Andre Dawson Wants His Hall of Fame Cap Changed to the Cubs

As Paul Sullivan reports, Dawson has sent a letter to the chairman of the board of directors for the Hall of Fame, asking for a meeting to discuss changing the cap. Dawson sees it as something of a late-in-life mission to get the cap changed to the Cubs.

The main reason Andre Dawson sees getting this fixed is because of how he felt when he became a Chicago Cub.

“It was an eye-opening experience for me,” Dawson told Sullivan. “The adoration of the fan base, the welcoming from the city itself and the joy of being able to experience that feeling in the second half of my career. … I was one of the more popular players in Montreal, but I wouldn’t consider myself an organizational icon or the most popular.

“That didn’t affect me because I was there to do a job, and I tried to do it to the best of my ability. When push came to shove and I became a free agent, I think it was handled poorly and in a sense I was really forced out. The change of scenery in Chicago rejuvenated me because of how warmly I was received.”

It’s hard for me to separate my own biases in a situation like this, and I understand my perspective is completely skewed by my own fandom. But it has always felt like Dawson was more associated with the Cubs than any other organization. In some of his best years. In his post-playing days. In the way he stands out in the minds of baseball fans. He’s there in the outfield at Wrigley Field, wearing a Cubs cap.

Rangers to begin title defense vs. Cubs in Opening Night tilt on ESPN

When the defending World Series champion Rangers open their 2024 season, they’ll do so in front of a national audience.

The Rangers’ Opening Day contest against the Cubs on March 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT will air exclusively on ESPN, the network announced on Monday. Karl Ravech, David Cone, Eduardo Pérez and Buster Olney will have the call from Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

Additionally, ESPN Baseball Tonight will air the Rangers’ World Series championship pregame celebration during its hourlong show, which begins at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT.

Counsell Bolts Brewers to Manage Cubs

Craig Counsell is leaving the Milwaukee Brewers to become the manager for the Chicago Cubs, sources confirmed to ESPN.

It’s a blockbuster move for Chicago, which had David Ross as its manager but will now go with Counsell, who had spent the previous decade with their National League Central rival Milwaukee. Ross was under contract for the 2024 season.

Counsell, 53, had also interviewed for the New York Mets and Cleveland Guardians managerial openings. The Guardians hired Stephen Vogt as manager and sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan that the Mets are hiring New York Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza as their manager.

Marcus Stroman Opts Out Of Deal With Cubs

Marcus Stroman has enacted the opt-out clause in his contract and will now become a free agent, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports (X link).  Stroman’s three-year, $71MM deal with the Cubs from the 2021-22 offseason allowed Stroman to opt out of the final year of that contract, and the right-hander will be leaving $21MM on the table in search of a larger and more lucrative deal this winter.

Stroman faced one of the more interesting option decisions of any player on the market, as his 2023 campaign was a tale of two seasons.  In the first half, Stroman had a 2.96 ERA over 112 2/3 innings and received an All-Star nod for his efforts.  In the second half, Stroman had an 8.63 ERA over only 24 innings, as he missed about six weeks on the injured list.  Initially sidelined with hip inflammation, Stroman was revealed to have a right rib cartilage fracture, which delayed his IL stint beyond what seemed like a fairly minimal 15-day absence.  While the righty was able to make it back for the Cubs’ late-season playoff push, Stroman was limited to bullpen duty and shortened starts, as Chicago ended up missing the postseason.

Former major league pitcher Dan Serafini arrested for alleged murder, attempted murder of in-laws

Serafini was one of two people arrested in connection to the June 2021 murder of Robert Spohr and attempted murder of Wendy Wood in Lake Tahoe, California. The victims were reportedly Serafini’s father-in-law and mother-in-law

Jed Hoyer Speaks: Being Good Enough, Bunting, Evaluating Managers, Suzuki, Bullpen, More

Hoyer is careful not to throw David Ross under the bus, and I still get the sense that he overall believes his manager has done a good job, but it’s not hard to read between these lines (The Score):

“When you call for (bunts) and it works, everyone looks smart. When you call for bunts and it doesn’t work, everyone gets mad. Generally, I’m not a huge fan of bunting in general. But there are certainly late-game situation that it makes sense. Obviously, unfortunately, it didn’t work out (Tuesday) night ….

“I’m not going to second-guess those decisions. It’s so hard, right? Because if Seiya (Suzuki) catches that ball and we hold the lead in the ninth, no one is really talking about those things. And it gets magnified in that situation. So I don’t want to spend the time with five games left second-guessing it. But I do think in general, I’m a big fan of protecting your outs. I think that that’s the most valuable resource that an offense has. Whenever you can have that mentality of try not to give up outs – and there’s a fine line on the bases as well. Being aggressive, when it works, looks great, but when you give up outs against below-average pitching sometimes, that can really, really hurt you. So in general, that’s kind of always the philosophy I’ve had – is protect your outs. Bunting, in general, doesn’t do that.”

Some defense of Ross, and the managerial job generally (The Athletic):

“Make up a number of moves in a given game. Let’s call it like five to 10 moves in a given game. (Ross) and (bench coach) Andy (Green) are going to go through it and they’re almost all probabilistic decisions that they’re making. But some of them are going to go wrong. That’s just the nature of it. The manager in every market in baseball — other than maybe (Atlanta right now) — is going to face that when you lose close games. The nature of our team is it feels like we played so many close games that it probably magnifies it.

“People are going to ask you about your bad decisions a hundred times more than they’re going to ask you about your good decisions. That is the job. That’s probably the way I look at my job, too. I don’t think I spend a lot of time looking at the positives. I look at what you can do better and try to keep learning.”

Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki commits brutal error as Chicago blows six-run lead in crucial loss vs. Braves

The Milwaukee Brewers clinched the National League Central on Tuesday night, albeit not because they were able to beat the St. Louis Cardinals. Rather, the Brewers clinched the division crown after the Chicago Cubs blew a six-run lead against the Atlanta Braves in painful fashion.

The Cubs’ meltdown was capped by an error committed on a routine fly ball by outfielder Seiya Suzuki. It allowed two runs to score in the bottom of the eighth and turned a one-run Chicago lead into a one-run deficit.

FOR THE LEAD!#ForTheA pic.twitter.com/ACJqmpQscM

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 27, 2023

Cubs calling up top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong, sources say

The Chicago Cubs are calling up their top prospect, outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, sources told ESPN.

Crow-Armstrong, 21, is ranked 15th in ESPN prospect guru Kiley McDaniel’s latest top 50 prospects. He compiled an .876 OPS split between Double-A and Triple-A this year, including 20 home runs and 37 stolen bases. He’s considered one of the best defensive center fielders in the minor leagues and will likely get a chance this week to roam spacious Coors Field, where the Cubs play a three-game series against the Rockies.

The son of the actress that played the mom in “Little Big League” is now a big leaguer.

Cubs’ Ross rips umpire, decision to close roof in Milwaukee

In the sixth, with the Cubs leading 4-1, Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich singled with one out and stole second. William Contreras hit a squibber in front of the plate for what was ruled an infield single, with Yelich scoring on an errant throw that skipped into right field. The play led to a heated argument between Ross and Bacchus over whether Contreras got in the way of the throw to first from catcher Miguel Amaya.

Ross’ displeasure didn’t end there. He also questioned why the Brewers closed the retractable roof at American Family Field on a mostly sunny afternoon.

“They were closing the roof to get rid of the shadows late,” Ross said. “It was really frustrating.”

When asked if it was permissible for the Brewers to close the roof without a weather-related issue, Ross responded with a profanity-laced answer.

“There were so many things today that I thought weren’t good,” he said. “I’ve got terrible language today. I apologize.”

Ricketts: Cubs Are “Buyers Right Now”

Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts made an appearance at a fan event in London yesterday, ahead of the club’s matchup against the Cardinals as part of the London Series, and was asked whether the club would be buyers or sellers at the upcoming trade deadline. “Obviously we’re buyers right now,” Ricketts said, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. “Things can come off the rails, but I don’t think they will. I think what we have is a core that can compete for the division and compete for the playoffs and now it’s finding the missing parts to add to it.”

It’s been pointed out by many observers that this year’s trade deadline could potentially have a different alignment than many in years’ past. Due to the expanded postseason and weak Central divisions, very few clubs can be firmly categorized as true sellers and situations can change quickly. As of just two weeks ago, the Cubs were 26-36 and 7.5 games back of of the Brewers while the Reds were 29-34 and five games back. Both clubs have been on hot streaks since then and flipped the script. The Reds are now 40-35 and atop the division, putting them into the buyers camp. The Cubs are 36-38 and just 3.5 games behind and now seem to be thinking of buying as well.

As of just a few weeks ago, there was much speculation about the Cubs potentially trading away rental players like Cody Bellinger or Marcus Stroman, the latter of whom having one year remaining on his contract but the ability to opt out this fall. Putting those names on the market could have put the Cubs in position to reap huge prospect returns but their recent string of victories could now take those names off the table.

Marcus Stroman tweets that Cubs aren’t interested in exploring extension now

Just hours after turning in another ace-level performance for a Cubs team well outside of the playoff picture, Marcus Stroman himself has contributed to the growing rumors surrounding his future on the North Side.

Replying to a tweet that recapped Stroman’s Cy Young-level start to 2023, the pitcher shed some light on how talks between him and the Cubs have proceeded during the first few months to the season.

Stroman continues to make it clear that he loves being in Chicago and could see himself with the team long-term, and if what Stroman says is correct, it is head-scratching as to why the Cubs would not explore options at locking down one of the game’s premier pitchers.

While Stroman is likely to command one of the most significant hauls of this year’s trade deadline if he is moved, the Cubs also stand to gain long-term value by pursuing an extension and selling off other trade chips, a strategy that could be amplified with the return of a healthy Cody Bellinger.

Fourth-place Cubs, with NL Central up for grabs, are blowing their shot; is Jed Hoyer to blame?

Entering Friday, the Brewers hold down first place at 34-29. That’s an 87-win pace and if they keep it up, they’ll surely win this lackluster division. Given their bad offense and rotation injuries, the door to first place was left wide open, but no one else wanted to take it. The Pirates and Reds have had their bright spots, but neither entered the season planning on competing for first. The Cardinals did, but they head into Friday worse than the Cubs.

More succinctly: The Cubs could be in the first place right now with proper performance from the front office on down through the players. Organizationally, to be in the position they are, at a low-water mark of 10 games under .500 (26-36), instead of at least contending in this division seems, again, embarrassing.

Hoyer has been with the club since he joined in October 2011, serving as Theo Epstein’s right-hand man until taking over as the president of baseball operations in November 2020. They built the team that would win the World Series.

With Hoyer in the top job, the Cubs have undergone a facelift. Difficult decisions needed to be made. The World Series core wasn’t getting it done any longer, so there were defensible moves made in moving the club past reliving those glory years.

In looking to reload instead of rebuild, Hoyer specifically said this effort “is not going to be a 2012, ‘13 situation in any way” (via NBC Sports Chicago).

IT’S THE CUBS’ WORLD NOW

Not to spoil the ending, but:

But the Cardinals aren’t doomed. They still have a solid lineup, a solid rotation and a solid bullpen, and you’d have to think they’ll add somebody. But for years, some fans have claimed, wrongly, that Cardinals-Cubs isn’t a real rivalry because the Cards have always been so much better than the Cubs. This, not coincidentally, is the same thing Yankees fans used to say about the Red Sox, before Epstein took over there as well. Now, some have said, in the wake of the Cubs’ signing of Heyward, that this ratchets up the rivalry.

But if anything, I believe it dampens it. Even before Friday, the Cubs were a better team than the Cardinals in just about every way. Now that the Cubs took the Cardinals’ best player, the gap between these teams have widened. If anyone needs to prove this is a rivalry, it’s the fading Cardinals.

Fergie Jenkins still emotionally invested in Cubs, keeping an eye on Epstein

Clumsy.

Ferguson Jenkins takes a wait-and-see attitude towards Theo Epstein’s appointment as president of baseball operations of the Chicago Cubs.

...The Cubs hired Epstein in October. Jenkins is holding off on giving Epstein his full endorsement.

“I really don’t know what to take of him yet,” Jenkins said Thursday in Calgary. “I tried to get a meeting with him and he was really busy.

“He’s young. He’s never put a jockstrap on though. See that’s the thing. I tell people all the time ‘this guy reads about the game and has seen it on TV or in stadiums,’ but he’s a pretty smart individual. He knows talent and that’s what it’s all about.

“People sit back and say ‘you know he never played’ but he watches and recognizes what individuals can do what and where they can play.”

RLYW: Salvaging a Sunken cost

Burnett projects to have an RA of 5.03 in CAIRO.  The following possible starting pitchers project better than that.

CC Sabathia (3.57)
Michael Pineda (4.37)
Freddy Garcia (4.55)
Brad Meyers (4.56)
Hiroki Kuroda (4.57)
Phil Hughes (4.63)
Ivan Nova (4.93)
...

If that’s true, then every start that goes to Burnett is a start that should be going to one of the above.

...

Unfortunately, since Burnett is owed $33 million over the next two years, the Yankees probably feel obligated to try and get some value out of him.

I don’t think they can do that by pitching him…. trading Burnett’s bad contract to another team for their bad contract might be a way to recoup some of that value.

Cubs installing 70-foot digital scoreboard at Wrigley Field

Pitch count of 3,665?  Dusty is back??

From CSNChicago.com’s Jake Flannigan comes the below mockup of a 70-foot LED scoreboard that will be installed in right field at baseball’s second-oldest stadium. Construction will be completed this spring.

Above the new scoreboard you’ll see something called the “Budweiser Patio.” It will contain 150 all-inclusive seats (not bleachers), and is also going in before the start of the season.

MLB Trade Rumors: Bartolo Colon Agrees to Sign With Unknown Team

Bartolo Colon has agreed to a deal with an unknown club reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). The right-hander wouldn’t divulge the team because he has not yet passed his physical.

Pretty sure it’s either the All-Stars or the Champs.

Cubs Agree To Contract With Kerry Wood

Wood: “I Feel Like Playing”

The Cubs and veteran reliever Kerry Wood have agreed to a one-year contract that also includes an option for 2013.  The contract will pay Wood $3MM next season, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter).

MLB: Cubs front office calls on Bloomberg Sports

I knew he’d miss Bill James…

The Cubs are using every potential avenue to improve their club. Chicago announced Thursday that it will partner with Bloomberg Sports—a company already allied with MLB.com for fantasy baseball—to design a new player evaluation system for the team’s baseball operations department.

The player evaluation system is expected to combine video with an extensive database on all professional players, and it will also include customized technology to assist the evaluation process. The Cubs will be able to access their system via laptop and will have mobile capability, and the two sides will begin development and implementation of the program immediately.

“We are excited to partner with Bloomberg Sports and benefit from their world-renowned expertise in analytics and information management,” said Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein. “The management and analysis of data—whether it be scouting reports, statistics, medical information or video—is a critical component of our operation.

“We look forward to developing a customized program that utilizes the most advanced and efficient technology available in the marketplace today to facilitate quicker, easier and more accurate access to all the sources of information we use to make baseball decisions.”

Cubs sign Paul Maholm, reports Paul Maholm

It’s otherwise unconfirmed, but it seems like you should only need the one source when it’s actually the guy himself.

Just wanna say thank u to everyone that has cheered for me during my career as a Pirate. I loved my last six plus years in the city.

I hope to get to continue some things when I visit during the year and start some great things as I start my Cubs career.

Cubs acquire Rizzo in trade with Padres

Theo: You’re looking good, Riz.
Rizzo: Eat your heart out.
Theo: And sloppy seconds are my style!

The Cubs acquired first baseman Anthony Rizzo and right-hander Zach Cates from the Padres on Friday, sending right-hander Andrew Cashner and outfielder Kyung-Min Na to San Diego.

The 22-year-old Rizzo batted .331 with a 1.056 OPS, 34 doubles, 26 homers and 101 RBIs in 93 games for Triple-A Tucson last year… Rated the top first-base prospect in the league by MLB.com, Rizzo struggled during his brief time in the Majors last season batting .141 with one home run and nine RBIs in 49 games…

Cates, 22… made his professional debut last year, posting a 4-10 record and 4.73 ERA in 118 innings over 25 starts for Class A Fort Wayne. He struck out nearly a batter an inning and allowed only four home runs on the year.

Cashner, 25, went 2-6 with a 4.29 ERA in 60 big league appearances with the Cubs, including one start, over the last two years….he was limited to just seven outings in the Majors last season due to a right shoulder strain.

Na, 20, hit .268 with 10 doubles and 22 RBIs in 83 games between four different teams in the Cubs’ Minor League system last year.

Robothal: Big Z Headed to Miami

What could possibly go wrong?

The Marlins, seeking to make another offseason splash, are close to acquiring Cubs right-hander Carlos Zambrano, according to major-league sources.
...
Zambrano is owed $18 million in the final year of his contract. The Cubs likely will pay most of that sum to purge Big Z, whom they placed on the restricted list in 2010 and disqualified list in ’11 due to issues with his temperament.

hardball talk: Dodgers’ Ethier high on Theo’s wish list

The Cubs are looking for another outfielder long-term and a guy like Andre Ethier could be a good fit.

Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune says Ethier is high on Theo Epstein’s wish list and the Dodgers may not have enough funds to keep him around when his contract expires after 2012 now that they gave Matt Kemp a huge payday and have a contract extension for Clayton Kershaw looming.

But, the former second round pick is still superb at getting on base, with a career .364 OBP, thanks in part to a .291 career AVG. He won’t turn 30 until the 2012 season’s second week, so there are still several years left of his prime.

If Epstoyer can make a deal for Ethier in 2012, I wouldn’t be surprised if they made that move. But that might be hard to do. What do the Cubs have that the Dodgers want? Not much in the way of young talent to trade.

But if Ethier hits free agency this fall (man, feels weird to say that now that it’s 2012), expect Epstoyer to go hard after him.

The Cubs already have David DeJesus for the next two seasons (with an option for a third year) and Brett Jackson quickly ascending through the system, but if Theo and Jed Hoyer are somehow able to deal Alfonso Soriano and Marlon Byrd, Ethier could be a great fit. He could play right and push DeJesus to left.

A starting outfield of DeJesus, Jackson and Ethier in 2013 would be mighty nice.

Cubs Sign Andy Sonnanstine

In yet another “buy low” move, the Cubs have signed former Rays righthander Andy Sonnanstine to a non-guaranteed split contract—i.e. he’ll make more if he makes the major league team.

Sonnanstine looked promising in his first two seasons with the Rays, particularly in 2008 when he posted a 101 ERA+ and had an excellent walk ratio of 1.7 per nine innings and had two good starts for the Rays in the 2008 postseason. But he has regressed the last three years, was banished to the Rays’ bullpen and spent much of 2011 at Triple-A Durham.

Sonnanstine will be 29 in March. He’s a reclamation project, but at that age he’s got a much better chance to be productive than the retreads (Doug Davis, Ramon Ortiz, Rodrigo Lopez) that Jim Hendry signed last year.

Thanks to Pete.

AP: Audits show Cubs’ affiliate losing money

The Journal-Star in Peoria reports that the Peoria Chiefs lost $848,000 in 2010 and $678,000 in 2009.

Losses in both 2008 and 2007 topped $400,000.

One wonders what there will be to do in Peoria should the Chiefs fold.