We've been pretty sedate about what the Rickettses will come in and do this offseason, and
Chris DeLuca reinforces our suspicions:
Except for one thing. Anyone expecting a dramatic shift in philosophy will be in for a huge letdown. The Cubs might be getting a new owner, but they figure to keep doing business the same old way. At least for the next year or two. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it could be a blind-side blow to frustrated Cubs fans craving instant change.
In fact, this might be the most dormant offseason for the Cubs during Jim Hendry's eight winters as general manager. The message you can expect Ricketts to deliver Friday will be simple: There's no magic formula or giant check that will instantly turn the Cubs into champions. He won't start throwing money around.
As for on-the-field Cubs news, there is none, but there's minor league news. Kyler Burke (the guy we got for Michael Barrett) was named Cubs' minor league player of the year.
Burke, acquired in June 2007 from San Diego in the Michael Barrett deal, began this year with a less than impressive .233 average after three Minor League seasons. He was assigned to Class A Peoria, but there was some talk among the Cubs coaches and player development staff about switching Burke from outfielder to pitcher if he didn't show improvement at the plate.
Apparently, that was all Burke needed to hear.
This year, he batted .303 with 43 doubles, three triples, 15 homers, 89 RBIs and a .405 on-base percentage, and was named the Cubs' 2009 Minor League Player of the Year. Burke led the Midwest League in doubles, was second in on-base percentage and extra-base hits (61), third in runs scored and slugging percentage, and tied for fifth in RBIs and sixth in batting average
Sounds like we've got our right fielder for next year! Oh, there's a bit on the Cubs' Dominican facilities in that piece too, if you're interested in that sort of thing.
34 Comments
gravedigger said:
The Cubs got someone of value for Michael Barrett? That's... wow.
cubbiejulie said:
Best disguise ever.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?Worst_disguise_ever?_Burglars_cover_faces_with_permanent_marker&in_article_id=758993&in_page_id=2
ccd said:
lmao. a couple of brain surgeons there.
maybe they were going to a costume party...
gravedigger said:
Meth is a hell of a drug.
AndCounting said:
Well that makes me feel a little better about having worn those Agassi Nikes for all those years.
ccd said:
ain't that the truth!
AndCounting said:
Hold the ephing phone . . . is DeLuca trying to tell me Tom Ricketts is not a dragon? Damn da-damn damn damn.
flyball said:
I think we should all assume everyone is a dragon unless otherwise informed
flyball said:
for what its worth, I am not a dragon
Doc Blume said:
I am.
Dmband said:
As Carl referenced above, I know we all pretty much were in agreement this was going to be a quiet offseason, but does anyone else think this is backwards?
We had a 97 win team that made the playoffs, however in the offseason we made significant changes.
Now we had a mediocre team that missed the playoffs, and we are "good with what we have".
Hmmmm...I dunno how I feel about that.
berselius said:
The changes the team made last offseason were not all that significant to why the team played so poorly this year. The only major change was replacing Wood with Gregg (ugh) and giving the 2b job to Fontenot. The 2b experiment flopped, but the Cubs got some good arms in the DeRosa trade and DeRosa wasn't nearly as valuable this year as he was last year. A vast majority of the reason this team peformed relatively poorly this year was not due to the offseason moves.
cubbiejulie said:
Also, DeRosa looks lot less valuable standing next to Pujols than he does standing next to Theriot.
flyball said:
I think by "good with what we have" they mean "good with not adding more payroll with players that won't get us a post season appearance"
and, to be honest, I'm kinda ok with that. you show me a player the Cubs can get that has the ability to upgrade this team to a level that will put them in a better position to make the post season and I'll rethink my answer
berselius said:
Or take into account the fact that it's extremely unlikely that Soriano, Soto, and Fontenot are as bad at the plate as they showed this year, and that Ramirez's injury was terrible luck this year on top of that
cubbiejulie said:
Joe Mauer.
Oh, did you mean a realistic player?
MN Pat said:
Can you imagine Joe Mauer in Wrigleyville? He'd have hoards of both women and men following him around for a chance to stroke those sideburns.
Umbra said:
Matt Holliday. Manny Ramirez.
Dmband said:
I agree the FA class this year is weak. So, yeah, I dont believe there is anyone out there that would be a significant upgrade. Furthermore, teams are most likely going to be forced to over pay a bit this offseason. I guess the underlying observation I was making is that I felt after the 97 wins, the Cubs tinkered, unecessarily, for the sake of tinkering. However, they dont have that feeling this year after a pretty big letdown, I question the mindset...
The bottom line is if ARAM stays healthy its simply a much better team..so we just have to hope for that and everything will fall in place. Im curious who is our starting 2nd basemen next year, Im thinking its Jeff Baker, and I am alright with that.
berselius said:
I think it's Baker too, though I don't think he's as good as we saw in his stint with the Cubs this year. I think the meteoric rise of Starlin Castro through the Cubs system will dissuade the Cubs from signing a FA second baseman
AndCounting said:
Here's my prediction: sometime between now and the end of the November meetings (Nov. 9-11), Jim Hendry is going to say something along the lines of, "I've talked things over with Tom, with Lou, and with Milton, and we want to do what's best for this ball club and what's best for Milton. If that means he stays on with the Cubs, we're all willing to make that work. We're not looking back, we're looking forward at putting a championship team on the field. If Milton Bradley is a part of that, our fans will embrace the move, and so will he."
He won't really believe a word of it, but he'll say it.
berselius said:
Well, at least that would do some small something to salvage his trade value.
cubbiejulie said:
I have to go carve pumpkins at Colion's school (arg). When I get back, I'll put up a diary for the game tonight.
gravedigger said:
game?
Umbra said:
World Series Game 1! Phillies VS Yankees! I'm rooting for the Yankees, maybe? I haven't really decided, but I'm leaning Yankees.
gravedigger said:
Oh. That game.
flyball said:
go Phillies!
millertime said:
They won it last year. What have their fans ever done to deserve a good team?
flyball said:
and the Yankees have won a couple dozen
I have a recently acquired sympathy for Philly fans, since someone told me that fans of my college team are the Philly fans of college basketball
Rock Mamola said:
Did the carving already....but check this out Julie.
http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/rock-report/2009/10/rock-report-rant-my-issue-with-halloween-this-year.html
This is my situation.....agree??
-RoCK
cubbiejulie said:
LOL!!!! I feel you. When my oldest was 1, we made him trick-or-treat for UNICEF. At least it was for a good cause.
Though it's a pain that it's on a WS night, we always have a kick-ass block Halloween party, and I'm glad it falls on a day before a day when I can lay around hung over all day.
Umbra said:
What I call "Thursday".
Rock Mamola said:
Did the carving already....but check this out Julie.
http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/rock-report/2009/10/rock-report-rant-my-issue-with-halloween-this-year.html
This is my situation.....agree??
-RoCK
Matt Swain said:
Burke's a nice prospect, glad they didn't move him to the pen. He does have a terrific arm though, and he threw low 90's in high school. It'll be fun to watch him gun down runners from RF in 3 years or so.
Leave a Comment?
What your comment will look like:
said: