Chicago Cubs Interview Eric Wedge for Managerial Opening
The Chicago Cubs have interviewed former Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge for their managerial vacancy. Wedge was not among the names rumored to be on the Cubs’ short list as recently as a week ago, so this is at least a moderate surprise.
Wedge managed the Indians from 2003-09, winning the American League Manager of the Year Award in 2007, when he guided the Indians to the ALCS, only to lose to the Boston Red Sox after going up 3-1.
Wedge, 42, won over 500 games with the Indians, including a first-place finish in 2007 and finishing second in 2005 behind the world champion Chicago White Sox.
Wedge, who resides in Richfield, Ohio, was fired by Cleveland after the 2009 season. The Indians are paying Wedge through this season.
The former major league catcher, originally from Ft. Wayne, Ind., was an All-American at Wichita State and was on the 1989 Shockers team that won the College World Series.
At that time, Hendry was the head coach of league rival Creighton University. That’s when Wedge first caught Hendry’s attention….
Wedge would have to be considered a top candidate for the Cubs job. Others to get interviewed will include Ryne Sandberg; former Florida Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez and Washington Nationals coach and former Cubs minor league manager Pat Listach.
Mike Quade, the Cubs interim manager, also will get strong consideration. Friends of New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi have stated he would have strong interest in the Cubs job if he left the Yankees after the season. ESPN Chicago.
It remains a simple fact that, if Girardi does not re-sign with the Yankees, and his demands are reasonable, he will be the next manager of the Chicago Cubs. Here’s hoping that, by interviewing other available candidates long before Girardi is available, the Cubs do not box themselves into a corner – i.e., they’ve got a candidate like Wedge that they like, but he’s got another team like the Mariners breathing down his neck to make a decision. And yet, the Cubs are waiting to hear from Girardi. In that instance, interviewing Wedge so early could put them in an awkward position – and possibly even a position to be left out in the cold with respect to their preferred candidates.
Wedge was fired in 2009 after the Indians were incredibly disappointing for the second consecutive season. The team had a strong core built going into the 2007 season (in which they were very good), but that same core disintegrated over the next two years, leading to Wedge’s undoing.
Lukewarm Stove: Cubs Really, Really Want to Trade Kosuke Fukudome
After watching him sit on the bench for a few weeks – and flail helplessly at breaking balls outside when he does get in the game – the Chicago Cubs are finally ready to eat some of the $4 million owed to Kosuke Fukudome for the rest of 2010, and “quite a bit” of the $13.5 million owed to him in 2011. Or so says Ken Rosenthal.
I have a hard time believing the Cubs weren’t willing to eat a chunk of the deal earlier when talks about Fukudome with the Boston Red Sox stalled out. Maybe they’re now willing to eat more of the deal, but to believe the Cubs thought they were going to trade Fukudome at ANY time without having to eat a substantial portion of his deal is both naive and hypercritical of the Cubs.
In any event, here’s hoping the Cubs can find a fit, regardless of the money, because one thing’s for certain: Fukudome ain’t doing the Cubs any good right now.
The Cubs Talked to the Red Sox About Mike Fontenot
The Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox discussed a Mike Fontenot trade before the Red Sox acquired Eric Patterson, according to Jon Morosi of Fox Sports.
Fontenot is a versatile infielder with a decent lefty bat. He’s cheap, under control for several more years, and doesn’t necessarily have a set future with the Cubs. That sounds like a tradeable piece, and with many teams out there dealing with infield injuries, if the Cubs are sincerely considering moving Fontenot, they’ll find a taker.
One reasonable question, though: why were the Red Sox considering Fontenot only before they acquired Patterson? Did Patterson really fill their need as well as Fontenot could? Patterson is a guy who was DFA’d by the Athletics after hitting just .204/.255/.408 on the year (well, I guess that IsoP is pretty darn good), and who has a career 71 OPS+ (Fontenot’s, for what it’s worth, is a not great – but much better than Patterson’s – 93).
Further, Patterson is really more of an outfielder at this point than an infielder, having played just 10 games total in the last two years at 2nd base.
It seems to me, if the Red Sox were considering Fontenot because of injuries to guys like Dustin Pedroia (as opposed to injuries to guys in their outfield), they should still be considering him, regardless of the Patterson deal.
Chicago Cubs “Extremely Active” in Trying to Trade Kosuke Fukudome
We already knew that the Chicago Cubs had talked to the Boston Red Sox about outfielder Kosuke Fukudome, but it seems that was just the tip of the iceberg. According to Dave Kaplan:
Several baseball sources have confirmed to me that the Chicago Cubs have been extremely active in trying to move Kosuke Fukudome to open up regular playing time for rookie Tyler Colvin. Fukudome is owed approximately 8 million dollars for the remainder of this season and an additional 14 million for 2011.
My sources tell me that Cubs GM Jim Hendry has offered to pick up the bulk of the remaining dollars on the 2010 commitment and half of the money in 2011 but so far has found no takers for the under performing right fielder.
That’s a hefty sum to be picking up with no takers to speak of. Fukudome is owed nearly $14 million next year, so it’s hard to imagine the Cubs having to eat much more than $7 million of that in order to move him. It is possible that what has actually held things up are the Cubs’ demands on the other side of the trade.
Of course, if the Cubs are going to eat that much of Fukudome’s contract, I do believe it’s fair to expect at least a decent prospect in return. And make no mistake, if the Cubs dump Fukudome – which, given his limited role, they should – they absolutely should do so for prospect(s). There is no need to try to find a current Major Leaguer to “fix” the 2010 Cubs. I’m not saying this team is beyond repair, but whatever the Cubs need, they aren’t going to get it in return for Fukudome. Take the prospect(s) and run.
The Chicago Cubs Have Talked to the Boston Red Sox About Trading Kosuke Fukudome
Knowing that Tyler Colvin is set to take over as an almost full-time starter in right field, and that Xavier Nady is to be the team’s primary back up outfielder, the Chicago Cubs are going to be pretty transparent in their desire to move Kosuke Fukudome. Despite his heroics last night, he’s a player without a spot on this team, and he costs a whole lot of money on the bench.
Recently, the Cubs went so far as to approach the Red Sox – who’ve got some outfield issues due to injury – about a trade for Fukudome.
Sources in both leagues told McAdam that the Red Sox did not engage the Cubs in talks because of the $21MM remaining on Fukudome’s contract. The Cubs are apparently unwilling to take on much of the $13MM Fukudome makes this year or the $13.5MM he makes next year.
The Red Sox are debating whether to rely on internal options like Daniel Nava and Darnell McDonald or pursue outside help to fill in while Jeremy Hermida, Mike Cameron and Jacoby Ellsbury are injured. They never exchanged names with the Cubs, according to McAdam. MLBTradeRumors.com.
That the Red Sox were not willing to engage in discussions “because” of the money left on Fukudome’s deal implies that the Cubs were not willing to eat much of his contract in order to trade him. This, of course, is going to be a shoot-yourself-in-the-foot approach for the Cubs, as no team is going to be willing to take on an appreciable amount of the $20 million owed to Fukudome over the next year and a half.
So the Cubs Aren’t Getting Cuban Shortstop Hechavarria
Filed under: Chicago Cubs Rumors, Cubs Minor Leagues and Prospects, MLB News and Rumors
Last week, there was a head-scratcher of a rumor that had the Chicago Cubs attached to a top Cuban shortstop prospect, who is free to sign with any team. Yesterday, word trickled out that the kid – Adeinis (not Adeiny, apparently) Hechavarria – would more likely be signing soon with the Blue Jays.
The Post has learned Adeinis Hechavarria is going to get more money than the $8 million Jose Iglesias Iglesias got from the Red Sox.
However, it won’t be from the Yankees. And it has nothing to do with the Yankees not wanting to spend the money on the Cuban refugee shortstop.
According to an industry source Hechavarria is close to signing a $10 million deal with the Blue Jays because he didn’t envision himself playing short for the Yankees.
Hechavarria, 21, was leery of Derek Jeter’s impending extension that will keep him at short for the foreseeable future.
Having seen Hechavarria work out often in the Dominican Republic, the Yankees were high on the 6-foot-1, 170-pounder with a body that resembled a young Alfonso Soriano. NYPOST.com.
Alfonso Soriano? Oh, well, in that case, we don’t want him. Kidding, of course.
The Cubs’ interest was always a bit perplexing given the expect cost, and the fact that Hechevarria and Starlin Castro sound like they are both equally good at short and equally ready to play in the bigs.
The 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.
Live Together, Die Alone: LOST and the Chicago Cubs
“Every man for himself is not going to work. It’s time to start organizing. We need to figure out how we’re going to survive here. Now, I found water. Fresh water, up in the valley. I’ll take a group in at first light. If you don’t want to go, then find another way to contribute. Last week most of us were strangers. But we’re all here now. And God knows how long we’re going to be here. But if we can’t live together, we’re going to die alone.” - Jack Shephard
I have generally avoided using this space to pontificate on things personal and outside of baseball. I figure you all come here to read about the Cubs, not my thoughts on health care reform. And for a guy who has an obsession with the television show LOST that is equaled only by his obsession with the Cubs, it’s hard not to go off about the show from time to time. Warning: this is one of those times.
But the truth is, this post is as much about the Cubs as it is about LOST. The parallels weaving their way through the show, the Chicago Cubs, and Cubs fandom are worth at least one, little article as we approach tonight’s premiere of the much-anticipated final season and dramatic conclusion of LOST. The article’s a bit longer than our usual fare here at Bleacher Nation, but I think it’s worth your time if you’re a fan of the Cubs or a fan of the show. Keep reading up on the Cubs-LOST crossover.
