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With Matt Capps seemingly on his way to the Nationals and the Cubs still in need of a right handed set-up man at the back of their bullpen, I ask, why not turn to an all too familiar face in Kevin Gregg?
Let me start out by saying I am a Cubs fan, and this suggestion is in no way meant as ill will towards the North Siders.
Simply put, Kevin Gregg is not a closer, at least not in large market such as Chicago where each outing is put under a microscope. While he was seemingly unable to take the pressure of ...
Chicago Cubs GM Jim Hendry almost made another free agent mistake on Wednesday. Thankfully, money means more to some players than the chance to win.
Former Pittsburgh closer Matt Capps, who was on the Cubs radar as a potential setup man for closer Carlos Marmol, agreed to a one-year deal with the Washington Nationals. Capps will reportedly get a base salary of $3.5 million, with another $425K in performance incentives built into the deal.
Adding Capps could have been the final piece in the puzzle that gets Hendry fired if he had taken the money in Chicago.
Hendry has had a really bad last 14 ...
Whispers wandered around the web earlier this week that the New York Yankees had called the Chicago Cubs to inquire about the availability of the Cubs' ace, Carlos Zambrano. A lot has been written already about that potential marriage, so I won't waste a lot of space on it other than to mention it as a foundation for the discussion I'm about to begin.
Who hates the Yankees? Okay, everyone outside of New York. But the hatred is especially deep in Boston, where the rival Red Sox watched the Bronx Bombers spend a billion dollars to buy a World Series championship ...
After letting their top target, Mike Cameron, slip away to the Red Sox while they tried desperately to unload Milton Bradley, the Cubs are now left holding six million dollars, and wondering who will be manning center field next season.
Looking at the list of available free agents, I'm not convinced that anyone out there can provide any more bang for the buck than former first round pick Tyler Colvin. Let's examine the potential candidates on the free agent market:
Rick Ankiel Pros: Left handed power hitter, strong arm. Cons: Horrendous plate discipline, coming off worst year to date.
Marlon Byrd ...
After letting their top target, Mike Cameron, slip away to the Red Sox while they tried desperately to unload Milton Bradley, the Cubs are now left holding six million dollars, and wondering who will be manning center field next season.
Looking at the list of available free agents, I'm not convinced that anyone out there can provide any more bang for the buck than former first round pick Tyler Colvin. Let's examine the potential candidates on the free agent market:
Rick Ankiel Pros: Left handed power hitter, strong arm.Cons: Horrendous plate discipline, coming off worst year to date.
Marlon ByrdPros: Coming off the ...
In the offseason, much is made of the comings and goings of established major league players in free agency.
But many often overlook the same thing happening in the minor leagues.
In the "Recapping Minor League Free Agent Losses" series, I'll be looking at what, if anything, each team is losing at the minor league levels.
I'm not going to bother covering every player, because not all of them are very important and I have little to say about many of them. I'll just be touching on those who I think could be of value to another team in free agency.
Anyway, let's have ...
The recent reports suggesting that the Bronx Bombers were interested in at least exploring a trade with the Cubs for Big Z has left me wondering, once again, just what the hell Jim Hendry is thinking.
True, Zambrano has a full no-trade clause and hasn't expressed any willingness to relinquish it, but for Hendry to not even entertain the idea, if true, is stupid.
Look, here's the situation: The Cubs new owners are heavy in debt and more interested in exploring ways to improve their cash cow, Wrigley Field, and generating revenue streams than putting more money into payroll at this point.
Recognizing this, the only way ...
The recent reports suggesting that the Bronx Bombers were interested in at least exploring a trade with the Cubs for Big Z has left me wondering, once again, just what the hell Jim Hendry is thinking.
True, Zambrano has a full no-trade clause and hasn't expressed any willingness to relinquish it, but for Hendry to not even entertain the idea, if true, is stupid.
Look, here's the situation: The Cubs' new owners are heavy in debt and more interested in exploring ways to improve their cash cow, Wrigley Field, and generating revenue streams than putting more money into payroll at this point.
Recognizing this, the only way ...
There was a time that Derrek Lee was considered one of the pre-eminent first basemen in the league.
After a 2005 campaign where he hit .335 with 46 HR, 107 RBI, 120 R and 15 SB, fantasy owners saw him simply as one of the best. Since then, things had gone significantly off course, until 2009 that is.
After breaking his wrist in April 2006, Lee went on to hit just 50 home runs over a three-year span. Was it the after effects of the injury or was his 2005 power just a mirage?
He had never hit ...
There is an old saying, that two heads are better than one. In baseball, we use a slightly modified variation on that axiom: two bats are better than one.
Platoons have been in use for decades. Famously, Casey Stengel made them a staple of the New York Yankees whom he led to six World Series titles in the 1950s. With the increased specialization of relief pitchers, however, the platoon does not enjoy the prominence it once did in Major League Baseball. This is largely because teams must now carry 11 or 12 pitchers at any given time, limiting the number of ...
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