Kuzul

According to David Kaplan  of CSNChicago.com, the Cubs are close to completing a trade that will send first baseman Derrek Lee to the Atlanta Braves in what is being described as a “salary dump.”

That would imply that the Cubs would receive only salary relief, and not players, in return for Lee, who would have to approve the trade.

Sources close to Kaplan say that unlike the proposed trade to the Angels which Lee declined, he would be open to going to Atlanta. It would give Lee a chance to participate in a pennant race and get away from the putrid stench of the Cubs’ season.

Lee is eligible to declare free agency following this season and is not likely to return given his age, lack of production and the Cubs’ payroll woes.

The Cubs would be saving the $3.4 million they owe on his remaining contract while the Braves would be obtaining a player who has started to hit for some power recently. Lee left the game the other day with back stiffness after hitting home runs in his first two at-bats.

This deal would be surprising because the Braves are said to be looking at third basemen to replace Chipper Jones, who is out for the season. In fact, a rumor yesterday was squashed that would have sent Aramis Ramirez to Atlanta.

The Braves already have Troy Glaus to play first base, but perhaps they are looking at Lee’s defense and playoff experience as a positive factor.

If D-Lee leaves the Cubs, it wouldn’t be a surprise, though the Braves seem like an odd match.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Being a commissioner of a high-profile major professional sports league is not easy. So, why shouldn’t the leader of a league whose players make an obscene amount of money be compensated appropriately?

Well, it all depends on how well they are doing their jobs, and the first step is in determining just what the measuring stick should be.

Specifically, in Major League Baseball, Bud Selig has led his sport through a period of relative labor peace, with one notable exception, and the teams’ revenue and attendance has increased exponentially while under his watch.

For that, Selig is the highest paid leader among the professional sports, according to Yahoo! Sports, bringing in just under $19 million a year.

That is believed to be almost double the salary of NFL’s leader Roger Goodell and the NBA’s David Stern (though the NBA does not publicly disclose the commissioner’s salary).

Gary Bettman, National Hockey League Commissioner, earned $7.2 million in salary last year, but that is another goofy compensation given the leagues’ relative lack of revenue and his own performance.

Meanwhile, should finances serve as the main arbiter in determining the success or failure of MLB‘s Grand Poobah?

I say “no” and here is why: There is the future of the sport to consider, and under Selig’s watch, that future is somewhat murky given the embarrassment that the steroid era has caused.

The cheating that occurred while Bud conveniently looked the other way, despite his ridiculous protests to the contrary, has led to a serious credibility issue.

This lack of credibility has made a mockery of the most sacred records in a sport in which stats are absolutely beloved and vital. 

The home run record, perhaps the most sacred in all of professional sports, is now a joke thanks to Barry Bonds, who ingested enough PEDs to kill many horses, in a jealous rage caused by the infamous Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa saga in 1998.

Conveniently, Mr. Selig benefited from the public relations boost that the home run chase provided, something that was sorely needed after the cancellation of the World Series.

Which brings us to another embarrassing low point in the MLB’s Commissioner’s career: the strike in 1994 that led to the cancellation of the World Series—the first time that had happened since 1904.

While the wild card has been wildly successful, the introduction of interleague play has been somewhat controversial, as has been the World Baseball Classic.

The Mitchell Report, commissioned by Selig, concluded that the MLB commissioners, club officials, the Players Association, and the players all share “to some extent in the responsibility for the steroid era.”

Well, I would be willing to say that Selig specifically bears the brunt of the accountability.

In addition to artificially inflated ballplayers, inconsistent decisions have also plagued Selig’s legacy.

In 1993, New York Yankees owner George_Steinbrenner was reinstated from a lifelong suspension that was instituted by Selig’s predecessor Fay Vincent. Yet Pete Rose has applied for reinstatement over the years and received no such consideration.

Another embarrassing moment for Selig occurred during the 2002 All-Star Game in Selig’s hometown of Milwaukee.

Selig declared the game a tie, much to the chagrin of the fans, and this led to his stupid decision to have the All-Star game determine which league has home field advantage in the World Series.

Why the hell should something as important as that be determined by an exhibition game, especially after such a long season?

Despite those transgressions, it was the steroid explosion that occurred under Selig’s watch that has been the most damning evidence that the man has simply failed in his job.

Selig knew for a long time about the use, or at least the suspected use, of performance-enhancing drugs in his sport, yet did nothing until Congress forced his hand.

Congressman Cliff Stearns said in December 2007 that Selig should resign because of use of performance enhancing drugs in baseball during his tenure.

Despite this, there are only 10 players in the MLB that currently make more money than Selig, and he is signed through 2012.

Recognizing all this, it is easy to see why Selig is the very definition of ‘doing less with more.’ He should count his blessings that he even has a job, much less the highest paid job in sports.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Nothing to worry about Washington Nationals fans, this will get done, although it may come down to the deadline before it is announced.

The posturing that is going on between the overall No. 1 pick in MLB‘s first year player draft and the team that picked him is simply normal negotiation ploys by both sides. Believe me, the kid will sign when all is said and done.

Harper, 17, has until Monday at midnight ET to agree to terms on a contract. But it is not alarming to assume that Harper’s adviser, the infamous Scott Boras, will not crack until he is forced to. To give in now would be akin to blasphemy in the high stakes poker world of the business in which Boras deals in.

For this isn’t just about Harper; it is about Boras’ reputation and his credibility with future clients.

Here’s hoping that cooler heads prevail and the kid comes to his senses and doesn’t let the Boras ego deter him from starting his professional career.

Stephen Strasbug had some pointed words foir Harper: “If he doesn’t want to play here, then we don’t want him here.”

Of course, he should talk, as Strasburg didn’t sign until the last minute himself!

Look, if Harper doesn’t sign, he will re-enter the draft pool in 2011. Not only is that draft class shaping up to be a much stronger one than the 2010 class, what if the kid gets hurt? Is that risk worth a few extra dollars in the long run?

Maybe to Boras, who isn’t necessarily looking after the long-term best interests of Harper, but has to consider what is best for future recruitment business.

Why the optimism that Harper will sign?

Well, it is based largely on common sense as well as a strong feeling among baseball executives and scouting directors that I’ve spoke to that Harper is sure to sign before the deadline.

Harper’s performance isn’t likely to match what he did last season at Southern Nevada, so he won’t improve his leverage by returning to the Scenic West Athletic Conference.

Plus, Boras and Nats GM Mike Rizzo have worked well together in the past.

While Rizzo was with Arizona, he drafted and signed several Boras clients and went through the Stephen Strasburg negotiations just last August.

Meanwhile, 17 players remain unsigned from the first round of the 2010 draft, so Harper’s situation may be more newsworthy but it is certainly not unique.

It’s a game of chicken but it’s the kids that often get plucked in the long run if they do not sign.

Harper, for example, would be missing out on valuable development time and a possibly quicker path to the majors if he goes back to school.

So, in the end, both sides need each other and that is the motivation that will seal the deal.

Another potential wrinkle in these negotiations, however, is all the buzz going around about changing the drafting process in the next collective bargaining agreement to a more rigid slotting system similar to the ones used in the NBA and NHL.

Still, the Nats will likely move closer to the $10-11 million bonus range that many expect, while Harper will eventually show his hand that he really wants badly to start his career.

Regardless of whether or not people agree that Harper will sign, there is no disagreement over Harper’s projected future stardom.

Once he signs, that is.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Here is a potential opportunity for Cubs GM Jim Hendry to take advantage of a first-place team by tempting them with an injury-prone and overpaid third baseman who may interest a team like the Braves, who are trying to win a World Series in manager Bobby Cox’ last season.

We all know that Hendry needs payroll flexibility and while Ramirez has had an awful season, his track record, assuming he’s healthy, could actually interest another team.

Chipper Jones is out for the season with a torn ACL, and if the Cubs place Ramirez on waivers, the Braves could have him if they take on his remaining salary — no players in return are necessary.

So who would play third base for the Cubs next season if this happens?

Who cares?

The team is not going to be a contender anyway so they might as well either promote Josh Vitters to join likely new manager Ryne Sandberg or they could sign someone like Adrian Beltre with the money they would be saving by moving the bloated contract of Ramirez. 

Ramirez has a $14.6 million player option that he is certain to pick up after the season, given his .228/.286/.423 slash this season. He will also be owed a $2 million buyout for 2012 and a one million assignment bonus if traded.

Will the Braves be stupid enough to do this?

Maybe not, but it’s worth a try since teams often do desperate things in a pennant race, especially when they are trying to win in Bobby Cox’ last season as a manager.

Perhaps being in the playoff hunt will rejuvenate Ramirez, who knows? Sure, it’s somewhat far-fetched, but with salaries owed to guys like Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Zambrano for a long time, Hendry needs to consider almost anything that will bring salary relief.

Meanwhile, the Braves could use Eric Hinske, the former Cub, at third, along with Martin Prado and Omar Infante. If they choose to go outside the organization for help at the hot corner, Chone Figgens and Brandon Inge could be available.

But the Cubs need to at least do their due diligence and kick the tires on the possibility of moving Ramirez.

Hendry’s desire to win, to impress new owner Tom Ricketts, along with his irrational belief that his team is close to being a contender next season, will unfortunately prevent this from happening. That is yet another reason Hendry should have been fired already.

A new GM having Ricketts’ blessing to rebuild the club would be much more willing to make a bold move like this.

It may be a moot point given Atlanta’s reputation as sharp talent evaluators, but again, why not at least give this a try?

Oh yes, I forgot, Hendry is good friends with Ramirez. Never mind.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The New York Mets Jeff Francoeur has gone public with his demands for a trade. 

The outfielder has long been miscast as a starter in the NL, and he will be very unlikely to find a team that will guarantee him regular playing time.

His feelings were apparently hurt by having to platoon with Fernando Martinez. He has issued the following statement through his publicist: 

“We want to play every day,” Francoeur’s agent, Molly Fletcher, told the Newark Star-Ledger. “We prefer to play in New York. But if we’re not going to play every day in New York, we absolutely welcome the opportunity to play every day somewhere else.”

And this overconfidence is based on what?

To be honest, Francoeur suffers from what a lot of major league players suffer from, and that is that their talent and production on the field don’t match the ego created, in large part, by high school, college and minor league coaches who have consistently told them how great they are.

Well, here is a shocker, Jeff—you are not good at consistently hitting a baseball, my friend.

Francoeur has struggled after a good start, posting numbers (.241, 11 HR, 47 RBI) strikingly similar to those he produced in Atlanta. Yet after he was benched Saturday, Francoeur made the team aware of his displeasure, according to the Star-Ledger.

“I show up and if my name’s in the lineup, I’m playing,” Francoeur told the paper. “That’s pretty much all I have to say.”

Amazingly, he makes $5 million and is eligible for arbitration following the season. Some have speculated that Royals General Manager Dayton Moore may be interested in the outfielder. But if he is, I am sure it is at a much-reduced price.

In 812 major league games, Francoeur has a .309 OBP. He has been caught stealing almost as many times as he has attempted to swipe a base in his career.

He is hitting lefties at a .318 clip this season, so he may be useful as a platoon player, but remember that he is not happy in that role.

This is a guy who has posted an OBP of less than .300 in four full seasons, yet he clings to the unrealistic hope that he is an everyday player.

Even in his best season in 2006, before there was steroid testing, he may have hit 29 homers and driven in 103 runs, but he got on base less than 30 percent of the time.

His defense is about average, despite a strong arm. His potential usefulness as a part-time player is negated by his desire to play every day, the fact that his salary his high, and the fact that the Mets probably want something useful in return.

But Mr. Moore has a penchant for ex-Brave prospects, so he may just be the guy to overvalue Francoeur to the point where he actually thinks he can play every day.

If so, then the joke is on him.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

This has truly been the “year of the rookie” in Major League Baseball, and the Cubs have one of the brightest in 20-year-old shortstop Starlin Castro. But is he the leading candidate to capture NL Rookie of the Year honors?

Castro has hit over .300 since being called up by the Cubs, and while he has made more than his share of errors, he does have good range and a strong arm.

His future with the team is one of the few bright spots of this downtrodden ballclub.

But there are a lot of promising rookies, so let’s see where Castro ranks among them in his quest to be the first Cubs ROY since Geo Soto and sixth all-time.

Here we go…

Begin Slideshow

In case you haven’t heard the news, brace yourself, Cubs fans. Carlos Zambrano is a starter again. He is scheduled to start on Monday.

“Sometimes you don’t know what you have until you lose it,” Zambrano said of starting again. “I don’t want to lose this opportunity. I just want to take advantage [of it] be prepared and be ready for the last two months.”

Listen Carlos, we’d love for you to pitch well so we can ship you out of town after the season.

Now, if this news is not quite what you were hoping for, keep in mind that there isn’t much of anything to hope for in this lost season.

No, I take that back—there are some positives to be taken from this otherwise miserable Cubs season.

First, the play of Marlon Byrd has really been exceptional, especially given his relatively low price tag. Byrd has been above average in all aspects: hitting, fielding, and in terms of looking like someone who actually has a pulse out there.

Another good thing has been the development of Starlin Castro. While still awfully young, he looks like a future star…lin…OK enough of the bad puns.

But seriously, he looks to be someone who will hit for averages above .300 while playing above average defense. If he develops some power, which I think he will, the skies the limit with this kid.

Meanwhile Tyler Colvin is… still some what of a question mark, though his power will certainly play. He has slugged 17 homers in just 256 ABs, which is quite impressive, but we’d like to see him have a better eye at the plate, and he sometimes gets bad jumps and runs bad routes in the outfield.

If he hits 30 homers a season, you’ll live with a .250 average, and a .300 OBP. There is no question that the kid has been a bright spot.

But the thing that impresses me the most is the comeback of Geo Soto. Left for baseball-dead following his miserable 2009 campaign, he is once again playing like the rookie-of-the-year from two years ago.

He is hitting for power again, and his plate discipline is out of this world as he hovers around the .400 OBP mark. He is even throwing better.

Hey, even Alfonso Soriano is much improved over 2009.

Carlos Marmol can’t be hit. With better control he would be the best reliever in baseball, and Thomas Diamond may be a diamond in the rough.

Alright, I said I wouldn’t go there but a tiger can’t change its stripes that easily.

Still, the news from Paul Sullivan that the Cubs may be calling up some of their organizational “fillers”—you know, guys who are not prospects but serve as roster depth —like Micah Hoffpauir, Brad Snyder and Bryan LaHair—is puzzling.

Those three guys have no future with the Cubs. They are too old to be prospects, as The Hoff will be 31, and the other two 28 years old.  

Now, the other kids mentioned in Sullivan’s piece—Darwin Barney and Wellington Castillo —makes sense since they could compete for bench roles in 2011.

At least they would give the Cubs some roster depth in case guys like Mike Fontenot, and Xavier Nady who are claimed off waivers.

See how this goes? I turned an otherwise mundane, ho hum, Zambrano-back-to-the- rotation story into something at least somewhat positive. 

Oh, by the way, did I mention the 15-3 win over the Brewers today?

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The recent trade that sent Ted Lilly to the LA Dodgers is a win for LA and a loss for the Cubs, though the move of Lilly certainly wasn’t unexpected.

In the trade, which also sent Ryan Theriot to the Dodgers, the Cubs received second baseman Blake DeWitt and two low-level minor leaguers.

They also paid approximately half of the remaining salary due Lilly in the process.

The deal is a win for the Dodgers because they acquired a pitcher who is improving as he continues to get stronger after offseason surgery.

Meanwhile, the Cubs traded Ryan Theriot, and I know what you’re thinking: So what?

Well, Theriot is a player who can actually be useful to a team as a utility infielder since he can play shortstop.

DeWitt cannot play shortstop, and thus makes for a bad utility player, though that is what he projects to be going forward. 

While the Cubs are expected to play DeWitt at second the remainder of the year, he is not likely to be worthy of a starting spot for a full season as he plays barely average defense and has no power.

He is younger than Theriot, so he may have some upside, though he wasn’t even highly thought of by most scouts as a former first-round pick.

But if he turns out to be the utility player he seems to be, that would be a big loss for the Cubs. Having a utility player who can’t play short means you need two utility infielders, and that is not a good thing.

Hey we already have that player in Mike Fontenot, and he not only plays a better second base, he has more power.

Adding insult to injury, DeWitt cannot run.

As for the minor leaguers in the deal, right-hander Brett Wallach , son of former Expo and Dodger Tim Wallach, is not a top 10 prospect in either the Dodgers’ or the Cubs’ organizations despite what Jim Hendry may lead you to believe.

As ESPN’s Keith Law states, “He has a fringe-average fastball and above-average changeup but has walked too many guys while pitching a level below where he should be given his age.”

The other minor leaguer acquired in the deal, Kyle Smit, is projected to be a reliever.

That seems to be too little for a pitcher as good as Lilly.

He would have been a Type A free agent this offseason, and the draft choices the Cubs could have received if they had offered arbitration to him probably would have exceeded what they got in this trade.

Not much for a guy that Hendry risked his life to sign.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen may be controversial, but as usual, he is always brutally honest. And, in this case, he definitely has a point. Even if that point is somewhat incomplete.

Guillen’s assertion is that Asian players are given privileges in the United States that Latinos are not afforded. He goes on to say that there are a lot of pressures for young Latinos to take PEDs, and that he is trying to educate them against it.

Look, all that may be reasonable and if Guillen is indeed trying to educate young Latinos, good for him. But, he is not quite saying the whole truth in his rant for reasons we’ll get to in a moment.

First, more Ozzie:

“Very bad. I say, why do we have Japanese interpreters, and we don’t have a Spanish one. I always say that. Why do they have that privilege, and we don’t?” Guillen said Sunday before Chicago played the Oakland Athletics.

Point taken. Why MLB teams are willing to furnish translators for Japanese players comes down to simple economics, and the law of supply and demand.

For the few Japanese players available relative to the vast number of Latinos, teams simply have to offer more to obtain the services of those players.

Still, he is right in that it offers the Japanese player an advantage that Latino players are lacking.

But, when Guillen goes on to add the following, he leaves out one important issue, which we’ll get to next.

“We’re in the United States, we don’t have to bring any coaches that speak Spanish to help anybody. You choose to come to this country, and you better speak English.”

Now, I have absolutely no problem with his statement that you come to America, and you learn to speak English. In fact, for a Latino to say that is very admirable.

Yet, to think that this is a problem facing only Latino baseball players is where Guillen is short-sighted.

Many so-called immigrants come to this country without the benefits that are afforded the Latino ballplayers.

For example, at least they are coming to a country that panders to Spanish-speaking individuals. By that, I am referring to the fact that ATMs routinely ask if you want English or Spanish, even if you are in an area that is 99 percent white. 

Likewise, anytime you place a call and there is some kind of automated system, it usually directs you to ‘press one for English, or two for Spanish’.

Now I’m not saying that any of this is wrong.

What I’m saying is that this affords Spanish speaking immigrants an advantage over the Polish, Italian, Irish, and other immigrants that come to this country and are expected to be on their own when it comes to language.

It’s easy for Ozzie to say ‘learn the language’ when he is in a country that replaced the ‘walk/don’t walk’ signs with pictures of hands so that you don’t need to read English to understand when to cross the street.

Additionally, if his assertion that we should speak English in this country is so widely understood, then why is the Arizona immigration law being met with such fierce opposition?

They say they unfairly target Hispanics with that law. Yet, all it’s really asking is that you be a legal resident of this country.

The Mexican president says we are racist. Meanwhile, did you know what it takes to become a legal resident of Mexico? I tell you, it’s a lot more difficult than it is to become a legal citizen of this country.

But, we digress. Still, it shows that while Guillen’s rant is reasonable, it is easy to see how it only presents only one side of the story, which is why I say it is “incomplete.”

Leave it to Ozzie to say something controversial. In a society where everything seems to be politically incorrect, it is refreshing even if it does not tell the whole story.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Sometime prior to tonight’s game against the Colorado Rockies, the formerly angry Carlos Zambrano, recently reinstated and recently healed, is expected to address his Cubs teammates to apologize for his June 25 outburst.

Of course, Big Z has already publicly apologized on ESPN. You can expect the next one to be as meaningless as this one.

Most fans and the entire organization, in fact, would rather see Zambrano just go away and not bother leaving a forwarding address.

But since they won’t eat his contract, and the MLB Player’s Union demands it, Carlos will return to pitch in the bullpen.

Look, the Cubs have nobody but themselves to blame for all this. They allowed Zambrano to destroy Gatorade coolers, act like a baby on the mound, and punch out teammates and did nothing about it. 

Now that he is no longer pitching well, they suddenly get tough on him and send him out for anger management therapy.

Zambrano’s friend and current Sox manager Ozzie Guillen knows what’s up.

“Carlos has been like that since he started playing baseball,” Guillen told reporters a day after the incident. “Now all of a sudden he sucks and everyone points fingers at him. He was like that when he was winning. But you don’t produce and don’t do what you’re supposed to do and make a lot of money, you’re a target.”

Now, don’t get me wrong, Carlos is responsible for his actions. But Ozzie’s right in the sense that how come the Cubs let him get away with this behavior in the past?

Well, it’s because he’s no longer good at pitching a baseball for a living.

When the Cubs wanted to get rid of last year’s problem, Milton Bradley, they were fortunate enough to have suspended him toward the end of the season, so they didn’t have to bring him back.

So now they’re stuck in an awkward situation with the return of the immature right hander.

The players don’t like him, the Cubs don’t want him, and the fans are sick and tired of his act. Yet he’ll be pretending to be sincere when he issues his bogus apology.

But to show Zambrano that we are not vindictive fans, let’s help the big goof with the wording of his act of contrition.

“I know I have bitterly disappointed all of you,” Zambrano should begin. “For all that I have done, I am so sorry…

“What I did was not acceptable, and I am the only person to blame. I owe it to my family to become a better person, I owe it to those close to me to become a better man. I have a lot of work to do, and I intend to dedicate myself to doing it,” he should say.

Then, he could dazzle them with this finish: “I ask you to find room in your heart to one day believe in me again.”

Ah, forget it — a professional athlete would never say something so lame!

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com