Cubs MLB Roster

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40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

28 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 

Last updated 3-26-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 15
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Tribune Picks Ricketts Bid

The Sun-Times yet again scoops the Tribune on their own business affairs. Although heavily rumored for some time, there's now the infamous "person familiar with the process" going forward with Thomas Ricketts - diehard Cub fan - as being the Tribune's bid of choice. The bid is rumored to be in the $900 million range and supposedly not the top overall offer, but would provide more money up front to the struggling Tribune corporation along with a more conservative financing approach.

But there's always a twist...

Tribune is not locked in to negotiate only with one bidder. Others remain free to enrich their offers.

It's probably doubtful that anyone else will come in with a late bid at this stage of the game, and with local ties to Chicago, Ricketts would certainly appease the major league owners. But this sale has dragged on for this long, there are no guarantees that it won't drag out longer.

Comments

YES! Yes, bigz. He met his wife in the Bleachers. Bruce LEvine last week opined that the family is mostly interested in long-term, family ownership. Ala Wrigley's, yet not on the cheap! I have ALWAYS wanted an owner that would wear the wins and losses on their sleeves, and suffered when we did. Also, one that during the press conference will say, "We will not tolerate losing under our stewardship..."

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In reply to by The E-Man

The thing is that ownnership, just like Cubsfanship is destined to live on hope. Any owner who thinks that his team's payroll is big enough to win, is not going to throw extra money at it just for the hell of it. $145 million payroll, most in the NL - should give the Cubs a great chance, but we know that even if we had a $200 million payroll it won't guarantee a title, so maybe we can get by with $140 million... or maybe $120 million. The sad truths are, that we as long suffering Cubs fans don't want to admit is that, an unlimited payroll won't guarantee a title, and no owner is going to sign off on an unlimited payroll. The 21st century Cubs have already moved away from the 'Let Maddux walk' days... a new owner is not going to make us more likely to win.

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In reply to by The Real Neal

I think it will be a big benefit going forward, that a GM will KNOW he has 145-150 in payroll EVERY YEAR. This current club does have a 140ish payroll. However it arrived because of a spike from the 90 Million level of 2006. This club was constructed with backloaded deals, and robbing peter to pay paul planning. A committed owner whom you know will "pay the cost to be the boss" will do nothing but help the team/GM plan and map the future.

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In reply to by Stevens

The Judge's ruling on this was a sham. Wrigley Field Premium and the Cubs ownership are one in the same. At the end of the day the money ends up in the same pocket; it's all to the cubs advantage. To say the cubs aren't cheating the public on this is rather disingenuous IMHO.

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In reply to by tem99

I don't suggest the Cubs are not one in the same with their ticket "scalping" arm. What I suggest is that the Cubs have a right to sell their tickets at market prices. If a scalper can legally buy their tickets and sell them at market prices, I think the Cubs should be able to do so as well. The scalper has made no investment in the on-field product; so in my view, the Cubs have much more right to sell the tickets at market prices than the scalper does. I don't see how the Cubs "scalping" their own tickets is cheating the public. Especially when the team efforts at maximizing their revenue turn into one of the top payrolls in the National League. As to whether the money is spent well, your mileage may vary. But that the budget is there, I approve.

"The Sun-Times yet again scoops the Tribune on their own business affairs" To be fair, it would be beyond tacky for the Trib to go with this story. The Ricketts family hasn't been told that they're the winning bidder yet.

Of course, they'll have to call The Cell and ask Uncle Jerry if Ricketts is OK. Does anyone know......if the Cubs accept an offer and present it to MLB for approval, that's going to take some time. While that process is ongoing, and it looks as if the accepted offer will pass MLB's vote, would or could the baseball people (like Hendry) contact the prospective ownership to see about making deals or spending money on players? I just don't remember if there is a precedent, if it's ever happened in the past when franchises have changed hands.

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In reply to by OakLawnGuy

I don't think there's any tampering rules to worry about, the current Trib owners would just have to sign off as well in case a deal doesn't go through.

I can't recall the last ownership group rejected by the owners...or if it's ever happened. The Red Sox were sort of ushered to John Henry and his group, but that was well well before any votes were being cast.

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In reply to by Rob G.

The DeBartolos wanted to purchase the White Sox in the early '80s I believe (correct me if I'm wrong), and I recall they bid on the SF Giants as well, and were rebuffed because of their horse racing connections. Not that that stopped Steinbrenner......and of course Bill Veeck was shot down on a few purchases such as the Phillies in the late '30s (the other owners found out he wanted to staff the roster with several Negro League stars; imagine how that would have changed baseball history). In Bruce Miles' blog on the Herald today in as much as said that if it came to it, Hendry could go to the potential owners before they were approved to see what he was working with regarding payroll and such.

I hope the new owner is dedicated to winning instead of just making money. People whine and cry-baby about the Tribune, but I remember the Wrigleys.

as long as the new owner doesn't turn this into a pointless 200m "spend to win" team i'm fine with it. i know some disagree...whatever. when i watch/follow 162 games of something i want to watch a game...not being at the mercy of injuries and heavy bad contracts to "level the field." im not seeking some everyone-on-the-same-ground thing, but i don't wanna watch the cubs turn into a yanks-type team where 162 games are generally just the pre-game show. yeah, you can't buy a WS, but that's not what im worried about, it's the 162 games before the playoffs.

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In reply to by crunch

I know winning cures all ills, but with Wood, DeRo and now Hank White gone, and Milton Bradley in town, it may not be quite so fun to root for the Cubs for the six-month season. More fun to root for good guys (or at least those who seeme to be good guys), particularly good guys with talent. Never heard a bad word about Hank. Maybe Milton becomes the next Rodman -- easier to stomache when the team is winning championships every year.

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In reply to by billybucks

This has been discussed A LOT here. Personally, I don't have a problem with Bradley. I don't think he's a 'bad' person, but had (has?) a lot of personal demons and made some very bad mistakes. He's trying to turn his life around, give him a break. I'm not going to mourn that the Cubs win a championship without Hank. Good guy? Cool. Not going to miss him, though. I will miss Wood, but I just want the Cubs to win, regardless.

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In reply to by The Joe

I concur completely. For years and years and years the Cub players were "ours" and fans worried more about the guys who left than winning. The 21st Century fan might be a little different, mainly because the Sox won it all in '05 but also because it's a "win or go home" mentality these days. I also have no problem with them spending a lot of money, and I know it has nothing to do with winning. For the last 25 years at least Cub fans have complained that they don't spend enough, when in fact they spent plenty.....just mostly on the wrong guys.

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In reply to by billybucks

I'll tell you, the 2004 team was hard to root for. That was the first time I was ever embarrassed to be a Cubs fan. Though I've been behind the Bradley signing before it was rumored, if he can't keep his shit together I'll be among the first to say 'jettison his ass'. Winning is good, but winning without class is something I can't stomach.

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In reply to by navigator

It's Rickels! Not Tom Ricketts, Don Rickles! And if we F up the playoffs again this year, he's gonna say something like "I've had my balls handled better by Johann's mom."

Tonight should be considered an important night... Tom Ricketts statement: The Tribune Company has informed us today that our family has been selected for exclusive negotiations to buy the Chicago Cubs. We would like to thank the Tribune Company for overseeing a fair and competitive process and we look forward to working with the Tribune and Major League Baseball to close the transaction promptly. We will have more to say publicly when this process is completed. If we succeed in buying the team, our work will just be beginning. "My family and I are Cubs fans," said Tom Ricketts, the family's point person in the Cubs purchase. "We share the goal of Cubs fans everywhere to win a World Series and build the consistent championship tradition that the fans deserve." http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/01/ricketts-family-is-high-bidd…

a little more detail on Troy Glaus getting his right (throwing) shoulder scoped yesterday, from the StL Papers http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/6D7… Pressed why Glaus waited three months into the offseason for surgery, Mozeliak insisted, "Frankly, we didn’t even know it was a possibility until recently. We prefer to announce these things when it’s definitive," Mozeliak said. "This wasn’t firmed up until Monday morning." Glaus traveled from St. Louis to Los Angeles for the surgery, performed by Los Angeles Angels team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lewis Yocum. The procedure was labeled a "debridement," or cleanup, of the shoulder. Though the club did not specify Glaus’ problem, a source familiar with the procedure said it involved the labrum, the shoulder’s gasket-like lining. ------- If the labrum was trimmed up, ie. worn tissue shaved away (debrided) but not repaired (as in detached from the underlying bone, which requires more work to reattach the labrum) he probably can recover faster but it's still unlikely he will be back to normal before 3 months which means some time in May at the soonest. picture of the anatomy: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.eorthopod.com/images/…

I don't know anything about the Rickett's family other than what I've read on this board. Supposedly, they're big Cubs fans. I hope so. I know it's a business, but the number one criteria for buying any professional sports team should be that you're a passionate fan of the team. Not just a fan of the game or a fan of making money, but a PASSIONATE fan of the team you're buying. If you have enough money to buy a sports franchise, there are a million and one other ways to make a living. Hell, you don't even have to make another cent for the rest of your life and you'll still have enough cash to wipe your ass with and burn for heat. Buying a sports franchise needs to be about a passion for the team and a passion for winning, not for making money. I hope whoever buys the Cubs is doing it because they genuinely love the Cubs. A family-owned team doesn't have to appease shareholders by plastering fucking Under Armour ads on the outfield doors or pasting Motorola ads behind home plate. The next Cubs owner should care about one thing - winning. And if they don't, here's my version of the Billy Goat curse - 'If the next Cubs owners place the almighty dollar ahead of winning (in the form of reduced payroll, gratuitous ads in the stadium, and/or unwarranted/automatic hikes in ticket prices every year), may their children, their children's children, and their children's children's children toil in sweat shops sewing Florida Marlins team apparel.' Given the effectiveness of the original curse, I hope they take this seriously.

After a long, deliberate look at his options, Dusty chooses Taveras to hit leadoff. "His role is he's our center fielder and our leadoff man," Baker said. "The fact that he's so young - he's going to get better. A lot of people talk about his on-base percentage. I like to think in terms of him getting into scoring position." Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't on-base percentage and getting into scoring position at least moderately entwined? http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090123/SPT04/901230407/1071

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In reply to by crunch

it says that Soriano is actually one of our better hitters and getting the most PA's...

please tell me you can tell the difference between Soriano vs. Tavares and Patterson leading off...

and his OBP is average, not low...it may come from home runs, but last time I checked, they still count the same as a single, stolen base and making another hitter get a hit.

 

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In reply to by Rob G.

lou played the guy hitting 1st when he had to windmill his legs just to run. the guy is the team's best power hitter and has a low ob%. out of the time he's been here he's been in running shape for a handful of months, he has a low ob%, he's on a strong hitting team, he hits for power, he is streaky, he Ks a lot...he leads off. overall, though...i find it strange how this is "fine"...especially those months where he couldn't even run the bases...to have this guy leadoff, but what dustbag is doing is ignorant and stupid. i'm a little sick of seeing soriano try to feast on 7/8/9 hitters for RBIs while he struggles to get more RBIs than power hits. go figure.

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In reply to by crunch

I didn't realize an above league average OBP is low...

.350 as a #1 hitter(.344 overall) is slightly below average for the for leadoff men, as I don't have exact numbers

(he was was tied for #19 out of 29 with at least 250 PA's)

 overall, though...i find it strange how this is "fine"...especially those months where he couldn't even run the bases...to have this guy leadoff, but what dustbag is doing is ignorant and stupid.

because dusty is ignorant and stupid...the point isn't to be fast, the point is to score runs. The Cubs do that with Soriano in the leaoff spot, they didn't with Dusty's lineup choices , nor have the Reds...

 

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In reply to by Rob G.

he's the worst regular ob% guy last year (even counting fukudome) and the past 2 years combined with guys still on the team...along with the other stuff i mentioned. i think soriano's handling has been pretty damn ignorant and stupid, myself. with so much support from other bats it don't matter that much, though. i'd prefer the guy who has to windmill his legs to run not to lead off and the best power hitter on the team seeing something more than the 7-9 hitters. his 38sb aren't that neat, nor is his .330-.340 area ob% with his high Ks. his power is neat, though.

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In reply to by crunch

yes, he should be striking out with runners on base, that's a tremendous idea

if fukudome is a .380 OBP guy again like he was in the first half or Theriot can keep it up from 2008, I'm fine with either of them leading off, but both are sketchy bets to do so...

Soriano having an OPS over .850, scoring runs and getting lots of PA's for one of the team's best hitters is a safe bet on the other hand.

I don't think it's a big mystery that he gets a  lot more breaking balls and garbage in the dirt with runners on and that he's hit worse with runners on for the majority of his career. Pitchers are far more careful around him when there are runners on base (.808 OPS for career with men on, .870 with nobody on).

 

 

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In reply to by Rob G.

i don't really agree with most of that 2nd paragraph. no one just grooves soriano an easier mix because no one's on base. he's not a selective hitter. he's going for the seats with none on or bases loaded. i'm just saying the standard of manager stupidity has many flavors. i'm also saying i'm really sick of the best powerhitter on the team trying to struggle for more RBIs than power hits...i think that's a waste.

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In reply to by crunch

Crunch, you are such a blatant Dusty defender. You think you're being sneaky with your partisan undercurrents, but this idea that Lou is as stupid as Dusty for his use of Sori in leadoff is idiotic. Let's compare Dusty vs. Sweet Lou 2005 v. 2008. But wait, let's not compare the #1 leadoff hitters. To get a real feel for the manager's understanding of the leadoff position, let's compare the second and third most used leadoff hitters. In 2005 Dusty used Neifi and CPat as his #2 and #3. Their average OBP in leadoff was .263 in 2005. In 2008, Sweet Lou used Johnson and TheRiot as his #2 and #3 leadoff hitters. Their OBP was roughly .357. Overall leadoff numbers 2005 v. 2008 (including Hairston and Sori) look like this: Dusty: .299 Lou: .342 You heart Dusty. Time to fess up.

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In reply to by Mister Whipple

I think there is an argument to be made that having Soriano bat leadoff in a lineup that includes Fukudome, Theriot, Derrek Lee, and Mark DeRosa (or this year, Mike Fontenot) signals that the manager is willing to sacrifice OBP for, well, something. Either speed or Soriano's comfort (which some argue means more overall production from Soriano--which they then argue means more overall production from the lineup). Clearly, though, Soriano's OBPs in the last 2 years show that he's a better leadoff hitter than Taveras or Patterson--by a long shot. I think, however, that except for a few of us, we'd be happier if Soriano could maintain his current rate stats batting somewhere between 2nd and 6th in the batting order so that the team could take more advantage of Ryan Theriot, Kosuke Fukudome, or Derrek Lee's on base abilities, and more advantage of Soriano's power. If the Cubs continue to have the most productive 7th-9th hitters in the league, though, it's really not as big an issue. Soriano batting leadoff is clearly not the same thing as Corey batting leadoff. Corey shouldn't have even been a starter with his numbers last year, much less a leadoff hitter. There could be similar questions with Taveras. Also, to the Reds, why resign Hairston if you barely plan to play him? Anyone can be your backup left fielder.

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In reply to by Charlie

I'm not arguing who should bat leadoff now--just that trying to compare Dusty to Lou is idiotic. I don't think Sori should have been batting leadoff last year and definitely not this year. Crunch has spent the entire time Lou has been here at one ham fisted attempt at playing devil's advocate after the next. I personally think it's a cautionary tale against smoking too much dope.

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In reply to by Mister Whipple

"Crunch has spent the entire time Lou has been here at one ham fisted attempt at playing devil's advocate after the next. I personally think it's a cautionary tale against smoking too much dope." no i haven't. i have the right to bring up the absurdity of "this manager is the worst thing to happen to baseball and no one ever does what dusty does-ism." you have the right to be totally wrong about some agenda you're dreaming up. you're also presenting your case (twice in 2 posts here) acting like a spoiled brat. maybe it's a cautionary tale against being a know-it-all who should step away from the computer a while.

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In reply to by crunch

Holy Moses, you're touchy on this subject. I like what you said about me though. It's especially funny because I only tend to pop up here once every couple of weeks during the offseason. I find it unfathomable that in the face of clear evidence to the contrary that you can continue making an argument for any other reason than to play devil's advocate. Maybe I'm giving you too much credit and you really are too much of an ideologue to care about data that contradicts your premise. There is ample evidence that Dusty don't know shit from shinola as a manager. The premise you start from is that managers really don't matter much. It seems to me like you try to fit your Lou and Dusty arguments to that premise but you repeatedly have a hard time discounting evidence to the contrary. All that said, you're really taking yourself far, far too seriously, Crunch. Do you want to hug it out? Let's hug it out, bitch.

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In reply to by Mister Whipple

yes, you win. now go celebrate something that doesn't matter and wrap yourself in it. your opinions are facts, i get it. me explaining myself means something else if you dream it up to be something else, i get it. you wanting me to be something means i am something, i get it. you are the boss of everything...sorry...i'll check with you to clear my opinions and views that i CLEARLY EXPLAIN so you can redefine them for the rest of the world on wild tangents that have little to nothing to do with what i said. bravo, guy. now change your sig again to reflect how important i am to you some more.

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In reply to by Mister Whipple

quit being a mental midget and READ what i wrote instead of having a conversation about something no one is discussing but you. if you go to the source you're calling lou a retard for batting a high speed leadoff guy with the lowest OB% on the team first...as well as dusty. but that don't matter because all that matters to you is some conspiracy about how i'm all about some dusty defender...not the MULTIPLE PARAGRAPHS explaining myself. No, all that matters is what's made up in your head, not the fact I don't find most of what dustbag does out-of-the-ordinary, shocking, or not replicated by many others. you're arguing something totally different that you made up and seem to think we're discussing here...and you couldn't even bring it up without insulting me twice to start your piss fest. pretty simple...said it before...read.

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In reply to by Mister Whipple

yeah, you generally prove things through comparisons and bringing a home-example to the table helps. you want to tell me why you let a guy who has to windmill his legs to run the bases gets to lead off and why that's brilliant i'm all ears...i'll even let the "letting the lowest/streakiest ob% guy with the most power on the team lead off with hobbled legs" go by the wayside. they're managers...not gods. no one's comparing Muhammad and Jesus here...it's two fat old guys.

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In reply to by Mister Whipple

"Crunch, you are such a blatant Dusty defender. You think you're being sneaky with your partisan undercurrents, but this idea that Lou is as stupid as Dusty for his use of Sori in leadoff is idiotic." yeah, me explaining exactly what im talking about is something else. brilliant. everything after that 1st paragraph is a waste of your time. read what i wrote instead of playing amateur mystic.

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In reply to by WISCGRAD

he was the worst (marginally) so give him the most ab's? i'm more pissed about his misuse of power/production. i want him knocking guys in not setting up ryan theriot/fukudome and dlee to cash him in. hell, i'd prefer the opposite. ...and when soriano can't even run without embarrassing himself i do NOT want him leading off.

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In reply to by 10man

Holy cow do I have issues with that post. First off, all claim and no support, and no research done whatsoever. "I'm going to guess that the Cubs are the only team in the majors with three infielders and three outfielders listed at under six-feet tall." Why am I reading your post if your just going to guess? This is easy to look up. Also, are all of these players exactly the same? Mike Fontenot does not equal Ryan Theriot does not equal Reed Johnson. Aaron Miles does kind of equal Neifi Perez, but that's not even what he's saying. Who are the other two players? Joey Gathright hasn't made th 25-man roster yet and neither has Sam Fuld. "How many short white position players does it take to hoist a championship banner? Cubs fans better hope the answer is six." Joey Gathright, unless I'm mistaken, does not consider himself "white." Apparently being a "champion" has something to do with skin color, too. Also, Ryan Theriot and Reed Johnson are listed at 5'11" and 5'10". In my book, that is average adult male height. Fontenot and Miles are the only guys who actually rank as short, at 5'8". I give Fontenot a pass on height and frame because he's got at least as much power as Mark DeRosa and other bigger players. But I thought this guy's issues were intangibles, anyway? He wants his cake and he wants to eat it too: Soriano certainly fits his size requirements, but he doesn't meet his "champion" requirement. His whole "scared" thing takes me by surprise, too. Soriano has never looked scared to me (at the plate). He looks stupid and stubborn sometimes, but not scared. He sticks to his game pretty strictly, which to me is not a symptom of doubt or fear--it's more often a symptom of confidence. I think the post boils down to him saying that he gets to define who is a "champion" and who is not in an arbitrary manner. If it had taken more than two minutes of my life, it would not have been worth reading at all. But thanks, 10-man. It's a pretty good example of a particular subset of pessimistic thought that has become relatively common.

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In reply to by Charlie

I decided to look it up, since this seems to be a concern for a lot of people speculating on the quality/type of baseball player based on size: Cardinals, 6: Jason LaRue - 5'11" Yadier Molina - 5'11" Brian Barden - 5'11" Khalil Greene - 5'11" Jarrett Hoffpauir - 5'9" Skip Schumaker - 5'10" Pirates, 6: Robinzon Diaz - 5'11" Freddy Sanchez - 5'10" Ramon Vazquez - 5'11" Nate McLouth - 5'11" Steve Pearce - 5'11" Jose Tabata - 5'11" Nationals, 6: Will Nieves - 5'11" Ronnie Belliard - 5'10" Alberto Gonzalez - 5'11" Anderson Hernandez - 5'9" Leonard Davis - 5'10" Willie Harris - 5'9" Dodgers, 7: Russell Martin - 5'10" Tony Abreu - 5'11" Blake DeWitt - 5'11" Rafael Furcal - 5'9" Chin-lung Hu - 5'11" Juan Pierre - 5'11" Jason Repko - 5'11" Delwyn Young - 5'10" Padres, 7: Henry Blanco - 5'11" Everth Cabrera - 5'9" Travis Denker - 5'9" David Eckstein - 5'7" Luis Rodriguez - 5'9" Luis Durango - 5'9" Brian Giles - 5'10" Indians, 6: Carlos Santana - 5'11" Wyatt Toregas - 5'11" Jamey Caroll - 5'9" Luis Valbuena - 5'10" Shin-Soo Choo - 5'11" David Dellucci - 5'11" Twins, 6: Jose Morales - 5'11" Mike Redmond - 5'11" Alexi Casilla - 5'9" Luke Hughes - 5'11" Nick Punto - 5'9" Steven Tolleson - 5'10" Angels, 6: Ryan Budde - 5'11" Erick Aybar - 5'10" Chone Figgins - 5'8" Maicer Izturis - 5'8" Howie Kendrick - 5'10" Reggie Willits - 5'11" Athletics, 9: Yung Chi Chen - 5'11" Mark Ellis - 5'11" Eric Patterson - 5'11" Cliff Pennington - 5'11" Gregorio Petit - 5'10" Aaron Cunningham - 5'11" Rajai Davis - 5'11" Javier Herrera - 5'10" Richie Robnett - 5'9" Also, for those who think that all players under 6' tall are the same player, remember that Prince Fielder is 5'11" and Miguel Tejada is 5'9".

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In reply to by Jace

That's the station he works for. I think he's a pretty good radio personality, which is to say, it's not unlike his personality as a columnist - incredibly polarizing. I don't agree with many of things he says, but he's able to get people to care about sports from the time the Colts lose in the first round of the playoffs until they open training camp the next season, which is no easy task with the Pacers in the shitter. He's able to do that, although a lot of it is at the expense of his own credibility, imo. But, then again, he's the only sports columnist at the only newspaper in the city, so he can say whatever he wants and nobody will call him on it. I've always said Kravitz is kinda like a Mariotti lite. Will take some completely ridiculous stand on an issue just to get people to read him or listen to him. I will say, however, Bob's way better at actually formulating cohesive thought than Jay is.

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In reply to by Jace

Well, they aren't on the same level. But, they're both equal in that they make these ridiculous claims. That's about the extent of the comparison. Por ejemplo, last year he wrote a column about how horrible of a father Tony Dungy was because his son committed suicide. IMO, that doesn't have much to do with it, but that's just Bob. He has nobody to call him out on stuff like that, so he can say whatever he wants and basically get it away with it.

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In reply to by Wes

As much as I dislike Mariotti he is an outstanding technical writer from a pure journalistic standpoint. Actually one of the best Chicago has seen at any of the papers in any dept in awhile. His content varies but the whole overly negative and/or "shockvalue" are what kills him. Like any other business, it's the results which get him paid and he got people to read so I guess we're the idiots.

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In reply to by Doug Dascenzo

I'm gonna have to go with Mr. Dascenzo here. If Jay is our gold standard of sports writing, those pages should be cut from all newspapers. Keep the box scores, leave the bullshit to 98% of sports bloggers. Also, I'm gonna have to disagree the "we're the idiots" statement. I don't feel at all idiotic for refusing to read Jay's nonsense. I usually don't spend much time complaining about him either, though. I don't watch much ESPN and I don't read the sports pages; that mostly solves the problem for me. Now, if I were trying to get into sports journalism, Mariotti's existence/employment would really grate on me.

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In reply to by Doug Dascenzo

I can't speak for the AOL columns because I haven't read any, but in regard to the Sun Times pieces he has no control over how they are translated into print form. That is the editor and/or the layout/graphic design dept depending on how large a staff any given paper has. In smaller papers they are often one in the same. I'm not going to get all Foundations of Journalism class, but yes he is an outstanding technical writer. The content of what he writes is what you can debate freely on. I never read his columns daily so I can't speak on the overuse of puns. I never read any of his columns that didn't deal with the Cubs or Blackhawks and rarely did he ever write about the Blackhawks unless he was piling on Bill Wirtz. I don't like the guy I'm just saying he's a good technical writer. However, most of the time his content is meh.

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In reply to by 10man

This is ridiculous. There is no factual support for any of his claims. So did the Phillies look at Pedro Feliz and decide that they could win a World Series with him? Yeesh ... Simple question: The Cubs and Phillies both got swept in the 2007 playoffs. The Cubs got swept again in the 2008 playoffs, but the Phillies won the World Series. What did the Phillies realize about winning in the postseason between the 2007 and 2008 seasons that the Cubs didn't? If the answer isn't "winning in the postseason is a crapshoot" and that person can prove it, then Mr. Ricketts should hire this man immediately.

ricketts was some sort of bone disease. ------ thanks god for that extra "t" otherwise Rob would be expecting me to do a writeup on how the Cubs medical team tries to prevent the players from getting Scurvy (with Vitamin C) and Rickets (with Milk Mullets)

Ok...that guy is the definition of pessimistic...I wonder who the Cubs pitcher was described as "the biggest pussy of all time." Mike Krukow?

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 01/22/2009 - 7:00pm.

I can't recall the last ownership group rejected by the owners...or if it's ever happened. The Red Sox were sort of ushered to John Henry and his group, but that was well well before any votes were being cast.

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

ROB G: Vince Naimoli & associates made Bob Lurie an offer he couldn't refuse and had a deal in place to purchase the Giants and move the club to Tampa Bay from San Francisco about 15 years ago, but the sale was rejected by MLB owners. Then the Tampa Bay expansion team was awarded to Naimoli a couple of years after that, because the owners didn't want to risk losing a lawsuit. So I really doubt that the MLB owners will reject the Cubs sale. It should go through quickly and smoothly.

What did the Phillies realize about winning in the postseason between the 2007 and 2008 seasons that the Cubs didn't? ------ methinks Cole Hamels being the ace and winning games like an ace is the difference. Godspeed Z.

Haven't read anything, but I've got a quick Az Phil question: Guy at the office says there's some sort of "Early Season Trading Deadline", ie rosters have to be set by a certain date prior to opening day. I've never heard of any such thing. And I know you're the man. Thoughts?

"$145 million payroll, most in the NL - should give the Cubs a great chance..." I'm most interested to see what he does with the farm system - cupboard looks pretty bare at this point, although I don't fault the current Director for that reality.

Hopefully the Ricketts family will not be like the Wrigley family. They might want to spend just enough to keep butts in the seat, but not enough to win a championship. I also hope that they didn't shoot all of their bullets just purchasing the team.

Aragua, with Sam Fuld and Ronny Cedeno usually in the lineup, is in a seven-game final series with Caracas for the Venezuela Winter League crown. Caracas leads one game to none.

Sun-Times article filling in on some Tom Ricketts detail: Thomas Ricketts:'My family and I are Cubs fans' ...spotting Ricketts after the second game of the Cubs' execrable playoff series against the Dodgers last year. The game was over, and the crowd was shuffling home. But there sat Ricketts a few rows from the Cubs' on-deck circle. "He was slumped in his chair just like he had watched his own son strike out," Bianco said. ----------------- http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/1395680,CST-NWS-ricketts25…

and the Daily Herald Ricketts files: What his former Wrigleyville and college roommate says: "He's really smart, he really loves baseball and he really loves the Cubs," said Curt Conklin, who has worked at TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., and Incapital LLC. http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=266828&src=152 ------------ To Wrigleyville's new first lady... Celia, youre breaking my heart Youre shaking my confidence daily Oh, Cecilia, Im down on my knees I'm begging you please to come home Making love in the afternoon with Cecilia Up in my bedroom (making love) I got up to wash my face When I come back to bed Someones taken my place Jubilation, she loves me again, I fall on the floor and I'm laughing, Jubilation, she loves me again, I fall on the floor and I'm laughing,

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Re: Uribe, unhappy with Blanco What the hell? Uribe more valuable than Cedeno? What more did they want form Blanco? The guy hit .292 while playing very little and being a good defender--and they have praised him greatly for his mentoring of Soto! And the Cubs have been looking at Kevin Millar and Eric Hinske in addition to Rich Aurillia? The only one who can play 3B these days is Aurillia, so how do Hinske and Millar bring anything to the table that Hoffpauir doesn't? I think Levine and others are just making things up. That Peavy trade sounds a little better than when Marshall was involved, but I still don't see sending Vitters + at least 4 others away. Castillo looks expendable to me, even if he is one of the Cubs best remaining prospects. Vitters is probably the only guy out of that group I'd really lament losing. Cedeno for Heilman sounds good to me, since Jim seems intent on getting rid of Cedeno. That would allow the Cubs to send Samardzija to AAA to start, yes? And holy God there was really a Brian Roberts update at the end of that article.

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In reply to by Charlie

lou didnt play blanco...based on the other "HUH?" in that article i dunno how much take seriously how "unhappy" the cubs were with him, though. he showed up in shape...hit the ball...but mostly sat on the bench doing a lotta nothing.

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In reply to by Rob G.

Aaron Heilman is one of those guys I just don't understand. His walk rate magically increased by more than double last season. Very, very reliable late inning guy, just fell apart for him last year. I'd take him, though. Worth a shot on, particularly if the cost is just Cedeno.

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In reply to by Sonicwind75

I think you are correct, with Peavy at about $20 million. So four years of Peavy on the open market = $80 million. If the Cubs are willing to take on $63 million in Peavy salary (which includes a $4 million buyout), plus give up a package of 5 good young players (including two of their top prospects), then they must place an economic value on Vitters et al at less than $17 million. Are Vitters, Castillo, Stevens, Hart and Olson worth more to an organizationt than an average $3.4 million a piece?

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In reply to by Rob G.

Juan Uribe???? Fuck. That. Juan Uribe takes the field in a Cub's uniform, I'm taking 2009 off as a fan. Why not just get Neifi out of retirement or whatever the fuck he's doing right now. No way. Cedeno for Heilman? Whatev's Bako? Bleh Peavy... if it were really that simple, pull the trigger. I have a hunch SD needs a little bit more.

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In reply to by Ryno

Why not just get Neifi out of retirement or whatever the fuck he's doing right now. 1. Greenies 2. Rehab 3. Dreaming of grand slams in webbings 4. all of the above I'm with you though. At least Cedeno's doofiness can be amusing on occasion, whereas Uribe seems like not just a hack, but a surly hack. Although if by a stroke of bad luck he joins the team, DLee can stuff him in the luggage compartment for that "deke"/cheat a few years ago.

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In reply to by Pell Mell

Unless I misremember Uribe played a decent third base for the second half of the season for Sox with Crede out. He would probably be Arams back up. I don't know how they will be able to put concessions and new toilets in Wrigley unless they are able to build out over the sidewalk on Addison.

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In reply to by Ryno

Peavy... if it were really that simple, pull the trigger. I have a hunch SD needs a little bit more. What more do we have to give? I want Peavy, badly, but I'm not sure the Cubs can really offer much more than that. We'd need to keep Marshall giving up Hart, Stevens, and Olson.

so if hoffpauer does not make roster , who do the cubs have know that would be the back up first baseman, i dont think there is one on roster?

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In reply to by WISCGRAD

What kind of mental health institution do you live in where it's OK to call someone a 'condescending asshole' and then bitch about the person not being nice to you? For those of you keeping score at home. 1. Someone says something anal retentive, and which by his own provided definition is incorrect. 2. I make a joke about it. 3. Wiscgrad, sharp tack that he is, doesn't understand the joke, and tries to correct it. He's probably still wondering how the Irish are going to eat their children without salt. 4. I explain to Wiscgrad that it's a joke. 5. Wiscgrad, says that he doesn't think it was funny. 6. I point out that no one ever thinks jokes they don't get are funny. That's what 'getting' a joke means. 7. Wiscgrad calls me an asshole. 8. I make fun of Wiscgrad for not being smart enough to get the joke in the first place, and suggest that he should just butt out of conversations which are above him. 9. Wiscgrad calls me an asshole again Humpty and Dumpty come along and try to act like I've done something wrong, when it fact Wiscgrad butted in on an A-B conversation, didn't understand a joke, and then started swearing at me. It's sort of like a Greek tragedy only authored by retards. And to answer your question, I haven't been in a bad mood lately, Chad.

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In reply to by The Real Neal

You really need a life. Seriously. If I had the time that you did I would write some stupid 10-point rebuttal to you, but it's not that important to me. I am not the only one who has noticed that you have, for the most part, been a dick on here lately. And for some reason, you have really had it out for me. And it goes back further than September's Fukudome-Theriot debate after which you were clearly pissed because Fukudome tanked so badly, I remember you even taking time out of your day to heavily criticize many of my choices in the Cub Reporter MLB fantasy draft, a league to which you were not even a part, way back in the spring. If it continues to make you feel good, then keep doing it. Whatever.

A couple of interesting tidbits from Buster Olney's column. The guy who ranked fifth in the majors in OPS against left-handed pitchers remains unsigned -- Ty Wigginton, who absolutely hammered lefties in 2008, posting a .424 on-base percentage and a .631 slugging percentage. The best hitter with a minimum of 25 plate appearances with runners in scoring position: Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs, who went 12-for-25.

In "The Yankee Years," due to be released on Feb. 3, Torre describes general manager Brian Cashman as a less than supportive ally who betrayed him on several fronts, and says that his star player, Alex Rodriguez, was often referred to by his teammates as "A-Fraud" and was obsessed with his perceived rival, shortstop Derek Jeter. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2009/01/24/2009-01-2…

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In reply to by Rob G.

Who's going to give us the dirt on Joe? Maybe Jeter has some non-fiction ghostwritten.

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In reply to by navigator

Stupid false binary. I know that having a debate about the WBC does not equal being upset about the WBC, but it's funny to me that we argue about whether the WBC is too risky. Carlos Marmol has pitched 2 innings in the Dominican Winter League this year. Unnecessary risk? He clearly wants to play for/in his home country, or maybe he just likes baseball so much that he'll play whenever he can. Do we debate as much about whether the All-Star game is too much of a risk to play? I've heard some people argue that, but it rarely comes up. I think I'm more upset that Marmol pitched in the All-Star game last year, and maybe also that he is playing winter ball, than I am that some of the roster might be involved in the WBC at a time when they would be playing ball anyway.

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In reply to by Charlie

There are some differences, though: The AS Game is one day and there's very limited playing time in the midst of a break. Overuse of a player is witnessed by everyone and generally, players are used exactly as requested by that player's team. Basically, instead of a day off, a player pitches (or hits) for an inning or three. Not ideal, but not too much of a risk. In the WBC, especially because it's new, we don't really know how players are used. While these guys are playing, the rest of the team/coaching staff is elsewhere practicing on their own. Secondly, it's a series of games which, generally, are perceived as more important to the management/countries that are running the teams (than in the ASG), and therefore, there's a fear that winning will be placed ahead of the health of the players. Thirdly, it's true that they would be playing anyway, but they would be played under strict control of the (in this case) Cubs management. They put a lot of time into scheduling how fast/slow to ease players into season-ready shape. Some players start hot/cold/injured and they like to prepare appropriately. With the WBC, they have no control over that. I think that the argument that a lot of teams have, isn't that they're playing, but that they're not playing enough in the WBC, and aren't ready for the season when it comes. That said, I think the WBC is pretty cool and don't really have a problem with it, but I do think there are some valid concerns. Go Korea!

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In reply to by The Joe

Judging from the last one, the pitchers work level were simlair to what they would be doing in ST. The postion players were used in game the same as in the regular season, but sense the bench was made up of all-star players nobody was really used on an every day basis. Honestly I think it has the same chance of a player injury as ST.

Submitted by rokfish on Sat, 01/24/2009 - 11:45pm.

so if hoffpauer does not make roster , who do the cubs have know that would be the back up first baseman, i dont think there is one on roster?

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

ROKFISH: Geovany Soto played quite a bit of 1B at Iowa, but if you play Soto at 1B, the back-up catcher then becomes D-Lee's indirect replacement in the lineup.

As long as Micah Hoffpauir is at Iowa, the Cubs would have insurance in case Lee goes down with an injury. Hoffpauir was voted the best defensive 1st baseman in the PCL in 2008 by rival managers, and he can definitely play that position. LF and (especially) RF are another story, however.

Personaly, I would prefer that the Cubs keep Hoff-POWER! on the 25-man roster and use him in the Daryle Ward role (late inning lefty PH with pop), plus as Derrek Lee's occasional replacement at 1B when D-Lee gets a day off. But it looks like Uncle Lou doesn't see it that way. He apparently wants two back-up infielders instead, and damn the late-inning lefty bat off the bench.

The Cubs interest in Aaron Heilman is not surprising. Jim Hendry has had a long-standing friendship with former Notre Dame head baseball coach Paul Mainieri (he moved from Notre Dame to LSU in 2006), and the Cubs have drafted and signed two other ND pitchers with high picks over the past few years (Grant Johnson in 2004 and Jeff Samardzija in 2006).

The Cubs had the #3 overall pick in 2000 and they had been closely bird-dogging Heilman all Spring, and it was presumed that he would be the Cubs #1 pick. But he developed some shoulder issues the last month of the season that caused the Cubs to reconsider their choice, and (unfortunately) they selected the nation's #1 HS shortstop prospect (Luis Montanez) instead. Heilman was selected by Minnesota with their #1 pick in 2000 (#31 overall), but he didn't sign.

The Cubs probably would have liked to have had a chance to draft Heilman in 2001, but he just wasn't quite worth a #2 overall pick (the Cubs selected Mark Prior with that pick), and once again Heilman ddn't last past the 1st round (he was selected by the Mets with the #18 overall pick in the '01 draft), so the Cubs didn't draft him.

But Aaron Heilman has always been a Hendry Favorite, and so I would not be at all surprised if he ends up with the Cubs in 2009. If it does indeed turn out to be Cedeno for Heilman, the Cubs would only be taking on an additional $800K in 2009 payroll (Heilman is making $1.625M in 2009,and Cedeno will be paid $822K).

 

i am personnally getting tired of watching espn and watching the crawl at the bottom and seeing how the cardinals have the second longest streak without a title in the 4 major sports the more i see this the more i like the steelers to win.

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