Enhanced Box Score: Pirates 14, Cubs 7 – August 31, 2010
There are the Pirates we’ve come to know and love. Ryan Dempster was dominant in August until he ran into the buzz saw Pirates. At least there was one good, albeit odd, item from the game.
The Chicago Cubs Will Sign Adam Dunn if Marlon Byrd Has His Way
With a gaping hole at first base, left vacated by Derrek Lee who was traded to the Atlanta Braves two weeks ago after manning the spot for almost seven seasons, speculation as to whom will be the next first baseman is bound to bandy about for the next few months. So I guess I’m saying prepare yourself – it could reach Obsessive Watch status.
Adam Dunn, a free agent after this season, will likely be a primary target, assuming he doesn’t sign the extension that the Nationals are so desperately trying to get him to sign. That is, at least, according to Cubs center fielder Marlon Byrd.
“Definitely. You know the guys we’ve lost this year,” Byrd said. “Quality guys like [Ted] Lilly [traded to the Dodgers] and [Derrek Lee [traded to the Braves]. You’re thinking you have to replace those guys. Our clubhouse is good, but we need some athletes out there. I have an idea who they should bring in, the type of players. I think I have an idea of who to bring in to help us win.”
I asked Byrd what impact Dunn would have on the Cubs.
“He’s a definite automatic. I think anyody wants a guy like that,” Byrd said. “Hopefully the team he is on doesn’t hold on to him so that we get a shot at him next year because thump from the left side like that just doesn’t come around often. You always want a guy hitting 30 to 40 home runs a year on your team. He’s certainly one of the guys I’ve been thinking about.” ESPN Chicago.
Dunn’s general lack of athleticism leads me to question Byrd’s successive comments that the Cubs need “some athletes” out there, and that the Cubs should go after Adam Dunn. Nevertheless, Dunn figures to be one of the better options available to the Cubs this winter.
The Chicago Cubs Love Andre Dawson
Yesterday was Andre Dawson Day, both at Wrigley Field and in the city of Chicago. The Chicago Cubs held a ceremony for the recent Hall of Fame inductee and former Cub great, and for a few moments it was easy to forget how miserable the 2010 season has been.
Dawson, inducted into the Hall of Fame in July, was honored in pregame ceremonies at Wrigley Field. The outfielder known as “The Hawk” was given a No. 8 from the Wrigley Field scoreboard as well as a copy of Mayor Richard Daley’s proclamation that Monday, Aug. 30, is “Andre Dawson Day” in Chicago.
Cubs owner Tom Ricketts said he and his family used to live behind the right-field bleachers and came to games to cheer Dawson when he played for the team from 1987-92. Dawson said Cubs fans convinced him to keep playing.
“I’ve addressed these fans on numerous occasions over the years, and they, I think, were the ones who made the difference,” Dawson said. “I wouldn’t say the organization, but the fans — I was driven off their energy.
“I was looking at leaving the game because of the history of the knee problems,” he said. “[The fans] fueled me to the point where the game was fun. I wanted to go out there and make the most of what my blessing and my ability was. Had it been in another city, it probably would’ve been a lot more difficult.” cubs.com.
The Hawk will always be thought of by Cubs fans as among the greats, particularly in this generation of folks who remember watching a guy who was not only excellent, but played the game the right way; the way we envision we’d play the game if we were blessed with a physical ability beyond the ping pong table. He played hard and grateful, and it showed.
Enhanced Box Score: Pirates 2, Cubs 14 – August 30, 2010
Hey, what do you know? The Cubs actually treated the Pirates like the Pirates for once. Carlos Zambrano had yet another deceptive start – no earned runs, but he took 112 pitches to get through just 5.1 innings, giving up four hits and four walks along the way. The strikeouts were nice, though.
As for the offense: yo. They were on, and they were favoring one particular kind of hit.
Geovany Soto’s Knee is a Little Banged Up
The Chicago Cubs today sent catcher Geovany Soto for an MRI on his right knee, which was sore when he woke up this morning. Fortunately the results showed no tears and just minor swelling.
Soto apparently injured the knee Sunday while sliding into second base on an eighth inning double, and was limping Monday.
“I’m a little concerned about his knee,” manager Mike Quade said. “No effects during the game whatsoever. He goes home last night, goes to bed and wakes up and has some problems. We’re going to be real careful with him.”
Koyie Hill will catch Monday night against Pittsburgh. Soto is listed as day-to-day, and the Cubs don’t have any plans yet to call up a catcher, such as Welington Castillo, from Triple-A Iowa. Chicago Breaking Sports.
Rosters expand on Wednesday, so the Cubs will have a third catcher soon enough regardless of Soto’s prognosis.
Series Preview: Pirates v. Cubs, August 30 – September 1, 2010
The Chicago Cubs welcome the best team in the National League – at least according to the Cubs – the Pittsburgh Pirates. Fortunately the Cubs have had a long break from the Pirates, so hopefully they’re able to turn things around against their hated nemesis. Time for the Series Preview.
The idea is to hook you up with the bare minimum of what you need to know about every series this year. That way you can look like a genius, hardcore fan in front of all your friends, with minimum effort. Oh, and there will be pictures of beautiful women, too.
Check out the Pirates series preview, after the jump
Could Marlon Byrd Head Back to the Rangers?
Tomorrow marks the last day that a team can make a trade (via the waiver system) for a player, and include that player on its post-season roster. The Chicago Cubs have already made a couple waiver trades, sending Mike Fontenot to the Giants and Derrek Lee to the Braves.
But are the Cubs done dealing? They are assuredly still working the phones to try and outsource Kosuke Fukudome and Xavier Nady, but beyond that, no one believes the Cubs are considering moving anyone else.
Well, except maybe Richard Durrett, who writes the Texas Rangers blog for ESPNDallas. In a list of potential acquisition targets for the Rangers, Durrett lists a Cub – but not one you’d expect:
Marlon Byrd, Cubs: I only throw this in there because I find it intriguing, but Byrd fits the mold. He can play all the outfield positions and has a big bat against lefties. Byrd is hitting .366 with four homers and 19 RBIs against left-handed pitching this season. But, of course, he has two more years left on his contract in Chicago and I can’t think the Cubs would consider dealing him. Even if they do, it would involve a top prospect. So I can’t see it happening. But could you imagine Byrd back in the Rangers’ clubhouse down the stretch? ESPN Dallas.
Byrd’s contract escalates the next two years ($5.5 million in 2011, $6.5 million in 2012), and it’s possible that the Cubs could have Tyler Colvin or Kosuke Fukudome handle center field until prospect Brett Jackson is ready for the bigs (perhaps as soon as mid-season next year).
But that’s where the “this is possible” stops.
The Cubs love Marlon Byrd, and given his production and defense this year, they’ve got him relatively cheap over the next two years. Further, would Byrd really pass through waivers without being claimed by any NL team or any AL team with a worse record than the Rangers? Given his contract, it seems like a number of teams would be happy to take him on for the next couple of years, even if they’re not competitive this year.
In short, a trade of Marlon Byrd seems highly unlikely for a number of reasons.
Carlos Zambrano Pretty Much Confirms that Lou Piniella Was Checked Out
As Chicago Cubs fans, it seemed clear to us all that former manager Lou Piniella had lost his fire – indeed, he’d lost it as many as two years ago.
But of course, how much do we really know about that kind of stuff? Sure, we see Lou during the games and in post-game press conferences, but maybe behind closed doors he was as spitfire as ever?
Small news, maybe, but nah.
Even veteran Carlos Zambrano, tonight’s starting pitcher, is embracing Quade and the idea of a fresh start.
”It is,” Zambrano said. ”I think Q is more hyper than Lou. He has more energy. But we need to do our job anyway, whether with Lou or Q or [Alan] Trammell. We need to play for our team, we need to play for us and whatever we need to do we have to do it.” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.
Does a manager’s energy translate to player performance on the field? Ask 10 people and you’ll get 10 answers. But the fact that a player is noting Quade’s energy specifically as higher than Piniella’s suggests that Lou was checked out and the players knew it.
EDIT: To clarify – I read Z’s quote as saying Piniella was not particularly fiery or enthusiastic in recent weeks/months, because, to suggest that the new guy has more energy than Piniella is to say that Piniella is no longer the top dog when it comes to his hallmark. Combined with what we all saw in Piniella’s press conferences, it sounds to me like managing the Cubs simply didn’t hold the same excitement for Lou as it once did – that’s what I mean by checked out, and I don’t think it’s a particularly shocking conclusion.
