The first thing I learned is that I have been pronouncing his first name incorrectly.  I’ve been referring to him as Zavier, but his name is actually prounounced Ek Savier.  It’s not overly important, but it is an indication of just how little we know about the man.  As I was to find out, it was just the tip of the iceberg.

There is some controversy over where Nady was born.  Baseball Reference and Wikipedia say he was born in Salinas, CA, while MLB insists he was born in Carmel.  Interesting and mysterious.  But why the mystery?  Nady isn’t talking, at least not to me.

He was drafted out of high school by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 4th round (134th overall) of the 1997 MLB draft.  Nady did not sign with the Cardinals and as you may have noticed, he has not played for them ever since.  There apparently still exists a schism between the Cards and Nady.  The Cards can apparently hold a grudge, although so far, they’ve refused to comment.

Rather than signing with the Cardinals, Nady went on to play college baseball at the University of California-Berkeley.  The school is sometimes referred to as Cal, California, University of California, UC-Berkeley, or simply Berkeley.  Why so many aliases?  It appears that Nady and his alma mater share a knack for the mysterious. 

Despite the intrigue surrounding Nady, the Padres selected him in the second round (49th overall) of the 2000 draft.  Oddly, he skipped the minor leagues and went directly to the big leagues with San Diego, just the 18th player since 1965 to do this.  In his first at-bat, Nady got a hit and was summarily banished to the minors.

I’m not pointing any fingers, but doesn’t it seem odd that the Padres would have Nady by-pass the minors only to send him down after he did exactly what he was brought in to do?  What happened?  Why did the Padres suddenly change their minds and condemn Nady to a life of bus rides and per diem meals?  Despite my extensive research, I could not find an answer.

Through it all, Nady perservered.  To his credit, he went on to win the California League’s 2001 Rookie of the Year award, as well as being named league MVP.  The Padres could not ignore Nady’s success, and despite any lingering differences,they gave him their 2001 Minor League Player of the Year award.

A call up to San Diego in 2002 just wasn’t in the cards for Nady.  Although it’s still unclear who made the call, Nady started the year in the minors.  But Nady had a trick up his sleeve.  Actually, right around the elbow.  In retaliation for the snub, Nady decided to have Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.  His ploy worked.  Although he still spent much of 2003 in the minors, he did get called up to San Diego where he was allowed 404 plate appearances. 

2004 was another up and down year for our International Man of Mystery.  He was only given 84 plate appearances at the big league level, but his day in the sun was just around the corner.

The 2005 season found Nady back in the big leagues on a more or less full-time basis.  He played in 124 games with San Diego and became the first Padre since Greg Vaughn in 1998 to hit homeruns in four consecutive games.  It appeared that Nady’s star was on the rise in San Diego.  But in the off season, the Padres traded Nady to the New York Mets in exchange for Mike Cameron.  No satisfactory explanation was given.

In 2006, Nady put the Padres and the West Coast  (and everything west of the Rocky Mountains…in fact, everything west of the Mississippi River…the entire western half of the United States) in his rearview mirror.  He committed himself fully to the New York Mets.  His commitment was rewarded when he was named the Mets opening day starter in right field.  Things were looking up for the kid from Salinas (or Carmel).  But fate was about to intervene once again.

After less than two months in a Mets uniform, Nady went down with what the team called “a case of appendicitis.”  As unlikely as that might sound, and despite rumors to the contrary, the Mets front office never waivered from their story.  Nady returned to the lineup (supposedly sans one appendix) in June, but in late July, his teammate, Mets relief pitcher Duaner Sanchez, was involved in a still unexplained accident while riding in a cab (Why was he in a cab?  Didn’t he own his own vehicle?  Was the “accident” actually intended for Nady? Questions remain). 

Initially, the accident didn’t seem to impact Nady, but the Mets dragged him into the fray when they traded him to Pittsburgh under the guise of needing “more pitching depth” to replace Sanchez and Pedro Martinez, who had been injured earlier in the season.  Whatever the real reason, Nady was no longer a Met. 

Nady immediately began hitting in Pittsburgh.  During his time with the Pirates in 2006, Nady hit .300/.352/.409.  There was talk of him being the all-time greatest Pirate.  Some even began mentioning Nady’s eventual enshrinement in Cooperstown.  The talk was a bit premature, but it does gives a good indication of just how beloved the mysterious and complicated Nady was in his new adopted home town.

Because of Nady’s performance, there was talk of a long overdue trip to the World Series in 2007 for the Pirates.  Nady had a good year, posting a .278/.330/.476 hitting line with 20 homeruns and 72 RBI.  Unfortunately for Nady and his throng of fans, the Pirates didn’t have nearly enough good players and they failed to make the World Series…or the playoffs…or even have a winning record.

The 2008 season dawned bright for Nady.  In the first half of the season, Nady hit .330/.383/.535 with 13 homeruns and 57 RBI.  He was being compared to greats like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Joe DiMaggio.  Was it any wonder then that MLB quietly forced the Pirates to trade Nady to the New York Yankees?  Some have claimed that the trade was just a “baseball move.”  “After all,” it was claimed, “the Pirates always trade away their best players.”  However, my research could not turn up even one instance where an MLB official has denied the accusation.  Interesting…

Nady refused to give in.  He landed at Yankee Stadium and continued to hit.  He impressed the steely-hearted Yankees and was rewarded with the starting right field job in 2009.  However, after playing just seven games, Nady suddenly disappeared.  He was placed on the 60-day DL and the Yankees claimed he had Tommy John surgery.  However, as you’ll recall, that excuse was used once before while Nady was in the minor leagues in San Diego.  It was a nice try by the Yankees, but as everyone knows, position players don’t need two Tommy John surgeries.

The actual reason for Nady’s disappearance from the line up remains a mystery.  My own theory is that the Yankees simply used Nady to sell tickets prior to the opening of the new Yankeees Studium and then replaced him when his popularity usurped the team’s popularity.  Like many of my theories, this one can’t be supported by the facts, but it appears to be the most likely scenario nonetheless.

At the end of the season, Nady and the Yankees quietly parted company.  According to published reports, the Yankees paid Nady in excess of $6 million even though he only played a handful of games.  Hush money?  We may never know.

The Yankees won the World Series in 2009, but little was said about Nady.  Coaches and players were interviewed following the Yankees big win against the Phillies, but no one was talking about Xavier Nady.  To put it mildly, I find that curious.

He had been the opening day right fielder for the Yankees in 2009, but in 2010, few teams even paid attention to him.  Was this simply collusion on the part of MLB GMs and owners, or did the conspiracy run deeper?  It’s hard to tell at this point.  What is clear is that Jim Hendry didn’t get the memo.  The often mocked GM of the Cubs made Nady an offer he couldn’t refuse. 

Although it’s a bit complicated, the offer went something like this:  The Cubs agreed to pay Nady a good sum of money if he would come to Chicago to play baseball with the Cubs.  Nady was stuck.  He couldn’t turn down an offer like that.  Who could?  Plus, he didn’t have any other offers, so he agreed to play for the Cubs in exchange for money.

It’s unclear if the Cubs ever found out where Nady was actually born or if they searched for an appendectomy scar during their cursory physical.  It is however clear that the Cubs have gone along with the “two Tommy John surgery” theory (they had to after defying MLB’s ban on signing Nady).  The supposed “surgeries” have been mentioned several times by the Cubs and their willing accomplices in the media have gone along with the ruse.

Questions remain about exactly what role Nady will have with the Cubs.  He was good enough to start for the World Series champs last year, but it appears he won’t be able to crack the Cubs everyday lineup in 2010.  That’s how good the Cubs are expected to be this coming season.  Can a long-awaited World Series Championship be far behind?  Stranger things have happened.  Just ask the mysterious Xavier Nady.

Marlon Jerrard Byrd is 32-years old (DOB: 8/30/77).  He was born in Boynton Beach, FL, but he was raised primarily in Marietta, GA.  He attended Georgia Tech in Atlanta where he played baseball.  While at Georgia Tech, Byrd injured his right leg causing muscle damage and resulting nerve damage.  He had to undergo three operations to his leg before the damage was corrected. 

Because of the injury and surgeries, Byrd missed a lot of class time at Georgia Tech and ended up leaving school.  Once he was healed, he enrolled at Georgia Perimeter Junior College (now called simply Georgia Perimeter College) and focused his efforts on building a career in baseball.

In 1999, Byrd was the 10th round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies.  Byrd did well in the minors, moving quickly through the Phillies minor league system.  The highlights of his minor league career include a tremendous year in 2001 in the Double-A Eastern League where he was named Rookie of the Year, the League’s Player of the Year, and he was a post-season All-Star while playing for the Reading Phillies.  In 2002, Byrd was named a post-season All-Star for the Triple-A Scranton Phillies of the International League. 

Byrd was considered a top prospect in the Phillies organization (getting as high as third in the organization) and he made his big league debut at the end of the 2002 season.  He only played in 10 games that year, getting 25 ABs and compiling a slash line of .229/.250/.371 with a homerun and an RBI.

In 2003 he became a starter for the Phillies and had a very good year.  In 135 games (495 ABs), Byrd put together a .303/.364/.418 hitting line with 7 homeruns and 45 RBI.  He came in 4th in Rookie of the Year voting (Dontrelle Willis of the Marlins won the ROY award).

The Phillies had big plans for Byrd after his rookie campaign, but like so many players, he suffered through a sophomore slump.  In 2004, he hit just .228/.287/.321 with five homeruns and 33 RBI in 346 ABs.  After playing just five games with Philadelphia in 2005, he was traded to the Washington Nationals for Endy Chavez.  The change of scenery didn’t help Byrd much.  He ended the year hitting a combined .266/.323/..376 with two homeruns and 26 RBI in 229 ABs.

Byrd’s career continued to slide downhill in 2006 with Washington.  He began the year in the majors, but by July 15 of that year, the Nationals had seen enough and they sent him back to Triple-A.  While with the Nationals in 2006, Byrd hit just .223/.317/.350 with five homeruns and 18 RBI in 197 ABs.

In 2007, the Texas Rangers took a shot on the struggling Byrd and signed him to a minor league contract.  He started the year in class-AAA, but was called up to the Rangers in May after both Brad Winkerson and Jerry Hairston, Jr. went down with injuries.  Byrd played well, getting 414 ABs and hitting .307/.355/.459 with 10 homeruns and 70 RBI.  In fact, the Rangers were so pleased with Byrd’s play that they traded starting CF Kenny Lofton to Cleveland and replaced him in the line-up with Byrd.

Byrd’s work with Rangers’ (now Cubs’) hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo continued to pay off in 2008.  Byrd hit .298/.380/.462 with 10 homeruns and 53 RBI in 122 ABs.  Through much of the season, Byrd suffered with a bad knee, forcing him to spend a little over a month on the DL.  He had off season microfracture surgery in October which included repair of a torn meniscus.

In many ways, 2009 was Byrd’s career year, although some will argue that he actually had a better year in 2008.  Regardless, 2009 was a very productive year for Byrd.  He hit .283/.329/.479 with 20 homeruns and 89 RBI (both career highs) in 547 ABs (also a career high).  Following the season, the Rangers offered Byrd salary arbitration, but he declined, preferring instead to test out the free agent market and seek a multi-year deal.

Byrd’s center field defense has always been considered good, but his UZR/150 rating indicates that he is the epitome of average in CF, scoring a 0.0 career rating.  He actually has above-average ratings in both right and left field.

Byrd isn’t much of a stolen base threat.  His career high is just 11, which he achieved in 2003 with the Phillies.  During his three years with the Rangers, Byrd stole a total of 20 bases.

From a money standpoint, I was surprised to learn that Byrd actually took a pay cut to play for the Cubs in 2010.  He earned $3.06 million in 2009 with the Rangers (plus $87,500 in bonuses for hitting AB targets) and would have almost certainly received a raise had he accepted arbitration.  He agreed to play for $3 million for the Cubs in 2010, but of course he’ll receive raises in both 2011 and 2012.     

On a more personal note, Byrd is married and has two children.  In high school, he was a two sport star (baseball and football) and he enjoys golf, tennis and weightlifting away from the ball park.

I think it’s fair to say that Byrd is not the player the Cubs coveted.  They started the off season looking for a run producing middle-of-the-order bat and/or a speedy lead-off hitter with a good OBP.  Byrd is neither of those guys, although he’s closer to the former than the latter at this stage of his career.  Even so, the pickings were pretty slim and the club signed Byrd to a reasonable contract, so all is not lost. 

Bill James has projected that Byrd will hit .279/.340/.438 with 14 homeruns and 64 RBI in 480 ABs in 2010.  I’m not sure how James does his projections, but I would think they would change with Byrd moving from Texas to the Cubs.  His projection must be impacted by who he plays with, who he hits behind and in front of, and where in the lineup he hits.  My guess is that Byrd will hit 5th or 6th in the lineup for the Cubs.  If he can just repeat the success he had in Texas, I think we’ll all be happy.

There are a ton of possibilities for center field on both the free agent and trade markets.  Today, I’d like to take a look at who’s available on the free agent market:

Free Agents

Rick Ankiel — Ankiel is a good story.  He was a pitcher with great stuff who couldn’t throw strikes, so he converted himself into an outfielder so he could get back to the big leagues.  They should make a movie about him.  But should the Cubs sign him?  In St. Louis last year, Ankiel hit .231/285/.387 with 11 homeruns and 38 RBI.  Ankiel suffered through several bumps and bruises throughout 2009, limiting him to 122 games.  He earned $2.825 million last year and is reportedly looking for a big contract (Scott Boras is his agent).

Marlon Byrd — The Cubs seem to be focusing on Byrd.  Now that Mike Cameron has signed with the Red Sox, Byrd seems like the consensus “next choice.”  I’m not so sure.  He had a good year last year in Texas (sound familiar?), but to me, he seems overrated.  In 2009, he hit .283/.329/.422 with 20 homeruns and 89 RBI.  He made $3.6 million in 2009 and is looking for a multi-year deal, probably in the $7-$8 million per year range.

Rocco Baldelli — I have to admit to liking Baldelli.  He’s another guy with a good story, having overcome mitochodrial disorder to continue his MLB career.  He always plays like it’s his last day in baseball and is so gung-ho that he had the MLB logo tatooed on his calf.  But should he be the Cubs’ center fielder?  In 2009 with Boston he hit .253/.311/.433 with 7 homeruns and 23 RBI in 62 games.  A hip flexor strain kept him out of action for a good part of the year.  The 28-year old Baldelli earned only $500,000 in 2009 and would probably be willing to sign a reasonable one-year contract.  Because of that, I like him for the 2010 Cubs.  Also, because he hits lefties so well, perhaps he could be part of a platoon.

Ryan Church — Church played 23 games in center field last year and put togeter a UZR/150 rating of -37.8.  His career UZR/150 in center is -3.5.  He’s much better in right field.  So, to say that he can play center field is a bit of a misnomer.  He has played center field, but he has not played it well.  Church really belongs in right field and the Cubs should not consider him for center.

Coco Crisp — In 2009, Crisp hit .228/.336/.378 with 3 homeruns and 14 RBI in just 49 games for Kansas City.  His biggest asset is his fielding.  He sports an overall UZR/150 of 5.8 in center field, although it was 19.6 in limited action last year.  He earned $5.75 million in 2009 and Kansas City decided not to exercise his $8 million option for 2010.  Did You Know?:  Coco’s real first name is Covelli.

Johnny Damon — Can Damon play center field any more?  The Yankees didn’t think so.  He hasn’t played center field since 2008, and even then he only played 34 games there.  At this point in his career, I consider Damon a left fielder/DH.  In 2009, he hit .282/.365/.489 for the Yankees with 24 homeruns and 82 RBI.  He also scored 107 runs.  He earned $13 million in 2009 and is reportedly looking for a two or three year deal for similar money.  I think Damon can still be a legit lead-off hitter, but he’s too expensive for the Cubs and really doesn’t play the position they are trying to fill.

Jerry Hairston, Jr.  — I have always pulled for Hairston, especially when he was with the Cubs.  He was a Chicago area guy (grew up in Naperville) and he was versatile, playing all over the field.  In center field, he has a career UZR/150 rating of 17.5.  In 2009, he started the year with the Reds, but ended up the year playing for the Yankees.  That’s quite a change.  Between the two teams, Hairston hit .251/.315/.394 with 10 homeruns and 39 RBI.  He earned $2 million in 2009.  If he’s willing to sign for a year and reasonable money ($1-$2 million) he might be a good gamble, but I don’t see him with the Cubs in 2010.

Reed Johnson — Johnson wasn’t offered arbitration by the Cubs, but there has been talk that they are interested in re-signing him.  He has been a good pickup, after being released by Toronto following Spring Training in 2008.  In 2009, Johnson hit .255/.330/.415 with 4 homeruns and 22 RBI in 65 games.  Johnson spent a good chunk of the 2009 season on the DL with a broken foot.  He earned $3 million in 2009 and my guess is that he is looking for a one-year deal for about the same money.  Johnson hits left handed pitching very well and makes for a good platoon partner.

Scott Podsednik — Scotty Pods has been a fan favorite on the Southside of Chicago.  His hitting stats are never that impressive, but he seems to be able to rise to the ocassion.  In 2009, he hit .304/353/.412 for the White Sox with 7 homeruns and 48 RBI (actually, not that bad).  He also stole 30 bases in 2009 and could be the lead-off hitter the Cubs covet.   As a center fielder, he’s below average, posting a career UZR/150 rating of -5.6.  He earned $800,000 in 2009, but is reportedly looking for a three-year/$12 million deal.  If that’s the case, then I say the Cubs should take a pass.  But a reasonable one-year deal might be worth looking at.

Randy Winn — Winn hit .262/.318/.353  with two homeruns and 51 RBI for the Giants in 2009.  He earned $8.25 million and at 35-years old, is almost certainly not going to make that much in 2010.  However, I would expect Winn to hold out for a multi-year contract, which should make him unattractive to the Cubs.  I’ve always thought of Winn as a good fielder, but his UZR/150 rating doesn’t bear that out.  He hasn’t had a positive rating in center field since 2005 and his career rating in center is -1.3. 

In my next post, I’ll take a look at possible trade candidates to fill the void in center field.

What was so impressive about the win against the Indians was that the Cubs spotted the Indians a 7-0 lead, but kept fighting to come back.  Rich Harden looked bad, giving up all seven runs in the first four innings.  However, the Cubs bullpen looked unusually good, giving up just one hit and no runs over the final five innings of the game.

Derrick Lee was the hitting star for the Cubs.  He smacked a solo shot in the 6th off Cliff Lee, and then tied the game with a homerun in the bottom of the ninth off former Cub Kerry Wood.  Lee’s ninth inning heroics gave way to Theriot’s in the 10th.

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Milton Bradley continues to struggle.  It’s clear to see that he is pressing at the plate, trying to hit a five run  homerun every at-bat.  It’s not for lack of effort that Bradley’s hitting line stands at .242/.345/.386.  He’s trying hard, but just not getting the results.

I found this article profiling Bradley in 2003 while he was playing for Cleveland.  It details the tough childhood Bradley had and explains why he has such a “me against the world” mentality.  Even though we look at Bradley sometimes as fiery, angry, and maybe even a head case, I was struck reading the six-year old article with how much Bradley has mellowed.  That’s not to say he is mellow.  Just more mellow than he used to be.

After reading the article, I find myself looking at Bradley more as an underdog and cheering for him to turn his season around.  I was cheering for him before, but I’m cheering even more now.

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The sale of the Cubs continues at a snails pace.  The Ricketts family had exclusive negotiating rights to purchase the team up until this past week.  Now that the exclusive period has passed, Cubs owner Sam Zell and the Tribune Company have re-open negotiations with a group led by Marc Utah and Leo Hindery.  The Utay/Hindery group had the second highest bid behind the Rickett’s $900 million offer.

The sticking point at the moment for the Ricketts is the value of the Cubs television contract with WGN.  The Ricketts feel that WGN is paying too little for the broadcast rights and is looking to decrease their offer; some say by as much as $50 million.  It appears that Sam Zell is not budging.

An earlier report indicated that the sale was not moving forward because the Ricketts could not borrow the money they needed due to the current economic conditions.  However, a spokeman for the Ricketts family indicated that this was not true and that they had already secured the financing they would need to purchase the club, Wrigley Field, and 25% of Chicago Sports Net.

The sale of the Cubs would be nothing more than an interesting story if it didn’t also impact the team’s ability to add payroll at the trade deadline.  Crane Kenney has indicated that the Cubs could take on some “small” contracts, but it appears that Jim Hendry’s hand will be at least somewhat tied in doing anything more than tweaking the team.

But last night, Bradley seemed to take out all of his frustration on one pitch from San Diego starter (and soon-to-be-Cub?) Jake Peavy.  Bradley launched a Peavy pitch deep into right center field for what HitTracker estimated to be a 450 foot two-run mammoth home run.

After touching home plate, on his way back to the dugout, Bradley put his hand up to his ear as if to say, “Why aren’t you booing now?”  Was this just some good natured ribbing from Bradley to the fans who have been booing him this year, or was it a polite variation of Bradley flipping the bird?

It’s hard to say for sure.  Bradley is a fiery guy who has had some anger management issues in the past.  But I didn’t get the impression that he was angry.  Sure, the right field “boo birds” have been tough on Bradley.  They’ve let him know that they are less than impressed with his performance this far (and they’ve done it in some ugly ways).  The right field bleacher bums are known for their razing of the occupant of right field at Wrigley when he doesn’t perform up to expectations.  Even so, it seems to me that Bradley is just as frustrated with his performance thus far this season as the people who pay to sit in right field.

After the game, Bradley talked about the fact that he never got comfortable at the plate in Spring Training and that he has gotten off to a slow start.  Obvious, I know, but recognizing you have a problem is the first step to solving the problem.  At least that’s what Dr. Phil says.  So if it’s true, then at least Milton has recognized and admitted that he has had a problem.

Hitting that bomb off Jake Peavy was great, but it doesn’t mean that Bradley has turned the corner and is ready to meet everyone’s expectations, including his own.   Even with the home run, Bradley is hitting just .186 with 4 home runs and 8 RBI.  Not exactly spectacular for a guy who led the AL in OBP in 2008.  Even so, it’s a step in the right direction.  Now he just needs to serve his suspension (if MLB ever decides his appeal) and get back to the business of hitting.  Otherwise, we might have to call in Dr. Phil.

This would have been a “feel good” story even if Scales had been sent back down to the Minors the next day, but the story has just gotten better.  Just three days after Scales big day, Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez injured his shoulder and was placed on the DL.  Suddenly, Scales went from a career Minor Leaguer to a guy who is seeing almost daily action at the big league level.  And he’s making the most of it.

After collecting his first hit and scoring his first run in his first start, Scales has gone on to collect eight hits in 18 at-bats for a stout .444 batting average.  He’s scored six runs and has driven in five.  His best outing came today when he went 2-for-4, drove in four, and scored two runs in a Cubs victory over San Diego, the club that originally selected Scales in the 14^th round of the 1999 draft.

The thing that makes Scales story so compelling is the kind of guy he is.  Throughout his career, he has been a good teammate and a positive influence in the locker room.  His Minor League managers and teammates have commented on his positive attitude and his willingness to continually work hard, despite the fact that it was beginning to look like he may never get a shot in the big leagues.

On Scales’ first day at Wrigley Field, there was a package waiting for him; a bottle of champagne sent by his former teammate, Brian Sweeney.  Along with the bubbly came a card that read simply, “All the hard work paid off.”  The fact that Scales hadn’t spoken to Sweeney in two or three years, but wasn’t forgotten by his friend on his first day in the bigs says a lot about the kind of person Scales is.  So is the fact that two of his college roommates from the University of Michigan – one living in Philadelphia and the other in Chicago – were sitting in the front row at Wrigley for his first Major League start.

Cubs teammate Micah Hoffpauir was waiting in the dugout for Scales after he scored his first big league run.  Hoffpauir hugged Scales and congratulated him.  As his teammate in triple-A, Hoffpauir knew about all of the hard work and sacrifice it had taken for Scales to make it to the show.  In an interview after the game, Hoffpauir gave credit to Scales for the fact that Hoffpauir himself had gotten called up to the Cubs last year. 

“He’s the reason I got here last year because he got on base for me,” Hoffpauir said in the interview.

In the off-season, Scales works as a substitute teach in Alpharetta, GA.  He teaches physical education and health classes.  If he keeps hitting the way he’s hitting now, he won’t need an off-season job.  Of course, it’s always good to have something to fall back on.