Thursday, May 28, 2009

Roster Update...

The Cubs place Ryan Freel on the 15 day DL with a pulled left hamstring and called up Bobby Scales to take his place on the roster. The Cubs also expect Harden to be out for three weeks or more so the Cubs may need to make a move for a pitcher unless they feel comfortable with Wells in the rotation until Harden get better ( which I am).

Nationals Fire Sale Could Benefit Cubs.

Newsday's Ken Davidoff had this to say today on the trade front-

Nick Johnson, or (Josh) Willingham, or (Austin) Kearns, anyone on our roster, if we can make a good baseball trade and improve ourselves, not only for our present but also for our future -- a player that can impact us -- we have to make those kinds of trades."

He also stats that the Nationals are seeking young, athletic players with high ceilings in trades. So what this means for the Cubs is that with Milton Bradley's chances of getting injured, lack of offense until recently, and Aramis being out, the Cubs use another bat in the lineup. This also could effect positions if they acquire an outfielder. Lou talked earlier this week that the unlikely possibility of moving Soriano back to 2nd base (Wow!).

The players listed above do not really help the Cubs anymore than what we really have besides the veteran bat of Nick Johnson. But Ken does say "anyone on our roster" which means guys like Willie Harris, Christian Guzman, and even Adam Dunn could be available and all could interest the Cubs in some way or another.

I am personally in favor of acquiring Adam Dunn just like I was before we landed Milton Bradley this offseason. There are a lot of options for Lou if he gets Dunn and here they are-

1. Trade Lee put Dunn at 1st.
2. Move Soriano to 2b, put Dunn in LF.
3. Put Bradley in CF, put Dunn in RF.

I personally think the Cubs should sacrifice defense for offense for this. What a lineup with Dunn this would be!

1. Soriano LF
2. Theriot SS
3. Bradley CF
4. Dunn RF
5. Lee 1st
6. Soto C
7. Freel 3b
8. Fonty 2b

with Ram back-

1. Soriano LF
2. Theriot SS
3. Dunn RF
4. Aram 3b
5. Bradley CF
6. Lee 1st
7. Soto C
8. Fonty 2b

Wow! What a lineup that would be!

Keep an eye on the Nationals situation, because it could benefit the Cubs!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Cubs Make Some Much Needed Roster Moves...

The Cubs are finally shaking things up! They have made some good roster moves today. They put the struggling Aaron Miles on the DL with a "sore right shoulder" and called up backup infielder Andres Blanco who has been doing well in Iowa. The Cubs also called up the power hitting Jake Fox and lefty Jason Waddell. With that move they optioned Neal Cotts and Bobby Scales to AAA. Cotts has been struggling in Chicago while Scales has been doing well but the Cubs needed a backup at SS with Miles going on the DL.

These moves could also be a showcase of talent that the Cubs have. The Cubs have been linked to several infielders and showcasing guys like Waddell and Fox could peak other teams interest looking to build for the future.

Any way you look at these moves you have to agree the Cubs front office made some good decisions.

In case you missed it..............................

- Rich Harden was placed on the 15 day DL and has not pitched since being put there.

- Carlos Zambrano was ejected from todays game for bumping the umpire. He will not serve any time because after MLB looks at the replay they will see the ump actually bumped him.

- The Cubs will not rush around to get a Peavy deal done right now. They will wait to see if the asking price decreases and wait until the ownership situation is resolved.

- Cubs officials are drooling at the idea of the Cubs getting Adrian Gonzalez and Jake Peavy in the same deal. A third team would more than likely have to get involved with the Cubs trading some players like Derrek Lee, Jake Fox, Sean Marshall, Micah Hoffpauir, Vitters, etc in a three team deal to get a deal done.

That is it for now, Go Cubs!

Monday, May 25, 2009

Cubs Like Cantu?? Uggla?? Kouzmanoff??

The Cubs rumors are really flying in lately and three new names on the radar are Jorge Cantu, Dan Uggla and Kevin Kouzmanoff. According to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times the Padres are dangling KK and the Cubs realize the potential for a fit even though they think Mike Fontenot is doing a good job. Kevin has not been good at home and only average on the road which makes me wonder if maybe Aramis will be out longer than the 4-6 week time frame. Maybe a change of scenery will help Kevin because he is just not hitting well this year and is just OK over his career as a Padre.

Some other players the Cubs are keeping tabs on are Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla. The Marlins are said to be fielding offers on the two players. Both players would really interest the Cubs especially with the hitting slump they are in. Jorge Cantu would benefit the Cubs more because he can play 2b, 3rd, and 1st. Plus he is hitting .276 with 8 homers and 35 RBI and that is in a pitcher friendly park. Jorge is also owed only 3.5 million this season. Dan Uggla also caught the Cubs eye but has only played 2nd base in his short career. Not only would he provide the power the Cubs are looking for but he would do it from 2nd base. Uggla has not hit for average this season but the power numbers are still there. He is hitting at a .205 avg with 8 homers and 30 RBI. He is owed 5 million this season.

One thing the Marlins players have going for them is there hitting with RISP. Uggla is posting a .263 avg with a .420 OBP, 2 homers, and 22 RBI with RISP. He also post a robust .273 avg with a .448 OBP, a homer, and 13 RBI with RISP with 2 outs! Jorge Cantu is hitting .294 with 5 homers and a .327 OBP with RISP.

With Kouzmanoff it is a different story. He is hitting a .231 avg. with 2 homers, .333 OBP, which is not very good with RISP.

It is not known what the Padres and Marlins would seek for a bounty on these players but the asking price for the Marlins studs will be a lot more than the price for Kevin Kouzmanoff.

That is it for now, more to come!