Clark & Addison Blog - CubHub.net

Even though Jim Hendry denies it, trading for Rich Harden clearly serves the purpose of an answer to the Brewers getting CC Sabathia for the stretch run. The fans are invigorated, the team seems charged by the news, the beat writers are all over it. Not since the Cubs acquisition of Nomar Garciaparra has there been such excitement over a mid-season trade. Fun stuff.

In giving up Sean Gallagher, it figures the Cubs had to give to get. He will probably be a good pitcher for years to come, but sure worth the gamble to get 15 starts out of Harden. When the Cubs got Rick Sutcliffe in 1984 they had to give up Joe Carter and Mel Hall, a hefty price to pay. At least as of today, the Harden trade doesn’t look all that balanced. Eric Patterson has certainly showed flashes, but there really was no room for him in the Cubs infield plans. He was a butcher in the outfield so certainly worth letting go of. Matt Murton is a good role-player, but again no room for him on this Cubs team. Hendry made the statement that everyone wanted to hear: The Chicago Cubs are going for it all this year.

Soon enough, a headline somewhere is going to read “Cubs start Harden, finish with Wood”. And really, what’s not to like about that?

I was stunned this morning to learn the biggest prize in this year’s anticipated trade deadline sweepstakes would be going to the Milwaukee Brewers. This is clearly a warning shot across Jim Hendry’s bow that the Brewers intend to challenge the Cubs for the division and perhaps more. So much for the argument that so-called small market teams can’t compete.  The Brewers were able to put together a package that brings them the Hefty Lefty, CC Sabathia from Cleveland.  Not good news for our beloved Northsiders.

How could Hendry have let the Hefty Lefty Land in our division?? Not only did Hendry fail to land the biggest fish, but now that CC is in our division the Cubs will likely have to face him a few times this year. This could be pivotal for the Cubs, especially if the division race comes down to just a game or two - CC Sabathia could very well be the difference maker for Milwaukee.

In my view, the pressure is on Hendry to find another legit starter for the playoff push. Not only will the Cubs be looking for the consolation prize player, but the other seven-odd teams rumored to have been wanting the Hefty Lefty will also be scrambling for whats left, even if only to save face with their fans. I mean, how can a team looking to make a serious push to October not make a July deadline deal?  Doing so can be a boost in the clubhouse in sending a message they are expected to win, but the fans also expect some blockbuster deal as a sign from the font office.

Jim Hendry is now on the clock to make a move to improve his own club as well as to counter what the Brewers have done. Rumblings have Rich Harden, AJ Burnett, Randy Wolf, and Eric Bedard all on the block. Will he get one of these guys or perhaps someone else? Any way you dice it, the Hefty Lefty is far and away the best of the this bunch. And those who remain are all a distant second.  Let’s hope the Cubs don’t end up a distant second come Oct 1 because of this…

With Soriano on the shelf until late July, looks like the team will call up Micah Hoffpauir again. This will give them a corner outfielder with (so far) a decent stick. I think we will see plenty of Mark DeRosain Left with Mike Fontenot at second, and Reed Johnson in Left with Jim Edmonds in Center.  This injury pretty much assures Edmonds will stick with the Cubs at least a few more weeks.  As I’ve written in the past, I want to see what Edmonds will do against the Cardinals when we play them July 4th weekend in St. Louis - now without Pujols or Soriano.

What will be interesting to see is how this may affect Jim Hendry’s trade deadline (July 31) strategy. While the Soriano injury shouldn’t be the kind that lingers or will dampen his abilities later in the season, it does thin out the depth of bench and minor leaguer options for the Cubs GM.  This could impact Hendry’s ability to make a deal late in July when some high-salary players will become available and the Cubs will have to move some young talent to get them.

No doubt the Cubs will try to fill some needs through trade deadline dealing. Starting pitching is a concern; the patchwork center field position could benefit from a legit everyday player; and always a left handed bat off the bench is on the shopping list.  Plus, if there are more injuries…there could be other needs not apparent right now.  The Cubs can trade from a place of strength right now with some major league ready young arms. As usual they have few if any position players that would interest many teams.  But with Soriano’s absence, Hendry will have to take another look at where he is and what’s available.

FOR GOD’S SAKE, DON’T PICK UP STEVE TRACHSEL FROM THE SCRAP HEAP!!!  (Again.)

O’s designate Trachsel for assignment (AP)

Steve Trachsel was designated for assignment Tuesday by the Baltimore Orioles, who couldn’t count on the right-hander in the bullpen after he struggled as a starter. The 37-year-old Trachsel was 2-5 with an 8.39 ERA in 10 games this season, including eight starts. After losing his spot in the starting rotation, he yielded six runs in two relief appearances totaling six innings.

I’m not ready to lighten up on Jim Edmonds. Sure, he came through big in 3 games two weeks ago, putting about 140 points on his season batting average. But 3 good games does not a season make. With the Cubs legitimately in position to contend this year it seems worth while to start thinking about adding on before the July 31 trade (non-waiver) deadline.

I’ve heard Steve Stone theorize about CC Sabathia, the hefty lefty from Cleveland becoming available as the Indians season continues to slip away from them.  There would be a price to pay, but acquiring the likes of “CC Rider” would be the kind of a move a team looking to win it all NOW would make. He would be a rent-a-player as his contract is up at years end and he has already turned down a long term offer from Cleveland averaging 18mil per year. With Stoney talking about this deal, sure seems like a possibility (gasp!).

I saw something a day or two ago that another lefty starter, Eric Bedard from Seattle might become available.  This seems kind of a long shot to me as Seattle paid a big price to bring in Bedard from the Orioles this past off season. I just don’t see them giving him up. He’s a talented lefty starter and those are hard to come by.  Even if he were available, I think the price would likely be too high.

When the Padres were in town it seems there was some talk of how Greg Maddux might be willing to agree to a trade deadline deal bringing him to the Northside for a third time. I don’t know about this one; whether its right for the club from a baseball perspective or not.  Fans would love it, but is he the kind of guy that a team looking to win NOW would want to acquire?  I think if Hendry deals for Maddux in July the Cubs are in very sorry shape in their rotation. That would mean Marquis is done, and no one else has stepped up.

Center field is still a question mark for me. Reed Johnson/Edmonds platooning is passable in June, but down the stretch and into October I think it would be hard to win with this center field.

Jim Hendry is not afraid to make a bold move. Even though Nomar’s time in blue pinstripes was marred by injury, it was a gutsy trade. It will be interesting to see how these next 7 weeks develop and how he responds. The holes in this team are suprisingly few, but they are big ones.

I’ve been bothered all day thinking about Jim Edmonds puny .125 batting average in a Cub uniform. First of all, I don’t want to like the guy due to his prominence as a Cardinal. But with the 3 for 24 start to his Cubs career, its felt quite natural be negative in regard to him.

It occurred to me today though, that Jim Edmonds was cut by the Padres for hitting just .178 and as a Cub his average has actually gone down! So I did some poking around and found this to be true:

• Sammy Sosa hit more than a hundred points higher (and with 21 homers) last year and is out of baseball this year. He couldn’t find a taker for that meager production.
• Edmonds was cut by the Cardinals and Padres. Each of those teams are paying him millions this year for him to stink it up on the Cubs - and wasting a roster spot.  Pretty clever of them, no?
• Frank Thomas was cut by the Blue Jays for hitting just .167, which is 40 points higher than Edmonds’ Cubs average. (Of course now he’s hitting .319, with a .417 on-base & .516 slugging for the A’s.)
• Mark McGwire retired after hitting just .187 - 60 points higher than Jim Edmonds Cubs average.

So is Edmonds done, or what??  The numbers say so. The Cards say so. The Padres say so.  *I* say so… I predict Mr Jim Hendry will say so too - within a week or so…

Jim Edmonds time in Cubbie pinstripes could be coming to a close sooner rather than later. He is batting just .125, going 3 for 24 (all singles) since joining the Cubs. The boos are getting louder and louder for him and it figures Lou is making plans now for Life After Edmonds. In yesterday’s pre-game, Lou said there is no timetable on Edmonds but as a manager he has to find playing time for Micah Hoffpauir to see what he has there as well. Quoth Lou: “Obviously, defensive play is important, and I recognize that, but we need for Jim to hit,”

Edmonds has played a few days in a row this week, and I would expect him to start against righties for the next couple days as well. But Edmonds would need to find his stroke - and quickly - if he hopes to stick with a team managed by a guy who seems determined to win NOW.  Lou has shown his impatience with low-producers this year. The organization will give Edmonds every chance to prove the Cardinals and Padres were wrong to give up on him.  But Edmonds is not doing himself any favors in making a case to disprove the widely held belief that he is done as a player.

Roster moves are coming soon with Daryl Ward coming off the DL. Will Hoffpauir (batting .400 for the Cubs) stick or Edmonds? Or maybe a pitching shuffle again? Hard to say, but Lou has definitely shown himself to be a ‘what have you done for me lately’ manager this year.  And that is a very good thing.

Making his major league debut pinch hitting on Sunday, Micah Hoffpauir was literally shaking in his shoes. In an interview following the game, he said he was trying hard to stop his back foot from shaking in the batters box. He struck out in this at bat, then drew a walk pinch hitting Tuesday in Houston. Wednesday was his first start and he went 2 for 4 with both hits being doubles. The guy had a great spring and could be among the rarest of the rare for the Cubs: a home-grown position player with the ability to be an everyday starter. 

Its still very early to tell, but Hoffpauir has shown signs of being able to drive the ball. Seems like the Cubs farm system can produce a lot of prospects and getting them to the big leagues is not a problem. They often arrive with a lot of hype, then sort of fizzle out. Maybe this happens with most clubs, but it just seems rare to me to have a non-pitcher come up and deliver right away. 

I wouldn’t anticipate him being with the big club for very long right now. Since he really doesn’t have a place to play I guess the brass wanted to give him a taste of the bigs, give D Lee a day off, and maybe come off the bench a few times before they send him back down. Then if there is an injury to a corner outfielder or first base, Hoffpauir will be better prepared to step up and give Hendry an option other than Matty Murton.

For now, Micah, enjoy the big leagues but don’t get too comfortable. You’re only here for a cup of coffee…