Archive for the ‘roster’ Category

Cardinals making statement in NL Central

I am certainly not a fan of the Cardinals team – never have been. But it’s hard to argue with their methods.  Cardinals GM John Mozeliak has acquired Mark DeRosa, Julio Lugo, and now Matt Holliday to bolster his offense in pursuit of the NL Central Division Championship. The Cards are doing what they believe it [...]

July 25, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Hot Stove, Jim Hendry, observations, players, rivalries, roster, stats  One Comment

Jim Hendry has trade deadline work to do

With the Cardinals stocking up on some potential offensive firepower in Matt Holliday, it brings me around to wonder what options might be available for Jim Hendry between now and the non-waiver trade deadline of July 31st. The Cubs will get Ryan Dempster back next week and Geovany Soto still maybe a couple weeks away. [...]

July 24, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Hot Stove, Jim Hendry, players, roster  One Comment

Cubs need to re-think the bullpen

If 2009 is going to be a year focused on winning the World Series, then the Cubs brass has to re-evaluate their bullpen now. What they have is a mess. I feared when they acquired Kevin Gregg that he would be relied on as the everyday closer. What I had hoped for is that his [...]

June 6, 2009  Tags: , , , , , ,   Posted in: Fantasy Baseball, lineup, players, roster  No Comments

The resurgence of Kosuke Fukudome

Cubs center fielder Kosuke Fukudome is quietly putting together a very solid year. As May is closing out tomorrow, his .311 batting average and .441 on-base percentage illustrate the rebound he is making from a horrible second half of 2008. Kosuke is hanging in better on pitches, getting plenty of walks, but most importantly he [...]

May 30, 2009  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: biz of baseball, lineup, observations, players, roster, stats  No Comments

Bobby Scales is living a Kevin Costner movie

Is there a better story out there than the Bobby Scales story?  I mean, this guy is a living Kevin Costner movie.  Ten year minor leaguer without so much as a sniff of the big leagues. Not even a September call-up along the way. The Cubs pull him to Wrigley just in case they need [...]

May 15, 2009  Tags: , ,   Posted in: observations, players, roster  2 Comments

Life without Aramis Ramirez

It’s been a tough week for sluggers named Ramirez. Of course Manny’s undoing was of his own making.  But all-star Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez having dislocated his left shoulder in last night’s game is a tremendous blow to this team. There was a lot of talk as spring training broke of having no legitimate backup for [...]

May 9, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Hot Stove, Jim Hendry, lineup, observations, players, roster  No Comments

Samardzjia down, Chad Fox up

Chicago Cubs GM Jim Hendry made a roster move sending former Notre Dame wide receiver Jeff Samardzjia back to AAA Iowa and calling up tired old veteran Chad Fox to plug a middle relief hole in the bullpen. When I first heard the report, I thought they called up farmhand Jake Fox who is crushing the [...]

May 7, 2009  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Hot Stove, Jim Hendry, players, roster  2 Comments

Guest Post: Philosophy 101

Here is another Guest Post sent in by AJ. Back in the day, as a first year student at Illinois State University, I recall registering late in the process and as a result got stuck with a couple of courses I otherwise would never consider taking to complete my general studies. One of them, Philosophy [...]

April 19, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: fan comments, guest post, Hot Stove, lineup, observations, players, roster, Team Ownership  One Comment

Bradley Down; Door Opens for Hoffpauir

Bruce Levine is reporting that Milton Bradley actually tweaked his groin in batting practice prior to yesterday’s game in Milwaukee and then went on to aggravate it later on in the fourth inning. Bradley’s injury, a first degree strain of his right groin, is considered mild so he is not likely headed to the DL. The injury [...]

April 13, 2009  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: game day, observations, players, roster  No Comments

Cubs Off-Season Review

If you don’t already monitor Tim Dierkes’ MLBtradeRumors.com, you should. He does a great job running down the leads, suggestions, rumors, and wishful thinking on roster moves for all 30 major league teams. Just posted is their Cubs Off-Season Review, which takes a fair look at the changes made from last year to this and [...]

April 7, 2009  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: biz of baseball, Hot Stove, Jim Hendry, players, playoffs, roster, stats, Team Ownership  No Comments