November 2008 Archives

A couple of weeks following the release Baseball Prospectus' top Cubs prospects list, John Sickels from MinorLeagueBall.com has unveiled his top 20 list of the Cubs' prospects, along with a few honorable mentions. Baseball America' top prospects in the Cubs system is due to be released on January 12th.

Josh Vitters once again is tops in the system with Jeff Samardzija coming in at number two while Tyler Colvin has dropped to number seven and Donald Veal has fallen out of the top 10....

According to a report from the Baltimore Sun, the Orioles could be the third team involved in the would-be deal that would allow the Cubs to acquire Jake Peavy. The Baltimore Sun reported their sources have indicated the Cubs would send Felix Pie to the Orioles for left-handed starter Garrett Olson. Olson would be sent to the Padres as a part of the package for Jake Peavy.

Updated - 7:26pm C.T. with Additional Information

Updated - 11:58pm C.T. with Information from Ken Rosenthal which includes scenarios that could include Jason Marquis in the deal for Jake Peavy.

As the conclusion of the long Holiday weekend approaches, all of baseball has begun focusing their attention on Monday's arbitration deadline and the Winter Meetings that begin in nine days in Las Vegas.

On the Cubs front, the next two weeks should be anything but slow and boring. From Kerry Wood to Bobby Howry to Ron Santo to Jake Peavy to Monday's deadline to submit bids to buy the club...and then there is the unknown that Jim Hendry is working on that will undoubtedly catch many by surprise. Here's the latest, including Jim Hendry on Talkin' Baseball....

Baseball's off-season has been rather quiet to this point. A deal here and there but clearly more rumors on what could happen than actual activity. The report from Yahoo Sports by Tim Brown indicated the Cubs and Padres might have found the third team they have been looking for to help complete the deal for Jake Peavy. Other than Peavy, the Cubs are rumored to be interested in several players, but it is typically the trades or signings that are never mentioned that usually happen.

So while you prepare your list for a full day of shopping and bargain hunting, here's a list of names Jim Hendry is rumored to be interested in adding to the Cubs roster and a few of the players the Cubs might have to part with this winter....

Happy Thanksgiving from the CCO.... The next twenty-four hours figure to be rather quiet throughout baseball but as the weekend comes to a close teams should start preparing for a busy start of the last month of the year. For the Cubs not only is Monday the deadline to offer arbitration to Kerry Wood and Bobby Howry but it is also the last day for prospective buyers to submit their bids to purchase the team. The Winter Meetings kick off a week from Monday on the same day Ron Santo will find out if the Veteran's Committee has finally voted him into the Hall of Fame. So to say the next two weeks should be rather fun to follow would be an understatement.

The Cubs have been front and center for the last month on one of the biggest names on the block this winter, Jake Peavy. And while several reports over the past few days have suggested the Cubs are out of the Jake Peavy sweepstakes, according to reports on Wednesday, the Cubs are still interested in Jake Peavy ....as well as Brian Giles? Here's the latest on Turkey Day....

Updated - 9:01am C.T. - A Third Team Might Have Been Found?

The on again, off again talks between the Padres and Cubs over a certain former Cy Young Award winner was given a new twist on Tuesday morning after a report in the Chicago Sun-Times by Gordon Wittenmyer. The Cubs' beat reporter talked with Lou Piniella this past weekend and one of the questions he posed to Piniella centered on the Cubs rumored interest in Jake Peavy and Randy Johnson.

According to the report in the Sun-Times, Piniella was asked about the Cubs still pursuing starting pitching, "such as Jake Peavy or Randy Johnson, even after the Ryan Dempster signing." Piniella told Wittenmyer, "No. Starting we don't need. We're set. We've got six good starters (including Sean Marshall), and they're all experienced. Getting Dempster back was the key. We're in good shape with our starting pitching." Piniella added they are looking to add a veteran arm to the pen and stated "we've got a lot of young kids out there."

So less than twelve hours after Kevin Towers told Jon Heyman from SI.com that "there's a chance of maybe putting together a deal with Chicago", has Jim Hendry moved away from the talks for Jake Peavy and centered on adding the left-handed bat that his skipper desires? Here's the latest....

Jon Heyman from SI.com talked with Kevin Towers on Monday about the latest on the Jake Peavy Watch, as Heyman phrased it. Heyman, like so many others, believes that Peavy will end up with the Braves but instead of continuing to speculate about a possible trade with Atlanta, Heyman went directly to the Padres GM.

Towers did not agree with Heyman that the Braves are "the best chance for a deal" and according to Heyman, "at the moment, he (Towers) appears to be favoring the Cubs chances."

In recent weeks the name of Mark Teahen has become more and more prevalent in the Cubs' rumor mill. The Cubs have publicly stated their desire to add speed and athleticism to a lineup that their manager says is too right-handed. The Cubs appear interested in Mark Teahen, but at what cost?

Phil Rogers mentioned in his MLB Whispers column on Saturday that, "Kansas City is focused on Sean Marshall and Mike Fontenot in talks with the Cubs about Mark Teahen" And on Sunday night Rogers' report was used as the source of a report on Cubs.com that indicated the Marshall and Fontenot could be a part of the Teahen talks.

Before last season the CCO ran a series of four contests for the Faithful to make a few predictions on the upcoming year, as well as when a certain switch-hitting hitting infielder from the state of Maryland would be traded to the North Side of Chicago. While that deal did not happen last season, the Chicago Cubs put together a very good year with an unexpected ending. Without further ado, here are the winners of the first ever contests on the CCO....

It was another busy week on the North Side of Chicago. From re-signing Ryan Dempster to Major League Baseball putting a deadline on bids for the team, the third week of November was anything but non-eventful. Lou Piniella, Jim Hendry and Ryan Dempster were all over the airwaves and Piniella did some damage control over Dempster's statement during his press conference that suggested the Cubs were not prepared at the start of the playoffs.

Lou Piniella came out and said during one of his interviews that the club's pitching staff is in pretty good shape with the re-signing of Dempster and it was time to work on improving the offense. But are the Cubs still looking at Jake Peavy? Some say 'yes' and others say 'no'. One thing is for sure, as the Winter Meetings approach, the rumors continue to swirl around the reigning National League Central Division Champions. Here's the latest....