2009 Cubs

[Dan Michler]

I think your being a little bit hard on ARAM there Clark.  Since joining the Cubs he's played 145, 123, 157, 132, and 149 games.  Is he the picture of health?  No, but you can count on him for 500 ABs yearly and he's had 100+ RBI in all but 1 year with the Cubs.  Look at his numbers, he is the model of consistency at the plate and he has made large improvements in the field.  He's the best position player we have right now and was our team MVP last year.

The rest of those dudes will be hurt, I agree, but Soriano was hurt alot last year and we were still successful.  Even without Harden our starting rotation is still very solid.  We'll be fine, and NO Matt Travis, the Cubs winning the World Series is no joke!   

I totally agree with you about Abreu.  He is going to be a great value pickup for whoever gets him.  Orlando Hudson is still a free agent 2B out there.  Derek Lowe also available and would be a good fit with the Cubs I think.

[stpitner]

I was just reading that MB is a switch-hitter - I didn't realize that.  It still doesn't matter - against a righty pitcher it will still break up a string of righties.

Aramis will be fine - just needs to hustle!  Hopefully Harden will be handled well (not another Prior), and I think that Sean Marshall by the end of the year would be seen as an upgrade over Marquis.  IF the Cubs do get Peavy, I don't want it to turn into a Zito-like explosion (although Zito was a free agent).

Does the Brewers signing Hoffman trouble anyone?  I'm more comfortable with them throwing Gagne (Gag-me) out there more often, but I don't know how much Trevor still has left in his tank.

[Mike Clark]

I have nothing against ARAM. He is our best position player offensively. He has turned into a really good 3rd basemen. Not many better in baseball right now. He should have been rested longer last year. How long did he play on bad legs last year? Who is going to play 3B for the 30/40+ games he will probably miss? Who plays 3B to give him a rest?

I think between Fontenot and Miles they are fine at 2B. They will be better defensively. They are really good where it counts the most. Catcher, SS, 2B, and CF.

Marshall is not slated to be an everyday starter this year. At the moment they say they plan on using him as long relief and backup stater. They have also talked about Jeff Samardzija going back to the minors to work on being a starter. I hope that does not happen. It is too early to know for sure. Starters are Z, Lilly, Dempster, Hill, Harden/Marshall. Harden is not their 5th best starter but it is easier to rest him in the 5th spot in the rotation. Hill or Marshall would go in any trade for Peavey. After some thinking I am not so down on their starting pitching as I was. To be honest I forgot about Rich Hill. So I thought they would be going into the spring training without a 5th starter unless they traded for Peavey. I still think the bullpen is shakey especially if Marshall and Samardzija are not part of it. Hendry really likes Kevin Gregg. I have not clue about him. His numbers are okay but I do not see competing for the closer spot like Hendry has said.

My problem with the 2009 Cubs is the same as the 2008 Cubs. Really good individual talent just a poorly constructed team. Maybe 2 soft hitting switch hitters are the answer for this team.  But I am pretty sure all they were missing last year was LHH power hitter and a backbone. Not sure what they could have done about the backbone. But there were more than a couple of LHH power hitters available. Neither Bradley or Miles are them.

The Brewers do not scare me at all. They have a long way to go before they are a good team. Who is pitching for them this year anyway? What is the point of signing a closer when you do not even have 5 pitchers capable of starting a MLB game?

[Mike Clark]

Sorry to double post.

Just heard on the radio this morning that if the Cubs can't work something out to get Peavey they are going to try and sign Randy Wolfe again. That is okay with me a a 4/5th starter. Lowe wants 4 years. No one wants to give him 4 years right now. The Mets offered him 3 years 36mil. He turned it down. Bradley's contract is not as straight forward as they make it sound in the media. 7mil this year. 11mil year 2, year 3 is the Cubs option. And there are some incentives in the contract based on playing time due to injury and personal  behavior. The value of the contract can decrease significantly if he gets hurt for a long  period of time or he acts like an ass. The most they are on the hook for is 30mil. That is very good for the Cubs. Don't slam if I'm wrong this is radio/internet hearsay.

The Peavey trade might be up in the air. The Padres may no longer have to cut pay roll. They are being sold as well.

[pearso66]

Sorry to double post.

Just heard on the radio this morning that if the Cubs can't work something out to get Peavey they are going to try and sign Randy Wolfe again. That is okay with me a a 4/5th starter. Lowe wants 4 years. No one wants to give him 4 years right now. The Mets offered him 3 years 36mil. He turned it down. Bradley's contract is not as straight forward as they make it sound in the media. 7mil this year. 11mil year 2, year 3 is the Cubs option. And there are some incentives in the contract based on playing time due to injury and personal  behavior. The value of the contract can decrease significantly if he gets hurt for a long  period of time or he acts like an ass. The most they are on the hook for is 30mil. That is very good for the Cubs. Don't slam if I'm wrong this is radio/internet hearsay.

The Peavey trade might be up in the air. The Padres may no longer have to cut pay roll. They are being sold as well.

From what I understand of the Bradley contract, it is 3 years and 30 mil, unless he misses so many games this season because of injury, than the 3rd year becomes a team option. It sounds similar to the Magglio Ordonez contract a few years ago, if he plays a certain amount of games, his contract becomes guaranteed.

[Mike Clark]

http://www.thecubsbrickyard.com/2008/07/02/inspired-by-rick-ankiel-rich-hill-to-attempt-comeback-as-hitter/

Its an old story. I didn't realize things have gone that badly for him. I guess the cubs do need a 5th starter.

[stpitner]

lol, I thought the story was true and possibly a good thing for Hill until I got to the end and realized those quotes were a joke.  I really wish he did know how to bring back that control - he taught some of it to Sean Marshall who excelled at it and then he lost it himself.  It sucks because when he was on target, he was a phenomenal lefty strike out pitcher.

[Chainmeister]

Unless you are going to be a DH you still have to throw strikes. throwing funks plagued Steve Sax and Chuck Knoblach.  Both were very good players and before their meltdowns, good fielders.  Have any of us ever had a period where we forgot how to putt?  Hill needs to concentrate, focus on mechanics and get his game back.  He'll hit the chains, er, glove again.

[Dan Michler]

Unless you are going to be a DH you still have to throw strikes. throwing funks plagued Steve Sax and Chuck Knoblach.  Both were very good players and before their meltdowns, good fielders.  Have any of us ever had a period where we forgot how to putt?  Hill needs to concentrate, focus on mechanics and get his game back.  He'll hit the chains, er, glove again.

Good point Dave.  I actually do often compare myself to Rick Ankiel on the disc golf course.  It happens!

[pearso66]

Just saw this yesterday, looks like Harden may already be having troubles this year.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/1384290,CST-SPT-cub18.article

[Mike Clark]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/01/cubs-close-to-a.html

Is Heilman the 5th starter or a piece of the puzzle for Peavey?

I hope he is part of the puzzle for Peavey.

[Sr.]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/01/cubs-close-to-a.html

Is Heilman the 5th starter or a piece of the puzzle for Peavey?

I hope he is part of the puzzle for Peavey.

Any chance of getting Peavey are over. Mark my word, the fifth starter is going to be Jeff Smardziji. Another embarrassment for the evaluators of a Chicago team. They basically gave up their 2 hopeful prospects in Pie and Cerdano, for a guy who had over a 5 era last year. The beat goes on.    Heilman is worthless. Smardziji could be a 15 game winner though.

[pearso66]

Jake Peavy was never going to the Cubs. I think the  Padres were just trying  to use the Cubs to get what they wanted out of Atlanta. I would think the Cubs would have to give up Samardja, and that other big prospect, can't think of his name right now is it Vitters? plus others, probably Marshall and one other top/MLB ready guy. I know they would try to get Marmol, but that would be out of the question. I actually think the Cubs would be better off anyway not getting Peavy, but that's my oppinion.

[Mike Clark]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/01/cubs-close-to-a.html

Is Heilman the 5th starter or a piece of the puzzle for Peavey?

I hope he is part of the puzzle for Peavey.

Any chance of getting Peavey are over. Mark my word, the fifth starter is going to be Jeff Smardziji. Another embarrassment for the evaluators of a Chicago team. They basically gave up their 2 hopeful prospects in Pie and Cerdano, for a guy who had over a 5 era last year. The beat goes on.    Heilman is worthless. Smardziji could be a 15 game winner though.

Pie and Cedano were out of minor league options with the Cubs. If they did not make the team coming out of Spring Training they would have had to be released and the Cubs would have got nothing for them. Rich Hill will be next if they can get a bag of balls for him. He is out of options as well. I do not like losing another good bench player like Cedano but I understand moving him.

The Cubs still have a shot at Peavey. The Cubs will have to guarantee the 3rd year of his contract. There is no way the Cubs are a better team without a healthy Peavey. He would be a #1 starter on 90% of the teams in baseball. He would be the 4th or 5th starter on the Cubs staff. The Cubs have been positioning themselves all winter to trade for Peavey. Like I said earlier in this thread. If they do not get Peavey after trading Derosa, I will add Marquis to that as well now, it would be flat out stupid. Trading Derosa and Marquis only makes this team weaker without acquiring Peavey. If they gave up Derosa and Marquis, to clear salary, to get Bradley that would be really stupid. None of it makes any sense to me without Peavey. With all of the prospects the Cubs have acquired with the trades have been making they should have enough bodies to give up at this point. It might not happen until mid season but I think Peavey is in the picture. The problem with waiting is if a team trying to contend has a starter go down they might be desperate and offer the Padres something totally ridiculous.

Making Samardzija a starter at this point would make the bullpen even weaker than it has already become. Not that they won't do it. It just doesn't make sense if the goal is to win a World Series. The bullpen is the weakest part of this team going into Spring Training. Toss up on who the closer is. If Marmol is the closer you lose a great setup guy. Then if you make Samardzija a starter you just lost your other setup guy from last year. That could be tough to overcome.

[Sr.]

Cerdano i have no problem getting rid of because he always threw to the wrong base and always got thrown out on the base paths. Pie is another story. Cubs never gave the kid a chance. Lou hates putting rookies in the lineup. 47 games just isn't enough. After nurturing him thru the minors they should have gave him the job and said run with it. Pie will have a good year with Baltimore if they give him the chance. The Cubs bullpen has to many pitchers. They want Heilman to be in the bullpen because his era is around 3.50 as a reliever. As a starter he has over a 5.10 era. Smardziji is now #5 with Heilman in the pen. Peavey won't be a Cub. That's my prediction. Your right about Rich Hill. If they can get a rosin bag for him they should do it.

[Mike Clark]

Can a team really have too many pitchers going into Spring Training?

I have to disagree about Pie. I am not sure how you can keep a player in the lineup who has numbers like this:

Year Ag Tm  Lg  G   AB    R    H   2B 3B  HR  RBI SBCS BB SO  BA   OBP   
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+---
2007 22 CHC NL  87  177   26   38   9  3   2   20   8  1  14  43  .215  .271 
2008 23 CHC NL  43   83    9   20   2  1   1     10   3  0   7  29  . 241  .312

What else were they supposed to do? Let him sit on the bench and go to waste. They gave him 5 chances over the past 2 years to go down to the minors and work on his game. That is all you get in MLB. After that a team has to do something else. You can't play him everyday. Maybe in the American League where they have the DH. The guy was always trying to hit home runs. It just wasnt working out. Maybe he will do better somewhere else. Was he miss managed? Maybe, but he sure didn't help himself when he did get the chance to play. Was it bad timing with the hiring of Pinella? Probably. The Cubs are lucky we got anything for him. I think the only reason Baltimore took him is because he was originally a McFail prospect like Corey Patterson.

Heilman worries me. Not so much because of his stats. Anyone can catch lighting in bottle and have a good year. More Because I found a couple of articles that said Hendry has liked him since his college years. I also found one article that said Hendry tried to trade for Heilman straight up for Marquis back in early December. The Mets wanted the Cubs to eat a large portion of the Marquis contract. I guess the Cubs weren't willing to do it. So it looks like Hendry really likes Heilman for some reason.

[stpitner]

I'm hoping that Heilman, Cub fan at heart, will want to pitch a lot more because he IS a Cub now.  I like the idea of him to be either a swing man in the bullpen allowing Marshall to start if the Peavy deal does not happen, or he could be a 7th inning guy, or even let Marshall be the swing guy and Heilman an inning eater again (if allowed to start again).  This might allow Samard.. yeah.. going to have to learn that one someday... that might allow Jeff to start out in AAA to work things out even more as a starter instead of just sitting in the bullpen.  Then if one of the current options chunks, Jeff would be there waiting.  It also keeps some possibilities remaining in case the cubs have to trade a bunch for Peavy.  My guess would be Vitters, prospect, prospect, Kevin Hart, Rich Hill as a throw in, probably one other guy for Peavy.  I'd survive trading away a top prospect third baseman than a good lefty arm like Sean Marshall.

[Sr.]

Can a team really have too many pitchers going into Spring Training?

I have to disagree about Pie. I am not sure how you can keep a player in the lineup who has numbers like this:

Year Ag Tm  Lg  G   AB    R    H   2B 3B  HR  RBI SBCS BB SO  BA   OBP   
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+---
2007 22 CHC NL  87  177   26   38   9  3   2   20   8  1  14  43  .215  .271 
2008 23 CHC NL  43   83    9   20   2  1   1     10   3  0   7  29  . 241  .312

What else were they supposed to do? Let him sit on the bench and go to waste. They gave him 5 chances over the past 2 years to go down to the minors and work on his game. That is all you get in MLB. After that a team has to do something else. You can't play him everyday. Maybe in the American League where they have the DH. The guy was always trying to hit home runs. It just wasnt working out. Maybe he will do better somewhere else. Was he miss managed? Maybe, but he sure didn't help himself when he did get the chance to play. Was it bad timing with the hiring of Pinella? Probably. The Cubs are lucky we got anything for him. I think the only reason Baltimore took him is because he was originally a McFail prospect like Corey Patterson.

Heilman worries me. Not so much because of his stats. Anyone can catch lighting in bottle and have a good year. More Because I found a couple of articles that said Hendry has liked him since his college years. I also found one article that said Hendry tried to trade for Heilman straight up for Marquis back in early December. The Mets wanted the Cubs to eat a large portion of the Marquis contract. I guess the Cubs weren't willing to do it. So it looks like Hendry really likes Heilman for some reason.

260 at bats over 2 years, in spotty situations? Give him a break. You call that giving him a chance? That comes out to about 34 games as a starter per year . The Cubs brass even admitted they didn't give him a fair shake. Anyone in the Major leagues can tell you that's not giving him a chance. His numbers in the minors were awesome because he got to play consistently. Time will tell if the Cubs made another mistake. This could be another ex Cub in the World Series that we are all so used to seeing.

[stpitner]

if the Cubs weren't on the brink of another playoff and WS run, I think they would not have signed Bradley and kept Pie for CF with Fukudome in RF.  However, since it's back to back NL Central Champs and certainly good enough to play better in the playoffs, they couldn't risk it.  I think the one name that looms too large in the back of Hendry's mind is: Corey Patterson.  Yes Corey was awesome the first half of 2003, but thankfully they were able to pick up Lofton to finish the way after Patterson's knee blew out.  Corey was still somewhat problematic in 2003, and Pie was just too eerily similar.

If the cubs somehow managed to actually win the world series last year, I could also see Hendry be more willing to keep Pie around... but out of options + out of room on the roster save for a bench spot = time to move on.

[CEValkyrie]

When it comes down to it Lou is the man. Since putting on a Cubs uniform he's changed this franchise. He obviously saw that Pie could not play or he would still be a Cub. I like what the Cubs have done this offseason besides Woody but what can you do. He just cost too much. He isn't worth $10 mil a year that Cle signed him for.