Obviously there is a ton to cover from yesterday, including quotes from Jed Hoyer and Ryan Dempster, as well as reactions to the deals, more on the prospects, etc. That’s all coming later today/tomorrow/Friday. We’ll also talk about the August trade environment, which could – and probably will – see the Cubs make another move or two. For now, the Bullets …
The Braves are happy to have ended up with Paul Maholm and Reed Johnson after missing out on Ryan Dempster. GM Frank Wren, on the contrast of getting Maholm, versus giving up Arodys Vizcaino: “He’s a good-looking young pitcher and we gave up a quality prospect. But to not give up some of the guys that have been mentioned, that was a real plus for us. The Cubs are in a different spot than we’re in. They’re looking for a long-range young pitcher that they can hold on to for a long time. We’re in a spot where we feel like we have a team that can win.” In other words, the Braves weren’t too bummed about losing Vizcaino. It’s cool – if you’d asked me two months ago whether the Cubs could get a prospect who would come in as a top ten member of their system for Maholm, I would have chuckled and patted you on the head.
Reed Johnson, on his way out the door to the Braves, offered extremely high praise for Anthony Rizzo. “I think the reason I see that he is going to be a star is just the attitude in general,” Johnson said on Waddle & Silvy. “He doesn’t get too high, and he doesn’t get too low which is exactly what you need in this game. I think he is the real deal. He has come up here, and he’s respectful to the older players, and I think that’s something you don’t see in that younger generation. He’s got all the tools and all the opportunity there in Chicago to be that guy.”
Darwin Barney was pulled from last night’s game (but not hugged) after being beaned in the head, and has been tested for a concussion. The Cubs expect those results today, and might decide to give him a day off today, either way. (And the lineup was just released, yup, he’s not starting.)
The Garza’s welcomed their fourth child yesterday, a little girl named Summer. Big congrats, Garzas.
Speaking of Garza, he’s not expected to start again until Tuesday, which means he will have been out for more than 15 days between starts. That would seem to suggest the Cubs will DL him at some point soon, unless they want to play a player down until Tuesday (which they might not actually mind, given the off-day tomorrow). The Cubs have another roster move to make, too – although they’ve filled the spots vacated by three of the four players they dealt in the last two days, one more should be coming as soon as today.
Jayson Stark calls the Cubs the third biggest loser at the deadline, but only because of bad luck.
Gerardo Concepcion hasn’t pitched in over a month. He’s on the DL at Peoria, but my understanding was that it was with some kind of illness. I’m starting to wonder what the deal is, and I reckon it’s probably time to start asking around. I hope it isn’t serious.
Kevin Goldstein offered a re-rank of the top 50 prospects in baseball (not including anyone in the majors or anyone just drafted), and the Cubs have two guys who show up: Javier Baez comes in at number 15, and Jorge Soler is number 24.
Strictly-speaking, this is apropos of nothing, but John Danks, the cross-town starter whose five-year, $65 million extension this offseason is often pointed to as a comparison for the Cubs’ theorized talks with Matt Garza, is now going to miss the rest of the season after exploratory shoulder surgery. Think he’s pretty happy he signed that extension when he did?
The MLBullets at BCB look at the trade deadline, and then the rash of injuries that followed.
Meta: Sadly, Poynter publishes what might be the worst article you’ll read from an otherwise creditable organization on the Ryan Dempster/Braves trade debacle. It’s not a badly written piece, but its thesis is embarrassing. Who gets the blame for the deal falling apart at the last moment in ignominious fashion – Dempster? The Cubs? The Braves? The Media? Nope. Twitter. Forget that the story was originally broken by a veteran news man, forget that the story made its way onto MLB.com (something that the Poynter article acknowledges could have happened in the pre-Twitter era, sparking the same debacle – psst, Poynter: it DID happen). The problem was (the) Twitter. And, in a cherry-on-top that I couldn’t have scripted with a straight face? The Poynter article ends with a tweet (without acknowledging that irony) from executive-turned-media-member Jim Bowden about the problems Twitter is causing for executives. Bowden, himself, earlier that same day, broke a Dempster story that wasn’t: he tweeted, “Dodgers getting Dempster.” Cherry. On. Top.