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The Cub Reporter
An Eventful Night at Wrigley…
…to say the least.
Tom Glavine joins the 300 win club, plenty of shots of Glavine’s cute wife, Kerry Wood’s 15th or so comeback, Angel Pagan’s deer in headlight CF technique and worst of all Alfonso Soriano straining his right quad muscle trying to get to third base on a shallow single to center with 2 outs. I guess if it didn’t happen on that play it could have happened somewhere else, but the play itself was high risk, low reward with 2 outs. This is also Soriano’s 2nd injury to his legs this season, the first was a hamstring pull in April to his left leg. The initial prognosis on the injury is 2-4 weeks on the shelf and we might want to remind ourselves that Aramis sat a good 5 weeks with the same injury although that was pretty much in a lost 2005 season. But no reason to fret on how and why, the big worry is what will the Cubs do now.
The scenarios:
Demote Ohman, Call-up Clay Rapada:
Okay, that has nothing to do with Soriano and Rapada has just as much of an issue with righties as Ohman does, but I’m ready for a new flavor of the week. Plus as Arizona Phil mentions, the Cubs have 7 days before Ohman reaches 5 years of service time and he can decline an option once he reaches that.
Call-up Felix Pie, Matt Murton to Left on an everyday-ish basis:
This gets my vote as I have more faith in Murton hitting major league pitching over Pie at this point, but Pie gives the option for a defensive replacement late in games. Assuming a Murton, Jones, Floyd starting outfield, you can bring in Pie for Murton and shift Jones either to right or left and Floyd accordingly.
Call up Felix Pie, stick him in center, move Floyd to left and Jones to right:
Not a terrible plan either and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the way Lou and the Cubs go. It seems at this point that Lou and Murton don’t mix.
Call-up Eric Patterson, move Mark DeRosa to right, shift Floyd to left:
Well that requires a 40-man roster move, but I believe Henry Blanco to the 60-day DL wouldn’t be much of a problem. But I don’t see the Cubs passing on Felix Pie for a call-up.
Trade for Ken Griffey Jr.
Okay, actually this gets my vote. Griffey has a contract that pays him through 2024 so pretty doubtful anyone will put a waiver claim in on him in fear that the Reds will just let him go to get out of his contract. Of course with any trade, it takes two to tango and who knows if the Reds are interested in dealing him and at what cost.
Whatever ends up happening, I’m guessing Theriot moves up to the leadoff spot for the time being. If Fontenot is playing, I’m sure he’d bat second on those days, otherwise possibly Jacque or Felix as Lou likes to break up the top of the order with a righty-lefty-righty. I guess even Cliff Floyd might move back there for the time being. We’ll see how well this team handles adversity but I think we’ll be okay. They handled the first 2 months alright, hopefully this is just another bump in the road. Admittedly a bump that would be easier to get over with Ken Griffey Jr. in the lineup.
This entry was posted
on Sunday, August 5th, 2007 at 11:14 pm and is filed under Alfonso Soriano, Cubs Commentary, Injury Report.
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101 Responses to “An Eventful Night at Wrigley…”
August 5th, 2007 at 11:24 pm
i bet hendry is using alot of phone minutes
tonite.
August 5th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Bring up Epat and let him hit leadoff. Epat is the only option in the organzation that can bring the speed and power combo that Soriano brings to the table. Pie to replace Soriano is a mistake because your estentally trading your third best hitter for an auto out.
August 5th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
E-Pat’s OPS by month this year:
April: 626
May: 1017
June: 810
July: 795
August: 785
what makes you think he can hit in the majors?
August 5th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
Rob,
The fact that he has better plate disclpine makes him a better option than Pie. I am not really concerned with him slugging right now, but rather getting on base so he and Theriot could be a Pierre-Castillio type 1-2 combo. Which is the best non-Murton sloution we can hope for. In a perfect world Lou sets asides his problems with Murt and puts him in the 2 hole behind Theriot. Do you have the breakdown of his monthly OBP? I cant seem to find it on the net.
August 6th, 2007 at 12:06 am
I found it!
April 307
May 412
June 356
July 331
August 435
I wonder if the Cubs would call Pie up while he is coming back from a minor quad injury. I am sure the last thing Jimbo wants is for him to strain his quad trying to over hustle something to prove he belongs here.
August 6th, 2007 at 12:09 am
Kerry Wood made his first appearance this year. I think it would be an appropriate time to talk about who will replace him once he goes on the DL tomorrow.
August 6th, 2007 at 2:24 am
Whatever we do (and I hope Lou isn’t truly that much of an idiot not to play Murton because he doesn’t like him), it’ll be nice maybe getting some guys in the top two spots who can get on base. Lee and Aram won’t know what to do with themselves.
August 6th, 2007 at 5:13 am
[…] Rob, over at The Cub Reporter, has some interesting scenarios as to how the Cubs should handle this injury to Soriano. […]
August 6th, 2007 at 5:52 am
Anyone think this puts undue stress on the shoulder?
http://chicagosports.chicagotr.....-headlines
I hadn’t thought about the Patterson call-up, but it makes a lot of sense. Odds are that he would be called up in 3 weeks anyway. Fox is also a possiblity. If the feeling is Pie is healthy, I think he’s the guy most likely to get the call, though.
Theriot
Jones
Lee
Ramirez
Floyd
DeRosa
Kendall
Pie
It has nice balance, even if it won’t score very many runs.
August 6th, 2007 at 6:13 am
Any chance they go with 13 pitchers over the next week or so?
August 6th, 2007 at 6:15 am
mike:
Kerry Wood made his first appearance this year. I think it would be an appropriate time to talk about who will replace him once he goes on the DL tomorrow.
There is surprisingly little talk about Kerry Wood’s performance. If you didn’t see it, he regularly hit 95 with his fastball. His curveball, about 78 mph! had good bite, but, and this could have been my imagination, but it looked like a 1-7 curveball. Several years ago I remember him having a 12-6 curve. Maybe it was just a fluke. His slider, about 86 MPH, had good bite. He used it as a strikeout pitch once.
If he can stay healthy, he has all the stuff to be a closer. My cousin still thinks he’ll end up in the rotation before it’s all over.
August 6th, 2007 at 6:21 am
with the disparity betweeen soriano’s home and road success this year, it is a shame he did not get hurt on the first game of the homestand instead of the last.
and, how long until we see gallagher in the cubs rotation?
August 6th, 2007 at 6:27 am
8-8 in the last 16 games, then a high-profile injury? This is the make-or-break point IMHO, and I don’t smell “enough momentum to quickly figure out new ways to win.” I sure hope I’m wrong. Count me among the sourpusses.
August 6th, 2007 at 7:28 am
Demoting Ohman essentially means losing him for nothing to the Devil Rays, who will claim him off waivers since he’s out of options.
August 6th, 2007 at 7:30 am
DeRosa in right? I know he’s the hero de jour, but he’s a pretty rancid right fielder. I love the guy, but let’s keep him in the infield except for short term (game-level) emergencies.
August 6th, 2007 at 7:44 am
Call up Felix Pie, stick him in center, move Floyd to left and Jones to right:
Ugh… and who would play the outfield against lhp? You have three guys, all lefties, and none of whom can hit lhp.
Murton in left makes too much sense. Sure - bring Pie up, but use him as a defensive replacement. He simply has not shown that he can hit major league pitching, and a team in the playoff hunt cannot afford to allow Pie to develop in the bigs.
August 6th, 2007 at 7:52 am
Dave-
I agree 100%….I thought that Pie should have been playing all along back in May…but as the Cubs clawed their way baack into it, and now stand only 1 game back, he’d be a great late-inning guy/once a week start type.
LF-Murton
CF-Jones
RF-Floyd
It’s the combo that makes sense.
August 6th, 2007 at 7:53 am
RYNOX: “…If he can stay healthy.”
If I was Mark Cuban, I’d buy the Cubs.
JOE AIELLO: The Cubs have six more days in order to “safely” demote Oh-Man! to AAA according to AZ PHIL.
August 6th, 2007 at 7:54 am
Can anyone explain why Marquis could be consistently so very excellent for the first month of the season and so consistently unimpressive since then? Well, I guess he has had a couple of very good outtings since then. But something Joe Morgan said last night caught my attention. He said that up to yesterday’s game, Marquis had won just 3 or his previous 15 starts. At first I said, no way. But then I thought about it and decided it must be accurate. And I do understand that the Cubs won some of the games that Marquis did not get a decision in.
I understand that he started off above his head and, as people here said, he would not continue at that pace. Are his mechanics off? Is the guy capable of pitching with consistently good mechanics for a month or so but he cannot hold it together any longer than that and, when he loses his mechanics, he cannot get them back? Were the Cards right about Marquis? Is this a guy who thinks he knows best and is not receptive to ideas from others when he gets off the rails?
Watching him yesterday, the thing I noticed was that his balance seemed way off. He seemed to lose his balance a lot as he finished throwing the ball to the plate. Another way of saying that is that the completion of his pitching motion did not have a lot of consistency to it from one pitch to the next. His body just seemed to be all over the place. And he seems like, as he begins to lose his balance, he starts pitching faster and faster, instead of slowing down and trying to collect himself.
If this team makes the playoffs, I really wonder if we will be able to count on Marquis for much, if anything. I understand he is our # 3 pitcher, or seems to be, but the way he is throwing he is a # 4 or #5 at best.
August 6th, 2007 at 8:07 am
Maybe I’m totally missing something, but wouldn’t calling up Pie or Patterson just confuse things in the outfield? With the callup of Murton, we ALREADY have 5 guys on the roster who can play the outfield, including multiple players at each position:
LF Murton, Floyd
CF Jones, Pagan
RF Jones, Pagan, Floyd, Derosa
I should add that all of the above (yes, even Murton…) have proven that they can hit at the major-league level. Wouldn’t calling up or trading for another OF just further confuse the issue?
August 6th, 2007 at 8:17 am
Also, call me crazy but wouldn’t it also be a good idea to call up Geovany Soto, who is hitting .345 with power at AAA?
August 6th, 2007 at 8:18 am
I couldn’t watch the game last night, but I have a question for those that did:
How did Wood look with respect to his infamous trait of “throwing across his body?” I remember reading the NY Times (?) article about how he was trying to learn a new way of throwing. Anybody notice anything different?
Thanks.
August 6th, 2007 at 8:19 am
E-man, what Arizona Phil means is that Ohman can Refuse the assignment after 7 days. He’s still out of options right now, which means he has to clear waivers. If they do it now and he clears, he has no say in the matter and can be demoted. If they wait 7 days and he clears, then he can say no. You’re misunderstanding what he’s saying.
August 6th, 2007 at 8:21 am
Demoting Ohman essentially means losing him for nothing to the Devil Rays, who will claim him off waivers since he’s out of options.
I thought he had an option year left. No?
August 6th, 2007 at 8:24 am
He’s still out of options right now, which means he has to clear waivers.
I thought he has one option year remaining.
August 6th, 2007 at 8:24 am
He’s been on the 40 man roster since 2000. He’s definitely out of options.
August 6th, 2007 at 8:25 am
Joe,
If Ohman is in AAA he doesn’t occur MLB service time. So he would still be stuck on 4 years, 155 days of service time.
August 6th, 2007 at 8:25 am
I could be wrong, but if I understand how the rules with option years work, then he should be out of options.
August 6th, 2007 at 8:26 am
Marquis didn’t talk after the game, and Piniella offered a brief and blunt assessment: “Marquis? He wasn’t very sharp.”
That could of been said about a few others also.
August 6th, 2007 at 8:26 am
Chifan3887, Service time doesn’t factor in here. It’s not like once you get to 5 years, you’re out of options. That’s not how it works.
August 6th, 2007 at 8:27 am
and you mean 4 years and 165 days
August 6th, 2007 at 8:27 am
Oops… Rob already said that.
I looked above, and AZ Phil says he has one year remaining, from the previous thread:
August 6th, 2007 at 8:33 am
Joe is right though, we’re talking about two different things. If he doesn’t have any options left (you get 3 option years), doesn’t matter what your service time is, he’d have to pass through waivers. Once he hits 5 years service time, even if he has an option year, he has the right to refuse it. Our pal AZ Phil says he has one option left and he’s usually on top of that stuff, so I’ll let him handle that one.
August 6th, 2007 at 8:36 am
When I watched Kerry, and I wasn’t watching for throwing across the body, he seemed in rhythm and in great balance. I nice smooth movement and his stuff was simply sick. I mean sicker then Marmol with that curve he drops (20 mph difference and a nasty late bite).
Personally I thought that curve was gone for good after all the DL time, but I guess he is throwing it without worry.
August 6th, 2007 at 8:39 am
Wsox put in a claim on Tejeda but couldn’t work out a deal according to Rotoworld. If I understand it correctly, the AL gets first shot at AL players so IF the Cubs put in a claim as well, the Wsox would have been awarded the claim.
August 6th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Like I said, I could be wrong. Maybe Phil can come in and explain why Ohman has one. I’d appreciate that a lot.
As for waivers, priority IS given to the league that the current player is in and to the team with the worst record. So, for Tejada, it basically works in reverse order of the AL record and then reverse order of the NL record. Essentially, it means the Cubs best chance would be at NL players on waivers.
August 6th, 2007 at 8:43 am
If you are in charge… do you try to ease Wood back into the rotation? Personally, I think his days of throwing 100+ pitches are over, but gee, that has to be tempting.
August 6th, 2007 at 8:45 am
Trying to have Wood start again would be reckless. They are still in the early stages of seeing whether his arm can even hold up to pitching an inning in 2 consecutive games, let alone more than 5 consecutive innings in the same day! Leave well enough alone and thank yourselves that he’s even back in the bullpen…
August 6th, 2007 at 8:48 am
NO!!!!
August 6th, 2007 at 8:51 am
I agree. Leave Wood in middle relief this year and give him a shot at the closer’s role next year if all goes well.
August 6th, 2007 at 8:52 am
Explanation of waivers. from mlb.com
n most instances, teams place a large number of
their players on waivers and still never follow through with a trade. But through this process, they can at least gauge interest and see if there are sensible and available trade options that would allow them to fill a present need or relieve themselves of a high-salaried player.
With the passing of the trade deadline, all teams must now pass players through waivers before trading them.
all teams were permitted to place as many as seven players per day on the waiver wire.
Multiple teams can claim a player who has been placed on waivers. If two teams were to claim a specific player, the lower-ranking team according to winning percentage (whether it be an American or National League team), is given rights to that player for 48 hours.
.
All players remain on the waiver wire for two full business days. If they are never claimed, they can be traded at any point, to any team for the remainder of the season. But to be eligible for the postseason, a player must be traded by Aug. 31.
If a player is claimed by a team and a deal never materializes, a team will not likely place them back on waivers. When they initially place a player on waivers, a team has the right to pull them back at any time.
But when a player is placed on waivers a second time, the claim is irrevocable. Thus any claiming team owns the rights and a trade must be completed
August 6th, 2007 at 8:59 am
cubs.com says patterson likely to get call
August 6th, 2007 at 9:00 am
Barry, What’s the link on that?
August 6th, 2007 at 9:02 am
If patterson gets the call, he’ll need to be added to the 40 man roster, so someone will be leaving it. I can only guess it would be Henry Blanco being transferred to the 60 day DL, or maybe finally Brian Dopirak loose.
August 6th, 2007 at 9:08 am
was an article from an mlb writer laying out a trade scenario after the trade deadline.
Not an official mlb rule
August 6th, 2007 at 9:09 am
Little Nate Lewis:
…give him a shot at the closer’s role next year if all goes well.
If “all goes well”, Wood will command more money than he’s worth on the market, considering his injury threat.
August 6th, 2007 at 9:11 am
Patterson was in center again yesterday for Iowa, Pie in right. There must be a thought behind this.
Okay, so here’s what we do. Pagan to Iowa. Patterson up, Pie up. Pie right, Patterson center, Jones/Murton left. Instant decent outfield.
Floyd? Just ditch him somewhere. Have the bus driver pull away when he’s in the men’s room.
August 6th, 2007 at 9:12 am
If “all goes well”, Wood will command more money than he’s worth on the market, considering his injury threat.
———————-
He commanded more money than he was worth on the market last winter and still came back to the Cubs for less than market value.
What is your point?
August 6th, 2007 at 9:12 am
Hmmm..Patterson….
I like the season E-Pat is having…but that’s sort of a slap in the face of Pie, isn’t it? Of course, if Pie is still struggling with a quad injury a little, it makes sense.
August 6th, 2007 at 9:13 am
cubs.com says patterson likely to get call
Here is the blurb, taken off of the front page but there is no corresponding story:
August 6th, 2007 at 9:14 am
Virginia Phil,
how do you get Patterson on the 40 man?
August 6th, 2007 at 9:14 am
Call me old and cranky, but if AZ Phil says Oh, man! has an option left then he has an option left.
August 6th, 2007 at 9:17 am
Joe… I would think that Blanco gets moved to the 60 man. He has already been on the DL for more than 60 days.
August 6th, 2007 at 9:19 am
Joe Aiello — August 6, 2007 @ 8:19 am
E-man, what Arizona Phil means is that Ohman can Refuse the assignment after 7 days. He’s still out of options right now, which means he has to clear waivers. If they do it now and he clears, he has no say in the matter and can be demoted. If they wait 7 days and he clears, then he can say no. You’re misunderstanding what he’s saying.
========================
JOE: Although he has been on the 40-man roster since September 2000, Will Ohman has only used two of his three minor league options… the first one in 2001, and then the second one in in 2005.
How did that happen?
After tearing an elbow ligament in Winter Ball post-2001 and undergoing TJ surgery, Ohman spent all of the 2002 and 2003 regular seasons on the MLB 60-day DL, before getting outrighted to Iowa after the ‘03 season.
Ohman had a real good year working out of the bullpen at Iowa in 2004, and because he was eligible to be a six-year minor league FA after that season, the Cubs decided they better add him to their 40-man roster prior to October 15th (when minor league players eligible for free-agency can become a FA).
Then Ohman used up his second minor league option during the 2005 season, but he did not use up his last minor league option last year because he spent the entire season in the big leagues.
So now he has one minor league option left.
However, players with at least five years of MLB service time can (and almost always do) refuse an optional assignment to the minors even if they have options left, and Ohman will hit five years of MLB ST next Sunday.
One thing I did not mention is that because Ohman’s MLB debut date was more than three years ago, he will have to clear Optional Waivers before he can be optioned to the minors, if the Cubs decide to go that route. It’s almost automatic to get players through Optional Waivers because this type of waiver is revocable, and so there is no realpoint in a GM making a claim (unless he wants to be a jag-off).
But let’s say Ohman is placed on Optional Waivers and gets claimed. Even though the Cubs can revoke the waiver claim and pull Ohman back, maybe they wouldn’t. Since the claiming club is stuck with the player they claim if the player’s original club chooses not to revoke the waiver claim, whoever claims Ohman would get stuck with 100% of Ohman’s contract (including $1.6M plus $300K+ in potential performance bonuses in 2008) that the Cubs might want to allocate elsewhere, especially if they believe either Clay Rapada or Carmen Pignatiello can do the LOOGY job for the MLB minimum next season.
Here is the current minor league option status for Cubs players with less than five years of MLB service time:
MINOR LEAGUE OPTION STATUS (8-6-2007):
* Can only be optioned to minors after clearing Optional Waivers
NO MINOR LEAGUE OPTIONS LEFT
Koyie Hill
ONE MINOR LEAGUE OPTION LEFT
Ronny Cedeno (will be out of minor league options in 2008)
Angel Guzman (see NOTE below)
Rich Hill
* Roberto Novoa
* Will Ohman
Geovany Soto (will be out of minor league options in 2008)
* Michael Wuertz
TWO MINOR LEAGUE OPTIONS LEFT
* Neal Cotts (will have one minor league option left in 2008)
Brian Dopirak (will have one minor league option left in 2008)
Mike Fontenot (will have one minor league option left in 2008)
Carlos Marmol (will have one minor league option left in 2008)
Scott Moore (will have one minor league option left in 2008)
Angel Pagan (will have one minor league option left in 2008)
Felix Pie (will have one minor league option left in 2008)
Ryan Theriot
THREE MINOR LEAGUE OPTIONS LEFT
Rocky Cherry (will have two minor league options left in 2008)
Buck Coats (will have two minor league options left in 2008)
Jake Fox (will have two minor league options left in 2008 if he is not recalled by 8-16-07)
Sean Gallagher (will have two minor league options left in 2008)
Sean Marshall (will have two minor league options left in 2008)
Juan Mateo (will have two minor league options left in 2008)
Matt Murton (will have two minor league options left in 2008)
Billy Petrick (will have two minor league options left in 2008)
Clay Rapada (will have two minor league options left in 2008)
FOUR MINOR LEAGUE OPTIONS LEFT
Jeff Samardzija (will have three minor league options left in 2008)
NOTE: Angel Guzman will have that 4th option year available again next year because he still has not spent five full seasons on an active minor league and/or major league roster. (A “full sesaon” is defined as 60 consecutive days on an MLB or full-season minor league club roster from Opening Day, or 90 days aggregate on an active roster MLB and/or minor league rosters in a given season, and Guzman somehow still has not done that).
Also, Jeff Samardzija gets four option years, as long as he uses them all before the 2012 season, because he will not have spent five full seasons on a minor league and/or major league roster until after the 2011 sesason (at the earliest).
August 6th, 2007 at 9:22 am
AZ Phil,
Didn’t the Cubs spend an option year on him in 2004. His bio on cubs.com suggests that they did.
August 6th, 2007 at 9:25 am
Thanks for that, Phil
August 6th, 2007 at 9:27 am
“DeRosa in right? I know he’s the hero de jour, but he’s a pretty rancid right fielder.”
You must’ve been watching a different set of games than the ones I’ve witnessed so far - DeRosa has been more than adequate in RF, and has handled the flyball slices towards the corner far better than Murton or Floyd. The comparison is not even close.
August 6th, 2007 at 9:27 am
Also, Old and Blue. Don’t ever take what someone tells you as truth. It’s OK to question it. It’s part of being an educated fan. Last I checked, I don’t go to church and worship AZ Phil. He’s capable of making a mistake.
August 6th, 2007 at 9:27 am
I agree - DMac
August 6th, 2007 at 9:30 am
I read on the mlb.com cubs site that they did an MRI on Soriano sunday night…so we should hear about that this afternoon. Although I’m hearing/reading from the press that it will be 2-4 weeks before a return, it’s a pretty speculative guesstimate regarding a timeline. The MRI will help that estimate.
Here is a llink to a picture of the quadriceps muscle anatomy:
http://tinyurl.com/355up2
The term strain is used with injured muscle (sprain is for ligaments). The convention is to use a 1-3 grading system for both where one is minimal injury, two is stretch and three is a full tear. Muscle usually isn’t repaired even in a grade 3 injury (because it doesn’t hold stitches well) but the grading does affect the timetable for recovery. Similar to hamstring and adductor (groin) injuries (as all are muscle strains, unless the tendon is torn near the muscle attachment), the main problem with a quadriceps strain given a rush to return is that there is a significant chance of reinjury.
August 6th, 2007 at 9:33 am
Joe Aiello — August 6, 2007 @ 9:14 am
Virginia Phil,
how do you get Patterson on the 40 man
==============================
JOE A: If the Cubs need slots on the 40-man roster:
1. Henry Blanco can be transferred to the 60-day DL (he has already been on the 15-day DL for more than sixty days)
2. Scott Moore can be recalled from his optional assignment at Iowa and can be immediately placed on the 60-day DL (Moore is presently on the Iowa DL with a sprained ankle). However, placing Moore on the 60 would effectively end his chance to play for the Cubs in 2007 (although he could be reactivated for the World Series if necessary), but if the Cubs need a roster slot, Moore could be “sacrificed.”
And once he is on the Cubs 60-day DL, the Cubs can send Moore on a DL rehab assignment to Iowa at any time for up to 21 days, and since there is only about 30 days left in Iowa’s season, what difference does it make vis-a-vis Moore’s development if he is playing for Iowa on an “optional assignment” or on an MLB DL rehab assignment?
So even if the Cubs were to recall Moore from Iowa and place him on the 60-day DL, he still would be able to spend up to 21 days at Iowa on a minor league rehab prior to the conclusion of Iowa’s season, although he would lose his chance to play for the Cubs in September (although he would be accruing MLB service time and getting paid an MLB salary the entire time he’s on the 60-day DL).
August 6th, 2007 at 9:36 am
It didn’t look minor the way he was hobbling around.
August 6th, 2007 at 9:39 am
Phil, I was mainly asking how the commentor intended on it happening.
August 6th, 2007 at 9:40 am
I have had a bad cramp in my quad before and I behaved much like Soriano did. Any chance this is only a bad cramp?
August 6th, 2007 at 9:41 am
chifan3887 — August 6, 2007 @ 9:22 am
AZ Phil,
Didn’t the Cubs spend an option year on him in 2004. His bio on cubs.com suggests that they did.
============================
CHIFAN: Believe it or not, the Cubs bio is wrong about that. Will Ohman was DEFINTELY outrighted to AAA after the 2003 season, spent the entire 2004 season on outright assignment to Iowa, and then was selected by the Cubs from Iowa prior to the October 15th deadline when he would have been eligible to be six-year minor league FA.
I am absolutely, positively sure about that.
August 6th, 2007 at 9:44 am
It didn’t look minor the way he was hobbling around.
I don’t think you can really tell much but the way he was hobbling.
August 6th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Rob G. — August 6, 2007 @ 8:39 am
Wsox put in a claim on Tejeda but couldn’t work out a deal according to Rotoworld. If I understand it correctly, the AL gets first shot at AL players so IF the Cubs put in a claim as well, the Wsox would have been awarded the claim.
==========
ROB G: If a player is claimed by one club in his own league and one club in the other league, the waiver claim goes to the club in his own league, even if the club in the other league has a lower winning percentage.
So all the clubs in a player’s own league have to essentially “pass” on the player before clubs in the other league have an opportunity to make a claim, although the processs is done simultaneous with all clubs (that is, the Cubs don’t have wait until all of the A. L. clubs pass on an A. L. player, they just put in a claim, and the MLB office sorts them out when the waivers expire).
August 6th, 2007 at 9:53 am
Levine was just on ESPN 1000 and the notes are:
* Confirmed the Epat call up.
* He thinks the outfield will be Floyd/Murton in LF, The Strap in Center and Dero in right. Yuck, if your going to call up a top prospect let him play.
* He feels the top external options would be Peter Pan and Shannon Stewart. Yuck again, Peter Pan couldnt win a throwing contest with Strap and a route running contest with Pagan. He also pulls a groin muscle every 3 weeks. Stewart is past his prime. Why not sign Kielty, is it because Lou has Eric Cartman type feelings about gingers.
* Still thinks the Cubs turned down a 38/4 from Z’s agents last July. I doubt Hendry and even McFail is that stupid.
* Z’s cramp issues come from his refusal to drink any water. If he is acting that childish than Lou and Hendry should be fining him every time he leaves a game with a cramp or have him take an IV of Saline a few hours before the game.
August 6th, 2007 at 9:55 am
cubster — August 6, 2007 @ 9:30 am
The main problem with a quadriceps strain given a rush to return is that there is a significant chance of reinjury.
=====================
CUBSTER: Cubs minor league infielder Francisco Tirado would agree with you. He has spent the ENTIRE 2007 season at Fitch Park rehabbing from a quad injury that just kept giving, one he sustained in Spring Training.
And outfielder Andy Lopez (one of the players the Cubs acquired in the Jae-kuk Ryu deal with TB) was at Fitch for nearly three months rehabbing from a quad injury sustained at Peoria in late April.
August 6th, 2007 at 9:55 am
He thinks the outfield will be Floyd/Murton in LF, The Strap in Center and Dero in right. Yuck, if your going to call up a top prospect let him play.
Maybe that means that E-Pat will be playing second.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:00 am
AZ Phil,
I’ve got Koyie Hill as being optioned in 2003 & 2005. Why does he not have one more? He hasn’t been optioned this year.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:03 am
just about everyone who’s gotten a “quad strain” lately has been shelved for a month. its pretty much the guideline.
dye bucked the system with a “truely minor” 9-10 day no-DL sit/wait/heal period.
hopefully when the swelling goes down he’s just showing some irritation.
quad/hammy…quad tends to be less “chronically reappearing” compared to, say, the hamstring and groin injuries that chase some around for their careers at least. not like its automatic 30 days from now soriano is in the clear to stay, though. come back too early, re-injure, you’re nearly back at square one.
given the playoff chase vs. possible postseason need vs. this is a guy with a 38748932649283658996352896 dollar contract…it could play out in a number of ways gambling with his rehab.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:04 am
Intersting idea…Patterson at 2B.
But what about Fontenot:.308/.360/.465?
They’re both lefty hitters…
August 6th, 2007 at 10:04 am
I was at the game last night. Right now, the pitchers I have the least faith in are Marquis, Ohman and Dempster, and we saw way too much of them last night. All of them have significant issues with location and threw way too many hittable pitches.
The Mets jumped on us early with three baserunning plays, and put us in a hole. 1) Milledge’s steal off Marquis: great jump off Marquis; although Kendall made an awful throw, I don’t think he would have gotten him with a good one (as an aside, I think that would have been a great situation for a pitchout). That set the stage for 2) Milledge scoring on Glavine’s soft single up the middle, which Pagan bobbled. He definitely had a play on Milledge with a clean pickup, even though Milledge was running with two outs. The third play was on the second run in the fifth, when Castillo tagged and advanced to second on Wright’s fly to deep center. Heads up baserunning that caught Pagan by surprise; he did not catch the ball anticipating that he would have to throw, and when he did catch it he threw late. Perhaps Castillo advances anyway given that the throw was so far, but Pagan did not help matters. Castillo then scored on Delgado’s double, and it was 2-0. Green’s double after Alou’s groundout makes it likely that the second run would have scored anyway (not to mention the wild pitch while Green was batting), but Castillo’s play was great aggressive baserunning that caught us napping.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:06 am
Joe Aiello said: Phil, I was mainly asking how the commentor intended on it happening [i.e., getting Patterson on the 40-man roster].
I’m not really a student of the 40-man roster. Randy Bush gets paid to do that stuff (probably by reading AZ Phil).
But speaking of Dopirak, he’s quietly going about having a decent year at Daytona. He’s raised his average steadily to around .270, with 15 homers and 50 ribbies in about 250 at bats.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:06 am
its VFTB meets TCR…neat.
joe, longoria at AAA…good stuff. joel guzman was working my last nerve.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:10 am
Barry — August 6, 2007 @ 8:52 am
Explanation of waivers. from mlb.com
n most instances, teams place a large number of
their players on waivers and still never follow through with a trade. But through this process, they can at least gauge interest and see if there are sensible and available trade options that would allow them to fill a present need or relieve themselves of a high-salaried player.
With the passing of the trade deadline, all teams must now pass players through waivers before trading them.
all teams were permitted to place as many as seven players per day on the waiver wire.
Multiple teams can claim a player who has been placed on waivers. If two teams were to claim a specific player, the lower-ranking team according to winning percentage (whether it be an American or National League team), is given rights to that player for 48 hours.
.
All players remain on the waiver wire for two full business days. If they are never claimed, they can be traded at any point, to any team for the remainder of the season. But to be eligible for the postseason, a player must be traded by Aug. 31.
If a player is claimed by a team and a deal never materializes, a team will not likely place them back on waivers. When they initially place a player on waivers, a team has the right to pull them back at any time.
But when a player is placed on waivers a second time, the claim is irrevocable. Thus any claiming team owns the rights and a trade must be completed
==============================
BARRY: That was changed a few years ago.
Any player who is claimed off “Trade Waivers” in August and September where his original team revokes the waivers and pulls the player back cannot be placed on “Trade Waivers” again during that same waiver period. “Trade Waivers” are only in effect during the waiver preriod that runs August 1st through November 10th.
MLB WAIVER PERIODS:
1. February 16th through the 30th day of the regular season
2. 31st day of the regular sesaon through July 31st
3. August 1st through November 10th
4. November 11th through February 15th
NOTE: Beginning with the waiver period that commences on the 31st day of the regular season, the current standings are used to determine waiver claim priority. However, during the first 30 days of the regular season, the PREVIOUS year’s standings are used to determine waiver claim priority.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:11 am
who is this peter pan guy ?
August 6th, 2007 at 10:12 am
Joe A, I don’t worship AZ, he’s simply proven to have an encyclopedic knowledge of baseball rules minutia, so I am just going to keep him as my main source. But thanks for the advice.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:14 am
Podsednik maybe?
Who is Peter Pan?
August 6th, 2007 at 10:14 am
“Still thinks the Cubs turned down a 38/4 from Z’s agents last July. I doubt Hendry and even McFail is that stupid.”
doubt Z’s agent is that stupid, too.
lets see…one of 2 guys under 30 coming available (the other being that whitesox overachiever who got a new contract not too long ago)…and Z is the obvious big prize who’s worth 8-9m a year insted of 15+m a year.
yeaaaaaaaaaah.
38/4…maybe offseason 05.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:25 am
Dusty Baylor — August 6, 2007 @ 10:04 am
Intersting idea…Patterson at 2B.
But what about Fontenot:.308/.360/.465?
They’re both lefty hitters…
=========================
DUSTY: Eric Patterson has been playing OF (only) the last couple of weeks at Iowa, so I would think he will play LF or CF (not 2B) and hit lead-off until whenever Alfonso Soriano returns to action.
If E-Pat plays CF, then it could be Floyd/Murton or Jones/Murton in LF, with Floyd/Pagan or Jones/Pagan in RF. Or maybe the Cubs will sign FA Bobby Kielty (who is a “true” RF) to platoon with Floyd or Jones in RF, and send Cedeno to AAA (since E-Pat can move to the infield if necessary).
What happens after Soriano returns, I don’t know, but I doubt that the Cubs would dare play Eric Patterson regularly at 2B during a pennant race.
Unlike Felix Pie, Patterson can hit LHP, although his recently-discovered HR power is manifest only versus RHP (285/352/377 vs LHP, and 305/363/508 vs RHP).
August 6th, 2007 at 10:27 am
O.K. - we STILL have a ITBNL - coming from Pitt, right?
And…what about X Nady?
Anyone?
Re E-Pat - he has not played one MLB regular season game.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:30 am
pitt took on izturis…doubt you’re gonna get nady outta that.
pitt still has control of nady for a few more years, theyre probably looking to hold onto him.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:32 am
Yes Peter Pan is Scotty Pods.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:32 am
Dying Cub Fan . . . I agree with you about Marquis, as indicated above in my post at # 19. Marquis looked so, so good to start the year. I still recall the game in which I began to worry that the good Marquis was slipping away from us, was it against the Cards at home? Anyway, he had significant control issues in that game for the first time. He has never really consistently regained his form. His mechanics seem off. And as his control gets worse, it seems like he starts taking less and less time between pitches. With other pitchers on the staff, Z and Lilly, for example, I feel like they can lose their good control for a spell and then get it back (though Z’s last outing would not be representative.) With Marquis, I always feel like, once his controls goes, it does not get better.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:36 am
#83:
I thought I read somewhere that the Cubs and Pirates agreed not to decide on the PTBNL till after the season. Am I remembering right?
August 6th, 2007 at 10:38 am
AZ PHIL
I’ve got a couple questions on some of your list.
K. Hill - I’ve got him with being optioned in ‘03 & ‘05
M. Murton - I’ve got him with being optioned in 05 & 07
R. Navoa - Does his 2007 option not count since he’s been injured this year?
Where did I go wrong?
August 6th, 2007 at 10:39 am
the PTBNL is not allowed to be a player on the 25 man roster at the time of the trade.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:39 am
I doubt that the Cubs would dare play Eric Patterson regularly at 2B during a pennant race.
But they would be willing to bat him lead-off?
I trust your assessment, but it seems odd that they would be willing to play him in the outfield also, being that he has a total of 30 games or so in the outfield.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:40 am
regarding where they would play Patterson:
Sunday for the I-Cubs Felix Pie played RF and E-Pat was in CF.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:42 am
Joe Aiello — August 6, 2007 @ 10:00 am
AZ Phil,
I’ve got Koyie Hill as being optioned in 2003 & 2005. Why does he not have one more? He hasn’t been optioned this year.
========================
JOE: Koyie Hill was added to the Dodgers 40-man roster after the 2002 sesaon, and was optioned to the minors by the Dodgers in 2003 and 2004, and by the Diamondbacks in 2005.
He was claimed off Outright Waivers by the Yankees when the D’backs tried to outright him to the minors coming out of ST in 2006, and then the Yankees ended up outrighting him to AAA in April 2006.
K. Hill became a minor league FA after last season, and signed a 2007 minor league deal (with an NRI to ST) with the Cubs during the off-season.
Because he has been outrighted previously in his career, K. Hill will have the option to be a FA if the Cubs outright him to the minors prior to the conclusion of the 2007 season, although he could defer that right until the end of the season. If the Cubs were to outright K. Hill in August or September (maybe to make room for Henry Blanco) and Hill opts to defer his right to be a minor league FA until after the 2007 season, that would give the Cubs an opportunity to bring K. Hill back to the 40-man roster anytime prior to October 15th, and he would remain on the 40 until whenever the Cubs might decide to drop him.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:53 am
new post up btw, if E-Pat plays everyday I think he’d bat second to break-up the righty/lefty/righty at the top of the lineup.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:55 am
cubs catcher situation is getting kinda iffy.
yeah, kendall’s lost a few SB’s against him due to pitchers, but wow…people are running at will on him, even guys that shouldnt be. barely seen him throw and the limited time i have, he’s throw 2 away pretty badly.
at some point that “breaks” his worth to the club. but what do you do with a vet like him? with blanco looking more and more iffy, a lot would want some kind of veteran receiver out there who’s comfortable with handling the staff…kendall does that well. the guy is showing no skill for even putting a fear of running into guys, though.
k.hill, kendall, soto…two of those 3 guys are the pool the cubs have to commit to at this point in time to build a playoff team. personally, im comfortable with soto/hill (neither of which are gamemakers and have their own issues), but are the other players/manager/front-office?
August 6th, 2007 at 10:59 am
Joe Aiello — August 6, 2007 @ 10:38 am
AZ PHIL
I’ve got a couple questions on some of your list.
K. Hill - I’ve got him with being optioned in ‘03 & ‘05
M. Murton - I’ve got him with being optioned in 05 & 07
R. Navoa - Does his 2007 option not count since he’s been injured this year?
Where did I go wrong?
==========================
JOE: I explained Koyie Hill in post #92.
Matt Murton was optioned to Iowa for 11 days in August 2005, but because he spent less than 20 days on optional assignment, that option did not count (and the time he spent at Iowa in August 2005 also counts toward his MLB service time),
Roberto Novoa was optioned to AAA by the Cubs out of ST this past March (and that would have been his final option), but the optional assignment was later canceled and he was instead placed on the DL retroactive to sometime in March because his injury occurred in an off-season car crash. (Novoa wasn’t diagnosed with a fractured shoulder until after he was optioned),
Because he will (apparently) be spending the entire 2007 sesaon on an MLB DL, Novoa will get credit for a full year of MLB service time (and will get paid at the MLB rate, instead of the lesser minor league “split”), and with 2+169 MLB service time by the end of the ‘07 season, he will definitely qualify as a “Super Two” for arbitration purposes. Which is why the Cubs might non-tender him on December 12th, even though he will have one minor league option left in 2008.
August 6th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Peter Pan…
Someone old who still thinks he’s young? Kenny Lofton maybe? Henderson?
August 6th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
in case anyone actually reads my posts, I made a mistake about Soriano’s previous leg injury this year. It was to his left hamstring, I thought it was the same leg. It’s fixed now.
August 6th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Anyone know anything about Josh Kroeger? Good OBP and power numbers at AA and AAA. Which OF position does he play and is he possibly an option this year if EPat and Pie don’t work?
August 6th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
Kerry Wood’s stuff looks good, but his body looks bad. Where did those 30-40 extra pounds go? I don’t mean to stir up controversy, especially without much empirical evidence, but that kind of body change raises some steroid suspicion in my mind. Anyone remember when Ivan Rodriguez came back 30-35lbs. lighter a few seasons ago?
August 6th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
Well, I always thought Kerry Wood had a lot of baby fat. You can definitely see it in old pictures. I think you’re barking up the wrong tree.
January 31st, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Thanks for sharing
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