Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez has seen the writing on the wall and notified the club that he will not be exercising his 2012 option.
Ramirez is looking for a multi-year deal and the Cubs, who are still searching for a new GM, are in no position to offer one. The Cubs could still resign him, once a new GM is in place, but they will have stiff competition as Ramirez is likely to be the best third baseman available this winter.
It only makes sense for Ramirez to seek a long-term deal this winter. He is 33 and this may be his last chance to get a big multi-year deal before his skills start to deteriorate. He has had a nice bounce-back season after a disappointing 2010 campaign and should be able to get at least a 4 year deal worth $65-70 million.
As for the Cubs, they will likely say goodbye to their best thirdbaseman since Ron Santo. In 9 seasons with the Cubs, Ramirez hit .294/.356/.531 with 238 HR's and 805 RBI's. He was a constant in the cleanup spot for years and one of the Cubs most consistent run producers. His bat will be hard to replace.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Cubs continue their efforts to ruin Jeff Samardzija
After two years of bouncing back and forth from the bullpen to the rotation (and from Iowa to the Cubs), Jeff Samardzija finally found a home this year, in the pen.
Pretty much forced to keep him on the active roster, the Cubs stuck Samardzija in the pen with generally great results. He's pitched in 73 games (so far), throwing 86.2 IP and striking out 86. The only knock against him is his 5.1 BB/9 ratio, however, that is offset by his career low 6.3 H/9.
Overall a pretty successful season for the flame-throwing righthander.
So, it should come as no surprise that the Cubs are once again considering moving him back to the rotation.
And it should also come as no surprise that I think that Cubs management is insane for even considering this.
Yes, the Cubs are hard up for starting pitching. This season has seen the Cubs use 10 different starting pitchers, mostly as a result of injuries to projected starters Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner.
The Cubs' lack of pitching depth has been a sore spot for me all season and the 4.87 ERA posted by the starters is just pathetic. With Carlos Zambrano unlikely to return and Ryan Dempster's status for 2012 also up in the air, the Cubs could be left with Matt Garza and a bunch of question marks.
However, even with all the problems with the Cubs starters, I would pass on converting Shark back to starting.
The fact is that Jeff has had the most success as a reliever, from his 27.2 IP major league debut in 2008, when he posted a 2.28 ERA (all in relief), to this season. He has a career ERA of 7.77 as a starter (albeit in just 5 major league starts) and his minor league starts, which came mostly as a starter, are nothing to write home about.
Bottom line: Why try to fix what ain't broke? Leave him in the bullpen. Its where he belongs.
Pretty much forced to keep him on the active roster, the Cubs stuck Samardzija in the pen with generally great results. He's pitched in 73 games (so far), throwing 86.2 IP and striking out 86. The only knock against him is his 5.1 BB/9 ratio, however, that is offset by his career low 6.3 H/9.
Overall a pretty successful season for the flame-throwing righthander.
So, it should come as no surprise that the Cubs are once again considering moving him back to the rotation.
And it should also come as no surprise that I think that Cubs management is insane for even considering this.
Yes, the Cubs are hard up for starting pitching. This season has seen the Cubs use 10 different starting pitchers, mostly as a result of injuries to projected starters Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner.
The Cubs' lack of pitching depth has been a sore spot for me all season and the 4.87 ERA posted by the starters is just pathetic. With Carlos Zambrano unlikely to return and Ryan Dempster's status for 2012 also up in the air, the Cubs could be left with Matt Garza and a bunch of question marks.
However, even with all the problems with the Cubs starters, I would pass on converting Shark back to starting.
The fact is that Jeff has had the most success as a reliever, from his 27.2 IP major league debut in 2008, when he posted a 2.28 ERA (all in relief), to this season. He has a career ERA of 7.77 as a starter (albeit in just 5 major league starts) and his minor league starts, which came mostly as a starter, are nothing to write home about.
Bottom line: Why try to fix what ain't broke? Leave him in the bullpen. Its where he belongs.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Minor League Monday: Player and Pitcher of the Year
With the minor league season nearly over, I have decided to go ahead and pick my Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year. These aren't necessarily the Cubs top prospects, but just the players who had the best seasons this year.
Player of the Year - Bryan LaHair, 1B, Iowa
Looking at the stats, its hard to pick anyone other than Bryan LaHair for Player of the Year. Sure, he's pushing 29 and yes this is his 6th year in AAA (2nd with Iowa), but he had a monster year.
Not only did he lead all Cubs minor leaguers in nearly every offensive category, but he also led the PCL in HR, RBIs, total bases and OPS, while finishing 4th in average (amongst players with over 400 AB's).
Overall, he hit .331/.405/.664. He slugged 38 homeruns and added 38 doubles for good measure.
This was his best minor league season (out of 9) and he earned his second callup to the bigs.
Its unclear whether LaHair fits into the Cubs future plans, but I would think that he could at least be a useful bat off the bench.
Pitcher of the Year - Eric Jokisch, Peoria/Tennessee
Back in May, I was already engraving the name of Robert Whitenack onto this award. However, he underwent Tommy John surgery in late May and was lost for the season, after posting a 7-0 record and 1.93 ERA through 11 starts.
With Whitenack out of the picture, the award falls to Jokisch (not that he isn't deserving in his own right).
In 28 games (14 starts) Jokisch posted a 10-3 record and a 3.09 ERA. He struck out 118 while walking only 41 in 134 IP.
Jokisch was born in Illinois and went to school at Northwestern before being drafted in the 11th round of the 2010 draft. He is not overpowering, but is pretty polished for his age and could move up quickly next year.
Final Note:
This will be my final MLM of the season. I will review the minor leagues this offseason, as part of my overall review of the Cubs, and I will also put together my picks for the Cubs top 10 prospects (early November), as well as my Cubs Composite Top 10 Prospect list (December and February update). However, my focus this offseason will be primarily the Cubs and their moves.
Player of the Year - Bryan LaHair, 1B, Iowa
Looking at the stats, its hard to pick anyone other than Bryan LaHair for Player of the Year. Sure, he's pushing 29 and yes this is his 6th year in AAA (2nd with Iowa), but he had a monster year.
Not only did he lead all Cubs minor leaguers in nearly every offensive category, but he also led the PCL in HR, RBIs, total bases and OPS, while finishing 4th in average (amongst players with over 400 AB's).
Overall, he hit .331/.405/.664. He slugged 38 homeruns and added 38 doubles for good measure.
This was his best minor league season (out of 9) and he earned his second callup to the bigs.
Its unclear whether LaHair fits into the Cubs future plans, but I would think that he could at least be a useful bat off the bench.
Pitcher of the Year - Eric Jokisch, Peoria/Tennessee
Back in May, I was already engraving the name of Robert Whitenack onto this award. However, he underwent Tommy John surgery in late May and was lost for the season, after posting a 7-0 record and 1.93 ERA through 11 starts.
With Whitenack out of the picture, the award falls to Jokisch (not that he isn't deserving in his own right).
In 28 games (14 starts) Jokisch posted a 10-3 record and a 3.09 ERA. He struck out 118 while walking only 41 in 134 IP.
Jokisch was born in Illinois and went to school at Northwestern before being drafted in the 11th round of the 2010 draft. He is not overpowering, but is pretty polished for his age and could move up quickly next year.
Final Note:
This will be my final MLM of the season. I will review the minor leagues this offseason, as part of my overall review of the Cubs, and I will also put together my picks for the Cubs top 10 prospects (early November), as well as my Cubs Composite Top 10 Prospect list (December and February update). However, my focus this offseason will be primarily the Cubs and their moves.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Brett Jackson Watch: And the Cubs call up....
Bryan LaHair!?! Seriously!?! Is that it?
After months of waiting and watching, the Cubs have only elected to call up Bryan LaHair (so far).
Don't get me wrong, LaHair is certainly deserving of the call, as he was absolutely mashing at AAA. But he's also pushing 29 and is by no means a top prospect.
Which is the point of the whole September roster expansion rule--to allow teams to call up their top prospects and give them a chance to show what they can do.
Instead, we're left to watch the same old crap we've been watching for the last 5 months. Of course, with his job on the line, Mike Quade probably wouldn't play the youngsters anyway. But at least then we'd have another reason to fire his ass.
My only hope is that they are waiting for the minor league season to end and will call up Brett Jackson next week.
In the meantime, here are his stats through September 1:
After months of waiting and watching, the Cubs have only elected to call up Bryan LaHair (so far).
Don't get me wrong, LaHair is certainly deserving of the call, as he was absolutely mashing at AAA. But he's also pushing 29 and is by no means a top prospect.
Which is the point of the whole September roster expansion rule--to allow teams to call up their top prospects and give them a chance to show what they can do.
Instead, we're left to watch the same old crap we've been watching for the last 5 months. Of course, with his job on the line, Mike Quade probably wouldn't play the youngsters anyway. But at least then we'd have another reason to fire his ass.
My only hope is that they are waiting for the minor league season to end and will call up Brett Jackson next week.
In the meantime, here are his stats through September 1:
| Year | Lev | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | AA-AAA | 113 | 423 | 83 | 117 | 23 | 5 | 19 | 57 | 21 | 72 | 134 | .277 | .382 | .489 | .871 |
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