Cubs News, Patterson is Traded, Furcal Will Have Surgery and ‘Up-Grading’ the Cubs
Before we get started with the Off-Season news….a few reminders. This will be a VERY busy week for the Cubs Faithful….make sure you scroll down to get all of the new posts and reports. The interview with John McDonough and Joe Rios will be posted in the next few days and if you want to know the History of the Cubs Convention, who better to get it from than the creator of the Cubs Convention. The Hall of Fame announcement will come tomorrow and the CCO will have daily recaps of the 2006 Cubs Convention.
Most of the news on Monday was the trade of Corey Patterson to the Orioles (scroll down). The response from the Cubs Faithful has been mixed. I think a lot of the confusion is the players the Cubs received for Patterson. Remember to be careful what you ask for. (Update: 11:34pm a report from the Chicago Tribune about Patterson…worth reading) Here is the rest of the news from Monday….
According to a report from FoxSports.com, the recently signed Rafael Furcal will undergo knee surgery and the Dodgers are expecting him back for Spring Training. Yes, the Cubs missed on Furcal, but how would you feel if the Cubs new $39 million dollar man was to undergo surgery 42 days before he is supposed to report to Spring Training? The Dodgers will have 7 players recovering from 10 surgeries according to a report on XM Radio. Were the Dodgers smart with all of their off-season moves? Only time will tell.
FoxSports.com released a report on the payrolls of all the Major League teams from 2005. The Cubs finished 11th on the list with a $76,598,500 payroll.
Our favorite off-season grader, Dayn Perry, has released his updated off-season grades. Perry’s report has upgraded the Cubs to a ‘D’….what has changed since December 30th?
SI.com has a report titled, “Five Players on the Rise in 2006, and Five Who’ll Slide”. John Donovan mentions Carlos Zambrano in the ‘On the Rise’ section and is calling for Zambrano to have a breakout season and mentions him as being a possibility to be a candidate for the Cy Young Award in 2006. Donovan also mentions Derrek Lee in the ‘Slide’ section. He says DLee will not be able to keep up with his numbers from 2005.
For the Fantasy Baseball players out there, FoxSports.com released three different reports from Tim Dierkes. Hot Stove Aftermath – Part 1 mentions Juan Pierre, Hot Stove Aftermath – Part 2 mentions Nomar and Hot Stove Aftermath – Part 3 mentions A.J. Burnett and LaTroy Hawkins.
According to a report in the Chicago Tribune on January 8th, Jim Hendry hired Chris Buckley as a special assistant. Buckley worked with the Cubs new Director of Scouting Tim Wilken in Toronto.
There were 2 former Cubs that got new deals on Monday. Todd Hollandsworth signed a Minor League contract with the Cleveland Indians that includes an invite to Spring Training. Michael Tucker (2001) signed a 1-year deal with the Washington Nationals according to a report on USA Today.
In the same report, the Brewers dfa’d third baseman Russell Branyan on Monday to make room for Corey Koskie. Branyan is a decent left-handed bat off of the bench. Could he help the Cubs and provide some depth? Branyan has never met expectations, but he hit .257 with 12 home runs, 31 RBI’s, .378 OBP and a .490 SLG in 85 games in 2005 with the Brewers.
Remember to check in with the CCO for your updated Cubs News, if it happens you will be able to read about your Cubbies here and in ‘Cubs News from the Wire’.
Well, that’s the news and I’m sticking to it!!