Jim Hendry on Sports Central

Cubs GM Jim Hendry visited with David Kaplan to talk about the Cubs remaining offseason plans on Sports Central on WGN Radio last night. Here's my recap:

• Jim says that the economy is taking an effect on the baseball world. He says the Cubs are fortunate the their payroll didn't go down. He says some clubs are going to take more cutbacks than others.
• Kap suggested the Cubs getting a right handed bat that hits left handers. He says the Cubs still would prefer a left handed or switch hitter.
• An email asked if the Cubs ever considered moving Soriano back to second base. Jim says that Sori will stay in left field.
• Another question asked if Hendry still sees getting another starter. Jim says that you might try to make something work with an elite guy but the Cubs aren't searching for another starter but says that the new owner might have an impact on things like this.
• Jim says the if Greg Maddox wants to work with the Cubs he can work in Chicago any time he wants, he thinks Greg will get away from the game for some time and then might get back into baseball in some way.
• Kap asked about Ryan Sandberg. Jim said that the Cubs don't get hung up on moving up the latter with coaches in the minor leagues like players do. He says Rhino's done a terrific job in Peoria for 2 years and in the Arizona Fall League. He thinks that Sandberg can be a big league coach some day.
• Kap asked for thought about Kerry Wood. Jim think Kerry ended up in a great place and says that he will root for Woody except when he plays the Cubs for the rest of his career.
• Hendry said that Gathright was a real good sign that gains the Cubs speed and depth. Jim wants to add one more left handed hitting outfielder to the mix out there.
• Jim says that he likes Adam Dunn and says that the situation is his defense. He wouldn't rule a terrific hitter off the Cubs list though.
• Kap asked about DeRosa. Hendry said that he is just trying to make the Cubs better and sometimes you might have to consider trading someone you really like.

Cubs on the Radio

Mark DeRosa was on the Mac, Jurko, and Harry show yesterday on ESPN 1000. Here's what he had to say;

• Mark says that he's having a great off season in Atlanta working out and enjoying golf.
• DeRosa said he was in Disney World as a Cubs event with Ramirez and Soto during the Peavy rumors that he was involved in so it took his mind off it.
• DeRosa said that the Cubs had one of those lineups where it didn't matter where you were hitting because they were so deep.
• Mark hasn't gotten his wife anything for Christmas yet. DeRosa doesn't know what to get a women who has everything. He says Christmas is more about their daughter in the DeRosa house.
• DeRosa said that the pitcher is the most selfish guy on the baseball team out of any position.
• Mark thinks he will be playing every day at second base in 2009.

On Wednesday, David Kaplan was joined by former Cub Mikey Morandini on Sports Central:

• Mikey talked about being the head coach of Valparaiso High School and Mikey said he is having a blast with coaching.
• Morandini said he could see himself becoming a minor league coach some day.
• Kap and Mikey both think Rhino could be the guy to replace Lou as Cubs manager.
• Mikey would love to be a big league coach some day.
• Morandini said that he collects baseballs.
• Kap says Mikey was always one of the most fun guys to deal with.
• Morandini says that he can't help but follow the Cubs and says they're one of the elite ball clubs.
• He is looking forward to the Cubs Caravan.
• Mikey is going to miss Kerry Wood when the season starts, and says he can tell you every out of the 20 strikeout game.
• The toughest pitchers he every faced: Randy Johnson and Mariano Rivera.

Cubs Rumors; Fu-Te Ni on Cubs radar?

Well I'm off for the holidays! I'll have plenty of blog updates over the next 2 weeks. Right now there's not much to talk about concerning the Cubs. Before Baseball's Winter Meetings there were tons of different Cubs Rumors going around each day mostly about Jake Peavy. Since the Meetings there hasn't been as much rumors and still no big moves by the Cubs. But here's the latest Cubs Rumors:

• Rafael Furcal has resigned with the Dodgers. He joins Ibanez in the category of guys high on the Cubs list that signed. The Cubs better find their left handed bat soon.
• The Cubs have stepped up their pursuit of Milton Bradley.
• Steve Stone said that he thinks Bradley would be an awful signing for the Cubs.
• Phil Rogers think Joey Gathright will compete for the 25th spot on the roster.
• Milton Bradley is also on the Angels radar.
• The Tribune says that the Cubs have interest in Fu-Te Ni. He is a left handed pitcher from Japan. The M's, Twins, Tigers, and Braves also have interest.
• Adam Dunn is telling people that if the Cubs will have that's where he wants to go.

I think the Cubs should add Adam Dunn or Bobby Abreu for right field. I'm not a big Bradley fan but if the Cubs sign anyone I'll be happy that left field is solved. I would be in favor of Dunn but Dunn in right and Soriano in left would be horrible defensively. I think the Cubs better act quickly before Bradley ends up going to LA and by that time Abreu could already be signed. Fu-Te Ni is a guy that could really help the bullpen.

What do you think? Feel free to comment. (You don't even have to log in or anything.)

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted as always.

Coming Soon: MLB Network

The MLB Network will be launching in 50 million homes across the U.S. on January 1, 2009. Finally a channel will be dedicated to baseball 24 hours a day 365 days a year. It will go live at 5:00 PM CT on New Years Day. I'll have a full January schedule of the MLB Network soon, but for now here's some more info:
Off Season Shows:

• Hot Stove- Every weeknight at 6:00 the show has the experts break down the latest trades, rumors, and signings. Hot Stove is the signature show of the off season.
• All Time Games- Classic Games from MLB.
• Baseballs Seasons- Wednesday's at 7:00 relive some of baseball's most memorable seasons with MLB Network.
• Inside the Moment- I look at the moments that make baseball special such as the home run, magic on the mound, and unforgettable feats.
• Ken Burns' Baseball- Tuesday nights at 8:00 memories from the games come alive in each episode.
• Prime 9- Mondays at 7:00 this show will rank the top 9 of different baseball categories like center fielders, comebacks, records, and more.
• Rising Sons- A look at the influence of Japanese ballplayers into MLB.

On Air Personalities:

• Matt Vasgersian, studio host
• Victor Rojas, studio host
• Trenni Kusnierek, reporter
• Al Leiter, analyst
• Hazel Mae, reporter
• Joe Magrane, analyst
• Dan Plesac, analyst
• Herold Reynolds, analyst

I'll have more about the MLB Network as it gets closer.

Remember:

1 week until X-Mas

2 weeks until MLB Network launch

4 weeks until Cubs Convention

and Just 58 days until pitchers and catcher report

Len Kasper on Mac, Jurko, and Harry

Cubs play-by-play man Len Kasper was on the Mac, Jurko, and Harry show on ESPN 1000 yesterday.

• Len says that Joey Gathright rounds out the bench. He can play defense, run, and be a 4th or 5th outfielder.
• He doesn't think that they'll be that much more turn over before spring training.
• Kaper thinks the Cubs will go out and sign a starting right fielder.
• He thinks Reed Johnson is a grinder but he doesn't think he's an every day guy at this point.
• Kasper bought 2 tickets in the bleachers to the see the Blackhawks at Wrigley on New Year Day.
• Len and Bob will be at the House of Blues January 15 for the Len and Bob Bash. Len says the guys aren't going to perform this year but they'll just let the performers do their job.
• Len says he thought that Bob would get the job as the manager as the Brewers but he is trilled to have Bob back as his partner.

Sandberg Promoted to AA, other Minor League coaching changes, and Cubs Rumors

The Cubs announced their minor league coaching changes for next season today. Hall of Famer Ryan Sandberg, who has been the manager of the Peoria Chiefs of low A ball the past 2 seasons will be managing for the AA Tennessee Smokies is 2009. Quotes from Sanberg

• "If you'd asked me in the middle of my career, I would've said, 'No chance.'"
• "I guess you never know in this game. Once I was out of the game, I felt baseball was all I knew. Now, being back in it in this capacity, it's the next best thing to playing it."
• "First things first is to learn along the way."
• "That's how I've taken this thing. I want to be good at it. Like the players, I hope to one day be at the Major League level. That's all of our goals. I'm not any different than the players. I look at this as one more opportunity to learn."
• " It (coaching in the Arizona Fall League) was totally different, and different in a good way. It was a very good experience because these players were anywhere from going into AA to going into AAA, and I think some of these guys could actually get into the Major League next year."
• "All they needed was some little thing or help with the mental side of the game. If was a very good 7 weeks. I think that will help me going into this year and AA.

Dennis Lewallyn joins Sandberg's staff as pitching coach and Dennis Lewallyn is his hitting coach. Bobby Dickerson will be the new manager for AAA Iowa replacing Pat Listach who is now the Washington Nationals' 3rd base coach. Dickerson managed at Tennessee for 4 seasons and was the infield coordinator for Iowa the past 3 seasons. Mike Mason will return as the Iowa Cubs' pitching coach. Von Joshua returns for his 4th year as the hitting coach. Former Cub Jody Davis will be the minor league catching coordinator. Buddy Bailey will take over for Davis as the manager of the Daytona Cubs. The Daytona pitching coach is Tom Pratt and Richie Zisk will be in his 4th season as the Cubs hitting coach. Marty Pevey will replace Sandberg as the manager of the Peoria Chiefs. Rich Bobard will return as the Chiefs hitting coach and Barbaro Garbey will be the pitching coach. Casey Kopitzke will manage the Class A Short Season Boise Hawks next year. He spent 8 years in the Cubs organization as a player. David Rosario will be the pitching coach and Desi Wilson will be the hitting coach. Juan Cabreja begins his first season as manager of the Mesa Cubs.

And now here's the latest Cubs Rumors:

• Derek Lowe will likely go to the highest bidder. The Cubs are part of the long list of teams who are interested in Lowe.
• Felis Pie's days as a Cub are more that numbered according to the Sun Times.
• Jim Hendry said he's been approached from clubs about trades since returning form the winter meetings late last week. The Cubs have had talks about at least the framework of a potential deal. (for Milton Bradley)
• According to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins still have hope that they can acquire Mark DeRosa.
• Gordan Wittnmyer also expects Felix Pie to be traded because for the Gathright signing.
• The Pirates, Orioles, and Marlins could be good fits for Felix Pie.

I'll keep you posted.

Cubs sign Joey Gathright

The Cubs have agreed to a 1 year 800,000 deal with Joey Gathright who was non-tendered by the Royals last Friday. Gathright adds speed off the bench and can play all 3 outfield positions. It seems that Felix Pie is out of luck because he is out of options which means that he can not be sent back to AAA and Gathright is a similar player to him except Joey is a better hitter. Gathright is a left handed bat, but the Cubs will continue to pursue a middle of the order, left handed bat for right field.
Quotes from Jim Hendry:

• "We set out to find a real speed guy for the club and a left handed hitter and he makes a lot of sense."
• "He's a world class speed guy who can do a lot of things for us."
• "If he's not starting, he's a tremendous piece off the bench every day."
• "We're a long way from opening day, a lot of things can happen."
• "I feel confident that we'll end up with a good left handed hitter, there's still a lot of things to do."

In my opinion, the Gathright move does add some speed and depth, but this isn't going what we were hoping for. I would expect that the Cubs still acquire 1-2 more left handed hitters that are everyday players, not just bench guy. I don't think the Cubs really needed another backup outfielder because we already have Reed Johnson (or Kosuke if Reed starts) and DeRosa or Hoffpauir can back up the corner outfield spots to give Soriano and our new right fielder days off.

More Gathright Info:

• 27 years old
• Bats: Left, Throws: Right
• Played for Tampa Bay 2004-06, KC 2006-08
• .263 Career average
• 1 Career HR, 78 SB
• Drafted by Rays in the 32nd round of the 2001 Draft
• 22 RBI & 21 SB in 2008.

Other Cubs Rumors:

• According to Ken Rosenthal, Fucal is headed back to the Braves.
• Bobby Abreu is seeking a 3 year, $48 million dollar deal.
• Kevin Towers said he will listen to all offers on Peavy, but is no longer actively trying to trade him.

What do you think of the Gathright signing?

I'll keep you posted.