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Old 07-27-2011, 01:24 AM   #1
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The Chicago Fire(sale)

January 3rd, 2011

Chicago, Illinois
After a disappointing showing in the 2010 Winter Meetings, Chicago Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry has found himself being lead to the plank on the verge of the slow walk towards a fall into the ocean of unemployment. Fans of the Cubs both in Chicago and around the nation have bombarded message boards and radio shows, calling for Hendry's dismissal. The days and weeks leading up to the commencement of December 6th (the beginning of the Winter Meetings) were filled with optimism and speculation as to which prized free-agent the Cubs would go after. Hendry failed to live up to the expectations and was immediately attacked in the media for his relucatance and eventual failure to act on any rumor.

Hendry's generally been known as an aggressive GM, going after the likes of Alfonso Soriano and Koskue Fukodome while resigning franchise staples Carlos Zambrano and Aramis Ramirez. Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts, a Chicago Cubs fan since 1984, publicly supported Hendry in the days following the Winter Meetings, and up until earlier this morning, Ricketts has stated implicitly that Hendry needn't feel that his job security threatened. But after an appearance on Chicago's ESPN 1000 WMVP-AM, the tone of Rickett's support suddenly has a doubt cast upon it.

When responding to a caller's laments about Hendry's lack of action during the previous month, Ricketts responded with, "I'm just as disappointed as you are. Our financial security and reputation as a spending team gave him [Hendry] the means to go out and acquire an impact player. Our [the Cubs] failures last season should have given him the motivation. But he didn't act, and that frustrates us [the Ricketts family] and I'm well-aware of our fans' frustrations." When the host asked Ricketts what his next big move could be, Ricketts responded with a cryptic message, bordering on riddle, "I tell you what. Our next big move may not even impact the lineup, the rotation or the bullpen." Without resorting to decrypting his statement, one can reasonably assume he was talking about Chicago's front office staff.

With pitchers and catchers reporting in less than two months and the Chicago Cubs looking less and less like a contender amidst a flurry of Central teams' moves, and the media zoo that is Chicago, the upcoming weeks will play out with quite a bit of news. Stay tuned.
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Old 07-27-2011, 01:25 AM   #2
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Re: The Chicago Fire(sale)

January 9th, 2011

Chicago, Illinois

Almost a week has passed since Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts spoke out against Jim Hendry's failures with regards to roster improvements. Ricketts has stayed out of the media, and so has Hendry. That is, until now. A little less than fifteen minutes ago, Tom Ricketts and Jim Hendry appeared together in the Marquette Room, at the Hilton and Chicago Towers for a breaking press conference. Ricketts began the conference with a public apology to Hendry concerning Rickett's appearance a six days earlier on Chicago's 1000 WMVP-AM, in which he criticized Hendry's inability to act at the Winter Meetings. This was expected, but what happened next was less MLB and more like crisis-management in the White House.

Rickett's let Hendry take the floor, "I will be the first to admit that the Winter Meetings were not only a failure for the Chicago Cubs, but for me as well. That being said, I've thought long and hard about what I could do to make this team better, and I spoke to Mr. Ricketts privately last evening." Ricketts added more detail, "Jim came to my office at Wrigley and we talked for many hours, well-into the night, about his failures and my statements. We had just about finished our conversation when Dombrowski [Detroit Tigers general manager] called Jim and brought up, among other things, Alfonso [Alfonso Soriano, Cubs Left Fielder]. We [Hendry and Ricketts] said later we thought he was calling to mock our situation with him. But as he mentioned Maggy and Miggy, [Magglio Ordonez announced earlier this week his retirement, and Miguel Cabrera's off-field troubles with police] and how that left potentially two holes in their lineup. We agreed to talk soon about a possible deal with Soriano, and we left it at that." That information would have been satisfying to the media and to fans, when Hendry concluded the story with, "Dombrowski called back a few hours later and said if we ate up half of Soriano's contract, he'd do a deal tonight. I called Ricks [Tom Ricketts] and he agreed, and so we're pleased to announce that Max Scherzer and Ryan Raburn have joined the Chicago Cubs. We would like to extend our deepest thanks to Alfonso Soriano for the time he has spent in Chicago and with the Cubs organization. Casey Coleman was also involved in the deal." An eruption of applause and stunned faces defined the gathering people. They traded him? They did the impossible.

Ricketts thanked everyone and let Hendry finish with a final statement, "This is certainly not our last move. We accomplished a lot last night, and we look forward to building a contending team in the near-future." What this means for the Cubs this season is still a mystery, but Max Scherzer looks to be a budding ace, and Ryan Raburn offers much better defense and a higher batting average than Soriano. Stay tuned.
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Old 07-27-2011, 03:08 PM   #3
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Re: The Chicago Fire(sale)

May 11, 2011

Chicago, Illinois

Fresh off a 5-2 west coast swing, the Cubs were back in town for a nine game homestand, facing division rivals the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals. Taking two of three from the Reds, thanks to dominating performances by Carlos Zambrano, who finally looks to be returning to form, and newly-acquired fireballer Max Scherzer. At an unexpected 19-15 to begin the season, the Cubs found themselves at a pivotal point going into their most important series of the season, a three game set against the Cardinals, and more importantly, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, and perhaps their ace of the season so far, southpaw Jaime Garcia.

Esmailin Caridad let a late lead slip away for the Cubs in game one, taking the loss while Mitchell Boggs picked up his first win of the young campaign. The tell-tale signs of Cubs' heartbreak littered the game; runners left on base, the Cubs' staff ushering many leadoff walks, and the most damning of all, a bullpen collapse. Things didn't look any better going into game two against Chris Carpenter, but the Cubs most consistent pitcher so far, Ryan Dempster, matched Carpenter pitch for pitch, eventually tossing 8 scoreless innings only to have a no-decision.

Last night's goat Esmailin Caridad allowed a leadoff double to young thirdsacker David Freese in the eleventh, but got Pujols looking on a devestating change-up set up by a high-nineties fastball the previous pitch. A walk to Holliday and another walk to Berkman [both unintentional] brought up struggling backstop Yadier Molina, who promptly ended the Cardinals' scoring chance with a 4-6-3 twin killing, with Starlin Castro making an incredible turn with Berkman bearing down on him. Newly acquired RF Desmond Jennings, making his first start for the Chicago Cubs, led off the inning with a triple. An ill-advised diving attempt by Matt Holiday allowed the ball trickle into Wrigley Field's "well", the cavernous left field alcove where speedsters thrive. Struggling shortstop Starlin Castro worked a walk to set up runners on the corner, and Aramis Ramirez and the Cubs walked off with a sacrifice fly.

Just under a fourth of the way done, the second-place Cubs look to contend [20-16; 4 games back of the Cardinals], with solid pitching and timely hitting. GM Jim Hendry found a new life, making several deals to bolster the Cubs pitching staff and outfield, while clearing up salary to make a run at a top free-agent this off-season. Stay tuned.
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Old 07-27-2011, 03:18 PM   #4
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Re: The Chicago Fire(sale)

May 12, 2011

Cleveland, Ohio

Rumors out of the Tribes' camp indicate General Manager Chris Antonetti is kicking the proverbial tires of Cubs' outfielder Koskue Fukudome, citing Grady Sizemore's season-ending injury and Shin-Soo Choo's cripplingly-slow start to the season [.143/0/4]. Antonetti, who was one of the scouts for the Indians when Fukudome was entertaining offers to come to the U.S., said he's, "Admired him [Fukudome] since I saw him play during a scouting trip to Japan. Fukudome has a tremendous eye at the plate, and we feel he can adapt to American League pitching with help from our coaching staff."

Antonetti also expressed interest in replenishing his farm system, specifically acknowledging Cubs' pitching prospect H. Simpson. With regards to their budding closer Chris Perez standing out amongst the lack of quality pitching in the bullpen, Antonetti dropped another Cubs pitcher's name, "Guzman [Angel Guzman], we feel, could be tremendous fit in our late-game strategy. He has the potential, he has the stuff, and we feel we can give him the opportunity."

Fukudome has a .323/3/17 line in limited action in a backup role to Tyler Colvin. GM Jim Hendry has expressed regret with regards to the Fukudome signing, and perhaps this Indians rumor will give Hendry a chance to redeem himself. Stay tuned.
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Old 07-28-2011, 01:09 AM   #5
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Re: The Chicago Fire(sale)

May 14, 2011

Chicago, Illinois

There are no more rumors about Koskue Fukudome to the Cleveland Indians; the deal is final. In Hendry's biggest move since Soriano's departure to Detroit, the Cubs general manager shipped another aging outfielder to an American League Central team. Joining Fukudome is pitcher Angel Guzman.

When asked about the additions of Fukudome and Guzman, Indians GM Chris Antonetti expressed his satisfaction, saying, "Koskue was our target going into this season, and for us to get an elite talent like Guzman is just terrific."

Perhaps what is most terrific, however, is what the Cubs got in return. First baseman Matt LaPorta and secondbase prospect Jason Kipnis will be in Cubs uniforms shortly. LaPorta, as you may remember, was the centerpiece in the Sabathia to the Brewers deal. Not living up to the unfairly high expectations, LaPorta provides a powerful right handed bat with room to improve. A lot of room, as Hendry said, "This guy has the sky as his ceiling for potential. He's that talented." Not that Kipnis is a slouch; ESPN Baseball analyst Buster Olney called Kipnis, "A stud. A potential and even that may be conservative." Baseball America had Kipnis as their 31st best prospect. Hendry said he is, "Ecstatic that we could get both of these guys. We haven't been this excited about recieving an infielder since 2004." 2004, of course, was the year the Cubs traded for Nomar Garciaparra, the then-Red Sox shortstop. Hopefully these two players stay in the blue pinstripes for a lot longer.

Hendry says he isn't done, and we all wonder what tricks he has left up his sleeves. Stay tuned.
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Old 07-28-2011, 01:49 AM   #6
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Re: The Chicago Fire(sale)

June 21, 2011

Kansas City, Missouri

What do you do when you have a lot of mediocrity and are swept by the Royals? You go out and get the best prospect in the game.

In an apparent sign from the baseball gods, Bryce Harper, with no sign of angel wings, fell into the Chicago Cubs' lap. If that isn't enough, John Lannan and Cole Kimball [one of the Nationals' ten best prospects] accompanied him. What did the Cubs have to give up for this bounty? Just their best pitching prospect, Kenneth "Trey" McNutt. McNutt is ranked high on many a prospect list, but Bryce Harper is ranked the highest.

The logic behind the Nationals' move is lost on just about everyone. Cubs GM Jim Hendry announced the move shortly after the Cubs dropped their third in a row to last place Kansas City. He said that Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo offered the three for top pitching prospect McNutt in the bottom of the eighth, and the deal had been completed by the time Jeff Baker struck out to end the Cubs' disappointing 2-5 road trip.

The move indicates the Cubs may be seeing this season as a barometer as to which players work in their plans for their future and which don't. Expect Carlos Pena to stay, unless a must-trade deal comes along, as it gives the Cubs a pick in the supplemental round of next year's draft. Pitcher Carlos Zambrano looks to be on the Cubs' agenda to move, after a public denouncement of manager Mike Quade and another scuffle with backup catcher Wellington Castillo.
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Old 07-28-2011, 02:29 AM   #7
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Re: The Chicago Fire(sale)

July 26, 2011

Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Cubs are stuck in the mud. Like a truck with no traction, the Cubs sputter and whenever it looks like they might get out of the rut, they get sucked back in. They stand in third, as they have just about all season, 14 games back at a record of 51-52. They are only 6.5 back in the Wild Card, but they will have to battle the Brewers for that.

The biggest news on the trade market today was the Cubs announcing that Carlos Zambrano will not start tonight against Brewers' Zack Grienke. Instead, he will fly out of Milwaukee and join the Minnesota Twins in Arlington, Texas. Twins' prospects, starter Kyle Gibson and centerfielder Aaron Hicks will join the Iowa Cubs in New Orleans.

A couple years ago, the Twins taking on a contract like Zambrano's would have been heresy. But Target Field has changed their approach; Joe Mauer's long-term contract and their aggressiveness on the market are evidence of this new-found pocketbook.

John Lannan will fill the open slot in the Cubs' rotation, effectively becoming the fourth starter. Dempster moves to number one, Scherzer to number two, and Garza fills in the third slot. Max Scherzer will start Saturday against Chris Carpenter. Scherzer is 12-6 on the year. Alfonso Soriano's season line so far: .268/18/58.
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Old 07-28-2011, 03:07 PM   #8
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Re: The Chicago Fire(sale)

September 29, 2011

Chicago, Illinois

What started as a potentially tumultuous year turned out to be a relatively successful for the Chicago Cubs. If you remember, way back in early January, the Cubs were in danger of losing their general manager and continuing their descent into the cellar of the NL Central.

Public feuding between Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts and Jim Hendry turned out to be one of just a few minor bumps in the road. Hendry proved he could wheel and deal with the best of them, cutting ties with aging outfielders Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome and oft-angry pitcher Carlos Zambrano.

What is more satisfying than freeing cap space in the endeavor to sign a stud free agent? Recieving future talents that will shape the Cubs' core for years to come. Max Scherzer went 17-8 with a 3.27 ERA, good for second highest win total in the National League. Alfonso Soriano finished with 28 homeruns and a .283 batting average, proving that a change in setting would be beneficial to him. Carlos Pena finished with 36 homeruns, with Aramis Ramirez and Marlon Byrd finishing with 29 and 27 homeruns respectively.

Ryan Raburn finished with a .255/13/72 line, not too bad, but certainly not strong enough to hold off the throng of Cubs' outfield prospects. Mid-season additions Desmond Jennings and Howie Kendrick didn't play well; look for them to be traded or not re-signed this offseason. Jason Kipnis will battle for the second base job in Spring Training, with Bryce Harper looking to break with the Cubs.

The Cubs finished 84-78, good for second place in the National League Central; the St. Louis Cardinals finished 23 games ahead in first, at a record of 107-55.

Cubs manager Mike Quade will be interviewed for the managerial job, along with several other coaches in the Cubs' system, and outside candidates. Look back here after the new year for a follow-up report regarding the Cubs' off-season moves. Stay tuned.
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