Are the Cubs Considering a Deal for Kerry Wood?
When Chicago Cubs reliever Angel Guzman went down, presumably for the year, rumors picked up about the Cubs adding another right-handed reliever. The kicker, of course, is that the Cubs were already looking for such a right-handed reliever, and efforts to add a guy now will be met with outrageous demands.
But maybe the Cubs can pick up a guy who’s got an outrageous contract, making the deal slightly more palatable. Maybe it could be someone who is loved by Cubs fans.
Kerry Wood, RHP, Indians — He would make a lot of sense for the Twins, as closer Joe Nathan will likely undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery. Wood makes $10.5 million, and with Minnesota’s budget stretched to $96 million and change — highest in team history — the Indians would have to pick up a good slab of it. The Twins are considering in-house candidates, but don’t be surprised if they look around. Wood also is drawing interest from his former team, the Cubs. The Boston Globe.
It is, of course, unclear why the Boston Globe would have unique visibility to the Chicago Cubs’ reliever desires, and this report also ignores recent statements by both Jim Hendry and Tom Ricketts that the Cubs’ payroll is maxed out.
But if they could swing a deal where they only pick up a few million of Wood’s deal? Maybe they’d consider it. Wood, as you know, spent his entire career in Chicago before leaving via free agency last year to Cleveland. Last year was arguably the worst of his career, and assuredly the worst since he became a reliever - he had a 4.25 ERA, a 1.382 WHIP, and converted just 20 of 26 save opportunities.
Still, he’d look pretty great back in a Cub uniform.
ShareLou Piniella Considering Going with 11 Pitchers in April
Two relatively big pieces of information, buried in Carrie Muskat’s blog, from Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella:
The Cubs do need five starters when they open the season. Sometimes with off days, a team can get by with four. The way it’s projected, the Cubs’ fifth starter would make four starts in April.
“I asked [Larry Rothchild] if we could get by with 11 pitchers in the month of April,” Piniella said. “I haven’t heard a positive response on that one yet.” Muskat Ramblings.
We’ve all been assuming - and that includes General Manager Jim Hendry, who stated as much last week - that the Cubs could go with four starting pitchers for the first few weeks of the season, thus mitigating the loss of Ted Lilly somewhat. But if the Cubs actually have to go with five starters from day one, let’s hope two of the competing guys really step up. Upon review of the schedule, I see one spot where the Cubs could skip the fifth starter, but that’s it. Usually the early-season schedule is more kind.
To the latter point, Lou is clearly concerned about the Cubs’ bench. If the Cubs - like most teams - can go with just 11 pitchers, they will be able to carry an extra player on the bench, which would likely be a defensive-minded infielder (Andres Blanco?) or an extra outfielder since Xavier Nady can’t yet play out there (Tyler Colvin?).
It would be nice to have the extra player on the bench. Thing is, with the back-end of the rotation in shambles in April, I have hard time believing the Cubs aren’t going to want to carry as many relievers as possible.
ShareAngel Guzman Has a Tear in His Shoulder, and Things Look Bad
The MRI Chicago Cubs pitcher Angel Guzman had on his throwing shoulder came back with horrible news.
Cubs pitcher Angel Guzman has a significant tear in a ligament in his right shoulder and will not be ready Opening Day. Whether he will undergo surgery is yet to be determined.
“He has a very unstable shoulder,” Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said on Saturday. “There’s no timeframe of anywhere soon that he’ll be pitching. Obviously, it wasn’t good news.”
Guzman underwent an MRI on his shoulder on Friday after complaining of discomfort. He had not thrown off the mound this spring.
It’s been a difficult few months for Guzman, 28, who injured his right knee running in Venezuela, then five days later, lost his brother, who was shot to death in Caracas on Jan. 11. Guzman, who has been recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, had yet to throw off the mound this spring.
“You just feel terrible for the kid,” Hendry said. “Right when he has success and has great stuff, something has gone wrong. We were very pleased with his throwing in January. It’s a shame.
“At one time, this guy was as good a prospect as [Carlos Zambrano] in the system,” Hendry said of Guzman, whose career has been slowed by shoulder and elbow injuries. “It just seems like it’s been one thing after another. He’s had some success the last couple years with well-above-average stuff and was capable of pitching at any point in the game for you.” cubs.com.
Just terrible for both Guzman and the Cubs, who were counting on Guzman at the back end of the bullpen. Some reports suggest that even if Guzman opts for surgery, it will be of the career-threatening kind.
Obviously it’s not a matter of life and death, but as far as injury news goes, this is about as bad as it gets.
ShareGod’s Wrath Watch: God Hates Cubs Shoulders
Yesterday we learned that Chicago Cubs second baseman Mike Fontenot has a bum shoulder, which isn’t a huge concern, as he’s expected to be back tomorrow or early next week.
The shoulder injury that really shook the Cubs’ world, though, was that of reliever Angel Guzman. He’d been rehabbing from offseason knee surgery when he had some “discomfort” in his shoulder last week. The Cubs shut him down with the hopes that he could slowly come back - and he did, for a little while. But yesterday was apparently a breaking point, because the Cubs have completely shut him down, sent him for an MRI, and said that he’s unlikely to be ready for the start of the season.
We’ll reserve our PANIC until hearing the results of the MRI, but either way, for a bullpen already short on certain options, losing Guzman is a real kick in the crotch. The Cubs have the depth to replace him, but not necessarily the reliability. You better believe if Jim Hendry wasn’t working the phones before, he is now.
ShareMilton Bradley Failed Because of, and Only in, Chicago
Milton Bradley is back in the Chicago papers - and the news is all about how happy Bradley is that he’s only in the Chicago papers, not the city, itself. That’s right, Milton Bradley finally says what we all knew he was thinking: someone other than Milton Bradley is to blame for his failures last season.
“Two years ago, I played, and I was good,” Bradley told The Times. “I go to Chicago, not good. I’ve been good my whole career. So, obviously, it was something with Chicago, not me.”
Bradley, who has played for eight teams in 11 seasons, had a career-best season for the Texas Rangers in 2008, batting .321 with 22 home runs and 77 RBIs. Looking to add left-handed punch to their lineup, the Cubs signed Bradley to a three-year, $30 million contract before the 2009 season.
Bradley struggled to live up to the contract and manage the pressures of playing in a big market. He batted .257 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs.
“Just no communication,” Bradley told the paper, referring to his Cubs tenure. “I never hit more than 22 homers in my career, and all of a sudden I get to Chicago and they expect me to hit 30. It doesn’t make sense. History tells you I’m not going to hit that many. Just a lot of things that try to make me a player I’m not.” ESPN Chicago.
Step back for a second and think about what you’re hearing. Do players ever say things like this? “I’m a really good player, and the reason I had one bad season is because the place where I played was awful and they didn’t treat me right.” You almost never hear things like this, and when you do, it is almost always more of a reflection of that player than it is of the team. Imagine, for a moment, that this wasn’t Milton Bradley. Imagine it was, for example, Aaron Heilman. Wouldn’t we be surprised to hear him say these kind of things?
But it is Milton Bradley. So there really isn’t much of a surprise here - did anyone really expect Milton Bradley to take any responsibility? Once again - and we can only wish Jim Hendry had observed this simple fact - there’s a reason why the guy doesn’t last anywhere more than a season and a half.
ShareGod’s Wrath Watch: Angel Guzman Shut Down
Chicago Cubs reliever Angel Guzman is being counted on at the back end of the bullpen, but he’s going to have to get healthy first. Already recovering from double secret knee surgery, Guzman has now been shut down after experiencing discomfort in his throwing shoulder. Grumble.
The Cubs’ medical staff seems optimistic that the shoulder won’t cost Guzman more than a few days, and that should allow the staff’s best reliever of 2009 to open the season on time.
”He’s not seeing a doctor or anything like that,” said general manager Jim Hendry, who called it a precautionary move.
Guzman, whose brother and a friend were killed in a robbery in Venezuela last month, also was rehabbing from minor knee surgery.
”He’s still certainly capable, if this is just a minor setback, of being ready,” Hendry said. ”He’s only got to get ready for relief work. We always felt he probably wouldn’t be in games until the middle of the [exhibition] schedule anyhow.” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.
I like that they’re thinking it’s only a couple of days, and I like that they’re terming it “precautionary.” I even like that he wasn’t going to be in games until mid-March anyway.
But any time “discomfort” comes up, it feels like a sign of things to come. And for a guy like Guzman, whose career has been filled with more injuries than successes, it doubly feels that way.
ShareThe Chicago Cubs Will Have the Money to Make Trades at the Deadline
Given how many times we’ve heard about this year’s “budget,” and how Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry “does not have the money” to make certain moves, it is reasonable to question whether the team is completely locked in as is, regardless of how the team performs, how things play out, and who might become available during the season.
Owner Tom Ricketts was cagey when asked about the subject, but manager Lou Piniella was confident.
New Cubs owner/chairman Tom Ricketts, in town with his co-owner siblings to address the team and check out potential new spring-training sites, said the family ”possibly” would be willing to increase the team’s tapped payroll budget to add players at the trading deadline.
”We’ll take that one day at a time,” he said.
Manager Lou Piniella seemed a little more confident.
”We’ve got probably the fourth- or fifth-highest payroll in baseball, so the commitment is there from a monetary standpoint,” Piniella said, praising what he has seen so far. ”They’re very competitive, and I’m sure that if we get in position during the course of the summer and we need something, there’s a darn good chance they’ll step forward.” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.
The thing is, Ricketts is a businessman. He’s a fan, sure, but given the crazy amount of debt his family took on to purchase the Cubs, he’s not going to go spend-crazy quite yet. That said, if the Cubs are in it, and there’s a move out there that clearly puts them in a better position to make a deep playoff run, the right business decision is to make the move and temporarily expand the payroll.
ShareCubs and Theriot Hug It Out
For the first time in nearly two decades, the Chicago Cubs engaged in arbitration with a player this weekend. The reason they’ve assiduously avoided arbitration hearings is because they can get nasty, so it’s usually worth paying the player just a little bit more to settle things amicably. For whatever reason, that wasn’t possible this year with shortstop Ryan Theriot, who lost in his bid for a higher salary this weekend.
So the immediate concern: will Theriot be bitter, and will it affect his play? He seems to have answered that concern immediately.
“This is going to be a great year,” an upbeat Theriot said as he reported for spring training. “It’s really exciting. I’ve really worked on gaining some strength this off-season, gaining some weight for longevity. So there are some things I improved on some things that I worked on all off-season. I’m excited to see how that works out.”
The arbitration process actually worked out well for both sides, even though Theriot “lost.” After making $500,000 last year, he’ll get $2.6 million this season instead of the $3.4 million he had sought.
All in all, there seemed to be no hard feelings on either side.
“No doubt about it,” Theriot said. “I never feel like I’m owed anything. That’s not why you play the game. You’re not owed anything. This is a privilege to be able to come in here and do this every day. There’s millions of people who would love to it.
“From that point of view, whatever you get is great. You’re happy with it, and you go out and play. You stay hungry and you continue to improve and continue to do better and try to win. Everything else kind of falls in place.”
Cubs general manager Jim Hendry had not been to a hearing since becoming GM in 2002. In fact, the Cubs had not been to arbitration since they won their case against Mark Grace in 1993.
Hendry, too, sounded a conciliatory tone after returning from Florida, where the hearing was held.
“It’s a part of the business of major-league baseball now,” Hendry said. “We certainly have never gone before since I’ve been here, and I think that speaks for itself. I don’t think we’ve ever been accused of overpaying anybody (in pre-arbitration settlements), and I think the players always felt that we came to a fair number. I always assumed, sooner or later, as a general manager, we would be going. It’s just part of the process.” Daily Herald.
Very good to hear.
Hendry also said that the hearing was not particularly contentious, so it’s possible that there really are no hard feelings.
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