Decisions Looming for Jim Hendry

The Cubs Opening Day roster will be finalized later today. All but two spots are filled and Jim Hendry and Randy Bush have until 2:00pm C.T. to decide on the futures of Chad Gaudin, Angel Guzman and David Patton.

Jim Hendry joined Bruce Levine on Talkin' Baseball and discussed a variety of topics before Saturday's game against the Yankees...

Bruce Levine started the segment by asking Jim Hendry if he is ready for Opening Day. Hendry chuckled and said not quite. He said they have a couple of tough decisions to make before 2:00pm C.T. Sunday...the deadline for setting the 25-man roster.

Hendry explained that he had a meeting with Randy Bush on Saturday morning to discuss their options. He added that they cannot fit everyone on the roster and if they make a mistake that hopefully it will stay within the organization.

The Cubs are not taking the decisions they have to make on David Patton and Angel Guzman lightly. They have been very impressed by David Patton. Hendry credited his scouts and said he was curious as to how he would handle pitching in a park with a second deck.

As for Angel Guzman, they have a lot invested in him.

Hendry explained that Chad Gaudin pitched well for the Cubs last year and that the veteran is having a rough spring.

Jim Hendry might have tipped his cap with Jeff Samardzija. In regards to Samardzija he said, "Down the road he will be a great one for us." Hendry did not say, but it seems Samardzija will begin the year in Iowa's rotation.

The Cubs have received calls from other teams concerning the pitchers that may be available. Hendry did not mention any specifics.

Stay Tuned...

Bryan

They just released Gaudin.

daverj

Any word yet on what JH did with the pen? Deadline was 15 mins ago.

Fully Krausened

Who knows what JH will do, I for one, am ready for the season to begin! I still think Reed should start over Koskuke, but we'll all see how much patience Lou has this year. The one thing I love so much about baseball is that it is one day at a time, one game at a time, from April to October. Let's hope Lou Year 3 is a great ride!!

Matt Haggard

Third time's the charm, right?

Bryan

Yesterday's quotes from Lou:

"Ended the longest spring with the worst game of the year," he fumed. "Let's hope we're more prepared to play in Houston on Monday than we were here today."

"Reed Johnson gives us energy," Piniella said. "And from what I've seen, we need a little energy on the field."

I don't mean to be a steady Lou critic, but after the most extended spring training ever, isn't it the manager's job to have his team ready to compete at this point? Otherwise, he's just an awfully high paid lineup card maker.

JimK

I think JH's highest hope today is that he can trade Gaudin and someone like Jake Fox to the AL for a nearly ready, major league ready pitcher with options and another prospect. I don't think JH is in position to add a net $3 or $4 mil to the payroll. That probably means Vizcaino isn't tradeable.

Failing to make a trade, I think JH will cut Vizcaino. Samardzija will go to Iowa, and we will keep Gaudin, Guzman and Patton. The Shark will likely be back in 4 to 6 weeks; and, at that time, one of Gaudin, Guzman and Cotts will be traded or Patton will be returned to the Rockies.

There have been some comments in recent posts that the Cubs don't measure up to the Yankees. I'm not surprised that they don't measure up, because the Hankees have a $70 million payroll advantage over the Cubs. That means that they have added 3 likely all stars costing about $55 mil this season: Teixeira, Sabathia and Burnett. We (have to) move Wood's and DeRo's $15 mil in order to sign Bradley and re-sign Demp. It ain't fair, but it's life.

If we can win a very competitive NLCS and play the Yankees in the series, we likely lose the series. (I sure would like the opportunity--because I think someone may have said, "Anything can happen in a short series".)

In a couple of other comments, Micah Money has been judged a terrible fielder. That simply is not true. He made two errors in 75 games at Iowa last year. For the Cubs, he made 1 error in 48 innings at first and 1 error in 74 innings in the outfield. He's not as good as Lee, but he is a competent first baseman. He is slow and inexperienced in the outfield, but he is not a rock fist. I think that he will get 200 AB's subbing for Lee, Sori and Bradley (and pinch hitting) and will collect a dozen HR's and 55 RBI's. He'll be good at first and satisfactory in the outfield.

Jim C (Tinley Park)

I really hate having Neil Cotts and Luis Vizcaino on the team. I wish that they were the first two to go.

Larry

I agree, Jim, but without a better lefty option we are going to be stuck with Cotts. If JH can't trade Gaudin, I would rather see him release Vizcaino, simply because I feel he is the weakest right handed option out of the pen we have. I think that Angel has been pitching better, and could be a valuable part of the pen if given the chance. I am not sure what to expect out of Patton, but he certainly has been impressive this spring and deserves a shot.

Joe S. (San Diego)

Well, I think the bigger "tip" from JH about the Shark is his comment that "if they make a mistake (with the roster) that hopefully it will stay within the organization. Since the Shark is the only one with an option he would stay within the organization by being sent to AAA.

It's almost certain they will keep Patton. The question becomes will anyone trade for Guzman or Gaudin. Obviously they would like to dump Gaudin rather than Guzman. I'd rather keep em both and dump Vizcaino.

Would be nice to clear a apot for Shark in the pen. He was great last year. Plus, as I have mentioned, he is due to be paid $2 million in salary. I'm not a GM but I sure as hell dont want to be paying a AAA player that kind of money.