July 27th, 2008
Even down here in Bears camp at Bourbonnais, reporters are constantly checking the TV to see how the Cubs are doing. The Brewers have a lot of people scared right now. Still, I say the Cubs shouldn’t give up too much for more relief pitching. Trading for relievers in the middle of a pennant race is a recipe for disaster. That’s how the Astros got Jeff Bagwell (for 40-year-old Larry Anderson). Or, to be Cubs specific, how about giving up Jon Garland to the White Sox for Matt Karchner? Too often somebody else’s middle relievers are no better than your own. The Cubs made a great trade to land Rich Harden. They are very deep in starting pitching. Their relievers will be OK, too. Just stay the course. The Brewers aren’t going to go away, but neither will they stay this hot. And the Cubs just got Alfonso Soriano back. Chicago will catch fire again, too.
June 18th, 2008
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The Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullivan is reporting that the Cubs are preparing a multi-player package, including Matt Murton and Rich Hill, to trade for Red Sox free-swinging center fielder Coco Crisp.
I don’t mind dealing out either player (Murton: I really like the guy, but the Cubs clearly see no future in him and his Triple-A numbers make him great trade bait. Hill: Many will say it’s too soon to give up on him. But his horrid start to the season and his shoddy Iowa appearances make it seem that he peaked last season), but do the Cubs really need another center fielder, let alone an outfielder? Â
Jim Edmonds has grown on Cubbie Nation and shown he’s more than worth the $250,000. Reed Johnson is the perfect player to rotate between left and center. And when all else fails, the ultimate jack of all trades Mark DeRosa can easily hold down left and give Fukudome a day off in right.
First and foremost, what needs to be addressed is the Cubs pitching staff. God knows they have done wonders so far this season and there is little to complain about. But, how much longer will a first place rotation/bullpen be able to maintain the wear-and-tear into the playoffs without making any upgrades?
One concern is the endurance of Ryan Dempster. Can the one-time closer continue to pitch like a No. 2 into September? After all, before this season, he’s only had six starts since 2004. Also, there will come a point where the void in the bullpen will need to be filled by someone other than Chad Fox, Kevin Hart, Sean Marshall, Jose Ascanio, Carmen Pignatiello or Neal Cotts.
As far as rotation pitchers go, the options are out there in C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Erik Bedard, Randy Wolf and even Greg Maddux.
May 7th, 2008
With Jon Lieber’s heinous rotation performance today (5 earned runs off 4 home runs in 2 innings), Rich Hill learning some lessons in Iowa and Jason Marquis pitching like, well, Jason Marquis, what’s Lou “I’m not stupid” Piniella to do?
Well, mix in the problems Sweet Lou is having with Alfonso Soriano (lead-off hitting and fielding) and trying to get Ronny Cedeno in the starting lineup, and there might be a solution. Albeit (jokingly) far fetched.
It’s something called the Reverse Ankiel: convert Soriano into a starting pitcher. In the same fashion that Tony La Russa changed struggling pitcher Rick Ankiel into a productive hitter.
 Talk about extreme changes.
