Derrek Lee continued his hot hitting going 7-9 in the series with the Dodgers.  In the first game of the series, Lee drove in all threre of the Cubs runs on an RBI single and a two-run homer.  Lee has now pushed his season hitting line up to .246/.352/.391 with 6 homeruns and 23 RBI.

The Cubs pitching was also very good during the three-game set with the Dodgers.  The Cubs staff managed to shut out LA in the two Cubs victories and only gave up 8 hits in the those two games.  Dempster got the victory in game one and Ted Lilly was credited with the win in game two.

However, not everything is peaches and cream for the Cubs.  First, Aramis Ramirez is suffering from an injured thumb and missed the series with LA.  He had a cortisone shot on Thursday and it is hoped that he is ready for the first game of the series with the Cardinals on Friday at Wrigley.  But even getting Ramirez back in the line-up is not such a great thing.  He is hitting just .160/.225/.269 on the year and he has not shown any signs of breaking out of his season-long slump.

Carlos Zambrano was taken to the hospital yesterday after complaining of severe stomach pain.  Doctors feared he was suffering from appendicitis, but tests came back negative.  There was no word on what may have caused his lower intestinal discomfort nor when he might be ready to play again.

Jeff Baker got the start at third base on Thursday, but had to leave the game in the eighth inning when he completely lost sight in his right eye.  That according to Carrie Muskat on MLB.com via Twitter.  I’m no doctor, but that sounds pretty serious.  Let’s hope it is nothing too bad and that Baker regains sight in his right eye very soon.

UPDATE: Jeff Baker saw the Cubs opthamologist following yesterday’s game and was diagnosed with an ocular migraine.  The report I read didn’t say if his vision had returned or if he would be ready to play this weekend.

**********

What a weird year it has been in Major League Baseball.  Just look at the standings.  At the moment, the Reds are in first place in the NL Central with St. Louis trailing by a game.  That’s not a complete shock.  The Reds were picked by some prognosticators before the season to be a pretty good team.  I, on the other hand, said I didn’t think they would be very good and I still expect them to fall off the pace.

In the NL East, although the Phillies are leading the division, only 3.0 games separate the Phils from the last place Nationals.  Atlanta has struggled, but is just 1.5 games back of the Phils, with the Mets pulling into third place, 2.0 games out of first place.

The Padres, who were projected to be the worst (or at least one of the worst) team(s) in the NL currently have the best record in the league.  Heading into the weekend, they have a record of 28-19  and lead the NL West.  The Dodgers are 2.0 games behind the Padres and the Rockies are 3.0 back.

In the AL East, most people thought Tampa Bay would be good, but I’m not sure they thought the Rays would be as good as they have been so far this year.  With a record of 33-15, they are 4.5 games ahead of the Yankees and 6.5 games up on the third place Red Sox.  Even Toronto, who started quick out of the gate, has a record of 27-22.  With that record, the Blue Jays could be leading either the AL Central or West.

In the AL Central, Minnesota leads the division by 1.5 games over Detroit.  The White Sox, who are seven games under .500, are in third place, followed by the Royals and the hapless Indians.

The AL West is all topsy turvy.  Most “experts” thought the AL West would be a race between the Angels and the Mariners.  At the moment, the Angels and Mariners are fighting it out for third place in the division.  LA is 23-26 while Seattle has a record of 18-28.  The class of the division at the moment is the Texas Rangers who sport a 26-21 record.  They are currently 1.5 games up on Oakland.

I’m sticking by the picks I made earlier in the year.  Even so, I have to admit that the way that some teams are playing — both good and bad — has been a surprise.  I guess that why they bother to play the games.

The first game of the series was won in extra innings when Aramis Ramirez hit a two-run walk off home run off Rockies pitcher Matt Belisle.  The homerun was just Ramirez’ fourth of the year.

In the second game of the series, Ryan Theriot and Starlin Castro each had two RBI to help lead the Cubs to victory.  Tyler Colvin got the start in left field and went 3-4 with an RBI.

Following the second game of the series, Lou Piniella announced that he was going to move Zambrano back to the rotation.  Actually, that’s not exactly what he said.  What he said was that he was going to move Z out of the 8th inning set-up role and stretch him out for longer appearances.  He was rather vague on whether or not this meant that Z would return to the starting rotation.  I think he will, but Piniella would not just come out and say that.

I know there are people who are still critical of trying Z in the set-up role, but I think it was worth a try.  The starting rotation has not suffered (which doesn’t say a lot for Zambrano) and the bullpen kind of stablized with Z out there.  Unfortunately, I don’t think the experiement worked as well as Piniella had hoped.  Z did okay, but he wasn’t the difference maker that the Cubs needed.  He also continued to pitch the same way he had as a starter, meaning he didn’t really let loose of the fast ball.  He paced himself too much and I think that hurt him.

It will be interesting to see who gets knocked out of the starting rotation to accomodate Z’s return.  Carlos Silva should be sent to the pen just because he’s right handed and he is experienced.  However, he’s won five games for the Cubs this year and he doesn’t deserve a demotion.  Tom Gorzelanny, on the other hand, has pitched well, but has a record of 2-4, despite a respectable 3.04 ERA.  If he wasn’t left handed, it would be a lot easier to predict his demotion to the bullpen.  However, the Cubs already have three lefties in the pen, so I’m afraid adding Gorzelanny would be overkill. 

Another option is that the Cubs could trade Gorzelanny away.  It may be too early for that, but Gorzelanny has not hurt himself this year.  He has been solid and would be a good #4 or #5 starter on a lot of teams.

Time will tell.  For now, the Cubs head to Philadelphia for a two game series tonight and tomorrow before heading to Texas to start interleague play with the Rangers over the weekend.  Tom Gorzelanny gets the start tonight against the Phillies 87-year old pitcher Jamie Moyer.  The outcome of Gorzelanny’s performance tonight could determine his fate for the remainder of the year…or at least the near future.

The bad news will take a little longer to explain.  Let’s start by pointing out that the Pittsburgh Pirates have not had a winning season in their last 18 seasons.  They are one of the most poorly run franchises in all of baseball.  And despite the fact that they say they have a plan for the future, the truth is that they don’t have a plan.  Or more accurately, they do have a plan, but it’s not the plan they say they have.  Let me explain.

Pittsburgh claims that they can not compete by spending money on their big league team.  So they spend less on their big league payroll than they receive in revenue sharing money.  They also routinely trade away their most promising players because they claim they can’t afford them after a few years.  The Pirates claim that their plan is to trade their best players for prospects, and they will build their franchise on less expensive prospects.  However, this plan doesn’t make sense.  As prospects develop, they become more expensive.  They get paid more through arbitration the better they play.  And when they get better, the Pirates trade away these players for prospects, and the wheel continues to turn.  That is the real plan the Pirates are following.  Their plan is to keep their payroll low, keep losing, and continue to pocket the money the team receives in revenue sharing.  It wouldn’t be a popular plan if they were honest about it, so they claim they have a completely different plan. 

So, the Pirates are poorly run, perpetual losers, and they routinely are among the teams with the lowest payroll.  In 2010, they have the league’s absolute lowest payroll.  To give you an idea of how low Pittsburgh’s payroll is, let’s compare it to the Cubs payroll.  Both teams are in the NL Central, yet the Cubs out spend the Pirates by more than $100 million.  The Cubs 2010 payroll is $146 million.  The Pirates spend a cool $35 million.

Despite the difference in their payrolls, yesterday’s victory by the Cubs was just the first win the Cubs have earned in six tries this year against the Pirates.  In fact, with a record of 16-22 on the season, the Cubs find themselves in 4th place in the NL Central behind the Reds, Cardinals, and the pathetic Pittsburgh Pirates.

I find this fact absolutely amazing.  How is it possible that entering yesterday’s game, the Pirates had beaten the Cubs in five straight games?  How is it possible that midway through May, the Cubs are trailing the hapless Pirates in the standings?  How is it that a team like the Pirates that spend less than 25% as much on payroll as the Cubs do can so thoroughly outplay them?

I don’t have answers to any of these questions.  I am just stunned by the fact that, despite how poorly the Pirates are run and how little they spend on player payroll, they have made the Cubs look sick all season.

Maybe we’re getting to the point where we have to accept that the Cubs are just not a good baseball team.  While the Cubs have five everyday players who are hitting over .300 (plus Starlin Castro who is hitting .323), they still have trouble scoring runs.  This is due in large part to the fact that Derrek Lee just raised his batting average to .238 and Aramis Ramirez is stuck below the Mendoza line at .167.  Despite these anemic numbers, Lee and Ramirez continue to bat third and fourth respectively in the lineup.

Rob G. at The Cubs Reporter did an interesting study in which he found that as of this past Thursday, Ramirez and Lee lead the Cubs in runners left on base this season.  In 141 plate appearances, Ramirez has left 104 runners on base.  Lee has come to the plate 154 times and has left 103 runners on base. 

How long should Lou Piniella allow Lee and Ramirez to continue to bat in the middle of the lineup?  I understand allowing a guy to try to work his way out of a slump, but how long can the Cubs afford to wait?  Perhaps Lee has turned a corner.  He is hitting a bit better as of late.  However, Ramirez has just been horrible.  He claims that he is healthy, but he does not look good at the plate.

We’re only a month-and-a-half into the season, but it’s already been a long year for the Cubs.  Losing five-out-of-six so far to the Pirates this year is just one symptom of the problem, albeit a horribly embarrassing symptom.  Trailing the Pirates in the standings should be enough to light a fire under the Cubs.  Unfortunately, nothing has been able to light that fire so far this year.  And that really is bad news.

The Cubs loss in Cincinnati was eerily similar to the loss I watched them suffer at the hands of the Braves earlier this year.  Ryan Dempster started both games for the Cubs.  He pitched very well in both games.  Leading 3-2 in the 8th in Atlanta, Dempster gave up a double to rookie phenom Jason Heyward.  Lou Pinella pulled him out of the game and replaced him with John Grabow.  The first hitter Grabow faced was Chipper Jones.  Jones promptly hit a home run and the Braves won the game 4-3.

Dempster pitched even better today.  He had only given up three hits as the game moved into the 7th inning and the Cubs were winning 3-2.  Two hitters reached base with first baseman Joey Votto due up and two outs.  Piniella visited the mound, just as he did in Atlanta, but this time he left Dempster in the game.  I mentioned at the time that it was obvious that Piniella did not trust the bullpen.  On Dempster’s very first pitch to Votto, the young first baseman hit a mammoth blast into the right center field seats to give the Reds a 5-3 lead.  They went on to win the game by the same score.

The Cubs could only muster four hits off of Reds starter Mike Leake.  One of those hits was a two-run home run by Tyler Colvin, who started the game in left field to give Alfonso Soriano a day off.  Koyie Hill also started, giving Geovany Soto a rest. 

I know that players need a day off once in a while, but coming into Sunday’s game, the Cubs had lost four of the five games they had played during the road trip.  Wouldn’t it have made sense for the Cubs to have at least one of Soriano or Soto – two of their hottest hitters – in the lineup for their final game of the road trip?  Who knows if it would have made a difference, but I have trouble accepting removing two of the team’s best hitters from the lineup at the same time while the Cubs are having trouble scoring runs.

Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez continue to struggle at the plate.  Lee was 0-4 while Ramirez got a hit in his final at-bat of the game.  Lee is hitting .210 on the year while Ramirez is still below the Mendoza line at .167.

Starlin Castro, AKA the greatest baseball player in the history of the game, was 1-3 with a single.  It was the first game in Castro’s big league career that he has not had at least one extra base hit.  He will make his Wrigley Field debut tomorrow against the Florida Marlins.  God help the Marlins.

The Cubs outscored the Brewers 25-4 during the three game set.  In the Cubs 12-2 victory on Sunday, Ryan Theriot led the hit parade by going 5-6 with a double and three RBI.  The outburst raised his batting average to .329.  Tyler Colvin got the start in center field and went 3-4 with a double, home run, and three RBI.

In Sunday’s tilt, Randy Wells earned the victory.  He went 7.0 innings giving up seven hits and two earned runs.  He struck out six and allowed zero walks (that’s a nice ratio).  Ryan Dempster earned the win in the first game of the series on Friday, and on Saturday, Ted Lilly made his season debut by coming off the DL for the win.  Carlos Zambrano made his first appearance of the season out of the bullpen, going 1.1 innings and allowing two hits and one earned run.

Earlier in the week, the Cubs offense looked like it might be waking up, and it left no doubt over the weekend in Milwaukee by pounding out 41 hits.  The Cubs started the week with only two players (Mike Fontenot and Koyie Hill) hitting over .300.  By week’s end, eight different Cubs (Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Theriot, Kosuke Fukudome, Tyler Colvin, Marlon Byrd, Koyie Hill, Geovany Soto) are hitting over .300.  Unfortunately, both Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez are struggling at the plate.

The Washington Nationals come into Chicago for a three game set at Wrigley this next week.  After the Nationals, the Cubs will host the D-Backs in a four game series beginning on Thursday.

**********

What are the Cubs going to do about finding a bullpen arm to handle the 8th inning?  Zambrano can fill in just fine for a while, but keeping him in the bullpen long term is probably not in the cards.

The Royals placed reliever Juan Cruz on waivers and rumor has it that the Cubs will be interested in bringing Cruz back to Chicago.  However, there has been some talk that Cruz did not leave the Cubs under the best of circumstances during his previous stint with the club.  The rumor is that he was a distration in the clubhouse, although the rumors are rather short on details.  Even if the Cubs are interested in signing Cruz, there’s a good chance that they will not be the only team interested in claiming him off waivers.

Another possibility is making a trade for a bullpen arm.  One candidate the Cubs likely have their eye on is Heath Bell.  The San Diego closer has been a hot name on the trade market since the beginnig of the season.  It’s likely that the Padres would want a king’s ransom for the right hander.  Would the Cubs be willing to part with two or three players/prospects for Bell?  And if they traded for him, would he handle the 8th inning for Carlos Marmol or vice versa?

Another possible trade with San Diego that hasn’t been talked about quite as much involves the Padres Mike Adams.  Adams is 31-years old and has closer-quality stuff.  He currently serves as the Pads set-up man.  I don’t think the Cubs would have to give up as much for Adams as they would for Bell, and Adams might be an even better fit.

If the Cubs don’t sign a reliever off waivers or trade for one, then they’ll have to look at bringing up one of their young arms.  The most likely candidate (at least in my mind) is Andrew Cashner.  Cashner is a former highly regarded college closer from TCU that the Cubs are in the process of turning into a starter.  I’d like to see him given a chance to serve as a set-up man in the big leagues.  Cashner is currently 1-1 pitching for AA Tennessee.  In 24.1 innings he has a 3.33 ERA and has struck out 29 while walking seven. 

**********

Following Saturday’s win in Milwaukee, Lou Piniella said that he would not be using Carlos Zambrano in back-to-back games, at least not for a while.  At first I disagreed with this decision, but the more I think about it, the more I think it makes sense.

Zambrano is used to have at least five days rest between starts.  He’s not used to the bullpen, nor is he used to pitching without substantial rest between his appearances.  Of course, he will be throwing many fewer pitches in relief than he did as a starter, but I think it makes sense to allow him to settle in.  I don’t think it will take long for Zambrano to get used to his new role though.  In 10 days to two weeks he should be ready to start going on back-to-back games.

Although the Cubs are not quite yet mathematically eliminated, manager Lou Piniella is already starting to turn his attention to next year.  In an interview with Carrie Muskat from MLB.com, Piniella opened up about his top three wishes for 2010.  They are:

1. Have Alfonso Soriano and Geovany Soto return healthy and productive.
2. Add a real nice RBI bat to the lineup (He never mentioned the words “left-handed”).
3. Add a true lead-off man

Wish number one makes perfect sense.  The Cubs were devasted by injuries this year, particularly to Aramis Ramirez, Geovany Soto, and Alfonso Soriano.  If all three can come back healthy and productive next year, the Cubs will already be a better team than they were in 2009.

As for wishes two and three, you have to wonder where these new guys would play.  Piniella said that he’d like to move Kosuke Fukudome back to right field, so that would leave a hole in center and maybe one at second (depending on what they decide to do with Mike Fontenot).

I think all three wishes make sense.  Wish number one should take care of itself.  There’s very little the Cubs can do to guarantee it.  Wishes two and three are in the hands of Jim Hendry.  And if he wants a little help, he should read my thoughts (stolen from someone else) about calling his old buddy Andy MacPhail in Baltimore to make a deal.

**********

Phil Rogers at the Tribune is reporting on a rumored trade between the Cubs and White Sox.  In the trade, the Cubs would send Carlos Zambrano to the Southside in exchange for newly acquired pitcher Jake Peavy. 

Their contracts of the two pitchers are nearly a wash.  Z is owed $53.75 million through  2012 (with a $19.25 million player vesting option in 2013) while Peavy is owed $52 million through 2012 (with a $22 million club option in 2013 and a $4 million buyout).

There are a couple of things to consider here.  First, the rumor is being reported by Phil Rogers, so there’s a good chance that he just made it up.  After all, in the same article, Rogers is reporting that Red Sox first base coach Tim Bogar is a leading candidate to get the Houston Astros managerial job in 2010.  This, despite the fact that Bogar is contractually prohibited from accepting a managerial position outside of Boston until AFTER the 2010 season.  Phil apparently didn’t know that when he made up the story.

NOTE: Boy, do I have egg on my face.  After disparaging Phil Rogers for getting the Tim Bogar story wrong, I realized that John Farrell is the Boston coach that has a clause in his contract that does not allow him to accept a job as manager anywhere other than Boston before the end of the 2010 season, not Bogar.  It’s official.  I’m an idiot.  Sorry, Phil.  Mea culpa.

Even so, let’s think about the possibility of Z going to the White Sox in exchange for Peavy.  Z, who is 28-years old, has always liked the White Sox.  It might be because of the Venezuela connection with manager Ozzie Guillen (they also have similar temperments) or it might be the more “blue collar” feel to the White Sox.  Whatever it is, the White Sox are one team that Z apparently said he would be willing to be traded to (he has a full NTC).

As a Padre, Peavy made it clear that he would like to stay in the NL and would prefer to join the Cubs.  So we can be pretty sure that he would once again waive his no-trade clause to go to the Northside.   And to further add to the odd symmetry, Peavy is also 28-years old, just one day older than Zambrano.

Both pitchers had down years in 2009 and both suffered through injuries.  I think it’s fair to say that Peavy’s injury was more serious, but it appears he has fully recovered.  Some would argue that Zambrano’s back problems are potentially more serious because they are exacerbated by his reluctance to stick to a strict exercise program.

The two pitchers have comparable career stats as well.  Zambrano has a career record of 105-67 with an ERA of 3.50 and a 1.29 WHIP.  For his career, Peavy is 94-68 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.

I think we’ve established this much, a Zambrano for Peavy trade would be a pretty even swap.  So, should the Cubs do it?  I say yes.

The Cubs have struggled over the years with Zambrano’s emotional instability.  He can get shaken at times on the mound and he can act in inappropriate ways when he’s frustrated (Just ask Michael Barrett or the innocent Gatorade machine).  I think it’s also fair to say that Z has never lived up to his billing of being a staff ace.  He definitely has the talent, but he just hasn’t realized his full potential yet.  Maybe he can do that on the Southside where Mark Buehrle is considered the ace of the staff.

Peavy proved himself to be an ace in San Diego and could step into that role with the Cubs.  Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly have both had good years, but I’ve never really thought of either of them as the ace of the Cubs pitching staff.

There you have it.  The rumor is probably made up, but I approve of it any way.

Carlos Marmol came in to handle the bottom of the 9th.  As usual, Marmol made it interesting, giving up a walk and a hit.  But he struck out the other three batters he faced to earn the save and give the Cubs the victory.

Ryan Dempster looked solid, going 7.0 innings and giving up seven hits and two earnerd runs.  He walked one and struck out six.  Even with time on the DL this year for a broken toe, Dempster is up to 186.0 inning with a 3.68 ERA.

The win was a big one because Colorado lost to San Diego 5-4 to pull the Cubs to within 6.5 games in the Wildcard race.  To add even a little more hope to the scenario, The Rockies will be hosting the Cardinals in a three-game set starting tonight.  The odds remain incredibly long, but stranger things have happened (haven’t they?).

The Cubs are 4-1 in their last five games and are playing some of their best baseball of the year (which isn’t saying a lot).  Unfortunately, there are only 10 games remaining in the season to make a miracle happen.

**********

George Castle with TruSlant.com wrote an interesting and insightful article about his personal experience with Milton Bradley and how that experience mirrors Bradley’s overall behavior with the Cubs.  The article is nearly a month old, but it gives a good feel for what it was like to deal with the Cubs suspended right fielder.

Castle writes:

Bradley is quickly punching a ticket out of Wrigley Field with streams of consciousness about the apparent dislike, even “hatred,” shown to him by Cubs fans in the stands — and even waiters at the next table in a restaurant. The $30 million right fielder, who is just starting to hit conveniently too late to help the Cubs, even hinted at racism from some of the lunatic fringe in the ballpark. The race angle was predictable, given the devil’s brew of Bradley’s past outbursts, his four-month-long slump to start the season and the reprehensible actions of a loud-mouthed few who have aggravated African-American Cubs in recent seasons.

I don’t think Castle knew how accurate he was when he said “Bradley is punching a ticket out of Wrigley Field.”  I don’t think anyone could have foretold Bradley’s suspension a month ago, but Castle comes close.

The article goes on to detail Castle’s attempts to interview Bradley.  Although it seems hard to do, Bradley failed to attend three pre-set interviews with Castle over a four day period.  The interviews were set up through the Cubs Media Relations office and Bradley agreed to each and every interview.  Even so, he did not have the professionalism to cancel the interviews (if he couldn’t make it).  He claimed that he simply forgot about the second interview, but gave no reason (or apology) for missing the other interviews.

Actually, that last sentence is not quite true.  After missing the third interview, Bradley claimed he had been in the training room because he didn’t feel well.  However, Castle not only saw Bradley sitting at his locker at the scheduled time of the interview, but made eye contact with Bradley and even held up his tape recorder for Bradley to see to remind him of the interview.  In other words, even though Bradley knew that Castle knew that Bradley was just sitting in the locker room, he still made up a story to explain away his failure to keep his commitment.

The fact that Bradley takes absolutely no responsibility for his actions is old news by now, but Castle experienced this first hand back in May 2009.  Bradley was just starting his tenure with the Cubs and was already going through some tough times.  Less than two months into the season, Bradley had already been suspended for bumping an umpire and he was having difficulty getting his bat going.  In fact, at the time of the first scheduled interview with Castle, Bradley was hitting just .200/.328/.390 with five homeruns and 11 RBI.

The somewhat ironic thing to me was that Castle was going to interview Bradley specifically to give Bradley the opportunity to explain himself and let the fans know the kind of person he really is.  Bradley had claimed on several occasions that he was misunderstood, so Castle was willing to turn his entire radio program over to Bradley to try to overcome any misunderstandings.  In the end, I think Bradley did show exactly the kind of person he is, but I doubt if it’s what he had in mind.

Castle ends his piece with this:

Bradley has time to change, to grow as a man. However, the way he is steering his life, it will be best done elsewhere, and maybe away from baseball.

Indeed.

**********

The Associated Press (via ESPN.com) is reporting that the bankruptcy judge hearing the Tribune Company’s bankruptcy case has approved the sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts Family.  The Cubs (Chicago National League Ball Club) will now be taken through an expedited bankruptcy proceeding to make sure that the organization is free of liens and claims.  Approval from MLB will be the final hurdle that has to be cleared before the Rickettses are officially the new owner of the Cubs.  It sounds like the entire process can be wrapped up by the end of the post-season or shortly therafter.

**********

It’s official.  Rich Harden is being shut down for the remainder of the season.  Harden says that he’s suffering from some mild arm fatigue. 

“It’d be a lot different if we were in it and they needed me to pitch,” Harden said. “I’d be out there in a second and I’d be fine. I’m still healthy, feeling good and took that as a positive for this season.”

Harden went on to say that the decision to shut down his season was “mutual” between him and the club.  He said it would be good for the Cubs to test some of their young arms as the season winds down.

It’s not that I doubt what is being said, but I find the decision odd considering that Harden will be entering free agency at the end of the year.  The knock on him is that he is fragile and prone to injury.  As he prepares for a new contract, I would think he would want to end the year strong and at least appear durable (or at least as durable as Rich Harden can appear).  Shutting him down early, especially with his agreement, leaves the impression that maybe something is wrong with him.  It’s not the impression you want to deal with when you’re preparing for a new contract.

My guess is that the Cubs will offer Harden arbitration at the end of the year.  I expect that he will reject arb and will hit the free agent market with hopes of getting a long-term contract.  Someone might bite, but it shouldn’t be the Cubs.  Harden is a fantastic pitcher when he is healthy, but unfortunately, that’s not often enough.

**********

After initially saying he was not interested, Nolan Ryan has now confirmed that he is interested in purchasing a controlling interest in the Texas Rangers.  Ryan is currently the President of the Rangers and he owns two minor league teams.

Why am I including this bit of news on a Cubs blog?  Because the rumor has been floated that Texas could be a place where Milton Bradley could land next year.  Bradley enjoyed the best season of his career in Texas and he seemed to get along well with manager Ron Washington.  I have myself opined in the past that a Bradley for Michael Young swap could be a possibility.

The only reason Texas would agree to such a deal is because of the tremendous financial problems owner Tom Hicks is having.  Young is a huge financial liability for the team.  He’s the highest paid player on the Rangers and is stilled owed $64 million through 2013.

However, if Ryan becomes the owner of the Rangers, they will no longer be in the tough financial position they are in currently.  And without an incredibly strong financial reason to do it, I don’t think Ryan would tolerate an individual as troubled and flawed as Milton Bradley.  One of Ryan’s strengths, both on the field and in the front office, is that he is tough minded.  The same can not be said for Bradley.  If Ryan moves from the front office to the owners box, I think the possibility of a trade for Milton Bradley becomes unlikely.

Of course, all of the big news continues to surround Milton Bradley.  He issued an apology yesterday that sounded like it had been crafted by some first year PR hack.  The apology was reported all over the place.  I stole mine from Gordon Wittenmyer’s article in the Sun-Times:

“I chose Chicago as a free agent because I wanted to be part of finally bringing a championship to Chicago’s fans,” Bradley’s statement read. “I expected to have a great season, and I am deeply disappointed by my performance and the team’s struggles.

“I played every game with everything that I had and wanted desperately to win. My frustration and disappointment boiled over, and I said and did certain things that I regret. In hindsight, I wish that I handled certain things differently, and I apologize for those things that did not work out for the better.

“The air has been cleared, and we all want to move on and look forward to better days.”

It’s obvious that Milton Bradley did not write or issue that apology.  There wasn’t even any effort made to make it sound like Bradley was making the apology.  I don’t know how others feel, but the pseudo-apology means nothing to me.  It’s a crock.

**********

I’m not sure who Bradley was apologizing to, but it apparently was not his teammates.  Carrie Muskat reported via Twitter that Bradley’s teammates didn’t even know about the apology until they heard about it from the media.  Milton must not have been too sorry for the way he threw his teammates under the bus and generally disrupted life in the clubhouse.

**********

The Cubs announced yesterday that Milton Bradley will continue to be paid during his suspension and that the MLBPA will not file a grievance.  Although Ken Rosenthal’s story didn’t say it in so many words, it sounded like the Cubs and Bradley’s agents negotiated the terms of the suspension.  In exchange for an apology and a guarantee that the MLBPA would not get involved, the Cubs agreed to pay Bradley for the time he is suspended.  That’s my interpretation of how things went, although I did not read that anywhere.

**********

Chris La Duca of the Chicago Sun-Times spoke to Charlena Rector, Milton Bradley’s mother, about the suspension.  After initially saying that she would not speak to any more reporters, she went on to detail how Bradley’s 3-year old child was repeatedly called the n-word by teachers, parents, and children at the day care he attends.  Because of the repeated racial slurs directed at the child, Rector claimed, Bradley was never able to fully concentrate when he was at the ballpark.

I take racism very seriously, but I just find this claim to be incredible.  What day care (or any other business) could remain in business (and not prompt an investigation) by treating children this way?  And Rector claimed that the child was subject to a “slew of racial slurs” from teachers, parents, and children.  If this actually happened, why wouldn’t Bradley remove the child after the first racial slur?  Why allow the child to remain in that environment?

It sounds to me like Bradley is hiding behind his child and claiming incredible acts of racism to explain away his own bad behavior.  True racism is a heinous act and I find it completely despicable that Bradley would make up a racial incident to help explain his own anti-social behavior.  It makes it all the worse that he brought his three-year old child into this mess.

Rector also claimed that she was duped by Chicago radio talk-show host Jonathan Bradmeier to appear on his radio show.  She claimed that she did not realize that her conversation with Brandmeier was for broadcast (Oh really, does Jonathan Bradmeier call you to just chat very often?).  It seems that making excuses for ones behavior or actions runs in the family.

**********

Milton Bradley has had a long history of bad behavior during his career.  As best I can tell, he has always blamed his behavior on others and has never taken responsibility for his own actions.  Let’s take a trip down memory lane and relive some of Bradley’s greatest hits:

• In 2004 as a member of the Cleveland Indians, Bradley gets pulled over for speeding, but then drives away from the officer who tries to pull him over.  Bradley receives a three day jail sentence for the incident.
• Just one month later, Bradley and Indians manager Eric Wedge get into a fracas over the fact that Bradley is not hustling.  Bradley is pulled out of the Spring Training game and quickly traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• While with the Dodgers, Bradley has words with the homeplate umpire and is thrown out of the game.  Manager Jim Tracy has to physically restrain Bradley.  Bradley finally exits the field, only to return a moment later and throw a bag of baseballs onto the field, including throwing several into the outfield.
• Still in 2004, Bradley picks up a plastic bottle that has been thrown on the field and slams it angrily at the feet of a fan in the right field stands.  Bradley receives a five game suspension.
• In 2005 while still with the Dodgers, Bradley claims that Jeff Kent is a racist and he is then traded to Oakland for Andre Ethier (I bet Billy Beane would like a “do over” on that one). 
• In 2007 as a member of the San Diego Padres, Bradley disputes a call at first base and goes after the first base umpire.  In an effort to restrain Bradley, manager Bud Black grabs him and their legs get tangled.  Bradley crumples to the ground and is out for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL.  Bradley claims he was “baited” into the confrontation.
• As a member of the Texas Rangers in 2008, Bradley has the best offensive season of his career.  Unfortunately, he continues to have some behavioral issues.  After a Kansas City Royals broadcaster says something on-air that Bradley takes exception to, Bradley rushes to the press box to have a conversation with said broadcaster.  On the way to the press box, Bradley is chased down by GM Jon Daniels and manager Ron Washington who convince him that attacking the broadcaster is a bad idea.
• Following the best year of his career, Bradley admits to reporter Gil LeBreton that there were times that he sat out of games with the Rangers in order to save his stats in anticipation of a big pay day.  The revelation doesn’t go over very well with his Ranger teammates or the front office, especially considering that SS Michael Young was dragging himself out onto the field everyday with broken fingers on both hands.
• In 2009, Bradley signs a three-year, $30 million contract with the Cubs.  Their faith in him is rewarded during his first at-bat at Wrigley Field when Bradley argues with and bumps the home plate umpire.  He is suspended for two games, although the suspension is eventually reduced to one game.
• Bradley slumps badly during his first several weeks with the Cubs.  The disappointment becomes too much for him.  After a  poor at-bat in June in a game against the White Sox, Bradley returns to the dugout, throws his helmet, and proceeds to beat the hell out of a Gatorade cooler.  He then has angry words with manager Lou Piniella, who calls him “a piece of shit” and sends him home early from the game.
• In a game against Milwaukee, Bradley hits a single and then pulls himself out of the game.  When he is questioned about this by the press after the game, he initially refuses to answer any questions, but eventually says, “I got knee inflammation. I got two knee surgeries, and that happens when you got knee surgery, in case you don’t know. What else you got?” He then proceeds to answer every question asked with “What else you got?” 
• The next day in St. Louis, Bradley is asked to pinch hit, but he refuses.  After the game he is interviewed by Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald.  He tells Miles, among other things, that he plays harder than anyone on the team, but he never gets any credit for it (Odd thing to say on a day when you refused to play).  He also says that the whole environment with the Cubs is “negative” and he says it’s no wonder they haven’t won a World Series in more than 100 years.  The next day he is suspended for the remainder of the season for behavior detrimental to the organization.

People would like to blame Bradley’s behavior on Jim Hendry (“If he wouldn’t have signed Bradley, we wouldn’t have this mess.”) or Lou Piniella (“Lou gets paid $4 million a year to deal with these prima donnas.  It’s his fault that Bradley was allowed to act up and cause problems in the clubhouse.”).  My take is a little different.  I blame Bradley for Bradley’s behavior.  Should he have been signed in the first place?  Could Piniella have done a better job of controlling/pacifying him?  Was the suspension warranted or even a good idea?  Those are all fair questions, but they don’t address the choices Bradley made or the actions he took.  All of Bradley’s choices and actions are the responsibility of Bradley and no one else.

I have been consistent in my criticism of Bradley.  While I don’t believe that Bradley’s performance and behavior were the main reason for the Cubs downfall this year, I do believe that they were the most distracting for the team.  Bradley’s teammates didn’t have much sympathy following the announcement of his suspension.

According to the Daily Herald’s Miles, Ryan Dempster had this to say:

“To say that everybody’s out to get you and the reporters are looking for you and always looking to stick a microphone in your face, well, if you notice that they’re always for you, I think maybe you’re always looking for them,” Dempster said. “I’ve been here six years now and haven’t had a problem with anybody here. D-Lee’s been here, Z, a lot of guys for a long time. Yeah, you have some tough times, but the city’s great. The fans are great. You’ve got to realize sometimes the consequences of your own actions.”

Paul Sullivan of the Tribune quoted Dempster as saying:

“At the end of the day, he was provided a great opportunity to be part of a really great organization with a lot of really good guys,” pitcher Ryan Dempster said. “It just didn’t seem to make him happy — anything. Hopefully this is a little bit of a wake-up call for him, and he’ll realize how good of a gig you have.

Other players commented as well, including Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Reed Johnson.  Everyone disagreed with Bradley’s comments that a negative shadow hovered over the Cubs organization.  Manager Lou Piniella spoke about Bradley’s impact on the clubhouse:

“Last year, I don’t know how many times I heard from the media that we had the best clubhouse in the league,” Lou said before tonight’s game. “Things don’t change that rapidly in a year.”

While I have not been a fan of Bradley and his bad attitude, I don’t think Jim Hendry handled this situation very well.  When Bradley pulled himself out of Friday’s game in St, Louis with an injured knee, Hendry had the perfect excuse to put Bradley on the DL.  If he had, he wouldn’t be dealing with the PR mess surrounding Bradley’s suspension and he would have made Bradley more marketable in the off season.  Instead, now he’s going to have to try to move a clubhouse cancer rather than just a player who had a bad knee.

The Milton Bradley experiment has been a complete and utter disaster.  Thankfully, it is coming to an end.  Let’s hope that the Cubs don’t try anything crazy like this ever again.

**********

The Cubs beat the Cardinals 6-3 to remain 8.0 games behind the Rockies in the Wildcard race with just 15 games to go.  The Cubs travel to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers in a three game set starting tonight.  Tom Gorzelanny (5-2) will take on Braden Looper (13-6).

The Cubs lost to the Cardinals again yesterday 2-1.  It was their third straight loss and their fourth loss in the past five games.  I want to get angry and blame them for not rising to the occasion, but then I see that they are marching Bobby Scales and Micah Hoffpauir out as the starting left and right fielder respectively, and I just sigh. 

Colorado beat Arizona yesterday to increase their Wildcard lead to 8.0 games over the Cubs with 16 games to play.  I know, it’s not happening.

The Cubs will try to salvage one game in their series with St. Louis by sending Carlos Zambrano (8-6) to the mound against Cy Young hopeful Adam Wainwright (18-8).  It doesn’t get any easier, does it?

**********

In an interview with Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald, Milton Bradley opened up and let everyone know what a complete horse’s ass he really is.  For some of us, it was already clear.  For those last few hold outs, it should be clear now.

Miles apparently asked Bradley several questions regarding his left knee injury and his on-field performance, but Bradley refused to answer.  The only question he would answer was when Miles asked him if he was enjoying his first season in Chicago.

“Not really,” he said. “It’s just not a positive environment. I need a stable, healthy, enjoyable environment. There’s too many people everywhere in your face with a microphone asking the same questions repeatedly. Everything is just bashing you. You go out there and you play harder than anybody on the field and never get credit for it. It’s just negativity.

“And you understand why they haven’t won in 100 years here, because it’s negative. It’s what it is.”

Asked whether he was talking about the fans, the media or even the Cubs organization, he replied: “It’s everything. It’s everybody.”

Of course, it’s everybody but Milton.  The man takes absolutely no responsibility for his own actions or his own crappy performance.  It’s everyone else’s fault.  It’s the fans, it’s the manager, it’s the other players, it’s everyone and everything, but it’s not Milton’s fault.

Let’s break down Milton’s comments:

“It’s just not a positive environment.” — There’s no one more negative associated with the Cubs than Bradley, but he wants to complain about the “negative environment” as if it is totally unrelated to him.  If there is a negative environment either on the field or in the clubhouse, it’s because of Bradley.  Perhaps he should recognize that the dark cloud he complains of follows him wherever he goes.

“I need a stable, healthy, enjoyable environment.” — “That’s all I need, just a stable, healthy, enjoyable environment, this chair, and a $30 million contract.”  Please, this is such a lame excuse.  What is not stable, healthy, or enjoyable about playing for the Cubs.  Others seem to enjoy, even relish, the experience of playing for the Cubs.  Maybe the environment would be more stable, healthy and enjoyable if the overpaid right fielder was doing his job instead of finding new things to complain about every day.

“There’s too many people everywhere in your face with a microphone asking the same questions repeatedly.” — Milton, you’re a professional athlete.  Reporters get paid to ask you questions.  Many of them are jerks, but that comes with the territory.  If you want to be left alone, dig ditches for a living.  Have you noticed that reporters ask other players questions and they don’t act like jackasses?  Maybe you should give it a try.

“Everything is just bashing you.” — Of course everything and everyone is bashing you.  You’re having a horrible season.  Try taking responsibility for your performance and your attitude, and maybe people will cut you a little slack.  By the way, if you take me up on my offer to be a ditch digger and you do a crappy job, people will still bash you for it.  It’s a sad fact of life.

“You go out there and you play harder than anybody on the field and never get credit for it.” — What?  You’ve got to be kidding.  I can’t say that I’ve seen you dog it out on the field, but neither do I recall you ever putting forth more effort than anyone else.  Plus, aren’t you the same guy that said he prays games go no longer than nine innings?  It seems to me that the guy giving the most effort on the team would do it for however long the game goes, not just nine innings.  Sorry Milton, but I’m going to have to throw a big BS flag on you for this ridiculous comment.  Don’t hurt yourself while you’re patting yourself on the back and throwing your teammates under the bus.  If only the rest of the team would play as hard as you.  Puhlease…

“It’s just negativity.” — Refer to the comment above concerning Milton Bradley being the sourse of all negativity.

“And you understand why they haven’t won in 100 years here, because it’s negative. It’s what it is.” — Yeah, that’s it.  The Cubs haven’t won a World Series in more than 100 years because 1) of the environment Milton Bradley deems as negative, and 2) because no one gives Milton Bradley the credit he so richly deserves for being the hardest working player in all of Cubdom.  It’s so clear to me now.

“Asked whether he was talking about the fans, the media or even the Cubs organization, he replied: “It’s everything. It’s everybody.” — Again, it’s everybody’s fault, but Milton’s.

I was not a fan of Milton Bradley’s signing.  From the beginning I thought bringing him to the Cubs was a bad fit.  Naturally, I was somewhat concerned about his inability to stay healthy, but I was even more concerned with his attitude and behavior.  He has done absolutely nothing this year to prove that my concerns about his attitude and behavior were unwarranted.  His one year in Chicago has been a train wreck, not because of anyone else, but because of Bradley himself.  Has the press been tough on him?  Sure.  Does that justify his behavior?  Absolutely not.

The Cubs have to get rid of Bradley at all costs.  Even if they have to pay a good chunk of his salary to move him, it will be better for the team than to keep him in the organization.  And it’s a pretty sad statement about a player to say that the team would be better off paying someone else to take him.