True that a week ago I was pretty sure that Sergio Mitre would never top his seven inning, no run, one run scored, one RBI performance against Roy Halladay and the Jays. He didn’t quite top it last night (only because the Cubs offense didn’t make him do all the work on that end of the game, too), but let’s just say he made a nice little bookend. In the past week, the Cubs have had two two-game losing streaks. Both times the next game was turned over to Sergio against a stud opponent. Both times, Sergio was the stud. We could get used to this kind of thing, you know.
What the Cubs did to the Marlins last night is to beat them about as badly as one Major League team can beat another. 18 hits. 14 runs. A shutout, in which the opponent only even kind of threatens to score once (and it took a broken bat grounder off Sergio’s leg to make it happen). The Cubs squared up on the Fish and kicked them right in the ass. It was a sight to see.
Who knew how easy this game could be? Sergio has certainly made it look that way in his 16 inning scoreless streak. He’s pretty much thrown three pitches, a sinking fastball, a changeup and a curveball, and the distribution seems to be 85 percent fastball, 10 percent changeup, five percent curveball. He never tried this in any of his previous big league incarnations.
He starts the fastball at your mid-thigh and by the time it gets to you it’s in your sock, and he throws enough of them for strikes that you don’t dare lay off. It seems fitting that just two nights after Joe Morgan’s apoplectic comments about the high Wrigley Field grass that Sergio used it to perfection. Go ahead, try and hit one through that grass. I dare you.
It was also ironic that Sergio turned in a second tremendous performance while trade rumors of him and Corey Patterson and a pitcher (Wuertz, Wellemeyer, Steve Rain, Ken Kravec, Bill Caudill?) to the Yankees for Gary Sheffield were swirling.
For anyone willing to dismiss those rumors out of hand (just because Jim Hendry said they were make believe), it seems obvious that the Yankees want to shake things up, and if they do, who do they have to trade that people would actually want?
They’re not trading Derek Jeter, A-Rod, the Big Eunuch or Mariano Rivera. So that leaves what? Tony Womack? Bernie Williams? Whatever’s left of Jorge Posada? No, it leaves Hideki Matt Suhey and Gary Sheffield.
I’m not saying that Sheffield’s going to get traded to the Cubs, but he is likely to get traded and the Cubs are going to trade for an outfielder in the next few weeks. So it’s not exactly crazy talk.
Would you trade Sergio, given his two impressive performances and with the knowledge that even when Kerry Wood and Mark Prior come back in the next month or so, that you’re unlikely to make it through the rest of the season without needing somebody else to take a start or two or sixteen?
Yes, you would. If anything, Sergio’s performances have made him more likely to get traded. He’s got actual, tangible value now. It’s a good spot to be in. If you find the right deal, you trade him. If you don’t, you send him out there every fifth day and see if he can keep slapping zeroes on the board.
All along, it’s been assumed that whoever the Cubs trade for to fill the huge void in the outfield will have some big flaw. People scan the rosters of other teams and look for somebody on the “irregular” rack. Screw that. Trade some real talent. Get a great player. That’s what Sheffield is.
We remember him for how anemic Kerry, Mark and Carlos made him look in the 2003 NLDS with the Braves, but he’ll be playing behind those three if he comes to the Cubs, and Prior nailed him in the hand with a pitch in game three, which didn’t hurt the Cubs cause of getting him out. In the ALCS against Boston last year, it was Sheffield and Jeter who actually hit while the rest of the guys went home after game five (well, except for A-Rod, he was busy trying to knock the ball away from firstbasemen).
But it doesn’t have to be Sheffield. The best thing about this rumor (and until something happens, that all it is) is that it’s the right kind of target.
What is likely to happen, now that the Giants are circling the drain, is a call to Brian Sabean for Moises Alou part deux. He’s “only” owed $6 million next year and the Cubs would only be on the hook for half of this year’s $8 million. So you could get Alou for less than half what it’ll cost you to get Sheffield for. Moises isn’t a bad option, but he should be your fallback plan. You only go after Mo if the bigger (better) deals fall through. He’s 38 and much more injury prone than the 36 year old Sheffield, and while he’s good, he’s simply not as good a hitter as Sheffield is.
I think the general consensus of the readership here is that Corey Patterson is one of those talented players who is unlikely to ever play to his ability for more than a few weeks at a time. It doesn’t make us right (but we are), but it’s funny to read other’s comments about how you can’t trade a 26 year old “future All-Star” for a 36 year old “former All-Star.”
A Patterson-Sheffield trade would immediately draw comparisons to the Sammy Sosa-George Bell trade in 1992. Only Patterson’s older than Sammy was and George Bell was never the hitter that Sheffield is. George had three great seasons in his career, all for the Blue Jays and all were history by the time he made it to Chicago. Bell was a “slugger” not a hitter. He hit .300 or better twice and never posted an on base average of better than .352 and in ten of his 12 seasons his on base average was worse than .330.
Sheffield hasn’t posted an on base average of less than .393 since 1995 and that was last year, his first season since ’95 that it wasn’t over .400.
Plus there’s the fact that for every potential Sammy Sosa who breaks out and has a career even romotely resembling Sammy’s run with the Cubs, there are about 1209 who don’t.
There’s one drawback to trading for Sheffield. He’s going to be a big player in the Balco case, and some of that is going to get ugly. Oh, and he’s going to get booed in Milwaukee where they still haven’t forgiven him for throwing balls into the stands on purpose when they moved him from shortstop to third base.
Remember, there were people who cringed when Brendan Harris’ name started to get mentioned in the Nomar rumors last year.
People make it sound like Jim Hendry is gun shy because he traded Dontrelle Willis and he turned out to be a star. Look, if you’ve got a farm system alleged to be as good as the Cubs, you should be trading away players occasionally who get good and make you look bad. It means the talent in your system is as good as you claim it is. If every Cubs prospect turned out to be Bobby Hill, the Cubs would have a hard time being able to use prospects to get good players. Would it be great to have Dontrelle? Sure. It’s not like Hendry said, “Ooh, take Dontrelle, he’s going to be great!” The Cubs knew he had potential, but nobody, not even the Marlins knew how he would develop. But because he turned out it makes GMs more likely to believe the hype about Cubs’ prospects and it allows you to deal for guys like E-ramis and Derrek Lee.
Hendry knows this. He’s a lot of things, but scared to trade doesn’t seem to be one of them. And, you have to give his scouts some credit. They’re wrong from time to time, sure. Andy Pratt sure turned out aces, didn’t he? But they saw something in E-ramis and in Michael Barrett that dopes like us didn’t see. They knew to go after Matt Murton in the Red Sox trade.
What’s the real reason the Cubs’ outfield is bad? It’s Sammy Sosa’s fault. But really, it is. He and his enormous contract held the Cubs hostage during the offseason. So they patched their outfield together after he finally took a big payoff and headed to Baltimore. It’s why you have Jeromy Burnitz in right and Todd Hollandsworth and Jason Dubois sharing left. So now the Cubs are trying to fix it on the fly. You’ll hear them proclaim that they’re comfortable with their outfield as it is. They have to say that. What good comes from Jim Hendry standing up and yelling, “We need at least two new outfielders! Ours suck! Oh, we’re doomed! Please other teams, fleece us until we’re blind?”
This is just a long winded way of saying that the Cubs should focus on offering up good players to get a great one, a difference maker, and that if you get frustrated by Dusty or Jim saying how happy they are with the font of mediocrity running around in the outfield grass at Wrigley, take that with a grain of salt. They already had to trade one guy they publicly ran down and all they got to show from that was a pinch runner, a retired pitcher and little Jerry Hairston (whatever he is).
Nice work, Andy.
I’ve been trying to articulate this about Hendry for years. But because I can’t transfer ideas to the public via the typed word as opposed to my mouth, I’ve failed.
The only thing you seem to have missed on is Hendry’s apparent reluctance to trade early when costs are higher rather than close to the deadline.
I don’t think he’s scared. I think he’s a bargain shopper. I would rather pay more and get a guy earlier. Sheffield in June for Korey, Mitre and another player vs. in July for Korey and Remlinger? Give up Mitre and give me 6 more weeks of Sheffield.
Hendry seems reluctant to do this.
If you’re considering Alou, why not go after Rondell White instead?
And I’m not joking.
In my “article” I say that Pujols is obviously the better PLAYER over Lee. Have I ever seen him run the bases or play first. All the man can do is hit, that’s it. I am a complete assbag who needs to go play in traffic.
Even if Lee wins the Triple Crown, I will win the MVP and the Gold Glove this year, watch me. Unbelieveable.
What good comes from Jim Hendry standing up and yelling, “We need at least two new outfielders! Ours suck! Oh, we’re doomed! Please other teams, fleece us until we’re blind?â€Â
heh heheh hehehhheeehhhheeeeehhhheehehh
Funny shit, Dolan.
18 hr
56 rbi
169 tb
35 bb
44 so
9 sb
.468 obp
.716 slg
.386 avg
.997 fpct
9.72 rf
Great dose. Not to pick hairs, but gay-rod tried to knock the ball from me, not my buddy Mientkieweicz.
Neyer, when you go running into traffic, take your stepson with you, too. I’m sick of reading about both of you.
16 hr
51 rbi
147 tb
31 bb
26 so
4 sb
.413 obp
.590 slg
.329 avg
.994 fpct
10.97 rf
Mo Alou and RWhite are exactly the kind of mediocrities that shouldn’t even be discussed until real desperation sets in…
How about we shoot for Sheff first…
If that doesn’t work, I say Jim puts in a call to the Twinkies and see if they’re willing to pony up Jacque Jones or Torii Hunter.
I realize right now his stats are Hollandsworth like, but still I’d like to get Aubrey Huff from the Rays. His post All Star stats over his career are always much better than his 1st half stats.
It’s amazing just how brittle Rondell is. In 12 seasons in the bigs, he’s had more than 500 ABs just twice and played in more than 140 games just once. I’d take Moises over Rondell for injury reasons alone
Tampa ownership is crazy. They’ll insist on Zamboni for Huff.
Screw them and let them rot with Pinella.
We’re better PLAYERS than Pujols, Eckstein and Jeff Kent, even though we just haven’t put up the numbers this year that they have.
So we’ll be starting for the NL, no?
I’m enthused about Rosenbloom leaving the Score. I can remember as a kid, reading his columns in the Trib every morning when he would blast Wanny and Curtis Enis and Jeremy Lincoln or whoever deserved and really laughing out loud about some of that. Then I heard him on radio and his smug, obnoxious voice just grated on my nerves. Here’s to enjoying his column again while hopefully never ever having to hear him speak.
I’m awake and on the Score with Dan and Terry. Fan club members need to tune in!
The Score is reporting that Rich Hill is in the Cubs’ locker room in Wrigley, which means a move is imminent.
Save a little something for the welcome home, Rally Lace!
Koronka catching a ride back to Des Moines on I-80 in the Rally Carp’s skin-toned Monte Carlo is a given. The interesting thing will be who goes from the 40-man roster to make room for Hill.
I hope it’s me that’s leaving.
Who else out there thinks the Cubs would never have made it to the postseason in 2003 if Corey *hadn’t* got injured and forced the Cubs to find another CF, who just happened to be a real lead-off hitter? Like everyone, I drool over Corey’s potential and occassional flashes of talent, but he seems unwilling or unable to make things happen. For all his talent, he seems to put very little pressure on opposing teams.
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20050615&content_id=1090537&vkey=pr_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc
The Koronka Experiment is over
Dolan,
Great dose today! Especially the trade discussions. I think everybody, even including Jim Hendry and Dusty Baker, agree that it’s time to ship Korey Patterson and maybe some talent like Sergio out of here to get an impact player to fill the void in the outfield.
I do agree with Chuck though that Hendry waits too long to pull the trigger. A deal needs to be done now before June and definitely not on July 31st like last year. It got us no where last year and Hendry should have learned a lesson. You make the trade now and get somebody like Sheffield, you send a message to this team that they are a real contender now and into Oct.
I wasn’t surprised by Sergio’s performance last night as much as that offensive performance. Everybody seemed to hit the ball except for Korey again however.
NOTE: Koronka’s going away party was held this morning as Rich Hill will join the team.
In today’s game, Maddux will throw another gem and the Cubs will win the series against the Fish.
GO CUBS!
Baker Basher
Hey, Baker Basher:
How many days have the Cubs spent over .500 during:
1) the short Bruce Kimm era?
2) the too-long Don Baylor era?
3) the almost stomachable Riggleman-era?
4) the dark days of Tom Trebelhorn?
5) Jim Lefebvre-days?
6) the Jim Essian era?
7) The age of Don Zimmer?
8) The Frank Luchessi fortnight?
9) The Gene Michael depression?
10) The Jim Frey era?
11) The Lee Elia era?
The fact is, the Cubs have played exactly two meaningless games on my watch. So suck it. And Jim Hendry, tells you to eat him too. He, after all, is the guy who brought you DLee, Neifi!, Greggie, Barrett and Aramis. He also ran player development when the Cubs were out getting Meat Tray, Zambrano, Wood, Prior, and even C-Patt. Wood and Patterson have been disappointments, but they’re at least serviceable major leaguers. And Wood has given us some good efforts in the past, no?
And you’re a peon. Eat shit and die.
All of the above is a direct effect of my super managing, not the fact that I have a lot more talent than any of the aforementioned.
Yeah, that 1984 team really sucked.
And Dallas Green produced a horseshit farm system.
And the Cubs didn’t go out and make big moves in any of those off-season which gave those managers chances to succeed.
And the 2003, 2004 and 2005 teams never had any big injuries to key players.
Neifi Perez, SS
Corey Patterson, CF
Derrek Lee, 1B
Jeromy Burnitz, RF
E-Ramis, 3B
Todd Walker, 2B
Todd Hollandsworth, RF
Michael Barrett, C
Greg Maddux, P
Yuck. Any of the 6-7-8 hitters would be much better suited for the top of the order than Neifi and Patterson right now.
(Thinking) Hmmm… I’m going to call Mitre a pony. That ought to help build up his confidence for his next start at Yankee Stadium.
From all indications, the Cubs will miss the Big Unit on their trip to the Bronx (he’ll start tomorrow against Pittsburgh) and will get to face Wang on Saturday.
I’m a great manager, look at all the Word Series rings I have…
Oh wait…
Wang, don’t tell ’em you’re Jewish!
Ok, I’m just throwing this out there and I don’t know if it’s right or not and please someone correct me if I am because I’m just trying to place blame where blame is due…
The Dontrelle Willis, Julian Tavarez, Ryan Jorgenson for Matt Clement and Antonio Alfonseca trade was made in the last days of Spring Training 2002. If I recall correctly, I don’t believe Jim Hendry was named General Manager until July-August 2002, the same day that Don Baylor was fired and Bruce Kimm was brought in…I thought that both the manager and general manager moves happened at roughly the same time [if not exactly the same day] in the waning days of a crummy 2002 season.
If that is the case, then it wouldn’t have been Jim Hendry who traded Willis it would have been Andy MacFail. Now, it could have been a case where the Cubs put together a list of prospects and the Marlins pick which ones they want, and the responsibility of putting together such a list would undoubtedly fall under the responsibilities of the Director of Scouting, who at the time was Jim Hendry.
But it was still MacFail who pulled the trade and allowed Hendry [his inferior at the time] to put Willis on the list. So, would it be fair to say that Hendry was the one who traded Willis or can we put that [amongst the many other things that are already on top of] Andy MacFail?
I’m just throwing that out there, that’s all.
I thought the word of the day was ‘euphonious’… but you’re right Andy, ‘ass-kicking’ fits it so much better.
Nice job Al–
So what? So let’s dance!!
I’m gonna call Burnett Burnitz, Mitre Meedray, and Beckett Burkett. Just cause I’m a fucking pimp.
Let’s see: Korey, .257, extremely strikeout prone, non-exsistant on base percentage, I’ll bat him 2nd in the lineup. Michael Barret, .296, good on base perentage, decent speed, I’ll bat him 8th. Yes, dude, I am a brilliant manager. Oh wait, I think I may be retarded.
Andy was the GM when the Willis-Clement trade was made, but he publicly credited me with doing all the legwork and negotiating it with the Marlins myself. It was kind of my on the job test before I officially got the job in July. Maybe Andy knew Dontrelle was going to be good and just threw me under the bus?