Updates on Beatings, Byrd and Berg

Update:

Lineups for Cubs @ Diamondbacks...

Cubs vs. Ian Kennedy
Fukudome 9, Theriot 4, Byrd 8, Colvin 7, Nady 3, Ramirez 5, Castro 6, Soto 2, Gorzelanny 1

D-backs vs. Tom Gorzelanny
Young 8, Johnson 4, Upton 9, Montero 2, Reynolds 5, LaRoche 3, Drew 6, Gillespie 7, Kennedy 1

The dramatic high point of my Independence Day was seeing a little kid take a dump in our community pool.

Speaking of the Cubs...

— Sunday's 14-3 loss marked not just the Cubs' second defeat to the Reds by 11 or more runs in the course of their four-game series, it was the Cubs' third such shellacking in their past nine home games. (You may have forgotten this doozy from a couple weeks back.)

Not sure what other point to make about this except personally, I'm pretty numb to the whole business. The 14-3's no longer bother me any more than the 3-1's or 2-0's.

Acceptance is the last of the Seven Stages of Grief, right?

— For the second consecutive year, the Cubs placed just one player on the NL All-Star team. Last year it was Ted Lilly; this year it's Marlon Byrd, a first-time All-Star whose performance this season (.309/.355/.482) has been one of the Cubs' few bright spots.

Alfonso Soriano, who was voted onto the team by the fans in '08 and named as an extra in '07, finished 11th among NL outfielders this time around with a little over 865,000 votes. That meant Soriano collected about 40% as many votes as the Dodgers' Andre Ethier, who came up third in the fan tally for an outfield spot behind Ryan Braun and Jason Heyward.

— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) tweets that the Cubs are "talking Lilly deal" and hoping to re-sign the lefty as a free agent at year's end. Gammons also says that the Cubs are "marketing" Derrek Lee.

Marketing a .227-hitting, 34-year-old first baseman can't be easy, but we do have the "Easiest GM To Make A Deal With" in our corner.

— Aramis Ramirez was out of the Cubs lineup Saturday and Sunday because of recurrent problems with his left thumb and swelling in "the meat portion of his left hand," according to the manager.

Since his return from the DL nine days ago, Ramirez had gone 7-for-30 and at one point, had raised his average to .180. That's the highest it's been since he was hitting .200 (3-for-15) following the fourth game of the season on April 9th.

(UPDATE: Per batting orders posted above, Ramirez is in Monday's starting lineup.)

— Wittenmyer tweets that the Cubs have recalled Justin Berg and re-demoted Jeff Stevens, who gave up three hits, three walks and four runs in yesterday's bloodbath without retiring a hitter.

— The Cubs open a three-game series in Arizona Phil territory on Monday afternoon, with Tom Gorzelanny opposing Ian Kennedy. As Bleed Cubbie Blue put it so succinctly a little while ago, "Cubs' awful offense to face Diamondbacks' putrid pitching. Something's gotta give."

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All-Star Game
Submitted by Cubnut on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 12:03pm
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Comments

Submitted by Ross_Barnes
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 2:04pm

Berg back up - hmm. This revolving door is tiresome. Why not let Diamond have an opportunity to secure a bullpen spot? Diamond has shown the ability to get a strikeout, and, as a starter, he's stretched out. Berg has a 1:1 K/BB rate at Iowa - the last thing the MLB bullpen needs.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 2:12pm

Why not let Diamond have an opportunity to secure a bullpen spot?

cause it doesn't matter? Diamond's still got the potential to be a starter down the line, let him keep working at it.

Speaking of, time to send Cashner back down and get back to being a starter.

Also time to fire Hendry.

Submitted by Charlie
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 2:35pm

Yes.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 3:18pm

I wonder if a Lilly + Theriot combo could net Yonder Alonso from the Reds?

Since they are sniffing contention, might they be willing to act boldly?

Submitted by tem99
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 3:44pm

I know Alonso has the first round draft pick pedigree and all, but his performance has been pretty pedestrian. All that said, I'm not sure how much Lilly would net the team. It seems like it's a buyers market out there.

Submitted by Wes
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 8:37pm

His numbers are awfully uninteresting, but I just got a look at him this weekend with Louisville coming to Indy. That is a large man who hits ball far. He's got all the physical tools to be a superstar if he can fix some of the holes in his swing.

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 7:26am

You could probaby get him for Lilly alone. Theriot isn't exactly a "deal sweetener" as many clubs would just send him to AAA if they didn't keep him as a backup middle infielder.

Submitted by Charlie
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 7:40am

You think? Yonder is a big 'ol dude with excellent control of the strike zone. Those BB and K numbers are pretty nice, and it's hard not to believe that more homeruns are on their way.

I wouldn't be all that interested in trading for Lilly if I were any other team. I tend to think he's getting by on smoke and mirrors this year.

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 8:33am

Prospects aren't nearly as valuable as we would like them to be. The problem is they are so risky, what if it doesn't work out, what if they are just bad, what if they get hurt.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 9:53am

Any potential prospect is better than staying status quo, IMHO.

Better to roll the dice on a possible "First Baseman of the future" than any upside of keeping this ricketty ship together.

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 10:18am

No, I'm agreeing with you. I'm all for the Cubs going into seller mode. It's not like Lilly is going to do the Cubs any good this year. :)

I'm just saying this deal could be done, imo.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 10:36am

My fear is that Hendry and co. Lollygag on sell mode and miss the boat.

Better to get out in front of this and be a motivated seller. The intelligent fans will understand what is going on.

The worst action is no action.

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 3:57pm

I agree but I think the Cubs don't have many attractive pieces, either due to salary or poor performance.

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 4:06pm

As long as they get James or Wade plus Bosh.

Submitted by Jumbo
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 6:07pm

http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/index.php/le...

RotoGraph's take on Lilly.

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 6:51pm

Lilly is showing signs of declining from age, so watch Hendry sign him for a $12-14 million per year 2-3 year deal.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 10:19am

A Hendry deal has to be at least 4 years with a NTC.

Player option for season 5 with a buyout of course.....

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 12:22pm

OK, can I point out now that they're looking at trading Lilly because he doesn't have a full NTC?

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 1:08pm

He DOES have some level of NTC.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 1:41pm

All free agents on 4 year deals get some form of NTC contract. Welcome to 1983 Aaron.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 1:44pm

Wha???????

Hendry is sure a stern negotiator

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 2:33pm

I don't know what you don't understand. Familiarize yourself with this website. Look at the contracts that other players sign. You're pretty consistent in your ignorance about what FA players are worth and the terms they get for their contracts.

http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/

Gil Meche? NTC. Jason Marquis? No NTC. Mark DeRosa? No NTC.

If you want to attract a premium FA, you offer a NTC clause as a kicker enducement. Hendry didn't pioneer it and doesn't do it more than anyone else.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 3:29pm

Neal,

You are really a whinny bitch. I forget sometimes why everyone hates you. Thanks for the reminder.

Regards

Aaron

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 3:52pm

What does a "whiny bitch" sound like? I imagine it sounds a lot like "Wha???????"

Sincerely,
Neal

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:28pm

If you're curious you should talk into a tape recorder.

Then play it back

Submitted by Tony S.
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 4:25pm

Hmm. I'm intrigued by this 'Fire Hendry' you speak of, tell me more.....

(And is there a companion 'Fire Piniella' to complete the set??)

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 4:53pm

both guys are gonna have a hard time keeping a job after this season.

might as well let lou carry out his stay and hendry handle the upcoming trades, imo. meh...

Submitted by Charlie
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 6:20pm

If you're Ricketts and you know Hendry isn't your man after 2010, why keep him around long enough to handle the fire sale that should happen before the trade deadline?

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 6:27pm

because it would involve bringing in someone who doesn't know the system, scouts, etc...

...or you'd promote internally but lose a guy who has knowledge of the system in the process.

unless hendry is a rouge or some kind of distraction to the suits of the organization that work under him (not likely on either) it probably wouldn't change much of what's going to happen.

it's just so close to "go time" on dealing.

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 11:55am

Submitted by Ross_Barnes on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 1:04pm.
Berg back up - hmm. This revolving door is tiresome. Why not let Diamond have an opportunity to secure a bullpen spot? Diamond has shown the ability to get a strikeout, and, as a starter, he's stretched out. Berg has a 1:1 K/BB rate at Iowa - the last thing the MLB bullpen needs.

====================================

ROSS B: The problem with bringing Thomas Diamond up to MLB right now is that once added to the Cubs 40-man roster he would have one minor league option left, and so it would be better to wait to add Diamond to the 40 (and bring him up to Chicago) until no earlier than mid-August, so that his last minor league option will be preserved for use in the 2011 season in case the Cubs need to send him back to Iowa sometime after they bring him up.

Another issue with Diamond is that he takes a bit longer than the average pitcher to get warmed-up, and so he profiles better as a starter than as a reliever at this time. But then the problem with using him as a starter is that he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be much more than a five-inning pitcher. As a result, he is not as highly-regarded by the Cubs Player Development people as you might think he would be, although he does have quality stuff and he appears to have bounced-back nicely from his TJS.

FWIW, I rate Diamond as the Cubs #15 prospect as of right now.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 12:34pm

So in your opinion Diamond profiles better in the bullpen?

If so wouldn't it make sense to use him in that role right now?(In Iowa)

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 12:50pm

Submitted by Dr. aaron b on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 11:34am.
So in your opinion Diamond profiles better in the bullpen?

If so wouldn't it make sense to use him in that role right now?(In Iowa)

=============================

AARON B: It depends. If Diamond can improve his command and throw fewer pitcher-per-inning, he would profile as a starter. If he can get loose faster than he does now, he would profile as a reliever. Both are possibilities.

Bottom line is, he has big league stuff.

Right now, I would say if nothing changes, he will remain a starter and you would just have to accept a typical outing of five (occasionally six) innings per start, hoping that he can learn to pitch-to-contact just a bit more than he does now. His inabilty to get loose fast enough to be used as a reliever might result from his post-TJS, although it also might be something in his DNA (he was a starter pre-TJS).

You might be surprised how many pitchers have this problem (can't go deep into ganmes as a starter, can't get warmed-up fast enough to be a reliever). It can be a career-killer even for guys with quality stuff.

Submitted by Ross_Barnes
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 2:51pm

Thanks for the info Phil. Diamond sounds like a guy who would prove very useful in a tandem starter set-up (say with Gorz) if the Cubs ever thought about such an idea. As you suggest, maybe continued arm strengthening will produce more durability as the second half proceeds.

I see Chris Rusin threw a great game for Daytona today (7 IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 7K). The guy throws a ton of strikes (only 9 BB in 70.1 innings). Michael Brenley is also on fire: an OPS of almost 1100 since June 1st!

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 3:45pm

Diamond sounds a bit like Rich Harden. Throwing too many pitches and only lasting 5 innings. We've had that and hated it.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 3:58pm

He sounds like a bullpen guy to me. Even if he has to be a long man at first.

Why not put him in Iowa's bullpen now to ease that transition? Are the Cubs capable of planning ahead for anything?

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 4:01pm

there's no reason to put a guy into the pen for the sake of putting him in the pen...especially if he's envisioned as a multi-inning guy, not someone who comes in put out other pitcher's fires.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 4:11pm

The hope is that he develops into the lead lefty fireman.

Sounds better than a spotty control 5 inning starter IMHO.

Unless there is some alternate universe where there is a 3rd option other than Rotation or bullpen for a pitcher?

Submitted by Ross_Barnes
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 4:16pm

Are you talking about Diamond, Aaron? He's a righty. Rusin is lefty.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 4:22pm

My fault, I was thinking John Danks for a second.

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 4:21pm

*fizz*

Submitted by Cubster
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 2:50pm

ARam = Meathand?

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 3:20pm

aram not hitting 4th or 5th? wow.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 5:00pm

soto's getting closer to that .400ob% and just hit another double.

he keeps it up he'll be resting more or hitting in the 9 slot rather than 8. he should know better.

Submitted by jacos
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 6:06pm

Another hit for Soto, just asking to be benched.

Submitted by Tony S.
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 9:59pm

Damn these guys "clogging the bases"...

Then again...

If the bases are loaded, and the next three Cubs strike out, can a Ricketts hear no hands clapping??

Submitted by The E-Man
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 5:04pm

I am thinking that Ricketts likes Hendry, and that we are in for another year at least.

What WOULD be terrific, as has been discussed, is a real baseball pedigreed "overseer", ala John Scherlholz, or someone of that type, to watch over him on deals.

Crane Kenny, on the other hand, should get the boot.

Submitted by Cubster
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 5:05pm

Lou musta told the team that The Dbacks are the "new" Pirates...finding a team worse than the Cubs...

Priceless.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 5:28pm

it is definately time to cash-out on cashner and send him back to AAA to stretch him out as a starter again...

he's not fooling anyone for weeks.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 5:51pm

june 16-17 was the last time the cubs won 2 in a row...

...before that it was may 23-25 (day off 24th).

sigh.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 6:07pm

mr. gibson has marched his top 3 relievers out all on the same day to protect this 3-run trailing score.

heilman pitching 2 games in a row and yesterday he came into the 8th...

i think he's lost his closing gig for no apparent reason...and it's probably to the guy that just gave up a homer to soriano.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 6:11pm

haha...grace up in the booth talking about rushing the cubs booth and getting into a fight for the sake of the team and pumping up the ARZ diamondbacks.

awesome.

they're debating which one gets to fight bob and which gets to fight len...they both want to fight len for obvious not-getting-your-ass-kicked reasons. ha...

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 7:29am

Len, our beloved metrosexual.

Submitted by Cubster
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 7:37pm

don't look now, but I think we won the first game of a series.

Submitted by Tony S.
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 10:12pm

And here's a question to go with that.

Why is it that a bunch of whoevers on TCR can figure out that one fucking win does not a season make, and after every single one Lou says we should just enjoy it??

Mind boggling

*edit*

In a game that saw Randy Wells take a no-hitter into the seventh inning, the Cubs managed to strand an astounding 17 baserunners, falling one short of the National League record of 18.

The Cubs were an anemic 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position.

"We played a good baseball game," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "We got a lot of opportunities, but we got enough of them in, and let's enjoy the win."

And from today's game recap:

The nine runs were the most the Cubs (36-47) have scored this month and the most since an 8-6 victory over the rival White Sox on June 27 at U.S. Cellular Field. The most recent time they scored as many as nine times against a National League foe was in a 9-4 win at Milwaukee on June 9.

"This was a good game for us offensively," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "We put some runs on the board. We hit the ball with some power. We hit the ball with men on base. It was good to see. It was a good win for us."

This has been the depths of the Cubs' despair: Until Monday, they had lost the first game of their past 11 series dating back to a May 25 victory at home over Dodgers. They are 12-21 dating back to May 30 and haven't won back-to-back games since June 16-17 against the A's at Wrigley Field.

Though the Cubs are 28-45 against the rest of baseball, they are 8-2 against the National League West and 4-1 vs. the D-backs.

I may or may not have been screaming 'Fire Lou' before, but I sure as shit am now. The man is either senile, mentally retarded (no offense intended to actual persons with special needs) or has no fucking clue where the team he's supposed to be managing actually is in the world.

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 7:44pm

epat has 2hr for BOS tonight...lulz.

Submitted by John Beasley
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 8:25pm

It's because Epstein is a genius ... duh.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 10:56pm

I am not going to guarantee success for him, but it sure seems like at some point some team should have given him the chance to get 250 PA's and see what he can do. The guy had a 104 OPS+ and went 6/7 in SB's for the A's last year, and they treat him like he's an incurable leper.

Submitted by navigator
on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 11:30pm

Good for EPatt!

The first one was off a hanging slider. He really got all of it. The only question was if it would stay fair down the RF line.

The second one was another no-doubter off a low breaking ball.

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 8:29am

dave matthews playing wrigley 9/17-18

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 8:34am

What a crappy season.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 8:54am

The only thing worse than a Dave Matthews concert? Back-to-back Dave Matthews concerts.

Submitted by QuietMan
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 1:03pm

Bruce Levine chat from this afternoon:

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chicago/chat/...

He says the Cubs see Cashner's future in the bullpen.

Some other good tidbits as well.

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 1:16pm

well at least that explains why we're crapping him away in the pen the past week+ rather than sending him down to stretch out.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 2:31pm

He also has inside access to the Brewer's think tank and thinks Oswalt is a FA after the year, so take it with a grain of salt.

I'd almost rather read a MLB Traderumors chat transcript.

Submitted by QuietMan
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 3:21pm

I believe he simply mispoke when refering to Oswalt and Haren as FA to be. I think he was just talking about the top line starters who's names have been thrown out there as trade candidates this month.

I must have missed the part about his inside access to the Brewers. Perhaps he's only refering to what he's heard through his baseball contacts and heard in the media.

I've never read the MLB TR chats. But I know Tim Dierkes is a Cubs fan.

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 3:38pm

MLB TR has gotten better about not revising their site to match their "predictions" and we don't have to deal with an army of people spamming their site on the internet.

That said...any opinion anyone on that site has that's not supported by someone else's real work is pretty useless, imo.

MLB TR's period of introduction was one of the messiest roll-outs to force-feed half truths and "sources" that didn't exist. The revising of posts after the fact to make stuff true was just disgusting.

At least they now realize they can just collect other people's news/content and rely on that rather than making stuff up.

YEARS...of putting up with this asshat mass-spamming his site...I'm glad he "made it" so he could leave the rest of us that aren't sheep alone.

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 5:22pm

In other news... I'm voting Republican now because I'm unhappy with the state of the world.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 7:54am

he said something about the Brewers meeting yesterday to discuss Fielder's future.

about 90% sure, Levine and Hendry or someone really, really close to Hendry is his major contact in the organization.

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 9:32pm

carlos silva is fat.

Submitted by JoePepitone
on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 10:51pm

Seeing Aaron Heilman pitch against us makes me wish he would have ended up with someone in our division.

Submitted by navigator
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 12:16am

I'm not sure who just bottomed out, the Cubs or the DBacks?

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 7:02am

that impression of a major league hitter that Aramis did yesterday was kind of fun.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 7:56am

I think the Diamondbacks are wishing Marmol was going somewhere else when they announced he wasn't going to the all-star game.

Meek or McCutchen. Byrd or Marmol. Oswalt or Bourn. I would love to hear the eplanation on that one from Manuel.

Submitted by WISCGRAD
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 8:39am

Um, Byrd was elected on the players ballot, Manuel had no say in his selection.

The real issue is how the players and coaches can elect Matt Capps over any of a half dozen more deserving closers. Wilson and Broxton were good picks, but Capps?

ERA, WHIP, K/IP

Capps: 3.11, 1.41, 32/37
HBell: 1.72, 1.34, 49/36
K-Rod: 2.57, 1.29, 52/42
Wagner: 1.31, 0.93, 53/34
Marmol: 1.99, 1.18, 77/40

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 12:26pm

The obvious conclusion then is that the players' and coaches picks should be taken away. They have a long history of not knowing what the fuck they're talking about when awarding the Gold Gloves, and now we have five years of evidence that they'll fuck this up too.

Actually now that I think about it, it was better to have one group with an oversight of the entire roster fill it, because now by the time the manager gets it, his hands are probably tied to a large part about who gets to go to fill "needs" and the every team requirement.

Submitted by WISCGRAD
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 2:55pm

Well, it's a combination of having his hands tied, but then also making bad choices - which happens when you tie peoples hands, there is very little margin for error.

By the time the manager gets to make any decisions, most of the roster is filled. He gets to select 9 players and in selecting those 9 players he has to select 5 pitchers and 4 position players. He can't deviate from this. He also has to make sure all teams are represented. And, to boot, he is required to consult with major league baseball and league managers while making these decisions. That last part is not specified to us as fans, and I am not sure what exactly it entails. But my guess is that MLB has the final say on whether or not someone like Strasburg should be an All-Star. I am also guessing that managers of unrepresented teams get asked who they think their one guy should be, etc.

So when Manuel got to make his picks this year he had to still select a Pirate, Astro, and Diamondback among his 9. There are no pitchers worth a shit on the D-Backs so he went with a position player, and chose Chris Young over Kelly Johnson. Similarly, he could go with Astro closer Matt Lindstrom, but there are 5-6 other better closers out there. So he took Michael Bourne from the Astros. At this point, he really can't take McCutchen or Jones from the Pirates since he only has two more position slots left and should probably take 2 infielders. So the Pirate becomes Evan Meek, the best pitcher they have this year.

So now he is free to select 4 other pitchers and 2 infielders that he feels give him the best shot to win the game AND rewards those players who have had good first halves.

He first takes his own Ryan Howard. Then realizes he probably needs the final guy to be someone who can play the other infield positions and takes Omar Infante, which is a rather dumb selection, but that's his rationale I would guess.

For his pitchers he already has 3 closers and Meek, so he wants starters. There are a glut of solid starters he can pick from and he selects Carpenter, Hudson, and Gallardo. He could take another like Pelfrey or Silva, but at this point he has to be shocked that he doesn't have a SINGLE left-handed pitcher on the staff. And the thus takes Arthur Rhodes. I would have taken Billy Wagner myself. The NL now has only Rhodes to match up against any left-handed bats the AL uses late in the game. This is unfortunate, but there are very few lefties in the NL having good seasons. [Luckily, the AL roster is also terribly constructed, and the ONLY left-handed hitter not starting is David Oritz, so expect Ortiz to be saved until a key at-bat and Rhodes to be saved to come in and face him]

At this point, Manuel names his final man ballot of 5 players and goes with Votto (whom he probably should have picked over Howard), Wagner (the lefty reliever he really needs), Bell (one of the best closers still available), Gonzales (another speedy OF), and Zimmerman (a backup 3B). This is odd. Most managers have a theme for this pick. Like they need one more power bat off of the bench and here are 5 to pick from. But it's as if Manuel isn't thinking about a "need" here.

Finally, Manuel can replace injured players, but this is also tricky. With Utley injured, Prado, the next second basemen on the players ballot was named the starter in his place. I can't find exactly how this is ruled, but how it has been written about it sounds like MLB decided this. I think Manuel was then allowed to select a reserve second basemen to replace Prado - Bradon Phillips. Apparently they didn't go to the 3rd players choice?? But I can't find this out for sure. Because with Tulowitzki, the players selection, out, MLB simply went to the third players choice - Jose Reyes and named him. Manuel it appears had no say.

Most significant about this is that Prado is now starting and 2B. He could always be named the reentry person, but for roster construction, if Prado is a reserve, maybe Manuel doesn't take Infante and takes Votto or someone like that instead.

All told, it's a terrible way to build a team. A roster of 34 players shouldn't have any holes in it and there shouldn't be any major snubs - but there are both. In addition, the process is very shady. I had to dig for a while to find out which reserves were named by the players ballot and which were manager selections. They are announced simply as a batch, and MLB doesn't note this anywhere that I could find on its website. The less info they give the less criticism there is. For instance, why the fuck the players and coaches voted for Matt Capps, one of the least nasty and intimidating closers in the league. It would be like voting for Joe Borowski just because he leads the league in saves at the break. The point of the players ballot was to overcome this, to elect the stars that they respect and fear, regardless of stats that may fool fans. But that is not happening.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:00pm

I probably still would have taken Lindstrom/McCutchen ahead of Meek/Bourn. I wonder how the NL players chose Byrd over McCutchen though... maybe again it's like the gold glove where they are trying to get their own guys on the team and not voting who they really think should go.

I think we're in agreement, though, that adding the players input to it has just made things worse.

Submitted by WISCGRAD
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:11pm

This might be the first time we've ever been in agreement. I should buy a lottery ticket or something today, or brace for the Apocalypse...

I think though it depends on what the goal is. If the goal is to create the best roster of NL players (with the every team caveat which I am fine with) to take on the AL in a competitive game (this one counts) for World Series home field advantage, then I think it has made things worse.

But it has effectively ended the era of the manager selecting 7-8 of his own players for the roster. It has also spread the All-Star accolades around quite a bit more to new players each year.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 7:51am

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/38124356/ns/spo...

Bosh to Miami with Wade allegedly...if it's a sign and trade then I gotta feeling Lebron stays in Cleveland now for the money, since there's no way he'd sign for less than those two.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 7:56am

There was no way that Wade or LeBron were ever signing for a "Max" contract.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 10:09am

did you mean "ever not signing"?

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:03pm

No, I meant that Wade was going to get more than $20 million a year... but I could be wrong. We'll see how it shakes out.

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 9:06am

I don't think Lebron is going to have an hour long reality special on ESPN to say he's leaving Cleveland. It'll be a big hype about helping the home town, keeping his roots, all that stuff.

I assume the ESPN source about Wade and Bosh is not the same source that said James and Bosh to Chicago was a "done deal" a week or so ago.

Submitted by Rob Richardson
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 9:14am

Since some of the ad proceeds from the special are going to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, I don't think we can read anything into the fact that the special is going to be an hour long.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5...

"Those sources said that James' representatives requested they be allowed to sell sponsorship for the one-hour special, with the proceeds going to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and that ESPN agreed to the proposal but had not been told what James has decided."

Submitted by Tito
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 9:15am

I'm hearing rumors that failing to sign Wade, Bosh or LeBron, the Bulls are now looking into whether Ron Mercer and Dalibor Bagaric are available.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 10:10am

say hello to Carlos Boozer - the man that screwed over a blind guy.

welcome to 10 more years of irrelevancy Bulls.

Submitted by Rob Richardson
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 10:17am

Why not David Lee?

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 11:00am

Because he's back in Van Halen. :)

Submitted by Rob Richardson
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 11:10am

With out Bosh they might as well jump for him.

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 12:03pm

lol

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 12:45pm

fine, still a second tier team.

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 3:54pm

Looks like it is so...

http://twitter.com/jadande

Submitted by Rob Richardson
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:07pm

"Carlos Boozer is the latest domino to fall, agreeing to a five-year, $80 million contract with the Chicago Bulls, a source close to the negotiations told ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher on Wednesday."

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nba/news/st...

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:37pm

hey remember Ben Wallace?

Boozer is better and I actually like him as a player, although he did fuck over a blind guy.

But he's just a complimentary piece, Bulls need another a go-to-guy past Rose.

Submitted by Jackstraw
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 5:22pm

So the Bulls now have Noah at center, Boozer at PF, Deng at SF, and Rose at PG.

Any good shooting guards available through free agency this year?

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 5:35pm

Dwayne Wade.

fwiw, Jared Dudley hears James is going to the Knicks.

http://twitter.com/JaredDudley619

Submitted by Ryno
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 9:44am

Ugh... last time Aramis homered with Lee on base...

April 12. Home opener. (WSCR)

Submitted by navigator
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 11:47am

What does that have to do with basketball?

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 12:43pm

well at least Lou has come to terms with the season

http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/4356

Submitted by The Joe
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 1:57pm

In more important news, Toy Story 3 is VASTLY overrated.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 2:34pm

Watch The Last Airbender first, then watch it again and get back to us.

Submitted by The Joe
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 2:44pm

So, a shitty movie makes another movie good? Man, the Cubs are good because Baltimore sucks.

The movie was cliched, predictable, about 15-20% of the jokes were actually funny and mainly it rests on the love that people already have for the films.

The one cool thing about it was the Totoro cameo; Lasseter is a huge Miyazaki fanboy.

Also, I posted that, knowing that it would piss people off. The fact that you disagree, though, reinforces my opinion.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 3:11pm

The movie was cliched, predictable, about 15-20% of the jokes were actually funny and mainly it rests on the love that people already have for the films.

stupid Pixar for making such enjoyable and lovable characters....

The one cool thing about it was the Totoro cameo; Lasseter is a huge Miyazaki fanboy.

the one awesome part was that little wink to that one subculture that i really like.

Submitted by The Joe
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 3:21pm

You have summarized my opinions perfectly.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:05pm

"Also, I posted that, knowing that it would piss people off. The fact that you disagree, though, reinforces my opinion."

The fact that you read what I wrote and determined I had any opinion whatsoever on Toy Story 3 proves my point.

Submitted by The Joe
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:15pm

Do you make sense in your own head?

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:21pm

Do you hear the words that are coming out of my mouth?

:)

Submitted by big_lowitzki
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 5:07pm

I think it should actually say: "Do you hear the words that are coming out of YOUR mouth (or fingers, as you will)."

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 2:41pm

I loved it as did my kids, but they love everything.

I'm also a bit of a Pixar fan-boy, so I'm probably not the best critic.

Submitted by The Joe
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 3:35pm

I loved UP and I tend to appreciate Pixar. I wasn't actually saying that the movie was 'bad', though maybe me comments said that. I was merely saying that it is overrated, obviously IMO. It's at 99% on RottenTomatoes. There was a girl sitting next to us (in her early 30's) who laughed like it was her first movie. I did enjoy it, but I just couldn't understand the hype, other than it was a 'Toy Story' movie.

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 3:46pm

it's a lot more grown up...and claymation (really smooth/good)...and i'm not sure if it's released in the US yet...and it probably won't see many theater screens, but instead go straight to DVD...

Mary and Max is a hell of an adult-themed (not crude/sexual) movie.

it's an aussie flick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgRjB8PEDkM

Submitted by The Joe
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 3:47pm

Yeah, I've got it, but haven't watched, yet. Good to hear another positive opinion on it. I do also love Studio Ghibli movies.

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 3:50pm

it's got an oh-so-cheese ending, but it works. it's not trying to be epic as much as it's trying to tell a decent story, anyway.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:06pm

Rotten Tomatoes is a thumbs up/down system. A 99% means that 99% of the critics gave it a thumbs up, not that critics graded it 99 out of 100 on a scorecard.

Glad I was able to clear your confusion up.

Submitted by QuietMan
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 3:15pm

Sean Gallagher to Pirates for cash.

http://twitter.com/RobBiertempfel/status/1797...

Submitted by jacos
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 3:37pm

peavy has detached muscle in his back.

ouch!

Submitted by The Joe
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 3:38pm

We should'a traded the farm for him. Stupid Hendry.

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:00pm

via paul "gangsta vibes" sulivan's twooter feed:

Lou Piniella has no regrets, and will stick it out the rest of the season, no matter what: "I'm not a quitter."

----

imo, they might as well let lou/hendry ride out the season and figure out what's next. it's just so "whatever" at this point and it seems like we're gonna lose a chunk of the team this offseason anyway.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:41pm

Can't they just fire lou then to spare the old guy the trips and so he can go fishing?

You're paying him to do nothing now anyway.

but letting Hendry be in charge of trying to bring back some talent is kind of dumb. That being said, he is pretty well-liked among his fraternity and usually does get the best deal.

I know Hendry haters will disagree, but his trade record is better than most imo.

Submitted by Cubster
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:08pm

boozer 5/80...

I'm drinkin' what he's drinkin.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:29pm

That's Rudy Gay money !!!!!!

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:53pm

say what?

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6622I42...

Submitted by Cubster
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:32pm

Peavy's latissimus dorsi detachment...

Peavy said he and the medical staff hoped Tuesday night that there would be some attachment of the muscle and ligaments. But tests Wednesday revealed "that's not the case," Peavy said.

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/07/...

Lat Anatomy, wide attachment on the back of the humerus (arm bone)..

http://www.preventdisease.com/home/muscleatla...

This is a pretty rare injury...

http://www.springerlink.com/content/202003856...

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:34pm

Steroid breakdown related?

Submitted by Cubster
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:43pm

Tendon ruptures are associated with anabolic steroids, but you know they are all going to deny any association.

Still, here are quotes from illustrious Dr. Andrews and from Peavy's former GM, Kevin Towers...odd that they are quoted in the same article by Verducci in 2005.

http://www.injuryupdate.com.au/forum/archive/...

Noted sports orthopedist James Andrews, of Birmingham, says he "seldom used to see these muscle-tendon injuries" in baseball. "It was always the sport for the agile athlete with the small frame," he says. "Over the last 10 years, that's changed. You'd have to attribute that--the bulking up and the increased injuries--to steroids and supplements."

Kevin Towers: "It matters when you're doing contracts or when you're looking to acquire a player from another team," he says. "It's a factor whether you're going to open discussions on a long-term contract or go year-to-year. It's become a key issue because a lot of small-market clubs can't continue to insure players. The cost of insurance has gone so high that it's more and more difficult to insure these contracts."

Submitted by Cubster
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:46pm

Tendon ruptures are also associated with cortisone shots (corticosteroid, not anabolic steroid)...still, the latissimus insertion would be an odd place to give a cortisone shot. Often "trigger point" cortisone injections are given but this (the lat insertion) would be an unlikely place for one to inject.

Submitted by Cubster
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:48pm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18810933

Pectoralis major rupture and anabolic steroid use (the front/chest side analogous muscle). Case report.

Submitted by Cubster
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:51pm

Lat Dorsi rupture, case report. Fairly recent, Oct 08. Article says only 7 case reports and only one near the tendon insertion.

http://www.orthosupersite.com/view.aspx?rid=3...

Spontaneous rupture of the latissimus dorsi muscle is a rare injury, and few reported cases were avulsion injuries at their humeral insertion. Seven cases of spontaneous rupture of the latissimus dorsi muscle have been reported, but only 1 occurred at the myotendinous junction.1-7 The mechanism of this injury is reported to be forceful resisted arm adduction or extension, and reported injuries were rock climbing and attempting to pull up on an overhead handhold,5 waterskiing injury during pull-up with ski rope,3 overuse in golf in the leading arm, 6 and abduction-external rotation with horizontally extended arm during a professional steer wrestling performance.2 The latissimus dorsi muscle is not a critical muscle for activities of daily living; however, the significance of the muscle is increased in professional or elite athletes.

Submitted by Cubster
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 4:55pm

one more Lat. Dorsi case report from Aug 08. Includes surgical repair technique with fairly current technology to anchor the tendon.

Some surgical pics, so this isn't for the squeamish.

http://www.orthosupersite.com/view.aspx?rid=3...

Submitted by Cubster
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 5:38pm

found a newer article from Oct 2009 on Latissimus Dorsi tears (Am Journal of Sports Med)...

http://ajs.sagepub.com/content/37/10/2016.abs...

A series of 11 baseball players, 10 pitchers using data taken over 10 seasons, from 3 major league teams (seems like Indians, Cardinals and Rangers based on where the authors were from). 10 of 11 were pitchers. Of the pitchers 5 had isolated LD tears, 4 had nearby Teres Major tears and one had both. The symptoms all occurred with release and follow thru (just like Peavy) and none had any warning symptoms prior to injury.

All of these pitchers were treated non-surgically, and all but one returned to pitching in the same season (within 3 months). One pitcher had a recurrent injury 6 months after his return.

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 5:41pm

don't know if you know about this site or not, but given i have to write a lot of scientific papers using secondary research this is pretty useful...

http://scholar.google.com/

Submitted by Cubster
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 5:43pm

from David Kaplan tweet...

Eric Mansfield (Akron TV news anchor): Summit Co. processed request TODAY to change address on tax bill for BJ'S home from an LLC in Cleveland to a new address in Chicago

http://twitter.com/ericmansfield

Submitted by Cubster
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 6:06pm

4 had nearby Teres Major tears
---
I recall that former Cub reliever Tom Flash Gordon had a posterior shoulder muscle tear, and from what I remember it was theTeres Major muscle that was injured in the 2002 season. No surgery, just progressive rehab x 3 months.

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/030802/sp...

Gordon was out from spring training but came back around July 2nd to pitch in 19 games with the Cubs before being unloaded to the Astros. So much for unloading veterans and getting anything of value.

August 22, 2002: Traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Houston Astros for players to be named later and Ross Rohlicek (minors). The Houston Astros sent Travis Anderson (minors) (September 11, 2002) and Mike Nannini (minors) (September 11, 2002) to the Chicago Cubs to complete the trade.

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 6:17pm

nanianianinainainianini was at least a prospect of interest at the time.

he was projected as a possible end-rotation starter that would be ready in 1-2 years.

and a year later...

"Traded RHP Mike Nannini to Marlins, completing earlier deal in which Cubs sent 1B Hee Seop Choi and player to be named to Marlins for 1B Derrek Lee."

ha.

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