The Cubs handed out money like candy yesterday and Corey Patterson, The Farns and Michael Barrett all got paid. Two of them deserved the money they got. The other one has already spent it on leather pants and Zima. But the best of the arbitration eligible Cubs didn’t sign on the dotted line yesterday.
E-ramis Ramirez submitted his arbitration figure and it was a big one, $10.5 million for 2005. Carlos Zambrano submitted his at just over $4 million, saw what E-ramis had asked for and yelled, “I must go out there and kill my agent!”
Already this morning you can hear talk radio filled with dopes wringing their hands over the Cubs’ public statements that they want to sign E-ramis to a long-term contract but not Carlos.
Here’s what makes them dopes. This is E-ramis’ last year of arbitration. You don’t sign him long-term now and he’s taking grounders for the Tigers…or Tigres or whoever next year.
Zambrano still has two years of arbitration left, so you play this out next year with him. These are the same dopes who predicted that Kerry Wood was going to be an Astro or a Brave by now. That’s why they’re dopes.
You can piss and moan all you want about the contract that Corey Patterson got from the Cubs for next year. He got a $2.4 million raise for striking out 168 times. But he also hit 24 homers, drove in 72 runs, stole 32 bases and ran seven marathons in six months playing in between the cardboard cutouts of Moises Alou and Samuel Peralta Sosa last year. This is the year we’ll find out about Corey. He’s more than a full year recovered from reconstructive knee surgery and we’ll see if fatigue was the reason for his September demise or if other teams adjusted to whatever adjustment he’d made.
Another guy who died in September, Michael Barrett, got a three year deal. Not bad for a guy who’s had exactly one good Major League season. Questions abound about his handling of the pitching staff, but come on.
The Cubs had a team ERA of 3.81. Barrett’s catcher’s ERA was 3.88 and Gabor Bako’s was 3.53. Part of that can be attributed to the fact that Gabor didn’t have to catch Sergio Mitre or Matt Clement. He just caught Greg Maddux and then at the end of the season he caught a red-hot Mark Prior.
If Barrett was such a spaz behind the plate, how come he posted a .994 fielding average (to Bako’s .989)? Gabor threw out 29 percent of baserunners attempting to steal, and Barrett only threw out 25 percent, but why did teams run more on Gabor than Barrett?
Actually, we know that one. Gabor caught Maddux and if you had one leg and a cane you ran against Maddux. OK, never mind.
Hank White takes over for Gabor and his catcher’s ERA was 4.25 to the Twins’ 4.03 as a team. But he threw out an astounding 30 of 61 baserunners attempting to steal (49.2 percent). You can’t chalk that all up to Terry Mulholland’s move to first, can you?
Here’s a quote from Jim Hendry that ought to warm the cockles of your heart about Barrett.
“I don’t think anybody didn’t feel like Michael didn’t have an outstanding season until the last couple weeks.”
Ouch, babe.
The Cubs also signed former Reds’ and Red Sox’ reliever Scott Williamson to a one-year deal for the AAA minimum of $313,000 with an option for 2006. Williamson is a great pitcher when he’s healthy. The problem has been his elbow, which at times would swell up to nearly the size of Neifi Perez’s head.
Williamson finally decided to get the cure for what Chip Caray so famously called “Tommy John Disease” and could be back pitching for the Cubs in August. This would put him on a similar schedule to the one Ryan Dempster followed, which would have Williamson walking two banjo-hitting Mets in a key ninth inning loss to the Mets this September. That’ll be great! I’ll set my TiVo.
Hey, I just thought of something hilarious. Since Corey Patterson struck out so often last year, what if I spelled his name “Korey” instead of the way he usually spells it? Wouldn’t that be the funniest thing ever?
What do you guys think?
I like it!
Peggy? What a great idea for a nickname!
Crap. No pictures anymore?
I heard that Clemens is going to make some extra money by changing his shirt 6 times during the arbitration hearing, then covering the shirts in rhinestones and selling them on his wife’s website.
Does Clemens’ kid still walk to school holding his droolbucket underneath his own chin?
No Sloth,
He rides the short school bus to school. His seat has a custom drool bucket adhered to the back of the seat in front of him.
If he was on foot, he’d not only have to use the drool bucket, but he’d also have to wear a helmet.
Crap.
I’ll have to figure out why the pictures aren’t working.
WordPress is probably filtering the img tag. This nifty italics above the comments box says what XHTML tags are allowed and img isn’t one of them.
I don’t even get the nifty italics anymore.
We need post Survivor commentary Andy. Interested? Jake?
MIA, here’s my Survivor recap from season 1:
Dick Hatch pranced around nude and beat out 15 other idiots to win a million bucks. He then didn’t report it, so now he gets to prance nude around a jail cell!
I think the Boobtube section of the messageboard will chock-full-o-Survivor crap this season. I can’t stop watching that show. Even when they go all Lesbo.
I’d START watching it again if it went all lesbo.
Assuming the lesbos were of the Portia de Rossi variety, NOT the Ellen ilk.
Let’s look at the glass half full folks! Barrett had a good season, and so did Patterson. He hit 20+ HR last year.
don’t look now, but your “almost back to .500′ Bulls and their bandwagon are down at Boston…
Illinois football player E.B. Halsey has been learning from Luther Head. And no, it would not be on how to shoot a 3-pointer or how to win 18 straight games…
(Parts of the following are from IlliniBoard.com and from the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette.)
No decision on disciplinary action by Illinois head coach Ron Zook has been made as of now on the new E.B. Halsey controversy.
Halsey was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, according to today’s Springfield News-Sun in Ohio.
Halsey pleaded innocent Tuesday in Clark County, Ohio, court.
Halsey had been driving east in a rented Mercury Sable on Interstate 70 when he was stopped in Madison County, Ohio, for driving 92 MPH in a 65 MPH zone, according to the News-Sun story. The officer did not know at that time that the car had been reported as stolen, and let Halsey go. Halsey was later stopped again by troopers when they were told of the stolen car report.
Two passengers, Gustavo Mina and Darryl Gent of Elizabeth, N.J., were found with marijuana on them according to the story. Both passengers were also charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and also were charged with use and possession of marijuana.
—–
Illini fans may remember that Halsey came to Illinois with at least a bit of concern around him.
Halsey was being charged for statutory rape involving himself and some friends when he was in high school in New Jersey. The girl involved was 15.
After a long investigation, it was the determined that the charges had no merit and that the girl had made up most, if not all, of the story. All charges were dropped, but Halsey had to wait until the following fall to make it on the field.
Halsey said at that time that he had learned not to be around the wrong people.
Should briefly add that this incident in Ohio took place on Saturday.
Also, there is some belief on IlliniBoard that the car being reported as stolen may have simply been a mistake by whatever authority reported it as stolen.
Sorry, what was that?
Bulls up 2 in the 3rd.
I missed all 6 of my shots in the 3rd, and still we’re only down 1…
Only 6?
If only I could score, I’d be averaging a double-double every night.
whichever team finally decides to make some of me will win this;
Chi = 3 of 15
Bos = 3 of 13
How much did I re-sign Mark Blount for, again?
Toine, my 43%, 33% and 82% shooting numbers make your 41%, 31% and 53% look even worse. If that’s possible.
Bam, 22 points. C’s, up 5.
4.9 million, baby.
just look at my line tonight – 14 minutes, 0-3 field goals, 0 points, 3 fouls, 2 turnovers.
10-16, 26 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 blocks and 5 turnovers.
I’ll see your 26 points and raise you 3 rebounds.
Oh, and the W.
Down 10 with under a minute to go.
Just love this battle of wits between Skiles and Doc Rivers…
are now 18-20 (.474)!
I’d found this site a few years back and loved it. Left me rolling while I read Dolan’s take on the Chicago Sports hacks, some of whom I like but appreciate the barbs nonetheless. But I lost it. I forgot about it and occasionally remembered it in winter when I was fiending for some idle Cubs banter. Today I was on Baseball Reference looking at the 1989 Cubs Season stats. Yes, I’m that kind of loser. I saw a message from one of the readers of the site praising that team and clicked the link… Hey, I’m back. Did you miss me? Not likely. But I promise not to stray again.
Keep up the good stuff fellas. I love this Sh**
“wrong people” = underage girls?
riiiight
Hey! I’ve been stopped driving a rental car 92 in a 65 zone. It cost me a $440 donation to the Steuben Co. (Ind.) Court. Good thing it wasn’t stolen.
T.J., good thing they didn’t find that 15 year old in the trunk either.
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