Carlos Pena has been claimed off of waivers by an unknown team. Here’s the latest on the Cubs, starting with an update on their first baseman…
- The Cubs are likely to pull Pena back off of waivers, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). They did not get good offers for Pena in July.
- Cubs scouting director Tim Wilken told Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com that he didn't know Jim Hendry had been fired until the day the Cubs announced their decision. Wilken and Hendry played baseball as teenagers and Hendry brought his friend to the Cubs years later.
- MLB executives explained to ESPN.com's Buster Olney that the Cubs' GM job is an opportunity with enormous potential. Olney suggests the Cubs could consider the likes of Brian Cashman, Billy Beane, Theo Epstein and Andrew Friedman for the opening, though it's not yet clear who they're targeting.
- Peter Gammons said on WEEI's Mut & Merloni show that he thinks Epstein would have interest in the Cubs' job. Interest doesn't mean it's time for Red Sox fans to get worried, though. Jerry Spar of WEEI.com has the details from Gammons.
- Alfonso Soriano told Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes that he doesn't regret signing a free agent deal with the Cubs, even though the last three years have been disappointing for the team (link in Spanish).
Any possibility it could be the Rays?
I’m no Cub fan, but couldnt the disappointment begin with Sori’s performance.
It never ceases to amaze me how delusional professional athletes can be at times.
of course he’s not disappointed he got straight PAID!
Why would Soriano regret signing a team crippling contract, it’s not player crippling. That’s a dumb question.
Because he’s been playing for a bad team. The money goes a long way, but players like to win, too.
I’d like to one day believe that.
see: jered weaver
See: 95 percent of free agents.
i see them behaving as if money is their top priority, not their sole priority
Weavers a good example.. halladay is a great example
3/60 extension for the best pitcher in baseball?? its ridiculous..
If he played well enough to earn the $17M/year he was awarded by the contract, the comment would make sense. Until then, it is a failure by him to understand cause and effect. His play being a large cause of the Cubs not winning.
What is crazy is that even now, making a comment like that shows he somehow thinks the Cubs still owe him something, but is gracious enough to let it pass. What a magnificent person.
Of course they want to win, that’s why Jayson Werth signed with the Nationals. He knew it gave him the best chance to win right away.
it’s a 7 year contract and the nationals’ future is bright. there’s something to be said for wanting to be part of turning a team into a winner instead of joining a perennial contender (for less money, even) who will probably win with or without you
pppfffffffff………………………lmao
Can someone explain to my why Epstein would even consider leaving Boston? Other than his contract is due to expire? And while you’re at it, explain why Boston wouldn’t match any other offer made to him?
Totally agree, why would Epstein leave. I just dont understand why any one of those four would want this job. The Cubs are a team that simply doesnt know how to win. Great city, historic stadium, but career suicide. Go to a Cubs home game, there isnt an atmosphere of expected winning and it eventually gets to the players. 90% of Cub fans dont expect to see their team win, they just go because its basically one of the “hotspots” of Chicago. I dont mean to offend Cub fans because the ones who are reading this are the real fans.
See the arguments below, imagine being the GM that brings a world series win to the Cubs… now imagine if it was the guy who brought the world series win to Boston.
You are talking about the past 3 years. In 2008 the cubs fans basically expected the team to win nearly daily especially at home. You are not seeing the big picture here with the GM discussion either.
I think some people need to ask themselves this question: What is there for Theo Epstein to do with the Red Sox? He’s won twice and has them as a perennial powerhouse. If he gets offered more money and the title of Team President/General Manager, why not try to go to the Cubs and win a World Series (arguably the most coveted accomplishment in all of sports)?
He would be a sure-fire first ballot HOF Executive if he were to get BOTH the Red Sox and then the Cubs World Series Championships. That would be a hell of an accomplishment!
And that is my point. He goes from borderline legend/HOF caliber GM to arguably the best GM of all time.
How is this guy only borderline legend? Who can be considered a better GM in baseball right now? Do you really think he would just get bored of controlling an AL East powerhouse year after year, always fighting amidst one of the best baseball rivalries? The Cubs have a good city, a sizable payroll, and a terrible ballpark to offer. Sure, he could go there, finally win that elusive World Series, and be proclaimed the “best” GM ever. But wouldn’t it be more impressive (and more of a personal challenge) to go to a worse team with a small payroll? So he possibly wins the Cubs a WS. Psh. He’s finishing a job that countless men before him should’ve accomplished already.
That’s his point. Not talking about right now, talking about he could become the best of all time. Breaking the curse of the Red Sox, the break the curse of the Cubs? He would easily be known as the best ever.
And Wrigley a terrible ballpark? Really?
Its much easier to win the WS with the Cubs’ payroll than it is with the Marlins’. What I’m saying is, there is no curse. The Cubs have just hired poorly in the front office – hence the reason for their on-the-field failures. Some GMs know how to make their available money work best for them, and Epstein is one of them. Yes, he could come to Chicago and potentially win them a WS. Of course, has anyone considered how much heat he would get if he DIDN’T? Talk about a town that can turn on you real quick. To come into Chicago with that much hype, with that big of a payroll – I’m guessing fans would give him a 3-year leash. Ownership might be able to wait 5. The media would give him about 6 months. No thanks.
And let’s be honest. Wrigley’s a dump. Come on. I can smell a Cubs fan from miles away.
Wrigley is what Fenway is. Nobody is going there for the amenities and modern feel of the parks. There’s a reason Wrigley is the #1 tourist attraction in Chicago. Wrigley IS baseball…always has been. And when they do win a World Series, it will be the largest, most celebrated, most watched championship in the history of American sports. No other team will matter….no other championship will matter and it will be talked about for years.
No offense, but that is probably THE MOST over-exaggerated homerism I’ve ever read in the comments on this website.
I think that you are that huge HOMER in that debate dude. The only thing that I smell now is the B.S. coming outta your mouth when talking about this subject. Wrigley field is the most extremely old and extremely loved ball park in all of baseball, and it happens to be 1 of the most beautiful ball parks in america.
Wrigley is not the oldest, Fenway is. And “most loved” is 100% subjective, but NBC Sports, The New York Times, and Forbes all rank Fenway higher than Wrigley (so does bleacher report, but they hardly count for anything). But again which one is “better” is based completely on opinion, so you can think whichever one you want is better, but that doesn’t make it a fact for everyone else.
I know that wrigley isnt the oldest ball park. Fenway is definetly 1 of the top 2 ball parks in america, but I as well as many others think that the designer of the ball park must have been on drugs to make the outfield wall that messed up. But it is better to be in the top 2 no matter what.
1 of top 2 ball parks in America? Basically you rank Wrigley 1, and Fenway 2. What OF wall are you referring to? The Monstah? If so, it was added later.
Fenway has always had a high wall in left field, but it had to because Lansdowne was right there, and it has changed a lot over the years (it originally had “Duffy’s cliff” in front of it, for example).
“Wrigley field is the most extremely old” is why I mentioned Wrigley not being the oldest.
The green monster wasn’t put there just for the heck of it, it had to be there because of Lansdowne street.
Exactly. Winning with the Cubs goes beyond the normal perception of what winning is. You literally will become a God if you win in Chicago. And the people of Chicago know that Epstein walked into a similar situation in Boston, so they’d deservedly have extremely high expectations.
I’ll agree that Wrigley probably is a top tourist attraction in Chicago, perhaps even #1. And I’m not dissing Wrigley. But I’d put it a little differently. Wrigley is what Fenway WAS. Fenway has undergone major upgrades and renovations, that IIRC Wrigley has not had the benefit of having. The Cubs need to upgrade and renovate Wrigley. It’s entirely possible to gain a lot of the nice things that modern parks have to offer if you upgrade an old park. it was done with Fenway, and can be done with Wrigley.
I’m sorry, but this is seriously over the top regarding the Cubs and a WS victory.
It will be no bigger than the Red Sox winning the WS. Maybe not even as big, because a) the Red Sox had to come back from an 0-3 deficit in the ALCS against their most hated rival, The Yankees, and b) the Red Sox had had perhaps an even more heartbreaking WS drought because they’d come so close to winning a WS on a number of occasions only to fail on the brink of success.
“I’m sorry, but this is seriously over the top regarding the Cubs and a WS victory. It will be no bigger than the Red Sox winning the WS.”
Really did the red sox go over 104 years without a world series victory.
no only about 90… I guess its only a big deal after 100 ?
The World Cup asks for you to reconsider.
at least Theo is young enough to still be around when the Cubs’ farm system starts paying dividends. i think they are on target for 2025
As a Sox fan I would absolutely hate it if Theo left the Sox, but I completely understand why he would do it. To be the GM who brought both the Red Sox and the Cubs an end to their respective title droughts would be unparalleled. The question becomes who would replace Theo with the Sox?
Cherington?
Probably Ben Cherington. They’d likely hire from within.
They might go after a big name, but I doubt it. Though one funny possibility is Cashman.
But yeah, I think they’d rather someone who’d continue Theo’s agenda so Cherington would be the most likely.
That would be funny pretty funny.
beane lurves the NESV fellas
Jim Hendry…………………………..JK
I would say dump Pena’s $5M+ remaining salary on the Yankees and spill that into signing an amateur FA- how is this a move that isn’t even being considered? We can’t promote someone or shove Baker over there for the last month of the season? Don’t get me wrong, I like Pena and wouldn’t mind seeing him back on the North Side next summer, but at this point I say dump whatever you can and sink every additional saved dollar into the farm. Aramis, Pena, Grabow, Dewitt, and even Byrd. They’re all solid players but can all be replaced quite easily with the exception of Aramis, but we don’t want him back anyways. We’re basically keeping AVERAGE ballplayers around to WORSEN our draft pick while we’re in a REBUILDING STAGE.
Why doesn’t management see this? I FEEL LIKE I’M TAKING CRAZY PILLS!