Bradley and Rays, Swisher
Anyhow, the link is to Nightengale's twitter account (h/t mlbtr) where he says the Rays are the "clear-cut favorite" on Bradley. He also notes that the Yankees might be shopping Swisher.
As for the former, nothing new. As for the latter, it's another name to ponder. Not ideal, but who's ideal (even Granderson isn't "ideal"). As noted, I'd rather land a CF and move Fukudome to RF, but all options should be kept open. He could potentially add some lineup "depth", and if the Cubs let Derrek Lee walk after 2010, he could potentially be a stopgap option at first (that said, I think a big year from Lee, and the Cubs extend him for another couple years). Just a thought.
about 2 years ago
toonsterwu
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I have to admit...
…I saw the Swisher thing on Twitter, too, and gave it some thought. I really wish he could play centerfield. (I kinda doubt he can – his UZR numbers there are pretty bad.) But he’d be a nice, flexible guy to have on the team. Plus, hey, he’d keep the clubhouse loose! Not sure what it would take to get him, though.
Catch my act on Twitter as @dat_cubfan_dave.
Swisher and cool clubhouse guy has a limited lifespan I think
The White Sox freaking hated him, now the Yankees are looking to move him. Something isn’t being told here.
Just say no to players named Aaron on the Cubs.
Yeah, maybe so.
He had a really nice bounceback season, so I don’t really understand why they’d want to get rid of him.
Catch my act on Twitter as @dat_cubfan_dave.
It might mean they want to bring back Damon
and go after Holliday, or perhaps they think Swisher can bring back a starting pitcher. The Yankees have a lot of OF depth depending on where they go in free agency. Gardner and Cabrera might both be starters most places.
Just say no to players named Aaron on the Cubs.
re:
gardner and cabrera might be starters most places? I’m not real sure about that. Cabrera’s defensive ability is overstated because of how poor the Yankees corner OF spots have been in recent years. He’s an average offensive performer – I think he’s about smack near the middle for OPS, but haven’t checked in awhile Gardner and Fuld are essentially similar players – guys that could start in the right situations in CF.
I think Gardner has more speed than Fuld
I could be wrong about it, I haven’t seen too much of Gardner, but I think he is a better base stealer than Fuld. Again that is from what little I’ve seen from both.
Cabrera probably isn’t the greatest hitter, but it works if he plays center. His arm makes up for some of his lack of range. I would take him to start in center on a number of teams including the Cubs. Again that is just me. Ultimately I think they are imperfect and a bit overhyped but still starters.
Just say no to players named Aaron on the Cubs.
I got to see Gardner and Fuld, not on the same field.
Gardy is faster.
Randy Wells. A product of the Roy Halladay School of Pitching, located in Toronto, Canada. Possible relocation.
Perhaps they are "selling high"
I did watch a bunch of Swisher during ‘08. From my perspective, I think the White Sox wanted him to play a lot out in CF. I don’t think that CF is a position that someone can just be expected to play game in and game out unless he’s been groomed to do just that. It is a physical toll. In any event, I think it was that requirement to play so much CF that effected his offensive ability. In NY, he was asked to play much less CF (if at all), and his numbers went up.
If memory serves, wasn’t there a push before ’08 by Hendry to bring Swisher to the Cubs?
by jerry morales rules on Nov 19, 2009 3:41 PM CST up reply actions
Yeah, that's a good point about the rigors of playing centerfield.
I don’t recall Hendry looking seriously at Swisher, but maybe he did. I know the idea was debated here to a certain extent.
Catch my act on Twitter as @dat_cubfan_dave.
my hunch is that
the yankees want to make a play on an of while also bringing back matsui and damon for dh and lf. that said, neither holliday or bay are ideal for rf duties defensively.
Are the Cubs using Rudy Jaramillo as leverage in Bradley negotiations?
That’s what Jayson Stark is reporting here. (See first bulleted item at bottom.)
How seriously should we take this?
(I was going to post this as its own Fanshot, but we’ve already had so many freakin’ Bradley posts. toonsterwu, I hope you don’t mind me taking things in this direction.)
Catch my act on Twitter as @dat_cubfan_dave.
no prob ... i also found it interesting
that Stark quotes a scout comparing Castro to Hanley (not the first time that comparison has been made) whereas Kevin Goldstein recently said he thought it was a ridiculous comp. It seems like we’re seeing a split in opinion based on “scouting” and statistics.
It certainly sounds like they are.
If the reports are true that they no longer feel they have to move him?
Hopefully that doesn’t mean that, ahem, BLou is on to something??
It sure seems like Hendry is trying to do two things at once here
Gain leverage in negotiations, while also hinting at Bradley’s possible return. I’ll bet he still wants him gone, and will still trade him, but he also probably knows that there is a chance Milton plays for the Cubs in 2010.
Just say no to players named Aaron on the Cubs.
I agree, except...
… I think there’s no chance Milton plays for the Cubs in 2010. Hendry is just trying to increase his trade value.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Increase his trade value?!?!?
C’mon Al. Baseball executives of 29 other franchises aren’t stupid enough to buy into a PR blitz regarding Miltion Friggin Bradley. Bradley’s market value is what it is…which is zilch. The ONLY way Hendry moves Bradley is if he has the capacity to swallow at least 75% of his remaining $20 million and / or can find another team with a similar awful contract it wants to dump - and - is willing to overlook Bradley’s toxic qualities. Which is a very tall order indeed.
I think Hendry is stuck with Bradley. I absolutely hate the notion of him coming back, but I think that is how this thing winds up. The spin control is already starting to percolate.
"Cubs will win 79 to 83 games." BLou (7/21/09)
Interesting...
…but other clubs aren’t stupid enough to fall for this ploy.
Either way this turns out (trading him or keeping him), the Cubs are not going to look good. A trade will require them to eat boatloads of cash, but keeping him will make them look even more foolish.
I still think he gets traded, but Ricketts is going to have to eat more than he originally intended to. Not exactly what Hendry wanted to happen with a new owner walking in the door.
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
I don't think the Cubs were under any illusions
… about how hard it would be to trade Milton.
I hope they didn't
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
I think "we" were
“we” being the collective we here in BCB-land.
Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."
I suggest reading the full section in the link
• Tampa Bay, Texas and Toronto look like the three most feasible destinations for Milton Bradley these days. But the Cubs are telling teams that (A) they’re not interested in digesting all or most of Bradley’s money (two years, $21 million) just for the sake of moving him, and (B) the hiring of his old hitting coach, Rudy Jaramillo, means they no longer think they have to trade him. So they seem to be zeroing in on clubs that might be willing to swap one messy contract for another. Pat Burrell would be that guy in Tampa Bay, but the money doesn’t match up and the Cubs would have to find a third team interested in Burrell. Lyle Overbay seems to fit that mold in Toronto, but the Cubs would need a third team to take him, too, since Derrek Lee is still occupying first base. And Kevin Millwood might still be a possibility with Texas, but certainly not one-for-one. Potential deals with the Angels (for Gary Matthews Jr.) and Diamondbacks (for Eric Byrnes) look dead at the moment.
Good to hear Sarge Jr is out. Overbay should have trade value in a flippable trade.
Is he traded yet?
Well, we know we can trade him straight up for
the D’backs Snyder if we wanted. There would have to be other landing places.
Is he traded yet?
But we already have Chris Snyder.
His name is Koyie Hill.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
I really hope you're kidding...
Tell you what, the day that Koyie Hill finishes a season with a .800 OPS, I will sport a Sox hat and walk down Clark pledging my undying love for Ozzie Guillen.
by Damen Jackson on Nov 19, 2009 5:15 PM CST up reply actions
Don't do that.
But Hill did have about the same year in 2009 that Snyder did.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Don't worry,
I’ll never have to.
I’m prepared to call Snyder’s 2009 an outlier. Everything that could go wrong did for that Diamondbacks team.
For Koyie Hill, 2009 was just business as usual.
Point is, getting a good catching prospect back for Bradley would be like a second Christmas.
by Damen Jackson on Nov 19, 2009 5:39 PM CST up reply actions
I'd gladly take Snyder.
Especially if Soto decides to go and eat some more Caribbean islands.
Randy Wells. A product of the Roy Halladay School of Pitching, located in Toronto, Canada. Possible relocation.
Snyder is a "prospect"?
He’s two years younger than Hill.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
And, based on the Heilman trade at least...
…it appears Hendry has a good working relationship with the D’Backs GM.
Catch my act on Twitter as @dat_cubfan_dave.
Swisher's act wears thin
Plus the Yankees have Austin Jackson knocking on the door, remain positive on Brent Gardner as a starting outfielder, have Melky Cabrera in the mix and on top of everything else would like to bring Johnny Damon back.
"Cubs will win 79 to 83 games." BLou (7/21/09)
Yeah, the Cubs have had such good luck
with former catchers sons playing for them. This made me think of Todd Hundley. I never want to think about Todd Hundley.
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