The Latest from the Rumor Mill

Rumors were flying around last week at the Winter Meetings, but it was more talk than action. The Cubs brass did leave Dallas with two moves under their belts. The team sent Tyler Colvin and DJ LeMahieu to the Rockies for third baseman Ian Stewart and minor league pitcher Casey Weathers. The team also claimed Jeff Bianchi off waivers from the Kansas City Royals. Bianchi is a middle infielder that played Double-A ball last season.

The biggest news of the week, however, was the election of Ron Santo to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. We will continue to celebrate Ron's legacy here on Everything Cubs Blog leading up to his induction in July.

Here are a few more news and notes.

• Albert Pujols signing with the Angels last week was good new for the Cubs. The Cub-killer will leave the division instead of re-signing with the World Champion Cardinals.
  
• Many baseball experts believe that the Cubs still have a shot at signing Prince Fielder. Fielder could sign a five year deal with the North Siders.
• Bruce Levine reported this weekend that Prince Fielder believes the Cubs will make the biggest push for him. Levine thinks the Cubs would like to build a championship team around the young, power-hitting first baseman.
• In the next three years, the Cubs television contract will expire with Comcast Sports Net and WGN. The Cubs could look into starting their own TV Network.
• Former Cubs Felix Pie is set to sign with the Indians.
• The division rival Brewers are in the lead to sign Aramis Ramirez, according to Jon Heyman.
• Ian Stewart is looking forward to the chance to play every day with the Cubs.
• Joel Sherman of the New York Post has said that he cannot see Theo Epstein passing up teh chance to sign Fielder.

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

Winter Meetings Day 2 Notes

Ron Santo's Hall of Fame election is by far the biggest headline to come out of the Winter Meetings so far. We'll continue to honor and cover Ronnie in the coming days and week here on Everything Cubs blog. However, there are some interesting tidbits from Dallas today.

• The Cubs have reportedly made offers for both Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder. They are not willing to offer a long term contract, but will make up for that with a large per year salary.
• The Marlins are the front runners for Pujols with a ten year contract offer on the table. However, they are not willing to give Albert a no-trade clause.
• The Cubs are more likely to sign Fielder, but they are not close with Prince either. They are not willing to go behind a five year deal with the slugging third baseman.
• The Cubs are still looking for a team to take Alfonso Soriano. They are willing to eat most of his contract. The Orioles were rumored to be interested.
• Fielder says he has many suitors and "the coffee isn't even hot yet."
• Carrie Muskat tweeted that Dale Sveum should announce his coaching staff soon. He is still looking for a first base coach. It looks as if Pat Listach will remain on the staff, moving from the bench coach to the third base coach.
• The Cubs did submit a bid for Pujols today, even though Theo Epstein claimed yesterday that he was talking to Pujols' agent about another one of his clients, Rodrigo Lopez.

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

The Latest from the Rumor Mill

The Major League Baseball Trade Deadline is just a week away. So far, things have been relatively quiet around baseball. The Cubs have been silent. Will they end up making any moves???

Here is a list of players potentially on the chopping block and the latest on each one:

• Aramis Ramirez: There has been interest, but he does not plan on waiving his no-trade clause. Will likely not be back next year and has a high value right now, but he will now allow the Cubs to trade him. The Angels would love to add Rami.


• Carlos Pena: Will become a free agent at season's end, does not have no-trade protection and seems like a good candidate to be shopped. However, Patrick Mooney of CSN reported today that Pena my stick with the club through the end of the season and beyond.


• Kerry Wood: Lot of teams would like him with his low salary, but he does not want to leave. It makes sense for him to stay in Chicago because of his family and Foundation situations. Woody will likely finish his career in a Cub uniform.


• Sean Marshall: Jon Heyman reports that the Cubs continue to receive calls about the lefty, but he's not going anywhere. They are not taking offers for Marsh, who could fit into the team's bullpen plans for the next few years.


• Reed Johnson: Buster Olney does not think the Cubs will get very good offers for Reed.


• Alfonso Soriano: The most overpaid of all the overpaid Cubs. Don't call him untradeable just yet however. The Cubs are willing to pay the majority of the $60M left on his contract and Sori has said that he will be willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to a contender.


• Kosuke: Bruce Levine has reported that the Indians are very interested. The Cubs are looking for pitching in return. Kosuke makes perfect sense to be traded since he is in the final year of his contract.


• John Grabow: Levine thinks that there might actually be interested in the veteran southpaw. Hopefully the Cubs can find a taker.


• Marlon Byrd: Judd Sirott said on the Cubs broadcaster earlier this month that the Pirates may be a fit. Byrd still has a year left on his contract, which could increase the interest level from several teams. I believe that the Cubs see him as a part of their team next season.


• Jeff Baker: Ken Rosenthal wrote a piece last week that said the Cubs do not want to part ways with the utility man. They think that he will help the team next season. The Red Sox are among the teams who have asked about Baker.


• Matt Garza: Peter Gammons has said that the Cubs have no interest in moving Garza, who is under contract for two more seasons.


• Ryan Dempster: Gammons also reported that Demp is not going anywhere.


• Geovany Soto: The Giants and Pirates have taken a look at him, but I don't expect Geo to be leaving town anytime soon.


• Koyie Hill: The Giants could also have an eye on the Cubs backup backstop in order to rectify their catching situation.


• Carlos Zambrano: I haven't heard much about trades involving Z as of late. He's always said that he'll waive his no trade clause if need be.

I will keep you posted throughout the week as we get closer to the deadline!

All Star Break Roundup: Rumors, TV Schedule, The Futures Game, and More

Before we get into all of the Cubs rumors going around today, let's start with the All-Star festivities!

Yesterday, the XM Radio All-Star Futures Game took place at Angel Stadium! The U.S. team beat the World 9-1 took even the all time series at 6-6. Two Cubs prospects took part in the game. Brett Jackson was on the winning U.S. team. Jackson struck out in his first at bat and walked in his only other trip to the plate. Right after drawing the base on balls, he was picked-off first base by the catcher. Jackson started in center field and then moved over to right in the second inning.

Hak-Ju Lee came off the bench to play the second half of the game at shortstop for the World team. Lee is a 19 year old who is playing for the Peoria Chiefs. He popped out to short in his first AB before drilling a sharp single to left in the 8th. Hak-Ju had a fun week playing at Wrigley Field on Wednesday and Angel Stadium on Saturday. However, he had a rough time in the field in Sunday's Futures Game, making two mistakes at short (1 ruled a hit, the other ruled an error).

For those of you that don't know, here's the full schedule of the MLB-All Star Break on TV. All times are CDT.

Tonight:
Now-7:00 MLB All-Star Batting Practice, MLB Network
6-7 Base Tonight All-Star Edition, ESPN
7-9 MLB Home Run Derby 2010 Live from Angel Stadium, ESPN
7-9 Classic MLB All-Star Games, MLB Network
Southern League All-Star Game 7:30 radio broadcast on MiLB.com
**Game includes Cubs farm hands Blake Lalli, Robinson Chirinos, Steve Clevenger, Tony Campana, Ryan Butcher, and Luke Sommer
9-10 Taco Bell Legends & Celebrity Softball Game (recorded Sunday), ESPN
9-10 MLB Tonight: All-Star Team, MLB Network

Tuesday:
Noon-3 1975 All-Star Game, MLB Network
3-4 MLB All-Star Red Carpet, MLB Network
4-6:30 MLB All-Star Batting Practice, MLBN
5-7 Sports Center at the All-Star Game, ESPN
7:00 MLB All-Star Game, FOX
10-12 Sports Center at the All-Star Game, ESPN

Wednesday:
12-3 1990 All-Star Game @Wrigley, MLBN
5-6 Plays of the First Half, MLBN
6-9 Triple-A All-Star Game PCL VS IL, MLBN
** Includes Iowa Cubs Darwin Barney and Thomas Diamond

Now for the Cubs rumors going around today:

• Tom Ricketts has given Jim Hendry to vote of confidence, but when asked about his GM's job security the Cubs owner said, "I support him, I think he does a great job, and after that we'll just take it one day at a time."
• Ricketts told Carrie Muskat that he's having a great time in his first year as the owner despite the team's struggles.
• MLB Trade Rumors reports that the Rays has some interest in Ted Lilly, who could fit the Tigers and Twins as well.
• Lou Piniella's agent Alan Nero says that Lou will definitely finish out this season but he isn't sure about Piniella's future behind this season.
• Derrek Lee will not ask to be traded to a contender. He plans to finish out the year with the Cubs.
• Josh Thole is one of the names that the Mets could send the other way in a Ted Lilly trade according to WGN Radio's Geoge Ofman.
• Fred Mitchell and David Kaplan write that we should count out the Reds in the Lilly sweepstakes. They add that a Giants scout was at Wrigley last week to see Tom Gorzelanny.
• Andrew Cashner gained some respect in the clubhouse by hitting Blake DeWitt with a pitch on his first throw of the 8th inning last night against the Dodgers.
• Lou was not happy about the umpiring crew this weekend according to Bruce Levine.
• Jeff Baker, Mike Fontenot, and Ryan Theriot are all being shopped. At least one of them is expected to be traded by the deadline.
• Xavier Nady is drawing interest from the Rangers according to Levine.
• Bruce also says that the Colorado Rockies now have interest in Theriot, but the Tigers interest has cooled.

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

Rumor Mill Friday: Lilly on the Market?

With the Major League Baseball trade deadline looming three weeks from tomorrow, it's time for MLB general managers to get busy with attempts to either a) improve their club's chances of winning this year or b) improve their club's chances of winning in the future. Chips are starting to fall with the trade of Cliff Lee to Texas today. How active with Jim Hendry be at the deadline?

The Cubs are finally ready to start making some deals according to a report from the Tribune yesterday. The Ricketts family is ready to address the media soon to talk about what direction the team will go in. If the club continues to struggle before the deadline, their is no doubt that they will be sellers.

Since the New York Mets lost out on Cliff Lee, they will turn to another lefty in the Cubs Ted Lilly. Jon Heyman also says the Mets like Ted, but he tweets that the Cubs have yet to make Lilly available. Heyman adds that Lilly's velocity is down. Several reports have indicated that the Cubs could try to swing a deal now to ship Lilly out for prospects and then try and sign the lefty when he hits free agency this winter. Could The Bulldog's last start as a Cub be tonight in L.A.?

Ken Davidoff agrees with the folks at the Tribune that the Cubs are getting more serious about trades. He also tweets that the Mets like the idea of taking on Lilly's contract instead of giving up more prospects.

Here are some other interesting Cub-related bits:

• Andrew Baggardly wrote awhile back that the Giants have interest in Ryan Theriot, but now the organization has not had any talks about adding The Riot so far.
• Lou Piniella does not plan on leaving the Cubs before the end of the season, but told Paul Sullivan that the Cubs gig will be his last managing job.
• ESPN.com says that Joe Torre could be interested in taking over as the Cubs manager next season.
• Lou says that the Cubs will most likely be sellers at the deadline.
• The Yankees have signed Chad Tracy to a minor league deal. Chad was released by the Cubs in late June after being DFA'd a week prior.
• In another former Cub note, Sean Gallagher will return to the NL Central. He was traded to the Pirates from San Diego with cash going the other way today.
• There is still no timetable on Carlos Zambrano's return to the pitching staff.
• The Cubs made a roster move earlier in the week calling up Mitch Atkins for bullpen help and placing Brian Schlitter on the 15-day DL.

Here is the full list of Cubs that could be on the trade market:

• Ted Lilly
• Kosuke Fukudome
• Ryan Theriot
• Mike Fontenot
• Jeff Baker
• Xavier Nady
• Derrek Lee

It should be an interesting three weeks! I'll keep you posted.

Thursday Night Rumor Updates

With Ricketts taking control of the Cubs, lots of rumors and news notes the past few days. Let's get caught up:

• The press conference for the Ricketts family to take control will be tomorrow at Wrigley Field. Tom will answer questions from the media for the first time. He is expected to reveal long term and short term plans.
• Mesa, Arizona is making their pitch to keep Cubs' spring training there. Naples, Florida is also trying to get the Cubs there for spring camp.
• According to the Sun-Times, the payroll will be in the $143 million range next year. Anyone expecting a dramatic shift in philosophy will be up for a huge letdown.
• John Lackey, Fernando Rodney, and Chone Figgins are all seeking new homes.
• TCR takes a look at what they would ask Mr. Ricketts.
• Paul Sullivan says that the first order of business will be to get rid of Milton Bradley.
• Bruce Miles thinks the Cubs should pass on Gary Matthews Jr.
• There is a debate going on as to whether a giant hotel should be placed near Wrigley Field. Would this building take away from Wrigley?
• Mark DeRosa had his surgery on Monday to repair a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist. He's a free agent!
• The Cubs have expressed some interest in Aroldis Chapman according to MLB Trade Rumors.
• Cubs Convention tickets go on sale November 4 at 10am.
• TCR thinks Kelvin Escobar makes sense for the Cubs.
• MLB Trade Rumors' list of bad contracts includes Milton Bradley, Alfonso Soriano, and Aaron Miles.
• Orlando Hudson, Miguel Tejada, and J.J. Hardy have been mentioned by ESPN.com as second baseman that could interest the Cubs.
• Mike Ferrin of XM Radio thinks Tom Ricketts will be a hands on owner.
• Sam Zell's statement on the sale of the Cubs: "I think the team should be owned by somebody who is local, somebody who is really passionate about baseball," Zell said. "I happen to be local. I'm not passionate about baseball, so I wish them all the best of luck. And maybe we'll break the 101-year curse."

Bruce Levine has been busy! He hosted his "Talkin' Baseball" show on ESPN 1000 Saturday, has been posted on ESPNChicago.com, and had a chat Tuesday. Here's Bruce's latest:

• Ricketts will tell his baseball people at the Cubs organization meetings next Wednesday that the minor-league system is his number 1 priority.
• If the Cubs get Chone Figgins, second base would be his main spot, but he is versatile.
• Vlad Guerrero is not a fit for the Cubs.
• Trades may be the only vehicle for Jim Hendry to bring new players in.
• Bruce's sources tell him that the Cubs payroll is going to be the same $140M they had last year.
• Levine will look at Starlin Castro in the AFL next week.
• Jeff Baker will be a back-up second baseman, but the Cubs need another middle infielder.
• If anybody can fix Alfonso Soriano, it's Rudy Jaramillo.
• Adding Rudy was a good decision for the Cubs.
• Bruce is high on Figgins.
• Andrew Cashner could end up with the Cubs by the end of next season.
• There's a plan in place to upgrade the entire ballpark (Wrigley).
• He does not see the Cubs going after Chapman. They have zero money to spend on good-looking young pitchers who will get multi-year deals.
• The Cubs want the fan base to feel like there's a directions where the team will go.
• Levine gives it a 90% chance that Bradley will be traded.
• Derrek Lee would love to finish his career a Cub.
• A one year gamble on a high-energy guy like Orlando Hudson might not be a bad idea.
• Lou doesn't think Andres Blanco can hit, so Andres will only be a back-up in 2010.
• Washington is not a fit for Milton Bradley.
• Levine likes the idea of moving Theriot to second base and adding a short stop.
• Brining Florida in to the mix for Cubs Spring Training is a ply to get a better offer from Mesa.
• Fukudome made some nice improvements by using one of his former batting instructors when his mechanics fell apart this season. The problem for Japanese players is the 162-game schedule. There are only a few players like Ichiro and Hideki Matsui who proved they can stay strong throughout an entire major-league season.
• If the Cubs make any big deals this winter, Sean Marshall could be included.
• The Cubs have talked to the Blue Jays about a Wells for Bradley trade.
• Expect a slight raise in ticket prices next season.
• Hendry is working trades with Tampa Bay and 3-4 other teams about players with big contracts they would like to move.
• The Blue Jays will be looking to trade Roy Halladay at some point, but "Mr. Chicago Baseball" doesn't know if the Cubs will be involved.
• A Milton Bradley for Pat Burrell trade has been on the table for 3 weeks.

And now the latest from today's press conference about bringing the Cubs to Naples, Florida:

• Craig Bouchard, the chief executive officer of the club, met the media today at the Naples Bath & Tennis Club. About 30 people were there.
• The Cubs bring in about $52 million a year of revenue for Mesa, and they want that money to go to Collier County.
• Site selection would need to be 120 continuous acres for a 15,000 seat stadium, batting cages, pitching mounds, and a 4,000-space parking lot.
• The stadium would be an 11-month operation.
• Inside Naples city is out of the question.
• There is no anticipation of getting into a bidding process.
• "We're going to put our best foot out there and if we're the best, we'll win, and if we're not, we'll lose," Bouchard said.
• There are no cost estimates and no time lines yet.
• This type of decision will not be rushed.
• The most significant hurdle is the history in Arizona.
• Craig hopes to have a proposal to the Cubs within the next six months.
• Three land parcels have been identified as possible locations, they will not be named yet.

Tomorrow at 11 CT Ricketts will meet the media at Wrigley Field for the first time. The press conference will be broadcast live on WGN and CSN Chicago. I'll have a full recap of the days events posted sometime tomorrow night. Also, since there is so much going on in the Cubs world, we will hold off this week's winter ball updates until the weekend.

That's it (I know a lot!), for now, but I'll keep you posted!

Cubs Rumors

• Fred Mitchell said that Hendry seems to be open to anything. "There are some GMs you deal with who are all paralyzed by their caution and analysis. Jim is willing to get out there and make things happen."
• Kevin Towers said that the proposal from the Cubs for Peavy would fill several holes for the Padres.
• Jim Hendry said that his product shouldn't be judged until opening day.
• The Sun Times says the Chone Figgins is available via trade.
• Bruce Miles doesn't think that the Cubs will try to land Derek Lowe, Andy Pettitte, Tim Redding, or Ben Sheets.
• Derek Lowe could end up with the Cubs according to the Daily Herald. His name has popped up a lot in the last 7-10 days.
• The Baltimore Sun says that Roberts and O's have discussed a contract extension, but the 2 sides are far apart.
• Ken Rosenthal reports that there is a growing possibility that Roberts will be traded.
• Hendry said, "You deal with what you have on the wall now until somebody else is added. We'll still look at some possibilities."

The MLB Network crew talked about the Bradley signing today:

• Harold Reynolds thinks that Lou will keep Bradley under control.
• Joe MaGrane thinks the Cubs would have been better off with Bobby Abreu.
• MaGrane thinks Milton will impress Lou with his competitiveness.
• Jon Heyman is a big fan of what Jim Hendry has been doing the past few years.
• Jon says there are 2 issues with Bradley; clubhouse issues and injuries.
• Heyman thinks the Chicago media will give Milton a chance.
• He thinks Bradley should be more positive not just say he wants to be positive.

Milton Bradley was on Boers and Bernstein on 670 The Score today. Here the recap:

• Bradley says it's an "honor" to be in Chicago.
• He felt the Cubs had everything in place. They are a team that wants a championship just as much as he does.
• Bradley feeds off the energy of the fan. He plays every game with a passion.
• Bradley looks forward to playing under Sweet Lou.
• He says that gelling with teammates is the easy part for him.
• There are people in the media that have a lot to say about how he is in the clubhouse. He says talk to any guy that he ever played with not media members.
• Milton said that he will go out on the field every day with a passion and give every thing he's got but would not give his word that no outbursts will happen in Chicago.

More post to come...

The Latest Cubs Rumors

• The Rockies remain interested in Jason Marquis. Tracy Ringolsby says that the Cubs are anxious to move him to ease their rotation overload.
• XM Radio says that the Cubs could receive pitcher Jason Hirsh for Marquis.
• Paul Sullivan says that the Cubs are considering inviting 2 Japanese left handed pitchers to compete for jobs in spring training; Ken Kadokura and Shigeki Noguchi.
• Bleacher seats for the Cub-Yanks exhibition games will cost only 25 cents and it will be 1.10 to sit in the grandstand. Yes you read that right. Click here for the full story from the Daily Herald.
• Bleed Cubbie blue likes the idea of Adam Dunn going, I agree with what they say.
• Tom Krasovic says that Jake Peavy will likely remain a Padre despite the many trade rumors this off season. He added that Kevin Towers will still listen to offers and said that a potential deal with the Cubs has fall through.
• The Len and Bob Bash is set, but Len and Bob won't be singing this year! Len talks about the Bash in his recent entry to his blog on the WGN website.

This week schedule for my blog:

Sunday- will be busy, might not get a chance for an update

Monday- Will return, update any new links, news, and rumors; will have a CD recommendation for Cubs Fans; and Will have Trivia answer from the question earlier today.

Tuesday/Wednesday- Get Set for the Launch of the MLB Network and the Hawks game at Wrigley.

Thursday/Friday- My thought on Winter Classic and MLB Network

So, thanks for reading, please comment and vote on our new poll!