Dave Van Dyck reports in the Chicago Tribune that, at the least, Sosa trade talks with the Mets have been put “on hold":
Does the Mets’ flirtation ($37 million guaranteed, $50 million possible) with pitcher Pedro Martinez mean they won’t have the cash to complete the Sosa deal?
No, because they still need an outfielder and they still need to shed Cliff Floyd’s $13 million, if possible. But the immediacy of stealing Martinez away from the Red Sox and Yankees has put any Sosa talks on a back burner.
Van Dyck also states, though, that if the Mets sign Martinez, they will still have money remaining to acquire Sosa.
The Cubs are increasing their ticket prices once again, including increasing the number of “prime dates". TheCubdom.com has the breakdown. 1060West says, “simple economics tells you the increase is the right decision.”
Finally, 1060west looks at a few of the Cubs’ pitching prospects that have been left unprotected from the upcoming Rule V draft, stemming from this Rotoworld article. Perhaps surprisingly, 6′9″ lefty Andy Sisco is one of them.
This is some interesting reading. Brandon Sing (.279/.399/.571 in 408 AB for High-A Daytona) is not getting a lot of press, but he might just be the best hitting prospect and the most disciplined (84 bb:101 k) in the Cubs' farm system. Sing will probably play baseball for AA West Tennessee in 2005, and if he puts up or betters the kinds of numbers he did this past season, look for organizations that value disciplined hitters, like the A's, to come calling. It's just too bad that Sing will never be of any benefit to the Cubs, other than trade fodder, because the current field manager views players that draw walks as unmanly, even after spending all those years with Barry Bonds.
It’s hard to get more conflicting than this. Here’sBaseball Prospectus’s Joe Sheehan on the Cubs’ signing of Glendon Rusch to a two-year deal (sub. for BP link req’d):
A signing I like a lot more [than the Mets’ signing of Kris Benson] is the Cubs locking up Glendon Rusch for two years.
Rusch has become devastating to baserunners, the new Terry Mulholland. He’s allowed three stolen bases in 18 attempts over the last three seasons. I think he can be a mid-level left-hander for the next couple of seasons, on par with Al Leiter and maybe approaching the better years of David Wells and Jamie Moyer.
Remember how Rusch signed that $7.3 million two-year contract in February of 2002 with the Brewers? He went on to compile a cumulative -35 RSAA in the next two years, which means that the Brewers essentially got nothing for their money. That was one gamble that really didn’t work. . . . . Glendon Rusch has always been one of the poster boys for high line drive rates, and 2004 was no different. The big improvement he made was in his walk rate, which plummeted to 2.3 a game, vs. 3.3 the previous two years. He also managed to keep his home run rate under control, which was quite a feat considering he pitched in one of the best home run parks in 2004.
As you know from the salary chart, a $2 million signing is appropriate for a 4.25 ERA given 200 innings pitched. Based on his history, I don’t believe that Rusch will match either figure in either year of his contract. A smaller gamble by the Cubs, but one just as unlikely to pay off, in my opinion.
Sheehan’s prediction of Moyer-level performance seems quite high to me. Moyer has had 5 seasons as a full-time starter with an ERA greater than 25% better than the league average. Rusch last year was at 31% greater than league average, but he did it in 130 innings, and that was much higher than his previous career best of 9% greater in 2000.
Assuming the Cubs use Rusch in a similar manner as last year, it’s unlikely Rusch will ever approach the innings necessary to match a Moyer-like or Wells-like performance, and if he did approach that number of innings as a full-time starter, I think the most we could expect would be league average performance. Which would be just fine for a 5th starter.
Wait Til Next Year’s Bryan Smith looks at the top picks of the 2003 draft, including the Cubs’ Ryan Harvey: “Ryan Harvey . . . is either going to be power hitter or bust.”
The Cubs have signed Len Kasper, previously the play-by-play voice of the Florida Marlins, to a multiyear contract to call games on TV for them, replacing Chip Caray, who left for Atlanta. Kasper was the Cubs’ third choice for the job, after Dave O’Brien and Matt Vasgersian, neither of whom were allowed to exit their current contracts. Kasper, however, doesn’t mind, and–at least according to comments by him quoted by the Chicago Tribune’s Ed Sherman (under the roll-your-eyes headline “Kasper the friendly host")–appears to be saying all the right things.
There are several attributes nice to have in a play-by-play man working exclusively for one team.
An excitement about the job. “You need to get a break here or there in this business,” Kasper said. “I waited for the process to get played out. The names that were mentioned were terrific. I didn’t want to leave Florida, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Not becoming bigger than the game, or the color analyst. “I think the TV game in broadcasting is an analyst medium,” Kasper said. “I’m not downplaying my role in any way, but you don’t need me to tell the viewers everything they’re seeing. This opens up the field for the analyst. Bob played and managed. My goal is to let him shine.” TV is different than radio. Sometimes it’s OK to not say anything. And while the play-by-play man must be knowledgable about the game, the play-by-play man shouldn’t get in the way of the analyst.
Having a rooting interest in the team you are broadcasting for. “You’ll know I’m working for the Cubs,” said Kasper. “I try to be genuine. There have to be degrees of excitement in this game. You don’t call an RBI single in the first the same as a two-run homer that gives the Cubs the lead in the eighth. I let the moment carry my excitement.”
Cubs blogger 1060West has listened to Kasper and thinks him boring. I certainly hope he’s not too boring, but a little boring to me is OK. The product is the game. Sell the game, not yourself. There are announcers who make themselves, if not bigger than, equal to the game. I don’t want a Joe Buck. And I don’t even want another Harry Caray (as if there could be another). If Marlins fans are any indication, Len Kasper is going to do a real nice job.
Though team officials like his bat, Todd Walker’s glove remains a concern at second base, and the team is leaning toward letting Walker leave via free agency, perhaps to an American League team that could use him as a designated hitter. Ex-Cub Tony Womack, who could be the leadoff hitter, remains at the top of the Cubs’ wish list.
For this to be smart, Womack’s defense has to be vastly superior to Walker’s, because there is a big difference in their offensive output. Walker has a career .347 OBA (.352 last year). Womack has reached that number in a season just once, last year’s out-of-the-blue .349.
Walker has a career .437 SLG. (.468 last year). Womack’s career high in a season is .385.
The problem is that Womack is not much of a better fielder. Walker has consistently been 3 or 4 runs below average as a fielder during his career, according to Baseball Prospectus. In the three seasons in which Womack has played a full season at second base, his fielding runs above average have been -17, 18, and -14 (last year). The 18 look like an aberration. In all other seasons, he has been below average.
Walker is also three years younger than Womack. Let’s hope De Luca’s sources are wrong.
As guessed, it didn’t take long at all for speculation to begin that the Cubs would seek to trade for Ugueth Urbina. From a report by Chris De Luca in today’s Chicago Sun-Times:
The top priority in acquiring a player is finding a closer. Percival was tops on their list – until he signed with the Tigers. Armando Benitez, already courted by the Indians, could be a backup option, though the Cubs are expected to pursue a trade with the Tigers for closer Ugueth Urbina.
One minute the Chicago Tribune reports that Troy Percival is coming to visit Chicago, the next the Sporting News‘ Ken Rosenthal reports that Percival has signed with the Detroit Tigers for 2 years, $12 million. (Tip via reader Michael C.)
Now that the Tigers have vastly overpaid for a good but limited relief pitcher, Rosenthal speculates that they may try to trade Ugueth Urbina, whose option for next year they have already picked up for $4M. How long before we see the first rumor that the Cubs and Tigers are working on a trade that would send Urbina to Chicago?
ESPN has declined to release Dave O’Brien from his contract, meaning he won’t be the Cubs’ play-by-play announcer next season, reports the Tribune’s Ed Sherman.
The Chicago Tribune’s Ed Sherman reports that ESPN & New York Mets broadcaster Dave O’Brien and the Cubs have “agreed to contract terms that will enable him to join analyst Bob Brenly in the television booth for 2005.” O’Brien just needs to be released from his contracts with ESPN and the Mets, though he may continue to call college basketball games for ESPN.
In yesterday’s column, the Chicago Tribune’s Phil Rogers wrote that “[Scott] Boras hopes teams will not assume [Carlos] Beltran is on his way to joining Rodriguez and Jeter with the Yankees. The Cubs, Los Angeles and Anaheim are among the other teams expected to join the pursuit.”
Then, last night Peter Gammons reported on ESPN, according to A Cub Fan Rants, that “Beltran does not want to go to New York, or the East Coast for that matter, and is in fact eyeing Wrigley Field.”
Color me skeptical. Perhaps Beltran really would like to play for the Cubs, but there’s a reasonable chance that Gammons’s report is based on a seed thrown his way by Boras in order to help ensure that the Cubs will remain serious players for Beltran, and thus drive his price higher.
The Pittsburgh Pirates re-signed Jose Mesa today to a one-year contract with an option for 2006, reports MLB.com. You have to admire Mesa’s loyalty. The Pirates were the only team before last season to offer Mesa a chance to be the closer. As a result, though Mesa could have declared himself a free agent this offseason, he never did, and re-signed with Pittsburgh. “I don’t care about the other opportunities. If Pittsburgh wants me to be here, I am willing to stay here,” said Mesa.
As I said, you have to admire that kind of loyalty. You also have to admire it because it means Jim Hendry can’t be tempted to make Mesa the Cubs’ closer.
It’s hard to get more conflicting than this. 
The Cubs have signed Len Kasper, previously the play-by-play voice of the Florida Marlins, to a multiyear contract to call games on TV for them, replacing Chip Caray, who