There’s an old adage about pitching winning championships. If that’s the case, the Cubs could be on their way to winning the Cactus League. Yesterday, Ryan Dempster put up good numbers against the Brewers.

Ryan Dempster was the latest Cubs starter to look impressive early, with three scoreless innings, while giving up two hits with two walks in an eventual 6-1 victory Saturday over theMilwaukee Brewers.

Over the first seven Cactus League games, Cubs starting pitchers have posted a combined 2.08 ERA. Of course, the starters have only thrown a combined 17 1/3 innings.

Way to harsh our buzz, man. I was going to ask if the Cactus League winner got an automatic bid in the wild-card play-in game. In addition to helping the Cubs beat the Brewers, Demspter brushed back former teammate Aramis Ramirez in the first.

The high-and-tight delivery came on the first pitch Dempster made to Ramirez. So was it some type of message?

“No it just got away,” Dempster said. “I’ve seen too many times if you leave it out over the plate what he does. I was just trying to go inside. Probably in the back of your mind you don’t want to hit him so you end up letting it go a little early.”

To whomever asked that question: I don’t think spring training is the traditional time for sending messages via high fastball.

» Continue reading “Cubs Sunday Headlines: Cubs Vying For Cactus League Championship”

I’ve gone from wishing Theo would talk to wishing Theo would stop talking.

Let me ‘splain.

Every time I think I have a handle on what the Cubs are trying to do, Theo says something that completely contradicts my understanding of their plan. And then, there’s the whole “Theo said x but really means y and is just trying to psych everyone out” angle. This makes writing about the Cubs hard.

I give you exhibit A. After a week of reports that the Cubs were shopping Matt Garza (which makes sense from a rebuilding standpoint), Theo says this:

But Cubs president Theo Epstein didn’t sound like someone who was in a hurry to deal his best starter for inventory.

“He is exactly the type of guy we’d like to build around,” Epstein said Thursday at Wrigley Field.

Okay then.

And what about the Pujols/Fielder rumors? Are the Cubs really looking to sign the biggest of the big free agents? Or are they just bluffing and trying to drive up their cost for everyone else?

Life was so much simpler when Jim Hendry was in charge. I KNEW what Jim Hendry wanted: Brian Roberts, a dozen donuts, and for everyone to go away and leave him alone. But Theo .  . Theo is an enigma . . wrapped in a riddle . .  wrapped in an argyle sweater.

» Continue reading “Cubs Friday Headlines: Sorting Through The Rumors”

This is the time of year I start to feel like a truffle pig, rooting around for any tiny bits of valuable information about the Cubs. We’ve got a few little bits of information today. We’ll start out with Tweetin’ John Heyman, who was busy mentioning Carlos Pena and Aramis Ramirez in tweets.

Cubs first baseman Carlos Pena is unlikely to accept the club’s arbitration offer, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.   Heyman writes that the Type B free agent should be able to land a multi-year deal after hitting .225/.357/.462 with 28 homers in 2011.

So everyone who didn’t like the prospect of Carlos Pena back at first shouldn’t worry about it, I guess. Before we get to Ramirez, there’s a bit about Mike Quade, who just loves managing so much that he couldn’t bear to be away from the game.

More from Christensen as he writes that before hiring Gene Glynn as their Triple-A skipper, the Twins spoke to recently dismissed Cubs manager Mike Quade, who was a top minor-league manager before landing the Cubs‘ job.  Quade wasn’t interested, as he’ll still be drawing a paycheck from the Cubs for 2012.

Oh, Mike. But enough of Quade, on to Ramirez. The market for him has been quiet so far, but things might be heating up. Take it away, John Heyman.

#tigers have inquired on aramis ramirez. Good fit. Would be major offensive upgrade.

Considering the alternative is Brandon Inge, I’d agree with Heyman.

» Continue reading “Cubs Monday Headlines: Rooting Like A Truffle Pig”

While you were all busy complaining that there was no Cubs news yesterday, Cubs news was being made all over . . well, the Midwest, if not Chicago.

First up, one day after announcing that they were pretty sure they were done interviewing managerial candidates, Theo and Jed pulled a fast one on all of us by interviewing Red Sox coach DeMarlo Hale. Jed interviewed Hale by telephone, as Hale and Theo go way back. Or at least back to Boston in 2006. So if you’re keeping track, we’re now up to Pete Mackanin, Dale Sveum, Mike Maddux, Sandy Alomar Jr., DeMarlo Hale and (maybe) Terry Francona.

At this rate, the team might have a mangers by the time Spring Training starts.

In other news, Carlos Zambrano made beat reporters all over Chicago green with envy by asking Theo out on a lunch date and being accepted. Oh, and I guess Jed was there, too:

“We met today at his request in Chicago,” Epstein said. “It went well. He expressed a strong desire to be a Cub and an even stronger desire to have a really good 2012 season. He’s in great shape. He’s working extremely hard. He’s working out twice a day.

“I told him that we would give him the right to earn his way back to being a Cub. Nothing will be given to him, but that he could earn his way back through very hard work this winter, through rebuilding relationships, man to man, and through some other steps that we discussed. We’re not welcoming him back unconditionally at all.”

I asked 670 The Score’s Matt Abbatacola via Twitter if he wanted to revise his declaration that there was “no way” Zambrano would be back with the Cubs in 2012, and Matt says he’s standing by his statement. Posturing to increase Z’s trade value or the real thing? Only time will tell.  But man, our starting rotation looks like a black hole without Z.

» Continue reading “Cubs Tuesday Headlines: Still Waters Run Deep”

Yesterday’s introduction of Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod can only further allow us to start piecing together what next year’s team looks like. We got some help during yesterday’s press conference, and it’s looking like Aramis Ramirez will not be back on the North Side next year.

During the press conference Tuesday to announce his inner circle, Theo Epstein addressed a question about Ramirez by saying he has been reading the “tea leaves” and it “seems likely” Aramis will not be back with the Cubs in 2012.

Epstein corroborated that by talking about Ramirez in the past tense as well.

And what about Carlos Zambrano?

“Answering that question without sitting down with Carlos or at least talking with him on the phone would be premature,” Epstein said. “It sounds like you’ve reached your conclusion. We need to go through a thorough process and reach our conclusion to determine what’s best for the Cubs.”

Any hints on what might become of Mike Quade?

“Mike is clearly a good baseball guy and we have a lot to process,” Epstein said. “We’re going to speak again (soon) and we hope to have a resolution on this matter shortly. I’d say certainly within a week.”

And why not ask a question about Ryne Sandberg while Quade is still the manager?

It was unclear if Quade was really interviewing for his job or just giving them dirt on the players they’ll inherit. Hoyer was asked about the possibility of Ryne Sandberg joining the staff in some capacity.

“As a manager, it’s a bridge we’ll cross at some point potentially. But at this point we’re focused on the meeting we had with Mike,” Hoyer said. “I know locally that’s something that’s exceptionally important, and it should be. He’s a legend here, but I probably don’t have enough information to comment accurately.”

» Continue reading “Chicago Cubs Wednesday Headlines: Troika Installed”

Things have been pretty up-in-the-air around the Chicago Cubs organization lately. New (first?) President of Baseball Operations, new General Manager, new Vice President of Scouting and Player Development, assorted other new vice presidents of things. While the front office shake up has been fun, let’s take a second to check out the state of the actual TEAM.

For those that missed all the news yesterday, the Cubs exercised their option onAramis Ramirez, who promptly voided the team option (forfeiting his $2 million buyout) and decided to take his chances in free agency. Given the current (really crappy) state of the team around him, it was highly unlikely the Cubs would have given Ramirez the multi-year deal he was looking for. And while I’ve really, REALLY enjoyed having a real big boy third baseman for the last 8 years, it appears that the time to say “Vaya Con Dios” to Aramis has arrived. And with it, the death of my dream to have an entire infield named after the Three Musketeers.

If the Cubs offer Ramirez arbitration (which I don’t think they should) and he declines it, the Cubs will get a supplemental draft pick.

Then there’s the fact that the Cubs declined the $3 million team option on Jeff Samardzija (which I LOVED). Okay, so it was a real no-brainer, given the fact that Samardzija hasn’t even come close to living up to the ridiculous contract he got out of Jim Hendy, but are you 100% positive that the guy who gave Koyie Hill $800k wouldn’t give Samardzija $3 million?  I’m not.

» Continue reading “Chicago Cubs Tuesday Headlines: The State of Your Team”

The Cubs yesterday exercised their option on the 2012 contract of Aramis Ramirez. It’s expected that Ramirez is going to decline his side of the deal and head into free agency. So why would the Cubs even bother? Supplemental draft pick, baby.

The Cubs exercised their $16MM option on Aramis Ramirez, but the slugging third baseman exercised a contractual right to void the option and forfeit his $2MM buyout, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (on Twitter).

In the past I would’ve thought, “Oh, great. A draft pick that will be squandered away.” Now I’m giddy at the prospect of an extra draft pick and who we might see in another 5 years that was made possible by Ramirez leaving.

» Continue reading “Chicago Cubs Monday Headlines: Happy Halloween”

A quick Google image search reveals that this is the look on Theo's face 90% of the time. Get used to it.

A lot of you have been expressing concern about the state of the Cubs’ agreement with Theo Epstein, given that there has been no official announcement from either the Cubs or the Red Sox. Let’s take a look at the state of the deal and what it means for the Cubs.

Multiple sources are reporting that the agreement between the Cubs and Epstein, believed to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 years for $15-20 million. What the Cubs will give the Red Sox as compensation for Epstein is still being worked out, though it appears the Red Sox would prefer cash as opposed to any Cubs prospects. Can’t really say I blame them.

Once the entire deal is in place, Major League Baseball must approve it, and as ESPN reports, MLB is concerned about the deal because it has far-reaching implications for how teams deal with front office transfers in the future. My sources tell me we can probably expect an official announcement any time between noon today and tomorrow evening, but no one really seems sure on the timetable.

Hilariously, I’ve also been told that, despite the in-depth investigative reporting of the guy at Starbucks, Theo was never IN Chicago. He claims the negotiations took place in NYC.

» Continue reading “Chicago Cubs Thursday Headlines: Where We Stand”

Hopefully you haven’t forgotten last week’s trashing of Aramis Ramirez by Bob Brenly.  Ramirez was as surprised as we were that Brenly took that opportunity to publicly go after him.

“This is the first negative thing that I’ve heard from anybody about my ability to produce on the baseball field,” Ramirez told ESPNChicago.com from his home in the Dominican Republic. “This is the first time in 8½ years in Chicago I’ve heard that. Everyone during my time with the Cubs has been great to me. And the fans are the best there, they supported me and the other players when we were good and when we were bad. But I’m surprised that Bob would say those things now.”

And remember Aramis’ farewell tour at the end of the year? He now says he’d love to stay in Chicago.

“I said it before, the Cubs are one of my top choices if they want me back.” Ramirez said. “I said this as well, that if they feel like they’re going to be competitive, then I hope they make an offer to us. I’ll see what they have in mind in the next few weeks.”

Color me confused, Aramis. This is what you said September 21:

“I went to the Cubs Convention in January because I knew this could be my last year here,” Ramirez said. “I had never been to the Cubs Convention before so I did it for the fans and how much I appreciate how much they did for me.”

I still think he’s out the door, but it’s odd that he’s now trying to strike a conciliatory note.

» Continue reading “Cubs Monday Headlines: Aramis Confused By Brenly”

Matt Garza was one of the consistently bright spots for the Cubs this year. After the trade that sent half the farm system to Tampa, I think we all needed  a good season from him. He finished up in fine style last night.

Garza ended the season with 198 innings pitched and 197 strikeouts with a 3.32 ERA. There’s no question he should have won 17 or 18 games. His teammates blew seven games after Garza left with a lead in 2011.

His other numbers on the season surpassed what he did in 2010 in Tampa, except for the 15 wins, as he earned his 10th for the Cubs on Tuesday night.

“It was good,” Garza said. “But I missed my goals by two innings and three punch-outs. It is what it is. I’m really just learning and breaking into what I’ve got. I’m just pretty excited about this offseason. I just look forward to strengthening what I can strengthen and get ready for next season.”

The Fonz hit a three-run go-ahead home run in the 8th to give Garza the win. Could today be his last game as a Cub?

“I don’t think about it,” Soriano said. “I have control over it. But if they want to trade me, I hope it’s to a contender. If not I want to be here and win here.”