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Facts On Cubs Sale Elusive At CBS

By wrigleyville | July 9, 2009 | wrigleyville23

Somebody should get Sonny Amato of CBS sports a copy of the Interweb: Move over Billy Goat and Bartman. There might be another curse in the Windy City, and it has nothing to do with superstition. Monday, the Tribune Company reached a verbal, but not final, agreement with Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts to sell the team for a whopping $900 million. Immediate reaction from local news stories, television and my Twitter stream seems to be positive. After all, Ricketts is a loyal Cubs fan who met his wife in the bleachers at Wrigley. That's sweet. Really it is. Joe? I thought Tom Ricketts was the lead on this? And Joe met his wife in the Wrigley bleachers, too? Just like Tom? What in the world are the chances of that happening? And how much time did those boys spend in the bleachers cruising for brides? When you make a basic...

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Cubs Can't Score, And It's One Person's Fault

By wrigleyville | July 8, 2009 | wrigleyville23

The Cubs managed one run on six hits today - and whose fault is it? Paul Sullivan knows and says so in the lead of his game story:Milton Bradley epitomized the Cubs problems Wednesday, going 0-for-4 with a ninth inning strikeout to end the 4-1 loss to Atlanta.Not Derrek Lee, who also was 0-for-4. Not the two second basemen, who combined to go 0-for-3. Not the two errors. Not the shaky bullpen.Nope. Milton Bradley's 0-for-4.This, of course, is a day after he said Z has been a "poor return on investment" for the Cubs. I'm not sure the halfwitted baseball writer for the bankrupt Chicago Tribune is in any position to give investment advice....

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Sullivan: Z "A Poor Return On Investment"

By wrigleyville | July 8, 2009 | wrigleyville23

Paul Sullivan writes this in today's Trib: "This team pays me to win games," Zambrano said. But Zambrano has won only four times in 15 starts, a poor return on a $91 million investment. He hasn't won since June 5, and hasn't won at Wrigley Field since May 3. Zambrano must be stinking up the joint, eh? Well ... since June 5, he is 0-1 with a 3.15 ERA and has given up 1, 3, 3, 4 and 1 in 8, 7, 7, 5.1 and 7 innings. The problem is the Cubs have only scored 1, 6, 4, 0 and 2 runs in those games. Which even Sullivan notes later in the story: Over his last nine outings, the Cubs have scored only 12 runs with Zambrano on the mound, though he has allowed three or fewer runs in eight of them. Unlike, say, Ryan Braun ... Z...

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Felix Pie Wearing Out Welcome In Baltimore?

By wrigleyville | July 7, 2009 | wrigleyville23

The former Cub super duper prospect appears to be on the trading block because Cesar Izturis, of all people, is coming off the disabled list - and Pie is out of options.He's batting right about at his career level in limited opportunities this year with the Orioles. Which is to say he's not playing very well....

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Winning Is Painful

By wrigleyville | July 7, 2009 | wrigleyville23

Ryan Dempster is broken, largely because he's apparently clumsy:Dempster was hopping over the dugout railing to go on the field and celebrate Sunday's victory over the Milwaukee Brewers when he caught his back leg on the railing and landed hard, injuring his toe. An X-ray taken Tuesday revealed the non-displaced fracture.As Lou said, the Cubs were healthy for one day....

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Dempster to 15-Day DL

By Zach Sanders | July 7, 2009 | MLB Notebook

Ryan Dempster has been placed on the 15-Day DL with a broken toe. Paul Sullivan reports:Dempster said he caught his foot on the dugout railing while jumping out of the dugout running onto the field after Sunday's win over the Brewers."Sweet, huh?" Dempster said.What happened?Here's Dempster's explanation:"Sunday after the game I was coming out of the dugout and stepping over the top of the railing there, I was sitting up on the ledge, and I caught my left foot on the rail as I was coming over and it just spun me around and slammed me into the ground. When...

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2nd Cubs Deal: Safety Net Or Monkey Wrench?

By wrigleyville | July 7, 2009 | wrigleyville23

Just when you thought the Cubs were all but sold to the Ricketts family, this pops up: (Reuters) -- Tribune Co. has agreed to terms for the sale of the Chicago Cubs to a group led by private equity investor Marc Utay, giving the company two offers to submit to the bankruptcy court, two sources familiar with the sale process said on Tuesday. On Monday, a source said the Ricketts family had agreed to terms for the purchase of the team for slightly less than the $900 million it offered in January. One of the sources reporting the Utay group's deal said the new offer is "a higher price but less cash upfront" than the Ricketts bid. "I don't think it's completely over yet," said the source, who asked not to be identified because the sale process is ongoing. "By the same token, Ricketts has a real edge here." Better...

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Tuesday's bites

By Teddy Mitrosilis | July 7, 2009 | Around the Majors

I'm kinda, sorta going to pick up the links baton today, but I only have a handful, so lets go ...Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports wrote a nice piece on the return of Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton, and talks to him about the possibility of competing in this year's home run derby. I agree with Hamilton in his decision to skip the derby. He plans to play in the ASG -- where he was voted the A.L. starting center fielder -- but after missing six weeks with an abdominal tear, the Rangers aren't exactly giddy about the possibility of him trying to launch balls out of Busch Stadium next week. I don't blame them. The Rangers need Hamilton healthy in the second half, as they have a shot at the division this year.Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN.com thinks that the Cubs are going to win the N.L. Central ... handily....

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MLB Top 10: Yanks Making a Push

By Jaymes Langrehr | July 6, 2009 | MVN Outsider

We're entering the final week before the All-Star break, but most teams have already passed the official midway point of their seasons. So now that we're half way there in crowning the 2009 world champions, who are the hottest teams in baseball entering this week? 1. New York Yankees (48-33)The Yanks continue to inch their way towards division-leading Boston, trailing in the AL East by a single win. It's sure to be one hell of a race down the stretch, even if some meaning is lessened by the fact that both teams are likely assured of reaching the playoffs. For now, I'm sure Yankee fans will take the moral victory of Mark Teixeira beating out Kevin Youkilis for the starting 1B spot on the All-Star team.2. Texas Rangers (45-35)It looks like the AL West is going to have a very competitive division race down the stretch, which is something that...Read more

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MLB Stock Market - Drama Edition

By Kurt Evans | July 6, 2009 | MVN Outsider

We sure have some fun things going on right now. The All Star Rosters have been announced -- did your favorite player get left off the list? Chances are, more than a few deserving names did. (I am intentionally not scoping out the full lists until after I've finished my piece on the Shoulda-Been All Stars: AL Edition.) On top of the All Star drama, we've got players angry at organizations, organizations angry at players, and teams finally sold after the longest Waiting for the Bill to be Paid period evar. (Yes, "evar.") Let's take a closer look... RisingThe Ire of Brewers Star Ryan BraunBraun, the young Brewers slugger, apparently feels that his team needs help if they want to reach the playoffs again. He's calling for GM Doug Melvin to fix the team, probably on the heels of losing 3 of 4 from the hapless Cubs. Here's an...Read more

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MLB Stock Market - Nut Hut Edition

By Kurt Evans | June 29, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Have you ever listened to one of those morning zoo nut-hut talk radio shows? I'm sure you have, and yet you managed to change the dial before slitting your wrists. Often times these extremely boring people will go to excrutiating lengths to have a compelling talk segment. Right about now they're probably talking about how we are now over the hump - the days are getting short again (but they were so long for a while there, ha-ha! Can you beileve how long the days were? Blah blah, I couldn't go to sleep some nights the sky was so bright! Haw!) - and how winter is already on its way. As much as I detest those jabrones, I can't help but think about the same sort of thing -- the year is flying by. We're coming upon the All Star Break -- aka the most boring week in sports...Read more

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MLB Great Debates: Which Playoff Contender Needs a Trade to Stay in the Race?

By Staff Report | June 26, 2009 | MVN Outsider

MLB Outsider's Jaymes Langrehr and Kurt Evans debate the issue: Which contending team most needs to make a deal before the July 31 trade deadline in order to stay in the race? Jaymes Langrehr argues that the Brewers desperately need starting pitching:As we get closer to the trade deadline, a good number of teams are developing clear needs that need to be addressed if they're going to stay in playoff contention. Some teams will be able to cope with their weaknesses and still make the playoffs due to their other strengths. Other clubs will need to make a move if they have any chance at contending in the second half.The Milwaukee Brewers are a prime example. Heading into this season, they knew that their pitching wouldn't be as good as it was down the stretch last season. Given the strength of their offense, however, they figured to be in okay...Read more

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MLB Outsider - In Which We Examine Closers

By Kurt Evans | June 25, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Not too long ago, Cubs closer Kevin Gregg came in to face the Detroit Tigers. He managed to get one of the three necessary outs before serving up a game-losing, two-run homerun to pinch hitter Ryan Ratburn. I doubt Gregg had even finished his walk of shame back to the clubhouse before Cub fans were spewing all over the internets their disdain for the closer, who has been other-than-reliable this season.The thing is, he actually hasn't been so bad. It's just that he's pitching under a microscope since the Cubs rarely seem to so much as reach the 9th inning with a lead these days. Anyway, something one reader said really stuck with me. He felt that any closer should blow no more than 3 saves a season. Unfortunately, that is a tremendously unrealistic expectation.I always defer to Randy Myers, retired closer, who once said that if he saves 80%...Read more

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MLB Top 10: Rox Still Hot

By Jaymes Langrehr | June 22, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Sure, the Colorado Rockies may not be on an insanely long winning streak at the moment (they're back to a merely above-average 5-game streak), but they're still playing the best baseball outside of Los Angeles or Boston at this point. For that reason, they hang on to the #1 spot in this week's Top 10 list. But who takes the #2 spot? With quite a few teams piecing together winning streaks lately, there are plenty of contenders -- there are seven teams who have won at least three games in a row, so there's no shortage of teams playing well, unlike in previous weeks.1. Colorado Rockies (36-33)Sure, it may not be an 11-game win streak, but after dropping a game to the Rays to snap the streak, Colorado has won five straight. For those of you keeping track at home, that's 16 wins in their past 17 games, and it's...Read more

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MLB Outsider - Does Firing the Manager Actually Ever Help?

By Kurt Evans | June 21, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Over on my personal Cubs blog, Cheap Plugs of the Apocalypse, I recently made the mistake of suggesting that the Cubs would be better off without Lou Piniella as manager. The result of this view was a firestorm of ANGER from Cub fans everywhere who love Lou. Let that be a note to you if you ever want to stir up controversy: all you need to do is talk smack about Ron Santo or Lou Piniella and Cub fans everywhere will be on you like mosquitoes on bannanas. Basically, the Con Firing argument appears to be this: it's not the manager's fault if the general manager fails to give him the tools necessary to build a winner. Besides, if the entire team plays really badly how can you blame the manager for that? It's not like he's the one out there swinging the bat as if he'd never held one...Read more

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MLB Outsider - Those Damned Ball Park Ads!

By Kurt Evans | June 12, 2009 | MVN Outsider

For those of you who don't know, I am a Cubs fan. That's right, I love losing! I follow a team that plays at Wrigley Field, which was almost named Keep Your Paws Off My Shrine Ballpark. Every year, the execs in the Tribune figure out a new way to milk ad dollars from those ivy-lined brick walls. This causes Cub fans to go slightly more nuts. How dare they put a rotating ad sign behind homeplate? How could they sell the naming rights to the bleachers! Under Armor ads in the ivy? An attrocity! Except I've probably seen thousands of Cub games on TV or in person and while my enjoyment has been soiled by things like blown saves and blow-outs I have never felt anger because of -- or even ever really noticed -- the advertisements.I'm not sure if you've noticed, but ads are everywhere. There are at...Read more

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