Archive - Mar 4, 2008

The Cubs rallied for two runs in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game, only to see Gabe Gross key a Brew Crew four-spot in the top of the 10th with a PH HR, as the Brewers defeated the Cubs 10-6 before 9,977 fans on a sunny 70-degree day at Mesa’s HoHoKam Park.

box score

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The Detroit Free Press is reporting that the Cubs and Tigers have had "general discussions" about getting the Tigers some bullpen help. The Cubs are, of course, in the market for a right-handed hitting, three-spot outfielder.

The Cubs have considered adding a right-handed hitter who is capable of playing centerfield. Whether coincidental or not, Brandon Inge is expected to start in center for Detroit this afternoon against Philadelphia.

I should note that the Tigers played the Astros today and Inge does not show up in the box score and I see no mentions of a split-squad game, so it's entirely possible that the writer is whacked. 

The article also mention Marcus Thames, but Leyland seems to like him, and he's not really suited for centerfield supposedly. 

Of course, the same could be said of Brandon Inge, who came up as a catcher and has played third base most of his career. He has played some outfield, including 20 games at center (most of those in 2004). But is this what the Cubs had in mind? 

Somehow I doubt it, but I did hear one of the local Detroit press guys on XM radio a few weeks back saying that Inge could TRULY play all eight positions on the diamond and excel at most of them. Unfortunately, Inge has stated his unwillingness to be a platoon player or semi-regular. Not to mention he had a truly awful season offensively last year(236/312/376) and has a rather hefty contract (signed through 2010 with over $19 MM left on his deal). But if the numbers could work and if the game was based on theory, he wouldn't be a bad player to have around. In reality, it's doubtful this rumor will go anywhere...which would put it up there with most of the Cubs offseason hot stove talk.

We had our draft earlier today for the first annual TCR MLB Open League. The rules are simple enough:

H2H weekly play
No trades
Set your lineups weekly
Point system (Single = 1, Double = 2, Triple = 3, Home Run = 4, Run = 1, RBI = 1, Walk = 1, Stolen Base = 2, Caught Stealing = -1 )
Draft entire Pitching Staff, not individual pitchers (basically Wins, K's, ERA and WHIP are counted)

That's the basics, so let's see how we drafted.

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