Jake Peavy ‘Frustrated’ He’s Not a Cub
Dec 12th 2008 12:31PM by Matt Watson (author feed)
If Cubs fans are disappointed to see trade talks for Jake Peavy die, well, they’re not alone. In a phone interview with SI’s Jon Heyman, Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod described his client’s reaction:
“It’s tough. Jake was pretty shaken by it,” Axelrod said. “He was starting to think about what life was like to be a Chicago Cub, and now that was taken from him.”
Axelrod also told Heyman that Peavy is “frustrated now more than ever,” which I’m guessing could make for an extremely awkward spring training if GM Kevin Towers doesn’t find a way to revive talks or find another partner.
In Towers’ defense, Peavy didn’t help matters by giving the Padres a list of only five teams he’d agree to be traded to, and then playing armchair GM by blocking a trade to the Braves because he felt Atlanta would be giving up too much to remain competitive. It’s his right to do so, but don’t pout later when things don’t work out.
Proposed Jake Peavy to Cubs Trade is Dead
Dec 11th 2008 1:10PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
After more back and forth opinions than I’ve ever seen crammed into two days, Padres general manager Kevin Towers has told reporters that the much-anticipated trade of Jake Peavy to the Cubs is not going to happen because Cubs general manager Jim Hendry has backed out of the deal. “He said he’s got other things going on. I respect his position,” Towers said. Other things would likely be locking down Milton Bradley to play right field, which has been the hot rumor of late for the Cubs. The sticking point was likely that the Cubs could not move Jason Marquis and/or wouldn’t trade Mark DeRosa. In order to sign Bradley and acquire Peavy, those two contracts would have to be off the books.
For the Padres, they either have to wait until the Cubs come around, convince Peavy to increase his list of teams for which he’s willing to pitch, or head into the 2009 season with him as their opening day starter.
From the Windup: Greg Maddux Retires as the Greatest Pitcher in Baseball History
Dec 9th 2008 9:00AM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
For as much credit as he was given throughout his career, I still firmly believe Greg Maddux was underrated. How could a guy win four Cy Youngs, finish in the top five five other times, win a billion Gold Gloves, and still be underrated, you ask? Because you rarely, if ever, hear anyone argue what I’m going to argue.
Greg Maddux was the greatest pitcher to ever set foot on a major league mound. We can start discussing this seriously now that he’s retiring.Continue Reading
Dec 9th 2008 11:30AM by Jon Bois (author feed)
As clearly spelled out by Matt Snyder earlier this morning, Greg Maddux may go in the books as the greatest pitcher of all time, as well as one of the very best all-around players. He’s my favorite baseball player in part for these reasons and in part for his nonchalance. He looks and talks like my mailman. During interviews, he invented countless variations on the phrase, “whatever, I don’t really care.”
When his stuff was going, he was the most fascinating player to watch in baseball. He was Bill Murray’s character in Groundhog Day: never looked boring, always looked bored. And while his (perhaps superficial) ambivalence may not have been genuine, it sure was infectious.
Look at him in this picture. He even finds a way to blend into the background at his own retirement press conference.
Today’s Dugout is after the jump.Continue Reading
Possible Four-Team Deal Would Send Jake Peavy, Mark DeRosa, and Others Packing
Dec 9th 2008 12:09PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
The Jake Peavy sweepstakes just got a ton more interesting. The inclusion of the World Champs always spices things up, you know. That’s right, the Philadelphia Phillies are now involved in talks with the Cubs … and the Padres … and the Orioles. The scene is now set for a blockbuster deal which would see upwards of seven or eight players switching addresses. Phil Rogers of the reports his findings from a meeting with Padres GM Kevin Towers.Towers told reporters on Monday that the Cubs were the only team he is continuing to talk to about Peavy and that making a Peavy trade was his full focus at the winter meetings. He then went out and proved it by working to facilitate a potentially four-team trade that would send Mark DeRosa to Philadelphia and Felix Pie to Baltimore and bring back pitchers Garrett Olson, J.A. Happ (the Northwestern product) and Sean Marshall for the Padres.
The key for that deal to work is for the Phillies or Orioles to take Jason Marquis, with the Cubs agreeing to eat some of his salary.I believe this would be a great deal for both the Cubs and Phillies.Continue Reading
Notes From Sin City: Setting the Stage for Day 2 of the Winter Meetings
Dec 9th 2008 12:35PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
What happened on the first day of the Winter Meetings? Not very much, though from what I understand that’s pretty typical for the first day. The question, of course, is will that change? Yes and no.
Some big names will be on the move in the next few days, but probably not the big names you are thinking of, and it comes down to one man — CC Sabathia. The market for the very top-tier names runs through the big man, and the sense you got in the Bellagio on Monday is that until Sabathia signs, everyone else is in wait-and-see mode.
It’s simple really: Sabathia is arguably the top free agent on the market and certainly the Yankees’ top priority this winter. While Sabathia takes his time and does his due diligence — he’s met twice with New York, likely once with Boston and even talked briefly with the Dodgers — the Yankees are forced to wait. Scott Boras is the agent for most of the other top names available, all of whom will interest the Yankees to varying degrees once, and only once, they get a final answer from Sabathia.
Boras isn’t about to send guys like Mark Teixeira, Derek Lowe and Manny Ramirez somewhere without first gauging the interest of the team with the most money of all, but it’s hard to get a real read on that, particularly with a guy like Teixeira, until Sabathia settles somewhere.Continue Reading
Kerry Wood on the Verge of Signing Two-Year Deal With the Cleveland Indians
Dec 9th 2008 2:45PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
After racking up 34 saves in his first season as a closer, Kerry Wood was shown the door by Cubs brass. For quality major league closers, when one door closes, another opens. It now appears the dude once known in Wrigleyville as “Kid K” will be wearing a Cleveland Indians uniform for the next two or three years.
Reports have the Indians giving Wood a two-year contract with a third year option, but nothing is confirmed.
This would really shore up the late-innings relief mess for the Indians, which was created when they put their stock in another former Cub, Joe Borowski. I still can’t believe Borowski has been the closer for two different teams who reached Game 7 of the LCS, while Joe Nathan has never been. Of course, the teams must have learned well from Borowski, because both of them blew 3-1 leads.
On a serious note, I have confidence that Wood will be a solid closer for the Indians for the next two years, and I believe his shoulder woes are behind him. This is a good signing for the Tribe, should it actually happen. Of course, I do have a little bit of love for Kerry.
This Old Snub: Ron Santo Kept Out of Hall of Fame Once Again by Veterans Committee
Dec 8th 2008 5:10PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Once again, the Veteran’s Committee shut the door on their precious Hall of Fame to anyone who played after World War II. The most blatant snub was Ron Santo. I know, I know. Time to pile on the Cubs fans and tell us why Santo didn’t deserve to get in. You’ll have your chance. First, I get mine. Here’s why Santo should easily be in the Hall of Fame.
First of all, when talking Hall of Fame, the game changes so much with the times that you have to find a comparison within the same era. That’s easy here, as the gold standard at third base pre-Mike Schmidt was Brooks Robinson. Robinson and Santo played in the same era, so it’s a good starting point for conversation.
I’ll break down some of the more telling stats here between Santo and Robinson and decide which one has the upper hand.Continue Reading
Notes From Sin City: Kevin Towers Says Jake Peavy Talks Are ‘Ongoing’
Dec 8th 2008 5:20PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
Padres general manager Kevin Towers and Cubs general manager Jim Hendry stood, oh, about 10 feet apart after Greg Maddux officially retired from baseball this morning and held court with the press assembled here in the Bellagio.
Towers and Hendry have, of course, been locked in trade negotiations about San Diego ace Jake Peavy almost since the first day of the offseason.
Towers made it clear that the Padres are only talking to one ballclub right now — Chicago — and he seemed to indicate that he would like to get something done in the next week or two so the team can either move forward with Peavy or move on without him.
Peavy’s reticence to a move to the American League continues to be a major stumbling block for the Padres, who have been forced to deal with the Cubs solely, a team that doesn’t seem to be a perfect fit talent-wise.
“We’re focusing mainly on pitching,” said Towers. “We need to get better in San Diego, so any deal we do would probably involve two or three major league-ready players.”
“The Cubs have some attractive players,” he added. “We’ll continue to explore potential deals with third and fourth teams too.”Continue Reading
Dec 5th 2008 5:21PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
In today’s piece of expected but still sad news, Scott Boras sent a release out today informing teams that Greg Maddux will be retiring at the Winter Meetings on Monday. For a while, it seemed like Maddux planned on pitching forever, but after a rough year in 2008 (by Greg Maddux standards, at least) at the age of 42, Maddux is calling it quits and I think most people will agree that it’s time.
As a nerdy kid, I always loved the professorial image that Maddux projected on the mound. Everyone knows about the four straight Cy Young awards in the early 90s, but it’s easy to forget just how Maddux was in that stretch. In 1995, he went 19-2, struck out 181 batters in 209 2/3 innings, and walked just 23 hitters. TWENTY-THREE! I could go on forever listing Maddux’s accomplishments with the Braves, but let’s just say that I’m not the sort of person that finds a pitcher’s win/loss record impressive and I’m blown away by the fact that he won 15 or more games for 17 straight years. It’s just kind of hard to fathom a pitcher because as consistently good as Maddux was.
Maddux will retire with 355 wins, which puts him one ahead of Roger Clemens for the most wins recorded by any pitcher of this generation (and the second-most by a pitcher since around 1950, behind Warren Spahn). I don’t know how significant that milestone is to Maddux, but I’m willing to bet that it burns Clemens up. Really, it’s kind of hard not to smile at that thought.
