More Cubs Rumors
The Cubs Rumor Mill and Hot Stove started out Tuesday with a report the Cubs and reliever Bobby Howry were close to a deal and he could be signed before Thanksgiving (I do not have any new information on Howry at this time) and after that all of baseball started focusing on the situation in Miami.
The Marlins held a press conference on Tuesday saying the team will search for a new market to play in. The Marlins contract runs out in 2008 and the experts are saying the Marlins could end up in Las Vegas or Portland, Oregon. With this announcement, all of the other team’s rumors were kept of the airwaves.
I do have updates on Nomar Garciaparra, Barry Zito, B.J. Ryan, Juan Pierre and Kevin Millwood, plus interesting tidbits on Bobby Howry, A.J. Burnett and Jarrod Washburn. If Kevin Millwood leaves Cleveland, the speculation is he could end up in Baltimore to reunite with Leo Mazzone.
B.J. Ryan met with the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday about the possibility of become their closer.
Buck Martinez on the XM Radio morning show mentioned Nomar Garciaparra again on Tuesday. Martinez seems to be convinced Nomar will end up with the Twins.
Joe Frisaro, the beat writer for the Marlins on MLB.com, was on MLB Live Late Edition with Steve Lenox (XM Radio) on Tuesday night. Joe passed on info on Juan Pierre. Joe said Pierre hurt one of his leg muscles last year in the spring, and was not healthy the entire year. Frisaro said Pierre is a very classy individual and in the right system could be very productive again. He said Pierre was not worth $5-6 million a year, but if a team could get him for $4 million a year then Pierre is worth it. If Pierre is traded by the Marlins, Frisaro sees him landing in Chicago with the Cubs or the White Sox.
I heard rumblings again on Tuesday about the possibility of Barry Zito pitching for the Cubs in 2006. The more I think about this I really like it. I recently received a comment about Zito pitching for the Cubs and the Cubs should give up what they could to get him. I disagreed with the comment and I have changed my stance. I heard a very good statement today by Buck Martinez (again) he said, “General Managers have to make the best deals they can for their club for next year (2006) and not worry about the future. You never know how the prospects will work out.” This was in response to the Rangers GM turning down the trade for Beckett and Lowell. If the Cubs can get Barry Zito they should do everything they can to make it happen.
There was an article on SI.com by Tom Verducci, Bargains and Busts on Tuesday. It has some very good insight. The article lists Nomar Garciaparra as being the biggest bargain and Bobby Howry being number two. “The ideal setup man because he keeps the ball in the park (four homers allowed in 73 IP last season), walks few batters (16), can pitch to righties or lefties and can even close in a pinch. He showed in the second half that his elbow is back to full strength: a 0.99 ERA, only four earned runs and a .146 batting average against.” The same article lists the busts and A.J. Burnett was number one and Jarrod Washburn was number 6. If you get a chance (click here), I would suggest reading the article.
Well, that’s the news (Cubs rumors) and I’m sticking to it!!