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Heyman On Hendry, Yankees, Astros

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Jon Heyman of SI.com looks back at the Cubs' quiet weekend and reports that rival teams were surprised when the Cubs said they wouldn't move Carlos Pena, Marlon Byrd and Jeff Baker. Here are the rest of Heyman's notes from around MLB… 

  • GM Jim Hendry has a strong rapport with Cubs ownership, according to people connected to the Cubs.
  • Yankees people don’t think Erik Bedard would last 20 minutes in New York. Red Sox GM Theo Epstein said Sunday that he’s happy to let Bedard’s arm respond to his critics.
  • The Astros hired an independent scout to watch their minor league affiliates and the scout found fewer than five players who should play in the Major Leagues.
  • MLB officials “seem determined” to convince the players’ association to agree to a slotting system for the amateur draft. The union doesn’t want capped bonuses, which would limit amateur players' earning power.

NL Central Notes: Reds, Wandy, Bourn, Gomez

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The Brewers lead the NL Central by half a game, but they lost their center fielder to injury last night. Here's the latest from the division…

  • "There is some urgency, but not tremendous urgency" said Reds GM Walt Jocketty to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon when asked about making a trade before the deadline. "I still have a lot of confidence that we're good enough to win, but if there is a chance to upgrade the club, we would try to pursue it."
  • MLB.com's Peter Gammons spoke to three AL clubs who have "no interest" in Wandy Rodriguez of the Astros, fearing the NL-to-AL switch (Twitter links).
  • Stephen Goff of the Houston Astros Examiner hears that Michael Bourn's name isn't coming up much on the trade market, though writers continue mentioning the speedy outfielder as a trade candidate (Twitter link).
  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he may look for center field help to restore outfield depth (Twitter link). Carlos Gomez fractured his left clavicle last night.
  • Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times suggests Cubs GM Jim Hendry may be best-suited to lead the organization after 2011. Some baseball insiders believe former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes and current Dodgers GM Ned Colletti would be near the top of the Cubs' list of possible replacements, Wittenmyer writes. Reports linking the Cubs to longtime executive Pat Gillick and White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn have been shot down, according to the Sun-Times.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that incoming Astros owner Jim Crane hasn’t told current GM Ed Wade to keep any particular player.
  • Hunter Pence is likely staying in Houston, since the Astros aren’t seeing multi-player offers they like, according to Peter Gammons of MLB Network (on Twitter). Gammons explains that the market for Wandy Rodriguez is hurt because AL teams are wary of NL pitchers.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Colletti, Hendry, Royals

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive in…

  • Ned Colletti is under contract as Dodgers GM through 2012, but he has an out-clause after that. MLB is unlikely to stand in the way if another team asks to interview him before then though.
  • The consensus is that the Cubs need to show some progress if GM Jim Hendry is going to keep his job beyond this season. The team's 14-17 start already has some in the game speculating about possible successors, which might include Colletti, former Diamondbacks GM and current Padres executive Josh Byrnes, and White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn. If the ChiSox are worried about losing Hahn, Rosenthal says they could promote him to GM and promote Kenny Williams to club president.
  • Most expect the White Sox to "snap out of it," but if not, they could be a team to watch as the trade deadline approaches. One GM said Williams is not the type to "sit there in no man's land," so expect some rumblings about free agents to be Mark Buehrle and Edwin Jackson. Some believe Buehrle would only accept a trade to the Cardinals though.
  • Their most intriguing chips are John Danks and Carlos Quentin, who are under team control as arbitration-eligible players in 2012. Danks could bring a significant return.
  • The Royals could be quite busy if they remain in contention. The Zack Greinke trade and Gil Meche's retirement freed up significant cash, and the team could be both buyers and sellers. Wilson Betemit is expendable because of top prospect Mike Moustakas, possibly to the Marlins, and they could look to deal either Jeff Francoeur or Melky Cabrera. One thing they will need in return: bullpen reinforcements. The Kansas City bullpen is throwing a ton of innings.

Quick Hits: Carpenter, Martin, Francis, Yankees

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Eighteen years ago today, the Angels traded Lee Stevens to the Expos for minor leaguer Jeff Tuss, but Tuss refused to report to his new team. Keith Morrison, another minor leaguer, was included in the deal instead, and Tuss never played affiliated baseball again.

Here are today's batch of links…

Cubs Chairman Gives GM Hendry Vote Of Confidence

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Cubs owner Tom Ricketts told reporters in Anaheim that he has "the highest level of confidence" in his GM Jim Hendry, writes MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.  However, Ricketts stopped sort of guaranteeing Hendry's job security:

"The fact is right now, Jim is our general manager, I support him, I think he does a great job, and after that we'll just take it one day at a time," the chairman said.

The Cubs have the highest payroll in the National League and are nine-and-a-half games back in the Central division.  Hendry has received quite a bit of heat from Cubs fans and the critics haven't gotten any quieter as they're on pace for their second consecutive season without a playoff berth.  Even though he wouldn't guarantee Hendry's job beyond 2010, Ricketts declined to point the finger at anyone in particular.

"I'm not going to assign blame to anyone or anything," said Ricketts. "The fact is we came into the season, we had what appeared to be a pretty strong lineup. It hasn't worked out for whatever reason and it seems like the guys are putting it together now and let's just keep winning."

Meanwhile, the club is reportedly looking to shed some cumbersome contracts as they head into the Trade Deadline.  There are several deals that go beyond 2010 that the Cubs would like to move, but their most tradeable big salary player is likely Kosuke Fukudome.

Odds & Ends: Prior, Votto, Gaudin, Hendry, Rangers

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Links for Thursday, as we wait to see how much more damage Vladimir Guerrero will inflict upon the Angels tonight…

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Hendry, Lugo, Towers

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On this day back in 2003, the Tigers became the first team in baseball history to have four pitchers make their Major League debut in the same game. The starter was 20-year-old Jeremy Bonderman, who gave way to 22-year-old Wil Ledezma, 25-year-old Chris Spurling, and 23-year-old Matt Roney before "veteran" closer Matt Anderson entered the game. Anderson was just 25-years-old at the time, but the first overall pick of the 1997 draft already had 210 big league appearances to his name. 

The Tigers went on the finish the season 43-119, and were rewarded by selecting Justin Verlander with the second overall pick the following season. Here's this week's set of links from around the web…

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

Odds & Ends: Schumaker, Chapman, Thome

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Sunday linkage…

  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reflects on Eric Byrnes' time with the D'Backs.
  • Skip Schumaker tells MLB.com's Matthew Leach that he and the Cardinals are nearing an agreement on a 2010 contract.
  • MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets that the Marlins were willing to offer $20MM to Aroldis Chapman.  
  • MLB.com's Scott Merkin writes that a handful of teams have contacted Jim Thome, including the Rays, though nothing is imminent. 
  • Owner Tom Ricketts defended general manager Jim Hendry this Saturday at the Cubs' annual convention, according to Melissa Isaacson of ESPNChicago.com.
  • Shi Davidi from the Canadian Press spoke with both Justin Morneau and Jeff Francis at Baseball Canada's Annual Awards Banquet Saturday. Morneau expects to begin full workouts in a couple of weeks as a season-ending stress fracture in his back appears to have healed without issue. Francis is recovering from shoulder surgery but expects to be ready for Spring Training.
  • Bill Ladson tweets that Ryan Zimmerman thinks the Nationals are having their best offseason since he's been with the organization. Some of the larger moves we've seen the Nats make include signing Jason Marquis, Matt Capps, and Ivan Rodriguez, in addition to trading for Brian Bruney.
  • Eric Chavez told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he is comfortable with shifting to a utility role after the addition of third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff.
  • Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated (via Twitter) "overheard" that the Brewers will sign at least one more pitcher.  Recently, Milwaukee outrighted pitcher Omar Aguilar to Triple-A, though assistant GM Gord Ash claimed it wasn't in anticipation of an acquisition.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney writes that the Marlins didn't give Josh Johnson an extension just to appease the "Powers That Be".  Those within the organization expected the deal to get done well before the joint press release from the commissioner's office and the players' union.
  • Olney also writes that the Marlins are still looking for bullpen help and will sift through the remaining free agent relievers, including Kiko Calero.  Florida declined to offer arbitration to Calero, to avoid giving him a raise on his $500K salary in 2009.

GM Trade Histories: NL Central

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Brendan Bianowicz continues to update the GM Trade History series, covering the NL Central today.  Click below to download Excel spreadsheets chronicling trades, free agent signings, and top draft picks for each GM.

Cubs Rumors: Sale, Hendry, Piniella

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The Cubs' sale to the Ricketts family has been finalized, which should bring some shred of optimism amidst the already-defeatist tone some of these stories have taken during the Cubs' current slump:

  • Gordon Wittenmyer at the Chicago Sun-Times talked to 3B Aramis Ramirez, who gave the oft-maligned GM Jim Hendry a vote of confidence. "I hope he stays…He's done his job," Ramirez said.
  • In the same article, Hendry says he won't use the previously looming uncertainty of ownership as an excuse for the Cubs' problems, acknowledging the Cubs' high payroll of around $140MM in recent past.
  • Wittenmyer also heard that Lou Piniella intends to return to manage the Cubs in 2010, the final year of his contract, despite not giving hard answers on his return earlier this season. He cites the sale as a reason to stay.
  • Rick Morrissey at the Chicago Tribune says that there are "no quick fixes" with this Cubs team and that fans should temper their expectations with the new ownership group.
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