Cubs Swept to a New Low – Cubs 3 Giants 6

I predicted in May that these clowns would be 15 games under .500 by the All-Star Break.

I want to revise that to 20 games under by the break.

And Ricketts spits in the face of every loyal Cub fan as he tarries off to the bank. The guy is scum.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a manager like this? Article in the Suntimes this morning.

‘‘Rios don’t run the bases; that’s why I got him out of the game,’’ Guillen said. ‘‘It’s not the first time it happened. I don’t like the way he runs the bases. .  .  . And that’s a message for everyone: If they don’t f—ing run the bases, their reputation comes on me, and I have a greater reputation in this f—ing game to do it that way. They don’t run the bases, they’re out of the game. I don’t give a s— if it’s Paul Konerko or Adam Dunn or anyone. You don’t run the bases, you’re out of the game.’’

Quade – you should learn from Ozzie… Soriano? Ramirez?

I would like to dissect a few of the potential available veterans on the Cubs for a minute…just humor me.

(in alphabetical order)

ARAM-3B has been a black hole for most teams around the league this year. Injuries, poor production, and aging players have taken their toll. Despite his horrible start to the season, he’s been catching fire of late. A whole host of contending teams need help at the hot corner, so he’s sure to be a hot commodity.
*Contractual Status: $14.6 million plus $2 million buy-out for next season (his option has been disputed for next year, so I’m just going under the assumption that it’s not automatic if he’s traded); FULL no-trade clause and has stated he won’t waive it. However, with the Cubs hopelessly out of contention, he’ll likely waive it, as he’s said in the past he just wants to play on a winner
**Possible Suitors: Giants, Phillies, Rockies, D’Backs, Cardinals, Brewers, Pirates (how funny would that be?…it’s HIGHLY unlikely though), Tigers, Angels

Baker-Utility players that can hit are always in demand late in the year. Baker can play anywhere except catcher, shortstop, and CF. That’s pretty valuable to any team, plus, he crushes LH pitching.
*Contractual Status: $1.175 million
**Possible Suitors: All contending teams

Byrd-Who wouldn’t want a player like him on your team. Hell, I even wanted him (not at the $$ of length of contract Hendry gave…but I wanted him nonetheless). He has tremendous energy, is like Pena in that he’s the consummate team player, and he comes with a smile everyday to the park, no matter how he’s doing. How can you not like the guy? I’ll tell you one thing….Quade has made Byrd look horrible this year, plugging him in the 3 hole, when he’s not even close to that caliber of player. Byrd makes great contact, but is best suited for lower in the lineup between the 6-8 holes. And if he must hit at the top of the order, he’s best suited in the 2 hole if anything.
*Contractual Status: $5.5 million this year, $6.5 million next year
**Possible Suitors: Just about anyone at this point, because he can be a 4th OF, or play everyday if there’s an injury. Provided the Cubs pick up most of his deal for next season, I could see a trade happening, especially to the Rangers, who are still very fond of him

Dempster-Starting pitching this time of year is always in demand, no matter what team it is. He has a whole host of potential suitors, but he controls his own destiny with the contract…and just like ARAM, while he started slow, he’s been pitching well of late.
*Contractual Status: $14.5 million, $14 million player option next year; FULL no-trade clause
**Possible Suitors: Every contending team, except for the Phillies

Fukudome-Of course, Fukudome has to start his mid-summer swoon at the most inopportune time for the Cubs…and their chances of dealing him. Fukudome is NOT an everyday player at this point. He is a tremendous player in April, and the first part of May, and he is even an OBP machine despite his swoon. A lot of teams would be interested in him for that reason, plus he plays above average defense. The ONLY way the Cubs are offloading him, however, is if the Cubs eat a substantial portion of his contract.
*Contractual Status: $14.5 million; limited no-trade clause
**Possible Suitors: Red Sox would top the list, Cardinals (especially with Berkman moving to 1B after Pujols’ injury), Tigers

Grabow-At this point, he’s nothing more than a DFA candidate, but some contending team might think they can straighten him out. The potential suitors are endless, but it’s a matter of picking up nearly his whole contract for the Cubs in order to move him, and I don’t think that’s likely at this point….at least not with Hendry at the helm, as he’d have to admit failure yet again
*Contractual Status: an absolutely ludicrous $4.8 million left this year
**Possible Suitors: any contender, provided the Cubs pay nearly all of his salary

Hill-Teams like to pick up back-up catchers for the stretch run in case injuries happen. They’ll often times take veteran over their young catchers, as they feel they call a better game, etc. The suitors are endless, even though he’s not that great of a catcher….or a hitter. At this point, it’s purely hype for him, as he’s supposedly known as a good game catcher.
*Contractual Status: $850K
**Possible Suitors: almost any contender, especially the Giants

Johnson-Johnson is a tremendous bench bat at this stage in his career, but he is NOT an everyday player as Quade has been trying lately to do with him. He brings energy, and is like Byrd, except far more injury prone, and the Cubs would do well to offload him before another nagging back injury creeps up on him.
*Contractual Status: $900k
**Possible Suitors: like Byrd, it could be any number of teams in contention, especially since he’s cheap as well.

Marmol-When his slider is on, and his fastball velocity is around 94+mph, he’s close to unhittable. But when he’s off, it’s ugly, and when his fastball dips below 94 mph, he’s about as hittable as it gets, as teams can just sit on his fastball and rip it. Given his noticeable drop in velocity (where he routinely sat between 95-97 mph the past few years), I’d strongly suggest the Cubs sell high while they still can…and he has an affordable contract to boot
*Contractual Status: $3.2 million, $7 million, $9.8 million. It’s a disgrace that someone as awful as Grabow is “earning” more than Marmol, isn’t it?
**Possible Suitors: any contending team, EXCEPT for the Yankees (Rivera), Red Sox (Papelbon), Rockies (Street), Giants (Wilson)

Pena-Like ARAM and Dempster, he’s stepped up his game of late, and teams are taking notice. He’s a consummate team player, and if this were 3-4 years ago, I’d be more than happy to have him on the Cubs team. However, at 33 years old, and with his horrible start, I see absolutely no reason to keep him on the team, even if he hits 40 home runs this year. It’s like winning the tallest midget competition….on a team full of misfits, you could be the most outstanding player, and still not make a difference in the overall result
Contractual Status: $5 million this year, $5 million next January
**Possible Suitors: Giants DEFINITELY top the list, Cardinals might have interest if Berkman gets injured and Pujols doesn’t progress enough from his injury, D’Backs, Pirates, Angels

Soriano-A Soriano trade would have to involve the Cubs eating 75% of his remaining salary, or taking on another salary dump from a contending team, such as the Giants with Zito. The problem is, he’s a better fit in the AL where he can be a DH, than the NL at this stage in his career. I firmly believe the best possible trade for Soriano is Adam Dunn of the White Sox straight up for him.
*Contractual Status: $19 million/yr for next 4 years=$76 million total; FULL no-trade clause, BUT has already said he’ll waive it
**Possible Suitors: White Sox (Dunn-4 yrs, $56 mm remaining), Giants (Zito-3 yrs, $57.5 million+$7 mm buyout in 4th yr), Red Sox (Lackey-4 yrs, approx $64 million…*in order for the Red Sox to do this, the Cubs would have to send a starter like Zambrano or Dempster along with Soriano, who would then be a MUCH better fit in LF in Boston with the short porch, where Crawford could move to RF, or the Red Sox could just tell Ortiz to take a hike if he asks for a huge contract next year as a FA and install Soriano as the DH…..Lackey has been a monumental disappointment for the Red Sox, and I’m sure they’d be happy to get rid of him and his 4.40 ERA last year, and even worse 7.36 ERA this year. If the Cubs take on Lackey, and give them Zambrano or Dempster along with Soriano, it’s likely they would only have to include a minimal amount of money)

Soto-He’s entering expensive arbitration years, much like the Cubs ill-fated acquisition of Garza for the same reason. He clearly has lost his feel at the plate, and might not ever regain it. It’s time to capitalize on what little value he has left, especially with his league-best CS%
*Contractual Status: $3 million, then yrs 2 and 3 for arbitration
**Possible Suitors: Giants have to top the list with Posey’s injury

Zambrano-He has been a huge disappointment since signing his extension. He got ace money, and he has never really pitched like an ace, plus he has attitude issues. He’s passionate about the game, but he lets it come out the wrong way, often times directed at teammates when his own production sucks. Zambrano still has some value, but it’s a matter of how much the Cubs will eat to move him. An interesting fact is that he’s done much better against the AL than NL this year, which could spark interest from contending AL teams.
*Contractual Status: $18.875 million this yr and $19 million next yr; FULL no-trade clause, but like Soriano, has stated he’ll waive it
**Possible Suitors: Yankees, Red Sox, Angels (outside of Weaver, Haren, and Chatwood, their rotation could use some help. Perhaps a straight up trade of Santana for Zambrano would work?), Rockies, Cardinals, Tigers (ESPECIALLY the Tigers, with only Verlander having an ERA under 4.32. They could DEFINITELY use some help)

Despite what many of us may have thought initially (myself included), the Cubs actually have a fair amount of attractable trade chips. It’s just a matter of selling soon before other teams fall out of contention, flooding the market with veterans, thus driving prices down, and how much money the Cubs are willing to include (or take back in the case of a salary dump like Soriano).

The Cubs should finish out the season with a roster similar to this:

Garza
Wells
Coleman
Jay Jackson*
Cabrera

Dolis, Marshall, Wood, Carpenter, Samardzija, Beliveau*, Russell

C-Castillo, Clevenger*
1B-LaHair, Ridling*
2B-Barney
SS-Castro, M. Gonzalez
3B-LeMahieu
LF-Flaherty*, Montanez
CF-Jackson, Campana
RF-Colvin

When rosters expand in September, they should bring up the following:
P-Coello, Struck, Parker*, Maine, Mateo
C-Flores*
IF-Moore, M. Smith*
OF-Wright*, Perez, Snyder, Spencer*

*Rule 5 eligible after season

The reason I’d fill the roster out to the brim, is the fact that they have a lot of guys eligible for Rule 5 selection, and they need to make decisions in the lower ranks to prepare for the future (meaning guys like Antigua, Suarez, Lake, Vitters, N. Perez, and Brenly that aren’t ready…but are promising in the lower ranks, also need to be added). The Cubs need to make decisions regarding these players, so they need to get a look at the older guys eligible for the Rule 5 such as: Flaherty, Ridling, Clevenger, Spencer, Smith, etc. to know what they have, so they can plan ahead.

There is absolutely no reason the Cubs should keep this team intact as the way it is right now. It’s going nowhere. This is a MAJOR reason they’ve struggled over the years with player development. They lack the foresight to be able to tell if they have what it takes to make the playoffs or not, and then know when to fold it, and start selling. Then, to compound matters, just like last year, they allow an imbecile like Quade to be able to play veterans down the stretch, instead of playing young prospects, and it set them back even more. I just don’t get it.

How can a franchise be so dumb, for so long, and not realize the mistakes from the past, and how to fix them.

Ricketts talked glowingly of player development, and how they’ll invest more in the future, blah blah blah, but he has absolutely NO idea or plan in place for accomplishing his mission statement. And that’s a tragedy.

I should be getting paid for the consulting work I do for them on this site. To say that I’ve researched all the reasons why the Cubs haven’t won in the past 100 years would be an understatement. 

Some people on this site would say that is a bit arrogant, but I assure you it’s NOT….In fact, most of you have said similar things on here that is NOT rocket science or anything….it’s just plain common sense.

For instance, if you know you’re not going to retain a veteran player going into next season either because they’re underperforming, or you don’t want to pony up the cash to retain them, and your team is hopelessly out of contention…..then why in the hell would you retain them until the end of the season, especially if you won’t be offering salary arbitration (which, by the way, is NOT Hendry’s style…he rarely offers it, even when he knows they’ll get a multi-year contract elsewhere, thus the Cubs haven’t received much in terms of draft compensation). That type of stuff is not rocket science, especially DFA-ing non-performing veterans in the last year of their contracts when you’re out of contention (if you can’t trade them)

We can speculate all day about trades and potential FA signings the Cubs missed out on throughout the years. Sometimes, we’re right to criticize the moves, especially if negotiations are made public (meaning we know what other teams were offering, or in the case of the DeRosa trade, we have an apples-to-apples comparison in the same year of what the other team received via trade for the same player)…and Hendry would have a legitimate argument for everyone about how they don’t know the behind-the-scenes details, and he’d be entitled to that opinion….

But like I said, when we have apples-to-apples comparisons, and we know publicly things like the Marlins were set to non-tender Gregg and made it very public with their dissatisfaction of his performance, and Hendry offered a top pitching prospect like Ceda…..that, to me, would be a fire-able offense. But what’s even worse, is moves like simply dumping salary, DFA-ing non-performing veterans, etc., where it doesn’t require a whole lot of brain-power….Hendry can’t even do that.

Why in the world would Ricketts retain his services until the end of the year? That to me, is an indication that he has absolutely NO plans to get rid of him anyhow, and that rumors we’re hearing about changes are just that….RUMORS

Our ” Future Centerfielder” isn’t doing very good at all. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=RF&sid=t553&t=p_pbp&pid=571804 he's hitting .251 with 61 strikeouts in 195 AB YUCK!!!