The National League Central race ended last night at around 10 p.m. Central time when word started to circulate that the Cardinals had added the most valuable player in the history of baseball. Mark DeRosa, the 34 year old utility player that the Cubs traded to Cleveland on New Year’s Eve (and who a disturbing amount of Cubs’ fans have been pining for ever since), was traded from Cleveland to St. Louis for 23-year old reliever Chris Perez and a player to be named later.
This should provide some interesting moments when DeRosa shows up two Fridays from now when the Cardinals come to Wrigley (July 10-12). For an inexplicable (and largely humiliating) reason Cubs’ fans kept giving DeRosa standing ovations when he and the Indians were in last weekend.
Look, I like the guy, too. I think he’s a pretty solid player and valuable because he can play several positions, and I still think Jim Hendry’s reasons for trading him (get more lefthanded, free up money to sign Milton Bradley and maybe go after Jake Peavy) were dubious, at best. But get over it.
Today in St. Louis he played left field (his bat is average at best if you use him in the outfield or third base, it plays best at second), and batted CLEAN UP. Oh, for chrissakes, how are the Cardinals in first place?
DeRosa went 0-3 and the Cardinals lost. So, Armaggeddon has been held off for at least one more day.
The Cubs and Brewers had both been after DeRosa, as the Cubs have had gaping holes at third and second ever since E-ramis fell down and went boom eight weeks ago. The Brewers are not as enamored with Casey McGehee as Ron Santo.
The Cardinals landed DeRosa because they were willing to part with the promising Perez, a player they were unwilling to discuss in trades for DeRosa or Matt Holliday as recently as last week. Milwaukee doesn’t have a comparable young player, and the guy the Indians would likely equate with Perez from the Cubs would be Jeff Samardzjia.
But hey, at least the Cubs still have Aaron Miles!
Alright, I need to clear up the Gordon Wittenmyer post from yesterday morning.
When Wittenmyer was the only reporter to have the quotes from Piniella, “You’re not a ballplayer, you’re a piece of shit.” And Bradley, “I have too much respect for you to respond to that.” I wondered just who could have told our lilly-white friend what was said.
I got a message from someone who had been at the game who saw Gordon scurry over to Bradley after he had left the rest of the media without comment.
However, as I’ve since learned, the only player who despises Gordon as much as Carlos Zambrano is Bradley, who feels burned over the whole “Cubs fans are racist” stories Gordon tried to stir up in April.
So it’s not likely that Milton told him what was said, and that’s my bad. I love piling on Gordon as much as possible, but not when he doesn’t warrant it, because you don’t have to, he’ll provide a steady stream of smarminess.
So how did he get his quotes? He didn’t get them from anyone in Sox clubhouse. He got them from another reporter that someone in the Sox clubhouse told. Most likely, the clubbies thought the exchange was funny, but it got back to Gordon, and got into the paper. And worse, the writer who told Gordon, most likely didn’t expect to see it reported in the paper Saturday morning, either.
This isn’t the first time Gordon has taken something that someone told someone else “off the record” and ran with it when he heard it. It’s like he said, “Hey, they told YOU it was off the record, not me.”
He’s not alone in own newsroom with it. Chris DeLuca did it in his column for Saturday the one that started:
Here’s everything you need to know about Milton Bradley. The setting was the opening homestand of the season. Bradley was expressing his unhappiness in Chicago during a contentious session with reporters. As he walked away, the oft-injured Bradley was asked: How do you feel?
”I feel like 30 million bucks,” Bradley said over his shoulder, not missing a beat.
That is the quote the Cubs never wanted you to see.
Here’s the ironic thing about DeLuca’s quote. He wasn’t there, wasn’t in the clubhouse, when Milton supposedly said it. But when you read that column, it sounds like he was standing right here helping Milton get the label on his jock straight in the front.
It’s not that unlike the Ryan Dempster thing from a couple of weeks ago. Dempster had an understanding with the media who cover the Cubs on a steady basis that his daughter’s health was a personal issue and that they wouldn’t report it. Then, out of the blue, Gordon decides it’s time to “break” the story, screwing the other three or four reporters who knew what he knew, when he knew it, but had agreed to keep a lid on it out of respect for Dempster, and doing in such a way that he forced Dempster to play along, or have it reported without any quotes from Dempster in it.
Regardless, I’m the one who put two (Gordon’s quotes) and two (someone seeing him trying to act as Milton’s sensitive confidant) and got what turned out to be five.
When I’d actually accused Gordon of buying a load of crap from Bradley, I was wrong. He was taking an off the record quote and running with it.
And when I think of him doing that, I picture Frasier Crane holding up a pair of scissors and running willy-nilly around the bar at Cheers to show how daring he could be when he wanted to.
You don’t “get it.” He brings valuable intangible clubhouse presence, which your statfaggery can’t compute. That’s why he has played for five teams in the last six years; he’s spreading the joy.
Dear God you’d have thought the Cardinals got Ted Williams based on the explosion in the Cubs blogsosphere.
I’m actually kind of happy the Cards gave up 4 years of Chris Perez, aged 24, for 4 months of Mark DeRosa, aged 34. Here I thought only Hendry made dumbass trades…
I love that “30 million” quote.
Woohoo! I got mentioned in a story! Hey Lou, when’s my chance to work in the bullpen? I can walk people and not get anyone out just as good as Ass-can-io …
When St. Louisans aren’t rockin out to Sublime or Collective Soul, they jam out to this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rESCt1Te1VY Such Magic.
I can’t wait for my ode to my new boyfriend.
…the three pitching prospects the Cubs got for DeRosa are pitching exceptionally well in the minors and could very well be the core of the starting rotation in three to five years…when they will be striking out Cardinals’ pitchers and whomever LaRussa bats ninth…
Sorry Spell-check. No room for you up here while I’m dominating.
The Cubs are 1.5 games out of me.
The NL Central race might not be over, but it’s sure as shit over for the Cubs.
Your mother’s a game and a half out of last place.
And 3.5 games out of me.
The NL Central race might not be over, and it’s sure as shit not over for the Cubs, or the Pirates or anybody.
A: a third straight NL Central Division title
Q: what is completely worthless, when you don’t have a well constructed roster, a shitty pen, crappy hitters, and a manager who has given up hope, all of which contributes to a third straight postseason fail?
Sloth is this a riddle?
Jim, did you have the clause in the DeRosa trade that the Indians owe the Cubs 2 first-rounders if they trade him back to the NL Central?
No, point is, it isn’t going to matter if we somehow manage to win 85 games and end up on top inthe Central. Do you really see us beating the Phils, the Dodgers, or God help us, the Rox?
Is this a riddle?
Er — what they said.
I must say, me running around with scissors is one funny TV comedy moment.
I find your commentary insightful and you seem to know a lot about baseball and in particular the Cubs. But all of this back and forth about the sources and whereabouts of baseball beat reporters in Chicago- it’s getting old. I hate Marriotti and Whittenmyer much as the next guy but isn’t it about time that you focus on: 1. Zambrano’s headcase; 2. Hendry and Piniella’s lack of passion; 3. the Cubs anemic offense; 4. how much Gregg sucks; 5. the Cub’s lack of any true leadership in the clubohouse. Oh and please continue your commentary on how over-rate DeRosa is. Thank you.
Nope. From now on it’s all Wittenmyer all the time.
Let’s discuss what he had for breakfast this morning. Muselix. Can you believe it, what a douche?
1. Carlos isn’t any more of less of a headcase than he’s ever been.
2. Lou had enough fire to send his right fielder home during a game on Friday. I don’t know how a GM demonstrates fire, short of hitting Aaron Miles over the head with a shovel.
3. The anemic offense scored 17 runs in the three games before Sunday.
4. He sucks nearly as much as Kerry Wood has this year.
5. I’ll check with Sox clubhouse guys and let you know.
You’re welcome.
Your mom’s a utility player.
I’m an annoying 12 year old douche.
Your mom’s a douche. You are a douche bag.
I need to crawl out from under this rock I’ve been hiding.
is too good for these ****ing losers.
Who in the sweet name of fuck is Ross Ohlendorf?
Yeah, this team’s a playoff team. They’re no better than the Pirates.
Andy doesn’t post enough. He’s funny as shit and makes maybe 3 posts a week. There’s a blog I stumble across on yahoo and that guy makes like 8 posts a day. Plus an update on all the minor league teams.
Your mom’s an infrequent blogger.
Here we go again, getting shut out by Jeff Suppan!
Carlos Zambrano did not drive in enough runs to beat the Brewers by himself.
What more do you need? Waive him!