Chicago Cubs 2012

There have been many different attempts at a creative way to describe this upcoming Cubs season. I prefer the famous line from the film Raging Bull when Jake LaMotta’s brother says “If you win, you win. If you lose, you still win.” Allow me to expound on that.

For the first time in quite some time, the Cubs have zero expectations of winning. Most fans with a brain understand this to be true. The Cubs themselves know this to be true. The reason being is that this organization is still riddled with bad contacts to aging veterans that aren’t nearly worth the paper they’re printed on. There’s no real hope of someone from the minor leagues coming up this year to vault the Cubs into contenders, and the Cubs are not a trade or two away from contention either.

Here is the most important thing to realize and remember throughout this upcoming season. The Cubs have freed themselves from the same organizational pathos that was a staple of the Jim Hendry Era. No longer will the Cubs simply throw money at the biggest available free agents, and expect that to cure everything that ails them. Cubs’ fans finally realized this to be true this winter when (surprisingly to Cubs fans only), the Cubs did not even attempt to sign Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder.

Those free spending days are over, thanks to the hiring of Theo Epstein and his bookworm frat boy crew who are now running this franchise, and they aren’t interested in a quick fix. Theo and the gang are in this for the long haul and any serious Cubs fan should be very thankful. (Please spare me the “104 years and we’re out of patience!” nonsense because you’ll wait as long as it takes, trust me).

Unfortunately for Cubs fans, what Theo wants and needs to do with this team (drafting, trading veterans for prospects, and drafting some more), takes time. As a result, the lineup and rotation are going to be tough to watch this season.

Who to watch in the lineup: Obviously the main draw should be Starlin Castro. His 207 hits last season were a good sign that he can make the necessary adjustments to be a professional hitter in the big leagues. Nobody knows what long time minor league player Bryan LaHair is going to do, but odds are it won’t be much. Cubs’ fans should root heavily for Marlon Byrd to hit the cover off the ball, since that would only help his trade value.

Who to watch pitch: Matt Garza remains the best pitcher on the staff. The better he does, the quicker the Cubs can turn this organization around because he’ll return more prospects in a potential trade. Jeff Samardzija might FINALLY be ready to break through this season, but I’ll believe it when it happens. Carlos Marmol is always a hire-wire act to watch, as he continues to post freakishly high Walks and Strikeouts per 9 innings pitched ratios.

Bottom Line: I believe the Cubs will finish 75-87, give or take a few. Going back to the Raging Bull line, if the Cubs win more than 75 games, great. If they win less, they get higher draft picks which plays right into what Theo Epstein does well, hence “If they win they win. If they lose, they still win.”

I just hope most Cubs fans keep that in mind this season.

Shooting Blanks

August 19, 2011 was quite a weird day in Cub Land. In a move that can only be described as clumsy, the Chicago Cubs announced that general manager Jim Hendry has been fired....on July 22? Reason why : "We didn't win enough games". Ummmmmmm, OK?

We all know the memorable moves of Jim's tenure. We know how he fleeced the Pirates in 2003 for Aramis Ramirez. We know he put together a team 5 outs away from going to the World Series. We're aware that he traded Hee Seop Choi for Derrick Lee, and took a savvy flyer on Ryan Dempster in 2004.

We also remember that he gave Alfonso Soriano one of the worst contracts in baseball history. We'll never forget the disastrous signing of powder keg Milton Bradley to a three year $30 million dollar contract which then spawned into Carlos Silva. We'll never forget his undying loyalty to his favorite son, the recently suspended Carlos Zambrano, when he signed Zambrano to a $91 million dollar extension in 2007.

I could go on with numerous other ridiculous moves Hendry's made which have equated to a couple of division titles, three managerial hires, a 9 game postseason losing streak, and most importantly zero World Series championships, but you can go somewhere else to find someone dancing on Hendry's grave. This post is more geared toward where the Cubs go from here.

Hendry's dismissal should have been a move that gives Cub fans hope. Hendry's departure would serve as a symbol that Tom Ricketts finally realized that Hendry's ways of building a baseball team are no longer viable. It would show that ownership has realized they have been operating under antiquated philosophies, as well as spent money and resources foolishly. This realization along with cutting Hendry loose, would be the beginning of moving the Cubs in a direction of becoming a progressive organization. Somehow, I don't get the sense that is happening after today, and the reason is because this should have happened in the fall of 2009.

Look before you jump to any conclusions, let me be clear that it's not because they retained Crane Kenney. Crane Kenney is for losers like WSCR-AM's Dan Bernstein to obsess over. My concern stems from someone more important. Someone who is responsible for Kenney being in the position he currently finds himself in, and that man is Tom Ricketts.

Ricketts does not impress me as a man who possesses a vision and testicular fortitude necessary to execute his vision. Ricketts has been trying to buy this team since 2007, finally got his team in 2009, and according to Ricketts himself, is just now starting to put a plan together for who he wants to hire as general manager.

That is the last thing any Cub fan should want to hear. If he truly knew what he was doing, Ricketts should have cleaned house immediately in 2009. Ricketts should have had replacements for both Kenney and Hendry ready to take over immediately before the 2010 season. I don't buy the built in excuse of "Oh Tom had to learn the business for his first year or two". B.S. You never heard that excuse applied when John Henry bought the Red Sox. Almost immediately upon takeover, Henry brought in Larry Lucchino and Theo Epstein. Henry had a vision in his mind and a plan in place before he took over. He identified the people he needed to execute it, and two years after buying the team, the Red Sox won the World Series.

While the Cubs are a different franchise with different economic realities on their payroll than the Red Sox, that by no means excuses the lack of assertiveness Ricketts has shown during his brief time as owner.  Bottom line, Ricketts has not shown that he is worth of any degree of trust from Cub fans that he will hire the right GM, even when he does something correct like firing Jim Hendry.

That fact, is way more scarier, and deserves way more wrath than Crane Kenney...

2011 Chicago Cubs Preview

If there is an expression that best encapsulates the 2011 Chicago Cubs for me, it would be "In Between". That's where the Cubs organization and roster stand from my perspective. They still have a pretty big financial hangover to shake off in the form of $92 million dollars still tied up in 6 players this season. They are still being run by a man who is responsible for said financial hangover in Jim Hendry. They have an ownership group that keeps shooting themselves in the foot, public relations wise.


With all that said though, there are some positives with this ballclub, and it would be somewhat foolish to rule this team out as possible division winners.


The Good -


Cupboard Isn't Barren : While the Cubs still have a lot of veterans that are past their primes (Fukudome, Soriano, and Aramis to name a few), they also have some good young players on the roster and a few prospects that show a good degree of promise. Tyler Colvin, Starlin Castro, and Andrew Cashner showed flashes while establishing themselves last season. Colvin continues to be a bit of a hybrid hitter (not quite a slugger, not quite a pure line drive hitter). Cashner has the confidence from management to be the fifth starter in the rotation. The main centerpiece however is Castro.


It was pretty difficult to not be impressed with Castro last season. Still just 21 years old, he showed shades of Shawon Dunston with very good range, strong arm and good plate coverage. Unlike Dunston however, Castro should/will actually improve with time rather than be the perpetual rookie that Dunston was his entire career. Castro also continues to impress the coaching staff that he's ready to work and is very dedicated to improving himself. All-Star considerations should happen this season for him.


Waiting in the wings is blue chip centerfield prospect Brett Jackson, who has been given the dreaded "5 Tool Player" reputation along with promising pitchers Chris Archer, Trey McNutt, and "The Other" Chris Carpenter who have each impressed the scouts.


Pitching : Believe it or not, the Cubs starting rotation might be the best in the division 1-4, but unfortunately two of those pitchers aren't exactly reliable. Matt Garza has been very erratic throughout his career, same for Carlos Zambrano. If those two are throwing well, the Cubs rotation will be lethal. If they continue to regress, it will sink the whole ship. Either way it won't be boring.


The bullpen should be better since they got a big lift from an old friend in Kerry Wood thanks to the hometown discount he gave the Cubs. Carlos Marmol put up a historic strikeout rate (4th highest of all time) last season, and Shawn Marshall finally has found a role as a late inning reliever. Bullpens can carry a team when they're not going well, and the Cubs bullpen should be a vast improvement from where they were going into 2010.


The Bad -


What Did You Buy? - With a payroll stretched thin as it is, and now having to eat Carlos Silva's money...why did they drop $10 million on Carlos Pena? I'm not sure what he will do for the Cubs? Pena is a nice guy by all accounts, and understands his place in baseball, but he's coming off yet another statistically weird season of .196 batting average with 28 home runs. Pena's career has been a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Maybe he'll be great, maybe he won't, but $10 million ($5 mil deffered) is too much money to gamble on a Carlos Pena-even if it is for a year.


"The Other Assholes" -Fukudome, Soriano, and Aramis are still on this team. Do I really need to waste any more words on them? There is nothing I can write about those three that hasn't already been written 8 times over from other people, so I'm not going to bother.


Prediction -


I believe the Cubs will have around 82 wins, which is enough to contend in the NL Central. I'm looking forward to seeing the good young players develop this season, as well as find out what kind of manager Mike Quade ends up being. In the end, I don't think they are balanced enough to win the division. Next season though, the Cubs will have a ton of bad money falling off the books. If they're smart, they won't bother urinating it away on Albert Pujols, but rather spend money on a couple of key players to round out the club...

Starting To Get The Itch

For those who may not have noticed, barely a week after the Super Bowl and a week before the NBA All-Star Game, Spring Training is about to begin. For the Cubs pitchers and catchers report tomorrow 2/14, while the White Sox pitchers and catchers report Thursday 2/17. You can find a complete list of all the other teams report dates here. It's hard to believe in many respects for us baseball fans, but it's that time of year. Both teams have plenty of questions heading into the regular season, and spring training can provide some answers to those questions. On the other hand, Spring Training can also provide new questions to be asked, due to possible injuries or poor performance. Here's a list of things I'll be keeping an eye on for both teams :

CUBS :

• New Faces : The Cubs weren't too splashy this offseason, but made interesting moves nonetheless. The Carlos Pena rental is intriguing. Even in a down year last year he still hit 28 home runs and still nearly drew 100 walks. Pena's teammate in Tampa Matt Garza is an interesting move too. While not popular in the clubhouse, Garza can be effective with flashes of dominance. Really all he needs to be is a better pitcher than the recently departed Tom Gorzelanny, and the Cubs rotation should improve. While not technically a new face, Kerry Wood took a huge discount to re-sign with the Cubs. Wood pitched very well in an 8th inning role with the Yankees last season. All three players are worth watching this spring.
• Looking For Comeback Years : Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Zambrano were huge disappointments for the Cubs. Zambrano had a roller coaster of a season, but I'll say this for him, he finished really strong. If the Cubs get the Zambrano they had from August 9 on, that will be big....but honestly that's nothing new. Ramirez however is a bigger worry, as he posted one of the lowest OPS' since his Pittsburgh Pirate days. He was flat out awful last season, much of it blamed on a slow start and an injured thumb. Ramirez is going to have to have a huge comeback season for the Cubs lineup to work. I will be watching Zambrano's velocity, and Ramirez's bat-speed this spring to see where they're at.
• Tyler Colvin? Hey, he's earned a spot. .816 OPS in 358 At Bats is nothing to sneeze at. Colvin looks like a good hitter, but there's nowhere to put him as long as Pena is at first and Fukudome is in right field. This will be fun to watch Mike Quade handle this situation this spring.

White Sox :

• New Faces : The White Sox were shockingly aggressive this offseason. The most splashy move the White Sox made was the signing of Adam Dunn, but they also signed Jesse Crain and Will Ohman to bolster their bullpen. Dunn is expected to be a Jim Thome type of hitter only much younger and much more of a free swinger. My main concern with Dunn is his ability to hit American League pitching. Will Ohman will be the "loogy" (Left handed relief pitcher that gets one out) while Crain's goal is to be what the Sox hoped Scott Linebrink was going to be when the signed him in 2008. The expectations being a solid 7th inning option with occasional closer duties. Crain has done that throughout his career, and we'll see if it continues. Dunn's ability to recognize pitches, and Crain/Ohman's pitching location are what I'm looking forward to seeing.
• Lineups and Staff : I'll be very curious to see how Ozzie handles the bullpen, and mildly curious to see how Ozzie will stack the batting order. If he has Chris Sale closing games, it looks like they've made up their minds that Sale will enter the regular season as the closer. If he tries Sergio Santos as closer, that may indicate that Sale will be the 5th starter. Lineup wise, I'll be curious to see how Ozzie stacks 3-4-5. Rios-Dunn-Konerko, or Konerko-Dunn-Rios, or some other combination? It'll be interesting to see what Ozzie does this spring in terms of him tipping his hand.
• Paul Konerko : Paulie came off an incredible season. A career season quite frankly. A season which I personally thought priced him off the White Sox. He thought so too judging by certain interviews he's given recently, but here he is ready to finish his long career with the White Sox. I'll be interested to see what kind of shape he's in this spring.

So there you go. Spring Training by in large is pretty nebulous, and unless you're at the games it can be pretty boring. More than anything it serves as a way to slowly get our minds ready for baseball while concurrently decompressing from football, and I say "VIVA"!

Rapid Car-Bombs

I apologize for the gap between posts. Time Management is really tested during the Silly Season, and a lot has happened since the last posting. With that in mind, I'll do my best to shoot from the hip and spray to all fields:

• It appears that Notre Dame went 3 for 3 in their attempt to shed no more light on the Elizabeth Seeberg case than has already been released, as the St. Joseph County Prosecutors Office announced that it will not prosecute Notre Dame. The County Prosecutor also will not reveal the name of the person who sent Seeberg the threatening text of "Don't do anything you would regret. Messing with notre dame football is a bad idea." Obviously Seeberg's family is not happy about this, nor am I. Before you Notre Dame defenders start saying "See I told you so, Notre Dame does NOTHING wrong!", you should understand that the only reason the Prosecutor will not pursue this is because Seeberg's death makes her statements inadmissible. That is not even close to what would be considered "innocent". Mark my words though, this won't be the last of this, and Notre Dame is FAR from being out of the woods.
• There's been some loud baseball activity on both sides of Chicago the past couple weeks. For the White Sox it was the retention of Paul Konerko and the recently signed Jesse Crain to supplement a weakened bullpen. For the Cubs, it was acquiring the statistically enigmatic Carlos Pena from the Tampa Bay Rays, and welcoming with open arms the return of Kerry Wood to their bullpen. Regarding the Cubs moves, I actually think both are good decisions. For as up and down as Pena has been over his career, he's worth the risk for one year. Getting more fastballs thrown at him in the NL should help him. As for Wood, there's really not much to dislike about it as Kerry gave the Cubs a HUGE hometown discount, while simultaneously giving them a proven bullpen arm and opens the door to Andrew Cashner joining their rotation. If Jim Hendry can pull of the impossible and make this Zambrano to the Yankees rumor happen, that would REALLY be amazing. I'll believe that when it happens though. With the White Sox transactions, I think it was brilliant how they made Konerko cave to the pressure from Dunn and AJ back loading their deals to make room for him. Paulie has been the face and captain of this team for the better part of 10 years and keeping him along for one more "go for it" season was the right thing to do, even though it involved some public peer pressure. Crain could be good, but he could be Linebrink too (please god I hope he's better than that).
• Brett Favre...Eff your record. Yeah it's impressive, yeah you played through a lot of pain to get it, but your still a douche, and you really should thank Goodell for waiting until your streak was over before making a decision on whether or not to suspend you. Bye-Bye Ass-Face...
• And now to the Bears. I'd personally like to thank the Vikings for having a hole ripped through their dome to shift the focus on where this upcoming Monday night's game will be played, rather than how awful the Bears were last Sunday. As for how this situation is being handled, The Beard thinks this is the biggest fustercluck he can remember seeing in the NFL since the New Orleans Saints had to play games in Baton Rouge and San Antonio in the wake of Hurricane Katrina 5 years ago. I can't remember whether or not Beer was sold for those games in Baton Rouge, but I DEFINITELY know they won't be served at TCF Bank Stadium! Not to mention there are 15,000 people that had tickets to this game that will not have seats, and even though they are working like hell to melt the 2 inches of ice and snow covering the field at this moment, the weather forecast calls for more SNOW this weekend! In summary this is really a dumb way to handle this by the league. Who gives a crap that it's the 50th anniversary night for the Vikings Franchise? That poor piece of scheduling is really worth having to go through all of this garbage at the risk of player and fan safety? In my opinion...I've got another place you can put that snow shovel...

In the meantime please click on the picture to enjoy some outtakes of Ozzie Guillen shooting a Christmas Commercial! Haaaaaaappy Holidaaaaays...Haaaaaaaaappy Holidaaaaaaaaaays...

Ready Or Not

When I first saw the picture above, my first reaction was "I'm glad Mr. Strickland (the principal from Back To The Future) found some steady work". After quickly realizing that wasn't him, I realized something else, and that is The Mike Quade Era is upon us...even though it kind of already has been since August 23...but whatever. The Beard says, it's the right move for the Cubs, and I'll give you my reasons.

You're going to read a variety of takes from other opinion-makers ranging from "Why wouldn't they wait for Joe Girardi to become available" to "How could they turn their back on Sandberg", and any and all thoughts and emotions in between. That's fine if they want to go that direction.

To the first question, my response would be to point out that Girardi was already interested in being the Cubs manager before the 2007 season, and they turned him down. He wasn't about to put his neck out there again at this time, especially when the current state of the Cubs is not the most optimum to say the least. The Yankees on the other hand, are in a much better position to contend in 2011.

With regard to the second question...well that answer isn't as cut and dried. Did Ryno do everything that the Cubs asked him to do? Yes. Did Sandberg appear to take his job seriously? He was named Pacific Coast League Manager Of The Year this past summer, so yes. Do the Cubs really have anything to lose by hiring him? Not really. The only one with anything to lose is Sandberg, and that would be his reputation. Still, it didn't seem like Sandberg cared too much about that possibility. So why isn't Sandberg being named Cubs Manager today? For the same reason Quade is being named manager, and the same reason the Cubs are in this pickle they're in: Jim Hendry.

Jim Hendry has become the Matt Millen of Baseball General Managers. This is now Jim Hendry's third managerial hire during his tenure. He has spent an obscene amount of money that has resulted in absolutely nothing (Even though some readers are still waiting for the parades to start for the 2007-2008 Division Championships) in terms of satisfying the only expectation that matters in the minds of serious Cub fans which is winning the World Series. The money spent by Hendry has completely mortgaged the future of Cubs contention until 2014. Despite all of it, Hendry managed to snowball the Ricketts into keeping his job, and since he never wanted Sandberg to be Cubs manager in the first place...well it's pretty academic as to why Quade is manager, and Ryno is not.

As for Quade, it's a real low risk hire for the Cubs, and a nothing to lose move for Quade. A two year deal is nothing. If you think about it long enough, it's almost laughable. I mean can you imagine the Yankees or Red Sox giving a manager a two year contract? I don't. Quade, for his part, certainly doesn't seem to care as he's been nothing but affable and direct about his enthusiasm for the job.

Whether he can continue the good baseball the Cubs seem to play under his tenure this past season (24-13 record in case you were wondering) remains to be seen. One thing's is for sure...he'll need to start off hot next season to avoid chants of "We Want Ryno" in April.

Cubs Season Roundup

The 2010 Chicago Cubs season was really only interesting for about 3 months. After that, I don't think calling it "catastrophic" is stretching it. The Cubs certainly didn't live up to my predictions in April. Despite making news by hiring Rudy Jaramillo, the Cubs actually hit worse than they did a season ago. Their pitching staff took a huge nosedive both in the starting rotation and their way too young/bad bullpen. Eventually the Cubs saw the departures of mainstay Derrek Lee, Ted Lilly, and eventually manager Lou Piniella. In terms of the lowest point in the Cubs season, it would have to be the Carlos Zambrano-Derrek Lee blowup during the Cubs-White Sox game which eventually saw Zambrano go on a 6 week sabbatical. A sabbatical which saw him pitch very well upon his return.

As far as the 2011 outlook, there's still a decision to be made at manager. Early favorites seem to be pointing in the direction of Mike Quade, although longshots Ryne Sandberg and Joe Girardi could end up with the position. I believe Quade ends up with the job, simply because Sandberg and Girardi are smart enough to know that the Cubs won't be in position to be serious contenders for another two years. Then again Sandberg might not be that smart...

As of right now the Cubs have $103 million committed to next season, plus 7 - repeat 7 - arbitration cases which will put at figure around $110-$120 million ($94.225 million of which belonging to 6 players). The days of the Cubs spending ridiculous amounts of money on impact free agents are over for a while, so they're stuck with the hand they have.

The good news is, there is some good young talent on the Cubs with Starlin Castro, Tyler Colvin, Casey Coleman and Andrew Cashner. The bad news is they still are stuck with big money contracts they cannot get out from under, and Jim Hendry has convinced the Ricketts that he should still have his job.

Whether that will be enough to convince the sudden no-shows which are responsible for historic lows in attendance to return remains to be seen.

Parting Shots

The Beard will be taking his act out on the road starting Thursday. I shall return Monday with fresh thoughts and perspectives, but before I go here are some quick hits:

• I absolutely LOVE that USC is sending Bush's Heisman Trophy from 2005 back! Good luck with Pat Hayden as the new Athletic Director. Not sure what he's going to do? Maybe nothing, or maybe he just needs to be some B.S. Face of Integrity for the university? Either way, I love that USC is being forced to pay the piper. Believe it or not, I'm hearing from these ignorant, arrogant, and self-indulgent USC fans and alumni claiming that they are being "unfairly singled out". If by unfairly singled out, they mean, "It sucks that we got caught cheating" then yes, my hemmorhoids bleed for you Trojan Nation. Go screw yourselves.
• Imagine that, Bobby Jenks blew another win for the White Sox tonight. Jenks gave away the Sox best chance of sweeping the Mariners in Seattle since 1994. So congrats to him on another dubious milestone achieved. I've already shared my thoughts on how much he needs to be removed as the closer post-haste. Hopefully tonight gives Ozzie enough cause to do exactly that as the Sox head into Oakland.
• The rumor mill is circling and candidates Ryne Sandberg, Bob Brenly want to manage the Cubs, and hell even Joe Torre won't rule himself out as a possible candidate. Again, it's going to take more than a good manager to make a winner out of this bunch, and I still don't care what Ricketts said, I don't believe Jim Hendry is back next year.
• The Bulls are supposedly working out Tracy McGrady. YAWN. McGrady is so washed up parents tell their kids to "Tracy McGrady" before they go to bed.

See you guys soon!!!

When The World Is Running Down...

Lou Piniella announced that he will retire at the end of the 2010 season. In a related note, he also announced that Candy will be given out to children on October 31, 2010. I'm kidding about the second part, but I write that to illustrate the point that this news is hardly surprising to anyone who has followed the Cubs this season. I once wrote that Lou Piniella is the most successful Cub manager they've had since their 1908 championship, but alas "most successful" is not synonymous with "good". Lou has done several things that are beyond goofy in terms of his management of the team, and it was clear that the game had passed him by. So his departure really isn't newsworthy, but the way it was announced sure is.

What makes this newsworthy for starters, is that it was announced barely a week after the All-Star Break. That's a little unusual. It also was done in a way that suggested Lou will be given some sort of send-off but yet in Lou's mind, the Cubs "aren't out of it yet"...whatever that's supposed to mean? What really struck me as strange though was the presence of Tom Ricketts and the things he said.

Ricketts said he's fully committed to Jim Hendry as Cubs GM, which if you're a Cub fan that should make you sick. It's been 7 years 2 - going on 3 managers, and whole lot of awful, bad long term contracts with enough no-trade clauses to choke a camel during Hendry's time as GM. For the owner to still back a man with that kind of track record who has pissed away all of that former Tribune and now Ricketts' money in a way that prohibits any kind of quick turnaround is mind blowing. That said, I'm still going to give Ricketts the benefit of the doubt because he was not in a position to announce that Hendry was on the hot seat....as he's sitting RIGHT NEXT TO HIM at the podium. Ricketts also might not have wanted to take the focus away from Lou's announcement considering Lou is revered in many baseball circles. I would hope (and I'm sure Cub fans would agree with me) that Rickett's knows that firing Jim Hendry is what he needs to do, and doesn't feel like tipping his hand just yet.

One of the first emails The Beard received when the news broke was if I thought there was any chance Joe Girardi would leave the Yankees to become the Cub manager. My response was that it's going to take a whole lot more than Joe Girardi, or Bob Brenly, or Ryne Sandberg to turn the Cubs around because it's going to require massive reconstructive surgery, rather than cosmetic. To paraphrase Jerry Krause, the Cubs situation isn't a team issue, but rather an organizational issue. The Rickett's Family needs to clean house at every level of the front office and start fresh with an innovative General Manager/President/Director of Baseball Operations. Rick Hahn, or Damon Oppenheimer, or Scott Proefrock are among the hottest untested names. That's a good place to start.

The Cubs need to start somewhere deep, bold, and innovative, because quite honestly there's nowhere to go but up. A new manager alone does not provide enough boost to launch the Cubs rocket...

Weekend Cuppage Roundup

• Tough loss for the US Soccer team as they once again found themselves being eliminated by Ghana for the second World Cup in a row despite the presence of Team Mascot Bill Clinton hanging out with Mick Jagger during the game. Ghana scored early in the contest which set the tone for the rest of the game. Watching the match, it was very apparent that Ghana was faster and way more athletic than the US, but what the US lacked in athleticism, they made up for in determination. The US had two BIG chances to score which would have given them the victory. Unfortunately the dreaded label of "woulda, coulda, shoulda," will be attached to their efforts in the 2010 World Cup. We will see if Bob Bradley will come back to coach the US for the next World Cup in 2014. Personally speaking I think Diego Maradona is proving that it really doesn't matter who the coach is in soccer, as long as you have great players like Argentina does.
• Baseball was very good this weekend to The Beard as the surging White Sox took another series against the Cubs and won that stupid and pointless BP Crosstown Cup that I'm really hopeful mysteriously goes missing before 2011. It seemed only fitting that the third longest winning streak ended against the Cubs, since the last time the Sox lost was against the Cubs two weeks ago. The Sox are driving in runs in clutch situations while the rotation has finally started pitching like it was supposed to (Thank you Jake Peavy for finally getting checked out and figuring out what the problem was). Who knows how far this will go, but I give the White Sox a ton of credit for doing what they had to do to climb back in the division race, and I'm now actually back to a state of looking forward to watching the next White Sox game.
• As for the Cubs, the story of the weekend was obviously Carlos Zambrano being Carlos Zambrano once again. Now Big Z finds himself suspended indefinitely awaiting the MLB Players Union to weigh in on it. On top of which, Zambrano is also in hot water with his team for dining with Ozzie Guillen after Friday's game/meltdown, and even when he does come back he'll be in the bullpen again. Paul Sullivan did a nice job here of putting together a list of incidents and apologies Zambrano has made over his mercurial career. I'd like to ask my Cub fans out there, isn't this story kind of dull? Obviously this is hardly the first time something like this has happened, and obviously the same thing will happen again down the line because Zambrano simply can't help himself. I honestly don't think he's like Milton Bradley though. Bradley thinks the world is out to get him. Zambrano doesn't give off a vibe of paranoia, but rather has very little self control and little regard for formality, politeness, or rational behavior when he's on the mound. In terms of trading him? I can never say never. I never would have thought someone would trade for Milton Bradley but that shockingly happened. What I know for sure is that Zambrano has a full no-trade clause, and four (including this one) more seasons at roughly $18 million per. I don't really know who would be interested in that - especially for an 8th inning specialist, nor do I know what teams would be willing to give up for that? It seems to me like the Cubs are in bed with Big Z for the duration of their short sighted yet way too lengthy contract they gave him in 2008. Maybe it's time the Cubs ask Zambrano, "What can Paxil, do for YOU"?

Meatball Time

I'd be remiss to create a blog with Whitey Guccione on the front of it, and not mention the upcoming White Sox - Cubs series. I'm not going to waste a whole lot of time breaking down matchups, or reading into anything that simply isn't there because neither one of these teams are any good. There's something about this besides the Blackhawks Parade taking place tomorrow that makes this weekend series seem even more perfunctory. It's the sense of over-saturation really. I'm beginning to wonder if we've reached the point where there are too many games between the two, or better yet should they play each other every other year?

That said though, while I continue to poo-poo the series the night before it takes place, the same thing always happens the day of the first game. Those old reflexes and Inner Meatball come back the moment I see a Cub fan say the word "Cuuuuuubbieeeeeesss...." on TV, and I immediately become focused on the games at hand. All of a sudden there are no three more important baseball games being played than this weekend at Wrigley Field.

I know it will happen to me again tomorrow. I'm hoping to hell the Sox don't get swept, and Whitey Guccione doesn't get the crap kicked out of him at Wrigley, as he tends to take these games as serious as the World Series...

Quick Hits

• The Chicago Blackhawks took care of business by sweeping the San Jose Sharks with a win today, and all it cost them were 4 of Duncan Keith's Teeth! The 4-0 sweep is a bit misleading as the Sharks played very well for the most part, particularly in Games 3 and 4. They threw everything they had at the Hawks, but the Blackhawks are simply just better at hockey than the Sharks with their right blend of offensive firepower and lethal penalty killing/superb goal tending. The door to the Stanley Cup is now wide open for the Hawks. Just four more wins away...
  
• Only the 2010 White Sox can make winning a series look bad. Throwing up a 13-0 turd at home to the Marlins is one of the easiest ways to feel terrible about taking 2 out of 3 games. Now comes a nice little road trip to Cleveland and Tampa all the while there's this report that the Phillies are looking at Jenks and Putz. In terms of the Phillies best prospect the one name that consistently comes up is Domonic Brown. He's 23 years old, 6'5" 200lb outfielder currently hitting .311, OPS .969 with 7 home runs and 24 RBI's. Might have to pull the trigger on that deal if it comes up between now and July 31...
  
• So when the Milton Bradley trade happened, you might remember that I said it was a great move by the Cubs? Well I never imagined that it would be this good! While the Cubs as a whole might be spinning their wheels , Carlos Silva is now 6-0 after the Cubs took 2 out of 3 from the Texas Rangers. While you're digesting that, here's another thing that might make you raise an eyebrow...he might make the All-Star Team if he keeps this up!Depending on your take, this is either an indicator on how overrated Wins are in pitching statistics, or just how dumb Seattle's GM is.
  
• I can't stand Bears Mini-Camp coverage. Every team that has mini-camps, the reports are nothing but warm and fuzzy fluff pieces like this. All of a sudden the Bears are going to be a playoff team now because they had mini-camp. All the questions surrounding this team on both offense and defense are now answered. There's no doubt about it, the Bears are in the drivers seat in the NFC North. It's enough to make your head explode because anybody who's watched the NFL for over a month knows that you don't learn anything about your team after Mini-Camp that you didn't already know before. The questions you have about your team aren't answered now, or during OTA's, or during the REAL Training Camp, or during the Preseason. The answers come during the season. If the Bears end up being good (And obviously I hope they do) then that's great. If not, oh well. All I know is when the season starts, I won't be remembering what they did in mini-camp, and neither will anyone else.

You Don't Say...

From the "Imagine That" department...the Cubs announced today that the Carlos Zambrano 8th inning guy experiment is over. It didn't make sense then, and Lou Piniella and Jim Hendry finally realized what all of us knew right away.

The one thing that does raise an eyebrow though is Lou's comment of "...We thought his velocity would increase, and it hasn't..." So does that mean this was done because they realized Zambrano doesn't have his fastball anymore, and they thought this might help him recapture it? If that's the case, why would they think that would work? I understand that as a specialist reliever you only need to come in for the eighth inning and primarily throw fastballs, but just because you put Zambrano in a situation where he throws more of them, does that mean the ball will be thrown faster by Zambrano just because? His fastball will be faster simply because he will be pitching in the 8th inning, instead of him pitching in the 1st inning? Is that all it takes to throw a pitch 96 MPH, versus 89 MPH? Never mind silly traditional concepts like Pitching Mechanics and Arm Strength right? The Cubs say they have no official reason for why Zambrano's velocity has dipped the past season and a half. So it then begs the question, was this the best idea they could come up with? I really hope not for Cubs fans sake...

Happy Lee Elia Day!!!!!!!

On April 29, 1983, then Cubs Manager Lee Elia let forth a now infamous rant directed at booing Cubs fans, particularly in the outfield bleachers. You know the rest of the story. You know what ended up happening to him. You also know that he not only was exactly right about the 3,000 people, but also about the talent level that was on that 1983 Cubs roster. So on this day, 27 years later, lets enjoy the rant one more time here. Still makes me laugh...

"IS MURPH RUNNING THE TEAM?!"

The title of this post sums up the best reaction to the news of Carlos Zambrano going to the bullpen I've heard so far. Terms like "head-scratcher" and "shocking" don't do this move justice. This is baseball LUNACY. To take a guy who not only is being paid $91 million dollars, who has been your "ace" starting pitcher going on 5 years now, that usually gives you 200 innings per season, and put him in the bullpen in the first two weeks of a season where he won't even be the Closer is the equivalent of driving a car blindfolded. Not only does it not make any sense, it's also very dangerous.

Before we go overboard on how idiotic this is, let me get the preliminaries out of the way. Yes, the Cubs bullpen has problems. Yes they need a set up man who preferably has a "power-arm". Yes they are getting Ted Lilly back, and someone has to be the odd man out in the rotation. That's all fine and good. Under NO circumstances should the odd man out be Zambrano however. None. There are much better candidates that have pitched out of the bullpen before, Ryan Dempster, Carlos Silva, and Randy Wells in particular. None of those guys though are nearly the Ace, and Innings Eater that Zambrano is. Even the baseball nerds at Fangraphs.com can't make any sense of this, because here's the thing : even if Zambrano excels in his new role, he's still not as valuable as a bullpen specialist versus being the #1 Ace of the staff. There's NO WAY around that.

Another amazing aspect of this, that I never in a million years would think could be possible...even the people who can't stand Zambrano for his antics, feel some level of compassion for him now. He didn't ask for this, and this is not a knee jerk reaction to some injury that Zambrano has. This is just a bizarre decision that's out of his hands, and he's handled it like a professional. As far as I know, this has never been done before by any team, and if it has been done, it certainly wasn't done two weeks into a new season!

I honestly don't know why Lou and Jim Hendry would do this? Not only does it make zero sense, but it really doesn't seem like it will work either considering Zambrano's history is that of a guy who struggles in the first inning of games he pitches?

Couple Steps Back From The Ledge

There has been plenty of angst and frustration about both Chicago baseball teams at the beginning of this young season. Both teams fans are not happy about sub .500 records, and there has been plenty of "Season's Over" feelings of panic to go around. Before I felt the need to go the ledge with my baseball emotions, a friend of mine brought this to my attention today. It goes back through the last ten seasons and shows teams that had awful starts to their seasons, yet eventually made the playoffs. Here's the link to it here. So despite how icky the season feels so far, it's still VERY early.

1. 2009 Yankees were 13-15 on May 7

2. 2009 Twins were six games under (56-62) on August 17 and won the division

3. 2008 Phillies were 4-6 and then 8-10

4. 2007 Rockies were 5-8 and then 18-27 and went to the series

5. 2007 Yankees lost 7 straight from April 20-27 to fall to 18-23 and were 26-31 in early June but rebounded to make the playoffs

6. 2006 A's were 23-29 at one point and reached the ALCS

7. 2005 Astros started 15-30 and went to the series

8. 2003 Twins started 9-12 and won the AL Central

9. 2002 Angels started 6-14 and won the World Series

10. 2002 A's started 19-25 and won 103 games

What Have We Learned?

Well it's been one week into the 2010 MLB Season, and both teams are 3-4. Let's get the obvious out of the way though. In the small sample size of seven games, it's virtually impossible to draw any conclusions on how this season will play out for either team. There's just simply not enough information, or real statistics, or overall rhythm - for lack of a better word - to have a firm grasp of what we're looking at. That being said, here's a few things that have caught The Beard's Eye so far:

Cubs :

• New year, same problem with Soriano. Not only is he hitting a paltry .143 with 1 HR, he made an awful error in the eight inning of Sunday's loss to the Reds. At least Lou Piniella realized that he can't make the same mistake twice and pulled Soriano late in Monday's game against the Brewers for defensive purposes.
• Bullpen continues to be a big issue. The Cubs are still full go with their plan to extend starters through the seventh inning as often as possible. Especially in light of John Grabow's struggles. Sean Marshall has pitched well though.
• Fukudome is doing his Red Hot April act again, as he's hitting .400 at the moment. As most Cub fans realize, he does this every season. In '08 he finished April hitting .327 and ended up with a .257 batting average. In '09 he finished April hitting .338 and ended up with a .259 batting average. Until he proves otherwise, expect a swoon coming...
• New pickup wise, Marlon Byrd has been EHHH. Xavier Nady has been good, and might be asked to do more with Derrick Lee having thumb issues. Tom Gorzelanny and Carlos Silva have pitched well so far, even though Silva's shoulder is a little ouchy.
• Zambrano continues to be a infuriatingly good despite having the mental temperament of a three year old. If he, Ryan Dempster, and Randy Wells continue to pitch the way they are capable of, and Ted Lilly becomes available, the pitching staff will be very will equipped to help the Cubs make their move towards first in the Central Standings.

White Sox :

• Well they planned on being in close games all season and so far that has been the case. Unfortunately they've been on the wrong side of those games. Two 5-3 losses to Cleveland and two 1 run losses to the Twins last week are tough losses to take. Thank goodness they were able to wake Mark Teahen up last night and let him know that the season started last week...
• For as largely impotent as the lineup has been to this point, one positive that should be pointed out is Alex Rios. He's hitting .250 and doesn't look nearly as lost at the plate as he did a season ago. However he might be overshadowed if Andruw Jones keeps swinging the hot bat he has going right now. It's also nice to see Carlos Quentin healthy again, even though historically that won't last.
• Like the Cubs, the White Sox have serious bullpen issues. Despite his El Duque impression on Sunday, Scott Linebrink still scares the hell out of me. Same goes for Randy Williams. Jenks is no cakewalk either anymore. It's pretty sad that Sergio Santos seems to be the most reliable outside of Thornton. Putz has been OK at least.
• Alexei Ramirez continues to be the Anti-Fukudome with another slow start at the plate in April. He has however made some incredible defensive plays so far, including one Monday night in the sixth inning against the Blue Jays that prevented two more runs from scoring and kept the White Sox in the game.
• Jake Peavy might seriously be injured . There have been whispers all spring that he has been battling arm problems and once again did not show the velocity he usually features. As a result, he's been getting knocked around pretty good so far. I really hope I'm imagining things, but I believe the Rogers Centre speedgun when it says "90 mph" instead of "95 mph".

Like I said, it's impossible and foolish to draw conclusions at this point. I still think both teams are better than .500 ballclubs. Plenty of season left to go.

Chicago Cubs Preview and Prediction for 2010

Where to begin? I guess the easiest place to start is the new ownership group. The Ricketts Family is now the proud owner of this 102 year drought. Despite a renewed sense of optimism, encouraging talk about winning while ensuring the public trust will continue between the fans and Wrigley Field, they still managed to try and get away with a Cubs tax in Mesa. So it's fair to say they have a mixed review so far.

Let's get away from the new owners for a moment. This is now year number four of the Lou Piniella Era. For everything that has happened during that time, there's no question that Lou Piniella has been the most successful Cub manager in their franchise history. He's the only Cub manager to see the postseason in back to back years since Frank Chance over 100 years ago. Unfortunately for Lou and the Cubs, the postseason has not been as kind as it was to Frank Chance. It appears that the window to a World Series title is closing fast. Personally, I don't think that is the case. Despite the overspending on Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome, and the recently departed Milton Bradley, the Cubs have guessed right on more pieces than they guessed wrong about (Dempster, Lee, Lilly, Aramis) over the years as well as had some young players emerge (Soto, Fontenot, Theriot, Wells, Marmol, etc). Will the 2010 mix equal another division championship? Here's what I see:

HOW THE PLAN TO WIN GAMES - LINEUP : One thing that I can say for sure is that the Cubs will hit this season. Rudy Jaramillo is one of the few coaches in sports who actually does have an impact on his teams performance. This could mean tremendous numbers for Derrick Lee and Aramis Ramirez if they both stay healthy. Not to mention if Rudy would be able to rejuvenate that $136 million dollar stiff DH in left field, the Cubs would have three really big sticks in the lineup. The rest of the lineup is also pretty well rounded out with newcomer Marlon Byrd (another Rudy success story), Fukudome, Fontenot, and Theriot. Geovany Soto lost 40lbs, which I would only imagine would benefit him. Soriano no longer in the leadoff role will be interesting to watch as well as Tyler Colvin. He is just interesting, for lack of a better word, and somehow I believe he will find his way into the lineup more often than not this season.

HOW THEY PLAN TO WIN GAMES - PITCHING : The Cubs will be featuring three rookies (Justin Berg, Esmailin Caridad, and James Russell) in the bullpen this season. This means that the Cubs rotation will need to have about three starting pitchers that throw around 200 innings each to minimize those rookies exposure. The good news is this Cubs rotation has guys that have thrown 200 innings in a season in Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Tom Gorzelanny, and Carlos Silva. Each of them have thrown 200 plus innings at least once within the past 3 seasons. Plus Randy Wells had an impressive debut last year, and if Ted Lilly can (eventually) come back and be the same pitcher he has been since putting on a Cub uniform, that should give the Cubs plenty of guys who can eat innings. While the Cubs have a good chance of getting games to the 8th and Carlos Marmol 9th inning, they have big question marks. Someone will need to step up and own the 8th inning details between John Grabow, Sean Marshall, Jeff Samardzija and the rookies.

Prediction : I believe the Cubs will win 90 games and retake the NL Central Division Crown. I believe they will hit better than the .255 BA, .332 OBP, .738 OPS they posted as a team last season. I also think their pitching will be the difference for them this year as the rotation is quietly deeper than most teams in the National League. After that who knows? While I won't bet against 102 years of history, if the Cubs pitching holds up they might actually win a playoff series for the first time since 2003.

Fee Fi Fo Fum...

I smell not the blood of an Englishman, but of something else that seems a little fishy. Tyler Colvin has been rewarded for his freakishly good stats this spring training by being added to the Cubs Opening Day Roster. I use the word "freakishly" because his batting average and on-base percentage is a perfect match at .455. It's pretty hard to hit .455 without ONE walk in 66 at-bats isn't it? Before someone points this out, yes it's absolutely strange that while Colvin can be rewarded for putting up remarkable stats in spring training, the Cubs best prospect Starlin Castro does not receive the same treatment from Lou Piniella even though Castro hit .423 this spring. That's not what I find interesting though...

The part that's of most interest to me is the report that Colvin has put on 25 lbs of muscle this offseason at the age of 24. OK...I suppose that's technically possible, but 15 lbs would have been much easier to believe it was obtained cleanly, agreed? Colvin has also never played at a level higher than Double A since being drafted 13th overall by the Cubs in 2006. Now suddenly he's knocking the cover off the ball so much that he's earned a roster spot despite zero openings in the Cub outfield with Soriano, Byrd, and Fukudome?

I'm not saying...I'm just saying...I find this to be a pretty interesting "blossoming" to say the least. Colvin's performance will definitely be worth keeping an eye on. Let's hope someone in the Cubs organization told Colvin that there will be testing this year too...

Sizzle Huh?

*Ed. Note: Thanks to Mike Silva's NY Baseball Digest for providing the links.



Normally I don't pay too much attention to the Cubs, or their media coverage, however this little nugget from The Mad Leprechaun AKA Chicago Tribune scribe Paul Sullivan caught my eye. Hey look, there's nothing wrong with pointing out a teams winning record in spring training, if that sort of thing excites you. That's not what caught my attention, nor why I'm writing this blog post. It did get me curious however, to see if there is any link between a having the best spring training record, and whether or not a winning record indicates strong odds of winning the World Series. I decided to check it out. Please use the following links to look at the record books for yourself here and here.

Going back to 1984, there have only been two teams that had the best record in spring training and won the World Series that season. They are the 1991 Minnesota Twins, and the 1997 Florida Marlins. So there goes that theory. Also, as Silva points out, the Kansas City Royals have had the best record in the AL in three of the past ten spring trainings. Somehow I haven't noticed the Royals even make the playoffs, let alone win the World Series in the past decade, have you? Also in the past ten years the 6 out of the 10 teams that won the World Series had winning records, so no discernible, or concrete link there either. One of the teams that won the World Series despite a losing spring training record happens to be the 2005 Chicago White Sox.

Anyway, hope always springs eternal, but I just thought it was cool to actually have hard data to compare spring training versus regular season performances. Enjoy.