God’s Wrath Watch: Derrek Lee’s Back is Jacked
Oh, you fickle deity. Just when Derrek Lee starts really grooving at the plate, he starts suffering from a bulging disc in his lower back. The discomfort was severe enough that Lee received an epidural yesterday (and delivered twins!), and he’ll get a couple days off at least.
“It doesn’t bother me swinging, just moving around on defense and trying to run,” Lee said on Monday. “It gets pretty tight.”
Lee has homered in three straight games for the sixth time in his career, and the first time since June 18-20 last season. However, he’s hitting .251 overall. He didn’t blame his back problems on his numbers this year, saying it’s tough sometimes to bend over, but it doesn’t affect his hitting.
Manager Lou Piniella had a little trouble explaining what was wrong prior to Monday’s game.
“Derrek has a minor ‘ball disk,’” Piniella said, then corrected himself. “Minor bulge disk. How about that? ‘Ball disk.’ I feel like a mechanic.” cubs.com.
Do cars have a “ball disk”?
Xavier Nady will continue to fill in at first base in Lee’s absence, and we may even get a glimpse at Tyler Colvin at first.
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: Bundle of Rumors
A trio of rumors has popped up on Twitter regarding the Cubs’ efforts to deal Ted Lilly:
The market for Lilly has picked up, according to Stark. The Tigers are involved, and so are the Dodgers, Twins and Phillies.
The Phillies have inquired on Lilly, according to Rosenthal. Ed Price of AOL FanHouse hears rumblings about a possible Lilly-J.A. Happ deal. However, Stark hears that the Phils won’t deal Happ for Lilly. The Twins and Dodgers remain involved, but the Mets are waiting to hear “from above” before pursuing Lilly more aggressively, according to Rosenthal.
The Cubs have indicated a recent willingness to assume some of the $4.43MM owed to Lilly, reports ESPN’s Jayson Stark. That’d help the chances of a Dodgers deal. Unfortunately for the Cubs, potential Lilly suitors like the Mets and Tigers may be reassessing their chances. MLBTradeRumors.com.
Of the trio, the most intriguing bit is about JA Happ. You may recall that Happ was a studly semi-rookie last year for the Phillies (albeit at the ripe old age of 26/27), putting up a 2.93 ERA and a 1.235 WHIP. He fell on hard times this year, and has been recovering from the dreaded “sore elbow” for the better part of the season (he’s set to return this week).
Even with the injury concerns, getting Happ for Lilly would be a steal. He’s under cheap control for several years, and he’s proved effective at the Major League level. For those reasons, the odds that the Cubs could land Happ for Lilly straight up seem slim, unless of course Happ’s elbow concerns are more serious than the Phillies are presently letting on.
Obsessive Ted Lilly Trade Watch: Twins Want Ted, But Ted May Not Want Twins
The Minnesota Twins are reaching out to the Chicago Cubs about Ted Lilly and are willing to take on the remaining $4 million of Lilly’s deal, according to Ken Rosenthal.
Awesome, right? Well, the hitch is that the Twins are one of the teams on Lilly’s partial no-trade list. Rosenthal suggests that Lilly would consider going to the Twins, but only if he gets “additional compensation.” I’m not quite sure what Rosenthal means by that – it’s not as if the Twins can say, “hey, Ted, waive your no-trade and we’ll give you five bucks.” I suppose it could be an extension, but it would be strange to have listed a team on your partial no-trade (i.e., I really don’t want to go to X team), and then say I’ll only go to them if they give me a contract that keeps me in that place I don’t want to go for even longer. But I guess that’s the allure of cash.
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).
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.
The Mets Are Interested In Ted Lilly
Though the Chicago Cubs managed to pull out a shocking victory last night – against the mighty Pirates, no less – there is still reason to believe this team is not built for a playoff push. If true, it’s time to start considering which players can be unloaded, and which teams are interested.
According to the New York Post, the Mets are looking for a starting pitcher, and they’ve got lefties on the brain.
[E]ven if the Mets can outbid other suitors, such as the Twins, for [Cliff] Lee, it would still be up to Mets ownership to approve giving up prospects for a rental and agree to add a nice bit of payroll. Doubts persist within the organization whether the Wilpons really will accept those terms.
So it remains possible the Mets will have to lower their rotation scope. Multiple sources tell me that despite having been tied to Houston’s Roy Oswalt and Cleveland’s Fausto Carmona, the Mets have little interest in either righty. The Cubs’ Ted Lilly, a lefty also in his walk year, is more to the Mets’ liking from the not-Lee category.
While it is not surprising that the Mets would prefer Lilly to guys like Oswalt or Carmona, it is surprising to read that they’re interested in Lilly yet think they cannot get Lee because of payroll and prospect concerns.
Both concerns will come with Lilly – Lee is making $9 million this year, Lilly is making $12 million. Lilly isn’t pitching as well as Lee (few are), but his ERA has consistently hovered around 3.00, and will certainly cost an acquiring team a nice prospect or two.
Lilly will undoubtedly come cheaper, but if payroll and prospect concerns are so damning to the Mets’ pursuit of Lee, I can’t see how they’d be willing to put together a reasonable package for Lilly, who might be the second most attractive pitcher on the market.
Will Ryan Theriot Be Shopped This Year?
If the Chicago Cubs continue falling out of contention, you know as well as I do that we will daily be bombarded with rumors/ideas/suggestions about which players the Cubs should unload, and which players they should keep for the future.
Well, I’m here to start bombarding you.
Ryan Theriot presents an interesting case. Now that he’s been supplanted as the starting shortstop, his future with the Cubs beyond 2010 is in doubt. Then again, there is not an heir apparent at second base, waiting in the wings. Mike Fontenot and Jeff Baker could platoon there, but neither is the “future” at second base. Darwin Barney looks like a solid future utility player, but not a future starter.
Theriot led off and played second base — roles that don’t necessarily match his skill set — in each of the Cubs’ past two games. He doesn’t walk as often as a classic leadoff hitter. And is he really more productive than a platoon of Mike Fontenot and Jeff Baker?
Theriot was never regarded as a great defensive shortstop, but he’s shown that he can play the position. The Padres, Tigers, Twins and A’s are among the contenders who have had below-average production at shortstop, but there are no indications that those clubs have interest in Theriot.
For that reason, there’s no need for Hendry to rush. (Also: Castro is hitting .227 since his first 10 games in the majors.) But if enough teams need a shortstop by early July, the GM should act.
It helps that Theriot wouldn’t be too expensive. He’s earning $2.6 million in his first year of salary arbitration. FOX Sports on MSN.
Theriot’s value on the market could vary wildly between teams. Some will view him as less than a starter, while others will see him as a cheap starter at shortstop. The Cubs would be wise to feel out the market over the next few weeks, especially if they do not expect to tender Theriot a contract at the end of this season.
