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.
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.
Lukewarm Stove: White Sox Join Mets in Interest in Ted Lilly
Add the Chicago White Sox to the list of teams potentially interested in Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Ted Lilly, should the Cubs decide to sell.
Sources say the Sox have kicked around the idea of pursuing Lilly. That would give them three lefties in their rotation with Buehrle and Danks, but there are some in the Sox’ brain trust who worry more about Lilly getting clobbered by the home-run ball at U.S. Cellular Field. That’s always one of the first topics discussed among Sox brass when considering a pitcher.
Lilly relies on flyball outs, which also can be pretty risky at Wrigley Field, where he has a career record of 26-16 and 3.65 ERA in 55 starts. The sample size is much smaller on the South Side, where Lilly is 2-0 with a 4.76 ERA in three career starts at U.S. Cellular Field.
But there are other factors to consider. Lilly is in the final half-season of a four-year, $40 million contract that provides veto rights for a trade. He is earning $12 million this season, so he would come at a decent price.
Plus, he has the right makeup for a playoff push. Over the last three seasons, Lilly has lowered his ERA after the All-Star break — something all potential suitors are discussing these days.
And there has been plenty of chatter recently about Lilly. CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.
When Jake Peavy went down, you had to know that the White Sox – the hottest team in baseball – would enter the market for a starting pitcher.
As for the Mets, they remain interested in Lilly, and talks with the Cubs have reached the point where prospect names are being circulated.
The New York Mets, once considered to have the inside track for Oswalt, have turned their attention recently to Lilly — and the Cubs are seriously considering their overtures. The Cubs, sources say, have been doing their homework on three key Mets prospects — left-hander Robert Carson and right-handers Kyle Allen and Jeurys Familia.
None of the three are top prospects in the Mets system, but neither are they minor league filler. Prior to the season, the three were ranked 14th (Allen), 15th (Familia) and 16th (Carson) in the Mets system according to Baseball America – which system was, itself, ranked 21st in baseball. For reference, the Cubs were ranked 18th.
All three pitchers are in High A ball right now, pitching just ok. Carson is 21, and Allen and Familia are 20.
Whether the Cubs are looking at all three as a possible return for Lilly, or just one or two, remains to be seen. It’s hard to imagine that just one of these guys is all the return the Cubs could get for Lilly. But, being realistic, expecting much more than this would be a mistake. Lilly is a free agent after the year, is advancing in age, has relatively poor peripheral numbers this year, and has had back-to-back terrible outings.
Ted Lilly to the New York Mets?
Now that Cliff Lee is off the trade market, Chicago Cubs starter Ted Lilly becomes the best available lefty starting pitcher on the market, and remains one of the best two or three available overall. It seems highly likely that, if the Cubs decide to move Lilly and he’s amenable to waiving his limited no-trade clause, the Cubs will be able to find a taker for Lilly. Their first calls no doubt will go out to the losers in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, including the Yankees, Mets, White Sox, Phillies, Dodgers, and division rival Cardinals and Reds, among others.
At least one of those teams – the Mets – have already been attached to Lilly for a couple of weeks now. And according to Joel Sherman, the Mets are expected to “turn strongly” to Lilly, now that Lee is off the market.
When it comes to moving Lilly, there are, of course, some hurdles. There is the aforementioned limited no-trade clause, though Lilly has never indicated a desire to remain in Chicago no matter what. There is also the matter of the $5.5ish million remaining on his deal this year, though the Cubs would be willing to eat some of that, depending on the return.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle to trading Lilly, however, is his recent performance. Back-to-back terrible outings in July have seen his ERA climb from 3.12 all the way to 4.08. He gave up five homers in those two starts, and 18 hits in just over 10 innings. They were about as bad as it gets.
Still, he had a 2.53 ERA in June, and sports an excellent 1.15 WHIP. The last two starts notwithstanding, Lilly is generally a durable, consistent starter. He’s also likely to be a Type A free agent, which could further enhance his attractiveness to a team willing to offer him arbitration after the season.
Is the Trade Market for Carlos Zambrano Going to Shape Up?
One of the many pieces the Chicago Cubs would no doubt like to move is currently-restricted pitcher Carlos Zambrano. Still away from the team while he receives anger management treatment and evaluation, Zambrano would likely welcome a trade – despite his no-trade clause – as he’s going to be stuck in the bullpen upon his return to the Cubs. But could the Cubs actually manage to trade him?
Even if Zambrano were willing to waive his no-trade clause, the remaining $40 million-plus left on a contract that runs through 2012 is the obvious hurdle.
But the closer we get to the July 31 non-waiver deadline — and depending on how tough it is to get Cliff Lee from Seattle for contenders in need — Zambrano’s potential market could widen at least modestly.
The White Sox suddenly are down a starting pitcher, in the thick of a division race. And the Cubs’ opponent this weekend, the Los Angeles Dodgers, are seeking a starter and have been looking hard at Houston’s Roy Oswalt.
Dodgers manager Joe Torre sidestepped a question about potential interest in Zambrano.
”That’s tampering,” Torre said, adding, ”It’s sad what this kid must be going through. That’s all I can say. It’s nice to help your team, but I hate to see … I’m glad that people are dealing with stuff. It’s not easy.” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.
The White Sox possibility is a legitimate one. Setting aside the new need – due to the Jake Peavy injury – there are two other reasons for optimism regarding a Zambrano-White Sox trade. First, Zambrano likes Chicago, and getting him to waive his no-trade clause to go across town would be a cinch. Second, Ozzie Guillen likes Zambrano. Better still, he could probably handle Zambrano.
Still, the question is whether Kenny Williams – like it or lump it, the guy is a shrewd GM – would take on a risk like Zambrano.
Otherwise, it remains to be seen whether teams would actually view Zambrano is a worthwhile option to add to their rotation as they make a run at the playoffs. Sure, he’s been great as recently as a year ago, but since mid-season last year, few have been worse or more inconsistent. And that’s before you even consider the crazy factor. I have a hard time envisioning a team considering Zambrano a legitimate back-up plan to acquiring Cliff Lee – at least not while Ted Lilly is also available.
Regardless, set your expectations low: the Cubs will receive salary relief or a couple decent prospects for Zambrano, but not both.
Series Preview: Pirates v. Cubs, June 28 – June 30, 2010
The Chicago Cubs welcome the best team in the National League – at least according to the Cubs – the Pittsburgh Pirates. After all the weekend excitement, it will be nice to enjoy a laid back, relaxing series. Right? Amiright? Time for the Series Preview.
The idea is to hook you up with the bare minimum of what you need to know about every series this year. That way you can look like a genius, hardcore fan in front of all your friends, with minimum effort. Oh, and there will be pictures of hot chicks, too.
Check out the Pirates series preview, after the jump
Zambranogate: Carlos Zambrano Says It was Derrek Lee’s Fault
As the World Turns…
Video of Zambranogate shows the pitcher storming into the dugout after giving up four runs in the first inning on Friday, shouting – at no one in particular – and gesticulating wildly. Derrek Lee can be seen shouting “shut the f*ck up” to Zambrano, who turns, and directs his anger more visibly at Lee. All reports – from writers, the players, and management – indicated that Zambrano’s initial yelling, though not directed at Derrek Lee’s face, was about Lee’s play in the first inning, as well as other Cubs.
Carlos Zambrano apparently says that’s not the way it happened.
Zambrano already is calling his actions Friday ”completely misunderstood” and blaming Derrek Lee for turning it into a big deal by confronting him during his ranting and raving after the White Sox’ four-run first inning.
”All he wanted to do was pump the team up. It was completely misunderstood,” a source close to Zambrano said, adding that Lee ”took it personal” and told Zambrano to ”shut the f— up.”
Yet team sources say Zambrano’s rant — much of which was in Spanish — included yelling, ”This team is horse s—-!”
That’s when Lee is caught on camera intervening and telling Zambrano to shut up.
They had to be separated.
So, about Zambrano’s version?
”That’s not the way we see it,” said Alfonso Soriano, who planned to call Zambrano on Saturday night. ”If he explains, maybe we can see it the way his friend sees it. But what he said wasn’t right.”
As one Cub put it, ”Anybody who believes [Zambrano's version] must be smoking something.”
Asked if teammates could forgive Zambrano, Soriano said, ”I don’t know.” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.
Zambrano has never had a vocal group of supporters in the Cubs clubhouse, but I honestly never believed it would come to this. Teammates are going out of their way to criticize Zambrano – something that, although common for the Cubs in recent years, you just never see on other teams.
He’s not helping himself by staying out of contact with the Cubs (though Carlos saw fit to go out to dinner with Ozzie Guillen the night he was dismissed from the team), but if there is this much hostility directed toward him over an incident that appears, on first glance, to be little more than Carlos being Carlos, that suggests that he’s probably right to keep his distance.
It also suggests that there’s a lot more than meets the eye going on here. A few years ago, Zambrano lost it on teammate Michael Barrett in the dugout. Carlos chased him down in the clubhouse, and beat his ass. There was some flap over it, but nothing compared to what’s happening now. Might that be because there’s more going on behind the scenes?
When was the last time you heard a manager and GM – and teammates – being so vocally critical of a player? Ok, bad question to ask Cubs fans. But again I say, on other teams, this shit just doesn’t happen. I’m not getting into the whole the-Cubs-pick-the-wrong-players-and-take-on-unnecessary-risks thing; I’m just saying that there’s probably a whole lot more to this story than we’ve yet heard about.
And Zambrano offering his side is just the beginning.
Wow: Carlos Zambrano Really Did Have Dinner With Ozzie Guillen Last Night
After yesterday’s Carlos Zambaster (that’s Zambrano and disaster together – I’m cool), Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen seemingly joked in the post-game press conference that he and Zambrano would be having dinner that evening, and Carlos “would have plenty of time to get a reservation.”
So, yeah. He wasn’t kidding.
11:15 p.m. Having dinner whit carlos and his family. Great dinner a lot fun and talk. Ozzie Guillen’s Twitter.
I know that the two are friends, and thus, on that level, I have no problem with them getting together for dinner.
But seriously? After what happened yesterday? You’re going to go out with the opposing manager, and yuck it up with your families? You’ve just been suspended by your team for being a total megadouche. If that’s me, I’m at home sulking, feeling like a poop monster.
Let’s hope the two were at least discussing Carlos’s eventual transition to the South Side.
