January 2008

until we take a one game lead over the Brewers in the NL Central.

And just in case you forgot how bad that Kellie Pickler performance was:

Unfortunately (maybe fortunately), it doesn't have the follow-up interview.

Every Day Is Like Sunday

Readers of the Chicago Daily Tribune woke up on the morning of June 23rd, 1895, to discover that the day’s baseball game between the Chicago Colts (fore-runners to the Cubs) and the Cleveland Spiders was likely to be delayed. On account of police raid. As the paper reported, the Rev. W.W. Clark of the Sunday Observance League had demanded warrants for the arrest of team captain Cap Anson and the rest of the Chicago starting nine, for breaking the Sabbath laws.

mlbtraderumors.com flagged this story by Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, reporting that Adam Jones of the Mariners is on his way to Baltimore in a deal for Eric Bedard. According to Baker, Jones is scheduled to be in Baltimore Monday so he can take a physical. No definitive or semi-definitive word on which other Mariners might also be headed to the O's.

Baker's report is based on an interview between Jones and a baseball writer in Venezuela, where Jones has been playing winter ball. Said the player:

"(Mariners GM Bill Bavasi) called me yesterday and told me the news. I've got to go to Baltimore tomorrow morning and handle things there. I'm the centerpiece of the deal on the Mariners side. It's an honor to get traded for such a highly talented pitcher as Bedard is. He's one of the best."

Naturally, there has to be a little remaining intrigue in this never-ending story. In the last hour, Roch Kubatko of the Baltimore Sun posted this:

I would love to file an entry confirming the Erik Bedard trade to Seattle and releasing the names of the prospects that Orioles president Andy MacPhail acquired in return for the left-hander. Just one problem: Nobody on the Orioles' side is confirming that a deal is done. All we have so far is Adam Jones telling reporters in Venezuela that the Mariners told him that a trade was completed and he should fly to Baltimore. Pretty strong stuff. But the media here needs someone from the warehouse to provide confirmation, and it's not happening.

Obviously, with this being neither a Mariners blog or an Orioles blog, the primary reason to note any of this here is the possibility that having dispatched Bedard, Andy MacPhail might finally get around to moving Brian Roberts. Also, if the M's/O's deal is a reality, we Cub fans can once and for all dispose of any fantasies that the Cubs might actually have been able to land both players from Baltimore.

The newest addition to the Cubs pitching staff, 37 year old (38 on April 2nd) Jon Lieber is apparently ready to pitch. His tenure in Philadelphia ended abruptly last season in the 6th inning, on June 20th, while backing up home plate on a play in Cleveland. It was one rotten day for him already as he had given up 7 runs on 10 hits and was on the hook for his 6th loss. Initially, and at least for the first few days, it didn’t look like anything serious, probably just the run of the mill lateral ankle sprain.

This was the initial report from the Phillies mlb.com site:

June 21st: Ken Mandel, of Philadelphia.Phillies.MLB.com, reports Phillies SP Jon Lieber (ankle) injured his right ankle Wednesday, June 20, while backing up home plate. Lieber had the ankle checked out and it turned out to be largely a muscular injury. Because of off-days, the Phillies should be able to give him extra time to heal and he won't be needed until Friday, June 29, at the earliest.

Mirroring this information, Will Carroll, from Baseball Prospectus, in his Under the Knife column on 6/22/07 said:

The Phillies are also waiting to see how Jon Lieber responds after spraining his ankle in Wednesday's start. He limped off the field after rolling the ankle running to back up home plate after a hit. It didn't look serious, but we should know more by the time his bullpen session comes up this weekend.

Day three injury update:

June 23: Ken Mandel, of Philadelphia.Phillies.MLB.com, reports Phillies SP Jon Lieber (ankle) had his ankle wrapped Friday, June 22, however, he is still expected to make his next start Wednesday, June 27.

Now we know that this was no conventional ankle sprain.

Lieber apparently was having some problems with his foot starting the first week in March in spring training (per a C. Muskat interview this year). Older pitchers expect to have a lot of aches and pains. Apparently it wasn’t enough of a nuisance to get an MRI at the time. Still, it certainly could have been that Lieber's foot was giving him some soreness at the start of the season with the tendon having degeneration, inflammation or wear problems and it finally ruptured with the June 20th injury.

Looking at Lieber’s last 5 starts with the Phillies, four were awful, including three-10 hit outings each over 5 innings and one 13 hit outing over 6.2 innings. Nobody was blaming those outings on a inflamed foot tendon and it must not have been overly obvious as in the midst of that ugly string on June 9th, he did throw a beautiful complete game 3 hit shutout against the Royals.

With an acute injury in Cleveland and significant swelling, MRI imaging of the foot/ankle was obtained and it showed that the injury was something fairly uncommon. He had a rupture of the peroneus longus tendon, well below the outside of the ankle as the tendon goes toward the bottom of the foot.

Then, after the Phillies team orthopedist evaluation, came second opinions by sub-specialty trained foot and ankle orthopedic surgeons.

Finally, USA Today reported:

AP--Jon Lieber will undergo season-ending surgery on Friday (July 6th) to repair a ruptured tendon in his foot.

Lieber was 3-6 with a 4.73 ERA in 12 starts this season. He was the Phillies' opening-day starter in 2005 and '06, but will become a free agent after this season. "He pitched some good baseball for us," said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. "If things had been a little bit different, he could've pitched better. He had the talent." Lieber will have the surgery at the Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, the team said.

Jon Lieber had his peroneal tendon repair surgery on July 6th at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, The head of this center's foot and ankle department is Dr. Mark Myerson, who is one of the most renown foot and ankle surgeons and who apparently trained the Phillies local foot and ankle specialist (Dr. Steven Raiken). We are talking high end orthopedic sub-specialists here (their practices focus only on foot & ankle care). I'm not sure which surgeon did the tendon repair but it appears he was in very good hands.

More newswire stuff:

Philadelphia Phillies SP Jon Lieber (foot) had successful surgery, Friday, July 6, to reattach a tendon in his right foot, according to the Associated Press. He'll be in a walking boot for three to four weeks.

Sat, 14 Jul: Phillies | Lieber moved to 60-day disabled list

Tue, 7 Aug 2007: Phillies | Lieber cleared to begin rehab program

Finally, from C. Muskat, at the cubs.com site:

Lieber…finished his rehab in early October. Now, he said, everything is fine, and Lieber is back on his normal off season routine.

From my perspective as an orthopedic surgeon, this was an injury I had to do some literature review to learn more, as I haven’t seen an isolated peroneal longus rupture. I've read the chapter in Dr. Myerson's textbook. I’ve seen and treated many peroneal tendon subluxations (partial dislocations) where the two peroneal tendons (longus and brevis) slip around the injured or stretched retinaculum that supports these tendons just behind the ankle. That situation was the infamous “bloody sock” injury that Curt Schilling had back during the 2004 World Series. Schilling’s memorable treatment was very unconventional as the former Red Sox team physician, Dr. William Morgan, put stitches through the skin deep enough to stabilize the slipping tendons as a temporary measure to get him through the playoffs. In the offseason, he had more definitive reconstruction of the injury.

Here is a link to the anatomy of the outside of the ankle/foot.

The peroneus brevis tendon attaches to the base of the 5th metatarsal and is responsible for eversion (outward rotation) of the foot. The longus tendon goes under the foot and ultimately attaches to the undersurface of the 1st metatarsal. This stabilizes the 1st metatarsal and foot from rolling over in both push off and landing, so it’s function is very important in pitching from a mound.

Lieber’s injury was a bit lower down (distal) into the outside portion of the hind foot, well below the ankle. I could see why there might be a delay in diagnosis and confusion with a conventional ankle sprain which is a lateral ligament injury (ligaments between the fibula and talus/calcaneus and tibia). Lateral ankle sprains will look similar to this injury with lateral ankle and foot swelling and an X-Ray that doesn't show a fracture. For most ankle injuries, it’s conventional to get X-Rays to make sure there is no fracture. MRI’s are usually not ordered unless the ankle sprain is taking too long to heal. Most severe lateral ankle sprains take 2-6 weeks to heal. In Lieber’s case, the correct diagnosis was made very quickly. So getting the MRI early on meant Lieber’s swelling and tenderness initially didn’t match up to where a typical ankle sprain should have been tender. Score one for the Phillies athletic trainer and Orthopod showing excellent clinical decision making, a very fine job indeed!

In the case of a peroneal longus tendon rupture, there is a tunnel/groove in the outer hind foot, which involves the cuboid bone where the peroneal longus tendon passes and often there is a spur or small (sesmoid) bone that can lead to friction and subsequent tendon rupture. One of the larger published series I found on this had only 41 patients of which only 11 patients had isolated peroneal longus rupture as Lieber had. So it’s a pretty rare (or at least not commonly diagnosed) injury. In the days before MRI scans (the early 1980’s) this injury had virtually not been reported on in the ortho literature. Also, I couldn’t find any previously treated professional pitchers with this injury, but the orthopedic literature suggests athletic patients do well when the tendon rupture is surgically repaired.

Thus, if you see Derrick Lee backing up the catcher on throws from the outfield when Jon Lieber is pitching, you’ll be a bit more understanding. That is, unless Jon Lieber has already let in 7 runs by the 6th inning.

Here's a couple of videos sent to me the last few days. The first comes from Rich at Home Run Derby, who emailed me this video of Kosuke Fukudome versus Josh Beckett circa 1997. Maybe we'll see a repeat in October...

The second video is courtesy of one of our readers who wishes to remain nameless. It's a clip of Jim Hendry down in the Dominican Republic watching Felix Pie hit a home run. A rather priceless reaction by Hendry; good to see he's still a fan of the game even though it's his everyday job.

The Cubs and reliever Michael Wuertz agreed to a one-year deal worth $860,000 today, continuing Hendry's policy of avoiding arbitration. Wuertz, who made $415,000 last year, had submitted a $975,000 figure, with the Cubs offering $750,000.

Regardless of how arbitration might have gone, the Cubs get a premium middle reliever for under a million bucks. Wuertz's ERA+ numbers for the last two years are 174 and 134. As the relevant mlb.com article points out, last year he ranked second in the league in percentage of inherited runners stranded. Finally, Dan Szymborski's "ZiPS" projection system puts Wuertz's 2008 ERA at 3.33, second on the team behind Howry. The awesomeness of Wuertz's contract only escalates when compared against Hendry's pattern of signing veteran middle-relievers to three-year, multi-million dollar contracts.

The last Cubs player to go to arbitration remains Mark Grace in 1993.

The 23rd annual Cubs Convention begins Friday night. As usual, it’s sold out. If you have passes, enjoy yourself and, if you’re so inclined, please add your observations to the Comments.

If you don’t have passes, you’ll want to steer clear of the Chicago Hilton and Towers. It would be a shame for an innocent bystander to get stampeded by several thousand people racing for an autograph from Jody Davis or Andy Pafko.

On an unrelated note, Paul Sullivan, writing on the Tribune Hard Ball blog (and quoting from Baseball Prospectus, believe it or not), alludes to the Cubs’ latest brainstorm—a ticket offer that will be extended exclusively to people already on the season ticket waiting list which could take up to 540,000 seats out of the pool that would otherwise become available to the general public when individual seats go on sale January 28th.

Cubbie baseball--there's nothing else like it.

What Ken Rosenthal reported earlier this morning, cubs.com is now confirming:

The Cubs have signed righthander Jon Lieber to a one-year, $3.5 million deal. Lieber pitched for the Cubs from 1999 through 2002. In 2001, his best Major League season, he went 20-6, 3.80 and finished fourth in Cy Young voting.

He suffered an elbow injury in '02, underwent ligament replacement surgery and was picked up by the Yanks, for whom he won 14 games in 2004.

He signed with the Phillies as a free agent in December '04 and went 29-30 in three seasons there. He suffered a pair of significant injuries in Philadelphia, including a ruptured tendon in his foot that ended his '07 season in mid-June.

What Rosenthal reported that cubs.com has not yet (and probably won't) is that Lieber has been promised a spot in the starting rotation; that he was offered more money by other teams, with whom he would have signed had it not been for his desire to return to Chicago and some assurance that he would have a spot in the Cubs rotation.

Rob G: Lieber, the last Cubs pitcher to win 20 games, will add some rotation depth and give Hendry a little more flexibility in trading from the teams' pool of starting pitchers. It could mean the end of Jason Marquis or Ryan Dempster as a Cub, or it could just mean some of the youngsters might be on their way out and the Cubs needed to restock the shelves. Or maybe the Cubs realize that going into the season with Dempster and Marquis in your rotation means being sure you have an appropriate back-up plan.

About to turn 38, Lieber is a fast-working pitcher known for his excellent control who once possessed a lethal slider that now has lost some of its bite. He'll rely on his defense quite a bit; good for him and the Cubs that the folks chasing balls behind him this year should be pretty good. His home run rates did skyrocket the last 2 full seasons in Philadelphia, although it's hard to to decipher how much of that is due to the hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park and how much is due to the natural regression of a player as he ages.

This does seem like its step one of a multi-step plan. Dempster or Marquis could certainly just be shifted to the pen if needed as swing men, but it seems more likely that one of them is on the way out. Between Lieber, Dempster and Marquis, you'd have a hard time differentiating their overall value to the club, so until one of them gets moved in a trade or to the bullpen, I'm just going to refer to them as LDM from here on out.

Slow news day.

I was reading The Hardball Times today, which eventually led me to this Retrosheet page of all known instances of a major league player batting out of order.

Care to take one guess at the former Cubs jersey-wearer who has been involved in not one, not two, but three instances of batting out of order in his career? (Yes, I'm being a bit legalistic in how I've phrased this...)

May 4, 1980, Dusty Baker hit in Ron Cey's place in the order for the Dodgers, hitting into a force out that also left runners on the corner and the inning still going. Ron Cey was called out, and who came back up to bat? Baker, again. Second time being the charm, he hit a three-run homer.

August 8, 1998, and Giants' manager Dusty Baker makes five (count 'em, five) substitutions in the top of the sixth. Long story short, Rich Aurilia batted out of turn. The Giants weren't the only ones confused - the Braves didn't figure it out, but it didn't matter. They beat the Giants 14-6.

April 16, 2004, One of the more famous Dusty Moments on the Cubs, as Baker thinks he has made a double switch, but fails to inform Mr. Congeniality, C. B. Bucknor. When Ramon Martinez comes up in the pitcher's position and the Reds object, Kent Mercker is called out. Baker leaves the field, but not before throwing his lineup card (hey, it's a bad carpenter who blames his tools), his hat, and a fit.

Like I said, slow news day.

Former Cub Corey Patterson has come a long way, and not in the direction any player wants to see his career go.

Since the Cubs traded Patterson to Baltimore in January, 2006, he's had seasons of .276 and .269, with OPS+ numbers of 94 and 80, OBPs of .314 and .304, and a combined 159 strikeouts and 42 walks.

On Friday, Baseball Prospectus (subscription) pointed out that as recently as 2000, Baseball America had this to say about Eric Patterson's older brother:

(Corey) Patterson offers the best combination of athleticism and baseball skills of any prospect in the game. He's the best hitter, the faster runner and the top outfield defender in the organization. His other two tools, power and arm strength, are both above-average. His top-of-the-line speed is probably his most impressive physical asset… Patterson has more than held his own while being rushed through the minors… He has batted .195 against left-handers as a pro. He needs to tighten his plate discipline, and his ability to drive pitches that are out of the strike zone actually hampers his ability to draw walks… Scouts believe Patterson can correct all of those flaws with more experience. They're understandable, considering his age and how much he has been pushed.

Marc Nomandin goes on to trace Patterson's course through the intervening years, during which his flaws were not corrected. We still see the continued lack of plate discipline. The spotty power when Patterson pulls the ball. The complete lack of power when hitting to the opposite field. The "alarming" frequency with which he hits pop ups.

Normandin's conclusion:

Patterson doesn't have much appeal left when it comes to considering him for a starting job. He's a fine defender, one of the best at his position, but every season you run him out in the lineup you chance seeing something like this 2007 campaign. At best, you're going to see another 2006, which is fine for many teams as long as he can steal bases effectively and play well above-average defense in center, but at this stage he's no sure bet to do these things consistently. Teams who still need another outfielder would be served best by locking up Patterson to a one-year deal with incentives and maybe a club option and using him as a fourth outfielder, which is a far fall from the days when he was a top prospect.

-- Earlier this week, Dave O'Brien, writing in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, suggested that Georgia native Patterson might be a candidate for the Braves' centerfield job, a position left open by the departure of free agent Andruw Jones.

On Friday, however, O'Brien spoke to Oakland's Mark Kotsay and, per the player, a trade between the A's and Braves is imminent. In other words, Corey Patterson will still be looking for a team.

Another centerfielder, Mike Cameron, has found his team: the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers and Cameron, who will be suspended for the first 25 games of '08 after he tested positive for use of a banned stimulant, agreed Friday on a one-year deal with a club option for 2009.

This is bad news for the Cubs in a couple respects. First, Cameron is a talented player. Second, his signing will allow the Brewers to move the big hitting but defensively inferior Bill Hall back to the infield, where he will take over for Ryan Braun at third. Braun, a defensively inferior third baseman--25 errors and a fielding percentage of .895(!!!) in '07--will then be able to move to left.

That's a lot of positives to net with a single free-agent signing.

Just a couple of quick notes...

- It looks like our archives are back, all the way from July 2001 when Christian started this beauty. There are a few hiccups in the process of importing archives from Movable Type to Wordpress, most notably that the articles are not always attributed properly to the appropriate author and you get a lot of funky characters for certain punctuations. But they are there, so we can rehash Dubois vs Hollandsworth in all its glory, re-read my first TCR post, or bathe in the excitement of the Nomar trade.

- Also, you may have noticed the "Hype It" and "Bark It' links at the bottom of posts. Those are for Ballhype and Yardbarker, which I guess could best be described as sports social bookmarking and networking sites. I'll admit that I don't know much about them, but I do know the more people that "hype" or "bark" up our articles (yes, I know how ridiculous that sounds), drives up our traffic. So if you could help your TCR brothers out by signing up for their free accounts and clicking the do-hickeys on the bottom for an article that particularly interests you, we'd appreciate it.