Crosstown Showdown Preview

Last year, I took a look at the history of the Cubs VS White Sox match-up. Click here to check out that post. In 2010, the Sox took four of the six meetings to extend their all time series lead to 41-37. Last year's series will be remembered for a near Ted Lilly no-hitter (broken up by former Cub Juan Pierre), the Blackhawks bringing the Stanley Cup to Wrigley and for Carlos Zambrano's meltdown that earned him time away from the team.

Here is a look at the six game slate for this year.
June 20-22 @ U.S. Cellular Field
Game 1- Tonight at 7:10 Carlos Zambrano VS Gavin Floyd
Game 2- Tuesday at 7:10 Matt Garza VS Mark Buehrle
Game 3- Wednesday at 7:10 Doug Davis VS Jake Peavy
July 1-3 @ Wrigley Field
Game 1- Friday July 1 at 1:20
Game 2- Saturday July 2 at 3:10 FOX-TV
Game 3- Sunday July 3 at 1:20

All of the games, besides the one broadcast on FOX will be on Comcast Sports Net with either Cubs or White Sox announcers. The other club's broadcast team will do the game on either WGN or WCIU. All six games will be on both 670 The Score and WGN-720.

Here are some links and notes as we preview the Crosstown Classic.

• The Daily Herald's Mike Spellman lists some of the reasons to care about this series.


• Mike Quade is looking forward to the City Series.


• Phil Rogers writes that the Crosstown Series is still worth watching, despite the location of both teams in the standings.


• Carlos Zambrano will be in the spotlight tonight when he takes the mound for game one.


• Joe Cowley of the Sun-Times reports that the Cubs have a lot at stake in this series because "this is their playoffs."


• Carrie Muskat takes a look at the Cubs career leaders against the South Siders.


• Game coverage starts with Chicago Tribune Live from U.S. Cellular Field tonight at 5:00 on CSN Chicago.

That's it for now and remember...

"I don't care who wins as long as it's the Cubs!"

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...

Welcome Back Kerry Wood

Paul Sullivan was on Chicago Tribune Live on Thursday after the signing was announced. Here is what he had to say.

• Wood could have gotten more money from the White Sox or Yankees, but he wanted to return to the Cubs.
• Sullivan didn't expect Kerry to be in the Cubs price range.
• The two sides got together at Ron Santo's funeral.
• Injuries are always a concern with him. He missed the first few weeks last season.
• Sullivan thinks we are starting to see baseball players consider factors besides money. One of his kids goes to school in Chicago, his wife has family here and they just wanted to make this their home.
• Playing for the Cubs always made Kerry happy. Paul wouldn't be surprised if he retires a Cub now.
• If Kerry has a good season, he could be a multi-year deal for next season.
• Zambrano's agent told Sully at the winter meetings that Z will not waive his no-trade clause.

The newest member of the Chicago Cubs joined David Kaplan and company on CTL on Friday:

• Wood called Chicago home. It is where the family belongs and where he wants to be.
• Kerry has been in the city for the last 13 years and it is a perfect fit for him.
• He pointed out that he went to the postseason four of his ten seasons on the North Side.
• Woody thinks when there are no expectations it makes it a little easier for the young guys to get the job done.
• He thinks that the team can sneak up and surprise some people.
• "Mike Quade's great. He's a great baseball guy and a great baseball man."
• Kerry believes that the Reds have talent, but they are beatable. The division is up for grabs.
• He spent some time on the phone with Kenny Williams talking about the possibility of going to the White. It just didn't seem like the right fit for him.

Here are the notes from the press conference to welcome Kerry back yesterday at Wrigley:

• "What a great day for the Chicago Cubs," Jim Hendry said.
• Jim and Kerry did not feel like it was right for them to end and part ways. The two men had not discussed this over the past few years.
• "God bless #10, who in his own way had something to do with this," Hendry said, referring to the fact that this agreement was first talked about at Ron Santo's funeral.
• Tom Ricketts has always expressed the fact that he wants to do what's best for Cubs players and ex-Cubs players. Kerry has made it no secret that he wants to be a Cub for life.
• Woody said that he has always wanted to spend the rest of end of his career with the Cubs. This situation "kind of popped up on him."
• Kerry reiterated that it has never been about the money for him. This is a perfect situation for his family. He feels like he belongs here for many years to come.
• Wood's body feels great and he has developed his cutter. He plans on helping the Cubs get the ball to Carlos Marmol.
• He doesn't think this would have come up if it weren't for Ron Santo's funeral.
• "I'm just going to do my thing. I'm going to just go out there and get outs and hope the guys (in the bullpen) can see the way I go about my business."
• Wood hasn't discussed how long he plans on pitching before he ends his career. He plans on being around whenever his career is over.

Todd Hollandsworth joined Rosenbloom & Grote to talk about Woody and more:

• The Cubs got a really good reliever for a really good price. Hollandsorth called this signing "a gift under the tree" for Jim Hendry.
• Todd doesn't know if Andrew Cashner is ready to be a starter just yet.
• For different players and different pitchers, the amount of time it takes to adjust and learn how to pitch in the bigs every fifth day. There is no doubt that he has the stuff to do it.
• Holly thinks that the 2011 ballclub will be a competitive team. They have a shot to compete in the NL Central.
• Rudy Jaramillo and Mark Riggins will play large roles on this ballclub.
• It is hard to gauge how this team will do, but the whole division is like that. Last year's Reds team had a lot of players that surprised people.
• Todd is a firm believer that anyone can be traded at any time. Carlos Zambrano is a key for next season, but whether or not the team should trade him depends on what it would be getting in return.
• Kerry is definitely viewed as a guy who is a leader. He may not be the one standing up having team meetings, but he could be "the voice of the bullpen."
• The Cubs are not just trying to bring in character guys. The pieces that they have brought in are good pieces. Carlos Pena has had a strong career outside of last season.
• Pena's contract is structured in a way that it is affordable. He got his contract for this year based on his career as a whole, not the 2010 season.
• Holly thinks Mike Quade will be a good manager for the Chicago Cubs. I believes that the key to this team is going to be the fact that there aren't high expectations.
• The way that this team may finally win it all when they start out slow, hang in the weeds, don't have a lot of expectations and then all the sudden get hot down the stretch.
• Todd "absolutely wants to be a candidate to sit next to Pat Hughes on the radio broadcasts. He has "thrown his hat into the arena" but knows that there is no replacing Ron Santo.
• Hollandsworth called Ronnie a guy "who was there for everyone". If we could all live the way Ronnie did, this would be a better world.

Welcome home #34!!! I'll keep you posted.

Mike Quade on CTL

Mike Quade was on Chicago Tribune Live the day he was named the manager of the Chicago Cubs. Let's check out a recap of what the new skipper had to say:

• This opportunity is something very special for Mike and his family. He loves the game and loves everything he has been able to do so far.
• The first day after he took over for Lou, Quade asked his team what he could do to improve the team the rest of the season.
• Winning starts with the veteran players.
• The benefit of having the six weeks was huge for Quade. He plans on building on those six weeks and doing it for sixth months.
• Mike's goal is for the team to be fundamentally better next year.
• The team wants to come out of Spring Training sharp and ready to go.
• Quade is going to put the whole "curse" thing out of his mind. He plans on making this ballpark and this city work for him.
• The "curse" has to be the farthest thing from the manager's mind day in and day out.
• Mike thinks you can get the most out of people no matter what they are making money wise.
• Every situation is different, but Quade respects the game and believes that all players should play hard.
• He doesn't see any reason to think that he should change anything from what he did the last six weeks of the season.
• There is nothing better than having strong leadership in the clubhouse. The makes a manager's job much easier.
• Ryan Dempster thinks the Cubs will play the game differently under the new manager.
• Quade says he learned a lot from watching Lou, but he also learned a lot from his time in the minor leagues.
• He plans on asking for effort. Mike sounds like he is willing to take risks.
• Mike would like to think that he has thick skin. It is the nature of sports. Quade have rough seasons in the minor leagues and knows that there will always be adversity.
• He has the confidence to believe in himself and what he is doing.
• The Cubs are going to go out and do things the way he think they need to be done. This game is about the players, it always has been, and Quade gets that.
• Q understands that Carlos Zambrano is an emotional guy. If he will clear his mind the way he did at the end of 2010, he will be able to put this together.
• Mike hopes to continue to listen and learn things about big league managing.
• David Kaplan asked him what one area he would like to improve. Quade indicated that he is going to let the front office worry about putting things together. Mike will have some input, but he will wait to see what the front office is looking at before he gives his opinion.
• There is so much more information available to you at the big league level that you have to be on top of things a little bit quicker.
• Mike enjoys dealing with the media. He understands that things like that come with the territory.
• He wants to be straightforward and honest with his team and with the media.

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

1-31 Radio & TV Recaps

First of all, Xavier Nady has now officially signed with the Cubs. Also, I've updated my Cubs early roster predictions.

Now, let's catch up on some TV and radio recaps relating to the Cubs.

Former Cubs outfielder Reed Johnson joined David Kaplan and company on Chicago Tribune Live on Tuesday after the Cubs signed Xavier Nady:

• Reed thinks the "door is pretty much closed" on his return to Chicago.
• He has nothing but respect for the organization and the city. There's nothing but good things to say about his experience with the Cubs.
• Johnson says that he's only gone on the DL twice because of his back in the last 3 years. In both those situations, he only took 15 days off. He does not see his back as an issue.
• He would still like to work his way back to Chicago in some way.
• Reed says that you pay your agent to take the responsibility of finding a team off you. Johnson is not doing anything differently than he would if he were signed with a team.
• The 2009 locker room chemistry was different. Part of that was the slow start and injuries. Winning cures all problems as far as chemistry is concerned.

After the injury, Dave Van Dyck says that he likes the move to sign Nady, but only if he recovers from his injury. Xavier brings a lot more pop to the bench then Reed would bring. Kap thinks that Nady could end up being the starting left fielder if Soriano doesn't play well. Van Dyck thinks that the Cubs are paying Soriano too much to sit him on the bench. The two Daves argued as to whether or not Nady will end up taking Sori's job.

On Wednesday, Andre Dawson joined CTL on CSN:

• The Hawk was not nervous before the decision as to what cap he should wear.
• The delay in the decision was that his preparation was against what the Hall decided.
• He respects the decision by the HOF, but he is obviously disappointed that he is not going in as a Cub.
• The cap issue was not the determining factor, but it was the Cub fans. Dawson thinks that had he retired as a Cub, it would be a no brainer, he would be wearing a Cub hat.
• Andre thinks that the Cubs fans are the ones who really embraced him, and Chicago was where his career really became a HOF career.
• Dawson doesn't think the cap decision will affect whether or not his number will be retired by the Cubs.
• The Hawk plans to do enough with his speech to make a point, but he wants to do it with class.

Jim Hendry talked about Xavier Nady on CSN:

• When you have a chance to get a guy like this, Jim doesn't think you worry about who's going to be playing where.
• A great doctor did the surgery, and Xavier's bat is expected to be ready to go to start the season.

Cubs TV broadcaster Len Kasper joined the Danny Mac show on 670 the Score on Thursday to talk Cubs:

• The Cubs discussed movie scenes and music first.
• Dan and Matt played a clip from Len singing at the annual Len and Bob Bash.
• Kasper confirmed that Nady prefers his first name to be pronounced eX-avier, not Zavier.
• Kasper likes the idea of platooning Nady and Kosuke. Len expects platoons in right field and second base this season.
• Nady and Tracy are very similar, because they will help backup the corner spots in the outfield and infield.
• If Ramirez or Soriano go down, the Cubs will have a backup plan.
• Len mentioned that Starlin Castro could be major league ready at some point during the 2010 season. We could see Theriot moving to second base if Castro comes up.
• Kasper expects better years out of Fontenot and Soto, and if Jeff Baker can play like he did last year he will be a good piece.
• Dan and Matt don't think the Cubs have had a good winter.
• Len thinks that the Cardinals are still the team to beat. They are basically the same team as last year.
• He doesn't think that it will take 97 to win this division, but if you can get up to 90 or 92 you could find yourself in the playoffs. The way baseball is built, you just have to find a way to get into the postseason, and you have a chance.

Earlier this month Ryan Dempster joined Boers and Bernstein:

• Demp has started a great foundation to help Di George Syndrome, which is the disease his daughter has.
• Riley cannot swallow, but the Dempsters are working on raising money and awareness.
• It's tough to watch a child go through what Riley is going through, but at the same thing it's amazing to see how strong the children are.
• Next the guys moved on to baseball. Boers and Bernstein wanted to revisit the Milton Bradley situation. Dempster thinks that a guy like Milton takes away from concentrating on baseball because you have to answer questions and issues that don't pertain to the game.
• Ryan wished Bradley nothing but the best in Seattle.
• The guys had a hard time understand how a guy like Milton really effects the team on the field. Dempster's answer was that it doesn't. Ryan thinks that as an individual you have to be prepared to help your team as much as you can on a daily basis. The lack of positivity from guys in the clubhouse was what they really bothered Ryan.
• Dempster thought that 2007 and 2008 were such great years in the clubhouse that anything else in '09 would be a disappointment.
• "You just have to go out there and try to have fun everyday."
• Ryan picks up a paper every once in awhile, but he's not a guy who's glued to his computer all winter reading baseball rumors. He likes to see moments like Andre Dawson being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
• He pointed out that the Cubs have a lot of the same players that they had in 2008, which he described as one of the best season's he's ever been a part of. The Cubs have lost some guys, but they gained some key people too.
• Soriano, Soto, and others have worked hard this offseason.
• Ryan never had the temptation to do steroids when he was on the way back from his injuries. "There's no substitute for hard work," he said.

Dave Van Dyck was with Mully and Hanley on 670 the Score last week:

• Van Dyck went from the Cubs to Cardinals to White Sox fan fests in the past few weeks.
• He thinks the White Sox fans are a little less rabid than the St. Louis and North Side fans.
• Dave says you get a little negativity and questioning from fans. At the Chicago fan fests fans ask questions, but at Cardinals' Winter Warm-Up most sessions have just the guests and the host talking.
• This was before the Xavier Nady signing, so the guys asked Dave who he would like A) Nady B) Gomes C) Dye. After joking about "D" non of the above, and saying that Reed Johnson he'd rather have Reed Johnson instead of Dye, Van Dyck says that Gomes would be fine.
• You'd like to get a pretty good player because all 3 of the Cubs' outfielders could go in slumps.

That's it for now!

Tuesday Roundup: Maddux, Cubs Spring Training, Another Live Q&A, the Cubs Convention, and More

Countdown to the Cubs Convention... 3 Days!
The Unofficial Opening Day is just a few days away! I've been posting countdown posts for the last 20 days here on this blog, a finally the big weekend is almost here! Follow the up to the second countdown on the right sidebar!

Yesterday, the Cubs Convention full sessions schedule was posted on Cubs.com. Here is the list of events:

Friday, January 15 (All times Central)

• 5:00-5:30 pm: Opening Ceremonies
• 6:-6:45: Autograph Treasure Hunt
• 7-8:30: Cubs BINGO!
• 7-9: WGN Radio's Sports Central Live

Saturday, January 16

• 9-10 a.m.: Meet the Owners
• 9:30-10:30: Baseball Longevity
• 10-11: Meet Cubs Baseball Management
• 10-4pm: Chicago Cubs Photo Experience
• 10:30-11:30: 25 Yeares- A Celebration of the Cubs & Cubs Fans
• 11-Noon: Call to the 'Pen
• 11:30-12:30pm: Think You Know These Guys?
• Noon-1:00: Leaders of the Pack
• 12:30-1:30: Vineline- Covering the Cubs for 25 years
• 1-2: Major League Days
• 1:30-2:30: Meet Cubs Business Management
• 2-3: Lief on the Big Screen
• 2:30-3:30: Lou Piniella: My Life in Baseball, Continued
• 3-4: Cubs Jeopardy!
• 3:30-4:30: Baseball in the Dominican
• 4-5: For Kids Only Press Conference
• 8-Midnight: Rock 'n' Roll Revue

Sunday, January 17

• 9-10am: The Essence of Being a Cub
• 9am-Noon: Chicago Cubs Photo Experience
• 10:30am-11:30: Down on the Farm Presented by Vine Line

Greg Maddux back with Cubs

Former Cubs pitcher Greg Maddux will return to his first club, the Cubbies, to serve as an assistant to GM Jim Hendry. Maddux will assist the Major and Minor League coaching staffs in Spring Training, help the development of Minor League pitchers during the regular season, and aid Hendry in talent evaluation. According to Cubs.com, he "doesn't have aspirations to manage or be a pitching coach right now" and this job will "allow him to spend quality time with his family".

Cubs Looking at Sheets

According to the report from Carrie Muskat, the Cubs will be among the teams watching Ben Sheets, but his contract demands do not appear to fit into their budget. The Cubs are more focused on finding a veteran right-handed reliever than another starter. Paul Sullivan says that Sheets would like to pitch for the Cubs.

Will Dawson's Number be Retired?

Fred Mitchell of the Tribune reports that Andre Dawson's number will be retired by the Cubs if goes in to the Hall of Fame with a Cub cap on. The Hall still has not made their decision as to whether Dawson will be sporting a Cub cap or an Expos cap when he is enshrined. In my opinion, either his play in Chicago was good enough to get his number retired or it wasn't. The fact that Dawson may where go in as an Expo, the team he got his start with and played for the longest, should be a nonfactor in the decision.

Cubs Spring Training Update

Yesterday, I hosted a Q&A with Nick Gandy of the Florida Sports Foundation right here on this blog. We discussed the possible move of Cubs Spring Training to Naples, Florida. The Naples people seem to think a decision will be made during the month of January. One of the most interesting things Gandy pointed out is that 16 of the last 19 World Series winning teams have trained is Florida. In the end, winning a World Series in the top priority.

Carrie Muskat provided us with some more details on Florida's proposal to the Cubs:

• The facility will be leased and maintained by the Cubs under a 20 to 30 year contract.
• It will consist of a 15,000 seat stadium, practice fields, Major and Minor League clubhouses and the Cubs baseball operations headquarters.
• No county sales tax or ad valorem tax is proposed to fund this project.
• Outside of Spring Training, this complex will host adult and Little League softball tournaments, concerts, art festivals, and special events.

In the mean time, Arizona cannot afford to lose the Cubs according to the Arizona Republic.

Bruce Levine Chat Recap

Today, Bruce Levine on ESPN Chicago chatted Cubs and White Sox in his weekly session on ESPNChicago.com. Here's the recap of all the Cubs info that we learned from Bruce:

• Greg Maddux has not interest in becoming a pitching coach. However, after a few years in his new role, be may become a manager.
• Angel Guzman will most likely be traded to either bring back an outfielder or another setup man!
• "Don't think for a minute what (Greg Maddux) says won't have impact on the major and minor league levels," Levine said.
• Bruce thinks that there's only about a 10% chance of the Cubs inking Ben Sheets.
• We will get an update on how Ted Lilly is progressing at the Cubs Convention.
• The decision to lock up Derrek Lee for a few more years will be an ownership question, not a Jim Hendry question.
• The Cubs liked Ryan Church is the past, but he had a few down years.
• The addition of Marlon Byrd makes the Cubs defense "a heck of a lot better".
• Levine is a big fan of Jermaine Dye, a former White Sox outfielder, but he doesn't see where he would fit on the Cubs defensively because there is no DH in the NL.
• The Cubs don't feel that Jeff Samardzija is a bullpen guy. He will be given a good shot to be a starting pitcher in Spring Training.
• If everything works out, Ted Lilly could joined the rotation the second or third week of April.
• The Rockies want a bullpen arm back for Ryan Spillborghs.
• The Cubbies are "keeping their fingers crossed" that Alfonso Soriano will bounce back.
• The impact of Matt Holiday will be felt when the Cubs meet the Cardinals this year.
• It appears that the lead off man is going to be Kosuke and Theriot at this point.
• Aramis Ramirez, who is one of only 3 Cubs that will not be at the Convention, is working hard on conditioning strengthening.
• Neal Cotts was going to be offered a minor league deal by the Cubs, but at this point in his career he'd have a better chance making the Pirates out of Spring Training.
• Koyie Hill proved himself last season. He is the Cubs' backup catcher without a doubt going into 2010.
• Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee, and Ted Lilly are all free agents after 2010.
• Not too many teams are interested in Orlando Hudson at this point.
• Levine would prefer to spend money on a guy like John Smoltz or Jon Garland than Sheets.
• A Cub source told Bruce that they have no interest in Felipe Lopez. "Keep in mind the Cubs will end up with 3 second baseman when Castro becomes the starting SS."
• If Lilly, Soriano, and Soto all do well, Bruce thinks the Cubs will be a 90-win team.

Owners' Meetings

In addition to the Cubs Caravan and Convention, this week is also the owners meetings in Phoenix. For the first time ever, all 30 GMs are at these meetings, which could be like a mini-Winter Meetings. Levine closed his chat with this nugget, "When you get them (the GMs) together for 24 or 36 hours, things are liable to happen."

Andy Masur Q&A

Tomorrow, I will be hosting another live Question and Answer session right here on this blog! This will be the second live chat this week! Andy Masur, former Cubs broadcaster with WGN Radio and current Padre voice, will join us to talk baseball, broadcasting, the Padres, and the Cubs. The Q&A will start at about 12:30 PM Central Time. If you have a question for Andy, you can join us live at 12:30 and submit to question, or you can send it to me at cubsblogmailbag@aol.com, or leave a comment on this post.

Maddux on CTL

The newest member of the Cubs front office, Greg Maddux, joined David Kaplan and company on Chicago Tribune Live yesterday:

• It feels great for Greg to get back into the game.
• Chicago is a great city and a great organization. Wrigley Field is the best place in baseball to go.
• Maddux plans to help in any way he can with the organization and learn about what the front office side of baseball is like.
• If he can pass on his experience to the younger players, hopefully it will make them better baseball players.
• Young players have to understand that there is more to the game than just locating your fastball and changing speeds. They need to learn to field, get bunts down, and improve on their pitch selection.
• Right now Maddux wants to be able to get back into the game very slowly. He has two kids that he still wants to be able to spend a lot of time with.
• "If the guy was skinnier in the on deck circle, you realized you had to talk your chances with him," Greg said of pitching in the steroid era.

Other Notes

• New Iowa Cubs manager and former Cub great Ryne Sandberg met with the media yesterday and was introduced as the new I-Cubs skipper.
• In some sad news, the brother of Cubs pitcher Angel Guzman was shot to death Venezuelan yesterday. Everything Cubs Blog send our condolences to Angel and his family.
• Cubs pitchers and catchers will report for their first workout on Thursday, February 18, and the first full squad workout will be Tuesday, February 23.
• The Cubs will make an official announcement with all the non-roster invitee names by the end of the month.
• The Cubs Spring Training broadcast schedule should also be released soon.
• The Cubs Caravan is Wednesday and Thursday. I'll have a post or two up about that event during that time.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted! Don't forget, a Q&A with Andy Masur will be tomorrow at 12:30 PM CT.

More Dawson Reaction

The guys talked about Dawson on Chicago Tribune Live. Fred Mitchell called the "blank contract" good theatre for the beat writers because contract negotiations were usually behind closed doors. This made good stories for the journalists. Dawson and the Cubs finally reached a contract despite some difficulties. Andre new he wanted to play in Chicago. He loved day baseball and playing on the grass in the big city. Fred said at the time "it seemed too go to be true" for the Cubs fans when a player of Dawson's caliber played for the Cubs for $500,000. Steve Stone joined the guys to talk about the Hawk:

• Dawson epitomized what you what of a Major League Baseball player.
• He can represent your team well on and off the field.
• Stone called Andre's first year with the Cubs magnificent. It was unfortunate that the team still finished lost.
• Steve doesn't think Dawson would have done "some of the things that the players in the 90s did" even if Hawk played during that time period.
• The only thing that Rice did better than Andre was pure hitting, but every aspect of The Hawk's game was sensational.
• Fred and Steve liked the facts that Dawson did the little thing. Stoney said, "He would do everything he could to help the team win."
• In the 1989 playoffs, Andre couldn't put any weight on one leg but still played.
• "Let's hope there's a Cub cap on Andre's head when he goes in," well said by Stone.

Andre Dawson had his live press conference earlier today in New York City. Here are some notes:

• Jack O'Connell, the BBWAA treasurer, spoke highly of Dawson. He is the 109th player elected to the Hall of Fame. "Today he is second to none," he said.
• This year was the first time they had a third recount because the voting was so close.
• Jeff Idelson, the Hall of Fame president, said that one of every 100 MLB players make it to Cooperstown. The Ford C. Frick award (by the way) will be announced February 1.
• Idelson said they called Andre "the manager's dream".
• Next Jeff put Dawson's jersey and cap on him for the final time. (They were the National Baseball Hall of Fame jersey and cap).
• Dawson made the following brief remark prior to the Q&A session- "I must say that the last 24 hours have been very emotional and quite overwhelming. Upon my retirement in 1996, after 20 years of Major League Baseball, there was one other uniform I wanted to put on, and it was this one." Then he thanked the BBWAA saying that he is enthusiastic and excited beyond words.
• Once Andre had the left knee done, his right knee felt a great deal better. The announcement of what cap he would be made later in the day, according to Dawson at this time. Idelson said that the final decision will be made by the HOF, but they always consider what the player wants.
• Andre worked very hard at both offense and defense, but he is move enthusiastic about the Gold Gloves.
• "Yeah they got a pretty good deal," he said when asked about the famous blank contract.
• He wanted to play in the United States and get off the turf in Montreal. It was not about the money for Dawson, it was about his love of the game.
• Andre made the offer to two teams, Atlanta and the Cubs. The Cubs were his first choice.
• Dallas Green was shocked when Dawson took the $500,000 contract.
• If he would have stayed in Montreal, his career would have been a lot shorter. Andre was happy to get the chance to play at both Wrigley Field and Fenway Park.
• Dawson didn't like playing in the American League. He wasn't a fan of being the DH, and he realized that he better retire before someone had to carry him off the field.
• The person who had the greatest influence on his baseball career was his grandmother. She was the one who made him go to college instead of straight into the big leagues.
• Andre was a little more optimistic this year because he had no one left in front of him to hurtle, but you can't be too certain. He new that the only possible first ballot guy was Alomar and there had never been a year when nobody went in.
• Today would have been his mother's birthday. She died in 2006. Dawson thought of his mother a lot yesterday while waiting to find out whether or not he was going into the Hall. He visited her grave sight prior to getting home for "the phone call".
• Dawson is grateful that both the Expos and Cubs gave them the chance to play for them. He got his start with the Expos, but playing at Wrigley Field was "amazing" and it "rejuvenated his career". The way the Cubs fans embraced him the first year propelled him to win the MVP award.
• Andre thinks he owes the Cubs' organization a lot.
• He played in Montreal for ten years and had a wonderful time there.
• Dawson admitted that he had "a very painful career (because of his knee)". The problem started with a high school football injury. He had to take medicine "almost daily".
• The Hawk focused on his work ethic to get past the injury.
• He doesn't regret not making it the the World Series, but that's pretty much was you work for every year. He was on teams that were a player or two short of getting to that.

Len Kasper was on the Danny Mac Show today:

• Kasper called Dawson "a class act". He always acted like he had been there before, he never treated a home run like it was his first. The Hawk only had a few "blow ups" and they were understandable.
• You have to put his numbers in context with his era. He was just before the steroid era.
• Andre doing it naturally, being a great teammate, and the knee thing could have all factored in to some votes.
• Mac says "honestly as a baseball fan I don't care whether the guy is nice or not". Mac doesn't think the BBWAA writers should have given Roberto Alomar a "slap on the wrist" for the spitting an the umpire thing.
• Len doesn't think it will take anything from Dawson as a Cub if he goes in with an Expos hat on. Trying to be objective, Kasper said that he thinks The Hawk is an Expo first.
• Andre could keep the Expoes dream alive! The guys joked that they never knew that the odd looking letter on the hat was an M.
• Kasper agrees that it should be the Hall's choice. He would be surprised if it is not an Expos hat.
• Len talked more about the Len & Bob Bash for Cubs charities. This will be the fourth year of the bash. Kasper and B.B. will get up on stage, and Matt (Mac) from 670 will get up there as well. You can still get tickets to the event, which will kick off the Cubs Convention.
• The discussion turned to the Cubs offseason. Kasper thinks Marlon Byrd will play really good defense. He's not a great hitter, but he is a good hitter. If he's healthy, he'll be fine. The Cubs need help "up the middle".
• Kasper thinks chemistry comes from winning, not the other way around. The clubhouse was weird with Bradley last year, but not bad.
• When teams are bad, it's no fun to be in the clubhouse whether you love everybody or not.
• Tyler Colvin is "a forth or fifth outfielder if he's a major leaguer at this point".
• Len thinks this team can do it in 2010.
• Patience is a virtue during this offseason. There are going to be solid guys who sign minor league contracts because of the economy. Len would be shocked if Jim doesn't add a veteran type guy for cheap who can compete for the rotation. A caller motioned Ben Sheets.

Keith Moreland joined Waddle and Silvy today to talk about the Hawk and college football. We'll focus on the former of those two topics:

• At some point, Zonk thinks Lee Smith will be a Hall of Famer as well.
• Dawson really understands the game of baseball. He will steal a base when you need him too.
• Andre was the best high ball hitter that Keith has ever seen. The only one close is Albert Pujols.
• Moreland says that there's no doubt that Roberto Alomar will be in. Keith thinks it is totally wrong that 5 voters turned in their ballots completely empty.

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

More Trade Reaction

• Be sure to check out our recap of today's "Talkin' Baseball" on ESPN Radio 1000.
• Jim Hendry talked about the trade
• Paul Sullivan took a look at Bradley's rocky moments with the Cubs.
• The Cubs can move on to other problems, but according to Phil Rodgers it appears the budget won't allow the Cubs to make a big move.
• Aroldis Chapman is still drawing interest from the Cubs.
• Carlos Silva is expected to compete for the 5th starter's job or work in long relief according to Gordon Wittenmyer.
• Milton Bradley has said that he "has no interest in speaking about Chicago."
• Bruce Miles' story focused a lot on Bradley's teleconference.
• According to M's writer Greg Johns, the people in Seattle a very happy with the trade to dump Carlos Silva and add Milton.

Other Links and Notes:

• Ryan Dempster and the Cubs helped open the rink at Wrigley today.
• Carrie Muskat says that Chris Brady, the Mesa city manager was told in a meeting with the Cubs on Friday that the city is still a serious candidate for the team's Spring Training site.
• A Q&A with Ryan Theriot
• Al from BCB has more on the Mesa Spring Training situation.

David Kaplan, Dave Van Dyck, and Paul Sullivan talked about the Bradley trade on Chicago Tribune Live yesterday with Jim Hendry:

• Hendry is happy to have the whole Bradley thing behind him.
• It's no secret that Bradley never really achieved on the field, and had issues off the field that weren't tolerable.
• Jim takes full responsibility for the Bradley signing.
• The Cubs had other avenues that they could have taken, but in the long run this is a good deal for them because they got some cash back in the deal.
• He will look at the trade based on not only Silva's performance, but also based on the performance of the player that the Cubs get with the extra money they receive in the deal.
• When Paul congratulated him on the deal, Hendry said thanks but it's not something he thinks of as congratulations, but you have to move on and put it behind you.
• At the meetings, the president of Seattle told Sully that the M's were not looking at Bradley.
• Jim said that he first heard from the Mariners on Bradley 2 days ago.
• This week, two clubs that Hendry had not talked to all off season long (one being Seattle) contacted him this week.
• Van Dyck thinks that the Mariners kept Silva on the DL longer than he needed to be because he wasn't performing well.
• "He's not hurt, he's 30 years old, and maybe he just needs a change of scenery. This is a very good guy, a good team got, and he helps young pitcher," Hendry said of Carlos Silva.
• He'll be a candidate for the rotation and for the middle relief job.
• The Cubs have been keeping track of all their possibilities. They know they would like to move Kosuke back to right field.
• Jim is also looking to add a bullpen piece to go with Grabow and Marmol.
• They would also like to add a quality person or two to their bench, and they need a right handed bat who can play with Kosuke in right field.
• Reed Johnson is a guy that the Cubs will always consider for their baseball guy. Johnson is a great team guy, but he has had a tough time staying healthy.
• Jim certainly wouldn't rule out Reed coming back.

After Jim was off the phone, the guys talked more about the Cubs:

• They were surprised that this deal to Seattle got done as suddenly as it did.
• Van Dyck thinks that when they relized how big of a contract Jason Bay wanted, they decided that Bradley might be a better fit.
• Kap thinks that he will go out to the West Coast and have a great season.
• Dave thinks Ken Griffey Jr. will have a good impact on Bradley.

Todd Hollandsworth joined the guys next:

• The first thing Todd said was, "Christmas came to Chicago early."
• It was a good time to get Bradley out.
• Silva has a little up side and potential in the bullpen.
• Hollandsworth thinks that one person can have a huge impact on the clubhouse. Chicago's relationship with Bradley was not a good one.
• Todd believes that this could possibly be a very good situation for Carlos Silva, who is an innings eater and a ground ball pitcher.
• He thinks Carlos could be a fit in the bullpen.
• Bradley hurt the Cubs in the clubhouse and on the field. He was brought in to be the guy in between Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee.
• When Aramis got hurt, Milton needed to step it up. When the Cubs needed him the most, his game really started to turn south. A lot of things played off of that.
• Todd says that there's not a lot of pressure in Texas. The pressure in Chicago got to Bradley.
• Hollandsworth thinks that it was the best situation for both Silva and Bradley to go to a new place.

More CTR Cubs talk:

• Dave Van Dyck thinks that if Bradley would have signed for 1 year $8 million it might have all ended up differently.
• Kaplan thinks Lou Piniella has to come in with a little more edge next year. Sullivan says that they just need to hit.
• Kap thinks the manager has to hold people accountable.
• Van Dyck and Sullivan agree that the hitters not hitting was the key to the season, not Piniella's lack of fire.
• Dave pointed out that the Cubs won 97 games under Lou in 2008.
• Paul says that if you want to blame Piniella for something, blame him for sticking with Kevin Gregg too long and leaving Soriano as the lead-off man for too long.
• Frankie O. from Harry Caray's restaurant called it an awesome day. He said today the people at Harry Caray's were celebrating the trade of Bradley.
• Milton never endeared himself to Cub fans. He was the guy that the fans had a lot of resentment towards. Frankie says that this team needs to move towards winning. Cubs fans want to see what will happen next.
• People want to see if this Cubs team can hit next season.

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

Weekend Update: The Latest on Bradley& More

Cubs Talk on CSN's Chicago Tribune Live yesterday:

• Phil Rodgers doesn't think there's a real landing place for Milton.
• Rodgers says that the Yankees got a great player in Granderson.
• White Sox writer Mark Gonzales feels that Curtis Granderson is the good player, but he has an astrick because he can't hit lefties.
• Gonzales says the Cubs have bigger problems than needing a center fielder.

Dave Van Dyck talked Cubs on the Mully and Hanley show on 670 the score yesterday:

• Van Dyck and the guys joked about the lack of a Bradley trade.
• Dave thinks that at some point the Cubs have to give him away.
• If the Cubs eat everything, the Rays will take him.
• Right now the Cubs are trying wait and see where other outfielder like Bay and Holliday end up, and then a team may be left out once the dominoes for outfielders have started to fall.
• The later you wait, the worse off it is, because if the Cubs can't dump Burrell after getting him from Tampa, the Cubs could end up $21 million.
• Dave said "yes and no" when he was asked if it's fair to rip the Ricketts family's tenure so far.
• There's teams out there that would take him. He will not be released or return to the team.

More Notes:

• Ryan Dempster is trying to sell his Lake View mansion according to the Tribune.
• Paul Sullivan says that the Cubs may have lost their best possible trade partner for Bradley, because the Rays have signed Rafael Soriano for $7.25 million.
• The Cubs may be forced to pay the "bulk" of Bradley's $13M salary in 2011.
• Right now, Sully says, the Ricketts Family is more focused on remodeling Wrigley Field. Ryan Dempster said that an improvement to the trophy room for a World Series trophy would be number 1 on his list in remodeling the ballpark.
• Thanks to Phil Rodgers for this quote: "You really don't have to follow him all that closely to know what a dominant upper-rotation starter he has the ability to be and has been in his career. Hopefully not just this year but a majority of his career is spent in Texas. ... We know what he's capable of. He can go in there and flat shut down an opposing lineup." -- Rangers GM Jon Daniels on Rich Harden, the former Cub who signed for one year and an option.
• Nick Gandy, a communications director for the Florida Sports Foundation, thinks that teams in the Midwest and Northeast should train in Florida.
• MLB.com's Q&A with Sean Marshall.
• How eager do fans want to see Bradley go? Someone on Twitter urged people to send $3 to "No More Milton Bradley" to pay for his salary to help move him, and listed an address. That address was for Wrigley Field. No, it wasn't Jim Hendry who posted the tweet.

That's it for now, more later with the non-tender deadline tonight...

Chicago Tribune Live talks Cubs, Full Recap of Sport Central

David Kaplan and company talked about the Milton Bradley trade on Chicago Tribune Live on Comcast Sports Net.

• David Haugh wonders what the Cubs are doing this off season saying that the moves make no sense.
• Haugh wonders if he will stay healthy.
• Kap says he wishes they wouldn't have traded DeRosa.
• They talked about how Bradley is a good hitter IF he stays healthy, noting that the if is a big IF.
• Hough also mentions the Cubs chemistry. Kaplan replied by saying that all of Bradley's former teammates call him a good teammate.
• Kap is the latest to report that Fukudome and Johnson will platoon in CF.
• He says that we are looking at a pay roll of about 140.
• Kaplan also says that if the new ownership approves the Cubs will go after Peavy again.
• The Cubs have trimmed off enough money in the DeRosa and Marquis trades to pay for DeRosa.
• Dave Haugh says he doesn't think that the Cubs have made progress this off season.
• Kap says Joey Gathright fits in only as a 5th outfielder.

By the way, the Marquis deal may be finalized tomorrow according to Cubs.com.

We move from Kaplan's TV show to his radio show.

• The first caller on Sports Central said that Milton Bradley is not a team player. Dave argued that the caller has no idea and says that Bradley's former teammates love him. David Kaplan said that he would call him a "hothead" but not call him "not a team player.
• Kap says the big question with him is will he stay healthy.
• The next caller asked Kap to give him a grade on Jim Hendry for his tenor as GM. The caller would give him a C.
• Dave says he could have had 4 playoffs in 6 years if the Cubs would have made it in 2004.
• The caller doesn't like the contract Jim gave Alfonso Soriano. The caller says he would love to have Manny Ramirez's bat.
• Kap says he would give Hendry a B+ saying he lowered the grade because of the playoff failure and the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
• The 3rd caller likes the Bradley signing to add flare in the clubhouse.
• The 4th caller lives in Dallas and says he never heard any complaints from any players in Texas and says he's exited about the move.
• Kap pleads for everyone to just give Milton a chance.
• They replayed the Mark DeRosa interview from Friday night. It is an awesome interview. You can read my recap of it here, or listen to the full interview here.

Next, Aaron Miles was live on the show with Kaplan. Here's what he had to say:

• Kap asked what was going through Miles's mind when he found out he was going to the Cardinals' arch rivals. Miles says he's looking forward to playing at Wrigley Field for a team that has a chance to do great things.
• Miles was told he would be considered for the second base job and says he can play lots of positions and switch hit. Aaron says at different times during year, he could be in different roles.
• Miles says that Tony LaRusa was a great manager and knew that when Aaron got non-tendered again there was a good chance he would be leaving.
• Kap asked what position he would play and where he would bat in the order if Lou left it up to him. Miles says he would play second base and like to hit in the top of the order but says he can bat anywhere and will be happy in any role.
• Dave brought up that Miles has pitched a little bit. Aaron says it's a bittersweet feeling to pitch as a position player.
• In spring of 2000 Miles came home from dinner and 2 masked gun men came in to his room and wanted his money. His teammates called the police and they arrived just in time. Miles said he was held hostage for about 30 minutes. Then he got into a struggle for the gun and got punched and bit by this masked man. The cops came in and shot him 6 times. True story, click here for the full story.
• Kap asked who in the Cardinal locker room hates the Cubs the most. Aaron said the it's probably Tony LaRusa.
• He says all the players on both sides love the rivalry but says it lives and dies with the managers.
• Miles will be at the Cubs Convention.

Ken Rosenthal from Fox Sports was the next guest on the show to talk baseball:

• Ken says he loves Milton Bradley but just wonders if he can stay healthy playing right field. He says fans are going to like his fire and his OPS.
• Rosenthal says it may be a challenge for Sweet Lou to leave Bradley alone and let him do his job.
• Bradley's primary goal is to win. He says you can say the same things about Lou that you can say about Milton Bradley, that's why some people consider it a dangerous situation.
• Kap asked how Rosenthal would handicap where the Cubs are today compared to the end of the season. Ken says he likes where they are but he understands the criticism.
• He says the main reason that the Cubs traded DeRosa is to get more left handed and be more of a balanced offense.
• Kap asked about Peavy. Rosenthal says the odds of a Peavy deal to the Cubs are about 10%.
• He thinks that the Cubs may test the market for another starting pitcher but doesn't think they will pay big money for a starter like Derrek Lowe, but if the ownership change happens, a lot of things could change.
• Rosenthal says that the AL Central is a difficult division to pick and says that the Indians with Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa will have a chance.
• Kap notes that the other teams in the NL Central haven't been to active.
• Ken says that we should keep an eye on the Brewers. He expects them to be active in the coming weeks.
• He also thinks that the Cardinals could add a few more pitchers.

Kap took a few more calls:

• The first caller doesn't see how the Cubs are going with Miles and Fontenot as the every day second basemen. He thinks that the Cubs might have something else up their sleeve. Kap says that Fontenot will get a chance to win a job.
• The next caller asked if the door is totally closed on Jake Peavy. Kap says that the door is closing but not totally closed. The Cubs are not going to do a 6 for 1 deal.

Well, that is it for today! I'll have more updates tomorrow!

Just Keep on rooting for the Cubs!