| Dennis Hobein. 5th July, 2005 - 4:23 pm
 Just like a Wall Street Investment Executive digging into financials and projection reports, the Cubs brass will be looking at their “portfolio” and making big-money decisions in the next few weeks. With the trade deadline looming, the Cubs are somewhat in “no-man’s land”. They are neither strong buyers nor sellers at this point.
Currently, the Cubs are barely in the Cardinals rare-view mirror at 11.5 games out, and have 4 teams in front of them for the Wild Card spot, and are 5 games out.
The Cubs recently added two high-profile players to the roster without making a trade. Kerry Wood and Mark Prior have been reactivated and the Cubs are near full-strength. One would think those additions would have provided a spark to a team that desperately needs one. Not the case. The Cubs have dropped 5 straight, including being swept at home by the Nationals, and being shut-out in Atlanta last night. In fact, the Cubs haven’t held a lead in any of their last four games. So, it appears that a shake-up is indeed in the near future. The question is, who will be punching a ticket out of Wrigley, and who will be calling the “Friendly Confines” their new home?
Perhaps the most talked about trade possibility in Chicago is that of erratic Center Fielder Corey Patterson. Put simply, Cubs fans are tired of his complete lack of discipline at the plate and his reluctance to cut back on his swing. Currently, he is batting .235 with only 24 RBI’s. He has struck out an astonishing 81 times in 306 at-bats, while only drawing 16 walks. Put another way, he is not putting the ball in play 26% of the time, and is striking out 5 times more frequently than walking. This for a player who’s best asset is his speed. It is no secret that Dusty Baker is fed up with Patterson’s approach, and his inability to make any adjustment at the plate. In fact, Baker is currently putting him on the bench for an undetermined amount of time. Although Patterson’s statistics look bad on paper, there will be plenty of teams interested in a speedy, left-handed, center-fielder with some pop.
Assuming the Cubs are indeed players in the trade market, there are a couple glaring holes they will be looking to fill. First and foremost is a lead-off hitter. One possibility could be Florida’s Juan Pierre. He has struggled this year at the plate for the Marlins, and just like Corey Patterson, their manager has been aggravated by his lack of production. However, Pierre has a track record of being a very valuable lead-off hitter, and a change of scenery may be all he needs to get going. A Patterson for Pierre swap certainly would make sense for the Cubs.
Another hole the Cubs will be looking to fill is bullpen help. With Wood and Prior coming off the DL, the bullpen has been bolstered by Rusch and Mitre leaving the rotation. However, the ‘pen is still a major weakness for this team. Joe Borowski was shipped to Triple “A” on assignment because hitters were teeing off on him. Ryan Dempster is still very much an unproven closer. Mike Remlinger isn’t the pitcher he was once. The rest of the pen is full of players who have very little big-league experience. Namely, Michael Wuertz, Will Ohman, and Robert Novoa. One constant for post-season teams is a strong experienced bullpen.
In the past few years, the Cubs have made some moves that have changed the complexion of their season. The Aramis Ramirez deal of 2003 comes to mind. This year, the Cubs may need to make a couple trades if they want to be in contention come September. As it stands, this Cubs team has been under-achieving thus far, and have played inconsistent baseball. They are still a team that relies far too much on the long ball. With their team near full-health and Nomar recovering faster than expected, the Cubs time to make a move in the standings is now. |
