And to all a new Muskbag. It’s tough coming up with content during the offseason, particularly when the only thing to talk about in regards to the Hot Stove is whether it would be cheaper to sign Mark Teixeira or build your own Mark Teixeira cyborg. If you try, make sure you don’t monkey around by programming a sense of right and wrong. And for God’s sake don’t give him weapons training. Anyhow, it’s apparently even tougher for the Muskrat to reach into her giant bag of goodies and pull out some questions worth answering. But that doesn’t seem to stop her, so why should it stop me? Here’s the Muskbag:
I don’t understand why the Cubs signed Joey Gathright. It seems they have the exact same player already in the system in Felix Pie. Pie plays good defense, has speed, but has been knocked for not hitting big league pitching. However, Gathright’s .254 batting average in 2008 doesn’t exactly turn heads. Have the Cubs given up on the 23-year-old Pie?
– Chad B., Lexington, Ky.
“Chad” from Kentucky? Really?
CARRIE: The Cubs do want more speed and athleticism, and that is exactly what Pie has. But for whatever reason, he hasn’t been the same hitter in the big leagues as he has at the Minor League level.
That reason? Better pitching.
CARRIE: Gathright was bothered by a shoulder injury last season, and that contributed to the dip in his batting average. The Cubs apparently were so intent on getting someone such as Gathright that general manager Jim Hendry said they considered picking a similar type player in the Rule 5 Draft during the Winter Meetings. Pie was batting .304 at Licey in the Dominican Republic with four steals this winter, and this is a big year for him. See the next question.
To sum up, the Cubs options for reserve outfielder for next year were as follows:
- A guy whose biggest baseball accomplishment was jumping over a car.
- A guy who voluntarily had his testicle SEWN TO HIS SCROTUM.
- Roosevelt Brown
I’ll take “death,” please.
You recently stated that Angel Guzman, Felix Pie, Ronny Cedeno and Rich Hill are “out of options.” What does that mean?
– Alex T., Chicago
It means it’s time to call it a career and just go play for the Royals. Incidentally, is there ever a Muskbag that DOESN’T mention one of the following: Angel Guzman, Felix Pie, Ronny Cedeno or Rich Hill? How many Aramis Ramirez or Ted Lilly questions do you see in these things?
CARRIE: What it means is that Guzman, Pie, Cedeno and Hill have been on the Cubs’ 40-man roster during three different seasons. The 2009 season will their fourth as a pro, and if they are sent down to the Minor Leagues again, they’ll have to clear waivers.
Sounds simple enough. Thanks, Carrie.
CARRIE: Let me try to explain…
Oh, no.
CARRIE: After three years as a pro, a player must be protected on a team’s 40-man roster or he is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Once the player has served those three years and assuming he is added to the 40-man roster, the club then has what are called “options.” If a player is on the 40-man roster but not on the 25-man Major League roster (like when Pie was at Triple-A Iowa), he is on what’s technically called an “optional assignment.” Players have three option years, and they can be sent up and down to the Minors as many times as the parent club chooses within those three years.
Stop. Please, stop. I already understood, and now you’re making me forget parts of it.
CARRIE: Pie was added to the Cubs’ 40-man roster prior to the 2006 season, so his three option years were ’06, ’07 and ’08. He’s now out of options. If he comes to Spring Training in ’09 and does not make the big league roster, the Cubs would have to put him on waivers if they want to send him to the Minor Leagues. That’s even more complicated than options, and bottom line is the Cubs would likely lose him to another team.
Is it more complicated THAN THIS ANSWER? Because that’s three paragraphs so far just to answer “What are options?”
CARRIE: Guzman has a good shot at making the Cubs’ bullpen this year. He was 2-1 with a 5.54 ERA in seven starts for Magallanes in Venezuela this winter. This will be an interesting spring for Hill, who made five starts with the big league club before he was optioned to Iowa in May. The lefty pitched this winter for Aragua in Venezuela and was 1-2 with a 6.86 ERA in nine games (six starts). His first outing on Oct. 17 was good — he did not walk a batter and struck out six over 5 1/3 innings and picked up the win. But in his nine outings, he gave with 23 walks and 23 hits over 21 innings. Buddy Bailey and Tom Pratt, who will be the manager and pitching coach, respectively, at Class A Daytona next season for the Cubs, were with Hill at Aragua.
Are the Cubs considering Bobby Abreu at all? I know he’s a little expensive, but he seems like the type of left-handed bat the Cubs are looking for, and you have to love his OBP.
– Dan U., Palatine, Ill.
Don’t tell me what to love about Abreu. Personally, I love the fact that he looks like a caricature of Sammy Sosa.
CARRIE: He is pricey, as is Milton Bradley, another free-agent left-hand bat. Both are seeking mega multiyear deals. Plus, Abreu has been described as having an “aversion to walls.”
No, no, Carrie. They actually said he had an “aversion to BALLS.” How do you, of all people, not know this?
The Cubs already are a little shaky on defense in left. Hendry has hinted that he is talking to some teams about possible trades, and the Cubs may pick up a left-handed bat that way.
Wait, what? The Cubs are shaky in left? Did she just try to hint that the Cubs are trying to trade Soriano, or was that just bad writing and/or a typographical error?
Where is Jody Davis at? I don’t see his name anywhere. Is he with another organization?
–Brian C., Daytona Beach, Fla.
CARRIE: Davis, who had been the manager at Class A Daytona, will now be a roving catching instructor for the Cubs. His name was mentioned in the same story as the one announcing that Ryne Sandberg was moving up to manage the Double-A Tennessee team. Another former Cub, Bobby Dernier, is also back with the organization. Dernier will continue as the baserunning instructor.
So, he got fired, right? When you go from manager to “roving catching instructor” it means you got fired, right?
Does anyone have a schedule for the 2009 Cubs Convention as far as events, speakers? I see very little information about it on cubs.com.
– Kim C., Danville, Ill.
Lucky for you, Kim, HJE is right on top of things.
Friday 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM: “Remembering the 2008 Season Video and Q & A.” There will be no highlights beyond September, 2008. There will be no questions regarding the events occurring since September, 2008. Ryan Dempster and the entire starting infield will not be attending the event.
Friday 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM: “The Ronnie Woo-Woo Variety Show.” Skits will include, “How I Learned to Stop Bathing and Love the Cubs,” “Is There a ‘Woo’ So Awesome that God Can’t Say It?” and “I’ll Blow You for Twenty Dollars.”
Friday 9:00 PM – Saturday 4:00 AM: Dolan, Oleg, TJ, Huey, TDubbs, Fork, Hawk, Chuck, and Kerm will drink enough at Kitty O’Shea’s to fight Jerome Walton and his posse. Seriously. Come out if you feel like it.
Saturday 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Have smoke blown up your ass by the entire Cubs front office.
Saturday 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM: The Cubs introduce all of their big free agent signings. If there is time left over after Joey Gathright is done talking, everyone will take naps.
Saturday 3:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Get the autographs of some of your favorite Cubs, such as Hall of Famer Billy Williams, Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins, Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, and Hall of Famer Ron Santo.
Saturday 9:00 PM to Midnight: Lou Piniella gets drunk and tells everyone in the Cubs organization what he REALLY thinks of them. Highlights to include, “Larry Rothschild looks like an old lesbian,” “Hendry’s neck freaks me out,” and “I keep my keys in Trammell’s face.”
Sunday 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM: Mass, followed by Ted Lilly confessing all of his sins.
CARRIE: There’s little info because the Cubs marketing department, which handles the event, doesn’t release the schedule or the names of the players participating until the Sunday before the convention. That means I most likely will not have a list of players available until Jan. 11. The convention, which is sold out, is scheduled for Jan. 16-18.
See? She has the same information we have, which means it’s completely pointless to ask questions. Carrie is less useful than a Google search.
Will the Cubs Caravan make its way to the Bloomington/Peoria, Ill., area this year? If so, what players and former players could we expect to see?
– Mark M., Hannibal, Mo.
Bloomington/Peoria? Um. The bad players.
CARRIE: The Cubs Caravan is scheduled to stop at the Peoria Chiefs’ charity fan fest Jan. 15 at the River Plex. The team will not announce which players are participating until shortly before the event.
My dream is for one week to read a Muskbag in which every single answer is “I don’t know.”
What if Sammy Sosa could learn to bat left-handed and play right field again for the Cubs?
– Kyle P., Woodridge, Ill.
What if you fell down a well?
CARRIE: It’d be a miracle. Sosa’s agent, Adam Katz, was in Las Vegas for the Winter Meetings and said the former Cubs outfielder was doing well in his retirement. Sosa was very talented, but he’s not trying to make a comeback as a switch-hitter.
Lucky for us, Christmas is the season of miracles! Bust out your Sosa jerseys, everyone. Sammy is coming back as a 145-pound left-handed hitter!
