Overflow Thread 1: The Sky Is Falling (Jake Fox Traded)

I haven’t been back to the now 600+ Fox/Miles thread, but I’d call this deal another one of Jim Hendry’s nicer “minor” trades (akin to dealing for Grabow and Gorzellany at the trade deadline). Jake Fox was a fun guy to watch swing the bat, but I’m not really sold on whether he’s ever going to be able to adequately adapt to major league breaking balls. And though he worked hard defensively whereever the Cubs put him, he’s probably never going to excel at any one position in the field.

Meanwhile, Hendry finally put the battered punching bag that is Aaron Miles out on the street for the junk collectors to take and, lo and behold, Billy Beane was behind the wheel of the rusted-out pickup truck. Maybe Miles isn’t as horrible as he appeared in 2009 – well, he almost HAS to be somewhat better. But when a aging roleplayer’s season goes that horrible awry, it’s probably best for both said player and the organization to part ways. Best wishes, Aaron, seriously. I’m sorry you had to go through what you did. Further kudos to Hendry for getting some salary relief in the deal.

Last, but not least, the Cubs have now bolstered their pitching depth a bit. I know neither of the arms picked up in the deal appears destined for Cooperstown but, c’mon, they can’t hurt.

… of those who haven’t been able to wade through the extensive Miles/Fox post.

My two cents worth, this was neither a good nor a bad trade, it was what it was. Is it possible that Fox will turn out to be a solid DH for the A’s, but its also possible that the three bodies the Cubs landed will provide some value. I think its much more likely that Fox continues to have the struggles that landed him in Piniella’s dog house and that the Cubs landed a few 4A players.

IMO the story of this trade isn’t the trade, it was why this trade was necessary. This should serve as yet again another reminder that Jim Hendry needs to improve how he does his job. Trading Miles was necessitated by a.) Hendry giving Miles too much money for too many years and b.) Hendry digging a massive hole with some of the contracts that he has handed out. Fox could have been a part of a bigger trade and may have netted the Cubs a better prospect, however Hendry has cornered himself in to such an extent that every million dollars is important. There is no room for waste with some of the massive contracts to untradable players and unfortunately the only way Hendry was able to free up this money was by giving up on Fox. Without the need to free up that money Fox likely could have gotten something better.

More likely than not we’ll see Miles have a bounce back (yet still mediocre) season. Fox will be what Corey Patterson, Ronny Cedeno and Felix Pie were… exciting to the new team and likely to have some standout games, but in the long run a disappointment. We can only hope that Gary Hughes and co saw something they really liked and got something under the radar. Finally, we’ve got to hope that Hendry stops giving away stupid contracts and learns how to be a GM who does more than sign free agents.

I won’t even bother going into the other thread.

Lou didn’t like Fox, Fox barely played the last few weeks of September. In 2010 he wouldn’t have been the primary backup at third (that would be Jeff Baker) left or right (Sam Fuld) and probably not even first (Hoffpauir, Baker again).

Please have all the success in the world in Oakland Jake, but let’s not get stupid here. Fox simply wasn’t going to do much here.

However I find it very interesting how passioned the reaction here has been.

I bet a field sociologist would feel as happy as pig In a mud hole, researching us.

….and simply Fox doesnt fit here or in the NL. You cant get the A’s or anyone else for that matter to take your garbage (nothing personal Aaron) without some sort of upside.

I think there is an fan attraction to players that appear to be hard workers (trying many postions), overcome some sort of adversity (long time in minors) and are charismatic and Fox seems to fill all of those qualities.

Responding to the trade’s critics/Jake Fox’s diehards gave me a nice laugh and a half.

It gets Aaron Miles out of town and puts Jake Fox into a position to succeed as a DH and get 3-4 AB’s per game that he would have NEVER gotten in Chicago. His defense just wasn’t on-par with a position player. I wish Jake all the best, and just hope there isn’t any Eric Patterson/Matt Murton hate left in Oakland from the Harden/Gaudin trade… although I think both sides have been thoroughly shafted by now. And hopefully Aaron is out of the league quickly so he and the A’s don’t have to suffer any further humiliation.

everybody wanted Miles gone since about April 16 of last year and he is gone now. You people killing this trade should learn something from the stock market. When you make a bad investment and finally realize it and can get out of it, you cut your losses and move on. Worst case this move saved us 1.7 mil to use at the trade deadline this year. This deal tells me we might only have to eat 5-6 million of the Bradley deal which is good and it might even be better than that. Bradley is a far better player than Miles.

I was surprised and amused at the passion that became the “Jake Fox” fan club. I liked the guy he can hit but does not have a position to field. I am sure he is a great guy a fan fav. This is the best situation for him. Plus no more Aaron Miles, part of a bad offseason in 2008.

From here.

I have heard that Ryne Sandberg has been named manager of the Iowa Cubs. I can not find any articles to confirm. I just received a text from a friend back in Des Moines.

As a DM resident I am stoked about this news! If I can locate any links I will post a fanshot.

Just so you know… I hate you all.

In late August, my wife and I attended a game at Wrigley Field and we were able to obtain some tickets right behind the Cubs dugout through a friend of the family (where real Cubs fans hardly can ever sit due to scalpers stealing all the tickets).

It was raining hard until we got to the park, but then it cleared up right before batting practice. My wife and I were sitting about 7 rows back from the Cubs dugout when Jake Fox and another teammate started walking up. I called out to him and said hi, and held my camera up as if to ask if I could take a photo.

Jake waived me down (past their old ushers, who need sensitivity training when dealing with fans) to the gate behind home plate, and as I walked up he flipped me a batting practice ball. He then signed the ball on the sweet spot and then he stood with me while my wife took our photo. He then told my wife and I that he hoped that we enjoyed the game and thanked us for coming. He was was one of the most genuinely nice baseball players I have ever met, along with Mike Fontenot, Ryan Dempster, Sam Fuld, and Jeff Samardzija.

My point is, that you rarely see players do that anymore. He could have nodded and went into the dugout like most players do now, but he didn’t. He also played hard every time I saw him out in the field and looked as if he never took it for granted that he was out there. Everytime they showed him in the dugout he had a smile on his face. I think it’s important that teams have guys like these who understand that they would not have a job if it wasn’t for the fans and who show their appreciation by spending a few minutes making a fan’s day, as he did for me.

Contrary to what some of the people on here think (that don’t know anything about baseball), he was a good hitter who could play several positions adequately, including catcher. He was a good weapon to have if the other team brought in a tough lefty to face someone like Fukudome, Fontenot, or Hoffpauir, and his presence alone was on the other manager’s mind during late inning switches.

He wasn’t Harmon Killebrew, or Babe Ruth, but he was a good baseball player with a great attitude towards the game and the fans. If we had to trade him, we should have gotten more for him, or traded him as a package towards something that would have benefited our team. Trading him for three useless players, just to save a couple million (a drop in the bucket to billionaires), is nothing but crap. With all of the undeserved benching that Lou Piniella gave him down the stretch (for players like Bobby Scales, Ryan Freel, and Andres Blanco), I knew he was in the doghouse (for no apparent reason) and that Hendry would trade him the first chance he got (and that it would be a dumb trade, as it turned out to be).

Last season showed that the Cubs need to make drastic changes in their front office, scouting areas, and field manager/coaches (except Alan Trammell). Since they have not, and these people have only continued to make the team worse (they have completely destroyed a 97 win team that was the best in the NL), Cubs fans have nothing to be excited about this season. We will continue to hear the same whining about payroll issues, the same dumb free agent signings (overpaying in years and dollars), the same dumb trades (like this one and the DeRosa trade), the same kicking team players in the teeth (like Reed Johnson and Kerry Wood), and a steadily worse record.

All I can say is good luck to Jake Fox. Like Mark DeRosa this past year, we’ll wish that we had you this coming season. But hey, we’ll be able to watch you hit your 35 HR’s this year on Baseball Tonight. At least you’ll have a manager who lets you show your talents.