Results tagged “cubs>”

ESPN is reporting this afternoon that the Cubs have agreed to a one-year deal with outfielder Xavier Nady. Nady missed almost all of the 2009 season with the New York Yankees after he had Tommy John surgery. While there's reason for skepticism, reports of his rehab are positive and if he can return to his 2008 form (.305/25 HR/97 RBI), he's not a bad get for a fourth outfielder at the price: $3.3 million for one year with bonuses that could total $5.5 million. Hell, it's half of what the Cubs paid Bradley last year. The Cubs are currently set for a Soriano-Byrd-Fukudome outfield but Nady would figure to factor in regularly. more ›

Cubs great Ernie Banks is turning 79 but he's focusing on helping out a younger Cubs legend: Sammy Sosa. In the wake of admissions by former slugger Mark McGwire that he used steroids, Banks wants Sosa to similarly come clean. "Come clean with it. Explain it to them. ... Just say: 'This is what happened.' It is hard to do, to admit this. Just admit it and live with it and understand it. I am sure a lot of people will forgive him," Banks said. He also expressed a desire to see Sosa come back to Chicago and be embraced by new management: "I would like to see Sammy come back. Throw out the first pitch, sing 'Take Me Out To The Ballgame,' you know, meet some of the players and all of that." more ›

It was a busy weekend. Here's what you might have missed. more ›

Yesterday it was the Sox locking up some players; today, it's the Cubs' turn. The North Siders reached deals with five players eligible for arbitration while filing for arbitration on three others. The Cubs' signed: more ›

It's the middle of winter but that doesn't mean our MLB teams are standing pat. Over the weekend, the White Sox announced that they had reached one-year deals with both Carlos Quentin ($3.2 million) and closer Bobby Jenks ($7.5 million). Meanwhile, the Cubs seem to have their eye on a pair of ex-Sox: pitcher Jose Contreras and outfielder Jermaine Dye. Injuries to Ted Lilly and Carlos Silva could leave the Cubs in need of a fifth starter for the first month-plus of the season, leading to the interest in Contreras. As for Dye, the Cubs would use him as a backup in both left and right field as well as possibly at first base. more ›

If you thought the Bulls were struggling, that's nothing compared to Detroit which was handed its 13th straight loss last night by the Bulls, 120-87. Luol Deng (27 points) and Derrick Rose (22 points) both shot well last night and Joakim Noah had a 16-11-4 in the winning effort. Overall, the team shot 57 percent from the floor, a marked improvement. It's the Bulls second straight win and brings them to 3-3 in 2010 and 16-20 overall on the season. Next up for the Bulls is a trip to Boston on Thursday (7 p.m., TNT) followed by a home game against the Wizards on Friday (7 p.m., WCIU) before, like their roommates the Blackhawks, they get kicked out of the UC for two weeks to make way for Disney on Ice. more ›

Former Cubs pitching star/sure-fire Hall-of-Famer Greg Maddux is once again a Cub albeit not on the mound. Instead, Maddux will be an assistant to GM Jin Hendry and, let's face it, Hendry needs all the help he can get. According to ESPN: more ›

As Andre Dawson awaits the decision from the Hall of Fame as to which team he will enter the Hall of Fame under - the literally defunct Expos or the spiritually defunct Cubs - the Cubs are getting proactive. If Dawson enters the Hall as a Cub, the team will retire his No. 8, according to a Tribune report from over the weekend. He'd be the seventh Cub to have his jersey number retired (Williams, Ryno, Maddux, Santo, Banks, and Jenkins). Dawson played his first 11 years with Les Expos before coming over to the Cubs for six seasons, which included his '87 MVP season (.287/47HR/137RBI). The Hall of Fame is expected to make an announcement on which team Dawson will be entered under by Spring Training. more ›

Let's step in the way-back machine to the Summer of '08 and the story about a Cubs fan - Jaroslaw Czapla - who beat up a White Sox fan at a two-year-old's birthday party. But it was just any White Sox fan. No, it was his brother-in-law. And the beating was so bad his brother-in-law lost an eye. High class stuff. A year and a half later, Cazpla has pleaded guilty to felony mob action which will land him behind bars for six months plus two years probation and a $500 fine. But the case isn't over yet. There were two other men involved, including Jaroslaw's brother Boguslaw Czapla, against whom charges are still pending. The third man involved - Maciej Trojnar - has been on the run since the incident occurred. [ABC 7, Daily Herald] more ›

• Mayor Daley announced he's replacing his current chief-of-staff, Paul Volpe. Volpe will probably best be remembered as the man behind the parking meter lease.
• Police continue to search for Shontell Davis, a missing 15-year-old.
• The dangers of ice flinging from vehicles on the road.

Now that Milton Bradley's gone, the Cubs have brought in another Texas Ranger outfielder, signing free agent Marlon Byrd to a three-year, $15 million deal. Byrd, 32, will play center field for the Cubs; he batted .283 with 20 HR and 89 RBI for the Rangers last year. more ›

The Cubs unloaded Milton Bradley to the Seattle Mariners. Meanwhile, there was that fire at the Michigan Ave mall this morning. Where do they meet? On the front page of the Sun-Times website where a delay in the site's cache cycling winds up presenting a pretty apt metaphor for the Cubs current situation. more ›

The Seattle Times is reporting this morning that the Mariners and Cubs are close to working out a trade that would send the beleaguered outfielder to Seattle in exchange for pitcher Carlos Silva and $9 million cash (a total profit of $6 million for the Cubs once payments on salaries were hashed out). Sports Illustrated originally reported the trade talks and mentions several other teams were in the running, including the Rangers, Bradley's old team. Bradley has $21 million left on his contract over the next two years while Silva has $25 million left over two years over his contract. Silva possesses a 60-64 career record with a career 4.72 ERA. Look. We understand that A.L. pitchers usually have a bit of success when switching from the A.L. to the N.L. but...REALLY? Yes, Bradley's a head case that's going to be hard to unload, especially with that atrocious contract. But to actually take on a more expensive contract from a pitcher with a career ERA near 5.00? That's the best you could do, Hendry? Ugh. We give up. [h/t to the Tribune's Kevin Pang] more ›

While we have seen memorable MLB Winter Meetings in the past, this year's events held in Indianapolis were anything but, especially for the White Sox and the Cubs. Neither team made any substantial moves, perhaps most notably the Cubs and their inability to rid themselves of Milton Bradley. While the meetings yielded minor results for the Chicago ball clubs, both will still look to fill (and make) gaps in their lineups in the coming weeks. [Update: Shortly after Jake filed this post, the Sox signed reliever J.J. Putz to a one-year, $3 million contract.] more ›

Trying to figure out Cubs ticket prices - with the different sections of Wrigley and four pricing categories - can be like trying to figure out calculus. And for 2010 one part of the equation is being altered as some of the better Cubs tickets will be more expensive next year. First of all, the number of "Platinum" games - the most expensive games - will increase from 14 in '09 to 26 in '10. For those games, most of the more expensive tickets will increase. According to the Tribune: more ›

• The Chicago Police Department is investigating why an alert on murdered 12-year-old Jahmeshia Conner was not sent out to the media as it should have been when the girl was reported missing two weeks ago. Current speculation is a computer issue may have been the problem. Jahmeshia's body was discovered in a South Side alley Monday.
• Bring on the TV ads in the race for the U.S. Senate.
• State lawmakers have set December 22 as the date for a hearing related to the possible sale of the Thomson Correctional Center to house terror suspects. [via WBEZ radio]

Neither the Cubs or the Sox had particularly awful seasons, but they weren't great and both teams were left on the outside of the playoff race looking in. Fitting, then, that some of their better performing players made distant blips in some post-season award voting. The Cubs' first basemen, Derek Lee - who had a monster year with 35 HR, 111RBI, and a .306 avg - finished ninth in the voting for this year's NL MVP, the highest finish in either league's voting for a Chicago player. The Cardinals' Albert Pujols was the unanimous winner. Last week, Sox infielder Gordon Beckham finished fifth in AL Rookie of the Year voting and the Cubs' Randy Wells finished sixth in NL Rookie of the Year voting. As the saying goes, wait til next year... more ›

We don't expect a lot of post-season hardware to come the Cubs' way after an underachieving 2009 campaign, but one bit of silver lining is Carlos Zambrano taking home another Silver Slugger award. The award, given to the best hitting pitcher, is Z's third award and second in a row. His four homers, 11 RBIs, and .217 batting average were enough to win out. Congrats, Big Z! more ›

The Chicago Cubs have denied they've been in talks with the Toronto Blue Jays about a trade that would send troubled outfielder Milton Bradley north of the border in exchange for Vernon Wells. But that doesn't mean the Cubs aren't looking to deal Bradley after only one year of his three-year, $30 million contract. ESPN reports that the Tampa Bay Rays (for Pat Burrell), Texas Rangers, and California Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (for Gary Matthews, Jr.) are potential destinations for Bradley. more ›

The Ricketts family was formally introduced today as new owners of the Chicago Cubs and Tom Ricketts began the new era with a bold proclamation: "We’re going to win the World Series." Cubs fans in our office (which is actually just me) are hopeful maybe even a change of ownership can get something going, but we're not holding our breath. more ›

Our pals at Not Qualified To Comment have an interesting take on the recent comments by former Cub Kerry Wood alleging racists comments from Cubs fans. After seeing the reaction - including, admittedly, our own - to Milton Bradley's accusations this year, it's certainly something to give some thought to. more ›

The Cubs' sale to the Ricketts family is finally complete. The family now owns 95 percent of the team and Wrigley Field and 25 percent of Comcast Sports Net. Said Tom Ricketts, "Now we will go to work building the championship tradition that all Cubs fans so richly deserve." The team will wait until Friday - an off day for the World Series - to formally introduce the new owners. more ›

As temperatures dip, daylight saving time ends, and the Bulls look to jump-start their season, this can only mean one thing for Cubs fans: look to next year. Though a tiring and frustrating ritual, we have in some ways grown to expect the hustle and bustle in the GM's office come late October. Next order of business: new hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo. ESPNChicago.com reported today the Cubs have signed former Texas Ranger hitting instructor Rudy Jaramillo to a three-year deal on Tuesday for an estimated $2.4 million. The Cubs will officially introduce Jaramillo this afternoon at a Wrigley Field press conference. more ›

Check out this pretty fantastic look from Opening Day 1984 (airing on - we think - the old show Eye on Chicago) at the two very different crowds that frequented the Cubby Bear at the time, a time when Cubs games were always during the day, the punks came out at night, and no one had yet to utter the phrase "Dave Matthews Band." more ›

• In light of yesterday's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, a bankruptcy court judge has once more given the okay for the Cubs to be sold to the Ricketts family.
• If, in a few months, you feel like your copy of the Chicago Tribune is shrinking, you're not imagining it.
• An Indiana National Guard soldier committed suicide in a Muncie, Indiana movie theater last night.

No matter which team you prefer, you're either sad to see baseball go or glad the long, torturous 2009 season is done. Benjy will wrap up the season for both teams (and look ahead to 2010) later in the week, but for now, here's what went down yesterday. more ›

We know Sweet Lou has said he's coming back for 2010, the last year on his contract, but beyond that, what's the future for the Cubs? Hall-of-Famer Ryne Sandberg is making no secret about his desire to coach the Big League team. Sandberg guided the Cubs' AA affiliate to the Southern League championship which would certainly help his resume. As for what awaits him, Sandberg says, "I'm just waiting to see where I'll be headed next year, and to continue to contribute to the organization and gain experience and really enjoy it along the way." [Tribune] more ›

A day after being shellacked by the Arizona Diamonbacks, the Cubs bounced back behind a sterling performance from rookie Randy Wells and shoutout the D-backs 5-0 earlier this afternoon. Wells struck out 10 while allowing only three hits over seven innings or work. Reed Johnson hit a two-run triple in the fourth and Geovany Soto doubled in Johnson to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead; Soto would add another RBI in the sixth. The two teams do it one more time, closing out the regular season tomorrow afternoon at 1:20 p.m. (CSN). more ›

Peavy Shuts Down Detroit, Gives Sox Hope For 2010 more ›

The Pirates had a lead on the Cubs last night but it was all for naught. All that rain washed the game out and it won't be made up. The game was in the top of the fourth with the Pirates leading 3-0 when the game was delayed by rain for over two-and-a-half hours before being canceled. The Cubs have a weekend series against the Arizona Diamonbacks that starts tomorrow at 1:20 p.m. (WGN). more ›