Snobs vs. Slobs

The Cubs finally realized how good Cesar Izturis actually is by dealing him to the Pirates for a player to be named and cash considerations.

So, for the record, the Cubs dealt Greg Maddux, a guy who is basically an innings eater at this point in his career (some value) for about 300 plate appearances of Cesar Izturis, during which he had an OPS under .600 (no value whatsoever).

But in fairness to Jim Hendry, there’s no way we could have known that Cesar Izturis was going to be this bad. Oh wait… except… I knew, and I’m just some dude with a blog. Kind of makes you wonder why Jim Hendry didn’t.

Since I am at grad school now and won’t have much time to write about the Cubs, I have decided to start a new feature called “Snoblets,” short notes and thoughts about the Cubbies. I’d love to write more in what may turn out to be a very exciting year for the Cubs, but I just don’t have the time. So without further ado…

Hey Ross, thanks for covering the Mark Cuban thing for me. You’re right. He is not going to own the Cubs.

Jim Hendry struck (out! ha! See what I did there?) again when he acquired Jason Kendall from the A’s for Rob Bowen and a minor league pitcher. Jason Kendall is horrible. (more…)

But, that doesn’t mean he won’t submit a bid on them. If you’re a Cub fan, this is a great development. (more…)

Our hero is back in the big leagues!

Charlie Haeger—referred to by the Sun-Times as “Chuck the Knuck”—will be used in both the bullpen and for spot starts. Not surprisingly, he’s just happy to be there:

‘I don’t care where I’m [pitching], whether I’m a starter, long guy, short guy, it doesn’t matter,’’ Haeger said. ‘’As long as they give me the ball and work.’‘

Gavin Floyd was sent down to make room for our hero. Knuckles didn’t play in last night’s win over the Orioles, but here’s to hoping the team trades Contreras soon so Knuckles gets a rotation spot.

The Sox today signed Mark Buehrle to a four year extension worth $56M. For those without a calculator handy, that’s an annual average of $14M. That’s pricey. (more…)

The First Pitch Express got caught with some amphetamines. This is Neifi’s second offense (on your first amphetamine offense you’re not named and you’re required to get counseling), and amphetamines testing only started last year, so you’ve gotta figure Neifi’s been rolling with the greenies for a while.

If this doesn’t prove to you that performance-enhancing drugs don’t help that much, then nothing will. For every Rafael Palmeiro, Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi, there is an Alex Sanchez, Jason Grimsley, Mike Morse, Augustin Montero, and Neifi Perez. I know, I know, Neifi only took amphetamines, not steroids. But still. This is a substance that has been banned by Major League Baseball because they think it is a Performance Enhancing Drug. Has using amphetamines made Neifi Perez Enhanced Neifi’s Performance? The only thing that can enhance Neifi Perez’s performance is a good, solid piece of pine that he can sit on until Jim Leyland needs a late-inning defensive replacement.