Series Preview: Brewers v. Cubs, August 2 – August 4, 2010
It’s Series Preview time again, as the Chicago Cubs welcome the Milwaukee Brewers to Wrigley Field – still the one team, outside of Arizona, against whom the Cubs have played well this year. The Brewers didn’t conduct a sell-off, so they’ll be at full-strength.
A refresher on the series preview here at Bleacher Nation:
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 Brewers series preview, after the jump
Obsessive Ted Lilly Trade Watch: Might Have to Cross Phillies Off the List
Late yesterday, a rumor started circulating that the Cubs and Phillies had agreed to swap lefties Ted Lilly and JA Happ, but it seems to have died on the vine. Whether it was because of Ted Lilly’s partial no-trade clause (which includes the Phillies), or because there wasn’t anything to the rumor in the first place, we might never know.
That’s because the Phillies are on the verge of landing Roy Oswalt.
Major League baseball sources told FOX 26 Sports the Houston Astros have a deal in place to trade pitcher Roy Oswalt to the Philadelphia Phillies if Oswalt agrees to waive his no-trade clause.
Sources told FOX 26 the Astros have approached Oswalt. He is aware of the deal that is on the table and the club is waiting for his response.
MLB sources told FOX 26 the Astros and Phillies have agreed on the amount of money Houston will take back in the deal and the two teams have agreed on the players Philadelphia will be sending. Fox Houston.
Can you tell that writer was really excited to have “sources”?
If the Phillies manage to land Oswalt, they’ll obviously no longer have a need for Lilly, and the Cubs will have to turn their attention back to the Mets, Dodgers, and Twins.
Obsessive Ted Lilly Trade Watch: Scouts A-Plenty Last Night
If Chicago Cubs starter Ted Lilly is not traded before Saturday’s trade deadline, it won’t be for a lack of visibility.
Eight top scouts were on hand to watch Cubs left-hander Ted Lilly and Astros right-hander Brett Myers pitch on Tuesday night in Houston.
Both pitchers are coveted by numerous teams as the trade deadline approaches on Saturday.
At least six teams have interest in Lilly, including the Twins, Tigers, Dodgers and Mets. According to major league sources, the Twins have been the most aggressive team in their pursuit of Lilly, although the Dodgers, who had early interest in the pitcher, may have found a way to pick up the $5.5 million left on his contract. ESPN Chicago.
This is the first we’ve heard of the Twins being “the most aggressive,” but with a stacked minor league system, a trade with the Twins is likely to yield a good return. It will be interesting to learn, over time, which the Cubs were more interested in: getting a team to take the rest of Lilly’s salary, or getting the best return in prospects. The answer could go a long way to setting us up for what the Ricketts Era will be like.
As for Lilly, he put together a 1.80 ERA in his last three starts, so it’s not as though he isn’t helping his cause (ironically, of course, as Lilly wants to stay with the Cubs).
God’s Wrath Watch: Not Geovany Soto!
Of all the personnel the Chicago Cubs could lose to injury, catcher Geovany Soto might be the hardest to stomach. He leads all catchers in several offensive categories, and he’s been the most consistently good batter the Cubs have had all year.
But we’re going to get a steady diet of Koyie Hill for at least a couple days after Soto went down last night.
Cubs catcher Geovany Soto is day-to-day after fouling a ball off his left foot in the third inning of Monday night’s 5-2 win over the Astros.
Soto had another at-bat in the sixth and was then lifted on defense. He tried to stay in the game, but his foot stiffened up, and the Cubs athletic trainers decided treatment was a better option. The ball hit him in the arch of his foot.
What about Tuesday?
“Let’s see,” Soto said. “It’s not the bone, it’s not a major thing. It’s in a tough area. If I’m putting some weight on it now after ice, it’s not a big thing.”
Cubs manager Lou Piniella said he felt Soto would definitely be available Friday, when the team opens a weekend series in Colorado. cubs.com.
The injury didn’t look terribly serious, and it’s good to hear that it wasn’t. It’s still a crummy time to lose Soto for even a couple games, as the Cubs try to prove they can make a miracle comeback over the last couple of months before having to make difficult trade decisions leading up to Saturday’s trade deadline.
Obsessive Lilly Trade Watch: Cubs Would Like to Deal Lilly Before Tuesday
The Chicago Cubs are now actively shopping pitcher Ted Lilly, and would like to have a deal in place before Lilly’s next start, which is scheduled for Tuesday.
With contenders struggling to find the right match for available starters Roy Oswalt and Dan Haren on the trade market, interest in Cubs left-hander Ted Lilly has stepped up dramatically and a trade could be completed by the end of the weekend, major-league sources said Friday.
Lilly’s trade value skyrocketed after he held the Houston Astros to one run in 7 1/3 innings Wednesday. His next scheduled start is Tuesday in Houston, and sources say the Cubs would like to complete a deal before that outing. CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.
Before we get too excited, it’s worth pointing out that, if the only reason these “sources” believe a Lilly deal will get done soon is because of other teams’ struggles to acquire Oswalt or Haren, the sources may be a day or two behind the curve. Indeed, teams may not be struggling to acquire Oswalt or Haren as much as is suggested in that article. At present, the Astros have scouted and/or exchanged names with three teams – the Cardinals, Dodgers, and Phillies – so they may be getting close to finding a partner. Haren is officially on the Yankees’ radar, and the teams are reportedly getting close to a deal.
That said, it’s unlikely a traded Haren would affect the Lilly trade market, primarily because the Yankees have never been interested in Lilly. In that regard, taking Haren off the market, to a team that was never going to get Lilly, could actually help the Lilly trade market. Thus, I’m rooting strongly for the Yankees to acquire Haren – and soon.
As for Oswalt, each of the Phillies and Dodgers has been connected to Lilly, at least in small ways. Still, the two most likely Lilly destinations – Detroit and New York (Mets) – are not involved.
Obsessive Ted Lilly Trade Watch: Ted Lilly “Will Get Traded”
We’re just a week away from the non-waive trade deadline, and the Chicago Cubs have yet to make a move. But having just lost two of three to the woeful Astros, the Cubs have no doubt cemented their status as sellers – and the first piece to go will probably be pitcher Ted Lilly.
Unlike the two guys above him on this list, there’s one thing we can say for sure about Lilly: He will get traded, probably any day now.
At least a half-dozen teams are still in on him — a group headed by the Tigers, Mets and Dodgers. And the Cubs are officially in nearly-everything-must-go mode. So not only are they confident they can trade this guy, but they Cubs are also telling teams they don’t have to pay any of the approximately $5.5 million he has left on his deal this year.
“They said they’re going to move him,” said an official of one club. “And they’ve got enough action where they won’t have to pay any of the money.”
But Lilly — who also has a limited no-trade clause — isn’t a fit for everybody. One scout said of him: “His velocity is down and he has to go to a club with a big park, a fly-ball park. He can’t pitch in a small park anymore.” But an executive of one team who loves him said: “He’s never been a velocity guy. He’s a pitcher. And he likes the action. He likes facing tough lineups. He likes facing those tough right-handed hitters. I really don’t see that decrease in velocity as an issue.”
It takes only one team that agrees with that assessment. And the Cubs, in this case, have a lot more than one to choose from. Jayson Stark.
That the Cubs are intent on not picking up any of Lilly’s remaining salary indicates that they are looking mostly to save money, and not to pick up the optimal return in prospects. Sure, if the market for Lilly is broad enough, the Cubs shouldn’t have to eat any of Lilly’s deal. But by refusing to do so, the Cubs limit that market – at least incrementally.
Still, it’s reassuring to hear that there are a number of teams interested in Lilly, who has greatly rehabilitated his value in his last two starts. They may have been his last as a Cub.
Obsessive Ted Lilly Trade Watch: The Dodgers Are A-Callin’
Though he didn’t even appear in the game, last night’s shellacking of Carlos Silva made it incrementally more likely that Chicago Cubs starter Ted Lilly would be traded. With just over a week to go before the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31, the Cubs are no doubt continuously evaluating their position vis a vis the other teams in the NL Central. And when you get blown out by one of the worst teams, it becomes a whole lot easier to think sell-sell-sell, even if it’s just “one game.”
With that as a backdrop, we can add another team to the list of suitors for Ted Lilly’s services: the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Losers of four in a row and with 13 of their next 17 games against the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres, the Dodgers, according to baseball sources, have been very aggressive in their pursuit of pitching, both for the rotation and the bullpen. They continue to call the Houston Astros on Roy Oswalt(notes), the Chicago Cubs on Ted Lilly(notes), the Diamondbacks on Haren and even the Cleveland Indians on Jake Westbrook(notes) and Fausto Carmona(notes). Yahoo! Sports.
The only team for which there have been reports of real talks or prospect scouting is the New York Mets, and recently those reports have cooled. It’s good to know there are a number of teams interested in Lilly – the Mets, Dodgers, Tigers, Yankees, Twins, White Sox, among others – but right now, concrete details are a scarcity.
Series Preview: Cubs v. Brewers, June 8 – June 10, 2010
It’s Series Preview time again, as the Chicago Cubs head out to face the Milwaukee Brewers – the one team against whom the Cubs have played well this year. And Miller Park usually plays like Wrigley North, so it should be a fine reception for the Cubs.
A refresher on the series preview here at Bleacher Nation:
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 hot chicks, too.
