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Comments, News & Rumors - 2004 November
Archives
Headlines
Cubs resign Rusch to 2 year deal - 11/21/04 7:12am
Cubs add Kasper as play-by-play analyst - 11/20/04 10:02pm
Key pieces to the puzzle for 2005 - 11/18/04 9:08pm
ESPN blocks O'Brien - 11/17/04 7:43pm
Sosa trade talks heating up - 11/15/04 7:12pm
Cubs add Brenly as TV analyst - 11/09/04 7:11pm
Cubs thinking about TV analysts - 11/05/04 7:03pm
Cubs interested in Percival - 11/05/04 7:01pm
Sosa and Beltran updates - 11/05/04 6:59pm
Caray bashes Cubs and defends Stone - 11/05/04 6:57pm
Maddux received 14th Gold Glove - 11/05/04 6:55pm
Wood destroyed Sosa's boom box - 11/03/04 7:05pm
Groundskeeper finds grenade in right field - 11/03/04 7:03pm
Spring Training schedule announced - 11/02/04 6:58pm
Cubs Convention tickets - 11/02/04 6:56pm
11/21/04 7:12am - Cubs resign Rusch to 2 year deal
After filling in everywhere he was needed last year, Glendon Rusch is being rewarded for his efforts. Saturday,
the left-hander signed a 2 year deal that will keep him in Chicago.
In 2003, Rusch was 1-12 with the Brewers, who then moved him down to Triple-A. The Cubs signed him after he
was released and worked in Triple-A Iowa until he was called up on April 30th.
With the Cubs, Rusch was 6-2 with a 3.47 ERA. He stepped into the starting rotation for Kerry Wood when Wood injured his
tricep. He also filled in for Clement when he was struggling in late September.
"He's probably one of the most underrated left-handed starters in the big leagues," said
Cubs catcher Michael Barrett.
As well as jumping into the starting rotation, Rusch worked out of the pen as a long reliever and also saved
two games. He could walk to the mound after not pitching for two week and then throw 7 innings without much
of a problem. In 2005, he may be used as the 5th starter, filling in for Clement, who is expected to sign
with another team. They Cubs may also pick up another starter and utilize Rusch as the utility man he was
in 2004.
- Bryan | Return
11/20/04 10:02pm - Cubs add Kasper as play-by-play analyst
Ken Kasper and Bob Brenly are now the new TV analysts for WGN and the Chicago Cubs.
On Friday, the Cubs signed Kasper as their play-by-play analyst. Kasper, who is 33, had spent the last three
seasons as the Marlins TV analyst. Prior to that, he worked with the Brewers, broadcasting select games during
the 1999-2001 seasons.
"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to call Cubs baseball with Bob Brenly on WGN and Comcast," said
Kasper, who signed a multi-year deal that begins with the 2005 season. "This is the best play-by-play
job in sports and I look forward to being a daily part of the lives of the best fans in baseball."
Kasper replaces Chip Caray, while Brenly replaces Steve Stone, who both had a difficult year with the
Cubs team in 2004.
- Bryan | Return
11/18/04 9:08pm - Key pieces to the puzzle for 2005
During the past week, the Cubs held several organization meetings to determine what they wanted to do for next season. According to sources, there were several key points.
Find a closer. Their top priority this offseason was to find a closer. With Troy Percival signing with the Tigers, it throws a wrench into the Cubs' plans. Armando Benitez and Ugueth Urbina remain backup options. Prediction: Cubs sign Urbina.
They fully intend to trade Sosa. While several sources report this will never happen due to the complexity in such a trade, the Cubs continue to look for 2 outfielders to replace Sosa and Alou. The rumors of the trade to the Mets seem to be the most likely option at this point. Carlos Beltran also looks to be a high prize for the Cubs, but their only chance in acquiring him is if they are able to trade Sosa. Prediction: Cubs trade Sosa to Mets for Floyd. Cubs put up a fight for Beltran, but lose in the bidding war to the Yankees.
Find a shortstop or resign Nomar. It looks like the Cubs plan to pursue Edgar Renteria as their main option, but they do not want to get too far away from Nomar Garciappara if that fails. They are also reportedly interested in Orlando Cabrera. With the best closer off the market, they have some extra cash to throw at Renteria, who will likely land in Chicago. Prediction: Cubs sign Renteria and wave goodbye to Nomar.
Find a new home for Kyle Farnsworth. Like Sammy Sosa, the Farns skipped the final game of the season. The Cubs look like they intend to trade him as well, but have not heard of any serious offers from other teams. Prediction: Cubs ship Farnsworth to Tigers in a deal for Urbina.
Let Todd Walker leave as a free agent if they can find a better glove. Todd Walker is a great left handed bat in the Cubs lineup, but they are not convinced that his glove will be good enough at second base. While they decided not to move forward with Mark Grudzielanek, the Cubs may also explore other alternatives at second base. It looks like Tony Womack may be at the top of their wish-list. Womack played with the Cubs for a short time in 2003. Last year, he moved to the Cardnials where he was a leadoff hitter batting .307. Prediction: Cubs keep Walker as a good-left handed hitter, but find solid backup option.
- Bryan | Return
11/17/04 7:43pm - ESPN blocks O'Brien
The next play-by-play announcer for the Cubs will not be Dave O'Brien, thanks to ESPN.
The network declined to let O'Brien out of his contact, apparently after he had come to an agreement
with the Chicago Cubs. ESPN said it didn't want to lose one of its prime baseball voices and an
announcer it considers a rising talent.
"I suppose I'm disappointed and flattered," O'Brien said. "I still have a couple of great jobs.
I am under contract. I'm happy ESPN thinks highly of my work."
With the block by ESPN, the Cubs are now looking at Len Kasper or Matt Vasgersian to be their play-by-play
announcer on WGN. Kasper's contact as the Marlins announcer has expired so he seems like the most
likely candidate. Vasgersian still has 2 years left on his contract with the Padres.
- Bryan | Return
11/15/04 7:12pm - Sosa trade talks heating up
Chances may be getting better for Sammy Sosa to move to the New York Mets. The Mets and Cubs spoke
several times during the GM meetings last week and it has been reported that Sosa has already petitioned
the MLB Players Union to waive his $18 million 2006 option that would go into effect if he is traded.
Normally the Players Union would rule against something like this because a player should never give up
guaranteed money, but the money is not guaranteed because it is only promised if he is traded.
This may sound familiar to some fans who saw the Players Union void a possible trade of Alex Rodriguez to the
Boston Red Sox last year. The Union voided that trade because Rodriguez would be restructuring his contract
so he could move out of Texas, hence, he would be giving up guaranteed money. In reality, this situation
is different from the Sosa situation.
"This is a completely different situation than Rodriguez," said a source close to the MLB Players
Union. "There is room for flexibility."
The rumors have stayed the same with Sosa going to the Mets and the Cubs getting Cliff Floyd in return. The
rumors also have the Mets unloading Mike Piazza to a separate team.
- Bryan | Return
11/09/04 7:11pm - Cubs add Brenly as TV analyst
Former manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Bob Brenly, is the newest TV analyst for WGN and the Chicago Cubs.
Brenly will replace Steve Stone as the color commentator, who adds expert analysis to the broadcast. The
Cubs are still looking for a play-by-play announcer to fill the spot of Chip Caray.
"We're absolutely delighted to have a baseball man of Bob's caliber join WGN and the Cubs," said WGN-TV
vice president and general manager, Tom Ehlmann, in a written statement. "We're looking forward to working
with him and having a great relationship."
Brenly was fired by the Diamondbacks on July 2nd after a bad start to the season. After he was fired, he
joined Fox as an analyst for the NLCS.
"The bottom line was this: I loved the time I spent in Chicago in the early 90s," said Brenly, who will
begin his rekindled Cubs career with the 2005 season. "This is as good as it gets, coming to Wrigley
Field for every home game. You get the greatest view in baseball."
Brenly worked for WGN as a Cubs radio analyst in 1990 and 1991. He also worked for 2 seasons with Fox in 1996
and 1997 and also spent 3 seasons on the Diamondbacks television announcing team from 1998 through 2000 before
becoming their manager.
- Bryan | Return
11/05/04 7:03pm - Cubs thinking about TV analysts
Wouldn't it be nice to see Mark Grace or Ryne Sandberg in the booth? Joe Girardi's name has also been thrown around.
With the possibility of the Hall of Fame coming near for Sandberg, he may be the best candidate. After a season of problems in the booth, the Cubs could score a win with Sandberg taking over. Though he did not like to talk much with the media when he played, he doesn't mind talking about the game anymore.
Girardi has been working as a tv analyst both with the Yankees and has also worked with Fox Sports for the Cubs.
"It's been discussed," Girardi said. "I spoke with (Cubs GM) Jim Hendry about it in the past, but really briefly and not with any kind of specifics at all. I think they just wanted to gauge my interest, and we had some nice talks about it."
Grace's name has been thrown around, but it seems like he may be interested in staying with Arizona.
- Jim | Return
11/05/04 7:01pm - Cubs interested in Percival
After a disastrous season in the Cubs bullpen, Jim Hendry may be interested in bringing in veteran, Troy Percival to fill the closer role.
This week, the Angels informed the 35 year old Percival, that they would not offer him a contact for 2005. Percival finished the season with 33 saves in 38 opportunities. He also showed no signs of slowing down saving 7 games out of the final 10 games of the season.
By bringing in a veteran like Percival, he not only might be able to solve the closer problem, but he will also be able to make Hawkins comfortable back in his role as the setup man. Another benefit was that Percival had a 1.38 ERA during the day and a 3.44 ERA during night games. The Cubs play most of their games during the day, so this may benefit Percival if he was to join the Cubs.
The Cubs are seriously looking to fill several positions, which include the closer role, a short stop, and possibly several outfielders.
- Jim | Return
11/05/04 6:59pm - Sosa and Beltran updates
More rumors are floating around about Sosa. The latest is that the Rangers may be interested in Sosa and may be willing to part with Alfonso Soranio.
Last week, the rumor was that the Mets were interested in Sosa and may be willing to unload the contact of Cliff Floyd to the Cubs. Florida, Baltimore, and Colorado are also on the list of teams who may be interested in Sosa.
It is likely that the Cubs would continue to pay a good chunk of Sosa's contact even if he was traded. This does not help the plan to bid for Carlos Beltran, especially after he is likely to request a 10 year deal worth roughly $20 million a year.
Beltran is represented by Scott Boras, who is known for expecting way too much for his superstars. "He is going to just go through the process, talk to those teams, and we are going to evaluate the ability of the club to have a winning environment every year, and certainly the economics of it," Boras said.
- Jim | Return
11/05/04 6:57pm - Caray bashes Cubs and defends Stone
Chip Caray is usually a mild mannered guy. Now that he is out of the Cubs organization, he is coming to the defense of Steve Stone with some critical comments for the Cubs and Dusty Baker.
Much of the anger was directed at Baker and the Cubs management for allowing some players to attack Caray and Stone without consequences. Several incidents where players confronted both announcers ultimately led to both leaving Chicago.
During the middle of the season as the players were on a plane, Kent Merckier verbally assaulted Steve Stone. Stone was stunned in silence after the Merckier verbal attack and both announcers were surprised that it happened and that no authoritative figure stepped up. It eventually led to the players trying to get the announcers removed from the plane.
"It was loud and profane and extremely insulting and disrespectful. People can claim anything they want, but believe me, it happened," Caray said. I can tell you that in the organizations in which Mercker pitched before, that behavior never would have been tolerated."
"Steve was the voice of the franchise, and it's simply unconscionable that he was treated this way when there's no way Harry Caray or Jack Brickhouse or Ron Santo would have ever been treated that way. Can you explain that to me?''
"It's very convenient to blame Steve or me for this getting into the media, but this doesn't even happen if the person in question (Mercker) doesn't pick up the phone and call the booth to complain,'' Caray said. "He could have come up to us the next day on the field and discussed it with us, like it happened with other players during the season."
Caray said that he knew some of the Cubs management tried to do something about it, but thought that Baker should have stepped up, rather than stand behind his players, even when they were wrong.
"You have to be careful who you choose as your king,'' Caray said of Baker. "We always took pride in not second guessing the manager, and I'm not about to start now.
"If this had all been shot down in July with a very simple statement like, 'We don't lose because of broadcasters. We don't win because of broadcasters. We don't blame others for our mistakes.' If that happens, it's over. Instead, the message was clear: It's open season on the broadcasters, and it was not fun going to work."
"I was in the last year of my contract, and I told Andy and Jim and John that I was not going to be labeled as the reason they didn't make the playoffs."
"Neither of us made one pitch, got picked off, got doubled off, failed to move a runner or failed to throw to the right base. The Cubs weren't good enough, and that's not our fault.''
Caray suggested the Cubs had bigger problems and will continue to have problems until they learn to deal with some issues.
"The people in that clubhouse had too many agendas and too many complaints. We had a pitcher (Joe Borowski) mad at the media because the manager said his velocity was down. We had a closer (LaTroy Hawkins) get dragged off the field by the coaches after he went after the umpires. We had a manager go crazy because he blew a double-switch. We had Kerry Wood flip his lid because of an umpire's call, and we had the whole Michael Barrett-Roy Oswalt debacle."
"I was always taught in sports growing up that if you want revenge, beat the other guy. The Cubs didn't do that. They just talked about it and complained about it. And unfortunately, they sat at home and watched the playoffs.''
Caray insists he left with no bitterness. He was hopeful the Cubs would find great replacements and suggested the Cubs deserved the best. He was also happy that Stone was able to find happiness with his decision to leave the organization.
"Our partnership is stopped for now, for maybe a couple years, but our friendship won't end there in that booth."
- Jim | Return
11/05/04 6:55pm - Maddux received 14th Gold Glove
During the season, Maddux told reporters that he had a special room where he kept his awards and honors. He called it the "dig-me" room. He now has a new award to add to the room.
On Wednesday, Maddux received his 14th Golden Glove award after he finished the season with a .987 fielding percentage. He had one error in 77 chances and was also involved in three double plays. He has now won 14 out of 15 seasons after not receiving the award in 2003. After 13 straight seasons of Gold Glove awards, he was bumped by Mike Hampton in 2003. The only pitcher to win more consecutive Gold Gloves is Jim Kaat, who won 16 straight from 1962-77.
Maddux is the only pitcher in Cubs history to win a Gold Glove and was the first player since Mark Grace in 1996 to win the award. The last time he won the award with the Cubs was in 1992.
- Jim | Return
11/03/04 7:05pm - Wood destroyed Sosa's boom box
After Sosa bailed on the Cubs in the last game of the season, fans may have heard that a player had taken
a baseball bat to Sammy Sosa's prized boom box.
Recently, that player was identified to be Kerry Wood. Apparently, after Sosa bailed on the Cubs in the
last game, Wood expressed his anger towards Sosa by destroying the prized posession. It probably symbolized
the anger that most players have towards Sosa. It is just another example of how the players
are not going to forgive Sosa.
Fans, players, and the coaching staff are all expecting Sosa to be traded, so expect the Cubs to do everything
they can to make that happen.
- Bryan | Return
11/03/04 7:03pm - Groundskeeper finds grenade in right field
A Wrigley Field Groundskeeper discovered a grenade in right field Tuesday morning. Though the grenade was "without explosives", it still took nearly 47 minutes for the Chicago Police and the Bomb and Arson squad to determine it was an empty and harmless piece of metal.
Investigators determined that Wrigley Field was not broken into and that the grenade probably got on the field after someone tossed it over the fence. These types of empty grenades can be purchased at army surplus stores.
"Somebody probably had a few drinks and lobbed it over the wall," Town Hall District Capt. Bill McCorry said.
- Bryan | Return
11/02/04 6:58pm - Spring Training schedule announced
Fans that have been waiting for their Arizona vacations can start to book their trips. On Monday, the Cubs announced their 2005 Spring Training schedule.
The Cubs will start Spring Training on March 3rd against the Oakland Athletics and will conclude the spring session in Las Vegas on April 2nd against the Seattle Mariners. Single game tickets are scheduled to go on sale January 4th at 10am CT.
- Bryan | Return
11/02/04 6:56pm - Cubs Convention tickets
The 2005 Cubs Convention tickets will go on sale November 8th. The Cubs Convention will be held January 21, 22 and 23 at the Hilton Hotel in Chicago.
At the convention, fans have the opportunity to purchase merchandise, mingle with current and former Cubs players, broadcasters and front-office executives, and attend autograph and photo sessions. They also have the opportunity to participate in question-and-answer seminars and baseball clinics.
Some of last year's attendees were Ron Santo, Corey Patterson, Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Ryne Sandberg, Billy Williams, Ernie Banks, Latroy Hawkins, Todd Hollandsworth, and many players from the 1984 Cubs team.
- Bryan | Return
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