Category: Uncategorized

Ok, maybe that’s not fair. But let’s face it, LaTroy was not working for the Cubs and probably never would.

I for one, think Jerome Williams has some talent. He is getting off to a slow start (spending most of it in the minors) having to tend to his ill father earlier in the year. Still, he’s 23 and very promising.

I know very little about David Aardsma other than what we are reading in the press now. He was a high draft pick in 2003. The Cubs say they’ll take a wait-and-see approach as to whether he’ll start or pitch out of the pen.

At this point, this looks like a very solid deal for the Cubs especially considering their injury situation. Williams could be the real deal. Aardsma could be the icing on the cake.

But unless Aardsma proves to be strong out of pen, they still haven’t taken care of business.

Followup: Here’s an article headlined “Teammates Will Miss Hawkins”. Yes, and so will Cubs’ opponents.

Ok, I’ll stop being so smart. Seriously, Cubs management did LaTroy a favor by trading him. He can get a fresh start in San Fran. He had too much baggage and there was too much discontent among the fans to be effective in Chicago.

Aardsma Trivia: Just read over at Cub Town (along with their analysis of the Cub trade) that Aardsma displaces Hank Aaron at the top of alphabetical list of career players.

Ok, USA Today’s teaser headline was “Prior injured, Cubs win”. Geez, that’s a tough price to pay for a “W”.

They’ve X-rayed his elbow and the results are negative. Which I guess means he doesn’t have an elbow.

Seriously, he’s lucky not to have a fracture. Especially, since Brad Hawpe’s batted ball ricocheted hard enough for Aramis Ramirez for him to catch it for the out.

Nice play, btw, Aramis.

As usual, we won’t know the extent till later. And knowing Cubs management, probably not then either.

If Cubs fans are looking for some good news, they can take heart that the Cubs have won 4 of their last 6 games.

With Wood and now possibly Prior gone, we’ll see what happens now.

Update: Though X-rays were negative, an MRI showed a slight fracture in Prior’s elbow.

Since my article about the multitudes of good players on the disabled list only a couple days ago, it looks like others are going to join them.

Erik Bedard is sidelined for an indefinite period, Javy Lopez is out and expected to have surgery, and Kevin Millwood has been placed on the 15-day DL.

That and it’s been reported that both Schilling’s and Halladay’s expected returns have been pushed back.

MLB.com has an article about former catchers who are now managers. According to the article, twelve of the thirty current managers in the majors have caught at least some games at the pro level.

The prevailing premise is that catchers work closer with the managers and get a better sense of the game. Of course, there is obligatory comments from a few of the former catchers/now-managers who say this is probably not true.

That got me thinking. I know that Connie Mack was a catcher before he reached his calling as the Master Tactitician. Al Lopez, too. So before I knew it I started making a mental list of historically great managers who might have been catchers in their playing days. I did a quick lookup and came up with a list of inactive managers in the top 75 in wins whose primary position was catcher.

Manager	Games Caught	Record as Manager
Connie Mack	609	3582-3814
Al Lopez	1925	840-650
Wilbert Robinson	1316	1375-1341
Birdie Tebbetts	1108	748-705
Johnny Oates	533	797-746
Buck Rodgers	895	784-774
Steve O’Neill	1532	1040-832
Paul Richards	486	923-901
Lee Fohl	5	713-792

This does not include Lou Boudreau (a University of Illinois alumni, BTW) who played 3 games at catcher. Lee Fohl managed Cleveland, St Louis and Boston in the teens and early twenties. He got as high as second place only once but still managed to win 713 games.

I don’t if this shows that mlb.com’s theory can be extended to the historical realm or not. It does seem that this is more of a recent phenomenon.

Every year about this time I look at the number of players on the DL and wonder if injuries are up from the previous year. I have no data to prove this, it’s just a hunch.

This year is no exception. Right about this time, just like clock-work, key players are dropping like flies.

A sampling of stars, key players and prospects who are now on the DL:

O. Hernandez SP Shoulder 15-day DL
M. Ordonez RF Hernia 15-day DL
V. Guerrero RF Shoulder 15-day DL
F. Rodriguez RP Arm 15-day DL
N. Swisher CF Shoulder 15-day DL
B. Crosby SS Ribs 15-day DL
B. Madritsch SP Shoulder 60-day DL
C. Koskie 3B Hand Late June
K. Wood SP Shoulder Mid June
N. Garciaparra SS Groin 15-day DL
T. Walker 2B Knee 15-day DL
J. Valentin 3B Knee Mid Aug
M. Loretta 2B Hand Late July
S. Rolen 3B Shoulder Late June

Update: Add Roger Clemens to this list. He left today’s game with a groin injury. Fortunately for him and the Astros, it’s not too serious and it’s possible he might not miss a start.

I guarantee a lot of fantasy team owners with Vladimir are making this exact same face as they read about his injury. Vlad jammed his shoulder while trying to avoid a tag at home plate during a game against the Dodgers yesterday.

Reports confirmed that he indeed jammed his left shoulder but as of yet there is no idea how long he will be out.

To add possible injury to injury, Jarrod Washburn left early with tightness in the same game.

Abreu? Hall of Fame?

I never considered the thought.

But Baseball Musings makes the case that Bobby Abreu may be HOF material. So I looked up his stats and I must admit his stats do warrant attention.

Six straight years with 20+ homers (and certainly on his way to a seventh). Six years with 20+ steals (again on his way to a seventh). Three 100 rbi seasons and four 100 run seasons. And maybe overlooked, six straight years with 100+ walks.

He is probably the best chance at a 40-40 season in the MLB right now.

I’ll be watching Bobby a little closer now.

Quick Summary…

Maddux obviously had an off day. And Garcia, who had horrendous outings in his two previous starts, was on his game.

Both pitched high and tight as they hit opposing batters prompting the men in blue to issue a warning to both benches.

Lee had a rare and costly error and Crede got out of his slump just in time to smack one out.

Damn.

Sidenote worth a chuckle: Apparently, Guillen was not happy about the parking arrangements the last time these teams met. He had to park in a fast-food restaurant parking lot.

This time things were more to his liking. He got to park next to Dusty.

I love stories like these.

In a Little League game, eleven-year-old Katie Brownell from Oakfield, NY threw a perfect game against an all-boy team. Not only that, she struck out every batter she faced.

Not only that, she never got to a three-ball count to any batter.

Her coach almost pulled her until the scorekeeper informed him she had a no-hitter in progress.

This weekend is Chicago baseball at its best. The Cubs and Sox meet up in a 3-game series in Wrigley.

The Cubs for all their injuries and problems, have won 5 of their last 7 games and seem ready to meet the red-hot White Sox.

How ’bout a little wager, Teddy Ballgame? :)