Spring Training Battle Watch: March 5, 2010
Yesterday, the Chicago Cubs extended their winning streak to two games, which is totally awesome! I kid, mostly - though we’ve got to take it where we can get it, folks. The Cubs topped the Diamondbacks 9-8 in what amounted to very satisfying revenge for the 2007 playoff sweep. Ah ha, I got you again with the sarcasm. I’m so clever. On to the battles.
- Tyler Colvin continues to rake, adding another couple doubles. Sam Fuld will soon be looking over his shoulder. Brad Snyder had a couple hits, including a walk-off double in his effort to win a bench spot.
- The youngsters all shined as Starlin Castro, Josh Vitters, and Brett Jackson all had good games. The latter two are not a threat to make the Cubs, and we all know the story with Castro.
- The bullpen was not a bright spot as Jeff Stevens, John Gaub and Justin Berg, all fighting for a spot in the pen, did nothing to impress. Stevens in particular was disappointing as he gave up four earned runs in just over an inning of work.
Initial Spring Training Rotation Set
All of the Chicago Cubs’ expected starting pitchers, and those competing to be in the starting rotation, will get a shot in the first week of Cactus League games.
The Cubs have their Cactus League rotation set for the first five games. Randy Wells will get things started Thursday vs. the A’s, with Carlos Zambrano scheduled for Friday vs. the Diamondbacks. Carlos Silva will go Saturday vs. White Sox, and Jeff Samardzija and Tom Gorzelanny will both start Sunday in split squad games. Ryan Dempster goes Monday at Oakland. Sunday is the first of five scheduled split-squad games. Muskat Ramblings.
Mike Parisi and Sean Marshall, who are also gunning for a starting spot, will follow Wells in Thursday’s game. Keep an eye on who keeps starting as the Spring Training schedule wears on - most teams don’t keep their offensive starters in the game much beyond the first half, so getting pitching starts, as opposed to relief appearances, is the best way to test a guy’s starting mettle.
ShareGrumble: The Cardinals Just Signed Felipe Lopez
It’s not a game-changer, but Felipe Lopez is a guy worth having on your team. And now he’s on the wrong team.
The St. Louis Cardinals reached an agreement with free agent infielder Felipe Lopez on a one-year, $2 million deal, a source told ESPN The Magazine’s Buster Olney.
The deal is still pending the completion of a physical, the source said.
Lopez batted .310, with a .383 on-base percentage, last season for the Diamondbacks and Brewers. The only other free agent on the market this winter who matched or beat him in both of those categories was Matt Holliday. ESPN.
If Lopez puts up similar numbers this year (though there’s reason to think he has no chance, given a highly elevated BABIP last year), the Cards will have just stolen a potential All-Star.
Either way, Lopez is versatile and solid with the glove. He’s valuable, even if he’s on the bench.
Crap.
ShareSo, Why Didn’t the Cubs Consider Felipe Lopez?
The Chicago Cubs are done making any major moves this offseason, and therefore, are apparently going to head into the 2010 season with a Mike Fontenot/Jeff Baker platoon at second base (unless Starlin Castro absolutely destroys Spring Training, claiming the shortstop job, and bumping Ryan Theriot over to second). I’m not going to gripe about it, because I believe a properly-employed platoon could be successful.
That said, it still puzzles me why the Cubs didn’t even look at a guy like Orlando Hudson - solid defensively, and a natural fit at the top of the order. He did sign for a relatively healthy chunk of money, so perhaps he was always out of range. And it’s not like there is some other second baseman out there who is still unsigned, would thus come cheaply, and who could hit at the top of the order. Oh wait … that guy in the headline.
It’s been a tough offseason for Felipe Lopez. Yesterday, the free agent infielder fired Scott Boras, likely due to the fact that it’s February 14 and he remains jobless despite a strong 2009 campaign.
The switch-hitter signed a one-year, $3.5MM deal with the Diamondbacks last offseason. Lopez was productive in Arizona, hitting .301/.364/.412 until he was traded to the Brewers in mid-July. All Lopez did in Milwaukee was improve, hitting .320/.407/.448 in 66 games with the Brew Crew. In total, his .310/.383/.427 line combined with his strong UZR/150 of 7.6 at second base last season make for a desirable target. Or one would at least think.
Perhaps teams are scared off by Lopez’s .360 BABIP, which is substantially higher than his career mark of .323. His 10.4% walk rate is higher than his career mark of 9.2% as well, but even that number is above the 2009 league average of 8.9%. It may not be reasonable to expect a .383 OBP again, but in a market where we’ve seen Miguel Tejada sign for one year at $6MM, Orlando Hudson at one year and $5MM, and Pedro Feliz at one year and $4.5MM, it’s hard not to ask why Lopez is still looking for work. After all, he had a better all-around season than all three of those former free agents.
To this point, the only substantial interest we’ve seen in Lopez has been from the Cardinals, though they’ve dedicated a great deal of money to Matt Holliday and Brad Penny this offseason. Last we heard, St. Louis has $6MM-$7MM to spend, and they’ve got question marks in the infield that make Lopez a logical fit. MLBTradeRumors.com.
So as it turns out, there are solid reasons to avoid Lopez, despite his outstanding 2009 campaign. The elevated BABIP is a concern (when BABIP - batting average on balls put in play - spikes, it is usually a product of luck, and is not repeatable), and his career OBP is just .338. That said, he’s been at or above .343 in four of the last five seasons (a disastrous 2007 season is really dragging his numbers down). Lopez can play all over the infield, too.
It’s impossible to imagine Lopez having to settle for a non-guaranteed, minor league deal with a spring training invite - but if he does, the Cubs would be crazy not to reach out. Then again, at that level, virtually every team in baseball would be crazy not to reach out.
ShareThe Other Cactus League Teams Are Seriously Pissed About the Cubs Tax
In order to construct a new stadium and new facilities for the Chicago Cubs, to keep the team’s Spring Training in Arizona, the city of Mesa has reached out to the State of Arizona for funding assistance. The State, in turn, has proposed a surcharge on all Cactus League game tickets, a decision which has rubbed some of the other Cactus League teams the wrong way - the most vocal of which have been the Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks. But it seems that basically all the teams are pretty upset.
The proposed ticket surcharge hasn’t been well received. Last Friday, the other 14 Cactus League teams had a conference call to voice opposition of the plan.
“If it’s a choice between this surcharge and the Cubs leaving for Florida, I would gladly put on my work gloves and help them pack up the truck,” one Cactus League team official said.
What the city of Mesa will remind the other teams is that the Cubs drew 251,275 fans to their road Spring Training games in 2009, an average of 13,225 per game. The next-biggest draw was the Red Sox, who drew 208,550 fans total fans and an average of 10,976 to road contests. Muskat Ramblings.
Clearly the other teams don’t believe the Cubs leaving would have the negative impact that the city and State believe it would have. And naturally, relative to each other, the teams are probably right. That is to say, the Cubs staying in Arizona means more to Arizona/Mesa than it does to the other Cactus League participants. The Cubs staying is certainly a good thing for those teams, but they’ve obviously crunched the numbers and believe that the tax will more negatively impact their bottom line than would the Cubs leaving.
ShareA Wrench in the Cubs’ Spring Training Plans
After an offseason of back and forth, the Chicago Cubs decided two weeks ago to stay in Mesa, Arizona for Spring Training for the foreseeable future. As part of that decision, Mesa committed to provide new and improved facilities for the team, and a sweet new ballpark. As it turns out, the city and state have planned to help finance the project through a surtax on Cactus League tickets.
Unsurprisingly, some teams aren’t all that into the plan.
The Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks oppose a plan to have the entire Cactus League bankroll the $84 million stadium being built in Mesa for the Chicago Cubs.
Arizona lawmakers are crafting plans that could impose new ticket charges on all Cactus League games and raise rental car taxes Valleywide to help pay for the Cubs’ new spring training complex.
Cactus League President Robert Brinton said ticket surcharges previously have been used by specific cities to fund baseball stadiums within their jurisdictions, but this is the first time a leaguewide fee could be imposed for one project. In a nutshell, the D-backs, Sox and spring training fans Valleywide would help foot the bill for Mesa to build a 15,000-seat stadium for the Cubs.
“We’re opposed,” said White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Phoenix Business Journal.
On a surface level, you can understand where the White Sox and Dbacks (among others, probably) are coming from. Higher ticket prices means potentially reduced attendance, and less revenue. But at the same time, let’s not kid ourselves: the Chicago Cubs are the biggest draw in the Cactus League. That’s not me being a homer, that’s just a fact. The League is better for everyone involved with the Cubs in it, and if this is what it takes to keep the Cubs, then so be it.
The Chicago Cubs’ official response, predictably and correctly, has been: take it up with Mesa and Arizona. They have to find a way to pay for this stuff, and it’s up to them to figure out how to deal with it. They could try to pawn the whole bill off on Cubs’ fans heading to Mesa, but again, that ignores the fact that the team provides benefits to the whole league. Perhaps a disproportionate surtax, weighted onto the Cubs’ home tickets, would be appropriate.
ShareThe Cubs Are Considering Kris Benson
Though the Chicago Cubs are not looking for another starting pitcher - or looking to make any other considerable free agent acquisitions - they’ll continue to monitor guys they can snag on minor league deals. One such guy is formerly mediocre starting pitcher Kris Benson.
A number of National League teams are keeping track of Kris Benson’s progress, including the Diamondbacks, Cubs, Reds and Nationals, according to one major league source.
The Dodgers are also looking to add starting depth but are a more remote possibility, sources indicated.
Last week, Benson’s agent said he expected the free agent right-hander to join a new team within the next few weeks. FOX Sports on MSN.
Benson, 35, pitched a little bit - terribly - last year for the Rangers, but before that hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2006. It’s highly doubtful he’ll come back and contribute meaningfully.
But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a reason to sign him. Her name, my friends, is Anna Benson.
Eric Byrnes Hearts the Chicago Cubs
The Arizona Diamondbacks designated highly-compensated but under-producing outfielder Eric Byrnes for assignment two weeks ago. Soon, he’ll be a free agent who can be signed for the Major League minimum, and according to newly-signed Cub Chad Tracy on XM Radio, Byrnes is hoping that signing team will be the Chicago Cubs.
Byrnes has long been a rumored favorite of Cubs GM Jim Hendry’s, and there was a time when we speculated that he might go after Byrnes to fill the Cubs’ fourth outfielder spot. But then came the much better Xavier Nady.
So even if Byrnes is interested, would the Cubs be? In theory, they’ll carry five outfielders, but it’s long been presumed that the fifth outfielder would be Sam Fuld. Byrnes is an adequate defender, but Fuld is a plus defender. Byrnes has a track record of success hitting at the Major League level, but that was three years ago. Fuld has more recently had success hitting at the Major League level, albeit in limited duty.
It’s hard to imagine the Cubs bumping Fuld in favor of Byrnes, but if all Byrnes can find is a minor league deal and Spring Training invite, there’s no risk in extending him that offer. That said, it’s hard to imagine some team not finding a bench spot for Byrnes.
(h/t CCO)
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