Theriot on SC, Hall of Fame Votes, and More

Ryan Theriot was on Sports Central Monday for his weekly visit with David Kaplan:

• Theriot has been at the batting cage since 3:00.
• His kids have PCS (post-Christmas syndrome).
• Houston likes trains, Pirates, guns, and swards so his Christmas was great.
• Ryan finally got a washer and dryer for his house.
• Theriot got his wife a painting studio for Christmas.
• Neither Kaplan or Theriot are very good at art. David Kaplan got an F in art in 7th grade. That was the only class Kap ever failed.
• Ryan also failed one class, and economics class is college. The teacher he had didn't like athletes at all.
• The Riot got good grades in college (except the economics class).
• Ryan thinks Mark DeRosa is worth more than 2 years $12 million, but Kaplan says "not in this economy. Theriot would still like to have DeRo back.
• He will come up to Chicago a few days before the Cubs Convention.
• Theriot has been working out with his wife.
• He got a new riffle for Christmas. Kap doesn't like hunting. David has never fired a gun in his life, and has never gone hunting.
• Theriot likes to shoot targets and hunt animals. He mainly hunts ducks and deer.
• He thinks the riffle is a cool gun to have even though he will probably never shoot an animal with it.
• Ryan likes being among nature and breathing the fresh air. He calls it a stress reliever.
• Two nights ago was the last craw fish night.
• Last night was the Theriot's 7 year anniversary. He and his wife dropped the kids' and Grandma's and went out for a nice night.
• The guys discussed whether or not a grizzly bear could outrun a horse. I'm not sure how that fits on "Sport Central" or on "Everything Cubs blog".
• Theriot sounded surprised when Kap said Jose Contreras.
• Paul Sullivan hasen't cut his hair since the Cubs last game. The Riot and Kap want Sully to do an extreme makeover at the Cubs Convention. Theriot is a fan of Sullivan's glasses.

Speaking of Sully, he was on Chicago Tribune Live and briefly discussed the Cubs:

• The Cubs didn't want DeRosa back. They didn't even look at him.
• Mark got about what he was worth.
• If Paul was the GM of the Cubs, he would consider signing DeRo once again.
• The Cubs are looking to move Theriot to second base eventually, and if you sign DeRosa to a 2 year deal, it means you're keeping Mark at second and keeping Castro in the minors for the next two years.
• Sullivan said Jeff Baker paid really well as a Cub.
• Guys like DeRosa and Henry Blanco were "glue guys" for the '08 Cubs (they held everything together).
• The Cubs didn't want to bring Mark back, because when you bring guys back it's never the same as the first time. They did it with Fergie and Holtzman, and it just wasn't the same.
• The players the guys got in the DeRosa deal last year were talked about. Mark Carmen (who was also on CTL) wasn't too excited about the 3 minor league pitchers, calling them average. Sullivan says John Gaub looks pretty good, but he's unsure about Jeff Stevens.

Hall of Fame: If You Voted for Dawson, Please Stand Up?

Next Wednesdays is the day we find out whether or not Cub great Andre Dawson is going to be inducted into Cooperstown next July. Dawson need to be in, there's no doubt. Former Cub closer Lee Smith and current Cub bench coach Alan Trammell are also on the ballot. Cubs beat writer (and friend of this blog) Bruce Miles has revealed the 9 guys that he voted for. Miles voted for Roberto Alomar, Bert Blyleven, Dawson, Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez, Jack Morris, Tim Raines, Smith, and Trammell. As of December 4, Carrie Muskat had already checked Andre Dawson. White Sox beat Writer Mark Gonzales is voting for "The Hawk" as well as Barry Larkin, Bert Blyleven, and Roberto Alomar. Teddy Greenstein has a check mark next to the names of Dawosn, Alomar, Blyleven, Dawosn, Mattingly, and Smith. Philip Hersh is giving Alomar, Blyleven, Dawson, Larkin, Martinez, Mattingly, Morris, Smith, and Trammell his vote. Fred Mitchell is voting for Alomar, Blyleven, Dawson, Larkin, McGriff, Morris, Raines, and Smith. Phil Rogers checked the following names: Alomar, Baines, Blyleven, Dawson, Morris, Raines, and Trammell. Cub beat writer Paul Sullivan will vote for Alomar, Baines, Dawson, Raines, and Smith. Dave Van Dyck is only voting for 3 guys, but "The Hawk" and Smith are both in that elite group, along with Roberto Alomar. So far we have 9 votes for Andre Dawson, and no writes who left the box next to Dawson's name unchecked. Gordon Wittenmyer for the Sun-Times says Dawson is on his ballot, which brings us up to ten votes. Jon Heyman tweeted that he too voted for Dawson. Ken Rosethal voted for Hawk, Lee, and Alan.

We could go on and on a possible even find out if Dawson made it or not by looking at all of the BBWAA voting member blogs and twitters. However, there's over a hundred. Let's just wait 8 more days to find out. I'll have a numbers breakdown up about Dawson over the weekend. The announcement is made a week from tomorrow (Jan. 6) at 1:00 PM CT on MLB.com & MLB Network.

Len & Bob Bash

Tickets for this year's Len & Bob Bash are on Sale! Click here for more.

Minor League Update

Cubs prospect Robinson Chirinos was mentioned in the list of best minor league games of the year for his 2 grand slam game on May 31.

Cub Plays of the Year

Check out the videos of the top Cubs plays of 2009, and then vote on your favorite on Cubs.com!! I like Reed's catch and Piniella's craftiness. It's fun to remember that there were some good moments this past season!

Rumor Updates

The acquisition of Jose Contreras is unlikely according to Chicago Breaking Sports.com, because Carlos Silva will fill the role of spot starter/bullpen man. Contreras should get better offers from teams that are looking for starters. Brining back popular Reed Johnson could be a better option that trading for Ryan Spillborghs. Troy Renck of the Denver Post talked to a major league source who downplayed the Cubs' interest in Spillborghs. Troy's "gut tells him that the Rockies' asking price will be too high to get a deal done."

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted with just 2 days left of 2009...

Rumor Roundup: Cubs Still Have a Lot of Work to Do

The Chicago Cubs have a lot of holes and needs right now. Jim Hendry, who has done nothing except dump Aaron Miles, Aaron Heilman, Jake Fox, and Milton Bradley this offseason, needs to get to work. Maybe Jim learned a lesson when he over-payed for guys early in the winter last year, but he cannot wait too long as he has already lost out on many of his targets. The Chicago Cubs need to have an active next month and a half, because right now there are still many areas that need improvement and added depth. Earlier I updated my projected Cub Opening Day roster. Tonight, let's go through some of the areas the Cubs need help, and take a look at the latest rumors...

Outfield
Right now, the 40-man roster consists of 5 outfielders: Alfonso Soriano, Sam Fuld, James Adducci, Tyler Colvin, and Kosuke. You can forget Adducci, Colvin showed some promise but will likely start the year at AAA, and Fuld is a 4th outfielder at best. Soriano and Fukudome have shown inconsistency and injuries over the past few seasons, so you cannot count on them to start each and everyday for you. Most likely, both of them will either suffer an injury or go through a slump at some point in 2010. So the point is, the Cubs need to add outfielders (note the plural). Phil Rodgers says that the "Cubs aren't blown away by any of the outfielders on the free agent market." He speculated that Fernando Perez, a speedy Rays outfielder who is recovering from shoulder surgery, "would be an interesting gamble". Perez would cost the Cubs a top prospects according to NBC Sports. Marlon Byrd, Rick Ankiel, and Scott Podsednik remain options according to Rodgers. Reed Johnson could still resign with the Cubs. Carrie Muskat has told us that the Cubs like the way he plays, but are concerned about his ability to stay healthy. Last week I had a numbers breakdown that compared Johnson with other Cub outfield candidates. The other new and interesting Cub outfield rumor comes from Bruce Levine. Mr. Chicago Baseball says the Cubs have had talks with the Rockies about a trade that would bring Ryan Spilborghs to Chicago to replace Reed as the 4th outfielder. Spilborghs has good defense and plays all 3 outfield positions. In an article separate from the one where he wrote about Perez, Phil Rodgers (who is sometimes accused of making up rumors himself) reports that the Cubs would "immediately make an effort to land Jacoby Ellsbury" to fill their center field/leadoff hole if the Red Sox end up with Holliday or Bay. Rodgers goes on to say that this scenario helps explain why the Cubs have been so patient in studying their outfield options. Ellsbury would cost the Cubs a major prospect package. Phil listed Josh Vitters, Hak-Ju Lee, Andrew Cashner, and Jay Jackson as guys that could be included. The Cubs are also rumored to have interest in Johnny Damon. Dave O'Brien reports that Melky Cabrera (who was acquired from the Yankees last week) could be used as a trade chip. Jon Heyman tweets that if the Braves consider trading him, they should contact the Cubs, who'd love him for center field. In addition, David DeJesus could be an option. The Cubs have spoken to the Royals about DeJesus. Levine reiterated that Byrd and Podsednik remain 1-2 on the outfield list.

Pitching Depth
Sure, the Cubs have Carlos Zambrano, Randy Wells, Ted Lilly, and Ryan Dempster all returning, but with Harden gone via free agency and Lilly starting the season on the DL, there are two spots open in the rotation to start the year going into Spring Training. I'd like to see more than one good year out of Wells before you can count on him, and Big Z is never a sure thing. Although overal the rotation is solid, the bullpen is not. Carlos Marmol is the closer, he had good stuff but his control is a question mark. John Grabow and Angel Guzman are the only other guys that you know will be in the pen right now, and after that there's four question marks. So for two rotation spots and four bullpen spots we have Carlos Silva, Mike Parisi, David Patton, Jeff Samardzija, Tom Gorzelanny, John Gaub, Esmalin Caridad, Mitch Atkins, Jeff Stevens, Sean Marshall, Justin Berg, and Arismendy Mota all in the mix in Spring Training. On problem: will hese guys pitch well? The big Cub rumor on the pitching side going around today was that the Cubs have had talks with Jose Contreras' agent about the possibility of the former White Sox hurler to pitch for the Cubbies in 2010. The veteran right hander would "bring a certain amount of protection for the team, considering the unknown status of rehabbing lefty Ted Lilly" according to ESPNChicago.com. Contreras could be in the rotation until Lilly returns and then would be moved to the bullpen. Kiko Calero is also still on the Cubs' radar for the bullpen. The Cubs had to move on to other options for the bullpen after they lost out on former Pirates closer Matt Capps who signed with the Washington Nationals just before Christmas. The other Cub pitching rumor is that Carlos Zambrano could be available. Jon Heyman tweeted tonight that the Yankees "definitely had talked to the Cubs about Zambrano, who appears eminently available." Big Z has a no-trade clause, and right now it doesn't seem like it would make sense for the Cubs to trade him unless they get an ace pitcher back. Some rehab guys like Ben Sheets are on the Cubs radar. The Cubs are talking with Ben Sheets. Carlos Silva could also be a major factor in the rotation.

Middle Infield
Not a lot of rumors related to the Cubs middle infield to report. Carrie Muskat told us a few days back that the Cubs are fine with going into the year with Andres Blanco, Jeff Baker, and Mike Fontenot as the second baseman. We've heard a lot about Starlin Castro this winter. Castro could be ready for the big leagues at some point in 2010. At the start of the year, Theriot is expected to be the short stop. Former Cub infielder Mark DeRosa is close to signing a 2 year $12 million deal with San Fransisco. Felipe Lopez, Orlando Hudson, and Kelly Johnson are among the free agent middle infielders that make sense for the Cubs. Orlando Cabrera could be an option if the Cubs are willing to move Theriot to second.

The Cubs are also in need of a solid pinch hitter.

Well that's it for tonight, lots of great stuff to come in the next few days!