Out with the Old, In with More of the Same

With the trade of Milton Bradley the Cubs closed to book on a disappointing 2009 season. And with the signing of Marlon Byrd, the Cubs kicked off 2010 with a business-as-usual signing that will likely condemn them to a disappointing 2010 season. Even the Cubs themselves seem to acknowledge this – one of the lead stories on their own web site this weekend is “Cubs Banking on Bounce Back Campaigns in 2010.” Yeah, that’s always a good sign in January. Someone needs to tell the Cubs front-office that with steroid testing players are regressing after the age of 30 again.


Bradley for Silva and cash is excusable - having Bradley in a Cubs uniform was destined to end in one of a few ways:

1) Piniella killing Bradley
2) Bradley killing Piniella… then blaming the media
3) An Artest-like mêlée in the right field bleachers (this is one instance in which the inability of any Cubs outfielder to make consistent contact would pay off)
4) A combination of the above scenarios… with Bradley again blaming the media

But the unfortunate part of this trade is that it brought back a pitcher whose only value is to create the optical illusion that Carlos spent his offseason getting into shape…. Or to possibly give Carlos something soft in the clubhouse to beat up. Because if you’re thinking that the $6 million the Mariners kicked in would give the Cubs some ability to re-shape the roster you forgot who is in charge of re-shaping said roster.

Going into 2010 the Cubs have problems at second (or at shortstop if you’re of the opinion that The Riot is better used at second), center and left field (whoops, we’re not supposed to say that out loud). The bullpen and rotation won’t exactly remind you of the 1963 Dodgers but it will work in the National League Central. So sure, Marlon Byrd makes sense… until you consider that he got a 3-year, $15 million deal that is likely a Hendry back-end special that will create the need for a Jim Hendry salary dump special in December 2011.

So the Cubs use up the remainder of their budget to sign a 32 year-old center fielder who may or may not be an everyday outfielder. But here’s a thought, instead of using $15 million to fill your center field hole with that type of player why not use $2-3 million to sign another 32 year old guy who may or may not be an everyday major league outfielder… there’s got to be a player out there that fits this profile. Hmmm… oh yeah, he’s already on your roster.

Reed Johnson (with Cubs) .287 / .348 / .418
Marlon Byrd (2009) .283 / .329 / .479

That doesn’t look like a $12 million difference. And if you think that Reed will break down keep Sam Fuld on the roster. Chances are that Sam’s not an everyday player either but he only costs minimum wage… leaving money to be spent elsewhere. And if Sam doesn’t work out and you’re still in contention (of course, falling out of contention in the NL Central would take a 1919 World Series level dive) you could always pick up Kenny Lofton in July.

So now the Cubs are looking at having little-to-no budget left with a gaping hole at second, a rotation with no ability to absorb any injury (and Ted Lilly is out until May BTW… get used to a lot of Jeff Smarzdija fastballs hitting the home plate netting and Carlos Silva “fastballs” landing on Waveland) and a thin bullpen for a team that doesn’t have a lot of starters that go deep into games. Sounds like a great idea.
Well, at least the Cubs aren’t looking at signing any other over-the-hill players that may or may not be drawing social security already. Wait, you’ve gotta be effin’ kidding me. I hope that talk is about an usher position.