Wednesday, October 27, 2010

No to Ryno, No to Money, and Maybe a OH-NO Off-Season..

- Gray was sent to AAA Iowa and removed from the 40-man roster.

- Levine states Fukudome is very likely to be traded.

- Zambrano is likely to be shopped but unlike to be traded due to his no-trade clause.

- Levine also said the Cubs may not have enough money to sign free agents unless Hendry gets creative again this winter.

- Byrd says Orlando Hudson would be a great addition to the team as far as a leader in the clubhouse. I agree but Levine says DeWitt will be the starting 2nd baseman next season unless the find money to sign Hudson.

- The Yankees will likely outbid the Cubs for Kerry Wood this off-season.

- Brett Jackson, Jay Jackson, and Chris Archer will likely make it to the Bigs by late summer according to Bruce Levine.

- Jim Hendry’s biggest priority is Adam Dunn but Hendry can only sign him if he trades a big contract for next season.

- According to multiple reports and sources the Cubs are front runner to sign Adam Dunn.

- The Cubs will try very hard to trade Soriano.

- Ryne Sandberg will not have a place on the Chicago Cubs according to Bruce Levine, but management would like him to manage the Iowa Cubs again next season. Sandberg was told "that a coaching position would not be available at the Major League level" What a slap in the face, the Cubs should at least offer him the bench coaching position and let him determine whether he wants it or not!

- Ozzie Guillen said if his bench coach Joey Cora went elsewhere he would welcome Sandberg to the South Side to replace him. That would be hard for me to take.

- Pat Listach is likely to stay in Washington unless he gets a managerial job in the ML.

- Ken Macha is now the favorite to land the bench coaching position on Quade’s staff.



Until Next Time…

Monday, October 25, 2010

Dunn, Sandberg, and a Winning Move..

Here some nice tidbits…

- Matt Sosnick said last week on “The Baseball Shot” that he expects Adam Dunn to sign with the Cubs. He stated it will likely be a 3 year deal worth around 40million. I for one hope the Cubs sign Dunn and I am one of the few I am finding out. Dunn brings something to the table a lot of players cannot 35+ homers and 90+ RBI from the left side of the plate.

- Levine says the Dodgers and Diamondbacks are considering talking to Sandberg about positions in their organizations.

- Sandberg is likely to stay in Iowa if not offered a position in the ML. With all the changes in coaching this season it is likely he will find a bench coach or base coach position on a ML team. To be honest the Cubs need to offer Ryno the bench coaching position to at least show us fans they are trying to keep him here!

- Hak-Ju Lee will begin 2011 in AA and is still projected the shortstop of the future. If Lee makes it to the Show it will likely push Castro to 2nd or 3rd base. That gives you a good idea how good Lee is and how good of range and versatility they feel Castro has!

- There is a lot of debate whether the Cubs will go into this off-season looking to win or build for the next free agent class. The Cubs will definitely show their hand on who they have starting at 1st for them in 2011. If it is Adam Dunn or Carlos Pena then say goodbye to trying to get Pujols, Gonzo, or Fielder. If they go with a stopgap like Berkman, Overbay, LaRoche, etc... then they will be major players for the free agent class of 2012.

- Pat Listach is still the favorite to land the bench coaching position of Quade’s staff.

- Want to win next season? I offer this trade: Soriano, Jay Jackson, Josh Vitters, Tyler Colvin and a midlevel prospect for Chone Figgins and Ichiro Suzuki. The Money is close to the same with the Cubs contracts around 72 million and the M’s around 70 million. Both teams take on money while the Cubs are building for the now and the M’s are building for the future but have Soriano and Colvin to immediately help the big league club. Although trading Ichiro is unlikely there has been talk around the team regarding him and his trade value. Here is the lineup with those additions with adding Adam Dunn to the mix and trading Fukudome, a great mix of speed and power!

1.Ichiro Suzuki RF
2.Chone Figgins 2b
3.Aramis Ramirez 3b
4.Adam Dunn 1st
5.Marlon Byrd CF
6.Geovany Soto C
7.Starlin Castro SS
8.Brett Jackson LF
9.Pitcher


Until Next Time….