Grissom signs with the Cubs.........

[Mizzou]

This is a minor league contract. That means that Grissom is going to have to MASH pitching in ST and prove that he is 100% healthy to get a spot with the Cubs. Not a big deal at all.

 

Why does a minor league deal mean that?

 

The Cubs are very thin on the bench and in the OF, are rumored to really want to get rid of Walker and Patterson, and have an affinity for old players. It's a big deal if Dusty takes to the guy, which is pretty likely.

 

If they thought he was good to go as far as being a major leaguer, they would have just given him a major league contract. By giving him a minor league contract, they obviously don't believe with 100% certainty that he IS good enough to be on the 25 man roster. He'll have to prove that he is in spring training.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

This is a minor league contract. That means that Grissom is going to have to MASH pitching in ST and prove that he is 100% healthy to get a spot with the Cubs. Not a big deal at all.

 

By the way, what was his injury last year that kept him out for so long?

 

Lenny Harris hit .262/.295/.357/.652 in ST of '03 and still made the team.

 

Grissom had a hamstring strain last year, I don't know if that was his only injury.

[goonys evil twin]

If they thought he was good to go as far as being a major leaguer, they would have just given him a major league contract. By giving him a minor league contract, they obviously don't believe with 100% certainty that he IS good enough to be on the 25 man roster. He'll have to prove that he is in spring training.

 

Or if nobody else was offering a major league deal, maybe they realized they didn't have to. Or maybe he told his agent to talk to the Cubs because he wanted to play for Dusty (a notorious fan of veterans). Or maybe they just couldn't find the roster space right now, and told him they were going to clear some space soon and would therefore have to go minor league with him, for now. Regardless, he's not going to have to mash, he's just going to show that he's their 5th or 6th best bench option. Given the makeup of this team, the crappy bench, the likelihood that Walker and Patterson will be gone, and Dusty's fetish for old unproductive ballplayers, Grissom will not have to do a whole lot to make the team. He might just have to prove he's healthy and still able to run around the bases and catch fly balls.

[Diffusion]

By the way, what was his injury last year that kept him out for so long?

 

If I had to guess, I'd say arthritis.

 

But I looked it up and I was wrong. Grissom actually suffered two injuries in 2005. A bruise to his right knee cost him May 18th to June 3rd (14 games), and a strained right hamstring cost him June 14th to July 25th (34 games).

[Mizzou]

This is a minor league contract. That means that Grissom is going to have to MASH pitching in ST and prove that he is 100% healthy to get a spot with the Cubs. Not a big deal at all.

 

By the way, what was his injury last year that kept him out for so long?

 

Lenny Harris hit .262/.295/.357/.652 in ST of '03 and still made the team.

 

Grissom had a hamstring strain last year, I don't know if that was his only injury.

Yeah, but in fairness, Harris is and was a pinch hitting extraordinare.

[Mizzou]

If they thought he was good to go as far as being a major leaguer, they would have just given him a major league contract. By giving him a minor league contract, they obviously don't believe with 100% certainty that he IS good enough to be on the 25 man roster. He'll have to prove that he is in spring training.

 

Or if nobody else was offering a major league deal, maybe they realized they didn't have to. Or maybe he told his agent to talk to the Cubs because he wanted to play for Dusty (a notorious fan of veterans). Or maybe they just couldn't find the roster space right now, and told him they were going to clear some space soon and would therefore have to go minor league with him, for now. Regardless, he's not going to have to mash, he's just going to show that he's their 5th or 6th best bench option. Given the makeup of this team, the crappy bench, the likelihood that Walker and Patterson will be gone, and Dusty's fetish for old unproductive ballplayers, Grissom will not have to do a whole lot to make the team. He might just have to prove he's healthy and still able to run around the bases and catch fly balls.

Well, if he proves that he's the 5th or 6th best option off the bench, and Dusty knows what his place is, I'm completely fine with having him on the team.

[Gunned]

Well, look at the bright side: At least we didn't overpay for Rafael Furcal.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

This is a minor league contract. That means that Grissom is going to have to MASH pitching in ST and prove that he is 100% healthy to get a spot with the Cubs. Not a big deal at all.

 

By the way, what was his injury last year that kept him out for so long?

 

Lenny Harris hit .262/.295/.357/.652 in ST of '03 and still made the team.

 

Grissom had a hamstring strain last year, I don't know if that was his only injury.

 

Tom Goodwin did even better [worse] in ST of '03 and made the team -- 220/278/280/558

 

Edit: And I don't think he was ever considered a "pinch hitting extraordinare"

Edited January 3, 2006 by Ding Dong Johnson

[CuseCubFan69]

I wonder if Hendry is going to sign Dunston and Joe Carter to minor league deals too.

[goonys evil twin]

This is a minor league contract. That means that Grissom is going to have to MASH pitching in ST and prove that he is 100% healthy to get a spot with the Cubs. Not a big deal at all.

 

By the way, what was his injury last year that kept him out for so long?

 

Lenny Harris hit .262/.295/.357/.652 in ST of '03 and still made the team.

 

Grissom had a hamstring strain last year, I don't know if that was his only injury.

Yeah, but in fairness, Harris is and was a pinch hitting extraordinare.

 

He actually wasn't. He was just old enough, and both not too good to be a starter or too bad to not make a roster to rack up a meaningless career achievement. He had a lot of career pinch hits, but he wasn't particularly good at it in any given year. He was similar to an old reliever who stuck around long enough to get the most holds, but was never close to good enough to be a starter or closer, and never actually a really good reliever in any one year.

[CuseCubFan69]

Has Grissom ever played RF?

[goonys evil twin]

Well, if he proves that he's the 5th or 6th best option off the bench, and Dusty knows what his place is, I'm completely fine with having him on the team.

 

You shouldn't be. If he's truly the 5th or 6th option off the bench, Hendry has done another terrible job putting together the bench. What is more likely is that he'd be the 8th or 9th best option, but Dusty would bump him up the list due to service time.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

This is a minor league contract. That means that Grissom is going to have to MASH pitching in ST and prove that he is 100% healthy to get a spot with the Cubs. Not a big deal at all.

 

By the way, what was his injury last year that kept him out for so long?

 

Lenny Harris hit .262/.295/.357/.652 in ST of '03 and still made the team.

 

Grissom had a hamstring strain last year, I don't know if that was his only injury.

Yeah, but in fairness, Harris is and was a pinch hitting extraordinare.

 

A quick check of his game log showed that Harris started 25 of his 62 games for the Cubs.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

This is a minor league contract. That means that Grissom is going to have to MASH pitching in ST and prove that he is 100% healthy to get a spot with the Cubs. Not a big deal at all.

 

By the way, what was his injury last year that kept him out for so long?

 

Lenny Harris hit .262/.295/.357/.652 in ST of '03 and still made the team.

 

Grissom had a hamstring strain last year, I don't know if that was his only injury.

Yeah, but in fairness, Harris is and was a pinch hitting extraordinare.

 

A quick check of his game log showed that Harris started 25 of his 62 games for the Cubs.

 

And sucked in 24 of those 25 starts. :lol:

[Mizzou]

Well, if he proves that he's the 5th or 6th best option off the bench, and Dusty knows what his place is, I'm completely fine with having him on the team.

 

You shouldn't be. If he's truly the 5th or 6th option off the bench, Hendry has done another terrible job putting together the bench. What is more likely is that he'd be the 8th or 9th best option, but Dusty would bump him up the list due to service time.

 

Give me a break. If he's the 5th or 6th option off the bench that means that he's the 25th man on the roster. What exactly do you want out of the 25th man?

[soapy]

What's Adam Greenburg's status? That also seems to be a better option the Grissom IMO.

 

Greenberg's status: young and left-handed. As in, Dusty's not even going to look up Greenberg's minor league splits to explore the possibility of using him as Jones' platoon partner.

 

Seriously, Greenberg successfully cleared waivers, surprisingly, so he's still part of the organisation but no longer on the 40-man roster. If the Cubs want to use him now, they have to purchase his contract again. Finally, the next time that Greenberg's designated for assignment he has the right to opt to become a free agent.

 

You know what? I completely spaced that he is left-handed. I don't know what I was thinking. Nevermind.

[wastra]

If they thought he was good to go as far as being a major leaguer, they would have just given him a major league contract. By giving him a minor league contract, they obviously don't believe with 100% certainty that he IS good enough to be on the 25 man roster. He'll have to prove that he is in spring training.

 

Or if nobody else was offering a major league deal, maybe they realized they didn't have to. Or maybe he told his agent to talk to the Cubs because he wanted to play for Dusty (a notorious fan of veterans). Or maybe they just couldn't find the roster space right now, and told him they were going to clear some space soon and would therefore have to go minor league with him, for now. Regardless, he's not going to have to mash, he's just going to show that he's their 5th or 6th best bench option. Given the makeup of this team, the crappy bench, the likelihood that Walker and Patterson will be gone, and Dusty's fetish for old unproductive ballplayers, Grissom will not have to do a whole lot to make the team. He might just have to prove he's healthy and still able to run around the bases and catch fly balls.

 

 

Yup. Grissom won't have to be good, he just has to be better than whomever ELSE the Cubs have at spring training as a backup outfielder with Major League bench experience.

 

Since it looks like our outfielders are limited to:

 

Jones

Pierre

Murton

Mabry (who is also a 1B/3B, so they COULD take an extra outfielder, too)

Patterson.

 

That means that they could conceivably take noth hairston and Grissom since two of the 'outfielders' (hariston and mabry) are really jack-of-all-trades type of subs.

 

 

 

My guess is the positional roster is:

 

 

Pierre OF

Lee 1B

Ramirez 3B

Jones OF

Murton OF

Barrett C

Cedeno MIF

Perez MIF

Blanco C

Mabry CIF/OF

Grissom OF

Hairston IF/OF

Patterson or Walker (one of whom will be traded, IMO, for minor leaguers).

 

If the cubs manage to stick to 11 pitchers, as they SHOULD (but won't), they could break camp with all of the above.

[Mizzou]

This is a minor league contract. That means that Grissom is going to have to MASH pitching in ST and prove that he is 100% healthy to get a spot with the Cubs. Not a big deal at all.

 

By the way, what was his injury last year that kept him out for so long?

 

Lenny Harris hit .262/.295/.357/.652 in ST of '03 and still made the team.

 

Grissom had a hamstring strain last year, I don't know if that was his only injury.

Yeah, but in fairness, Harris is and was a pinch hitting extraordinare.

 

A quick check of his game log showed that Harris started 25 of his 62 games for the Cubs.

Yeah, he was definitely misused. But 3B was a major hole that year (until Aramis arived). CF is set this year, so you can't expect Grissom to get any starts there. All he'll get (if he makes the team!) will be maybe a few in rightfield... which would be a good thing.

[goonys evil twin]

Well, if he proves that he's the 5th or 6th best option off the bench, and Dusty knows what his place is, I'm completely fine with having him on the team.

 

You shouldn't be. If he's truly the 5th or 6th option off the bench, Hendry has done another terrible job putting together the bench. What is more likely is that he'd be the 8th or 9th best option, but Dusty would bump him up the list due to service time.

 

Give me a break. If he's the 5th or 6th option off the bench that means that he's the 25th man on the roster. What exactly do you want out of the 25th man?

 

Why do I have to give you a break? My point is that if he makes the team, he will likely do it due more to age than ability. That would be bad for the team. And while he might be designated as the 25th man by some, he'll get a lot more playing time than a 25th man should, as he'll likely become the 4th starter, subbing for Murton more than he should, and coming up in big pinch hit spots when a real pinch hitter should be in there. Grissom is about the 29th man on a good team, he could easily become Dusty's go to guy off the bench if/when Neifi gets a starting gig.

[davecubsfan]

Grissom is the new Macias.

[RynoRules]

I understand that you bring in bench guys b/c, by definition, they shouldn't be starting, and thus you should not expect oo much from them. And normally, I would not even blink at this signing. But if Dusty uses Grisson instead of Murton, I'll blow my top.

[wastra]

I understand that you bring in bench guys b/c, by definition, they shouldn't be starting, and thus you should not expect oo much from them. And normally, I would not even blink at this signing. But if Dusty uses Grisson instead of Murton, I'll blow my top.

 

I think the smart money is that Grissom and Mabry see nearly as many at bats in left as Murton.

[Mizzou]

Well, if he proves that he's the 5th or 6th best option off the bench, and Dusty knows what his place is, I'm completely fine with having him on the team.

 

You shouldn't be. If he's truly the 5th or 6th option off the bench, Hendry has done another terrible job putting together the bench. What is more likely is that he'd be the 8th or 9th best option, but Dusty would bump him up the list due to service time.

 

Give me a break. If he's the 5th or 6th option off the bench that means that he's the 25th man on the roster. What exactly do you want out of the 25th man?

 

Why do I have to give you a break? My point is that if he makes the team, he will likely do it due more to age than ability. That would be bad for the team. And while he might be designated as the 25th man by some, he'll get a lot more playing time than a 25th man should, as he'll likely become the 4th starter, subbing for Murton more than he should, and coming up in big pinch hit spots when a real pinch hitter should be in there. Grissom is about the 29th man on a good team, he could easily become Dusty's go to guy off the bench if/when Neifi gets a starting gig.

It just seems that you have unreasonably high expectations for the guy at the end of the bench. That's all I meant by that.

 

29th man on a good team? Yeah, I guess if you only look at his injury riddled season last year. If you choose to look at his splits over the previous several years though, and you consider how terrible Jones is against lefties, I wouldn't come to that conclusion.

[RynoRules]

I understand that you bring in bench guys b/c, by definition, they shouldn't be starting, and thus you should not expect oo much from them. And normally, I would not even blink at this signing. But if Dusty uses Grisson instead of Murton, I'll blow my top.

 

I think the smart money is that Grissom and Mabry see nearly as many at bats in left as Murton.

 

I'd love to refute that notion, but if history is any guide, you might be right.

 

:getyou: :getyou: :getyou: :getyou: :getyou: :getyou: :getyou: :getyou:

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Well, if he proves that he's the 5th or 6th best option off the bench, and Dusty knows what his place is, I'm completely fine with having him on the team.

 

You shouldn't be. If he's truly the 5th or 6th option off the bench, Hendry has done another terrible job putting together the bench. What is more likely is that he'd be the 8th or 9th best option, but Dusty would bump him up the list due to service time.

 

Give me a break. If he's the 5th or 6th option off the bench that means that he's the 25th man on the roster. What exactly do you want out of the 25th man?

 

Why do I have to give you a break? My point is that if he makes the team, he will likely do it due more to age than ability. That would be bad for the team. And while he might be designated as the 25th man by some, he'll get a lot more playing time than a 25th man should, as he'll likely become the 4th starter, subbing for Murton more than he should, and coming up in big pinch hit spots when a real pinch hitter should be in there. Grissom is about the 29th man on a good team, he could easily become Dusty's go to guy off the bench if/when Neifi gets a starting gig.

It just seems that you have unreasonably high expectations for the guy at the end of the bench. That's all I meant by that.

 

29th man on a good team? Yeah, I guess if you only look at his injury riddled season last year. If you choose to look at his splits over the previous several years though, and you consider how terrible Jones is against lefties, I wouldn't come to that conclusion.

 

You can't just ignore that he was an offensive embarrassment with injury problems last year at age 39. With those circumstances, there's a very real possibility he'll never return to those previous splits.