Dear Santa:

Please disregard my previous letter.  The problem I told you about has been taken care of, so I’d like to revise my wish list for this Christmas.

As I admitted in my previous letter, I have not been a good boy this year.  I traded Mark DeRosa (one of our most popular players), let Kerry Wood go (I still think I was right about that one), signed Kevin Gregg, and worst of all, I gave a big contract to Milton Bradley.  I’m ashamed and I’ve taken responsibility for my mistakes (But really, who could have predicted how Bradley would act?).

I also want to add that I didn’t handle the Rich Harden situation very well either.  The whole arbitration process is very confusing.

I promise that I will be a good boy this year and ask you to grant my Christmas wishes based on my promise.  It’s sort of like a front-loaded contract, something I don’t know a whole lot about.

This Christmas, I would like the following:

• A center fielder who doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.  Marlon Byrd isn’t really the best you can do, is he?
• A right-handed back of the bullpen arm.  I meant to write to you about Matt Capps, but now it’s too late.  Would Kiko Calero or Kelvim Escobar be out of the question?  Is there any chance that Huston Street could somehow fall into our laps?
• We need a lead-off hitter with some speed and a middle-of-the-order run producer, but where are we going to put them both?  Some people say we need a different second baseman, but I think Mike Fontenot deserves a second chance, don’t you?  If not, I’d like a second baseman who can fill one of the holes in our batting order.  I know I’ve asked before, but is Brian Roberts available?
• I know I ask for this every year, but can I have a good starting pitcher?  If you could make Carlos Silva good again, that would be great, but  if not, could I get someone else.  I don’t want to mention Jake Peavy again this year, but…oh, never mind.  Any good starting pitcher will do.
• Finally, I know you get this request a lot, but this year, could you please bring me the Cubs and their fans a World Series Championship.  If you do it this year, I promise I’ll stop asking.

Thank you, Santa.

Merry Christmas,

 Jim (Lil’ Jimmy) Hendry

In an article written by Paul Sullivan of the Tribune, Zambrano explained that he doesn’t always feel the way he felt on Friday.  Then he went on to say:

“Look, this is the only season I haven’t won 16 or 18 or 14 games,” he said. “If it happens again next season, two seasons in a row, I’ll quit. Believe me, I’ll quit. I just have to put this behind me.

As I pointed out in a previous post, Zambrano sometimes has difficulty controlling his emotions.  My guess is that his response to the reporter’s question was another example of him speaking emotionally without thinking. 

Zambrano is owed $53.75 million over the next four years.  I seriously doubt if he’s going to walk away if he has another down year.

Zambrano’s comments made me think of two other guys who have threatened to quit if they don’t play better next year.  Chipper Jones of the Atlana Braves is hitting .273/.393/.446 this year with 18 homeruns and 70 RBI.  Honestly, that’s not so bad, but his homerun and RBI totals, as well as his slugging percentage, are the lowest of his career. 

Jones commented recently that he would walk away from the game rather than endure another season like he has had this year.  Admittedly, he has some pretty high standards.  But would he really walk away?

Next year (2010) will be Jones age 38 year.  He is signed through 2012 with an option for 2013.  His contract calls for a reasonable $13 million per year through 2012.  The 2013 option is a club  option at just $7 million.  Regardless of Jones’ high standards, the Braves are probably getting the production they are paying for.

Another guy with high standards is the Astros’ Lance Berkman.  So far in 2009, the 33-year old Berkman is hitting .268/.399/.505 with 24 homeruns and 77 RBI.  Like Jones, those stats are among the worst of his career.  I suppose that is why he announced earlier in the year that a repeat of this year would lead to his early retirement.

Berkman is owed $14.5 million in 2010 and the Astros hold a club option for 2011 worth $15 million (with a $2 million buyout).  Like Jones, Berkman has had an outstanding career, but it’s hard for me to believe that he would just walk away if he has a sub-par (by his own standards) season in 2010.

I think it’s hard for Ken Griffey, Jr. to believe it too.  Griffey, who will turn 40 in November, would like to return to the Mariners next year.  This, despite the fact that he is only hitting .214/.323/.395 with 16 homeruns and 50 RBI.  He apparently doesn’t have standards quite as high as Jones or Berkman.

Griffey has been one of the most exciting players of the past two decades.  He is a hero in Seattle and a sure fire Hall of Famer.  But like Willie Mays before him, it is sad to see this once superstar play the way he is playing now after such a brilliant career. 

It’s just my opinion, but I’d like to see Jones and Berkman stick around, but I’d prefer that Ken Griffey, Jr. call it quits.

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I owe a huge apology to Phil Rogers of the Tribune.  In yesterday’s post, I disparaged him for getting the story wrong about Tim Bogar being a front runner for the Astros manager position.  As it turned out, I’m the idiot who got it wrong.  My apologies, Phil.  I don’t always agree with you, but if I’m going to criticize you, I should at least get my facts straight.

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I previously said that I would like to see the Cubs offer Rich Harden arbitration after this season.  I expect him to turn it down, but at least the Cubs will get the draft picks (Harden is a type A free agent).  I also said that I’m opposed to the Cubs offering Harden a multi-year contract.

I stand by what I said, but I’m starting to think that the Cubs may just let Harden walk away without offering him arbitration.  The reason is that the Cubs have some depth when it comes to starting pitching.  We already know that, barring any trades, the Cubs will have Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly and Randy Wells.  Tom Gorzelanny will probably be the fifth starter, although Sean Marshall also has a shot at the starting rotation.  That’s a pretty stout starting rotation even without Harden.

Rich Harden is a very special pitcher when he’s healthy, but history shows that staying healthy is a challenge for him.  He made $7 million in 2009 and is due for a raise.  The Cubs may be better off letting him walk rather than risking an arbitration award of $8 – $12 million.  They could use that money elsewhere and still have a very good pitching staff.

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You’ve got to like Randy Wells attitude.  After losing to the Giants on Sunday,  Lou Piniella seemed unconcerned about his performance, saying that the impressive thing was the way Wells had pitched all year and the fact that he was still going strong in September.  Wells, who is the first Cubs pitcher to notch double digits wins in his rookie season since Kerry Wood, disagreed:

”I don’t believe that at all, no. I hate that,” he said. ”I’m not here as a sideshow or a fill-in. I want to stay here. I want to be part of the rotation next year. And I hate that.

”I’m here to pitch, and I’m here to pitch for a long time. And I don’t like losing. I hate losing. I hate walks. I hate cheap base hits when you could have prevented them. All that is stuff for me to build off of and learn from and try to be even better next year.”

Randy Wells just moved up on my list of favorite Cubs.

Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times is also critical of Hendry.  Primarily, Hayes chastises Hendry for signing Bradley in the first place.  Hayes writes:

When I heard the Cubs were considering signing Bradley, I called a colleague who had spent a lot of time around the troubled outfielder in the past. I was told that Bradley is bright, sincere and passionate. I also learned that he could be moody and sour and that the black cloud that often hovers over him can produce lightning strikes, hurricane warnings and, in extreme cases, nuclear winters.

He continues:

It takes a unique player to excel in one of baseball’s most unique environments, and a cursory examination of Bradley’s history would have revealed that he was not that type of player, not by a long shot. I learned that after checking one reference. One.

As I’ve stated previously, signing Milton Bradley was a disaster waiting to happen.  His suspension is hopefully the end of the disaster.

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Not so fast there, partner.  Bradley’s suspension may not be the end of the disaster afterall.  As I reported previously, the MLBPA may be filing a grievance against the Cubs on Bradley’s behalf.  If they do, Bradley could return to the team before the end of the season.  Paul Sullivan of the Trib writes about the possibilities of Bradley returning before the close of the season:

 With a decided lack of support in the Cubs clubhouse, Bradley’s return could make for some awkward moments during in the final week of the season. The relationship seems unretrievably broken, and all the apologies in the world aren’t going to heal these self-inflicted wounds.

But, just for a second, imagine the possibilities of a Bradley comeback for the last week of the season:

If Ryan Dempster handed Bradley a mirror, would he laugh?

Would Lou Piniella even dare write Bradley’s name in the lineup? And if not, what if hitting coach Von Joshua asked him to pinch hit again?

How would Bradley deal with the media crush that would greet his arrival, making for another potential You Tube moment, like his “What else ya got?” performance last week.

And if Bradley was playing in right field in Wrigley Field in the final homestand, would it lead to a very ugly and perhaps dangerous atmosphere?

That last question really bothers me.  Bradley is a baseball player, not some sort of enemy military figure.  True, he’s a jerk of near epic proportions, but the man does not deserve to fear for his safety from a bunch of ill-mannered fans.  It’s a shame that the question even needs to be asked.

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The aforemention Dave Kaplan has some additional thoughts on Hendry’s future with the Cubs.  He thinks Hendry is the man who can turn around the team in 2010.  But first, he wants to describe some of his mistakes:

Taking two guys like (Kerry) Wood and (Mark) DeRosa who thrived in that environment and replacing them with a guy like Milton Bradley, who was extremely uncomfortable in that situation, was one of the biggest mistakes that Hendry and his staff made in their off season evaluations. Add in the fact that, as one player told me on Monday, Milton Bradley brought tension to the locker room from the first day he joined the team in spring training. No one felt comfortable around him and everyone tried unbelievably hard to make him feel welcome and accepted on the team.

Kaplan also chastises Hendry for bringing in Aaron Miles on a two-year deal when the Cubs already had Andres Blanco in the pipeline.  But in the end, Kaplan throws his support behind Hendry:

Barry Meister is another well known agent who has negotiated with Hendry for several of his clients, and he too likes working with the Cubs GM. “If indeed the Cubs are in recovery mode this off season and they are trying to fix their club then I believe that Jim Hendry is as good as it gets trying to fix a team on the fly,” Meister said.

Add in the fact that Hendry’s work ethic is legendary, and you have a guy who should be extremely motivated to turn around a team that had just about everything go wrong for it in 2009. Teams always want players in their contract year because their performance tends to improve. How about an executive who had a bad season and has new ownership coming in? Sounds to me like the perfect recipe for turning around the Chicago Cubs in 2010.

Hendry has done a lot of good things over the years.  I’ve been a supporter.  But I have to admit that this past off season was horrible for Hendry and the Cubs.  Do we really want the guy that screwed up a team that made it to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons be the guy who also fixes it?  At the moment, I have mixed emotions.  I still think that Hendry can get the job done, but he screwed up big time last year.

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The Astros fired manager Cecil Cooper.  Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle wrote about it here.

I’m not saying that Cooper didn’t deserve to be fired, but what did it accomplish firing him with just 14 games left in the season?  It seems the horse was out of the barn at that point.  Why not just let him stay until the end of the season and then give him the bad news.  Nothing was gained by firing him just before the season ended.

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I was going to write a post about why I hate ESPN Insider, and then I decided just to include it in this post, and then changed my mind once again.  For now, I’ll just say that I hate ESPN Insider and one of these days I’ll tell you why.

Hal Bodley of MLB.com weighed in to express his support for Jim Hendry’s decision to suspend Bradley.  He starts his article by saying:

Hats off to Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry. He finally had enough of Milton Bradley’s behavior and showed him the door on Sunday.

He goes on to say:

Hendry and manager Lou Piniella — not to mention the players — have swallowed hard and tolerated Bradley most of this disappointing season, but when the outfielder began openly criticizing the Cubs, their fans and the media, he had to go.

David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune wrote a story after he spoke to Bradley’s mother and his minister in Carson, CA.  Bradley’s pastor shared some words of inspiration with the suspended right fielder, and his mother offered her suupport.  She also claimed that there was more going on behind the scenes that upset Bradley.  For instance, Bradley’s mother claimed that Bradley’s 3-year old son was the victim of a racial slur and that really upset Bradley.  I hate to think that could be true, but even if it is, it doesn’t begin to explain Bradley’s somewhat bizarre behavior.

Haugh offers his take on the situation:

Listening to Bradley’s (ex-)Cubs teammates bury him, there is no equation in which Bradley in a Cubs uniform adds up to success in 2010. This is a divorce with irreconcilable differences.

Carrie Muskat of MLB.com also picked up on the theme of Bradley’s teammates not having much sympathy for him.  Apparently, the mood in the Cubs locker room was much improved as soon as Bradley was gone.

The Cubs declined to comment on the report. Piniella said the team needs to move forward, and on Monday, it appeared the players had done just that. The mood in the visitors’ clubhouse at Miller Park was more positive and upbeat than it has been all season. Bradley, obviously, not only didn’t contribute on the field, but didn’t help team chemistry at all.

Fred Mitchell with the Chicago Tribune interviewed former Cub Andre Dawson about the Milton Bradley suspension.  Dawson said he didn’t understand Bradley’s behavior or comments.

“(Former Cubs manager) Don Zimmer always said it best,” Dawson said Monday from Miami. “The only thing that he expected was that you show up on time and you do not go out and disrespect the fans, the media and your teammates.”

Dawson continued:

“I have never met Milton Bradley. But I would tell him that this (chance to play for the Cubs) is a blessing,” he said. “And you shouldn’t take for granted what it is you are blessed with. The game can humble you, and your career could end at any time.

“You are one of a select few players who get to do this, and do it for a number of years. You want to make as much as you can as long as you can. And don’t allow an organization to take that uniform. You want to give the uniform back, hopefully, on your terms, and not find yourself in the position where you are out of the game or unemployed because of selfish behavior or behavior that is not conducive to what you are trying to accomplish out there on the playing field.”

Even though everyone seems to be supporting Hendry and the Cubs, the one piece of bad news they got yesterday was from Jayson Stark at ESPN.com who reported that the MLBPA was looking into the possibility of filing a grievance on Bradley’s behalf.  Here’s what I found surprising:

However, the Cubs have yet to issue a formal notice of the suspension to either Bradley, his agents or the union. Once that notice has been received, Weiner said the union would confer with Bradley and his agents, Seth and Sam Levinson, before deciding whether to proceed with the grievance. 

Bradley hasn’t yet been informed whether the suspension is with or without pay. He also hasn’t been told what the specific basis for the suspension was.

Maybe it’s just a formality, but it seems odd to me that Bradley hasn’t been told whether or not he is going to be paid, or even why he is being suspended.

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I’ve been consistent in my criticism of Milton Bradley.  While I’m happy that Bradley will likely be gone next year, I don’t agree with the way some reporters are handling Bradley’s suspension.  For instance, in the David Haugh article I referenced earlier, Haugh referred to Bradley as the “designated pouter.”  Is it really necessary to pile on?

Even more disturbing to me was this message the Trib’s Paul Sullivan sent via Twitter last night:

The cork has finally popped in Miller Park press box. Cubs beat writers celebrate the end of an era.

That kind of message is completely unprofessional and inappropriate.  It destroys any pretense of objectivity and lends credibility to those who claim that Chicago reporters (particularly Paul Sullivan) had a vendetta against Bradley.   I can understand reporters being upset with the disrespectful way that Bradley treated them, but you still have to be professional and objective.

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Actually, there was one lone voice, crying in the wilderness, that was critical of the Bradley suspension.  Dave Kaplan, who hosts Chicago Tribune Live on Comcast Sports Net and writes a blog on Chicago Now, was critical of the role Jim Hendry and Lou Piniella played in allowing the situation to get so bad.  Here’s what Kaplan had to say:

While Bradley is a complete jerk, this situation also has to call into question the way he was handled by the organization and by manager Lou Piniella. Bradley has played poorly all season long, and yet at no point was he ever in danger of losing his position in right field. For that, you have to blame the manager.

Lou Piniella makes out the lineup card.  And while he sat in the dugout and watched Bradley struggle, he continued to play him on a nightly basis. Don’t forget that Lou also saw all of the BS that was going on behind the scenes, and he knew that Bradley was a terrible presence in the clubhouse. Jim Hendry signed Bradley and also saw what was going on all season long. Today Hendry mentioned the “issues we’ve all lived with during the year,” referring to Bradley’s publicized battles with umpires, fans and the Chicago media.

Kaplan goes on to say:

Suspending him now is not really taking a tough stand.  It doesn’t really matter now, because Milton Bradley has been a divisive force since the season started. Furthermore, the Cubs enabled him by not controlling him or taking a stand against him until September 20th. For that, they should be blamed.

I’m glad that his tenure as a Cub is coming to a close, but this season really fell apart when the Cubs failed to realize the importance of clubhouse presence, which is essential in a sport where you play 162 games a season and you spend 6 months together virtually everyday.

I understood the move to let Kerry Wood go, but he was huge force in the Cubs clubhouse and his role was never replaced. Then Mark DeRosa was traded, and another clubhouse leader was gone and in his place came Milton Bradley who was an awful influence on the team. Add in the antics of Carlos Zambrano, the injury to Aramis Ramirez, and the poor performance of Alfonso Soriano and you can see why the 2009 Cubs were such a failure in so many ways.

That last paragraph is an important one.  The Cubs did not have an overabundance of team leaders last year.  Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa were the strongest leaders on the team along with Ryan Dempster.  What was Hendry thinking by getting rid of Wood and DeRosa, and replacing them with a guy who is an anti-leader?  It really wasn’t very well thought out, was it?

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.