Cubs trade Jake Fox and Aaron Miles to A's

Per ESPNChicago, Fox and Miles head to Oakland in exchange for righty Jeff Gray and two minor leaguers.

I'm thrilled to see Miles go (it says something about last year's offseason that two of Hendry's first moves this offseason were to happily get rid of terrible acquisitions from last year, Heilman and Miles), but disappointed to see Fox go. I realize Fox really has nowhere to play on the Cubs' roster--or any NL roster for that matter--but I enjoyed watching him hit and hoped to get a bit more for him down the road if he couldn't crack the regular lineup.

But to be fair to Hendry, 1) he may have actually maxed out on his trade value--Fox impressed with his bat in '09 and it's possible that if he would have languished on the bench next year and put up poor numbers, he would have lost all his value, and 2) analyzing trades at the time they're made, especially when it comes to young players, is a fool's game. Gray, 28, had a 3.76 ERA in 24 games last year, and according to ESPNChicago he throws hard and throws strikes. Who knows, Gray could become the Cubs' primary set-up man. I'm not suggesting that's likely, just saying that it's impossible to be sure exactly what a 28-year-old with 24 innings of experience is going to become.

In addition, 23-year-old Matt Spencer is a versatile player who may make an impact down the road.

I am happy that Fox might get a chance to prove himself with the A's. Best of luck, Jake.

And Aaron ... I hate you.

Lee, Lilly take off against Astros

Wednesday: Cubs 2, Astros 0

How rude of Derrek Lee. And this after Fontenot turned in SportsCenter's #1 play earlier in the game.

Lilly and Marmol combined to post shutout number four on the year for the Cubs, vaulting them out of a tie for last place in the NL in that category. The others were Ted Lilly over the Rockies 4-0, Ryan Dempster over the Dodgers 7-0, and Randy Wells over Houston 12-0. It was good to see Lilly get the win, his 10th, after he went 0-1 in August despite a stellar 1.86 ERA. The Cubs scored just eight runs in his three August starts.

Wednesday wasn't much different, as a two-run homer by Derrek Lee was all the offense could muster. In fact, the four through eight hitters (Bradley, Fox, Fontenot, Baker, Hill) were a combined 0-for-14. But it was enough for Teddy Roosevelt Lilly, as he dominated the 'Stros with eight innings, four hits, no walks and five strikeouts. He's now 7-1 with a 1.73 ERA at home in 2009.

I said yesterday that if there's been one bright spot for the Cubs this season, it's Randy Wells. I stand by that, but if there have been two bright spots for the Cubs this year, the other is Derrek Lee. His home run was his 27th, and with six more he would have his highest career total outside of 2005 when he hit 46.

On top of that, the two RBI gave him 90 on the season, matching last year's total. With nine more, he'll once again have his highest career total outside of 2005, and with a great September, he could surpass that year's total of 107.

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Hey, look who's back: Andres Blanco! He wasted no time showing why Aaron Miles should never, ever play again for the Cubs, going 1-for-3 with a run scored.

"One hit?" you say. "That's nothing to write home about."

True, unless you're comparing him to Aaron Miles, which I am. Miles is 0-for-his last 700 (okay, actually his last 19), and is completely useless. On the other hand, Blanco was batting .304 in the minors, is hitting .240 with the Cubs, and is probably the best fielder they have save Derrek Lee.

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While there's no arguing the fact that the Cubs have folded like a guy in a tent wearing a cheap suit, sitting on a 2/7 off suit, we have to give credit where credit is due. The Cardinals went 20-6 in August, meaning it would have been difficult for the Cubs to stay in the division race almost no matter what they did. The Cards are now 2-0 in September as well, meaning the Cubs haven't gained any ground on them at all since August 3. For a full month straight, the Cubs have either held their ground or fallen back in the standings every single day.

Tellin' it like it is

I'm sick of talking about potential.

I'm tired of doubles that turn into singles.

I'm sick of being the worst fielding team in the league, or damn close.

I'm tired of hits that come only when no one is on base.

I'm sick of a bullpen that can't hold a lead.

I'm tired of the wrong players being kept on the major league roster while better options rot in the minors.

I'm sick of runners at second with nobody out staying at second with one out.

I'm tired of runners at third with less than two outs still standing at third when the inning ends.

I'm sick of a team that turns any park not called "Wrigley Field" into a house of horrors.

I'm sick of a $40 million outfield trio that has been outperformed by Josh Willingham ($3 mil; .304, 18, 46), Shane Victorino ($3 mil; .310, 9, 52), and Hunter Pence ($439,000; .291, 16, 52).

I'm tired of watching Mike Fontenot, Jeff Baker and Aaron Miles try to replace Mark DeRosa.

I'm sick of watching Geovany Soto flail away at the plate as if he's never heard the words "Rookie of the Year."

I'm tired of Carlos Zambrano's antics and inability to transform from a joker into an ace.

I'm even sick of fans throwing things at opposing players (by the way, did they eject the right person after that bleacher fan threw his beer on Shane Victorino?)

But mostly, I'm sick of rooting for a team that's so damned hard to root for. Remember how the Cubs just found ways to win in 2008? Clutch hitting, no excuses, a manager on his toes, consistency, fundamentals, hustle. How many of those descriptors fit the 2009 version of the Cubs?

Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm a Cubs fan. Always have been, always will be. But it sure takes a lot of the fun out of it when you watch them play and feel like they don't deserve to win.

Last year, casual baseball fans would say, "Wow, you gotta hand it to the Cubs. They're never out of a game, and they come to play."

This year, they say, "How are they only a few games out of first?" or "How did they not lose that game last night? They sure tried."

I don't have any answers. I honestly have no idea how a team can go from all out effort and 97 wins one year to lazy and overpaid and .500 the next, with much the same roster and the same man at the helm. What I do know is that the Cubs must have read a few too many preseason predictions this year, and thought they'd coast to the playoffs. This version of Cubs baseball is not what I signed up for when the season started.

I write all this knowing the season isn't over. There are exactly 50 games left, nearly a third of the season. The Cubs could sneak their way into the playoffs on the back of the Cardinals struggling. Or better yet, the Cubs could still turn it around. We've seen teams like the Astros, Marlins and Rockies put it together late and earn a postseason berth, and the Cubs could do it too.

And I'll certainly be rooting for that to happen.

But until and unless something changes, count me as one of the weary. I'm sick of the lack of leadership on this team, and I'm tired of the lack of effort. Play ball, dammit.

Dempster gets first win since July 2, Cubs hope for good news on Zambrano, Ramirez

Saturday: Cubs 6, Rockies 5


A strange win, but a big one.

Lou trotted out a brand new lineup, the Cubs made several defensive mistakes, and the Rockies had 11 hits, yet the Cubs got a big win to bring them back to 4-4 on the road trip.

I may have liked Saturday's lineup even more than Friday's. When I heard Fukudome was out of the leadoff spot, I was not happy. He has clearly made himself a nice home at the top of the order. However, the downside of batting Bradley second is that Theriot has to bat too far down in the order. Theriot can certainly hold his own in the leadoff spot, and if Fukudome can carry over his success to the five spot, then Lou can bide some time until Soto (hopefully) gets his swing going. Fukudome had a double and a home run, while Theriot had three singles, an RBI and a run scored.

And with a quality start from Ryan Dempster and three scoreless innings from the bullpen (including Marmol's best outing in a long time), the Cubs were able to remain one game behind the Cardinals. Bradley reached base two more times, Derrek Lee connected for his 23rd home run of the season, and even Aaron Miles connected for a triple and came around to score.

But still I ask: why oh why was Aaron Miles starting again? (Actually, I'll tell you: he was 6-for-16 against Marquis in his career.) If you ask me, he shouldn't even be on the roster, but for goodness' sake, at least stop trotting him out there as part of the starting lineup. There is absolutely no reason why Andres Blanco, who was batting 40 points higher than Miles and is 10 times the fielder (he may be the best fielder the Cubs have had all year), is in the minors while Miles is wasting space on the Cubs roster.

Speaking of who is and isn't on the roster, Carlos Zambrano was placed on the DL for the second time this season due to back spasms. Reliever Jeff Stevens was recalled to replace him. Because he hasn't pitched since Aug. 1, Zambrano will be eligible to return next Monday, Aug. 17. It sounds like Jeff Samardzija will start in his place on Wednesday against the Phillies. With John Grabow now in the bullpen, I would prefer Marshall to get the start, but on the bright side, Samardzija won't be coming on in relief over the next few days!

On top of Zambrano's injury, the injury bug bit the Cubs yet again, as Aramis Ramirez appeared to tweak his shoulder early in the game, and left in the 5th. Hopefully he'll be okay, but we'll at least see Jake Fox at the hot corner today, if not for a few days.

The Cubs have the third worst fielding percentage in the National League this year, and their glovework was perhaps the main reason Saturday's game was so close. In the 4th inning, the Cubs infield did their best impression of the Washington Generals.

First, Theriot was unable to grab a grounder up the middle that would have resulted in at least one out, if not two. On the very next play, Ramirez booted an easy double play grounder, and the stage was set for a big Rockies inning. One was inclined to feel bad for Ryan Dempster, but then he failed to cover first base on what could have been a double play later in the inning. Good ol' Aaron Miles then ran away from second base after Soto threw to second on a wild pitch, conceding the base as he looked to see if the runner at third was going to break for home (he didn't). That's FIVE extra outs the Cubs gave the Rockies in one inning.

All muscle, no hustle

Piniella needs to start benching or fining guys for a lack of effort. That may sound old school or overreactive, but the fact is, the Cubs may put out less effort than any team in baseball. The lineup is loaded with primadonnas who can't bring themselves to run hard when they put the ball in play. Soriano turned a double into a single on Friday, and Bradley came within a split-second of costing the Cubs a run when he decided to admire a ball he hit instead of running hard. He was tagged out at second for the third out just after Theriot crossed the plate with the go-ahead run. I don't care who you are or how much you make, RUN! This isn't football or soccer--you really don't have to run full speed all that often. Props to Bob Brenly for voicing a similar position during last night's broadcast.

Remember him?

Jason Dubois was traded to the Mets Friday, and was assigned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. He played 72 games for the Cubs between 2004 and 2005, batting .236 with eight home runs and 27 RBI.

New York Mess

I cannot recall a team running into worse luck than the 2009 Mets. Mets players on the DL include:

Starting Pitchers
John Maine
Fernando Nieve

Relievers
J.J. Putz
Billy Wagner

Infielders
Jose Reyes
Carlos Delgado
Ramon Martinez

Outfielder
Carlos Beltran

Oh, wait, I forgot: Luis Castillo tripped going down the dugout steps on Wednesday, and sprained his ankle. Seriously.

So the Mets starting lineup looked like this yesterday:

Angel Pagan
Alex Cora
David Wright
Gary Sheffield (who, by the way, just came off the DL)
Daniel Murphy
Jeff Francoeur
Brian Schneider
Angel Berroa

This, my friends, is the $135 million New York Mets, the team with a payroll second only to the Yankees.

Oh, wait, one more thing: the Mets starter yesterday was Jon Niese. Niese was called up from the minors in May because ... you guessed it ... Oliver Perez got injured. Niese hurt his hamstring covering first base in the 2nd inning, decided he was okay, then immediately collapsed while throwing a practice pitch and had to leave the game. He needs surgery and is out for the year.

Um, sorry, one more thing: Gary Sheffield hurt his hamstring running to first in the 6th inning. He also left the game.

The Mets still managed to beat the Cardinals 9-0, and are five games under .500, which is actually pretty impressive.

Wednesday: Reds 4, Cubs 0


Justin Lehr is an a**hole.

Okay, that's probably not fair. But who does he think he is? A four-hit shutout?

The man hadn't pitched in the majors since 2006.

The most wins he's ever had in a season is two.

Two.

He's owned in .1% of ESPN fantasy leagues. And that's up .1% this week.

In the 2007 Caribbean Series, he had an ERA of 162.00.

But nevertheless, he absolutely steamrolled the Cubs. He went the distance, allowing nothing but singles to Lee, Bradley and Soriano, a bloop double to Rich Harden, and the obligatory walk by Bradley.

Rich Harden struggled mightily in the 2nd, but ended up with a quality start and nine strikeouts. It's his fifth "good" start in a row--he did go just five innings last time out against Florida, but you have to go back to July 10 against the Cardinals to find his last truly disappointing outing.

Perhaps we shouldn't be greedy--the Cubs had won six straight against the Reds before Wednesday--but this one would have been nice to win. It would have given the Cubs a 4-2 record on the road trip, meaning a split with Colorado would net a winning 6-4 trip. Instead, the Cubs head to the Centennial State hoping to win three of four.

By the way, it's one thing for Aaron Miles to be activated from the DL, but did Lou need to start him--and bat him second?! He went 0-for-3 to lower his average to, ahem, .198. That's below the Mendoza Line.

To make room for Miles, Jeff Stevens was sent down, meaning Jeff Samardzija stays. In a separate move, reliever Jason Waddell was released.

Rookie of the Year Watch

J.A. Happ dominated the Rockies on Wednesday to move to 8-2. He saw Randy Wells' 7.1 inning, one-run performance, and raised him a complete game, four-hit shutout. Now both pitchers have eight wins, and their ERAs are virtually identical: 2.74 for Happ, 2.73 for Wells. The question remains: will Happ stay in the rotation when Pedro Martinez is activated from the DL?

A recipe for success

Clearly, the Cubs' current lineup is not getting the job done. Hendry shook things up a bit on Sunday by firing hitting coach Gerald Perry and replacing him with Triple-A hitting coach Von Joshua (Joshua was the White Sox hitting coach from 1998-2001). I can't recall offhand a team firing their hitting coach and then suddenly scoring runs in bunches, but I suppose shaking things up is worth a try. It's certainly not fair to lay all the Cubs' woes at Perry's feet; after all, he was the hitting coach last year when the Cubs consistently worked good at-bats and tore the cover off the ball. But perhaps a new personality and some fresh perspective will give the bats a lift.

What else can the Cubs do to help right the ship? Here are a few thoughts:

Get Miles out of the lineup. Why is he starting every day? He's batting .202 and slugging a pathetic .254. Bobby Scales, who was inexplicably sent down when Harden came off the DL, was hitting just .241 but was slugging .466. He's also a better defensive second baseman. The Cubs could have sent Waddell down or gotten rid of the useless (and seldom used) David Patton instead. Even Andres Blanco would be an improvement over Miles.

Start Reed Johnson, even against righties. I'm not saying Kosuke should never play again, but let's give Johnson a chance. Fukudome has done absolutely nothing at the plate in the last few weeks, and Johnson (.272/.333/.437) deserves a chance to prove himself after a great season in '08.


Bring up Jake Fox. Fox will come up and DH when the Cubs head to Detroit on June 23. If he continues to rake, give him a shot at starting every now and then and let's see how bad is defense really is. He may be able to make up for his glove with his bat.

Move Soriano down in the order. If Soriano's going to strikeout no matter where he bats, then I suppose it doesn't matter all that much. But you simply cannot have a player with a .300 OBP (.268 in June) at the top of the order.

Start Hoffpauir occasionally. I hate to compliment Tony La Russa, but I believe part of the reason the Cardinals get so much out of so little year after year is because every player knows he needs to prove himself in order to stay in the lineup. Start Hoffpauir in left and/or right field every now and then. If he produces, give him more playing time. If not, you may see the residual effect of Bradley and/or Soriano stepping up their game to prove themselves.


Well, there are my two cents. What do you think the Cubs need to do to turn their offensive fortunes around?

**UPDATE**They're listening to me! Okay, maybe not, but the Cubs recalled Jake Fox Tuesday and placed Jason Waddell on the DL.

Spring training position battles

Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez got into the swing of things today with their first spring homers, and the Cubs won 6-4 behind three perfect innings from Sean Marshall as well as scoreless appearances from Neal Cotts, Luis Vizcaino and Kevin Gregg.

There isn't a whole lot of news out of Mesa this year, partly because the Cubs roster is so set. You can pretty much bet your house on the following players breaking camp:

C: Soto

IF: Lee, Miles, Fontenot, Theriot, Ramirez

OF: Soriano, Johnson, Fukudome, Bradley

SP: Zambrano, Dempster, Lilly, Harden

RP: Marshall (could start), Vizcaino, Gregg, Marmol, Heilman, Gaudin

That's 20 players, which means there are five spots up for grabs, and some of these are pretty darn set, but not set enough to fulfill the above criteria of being worthy of "betting your house." Apartment, maybe, but not house. Not in this economy.

Anyways, this situation is not exactly a recipe for spring training excitement, especially when you factor in that the Cubs are playing 750 spring training games this year. But here are the decisions Lou will have to make this spring:

• 5th starter: Marshall vs. Samardzija vs. Heilman (side note: since Lou Piniella has to make this decision, could we call it a "manager a trois"?), with Samardzija a slight question mark to make the team, as it's possible the Cubs would prefer him in AAA preparing to fill in as a starter if needed, as opposed to coming out of the 'pen with the big club.
• Reserve 1st baseman: Hoffpauir vs. Jake Fox, with Hoffpauir having a significant edge because he's a lefty and hit .342 in the majors last year.
• Lefty reliever: Cotts vs. Mike Stanton, with Cotts having a huge leg up due to Stanton being 112 years old (actually 41) and not having pitched since '07, when he had a 5.93 ERA, and he has a 9.00 ERA thus far in spring. Translation: Mike Stanton is old and bad.
  
• Reserve outfielder: Joey Gathright vs. Sam Fuld/So Taguchi, with Gathright having the edge. If MLB ever allows cars to be used on the field, Gathright will definitely be on the team: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cySfw8f0beg
• Starting centerfielder: For now, the plan is to platoon Fukudome and Johnson, but perhaps Lou will use spring training to help determine who should start the majority of games. That being said, their performance during the regular season will likely mean more than spring, especially with Kosuke playing in the WBC this month.
• Starting second baseman: Miles vs. Fontenot. When Piniella mentioned the lineup he's currently got in mind, he put Miles in the two hole. I would have thought Fontenot would start after his .305/.395 campaign last year. Lou has said he hopes to get both of them a bunch of at-bats during the season, but perhaps spring will vault one above the other before Opening Day arrives.
• Reliever if Samardzija goes to AAA: Angel Guzman vs. Kevin Hart. Guzman pitched in six games last year (5.59 ERA), and has been a hot prospect for a while but has dealt with injuries. Hart appeared in 21 games last year (6.51 ERA).
• Reserve catcher: Paul Bako (remember him?) vs. Koyie Hill. I don't even want to talk about this one. These guys both suck. Hill is 29 and has a .190 career average. Paul Bako is thirty-freakin'-six and weighs in at .231. Both have thrown out under 30% of base runners in their careers. What happened to Henry Blanco? Crap, I got carried away with anger and just talked about Bako and Hill for like seven sentences. If Soto gets injured for an extended period of time this year, are we allowed to just use the backstop as a catcher and skip that position in the batting order? If someone knows the rule on this, please let me know.

There's a good chance we'll see Bako behind the plate, Hoffpauir off the bench, Mike Stanton's arm fall off in the next three weeks (so Cotts in the bullpen), and Joey Gathright patrolling the outfield. That leaves us with the 5th starter battle and the relief spot associated with it. Piniella has said Marshall gets the first crack at starting, and if that's how it shakes out, my guess is the Cubs decide to have Samardzija throwing flames out of the 'pen (2.28 ERA last year), which shores up every spot on the 25-man roster.

These certainly aren't guarantees, but either way, there isn't a whole lot of drama in camp this year unless a trade is made, someone gets injured, or Milton Bradley punches Lou Piniella in the trachea at some point. Lack of drama is not a bad thing; the Cubs have a lot of talent and a lot of veteran players, and there just aren't that many decisions to be made.

I'll be watching the 5th starter competition (previous blog post here), Miles and Fontenot, and Hoffpauir/Fox. I will be trying my darndest to completely ignore Paul "I really wasn't all that good the first time I was on the Cubs" Bako and Koyie "I batted above .250 one time, but that's because I only had three at-bats" Hill.

It's great not to have 10 roster spots to fill and huge questions to deal with during spring training. Sit back and enjoy it!

UPDATE: Piniella said Tuesday that Fukudome will start against right-handers. I can't say I feel strongly about this one way or the other. Fukudome looked like a great slap-hitter and on-base guy in the first couple months of the season, and then completely fell off the table. With a whole year in the states under his belt and a year of major league experience behind him, he almost can't be worse in 2009. At the same time, Johnson was extremely productive in his role last season, so I don't want to see him get limited at-bats this year. Like I said above, I still think their performances during the regular season will dictate their playing time.