Xavier Nady made his spring debut on Wednesday as the Cubs' DH. Nady finished the game 1-for-2 with a walk. The Cubs' projected fourth outfielder can hit but might not be able to throw at full strength until June. Nady is recovering from his second Tommy John surgery.
According to a report from ESPN Chicago, Xavier Nady "will still be able to play with his arm at less than 100 percent." Nady is currently throwing at 120 feet.
The Cubs will "simply have to make some defensive adjustments, moving the cutoff men back to compensate" according to a report from Cubs.com.
Xavier Nady did not put a timeframe on when he will be at 100 percent. He said when he feels comfortable he will let the ball fly. According to a report from Cubs.com, "the June 1 date is more to play and when a guy tags from third, try to throw him out at home." June 1 would be almost 11 months since Nady's last surgery.
Lou Piniella said they are going to be cautious with Nady early due to the cold weather. With Nady's limits to begin the year, Sam Fuld has an advantage to make the Cubs' roster over Micah Hoffpauir according to a report from the Tribune.
The Cubs will use Nady in the DH role for at least another week. They would like to get him some time in the outfield in the second half of the Cactus League schedule.
Piniella told the Tribune, the Cubs "don't care about throwing, he can throw the ball to the second baseman or the shortstop."
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and were paying him 3-5 million? why? another dumb move my hendry
I'm gonna assume that I'm in the minority here, but if the guy can rake, then I don't care if he has to punt the ball. X at bat is going to get four or five chances to score us some runs at the plate, and the odds are that his arm liability may only give the other team an average of maybe an extra base or two a game...if that. While I recognize the other team may be more willing to go from 1st to 3rd on a single, I'll take his bat and play those odds any day. You'll win more than you lose, I feel.
While I think Hendry is penny-wise (theriot) and pound-foolish (take your pick), he does bring in quality players. Statistically speaking, Bradley was a good signing. He wasn't worth the contract, but I was excited by the move. He handled his trade horribly, but I don't think there was any secret that he was desperate.
Alls I'm saying is, while I know that he's incredibly irresponsible with the wallet, I don't think he's the complete horse's ass that he's made out to be. Grabow is a good player, but not for that price. Sori was a good player (I've lost hope), but not for that price. X is a good player...
Not a surprise.
Miles is a perfect example...who could have known he would have such an ABYSMAL season? Seriously...the two years before he signed w us, his line was .317, .355, .753 ('08) and .290, .328, .676 ('07). Not amazing, but at the time it wasn't a bad signing...then he hits below the Mendoza line and Hendry is a bonehead?
Don't get me wrong...I am in NO way an apologist, and am very excited about where we will be in 2/3 years w another GM
Mario:
OBS, not Batting average, is the best indicator of what a player is worth to one's team offensively. Miles 2007 OBS was an abysmal .686. The number needs to be .800 plus. And look at Miles 2007 & 2008 slugging numbers: .355 and .328. AWFUL. So JHendry should have noticed that Miles stunk even with a BA near .300. And he should have figured out that LaRussa knows how to get the most out of his people, and Lou . . . .
Lastly, Miles in 2007 and 2008 was not a full time player. He was a platoon player. 414 AB and 379 AB respectively. Hendry should have known he wasn't a regular. And of course at age 32 he had a career year at .317.
So I'd say JHendry should have known that the Miles signing would stink. Free Agents always digress at least 10% after they sign--often times even more.
Mario,
JHendry hasn't figured out yet that POWER drives in runs. In this league where it takes 3 or 4 straight singles to score one run, you need power. Miles had none.
Yeah, I know he wasn't a great player, but I guess what I didn't say was that I got the impression he was to be used more for his utility in the field and not necessarily his offense. And yeah, an OPS > 800 is necessary for someone you're relying on to drive in runs...but if a guy can get on base 3 of 10 times, then a 2 run homer becomes a 3 run homer 3 of 10 times. I guess what I meant was that Miles pre '09 numbers seemed to support the purpose for which he was signed, and the fact that he had the WORST season at the plate I have ever seen shouldn't reflect on Hendry.
I find that our view of our players are too often viewed through green-colored glasses. Reggie Bush for the Saints is a great example. If he doesn't restructure his contract for next year, he's going to be the highest paid RB in the NFL...and people down here are FURIOUS over this. I, for one, could care less how much $ he makes, as...well...it's not my money, and it's not his fault that he was offered the contract. What does piss me off, though, is the opportunity cost those millions could be used for...and that's something I'll never understand. Sean Payton gave up $250K of his salary so the Saints could afford to sign Greg Williams, and this was almost unheard of. I guess it's because I've never been a pro athlete, or have never had more than $2K in my bank acct, or the fact that I was raised Catholic...but I would feel guilty as hell accepting a check for $18 million knowing that I haven't hit a breaking ball in 3 weeks, or came to camp weighing > 250 lbs. Additionally, I would also feel guilty knowing that my accepting this check means that my team can't sign a guy who will take us to the series.
Sorry for the rambling...I'm allowed to sorta contradict myself within a post, right?
Guys, they are not saying Nady will not play until June ... his arm might not be 100% until then.
He can still hit and it sounds like they will figure out a way to get his bat into the lineup more than just pinch hitting.
first base for x? On lee's off days?
sry for the tacky post. sent via psp. XD
Does anyone else get goosebumps from this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSadtke3w2A&feature=player_embedded
It makes me lust (is that a good word?) for the season to begin.
John, thank you for re-posting.
I dropped it in yesterday's game preview.
For anyone that has not watched the video, it is WGN's Cubs baseball commercial.
Oops!! Sorry, I wasn't around much yesterday, so I missed that. I'm always a step and a half behind anyway.
That would worry me if you were "Milwaukee Phil".
I'd go with "long for" in that instance, John, but it get it. And yes, I am lustily longing for baseball!!
If you're like me, you're sick of the Bradley talk...so I almost skipped this piece by Bruce Miles...
BUT...it's really a 3 in one piece.
1)Bradley
2)discussion of sabernetics (be sure to use the embedded link to a great Hardball
Times discussion on stats)
3)DLee stats...past and projected.
Miles is one of the better Baseball writers:
http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/3603
Thanks for the link Suzy, and for the explanation because otherwise I would not have read it - I am done with MB, have been done with him since last September, and could care less about what he has to say about the past.
Why do these guys continue to ask questions about him and write about it? There is absolutely NOTHING new to be discovered or discussed.
Anyway, I like the news on Lee and I like remembering how insanely great he was for all of 2005. What a season for him!
JC363...You're welcome. I'm done with Bradley as well...but you know...this time I kind of blame the ESPN reporter
for dredging this stuff up.
I love Lee as well...we've been lucky to have him these years.
One last Bradley observation. I look for him to get into a fist fight in the Mariners locker room. His opponent? Ichiro!
Bradley will make a racist comment about Japanese players having funny swings and he will slander Fukodome in the process. Ichiro will take exception and kick Milton's a$$.
Just a prediction. Likely? maybe not! Possible? Definitely.
Xavier Nady
1 year/$3.3M (2010)
$2.05M in performance bonuses based on games played
1 year/$6.55M (2009)
If Nady is fully healthy by June 1st, this will be a great signing. Fully healthy he would of been in line for a nice multi-year contract for that bat of his.
June-Sept is 2/3 of the season (approx).
$3.3 million for 2/3 of a season of fully healthy Nady is still reasonable and would be $5 million for the whole season. Even if he makes all of the games bonus ($5.35 million), and does it all from June 1 on, that would be $8 million for the full year, which would be just a minor raise from what he made in 2009.
But he will play in April and May. Nice bat off the bench and some starts. If he can throw 120 feet now, that should be good enough to get the ball to the cut-off man and each month that should increase. I wouldn't leave him in RF in the late innings of a close ballgame, but I might move him to LF. Let's compare Soriano's defense, all arm no glove. Who would you rather have a decent glove, weak arm or no glove, strong arm in Left Field. If Soriano is not hitting, start him in LF.
Aaron posted this yesterday
really do hope that Nady is healthy, and we could have a lineup like this:
Theriot-2B
Castro-SS
Lee-1B
ARAM-3B
Byrd-CF
Nady-LF
Snyder/Colvin-RF
Soto-C
bench: Hill, Fukudome, Soriano, Tracy, Baker
I know it'll never happen this year, but one can dream, right?
Back to my post - That would be a lineup and bench. I would like to see it a litte different, but it is way better than what we will have to start the year. And I think it could happen. I don't see Soriano being run out there everyday, if he is not hitting. They will DL him, to not embarass him, or have an injury excuse for why he is not playing. I don't believe Fukudome will be around in 2011, that they will trade him and get a few million dollars back. By next year, we could have a completely different looking OF with Byrd being the only remaining starter (but be in LF or RF).
" God Bless Jim Hendry and his family,
He gave me $30 million dollars."
It's all that ever should have been said.
In the end,it is reason enough to get a new GM...for putting us through that.
Suzy,
I just couldn't be said any better than you said it.
Here's The Sporting News look at the Reds:
http://today.sportingnews.com/sportingnewstoday/20100311?sub_id=CYmp0bX8JP9VK&folio=CGI#pg31
You know those Sporting News writers are on Meth simply because they gave Dusty a "B."
Rip...I think you linked the wrong page up....While it's interesting (ie Puhols resting a bad back and Holliday has a sore ribcage),there's not a word about the Reds.
Bradley should visit a meat-packing plant, and they should use the same stun gun on the cattle on him, thus putting him out of his misery.
He's just a miserable person, and in light of everything that happened last year with Gregg, Heilman, Miles, Bradley, and Gathright, Hendry most definitely should be fired. Then, more stuff coming to light, like Bradley saying the Cubs were expecting more than 77 RBI from him (which was his career high)...which they most definitely were, it makes Hendry look even worse. Then, you had his comments last year when asked how he felt after a miserable start to the season, and he goes, "I feel like 30 million bucks"
Steve Rosenbloom, even though I've stated numerous times that I don't particularly care for him, posted the other day about Hendry, and how signing Bradley in the first place was a fireable offense. How in the world Hendry would give a 3 yr, $30 million deal to a guy that averages 85 games played per season, hasn't hit more than 22 hr, 77 RBI in a given season, is a time bomb to the media, and abrasive in the club house, I will NEVER understand.
It sounds like we're beating a dead horse, but it really isn't. Hendry, now, is counting on Byrd, who is coming off a career year of 20 hr, 89 RBI, just as he was counting on Soriano, Lee, Miles, and Bradley, who were all coming off career years at the time of their extensions/initial contracts. Now, he's got Byrd, Nady, and Tracy, who he's counting on big time to lift our terrible offense, and it just won't work. Nady is the only one that might be worth his contract (comparative to other deals signed), and he can't even play the OF right now, or until June...quite possibly
Aaron, I'm not going to rip JH for this year's moves...He had very little budget
to work with...and for JH...he did OK...
Personally I think Byrd will be serviceable...and eventually settle into
a fourth outfielder's role...which is what he is.
If Nady can boost the outfield by midseason...then he was a good buy...
(think a 1/2 season deal).
Silva got the "Mouth" out of here and provided the little $$$ necessary for the few moves we could do.
Grabow is Grabow...In all cases JH paid a little more over than he should have...particulary Grabow.
But the tale was really written last year...which hampered us further this year....2nd and pen needed to be addressed and couldn't be...because of
his moves previous years.
Baker's big bat is limp so far. We can't afford that at all.
His little budget to work with was a result of his own mis-doings over the last couple years, starting with the ludicrious Soriano signing (not for the signing itself, but for the duration and no-trade provision).
When has Hendry EVER traded a person when their value was high...I can't recall a time. As has been mentioned so many times already, with the total payroll he's had available over the years, his performance (and results) have been below average.
Let's hope for better baseball play today!
Well, he traded Josh Donaldson in the Harden deal, and Donaldson hit .270 last year with a .379 OBP, with 37 doubles, 9 hr, 91 RBI, and 80 walks vs 92 K's (a VERY good ratio).
At 24 years old, he's already got 1 hr, 4 RBI in just 3 AB's during Spring Training. We have nothing to show for the trade...nothing for Harden, nothing for Gaudin...it's really quite pathetic. Hendry could've at least received a minor leaguer from the Twins for Harden, but didn't, even though he didn't plan on offering arbitration. So...yet another fireable offense in a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong list of them so far...at least Hendry got something for Heilman, and when he traded Miles, while he got something in return, he still had to include Fox, and while I know Fox requested a trade to get more playing time, he was still a big bat for us, and had power we so desperately needed (and still need), and could've been traded for better prospects in a separate deal. I sure hope Matt Spencer has a better career than Fox.
You can't fault Hendry for the Harden trade. After he lost out on Sabathia, Harden was the next best on the market, and he was phenomenal for us down the stretch in 2008. The problem I had with Harden was exactly what I just mentioned above---he knew that he wasn't going to offer arbitration to Harden, and he most likely could've received one or two fairly decent prospects for him. Why hold onto him? It just didn't make sense. Just as, last offseason, when he traded one of our top pitching prospects, Ceda, for Gregg, who was going to be non-tendered by the Marlins. How did that make any sense in the world?!? Frankly, I couldn't give a damn that Ceda missed 2009 with arm issues...it was the principle of the matter. You use your quality prospects in trades that actually make the team better. Veal should've been protected, then used in a trade. Pie should've been traded long before he was, as it was quite clear the Cubs weren't going to give him enough of a leash to succeed at the MLB level. So what does Pie do? He goes and hits .266 with a .326 OBP, 10 doubles, 3 triples, 9 hr, and 29 RBI in just 252 AB's last year (or roughly the same amount of AB's he received in 2 years with us) Just FYI, this spring, Pie is hitting .333 with a .400 OBP in 9 AB's with 1 triple, 1 hr, and 1 RBI. From what I understand, Gathright isn't even signed yet and might've played his last game. Was hanging onto Pie, when we didn't have a true CF last year really a bad thing? He was 5 years younger than Gathright for crying out loud.
For the life of me, I do NOT understand how Jim Hendry is still employed in major league baseball. All his moves are made public. There's nothing we don't know (other than trades that didn't go down, etc.). His body of work sucks a$$. When you have a payroll in the top 5 of all MLB, and you can't make the playoffs, you're in for a LOT of trouble, especially when you continue getting older.
DeRosa.
And Cubs fans are still crying themselves to sleep over it.
(yes, i know, he didn't get anything in return, but that isn't why some are crying...I dislike Hendry and lay full blame on him, but come on, the CANNOT win no matter what he does)
here's a scary stat for everyone (I'm also not crazy, I do realize it's just Spring Training, but still...)
2
3
5
Those numbers represent 2 stolen bases for the team(all by Theriot), 3 caught stealing for the team, for a net of -1 SB, 5 K's, or roughly half the AB's of Soriano (11 AB's), he strikes out.
Now, I'm not an idiot, as I know it's only 6 games thus far, and a lot can change, especially once the hitters start catching up to where the pitchers are at, but it's still very concerning, given our troubles last year, and the fact that Soriano right now has a .091 avg.
I would LOVE for my lineup to come true with Theriot at 2b, Castro at SS, and Snyder/Colvin in RF, while Nady is in LF and Soriano and Fukudome grab some bench, but it just ain't going to happen, because Hendry and Piniella are NOT outside the box thinkers. In fact, the whole organization is like that, as they continually try to fit square pegs into round holes.
Vernon Wells, just FYI is hitting .462, .500 OBP, 1 hr, 3 RBI thus far in spring training. If we bench Soriano, I think it'd humiliate him enough to waive his no-trade. Fact is, he's only getting older, which means you're absolutely NOT going to be able to offload him in the future, and he's looking VERY old right now...and terrible in the field to boot. He belongs in the AL where he can DH. Wells on the other hand, can still play effectively in the OF. I'm telling you guys, it'd work. Soriano has too much pride to ride the pine, so it might be worth a shot, and while there's no way the Jays would trade Wells straight up for Soriano without us eating the difference between the salaries (meaning, we'd have to eat the $9 million difference overall with Wells), it's quite possible if we include someone like Barney to the trade, we might just get a reliever as well, or have them eat the difference, who knows?
I just know this team cannot survive another season with Soriano in LF. He's too brutal defensively, and is no longer the offensive threat to make up for his shortcomings. If it were a guy like Dunn, who hits 40 hr, 100 RBI every year with close to a .400 OBP, and walks about 100 times or more, then you could put up with it, but if all Soriano has left in the tank is seasons like 20 hr, 55 RBI, and nowhere hear 46 hr, 95 RBI like he did with the Nationals, then he's simply not worth keeping on the team. I could care less if we have to eat $9 million in a Wells trade. Wells is 3-4 years younger and possibly more, given the fact we all pretty much agree Soriano's lying about his age.
I like it. I commented yesterday in response to someone (Tony? John G.? sorry i cannot remember) who also brought up the idea again for the Wells - Soriano swap.
Wells is owed 8.5M$ more over the same 5 years (make you feel a little better about Soriano's contract? not really). The only way the Cubs would do it is if they evened the money out somehow which is an inevitable increase for the Cubs and slight decrease in salary for the Jays.
I guess the question is: why would the Blue Jays do it? Wells is better, younger, and still gives the option of a little position flexibility. Why would they take the aging DH only Soriano? With Aaron Hill now, I don't see Barney as being incentive.
What other kind of package could the Cubs make that would be incentive for the Jays to take Soriano...and try to net the Cubs at least a solid bullpen arm...Aaron? Go!
Well, if they trade away Wells, they need an OF, because Soriano sucks in the field, so we'd have to include an OF, unfortunately, although, we might be able to get away with giving them Fuld. As for other needs, they have Gonzalez at SS, but he's not the player he once was, and has diminished range, so Barney definitely would be a nice addition for them at SS, or even Andres Blanco.
Their rotation is stacked with guys like Romero, Marcum (coming back from injury), McGowan (coming back from injury), Morrow, and others like Drabek waiting in the wings, so pitching doesn't appear to be a concern.
And outside of Overbay and Dopirak, they really lack depth at 1B, and Overbay's best years are behind him. Unfortunately, we have nobody to offer them at 1B, unless we give them Hoffpauir, who with a dismal showing thus far in ST won't get any looks from anyone else it would seem.
They are short on OF and since we are trying to move Wells for Soriano they would need a CF replacement; Fuld could be a fit since Lind would move to OF and Snyder is going to be a masher too. Why not go all out and offer Dome to for them to park in CF?
Aren't they pretty high on Dopirak?
Lets see: Soriano, Dome, Blanco/Barney
for Wells, Accardo/Frasor. ??
That wouldn't work cuz the Jays would have to increase payroll taking on Dome, but it would get us closer to desirable OF of: Nady/Colvin, Byrd, Wells
GOIN TO SEE THE IOWA CUBS ON 5/3!!
I'll provide some sort of report if I remember (I may even get to see Jose Ceda). I'm excited as hell. But I've never rooted for a road team before...ie: been in enemy territory wearing enemy colors. Shoot...I don't even own any Zephyrs gear...Anybody have any advice??
My advice is to just have a great time.
I regularly go to Comiskey (it will always be that) with a friend decked out in Boston hats (when Boston is in town)...and never have any problems.
(Although a Cubs Hat can sometimes cause fights.)
I can't imagine minor league ball would cause any problems because of your gear.
Iowa should be loaded this year...It might even be more fun to watch than the parent club...with Sandberg at the helm.
Thanks Suzy...I'm planning on going w/ my dad and bro--we made the trek up to Wrigley for the home opener vs. the Rockies (Lily's no-no through 6!). But NOLA people are pretty chill, (witness the French Quarter after the SB...no fights/riots, just dancing on top of cars)...that is, unless you're wearing Falcons/Panthers/Buccaneers colors. But even then, you have to be pretty annoying to wake the ire of them. And there really isn't a lot of non-LSU baseball diehards down here, so I'm kind of in the minority. Some of the guys I play softball with follow the sport, with a smattering of Cubs fans here and there...our 3B suddenly became a Cubs fan last year because he went to elementary school w/ Mike Fontenot (I live in Slidell, LA)...so I may actually have some friendly faces in the stands.
But I agree that the Iowa team might be more fun to watch. I don't know much about the other teams in the Pacific Coast league, but how can a team w/ Colvin, Vitters (maybe AA?), Castro, Jackson, Cashner, et al be beaten?
I'm also hoping that Hak Ju Lee gets promoted to AAA by that time. I'm really interested to see this guy. I feel very fortunate that the Z's are in the same division as the Iowa team, as I am afforded the opportunity to see the up and comers before they make it to Wrigley. I even sorta hope the Shark doesn't make the rotation...so I may get to see his luxurious mane of hair on the mound!
When Nady is 100% healthy, and not any sooner, should he be on the 25 man roster. Let him tear it up as DH in AAA, until his arm is ready to throw at the major league level. Give one of the kids a roster spot, whether its Colvin or Snyder - both of which can play all three OF spots. You ride whomever is hot at the end of the spring into the regular season, giving the offense a nice boost to start the season.
Doesn't this make the most sense??? More likely what will happen is Nady will be just a bat off the bench, killing a roster spot just like Fontenot is going to do.