Why Byrd over Reed?

Jim Hendry went to the free agent market to get his center fielder for 2010. Marlon Byrd was signed this week to a 3-year contract worth $15 million. I took a look at his stats and was astonished by how close his numbers are to that of now former Cub Reed Johnson. Nearly every category [...]

January 2, 2010 Tags: contract, Gary Matthews Jr, Mark DeRosa, Marlon Byrd, Reed Johnson, Rudy Jaramillo Posted in: biz of baseball, Hot Stove, Jim Hendry, players, roster, stats 6 Comments

DeRosa is no Six Million Dollar Man

Today the San Francisco Giants made former Cub Mark DeRosa the six million dollar man – per year. I like DeRo plenty, but 6mil is a big payday for a guy like him. He has made just over $15 million in his professional baseball career (in salary, exluding endorsements). Today he signed a 2-year deal [...]

December 29, 2009 Tags: Aramis Ramirez, contract, free agent, Mark DeRosa, San Francisco Giants Posted in: biz of baseball, Hot Stove, players One Comment

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: Jim Hendry, John Mozeliak, Julio Lugo, Mark DeRosa, Matt Holliday, NL Central Division, St. Louis Cardinals, Ted Lilly Posted in: Hot Stove, Jim Hendry, observations, players, rivalries, roster, stats One Comment

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: Jim Hendry, Kosuke Fukudome, Mark DeRosa, Milton Bradley, photo, Reed Johnson Posted in: biz of baseball, lineup, observations, players, roster, stats No 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: Andy MacPhail, Aramis Ramirez, Aubrey Huff, Derrek Lee, Manny Ramirez, Mark DeRosa, Milton Bradley, photo Posted in: Hot Stove, Jim Hendry, lineup, observations, players, roster No Comments