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On Monday morning, the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals stood roughly shoulder-to-shoulder at the front of the pack of teams vying for position in the 2010 National League Central division. The Milwaukee Brewers and Houston Astros lagged badly behind, and if you had asked most fans then who the favorite would be when next spring training rolled around, the vote would likely have gone narrowly to the Cubs over St. Louis, with little consideration for also-rans Milwaukee and Houston.
Now, on Wednesday night, the smart choice is probably Milwaukee. St. Louis and Houston are also in the conversation. ...
There are many different reasons for why teams trade their popular players.
Sometimes it’s as simple as having too many good options for too few spots on the team, as was the case when the Phillies traded Jim Thome to make way for Ryan Howard in 2005.
Sometimes a small-market team can’t afford to keep its star player, or a mediocre club swaps its biggest name for a package of prospects who could help them contend in the future—like when the Indians traded Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez at the Trade Deadline in 2009.
Most of these fire sales aren’t taken lightly. Even ...
There are many different reasons for why teams trade their popular players.
Sometimes it’s as simple as having too many good options for too few spots on the team, as was the case when the Phillies traded Jim Thome to make way for Ryan Howard in 2005.
Sometimes a small-market team can’t afford to keep its star player, or a mediocre club swaps its biggest name for a package of prospects who could help them contend in the future—like when the Indians traded Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez at the Trade Deadline in 2009.
Most of these fire sales aren’t taken lightly. Even ...
Baseball's hot stove has been on full blast putting Milton Bradley trade rumors into motion.
Late Tuesday rumors of a "mystery" suitor came to light that could join the favorite Tampa Bay Rays, this according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat and Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. So far, we know the Royals, Rangers, Blue Jays, and Mariners have pretty much ruled themselves out of the race.
The volatile outfielder Bradley is certainly going to be on his way out of Chicago, and a three-way deal seems likely. So if another team joins the Rays and Cubs, or possibly just the Cubs, who ...
The New York Yankees are close to making the biggest splash of the winter meetings, thus far, by acquiring center fielder Curtis Granderson in a three-team trade that involves the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Detroit Tigers.
In the trade, the Yankees would receive another offensive weapon to add to their lineup and a great defensive center fielder, but it also brings up an interesting question.
What happens with Melky Cabrera?
This is where the Chicago Cubs come in. The Cubs are in need of a center fielder so they can move Kosuke Fukudome over to right once Milton Bradley is shipped out of ...
The first article I ever wrote for Bleacher Report was my 1990s All-Decade Cubs team, to which the link is below:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/164257-all-1990s-chicago-cubs-team
So here it is, the sequel, my All-2000s Cubs Team. This one was a lot less painful to compile as I did not have to include such past studs as Steve Buechele and Brian McRae like I did for my 1990s team.
However, as awful of a decade for Cubs baseball as the 1990s was, the 2000s were almost worse for Cubs fans, as heartbreak after heartbreak be felled the North Siders. All in all it was a far more successful ...
With the dust still settling from the acquisition of Curtis Granderson in New York, the Yankees have some decisions to make about their 2010 outfield.
What happens to Melky Cabrera? Do they entertain the idea of bringing back Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui? Are they done adding outfielders?
This might be the perfect time for the Chicago Cubs to give the Bronx Bombers a call and ask about Nick Swisher's availability.
Swisher could some into Chicago as the anit-Milton Bradley. A fun-loving, goofy 29-year old switch hitter that played in Chicago for the White Sox in 2008 and, by all accounts, loved the ...
According to Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune, via Twitter, Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella said that Cubs are “set” with Carlos Marmol as their closer and are “very happy with him.”
Really?
I hope this is like when a college coach at a small school says he is staying at the school, but then the next day leaves for a better job. The coach says he is staying at the small school because it is the “right thing to do.”
The right thing to do for the Cubs is to say they are happy with Marmol as their closer and then ...
According to Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune, via Twitter, Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella said that Cubs are “set” with Carlos Marmol as their closer and are “very happy with him.”
Really?
I hope this is like when a college coach at a small school says he is staying at the school, but then the next day leaves for a better job. The coach says he is staying at the small school because it is the “right thing to do.”
The right thing to do for the Cubs is to say they are happy with Marmol as their closer and then ...
I've written about this elsewhere, but I really don't think a Fontenot/Baker platoon would be the worst thing in the world. Fontenot has hit righties well, except for last year, which Goat Riders of the Apocalypse has shown to be a fluke:
"To demonstrate, look at the league average in BABIP for the past three years, compared to Fontenot's BABIP. I'll drop his OPS in, too.
2007: League - .306, Mike - .330, Mike's OPS - .738 2008: League - .303, Mike - .355 (!), Mike's OPS - .909 2009: League - .302, Mike - .281 (...), Mike's OPS - .677
One other ...
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