Radio Recaps: Johnson, Holly, and Stoney

Reed Johnson was on 670 the Score with Mully and Hanley. Here's what he had to say:

• Reed says that the beard is still going strong, but it could be trimmed soon.
• Johnson has been working out with Aaron Rowand with the Giants, getting up at 4:30 AM to work out!
• He prepares himself to play everyday. He doesn't sit there and whine and pout about being apart of a platoon.
• Johnson is still waiting for a chance to start on a daily bases.
• Reed thinks that luck is when preparation meets opportunity.
• It sounds like he is fighting hard to get a starting job for the Cubs.
• It took awhile for Reed to get past the playoffs series. "It is something all of us still think about." "I think the experience was good for us."
• Johnson says it would be unfair to say that the players weren't as crushed as the fans that the Cubs were swept out of the playoffs.
• Reed thinks the Cubs are a better team that they were last year as far as experience and talent.
• He says the Cubs felt like they were finished after they lost Game 1 of the LA series. He says the Cubs need to realize that it's a 5 game series.
• The Cubs need to find a way to "stay hot" rolling into the playoffs in 2009.

Steve Stone talked Chicago baseball with Waddle and Silvy on ESPN 1000. Recap:

• The DeRosa trade baffles Steve.
• Jeff Stevens has a chance to make it in the bullpen this year.
• Stone doesn't think Bako is a better back-up catcher than Henry. (I totally agree.)
• Steve points out that Bradley is not one of the best run producers around.
• The rotations is strong.
• He doesn't think that Marmol will have any problems in the 9th.
• Stoney says the questions are; What do you do with Samardzija?, What do you do with Heilman?, and What do you do with Marshall?

Todd Hollandsworth also joined Waddle and Silvy:

• Todd hopes to fill Dan's shoes or even do a little better in his role as pre-game show analyst.
• Hollandsworth says that he will not be wearing Dan's train hat.
• He says in all sports the playoffs are a different animal all together. The season starts over and anything can happen.
• Jim Hendry wanted to go out and shuffle the deck a little bit this off season.
• Todd says that this team is not built around Milton Bradley. He is just being added to a good core to put it over the top.
• The team will miss Mark DeRosa's intangibles.
• Todd expects Kosuke to improve. He hopes he was able to improve his swing. He wants to see him stay back on his back leg.
• He think the key to the team is Kosuke Fukudome.
• Todd points out that Milton and DeRosa's numbers are very similar.

Cubs talk on the Radio...

Steve Stone was on 670 the score today to talk about the Bradley signing with Dan Hampton and Laurence Holmes. Recap:

• Stoney says that Bradley's 2 best years were when he was mostly just a DH.
• He also points out that Bradley has been on the DL 8 times. He doesn't think Milton will hold up because he will have to play in the field and play in cold weather at the start of the year.
• Steve says that Milton's been with 7 teams for a reason.
• He said to keep in mind that he hit 68 points higher in Texas than he did on the road last year.
• Bradley had never been a run producer.
• He hits better from the right side.
• The guys mentioned that they are concerned about the Cubs clubhouse with guys like Bradley, Soriano, and Zambrano.
• Stone says winning cures everything in the clubhouse.
• He reports that the Peavy situation is still hanging out there.
• Steve takes a look at the guys the Cubs got in the DeRosa trade and says Archer could be a 4th or 5th starter somewhere down the road, Gaub is a left who throws hard but has had a lot of shoulder issues. Stevens will be the guy who could move into the 7th inning role.
• Steve thinks Samardzija will go down to AAA for some work and some starts to start the year.
• Steve thinks the Cubs will have a double digit lead in the division in the middle of the season and then tons of teams will want to trade with them in July before the deadline and the Cubs can give up less for a guy to help them down the stretch and into October.
• Holmes doesn't think that the Cubs have strong defense at the middle infield positions with Fontenot, Miles, and Theriot.
• Stone would much rater have DeRosa on the field at second than Miles.
• He thinks the Cubs will miss DeRosa's leadership and flexibility as well as his bat.

Rangers beat writer Richard Durrett was also on the Hamp and Holmes show. Recap:

• Durrett says the Cubs are getting a guy who works hard and treats his job very seriously.
• Richard was surprised that Bradley got a 3 year deal.
• Durrett thinks that Bradley has learned a lesson from some of his experiences.
• Richard says that the Royals broadcaster was saying thing about him and his emotions got the best of him. He says getting emotional is part of his personality. He thinks that the Royal broadcaster situation got overblown.
• Durrett says he would put Milton on his team.
• Durrett says that he only did interviews for the paper every once in awhile and he doesn't trust people in the media. He thinks if Bradley talked more the fans would like him more.
• Hamp mentioned that Dusty Baker went to dinner with Milton 3-4 years ago and Baker came out of the dinner saying that he didn't want Bradley on his team.
• Durrett says Bradley is a better man now but he thinks he will have some kind of incident in Chicago.
• Richard said that Ron Washington was a good fit as Bradley's manager.

Victor Rojas, former voice of the Rangers, now of the MLB Network, joined Mike Murphy on his show on 670 to talk about what Cubs fans can expect from Bradley.

• Murph asked what the Cubs fans will see from Milton Bradley this year.
• Rojas says he's never seen a guy who "grinds out his at bats" like Bradley.
• Victor thinks that Bradley is best suited for right field to play on an every day basis.
• He said he has a good arm and tracks balls well.
• Victor said that guys love him in the clubhouse because he treats the other team as the enemy.
• He thinks Milton will fit in nicely in the clubhouse. He says the only questions are dollars, years, and health.

Statman John Dewan was also on Murph's show and gave the top 10 reasons why he really likes what the Cubs are doing this off season. Here they are:

1. The payroll.
2. The 3 young pitcher (from DeRosa trade)- it's always good to stock up on young pitchers.
3. The young pitchers could be added into a Jake Peavy deal.
4. Milton Bradley is not too shabby as an outfielder and says that he is an average outfielder.
5. Fukudome or Pie will be replaced with Bradley. Bradley has a much better OPS than Pie and Kosuke.
6. Wrigley Field is a better hitters park than Texas.
7. The Cubs now have 3 rightys in the starting lineup and 2 more guys coming off the bench in Gathright and Miles who can bat lefty coming off the bench.
8. Mike Fontenot- DeRosa 34 years old, Fontenot 29 years old
9. Mike Fontenot- DeRosa -8 at 2B last year, Fontenot +11 on Defense.
10. Mike Fontenot- DeRosa lower projected OPS than Fontenot.

Well that's it for now, but I'll have more Cubs Stuff later.