White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf was one of the first to voice his opposition to the plan.  I find his opposition to be not only hypocritical, but also very short-sighted.  After all, Reinsdorf was first in line when the City of Chicago implemented a tax to help fund the construction of U.S. Cellular Field, as well as the remodel of Soldier Field that took place a few years ago.  As I understand it, the tax continues to be collected and the White Sox still receive money to help with the maintenance of their ballpark. 

In referring to Reinsdorf hypocrisy, Mesa Mayor Scott Smith said, “The irony is delicious.”  Smith was referring to the fact that Reinsdorf’s White Sox had a taxpayer funded Spring Training facility in Tucson which they abandoned in favor of a taxpayer funded facility in Glendale.  If it benefits him directly, Reinsdorf has no problem with taxpayer funding.

It’s important to point out that the funding scheme proposed by the Arizona Legislature does not tap in to any existing revenue streams the other 14 MLB owners have at their disposal.  The ticket surcharge will be paid by fans attending Spring Training games in Arizona and then will be passed on for use by the state to fund the Cubs Spring Training facility.  In other words, the proposal won’t cost the other owners a dime.

I don’t have any numbers to back this up, but my guess is that a significant chunk of the White Sox Spring Training revenue is generated because the Cubs are also in Arizona.  If the Cubs had decided to relocate their Spring Training home to Naples, the entire Cactus League would have suffered, but the White Sox would have likely suffered the most.

Reports indicate that the Cactus League generates approximately $128 million per year for the Arizona economy.  Of that amount, the Cubs generate approximately $50 million per year.  That’s quite a healthy chunk, especially considering that the Cubs are just one of 15 teams that train in Arizona.

Reinsdorf has always struck me as a bit of a baby.  Despite the fact that they won a World Series in 2005, the White Sox have not been able to unseat the Cubs as Chicago’s favorite team.  Reinsdorf has never tried to hide his disdain for the Cubs and this is just another example of him being opposed to something simply because it could benefit the Cubs.  It’s childish and short-sighted, but that’s par for the course with Reinsdorf.

To his credit, Cubs President Crane Kenney said the exact right thing when he was asked about Reinsdorf’s opposition.  “This is not our issue,” Kenney said.  “This is an issue for the State of Arizona to represent.”

Kenney is exactly right.  The Cubs didn’t make the proposal, the State of Arizona did.  The only thing the Cubs have done is give Arizona a year (or so) to put the funding in place.  If they can’t do it, the Cubs are free to turn to Naples or anywhere else they choose to negotiate a possible new Spring Training home.

This is Arizona’s problem and now they are going to have to deal with irrational opposition from the likes of Jerry Reinsdorf.  How Arizona handles this could determine whether or not they are able to put the funding in place to keep the Cubs in Mesa.

It stinks watching everyone else making deals while the Cubs sit on the sidelines.  The White Sox continued their off season shopping by trading a couple of prospects to the Dodgers for Juan Pierre.  The Dodgers were even good enough to throw in $10 million of the $18 million owed to Pierre over the next two years.

St. Louis made a five-year offer to Matt Holliday at a reported $16 – $18 million per year.  I think that’s crazy money, and in a way I hope Holliday accepts the offer because I think it will cripple the Cardinals financially for years to come, but it’s frustrating to see the Cubs division rival chasing one of the biggest free agents while the Cubs sit back and wait for something to happen.

For the Cubs, the story is the same as it was last week, and the week before that: they need to trade Milton Bradley before they can do anything else.  Actually, that’s not quite acurrate.  They have chosen to wait until Bradley is traded to make any moves. 

Quite honestly, I’m starting to blame Tom Ricketts for the Cubs hesitancy to do anything.  When Ricketts decided to hold the line on payroll (actually, I believe he allowed for a “slight” increase), he tied Jim Hendry’s hands from doing anything to improve the ball club. 

First, very few contracts came off the books at the end of 2009.  The only players to leave the Cubs because their contracts were up were Rich Harden, Kevin Gregg, and Reed Johnson.  After losing those players, and then accounting for increases via arbitration, the Cubs payroll is in the neighborhood of $135 million (It’s hard to know exactly where it is because it’s unclear right now what the arbitration-eligible players will receive, as well as those that will be tendered contracts).  That doesn’t leave much money to make any moves if the magic payroll number is $140-$145 million.

Then there’s Milton Bradley.  It’s unclear how much the Cubs are going to have to spend to get rid of Bradley.  The Dodgers spent $10 million to move Pierre and the Red Sox are rumored to be willing to eat $9 million (of a $12 million contract) to move Mike Lowell (the trade with Texas is currently on hold).  Both of those guys are decent players who are considered good clubhouse guys.  So if their respective teams are/will pay so much money to trade them, how much will it cost the Cubs to move a malcontent like Bradley coming of a sub-par year?

Assuming it’s going to cost the Cubs $10 million just to move Bradley (and that may be conservative), wouldn’t the Cubs be better off exchanging another team’s bad contract for Bradley?  It may cost them more dollars in the long run, but they may actually get a valuable piece back in return.

In a previous post, I argued the case for a Bradley-for-Derek-Lowe trade with Atlanta.  The Braves are looking for a corner outfielder and they need to trim payroll.  Lowe is their biggest contract and most expendable player.  Over the next three years, he’s going to cost $45 million.  It would cost the Cubs $24 million more to trade for Lowe than they are scheduled to pay Bradley, and Lowe will be around a year longer (two more years for Bradley vs. three years for Lowe), but isn’t that better than handing someone $10 million or more just to take Bradley off the Cubs’ hands?  It seems like a win-win to me.

Granted, whoever takes Bradley (assuming someone actually does) is going to have to find a way to integrate him into their team and control (or at least contain) his behavior.  But in exchange for that, if the deal is with Atlanta, they’ll save $24 million dollars and clear the other $21 million owed to Bradley off their books a year sooner than they would with Derek Lowe.  I know Milton Bradley is a pain in the butt, but couldn’t the Braves learn to live with him for $24 million?

**********

With Curtis Granderson now a Yankee and Mike Cameron signed by Boston, the Cubs now turn their attention to Marlon Byrd, Rick Ankiel, Coco Crisp, and Reed Johnson.  Carrie Muskat of MLB.com says that Byrd is the Cubs’ first choice, but honestly, is he the best answer for center field? 

Granderson would have been a terrific “get” for the Cubs.  He’s a power hitting, middle-of-the-order bat that they need, and his clubhouse presence would be a breath of fresh air after a year of Milton Bradley.  Of course, that’s a moot point now.

Of the free agent center fielders, Mike Cameron was the class of the field.  He’s not the offensive presence that Granderson is, but he’s sufficient and he plays a good center field.  But again, he’s gone, so no use crying over spilled milk.

Unfortunately, the quality falls off quite a bit from Cameron to the trio of Byrd/Ankiel/Crisp.  But here’s the thing: while any of that group will cost several million dollars, the Cubs can probably get the same or better production from any combination of Sam Fuld, Reed Johnson and recently released Ryan Church (can he still play center?).  Johnny Gomes is another interesting name hanging out there.  He’d probably have to play right field, but Fukudome could move back over to center as part of a platoon/position swap.

At this point, I can’t tell you what the answer is, at least as far as putting a name(s) to the problem, but I can tell you what the answer isn’t, and that’s signing Byrd, Ankiel, or Crisp.  They’re all different types of players, but none of them are the answer the Cubs are looking for.  They are either too expensive, a 4th outfielder, too weak offensively, or a combination of these things.

Jim Hendry waited too long to make a move, but now that he’s waited this long, he might as well wait longer to see if there are any free agent deals or trades available later in the off season.  The current options just don’t get the job done.

Others were more optimistic about a deal getting done soon.  Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago wrote that the Cubs were on the verge of making a deal and that it could be announced as early as Tuesday.  Of course, Tuesday came and went without any news, but a team source told Bruce Miles that an announcement could come Wednesday.

Jim Hendry and his deputies are being extremely tight lipped about what teams he’s talking to.  Carrie Muskat of MLB.com said that Hendry is talking to an AL team, but that it’s not either Tampa Bay nor Texas.  Later in the day, she Tweeted that is was neither Seattle nor Toronto.  At this point, we don’t know who the mystery team might be.  All we know is who it is not.

Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun-Times also lists a mystery team and says that the deal could involve the Cubs receiving a player that they will then have to flip.  Sound familiar?  Wittenmyer confirms that  the deal does not involve the Rays or Rangers.  This is a different rumor than we’ve heard before.

Tomorrow is the final day of the Winter Meetings.  Could a deal be announced tomorrow.  Let’s keep our fingers crossed.  The Milton Bradley soap opera has already dragged on too long.

**********

Let me change gears a little bit right now and get a little angry.  I’m going to have to manufacture a little anger because, the truth is, I’m really not angry.  But I feel like I should be.

You see, Curtis Granderson, probably the best fit to play center field for the Cubs next year, was traded today by the Tigers to the New York Yankes (MLBTradeRumors.com has the complete story on the three-team trade).  While the Cubs screwed around trying to trade a guy they should have never signed in the first place, other teams made deals, improved their teams, and got themselves ready for 2010.  The Cubs just did a lot of talking.

The Cubs have a few needs they must address this off season, but everything is on hold until they can trade Bradley.  So far, they have lost out on Billy Wagner.  They’ve lost out on Takashi Saito, and today they lost out on Curtis Granderson.  I don’t know if they could have signed/traded for any of these players.  What I do know is that all three could have filled a need for the Cubs.  I also know that all three are now off the board.   Whether or not the Cubs would have acquired any of the three is not the point.  The point is that they couldn’t even get involved on any of them (whether they wanted to or not) because their hands are tied.

Okay, now for a little reality.  I know that Jim Hendry is in a tough position (at least partially of his own making).  The Milton Bradley “situation” is a little complicated and it’s going to take some hard work, creativity, and time to get it figured out.  It sucks that the Bradley is tying the Cubs hands, but that’s the reality of the situation.  Getting angry doesn’t help.

I’m hopeful that Hendry and crew can get a deal done today before the Meetings end.  There’s a window of opportunity here that is closing quickly.  After the meetings, it’s harder to catch up with other GMs and be able to sit down with them at a moment’s notice.  Obviously, deals can be done outside the Winter Meetings.  It happens all of the time.  But the Meetings do provide a once-a-year opportunity that the Cubs need to use to their advantage.

**********

Does the trade of Curtis Granderson to the Yankees open up any opportunities for the Cubs?  Perhaps.  For instance, what are the Yankees going to do with switch-hitting center fielder Melky Cabrera now?  Is he expendable?  Could he be a fit for the Cubs?  What would the Cubs need to give up to get him?

What about Johnny Damon?  It’s been suggested that trading for Granderson makes it less likely that the Yankees will re-sign Damon.  If so, could Damon be a fit for the Cubs?  Can he still play center field?  Can the Cubs afford him?  Might Damon be the lead-off hitter the Cubs are looking for.

Now that Detroit has traded Granderson, might they be open to a Milton Bradley for Magglio Ordonez swap?  Detroit reportedly needs to dump some salary.  Ordonez is owed $18 million in 2010 with a club (vesting) option in 2011 for $15 million.  He can’t play center field, but he can still hit.  Is Detroit the mystery team all of the writers were talking about?

These are just some random thoughts brought on by the Granderson trade.  As they say, when one door closes, another one opens.  Has another door opened for the Cubs?

**********

Here’s a random rumor with absolutely no factual basis.  I found it on another blog, but thought it was interesting enough to share here.

Could the mystery AL team be the White Sox?  And could a deal that would send Bradley to the Southside bring Alex Rios to the Northside?

This deal may not be as far fetched as you might think.  Rios is owed $58.7 million between 2010 – 2014.  He also has a club option for 2015 for $13.5 million with a $1 million buyout.  Rios brings a relatively similar skill set to Bradley’s, but without the headaches.  Of course, his contract is for three guaranteed years more than Bradley, so the Cubs are committing much more money long term to Rios.  However, it could be argued that the Cubs would be better off paying more money long-term to have a servicable player than they would be to simply pay another team several million just to take Bradley off their hands.

Ozzie Guillen is said not to be too fond of Rios.  The White Sox are looking for a DH who can also play in the field.  At least in theory, the two teams seem to match up. 

Can you imagine Ozzie Guillen trying to deal with Bradley?  It could potentially be hilarious.  Of course, IF they can make it work, and IF Bradley can return to his 2008 form, the White Sox could really rub it in the Cubs faces.  And we all know they would love to do that.

At the moment, this trade rumor is nothing but speculation.  But isn’t it fun to dream this stuff up and then try to figure how to get it done?

**********

ESPN announced that the Dalai Lama of baseball, Peter Gammons, will be leaving the network following the Winter Meetings.  I have the utmost respect for Gammons and love to hear his thoughts on all things baseball (and music).  It’s true that he is far too often Red Sox-centric (with a little Yankees news thrown in for good measure), but he’s so good, it’s easy to forgive him.

The announcement from ESPN simply said that Gammons will be pursuing “new endevors.”  I’m not sure what that means, but I’ve heard that he’ll be joining the MLB Network.  Whatever he does, I’m sure he’ll do great.

UPDATE:  MLB.com is reporting that Peter Gammons will be joining both MLB.com and the MLB Network to be an on-air and online analyst.  Gammons will also be working with NESN, the New England-based network that broadcasts the Red Sox games.  The move will presumably allow Gammons to contine to do the work he loves while spending more time at his homes in Boston and Cape Cod.

In an article by Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune, Jim Hendry is quoted as saying Joshua didn’t do anything wrong.  He said Joshua was brought in from the minors to replace Gerald Perry in June and was told it was a temporary assignment.  Hendry also told Joshua at the time that he could have his old job back if things didn’t work out.

Later in the article, Derrek Lee is quoted as saying, “I hate to say it, but a hitting coach is overrated.”  He also said that neither Perry nor Joshua were to blame.  If a player doesn’t hit, it’s the player’s fault, not the hitting coach’s.

In addition to looking for a middle-of-the-order bat and a leadoff hitter in the offseason, Hendry will now also be looking for a hitting coach.  What promises to be a busy offseason just got a little busier.

**********

The season isn’t quite over yet.  Both the Tigers and Twins won yesterday, so they will play a one game playoff today at the Metrodome in Minnesota.  This is the second year in a row the Twins will be playing in a one game playoff.  They lost to the White Sox last year.

-edit- The one game playoff will be held on Tuesday (10/6), not Monday (10/5).

The other teams going to the post season in the AL will be the Yankees, Angels and Red Sox.  The Yankees will await the outcome of today’s game between the Twins and Tigers and will then host the winner.  The Angels will host the Wildcard winning Red Sox to start their best-of-five series.

In the NL, the Rockies will travel to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies beginnning Wednesday afternoon.  The Dodgers will host the Cardinals at Chavez Ravine beginning Wednesday night.

I’m picking the Yankees and Red Sox to survive in the AL, while the Phillies and Cardinals will play for the pennant in the NL.  All Division Series games will be broadcast on TBS

**********

Alex Rodriguez entered the sixth inning of yesterday’s game against the Rays needing seven RBI to hit 100 for the season.  Time was running out and it didn’t look like he would make it.  What happened next is a new AL record.

 Rodriguez came up with two on and belted a three run homer off Rays pitcher Wade Davis.  The homerun brought him closer to the century mark in RBIs, and Rodriguez thought he might get one more at-bat in the game.  But as the Yankees continued to batter Rays pitching, that at-bat came sooner than ARod thought it might. 

The Yankees half of the sixth inning continued and Rodriguez found himself in the on deck circle when the Rays intentionally walked Mark Teixeira to load the bases.  Rodriguez then delivered his second homerun of the inning, this one a grand slam, giving him seven RBIs in the inning and a new AL record.  His second homerun of the inning was also his 30th homerun of the season, giving him seven consecutive years of 30 or more homeruns.

**********

I’ve advocated for a salary cap in the past on these pages.  I’m less concerned with a cap controlling a team’s spending as I am in forcing teams like the Pirates and Marlins to spend a minimum amount.  As it is, these teams are spending less on player payroll than they receive in revenue sharing.

Another concern I have with the disparity in spending is that  lower spending teams have trouble competing.  Of course, those who disagree with me point to teams like the Twins who have been at least in the hunt for the plaoffs most of the past decade.  The Marlins are another example.  Not only have they made the playoffs, but they won the World Series, beating the high spending Yankees.

As I’ve said in the past, the low spending teams making the playoffs is the exception that proves the rule.  Murray Chass disagrees with me.  In a recent article, Chass makes the assertion that there is no problem with the system as is and that it should be left alone.  To prove his point, Chass offers the following:

These are the teams, according to their rank in the salary standings, that have made the playoffs the last 10 years. This year’s lineup includes the Tigers and the Rockies, who had not clinched their spots when this was posted. (number in parentheses is the number of teams in the top 8 that were in the playoffs):

• 2009 (6): 1-4-5-6-7-8-12-17
• 2008 (4): 2-5-6-7-9-10-15-28
• 2007 (5): 1-2-5-7-8-22-23-26
• 2006 (3): 1-5-6-12-14-17-19-21
• 2005 (4): 1-2-5-6-10-12-14-16
• 2004 (5): 1-2-3-7-8-11-12-19
• 2003 (3): 1-4-6-10-11-17-23-26
• 2002 (3): 1-4-7-10-13-16-27-28
• 2001 (4): 3-5-6-8-9-12-17-26
• 2000 (3): 1-3-5-12-15-18-25-27

Chass’ point is that in almost every year, there are lower payroll teams in the playoffs.  Here’s my point: In seven of the past ten years, at least four of the top eight highest payroll teams made the playoffs.  And in every one of those 10 years, four of the top twelve spending teams qualified for the post season.  So what you have is the top spending teams claiming four playoff spots every year and the remaining 18-22 teams fighting over the remaining four spots.

I’ll be the first to admit that spending a lot of money doesn’t guarantee a team a spot in the playoffs.  Just look at the 2009 version of the Cubs.  But when money is wisely spent, the team that spends the most usually wins.

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.

Alfonso Soriano proved once again why he should be rested the remainder of the season.  He went 0-4 with three strike outs and five men left on base.  He also committed a three base error on a fly ball by AJ Pierzynski that resulted in a run for the White Sox.  Soriano claims that his knee is not bothering him, but I find that hard to believe.  He’s not helping the team ast all, so why not just rest him and let Sam Fuld get some work in left field?

The Cubs continue their quest for the NL Wildcard tonight as they take on the Mets in New York.  Carlos Zambrano (7-6) will try to get back on track after two really bad outings.  He’ll face Bobby Parnell (3-7) for the Mets.

**********

Here’s what the Wildcard teams did last night:

• Colorado           Lost to the Mets 8-3
  San Francisco    Lost to the Phillies 2-1 (1.0 GB)
  Atlanta              Lost to the Marlins 8-3 (4.0 GB)
  Florida               Beat the Braves 8-3 (4.0 GB)
  Cubs                 Lost to the White Sox 5-0 (6.0 GB)

**********

After breaking his wrist in 2006, Derrek Lee seemed to lose his homerun power.  In 2007 he hit 22 homeruns (after hitting 46 in 2005) and was down to 20 in 2008.  Through it all, Lee never let on that his wrist was the reason for his decrease in power.  According to Gordon Wittenmyer at the Chicago Sun-Times, Lee is now saying that there may have been a correlation between his wrist injury and his relative homerun drought.

This year with a healthy wrist, Lee has 27 homeruns and is on a pace to hit 33.  He’s also on pace to collect a career-high 111 RBI and he is leading the team with a .294 batting average.  The year did not start good for DLee, but he’s pulled it all together and has had a very good year.

**********

Speaking of DLee, he was out of the lineup yesterday so he could be with his wife who is expecting their second child.  Congratulations to the Lee Family!

**********

For what it’s worth, here’s what teams in the NL Wildcard race did last night:

• Colorado – Did Not Play
• San Francisco – Did Not Play
• Atlanta – Beat Florida 5-2
• Florida – Lost to Atlanta 5-2
• Cubs – Lost to Houston 5-3

**********

The waiver trade period ended yesterday with a flurry of activity.  Among the most notable moves were San Francisco picking up Brad Penney who had been release by Boston (not really a trade).  Penney will join a starting rotation that is already formitable with Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito, and Jonathan Sanchez.  Randy Johnson is expected to rejoin the team soon, but will likely pitch out of the bullpen the remainder of the year.

The Dodgers made two big moves yesterday.  First, they acquired Jon Garland from the Arizona Diamonbacks in exchange for a player to be named later (rumored to be Tony Abreau).  Arizona will pay Garland’s remaining salary in 2009 and his buyout in 2010.  Pretty sweet deal for LA.

Jim Thome is the other newest Dodger.  LA acquired him from the White Sox for minor league infielder Justin Fuller.  It’s unclear how the Dodgers are going to use Thome.  He is predominately a DH and is currently physically unable to play first base.  That only leaves pinch-hitting (unless the Dodgers are desperate and need an old, slow pinch runner).

Finally, the Rockies picked up Jose Contreras from the White Sox in exchange for pitching prospect Brandon Hynick and cash considerations.  This year, Contreras is 5-13 with a 5.42 ERA.  However, his stats don’t adequately tell the story of how really bad he has been in the later part of the second half of this year.  He has looked like an old man trying to pitch to players in their prime.  Colorado could have done better than Contreras.

**********

The Cubs did not complete any trades.  Both Rich Harden and Aaron Heilman were claimed on waivers, but trades were never consummated.

First, Carlos Zambrano was added to the DL with back spasm.  Next, Aramis Ramirez “tweaked” the shoulder that landed him on the DL earlier in the year and was sent back to Chicago for an MRI.  Then in last night’s game, newly acquired lefty Tom Gorzellany took a grounder off of his right foot that forced him out of the game. 

The news about Gorzellany is probably the best for the Cubs.  He had x-rays following the game and nothing was broken.  Dr. Lou Piniella pronounced him fit to get in his regular throwing in a couple of days and said he expects Gorzellany to make his next start.  We’ll see…

Zambrano had an MRI and it indicated that the bulging disc in the pitcher’s back is no worse now than it was in 2006.  He is expected to return around August 21.

That leaves Ramirez.  Without him earlier in the year, the Cubs went into a swoon and barely maintained a .500 winning pct.  When he came back, the team seemed to get a second win.  If he’s not able to continue to play, or if he plays at a reduced level – both very real possibilities – the Cubs are in big trouble.  He is the glue that holds the team together, and he is the only guy that can be counted on to hit when everyone else is in a slump.

A lot is made of the Mets injury woes, but the Cubs are not too far behind in that category.  Their ace has been on the shelf twice this year, Ramirez, their best hitter, has had a long stint on the DL and may be visiting it again, Geovany Soto spent several weeks rehabbing his shoulder, Ted Lilly had knee surgery while on the DL for shoulder soreness, plus a ton of other injuries both big and small.  Injuries have been a constant problem for the team this year and it doesn’t look like things are going to be getting better any time soon.

**********

The Cubs have not been good on the road this year.  They are 33-19 at home, but just 25-33 on the road.  So the silver lining of the recent 4-6 road trip is that it’s over and the Cubs get to come home for six games against the State of Pennsylvania (three games with the Phillies followed by three games with the Pirates).

Rookie of the Year candidate J.A. Happ (8-2) gets the start in game one for Philadelphia against the Cubs Rich Harden (7-7).  Wednesday should be interesting.  Newly acquired veteran righthander Pedro Martinez (0-0) gets the nod for Philly.  He’ll face Cubs rookie Jeff Samardzjia (1-1).  On Thursday, Philadelphia’s other new pitcher will take the mound as Cliff Lee (9-9 for Cleveland) will take on Ryan Dempster (6-5).

**********

We learned yesterday that the White Sox were indeed the team that made the waiver claim on Alex Rios.  According to Ken Fidlin of the Toronto Star, Blue Jays GM JP Ricciardi tried to get something in return for Rios, but was quickly told that there would not be any players coming back in return for the outfielder.  Ricciardi did the right thing and just let the White Sox have Rios and his nearly $60 million contract.

I have to admit that I underestimated Ricciardi.  I fully expected him to insist on getting something for Rios, but he didn’t.  Considering the way he overplayed his hand in the pre-trade deadline Roy Halladay negotiations, I’m a little surprised that he relented on Rios.

Now the White Sox are stuck with one of the worst contracts in baseball.  It’s not that Rios is bad, he’s just significantly overpaid.  Plus, the White Sox already have a full outfield, so who is going to play where and when.  That’s the same question that White Sox outfielder Jermaine Dye would like answered.  Dye has a mutual option in his contract for 2010 and the addition of Rios makes it less likely that the White Sox will exercise that option.

Even though the White Sox could jetison Dye, DH Jim Thome, and pitcher Jose Contreras when their contracts expire at the end of the year.  they are still going to be on the hook for a lot of money in 2010.  I’m afraid GM Kenny Williams has overreached on this one.  Adding Jake Peavy’s contract to the payroll in July was a good move, but adding Rios is going to come back to haunt the Southsiders.

Randy Wells allowed three runs in the first inning to put the Cubs in a hole right off the bat.  Wells pitched a total of 5.1 innings, giving up eight hits and five earned runs (seven runs total).  Jeff Stevens came in to replace Wells and proceeded to throw gas on the fire.  He threw 1.o inning, giving up five hits and four earned runs.

The defense was bad on Sunday as well.  The Cubs commited three errors on the day, one each for Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee and Koyie Hill.

The offense was explosive, getting 17 hits on the day, but they could only muster five runs on all of those hits.  Milton Bradley led the way going 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI.  Koyie Hill was 3-for-5 with and RBI and a run scored.

Even the umps had a bad day.  In the second inning, Clint Barmes was pulled off of second base on a throw from third baseman Ian Stewart.  Everyone in North America saw that Barmes was not close to being on the bag except second base umpire Chris Guccione.  Guccione called Hill out at second on the front end of what turned out to be a double play.  Lou Piniella sprinted out from the dug out (or the closest thing to sprinting that Lou is capable of) and politely disagreed with Guccione’s obviously incorrect call.  Guccione was not in the mood and threw Piniella out of the game.

The Cubs end their 10-game road trip tonight as lefty Tom Gorzellany (4-1) takes on Jorge De La Rosa (9-8) in the last match up of the year between the two teams.

**********

Odd Stat of The Day:  Colorado pitching allowed 17 hits yesterday, but they didn’t give up any walks to Cubs hitters.

********** 

Yesterday I wrote a post giving my thoughts on a possible Cubs acquisition of John Smoltz.   After writing the post, I realized that I wasn’t as clear on waiver transactions as I could have been.  To get some info on the matter, I asked the guys over at The Cub Reporter for some help.  Arizona Phil at TCR proved the needed knowledge:

When a player is “Designated for Assignment” (DFA’d) it actually means he was placed on his club’s Designated List. A player cannot refuse this assignment.

A player on the Designated List is removed from his club’s MLB Active List (25-man roster) and MLB Reserve List (40-man roster), but continues to accrue MLB Service Time and continues to get paid while on the Designated List.

When a club places a player on the Designated List, it has ten days to either trade, release, or outright the player to the minors. (NOTE: If the player is not replaced on the 40-man roster by another player and if the player has minor league options remaining, he could be optioned to the minors, but that is rare).

During the ten days the player is on the Designated List, his club will try and trade the player and get something of value back in return (a player and/or cash). If the player isn’t traded within ten days, the club has to place the player either on Outright Assignment Waivers or Outright Release Waivers, but if the player has at least five years of MLB Service Time, the player MUST be placed on Release Waivers because players with at least five years of MLB Service Time have the right to refuse an Outright Assignment to the minors and be returned to both the 25-man and 40-man roster, which obviously can’t be done if the player was Designated for Assignment. (A player who is Designated for Assignment actually has to be traded within eight days, because it takes two days for a player to clear waivers).

Smoltz has way more than five years of MLB Service Time, so the Red Sox only option would be to trade or release him. So if Smoltz is not traded within eight days (and to get traded now he would also have to clear Trade Assignment Waivers because the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline has passed), he would have to be placed on Release Waivers.

If a player is placed on Release Waivers, he can be claimed for just $1 (one dollar), but the claiming club assumes 100% of the player’s contract. Also, a player can decline a waiver claim off Release Waivers and become a free-agent, so players are almost never claimed off Release Waivers.

If a player is placed on Release Waivers and is not claimed, he becomes a free-agent and can sign with any club (this happened recently with B. J. Ryan), and the player’s former club is responsible for paying the player’s remaining salary minus the pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum salary that is paid by the player’s new club.

Thanks, Arizona Phil!  You are a wealth of information.

**********

The Toronto Blue Jays placed OF Alex Rios on waivers last week and he was claimed.  Rumor has it that the White Sox claimed Rios, but so far, no one in MLB is confirming that.  The question now is, will Toronto pull Rios back, trade him, or just let the claiming team have him?  Danny Knobler at CBSSports.com has some thoughts.

The reason this is important is because Rios is owed nearly $60 million over the next five years.  Rios’ contract is one of the big contracts that is limiting the team’s ability to rebuild and compete in the AL East.  So it would make all the sense in the world for Toronto to just let Rios go.  However, it is not a foregone conclusion.

If JP Ricciardi just let’s Rios go, he is admitting that he made a huge mistake when he signed Rios to the big contract, and Ricciardi is not usually very comfortable admitting that he is wrong.  Sure, it would hurt to just give Rios away without getting something in return, but it will hurt even more to pay him $60 million dollars and tie up that money for the next five years.  If Ricciard is smart, he’ll let Rios go and then turn his attention to trading Roy Halladay and Vernon Wells.  We should find out what is going to happen later today.

UPDATE: I was one day off.  According to a Twitter message from Jon Heyman at Sports Illustrated, the Blue Jays have until tomorrow (Tuesday) at 1:30 PM ET to decide what to do with Alex Rios.  Heyman also reiterates that the White Sox are likely the team that claimed Rios.

Carlos Zambrano started the game for the Cubs, but only pitched 3.0 innings when he left the game with a stiff back.  According to Z, he wasn’t injured, but noticed that his arm slot had dropped because of the stiff back.  Rather than risk injury, Lou Piniella opted to pull him from the game.

After Lee hit his homerun in the top of the 10th, Nunez hit Aramis Ramirez on the left bicep with a pitch.  Ramirez, who was 2-for-5 with a double, three RBI and a run scored, appeared to be fine.  He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, but then came out of the game complaining of dizziness and nausea.  After the game, Pinella said Ramirez was fine.

The annoying thing for me was that the Cubs got out to a 6-0 lead, but the Cubs pitching couldn’t hold the lead.  Zambrano gave up two earned runs before leaving the game, and then Jeff Samardzija and Kevin Gregg gave up three earned runs each to allow Florida to tie the game.  Thankfully, the offense was able to bail out the pitching.  Of course, considering how the first half of the year went, that’s probably a nice change.

The final game of the series will be today against the Marlins.  Ryan Dempster (5-5), who didn’t look good in his last outing, will take on former Cub farmhand Ricky Nolasco (7-7) in a late afternoon affair at Land Shark Stadium (I can never get used to that name).

**********

In my wrap up of the trade deadline, I criticized JP Ricciardi for not being more realistic about the trade value of Roy Halladay.  In particular, I said that Ricciardi was “deluded” for thinking that Halladay would bring more in the off season than teams were willing to pay at the trade deadline.  A couple of friends challenged my thinking on this, saying that teams would have more payroll flexibility in the off season than they have now, so they’ll be able to afford to pay more for Halladay then than they can now.

Although there may be a team or two that will have the financial flexibilty to add Halladay after the season that couldn’t afford him in July (the Cubs may be one of them), I think the bigger issue is what teams were willing to give up in prospects for Halladay.  If a team had traded for Halladay in July, they could have used him in 2009 as well as 2010.  If they trade for him in the off season, they’ll only be able to use him in 2010.  So which is worth more, a pennant drive and a full season of Roy Halladay, or just a full season?  To me, the answer is obvious. 

Think of it this way.  I’m really thirsty right now and you have a case of water you want to sell.  Is the water more valuable to me now when I am super thirsty or is it more valuable next year when I might be thirsty?  Okay, it’s not a perfect analogy, but I think you get the point.  Teams needed Halladay this year to make the final push to the playoffs.  He would still be nice to acquire in the off season, but the urgency won’t be nearly as strong as it is now.

**********

Rob McQuown at Baseball Prospectus has some thoughts on the Scott Rolen trade to Cincinnati.  McQuown really likes Rolen and lays out a good case why Rolen is an affordable (at $10 million) and talented option at third for the Reds.  If the trade had been Edwin Encarnacion for Rolen, the Reds would have gotten the better end of that deal.  But by including highly regarded prospects Josh Roenieke and Zach Stewart, McQuown thinks that Walt Jocketty made the worst trade of any GM at the trade deadline.

While I agree with McQuown’s perspective, I think the bigger issue is how Rolen’s contract will hamstring the Reds from improving their team next year.  Let’s face it, the Reds aren’t going to compete this year.  They had a decent first half, but they’ve been fading ever since.  So improving the team this year wasn’t really much of an issue.  The more important issue is improving the team in the future.  And to do that, Jocketty is going to need some payroll flexibility.  Adding Scott Rolen to the roster makes the Reds a better team, but severely ties Jocketty’s hands to address the many other issues the team has.

John Fay at the Cincinnati Enquirer makes this exact point on his blog.  Fay believes that the acquisition of Rolen has forced Jocketty’s hand and the Reds will  now have to move the contracts of Aaron Harang, Francisco Cordereo, and/or Bronson Arroyo.  Without moving one or more of these contracts, the Reds will be unable to address their other needs. 

What Fay doesn’t say is that other teams are going to be loathe to give up much for any of these pitchers.  So the Reds are in the position of having to move these players, but because they have to move them, the Reds don’t have any leverage to insist on getting quality back in return.

By the way, for what it’s worth, Toronto will be paying the remaining $4 million owed to Rolen this year.  The Cardinals will be paying the $4 million bonus that is owed to Rolen in 2010. 

**********

Here are two good articles regarding the Jake Peavy trade.  David Cameron from Fangraphs posted a column on Cory Brock’s blog detailing why he liked the trade for the Padres.  Scott Miller from CBSSports.com gives his opinion on why the White Sox made a good trade.  While I agree with both writers, I think this trade will be remembered for the White Sox getting Jake Peavy.  The guys going from the Sox to the Padres may turn out to be valuable pieces, but it will be Peavy going to the White Sox that will be remembered.

Also, in Miller’s piece, Peavy says that he will be back this year to pitch.  There was some concern about Peavy not being ready untilm next year.  If Peavy can still pitch this year, Kenny Williams made an even better trade.

**********

The San Diego Padres are expected to release Mark Prior today.  Prior signed a minor league deal with the club in the off season and could have earned $1 million had he made it to the big team.  MLB Trade Rumors has the details.  It’s just another sad chapter in a career that has had many more ups than downs.