzzah!
Yes! The barbarism continues. Sometimes I'll just pour Old Style straight into the trough and cutout the middle man.
TheMojoPin
12-12-2009, 06:06 PM
Barbarism?!?!? EFFICIENCY. Ricketts will give us more troughs...and longer troughs! ALL HAIL.
Suspect Chin
12-12-2009, 06:17 PM
Barbarism?!?!? EFFICIENCY. Ricketts will give us more troughs...and longer troughs! ALL HAIL.
I love the troughs. I like to shout, "I wish I was pissing in a trough" when I'm pissing on the floor next to a urinal at Busch. It made me like the Twins a little more when I used their trough last summer.
TheMojoPin
12-12-2009, 06:22 PM
I love the troughs. I like to shout, "I wish I was pissing in a trough" when I'm pissing on the floor next to a urinal at Busch. It made me like the Twins a little more when I used their trough last summer.
I didn't know the Twins had troughs. Now I mourn the loss of their stadium.
PS - Nice touch at Busch.
Suspect Chin
12-12-2009, 06:23 PM
I didn't know the Twins had troughs. Now I mourn the loss of their stadium.
PS - Nice touch at Busch.
So does Kirby Puckett.
Barbarism?!?!? EFFICIENCY. Ricketts will give us more troughs...and longer troughs! ALL HAIL.
Somehow, troughs at Wrigley are thematically correct for that dump.
jauble
12-12-2009, 07:43 PM
Somehow, troughs at Wrigley are thematically correct for that dump.
Your ballpark has a slide. Shut it.
Your ballpark has a slide. Shut it.
That slide isn't filled with urine.
Stop defending that shithole.
IMSlacker
12-12-2009, 07:44 PM
Somehow, troughs at Wrigley are thematically correct for that dump.
If you had been Jeffery Dahmer's first murder, it would have been his best.
IMSlacker
12-12-2009, 07:46 PM
That slide isn't filled with urine.
It soon will be if Suspect Chin has his way.
Suspect Chin
12-12-2009, 07:46 PM
That slide isn't filled with urine.
Stop defending that shithole.
You think Bernie is able to hold his bladder while sliding down that thing?
jauble
12-12-2009, 07:47 PM
That slide isn't filled with urine.
Stop defending that shithole.
A blonde man with a questionable mustache goes down a chute.
TheMojoPin
12-12-2009, 07:49 PM
That slide isn't filled with urine.
Stop defending that shithole.
It is a shithole but shortly it will be a gloriously renovated and improved baseball haven...WITH SHINY NEW TROUGHS.
Don't worry, you'll still be able to hang out in slow lines in bathrooms where drunken animals are pissing all over the floor and walls and sinks.
A blonde man with a questionable mustache goes down a chute.
Men with questionable sexuality slide knowingly slide in a trough full of other men's urine at Wrigley.
Advantage = Miller Park.
Suspect Chin
12-12-2009, 07:51 PM
Men with questionable sexuality slide knowingly slide in a trough full of other men's urine at Wrigley.
Advantage = Miller Park.
Oh Fez, it's not that much different than pissing in side by side urinals without the divider.
TheMojoPin
12-12-2009, 07:55 PM
Brewers fans need dividers and stalls because they know even just the brief glimpse of a cock will drive them into a frenzy of a men's room orgy. Cubs fans are so assured of their staggering heterosexuality they they can confidently use the more efficient and eco-friendly trough and quickly get back to the game.
Suspect Chin
12-12-2009, 07:56 PM
Furthermore, the tampoonie dispensers are available in the stalls at Miller Park.
jauble
12-12-2009, 08:04 PM
Men with questionable sexuality slide knowingly slide in a trough full of other men's urine at Wrigley.
Advantage = Miller Park.
The Bernie Brewer character became the team's mascot in 1973, as a tribute to Mason, appearing as a cheerful man with a big mustache.
I wonder what he was so cheerful about.
Oh yeah, dick. Dick and Bud Seelig.
jauble
12-12-2009, 08:14 PM
Not even a close caricature of a man.
http://i46.tinypic.com/33k7tjb.jpg
He doesn't even deserve a boo.
At Wrigley, they obviously hate the baby Jesus.
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KZoBg35sIQw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KZoBg35sIQw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
TheMojoPin
12-12-2009, 08:47 PM
He has clearly forsaken us, so we owe him NOTHING.
Ritalin
12-18-2009, 01:18 PM
HA! HA! The nightmare is over.
Bradley to the Mariners for underachieving pitcher Carlos Silva. I'm not familiar with Silva, but he must suck because the M's are pitching in 6 million to cover the difference in salary.
I don't care. The sulky loser Bradley is gone! I don't even care that he'll probably have a good year in Seattle, behave himself, thinking he can convince people that it wasn't his fault it didn't work out in Chicago.
He's a cancer. Fuck him.
I'd much rather have Bradley...there's a chance the Mariners get some production out of him.
There's absolutely no chance the Cubs get anything out of Silva. He is complete and utter garbage who would be completely out of baseball if the Mariners hadn't signed him to one of the worst deals of the last five years....think Adam Eaton with the Phillies....THAT bad.
I understand the 'addition by subtraction' rationale for the Cubs, though, but don't think Silva will bring a god damn thing...at best, he can mop up in blowouts.
Ritalin
12-18-2009, 01:34 PM
I'd much rather have Bradley...there's a chance the Mariners get some production out of him.
There's absolutely no chance the Cubs get anything out of Silva. He is complete and utter garbage who would be completely out of baseball if the Mariners hadn't signed him to one of the worst deals of the last five years....think Adam Eaton with the Phillies....THAT bad.
I understand the 'addition by subtraction' rationale for the Cubs, though, but don't think Silva will bring a god damn thing...at best, he can mop up in blowouts.
So what? The Cubs weren't getting a damn thing out of Bradley and they weren't going to. At least they broke even - most reports I read were that they were going to have to shell out for the remainder of his contract - and they can now get after some pieces for next year.
Everything was on hold until this deal was done.
Suspect Chin
12-18-2009, 01:40 PM
It also leaves us kinda short handed in the outfield especially with Soriano being very injury prone. It'll be interesting to see if the Cubs bring in another outfielder/slugger to fill Bradley's vacancy.
So what? The Cubs weren't getting a damn thing out of Bradley and they weren't going to. At least they broke even - most reports I read were that they were going to have to shell out for the remainder of his contract - and they can now get after some pieces for next year.
Everything was on hold until this deal was done.
You're missing my point.
I get that this move has nothing to do with Silva for the Cubs, and everything to do with the fact that getting rid of Bradley is addition by subtraction for the Cubs.
I'm just saying that from a baseball perspective, there's a chance the Mariners get good production out of Bradley....there's no chance the Cubs get anything out of Silva. They're eating that money.
Kevin
12-18-2009, 01:51 PM
You're missing my point.
I get that this move has nothing to do with Silva for the Cubs, and everything to do with the fact that getting rid of Bradley is addition by subtraction for the Cubs.
I'm just saying that from a baseball perspective, there's a chance the Mariners get good production out of Bradley....there's no chance the Cubs get anything out of Silva. They're eating that money.
I agree. This just a retarded move.
Bradley was a very useful player..
Silva is GARBAGE!
No sense at all.
Ritalin
12-18-2009, 01:54 PM
You're missing my point.
I get that this move has nothing to do with Silva for the Cubs, and everything to do with the fact that getting rid of Bradley is addition by subtraction for the Cubs.
I'm just saying that from a baseball perspective, there's a chance the Mariners get good production out of Bradley....there's no chance the Cubs get anything out of Silva. They're eating that money.
I already said that. I'd bet money Bradley has a very good season for Seattle - out of the spotlight, wanting to prove it wasn't his fault.
The Cubs were eating that money anyway. They had put themselves in a corner, and he had to go. They weren't even going to make any moves until this deal was done, and it was looking like they were going to have to ship him to a small market team - Tampa and Baltimore were on the list - and pay a good deal of his salary and take nothing back. So in that sense it's almost like they saved money on the deal, breaking even.
Like I said, I don't know this Silva. He had some success in with the Twins. Maybe he just couldn't live up to the contract. Can he go .500? Go long relief?
There will be zero expectations for him in Chicago.
Carl Pavano sucked balls for the Yankees for 2 or 3 years, but he came back to be semiproductive, right?
I agree. This just a retarded move.
Bradley was a very useful player..
Silva is GARBAGE!
No sense at all.
Garbage is an understatement.
It's actually pretty hard for me to come up with a MLB pitcher I'd like to have less....maybe Ollie Perez, but at least Ollie has SOME history of success.
Ritalin
12-18-2009, 01:58 PM
Bradley was a very useful player.
No. Not for the Cubs.
There's no way he was going to start the season in a Cubs uniform. Cub fans hate him. There would have been an incident.
He had to go.
Kevin
12-18-2009, 02:00 PM
No. Not for the Cubs.
There's no way he was going to start the season in a Cubs uniform. Cub fans hate him. There would have been an incident.
He had to go.
You could not get anything but a grossly overpaid BUM for him?
Wait til later in the FA process, who ever loses out on Bay and Holliday might have gotten desperate and given you something.
Maybe like the Mets.
Kevin
12-18-2009, 02:01 PM
Garbage is an understatement.
It's actually pretty hard for me to come up with a MLB pitcher I'd like to have less....maybe Ollie Perez, but at least Ollie has SOME history of success.
I was thinking of him as a wrote that.
But Ollie at least has a good game once in a blue moon.
This guy is basically Felix Herdia as a starter.
Suspect Chin
12-18-2009, 02:15 PM
Who starts in the OF now with Bradley gone?
IMSlacker
12-18-2009, 02:27 PM
Looks like they're going to spend the money they're saving from the Bradley/Silva trade to sign Marlon Byrd, ugh. Hopefully, this will be Hendry's last year.
Suspect Chin
12-18-2009, 03:04 PM
Looks like they're going to spend the money they're saving from the Bradley/Silva trade to sign Marlon Byrd, ugh. Hopefully, this will be Hendry's last year.
It sounds like the Cubs are making the effort to really build team chemistry with these two moves. Both Silva and Byrd are reported to be great clubhouse guys and as fractured as the team was personality wise last year, this seems like a good start.
Kevin
12-18-2009, 03:14 PM
It sounds like the Cubs are making the effort to really build team chemistry with these two moves. Both Silva and Byrd are reported to be great clubhouse guys and as fractured as the team was personality wise last year, this seems like a good start.
Sooooo..
You replace him with this?
He tried to get a bunch of Seattle players to demand that Ichiro be traded a couple years ago.
He has a reputation of being unpopular because he sucks, he's a dick and he's fat and lazy.
GREAT for chemistry!
Suspect Chin
12-18-2009, 03:21 PM
Sooooo..
You replace him with this?
He tried to get a bunch of Seattle players to demand that Ichiro be traded a couple years ago.
He has a reputation of being unpopular because he sucks, he's a dick and he's fat and lazy.
GREAT for chemistry!
Really? The reports I read said he is a great teammate. It's obvious he sucks and is fat.
Although his ability to stay healthy may be questioned, Silva the teammate is dependable, according to Blyleven.
"As far as a person, this guy works his rear end off," Blyleven said. "He's a good clubhouse presence. He's got very good chemistry with all the other players. He's a nice addition to the Cubs as long as he's healthy."
That is Burt Blyleven talking, so who knows.
I'd rip Hendry and the Cubs, but I can't in part of the Bradley case. They were stuck in a horrible spot and had to move him no matter the cost this off-season, so they made the "best of it" by getting Silva and the excess cash.
If anything I'd give Jack Z from Seattle credit for moving Silva and taking the shot at Bradley having a comeback year.
Ritalin
12-18-2009, 05:57 PM
I'd rip Hendry and the Cubs, but I can't in part of the Bradley case. They were stuck in a horrible spot and had to move him no matter the cost this off-season, so they made the "best of it" by getting Silva and the excess cash.
If anything I'd give Jack Z from Seattle credit for moving Silva and taking the shot at Bradley having a comeback year.
Oh yeah, it's a good deal for Seattle. Seriously.
Ritalin
12-19-2009, 04:56 AM
Today's Sun Times: Good Riddance
Heres Bradleys parting shot:
''Pretty much for me and anybody, if you've been on the inside looking out instead of the outside looking in, you understood how PR works and the media works, and how people are promoted and how you've got to have a bad guy and have to have a good guy. That's just the way it is. I'm portrayed however I am. Just adds to the mystique, I guess.''
Yeah, everybody was looking to make you the bad guy after bringing you in as the big free agent.
Whatta douchebag. Go get in an arguement and break your leg, loser.
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