Cubs in Winter Ball, Rumors, and More

Well, here's the latest Cubs rumors from yesterday and today.

• Buster Olney says that the Cubs have maxed out their spending this winter.
• Bruce Levine and others have been saying that the Bradley deal should be done around the first of the year, so we'll see what happens soon, I expect the Cubs to make at least 1 more move before the convention.
• Interesting article I found about Jim Hendry's first round picks.
• Jason Stark says that the Dodgers have contacted Adam Dunn. The Cubs, Nationals, Mariners, and Orioles all also have interest.
• Stark adds that the Cubs have believed to be his top choice before the Dodgers entered the mix.
• The Dodgers also have interest in Bobby Abreu. They seem to be interested in a lot of the same guys as the Cubs.
• Former Cub Micheal Barrett has agreed to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training with the Blue Jays.

Some guys in the Cubs system have been playing Winter Baseball in Venezuela, the DR, and Mexico. I decided to check in on some of their stats:

Andres Blanco (VWL)- .280, 2 HR, 25 RBI, 58 Games

Ronny Cedeno (VWL)- .278, 4 HR, 24 RBI, 46 Games

Jake Fox (DWL)- .353, 3 HR, 31 RBI, 3 Games

Sam Fuld (VWL)- .333, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 55 Games

Felix Pie (DWL)- .304, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 20 Games

Jose Ascanio (traded to FLO) VWL- 3-1, 7 SV, 3.10 ERA, 29 IP

Angel Guzman (VWL) - 2-1, 5.54 ERA, 26 IP

Rich Hill (VWL)- 1-2, 6.86 ERA, 21 IP

Carlos Marmol (MWL)- pitched 2 innings allowed 0 runs

J.R. Mathes (VWL)- 2-3, 3.86 ERA, 32.2 IP

The main thing in noticed is that both Rich Hill and Felix Pie have struggled.

I got this Pat Hughes and Ron Santo CD for Christmas and would recommend it if you enjoy listening to Pat and Ron on radio. It plays lots of their funny moments and I enjoyed. Click Here for the link.

Cubs Trivia Answer from Sat.: Only 2 Cubs remain from '03; Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Zambrano.

I'll keep you posted.

Randy Johnson Signs with Giants

Well, Randy Johnson who has been on the Cubs radar all off season is now a member of the Giants. San Fransisco now has a great rotation on paper with Zito, Cain, Johnson, and Lowry. But, I don't think they can hit good enough to finish above 4th in the West.

So without Randy available it seem to me that the Cubs will likely just keep Jason Marquis and have a very solid rotation. Jason really isn't a bad 5th starter.

Cubs Trivia: How many Cubs are still on the team from the last time the Cubs were in the NLCS?
Answer later this weekend.

I'll update you as much as possible this weekend, but I have a very busy one celebrating X-mas with some family today and heading out to Purdue to see the game tomorrow against VU.

DeRosa in for WBC, Trivia

Mark DeRosa of the Cubs has joined team USA for the World Baseball Classic next March. The first workout for team USA will be March 2 and the Team opens up against team Canada on March 7.

Not much going on so how about a little Cubs trivia.

What Cub participated in gymnastics growing up?
Take a guess I'll have the answer tomorrow.

I'll have one last post before a take a holiday break for you tomorrow.
If we ever get any new Cubs rumors, I'll be sure to tell you.
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