Is Jim Hendry Reading This Blog? If So, Please Continue To Do So

The Cubs offense is already putting new hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo to sleep.

A couple of years ago, my roommate and I were discussing the upcoming Major League Baseball offseason.  It started as a hot stove chat and turned into me analyzing who would go where and for how much.  Back then, I wrote a blog that was not TBDS and made predictions on a handful of players.

I was spot on in each prediction.  He would later suggest MLB execs were reading my blog. So, Jim Hendry, if you're out there reading.  Thanks.  Click a link and help some brothas get paid.  Oh!  And stay tuned for my offseason guide to not fucking up building a contender.  Maybe you'll see something you like.

There really is no denying this timeline:

• Alert Jim Hendry: Rudy Jaramillo (Not A Dozen Glazed Donuts) Is The Must-Have Item Of The Offseason (The Big Dead Sidebar, Oct. 6)
• Is Rudy Jaramillo On Cubs Radar? (Chicago Tribune, Oct. 14)
• Cubs are in contact with Jaramillo via@SI_JohnHeyman (via @bigdeadsidebar)
• Cubs to interview Jaramillo (Chicago Tribune, Oct. 16)
• Cubs to meet with Jaramillo next week (MLB.com's Carrie Muskat, Oct. 17)
  
• SI's Jon Heyman tweets: "hitting guru rudy jaramillo likely to join #cubs. expected to become baseball's highest paid coach at 800 G's per." (via @SI_JonHeyman, Oct. 19)
  
• Cubs hire Jaramillo to be hitting coach (Cubs.com, Oct. 21)
  

Hiring Jaramillo is truly a step in the right direction for the Cubs.

Making Sense Of Nonsense: Gaines Adams

Over the winter, M.J. Hartwig had a series called "Making Sense of Nonsense" as he tried to find rationalization by some of the offseason moves in baseball.  This morning, I find myself doing something similar for the Chicago Bears, who acquired defensive end Gaines Adams from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for a 2010 second round pick.

The Bucs are 0-5 and are in the midst of a major rebuilding project.  So I cannot fathom a reason why their management would trade the former No. 4 overall pick in the 2007 draft to a NFC rival for a second round pick.  On the other side, why would the Bears want to acquire a player who has clearly underperformed since coming to the NFL while mortgaging their future in the process.

I guess one man's garbage is another man's gold.

Adams broke out in a big way during his junior year at Clemson, collecting 9.5 sacks and followed it up with a 12.5 sack season as a senior.  The 6-foot-5-inch, 258-pound lineman was named to all five official All-American teams, justifying his place an an elite-level draft pick.  However, Adams has struggled on the field since coming to the pros, leaving critics and experts to label him as a bust as the team passed on (the real) Adrian Peterson, who was selected three picks later by the Minnesota Vikings.

Somewhere, the Bears think this is a good move.  And on some level it is.  Acquiring Adams is somewhat of a safety net in case the team is unable to to re-sign Adawale Ogunleye or Mark Anderson.  Ogunleye is leading the team with 4.5 sacks, while Anderson has played well -- but not well enough compared to his monster rookie season. 

Adams could also find himself as the pet project of defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, who has done an outstanding job reforming the Bears' front four into a fearsome group of badasses.  And while Marinelli has earned his paycheck through four games, he could go further into cementing his place on the coaching staff by milking all the talent out of Adams.

For the second straight season, the Bears will be without first and second round picks -- unless the team acquires one before the April draft.  It's not as if the Bears have had great success in the top two rounds, but that's a back-handed insult of a team's ability to scout top talent if I've ever heard one.

So all the Bears trade rumors were a bit misguided.  Does Jerry Angelo have any one else to deal for, or yet, does he have anything to deal in the first place?

Thomas Diamond: Jim Hendry's Latest Rehab Project

Cubs GM Jim Hendry has an obsession with rehab that would make Lindsay Lohan look jealous.  Let's welcome Thomas Diamond (via MLBTR) as the newest addition to Wrigley Field -- which is now apparently a halfway house for failed pitching prospects.

Oh yeah, he had Tommy John surgery in 2007. 
Hope Larry Rothschild has fun with that.


Via MLB Draft analysis (sic'd):

LONG FRAME. STRONG, THICK, ATHLETIC BODY. LONG ARMS. BIG HANDS & FEET. GOOD PITCHERS BUILD. SIMILAR TO ROGER CLEMENS. HIGH 3/4 TO OVER HEAD ARM SLOT. SOLID DELIVERY. GOOD EXTENTION ON RELEASE. FB EXPLODES LATE IN ZONE, RIDES IN ON RHH. ALSO PITCHES IN TO LHH. CB HAS BIG, 12-6 BREAK. SLIDER OCCAISIONALLY TIGHT. EXCELLENT MOVEMENT & DECEPTION TO CHANGE UP. RHP W/ A BIG TIME ARM & DOMINANT STUFF TO BECOME A 1 OR 2 STARTER AT ML LEVEL. VERY GOOD MOUND PRESENCE. AGGRESSIVE APPROACH.

Successful MLBers that followed: Jered Weaver, Billy Butler, Stephen Drew and Phillip Hughes.

Cubs Send Down Hart; Call Up Grabow, Gorzelanny

Evergreen Park, Ill., native Tom Gorzelanny pitches for AAAA Pittsburgh.

And who says the Chicago Cubs have a piss poor minor league system?

GM Jim Hendry proved the skeptics wrong today as he announced that the Cubs called up left-handed reliever John Grabow and lefty starter Tom Gorzelanny from the team's Quadruple-A affiliate in Pittsburgh.

In a corresponding move, the Cubs sent Kevin Hart, Jose Ascanio and Marvin Josh Harrison to Pittsburgh.

This might be the last time the Cubs use the Quad-A squad this year, but Cubs fans can look to the future as prospects like outfielder Andrew McCutchen, third baseman Pedro Alvarez wait in the wings along with pitchers Matt Capps, Zach Duke, Paul Maholm and Brad Lincoln.

Cubs Ink Lefty B.J. Ryan

B.J. Ryan has been a tough cookie to crack in the past, but can Larry Rothschild turn him around?

It's not quite the Ryan Express, but it will do.

The Cubs have looked high and low for a lefty reliever. They've looked even harder for one that can get opposing lefties out. And after the failed experiments that were Mark Guthrie, Scott Eyre and Neal Cotts, it is now time to add former closer B.J. Ryan to the mix, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.

In 2005, Ryan notched 36 saves and an All-Star appearance with the Baltimore Orioles and parlayed that into a mega-million dollar contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2006, he saved 38 games, had an injury plagued 2007 before bouncing back in 2008 with a 32 save season.

The 2009 campaign has been a struggle for the two-time All-Star. Ryan currently owns a 1.887 WHIP, which is a major concern especially for the lack of patience manager Lou Piniella has shown in his tenure with the Cubs. On the bright side, Ryan had WHIPs of 1.137, 0.857 and 1.276 in his three 30-save years.

Adding a lefty with closers stuff to the back end of the bullpen could be general manager Jim Hendry's best move since bringing Jim Edmonds on board last season.

Besides, Ryan can't be worse than Neal Cotts ... can he?

Cubs Fans, Your Savior Is Here. His Name: Jeff Baker. Yeah, I Don't Know Him Either.

Jeff Baker's the name and utility is his game. The Cubs acquired Baker, formerly of the Colorado Rockies this morning in exchange for Alberto Alburquerque, who will be immediately traded to the Dodgers minor league affiliate for a Duff Man poster. Oh yeah!

In a corresponding move, the Cubs have designated Ryan Freel for assignment. No word whether or not Farney is checking Craigslist for job openings.

Baker has seen time at both corner infield and corner outfield positions, and might be best suited as a second baseman. Somewhere, Mark DeRosa fanboys just found themselves a new crush.

A quick glance over at his baseball-reference.com page makes me think he is a really poor man's DeRosa. Stats say Baker is a lefty masher with a career .902 OPS against southpaws in his career. Manager Lou Piniella might want to keep this guy away from righties, where he is a career .244 hitter with a yawn-inspiring OPS of .696.

I guess he's better than Ryan Freel, who OPSed .369 in 14 games as a Cub. To put that in perspective, Joe Mauer's batting average was .423 after his first 14 games this season.

This trade reeks of a high-risk, high-reward deal. It is hard to ignore Baker's .601 career OPS away from Coors Field and harder to justify acquiring a Rockies hitter, taking him out of that hitters paradise.

But I admit that I like his career slash stats in the second half. Tough to knock a guy who hits .284 with an .877 OPS in 246 second-half plate appearances.

Cubs Aquire Jeff Baker, DFA Ryan Freel [Yahoo! Sports and ESPN via MLB Trade Rumors]

Is John Paxson asleep at the wheel?

By all accounts, Chicago Bulls GM John Paxson is a lame duck.

Which makes sense after that lame trade he orchestrated yesterday. I wonder if Mad Pax knows that the Bulls' biggest weakness is the lack of a low-post presence that can team with budding star point guard Derrick Rose starting now and going into the future.

Instead, the Bulls got a big sloppy, sloth-like softy of a 32-year-old center (Brad Miller) and Thabo Sefolosha's American clone, John Salmons.

Miller will be serving his second stint in Chicago ... which makes me wonder what was the point of trading him in the first point. Oh, that's right, because he wasn't that good the first time around. Nothing says block dominance like a 7-footer spotting up for three -- unless his name, of course, is Dirk from Dallas.

The trade basically confirms the Bulls traded the expiring contract of Drew Gooden for absolutely nothing. And now they're adding two more years of Miller, whose name maeks me feel as if I drank a case of Miller High Life, but not as intoxicating.

Still makes me kinda wanna throw up.

Do you think Adam Morrison will be crying Kobe a river?

Michael Jordan's first mistake as Charlotte Bobcats managing partner is no longer part of the Charlotte Bobcats.

Adam Morrison, who was drafted before Brandon Roy and Rudy Gay, was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vladamir Radmanavic. That is what economists would call "buying high and selling low."

Can you believe he was once compared to Larry Bird coming out of college? I guess being white with a goofy haircut, wearing knee-high socks and starring at a mid-major by knocking down the trey ball like it was nobody's business won't take you as far as it used to.

Maybe Mike should stick to doing Hanes commercials and signing his good name to expensive basketball shoes, because this whole front office thing isn't working out for the Greatest of All Time.

Ask Kwame Brown.

I'm sure the Washington Wizards would have rather had Tyson Chandler (but only if Chris Paul came with), Pau Gasol, Jason Richardson, Shane Battier or Joe Johnson.

But MJ shouldn't feel too bad about that 2001 draft. Steven Hunter went 15th overall to Orlando.

Orioles add another ex-Cub flub

Baltimore has officially become the official dumping ground for the Chicago Cubs' failures.

Add Rich Hill to the list after being traded to Andy MacFailure's Orioles for a player to be named later.

Hill went from fantasy phenom in 2007 as won 11 games and racked up 183 strikeouts to all out flop in 2008 when he struggled with his control as he channeled his inner Rick Ankiel. Hill was so bad in his five starts in Chicago last season, Jason Marquis looked like a viable fifth starter.

But more about Baltimore, now officially known as Chicago-East.

What is Fibber MacFail's obsession with former Cubs? He did all he could do to handcuff the North Siders in his era of sweatervests and large profits. He lied to the fans about making money, crying poor, then telling the suits at Tribune Tower for a lower payroll because he felt the Cubs could compete without spending in the free agent market.

Would you have rather had over-the-hill Todd Hundley and Kevin Tapani or the in their-prime-versions of Mike Piazza and Randy Johnson?

Just wondering.

He promised that payroll wouldn't keep the Cubs from competing. And to a point, he was correct. But it was the lack of payroll that kept the Cubs from winning.

And now he's doing the same in Baltimore. Cheap, cheaper and cheapest as he stockpiles outcasted Cubs with "potential." It started with Sammy Sosa and then Corey Patterson and Felix Pie followed.

Now Rich Hill is Baltimore's problem.

As for Jim Hendry, because he's not in the clear yet, you've got some explaining to do.

Want to know the buried lead in this story?

The proposed package for lead-off man/second baseman Brian Roberts: Hill, Pie, Ronny Cedeno and Jose Ceda has brought Aaron Heilman, Kevin Gregg and PTNBL.

Well done, Jim. Well done.

Garrett Olson, we hardly knew ye

Remorseful Cubs fans can be found around the world hanging their heads in disbelief as Garrett Olson, who came to Chicago in the Felix Pie trade, was sent out to Seattle (with Ronny Cedeno) in exchange for Aaron Heilman.

Olson, who was perceived to be the Cubs' savior if you consider "savior" to be a key piece in a potential Jake Peavy trade, saw his North Side career end only days after it began.

In a press conference held in front of a mirror in Olson's mom's basement, the former top pitching prospect said he plans on making the Cubs pay for shipping him out.

"That's why they haven't won in 100 years, they run their best players out of town before they can shine," Olson stated as a tear came to his eye. "Gary Scott, Kevin Orie, Jayson Peterson, Corey Patterson all should have starred in Chicago. Instead they gave guys like Geovany Soto, Carlos Marmol and Ryan Theriot a shot."

"You can't win with 'em. You can't coach 'em. You need winners in Chicago. And I'm a winner."

Olson, and his career 10-13 record and 6.87 ERA hope to catch on at the back end of the Mariners rotation.

Bye-bye Pie: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports is reporting that the Chicago Cubs have traded outfielder Felix Pie to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for pitchers Garrett Olson and Henry Williamson. Both Pie and Olson were former top prospects who figured to star in their original organizations, but never lived up to the hype. Earlier in the offseason, it was rumored that Olson could be a piece of the Jake Peavy puzzle. As for now, he looks to be slotted somewhere in the bullpen. Kudos to Jim Hendry for taking some time to step away from the Cubs Convention buffet table to get something done.

MLB: Where 14-11 nets you $60 million

There is no knocking Derek Lowe's playoff pedigree.

He won every clinching game for the Boston Red Sox in 2004 en route to a World Championship. Four years later, Lowe's Game 1 start at Wrigley Field derailed the Cubs' route to their first title since 1908.

Three months later, Lowe has inked a $60 million dollar contract with the Atlanta Braves on the same day as the Red Sox announced the signing of former Brave John Smoltz.

Lowe was 54-48 in his four year stint with the Los Angeles Dodgers, pitching in a bevy of pitcher friendly parks such as Dodger Stadium, PetCo Park and AT&T Park.

I'm sure the Bravos felt as if they needed to make a splash after missing out on Jake Peavy and A.J. Burnett.

And when your biggest splash is trading for Javier Vazquez, you know you're playing in the kiddie pool.

Congrats to Frank Wren for dipping his toe in the deep end.

Something's Brewin' in Milwaukee

Trever Time and Miller Time will go hand-in-hand beginning in April.

The Milwaukee Brewers signed veteran closer Trevor Hoffman to a one-year deal worth $6 million with an option for 2010 in an attempt to bring relief to one of baseball's worst bullpens.

The long-time San Diego Padres closer fell out of favor out west when management went full speed ahead with a rebuilding program that involved massive salary dumps. Hoffman, baseball's all-time save leader with 554, notched 30 in 2008 with a 3.77 ERA which happens to be his lowest save total (31) and highest ERA (3.88) since 1995.

This is the kind of move that makes the Brewers a better ball club, especially after losing CC Sabathia and presumably Ben Sheets to free agency. It should also strike fear into the hearts of Cubdom.

Why?

Because even at his elderly age, Hoffman has baffled the Cubs. In 57 games against the two-time defending NL Central champs, the second greatest closer in the history of the game has 34 saves, a 2.66 ERA and a 4.91 strikeout-to-walk ratio (59-12). So if the Cubs are trailing the Brewers going into the final inning, Salomon Torres and Eric Gagne will not be bailing the them out with lifeless low-90s fastballs screaming "hit me!"

Instead, when "Hells Bells" plays at Wrigley Field North, it might mean a long drive back to the city for fans making the trek.

The Not-So-Grand Marquis rolls out of Wrigley's garage, is headed to Colorado

The Chicago Cubs have officially shipped Jason Marquis to Colorado in exchange for reliever Luis Vizcaino.

Vizcaino joins a revamped Cub bullpen that lost Kerry Wood and Bobby Howry, but added Kevin Gregg, David Patton (Rule V draft pick) and Jeff Stevens (acquired in the Mark DeRosa trade). Personally, I doubt Vizcaino, who pitched quite well for the 2005 White Sox, will even suit up in Cubbie blue pin stripes. But it doesn't matter, because Marquis is gone.

The Rockies will love his bat, as the move to Coors Field will help him launch 30 home runs. Unfortunately, he will give up at least 30.

Good luck with that.

Dumping the big bucks of Marquis and DeRosa, key additions from two offseasons ago, allows the Cubs to have payroll flexibility. Now go get Jake Peavy!

Cornering the Market on Wounded Arms: It looks as if the Cleveland Indians are setting their pitching staff with the mentality of feast or famine. Earlier this offseason, they signed closer Kerry Wood to a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract. Today they signed starting pitcher Carl Pavano, who spent more time on the DL than Lance Bass. Zing!

BREAKING: Cubs sign OF Milton Bradley

ESPN and FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal are reporting that the Chicago Cubs and switch-hitting outfielder Milton Bradley have agreed on a deal. Bradley hit .321 for the Texas Rangers with 22 home runs and a league-best .436 on-base percentage last season.

Bradley, who will join his seventh team in the last five seasons, is expected to play right field and help balance the Cubs' predominantly right-handed hitting line-up.

And needless to say, he will provide a certain blogger with plenty of ammo for the next few seasons. I hope the readership of TBDS is ready for a wild ride.

Jim Hendry is New Year's Eve drunk, deals before imaginary midnight 2008 deadline

Someone needs to send a memo to Sam Zell immediately because it is time to get a head start on printing those World Series tickets.

Or at least a Home Game #3 ticket for the NLDS.

The Chicago Cubs finally made a move in the free agent market, signing former St. Louis Cardinals infielder Aaron Miles to a two-year deal. But they didn't stop right there. No sir. Jim Hendry then jettisoned one of the team's most popular and productive players, Mark DeRosa to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for some young arms.

Don't expect the Cubs to stop there as they are attempting to move Jason Marquis to the Colorado Rockies, who apparently are overlooking Marquis' inability to keep the ball in the park. Maybe they're moving back the fences ... or just won't start him in home games.

Moving Marquis and DeRosa's contracts means the Cubs can move forward with the signing of switch-hitting outfielder Milton Bradley and possibly renew the Jake Peavy trade talks with the San Diego Padres.

In fact, I'm throwing out the ultimatum to Hendry and the Cubs front office right now. In honor of American patriots not named Tom Brady or Randy Moss ...

"Bring me Peavy, or bring me death."

Cubs no longer have Wood

If there was one bullpen that started more fires than it put out last season, it was that of the Cleveland Indians.

And when you have Joe Borowski closing out games, you might as well be throwing gasoline on the fire. So in comes another ex-Chicago Cub. This one a flame thrower.

His name, Kerry Wood.

Wood will likely be known to Cubs fans as this generation's Greg Maddux. A bright star whose future could have been better had he stayed healthy and in a Cubs uniform. Like Maddux, Kid K was loyal to the North Siders to a fault and was meant to win a title wearing those familiar blue pinstripes.

But it was never meant to be.

Wood will take his 34 saves, 86 strikeouts and oft-injured flipper to Jacobs..er..Progressive Field for two years and $20 million with an option for a third year. And the Cubs will get nothing in return as they did not offer the former phenom salary arbitration.

And that's no way to rebuild the farm system, seeing it will be depleted if this Jake Peavy trade will ever get done.

What's the hold up anyway? Oh, right.

Former Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood agrees to a deal with Cleveland Indians [Chicago Tribune]

Photo Credit: Chicago Tribune

Quick Thoughts: MLB Trades and Signings

There were a couple of rather interesting developments on the trade and free agent front today at the winter meetings. I'll give you some brief thoughts on them.

J.J. Putz and failed ex-Chicago White Sox prospect Jeremy Reed go from the Seattle Mariners to the New York Mets for Aaron Heilman. (Okay, there was more than that but I'm just breaking down the imporant part.)

From what I understand, the Mariners are dumping payroll like they're going out of business. Other than that it's not a terrible move for the M's. Heilman has been complaining for quite a while that he should be a starter and his pedigree (18th overall pick in 2001 out of Notre Dame) warrants the move from the bullpen to the rotation. His stats on the other hand.... not so much. In his debut year in 2003, Heilman made 13 starts to a tune of a 6.75 ERA. After that season, he wasn't given much of a chance to hold down a spot in the Mets rotation. A open spot should be no problem for Heilman to come by in Seattle as the M's had one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball in 2008. Aside from that, it was key for Seattle to get something in exchange for Putz, a former All Star closer because they are a team in transition. New York on the other hand will bring in a valuable piece to its bullpen in Putz despite some injury problems in 2008. Putz still posted a Sub.-4.00 ERA and will be a nice bridge to newly signed closer Francisco Rodriguez.

The other part of this trade was the Mets sending reliever Joe Smith (not the power forward) to the Cleveland Indians who then sent promisng outfielder Franklin Guiterrez to the Mariners as well. Smith should be a welcomed addition to the Indians bullpen as he posted an ERA just around 3.50 in his two years of MLB service. He'll provide another arm to a pen that already includes solid setup men like Rafael Betancourt and Rafael Perez and a closer like...

This leads me to the next chunk of news from today: Former Chicago Cubs closer Kerry Wood is going to be the 9th inning man in Cleveland according to the worldwide leader in sports.. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3761317

This is a huge move by the Indians which should give them an incredibly strong pitching staff in general with the likes of Fausto Carmona, Cliff Lee and the up and coming Aaron Laffey. Wood should cap off the late innings nicely. Now if they could only fix that offense.

Obviously the CC Sabathia signing is a big deal and we don't really need to explain why. The interesting thing about the deal however is that Sabathia can opt out after the third year in case he gets sick of the constant scrutiny. I assume he would in one year. Any thoughts?

The final big deal of the day was a straight up trade between the Detroit Tigers and the Tampa Rays. The Rays sent Edwin Jackson packing for a chance to develop Matt Joyce's offense to go along with the already stellar outfield he plays. This will probably work out for both teams as the Rays will likely let Rocco Baldelli walk and put uber-stud David Price into the rotation. The Tigers, well, they'll take whatever they can get.

Little Game Javy to the ATL

The Chicago White Sox followed suit with the economy going down by bailing on $11.5 million-a-year pitcher Javier Vazquez for a trio of the Atlanta Braves prospects. When the deal finalizes Wednesday after a physical I'll have a complete breakdown.