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According to Jerry Crasnick , it appears the Chicago Cubs will tender an offer to infielder Mike Fontenot.
And to think things were going so well this winter for a while...
So far, Cubs GM Jim Hendry has unloaded dead weight Aaron Heilman via trade to Arizona, Kevin Gregg to free agency and Aaron Miles (with Jake Fox) to Oakland for prospects. The deconstruction of the disappointing 2009 team was well under way.
But now Hendry wants to bring back Fontenot, which puzzles me to say the least.
Fontenot emerged as a cult hero in Chicago after breaking out in 2008 as a key bench ...
The arbitration deadline has just passed, as has the first day of year's Winter Meetings. Anyone bored yet?
As is the case every winter, there's a lot of smoke and no fire on the first day of the meetings, but this year the dynamic in the National League has been developing ever since the final pitch of the World Series.
Consider the changes that have already taken place:
St. Louis signed Brad Penny to a one-year, $7.5 million contract that has incentives all over it that could escalate the dollar amount to around $9 million.
Jose Valverde declined arbitration and will leave an already ...
Alfonso Soriano has seen most of his stats diminish every year since his career season with the Nationals in 2006. Because he had a decent 2007, his first season as a Northsider, some have argued that his Cubs career, thus far, could be described as a wash or even a mild success.
His statistical trends, however, show that his Cub career has been poor, and is getting worse.
Soriano has not been up and down for three seasons, he has been consistently down every year. Here is a list of offensive statistics that have decreased in every year since 2006: Runs, hits, extra base hits, home runs, OBP, OPS, and Total Bases.
Should ...
Is this heaven? No, Mr. Sandberg, it's Iowa!
Reports are that the Chicago Cubs have promoted Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg to the bench in Iowa as the manager of their Triple-A affiliate.
Somewhere, Joe Morgan is telling someone that Sandberg can't manage, either.
Sandberg has spent most of his professional career with the Cubs organization after being acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies as a young third baseman over 27 years ago. Since then, he had arguably the best career, both offensively and defensively, of any second basemen in the last 50 years (post-Hornsby).
Since retiring (for a second time), Sandberg has ...
Baseball's Winter Meetings have begun, and there isn't a team with as clear-cut a mission this week as the Chicago Cubs: get rid of Milton Bradley.
It appears Cubs GM Jim Hendry will do everything in his power to unload the switch-hitting outfielder/designated hitter this week after the marriage between the volatile Bradley and the organization, and Cubs fans, went south in terribly public fashion.
The reactions to Bradley from Cubs fans could have been better. Bradley claims there were racial comments made to him from the bleachers during games, something that past Cubs disappointments Jacque Jones and Latroy Hawkins have also claimed.
But ...
According to Will Carroll from Baseball Prospectus, the Cubs will sign free agent Mike Cameron to play center field as soon as Milton Bradley is moved. Carroll tweets that the Bradley deal has been "imminent for 72 hours."
Cameron will turn 37 in January but is still an above average defender, at least according to a UZR/150 of 10.3, despite a weak arm. He should be a huge improvement over Kosuke Fukudome, who can move back to right field.
Offensively, he has power but has a mediocre career .250/.340/.448 slash line. He hit 24 home runs in 2009. Bill James predicts ...
Originally posted on BringingHeat.com
The latest news on the Chicago Cubs search for a center fielder is revolving around signing Mike Cameron in the near future.
Cameron, who will be 37 years old at the start of the 2010 season, remains an elite defender in the outfield. Offensively, he really is a hallmark of consistency.
Cameron is annually a reliable run producer; the past three seasons he’s also hit 21 or more home runs while averaging a mediocre, albeit acceptable, .330 OBP.
Some people complain about his lower batting average and higher strikeout totals, but they are rendered almost meaningless if he’s getting on base ...
This week, the arbitration deadline came and went with few surprises. One player that became an unprotected free agent intrigues me as an option for the Chicago Cubs.
The Minnesota Twins have decided to part ways with Joe Mauer's backup, Mike Redmond.
Redmond's name on the availability list made me wonder who would be the better option to back up Geovany Soto in Chicago this summer between Redmond and Koyie Hill. Let's examine how these two backstops compare.
Redmond, who will be 39 in May, is a career .289 hitter with no power. (His career high is four home runs.) However, he has ...
One year after an offseason filled with all the wrong moves, the Chicago Cubs have started this one off on a much better foot. On Thursday, the Cubs made their latest offseason transaction by trading INF Aaron Miles and 3B/OF Jake Fox to the Oakland A’s for RHP Jeff Gray and two prospects.
Last July, I proposed the idea of trading Fox for bullpen help while his value was highest and the team was in desperate need of another arm. Fox has a great bat and lots of potential, but with no natural position in the field, his future is with ...
Back in July, there were some people that thought the Cubs should have traded pitcher Rich Harden. I was among those that though Harden, having a good, healthy season, had arguably the highest trade value of his career and could have helped the future of the Cubs at the expense of a lost 2009 campaign.
Cubs GM Jim Hendry didn't agree; Harden stayed in Chicago.
Then, in August, we learned that the Minnesota Twins placed a waiver claim on Harden. Around the same time the Anaheim Angels won a waiver claim on, and paid a fairly steep price for, an underwhelming Scott ...
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