2009 Cubs thread

[SoxFan562004]

Harden done for the year

 

Sounds like it might just be a case of being bad, not hurt

it will be interesting to see if they offer him arb. He'd be due to get a good amount of money if he accepts it and with his history I just can't see another team giving him that much money... although he's a pitcher with raw talent, so all they'll need is one stupid GM to get the pick for him.

[greg775]

I will say this in the Cubs defense, I don't think they have quit. I just think they are incredibly mediocre and have been that way consistently almost all season. That is more than can be said for our guys, unfortunately. We went from mediocre to outright qutting the last couple of weeks.

 

I don't know about this quit stuff, although tonight Ozzie I guess mentioned the guys have quit on him.

I think everything you say about the Cubs you could say about the Sox. I don't know why you give them the beneift of the doubt as far as not quitting while saying our team quit.

Jermaine I don't think is trying to make outs and look this bad; ditto Rios. Bobby I don't think quit tonight when he grooved those pitches; same with Liney. Liney just sucks and Bob is no longer an automatic save.

I dispute you saying we quit and the Cubs haven't quit. I don't know how you come up with that. The Cubs have played and lost to some horses*** teams of late as well.

[whitesoxfan101]

The term quit would also apply to the Cubs now I think. I still find the White Sox quitting more appaling though, since we actually had a shot at the playoffs had we played reasonably well, whereas the same can't be said for the Cubs.

Edited September 19, 2009 by whitesoxfan101

[SoxAce]

Man I'm sure the Cards will go balls to the wall to try and resign Matt Holliday. Pujols needs his wingman back.

[greg775]

The term quit would also apply to the Cubs now I think. I still find the White Sox quitting more appaling though, since we actually had a shot at the playoffs had we played reasonably well, whereas the same can't be said for the Cubs.

 

I just disagree. The Cubs were 4 or 5 out in the loss column for wildcard earlier this week for godsakes. We'd have been holding a parade if we were 4 or 5 out in the loss column. Sox fans have not given up and we've never gotten it below 6 in loss column. Cubs have had the wildcard for the taking as late as this week. The Cubs had a shot as well.

[Brian]

Man I'm sure the Cards will go balls to the wall to try and resign Matt Holliday. Pujols needs his wingman back.

 

I'd put money on the Cards re-signing him. Their payroll is only around 80 mil this year and have money to spend.

[Balta1701]

I'd put money on the Cards re-signing him. Their payroll is only around 80 mil this year and have money to spend.

It's the Boras game though. There are teams that could use him just as much who also might have money to spend. The Giants, the Yankees come to mind.

[Balta1701]

So yeah, this ought to be put here.

The Cubs have suspended disgruntled outfielder Milton Bradley for the remainder of the season, general manager Jim Hendry announced on Sunday.

 

Bradley took shots at the organization in a Saturday interview with the Daily Herald of Arlington Heights, Ill., saying that Chicago is "not a positive environment" and that he can understand why the Cubs haven't won in 100 years.

 

On Thursday, Bradley took himself out of the game after getting a hit, without a pinch-runner ready, and said afterward that he had knee inflammation.

 

Bradley is not with the team as it gets ready to play the division-leading Cardinals on Sunday at 7:05 p.m. CT. The 31-year-old switch-hitter -- signed to a three-year, $30 million contract this offseason -- hit .257 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs in 124 games this year.

[southsider2k5]

So yeah, this ought to be put here.

 

The interesting thing is that if Bradley would have ended this season on the DL, 2011 became an option with a buyout of $2 million. I don't get why they didn't do it.

[whitesoxfan101]

For all the things Bradley has done this year, they suspend him for actually saying accurate things about their fans and organization. And now he'll be dumped for absolutely nothing in return this winter. Typical Cubs.

[The Critic]

He's such a crybaby with a victim complex.

He put himself in a position to be vilified right away by acting aloof and whining about umpires and writers, and his early numbers were all the ammo the Cub fans needed to turn on him.

It's kind of too bad for them - he's probably their best bet for a #2 hitter, although that's not what they thought they were getting.

Now they've painted themselves into a corner - he can't return, and no way will they get anything of value for him unless they eat a large chunk of his salary.

How Jim Hendry keeps his job with all the albatross contracts he's given out is beyond me.

[SoxFan562004]

The interesting thing is that if Bradley would have ended this season on the DL, 2011 became an option with a buyout of $2 million. I don't get why they didn't do it.

my best guess would be the players union would fight that tooth and nail and there wouldn't be the medicals to support it. He took himself out, but that's different than having an injury significant enough to go on the DL and let the union have 18m of guaranteed money go away.

[Kyyle23]

interesting that Hendry is man enough to do this now, with 12 games left, rather than 3 months ago when it all started. Nothing he said to the herald is any different then what he has been saying all season

Edited September 21, 2009 by KyYlE23

[ThunderBolt]

For all the things Bradley has done this year, they suspend him for actually saying accurate things about their fans and organization. And now he'll be dumped for absolutely nothing in return this winter. Typical Cubs.

Scapegoat, much?

[bschmaranz]

For all the things Bradley has done this year, they suspend him for actually saying accurate things about their fans and organization. And now he'll be dumped for absolutely nothing in return this winter. Typical Cubs.

 

Whether or not what he said was the truth is irrelevant. The guy gets paid $10 million a year to NOT say stuff like that. If I were his manager I'd have put his damn head through a wall months ago.

[kitekrazy]

I think the owners need to tell the MLBPA to go screw themselves. They need to get away from guaranteed contracts. Milton Bradley still gets his $30M.

[kitekrazy]

interesting that Hendry is man enough to do this now, with 12 games left, rather than 3 months ago when it all started. Nothing he said to the herald is any different then what he has been saying all season

 

Hendry needs to go. He's made a lot of bad contracts.

 

[ThunderBolt]

Hendry needs to go. He's made a lot of bad contracts.

He's a brutal GM. He's a guy who trades for the sake of a trade.

[Kyyle23]

He's a brutal GM. He's a guy who trades for the sake of a trade.

 

This is exactly what you are advocating in the Bradley/Linebrink thread

[ThunderBolt]

This is exactly what you are advocating in the Bradley/Linebrink thread

Not even close. Bradley would fill a hole on our team next year. We'd also be making a financially feasible move. Oh, and if you ever have the opportunity to trading an aging, failing relief pitcher who is signed to a horrible contract, for a premium switch-hitting offensive talent who is available for said pitcher, you do it. Hendry trades for Craig Monroe for the hell of it.

[LittleHurt05]

Hendry needs to go. He's made a lot of bad contracts.

 

from SI.com, he has two of the five worst FA signings last offseason

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writ....html?eref=sihp

 

Milton Bradley, Cubs

3 years, $30 million

 

It doesn't seem possible that this marriage could be any worse, which is why it's a very good thing that Bradley's season is over. Hendry may have a difficult time finding a taker for Bradley this winter, but this isn't the first time a general manager has had to find a new home for Bradley after he wore out his welcome with his demeanor. In 2005, Ned Colletti, then the Dodgers new GM, was looking for a new home for Bradley after he had a run-in with a fan during a game. He eventually shipped him to Oakland and got a pretty decent young player in exchange: Andre Ethier.

 

Ryan Dempster, Cubs

4 years, $52 million

 

A career year in 2008 that included personal bests in wins, ERA and WHIP earned Dempster a sizable raise from the three-year, $15.5 million deal that expired last year. But so far he hasn't exactly justified that raise, regressing to a 10-8 mark with a 3.72 ERA. In fact, his numbers are down across the board. He's given up more hits, runs and home runs than he did a year ago, with a worse WHIP and fewer strikeouts per nine innings. He hasn't been terrible, but the Cubs were clearly expecting more this year from a pitcher who signed the fourth-highest contract of any free-agent starter last winter. With his salary increasing each of the next three years and with a $14 million player option for 2012, the Cubs can only hope that Dempster will soon resemble the pitcher who earned that large deal in the first place

[Kyyle23]

Not even close. Bradley would fill a hole on our team next year. We'd also be making a financially feasible move. Oh, and if you ever have the opportunity to trading an aging, failing relief pitcher who is signed to a horrible contract, for a premium switch-hitting offensive talent who is available for said pitcher, you do it. Hendry trades for Craig Monroe for the hell of it.

 

I have yet to see Milton Bradley fill a hole on any team he has played on, and that includes Texas where he still missed 40+ games. Im sorry you have a massive hard on for the OBP machine that is Milton Bradley, but I have seen plenty of teams destroyed by his presence.

 

 

And trading dead weight(linebrink) for dead weight(bradley) is trading just for the sake of trading, no matter how your brain absorbes it. Nobody wants Linebrink here, nobody wants Bradley there

[dpd9189]

 

I don't want Milton Bradley anywhere near our team. The guy is the definition of a clubhouse cancer. I honestly don't even know who the Cubs can trade him to even if they ate his whole salary, he's basically playing himself out of the league. His career numbers aren't even that great to start with, he had one very good year in Texas and the Cubs were the suckers that bit on him. Regardless of what you think of the Cubs, Bradley is and always has been a piece of crap and I don't ever want to see him in a White Sox uni.

[Jordan4life_2007]

from SI.com, he has two of the five worst FA signings last offseason

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writ....html?eref=sihp

 

Throw in the Gregg/Heilman trades and letting Derosa go for nothing but financial relief and you're talking one epic ass fail. That team is in some SERIOUS long-term trouble.

[dpd9189]

Throw in the Gregg/Heilman trades and letting Derosa go for nothing but financial relief and you're talking one epic ass fail. That team is in some SERIOUS long-term trouble.

 

 

Yeah it might be the worst offseason in recent memory for any baseball team. However I don't know about the long term thing, it kind of depends on how much money Ricketts wants to spend. Ricketts first order of business should be firing Hendry and Pinella, if he does that they're better right away.