Bleed Cubbie Blue

Monster Thread II

Here we come!

Maybe tomorrow I can write a post without Bradley in it.

Today, it was, unfortunately, necessary.

Just to be on the safe side, don't mention Milton either.

Hey, it's the BABIP cat!

Imagine how the Cubs clubhouse feels now?

I speculate that many players are both shocked and incredibly relieved by the actions and the Cubs’ response.

DudeVf11 - September 22, 2009 reply

When Lou was asked if he noticed a change, he said

“I think the clubhouse was nice and loose, yes,”

It's likely that Hendry's response is the GM's equivalent to smashing Sosa's boom box...

…for many players in the clubhouse.

DudeVf11 - September 22, 2009 reply

It's a real...

I think I may have to keep away today.

I can’t understand how people can continue to defend him anymore. I find it insulting to the team and to my intelligence. It gets me so upset that I’m afraid I will say something I regret. Can’t wait for this all to blow over.

I can't understand why you care if other people like him

MUST… BE… RIGHT…

13 Games left... Would make a nice lil' win streak...

{Dream mode="on"}

The Cards could go on a skid…

Maybe, just maybe, it could still happen !!!!

{Dream mode="off"}

Win the games anyway.

It would still end the season on a positive note no matter what anyone else does.

Of course the Cubs should win all da games!

The dreamy bit is: The Cards seriously hitting the fan at the same time.

I'd be happy

With 7 more wins.

Same here.

I just want this team to finish respectably over .500. Winning this Brewers series would be a nice step in that direction.

That's my guess

I’m sticking to my projection from September 9. At this point, I’ll break it down further: 1 more against the Brewers (Samardzija on Wednesday – ugh … too late to give away the tix, Dad?), 1 against SF, 3 against PGH and 2 against AZ.

I look at the Samardzija start as a good thing

These September starts might finally force the Cubs to pick starter or reliever.

Fair point, but it doesn't mean I want to witness it.

I don't want to witness it either

In a perfect world they do it with a curtain over the TV camera.

I meant in person.

At least the tickets were free . . . .

Oh god

Now I see what you mean, that sucks especially since it was supposed to be a Ted day.

Yep.

Now that my favorite pitcher isn’t starting, I suppose Aaron Miles will play first base, too.

At that point your ticket permits you to walk into the dugout and yell at Lou

It’s in the fine print on the back

He'll say something about being rested for the cross-country trip to SF....

Which would be lou-dicrous

Do you need some shark repellent?

Ironic, because the Shark's pitches repell no bats . . .

Dr. T finds the foolish one pitiable.

I have similiar hopes.

Here’s what I was thinking going into this roadtrip:

1 of 3 vs. Cardinals – DONE

2 of 3 vs. Brewers – almost there

2 of 4 vs. Giants

2 of 3 vs. Pirates

2 of 3 vs. D’Backs

If my math is correct that would put the Cubs at 84 wins.

There are 4 games against the Pirates

One is a make-up game.

Win that, you'd have 85.

But the Cubs should really sweep that series.

I'm saying 3 of 4.

cozmotaylor123 - September 22, 2009 reply

will that game be played for sure..or only if needed (Pirates)

They'll play, weather permitting.

Ahhhh, even better.

Me wanna all da games!

I wish I could shut that dream mode off like you do.

These last two wins have turned it back on. They looked so spirited last night….like a winning team.

Keep that faith going.

always

If the Cards start loosing and Cubs continue winning...

…the switch will become stuck in the ON position.

you said it

jesus christos - September 22, 2009 reply

i wish

theyd have lose about every game left in the season

Yeah, I noticed that too!

Almost like a major burden has been lifted off their shoulders!

doubt it's a coincidence, either

Emelie - September 22, 2009 reply

Luke Stuckmeyer of

CSN did a pregame report from Miller Park last night and he said the clubhouse was as loose as he’s seen it all year. He said the guys were joking around and throwing the football around, having fun, etc. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.

sue369 - September 22, 2009 reply

Not a coincidence

Too bad this wasn’t done a month ago.

Itchy - September 22, 2009 reply

Lou said...

The clubhouse feels much looser now… gee I wonder what brought that change?

CubsBullsBears - September 22, 2009 via mobile reply

shhh!

We don’t want to wake anybody.

one brat, mildly

Do you mean brat as in ill-mannered or brat as in one of the racing sausages?

anagram

Nicely done.

now I get it!

took me awhile

Still not sure which is better:

one brat, mildly

mildly, one brat

I wonder if this will teach him a lesson and he becomes

“notably milder” or if it will make him “rabidly molten”.

For [name removed]'s sake, one would hope for the former and fear the later.

I like yours more than mine, btw.

"Rabidly molten"....

… already seems an apt description.

Nah, I like yours better,

although I prefer my brats a little spicy though, with kraut and brown mustard. Oh shoot, I’m risking a TWSS, aren’t I? And I mean no offense to Sheboygan either.

Nürnberger or Thüringer Rostbratwurst mit Sauerkraut, scharfen Senf und ein Bier...

You're saying you want mild peppers, not hot?

Well I'm not sure if it's the only reason,

but I bet it’s a pretty good part of it. I’ve witnessed situations like this, in my own workplace, where the actions of one adversely affect the performance of many. Over time it can really drag you down. Let’s hope this was the glitch that needed to be fixed.

Fonzie2178 - September 22, 2009 reply

Do you have a statistic

to back up this assertion?

… and end sarcasm.

RynoHoF - September 22, 2009 reply

I scoured the internet but

I couldn’t find a stat page on the human factor… J/K!!! Only funnin ya, stat guys.

Fonzie2178 - September 22, 2009 reply

Submitted without comment:

@CarrieMuskat: Mood in #cubs clubhouse much different Monday now that Milton Bradley is gone. You’d think they had 20 game lead and magic number was one

An underacheiving midwestern baseball team with a reclusive newcomer.

You’ve entered . . . the Milton Zone

I see what you did there. Nice one.

zevkalman - September 22, 2009 reply

Go away Milton, I did (for one game though)

It’s over and done with. Thanks goodness we have something better to talk about (Colvin).

I took a night off from the Cubs. One of just a few in the entire season. Bruce Springsteen was in Des Moines and for last night, he took precedence. Very happy to see the results and Colvin’s night. I have a feeling we’ll play some pretty good baseball to close out the season. It usually happens when distractions are removed.

BTW, Springsteen was awesome.

mrcubsfan - September 22, 2009 reply

How 'bout Da Gorz?

Via Twitter:

@STATS_MLB: Tom Gorzelanny tied a career-high with nine strikeouts tonight in the #Cubs 10-2 win over the #Brewers. #MLB

Da Gorz was really throwin’ smoke last night. Not sure how accurate the Cubs TV broadcast radar gun is, but he was showing up as mid- and even upper 90s pretty consistently.

His five-inning, 9 K outing was quite Harden-esque, but I can forgive him not going much deeper in the game because he has been in the bullpen. The two bombs Cameron hit off him reminded me of the troubles Rich Hill had off Cameron when he was with the Padres.

Nonetheless, I’ve gotta admit – after being skeptical of Gorzelanny as a throw-in in the Grabow deal, I’m pretty happy to have him on the team. He could turn out to be a decent 5th starter, depending on how the rotation shakes out. Or he could work as a LOOGY (his career splits vs. LHH are pretty decent). Or he could just stick in the somewhat conventional bullpen role he’s been playing. Good pickup by Jim Hendry.

The Miller Park speed pitch meter consistently had Gorz from 92-95.

If Gorz is completely healthy in 2010, he could be a serious rotation candidate.

Ah, OK.

I think someone told me once that the TV gun “runs hot.” Still, by naked eye alone, he had nice steady velocity.

Piniella basically said the same thing after the game

He said there definitely will be a place for Gorz on the 2010 staff, whether it’s as a fourth or fifth starter or as a long man in the bullpen.

So, he'd pitch once every two months as the long man, right?

LOL

Hope his uniform is dust-resistant.

Yeah, really.

Lou seems immune to the long-man concept. Again, if they do hang on to Harden, partnering him with Da Gorz could help the team get the most from both pitchers.

Long man for Cubs = long time between appearances. Correct!

LAcarl519 - September 22, 2009 reply

I think Lieber is still sitting out there, waiting for the phone to ring.

Itchy - September 22, 2009 reply

I'll say it one last time

Do not get your panties in a bunch over the union thing, they are simply protecting their and their member’s interest. They can’t let this thing happen and not make a fuss. They will demand their member get his paycheck, and make sure this doesn’t become more common among other teams.
Do not get mad over something that the union should be doing and pretty much has to do.

I'm not, really.

He’ll get paid, and that appears to be all he cares about. Remember when someone asked him, early in the season, how he felt, and he said, “I feel like 30 million bucks”?

That about sums it up I think.

I agree that the unión is trying to avoid a precedent, but...

you really don’t expect Hendry to admit that he screwed up when he signed Bradley and the suspensión is a way to rectify that?

Fraggin Judge - September 22, 2009 via mobile reply

Really Al?

I agree with you that Milton Bradley was not a good signing.

However, the suspension is unwarranted and IMHO caters to the media and the idiot fan base. Look at Jim Hendry’s statement:

“The last few days became too much for me to tolerate. I’m certainly not going to let our great fans become an excuse. I’m not going to tolerate not being able to answer questions from the media respectfully. Whether you feel like talking or not, it’s part of all of our jobs.”

Jim Hendry’s has not been consistent in disciplining his staff/ players. What happens when Lou (or another manager) refuses to address the media after a tough game? Does he suspend him? What happens when “Player A” performs at an all star level and is a complete ass? Does he suspend him too? Why wasn’t BigZ suspended for his assault of Michael Barrett? Which incident impacts the organization more? You need to ask yourself would Jim Hendry have suspended Milton Bradley if he was hitting .285 and the Cubs were still in the race? We all know the answer is no!

As for the MLBPA, I hope they do file a grievance. They would argue that by suspending Bradley the Cubs are impacting his ability to work towards future contracts. They would win. As a “Union Man” you should know better.

As I said...

… and as others have said, this incident was only the culmination. We may know only 20% — or less — of what really happened.

Hendry made it clear that this was not the only issue..

Don't be.......

a Hendry apologist Al. Read his statement again! It is a joke!

We can all guess what went on in the locker room. IMHO, with as much coverage as this team gets, stories would have come out long ago if Milton was a huge issue.

This suspension is BS and sets a dangerous precedent.

Again...

… we cannot know what goes on in a major league clubhouse, no matter how many “stories” might come out from beat reporters. Some things stay there.

Not one of Bradley’s teammates defended him. He threw the entire organization under the bus. “Gross misconduct” might be a very good description of what he did.

Gross misconduct?

how?

If “we” don’t know what goes on in a major league clubhouse how are we discussing the 80/20 rule.

I don’t care how many of his teammates threw him under the bus. The fact remains that this suspension is BS and would not have occurred if he were batting .285.

Well, you may have a point about...

…Milton not being suspended if his batting average were higher – especially not if he were putting up DLee numbers. But, nonetheless, if I’m not producing at my job and I’m insubordinate then my odds of getting suspended/fired go way up. Maybe I get a longer leash if I’m more productive. But that’s just reality: This Milton thing stopped being a baseball issue and became an employment issue some time ago.

And, for the record, I’ve come to agree with Al. I think Milton’s suspension is the result of a culmination of incidents that finally pushed Hendry over the edge. As evidence, I would submit this:

@ChrisDeLuca: The real reason behind Milton Bradley’s suspension: Clubhouse dustup with coach Von Joshua had as much to do with it as the negative talk.

So here we have a player who has fought with his manager, his hitting coach and is saying blantantly disrespectful things about his organization and teammates to the press. And those are just the things we know about. I think there just comes a time when a work environment because too contentious for certain employees to continue to exist within it.

I'll Have a Pint - September 22, 2009 reply

The most telling thing...

is that not one of his team mates had a good word to say for him. The nicest comment was from (I think) Theriot, something like ‘there were good days, and bad days"
I’m very glad to see him gone. If we can get a box of BP balls for him over the off season that would be a good trade.

One way or the other, we can only sit back a watch what happens.

I’m also a member of a union here in Germany, but that does not mean I always agree with the union’s policies or actions. I’m sure that this is the case for many if not most members. So if the player’s union decides to fight the suspension, it may be the right thing to do, but equally it may not be. And I doubt any of us know enough about the MB situation to really pass judgment on the union’s actions, at least at this point.

While i tend to agree with the suspension...

… as something needed to happen to break the cycle that was going on between Bradley and the rest of the world, this 20% thing is redic.

You can’t just pull a number out of thing air and assume it is right. Nobody has any idea of what actually took place behind the scenes. Maybe it was 1% of the iceberg we saw. Maybe it was 99%. But to venture these guesses without any real evidence, without any real point of reference (“we heard about this back in july, but we didn’t even hear about this, this, this, this and this!”) you are just piling on for the sake of piling on.

He’s gone now, off the team. Lets give it a rest. No need to make it sound worse than it was.

I agree that the time has come to move on

But that goes for all sides on this argument. (Note I purposely did not say “both”, because there are more than two sides.)

I just don't see the purpose of continuing to discuss it...

… in loose hypothetical ways like “we only knew 20% of what even took place!” or whatever else. Nothing that was discussed in Al’s recap was new information, really. It is, at this point, just piling on.

I mean the poster that Al was replying to, not so much you.

Meaning I don’t think calls to stop discussing it constitute further discussion . . . if that makes sense.

...

Homerun 1-8, fly (B) rf 9-20

Well, I'm not sure that number is meant to be taken literally.

I get that...

… but again, hypothesizing about what could have taken place with the dude that we don’t even know about is a futile exercise. He’s done enough that we are aware of to justify the position he is in.

Well, yeah, hypothesizing about EXACTLY what happened is futile.

But when people – including a respected writer like Joe Sheehan – blast Hendry for suspending Milton only for a few odd remarks to the press, it’s important to point out that it’s not that simple.

Right

I was also trying to go there, but wasn’t too clear.

So you are in violent agreement?

I think he's literally exploding with agreeance.

YES, DAMMIT! I AGREE!

(couldn't find a cool picture to use)

May I suggest

YOU AGREE WE NEED ADAM LIND?!?

vonde6 - September 22, 2009 reply

MOAR LIND!!!1!

So point out that it's not that simple...

… by pointing out the perfectly sufficient and well publicized problems outside the odd remarks to the press.

I guess the point i’m trying to make is i’d prefer to discourage continuing the crucifying of him to include things we don’t even know about. And not just for Bradley’s sake… we still want to find somebody to take this guy off our hands, right?

Yeah, that is the ultimate goal but the damage has been done.

On the bright side, check the Fanshot bar – Rangers manager Ron Washington has already gone on record saying he’d take Milton back. That may be the Cubs best option. And I still wonder whether Hendry could talk the Yankees into taking him off our hands.

Given those thoughts...

… Milton is probably not as untradeable as has been said. At the end of the day I think Hendry will be able to, at worst, get another contract in return, so he doesn’t have to simply eat Bradley’s.

Y'know in some odd sense...

…the Chicago media may end up being the saving grace here. Maybe a lot of other baseball people see the Chicago press as being particularly difficult and can rationalize Milton’s behavior in that regard. Washington probably thinks, “Bring him back here to Texas where covering baseball is just a way for sportswriters to pass the time between football seasons and he’ll be just fine.”

Which very well may be true.

My 2 cents

First of all, no one on this blog knows how MB’s contract is written and what conditions are included. I would tend to think that Hendry discussed this with team lawyers to ensure that the act of suspending MB was legal and would be upheld in the obvious union reaction. Why start an altercation you have no chance of winning and cause even more disruption of this season?

Secondly, Z kicking Barret’s ass is apples and oranges to me. You can say that fighting your own teammates deserves some sort of discipline, fine, but publicly dissing the team and it’s paying fans goes over that line by miles.

And as Al has mentioned, we on the outside looking cannot know what other instances or comments have been made behind closed doors.

On a personal note, I have a co-worker that complains constantly about our company and supervisor to his wife and others about how he is treated, I work with him every day and 80% of the time his problems are self-induced. He never tells his wife how disruptive he can be and how he throws others under the bus. He is always the martyr. I have seen this happen personally over and over, wherever I have worked.

BigJohnAZ - September 22, 2009 reply

Ok so with only 13 games left

you are saying a suspension is not right? And that Hendry knew what he was getting into when he signed Bradley, so that gives Bradley a pass for anything he does he cant get suspended cuz he has a reputation and everybody knows it will come so just ignore it? Why get all bent out of shape, he dont like us, he only wants to play 9 innings and go straight home, we are part of reason according to him we dont win, so Bradley might like this suspension with his crazy mind he will get paid for these last few games, we arent goin to the playoffs so he has nothing to lose he is forcing himself out of here.

And whats the difference between suspending him or sitting him on the bench and not playing him at all like earlier in the season with David Patton would that be better? He will get paid either way. Lou makes the lineup based on performance not your contract so it might make you happier to take off the suspension title and just have him a bench player that will never see the field again in these last 13 games.

Eric16 - September 22, 2009 reply

Onto the actual baseball

Good to see us finally tee off on Looper, and really good to see a rookie come up and get a hit. Hopefully Colvin gets to play everyday the rest of the season.

No.........

he did not Al. Look at his statement. Read it again.

Again, would he have been suspended if he was hitting .285 and the Cubs were still in the race? The answer is no!

I will be curious to see if these “stories” come out. IMHO they will not.

Jim Hendry knew what type of person he was signing. Is his behavior that different from his previous stops?

Not sure where you work...

but in my company, I would be fired, for saying those kind of things (that Milton said about the Cubs) about my company in a public setting.

Hendry did the absolute right thing…for the team, for the players, for the fans, and for Bradley!

Read his quotes....

he did not say anything over the top crazy about the Cubs. As for you being fired, do you work in a union shop?

I pains me to defend MB. From what I see he is a very disturbed and angry individual. However, this is not new. Jim Hendry knew what he was getting. To suspend him for acting “normal” is a crock.

Again, would Hendry have suspended MB if he was hitting .285?

I suspect Hendry would have suspended him regardless of what he was hitting...

… for making those comments.

He threw the entire organization under the bus. Again, this is the culmination of many things, some of which we do not know about. Jim Hendry is a players’ GM. For him to do this to a player, there must have been many egregious events of which we will never know.

You’re wrong on this one.

Look at.....

Jim Hendry’s history (or lack there of) of disciplining his staff/ players!

No way, no how does Hendry suspend him if he is performing on the field.

You’re wrong on this one! ;)

To answer the question

Bradley would get more slack if he was producing. That’s the nature of the beast.

“You win 20 in the show, and the press thinks you’re colorful. Until you do, it means you’re a slob.”

If Bradley had been hitting well, he would be “fiery” and “a spark”

But he wasn’t.

Bonds got to be a jerk as long as he was producing and the Giants knew they could sell the 756. The second that was over, he was gone.

The second Terrell Owens’ legs go, he’s done. Whereas Jerry Rice was valuable to a team as a mentor to other players.

Brett Favre will be done the second his arm finally gives, because he has no interest in helping other QBs. Kurt Warner could probably be a backup until he’s 47, because he has shown he can help players.

You earn slack in this world by producing.

Ding, ding, ding!!!!!!!!

We have a winner!

I said "more slack"

Given what he said and how he’s behaved, I don’t think .285 gets it done.

.285

gets it done if they are in the race (IMHO).

If they are in the race?!?

That’s racist!

/sarcasm

LOL!

This is called life

If you lose a sale, or make an accounting mistake, or put a human finger in a Happy Meal, or whatever applies to you in your job, do you choose THAT day to pull a prank on the boss or to hit on the secretary who may think you’re a creep?

No, you keep your damn head down and wait for it to blow over.

When you produce, you get slack. Your jokes are funnier, your behavior is forgiven more and no one cares if you take a 20-minute break instead of 15.

When you don’t, you get your ass behind the desk at 8:59 a.m. instead of 9 a.m.

The Jose Guillen counterexample

In 2004, the Jose Guillen was hitting .294 with 27 HR and 104 RBI. The Angels were two games behind the Athletics for the AL West title with eight games to play.

Guillen got removed in the eighth inning for a pinch-runner. He threw a tantrum, both on the field and in the clubhouse. It was not the first incident with Guillen.

The Angels suspended him for the rest of the season, despite being a winning ballclub and despite Guillen being the second best hitter on the team.

I’ll add that the Angels then came from behind and caught Oakland for the AL West title.

On a minor scale

A similar situation happened with a high school girls basketball team in my town. The most talented player on the team was dismissed late in the season — she was a bit of a problem child back then. It was a good team but had not played to its potential.

That team ended up advancing to the state quarterfinals and at that stage almost beat Naperville Central — led by all-everything Candace Parker.

That's a good precedent for the Bradley suspension.

I don’t recall the MLBPA getting involved.

They did get involved

But dropped the case when the Angels agreed to pay him anyway. The union can’t demand a player play, so once the Angels agreed to pay Guillen, they dropped their grievance (with Guillen’s approval.)

Is the Guillen case

the most recent one that’s similar to Bradley’s?

I would say yes.

I think that's correct.

And if the Cubs agree to pay Bradley — which I assume they will — the grievance will also likely be dropped.

Does Bradley even say anything like that

if he was hitting .285 and the Cubs were in first place? That’s another way of looking at it.

Winning cures all ills.

Being a very disturbed and angry individual is not "ACTING NORMAL"!

He has said and done things detrimental to the ballclub, plain and simple.

Just like a kid in High School getting suspended from his team for giving the finger to the crowd after a game. It’s an action that is detrimental to the character of the team/school, and people get suspended for things like that all the time.

No, I am not in a union (thank God)! I live in the Detroit area and have seen enough, and heard enough “Union crap” for a whole lifetime. Only in the Utopia of a Union shop could a person slander his boss and still keep his job (unlike the real world)!

Unions…ahhh…don’t get me started!

And even if MB was hitting .285, suspending him was the RIGHT thing to do.

It is "ACTING NORMAL"

if you are Milton Bradley!

Jim Hendry knew what type of person he was signing. This is not new!

That's just an EXCUSE!

Everybody is responsible for their own behavior.

I agree 100%!

What I am saying is that Milton Bradley IS who Jim Hendry thought/ knew he was!

To suspend him for being himself is silly.

Bradley told Hendry over the winter that he'd changed and begged for a chance to

get a multi-year contract so he could finally relax and play worry-free. In other words, He lied through his damn teeth!!

Itchy - September 22, 2009 reply

It's not so much a lie as...

… the fact that Bradley doesn’t understand himself well enough to know what would help him “relax and play worry-free”.

Not so sure about this.

With past teams, Milton has complained about the umps and the media but typically NOT about his teammates and organization. He put himself above his teammates, described his organization as negative and even threw the 100-year thing in our faces. Now I’m not necessarily saying that alone should get him suspended – at least not for the remainder of the season – but add that to a (possibly) long list of other internal events and you’ve got a suspension.

You're right that Hendry made a mistake.

He’s trying to rectify it. The best way may be to simply pay the contract and tell Milton to go home. The Cubs do have the right to do that. No one can force them to play him.

Keeping him away from Wrigley after his comments may also be in Milton’s best interest. If he plays there again, it could be a real ugly scene.

I think he should have been sent packing long ago, (Or not signed at all)

But though it sends a message to suspend, I would rather he be put on the DL and sent home. This could have helped get rid of that last year on his contract if they can’t get rid of him.

Either way I hope he enjoys KC. Hopefully he can handle the massive expectations and media in a place like that.

TJ11 - September 22, 2009 reply

Kansas City?

Where he nearly attacked one of their broadcasters? No way do they take him.

http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/09/21/ron-washington-would-take-milton-bradley-back/

I haven't seen this posted anywhere

but may have missed it. Interesting piece on where MB could land.

BleedsbluinMI - September 22, 2009 reply

Check the Fanshot bar.

Texas and Baltimore

are the most likely landing strips. We’d have to pay 80% of his salary in either case.

BleedsbluinMI - September 22, 2009 reply

Yes, there is a very good thread going in the Fanshots

Please diregard this link here.

Nice,

I mentioned this idea last week, and people here scoffed at the idea.

tripdenten - September 22, 2009 reply

Denten!

I was just saying any small market team-Your right, KC is a bad example

TJ11 - September 22, 2009 reply

KC might not, but they want to get rid of Jose Guillen

who has been known to be a headache every once in a while, too.

Yes, Milton had an incident in KC, but if the Cubs eat some of the contract, they might be able to trade him for Guillen, who is owed $12 million next year on the last year of his deal.

This would be the Jose Guillen

who was suspended for the final 8 games of the 2004 season for conduct detrimental to his team?

Doesn’t sound like a good idea.

Agreed.

I don't think it's a good idea either.

But if the Cubs want to trade Bradley, they’re looking a scenarios where they accept baggage in return or low-level Minor Leaguers.

I’d rather take a chance on Minor Leaguers in any trade, but if the Cubs want someone who can slide onto the Major League team, they’re looking at the Guillen’s and Magglio Ordonez’s of the world.

When you say "baggage"...

… you mean someone else’s contract. That might be preferable to simply eating it.

They might be able to get someone better than Ordonez or Guillen.

Right.

It just depends on the contract/personality. Guillen at 1 year/$12 million? I don’t think it’d be good, just based on his personality. Ordonez at 1 year/$18 million? Seems like a lot for a guy who is slipping.

Now, I’ll give Hendry credit – when he’s had to make a trade like this (Sosa, Hundley), he’s done remarkably well. I’m optimistic he could pull something like that off again.

That's a really good point

More proof that no matter how hopeless some players might look, someone somewhere thinks they can fix him.

Given the situation the Cubs are in with Bradley

the might have the ideal GM to pull this off. Now it’s just matter of trying to “help” Texas by giving them Milton back and taking a contract off their hands.

jameslcrockett - September 22, 2009 reply

Guillen had a bad mark with the Angels and has the steroid stink on him… but I watched him when he was here in Seattle and he was a great teammate and the best non-Ichiro hitter on the team and played good defense. The Mariners were completely wrong to have let him go to KC for nothing, not even offering him arbitration. Obviously, the Cubs wouldn’t be getting the kind of production he showed here while hitting in a park which theoretically suppressed his value… but he would be a welcome alternative to just eating Bradley’s contract.

Milton Bradley is an extreme case. People such as Rob Neyer are saying he’s just further out there than any one ever associated with baseball. But the Cubs can’t just avoid talent for the sake of avoiding talent. They need to learn how to better handle a talent such as Bradley, even if they’re not as virulent as Bradley. If they were upfront with Bradley and wrote into his contract about a situation like this, Bradley would have kept his nose to the grindstone and just worried about producing on the field and guaranteeing his paydays. He cares about the payday. He’s said so in many, many interviews before and after joining the Cubs. The money matters to him more than anything. If you make his eruptions on the field, in the club house and to the press detrimental to his bank account. He wouldn’t have said anything until after he left the team.

Obviously Bradley wouldn’t go to KC because of the history there… but I would want to see if the Cubs can work out a three-way deal with the Cubs getting Guillen and Texas getting Bradley and KC getting some value from Texas or Chicago. A healthy, productive Guillen might not be a bad option in right field for 2010.

I wonder if the Cubs had put in such a contract clause...

… whether Milton would have been able to adhere to it. His past history says he wouldn’t.

Also, the MLBPA probably wouldn’t have approved such a clause.

I think you've got a point

and I defended Bradley a number of times here. But there comes a time when enough is enough, and his good works don’t outweigh his bad ones.

I wish I could have been right about him. People can change. Alas, it doesn’t appear he’s one of them.

Good to see the kid get contribute

his first time in the Bigs!

Still wonder why Jake Fox is rotting away on the bench? Why can’t Bruce Miles or some of the other media people ask the tough question of Lou?

If I was in the press conference I would.

I don't think Bradley's career is over

not by a long shot.

But I do think he’s in for a series of one-year deals.

Update on the µWorf situation please !!!

Still busy crossing my fingers!

I'll post something

Right now, it’s just a waiting game.

Is it a warrior?

I know the waiting game—my girl was 10 days late.

During the waiting, it's always a worrier

digitalbenjamin - September 22, 2009 reply

So what's the book on Colvin?

What “kind” of player do they hope he becomes? He looks like a pretty skinny kid, who has speed and can slap the ball around. Am I off?

More importantly

What is his level of scrappiness?

I'd say a Jacque Jones type of hitter...

He has decent (but not great) power and decent (but not great) speed. He definitely falls in the category of lacking plate discipline – very few walks. Strikes out a fair amount, but not crazy-high K numbers.

The hope would seem to be that he fills out and develops power. If the power doesn’t come, I think Jacque Jones is his upper end.

I'd be real happy

if Colvin turned into Jacque Jones. Jones was a solid player for many years. Not great, but solid. We just all remember the crummy end around here.

Agreed...

I wasn’t meaning that he’d be as good as Jones. Just that that’s the type of player I see Colvin as being. Unless Colvin really develops power, Jones is the top end of his potential.

And I agree – Jones was a solid player before Chicago. He was actually a solid player in his first year in Chicago, but people don’t realize it because of the terrible start and blah finish for him.

If Colvin could hit like Jones AND

hit the relay man, he would be a great addition.

N Oakley - September 22, 2009 reply

Jones also played well in the 2nd half of 2007...

… once he was moved to CF, where his arm wasn’t really that big an issue.

I have a few really ugly Jacque Jones at bats

Seared into my memory. Flailing like Bad Sori.

vonde6 - September 22, 2009 reply

He always seemed to K with the bases loaded.

That said, I really respected the effort he put forth.

cowsarecool220 - September 22, 2009 reply

I can agree with that

vonde6 - September 22, 2009 reply

He earned my respect and admiration with the way he conducted himself.

He never complained and always put forth the effort. That’s all you can really ask of any player.

I really came to admire his ability to keep his thoughts to himself when he was benched in the first half of 2007 and then the circus when he was almost traded. I don’t think I would have been able to do so.

There's a very good example...

… of a player in a difficult situation for himself who said nothing and just kept doing his job.

Here is, I think, a good explanation of what the Cubs' options are with bradley

Link

And I particularly like the display of Hendry’s offseason moves so much I have to list them here. Can you find one move that can be considered wise in this list?:

HENDRY’S OFFSEASON

- Nov. 13 — Acquired P Kevin Gregg from Marlins for Jose Ceda. Cubs avoided arbitration by signing Gregg to one-year, $4.2 million contract Jan. 19.

- Dec. 16 – Signed OF Joey Gathright to one-year, $800,000 contract.

- Dec. 31 — Signed INF Aaron Miles to two-year, $4.9 million contract.

- Dec. 31 — Traded Mark DeRosa to Indians for minor-league pitchers Jeff Stevens, Chris Archer and John Gaub.

- Jan. 6 — Traded P Jason Marquis to Rockies for Luis Vizcaino.

- Jan. 8 — Signed OF Milton Bradley to three-year, $30 million contract.

- Jan. 28 — Acquired P Aaron Heilman from Mariners for P Garrett Olson and INF Ronny Cedeno.

- Notes: Gathright traded to Orioles for Ryan Freel on May 10. Vizcaino designated for assignment May 15. Freel designated for assignment July 4.

adam316 - September 22, 2009 reply

Geeze. Is that an ugly list.

I would find a way to creatively omit the 2008-09 off season deals from my resume if I were Mr Hendry…

Wow

Literally one of those players is still on the ML roster.

lswaidz - September 22, 2009 reply

Actually, I think four of those players are still on the roster

Gregg, Heilman, Stevens, and Miles. Of course, that ignores the issue of value.

Looks like the Cubs scoring slump started in the off-season.

It looked bad then and it looks even worse now

I suppose on the upside he couldn’t possibly do any worse this off season… could he?

Emelie - September 22, 2009 reply

The only things I had a real problem with

were the length of Miles’ and Bradley’s contracts.

All the other moves, I think, are defensible. Hindsight is 20-20.

I think Miles was a bad idea in general...

as I don’t think he provided any more value than a replacement level middle-infielder. But otherwise I mostly agree. I was very unexcited about the Gregg trade because I felt that he didn’t give us anything more than Wuertz, but did so at an added cost of $2 million. But Hendry overvalued “closer experience” in that case.

I was fine with Gathright (given that the team had given up on Pie) and Heilman at the time.

The biggest problem was that the team didn’t do a good job of insulating itself from risk. Had they done a better job of being ready for injury, maybe things are different. But Hendry gambled that they could get away with trading DeRosa and have good health from the starters. That didn’t work out, and Miles/Blanco/Fontenot didn’t work out.

Agreed

We were overpaying on Miles last season. Andres Blanco, as we’ve discovered, is a better player than Aaron Miles, and we already had him cheap.

Gregg was a bad idea too. The only thing with that was that the top prospect we gave up for him, Jose Ceda, has been hurt all year.

Good points

I think Hendry was banking on Gregg improving after having knee problems last year. It appears instead of improving, Gregg became worse.

Does Aaron Miles have a brother?

I suppose on the upside he couldn’t possibly do any worse this off season… could he?

We’re still the Cubs, right?

jameslcrockett - September 22, 2009 reply

Wuertz

I’ll give you a slight epic fail for leaving him off of here. Having on the team and his wicked unhittable slider coming out of the bullpen lessens the need for Heilman and Gregg. Whether Lou would have ever woke up to that, who knows?

Perhaps I missed it

But did we get to laugh about the manager of an obscure American baseball team?

If not, hahahahaha

Now THAT is funny! Priceless.

Emelie - September 22, 2009 reply

Silly Brits

They view our passtime (baseball) with even less interest...

… than we view theirs (football aka soccer).

If you haven’t seen a big soccer match in Europe though, add it to your MUST DO before you die. Incredible.

Baseball is completely lost on most Europeans

And the British see it as a bit of a joke.

But UCL football is the best. I was lucky to attend the final match in Munich in 2002, when Zinedine Zidane scored this beauty.

I remember it well...

But wasn’t the match in Glasgow?

I wrote Munich...

What a moron. It was Glasgow indeed. I made Munich my base for that trip. Brain fart.

I was in the graphics control room for German TV - in Munich and not in Scotland

Very cool. What do you do?

Among other things, real time 3d renderer control software for live sports events.

For example, if you see a goal and 3 seconds later you get a lower third with various information about the scorer, then you need software which reduces the actions of the operator to two or three mouse clicks, gets the data from the scouting databases and then build the graphic on the fly.

How very interesting.

I always wondered how they manage to get the “team distance” number on those UCL broadcasts. Do you know?

Team distance? Do you mean the distance a player or players has run during a game?

Yes.

Last week, Zurich ran about 45 KM whilst Real Madrid ran only 41. I find this number totally useless but fun.

There are various specialist companies for this kind of stuff

For example this or this. We work with systems from both of these companies. There are others, who also have good products.

The absolute accuracy of these systems (optical tv picture analysis) can be rather limited.

I forgot to mention Viz - A system which I generally end up controlling

VizRT

I loved it

I said we should pay for a plane to fly a banner that says “The St. Louis Cardinals: An obscure American baseball team” over Busch Stadium for their playoff opener.

LOL - now LaRussa's gonna sue that guy.

Man, you screw around with the Dalai Lama and you are playing with eternal damnation!

Now screwing around with the Queen is just gross…

http://jay-mariotti.fanhouse.com/2009/09/21/hendry-must-go-after-bradley-fiasco/#cont

It's Marrioti, so I'm not sure the validity, but...

With a new owner finally in place in Tom Ricketts, who hopes to pare a $140 million payroll by $40 million and create some semblance of a farm system, the time is right for a new front-office boss with fresh ideas to tackle the toughest job in baseball.

Has slashing the payroll w/ Ricketts been discussed, or is Marrioti making stuff up?

carmen_fanzone - September 22, 2009 reply

Lose $40 Million?

Bye bye inherit advantage each season, and bye bye Big Z.

I’ll bet it’s just Jay being Jay.

Mariotti always makes stuff up

Yep.

I have heard the opposite regarding payroll.

They are going to ADD $40M? Woo-hoo!

;-)

LOL

No. But neither are they going to cut that much.

That is just as bad

Um . . . I was kidding.

Unless you mean adding $40 M would be bad . . . I don’t know why it would be.

I have visions of Soriano, Vernon Wells, Barry Zito-types

dancing in my head. a $180 million payroll is nice when you do it right, I can’t see Hendry doing that.

Agreed with that

That’s why I hope a new team president with a baseball pedigree is hired.

Yes PLEASE.

Hendry is the guy who put us in the position to be disappointed by over .500, missing the playoffs seasons. And for that, he should get another chance. You can’t hold him responsible for ALL of the problems this year, including Soto, Soriano (sure, maybe for his contract, but nobody could have seen this season coming), and Rami’s injury. The infield backup stuff, the bullpen, whatever else can be on him, but he earned some credit for 07 and 08.

Somebody to provide another check / balance is needed.

Yep

Just another baseball person to look at a deal and say “Jim you are about to trade for the major league blown saves leader” or “Jim, Aaron Miles wasn’t tendered a contract by the Cardinals, do you really want him?”

The current person on top of him can’t say that, though he might try anyway.

It makes MUCH better financial sense to expand the payroll

With new ownership coming in, he’s going to need a good product on the field to fill the seats, or at least the potential of a good product, especially with everything else he wants to do around Wrigley… he’s gonna need money. Gotta spend it to make it.

lswaidz - September 22, 2009 reply

I don't agree it makes more financial sense to expand, but

a few years of payroll growth seem needed to create the flexibility to get out of this payroll to declining talent ratio.

N Oakley - September 22, 2009 reply

There is no such thing...

As a firesale in a large media market. No such animal exists.

Correct

Chicago ain’t Pittsburgh. (No judgment rendered there about the city of Pittsburgh itself, which I think is an underrated gem.)

+1. Thank you.

Ricketts knew he was buying a team supported by an impatient group of people. I doubt he’d see much business sense in pissing them off to save a few bucks.

Plus, he's ONE of those impatient people

I wouldn't believe Mariotti if he told me the sky was blue

Milton Bradley's Latest Contribution to the Drama

If Milton had any chance of making another MLB team, he blew it with this latest stunt. He is not taking responsibility for his actions at all. This was not an isolated incident, but one of many incidents. Now he is spitting in the face of Jim Hendry, who bent over backwards to try to accommodate Milton until enough was enough. Going to the MLBPA over this is simply ludicrous. I know agents are supposed to protect their players, but this is bordering on insanity.

If I’m a GM of another team, this is the last thing I want. You want to retain some ability to discipline your players in situations like this. It is a privilege to play on an MLB team and not a right. Milton has been a disgrace to his uniform this season, but this is not the first time that he’s been a disgrace in his career. If all he was guilty of was bad play, that would be one thing. Everyone has bad seasons, but you can’t do what Milton did this season and not expect this to happen.

Bradley’s trade stock essentially went to rock bottom with his latest stunt. He has once again shown that he is not willing to take responsibility for his actions, which is one thing grown men need to learn to do. As a GM, why would I want Milton Bradley right now? Does Milton even want to continue playing baseball? At this point, I don’t care. I’ll never understand him because he’s a grown man acting like a child. “I’m gonna tell my mom on you,” is what Milton is telling Jim with this stunt. Good job.

Ace Venom - September 22, 2009 reply

I have NO problem

with the MLBPA making sure the Cubs state formally the reasons for suspension and state whether it’s paid or unpaid.

If Hendry believed for a second that an informal “You’re done” discussion with no paperwork was going to cut it, he is an idiot.

That would be fine if that's all there was to it

In Milton’s case, it looks as if he’s trying to shove it back in Jim’s face. I don’t think Jim was stupid enough to suspend him without pay.

Ace Venom - September 22, 2009 reply

Tell me what's so wrong

with Hendry having to explain exactly why his actions were warranted to the guys who look out for players interests?
If I felt like my organization was screwing me, I’d go to my rep/lawyer too. Doesn’t automatically mean I’m going to win.

http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/119855-miltons-mom-he-could-feel-hatred-from-cubs-fans?eref=fromSI

Miltons Mom is talking...

Milton needs to find a Dr…

TheHawkRules - September 22, 2009 reply

Studies have shown that genetics are a factor in being predisposed to mental illness.

Rob Neyer quoted Al today

On Al’s Take on the MB situation. ($)

Rob largely agrees with Al.

I don't see a Yellon quote...

n/t

Here's the link.

It’s not behind a pay wall — it was actually done yesterday.

Linky

Nevermind....

It’s in a post further down.

That Sheehan

article was retarded…..not sure if im spelling his name right

JMG1984 - September 22, 2009 reply

"Retarded" is not an appropriate comment here.

Thanks. There are other ways to express your disapproval of something.

sigh.

Sorry SWL, but I believe Al's correct and within his rights to say something.

I correct my teenage daughter when she uses this this term in this manner too. It’s inappropriate in any form when trying to describe that something or someone is different or somehow “not normal”…

It’s simply a juvenile use of the word (in my opinion).

cowsarecool220 - September 22, 2009 reply

agreed

sue369 - September 22, 2009 reply

Well said.

As an uncle of a special needs child

and someone who works with special needs people, I’m in the politically correct camp on this one too SWL

And your point can't be made at all without using that word?

All the other words in the English language… and you can’t come up with another one.

Sounds like the problem is on your end.

It's not so much the word as the intention imho

If someone ever says

“The continual use of Bobby Scales has retarded Jake Fox’s growth as a defender,” or something similar, you won’t hear me say a word.

How about...

"The continual use of Bobby Scales over Jake Fox has handicapped the team."

exactly

Worf, I didn't pick that word.

I deal with special needs people too

They’re called White Sox fans and half the posters on BCB.

You think you're funny don't you

You think you’re a fucking laugh riot, making fun of people with intellectual disabilities.

Probably called them “tard” and “feeb” and made jokes about having sex with them. Probably shoved them around and maybe even pulled pranks on them.

Die. And get skull-raped by Satan in Hell.

"Raped" is not an appropriate comment here.

Thanks. There are other ways to express your disapproval of something.

Guys chill out, please!

WTF?

Take it down a notch man, seriously.

Rec'd!

Guilty on all counts, except the making jokes about having sex with them. I save those jokes for your mom.

Mike Martin - September 23, 2009 reply

But racial jokes

A-okay!

Racial Jokes are retarded.

Rec'd!

Rec'd!

At least we haven't all lost our sense of humor here.

Maybe I have, because I didn't find any of it funny.

Shanghai Badger - September 23, 2009 reply

ACK

eths - September 23, 2009 reply

Yes, very funny

Let’s start telling Jewish jokes now.

Worf - September 23, 2009 reply

Ojb a chochem wert in kass, farlirt er sajn chochme.

eths - September 23, 2009 reply

我不了解。

Oliver Perez

I think I saw somewhere a proposal to send MB to the Mets for Oliver Perez. I think their remaining contracts are somewhat similar. Perez has stunk since his new contract but he does have a live arm. Might be worth something, even if its to another team. Anyone know if that is real at all?

RTGrules - September 22, 2009 reply

Can he play SS?

...

cowsarecool220 - September 22, 2009 reply

Buster Says

The Padres might be interested in him, the Rangers dont want him back….nothing bout the Mets (at least on the trade rumors site)

JMG1984 - September 22, 2009 reply

I think the best chance to trade Milton is to a desperate team.

A desperate GM tends to make bad trades. i.e. Bill Bavasi of the Mariners trading the far for an injury prone and questionable character Eric Bedard.

That’s why Kansas City comes to mind as a possible candidate. Maybe even the Astros, their owner seems pretty desperate to convince his fans to buy tickets. The Blue Jays strike me as a desperate team, particularly if JP Richardi keeps his job. I think the Giants could be considered desperate to add offense and have tolerated one of the biggest jerks to play in our lifetime.

Any other suggestions?

Sadly, perceived desperation is roughly the same reason

Hendry signed him. Hopefully those teams don’t learn from Jimbo’s mistake.

N Oakley - September 22, 2009 reply

I like Berg — out of all the rookie pitchers who have inhabited the Cubs’ bullpen this season, Berg strikes me as the one who might have a chance to stick as a middle relief/setup guy. He’s not young — he’ll be 26 next June — but he’s got a good arm and most importantly, throws strikes.

caridads been pretty good too, id like to see them in the bullpen next year if they keep up the good work during ST

jesus christos - September 22, 2009 reply

Caridad...

… I dunno. He’s looked OK. I like Berg better.