On talking baseball on Saturday, Bruce Levine said:
Bruce said that Jim Hendry really wants Jake Peavy in his rotation and if he can't get Peavy you might hear the Brian Roberts rumors again (that makes no sense to me because Roberts only has 1 year on his contract yet and the Cubs just traded the Orioles Pie. The Cubs also pick up Miles to go with Fonty at second. I will be find with it, if they give up a discount). The only way I see them getting Roberts is if they trade Fonty, which I won't think will happen. He says you will start hearing the rumors again in March or April for a blockbuster deal ( when the ownership is pretty much resolve).
He also says that Cubs are either going to sign Aurillia or Millar for the 25th man roster (as a bench player).
Levine is hearing from good sources that Carlos Zambrano will not pitch in the WBC.
Levine mentioned 2009 needs to be a breakout year for Big Z.
The Cubs have scheduled 25 starts for Rich Harden.
Sean Marshall and Aaron Heilman are in the mix to take Harden's other eight starts.
The Rich Hill-to-the-Orioles trade has not been officially announced and according to Bruce Miles, Hill appears to be gone. Word of the trade leaked to the Baltimore press but the Orioles must make room on their 40-man roster before acquiring Hill from the Cubs.
Many think the trade will become official at some point in the coming week.
Jayson Stark began his Cubs discussion with the still possible acquisition of Jake Peavy, but revealed more concerning news regarding the sale of the Cubs.
"But does that mean this deal can get revived sometime soon? Not necessarily, because there are still major ownership issues. And no matter how much the folks at MLB might want to get the Cubs' sale approved by Opening Day, the timetable isn't solely in its hands.
"I don't think we're anywhere near as close to resolving the ownership situation as it looks," said one baseball man with knowledge of those machinations. "You have to remember [the seller, the Tribune Company] is in bankruptcy court. So if somebody comes along and says, 'We offered more money,' the court can say, 'You have to take the most money.' So there's no way of saying right now whether this gets resolved in two to three months or six to eight months."
So why does that matter? Because the Cubs can't add a $63 million contract without ownership approval. And there's still no assurance they'll have an owner before Opening Day. So how can they move forward on a deal?
Right now, they can't even get a tentative go-ahead from prospective owner Thomas Ricketts because he's still, technically, negotiating. And even after those negotiations are completed, the court still has to sign off."
Stark dropped his gem a couple of days ago, but as the saying goes....better late than never
On A side Note: It is Ernie Bank's 78th Birthday today.
I will always keep you posted on the latest Cub news.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Bruce Levine Notes
Bruce Levine has a couple rumors:
He says that the Cubs could start Peavy talk in March when the ownership is resolve or close to being resolve.
The Cubs are looking at Kevin Millar and Rich Aurillia as backup infieldiers. Nomar wants a full time job somewhere and not a backup.
I will keep you posted on more rumors.
He says that the Cubs could start Peavy talk in March when the ownership is resolve or close to being resolve.
The Cubs are looking at Kevin Millar and Rich Aurillia as backup infieldiers. Nomar wants a full time job somewhere and not a backup.
I will keep you posted on more rumors.
Paul Bako
According to a press release, the Cubs have agreed to terma with C Paul Bako.
He will make 750K in 2009.
He will make 750K in 2009.
Rich Hill traded and other news
According to Chicago Cubs Online, the Cubs have traded Rich Hill to the O's for the all but famous player to be named later.
The Giants have sign Juan Uribe to a minor league deal.
The Cubs are still interested in Branden Looper and Randy Wolf, if they can't acquired Peavy.
The options left for the Cubs are Branden Looper, Ben Sheets, Rich Aurilia, Nomar, and Millar because it looks like Pedro and Perez are going to sign with Mets, and Randy wolf signs with the Dodgers. So the Cubs better make a move because they are losing out on players they were looking at.
I will keep you posted.
The Giants have sign Juan Uribe to a minor league deal.
The Cubs are still interested in Branden Looper and Randy Wolf, if they can't acquired Peavy.
The options left for the Cubs are Branden Looper, Ben Sheets, Rich Aurilia, Nomar, and Millar because it looks like Pedro and Perez are going to sign with Mets, and Randy wolf signs with the Dodgers. So the Cubs better make a move because they are losing out on players they were looking at.
I will keep you posted.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Predictions for 2009 Season
Predictions for when season is over:
American League:
West: New York Yankees, 91+ wins, Have about 7 all-stars on there team right now and should win division but will be a close race to the end.
Central: Cleveland Indians, 87+ wins, Upgraded in bullpen with Wood and got a good utility guy in Derosa.
East: Los Angeles Angels, 93+ wins, Good pitching and have a OK offense, should win division because Texas and Oakland don't have a pitching staffs.
Wild Card: Detroit Tigers, 86+ wins, Good offense and I see a pitching staff to rebound after last season.
National League:
West: New York Mets, 90+ wins, A really good offense and have a good starting rotation. The one fix they had to do this off season was to fix the bullpen and they did that in acquiring J.J Putz and K- Rod.
Central: Chicago Cubs, 92+ wins, Made there lineup more balanced and there division barely upgraded.
East: Los Angeles Dodgers, 85+, Only if they re-sign Manny Ramirez which looks pretty promising right now.
Wild Card: Philadelphia Phillies, 88+ wins, Good pitching and offense, that should be a able to compete with the New York Mets.
Playoffs:
New York yankees over Detroit Tigers in 4 games.
Los Angeles Angels over Cleveland Indians in 4 games.
New York Mets over Los Angeles Dodgers in 5 games.
Chicago Cubs over Philadelphia Phillies in 5 games.
Los Angeles Angels over New York Yankees in 5 games.
Chicago Cubs over New York Mets in 6 games.
Chicago Cubs over Los Angeles Angels in 6 games. WS MVP Aramis Ramirez
Awards:
AL MVP Mark Texieria, NL MVP Manny Ramirez (If signs with Dodgers).
AL CY Roy Halladay, NL CY Johan Santana.
AL ROY David Price, NL ROY Cameron Maybin.
AL MOY Joe Girardi, NL MOY Jerry Manuel.
AL EOY Mark Shapiro, NL EOY Omar Minaya.
ALL Star Game: NL beats AL, 12-9. All stars MVP David Wright
That is how I think the season is going to play out, so what do you guys think of that.
American League:
West: New York Yankees, 91+ wins, Have about 7 all-stars on there team right now and should win division but will be a close race to the end.
Central: Cleveland Indians, 87+ wins, Upgraded in bullpen with Wood and got a good utility guy in Derosa.
East: Los Angeles Angels, 93+ wins, Good pitching and have a OK offense, should win division because Texas and Oakland don't have a pitching staffs.
Wild Card: Detroit Tigers, 86+ wins, Good offense and I see a pitching staff to rebound after last season.
National League:
West: New York Mets, 90+ wins, A really good offense and have a good starting rotation. The one fix they had to do this off season was to fix the bullpen and they did that in acquiring J.J Putz and K- Rod.
Central: Chicago Cubs, 92+ wins, Made there lineup more balanced and there division barely upgraded.
East: Los Angeles Dodgers, 85+, Only if they re-sign Manny Ramirez which looks pretty promising right now.
Wild Card: Philadelphia Phillies, 88+ wins, Good pitching and offense, that should be a able to compete with the New York Mets.
Playoffs:
New York yankees over Detroit Tigers in 4 games.
Los Angeles Angels over Cleveland Indians in 4 games.
New York Mets over Los Angeles Dodgers in 5 games.
Chicago Cubs over Philadelphia Phillies in 5 games.
Los Angeles Angels over New York Yankees in 5 games.
Chicago Cubs over New York Mets in 6 games.
Chicago Cubs over Los Angeles Angels in 6 games. WS MVP Aramis Ramirez
Awards:
AL MVP Mark Texieria, NL MVP Manny Ramirez (If signs with Dodgers).
AL CY Roy Halladay, NL CY Johan Santana.
AL ROY David Price, NL ROY Cameron Maybin.
AL MOY Joe Girardi, NL MOY Jerry Manuel.
AL EOY Mark Shapiro, NL EOY Omar Minaya.
ALL Star Game: NL beats AL, 12-9. All stars MVP David Wright
That is how I think the season is going to play out, so what do you guys think of that.
Rich Hill
Bruce Levine reported yeserday that there are teams interested in Rich Hill.
What teams might want him:
San Diego Padres- Could be a part of the Jake Peavy trade and the Padres need to cut budget and Hill is no making a lot of money.
Texas Rangers- Desperate of pitching and might want to take a chance on a guy who had stuff 2 years ago. Need pitching to compete with the Angels and Athletic's.
Oakland Athletics- The only thing they really need to compete with the Angels, is about 2 more starters. Last year they traded Dan Haren to the Diamondbacks before the season started and Rich Harden to the Cubs and Joe Blanton to the Phillies at the trade deadline last year.
Baltimore Orioles- They really don't have pitching and might need a couple more starters to finish around 5 hundred. They don't have a chance to compete with the Yankees, Red Sox, and the Rays but they can show a point that they could be a good team.
Seattle Mariners- They might need another pitcher to make spot starts if a pitcher gets injured, for instance like Eric Bedard, he had arm injuries last year and he might get them again. So they will need a cheap price player to step in.
Kansas City Royals- They have a lot of starting pitching but maybe to get his command back they will put him in the bullpen. They still need more pitchers in there bullpen.
Chicago White Sox- Don't like to spend money and like to take chances on Pitchers (Bartolo Colon, sign 1 year 1 million deal this year).
I put no teams up here on the National League because the Cubs don't want Rich Hill to come back and do really good and beat them for a win.
Those are some teams that I think will be interested in Rich Hill.
What teams might want him:
San Diego Padres- Could be a part of the Jake Peavy trade and the Padres need to cut budget and Hill is no making a lot of money.
Texas Rangers- Desperate of pitching and might want to take a chance on a guy who had stuff 2 years ago. Need pitching to compete with the Angels and Athletic's.
Oakland Athletics- The only thing they really need to compete with the Angels, is about 2 more starters. Last year they traded Dan Haren to the Diamondbacks before the season started and Rich Harden to the Cubs and Joe Blanton to the Phillies at the trade deadline last year.
Baltimore Orioles- They really don't have pitching and might need a couple more starters to finish around 5 hundred. They don't have a chance to compete with the Yankees, Red Sox, and the Rays but they can show a point that they could be a good team.
Seattle Mariners- They might need another pitcher to make spot starts if a pitcher gets injured, for instance like Eric Bedard, he had arm injuries last year and he might get them again. So they will need a cheap price player to step in.
Kansas City Royals- They have a lot of starting pitching but maybe to get his command back they will put him in the bullpen. They still need more pitchers in there bullpen.
Chicago White Sox- Don't like to spend money and like to take chances on Pitchers (Bartolo Colon, sign 1 year 1 million deal this year).
I put no teams up here on the National League because the Cubs don't want Rich Hill to come back and do really good and beat them for a win.
Those are some teams that I think will be interested in Rich Hill.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Buster Olney on the Jake Peavy Trade
UPDATE: ESPN's Jayson Stark siad that the cubs won't even talk about Jake Peavy untill the ownership is resolve, which remains far apart. He said that you might be looking at a deal (If one), late March early April.
Update: According to Tim Dierkes of MLBTR.com the Cubs-Padres deal that involves trading Jake Peavy to the Cubs isn't gonna happen. Things can certainly change at any second, but I'll keep you posted.
According to Buster Olney, the Cubs and Padres will start up the Jake Peavy talk because now the Cubs have starting pitching that the Padres will like. He also says the trade will be around third baseman Josk Vitters. Olney also says that they have more flexibilty with the acquisition of Aaron Heilman (Now the Cubs could trade Marshall and now use Heilman as there long relief guy).
I will keep you posted on this Peavy saga.
Update: According to Tim Dierkes of MLBTR.com the Cubs-Padres deal that involves trading Jake Peavy to the Cubs isn't gonna happen. Things can certainly change at any second, but I'll keep you posted.
According to Buster Olney, the Cubs and Padres will start up the Jake Peavy talk because now the Cubs have starting pitching that the Padres will like. He also says the trade will be around third baseman Josk Vitters. Olney also says that they have more flexibilty with the acquisition of Aaron Heilman (Now the Cubs could trade Marshall and now use Heilman as there long relief guy).
I will keep you posted on this Peavy saga.
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