Fast Rise, Fast to Exit

A neat little human-interest piece about a pitcher named Darcy Fast and the Chicago boomers’ favorite team, the ‘69 Cubs.

Miklasz: Edmonds in a Cubs uniform? The thought is mind-boggling

Bernie, Miklasz, Saddam Hussein, Jim Edmonds and Will Leitch...it’s a damn qualudfecta!

And if this tryout lasts, we’ll see Edmonds at Busch Stadium on July 4, when the Cubs open a three-game series in St. Louis. What will Cardinals fans do?

I asked my pal Will Leitch, the editor of deadspin.com and a passionate but reasonable lifelong Cardinals fan.

“I don’t think Jim understands what this means,” Leitch said. “By signing with the Cubs, he may be thinking he’s getting back at Cardinals management. But the fans who loved him — we’re the ones who will feel this. The fan base is forever.”

So let’s move ahead to July 4 ...

“Can we really give Edmonds a standing ovation when he’s wearing a Cubs uniform? Can we do really do that? I’m not sure we can,” Leitch said. “Any other uniform, sure. It’s easy. But that uniform?

“And if we do give him a standing ovation, he’d better strike out and sit down.”

Chicago Tribune blog: Hollywood Edmonds en route to Chicago

Jim Edmonds is expected to be in a Cubs uniform Thursday afternoon, playing centerfield and batting ninth in the lineup. Ninth?

“He’s going to hit ninth,” manager Lou Piniella said. “I’m going to move the pitcher to eighth, and hit him ninth.”

Piniella was joking, of course, and spent most of Wednesday’s press conference trying to avoid talking about the new Cubs outfielder. The Edmonds’ signing won’t be official until he passes a physical tonight, so Piniella was wary of discussing the subject.
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The Cubs general manager said he’d have an announcement on Edmonds after tonight’s game, and that he’d be activated on Thursday if he passes the physical.

“Obviously if it wasn’t something we felt could possibly help us, we wouldn’t have looked into it,” Hendry said.

Hendry said Edmonds does not need any at-bats in the minors, and should be ready to go on Thursday.

Pizza Cutter: On the 100 pitch limit

As the game wears on, every ten pitches seems to tip the OBP balance toward the batter by about a point or .1%.  At some point, there comes a time where there is a more effective option in the bullpen.

That goes with a couple points of SLG. The absolute level of his numbers is a little weird, but the conclusion is clear.

Zell Rejects IFSA Offer. Will Sell Wrigley With Team

The plan to sell off Wrigley Field separate from the Cubs, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, and Wrigleyville Premium Tickets in no more. Zell has rejected the offer from Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, thus placing the bid for prospective owners of the Cubs will get a complete package. As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times:

[S]ources said Zell has rejected the state’s proposed terms because it relies on a novel and untested financing plan: the sale of individual seats at Wrigley as if they were condominiums. The idea is called equity seat rights and has been advanced by Chicago area business executive Lou Weisbach, who has applied for patent rights on it.

Zell, Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney and their advisers have concluded that the equity plan and its tax ramifications would violate both the Internal Revenue Service code and the rules of Major League Baseball, the sources said.

Cubs expected to sign Edmonds

The Cubs appear poised to sign veteran center fielder Jim Edmonds soon after he clears waivers Wednesday.

That would mean a demotion to the minors for touted prospect Felix Pie, who entered Monday with a .222 average and strikeouts in one-third of his plate appearances. The lefty-hitting Edmonds and right-handed Reed Johnson would share center-field duties.

Chicago Sports: Cubs: New Face Coming? (RR)

And there’s a new face coming, about a mile away
There’s a new face coming, I can hardly wait...(Yeah, riiiight)

Could the Cubs be interested in signing center fielder Jim Edmonds, just released by the Padres after hitting .178 and struggling in the field? They are exploring the possibility, according to some in the know.

Manager Lou Piniella long has desired another left-handed bat to go with Kosuke Fukudome. Felix Pie has been unreliable. Signing Edmonds could allow the Cubs to send Pie to Triple-A Iowa for steady work.

Asked about the possibility of a left-handed bat being added, Piniella said, “We’ll just have to see what happens.”

Pen fails, Cubs sweep D-Backs

The Diamondbacks bullpen handed over a late-inning lead for the second day in a row as the Chicago Cubs rallied for two runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth to complete a three-game sweep with a 6-4 win on Sunday at a cold and windy Wrigley Field.

Some regression to the mean was expected for this bullpen, but does it have to come all in one weekend? (AZ pen gave up 11 ER in the 3 game series)

The Biz of Baseball: Brown: “[Your Business] At Wrigley Field” Still Being Considered

Or as Maury sez..."Can’t find a business with this name, but what if “4 out of 5 Dentists” got deal?”

One thing that was not mentioned, possibly due to the hot-button nature of it, has been the possible selling of naming rights to The Friendly Confines. As Kurt Hunzeker and I noted in The Curse of the Ex-Wrigley Field, any company looking to purchase the secondary naming rights for Wrigley would find it nearly impossible for anyone to think of Wrigley Field as, well, anything other than “Wrigley Field”. While secondary naming deals have been able to get out from under the original name’s recognition (best example would be the short-lived Enron Field which is now Minute Maid Park), Wrigley would nearly impossible. As we wrote in Curse, “Hyatt Field?  Gatorade Field?  State Farm Field?  Blue Cross Blue Shield Field? None of them work.”

Beyond the financial implications (based upon Hunzeker’s research, using the Mets Citigroup naming deal as a barometer, a secondary naming deal for Wrigley would run -276 percent of value based on Wrigley’s longstanding history as a name), the political realities of those immersed in the purist and traditional world that baseball, and more importantly, the Cubs hold, show that a complete renaming of Wrigley Field would create a backlash the likes of which the Cubs may have never seen before.

The Biz of Baseball: Brown: Financial Book on the Cubs Expected This Week

And from Maury..."Or, as some like to call it, the prelude to John Canning owning the Cubs, and Cuban getting snubbed”

The sale of the Chicago Cubs will move beyond pure discussion when Sam Zell and the Tribune Co. deliver the financial “book” to the six prospective bidding groups sometime this week.

The “book” is a financial assessment of all the holdings being sold by Tribune in association with the storied franchise, including the team, Wrigley Field, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, and Wrigley Field Premium Tickets. A separate “book” is also being distributed with Wrigley Field removed as part of the sale. Zell has been in discussions with the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority about selling it off separately, a move seen as a negative for prospective owners.

As for the six groups bidding they include Madison Dearborn Partners CEO John Canning, Jr., the Ricketts family, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, the partnership of attorney Thomas Mandler and businessman Jim Anixter, MVC Capital Chairman Michael Tokarz and private-equity investor Thomas Begel.

As we have reported at the outset, from MLB’s perspective, the leading candidate is John Canning, Jr. due to his close ties to MLB and deep financial resources. He is a minority owner in the Milwaukee Brewers and has had close ties to Commissioner Selig. As reported by the Chicago Tribune, MLB could pass on any of the prospective buyers, even they are acceptable to Zell and Tribune, or offer more money than an owner they see as working well within MLB’s close-knit ownership framework.

Wrigleyville23: RTAOBP: A New Stat For ‘08!

If I’m not mistaken...didn’t this first appear in Donato D’Espo/Benjamin Lefkowitz’s groundbreaking “The Distribution of Runs in the Game of Baseball” paper?

Just for giggles and to cement our legacy, Wrigleyville23 is introducing a new stat to the baseball world - The Ryan Theriot Adjusted On-Base Percentage. It is calculated as such:

RTAOBP = (Hits+Walks+HBP-CS-Thrown Out On The Basepaths Like A Nincompoop)/Plate Appearances (AB+BB+HBP+SF)

To my knowledge - and I may need some help here - Theriot has been thrown out at least twice on the basepaths. But I will go with two, in addition to being caught stealing six times (in 14 attempts).

Therefore, Theriot’s RTAOBP is .349 - well below his official .399 OBP.

White Sox fan pushes Cubs fan into window of Domino’s Pizza

Yo! Kenneth Lamar Noid is a White Sox fan?

A White Sox fan became angry with a Chicago man who was a Cubs fan and pushed him into the window of Domino’s Pizza in uptown Normal, breaking the window, a Normal police report said.

The victim, who was wearing a Cubs shirt, told police they were discussing baseball in a civil manner but it escalated into an argument and then got physical.

The victim was treated at BroMenn Regional Medical Center and released, a nursing supervisor said. He had lacerations to his cheek and back.

MLB: Piniella not seeing consistency, execution in losing trend

Lou don’t need his eyes to see.
Lou and his eyes have parted company
I’m looking through Lou Piniella’s eyes

“I like our team. There are areas we need to get better at, and for us to win consistently, there are areas we have to get better at, plain and simple,” Piniella said. “We don’t have a powerhouse here. I don’t care what people say. I see this team play daily.

“We have a good team, and it’s a team that has to execute, that has to take advantage of opportunities, and has to pitch and has to do all the things teams do to win baseball games. We haven’t executed as well in some areas, and we have to get better. If we don’t, it’s going to be a struggle.”

“We might have to make some changes,” he said. “I hope not. I really hope not. I hope we can stay just the way we are, and we’re going through a rough spell and we can work our way through it. I’ve been giving some thought about doing some things with the baseball team. There’s no rush, but at the same time, there’s some food for thought.”

..."We’re getting people on base, it’s just a question of getting them in more consistently,” he said. “We talk about all these numbers, but the only numbers I enjoy talking about are wins and losses, and lately the losses are greatly outnumbering the wins, and I’m not too pleased with that.”

It’s been 10 years since Kerry Wood set baseball ablaze with 20 Ks

He struck out 20 Astros that day - tying Roger Clemens’ record for most K’s in a game - while tossing a one-hit shutout.

Monday is the 10th anniversary of that gem, and folks around the game still marvel at what Wood, a rookie making his fifth big-league start, did on May 6, 1998. That day, Billy Williams and Ron Santo, two former Cub greats who were on the team that Sandy Koufax threw a perfect game against in 1965, both told then-Cubs manager Jim Riggleman, “As great as Sandy’s day was, Kerry was more dominating,” Riggleman recalls.

S.I.: Heyman: Cuban Revolution? Maverick Mavs owner could be a hit with Cubs

Not so for Sam Fuldgencio Batista, tho.

So here are the real hurdles, broken into two main categories ...

1. Loose cannon theory. Baseball hasn’t exactly embraced ownership candidates who may be viewed as loose cannons. Reggie Jackson’s very viable groups were virtually ignored in bids for the A’s and Dodgers while owners with no baseball credentials were chosen.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has a rapport with NBA commissioner David Stern and has watched Stern do battle with Cuban during Cuban’s eight years in Dallas. Cuban’s unvarnished honesty is entertaining for the fans and media, but he often has been a thorn to Stern, who hasn’t appreciated it, to the reported tune of well over $1 million in fines (although Cuban should be given credit for his good behavior lately; perhaps he’s maturing).

MLBs powers might also prefer an owner who pledges to be fiscally conservative—or at least not break the bank—but Cuban can’t honestly do that since he’s spent freely as Mavericks owner. But if MLB does make being cheap a determining factor, that’s plain wrong. There’s no reason that long-suffering Cubs fans should be deprived of their best chance to win.

Piniella compares Soriano to Bobby Bonds (RR)

Lou Piniella...desperately trying to have his own chapter in Neyer’s follow-up book.

“I played with Bobby Bonds in New York, and we traded for him from the Giants for Bobby Murcer,” Piniella told Joe Morgan. “And we put him in the 4 hole, and boy, he floundered. And all of a sudden, two months into the season, we put him back where he was familiar in that 1 hole and he really, really flourished and just had 40-40 (steals and home runs) and over 100 RBIs and was the great player he always was.

“I think Soriano is the same type of player as Bobby Bonds, so I like him in the 1 hole. He feels comfortable there.”

Piniella was referring to Bonds’ 1975 season in New York, though his memory was a little off. Bonds was moved to the No. 3 hole, where he hit .190 with a .301 on-base percentage, not the 4 hole, where he received only four at-bats. In the leadoff spot, Bonds hit .303 that year with a .408 on-base percentage and 25 home runs. And Bonds actually was a 30-30 man in ‘75, not 40-40. He finished with 32 homers, 30 steals and 85 RBIs.

Cubs send Hill down, recall Gallagher

Piniella’s apparently trying to see if he can get me to dislike him more than I dislike Dusty Baker.

Chicago Tribune: Star-crossed evening for Soriano (RR)

Cubs manager Lou Piniella was left without answers on Friday when trying to explain the puzzling pitching of Rich Hill and the clueless defensive play of Alfonso Soriano.

While Soriano was able to make up for his defensive lapses with a game-tying, two-run home run in the ninth inning, Hill’s ineptitude forced Piniella to remove him in the first inning and use almost his entire bullpen in a 5-3, 11-inning loss to St. Louis.

“Hill can’t start like this in the big leagues,” Piniella said. “C’mon. Every time he pitches, it’s an adventure. He’s doing his best, but we have no bullpen. I don’t know what the solution is, but I can’t start him any more until this thing gets taken care of.”
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“I’ve got no explanation for those left field plays [by Soriano],” Piniella said. “I really don’t.”
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Piniella said he may insert Sean Marshall into the rotation next week, with Scott Eyre almost ready to return from his minor league rehab stint.

Rosenthal: Where to hit Soriano is becoming Chicago’s debate

Missing some motor-unipolar steps? Robothal is here to help.

The Cubs, ninth in the NL with a .333 on-base percentage last season, currently rank first at .375, with six regulars above .400. Their walk rate ranks third in the NL; last season it was next-to-last. The speed of Fukudome and Johnson also produces intangible benefits, forcing pitchers to use slide steps and throw more fastballs.

Theriot, in particular, welcomes the change. The Cubs’ hitters last season were so undisciplined, Theriot says he often made it a point to extend his at-bats; that way, at least one player would be trying to wear down the opposing starter. “I would take the one good pitch I got to hit trying to work the count,” Theriot says. “Now, I don’t have to do that. I can focus on hitting strikes.”

The overall effect on the Cubs’ offense is nothing short of stunning. Soriano, a symbol of the team’s old ways, will become a target of discontent if he becomes a drag in the leadoff spot. His career-high .351 OBP in ‘06 was adequate for a leadoff man, but in no other season has he been above .338. He needs to show more patience, hit for power, flash his speed.

It’s a brave new Cubs world.

Chicago Tribune: Cubs blow it in 9th against Milwaukee (RR)

[The ending] provoked manager Lou Piniella into a postgame tirade after he smacked a dugout water cooler in the fateful ninth inning.

“You got a two-run lead going into the ninth and you let one get away… it’s a tough loss,” Piniella said.

He was just warming up.

The following question—the one that set Piniella off—was whether he’d thought about replacing sore-legged left fielder Alfonso Soriano with Reed Johnson in the ninth inning. Soriano helped the Brewers’ ninth-inning rally get started when Gabe Kapler’s fly ball sailed over his head for a double.

“You’re damn right I thought about it,” Piniella snapped back. “You think I’m stupid or something?”

The briefing ended with Piniella muttering profanities on his way out the door.

CST: Mum Cuban sits with Trib execs at Wrigley

I hope she had behind-the-netting seats unlike Olbermann’s mum.

News flash: Mark Cuban didn’t want to talk during his visit to Wrigley Field on Wednesday. Talk about trying to win over Major League Baseball.

‘’I’m here as a Cubs fan,’’ Cuban said, waving off a group of reporters as he took his front-row seat—one chair from the Cubs’ dugout—before their game against the Milwaukee Brewers. ‘’How can I enjoy my beer if you guys are around?’’

Cuban, braving the 47-degree weather wearing a long-sleeve shirt, signed autographs before the game and sat with Tribune Co. executives in their premium seats.

It’s no secret Cuban is among the six to 10 groups ready to make a formal bid for the Cubs, who have been put on the block by Tribune chairman and CEO Sam Zell. As Cuban continues to clear hurdles in MLB’s tough weeding-out process, the less that the usually talkative—and controversial—owner of the Dallas Mavericks says, the better for his bid.

And those with an insight into the proposed sale indicate Cuban is no longer the dark horse he once was considered when he initially expressed interest last year.

Imrem: Let’s trust Piniella on this one

The latest hoopla from Imrem (who, BTW...changed his name from Impylon).

There’s also talk-radio chatter that Soriano has a bad attitude! That he’s making too much money! That White Sox outfielder Nick Swisher is a better player!

Whoa, folks, slow down. The only legitimate debate here is whether Soriano should bat first in the order or down lower.

Otherwise everything is nonsense, starting with Swisher over Soriano.

That’s reminiscent of when some goofs actually blurted that during their primes, Mark Grace was a better first baseman to have on a team than Frank Thomas. What’s next, Pamela Anderson over Meryl Streep?

Soriano is more valuable than Swisher, who is a good player. Soriano might not be a chemistry guy, cheerleader or jokester, but he’s a better player.

MLB: Best ever? Reed Johnson’s grab reverberates

Great catch, or the greatest catch?

“What a great play,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. “It’s as nice a play as you want to see. The way he not only caught the ball and slid almost headfirst into the wall and when his cap came up—you’re not going to see a nicer catch than that.”

The brim of Johnson’s cap had flipped up from the impact.

“At Wrigley, they might have had to call time out to find his head in the vines,” Piniella said.

“That’s the best catch I’ve seen live, in person,” said Cubs outfield coach Mike Quade, who was debating the best ever with the other coaches after the game.

30 Years Ago Today, Rick Monday Saved an American Flag

Back in ‘76, Monday was presented with the flag in a ceremony at Wrigley Field by Dodgers executive Al Campanis. It hung in his home in Vero Beach, Fla., until a couple of years ago, when the house sustained severe damage from a hurricane. Now it’s in a safety deposit box.

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Along with the flag, Monday has a copy of the 16-mm footage taken by a fan who was at the game, as well as Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully’s play-by-play of the incident. Also among his souvenirs is a copy of the now-famous photo by James Roarke of Monday just as he grabbed the flag.

Anyone heard that play-by-play?

Yahoo Sports: Cubs Get 10,000th Win

It’s really a testament to how many games they won before WWII. 

Both teams blew ninth-inning leads with their closers, but it was the Rockies who ended up losing their fourth straight game when leading after seven innings.

Breaking Out and the Overrated: Dexter Fowler vs. Tyler Colvin

Two highly rated center field prospects with uninspiring numbers entering year and one is breaking out and the other remains overrated:

The list of players with poor plate discipline and average contact skills that become successful major leaguers is a short one. Ask yourself how many players we have seen that have gone on to have successful major league careers with K:BB ratios of 10:1, especially ones that don’t have any one particular plus skill.

However, we see breakout performances from athletes that come out of nowhere because they finally “put it together”. The same could be said about Colvin, but for now he looks like a potential fourth OF with the upside of a possible left handed side of a platoon.

Hall of Very Good:  Bruce, Goose…Lee Smith?!?

Right now, Trevor Hoffman is the all-time saves leader. Truth is, he was the first one to 500 and every time he nails down another…it gets mentioned on SportsCenter. But before Hoffman was the all-time leader...Smith was.

For 13 years.

Oh…and his 478 saves dwarves the 310 and 300 that recent Hall inductees Goose Gossage and Bruce Sutter notched.

The Columnists: Isaacs: JUST A FEW WORDS WITH LOU PINIELLA

It’s not always about patient-stupid dead-ass ball players! It just seems that way.

He said the Cubs wre struggling (6-5 record at the time) “but we’ll be okay, it’s early….The game is speed and power. Speed always shows up, power doesn’t… We need a left-handed power hitter…People don’t like dead-ass ball players.”

When he noted that the Cubs’ defense had been spotty, I said, “Well, I guess a manager can’t do much about that.”

“Yes I can, I can pull guys out of there,.” he said with a sly smile. “You can be patient-smart letting a guy come around, and you can be patient-stupid, sticking with a player too long. I think everybody knows I lean against being patient-stupid.”

...If it happened, the whole country would be delighted to celebrate the first Cubs World Series since 1908. “There’s more attention to it now,” Piniella said, “because of the 100-year thing. The Cub fans are terrific. But I get the feeling that half the crowds come for the baseball and half to party.“

Chicago Tribune: Cedeno backs up talk in win over Mets (RR)

“[Ronny] Cedeno, what a nice couple of days he has had here against the Mets,” manager Lou Piniella said. “A grand slam home run, the (RBI double) he hit down the right-field line and (Monday’s) big two-out hit. As long as he doesn’t talk ‘World Series,’ I’m happy.”

Piniella was referring to Cedeno’s comment from Monday night, when the shy shortstop from Venezuela casually mentioned the Cubs were “thinking about the World Series.” By Tuesday afternoon, Cedeno was backing off.

“I’m taking it back,” he said with a smile. “I was going too fast. I was so happy with last night, so I was talking about the World Series. It’s very early. We’re doing great. We have to keep going and play hard.”
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With a 14-6 record, the Cubs are off to their best start since 1975, when Jim Marshall was manager and the rotation consisted of Bill Bonham, Rick Reuschel, Ray Burris and Steve Stone. That ‘75 team was 28-21 and in first-place on June 5, but went 47-66 the rest of the way to finish in a tie for fifth place in the NL East.

Cubs Continue to Streak

Cubs not only won again today, but they won their fourth straight by at least 6 runs. 

I felt compelled to check b-ref to see when was the last time they won four straight, each by a minimum of a half-dozen runs.  The answer is. . . . well, I got sick & tired of check after 1906.  Unless I missed something (quite possible), this is the first time they Cubs have done this in over 102 years. 

For my money, though, their best stretch was the first week of June 1930.