TenzilKem

This is the third trade in two years in which the Cubs have traded deliberately traded a player for minimal return because of personality/chemistry issues. It was Sosa and Farnsworth last near, now we have Patterson and probably soon Walker. Is the benefit of getting rid of such players so great that it's a good move in the long run even if you willingly except lesser talent in return? Maybe a player like Sosa becomes such a huge distraction that it makes sense to trade him to any willing taker, especially if you correctly forecast that his skills are about to decline precipitously. But it's hard to see how a team can be successful if it makes a habit of getting rid of talented ballplayers for low return every year largely due to personality issues. And of course it's strange that you have to make so many of these personality-driven trades when you have a manager whose supposed strength is the ability to get the most out of his players.

There was quite a bit of speculation that the baseball in 1987 was juiced. A lot of players, including Trillo, had their highest career homerun totals that year. Here's a list of some Cubs who posted career HR bests in '87 along with their age at the time: Manny Trillo, 33: 8 HR Leon Durham, 29: 27 HR Andre Dawson, 32: 49 HR Jerry Mumphrey, 34: 13 HR Bob Dernier, 30: 8 HR

In 1970 Jim Hickman, age 33, enjoyed what was by far the best offensive season of his career. He started his career with the Mets was acquired by the Cubs in 1968. In 1970 he had 32 HR, 115 RBI, and hit .315/.419/.582. Before that his career bests were 21 HR(1969), 57 RBI (1964), .257 BA (1964), .328 OBP (1962) and .467 SLG (1969). He also made his only All-Star Game appearance that year and was the guy who got the hit in the final inning that resulted in Pete Rose's famous home plate collision with Ray Fosse.

Fixed. Sorry, I just think it's very impressive that he did that at that age. No apologies necessary. Here's a link to the gamelog and boxscore. The only guy to get a hit off Paige that day was Carl Yastrzemski.

Sounds like a good question for Jayson Stark. Satchel Paige threw 3 innings for the KC A's in 1965 at a reported age of 58. Minnie Minosa had 2 AB for the White Sox in 1980 when he was 57. Although these were both largely publicity stunts, either one might be part of the oldest combined AB. I did some research (bored at work). Paige started and threw 3 innings for the A's on September 25, 1965. The opponent was the Boston Red Sox. They were a young team, however, and from my research (i.e. checking out the awesome site retrosheet.org), the oldest player he faced was Eddie Broussard, who was 33 at the time. This would put the combined age at 91--but you have to remember that Paige's true age was always a source of controversy. When Minosa pinch-hit in 1980 the oldest pitcher he faced was 26 year old Frank Tanana, which makes that combined AB only 83 years.

Sounds like a good question for Jayson Stark. Satchel Paige threw 3 innings for the KC A's in 1965 at a reported age of 58. Minnie Minosa had 2 AB for the White Sox in 1980 when he was 57. Although these were both largely publicity stunts, either one might be part of the oldest combined AB.

I've never heard this. Maybe you're confusing him with Jodie Dallas.

Overrated? The guy has a lifetime OBP of 1.000. That's better than Barry Bonds, Ty Cobb or Babe Ruth.

Ruth was released by the Yankees and signed by the Braves. It's rare that baseballreference.com has an error like that. The transaction history is a relatively new addition to the site.

That maybe because Leo doesn't pull any punches with them on the mound. A coach isn't there to be a buddy, confidant, babysitter, or an appologist. He/she is there to help the player reach his/her potential. No one can argue with Mazzone's success. I'll take him as my pitching coach any day. If a coach has the same approach to all players, players will respond differently to that approach. I remember when Billy Connors was the Cubs pitching coach and he went to the mound to visit Steve Trout, he always looked like he was reassuring Trout, trying to get him to relax a bit and focus. But when Mike Bielecki was pitching, Connors always looked like he was reading him the riot act. Both pitchers had some of the best years of their careers under Connors. Sparky Anderson once said something to the effect that on any given team, a third of the guys needed a pat on the back, another third needed a kick in the ass, and the final third needed to be left alone to do their job. The key to managing was knowing who was in each group.

I understand and agree with those who say that OBP, not speed, is the most important quality in a leadoff hitter. However, Dusty doesn't, and he's the manager. The trade for Pierre prevents Dusty from sabatoging the offense by batting the worst possible candidate (i.e. Perez or Patterson) in the leadoff spot. So I guess I'm happy with the trade because it helps prevent our manager from making some poor lineup decisions. But of course I'm unhappy we still have a manager who makes so many poor lineup decisions. And, as one poster already noted, there is a good chance that Dusty will frequently have the worst possible choice (Perez, who is likely to be the starting SS despite whatever Hendry says about Cedeno in the offseason) in the 2 spot. I don't think Pierre's contract status is that much of a problem. The Cubs have the financial resources to retain his services next year if that's what they want, but if Pie is impressive in AAA the Cubs can let Pierre walk.

Mariotti has been writing this same column for years now. I remember him writing the same thing when Andy MacPhail lost out on the Mike Hampton bidding back in the 2000-01 offseason.

http://www.qualitycards.com/pictures/11679406.jpg And to think all these years I thought Kent Tekulve was the weirdest looking player ever.

Neither Batman or Spiderman would stand a chance against Matter-Eater Lad.

Murton only got consistent playing time because two vets (Lawton and Hollandsworth) were traded and another (Hairston) got injured. Even then, he hit 8th in the lineup more than once. Hendry will probably sign a veteran left-handed hitting outfielder with every intention of the guy being a backup and pinch-hitter. Dusty will then start him against all righties and lefties that the vet has hit fairly well in the past. If the vet has a hot couple of weeks at the plate, he'll have a guaranteed starting job for the rest of the year. I really hope I'm wrong.

Dick Ruthven? You got it! I won many a bar bet on that one. No one seems to remeber him on that team. Kasey I remember he was the fifth starter by the end of the season. Obviously it wasn't Sutcliffe or Eckersley, and I didn't think they handed the erratic Trout the ball on opening day. So I basically narrowed it down to Sanderson or Ruthven, and guessed that the ex-Phillie would get the nod for a Green regime team.

Dick Ruthven?

You are correct! Carmen Fanzone was the last Cub to record the final putout of a no-hitter, since no Cub pitcher has thrown one since Pappas.

No, this feat of Carmen's had nothing to do with his musical talents. Hint: He accomplished the feat in question while playing defense.

Carmen Fanzone went on to play trumpet with the Baja Marimba Band after he left baseball. Here's another Carmen Fanzone trivia question: In 1972 Fanzone did something that no other player in a Cub uniform has done since. What was this feat?

Another piece of interesting George Altman trivia: He played in 3 different professional baseball leagues--he started out playing 3 months with the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro League, played with several major league teams including the Cubs, and finished his career playing baseball in Japan for 7 years.

Attempt Number Two: Hits 2 home runs in 1 game off Sandy Koufax.

Hit a pinch-hit home run in his first All Star Game AB.

First of all, I want to stress that I personally don't want to see Pie, Murton and Cedeno traded. I'd much rather see Baker fired. My basic point is that you should either put your prospects in a position to help your club, or trade them at peak value. Since Baker won't do the former, why not do the latter? If they're not going to get a chance to start for Baker, why not try to deal for another Aramis Ramirez or Derrek Lee? I'm going to assume that the reason you say this plan is financially unfeasible is the cost of playing above-minimum salaries for all 13 non-pitching spots on the 25 man roster. (Since the Cubs have persisted with a 12 man bullpen all year long, I think it's a reasonable assumption that Baker will go that direction next year). I see the financial reasoning behind using guys like Fontenot, Kelton, Bacon and Theriot on the bench. I just don't see Hendry doing it. He will always have room in his budget for the Hollandsworths and Perezes. In a way, the Cubs are hampered by their large budget--small budget teams have no choice but to explore every corner of their farm system for usable talent. The Cubs will probably always have a million or two to spend on their 4th OF and utility IF. It has always been Hendry's SOP to have "veteran insurance" around whenever he's considering giving a rookie substantial playing time. Choi had Karros; Hill had Grudzielanek. You say "If you are planning on using a kid at a certain position, make sure his backup is a kid himself, or perhaps somebody like Jerry Hairston, who Dusty doesn't seem to fond of." But Hendry has never gone without a veteran insurance policy at any position that a rookie was contending for, and, despite the fact Baker's not fond of Hairston, Hairston's still getting more starts than Matt Murton. Neither Hendry or Baker seem to enjoy employing rookies as backups. Earlier this year, Cedeno was doing a good job as a backup infielder. Yet the Cubs decided that they just had to have Enrique Wilson instead. I don't see a team that thinks it's better to go with Wilson over Cedeno taking chances on Kelton, Theriot and Bacon. If a GM has to create some master plan to structure his roster in such a way that it prevents his manager from making bad personnel decisions, he should probably ask himself why he's continuing to employ a manager who keeps making such questionable moves.

If Hendry wants to continue with Baker as manager, he has to develop a plan to trade all non-pitching prospects when their value is at its peak. With the Cubs' budget, Hendry will always be able to afford a washed-up vet "insurance policy," and Baker will always find a way to get that vet the majority of the starts. Then the rookie will be sent down to AAA because it's a bad idea to have him rotting on the bench. If you want Baker as your manager, you need to trade Cedeno, Murton, and Pie this offseason. Either make a full, 100% commitment to Baker and his philosophies, or fire him (I vote for firing him, btw). This means providing Baker with veterans for all starting and bench spots.