Red Sox and Yankees Latest to C***block Cubs

The Cubs went from hording minor league pitchers to hording minor league shortstops when they hired Tim Wilken as scouting director. One target was Cuban defector Jose Iglesias, who defected back in July of 2008 when the team was in Edmonton and then signed with the Boston Red Sox in September of 2009 for 4/8.25M. He played some in the Arizona Fall League and his defense is considered "special", but at just 20 years old he still has some time to grow into his bat.

Rumor has it though that the Cubs were actually the top bidders, but Iglesias chose the Red Sox because they were his favorite team growing up. Curse you childhood allegiances!!!

For what it's worth, BP has him as 3-star prospect and #6 in the Red Sox stocked system.

Then there's the tale of Chan Ho Park, who has been rumored as a target for the Cubs for most of the offseason. The reports from Bruce Levine were that he wanted $3-4M and it was too high for the Cubs. The reality is that the Yankees came knocking and they got the rings(translated from The Korea Times).

"I was deliberating on the Chicago Cubs and the Yankees, but their history and championship contention resulted in me picking the Yankees,'' Park said. "Until last night, I was leaning toward the Cubs."

Park, who said he agreed to a one-year, $1.2 million deal, said the Cubs offered him a chance to compete for a berth in the starting rotation. With the Yankees, he will come out of the bullpen, as he did last season with the Phillies.

"I wanted to play for a champion-caliber team this year again," Park said. "I am not certain how much longer I will play baseball, but it will be huge experience and memory to play with the Yankees.''

C'est la vie.

If the Cubs are looking for another guy that could start or move to the pen(a swingman as they call it), there's Glendon Rusch (chuckle), John Smoltz (don't see it), and that's about it. It might mean they try to talk to Kiko Calero again as well and just go for a reliever.

*Thanks to "Sweet Lou" for the link on Iglesias spurning the Cubs.

Tags: 
Cubs Missed Roster Moves
Chan Ho Park
Jose Iglesias
Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 12:58pm
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Comments

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 1:05pm

rumor has smoltz waiting as long as mid-season until he can find a rotation spot to fit into with a contender or someone hard up willing to pay $$.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 1:06pm

well at least bullpens in Oakland...

http://twitter.com/susanslusser/status/948698...

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 1:07pm

doh...poor rookie. enjoy the squatting fresh meat.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 1:17pm

http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option...

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 1:18pm

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/daily...

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 1:28pm

whatever...we got carlos silva and 2-3m bucks. sucks to be them.

Submitted by The Joe
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 11:14pm

Just so I'm clear, you don't like the trade?

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 11:26pm

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Submitted by The Joe
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 11:55pm

Now that's much more clear.

Submitted by navigator
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 1:46pm

Bradley, suspended the last two weeks of last season with the Cubs, wasn't asked any questions about his turbulent one-year stay in Chicago.

That's some real hard-hitting reporting there by Bob Nightengale

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 1:18pm

read the Cubs intro at the bookstore...excellent stuff if you come by it.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 1:40pm

reds finally sign j.gomes, fwiw...no details minor/major deal.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 1:43pm

http://twitter.com/CarrieMuskat/status/948998...

Alfonso Soriano showed up at #cubs camp, and says he doesn't feel 100 percent yet but that's because he hasn't tested his knee. We'll see

Submitted by Charlie
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 1:51pm

Soriano to be harvested for parts in order to feed Nady's growing surgery addiction? I've actually got a friend who would happily solder Soriano's right arm onto Nady, for a very reasonable price to. Call me, Cubs training staff.

Submitted by Seamhead
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 3:13pm

Soriano had the scope on the knee five months ago. Is it unreasonable to expect him to be more than "80-85%" this long after the surgery?

Is there a doctor in the house?

Submitted by Cubster
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 3:30pm

Is it unreasonable to expect him to be more than "80-85%" this long after the surgery?
---
Hard to say what 85% better really means. Need to see what he can't do regarding discomfort while running, rounding bases, sliding, signature hop-catching, etc. His diagnosis was patellofemoral (either side the kneecap's articulation ) chondromalacia, so it's certainly possible for him to have some mild residual symptoms even this far out (Sept 15th, 2009 surgery means 5 months). Most things that resolve are better by 6 months though if they are going to.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090...

Submitted by jacos
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 5:00pm

He'll be ready to go in June.

Submitted by Cubster
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 5:19pm

so your saying that Phil Rogers was right? Oops, that was his prediction for Lilly.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 10:07am

Like making a deadline trade!

Submitted by Rick- Houston TX
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 8:42pm

Given that Derrek Lee will be a free agent after the 2010 season, if Soriano’s knee problems persist, should Soriano move to first base in 2011?

Submitted by Charlie
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 8:45pm

Not unless he returns to an .850 OPS and can field acceptably at first. Those are both big ifs, I think.

Submitted by jacos
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 9:12pm

I believe that's the plan. Unless the NL adopts the DH or he can be traded to AL team(haha)he will be a liability in left and get injured there more often.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 9:21pm

makes sense...like him or not it's probably better he not patrol LF too much longer.

cubs are probably stuck for him a while unless the cubs want barry zito or something equally as retarded.

Submitted by John Beasley
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 8:00am

I'd trade him for Zito in about two seconds. Except for maybe Vernon Wells, I'd trade Soriano for almost anyone at this point.

Except Milton Bradley, because he'd ruin the Cubs, right?

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 1:48pm

in first 2 months...

http://awfulannouncing.blogspot.com/2010/02/t...

Submitted by Ryno
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 1:56pm

Glendon Rusch? Thanks for the laugh, TCR.

And 4/8 for some 20 year old Cuban douchebag, okay. That doesn't hurt my feelings much that the Cubs missed out.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 1:59pm

Cuban douchebag?

wth?

Submitted by Ryno
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 2:01pm

Cubs were the top bidder... implying they actually offered more. *Sigh*

Submitted by navigator
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 2:27pm

I'd rather see us hoarding catchers. If they hit you've got a gem. If they have an accurate powerful arm you can add third base or OF to their resume. And if they are good receivers first base is usually a given.

Best of all, if they fail to hit you can convert them to pitchers.

Submitted by Ryno
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 2:54pm

Carlos Marmol agrees.

Submitted by navigator
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 2:40pm

"Primarily, which I've never said in the past, is I want to have fun," Bradley said. "In the past I've always just wanted to win. I didn't care whether I liked it or not as long as I was winning, because that's all it's about for me. But at this point in my career I want to enjoy it. I want to have fun. I've been fortunate enough to play on a lot of teams and met a lot of guys, so I've built some lasting relationships. That's stuff that I take to heart."

He wants to have fun this year. The Cubs want to have fun this year. Looks like a perfect fit to me.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 6:31pm

carlos silva is a lot of fun. so is downgrading your batting in order to pick him up.

win/win.

Submitted by Sweet Lou
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 8:14pm

"I'm just here to play baseball,'' he said. "When everything lines up, I can play pretty good. Hopefully, there are no distractions."

"If people allow you to be yourself, and not steer any thoughts in any direction, everything will be fine.''

The problem with Bradley hoping there are no distractions is that he brings his distractions with him. I sure hope no one steers "any thoughts in any direction," whatever that means.

Crunch, your undying love for Bradley is admirable, but I have to believe that the Cubs are better off without him, regardless of his impressive OBP.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 8:16pm

"Crunch, your undying love for Bradley is admirable"

you countering any argument with that shows you have no respect for the person you're talking to.

ps- carlos silva.

Submitted by Sweet Lou
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 9:29pm

I didn't realize I was countering an argument. I was simply pointing out how you come to Bradley's defense at every opportunity. However, what I wrote does sound snarkier than I meant it.

As for Carlos Silva, he's a non-issue. He's simply the current incarnation of Hendry's bad decision to sign Bradley. Silva could be released tomorrow and it won't change anything. Trading for him was just a little better than outright releasing Bradley. Being rid of Bradley was the important thing, not who they got for him.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 9:32pm

"I was simply pointing out how you come to Bradley's defense at every opportunity."

nah, i dont...and i didn't come to bradley's defense, either.

we have carlos silva and paid more on top of that to replace bradley with byrd. that's just awesome to me.

Submitted by Sweet Lou
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 9:55pm

That's true. It's not a good situation. But it's a better situation than having Bradley on the team.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 11:06pm

As he cheers the Cubs on to an 84 win season...

Submitted by WISCGRAD
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 10:36am

Well, that would be one more than last year...

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 11:32am

Zing...

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 11:38am

Sorry, I am in the camp that wants the Cubs to win the World Series.

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 11:44am

So having Bradley on the Chicago Cubs 2010 team puts them over the top into the World Series contender category? Sounds like a stretch.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 12:27pm

Would having Bradley on the team give the Cubs a better chance to win 92 games over having Byrd and Silva? Yes. Would it also give them a greater chance of having a 76 wins? Probably.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 8:03am

Bradley 2009: .257/.378/.397, career: .277/.371/.450

Byrd 2009: .283/.329/.479, career: .279/.340/.422

Meh...For not having to hear about how unfair life is for poor, misunderstood Milton Fucking Bradley all season...it's not that big of a drop off.

God...it's like Bradley put up some huge numbers for the Cubs...not the crappy ones that he did. Except, of course, OBP,he's the KING OF OBP...and sucked at everything else.

Submitted by MikeC
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 8:49am

Down grading the batting order? Are you serious crunch? How will we ever replace his 61 runs, 12 HR's and 40 RBI!?!?!?!? OMG WERE DOOMED!!!! Doomed I say!

Submitted by Wes
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 9:33am

How could we ever project those numbers this season when they aren't anywhere close to the numbers he put up in the last 5 years?!?!?! OMG WE'RE DOOMED!

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 9:49am

If Bradley had put up those numbers last season, istead of the crapfest he provided...he might still be here.....OMG WE"RE DOOMED!!!

Submitted by Wes
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 12:02pm

Really? That's why he got traded? Then why did we keep Fontenot, Soto, and Soriano?

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 12:06pm

Soriano has a million more years under contract, Soto is still cheap, Fontenot is still cheap. None of the 3 brought as much negative attention to themselves as Bradley did.

We all know that Bradley was traded more for his attitude than his play...but his play wasn't so great either.

Submitted by Wes
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 12:37pm

Ah, so it wasn't what you said the first time. Cool, then.

Either way, Milton is one of two things: broken forever or had 1 bad year. I'm sure Mike thinks it's the former. I think some of the rest of us think it's the latter.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 12:46pm

Lol....ok Wes. Put me in the "it's not worth keeping a douchebag around, hoping he will be a decent player rather than sucking.." camp.

Do you really think MB would have been as big of an issue if he hit .290/.390/.450?

Christ...it's like the Cubs gave away Willie Mays or something...

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 12:56pm

Christ...it's like the cubs gained carlos silva and paid a few million dollars extra to replace bradley with a bat that has less potential and proof of potential.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 1:11pm

Hey...it's not like I love the idea of taking on Carlos Silva, or think that Marlon Byrd is going to be an all-star in CF. But hey, the Cubs obviously thought that keeping MB around would be a mistake. They paid for it, as you often do with mistakes.

I have said all along that signing Bradley was a mistake.

Submitted by Wes
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 1:57pm

That doesn't mean the solution to the mistake is making the team even worse for the purpose of good PR. To me, that's effectively what Hendry has done.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 2:05pm

They made a mistake in signing him. They got rid of him. If they give Silva 25 starts and Byrd sucks, it'll blow up in the Cubs face.

I'm hoping that Silva ends up on the 60-day DL, and that Byrd can at least match his career averages. If this happens, the trade will work in the Cubs favor. Mishandled or no, a mistake or no, the MB era is over, and we can all move on.

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 2:20pm

the "MB-era" has little to do with a pitcher that can't pitch and a guy with less upside who cost more money on top of it all to pick up...except that's how the MB-era ended for the cubs.

we have moved on...now we're in our new house going "ew."

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 2:27pm

Crunch, I will just say we agree to disagree.

The Cubs are better off without Bradley than with him. I don't like signing Byrd for 3 seasons, but he will be better this year than Bradley was last year, and he will allow Fukudome to stay in RF, which is his better position. It's a sunk cost, I just don't get the gnashing of teeth over losing a guy who was a jackass, and who didn't play all that well.

Submitted by Ahone Ahtwo Ahthree
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 3:57pm

One thing I think we can all agree on is that all of this disagreement about Bradley doesn't change anything that happened last year. I choose to spend my energy looking ahead with great anticipation to Spring Training and the 2010 season. We have Silva now and we are all expecting him to fail - if he does, no shock there, but maybe he will give us more than we expect. All we can do is sit back and watch...

OMG WE'RE DOOMED!!!!!

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 11:01am

Bradley = no pop. 17 doubles, 12 homers in 473 plate appearances. Throw in a triple and it's 30 XBH in 473 PA, or 1 XBH every 15.77 PA.

Other Cubs: Lee, 1 XBH per 8.42 PA (615/73). Fox, 10.48 (241/23). Hoffpauir, 11.17 (257/23). Soriano, 11.35 (522/46). Ramirez, 11.4 (342/30). Soto, 12.54 (389/31). Fontenot 12.7 (419/33).

Slightly more pop than Bradley: Blanco, 15.33 (138/9)

Weaker than Bradley: Hill, 17.75 (284/16). Theriot, 21.16 (677/32).

Submitted by Tito
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 11:31am

Cue comment from crunch on Bradley's doubles power in 3...2...1...

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 11:40am

"A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers." Plato

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 11:50am

That's really amazing that Bradley didn't hit any doubles or HR's while walking.... he's probably the first player in ML history to not get a HBP and a HR in the same PA.

It's called ISO, it's been widely used for 15 years.

If there's ever been a thing more needlessly repeated than "Milton Bradley didn't hit well in 2009" on this board, I'd be surprised. Everyone agrees he didn't hit well, why are people so desperate to keep saying it like it's a new point?

Aram was the cleanup hitter and only had 65 RBI's - let's repeat that 1000 times before the season starts.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 12:13pm

Ok...let's repeat that TRN:

Ramirez 2009: 82 games, 65 RBI
Bradley 2009: 124 games, 40 RBI

Ramirez RISP: 103 PA, .425/.515/.563, 2HR, 46 RBI
Bradley RISP 115 PA, .205/.383/.318, 2HR, 24 RBI

Please make a sillier comment if possible. Ramirez dislocated his shoulder and missed basically May and June, and still produced more than a certain RF who will not be named as to not offend his fan club.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 12:17pm

Is there a retarded Cub Fan of the year award you're up for or something?

Me : If there's ever been a thing more needlessly repeated than "Milton Bradley didn't hit well in 2009" on this board?

2010RCFotY:
Bradley RISP 115 PA, .205/.383/.318, 2HR, 24 RBI

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 12:20pm

Lol...comparing Ramirez to Bradley, you have won the award in perpetuity TRN...

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 7:00pm

I didn't compare them, aptly named DB.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 1:20pm

I think you're missing the point that some of Bradley's walks could have been doubles and home runs if he had not been so intent on getting to ball four.

Von Joshua's rule #1 was don't take fastballs in the strike zone. That certainly wasn't Bradley's rule 1. No wonder those guys hated each other.

It was an unfair fight. Bradley landed on his feet with Seattle, accompanied by his millions, and Joshua was busted back to the minors.

Submitted by Charlie
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 4:26pm

Yes, Von Joshua was "busted back to the minors" where he had been hired to coach until and where he's had success coaching young players. If you're gonna say a hitting coach got run out of town, stick with Perry.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 5:01pm

Von Joshua's rule #1 was don't take fastballs in the strike zone.

if that is indeed his rule, sending him to Triple A was getting off easy.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Wed, 02/24/2010 - 12:03pm

It was something like that. Here's the reference:

“It’s a twofold. You like to see them work the count, but if they groove that fastball, square it up. A lot of guys will say, ‘It was on the outer third of the plate.’ Well, square it up to the opposite field and try and go the other way. It’s still the fastball. I cannot stand to see guys take a fastball for a strike.”

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 02/24/2010 - 12:27pm

yes, there's some truth to that, but not everyone is a good fastball hitter and something that hugs the corners is not a pitch you need to be swinging at. Some guys are guess hitters, some guys wait for mistakes and some guys look for their pitch in their location early in the count.

If he's irked by guys taking outside fastballs, especially early in the count, he belongs in the minors and preferably someone else's organization. A blanket methodology like that is not the way to work with major league hitters.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 02/24/2010 - 10:10pm

That quote makes me want him fired. It's pretty much the definition of "those who can't do, teach". Maybe Joshua forgot it since he put up that 91 career OPS+ but you don't get a heckuva a lot of time to decide where a pitch is and whether to swing at it. Guys have trouble with pitch recognition, and he wants hitters to not lock in on a section of the strike zone, but just swing at what they think is going to be a fastball strike, regardless of location.

Submitted by crunch
on Fri, 02/26/2010 - 7:57pm

fwiw, v.joshua is one of the best video-to-mechanics guys out there.

how he communicates it to players, though...i dunno.

either way, he's well respected by how much he can get out of video, f'sure.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 2:48pm

http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/3493

Had a chance to talk baseball with reliever Jeff Stevens this morning, too. He had Greg Maddux standing behind him yesterday in the cage as he threw. He said in the past, he might throw 10 fastballs in a row or 10 sliders in a row. He said Maddux told him, "You don't pitch that way in a game," and to mix it up while he was throwing.

Maddux has been hard at work here, helping pitching coach Larry Rothschild. Also this morning, Maddux was sitting in the clubhouse with catching prospect Steve Clevenger, pointing out how to best pick up pitchers' arm slots. Good stuff. The kids ought to listen.

Submitted by navigator
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 11:15pm

Rothschild oughta be listening too!

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 7:12am

You can't put a value on the advice he could give these guys.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 2:52pm

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/02/...

Submitted by Seamhead
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 3:19pm

It must have been Angel Guzman's day to face the media, as both the Sun Times and Trib carried storeis of the extreme emotional trauma he has endured since his brother's death.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/...

Perhaps that is one reason that Hendry had interest in Park, because it sure looks like Guzman is struggling badly, at least emotionally.

Submitted by Charlie
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 3:45pm

Kind of wonder how the Zambrano-Guzman relationship is these days. Not too long ago Zambrano wondered whether Guzman should stop describing him as a big brother to the press.

Submitted by thedirtbag
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 7:31pm

Can you blame Park for choosing the Yankees? He cost a nice portion of the money Hendry saved by not giving into Theriot. Caught a tail end of an interview with Rich Hill on St. Louis radio station. He was talking about how excited he was to be back in the NL where he can hit. I do not recall Rich having an exceptional swing at the plate. It will be interesting to see if this guy can redevelop himself. The Cardinals rotation is uncertain once you get past the first two (guess the Cubs are in the same boat too) Lohse, Penny, and (Garcia, Hawksworth, McCellan, or Hill) is what it looks like.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 7:49pm

if you're on the ass end of your career and you want to win...going to the team with the 200m payroll is a nice option for most players if they can get the invitation.

boston is looking better than the yanks to a lot and some people believe TB has the upper hand over BOS and the yanks...but that 200 million talent (though almost all of it getting old) is pretty damn impressive.

Submitted by The E-Man
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 9:37pm

Rich Harden piece, "Goal is Throwing Fewer Innings and Fewer Pitches" ESPN

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/columns/...

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 9:49pm

"If he's thrown 88 pitches but they are stressful pitches, we'll get him out of there," said Washington

...ummm

uh. hmmm.

this should be interesting. 80+ isn't uncommon territory for him in the 4th/5th.

Submitted by thedirtbag
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 9:56pm

If 88 pitches, but they are stressful pitches, we'll get him out of there". Almost Dave Wannstedtesque train of thought. I remember Dave's analysis of Curtis Enis. "Curtis may have only had 25 yards, but he earned every one of those yards".

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 8:34am

I thought Nolan Ryan wanted starters to work longer into games?

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 9:24am

Canadians are exempt from the rules

Submitted by The E-Man
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 10:25am

HAHA! That's right. And, he also gets a nice improvement on his US dollars, if paid in US funds, of course. Although certainly not as good as it was a few years ago.

Submitted by Leningrad Cowboy
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 10:44am

Damn metric system

Submitted by navigator
on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 11:30pm

Johnny "one note" Damon 2009

_________Left Center Right
Slug _%__ .350 .325 .816
HR__ _____0__ _0__ 24
Iso. Power .057 .048 .422

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?en...

Submitted by Cubster
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 9:48am

Except for maybe Vernon Wells
---
Slamma-Jamarillo couldn't fix Wells?

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 10:10am

Count me in the lucky we missed out on Chan camp. Was Ismael Valdez not available? Park has consistently been one of the worst pitchers in MLB for a decade now. It reeked of doing something "Just cause" and filling out Hendry's allocated budget.

I'd be absolutely SHOCKED if he has an Era under 5 in New York.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 10:39am

Agreed Dr. aaron...t looks like Park had moments of serviceability the last 2 seasons...but he's 36 years old, and for god's sake...can we stop looking to spend money on a "veteran" arm in the bullpen when we have a gazillion arms ready to go from the minors?

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 10:50am

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100222/ap_on_sp_...

Look for MLB to start testing in 2020.

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 11:37am

Pujols already started to practice "tearing up" for the interview. This will happen, of course, long after he's gone from baseball and made untold millions of dollars.

...oh, and OMG WE'RE DOOMED!

Submitted by QuietMan
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 12:36pm

Bruce Levine chat transcript from this afternoon:

http://espn.go.com/chicago/chat/_/id/30998/es...

He could use some better questions to answer.

Submitted by artskoe
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 1:00pm

SO let's see, if Milton does a 360 on his attitude, and improves his batting, including DH, does that qualify him for comeback player of the year?

And let's see, if he does do that, do Cubs fans replace the sign "It's Gonna Happen" with "OMG WE'RE DOOMED!"

And let's see, will there be some apologies here on TCR?

And let's see, if Carlos Silva reports to camp overweight and out of shape, will someone put up a billboard midseason with MB's picture that says, "Miss Me Yet?"

Submitted by Ahone Ahtwo Ahthree
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 1:03pm

If Milton does a 360 on his attitude, he ends up right back where he started and we all know that's no good!

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 1:15pm

with ichiro in RF bradley will probably get the LF job. having the DH will probably help him to an extra slew of AB's as long as his legs are okay, too.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 1:15pm

Yeah, because all of us here are shocked that Silva came in out of shape, and that he sucks.

If Byrd can't outproduce .257/.387/.398, and play at least 125 games without making waves like MB, then I guess?

So how many games would Bradley have DH'ed for the Cubs in 2010?

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 1:17pm

Well Bradley wants to have "fun" this year-
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/mariner...

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 1:25pm

"Griffey said he'll have no problem saying something to Bradley — in private — if he sees him struggling at some aspect of his game. But he'll do it in a one-on-one setting, with a helpful intent and some humor weaved in."

managing individuals rather than managing mob mentality when you know you have a "special case" kid in your locker room you've devoted a lot of money to...griff knows.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 1:30pm

Hahahahhaa.....poor, misunderstood Milton.

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 2:20pm

you still have reading comprehension problems.

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 1:33pm

Do we know if someone on Cubs tried individual talks with Milton? I thought a few players said they tried to talk to him but he rebuffed.

Who did Griff help with kid gloves?

~just asking~

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 2:23pm

that IS how you manage milton. ask ron washington.

you know what you're getting before hand and if you're not willing to take it you shouldn't get involved.

the dude is a baby. if you're not willing to put up with tantrums, baby him, and calm everyone else who has to deal with him then don't get involved.

you don't tame milton...you deal with milton.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 2:28pm

Excellent point crunch!

They should never have got involved.

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 2:29pm

now that we do agree on.

i thought it'd work out differently, fwiw...but that went south real fast.

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 3:00pm

Agreed.

The telling part is he said he enjoyed being in TX, SD and Oak. All small media, baseball wise, markets that would not probe him that much.

That being said expectations are high in Seattle this year, but I doubt he will get half the scrutiny he received here and in LA.

Submitted by Tito
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 2:25pm

Apologies if I have this incorrect, crunch, but aren't you the one who said people told you Griffey wasn't exactly a great clubhouse guy?

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 2:28pm

don't think so, but there's a slew in CIN that would probably make that claim.

i probably would have said he's not a leader because he was majorly faulted during his CIN tenure...esp. with dave miley...for not being a leader.

dlee isn't a leader...aram isn't a leader...not everyone can be cal ripken jr.

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