It is just three short days until pitchers and catchers report to Fitch Park. The countdown to Spring Training and Cactus League action has everyone thinking of warmer weather, regardless of the fact it is still winter, and all of the possibilities that lie ahead in the upcoming season.
Hot Stove Game Day aired for the last time this winter on ESPN 1000 Saturday morning. Bruce Levine had plenty of Cubs topics to discuss, including the latest on Brian Roberts. So as the players begin the trek to Mesa, here is the latest from the mill plus news and notes from around the league....
Brian Roberts
Bruce Levine and Jonathan Hood discussed the Brian Roberts rumors on Saturday morning. Levine briefly talked about the Erik Bedard deal and said Andy MacPhail wanted to max out as many players as he could with Bedard....MacPhail did receive three of the Mariners top 10 prospects from a year ago according to Baseball America. Levine said if MacPhail ends up trading Roberts, the Orioles would end up receiving 14-15 players for their 3 stars.
Levine said the Cubs and Orioles talked on Friday about Roberts, will continue to discuss the deal throughout the weekend and into the new week. Levine said he "would be shocked if something is not culminated between the Cubs and Orioles before camp opens on Wednesday and Thursday."
If the Cubs end up working a deal for Roberts, Ronny Cedeno will be dealt according to Levine....he said Cedeno is number one on the list. Sean Gallagher would be traded and possibly Sean Marshall and Matt Murton. The Orioles are very interested in Donnie Veal as well and the Orioles will receive 3 to 4 players for Roberts.
Hood asked Levine what a possible Roberts trade would do to the Cubs rotation. Levine said Jeff Samardzija could be a factor this season (possibly June or July) and is one prospect to "keep an eye on."
Levine stated toward the end of the show if the Cubs trade Ronny Cedeno for Brian Roberts, they will sign Alex Cintron....from what he has been told. Cintron will serve as the backup middle infielder.
Roberts is back on the Cubs' wish list according to Chris DeLuca. The Cubs need Roberts to be their leadoff man, move Alfonso Soriano down in the lineup and free up Mark DeRosa to be the super utility man are among the reasons given by DeLuca for Jim Hendry adding Roberts.
DeLuca said Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton and Ronny Cedeno are the names he is hearing the most and Sean Marshall could also be included in the deal. The Orioles are interested in Felix Pie.
The Bad Oriole would rather have Eric Patterson than Ronny Cedeno but they question if Peter Angelos will allow Brian Roberts to be traded.
Jason Marquis
Levine discussed the possibilities still exists that Jason Marquis could be traded. The Cubs continue to "field calls" about Marquis and he said Marquis does have value around the league. Levine mentioned the Mets, Red Sox (Curt Schilling's injury) and the Angels (Kelvim Escobar's injury) could be possible destinations for Marquis.
Pat Hughes
The voice of the Chicago Cubs was on ESPN 1000 Saturday morning with Levine and Hood. Pat Hughes discussed his ongoing project, Baseball Voices. Hughes has assembled CD's with highlights of the careers of the greatest announcers in the history of the game....including Harry Caray. For fans and historians of the game, this is a must have. Hughes has done a tremendous job with these wonderful collections.
Hughes talked about the upcoming season and pronounced Kosuke Fukudome's name correctly right off the bat....did we expect anything less? Hughes talked about his love of the game and mentioned an announcer has to have fun in order to be good at his job. It is easier to call a game when the team is winning and is in a pennant race and it is much more challenging to do the job when the team is losing, unless you love your job according to Hughes. Baseball is fun and Pat Hughes helps make it so.
Jonathan Hood asked Hughes how good he thought the Cubs will be this year. Pat responded with, "If we stay healthy it could be a very good year." Hughes said the health question is always front and center for all 30 teams. Hughes went on to say the rotation behind Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly is a concern to him as well as the bullpen, especially the closer.
Aramis Ramirez is one of the most productive third basemen in the game and Alfonso Soriano should be better in his second year with the Cubs. Hughes specifically mentioned Geovany Soto and what he could bring to the Cubs offense. Lou Piniella is surprisingly underrated around the league according to Hughes. Piniella is well respected by the players and has shown the ability to make the right moves when necessary. But Hughes added a manager is only as good as the health of the club.
Levine and Hood
Other Cubs' topics discussed on Saturday morning included the bullpen. Levine and Hood talked about how good Carlos Marmol was in winter ball but did mention Marmol blew his first save the other night. Levine added that the argument could be made Carlos Marmol was the most important Cub last year.
Levine believes Bobby Howry is the front-runner to land the closer's job with Kerry Wood being a wild card. Carlos Marmol could be more effective in the role he had last season....the bridge between the starter and the setup men. Marmol did get the Cubs out of a lot of "sticky" situations last year.
The Cubs
A report from Yahoo Sports ranked the catching corps in the National League. The Cubs came in 9th. Geovany Soto "has a good arm and is mobile" while Henry Blanco "fits the catch and throw profile of a backup."
Spring Training
While in Arizona this year for Cactus League games, check out the 'Pink Pony' according to the Sun Times. Been there, done that....decent steak and a good atmosphere. The Phoenix/Scottsdale area is full of great places to dine after a full day of baseball.
From Around the League
Dayn Perry talked about the top free agents still remaining as camps open this week. In his top 10.... #2 Corey Patterson, #3 Kenny Lofton and #9 Sammy Sosa.
The Reds signed Kent Mercker to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training.
No Football, No Problem
A video of Jim Hendry for your viewing pleasure.
Finally.... A report in the Daily Herald talked about the fact baseball is close to being just about baseball again. In regards to the Cubs, "At this time of the year, even a Cubs' championship seems possible." Apparently the Osher Institute thinks so as well, they picked the Cubs to win the World Series this year and have declared, "The curse is over. The Cubs will be champions of Major League Baseball in 2008."
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Here's hoping Bruce Levine is right about something happening early this week with Roberts. Heck - I'd even be happy to find out that the deal was officially dead so I could stop worrying about it.... but I remain hopeful that Roberts becomes a Cub - and soon.
We're so close to being able to stop talking about baseball and start WATCHING baseball I'm giddy!
Well,
Needless to say I am very disappointed we have not picked up another "quality" SP. I do not like our rotation at all. Even I, the dumb guy, know that PITCHING wins Championships. As much as I hate to admit it we won the Division because the BREW CREW could not maintain momentum. It was not because we won important series down the stretch.
I hope JH is looking at trading for a SP. Z, Lilly, Hill, Marquis/Dempster/Samardzija/Wood I mean, c'mon. This rotation will not get it done....
Possibilities; Blanton?
C.C. Sabathia?
I dunno just gimme someone we can sink our teeth into for a season.
lastly.... GET BRIAN ROBERTS!!
A few thoughts...
* I am also getting anxious for a trade for Brian Roberts. He will make our offense better.
* If we land Roberts I believe Lou will try different combinations of #2, #6, #7 and #8 hitters.
Lets face it, Roberts (1), Lee (3), Ramirez (4), and Fukudome (5) are probably the only sure things in the batting order. I just hope this doesn't translate into a slow start.
* I really would love for Hendry to land another starting pitcher. Z, Lilly and Hill are locks.
Lieber s/b a #5. I would prefer another Ace (Which won't happen) or #2 type of guy.
What i recall, was that Pat Hughes said he was worried about the #4 & #5 rotation spots. NOT 3,4,and 5 which is implied above. However, Levine also stated that EVERY club has a difficulty with the 4 and 5 spot in the NL. It is now a 6-inning game for starters in the MLB - The ?s for me are:
do the Cubs have 4-5 pitchers that can go this far?
can the bullpen protect three innings of a lead on a consistent basis?
Zonk, Hughes said after Zambrano and Lilly. I was very surprised when he said that and took down the notes. I think Hill's mental makeup might have him concerned.
Regarding the Cubs pitching, Lilly is a #3 and Hill is a #4. Most people know this, including Hendry (hence, his attempt to get Bedard). Had we been able to acquire both Bedard and Roberts, I would be flying to Vegas to put some money on the Cubs to win it all.
Unfortunately, we do not have enough talent in our farm system to get another ace OR #2.
I'd prefer to see Blanton come over from the A's before we worry about Roberts. Blanton is a solid #3 guy, which puts Hill at #4. Having 4 very solid guys in the rotation goes farther to winning the World Series than another bat.
So what do we offer for Blanton? It would seem like a 5 for 1? I agree Blanton would be better than Roberts since we have DeRosa. Maybe we could get Kenny Lofton for peanuts to leadoff if Pie has a subpar spring, then all is well, RIGHT?
After looking at Blanton's 3 years in the Bigs he seems to be the type of pitcher that we need. In 230 innings last year he only had 40 walks and only gave up 16 HR's. His Career ERA of 4.1 is a little high but that would hopefully come down coming to the NL. Could be a smart move depending on who we have to give up.
Blanton is a good pitcher, but you do need to look at his home/road splits. His ERA at home (which is a pitcher's park) was 2.69 and 5.11 away from home. It does worry me how he would do at hitter friendy Wrigley. Then again he would be coming to the NL.
I would love to have him on the Cubs, but at what price? I'm not even sure we have enough to get him.
If the starting price as reported is Votto AND Bailey from the Reds... we simply don't have the chips to match. Both are blue chip studs.
And if the Reds give up that - they're giving up WAY too much.
Gary J is correct. The price for Blanton is way too high. As much as I'd like to shore up the back-end of the rotation, we shouldn't give up guys like Pie, Vitters or Colvin unless we get a #1 or #2 ... Blanton is more like a #4.
I just read Carrie Muskat's projection for the Cubs for next year. She lists six potential starting pitchers (Zambrano, Lilly, Hill, Leiber, Marquis and Dempster) but nobody named Sean...neither Marshall nor Gallagher. Does she know something about the rumored Roberts trade that she is not/can not reveal right now?
Does anyone else feel that the Roberts for Marshall, Gallagher, and Murton/Cendeno is a little steep given we lack a 4th and 5th starter?