Bruce Levine Chat
Well, the best place to start for rumors is Mr. Chicago Baseball. He chatted Cubs and White Sox Tuesday as always on ESPN Chicago.com. Here are the Cub-related notes from the chat:
- Jim Hendry likes OBP guys, but he doesn't live and die with that stat.
- The Cubs have talked with Casey Close, who is the agent for Ben Sheets. He is looking for between $7 and $8 million. The Cubs would be interested in Sheets if the asking price went down a lot.
- Levine mentioned John Smoltz and Jose Contreras as guys that fit just as well as Sheets.
- Andres Blanco is the better defensive player than both Fontenot and Theriot. Bruce is sure he'll have a job as an infield backup on the Cubs Opening Day roster.
- Ideally, on a great team, Marlon Byrd is a fourth outfielder. At this point, the Cubs are not a great team.
- The Ryan Spilborghs trade that Levine has mentioned before is still on the table.
- Bruce doesn't ever see Fontenot as a full time starter calling him a part-time player that can be productive.
- When asked who would get the most playing time at second base this year for the Cubs, Bruce said that there might be someone who is not yet on the team. Ryan Theriot is also a possibility to move to second if Castro comes up. Starlin "isn't all that far away in management plans".
- The problem with Carlos Zambrano is not his offseason regimen, it's the way he let's himself slip away during the season.
- Hendry wants to add to his bullpen and add another start if he can. Bruce called a backup outfielder "a must", but he is not sure how much will get done before the Convention.
- Rudy Jaramillo should be a great addition to the team.
- The Cubs would consider guys like Contreras and Garland to fill in for Lilly to start the year in the rotation.
- The Blue Jays would want pitching in return for Jason Frasor. They've expressed some interest in Angel Guzman. No way!
- "I feel the Cubs' talent can pass St. Louis if people like Soto and Soriano return to form," Bruce said.
- Kosuke will probably be the Cubs lead-off man on Opening Day.
- How much more the Ricketts family will allow Hendry to spend this offseason is still up in the air.
- Brad Snyder has made a big impression on the Cubs. They don't think his major league career is that far off.
More Rumors & Other Notes
- Brandon Bianowicz has put together an excel spreadsheet taking a look at Jim Hendry's trade history as the Cubs' GM.
- Cubs manager Lou Piniella will receive the Thurman Munson Award on February 2 at the 30th annual benefit dinner to remember Munson.
- The Cubs Spring Training broadcast schedule should be coming out any day know. (Maybe today). Yesterday, the South Siders Spring broadcasts schedule was released on Whitesox.com. Sunday March 7 the Cubs VS Sox game will be on WSCR radio. The Cubs against the Cubs on March 13 (in Las Vegas) and March 19 will be Sox broadcasts on Comcast Sports Net. I'll update when the full Cubs broadcast schedule comes out.
- Andre Dawson is still waiting to find out what cap he will go in to the Hall wearing. Fred Mitchell has been told that he would prefer to sport a Cubs' hat.
- According to MLB.com, former Cubs reliever Scott Eyre has retired after 13 seasons in the big leagues.
- Chicago Cubs Online posted a very informative recap of Jim Hendry on XM Radio.
- We're planning on having a special Q&A here on Everything Cubs on Monday afternoon I will have a post up with more information tonight or tomorrow.
More later...
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