Radio Recaps: Rogers, Hughes & Moreland on WGN Radio

Although the deal is not officially done, Theo Epstein talked filled the radio airwaves this week. Phil Rogers joined WGN Sports Night this week.

• One of the most respected executives in baseball thinks the Cubs have a fighting chance. Theo would not be coming to Chicago if he didn't think Tom Ricketts was a guy who could do big things.


• There are a number of guys out there who have worked with Epstein before that he could bring in as an assistant general manager.


• Rogers reports that it is possible that there will be multiple levels of baseball operations where the second guy in charge could have the GM title. Epstein could be the guy who hires the general manager instead of becoming the general manager.


• For the most part, Theo will be working with the guys who are already there.


• Epstein is a guy who can make a very difficult decision. You will no longer see the general manager down the clubhouse becoming friendly with the players. Rogers expects him to be a tougher GM.


• Rogers is excited about Ricketts' commitment to the farm system.


• Demarlo Hale is the Boston bench coach and could be a candidate for the Cubs managerial position. Rogers if pretty sure that Terry Francona will not be the Cubs manager in 2012. Ryne Sandberg is a guy who does make sense.


• The deal for Theo Epstein is not done yet. This thing could still go sideways.


• Rogers thinks that Pujols will leave the Cardinals. The NL Central might be has winnable as ever in 2012.


• A turnaround to be competitive could happen in 2012, but the Cubs are 2-3 years away from winning 90-95 games. The lack of stability throughout the organization as been the biggest problem for the Cubs.


• The front office must take a patient approach.

Pat Hughes and Keith Moreland joined Greg Jarrett to talk about Epstein-

• "There's a feeling of this all being a bit premature right now. It looks like it's going to happen, but it's a little premature," Hughes said.


• Moreland said that he is sure that players are following the situation and wondering what might take place. Keith said that there is a lot of speculation going on at this point.


• The Cubs organization needs to put itself in position to win year in and year out for a decade.


• Hughes is impressed by Theo's track record for success. If indeed he does become the Cubs general manager, Pat will be pulling for him to do well.


• Keith thinks that starting pitching is the biggest area of need for the Cubs.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted!

Radio/TV Recaps: Matt Garza Trade Reaction

Bruce Levine jumped on Afternoon Saloon on Friday to talk about the deal:

• Levine thinks it is definitely a good deal at this point to get a known quantity.
• Most people will tell you that this guy is in the top fifteen pitchers in the American League.
• When asked if Garza would get the ball on Opening Day, Levine said "I wouldn't go that deep, but he'll certainly be the most important pitcher for the Cubs outside of Zambrano."
• There wasn't a more urgent need other than pitching.
• Zambrano, Dempster, Garza, and Andrew Cashner will probably make up the top four of the Cubs rotation.
• The Cubs are hoping that John Grabow will come back from an injury and pitch like he did before last season. They have the makings of a very good bullpen, possibly with three left handers.
• Garza eats Popeyes Chicken before every start.
• The two guys that the Cubs certainly didn't want to part with were Hak-Ju Lee and Chris Archer.
• Archer is probably a year away from being in the Tampa Bay rotation. The Rays were not going to make the deal without the Cubs including either Archer or Trey McNutt.
• A lot of people around the league think that Garza is tremendously underrated. Levine feels that this guy will be a 17-20 game winner at some point.
• The fifth starter will be a situation where there is a competition in Spring Training.
• Bruce says that Rick Suttcliffe and Dan Plesac are not involved in the discussion to be Pat Hughes' new partner. Plesac is under contract until mid-August with the MLB Network.
• The three finalist for the job are going to be Dave Otto, Keith Moreland and Gary Mathews. The announcement probably will not happen before the Cubs Convention, but it should take place within the next 2-3 weeks.

The guys talked about the deal on Chicago Tribune Live on Friday night:

• Phil Rogers thinks the Cubs gave up a ton.
• This is a guy they look to have for three years that won 15 games and tossed a no-hitter last year.
• Rogers talked to someone who says, "This isn't the type of player who you go shopping for at Walmart. You know you're going to pay a lot."
• Phil doesn't see the Cubs being competitive in 2011 with or without Matt Garza, but this sets them up to get competitive again after this season.
• The Cubs are giving up some really good parts in this trade.
• David Schuster thinks the Cubs are giving off mixed signals. They were going to go young with the names that were involved in the trade.
• The Cubs gave up their No. 1, No. 3 and No. 10 prospects.
• Rogers doesn't think that they trade Hak-Ju Lee if they don't have Starlin Castro. They have a number of other good pitching prospects.
• Scouts like Trey McNutt just as well or better than Chris Archer. They also have Chris Carpenter, Casey Coleman and Andrew Cashner.
• The Cubs can afford to give up Brandon Guyer because they have Brett Jackson in front of him in the minors and Colvin already in Chicago.
• Converted catcher Robinson Chirinos could end up playing a lot for Tampa Bay, but the Cubs are still sold on Geovany Soto.
• All of the prospects traded have a younger part in front of them.
• The Cubs projected rotation according to CSN is Garza, Zambrano, Dempster, Wells, Gorzelanny.
• They are counting on Garza to be a little better than he's been. Rogers wants to see Cashner in there, plus Coleman was very good at the end of last season.
• Phil doesn't think there is a market for Kosuke. Rogers thinks Kosuke is still a productive player.

The MLB Network team talked about the deal on Friday as well:

• Larry Bowa said on MLB Network that the Cubs have a lot better rotation with Garza.
• Mitch Williams, Harold Reynolds and Bowa all think this may be a bad deal for the Cubs down the road.
• Jonathan Mayo says that Hak-Ju Lee is a pure shortstop glove wise.
• Brandon Guyer could be a very good fourth outfielder in the future at the very least.
• Mitch thinks that the Cubs won at this point right now, but in the next 2-3 years Tampa wins handily.
• Reynolds is intreguied by Sam Fuld and Fernando Perez. Bowa wants to know what Carlos Zambrano will show up in 2011.
• The guys talked about the possibility of the Cubs turning around and sending Carlos Zambrano away, but they do not think it is likely.
• They think Jim Hendry made this move because he feels the pressure to win now.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted on Everything Cubs as always!

The Cubs Convention is just 5 days away...

Talk, Talk, & More Talk (Updated)

Cubs Looking at Guys Coming Off Injuries
Guys coming off of injuries in 2009 seem to make a lot of sense for the Cubs, who are looking to land some depth without spending too much money. Mitch Williams said on MLB Network Monday that team like the Cubs could be interested in Ben Sheets if he can prove he has the arm speed back in Spring Training. They should start Ben out slow, and then count on him when he's fully ready midseason. Joe MaGrane and Mitch think that Sheets is the guy they would like a chance on who's coming off an injury, while Harold Reynolds likes Chien-Ming Wang. Carlos Delgado, who will play in winter ball, was listed as the hitter that could come back from an injury and help a ball club.

Rogers on MLB Network
Chicago Tribune writer Phil Rogers (who is one of those guys that you hear "take this rumor with a grain of salt" every time someone uses him as a source) is now an MLB Network insider. He joined Greg Amsinger on Hot Stove Monday. The Cubs had Juan Pierre start all 162 games in center field in 2006, but in the 3 seasons since then they've played 16 different guys out there. Rogers thinks the guy who did the best job of those 16 was Jim Edmonds in 2008, and they let him retire without giving him an offer to come back. Phil mentioned the same two names we've being hearing about: Marlon Byrd and Scott Podsednik. Scott would fill the lead-off hole for the Cubs also. Right now, Ryan Theriot is the best lead-off guy the Cubs have. Rogers also talked about the wild rumor that he reporter earlier this week that the Cubs have the prospects and interest to try to pull of a trade for Jacoby Ellsbury. They are "closely monitoring the situation in Boston".

Levine's Chat
Bruce Levine chatted Chicago Baseball yesterday afternoon on ESPNChicago.com. Here's the Cub-related highlights:

• Bruce doesn't believe that Jacoby Ellsbury will be available, because he is a lead-off man and the Red Sox are not going to trust Mike Cameron in center field everyday.
• He continues to report that either Byrd, Podsednik, or Ankiel will be the opening day centerfielder for the Cubs. Bruce says all 3 have flaws, but Ankiel "might have the biggest upside".
• The Cubs "would and have" listened to offers for Zambrano. The Cubs would definitely do it, but the question is would they find and a trade partner and if so would Big Z waive his no trade clause.
• They have talked about Kiko Calero, but the concern with him is injury.
• Hendry only has x amount of dollars to spend. He's doing his best to negotiate 2-3 contracts at a time and look at trade options. The important thing isn't how fast the Cubs find a center fielder, it's to get it right.
• Carlos Silva won't be active if he's not productive.
• Geovany Soto was embarrassed by last season. Levine expects him to have better work ethic next year.
• Orlando Hudson is not on the Cubs list because he is a below-average on-base guy who has little speed.
• They are still in talks with the Mets about Luis Castillo.
• "Don't be surprised" if Jose Contreras is the 5th start who replaces Lilly to begin the season.
• Bruce hopes there is someone else besides Mike Fontenot to start at second base next year. Little Babe Ruth proved he is not an everyday player in 2009.
• Jeff Baker will get some time at second, but his main job is to be a backup for second an third. He will also play some outfield this year.
• If the season starter today, Bruce thinks the White Sox would have a better year than the Cubs.
• "What you see is what you get" with Kosuke. For some reason, the Cubs thinks that he might be a more productive player for them in right field.
• The Cubs plan is to bring Starlin Castro along in a quick fashion. He may start the year at AA and then move quickly to AAA. If he had success at those levels, Levine says he could be in the big leagues by June.
• If you're going to move Theriot to second base at some point this season, the best bet would be to get it done in Spring Training. If that's the case, a veteran like Orlando Cabrera could be signed by the Cubs so that he can play short until Castro is ready.
• The Cubs have yet to sign Reed Johnson because "there is no reason to think his back problems won't continue".
• Andrew Cashner needs "at least another year" in the minors.
• We should expect a Naples/Mesa decision sometime in January. Bruce is starting to hear more about Arizona fulfilling the Cubs' needs.
• Josh Vitters will not be in the majors this year unless he is a September call-up. The Cubs know he can hit, but they are still looking for what position he will be most successful at.
• Brett Gardner (New York outfielder) is not going anywhere.
• Bruce thinks the window of opportunity is getting close to closing on the Cubs.
• Soriano's struggles last season were a combination of the knee and a loss of confidence.
• Lou Piniella could use his bench and rest his vets more.
• The starting rotation is the biggest question mark going in to next season according to Levine.

Cubs Top 20 Prospects- John Sickels:

• 1. Starlin Castro: B+
• 2. Josh Vitters: B+
• 3. Brett Jackson: B
• 4. Jay Jackson: B
• 5. Andrew Cashner: B
• 6. Hak-Ju Lee: B
• 7. Chris Carpenter: B-
• 8. Kyler Burke: B-
• 9. Ryan Flaherty: B-
• 10. D.J. LeMahieu: C+
• 11. Brooks Raley: C+
• 12. Logan Watkins: C+
• 13. Esmalin Caridad: C+
• 14. Blaker Parker: C+
• 15. John Gaub: C+
• 16. Matt Spencer: C+
• 17. Dae-Eun Rhee: C+
• 18. Casey Coleman: C+
• 19. Tyler Colvin: C
• 20. Jeff Beliveau: C

Sickels past Cub top rated prospects: Brian Dopirak (2005), Mark Pawelek ('06), Felix Pie ('07), and Josh Vitters ('08-'09). Hopefully Castro and Vitters turn out better than the first three!!

Other Cubs Notes

• For Cub GM Ed Lynch has been hired by the Blue Jays as a scout.
• A rally to try to relocate the Cubs to Naples that was schedule for January 16 has been postponed because it conflicted with the Cubs Convention. Orginizers hope to reschedule the event for mid-January.
• Florida needs to Cubs because they want the Grapefruit League to again rule Spring Training according to the St. Petersburg Times.
• The New York Post reports that two American League officials say the Cubs are trying to trade Carlos Zambrano, but those same officials say that Z has no desire to waive his no trade clause.
• Jon Heyman says the Zambrano rumors are a "time waster" because his agent says he will no waive the no trade clause.
• Paul Sullivan reports that the Cubs continue to deny that he's available.

That's it for now, I'll keep you posted on Everything Cubs as always!