Updated - 7:18pm C.T. - According to Jon Heyman from SI.com, the Cubs have contacted Rudy Jaramillo and "it is believed he's likely to take the gig".
As first mentioned by the Sun-Times on October 6, Rudy Jaramillo is on the Cubs' radar. Jaramillo announced he would not return to the Texas Rangers for his 16th season on Wednesday and several reports linked him to the Chicago Cubs soon after he announced his decision.
XM Radio's Mike Ferrin reported the Cubs and Rays would try to land Rudy Jaramillo, who is "widely considered the best hitting coach in the game."
According to a report from MLB.com, the Rangers "wanted Rudy Jaramillo back as their hitting coach and offered him a contract for 2010". Jaramillo is reportedly looking for more than the one-year deal offered by Texas and said he will weigh his options before making a decision.
MLB.com reported the Cubs interest and stated the Astros as one of the other teams interested in Jaramillo. Jon Heyman mentioned the Cubs interest in Jaramillo during one of his appearances on MLB Tonight (MLB Network) Wednesday night.
Rudy Jaramillo is under contract with the Rangers until October 31 but he will be given the opportunity to interview with other teams.
Jaramillo was Alfonso Soriano's hitting coach in 2004 and 2005, as well as Milton Bradley's in 2008 ... and Mark DeRosa has credited Rudy Jaramillo with turning his career around during his time with the Rangers.
Stay Tuned ...
Subscribe
First test for Ricketts...? Let's hope he aces it.
That would be a signing that would go a long way towards healing the open wounds of 2009.
anybody remember what D-Lee said after Von Joshua replaced Gerald Perry mid-season? "Hitting coaches are overrated..."
I agree Matt, let's go get him.
Speaking of open wounds and "Half a Loaf", the controlling owners of the Dodgers, Frank and Janie McCourt have confirmed their separation and pending divorce to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. Janie is CEO of the Dodgers. Another source said the divorce would be messy. They have been occupying separate seating areas during the playoffs.
That unfortunate development would suggest a sale of the controlling interest within a year or two, and it likely crimps the payroll budget for the Dodgers. Next year is Torre's final contract year, and he is quoted as saying that will be it for him. Important changes are all about.
I guess Frank never heard the term "Prenup."
JimK, Torre/LaRussa/Pinella are all at the tail end of their careers...so a new wave of managers is imminent no matter how you cut the mustard.
I don't know the Rickett's family's marital legal marital status...but I hope
they have protected themselves from a
San Diego/LA type of situation.
It would be nice if their stewardship
lasted a long time.
If the Cubs can get Jaramillo...fine.
But I read that he's had Boras as an agent before...and may use him again.
It's also noteworthy that his career has been been mainly in the South.
Re. Piniella, LaRussa and Torre, yup.
My guess is that some sort of broader, family company will own the Cubs, but marital bliss is always helpful.
There was another hitting instructor touted when Jaramillo's name came up, Kennnerly or Kennedy who has been with the Rays. Both sounded like winners to me.
The other day you mentioned Al McGuire's wonderful year with Marquette and your tenure there or possibly in Milwaukee. Were you on the faculty at Marquette?
Would be a nice addition.
get this guy immediately after he becomes available. I am a cubs fan but also follow the rangers due to geographic location. This guy has taken players that were deemed as washed up by other organizations and turned their careers around. he has made it possible for years for the rangers to shop the bargin bin to fill their holes and end up with all star production. Just ask derosa, marlon byrd, andruw jones, or milton bradley if a hitting coach is overrated. Everyone knows a good hitting or pitching coach can make all the difference in the world. Jaramillo has been the offensive equivalent of dave duncan. These guys take players that no one else wants and turn them into all stars.
just wanted to post this....far off topic, but remember Gregg complaining that he had a "tired arm" or whatever, when he blew all those saves, and seemed to have an excuse every damn time?!?
Well check this out:
"The lazy step for me would be to walk out of here with my tail between my legs and tears coming down my face, then go home and lay in bed for two weeks," Street said. "I think it's foolish to forget. I think it's also foolish to keep it with you. This game is played by men. Take responsibility. When you get beat, you get beat."
*(Huston Street on blowing the save that ended up eliminating the Rockies from the playoffs)
Think anyone on this team has accountability? Think again. Not Lee, not Piniella, certainly not Hendry. It was either, "we lost our biggest RBI threat for 2 months" or "we've had a lot of injuries" or "guys haven't played to their career averages (laughable, considering Hendry must've not looked up their career averages before signing them, as all of them were greatly inconsistent)"
When your only stand up guy on the team is Soriano (calling out the team earlier this year), then you have problems, considering he wouldn't even take himself out of the lineup to benefit the team, and get his surgery early on, so he could come back either at the end of this season, or have a full offseason to rehab, and be ready stronger in Spring Training....but not a single person in this organization has owned up to anything, and it has driven me crazy.
If this Jaramillo does come to the Cubs, is there still a reason to shop Bradley? Couldn't we get Bradley and Jaramillo a room together througout the year and let Bradley think about hitting for 162 games? I mean, 17 Silver Slugger awards is a accredited to his coaching resume. If Bradley gets on base, plays smart ball, then we have our #2 hole hitter and even a lefty bat. But Lou needs to keep him in the #2 hole for the season. Also, then we could get that leadoff hitter we so desperately need. I think Granderson is the guy. Not Figgins. We need to package a deal with Fukodome,Heilman and Smardjiza. We can let Baker play the 2b position. Lineup would be: Granderson, Bradley, Lee, Rameriez, Soriano, Baker, Theriot, Soto and Lilly. Reason for Soto at 8 hole is soley the purpose of he needs the pressure taken off of him. Theriot will get on and then Soto can drive him in. What a makeup of 800 runs easy for the season. Bench would be: Fox, Hoffpauir, Johnson, Blanco, Hill, Fuld. Cmon. This gives our oldies but goodies one more shot to win, and lastly, it gives our youngsters an oppurtuninty to learn from All Stars such as Rameriez, Lee, Soriano, Soto. What do you all think. I know most of you will want to trade away Hoff and Fox, but why? Lee and Rameriez go down at least 1 time a year. Fox and Hoff can play the corners. Still same amount of power. We got one hell of a team if we can get Granderson. We dont need Figgins or Dunn. Take this to the bank!!!!!
couple problems with your post (I'm not trying to be a know it all either or anything...just stating the obvious):
1)Bradley CANNOT come back, regardless if Jaramillo is here or not. The entire organization loses the players at that point, considering none of them want him back, and all were talking about life without him already, plus when your manager says it outright that he won't be around next season, how can you possibly bring him back?!?
2)You can't package Samardzija, because he only went for MLB instead of the NFL draft because he wanted to play for his favorite team, thus we had to give him a large signing bonus AND a no-trade clause.
I do, however, agree with you about Granderson over Figgins. Figgins is HUGELY overrated, but it's one of those deals where, yes, he's over-rated, but he's versatile AND he's a base stealing threat. But he's also 31 years old, vs 28 for Granderson, therefore, I'd put money on Granderson.
Hoff and Fox are done with this team. I love them both, but they're done. Have you forgotten that Jake Fox finished the year at .259 avg, .311 OBP? Yes, he finished with 11 hr, 44 RBI in just 82 games, but have you forgotten that most of them were hit early on in his call-up, and did you remember how ugly he looked at the plate later on, not being able to handle breaking pitches!?? Hoffpauir also is greatly overmatched with anyone that throws 94 mph+. All you need to do is look at his AB against the Tigers' Joel Zumaya, and see how far he was behind the fastballs (not even close), or other high velocity pitchers, then look at Brenly analyzing how he looked thereafter, and Brenly said he was overmatched against fastballs, and any pitcher that went to a breaking pitch was out of their mind, because his bat was slow enough to catch up to it. Here's what's the most indicting thing about that AB against Zumaya (though he came out on top). It was the fact that Zumaya was pumping 99-101 fastballs on the first 2 pitches, then dropped in a 90-92 mph breaking pitch. Most hitters like a D Lee, or even ARAM might not be able to handle that sort of drop off, because you have to sit dead red, and try to catch up to it, thus, when pitchers like Kerry Wood, Zumaya, etc. drop in that breaking pitch, it literally makes hitters' knees buckle. Hoffpauir was clearly sitting dead red, but his knees didn't buckle. Why? Because he couldn't catch up with the 94 mph+ stuff, and his swing was so perfectly fit for an offspeed pitcher than anything else. Players that have looooooooooooooooong swings like he has are far better suited to face a Jamie Moyer-type than a Johan Santana, or any other high velocity pitcher.
Guys like Jake Fox are more suited for fastball pitchers that throw 94 mph+, because his swing is compact, which allows him to virtually crush every fastball in the zone that's thrown to him. Derrek Lee, like Hoffpauir, has also struggled with high velocity pitchers at times, which is why he was constantly busted inside earlier this year. When he started coming around, pitchers were leaving pitches over the middle and outer half, playing into his long swing. Just watch, they'll go back inside next year, and everyone is going to be crying, "why didn't Hendry try to offload him".
In fact, Hendry is more likely to extend Lee's deal another year or two. Have you heard those cringing rumors? Un-Be-LIVEABLE...so Cub-like
Aaron,
What's wrong with having Hoff / Fox on the bench ? They are guys with very little MLB experience, you mean they can't improve ? And who do you want on the bench ? I'm tired of bringing in older guys at the end of their careers or retreads making $1-3M to sit on the bench be worthless. See Darryl Ward, Aaron Miles, etc.
And while Hoff / Fox are not perfect, what are you loking for ? You are are not going to have All-stars sitting on your bench. I would MUCh rather see us keep our own guys, for once. Just once ! We always seem to be enamored with other people's garbage. (i.e. The grass is always greener on other side)
By the way, I TOTALLY agree with you on Figgins - nice player, but waaaaay overrated. Rumor is that he is going to get 4 yr/40M. That's insane. And nobody has told me where he's going to play for cubs. It's got to be either 2B or CF. He has played mostly 3B recently, so who's to say he can make that transition seemlessly ? Nothing is guaranteed. To me, his numbers are similar to Juan Pierre. Does anyone want him back ? Although Figgins OBP is much better.
I like Granderson, but I don't like all those strikeouts. How is he rated defensively ?
Via trades, my within-reach line up would be:
1: Granderson CF
2: Drew SS
3: Lee 1B
4: Hawpe or Hermedia RF
5: Ramirez 3B
6: Soriano LF
7: Uggla 2B
8: Soto C
Hendry/Lou would have all the lefty hitters that need. Uggla, Hermedia and Hawpe could probably all be had resonably cheap. Drew/Granderson, might take a lot but not the farm.
This is your "within reach" lineup ?
LOL
Who do you plan to trade to net you Granderson, Uggla, Hawpe and Drew ?
Miles and Fontenot ?
:-)
CC002600:
*Uggla is too expensive for Florida.
*Hawpe is Colorado's 5th outfielder.
*The Tigers are expected to lower payroll and Granderson's name has benn mentioned as trade bait.
* Drew's name was mentioned as trade bait last week.
No, I don't think Miles and Fontenot will net us any of them. I do believe that some guys like the one's mentioned above will be available do to budget constraints. 5 years ago Florida, after they won the WS, traded D. Lee because he was too expensive for Minimum Salary Hee Sop Choi. It wasn't because they thought Choi was better.
Some good ideas, Jim C. My guess is that the budget would limit you to one or two selections. Drew could be cheap in terms of salary since he's not yet elgible for arbitration--maybe he gets $2.5-3.5 mil next year. But Scott Boras is his agent. Because he does have a bright future, he might cost three top prospects.
Sanderson already has a long term deal that averages $11 mil +. Uggla is a free agent and will get 4 and about $40 mil from someone. Hawpe has 2 years left at $7.5 mil and $9 mil. He can void his last year if traded.
Make that Granderson above. I'm well into the second week of flu-like miseries, and my senior moments are more frequent than ever.
JimK...take care of that flu.
My brother just got sick with it yesterday...and I'm really concerned...it's a nasty flu....
chicken soup to you.
It would be a first great move by the Cubs. If Hendry didn't CYA twice with Perry and Von Joshua...it would be unneccessary. Hendry and Lou won't have that excuse to cover their moves...next season...after hiring the so-called best in the business.
Phils 8 Dogers 6. Phils homers more productive than Dodgers homers. Hammels seems to have his way with LA more often than not. Kershaw pitches 4 shutout innings and then just completely loses his control in the 5th. Lidge had a quiet 9th inning save, and that isn't the case oftentimes this season. Tune in again tomorrow for another episode of Mystery Theatre.