Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Its extraordinarily late, but I checked my email before bed and here's what I saw:
Cubs Press Release |
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CUBS NEWS - Cubs acquire outfielder Jody Gerut from Indians
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July 18, 2005
The Chicago Cubs, in need of an outfielder who can get on base
and play defense, acquired JODY GERUT from the Cleveland Indians
on Monday in exchange for outfielder JASON DUBOIS.
Gerut, 27, has appeared in 44 games for the Indians this season,
batting .275 with 11 extra-base hits and 12 RBIs in his first year
back from knee surgery.
The Elmhurst, Illinois, native had his best season in 2003,
leading the Indians with 22 home runs and 75 RBIs.
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My inital reaction is 'good.' I'm disappointed to see Dubois leave and am not sure that the move makes the team significantly better (aside from adding the depth that I complained about yesterday.)
In time, I'm afraid we'll come to regret this trade, but frankly I don't know enough details at this time to fully analyze it.
Updates will follow this afternoon, but for now I ask, Will we be hearing "Jod-ie" chants soon?
Posted by Byron at 2:47 AM
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Sunday, July 17, 2005
The second half of the baseball season is well underway, and the Cubs have done a decent job of getting back up on the horse. This team is clearly a streaky team, incapable of pulling off anything close to consistency. So, it is no suprise to me that after losing eight straight the Cubs would come back and win 6 of 7. (I'm also going to predict 3 wins out of 4 against the Reds.)
With this in mind, we are still only one game above .500, a position we've been in most of the year. The question of course is this: are we a .500 team? Are we a 90 win team thats underperforming? Can we still be a 90 win team? Will we make the playoffs as a 90 win team? How many wins will it take to make the playoffs?
These are the questions that haunt me. Since the last time I wrote, the Cubs have won 3 of 4, so I don't know why my optimism should change... but I think there is one final question that I haven't posed: Can this team go deep in the playoffs?
The answer to this question, I fear, is no. I don't have a good reason why. We have the stars that could take us deep, but we don't have the depth. We need a better bench and a better bullpen. The trading deadline is sneaking up on us, and I think the answers to the above questions will be answered by the moves we make then. For, as this team is currently composed, I think we'll be fortunate to win 85 games.
Posted by Byron at 11:25 PM
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Thursday, July 14, 2005
Well, the second half of the season starts today, and I swear this page is going to be active again, and so since I still don't have time to do a proper post with facts and stuff, I'll fall back on the old reliable opinion.
Where we stand now: 43-44: 12.5 games behind the Cardinals and 1 game behind the Astros. 3rd place in the NL Central. 6 games behind Atlanta in the Wild Card race with 5 teams in front of us. We have 75 games remaining.
What the future holds: Although its a long shot, I still believe this team can/will make the playoffs barring another major injury. I believe Jim Hendry will make another substantial move before the deadline, and I'm wondering if Adam Greenberg and Matt Murton aren't being put on display for a possible trade.
I look at the return of Prior and Wood to the rotation and the likely return of Nomar Garciaparra in August as significant second half advantages for this team. I see centerfield and leftfield as two gigantic problems for which at least one of these two positions should be filled via a trade.
Personal Notes: So, I thought that once I graduated and wasn't in class and doing homework that I would have more time for my blogging efforts. It hasn't happened... yet. The real culprit behind my disappearance wasn't so much time as blogging burnout. I had been going daily since March and the blog became more of a stressor than a stress relief once I finished classes.
I've spent the last three weeks working full-time at my computer lab job and have been bogged down with orienting new students. Its a lot of work and has left me finding it difficult to concentrate on posts.
I've also been in the hunt for a full-time 'real world' job. So, I've been up to Chicago and Indianapolis on interviews, and spending my free time ironing clothes. :^) Anyhow, nothing has particularly changed aside from the fact that I have decided I don't want to let The Cubdom go dormant. I've worked too hard at building up readers and I know I'll regret it if I throw it away because of two months of too much stress.
So, for the next few weeks things will probably still be a little sporadic, but I want to update at least four times a week. Sorry for the layoff, keep coming back.
Posted by Byron at 12:03 PM
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