Cubs Rumors

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Fusco, Thome, Cubs, Jeter

By Mike Axisa | September 17, 2010 at 12:36pm CDT

On this date in 1998, former New York Highlander and St. Louis Brown Red Hoff passed away. At 107 years, four months, and nine days old, the left-handed pitcher had the longest life span of any player in Major League history, out-living his closest competition by more than five years. He pitched to a 2.49 ERA in 83 innings from 1911-1915, but never played after serving in World War I.

Here are a few interesting links from around the blogosphere…

Phoul Balls interviewed Low-A Greenville manager and former big leaguer Billy McMillon.
SPANdemonium chatted with Greg Schaum about the Royals' farm system, arguably the best in baseball (well, it's not really all that arguable, it is the best).
U.S.S. Mariner chimes in on the Carmen Fusco firing in the wake of the Josh Lueke fallout.
Prospect Insider looks back at the trades Jack Zduriencik made during his first year as Mariners GM.
Pine Tar And Pocket Protectors examines if Jim Thome was the best signing of the offseason.
The Few, The Proud, The Braves compares Brian McCann to David Ross.
SDSports.net wonders if Luis Durango has a future with the Padres.
Cubs Pack projects Chicago's 2011 payroll.
Yankeeist asks what kind of contract Derek Jeter will get next season.
The Nats Blog looks at Adam Dunn's place among the best home run hitters in history.
The Hardball Times matches up each of the 30 teams with a character from The Simpsons.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Zambrano Repeats Retirement Plans

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | September 16, 2010 at 8:46am CDT

Carlos Zambrano repeated that he intends to retire once his current contract expires. He told reporters, including Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, that he will retire after 2012 or 2013 when his contract is up. As Zambrano said last summer, he wants to spend more time with his family.

"Believe me, baseball takes a lot of time from us," Zambrano said. "So I think, depending on what happens in my career, I think this will be the last contract."

Zambrano's contract calls for a $17.875MM salary in 2011 and an $18MM salary in 2012. A 2013 option for $19.25MM can vest depending on health and Cy Young votes. When Zambrano was placed on the restricted list following his dugout tirade earlier in the year, he was pitching poorly, but he has rebounded with a strong second half. The 29-year-old has a 1.81 ERA since his return, despite his usual high walk rate.

Odds & Ends: Rollins, Nady, La Russa, Konerko

By Luke Adams 2 | September 15, 2010 at 9:22pm CDT

Links for Wednesday night, as Kyle Drabek takes a loss in his first major league start….

MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reminds us that Jimmy Rollins earned ten-and-five rights last week.
Xavier Nady isn't sure whether he'll be back in Chicago next year, but he loves the organization and the fans, according to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.
One person who definitely won't be wearing a Cubs uniform in 2011? Tony La Russa. The Cardinals' skipper ruled out the possibility of managing the Cubs next season, writes Matthew Leach of MLB.com.
Paul Konerko "deserves to be back here and paid the right way" next year, Gordon Beckham tells MLB.com's Scott Merkin.

Fredi Gonzalez Turns Down Interview For Cubs’ Managerial Opening

By Mark Polishuk | September 14, 2010 at 7:06pm CDT

Former Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez has declined an interview with the Cubs about their open manager's position, reports Fanhouse's John Hickey. The fact that Gonzalez would turn down even a simple interview about a high-profile job will surely add to the speculation that he is Bobby Cox's heir apparent in Atlanta next season; Hickey calls Gonzalez "the extreme frontrunner" to be the next Braves manager.

Gonzalez was reportedly Chicago GM Jim Hendry's top choice to lead the Cubs next season, but several other major names have also been mentioned in connection to the Cubs job, most notably Ryne Sandberg and (if the Yankees don't retain him) Joe Girardi. The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan provides a quick recap of the candidates known to be in line for interviews, such as Pat Listach, Bob Melvin and interim Cubs manager Mike Quade. Former Cleveland manager Eric Wedge has already interviewed for the job.

Odds & Ends: D’Backs, Youkilis, Mets, Cubs

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | September 14, 2010 at 4:40pm CDT

Links for Tuesday, 16 years after the Giants signed Yorvit Torrealba as an amateur free agent. Torrealba, a longtime Rockie, is a key part of the Padres team that's barely holding off San Francisco and Colorado.

Chase Gharrity of Baseball Prospectus explains that relievers such as Randy Choate and Carlos Villanueva could help the D'Backs in 2011.
Kevin Youkilis told Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com that he's willing to play first or third in 2011.
Ed Price of AOL FanHouse confirms that Omar Minaya is likely out as Mets GM after the season. The Mets are likely to bring in an experienced GM, instead of promoting assistant GM John Ricco.
The front office isn't the only unpredictable part of the 2011 Mets. Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog doesn't think anyone but David Wright, Jason Bay, Johan Santana, Jon Niese and Mike Pelfrey have guaranteed spots on next year's team.
The Cubs will likely interview former Diamondbacks skipper Bob Melvin for their managerial job, according to ESPN.com’s Tim Kurkjian.

Aramis Ramirez “Staying” In Chicago

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | September 14, 2010 at 8:24am CDT

Aramis Ramirez will be back in Chicago next year. The third baseman had suggested he might not return, but he told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times on Monday that he’s not considering opting out of his contract.

''I'm staying here,'' he said. ''Put it that way.''

Ramirez has a 2011 player option for $14.6MM and the Cubs will have to pay him $2MM more even if they buy him out in 2012. That's a lot of money, likely more than Ramirez would be able to find as a free agent, but the Cubs are getting a player who has recovered from a slow start to hit well in the second half. Ramirez had a .550 OPS heading into July, but has since posted a .940 mark and now has 22 home runs in total.

Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Pirates, Cubs

By Zachary Links | September 12, 2010 at 6:28pm CDT

Links for Sunday night as the Braves get ready to host the Cardinals..

Both Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre are mashing as they head into free agency, writes ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes.
As he evaluates players and prepares for what could be a busy offseason, Bucs GM Neal Huntington says he's happy with what he sees, says Jeff Wallner for MLB.com.
Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald writes that while Cubs interim manager Mike Quade doesn't identify himself as a sabermetrician, he does believe in using numbers to help him make informed decisions.
Marc Hulet of Fangraphs reviewed the top prospects in the NL Central.

Poll: Should The Cubs Keep Zambrano?

By Zachary Links | September 12, 2010 at 4:06pm CDT

Since returning to the starting rotation on August 9th, Carlos Zambrano has shown flashes of what made him one of baseball's elite pitchers. In seven starts, Big Z has an ERA of 1.60 with 7.8 K/9, though two walk-heavy games have left him with a 5.0 BB/9 rate in that stretch. Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com was in the locker room after his latest strong outing on Friday against Milwaukee when Zambrano was asked about the possibility of being traded this winter.

“I don’t want to talk about that,” the 29-year-old said. “I feel happy, I love this team and I want to stay here. I want to stay here the rest of my contract. No more trade talk.”

The righthander is owed almost $36MM over the next two seasons and has a vesting player option worth $19.25MM for 2013. Even though the Cubs have been hoping that Zambrano would restore his value so that they can dump his contract, they obviously can't expect much in return for him.

Should the Cubs keep Zambrano?

Click here to take the poll, and here to view the results.

Odds & Ends: Backe, Ellis, Crisp, Macha, Holliday

By Mike Axisa | September 11, 2010 at 9:08pm CDT

Some links to check out as the Rockies try to win their ninth straight…

Astros Senior Director of Social Media Alyson Footer tweets that Brandon Backe is working out and hopes to throw for scouts this winter with the idea of getting an invite to Spring Training with a team next year. Backe hasn't appeared in a big league game since last June.
Billy Beane told MLB.com's Jane Lee that the decisions on the 2011 options for Mark Ellis and Coco Crisp likely won't be made until after the season (Twitter link).
Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel reports that the Brewers and Ken Macha have yet to discuss the manager's club option for next season.
Matt Holliday volunteered to move to right field after the Cardinals traded Ryan Ludwick according to FoxSportsMidwest.com's B.J. Rains. The idea was to the give the team the flexibility to pursue a player limited to left field if the opportunity presented itself.
Andy Martino of the New York Daily News doesn't agree with the report earlier today that John Ricco is out of contention to take over as the Mets' general manager if Omar Minaya is removed from the role.
The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham says that Theo Epstein and Brian Cashman might be celebrating the "best deal they never made" — trading for Johan Santana — following the announcement that he requires shoulder surgery.
Edwin Rodriguez loves managing the Marlins and hopes they factor him into their search for a permanent candidate this offseason, writes Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post.
ESPN's Buster Olney says the Diamondbacks aren't going to spend a ton of money on their next general manager, but they will pay Kevin Towers what is needed if they decide he's their guy (Twitter links). Olney says the team is likely to decide on their next GM within the next couple of weeks.
The Phillies have traded "over 20 players" from their farm system over their last four years according to assistant GM Chuck Lamar, but Bob Brookover of The Philadelphia Inquirer says the team's minor league system is still in good shape. Keep in mind that they've traded for Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, and Roy Oswalt within the last 14 months.
Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune lists nine traits the Cubs' next manager should have.

Aramis Ramirez Undecided About 2011 Option

By Mike Axisa | September 11, 2010 at 6:28pm CDT

Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez is in the middle of his worst full season as a big leaguer, but that hasn't been enough to convince him to exercise his $14.6MM player option for 2011. Ramirez told Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune that he's still unsure if he will pick up the option and return to the Cubs or use this as an opportunity to become a free agent for the first time in his career.

"That's going to be after the season," said Ramirez, referring to when he'll decide what to do with his option. "I don't know exactly when. I haven't talked to my agent about it. That's going to be in the offseason. They've got a lot of other things they have to address. I'm still under contract, so we'll see."

Ramirez said that the new manager, whoever that ends up being, will not be a factor in his decision. He also went out of his way to say that the team has more to worry about than his option, specifically mentioning first base, second base, and the pitching staff.

The 32-year-old has been one of the game's most prolific sluggers over the last half-decade, but he's bottomed out at .243/.297/.454 this year. It's worth noting that he's recovered from a brutally slow start to hit .316/.359/.632 since July 6th, so it's probably too early to write his career obituary just yet.

Ramirez is in the final season of a five-year, $75MM deal he signed after the 2006 season. If he picks up the option, the Cubs would then hold a $16MM option for his services in 2012. Even with his strong second half and track record, it's hard to imagine Ramirez getting $14.6MM for one season on the open market.

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