The Indians really needed a good outfielder. And the Cubs apparently really needed to trade a good player with a reasonable contract for prospects. I'm going to try and avoid a passive-aggressive, smart-ass tone by using question headings.
What did the Cubs get?
It is pretty well known what the Indians got. Even though Fukudome hasn't been amazing since coming over from Japan, it isn't difficult to predict what he will bring. It is difficult to determine what Abner Abreu and Carlton Smith will bring.
Abner Abreu: Signed by the Indians in '08 as an undrafted free agent, the term 'raw' is used to describe his skills. He ranks fairly high on most Indians prospect lists but he's still playing A ball and is only 22. He has shown good power for that level. He's played mostly right field and a little third base.
Carlton Smith: Drafted by the Indians in '04, Carlton has made his way to AAA Columbus where he has pitched 46 innings with 46 strikeouts. (ooh) In those 46 innings he has only allowed 4 home runs. (ooh)
Carlton is obviously closer to the majors and given the level of pitching that the Cubs have seen from their AAA team in Iowa, Carlton will be a welcome addition.
It also opens right field up for Colvin to get regular playing time, which I support in spite of his poor perfomance at the plate this season.
Why is this still annoying?
It's still annoying because the Cubs should be trading the bad contracts. I think we got two good players for Fukudome, the Cubs didn't get fleeced or anything. I also think they needed to trade for some prospects to help replace what we lost in the Garza trade. Still, any trade that doesn't involve Alfonso Soriano or Carlos Zambrano just won't be good enough.
Go Indians.
Since the Cubs are pretty much out of it, I now choose other teams to root to the playoffs. I like to root for the Royals but at 11 games out they're very unlikely to make the playoffs. The Tigers are killers at the plate but can't pitch their way out of a . . . they don't have good pitching. The Indians have put together a good team with not much money and I like that. Hopefully Fukudome will help them to the playoffs.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Weeks Replacement
1. Craig Counsell
This option wouldn't even be questioned if Counsell was having a better year at the plate: .154 BA and 4 RBI in 72 games. Even if Counsell had a .250 average I think the Brewers would be more prone to plug him in at 2nd without much thought, but he is simply not hitting. The team would lose too much offense if they used Counsell for the duration of Weeks DL stint.
2. Eric Farris
I don't see this happening either. The Brewers are too close to first place and it's too late in the season for them to trust half the middle infield to a 25 year old who is only doing so-so in Nashville.
3. Josh Wilson
In 31 games for Milwaukee this season Wilson has played every infield position and some outfield. His defense is above average. He strikes out at a steady clip but is still an offensive upgrade from Counsell. Wilson seems like the most logical in-house choice for the Brewers.
4. Trading for Jamey Carroll
People are already speculating that this is a possibility since Carroll has been in trade talks all year and the Dodgers have expressed that they are 'open for business'. Carroll is having a solid year at the plate and would be great for Milwaukee. The determining factor here is how long Weeks will be out. If management thinks he will be back in 15 days then they'll be more likely to find someone already on the roster. Otherwise, they may seriously consider moving some prospects for Carroll. In spite of Carroll's decent numbers this season I doubt the Brewers would need to give up much to land him.
I am not a big fan of trading for rental players but the Brewers just lost a ton of offense. The team needs to find maximum offensive production from their replacement and that would be Jamey Carroll.
Recently, the Brewers were also 'talking about' Clint Barmes and Jerry Hairston Jr. These two would provide slight upgrades over Wilson. It wouldn't be surprising to see the Brewers target them since they'll likely be quite cheap.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Cubs Sign (enter aging veteran name here)
The Texas Rangers signed him at the beginning of the season for the purposes of being a middle reliever and spot starter and then they released him. He's not the worst pitcher in the majors but he's certainly not been good.
The Cubs are out of it, plain and simple. Instead of paying for some mediocre starts how about bring up some of the minor league pitchers to help out. I know, none of them have been good this year but go down to Tennessee and call up Chris Rusin or Robert Whitenack. Are they going to do worse than Bush? Probably not and it'd be a good opportunity for the team to focus on seasoning their minor leaguers instead of filling ML holes with ineffective vets.
Monday, July 11, 2011
No Starters In Iowa, No Hope in Chicago
The Cubs starters this year have proven to be a pretty fragile bunch. Only three players (Garza, Dempster and Zambrano) have more than 10 starts. (All three of those starters have ERAs over 4.00.) Since the Cubs are only prone to trade away their good players (read: Gorzelanny) our thoughts immediately drift to the minor league system to replace these injured pitchers. Unfortunately, there are no starters at Iowa.
That may seem like a rude comment to make but production from starters in the Cubs AAA team has been bleak, bad, rough. There really isn't an adequate word to describe it, that's why it's best to simply say: "There are no starters there."
Four pitchers on the Iowa Cubs have started more than 10 games and combine for a 5.95 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. The best pitcher of those four is 38 year old Ramon Ortiz who just got tagged by the Pirates for six runs in four innings. Other pitchers at Iowa who have started games have been less effective. (In case you're wondering, the starters at Tennessee have been mediocre and aren't close to the majors.)
This isn't to suggest that if only they had pitching, they'd be a force in the division. Their offense ranks at the bottom as well. I would certainly feel better for the team if they had some viable starting options in the system and I simply do not see a single one.
For now the team will need to continue to rely on Ramon Ortiz and . . . . .
That may seem like a rude comment to make but production from starters in the Cubs AAA team has been bleak, bad, rough. There really isn't an adequate word to describe it, that's why it's best to simply say: "There are no starters there."
Four pitchers on the Iowa Cubs have started more than 10 games and combine for a 5.95 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. The best pitcher of those four is 38 year old Ramon Ortiz who just got tagged by the Pirates for six runs in four innings. Other pitchers at Iowa who have started games have been less effective. (In case you're wondering, the starters at Tennessee have been mediocre and aren't close to the majors.)
This isn't to suggest that if only they had pitching, they'd be a force in the division. Their offense ranks at the bottom as well. I would certainly feel better for the team if they had some viable starting options in the system and I simply do not see a single one.
For now the team will need to continue to rely on Ramon Ortiz and . . . . .
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
My Dad Comments On the Astros Recent Struggles
The Astros? Is that even a thing? An Astro?
Did your kindergarten students name that team? Sounds like something a 5 year old would come up with.
I don't even know how you root for a team called that.
I can watch something between the Wolves and the Eagles or something but not the Astros. Especially not baseball, that takes forever.
. . . . . . . . . . .
Well how should I know how they're doing, you're the one into baseball with your blog and everything.
How's that going by the way?
Did your kindergarten students name that team? Sounds like something a 5 year old would come up with.
I don't even know how you root for a team called that.
I can watch something between the Wolves and the Eagles or something but not the Astros. Especially not baseball, that takes forever.
. . . . . . . . . . .
Well how should I know how they're doing, you're the one into baseball with your blog and everything.
How's that going by the way?
Friday, April 22, 2011
Cubs Pitching, April 20th
Rotation
Ryan Dempster
Heading into the season I considered Dempster the ace. Zambrano was too volatile, Garza is unproven in a smaller ballpark like Wrigley. So the first concern I list here is that Dempster has given up five home runs in four starts. Here's a list of the players who tagged him: Neil Walker, Andrew McCutchen, Bill Hall, Angel Sanchez, Seth Smith. Not really monsters at the plate. With the offense challenged to score so far (5th in Runs and Home Runs in the division), allowing four runs per start through 5 innings is a recipe for a terrible record, for Dempster and the Cubs.
Carlos Zambrano
Through four starts Carlos has been pretty consistent. He had one rough game (five runs in five innings) against Houston but other than that he has really given the Cubs a good chance to win. If he can maintain his composure on the mound (and in the dugout) he can regain his status as club ace.
Matt Garza
Garza has 25 strikeouts through 18 innings but batters are hitting .338 against him. He hasn't given up any home runs yet but that doesn't necessarily calm the critics when you're getting hit like crazy.
Casey Coleman
Andrew Cashner and Randy Wells were intended to be starters 4 & 5 but they're injured so Coleman has started two games. He lost his first against Milwaukee, allowing four runs in five innings. He won his second game in Colorado allowing one run in five innings. The Cubs will take an outing like that any day but over time his inability to go deeper into games will hurt the pen.
James Russell
Russell is getting starting opportunities due to the injuries mentioned above. He couldn't get out of the second inning when he started against the Astros but he's scheduled to start the second game of a double-header coming up. Some say Samardzija should start instead but it's really a 'lesser of two evils' decision here.
The rotation will improve when Wells and Cashner return but unless Garza and Dempster get it together it won't be enough to stay at the top of the division. Also, James Russell is a reliever, not a starter. The team needs him in the pen where he can be more effective.
Bullpen
As predicted, the Marmol/Wood/Marshall trio is working out pretty well to start the season. Unfortunately, the team will need more than these three to win games, especially when the starters don't go deep. John Grabow has had some good innings and some bad ones and I'm concerned he's not the lefty that the Cubs need in the pen. I think going with just Russell and Marshall will be fine. Outside of the killer three, the team will need to hope that the young bullpen from last season has improved and can muster some good innings.
Ryan Dempster
Heading into the season I considered Dempster the ace. Zambrano was too volatile, Garza is unproven in a smaller ballpark like Wrigley. So the first concern I list here is that Dempster has given up five home runs in four starts. Here's a list of the players who tagged him: Neil Walker, Andrew McCutchen, Bill Hall, Angel Sanchez, Seth Smith. Not really monsters at the plate. With the offense challenged to score so far (5th in Runs and Home Runs in the division), allowing four runs per start through 5 innings is a recipe for a terrible record, for Dempster and the Cubs.
Carlos Zambrano
Through four starts Carlos has been pretty consistent. He had one rough game (five runs in five innings) against Houston but other than that he has really given the Cubs a good chance to win. If he can maintain his composure on the mound (and in the dugout) he can regain his status as club ace.
Matt Garza
Garza has 25 strikeouts through 18 innings but batters are hitting .338 against him. He hasn't given up any home runs yet but that doesn't necessarily calm the critics when you're getting hit like crazy.
Casey Coleman
Andrew Cashner and Randy Wells were intended to be starters 4 & 5 but they're injured so Coleman has started two games. He lost his first against Milwaukee, allowing four runs in five innings. He won his second game in Colorado allowing one run in five innings. The Cubs will take an outing like that any day but over time his inability to go deeper into games will hurt the pen.
James Russell
Russell is getting starting opportunities due to the injuries mentioned above. He couldn't get out of the second inning when he started against the Astros but he's scheduled to start the second game of a double-header coming up. Some say Samardzija should start instead but it's really a 'lesser of two evils' decision here.
The rotation will improve when Wells and Cashner return but unless Garza and Dempster get it together it won't be enough to stay at the top of the division. Also, James Russell is a reliever, not a starter. The team needs him in the pen where he can be more effective.
Bullpen
As predicted, the Marmol/Wood/Marshall trio is working out pretty well to start the season. Unfortunately, the team will need more than these three to win games, especially when the starters don't go deep. John Grabow has had some good innings and some bad ones and I'm concerned he's not the lefty that the Cubs need in the pen. I think going with just Russell and Marshall will be fine. Outside of the killer three, the team will need to hope that the young bullpen from last season has improved and can muster some good innings.
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