Odds & Ends: Robinson, Benitez, Lee

I remember Armando mostly as a horrible closer for the Orioles. He let up the HR to Jeffrey Maier.

Gammons says Lee probably won't be traded. So in all likelihood, Lee will end up....getting traded. No one has been worse than Gammons over the last few years regarding hyperbole and inaccuracies.

What? Bradley having issues with his on-field antics and clubhouse demeanor. I don't buy it (sarcasm).

Forget the black cat, forget the billy goat, forget Bartman, Milton Bradley is the new curse of the Cubs.

“After a few weeks with the Cubs, I'm already sick of Bradley”

I agree, but I don’t think it’s a surprise at all though. We signed a known trouble maker who is on his 7th team in 8 years (8th if you count the few hours with the Royals) where all but 1 of them released, traded or let him go to free agency with a smile on their face because of his behavior issues. Now he is given a guaranteed big contract (surprise, the first of his career) and he seemingly gives less effort with more attitude. Makes sense to me.

That said, it would have been nice if he could have acted like an adult for at least a month or two. But I guess that is too much to ask of Bradley. Instead, two weeks into his first season, he gets called into the managers office because of his issues. Couple that with only a single hit and his already being on a pace to play in just 104 games. So far, it sure isn’t looking good for the next two to three years.

"I love the Bradley signing for the Cubs. I won't give up on him until the end of the year or so.

He's still a HUGE upgrade over Hoffpauir and Johnson when he's healthy."

You are looking at it the wrong way though. Yes, he is an upgrade over in-house options, but he didnt come from in-house himself. So you cant compare him to in-house options, you must compare him to other players available at the time. At the time, we could have had players like Dunn, Abreu, Burrell and Ibanez for the same, or less, money. We could have also signed a player like Griffey or Anderson with next to no commitment for a fraction of the dollar cost. We know he is almost a guarantee to play fewer games then the first options, and is probably projected to play in the ballpark of the second group. Now add in the attitude factor, as he is the only on the list who is said to be a negative personality where the others are all a positive in this area. Ability is the only thing which could be a saving grace for the contract at all, but can we really expect ability that much greater then the others to warrant dealing with the other factors while still paying him the huge amount? The answer to that is no, and there is no getting around that.

He will probably produce a solid line for the club. He may play in a semi-respectable amount of games. He will not bring a positive attitude. These are fairly sure things on each count. And we could have done better for the amount.

one can only imagine what goes on in a closed door meeting between Pinella and Bradley. i think Cub fans should all be excited that there were no stabbings or heart attacks.

we should have gotten Abreu.. a one year deal with a club option, he has speed too.

"tick...tick...tick..."

ha, classic.

"one can only imagine what goes on in a closed door meeting between Pinella and Bradley."

That's a good point.. I mean, to some extent you might be able to think that Lou could understand where he is coming from, because he knows what's it's like to be... well, insane, I guess.

In reality though, I think it is pretty clear that they aren't going to get along. Bradley is the type of guy who gets frustrated and starts to pout and be lazy. Lou is not going to like that at all.

In all fairness to Milton though, he has 30 PA's in the Cubs first 14 games.. That has surpassed my expectations.

My god, can you think of anything more un-appetizing than to be Bud Selig's advisor? Maybe someone will talk some sense into that crazy bastard...well, probably not.

Why would you care RoyOswaldOnSteroids? Your Astros aren't going anywhere but last place. Talk about bad moves putting a club together, ouch.

Steroidfree, you talk about Soriano, Fukudome, and Bradley. Then you bring up the 90's, makes sense....I guess. Most teams have played 15 games. Man, its practically playoff time. Christ, at about game number 155 then talk about people who arent producing. Which you may be right, maybe they wont produce. Or Soriano could go off for 40hr and 95rbi. Fukudome could hit .320. You have no idea so sit back and watch the season. Enjoy your Astros and stop predicting the future Miss Cleo.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Cubs release Bradley by the end of next year and eat that contract. Bradley's signing should be the kind of thing that gets a GM canned. Thirty million? My God...

You are looking at it the wrong way though. Yes, he is an upgrade over in-house options, but he didnt come from in-house himself. So you cant compare him to in-house options, you must compare him to other players available at the time. At the time, we could have had players like Dunn, Abreu, Burrell and Ibanez for the same, or less, money. We could have also signed a player like Griffey or Anderson with next to no commitment for a fraction of the dollar cost. We know he is almost a guarantee to play fewer games then the first options, and is probably projected to play in the ballpark of the second group. Now add in the attitude factor, as he is the only on the list who is said to be a negative personality where the others are all a positive in this area. Ability is the only thing which could be a saving grace for the contract at all, but can we really expect ability that much greater then the others to warrant dealing with the other factors while still paying him the huge amount? The answer to that is no, and there is no getting around that.

He will probably produce a solid line for the club. He may play in a semi-respectable amount of games. He will not bring a positive attitude. These are fairly sure things on each count. And we could have done better for the amount.

Posted by: SuzysMan | April 23, 2009 at 05:15 PM
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OK going into the offseason we needed lefthanded power hitter who could play center or right field (as Soriano has no position other than LF). Dunn - do you really want him in RF in Wrigley? Abreu - no power. Burrell - another righthanded bat - not what we needed, next! Ibanez - I might grant you him, but he's 37 and you don't give 3 year contracts to 37 year old outfielders. Griffey. Are you kidding? Anderson - same deal. Turns 37 this year, career OBP of .327, hasn't hit for power since 2003.

Face facts - Milton Bradley was the only available player that filled our specific needs.

To answer the questions.

Yes, I want Dunn in RF. His D wont be great, but he will play all the time and absolutly pound the ball. Besides, who knows how well Bradley will play RF anyway considering he has been a DH the last year with a combined 78 games in the outfield the last two years. Oh, and Dunn is cheaper and doesn’t come with the baggage.

Abreu no power? He hit 20 HR, 4 3B and 39 2B last year. Compare that to 22 HR, 1 3B and 32 2B when Bradley managed to be healthy enough to DH for the Rangers. Really, Abreu had about the same XBH totals as Derrek Lee, Geovany Soto and Mark DeRosa so its not like he is completely without power. He might not have the huge SLG, Oh, and Abreu is cheaper and doesn’t come with the baggage.

Really, who cares that Burrell is right handed? He hits LH pitching better then right, and still generally posts a .880 or higher OPS vs RH – just like Bradley. I don’t care what side of the plate the hit from as much as I care about what they do against pitchers, both left and right. Burrell would have be a great fit here. Oh, and Burrell is cheaper and doesn’t come with the baggage.

Ibanez, mixed about. If we had to give him what Philly did then I would be on the fence a bit. But honestly, do you think Bradley at 31 will play more games then Raul at 37? I would have to say its safe to assume, even with his age, that Ibanez will play more games the next three years. Oh, and he doesn’t come with the baggage.

Am I kidding you about Griffey? No, no I am not. You are talking 2 million plus incentives on a one year deal to give yourself a stop-gap with a positive influence. Will his production be as high as we might get from Bradley? No, probably not. Junior will probably play more games though (he has each of the last 4 years), and the 28 million we saved could be spend to make other moves (or non-moves, like selling DeRosa for nothing).

Same exact thing goes for Anderson.

Again, Bradley was the worst option possible when factoring cost, playing time, issues and ability. The improvement he *might* provide with his bat doesn’t begin to make up for the issues, inability to take the field and dollar amount he will make.

SuzysMan-

I totally agree on Adam Dunn.

I would've much rather have seen him in right field, especially when you consider that we're trotting Micah Hoffpaiur out there sometimes now.

Dunn would've made our lineup freaking terrifying, and I think it's definitely gotten to the point where he's underrated.

Dunn is cheaper, more durable, and has shown better character throughout his career, when compared to Bradley.

Dunn over Bradley would've been a no-brainer to me, if I was running the Cubs.

Sorry scribbletone, I agree with you completely. Dunn > Bradley howevaaaaaaaa I think the Astros will nab him in two years. If we can somehow deal Carlos Lee like we need to, Dunn would take a discount to play with us. You should have seen him talking to our media around the trade deadline last year. If he keeps launching long balls, he could easily get to 500 in Houston. Dealing Carlos is a long shot though. I think he automatically gets a full no trade soon just for his amount of experience, So Tim Purpura is an idiot for making conditions where he has to name 6 teams or whatever, Well Tim Purpura, we can't trade him. I want your head. I like Adam Dunn though for Left Field in Houston. 81 of his games would be easier because of the Crawford Boxes. I have pretty good seats tonight. I'm just excited to see Gallardo and Paulinos fastball. I hope I'm nowhere near Drayton or George Bush for that matter LOL

Yes, I want Dunn in RF. His D wont be great, but he will play all the time and absolutly pound the ball. Besides, who knows how well Bradley will play RF anyway considering he has been a DH the last year with a combined 78 games in the outfield the last two years. Oh, and Dunn is cheaper and doesn’t come with the baggage.''

I agree that Dunn is much better than Bradley(I remember him in LA. He did get us Ethier though... lol). Anyways, Dunn and Bradleys contracts are the same unless Bradley plays 'X' number of games(i think 120), then the 3rd yr is guarrented.

""LOL Cub fans expectations are hilarious. I guess when you've been losing forever, you're more inclined to look like an ass."

No, Roy, I think it is when you are a complete dumb ass, you're more inclined to look like an ass, as you have done wonders in demonstrating for us.

“75?!?!?! damn. that deal is even worse than i thought. I could play 75 games, and i havent played much since elementary school”

Yeah, tell me about it. And bah! He tallies another appearance tonight for seeing five pitches, taking the bat off his shoulder only once (which he looked like 5 mins late on that lolly-pop down the middle of the pipe, but oh well), walking to first and then being pulled for a pinch runner.

nrmax,

I'm sure you sat there for 45 minutes compiling that one.