Click on the link below to see another video of Joey Gathright.
Maybe the Cubs are 0-6 in the 2 years in the playoffs because they don't have a freak show player off the bench. That's definitely not it, but who knows.
 Baseball High JumpProfessional baseball player Joey Gathright jumps over the pitcher for the L.A. Dodgers. This is the best baseball play I have seen in a long time! |
If for no other reason, it was to impress the team on road trips and boost morale by doing things like this off the field:
According to Bruce Miles, the Cubs have added bench depth in the form of speedy outfielder, Joey Gathright. Gathright can play all outfield positions and is extremely fast.
Gathright is a lefthanded bat that could platoon with Reed Johnson in centerfield, or could be a bench player that sees time platooning with all positions in the outfield.
Gathright has a low career OBP of .328, but could be a great weapon for Lou Piniella off the bench in terms of speed. Ronny Cedeno & Felix Pie played that role last season.
In news I'm absolutely loving, Gordon Wittenmyer writes that the Cubs are making signing Milton Bradley their current #1 priority.
According to Paul Sullivan, the Cubs have signed Chad Guadin to a one-year deal.
The Cubs also offered arbitration Kevin Gregg, Michael Wuertz, Neal Cotts, Reed Johnson, and Ronny Cedeno.
According to Ken Rosenthal, and several other sources, Jim Hendry informed Kevin Towers this morning that the Cubs will no longer be involved in talks to acquire Jake Peavy. The Cubs were dealing from a position of strength, and Towers demands were getting to be excessive considering the Cubs current ownership situation, as well as the inability to find a taker for Jason Marquis.
The Cubs' rotation will still be formidable, and the team should benefit from not having to deal a decent core of young players. Sean Marshall was among them, and while he will likely be in the bullpen again in 2009, it should be a good thing in 2010 (or in 2009 with injuries, and lets be honest it's bound to happen) as he will be able around to take Marquis' spot.
Adding Peavy would have been great, but I think I speak for most Cubs fans when I say thank you to Jim Hendry for ending this somewhat quick. We don't need a repeat of the Brian Roberst saga from last year.
According to Mike DiGiovanna, the Cubs have been exploring the possibility of a trade with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Chone Figgins.
Nothing will be done, however, until Mark Tiexiera signs with a team. At that point, the Angels can re-evaluate what are their needs.
Figgins would potentially replace a traded Mark DeRosa as the super utility man for the Cubs. Figgins has played 6 positions in the past & he can also bat leadoff.
Wednesday, 8:30PM: According to Jayson Stark, the Cubs are not budging on the Padres further demands and the Peavy deal is no close to being done than it was yesterday.
The Cubs have also been getting numerous requests for Mark DeRosa since the rumor started floating around that he was available in a trade. I would hope the Cubs would at least consider what's out there in an available trade for DeRosa. If would be safe to assume that Mark DeRosa is at his peak level in terms of value, as he's been one of the Cubs MVPs in both of their Division Championships. If that many teams are fighting, I'd hope they would push to see what they could possibly get for someone so sought after.
Wednesday, 6:10PM: The Yankees tried to the ball rolling on a Jake Peavy deal of their own, but Buster Olney says talks went nowhere.
Wednesday, 10:55AM: Bought up by Tim Krasovic, Jake Peavy had said in the past that if the Yankees acquired CC Sabathia, they would look much more attactive. Well, CC is on the Yankees now, so will the Yankees make a push to get Peavy? The Yankees still have rotation wholes to fill, with Pettitte gone and Mike Mussina retiring.
Tuesday, 10:55PM: According to Paul Sullivan, Jason Marquis & Mark DeRosa are in the current Peavy deal that is on the table.
Crane Kenney says that Jim Hendry has the authority to add a big contract like Jake Peavy's, even without knowing who the next owner will be because there is room in their current budget.
Tuesday, 8:31PM: According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo, the only holdup of a Peavy deal is the Cubs getting rid of Jason Marquis.
Tuesday, 7:45PM: According to Corey Brock, GM Kevin Towers has said that the Peavy deal is closer to happening today than it was yesterday.
Tuesday, 6:31PM: According to Chuck Garfien of CSNChicago, the Cubs are back to being close to sealing a Peavy deal. No specifics were given on who is involved, just that it's close to happening.... again.
Tuesday, 2:30PM: According to Tim Brown & Gordon Edes, the price appears to be too steep according to the Cubs perspective.
GM Kevin Towers is still optimistic that a deal will get done.
Tuesday, 12:43PM: Jayson Stark of ESPN concurs with Ken Rosenthal that his Cubs sources are telling him that a Peavy deal isn't imminent despite what everyone else is saying.
Welcome to the Winter Meetings.
Tuesday, 12:16PM: According to Ken Rosenthal, the Cubs maintain that they are not close in a deal for Jake Peavy. The ownership question needs to be answered before a Peavy deal can be completed.
Rosenthal says that the Cubs could try to sign Randy Johnson if a Peavy deal does not happen.
According to Carrie Muskat (as reported by ESPN's Steve Phillips, the Peavy trade proposal reportedly on the team involves 3 teams.
- The Phillies would send either JA Happ or Carlos Carrasco plus Jason Donald to the Cubs for Mark DeRosa
- The Cubs would then send the 2 players picked up from the Phillies, but Jason Marquis, Josh Vitters, and Felix Pie
- The Cubs would get Jake Peavy from the Padres
According to Bruce Miles, the Cubs may bring Paul Bako into Spring camp as a non-roster invitee.
The Cubs backup right now is Koyie Hill. It would appear that the Henry Blanco era in Chicago is over. As a mentor to Geovany Soto, he was invaluable. Let's hope Soto was paying attention.
According to Carrie Muskat, the Cubs will not be dealing Mark DeRosa, despite the rumors of him going to the Phillies or the Twins.
Wednesday, 10:00AM: According to LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune, the Twins have inquired about Mark DeRosa in a possible trade. This trade would have facilitate the Peavy trade, as the Twins may have the pitching the Padres crave.
Tuesday, 1:05PM: According to Bruce Miles, a Mark DeRosa trade would be the classic case of selling high, something the Cubs have not been known to do with their players in the past. (Sosa, Farnsworth, Patterson, etc.)
Monday, 8:09PM: With the Phillies now a possibility as a 3rd party in a Peavy/Cubs trade, rumors now are circulating on what the Phillies could want in return. According to a source of Scott Miller of CBSSports.com, the Phillies have interest in 2nd baseman/super utility player Mark DeRosa.
In another long shot, the Cubs could send Jason Marquis to the Padres in a Peavy deal.
Wednesday, 9:45AM: According to Gordon Wittenmyer, the Cubs adamantly denied that Zambrano would be shopped if the Cubs acquired Peavy in a trade.
Tuesday, 3:19PM: According to John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus, there is a "crazy" rumor floating around that the Cubs would entertain offers for Carlos Zambrano is they acquire Jake Peavy in a trade.
The obvious benefit of trading Carlos Zambrano would be getting his contract off the books. Other than that, a trade of Big Z would be asinine. We'll see if this rumor gets legs or it's just a weak rumor.
Tuesday, 9:29PM: According to Chuck Garfien, GM Jim Hendry talked to 3-4 agents of left-handed bats. Garfien says that Hendry is in no hurry to sign anyone, but he'll have the field narrowed down by the end of the Winter Meetings.
Monday, 2:15PM: According to Jayson Stark, the Cubs are getting aggressive in searching for their left-handed bat. The names are the usuals (Dunn, Ibanez, Abreu, and Bradley), but Stark puts Ibanez & Abreu as the leaders. Jeremy Hermida is a long shot.
According to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star, GM Dayton Moore of the Kansas City Royals shot down any speculation that he is listening to offers from the Cubs on Mark Teahan or David DeJesus.
Moore claims that the price on David DeJesus will be high and he has no interest in trading Mark Teahan.
According to Carrie Muskat at MLB.com, the Cubs trainers were named trainers of the year by The Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society.
The parade is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
According to MLB.com, Kerry Wood is close to signing a 2 year deal (with a possible 3rd option year) with the Cleveland Indians.
As a huge fan of Kerry Wood, a deal like this would ensure that the Cubs would face him only in interleague play. (which is a series at Wrigley this year, June 19-21) Also, watching Wood close out games against the Sox would be an added bonus.
Tuesday, 1:15PM: According to Jayson Stark, a trade sending Jason Marquis to the Mets for Aaron Heilman has been discussed, but seems highly unlikely. The teams haven't come to an agreement on how much of the 2009 salary of Jason Marquis the Cubs would have to eat.
Monday, 7:00PM: According to Tony Renck of The Denver Post, the Rockies told the Cubs that they don't have the money to make a Jason Marquis deal happen. It could be their way of getting the Cubs to pay for more of the $9.875 million owed to him in 2009. The deal is considered a long shot.
Monday, 3:40PM: According to sources of Bruce Miles, there is nothing of substance to the Marquis-to-the-Rockies trade rumors.
Monday, 9:39AM: According to Tony Renck of The Denver Post, the Colorado Rockies have interest in acquiring Jason Marquis. No word on the possible specifics in the trade, but I'm sure the Cubs would have to pay some of his 2009 salary.
A Jason Marquis trade would free up some money to go after a lefthanded bat, a leadoff bat, or Jake Peavy.
According to Roch Kubatko, if the Baltimore Orioles are a part of the proposed Jake Peavy deal that's in the hands of Jim Hendry, it's news to them. Roch says that the Orioles have not agreed to trade anyone in such a deal.
Based on this, Mark DeRosa seems more likely in the deal going to the Phillies.
According to Jayson Stark, the Cubs are among 2 other teams who are the front runners to acquire Raul Ibanez.
The other two teams are the Philadelphia Phillies & the New York Mets.
According to the federal indictment against current (and most likely former) Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, Rod, among many other things, withheld state assistance for the Tribune Company in connection with the Cubs/Wrigley Field sale until the Tribune Company fired its editorial board. Apparently Rod didn't like what the editorial board had been saying about him. Wake up Rod, everybody has been saying that about you.
I guess we won't be seeing Rod singing the 7th inning stretch any time soon.
Tuesday, 10:30AM: Phil Rogers concurs with Tim Krasovic, the Peavy deal is only a matter of time at this point.
Monday, 9:45PM: According to Tim Krasovic, the Padres need an answer from the Cubs by the end of the week.
Ronny Cedeno, Michael Wuertz, Felix Pie, Jason Marquis, Angel Guzman, and/or Kevin Hart could be on the move to San Diego, Philadelphia, or Baltimore. Mark DeRosa & Josh Vitters could also be involved. GM Kevin Towers says that this is the most complicated trade negotiation in his 14 years as GM.
Monday, 9:30PM: Tim Krasovic of the Union-Tribune concurs with Corey Brock's news that GM Kevin Towers has found a trade and that it needs the Cubs approval at this point.
Mark DeRosa could be traded to San Diego, then to Philly. DeRosa would play 2nd base while Chase Utley is on the DL for the first few months.
Monday, 9:07PM: According to Corey Brock of MLB.com, the legwork for a Peavy to the Cubs deal is complete. Now, it's up to Jim Hendry to approve.
Up to 4 teams may be involved in this potential blockbuster.
According to Enrique Rojas of ESPN, the Cubs met with free agent outfielder Milton Bradley last night.
Bradley would fill in their left-handed power bat need. If signed, Milton Bradley would give Ozzie Guillen a run for his money for title of "craziest man" in Chicago baseball.
According to Roch Kubatko, the Baltimore Orioles still have interest in Felix Pie. A likely scenario for the Orioles acquiring Pie is in a 3 team deal that included Jake Peavy at this point.
The Orioles took bust Corey Patterson off the Cubs hands, are they trying to go 2-for-2?
According to John Hickey of the Seattle PI, Lou Piniella thinks that Raul Ibanez has a small chance of being pursued by the Cubs given the fact that he's not a great fielder and rarely plays rightfield anymore. Piniella said that he does not want to move poor fielding Alfonso Soriano from leftfield. It all comes down to the fact on whether or not the Cubs can convinced themselves that Raul Ibanez can play rightfield everyday.
Monday, 3:45pm: Ron Santo's reaction to being denied once again: "It's ridiculous."
Monday, 12:15pm: Poor Ron Santo. The Cubs former 3rd baseman great who seems to have the resume to warrant a call to the Hall of Fame was denied again this year, failing to get the votes to be elect by the Veteran's committee. The most famous Cubs player of all-time will continue to have to settle with being in the Cubs Walk of Fame & his #10 retired.
According to Ken Davidoff at Newsday, Ron fell 9 votes short of getting enshrined in the Hall.
According to Joel Sherman of the NY Post, the Padres will either deal Jake Peavy to the Cubs during the Winter Meetings or the Padres will open the season with Peavy on the roster.
According to Sherman and GM Kevin Towers, the Cubs would allow Peavy to keep his no-trade clause in his current deal. The Atlanta Braves would not allow this, one of the reasons why they were never able to work a deal for Peavy.
According to Ken Davidoff of Newsday, GM Kevin Towers says that the Cubs & Padres aren't close to a deal.
According to Bruce Miles, expect the Cubs to shop Ronny Cedeno at the Winter Meetings. The Cubs may end up non-tendering Ronny Cedeno later in the week at that deadline anyways, however.
According to Bruce Miles, the Cubs will not be dealing Mike Fontenot despite rumors that say otherwise. For a team that is trying to address their left-handed hitting woes, trading one of their only left-handed hitters would be the wrong move.
According to Bruce Miles, expect the Jake Peavy talk between the Cubs, Padres, and the possible 3rd teams to resume today in Las Vegas.
Miles also has heard that the Padres are concerned with the condition of Josh Vitters' wrist. Miles says that Jim Hendry usually gets the players he's really focused on and he wouldn't bet against the Cubs getting Peavy in a deal. The deal, however, will just take some time.
According to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com, the Cubs are interested in Rich Aurilia to play backup 3rd base & 1st base. The Cubs would only be interested in Ronny Cedeno and/or Mike Fontenot have been traded away in a Hermida/Peavy/etc. rumored deal.
According to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun-Times, the Cubs are still interested in acquiring via trade Jeremy Hermida from the Florida Marlins to fill in the void at left-handed power hitting outfielder. Apparently the Cubs are in a long line of clubs interest in acquiring Hermida.
Also, the Cubs are still interested in signing Milton Bradley, who declined salary arbitration last night from the Texas Rangers.
According to sources of Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun-Times, the Jake Peavy is going to get done.... eventually.
The Cubs will need to get a left-handed bat & find somebody to take Jason Marquis first.
While the Baltimore Orioles have been involved in rumors as the 3rd team in a Peavy deal, rumors are circulating that the Tampa Bay Rays may be the 3rd team involved. No specifics on what Tampa would receive or give up in such a deal.
A good read from Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald on the upcoming Winter Meetings in Las Vegas. Bruce runs down what you already know, but in greater detail.
Here, Carrie Muskat of Cubs.com runs down her preview of the Winter Meetings.
According to Jayson Stark of ESPN, Jake Peavy will not be traded during the upcoming Winter Meetings in Las Vegas.
A trade to the Cubs would need approval by the new owner and/or the Cubs would need to shave payroll (Jason Marquis trade?).
According to Chris DeLuca of the Sun-Times, brace yourself for another winter of Brian Roberts to the Cubs trade rumors.
According to Dan Graziano of The Star-Ledger, the Cubs had a Jason Marquis & cash for Aaron Heilman offer to the Mets and the Mets rejected it.
Dan Graziano says that the Mets believe that their current rotation is better without Jason Marquis and adding him would actually worsen their squad. Graziano says that the Mets are overrating their 2009 rotation big-time.
Throughout much of the winter speculation around the Hot Stove is that the Cubs payroll was to likely stay the same as last year and possibly need to be cut once new ownership took over this spring. However, according to Gordon Wittenmyer in today's Sun-Times, CEO Crane Kenney has stated that the payroll will actually be north of $140 million.
While Kenney doesn't give a definite ceiling for 2009, it should leave enough room to squeeze Jake Peavy and a left-handed bat onto the roster should Jim Hendry find a home for Jason Marquis and at least half of his salary. "Insiders" claim the Cubs are willing to eat up to as much as $4 million of Marquis' $9.875 million remaining on the three year deal he signed two years ago.
Wittenmeyer also points out what most Cubs fans don't seem to grasp. While making the deal for Peavy and making payroll in 2009 is possible, Peavy and his 4-year $63 million deal (5yr/$81 million with option year)will make things tough on the new owners with big long-term deals for several players already in place.
Cubs Payroll Actually Rising? (suntimes.com)
As Tim Krasovic writes, the likelihood of Jake Peavy coming to the Cubs via trade continues to grow as the Cubs are finding more available for a lefthanded hitter and a starting pitcher.
Sure, but no money for Kerry Wood.
Hall of Fame-to-be Greg Maddux will be announcing his official retirement on Monday.
He should be going into the Hall of Fame with a Chicago Cubs cap, but he'll most likely be going in with an Atlanta Braves hat. Not re-signing Greg Maddux will go down as one of the worst moves ever made by Chicago Cubs management. Even to this day, it's still hard to come to terms with what could have been.
Ken Rosenthal runs down the list of potential left handed bats for the Cubs, & then quickly crossed off all of them based on availability & talent.
But Ken mentions Milton Bradley as a possibility, a day after Bruce Miles mentions it.
According to Tim Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the trade of Khalil Greene to the St. Louis Cardinals increases the chance, albeit small, that the Padres will retain Jake Peavy for 2009 and not trade him.
Tim Krasovic also mentions that the Cubs & Padres have made progress in their talks with a 5-for-1 deal in the works, but the Cubs are holding things up with the pending sale of the team still going on and payroll issues.
Ken Rosenthal points out that a Jason Marquis trade could free up the payroll issues to acquire Jake Peavy in a deal.
According to Bruce Miles, the trade of Javier Vazquez to the Braves could actually help the Cubs move Jason Marquis. With Javier Vazquez traded, the market for a 4th or 5th starter who is Major League ready and logs over 200 innings a season shrinks, giving the Cubs the ability to aggressively shop Marquis now.
According to Bruce Miles, the Cubs are still in the hunt for Jake Peavy. He also mentions that the Cubs are willing to wait. Which is good, because Kevin Towers is definitely taking his time.
Bruce Miles of the Chicago Daily Herald wonders why the Cubs don't go after signing Milton Bradley to play rightfield.
On the plus side, Bradley is lefthanded, can hit with power, can play rightfield, and led the AL in OBP last season. Bradley will also be cheaper, according to Miles, than Abreu & Ibanez.
On the down side, Milton Bradley could legitimately be insane. How will he handle the moronic part of the Cubs fan base that boos everything that isn't a home run? How will he handle the Chicago media, a group that will ask about 100 years everyday?
The past 2 years, the Cubs have been soft in the playoffs. Why not sign the guy that could fulfill every need current need & also bring in a "tough" guy? We say bring him in. He won't have to play a 162 game rightfield, so worries about durability won't be an issue. If the Cubs keep Mike Fontenot on the roster and don't end up trading him, Mark DeRosa can play right field to keep Bradley fresh.
Bob Howry has signed a 1 year deal with the San Francisco Giants. The faithful at Wrigley Field will have to find a new reliever to boo at every waking moment with this signing.
According to MLB.com, the Cubs received $1,534,779.83 in playoff pool money for making it to the NLDS and losing in 3 straight games.
According to Gordon Wittenmyer, the Cubs are not offering Kerry Wood arbitration.
Kerry Wood is a Type A Free Agent, meaning the Cubs would have received 2 draft picks if Kerry Wood signed with a different team had they offered him arbitration. That will not happen now, along with the fact that Kerry Wood will not be coming back now.
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