Like yesterday, morning is bleeding into afternoon a bit, but I’ve had some stuff over here too already so it’s all good.
I hate it when I write something beforehand that becomes moot via subsequent events. Means I have to throw it out and write something new. You don’t have to do that if you write for the New York Daily News, however. You just run it anyway!
LaTroy Hawkins thinks the fix was in the other night. Actually, I doubt he thinks it. He just said it because he was feeling sorry for himself and his team and wanted to lash out. We should probably all give LaTroy a hug and tell him that it’s OK.
Brian Sabean trades for a “professional hitter.” Hoo-boy.
Hey Matt Garza: the first rule of Fight Club is that YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB!
I love me some Peter Gammons, but can someone explain to me why no one is making a bigger deal out of his clam that Selig is extorting the Royals over their signing bonuses? If a blogger had written that and it didn’t check out, he’d have his head on a pike by now, wouldn’t he?
Buzz buzz buzz
Meet Milton Bradley: the Cubs’ $30 million platoon partner.
Omar to Adam: I’m sorry.
No big trades or anything seem about to go down right now, so it’s sammich time. See you in a bit.
I said it once and I’ll say it again – we didn’t need Milton Bradley. Kosuke needs a lot of rest, it seems, and we had Reed, Alfonso and Micah Hoffpauir too, who has a solid enough bat.
I was all for getting another outfielder, and would have been okay with bringing Edmonds back, or trading for a guy like Hermida or Willingham. But Bradley? He’s a part-time player because he’s hurt all the time, and I’d hate to be in the same clubhouse with someone that volatile.
Ahh another banner day over in the NBC comments section. But don’t worry Craigers, since you don’t have any priors I’m sure you’ll just have your sports writing license suspended not revoked.
Hey, have you ever seen LaTroy Hawkins and a certain you-know-who mentioned in the NBC comments in the same room together. Try imagining Hawkins without the nerdy glasses and ridiculous crush on Lois Lane.
I think the problem with trying to chase down the Gammons story is that there’s going to be a lot of subtle innuendo-y implications in there. The “threat” probable came as an innocent-but-not-so-innocent remark that was intended to be inferred, interpreted, intertwined with other comments, interposed on still more comments, interpolated, interred, intergalactically teleported, and then reconstituted into its original threat form. So if you ask Selig’s office if the threat was made they’ll deny. And then if you go back to Gammons he’ll say he can’t give up his source but has no reason to distrust him/her. Then back to the Commish’s office where they say they can’t/won’t comment on things said by anonymous sources. There it dies unless someone comes out and openly says, yes these threats were made. An enterprising reporter/blogger should still delve into it, but I can understand why no one has picked up the ball yet.
Am I the only one who doesn’t think Bradley has been a bust? Sure, his average and SLG are still low, but they’ve been rising a fair amount recently, and his .385 OBP is the highest of anyone but Ramirez on the team. He sucked when everyone else on the team has sucked, and now that the lineup is producing, he is too. And a couple of brain-farts notwithstanding, he still plays a great right field
Then again, if my time in Chicago taught me anything (other than that Schlitz is the best beer under $4 still in production), it’s that Cub fans need to hate someone just to know they’re alive. And he’s, like, volatile and stuff.
Nico,
You are one of the few indeed. Bradley’s average has been crap all year, his power has been a disappointment, and despite his nice OBP, we’re been watching Dunn and Ibanez mash all year and wonder what the heck Hendry wanted with a hothead like Bradley who, despite how much passion he respectively has, is a pain in the neck. I for one am tired of dramatic right fielders in Wrigley. But he has been hitting better, he’s been mainly healthy, and I hope his contract ends up bring worth it.
The one saving grace of the deal is that Dunn plays crap defensively and always has a low average, and Ibanez is much older.
I also think the Cubs are one team of thirty that have fans who have a player they generally hate.