Bleed Cubbie Blue

The Cub Can Of Worms: Fred McGriff

2008-11-22T14:00:07Z

This FanPost titled "Fred McGriff to the Cubs?" from a few days ago, in which digitalbenjamin asked everyone to post what they thought were the Cubs' worst acquisitions, inspired me to open the Can of Worms about Fred McGriff himself -- a player who put up significant numbers, yet in some ways it seemed he was never even here.

photo via thediamondangle.com

In 2001, the Cubs decided to cut ties with Mark Grace after, supposedly, Grace refused to take a lesser role and mentor Hee Seop Choi, the organization's top first base prospect at the time. Choi clearly had talent, but at the end of the 2000 season was only 21 years old and had played only 36 games above A ball -- probably at least a year, maybe two, from being major league ready. He had only 13 spring training at-bats before being reassigned back to the minor league camp.

To hedge their bets, the Cubs acquired Matt Stairs and Ron Coomer in the 2000-2001 offseason, and both saw time at first base during the first half of the 2001 season, along with Julio Zuleta, whose biggest contribution was lightening up the atmosphere in the clubhouse. After a 4-0 loss to Arizona on May 18, Zuleta decided to take a page from the movie "Major League":

"It worked," Zuleta said. "I put the bat bone (rubbed on bats to smoothen them) in the middle of a plate and put a banana and apple and orange around it. Then I got some Flexall from the trainers and ... some newspaper and burned it. I made it up as I went along. The bats got hot and everyone started hitting."

Whatever the reason, the Cubs won 12 in a row after Zuleta's "ritual" -- their longest winning streak since 1945. And Zuleta's own bat went cold, resulting in him being sent back to the minors -- for good -- on June 26.

Still, even though they were in first place all of June and into July, GM Andy MacPhail insisted they needed to upgrade at 1B. Stairs and Coomer were doing a good job, but Good Ol' Andy set his sights on Fred McGriff, then playing for his hometown team in Tampa.

The deal took more than three weeks to finish. McGriff had a no-trade clause and let it be known that he didn't want to leave his family in Tampa, thus giving rise to a nickname among some of us in the bleachers: "The Family Man". Then we heard he didn't want to play in all the day games at Wrigley Field... new nickname: "The Prince of Darkness".

Finally, on July 27 the deal was done (maybe this was a precursor of how hard MacPhail would be to trade with once he became Baltimore's GM). The Cubs sent Manny Aybar and a PTBNL (who turned out to be Jason Smith) to the then-Devil Rays for McGriff, whose first Cub game was a nationally-televised ESPN game on Sunday night, July 29. He took the field to a huge ovation and walked, singled and scored a run in 7-5 Cub win.

And... the team fell right into the tank. Standing 60-43, 3.5 games in first place when The Family Man took the field for the first time, the Cubs went 28-31 the rest of the way and finished third, even though McGriff's numbers with the Cubs were almost identical to what he had put up in Tampa (lower BA, but higher SLG).

The next year, McGriff again hit reasonably well, but the Cubs were awful, losing 95 games and finishing last, and rather than put Choi, who had been recalled in September, in the lineup every day to see what he could do, interim manager Bruce Kimm left The Prince of Darkness in the lineup. Why? To give him a shot at his 10th 30-homer season. After Fred finally hit this milestone blast (in a 5-4 loss at Pittsburgh on September 22, nine days after hitting his 29th and a full month after his 28th), he made only one token PH appearance the rest of the year, closing a sorry chapter in Cubs history. The Cubs were 95-126 with McGriff on the roster.

Oh, and The Family Man? Where did he go after leaving the Cubs via free agency after the 2002 season?

Los Angeles, more than 2,500 miles from home. He left the Cubs with 478 career homers, at age 38. But he slumped in LA, was benched and finished 2003 with 13 HR. Going home again to Tampa, where he hoped to reach 500 HR with his hometown team, he hit .181 with 2 homers in 27 games and was released on July 28, 2004, seven homers short of 500 and probably forever short of the Hall of Fame induction he thought he would clinch with that milestone homer that never happened.

Good, I say. McGriff's lackadaisical attitude with the Cubs makes most of us wish he had never been one. He did play in five postseasons and has a ring from the 1995 Braves, and put up good postseason numbers (.303/.385/.532 with 10 homers in 188 AB) -- but I'd be hard-pressed if you asked me to remember any one of them..

Cubs Ticket Prices Likely To Remain The Same In 2009

2008-11-21T13:35:32Z

So says Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney:

"We'll certainly want to keep a good number of our seats flat in ticket prices," Kenney said. "We'll look throughout the inventory to see whether there is the ability to increase the price in certain areas, but this is a tough economy for our consumers, as well as our sponsors and our fans. We recognize that. We don't want them to view our ticket prices as a burden."

Good. Ticket prices were already second-highest in baseball, on average, behind the Red Sox -- and the Red Sox, whose model Kenney says he wants to emulate, froze ticket prices for 2009. Times are tough; the article goes on to say that the current economic climate may reduce the price that Sam Zell will get when the team is eventually sold:

Dave Novosel, a debt analyst at Gimme Credit, said in a research note Wednesday that he has revised downward the franchise's expected sales price. "Our initial estimate that Tribune would generate proceeds of roughly $1 billion from the sale of the Chicago Cubs was eclipsed by the credit crisis," he wrote.

Notwithstanding the unintentional humor in the name of the firm quoted ("Gimme Credit"??), that's likely correct. However:

Decisions about ticket prices today affect revenue projections on which bidders are estimating the value of the franchise. If the Cubs freeze ticket prices, that would drive down the price of club, said a person close to one bidder who wanted to remain anonymous because the sales process is ongoing.

As always, we await further developments.

The 12,785th Update On The Cubs Sale

2008-11-20T03:40:11Z

Yet another deadline has been set for more offers to be submitted to Sam Zell and Tribune Co. for the sale of the Cubs:

Bidders for the Cubs have until Dec. 1 to submit offers, Major League Baseball said Wednesday after a meeting of its ownership committee.

Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, said representatives of four bidders have met in New York in recent weeks with officials from the commissioner's office, MLB's Internet company and the sport's new television network.

The team was put up for sale in April 2007 when Tribune Co., the Cubs' owner, announced it was being acquired by real estate developer Sam Zell. DuPuy said the latest deadline was set by the Tribune Co.

"Bids are expected the week after Thanksgiving," DuPuy said. "Mr. Zell claims the team is for sale and they're moving forward."

I especially like that last part: "Mr. Zell claims the team is for sale." As if they don't really believe him. Clearly, Tribune Co. is in serious financial trouble, as is the entire newspaper industry (not to mention many other sectors of our economy) and the fact that Zell and Tribco have debt service payments due soon is well known.

Still, whether or not the completion of the sale of the team will happen by Thanksgiving (as one rumor had it) or Christmas (said another) or the Twelfth of Never (as many pop singers might have said) is still a matter of YGIAGAM (Your Guess Is As Good As Mine, for those not big into acronyms).

We, as always, await further developments. Prediction: when this deal finally gets done, it will be the Ricketts family of Omaha (whose fortune was made in owning the Ameritrade online brokerage) who will be the new owners.

Book Review: "The Best Team Ever"

2008-11-19T15:37:00Z

Alan Alop and Doc Noel's "The Best Team Ever" is the novelized story of the 1907 Cubs, the first Cub World Championship team.

But it is so much more than that. It's told, in part, by supposed "journals" left by a rookie pitcher for that team, Blaine "Kid" Durbin, a lefthanded pitcher who got into only 11 games that year (and only five of them as a pitcher; he played the others as an outfielder). But the way the fictionalized Durbin tells the story, it's about far more than baseball. Naturally, there are stories of the best-known Cubs, Tinker and Evers and Chance, but also quite a bit about pitcher Jack Taylor (who's portrayed as a hard-drinking, hard-swearing prankster), Johnny Kling (who held out until almost the time the season started, after which Chance was so mad at him that he barely let him play till May, explaining his total of only 104 games played), and many others.

In addition to well-researched descriptions of baseball in that era -- I especially liked the authors' use of period terminology (among those: calling spring training the "Practice Season", and calling what we would term a .356 batting average "356 percent") -- there's a parallel story of what living in Chicago was like in 1907. We meet many lowlife characters who haunted the city's many saloons and brothels, and there's a story of a young woman who is making her way to Chicago from Iowa to make a new life after all her family dies, who is kidnapped and forced into prostitution. Both real and fictional characters inhabit this part of the story, seamlessly weaved into what becomes not only a thriller, but a love story.

It begins before the season even starts, with Durbin meeting Cubs owner Charles W. Murphy in his ornate downtown Chicago office to sign a contract (for more money than Durbin, who was from a small town in Missouri, could have imagined). It takes you through the "Practice Season", which was held in those days at the West Baden Resort in French Lick, Indiana -- not much warmer than Chicago, based on the narrative. The team travels through various cities playing exhibition games with the local teams -- remember, in 1907 you likely had never seen a major league game unless you lived in one of the ten major league cities (Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, Washington, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis), and teams frequently did trips like this "coming north" from spring training, even as late as the 1960's. They also played exhibition games during the season for extra money; the novel tells of the Cubs playing a black team, the Leland Giants, and some repercussions from that in those less-enlightened days, and has quite a bit about the World Series and how the Cubs approached playing against Ty Cobb, someone most of them had never seen play before that October. You'll find out about how players in that era, much rougher men than the ones who play today, routinely cheated on the field, largely because most games were umpired by only one man, who couldn't possibly see everything.

The story also involves another real-life celebrity from that era, a traveling magician named Howard Thurston; I'll leave it to you to find out how he was involved, and how it ends up. I highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in Cub, baseball, Chicago or American history. It's fiction, true: but realistic enough that it gives an excellent portrait of what life, and baseball, was like 101 years ago.

Cubs AFL Report: Solar Sox 13, Javelinas 6

2008-11-18T04:30:05Z

MESA, Arizona -- The grass was a little browner than I remembered it from last March, scorched by the summer Arizona sun.

But parking's free, and it costs only $6 to get in -- sit anywhere -- so why not? I headed over to Ho Ho Kam Park Monday afternoon to take in the AFL game between the Mesa Solar Sox (comprised of prospects from the Cubs, Phillies, Braves, Marlins and Tigers) and the Peoria Javelinas (taking their players from the Mariners, Rays, Yankees, Brewers and Reds). A Javelina, apparently, is some sort of wild pig, as shown by their logo:

Personally, I like the Solar Sox logo (at left) better.

The PA guy (not Tim Sheridan, who does the Cubs' spring games, but someone else) laid a little joke on the small assemblage when announcing the attendance: at first he said "13,297", then adjusted it to 297 (and that must have included the 15 or so scouts, both teams and the employees behind the one concession stand that was open, and though the ticket price was cheap, the food was not: full major league prices for the limited selection). Those of us enjoying the above-average 78-degree game-time temperature and completely cloudless skies saw the Solar Sox beat the Javelinas 13-6 in a game that wasn't that close -- it was 13-0 Mesa at the end of the fifth inning, and then Mesa relievers gave up three homers and six runs over the last four innings. More on this later.

I'll talk more about the Cubs involved in this game in a moment, but the story of the game was Atlanta pitching prospect Tommy Hanson, a 22-year-old, 6-6 moose of a guy who throws bullets and has a nasty breaking ball; he threw five shutout innings, allowing one hit and two walks and striking out ten. It's no wonder that the Padres spent a good portion of the last couple of weeks trying to pry him away from the Braves in the Jake Peavy negotiations. Nor is it surprising, given the talent I saw today, that the Braves said no way. Hanson, though he spent 2008 split between the Carolina League and the Southern League, might be ready for a shot at the Atlanta rotation in 2009.

The Solar Sox scored first; Matt Young, another Atlanta prospect, led off the game with a walk (there were 12 walks in all in the game, which made it drag at times); next up was the Cubs' Nate Spears. After faking a bunt, then taking a pitch:

Spears swung at the next pitch, and on this swing (the catcher is faking a throw to second as the runner had taken off):

... he smacked a two-run homer, his first in the AFL, down the right-field line. Spears later singled, struck out, walked and flied to left, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Personally, I like Spears; he's hitting .338/.457/.500 and has split his time between SS and 2B almost equally during the AFL season. I am well aware cough Sam Fuld cough that AFL stats don't necessarily translate into major league success. However, I think Spears at the very least will get a spring training invite and possibly as much as being added to the 40-man roster (after the Rule 5 draft) with a chance of making the major league team as a reserve infielder.

The Solar Sox added two more runs in the third off Peoria starter Alex Periard (from the Brewers; he was less than impressive, walking four and allowing eight hits and six runs in 3.2 innings). Steve Kahn (Mariners) came in and promptly gave up a single and a walk to load the bases, and another Atlanta prospect, third baseman Van Pope, hit a grand slam to the right-field berm (sorry, Ballhawk, the berm was officially closed, although that didn't stop a couple of people from trying to run after the six home run balls hit out there -- even though they had the sprinklers going in right field most of the afternoon).

The Cubs' other position prospect who played in Monday's game was Darwin Barney, a fourth-round pick out of Oregon State in 2007. This faked bunt attempt:

... eventually resulted in Barney grounding into a 5-4-3 double play (on a subsequent pitch). Barney grounded out three times, popped up and walked in his five times up (he hit ninth in this DH-used game).

Cub pitching prospects didn't do very well. Rocky Roquet, rather old for this league and his level (he turned 26 two weeks ago and has never pitched above Double-A), relieved Hanson and allowed three runs (two earned, thanks to a throwing error by Spears) when Yankee prospect Juan Miranda slammed a three-run homer. All three outs recorded by Roquet were on deep fly balls.

And Esmailin Caridad, who had one appearance for the major league Cubs in spring training in 2008, didn't distinguish himself, either; after retiring the first two hitters in the 8th inning on lazy popups, he issued a walk and then Miranda hit his second homer of the game. Caridad throws pretty hard for a guy his size, only 5-10, 195:

Finally, the hitting coach for the Solar Sox is someone you might recognize:

In the AFL many of the coaches and managers serve as base coaches; Peoria's manager Daren Brown (who manages Seattle's Triple-A team at Tacoma) coached third, while former Cub Ozzie Timmons coached first. For Mesa, manager Rocket Wheeler didn't coach, which left first-base coaching duties for various players who weren't in the game, and third-base coaching for Ryno. I was sitting in the first row behind the Peoria dugout and overheard, toward the end of the game, and also toward the end of his conversation, one of the Peoria coaches, who I thought I recognized, telling either one of his players or one of the other coaches -- I couldn't tell which -- that Mesa's hitting coach was "Ryne Fucking Sandberg". (There was, apparently, a reason for this reference, but I didn't catch it.) Then I figured out who uttered that profanity... Peoria pitching coach Ted Power, onetime closer for the Reds who was, briefly, in spring training with the Cubs (and I believe, Sandberg's teammate), trying to hang on in March 1994.

Baseball. Love it. Glad to have seen a ballgame in mid-November. Can't wait for spring training!

All photos by Al Yellon

It's Official: Cubs To Help Open New Yankee Stadium

2008-11-17T23:58:55Z

As rumored a few weeks ago, the Cubs will play in the first two games at the new Yankee Stadium, two exhibition games the weekend before the regular season begins:

The Cubs and Yankees will play the first exhibition games at the new Yankee Stadium on April 3 at 6:05 p.m. CT and April 4 at 12:05 p.m.

"The Cubs are thrilled to be the Yankees' first opponent in the new Yankee Stadium and are honored to take part in this historic event," said Cubs chairman Crane Kenney. "[Cubs manager] Lou Piniella and eight of our players had the honor to partake in All-Star Game festivities that helped say farewell to Yankee Stadium last summer, and we look forward to participating in the opening of the Yankees' new ballpark next spring."

While it's an honor to be so chosen, it's a lot of travel -- to go from Mesa on April 2, to New York the next day, play two games in less than 24 hours, then on to Houston for Opening Day.

Why The Cubs Need Ryan Dempster

2008-11-17T23:20:09Z

This site's #1 Greg Maddux fan, Jessica (aka Doggie Stalker), who regularly scans Atlanta news sites for info about her favorite player, sent me this Atlanta Journal-Constitution link today.

Most of it is about Jake Peavy and the Braves' fruitless (so far) pursuit of him. But then the writer, Carroll Rogers, tells us this story about Ryan Dempster:

photo via www.cubbiesnation.com

In the meantime, I throw out a personal vote for Ryan Dempster because this is my blog (for the moment) and I can say what I want. He’s still available after the deadline passed for teams to negotiate with their own free agents. My honorary cousin Phil Rogers of the Tribune says the Cubs offered him $48-$50 million over four years.

But here’s the personal part: I went into the Cubs clubhouse in spring training in 2004, unknown to most everybody in the room except for Greg Maddux, whom I was waiting to interview about spending his first spring training away from the Braves in 12 years.

And Dempster, seeing me standing there by myself, probably looking a little bewildered, came up and introduced himself. Yes, "Hi, I’m Ryan Dempster." And he asks me where I’m from and what I’m working on.

Unreal. I’m telling you, that doesn’t happen in clubhouses. You’re supposed to know who these guys are, for one thing. And I did. But what an impression that made.

See? It’s years later and I’m still talking about it, and thinking he’d make a great addition to the Braves clubhouse. And OK, OK, there’s got to be a baseball part too. Seems to me he’s on the upswing. Just put up a 17-6 season with a 2.96 ERA for the Cubs in his first year back in the rotation since 2003 with the Reds.

Laugh if you will, tell me this stuff doesn't matter. I tell you that it does matter. Good clubhouse guys aren't easy to find, and when you have one like Dempster who gets it, in addition to being dedicated to his craft and staying in shape so he can continue to perform at the high level he did in 2008, you keep him.

The Cub Can Of Worms: Danny Young

2008-11-17T15:29:17Z

Some of you are saying: Who?

Danny Young, a 6-4, 210-pound lefthander who looked good in a uniform, made the Opening Day roster for the Cubs in 2000 for two reasons: first, he had made seven appearances totalling eight innings in spring training, striking out seven and allowing only two runs, and second, the Cubs and Mets were both allowed several extra roster players for their two-game opening series in Tokyo.

via www.jamd.com (Donald Miralle/Allsport)

Young, one of the lowest-round draft picks to ever play in the majors, was originally picked in the 83rd round (can you imagine GM's today sitting around to pick 83 times?) by the Astros in 1990, but they didn't even bother to sign him until nearly a year later, May 10, 1991. He bounced around their system and the Pirates' for six years until the Cubs picked him in the minor league draft on December 15, 1997. He didn't throw that well in the Cub organization either, but his decent numbers in 1999 at Double-A (67 K in 60 innings and a 3.30 ERA) got him a spring-training invite in 2000.

And so, after the sort-of good spring he had in 2000, off it was to Japan for Danny, an extra lefty in the pen.

The second game there went into extra innings; six Cub pitchers, including starter Kyle Farnsworth (he would start only four more games after that one before being moved permanently to the bullpen), had held the Mets to three hits and a run over the first ten innings, while the Cubs couldn't muster any more than a single run, either.

Our man Danny took care of that: after retiring the first two hitters in the 11th inning, he gave up a single to Todd Zeile, walked the bases loaded, and then Benny Agbayani hit a grand slam.

When the Cubs returned Stateside, Danny made three more appearances, all in the first US series against the Cardinals. He had scoreless outings in the first two games, then, relieved again in a game Dr. Tightpants had started (Kyle allowed eight runs in three innings). Danny gave up three runs while retiring only one batter in a 13-3 Cub loss, whereupon he was sent to Iowa with a 21.00 ERA. He put up a 5.59 ERA in 27 appearances in Triple-A and left baseball for good.

The 2000 Cubs, losers of 97 games, were a horrid team. Expect to see more members of that squad in this series. Danny Young, who appeared in only four games, is mostly a footnote in Cub history, except for the loss he took in Japan. (I was surprised to be able to find a photo of him -- it was taken in a spring training game on March 15, 2000, a 10-4 Cub win over the Brewers. Check out the cap he's wearing and the very evident can of tobacco in his pocket.)

The Big Cub Unit?

2008-11-15T22:50:33Z

As reported today on the Cubs website and also by Paul Sullivan in the Tribune, the Cubs are one of six teams to have contacted Randy Johnson's agent expressing interest in signing The Big Unit to a one-year deal.

photo via www.chrisoleary.com

Well.

I dunno. Clearly, as last year, the Cubs are being built to "win now". But does that mean the 45-year-old, 21-year major league veteran is the answer? If the Cubs sign him, does that mean they are giving up on re-signing Ryan Dempster? (I hope not.)

Johnson did have a fine second half (5-3, 2.41 in 13 starts; in 86 innings he walked only 16 while striking out 78) for the Diamondbacks. But again, he is 45 years old; this sort of smacks of the continuing David Wells comebacks, which finally fizzled out in 2007. Johnson's back problems also worry me; if the Cubs do wind up signing him, any deal has to be heavily incentive-based (on number of starts). If he did make all his starts, maybe he does have one more year left in him. If not, you thank him and let him go. Am I advocating this? Not really -- I think there are other, better options. But neither am I slamming the door shut (although I did say "no" the other day when asked this very question in this FanPost). Reasonable minds can be changed. I'm willing to listen, at least.

Having a pitcher of this stature get his 300th win -- he needs only five -- in a uniform so foreign to his career (he is 13-0 lifetime vs. the Cubs, the only franchise he has never lost to, and that includes all five he has played for), would be unprecedented in major league history. Gaylord Perry is probably the only true itinerant who has 300+ wins, finally registering his 300th victory in 1982 as a member of the same Mariners for which Johnson first gained fame, and also remember he played under Lou Piniella for five and a half seasons (from 1993 until he was dealt to Houston halfway through the 1998 season).

So my answer now is: Maybe. Johnson has significant postseason experience, 121 innings in 19 games (16 starts), although his last three postseasons, with the 2002 Diamondbacks and 2005 and 2006 Yankees, didn't turn out so well.

Finally, in one of those "who played with whom" games that's always fun, I feel compelled to point out that in Johnson's first September callup, in 1988, one of his teammates was 43-year-old Graig Nettles, who made his major league debut 41 years ago, in 1967. In fact, Nettles' last major league at-bat was as a pinch-hitter for Johnson on October 1, 1988. The Big Unit got his first major league hit at Wrigley Field in the second game of a doubleheader on September 20, 1988; he also threw his first ML CG that day, striking out 11 Cubs in a 9-1 Montreal win (for big laffs, check out the Cub lineup and pitchers that day).

So -- let's wait and see. This would be a true outside-the-box move, and if he were a Cub, at least Johnson couldn't beat them any more.

Finally, I am in Arizona soaking up the sun for a few days. I'm planning on going to Mesa to see the AFL game on Monday. If any Phoenix-area BCB readers would like to join me there, email me so we can make arrangements to meet up.

Friday Discussion Topic: Jermaine Dye

2008-11-14T15:04:43Z

Both Jim Hendry and Lou Piniella have made no secret that they're going to move Kosuke Fukudome to CF, platooning him with Reed Johnson, and look for a lefthanded bat to play RF.

But what if they think outside the box just a little? Yesterday, the Tribune reported that Kenny Williams is scouting the Arizona Fall League for prospects he might want in dealing Jermaine Dye away.

via www.bestsportsphotos.com

Dye hits righthanded, sure. But he has been a solid hitter for the White Sox for the last four years; has played in ten postseason series, including two World Series (and was named WS MVP in 2005); most importantly, his postseason numbers (.270/.320/.417 in 163 at-bats) aren't that much different from his career regular season line (.276/.338/.491), important in an era when Cub bats have disappeared once the calendar turns to October.

Dye has one year left on his contract at $11.5 million; there's a $12 million mutual option for 2010 with a $1 million buyout. According to Cot's Baseball Contracts, he has a limited no-trade clause -- can block trades to six teams, though it doesn't mention the teams. Dye has averaged 34 HR and 96 RBI in his four years with the White Sox. He turns 35 in January; he's a good outfielder, and also has hit .296/.322/.620 in 108 career AB at Wrigley Field.

I think it's worth investigating -- if Kenny Williams is watching AFL games, perhaps he could be interested in Rocky Roquet, Esmailin Caridad or Steve Clevenger. I imagine he might also be interested in a major league infielder, since Orlando Cabrera is gone and they intend to move Alexei Ramirez back to his natural SS position. Would they want Ronny Cedeno?

What sort of deal could you put together to bring Jermaine Dye to the North Side?

I, personally, think acquiring him would help the 2009 Cubs. He'd have to change that number, though.

The End Of The Kerry Wood Era

2008-11-13T22:43:46Z

This afternoon, the Cubs traded Jose Ceda to the Marlins for Kevin Gregg.

I'm not thrilled with this deal as Gregg is a mid-level closer who had two decent, but not outstanding, seasons as the Marlins' 9th inning pitcher the last two years. Gregg turns 31 in June and his K totals were down last year compared to 2007. The one thing he does well is not allow the long ball -- only three in 68.2 innings in 2008. One of those homers was the three-run jack that Daryle Ward hit to win this game on August 15 in Miami. Also, Gregg had knee problems that forced him to have surgery for left patellar tendinitis two weeks ago. He's supposed to be ready for spring training.

On the other hand, Kerry Wood's numbers were almost identical to Gregg's last year -- except he issued fewer walks. Unfortunately, this trade apparently means the end of Kerry Wood's tenure as a Cub, said GM Jim Hendry in a conference call:

"We felt it was time Kerry goes out and does what is best for him and his family and get a huge multiyear deal, if possible," Hendry said. "This is really the right thing to do. We’ve had some really honest conversations in the last week. We don’t have to get into how much I think of him, but at the same time I don’t think we could do for him right now what he deserves and what I think he’ll get going elsewhere."

I guess I understand this -- that article also says that the Cubs are looking to keep Ryan Dempster and add a lefthanded hitter, and although payroll is apparently going to be increased, there appear to be some limits to this.

The problem I have is that Kerry Wood is the face of the franchise. He has been loyal to the Cubs far beyond what most players would have done in similar situations, and the Cubs returned that loyalty by keeping him a year ago when he could have had a larger deal elsewhere. Many of you think I make too much out of clubhouse chemistry, but Kerry Wood was one of the leaders of this team, someone others, not just pitchers, looked up to. Who's the face of the franchise now? Bat-breaking Carlos Zambrano? Quiet Derrek Lee? Maybe Geovany Soto could step up in a couple of years, but it seems a bit early for that. I'm very sad that Wood, who is one of my favorite players, is going to be in another uniform next year -- and the team 90 miles to the north in Milwaukee is looking for a closer and I'm guessing Doug Melvin would love nothing more than to stick it to the Cubs by offering Wood a three or four year deal.

Now wouldn't you hate that? The thought of Wood in a Brewers uniform makes me sick. Let's hope some American League team -- the Angels, maybe, who might lose K-Rod -- will sign him and we won't have to worry about that.

As far as the deal itself, I hope that Carlos Marmol will now be given the full chance to take the closer's spot, with Gregg as his setup man, and someone who could step in if Marmol fails -- I don't expect that, I think Marmol is ready to close in the major leagues. I'm not that thrilled with losing Jose Ceda, but he has pitched only half a season above A ball and I suspect the Cubs didn't think he had harnessed his command yet. Maybe Ceda will become a good major league pitcher, but that could be two or three years away (though the way the Marlins promote their minor leaguers, maybe sooner).

This is a sad day in Cubs history as they part ways with someone who has been exemplary in every way, as a ballplayer and a human being. I will miss him.

The Cub Can Of Worms: George Mitterwald

2008-11-13T14:36:59Z

George Mitterwald was acquired by the Cubs from the Twins on December 6, 1973, as part of the "Back Up The Truck" policy then in place; management was dismantling the teams of the late 1960's and early 1970's because, well, they never won anything despite being heavily favored to do so. Rather than a photo of him as a Cub, I'm using Mitterwald's 1971 Topps card to illustrate this story because... well, have you ever seen a catcher's mitt that large?

In any case, this was a "challenge" trade, something baseball people did more often in those days than they do now, a deal swapping players playing identical positions. Randy Hundley, 31 years old and with two bad knees, was shipped to Minnesota for the 28-year-old Mitterwald, who had hit 16 homers and drove in 64 runs for the Twins in 1973, with an OPS of .731 that was slightly above league average (102 OPS+). The 16 homers ranked tied for fifth (with Darrell Porter) among AL catchers in '73.

In his fifth game as a Cub, on one of those windy, warm April days that we rarely seem to have any more, April 17, 1974, Mitterwald hit three homers and drove in eight runs as the Cubs blew out the Pirates 18-9 (it wasn't even that close -- the Pirates scored five runs in the ninth after the game was well in hand). The last of the homers was off Steve Blass, pitching in his last major league game after suffering the mysterious loss of control that got a "baseball disease" named after him.

Only years later was this story told: Mitterwald had been told the day before, after the Cubs lost a 12-inning game to Pittsburgh on April 16, 8-5, that he'd be getting the day off on April 17. So he apparently went out and partied late into the night. The best day of Mitterwald's career, the 3 HR, 8 RBI outburst, was accomplished with a really bad hangover.

It was all downhill from there, too. By early June he was hitting .182 and was benched. (Tom Lundstedt, who briefly replaced him, wasn't any better -- Lundstedt hit .094 in 32 at-bats and was sent to the minors.) Mitterwald hit only four more homers the rest of 1974 and though he remained the Cubs' primary starting catcher through the 1977 season, he hit only 26 homers and .231 in 1067 Cub at-bats.

But that April 17, 1974 game will remain forever in the memories of the 15,560 (myself included) who were there.

A Few Words On Cub Trades

2008-11-12T14:32:17Z

In the midst of the seemingly hourly updates on a possible Jake Peavy trade (they're getting almost as tiresome as the discussion last year of the deal for Brian Roberts that never happened), I thought it would be useful to post a list of some of Jim Hendry's best deals since he became general manager in July 2002:

December 4, 2002: sent Todd Hundley and Chad Hermansen to the Dodgers for Mark Grudzielanek and Eric Karros
July 23, 2003: sent Jose Hernandez, Bobby Hill and Matt Bruback to the Pirates for Kenny Lofton and Aramis Ramirez
November 25, 2003: sent Hee Seop Choi and Mike Nannini to the Marlins for Derrek Lee
July 8, 2008: sent Eric Patterson, Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton and Josh Donaldson to the A's for Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin

Now, answer this question honestly: how many of those deals did we hear a single peep about before they happened?

The correct answer is "None", because they all seemingly happened out of nowhere, unexpected either for the player acquired (did anyone really think D-Lee was coming here? He was rumored to be headed to the Orioles, among others), or for the idea that they'd happen at all (how many of us thought Todd Hundley's deal was dumpable?). My point is this: it seems the more we hear about a potential Cub trade, the less likely it is to happen. And I suspect that's what is going on with the Peavy rumors: all smoke, no fire. Peavy will either become a Brave, or go to some other team that hasn't even meen mentioned, but not become a Cub. I believe Jim Hendry is working hard on potential deals, but this isn't one of them. (Granted, that a couple of the deals mentioned above were salary dumps, but Hendry still had to become aware of them and offer the right players, otherwise they might have gone elsewhere.)

Just before the Hendry era, remember the Fred McGriff deal? That one dragged out for three weeks before McGriff decided -- magnanimous soul that he was -- to drag himself away from his family in Tampa to help the Cubs' push to the NL Central title in 2001, which ultimately failed. McGriff's numbers were decent in Chicago, but his attitude sucked. Fortunately, the Cubs gave up very little for him (infielder Jason Smith, who has played for five teams since leaving the Cubs and has a .221 lifetime BA to show for it).

So be a little patient, at least. The open free agent season doesn't start till Friday. I have faith in Jim Hendry -- who has made many excellent moves in the last two years -- to put the right pieces on the field for 2009.

A couple of things that flew under the radar yesterday:

Geovany Soto says Henry Blanco will be back:
Soto said he talked to Blanco recently and expects the free agent backup to return to the Cubs, who declined their $3 million option on him in hopes of re-signing him for less. "He wants 100 percent to come back and doesn't want to go nowhere [else]," Soto said.
Guess who's interested in Bob Howry? The Giants, who have made a cottage industry out of signing the oldest players they can possibly find. The only criticism Brian Sabean probably has about Howry is that, at 35, he's not old enough for the geriatric Giants.

Offseason 2008-09: Where The Cubs Stand And Where They Could Go

2008-11-11T14:18:51Z

With two deals made yesterday -- Matt Holliday to the A's, and Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham to the Nationals, and Jake Peavy... still a Padre a this writing, the trade market appears to be heating up, and on Thursday, declared free agents will be eligible to sign with any team.

One interesting development overnight was the Padres' withdrawal of a $4 million offer to Trevor Hoffman. Granted, Hoffman is 41 and didn't have such a good year in 2008, but he is a franchise icon and that offer was about half what he made in '08. Whether this is another part of San Diego's cost-cutting in the wake of owner John Moores' costly divorce, or whether it's a harbinger of things to come -- will teams start to rein in spending because of the current economic crisis? -- remains to be seen.

What seems clear is that the Cubs aren't going to be major players in the free agent market. Much as we might like to see CC Sabathia in blue pinstripes, it's not going to happen. The only free agents the Cubs are likely to sign are their own -- Ryan Dempster, Kerry Wood and Henry Blanco, I believe, will all eventually re-up. Daryle Ward may not be back, and Chad Fox and Jon Lieber -- well, yes, they filed, but you didn't really expect to see them as Cubs again, did you?

So instead, Jim Hendry is going to have to get creative. With the Marlins dealing Willingham, does that mean Jeremy Hermida is off the market? I would argue that the Cubs might be able to get him with a package that could include Felix Pie and Sean Marshall. This is pure speculation on my part, and likely they'd have to put another prospect in such a deal, but Pie would be an immediate starter in Florida and Marshall would replace the traded Scott Olsen in the Marlins' rotation.

With Hermida on board and Kosuke Fukudome likely then moving to CF as a platoon partner for Reed Johnson, that would complete the Cubs' starting outfield for 2009. I would still like to see the Cubs sign Kevin Millar to back up LF, RF and 1B... and to be that clubhouse presence that was missing, somehow, during the disastrous 2008 postseason. Yes, I am well aware that Millar is getting on in years and didn't have a very good offensive season in 2008 (despite hitting 20 HR in 531 AB and drawing 71 walks, which would have ranked among the Cubs' team leaders). The Cubs wouldn't be asking Millar to start -- just back up, and provide the looseness that any winning clubhouse needs. Since Hermida would be the starting LH bat in RF, having Millar replace Daryle Ward as the #1 pinch-hitter would be acceptable. At one time I advocated trading Derrek Lee, but after seeing some of the discussions here which mentioned that his neck and back problems may have been the cause of his power dropoff, I would think that an offseason's rest would get him back into shape. He'll probably never have a year like he had in 2005, but even if he could get back to his 2004 level (.860 OPS), that'd be just fine.

With Sean Marshall gone, the Cubs would need another pitcher to perform the role that Marshall did quite well last year -- start occasionally and be a long reliever... that is, if Lou even knows how to use a long reliever, something he failed to do in many situations that called for it. There are some mid-range starting pitcher free agents that could fill this role without costing a fortune: Randy Wolf, Mark Hendrickson, or even Freddy Garcia, who started for Lou for several years in Seattle and who appeared recovered from his arm troubles in pitching five strong innings in that September 29 Tigers/White Sox makeup game at the Cell.

Filling the slot being vacated by the (presumably) departed Bob Howry should be fairly simple to do, either via someone on this list of free-agent relievers (would you take a chance on bringing back some former Cubs like Juan Cruz or Kyle Farnsworth?) or perhaps, by someone who will come out of spring training and surprise. There seems to be someone like that virtually every year. Or maybe Michael Wuertz will finally fulfill the promise that has had him as part of the Cubs' bullpen for the last five seasons.

The rest of the team seems fairly well set; regardless of whether you agree with him or not, Lou likes Ryan Theriot and he will be the starting SS, unless there's someone who could come in cheaply to replace him. One possibility could be Juan Uribe -- and if Uribe didn't start, he could capably back up all three infield positions. Ronny Cedeno did a decent job as a backup in 2008, and if he came into 2009 in the same role, I think we could live with it. Another possibility is Nate Spears, who the Cubs acquired almost as an afterthought from the Orioles in the Corey Patterson deal three years ago. Spears will be 24 in May, had an .832 OPS in Double-A last year and as of today is replicating that (.827) in the Arizona Fall League. He hits lefthanded and has a good glove. Spears isn't on the 40-man roster, which now stands at 39, but that can be easily remedied.

The bottom line is that I don't think the Cubs are getting Jake Peavy, and that's fine with me. Peavy's numbers outside of Petco don't scream "ace" to me, and his contract, four years' worth, would hamstring the team in an era when some here are screaming for Hendry to dump some of the backloaded deals he's handed out like Halloween candy over the last couple of years. The Cubs ought to also look hard at whoever is available in the Rule 5 draft and also at the non-tender list when it comes out in the middle of December.

As I said last time I posted on this topic, this team won 97 games a year ago. There's no need to blow it up and start over. Tweaking, upgrading the bench and bullpen, and making sure the starting rotation has backups in case of injury, are the most important things.

For those of you screaming and yelling about the alleged possibility that Bud Selig is going to "install" John Canning as Cubs owner, I refer you to this November 7 article from the Sun-Times:

Bidders for the team include Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and the cable channel HDNet, and Thomas Ricketts, president of corporate bond dealer Incapital LLC. An insider said Ricketts, whose family wealth derives from the TD Ameritrade brokerage, currently has the inside track.

Cuban has a colorful reputation and drinks beer in the stands with the fans, but the source said the credit drought has hurt his chances. "Whatever the price for the Cubs, he was only going to put in $100 million of his own money," the source said.

And that last part is why Cuban might be out, not any supposed enmity from Bud Selig and/or Jerry Reinsdorf. I agree with the article: if the sale is consummated soon, it'll be the Ricketts group. But given the state of the economy, who knows?

The Cub Can Of Worms: Mick Kelleher

2008-11-10T14:28:55Z

Sometimes, these stories aren't necessarily going to be about how badly the player played, although Mick Kelleher was a pretty bad hitter -- in five years in a Cub uniform his "best" offensive season was 1979, when he hit .254/.296/.296 in 142 at-bats. Mick's career BA was .213 and he never hit a homer in 1081 major league AB. His value on the field was his defense -- he was a solid backup SS and 2B.

And I decided to add Little Mick to the Can Of Worms because his name was in the news recently; it appears that Mick, now 61 years old, will soon be named the first-base coach fot the New York Yankees. (He's been the Yankee organization's defensive coordinator for the last couple of years, after being a scout and coach for the Tigers.) Reading about this reminded me of an incident that surely qualifies him for this prestigious series.

On August 7, 1977, Mick started the second game of a doubleheader against the Padres at Wrigley Field. The Cubs had lost the first game 8-6, which had dropped them out of first place for the first time since late May. They desperately needed a win to revive any flagging playoff hopes.

In the top of the second inning, Steve Renko hit Dave Kingman, then in his short stint with San Diego, with a pitch. The next hitter, George Hendrick, grounded to shortstop; SS Ivan DeJesus flipped to Kelleher for the force play. Kingman slid in hard to break up the DP. It was then that the fun started.

Kelleher took exception to the hard slide and took Kingman down. This sort of thing does happen from time to time on a baseball field, but keep in mind that Kingman stood 6-6 and weighed 210, and Kelleher was listed as 5-9, 176 (and that was probably generous). Still, Little Mick held his ground. Both players were ejected; the Cubs won the game 9-4 to make their record 63-45, but ultimately, fell far out of contention, finishing 81-81 (yes, they went a horrifying 18-36 after that August 7 2nd game victory).

Mick Kelleher played with the Cubs through 1980, when he hit .146/.217/.177 with an OPS+ of 9 (yes, that's right, nine), and was sold to the Tigers before the 1981 season began. Still, those of us who saw Mick's takedown of Kong will always remember him fondly.

BCB Free Agent Frenzy Contest

2008-11-08T13:42:46Z

For the last two years, I've run a contest paralleling MLB.com's Free Agent Frenzy. (MLB.com login may be required to view that page.)

If you haven't done this before, here's how it works. MLB.com lists 15 top free agents -- we'll use the same ones -- and then you pick what team you think each player will sign with, and a number representing your confidence level in that signing, from 15 (most confident) to 1 (least confident). In other words, if you are 100% sure Ryan Dempster will re-sign with the Cubs, you'd give him 15 points. If you think he's back but you're less certain, give him fewer points. UPDATE TO CLARIFY THIS: Each number from 1 to 15 is given ONLY ONCE for the entire list of free agents; i.e. the guy you are most confident will sign with a particular team gets 15 points; the one you pick out of a hat gets 1 point.

Whoever has the most points after all 15 free agents on the list are signed wins. The prize this year will once again be a copy of Glenn Stout's "The Cubs", an excellent comprehensive history of the ballclub.

The 15 free agents are:

Bobby Abreu
Milton Bradley
A. J. Burnett
Pat Burrell
Ryan Dempster
Adam Dunn
Rafael Furcal
Derek Lowe
Oliver Perez
Manny Ramirez
Francisco Rodriguez
CC Sabathia
Ben Sheets
Mark Teixeira
Kerry Wood

Leave your picks in the comments. We'll use the same deadline as MLB's contest: 4 pm CT on Wednesday, November 12 (the day before free agents can sign with any team). I'll also need a volunteer to keep track of these and let me know who the winner is. I'm going to make picks; if somehow I win (highly unlikely!) the prize goes to the second place finisher. Good luck!

Mark Cuban Apparently Out As New Owner

2008-11-07T10:00:09Z

Last night when I posted a few headlines, I figured that would be enough to carry us through Friday. Wrong! This morning, Chris DeLuca writes in the Sun-Times that MLB owners are going to block Mark Cuban:

Global financial crisis or not, baseball's old guard plans to stand firm against letting Cuban into the club. "There's no way Bud and the owners are going to let that happen," a Major League Baseball source said this week. "Zero chance."

I had, as most of you know, initially been against Cuban, thinking his NBA courtside antics and his "all about me" image. After having met him last year in Las Vegas and considering what he did with the Mavericks when he bought them -- stepping aside and letting his basketball people run the show -- I was willing to see what he could do.

I do think DeLuca is a little over the top in his article, which seems to say that Cuban is the only person who can keep the Cubs winning at the current level:

And it's becoming clear Mark Cuban won't ride in to save the day.

Save the day? What's been going on the last two years? Is DeLuca saying that had Cuban been the owner this year, the team wouldn't have folded up in October? Ridiculous. Also, DeLuca has some out-there speculation:

All of this likely will put the group headed by John Canning Jr. -- Selig's personal favorite -- back as the front-runner.

There's nothing I've heard that would indicate this is the case. The Ricketts group out of Omaha still seems the most logical choice, and they have pockets as deep as Mark Cuban's. But the most important thing about the article may be this:

But this week at the GM meetings, [Bud] Selig cautioned executives to be prudent in the face of the world financial crisis.

"There are some very real issues in the global economy," White Sox GM Ken Williams said. "For any of us to believe this isn't going to ultimately affect our business, you have to have your head in the sand."

[Jim] Hendry agreed.

"We've all been fortunate with the Cubs to work for a great company that increased payrolls the last couple of years, even with the club for sale," Hendry said. "And I was fortunate enough that they gave me a contract extension without a new owner in place. We have a lot to be thankful for.

"At the same time, you face the reality of the world that it's very tough economic times."

And so, I agree with this:

Will the Cubs' ownership question put a crimp in general manager Jim Hendry's ambitious offseason plans?

"We'll be given a fair payroll number," Hendry said. "I don't have a final figure yet, but there is no indication that we are going to go backward. We're in the middle of a pretty good situation. The last couple of years, we've got it going in the right direction, and we don't have an old team. We still have a lot of positives, and our [minor-league and scouting] departments are doing real well."

And this final note about the ownership situation:

That same MLB source promised a deal won't be done by Opening Day 2009.

"We'll be standing here at next year's GM meetings," the source said, "and this will still be unresolved."

That very well might be true. We, as always, await developments.

A Few Free Agents To Consider, Ballpark News, And No More Postseason Coin Flips

2008-11-07T02:08:29Z

I haven't done a headline post like this in a while, and when I do, I've usually put them up in the morning. But there are some interesting notes tonight, so I'm getting this one up now, and you can continue discussing during the day.

A. J. Burnett has opted out of his contract and is a free agent. I am neither arguing for nor against signing him; I simply point out that a lot of people here were in favor of going after him last winter. What say you now?
The Yankees bought out Damaso Marte's deal. He's a free agent. Some here were in favor of the Cubs going after him last summer. Marte had a good year, and the Cubs could use a lefty reliever. He sometimes walks everyone in sight, and he's 33 years old. Thoughts? (Another note in that link: the Yankees are considering making former Cub Mick Kelleher their first-base coach.)
More renovations and seat additions are being made to Fenway Park this offseason. Crane Kenney has said more than once that he looks to the Red Sox as a model in many different ways. What the Red Sox are doing to Fenway could be a model of what could be done to fix up Wrigley Field.
And finally, wild-card and division tiebreakers may be decided by head-to-head records, not coin flips; GM's will discuss this again at the Winter Meetings next month. Perhaps this is a precursor to giving all postseason home fields to the team with the better record.

That ought to give you enough to fill your Thursday night and Friday. Have at it.

2008 SB Nation MVP Awards

2008-11-06T19:00:05Z

I don't think there are any big surprises here; I suspect our balloting will come pretty close to matching the BBWAA awards

In order for the tables to fit better, you'll have to click "Continue reading this post" to find them. For MVP's, we voted for the top 10 instead of the top 3, and points were allocated as follows: 14 points for first place, then 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 for 2nd through 9th.

My ballot: 1) Pujols 2) Wright 3) Beltran 4) Howard 5) A. Ramirez 6) Berkman 7) H. Ramirez 8) Braun 9) Delgado 10) Soto

Mike's ballot: 1) Howard 2) Pujols 3) Wright 4) Berkman 5) Delgado 6) Braun 7) Utley 8) H. Ramirez 9) A. Ramirez 10) Soto

National League	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points
Albert Pujols	13	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	218
Lance Berkman	1	2	3	4	1	1	4	-	1	-	113
Hanley Ramirez	-	4	1	3	2	-	1	1	1	-	86
David Wright	-	1	3	1	2	3	2	3	-	1	95
Chipper Jones	-	1	3	3	1	5	-	-	-	-	85
Ryan Howard	3	1	1	1	-	-	1	-	-	1	71
Chase Utley	-	1	1	1	4	2	2	-	2	1	71
Ryan Braun	-	-	1	3	-	2	1	1	2	1	51
Carlos Beltran	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	3	1	1	36
Manny Ramirez	-	1	-	1	1	-	1	-	-	1	27
Matt Holliday	-	-	-	-	1	2	-	-	4	-	24
CC Sabathia	-	2	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	1	23
Carlos Delgado	-	-	-	-	2	1	-	1	1	-	21
Aramis Ramirez	-	-	-	-	2	1	-	-	1	2	19
Ryan Ludwick	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	3	2	2	17
Jose Reyes	-	-	-	-	1	-	2	1	-	-	8
Brad Lidge	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
Carlos Lee	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	6
Pat Burrell	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	4
Brian McCann	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	4
Prince Fielder	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	4
Stephen Drew	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	3
Geovany Soto	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	2
Tim Lincecum	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2
Brian Giles	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1

American League	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points
Dustin Pedroia	5	3	4	2	1	-	-	2	-	-	155
Joe Mauer	2	3	2	2	2	1	1	1	-	-	109
Grady Sizemore	5	2	-	-	1	1	-	1	2	-	106
Kevin Youkilis	2	-	2	3	1	4	-	1	2	-	98
Alex Rodriguez	2	1	4	-	4	-	-	-	1	1	96
Josh Hamilton	1	1	-	3	3	1	1	-	1	-	73
Justin Morneau	1	3	1	1	-	1	-	-	-	2	63
Carlos Quentin	-	-	2	2	-	2	2	2	2	-	58
Carlos Pena	-	1	-	-	-	3	1	1	-	-	31
Cliff Lee	-	1	-	-	2	-	-	1	-	-	24
Milton Bradley	-	-	-	1	-	-	1	2	2	2	23
Aubrey Huff	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	1	-	2	17
Roy Halladay	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	13
Miguel Cabrera	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	1	-	1	12
Evan Longoria	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	2	10
B. J. Upton	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9
Ian Kinsler	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2	-	8
Francisco Rodriguez	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	5
Alexei Ramirez	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
Brian Roberts	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
Vladimir Guerrero	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
Jim Thome	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
Nick Markakis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	2
Joe Nathan	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
Jermaine Dye	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1

The Cub Can Of Worms: Kyle Farnsworth

2008-11-06T15:30:38Z

Dr. Tightpants (named for how he wore his uniform trousers). Heartthrob of Lincoln Park Trixies. Owner of a million-dollar arm that could throw a baseball 100 MPH. And owner of a ten-cent brain that prevented him, most likely, from becoming an elite closer.

Farnsworth first came to the majors with the Cubs in 1999, and was put into the rotation for that really bad team. He made 21 starts that year, and on August 29, 1999, he threw a two-hit shutout against the Dodgers in Los Angeles (oddly, the two hits, both singles, were made by future Cubs: Mark Grudzielanek and Todd Hollandsworth).

The next year Farnsworth was moved to the bullpen and struggled again, posting a 6.43 ERA. But in 2001 he started to dominate, striking out 107 batters in 82 innings and his ERA dropped to 2.74. This started a strong alternate-year pattern which lasted through 2006 -- good in the odd-numbered years, bad in the even-numbered years.

But he had a reputation for being a late-night partier, hanging out in one bar that stayed open till 4 am, and supposedly was caught sleeping in the clubhouse one day in 2002 when interim manager Bruce Kimm was looking for him to pitch. If memory serves, this is the game in question -- Kyle came in and faced five batters, walking three of them. The Cubs won the game anyway.

It was the next year that Dr. Tightpants endeared himself to Cubs fans forever. On June 19, 2003, in a game vs. the Reds at Cincinnati, Kyle threw an inside pitch to Reds pitcher Paul Wilson, who was trying to bunt. Wilson started yelling at Farnsworth, and the result was a bloody takedown by Kyle.

The Cubs lost the game, but Farnsworth won over fans who had previously been up and down about him because of his up and down pitching. The following year, Farnsworth turned on a fan and kicked it. I say "it" because the fan in question was one used to cool down the dugout. That came after this massive meltdown against the Astros on August 27, 2004. He sprained his knee and spent a month on the DL. (He had, earlier in the season, hurt himself and missed a couple of games fooling around kicking footballs around the Wrigley Field outfield. Maybe he should have tried the NFL as a career.)

That tantrum, along with a pitching meltdown in the disastrous eighth inning of game six of the 2003 NLCS, got him sent out of town -- traded to the Tigers for the guy many of us called "Spanish for Kyle Farnsworth", Roberto Novoa (and also Scott Moore and Bo Flowers). Kyle's tenure in Detroit lasted four months; he was traded to Atlanta at the 2005 trading deadline, but not before showing off his pugilistic skills again on July 17, 2005, a game he wasn't even pitching in.

Here's the description from the Retrosheet boxscore linked above (Kyle's in this photo, hidden behind the Royals' Jeremy Affeldt):

TIGERS 6TH: Guillen was hit by a pitch; the second pitch hit Guillen's helmet; Guillen yelled at Hernandez and the two charged each other; both benches and bullpens cleared; no punches were thrown and it appeared to be over when Farnsworth charged Affeldt and threw him to the ground; KC ejections: Runelvys Hernandez, Emil Brown, Alberto Castillo, Mgr Buddy Bell; Detroit ejections: Carlos Guillen, Jeremy Bonderman, Kyle Farnsworth

Two weeks later, Farnsworth was traded to Atlanta. After the 2005 season, he signed a three-year deal with the Yankees worth $17 million. His production was poor -- ERA's over 4 all three years -- and by the middle of 2008, the Yankees had had enough, and shipped him back to the Tigers. He's currently a free agent, and with the 100 MPH fastball no longer there, turning 33 in April, Farnsworth may not find too many suitors ready to sign him, except maybe for WWE.

If only he'd had a brain to match that arm.