Chicago Tribune Live talks Cubs, Full Recap of Sport Central

David Kaplan and company talked about the Milton Bradley trade on Chicago Tribune Live on Comcast Sports Net.

• David Haugh wonders what the Cubs are doing this off season saying that the moves make no sense.
• Haugh wonders if he will stay healthy.
• Kap says he wishes they wouldn't have traded DeRosa.
• They talked about how Bradley is a good hitter IF he stays healthy, noting that the if is a big IF.
• Hough also mentions the Cubs chemistry. Kaplan replied by saying that all of Bradley's former teammates call him a good teammate.
• Kap is the latest to report that Fukudome and Johnson will platoon in CF.
• He says that we are looking at a pay roll of about 140.
• Kaplan also says that if the new ownership approves the Cubs will go after Peavy again.
• The Cubs have trimmed off enough money in the DeRosa and Marquis trades to pay for DeRosa.
• Dave Haugh says he doesn't think that the Cubs have made progress this off season.
• Kap says Joey Gathright fits in only as a 5th outfielder.

By the way, the Marquis deal may be finalized tomorrow according to Cubs.com.

We move from Kaplan's TV show to his radio show.

• The first caller on Sports Central said that Milton Bradley is not a team player. Dave argued that the caller has no idea and says that Bradley's former teammates love him. David Kaplan said that he would call him a "hothead" but not call him "not a team player.
• Kap says the big question with him is will he stay healthy.
• The next caller asked Kap to give him a grade on Jim Hendry for his tenor as GM. The caller would give him a C.
• Dave says he could have had 4 playoffs in 6 years if the Cubs would have made it in 2004.
• The caller doesn't like the contract Jim gave Alfonso Soriano. The caller says he would love to have Manny Ramirez's bat.
• Kap says he would give Hendry a B+ saying he lowered the grade because of the playoff failure and the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
• The 3rd caller likes the Bradley signing to add flare in the clubhouse.
• The 4th caller lives in Dallas and says he never heard any complaints from any players in Texas and says he's exited about the move.
• Kap pleads for everyone to just give Milton a chance.
• They replayed the Mark DeRosa interview from Friday night. It is an awesome interview. You can read my recap of it here, or listen to the full interview here.

Next, Aaron Miles was live on the show with Kaplan. Here's what he had to say:

• Kap asked what was going through Miles's mind when he found out he was going to the Cardinals' arch rivals. Miles says he's looking forward to playing at Wrigley Field for a team that has a chance to do great things.
• Miles was told he would be considered for the second base job and says he can play lots of positions and switch hit. Aaron says at different times during year, he could be in different roles.
• Miles says that Tony LaRusa was a great manager and knew that when Aaron got non-tendered again there was a good chance he would be leaving.
• Kap asked what position he would play and where he would bat in the order if Lou left it up to him. Miles says he would play second base and like to hit in the top of the order but says he can bat anywhere and will be happy in any role.
• Dave brought up that Miles has pitched a little bit. Aaron says it's a bittersweet feeling to pitch as a position player.
• In spring of 2000 Miles came home from dinner and 2 masked gun men came in to his room and wanted his money. His teammates called the police and they arrived just in time. Miles said he was held hostage for about 30 minutes. Then he got into a struggle for the gun and got punched and bit by this masked man. The cops came in and shot him 6 times. True story, click here for the full story.
• Kap asked who in the Cardinal locker room hates the Cubs the most. Aaron said the it's probably Tony LaRusa.
• He says all the players on both sides love the rivalry but says it lives and dies with the managers.
• Miles will be at the Cubs Convention.

Ken Rosenthal from Fox Sports was the next guest on the show to talk baseball:

• Ken says he loves Milton Bradley but just wonders if he can stay healthy playing right field. He says fans are going to like his fire and his OPS.
• Rosenthal says it may be a challenge for Sweet Lou to leave Bradley alone and let him do his job.
• Bradley's primary goal is to win. He says you can say the same things about Lou that you can say about Milton Bradley, that's why some people consider it a dangerous situation.
• Kap asked how Rosenthal would handicap where the Cubs are today compared to the end of the season. Ken says he likes where they are but he understands the criticism.
• He says the main reason that the Cubs traded DeRosa is to get more left handed and be more of a balanced offense.
• Kap asked about Peavy. Rosenthal says the odds of a Peavy deal to the Cubs are about 10%.
• He thinks that the Cubs may test the market for another starting pitcher but doesn't think they will pay big money for a starter like Derrek Lowe, but if the ownership change happens, a lot of things could change.
• Rosenthal says that the AL Central is a difficult division to pick and says that the Indians with Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa will have a chance.
• Kap notes that the other teams in the NL Central haven't been to active.
• Ken says that we should keep an eye on the Brewers. He expects them to be active in the coming weeks.
• He also thinks that the Cardinals could add a few more pitchers.

Kap took a few more calls:

• The first caller doesn't see how the Cubs are going with Miles and Fontenot as the every day second basemen. He thinks that the Cubs might have something else up their sleeve. Kap says that Fontenot will get a chance to win a job.
• The next caller asked if the door is totally closed on Jake Peavy. Kap says that the door is closing but not totally closed. The Cubs are not going to do a 6 for 1 deal.

Well, that is it for today! I'll have more updates tomorrow!

Just Keep on rooting for the Cubs!

Mark DeRosa on Sports Central, More Cubs Rumors

Last night former Cubs second baseman Mark DeRosa joined David Kaplan on WGN radio to talk about being traded to the Indians. Here's the highlights:

• DeRosa said that on one hand he's disappointed and said he didn't even know how much he was going to love Chicago when he signed.
• Mark was on the golf coarse when he got the call to say that he was traded. DeRo said that he followed the whole Peavy sage online and says he thought his time in Chicago would continue when the Peavy trade fell through.
• He said that when he saw that Jim was calling him he knew he got traded.
• Mark is exited about playing 3rd base with the Indians.
• Kap asked if DeRosa would ever come back to the Cubs if he got offered a contract. Mark sounded like he definitely would.
• He said that Lee, Lilly, Dempster, and other team mates have called him since the trade.
• Mark says he thinks he did his job for 2 years.
• Overall I would say DeRosa was very disappointed.

I'm very sad that DeRosa is leaving and even more upset after listening to Mark talk to Kap.

Well, here's other Cubs rumors for today:

• The Cubs seem set to officially sign Milton Bradley in the coming weeks.
• The Tribune says that Ryan Dempster would welcome Bradley with open arms.
• Bruce Levine expects the Jason Marquis trade to be made official on Sunday or Monday.
• Levine thinks there is an 80% chance that the Peavy deal will get done.
• Players Bruce is hearing could be involved include Wellington Castillo, Jeff Stevens, Kevin Hart, and Josh Vitters.
• Kaplan mentioned on Sports Central last night that the Cubs are interested in signing Rich Aurillia to back up 1st and 3rd base.
• The Cardinals were prepared to offer Aaron Miles about the same as what he got with the Cubs but the more sincere interest by Cub management drew him to the Cubs.

I'll keep you posted.

A look at the numbers; DeRosa, Miles, Fontenot

Let's check out the stats and see how much of a downgrade the Cubs have made at the second base position and see if Miles or Fontenot is the way to go.

Mark DeRosa:
Career: .279 BA, 69 HR, 352 RBI, .422 SLG, .348 OBP
2008: .285 BA, 21 HR, 87 RBI, .481 SLG, .376 OBP

Aaron Miles:
Career: 16 HR, 170 RBI, .289 BA, .329 OBP, .364 SLG
2008: 4 HR, 31 RBI, .317 BA, .355 OBP, .398 SLG

Mike Fontenot:
Career: .290 BA, .369 OBP, .457 SLG, 12 HR, 69 RBI
2008: 9 HR, 40 RBI, .305 BA, .395 OBP, .514 SLG

So by the numbers Fontenot look better than Miles, DeRosa is obviously a big loss and so far I think Jim Hendry's off season is a major fail, losing 2 fan favorites in Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa. He's going to have to add 2 major players to make this a good off season.

Here's the a few Cubs rumors:

• Chico Harlan of the Washington Post believes that the Cubs will win the sweepstakes for Bradley.
• Catcher Josh Bard had signed with the Red Sox. He also had an offer from the Cubs.
• Buster Olney says the Cubs are making off season mistakes.
• Jon Heyman ranked the top 20 free agents that remain unsigned. He ranks Milton Bradley number 2 only behind Bobby Abreu. Adam Dunn was 6th and Manny Ramirez was 13th on the list.

CUBS MAKING BIG MOVES.....DEROSA TRADED!

The Cubs are making moves left and right! Here's the latest:

• The Cubs have signed switch hitting infielder Aaron Miles to a 2 year deal. Miles is 32 years old, batted .317 with 15 doubles, 4 HR, and 31 RBIs in 2008 for the Cardinals. Miles can play tons of positions. He appeared in 7 different ones last year: 85 games at second, 27 at shortstop, 11 games at 3rd, 4 in left, 1 in center and 1 in right. Miles played for the White Sox and Rockies before becoming a Cardinal in 2006.
• Bad News if you like Mark DeRosa; the Cubs have traded him to the Clevland Indians for Jeff Stevens, John Gaub, and Chris Archer. All 3 are minor league pitchers.
• Here's the stats for Stevens, Gaub, and Archer.
• The Marquis trade to the Rockies for Vizcaino is a done deal and will be announced sometime over the next few days according to sources including Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio and David Kaplan of Comcast Sports Net.
• Levine thinks that with the money the Cubs will save in the Marquis deal they will end up using on Milton Bradley and goes as far as calling it a "done deal".
• I'm also hearing the the Cubs will rework the Peavy talks using the players they got in the DeRosa deal and adding other prospects.

I don't know what to think about the DeRosa deal. I really like DeRo, but if it is what the Cubs have to deal to end up with Bradley and Peavy then that's fine. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. I expect either Fontenot or Miles will be the starting second baseman in 2009.

I'll keep you posted.

UPDATE 2:25 CT- David Kaplan says that he thinks bringing in prospects for the DeRosa is the start of the getting the Jake Peavy deal set up. He also reports that the Marquis deal is not done yet because Jason is out of the country.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that since the Cubs have traded for 3 pitching prospects and traded away our 5th starter, the Peavy deal could be back on.

Kap had Paul Sullivan on the show to talk about the Cubs news.

• Sullivan says that he thinks it's amazing how everything is happening at once.
• Sully says it seems that Miles could move into the leadoff spot.
• He hates to see DeRosa go.
• Kap asked about Milton Bradley. Paul said that he talked to Frank Thomas and Frank said he was intense and smart and just needs to be left alone. If Bradley can stay healthy and out of trouble this could work out good. Paul is willing to give Bradley the benefit of the doubt.
• Paul says he sees no need for Rich Aurillia. He thinks Pie and Cedeno will be traded and would like to see another lefty in the bullpen.

The Cubs have a conference call coming up, so I'll keep you posted.