On Tuesday night, in the 11th inning of the Chicago Cubs game at Philadelphia, Milton Bradley entered the game as a pinch hitter.
Batting from the left side, he did what he's done 80 percent of the time this year—failed to reach base.
But this was perhaps the most expensive 4-3 putout in the history of the Chicago Cubs franchise.
By appearing in the game for nothing more than a ground-out to Bradley's high school teammate, Chase Utley, he qualified as having appeared in 75 games in the 2009 season.
For those that like to pay attention to contracts, you'll remember back in January ...
What a difference a day makes.
Or a two hour drive north.
On Sunday, the Chicago Cubs finished a relatively easy four-game sweep at the Washington Nationals, running two rookie pitchers to the hill and finding an offense that had been dormant for a couple weeks.
The Cubs were now just two games behind the St. Louis Cardinals, despite their woeful first half. Things were looking up, right?
Rewind...the Cubs swept the Washington Nationals. On Monday they suited up against a real, major league roster.
In fact, it was against the defending World Champion Phillies in Philadelphia.
And so after a fun series that felt as ...
Reports late Sunday are that the Chicago Cubs are among a handful of teams in contact with the Baltimore Orioles regarding a potential trade for closer George Sherrill.
Sherrill, 32, currently has 20 saves and a 2.35 ERA, while striking out 35 and walking just 12 in 38.1 innings pitched.
The left-handed closer would, along with last week's addition of former Baltimore and Toronto closer BJ Ryan, give the Cubs more depth from that side of the bullpen then they've had in years.
It also might open the possibility of Sean Marshall returning to the Cubs' starting rotation, as he's been the lone ...
As trade rumors intensify around the Blue Jays' ace Roy Halladay, the odds of him moving appear to be rising.
However, the odds of Toronto receiving the crop of young talent they desire seems to be shrinking by the day. In the current economy, teams are trying to build winners more than ever before, and moving three or four top tier pieces just doesn't make sense to most franchises.
For a team that's playing within an equally shrinking window of opportunity, especially one that has created a concrete ceiling over their farm system by overpaying veteran free agents over the last six ...
As the Chicago Cubs finished their series against the St. Louis Cardinals last weekend, they had reasons to feel upbeat after a disappointing first half.
After all, they had played about as poorly as anyone could imagine for almost 90 games and were still only three games out of first place.
But as the All Star Break began, it was as though the team was leaving Arizona to head north for the start of the regular season. Lots of hope in every locker, and Milton Bradley shooting his mouth off.
Bradley, who signed a three-year contract before the season, has established himself as ...
This piece is to serve as a counter argument to my just releases slide show:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/219972-the-top-ten-reasons-the-chicago-cubs-wont-make-the-playoffs
The Cubs are in unique situation as we head toward August and September, and there is every reason to think this team can pull a season out of their back pocket and get into the dance.
The following are ten reasons why, and how, the Cubs can get back into October.
The Chicago Cubs sit in a very intriguing position as the first post-All Star weekend is upon us.
They're tied for second place in their division (albeit with almost half the division, Houston and Milwaukee) and are only chasing 3.5 games for the first place Cardinals.
But the team has all sorts of issues, many of which I'll discuss in this piece.
There's certainly room for hope on this roster, but there's a terribly big cloud surrounding any silver lining.
So here are my Top Ten reasons the Cubs won't make the playoffs in 2009.
On Thursday the Chicago Cubs announced that they had agreed to a minimal deal with former Orioles and Blue Jays closer BJ Ryan.
Ryan, a lefty, will report to Arizona to begin a moderate rehab assignment before coming to Wrigley Field in the bullpen soon.
With this announcement, the multi-million question becomes who the move impacts most. So let's look at some potentially shafted/upgraded players...
There are a lot of teams in Major League Baseball that looked around at the All Star Break and were pleasantly surprised by where they were in the standings. In fact, this year might shape up to be one of the more competitive second halves in recent memory.
The problem there is that, for many teams, being "in" a competitive division race is fool's gold, with very little positive that could come from hanging on to expensive, older players for a stretch run.
One of those teams that is in a tough situation is the Chicago Cubs. They're currently within smelling distance ...
Reports on Monday indicated that the Tribune Company is considering an option where the Chicago Cubs would declare bankruptcy.
This news likely confuses many onlookers, who have been taken on a strange journey by the off-the-field news surrounding the Cubs in the last few months.
First the team was sold, then it wasn't, then it was sold to two different groups...and now bankruptcy?
Really?
The reality, though, is that the Cubs filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection would do little more than expedite the sale of the team, Wrigley Field, and the included stake in Chicago's regional Comcast Sportsnet cable television network.
By filing, it ...
« Previous Page — Next Page »
