Ryne Sandberg Would Consider Managing Orioles
Iowa Cubs manager Ryne Sandberg is a rising star – insofar as managers can be rising stars – in the Cubs’ system. How much of that is due to his managerial ability, and how much is due to his Hall of Fame career as a Chicago Cub, is hard to tell. In any event, it sounds like he’s getting itchy to make the jump to the bigs.
Iowa Cubs manager Ryne Sandberg Monday said he’d listen if Baltimore Orioles team president Andy MacPhail called about his vacant managerial position. But so far, no call.
“The last time I talked to Andy was during the winter meetings, when we were on a committee together,” Sandberg said before Monday night’s Pacific Coast League game against New Orleans at Principal Park. “But I’d listen if someone called, for sure.”
A call wouldn’t be out of the question, considering Sandberg and MacPhail go way back — as former Cub Hall of Fame player and former Chicago Cubs team president.
“I’m hoping for a chance with someone,” said Sandberg, whose Cubs had a 29-27 record Monday in his first triple-A season. Des Moines Register Staff Blogs.
Sandberg has been working his way up the minors in the Cubs’ system, and is thought to be in line for, at a minimum, a bench coach position with the Cubs next year.
h/t CCO.
Why the 2010 Milwaukee Brewers Will Suck
Editor’s Note: Yes, it’s that time of year again – the time for us to settle back into our protective bubble where the Chicago Cubs are destined for greatness, and every other team in the National League Central is bound for spectacular failure. If you’d care to check out last year’s fare:St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros. Already featured for 2010: Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros.
The 2010 Major League Baseball season is nearly upon us, and that means two things: (1) we’re all so deprived of real baseball action that we’re willing to treat meaningless Spring Training games like they’re the playoffs, and (2) the prognosticators are out in full force. Yes, every sports publication in the world puts out a season preview. Some are interesting, some aren’t. For the most part, folks just don’t have the time necessary to do the kind of in-depth preview that is going to be of any use to a reader that actually follows the team being previewed.
So most previews end up being pretty surface level, and boring. Well, we’re not going to do that here at Bleacher Nation. It’s much more interesting (notice how I subtly pat myself on the back?) to simply examine why the team currently sucks and is going to suck in 2010.
So enjoy – we’ll be previewing the suckiness (suckosity?) of the other teams in the National League Central over the next five weeks. Up next, Bud Selig’s favorite beer-swillers, the Milwaukee Brewers. Read the full preview on why the 2010 Milwaukee Brewers will suck, after the jump.
Why the 2010 Houston Astros Will Suck
Editor’s Note: Yes, it’s that time of year again – the time for us to settle back into our protective bubble where the Chicago Cubs are destined for greatness, and every other team in the National League Central is bound for spectacular failure. If you’d care to check out last year’s fare:St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros. Already featured for 2010: Cincinnati Reds.
The 2010 Major League Baseball season is nearly upon us, and that means two things: (1) we’re all so deprived of real baseball action that we’re willing to treat meaningless Spring Training games like they’re the playoffs, and (2) the prognosticators are out in full force. Yes, every sports publication in the world puts out a season preview. Some are interesting, some aren’t. For the most part, folks just don’t have the time necessary to do the kind of in-depth preview that is going to be of any use to a reader that actually follows the team being previewed.
So most previews end up being pretty surface level, and boring. Well, we’re not going to do that here at Bleacher Nation. It’s much more interesting (notice how I subtly pat myself on the back?) to simply examine why the team currently sucks and is going to suck in 2010.
So enjoy – we’ll be previewing the suckiness (suckosity?) of the other teams in the National League Central over the next five weeks. Up first, the home of Fat Elvis: the Houston Astros. Read the full preview on why the 2010 Houston Astros will suck, after the jump.
Why the 2010 Cincinnati Reds Will Suck
Editor’s Note: Yes, it’s that time of year again – the time for us to settle back into our protective bubble where the Chicago Cubs are destined for greatness, and every other team in the National League Central is bound for spectacular failure. If you’d care to check out last year’s fare: St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros.
The 2010 Major League Baseball season is nearly upon us, and that means two things: (1) we’re all so deprived of real baseball action that we’re willing to treat meaningless Spring Training games like they’re the playoffs, and (2) the prognosticators are out in full force. Yes, every sports publication in the world puts out a season preview. Some are interesting, some aren’t. For the most part, folks just don’t have the time necessary to do the kind of in-depth preview that is going to be of any use to a reader that actually follows the team being previewed.
So most previews end up being pretty surface level, and boring. Well, we’re not going to do that here at Bleacher Nation. It’s much more interesting (notice how I subtly pat myself on the back?) to simply examine why the team currently sucks and is going to suck in 2010.
So enjoy – we’ll be previewing the suckiness (suckosity?) of the other teams in the National League Central over the next five weeks. Up first, the ward of the gentleman to the right: the Cincinnati Reds. Read the full preview on why the 2010 Cincinnati Reds will suck, after the jump.
Remember Joel Guzman?
Filed under: Cubs Minor Leagues and Prospects, MLB News and Rumors
There was a time when a kid named Joel Guzman was basically the top infield prospect in all of baseball. He was 19, 20 years old, and he had the world laid out before him. Guzman was a lock to man shortstop or third base for the Dodgers for years to come.
And then, well, he just kind of stopped being awesome. A year later, he was marginalized, traded to the Rays, and hasn’t been heard from since. Until now, when he signed a minor league deal – sans Spring Training invite – with the Baltimore Orioles.
The Orioles have signed corner infielder/outfielder Joel Guzman, once one of baseball’s top prospects, to a minor league deal. He will not receive an invite to major league camp.
The former Los Angeles Dodgers’ ballyhooed prospect was dealt to Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2006 as part of the Julio Lugo, trade-deadline deal.
He was with the Washington Nationals organization last year, batting a combined .268 with 12 homers at Double-A and Triple-A. Guzman, 25, batted .232 in 24 big league games with the Dodgers and Devil Rays. baltimoresun.com.
Why am I bringing this up?
I love the idea that Starlin Castro is the future for the Chicago Cubs at shortstop. I really do. He’s clearly got all the skills, but he still has to actually develop into the player we’re all projecting him to be. A lot can happen along that road.
And when folks talk about refusing to trade Starlin Castro in any deal, I would just ask: remember Joel Guzman.
We’re All Screwed: The Cardinals Sign Rich Hill
Remember when Rich Hill was the next big thing with the Chicago Cubs? Remember when he lost his confidence and the Cubs abruptly demoted him just months after he had a great season? Shrug. As much as I have come to disapprove of the current front office, I don’t lay much of the blame for Rich Hill’s problems at their feet. The guy just didn’t have it between the ears, and he was probably destined to fail no matter where he ended up.
Right? Right?
Left-hander Rich Hill, who struggled with control problems during his Cubs career and was non-tendered by the Baltimore Orioles after last season, has signed a free-agent deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, according to the team’s official Twitter feed.
Hill, who had a 7.80 ERA in 13 starts (and one relief appearance) for the Orioles in 2009, missed the second half of the season after undergoing left-shoulder surgery. He was invited to the Cardinals’ spring-training camp on a non-roster basis.
Hill, 29, went 11-8 with a 3.92 ERA for the Cubs in 2007 but struggled with wildness and was demoted to the minors during the 2008 season. Chicago Breaking Sports.
Oh God no.
This is the team whose dirty, magic voodoo reclamation power has worked on the likes of Sidney Ponson, Rick Ankiel, Joel Pineiro, John Smoltz, and of course, Chris Carpenter. You can pretty much pencil Rich Hill into the Cardinals’ rotation, the All Star lineup, the World Series, a Hall of Fame ballot, and center field.
Ben Sheets is Picky – or Crazy
Starting pitcher Ben Sheets, theoretically recovered from elbow surgery last year, is still looking for a 2010 home. There haven’t been many clues as to where Sheets will ultimately end up, nor how much he’ll ultimately make, but we do know that the Chicago Cubs are interested.
Whatever happens, Sheets isn’t making it easy on himself. According to a published report, the Baltimore Orioles recently requested Sheets’ medical records in order to evaluate whether and how much to offer Sheets in a contract. Sheets’ representatives never even bothered to respond to the Orioles.
There are really only two possible explanations for Sheets’ refusal to provide his medical records to the Orioles:
1.) Ben Sheets is really picky. He’s doesn’t like the Orioles, and knows he won’t sign with them no matter what.
If he’s already received plenty of interest, this makes some sense. But on the other hand, why diminish the market for yourself? Even if Sheets doesn’t want to go to Baltimore, it never hurts to get an offer to bounce off other teams.
That’s why the second possible explanation could be more likely:
2.) Ben Sheets is really crazy. He expects teams to make him an offer as though his health is no concern.
If that’s the case, Ben – good luck. His health was already a concern before he missed all of 2009 following elbow surgery. Of course teams are going to want to review his medical records before making any kind of real commitment to him for 2010 or beyond. If Sheets plans to play it this way with all teams, they will no doubt assume he’s got something to hide.
The Cubs were already going to be unlikely to offer him much more than a token base salary and opportunity for incentives in 2010, and perhaps a big money option year in 2011. If he plays this medical record game with the Cubs, should they begin a serious pursuit, how could they justify even that kind of contract?
How About Angel Pagan Coming Back to the Cubs?
When the New York Mets signed Jason Bay on Tuesday, they conceivably shrunk the outfield market for the Chicago Cubs (by making Jacoby Ellsbury slightly less likely to be traded). But they may have simultaneously increased the market – namely, by overloading their own outfield. Jason Bay is expected to play left field, Carlos Beltran will play center, and Jeff Francoeur will play right.
But the Mets have a fourth guy who may have proved himself a capable starter last year: Angel Pagan.
Thrust into regular duty by injury and ineffectiveness, Pagan tore things up in 2009: in the second half of the season, when he became a regular, he played 71 games, and put up a .306 / .343 / .503 line. Pagan, a 27 year old switch hitter, also played solid defense all over the outfield, but mostly in center.
So why couldn’t he play center field for the Cubs next year?
The obvious, and primary answer is: well, maybe the Mets won’t want to trade him. And maybe they won’t – after all, Pagan is poised to be the best fourth outfielder in all of baseball, and is an excellent insurance policy should one of their starters go down. Further, he’s going to be hugely inexpensive: he made just $575k last year, his first arbitration year. That means he will be cheap for the next two years.
But those are all also reasons the Cubs should be pushing hard to acquire him. A trade could take the form of a simple Cubs-prospects-for-Pagan type, but maybe the Cubs could get a little more creative. The Mets are looking to dump some salary – but the Cubs have little salary room to spare. However, if the Cubs could use that little salary room to fill two holes at once – say, with a center fielder and a pitcher – they’d gladly do it, no? The Mets are looking to move Oliver Perez and his two years and $24 million left on his deal, and maybe the Cubs can take on some of that salary, with the real prize being Pagan.
Even better, the Mets are looking to move second baseman Luis Castillo, who stands to make $6 million in 2010 and 2011. How much improved would the Cubs lineup look with Castillo at second and Pagan manning center?
Yes, I know it is always frustrating (even though the frustration is completely irrational) to try and get back a guy that your team gave up for basically nothing. The Cubs traded Pagan to the Mets before the 2008 season for two minor leaguers who’ve not been heard from since. The return price would obviously be much, much steeper.
Humorously, this post could almost as easily be about Felix Pie, except (a) the Orioles don’t have quite the same outfield glut as the Mets, and (b) it would be even more irrationally frustrating to discuss getting Pie back because Pie was supposed to be this good.
In the end, Pagan would be a great fit for the Cubs – probably a slightly better fit than he is with the Mets. And from an invisible hand economics perspective, that should mean that it’s worth the Cubs making a trade for him and worth the Mets trading him. Things don’t always play out in a way that makes sense, though, and this is not likely to go down.
But it’s worth considering.
