Report: Cubs appear to have “a very short list” of serious candidates for manager

Hardball Talk | Oct 11

We heard various reports and speculation that the Cubs were willing to go all out in order to make Joe Girardi their next manager but now that we can cross that possibility off the list it’s time to take a look at the realistic candidates for the job.

CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports that the team “appears to be honing in” on “a very short list” of serious candidates including former Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch and former Indians and Nationals manager Manny Acta both of whom have already interviewed for the vacant position.

Manny Acta?????

You've got to be kidding!

He must have pictures.

Maybe to satisfy the minority requirement?

Justin Verlander has given up only 1 run in 22 innings during the playoffs. The Tigers are 1-2 in those games. Go Figure!

'Rally Bear' banned from Dodger Stadium for six months

He showed up out of nowhere, was ejected in a flash but left an undeniably cheerful feeling in fans' hearts Monday night. Now the Los Angeles Dodgers "Rally Bear" has been slapped with a six-month ban from his home cave — Dodger Stadium.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the man behind the cute-and-cuddly suit was 50-year-old furniture store owner Mark Monninger of Rancho Cucamonga and he was hoping to promote the idea that the Dodgers should have a mascot.

"I'm not trying to promote any organization or cause.... I just want to show fans, this is what is out there, this is someone that can entertain you," he said (latimes.com).

And the harmless stunt seemed to work. The Dodgers did win that night.

Monninger was not arrested, but he faces the possibility should he violate his six-month suspension and show up.

Down 3-to-1 in the NLCS against the Cardinals, it looks like the Dodgers are ready for their winter hibernation anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAytjLwbAQs

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Sox one win from Series after edging Tigers

After an early offensive outburst -- including Mike Napoli's mammoth homer -- the big three of Junichi Tazawa, Craig Breslow and Koji Uehara provided relief both literally and figuratively, and the Red Sox pulled through with a 4-3 victory over the Tigers on Thursday night that leaves Boston one win away from going to the World Series.

[At the time Junichi Tazawa was posted, I thought he would be a good major league pitcher one day and thought we should show some interest. He had the stuff including the mid to upper 90's fastball. I think our scouts along the Asian Rim and Cuba (if we had any) should do a better job of doing what they are supposed to be doing best.]

USA Today's Bob Nightengale reports that the Reds decided a month ago that they will shop Brandon Phillips this winter with "all intents to trade him."

The report comes on the heels of one from John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that stated the club could be interested in moving the second baseman. Phillips had a .706 OPS in 2013, which was his lowest ever as a Red, but Fay indicated that the main reason they'd want to deal him is because he's ruffled some feathers in the organization. The second baseman has four years and $50 million left on his contract.


Source: Bob Nightengale on Twitter Oct 18 - 4:23 PM

What Phillips ruffling feathers ? Who knew ?

July 20, 2013 5:17 pm ET


In a recent feature for Cincinnati Magazine, Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips made some comments that raised eyebrows. Specifically on the contracts of himself and teammate Joey Votto.

Here are the snippets:

“I thought I was gone. I thought that everything I did for this city -- the city that I love -- I thought I wasn't gonna come back.”

-snip-

“I just feel like they didn't have to sign Joey to that contract. He still had two more years on his,” says Phillips. “And for [the front office] to go out there and sign him before they sign me, and they knew I was going to be a free agent?” Phillips shakes his head. “I understand Joey's a good player. He's one of the best players in this game. But I feel like I am too. I told them that this is where I wanted to be. I begged them. I told everybody I want to finish my career here. And then they give someone a contract who didn't ask for nothing?”

-snip-

“To this day, I'm still hurt. Well, I don't wanna say hurt. I'll say scarred. I'm still scarred. It just sucks that it happened,” he says. “For [Castellini] to sign somebody for $200 million, there must be a new vegetable or fruit coming out that we don't know about. For him to do something like that and tell me they didn't have any more money, that's a lie. But what can I do? I just feel like it was a slap in my face.”

-snip-

“But how can someone slap you in the face with all that money?” he finally says, the smile returning to its rightful location. “It's a nice slap in the face.”

Saturday, Phillips was questioned about the comments -- notably the "slap in the face" one, considering he signed a contract that pays him eight figures per season through 2017.

"I have nothing to get off my chest. What did I say wrong? Please tell me, what did I say wrong? I want to know what I said wrong. Please tell me. I want everyone to tell me exactly what did I say that was so wrong?" Phillips said (via USAToday.com).

Well, I don't want to speak for the people up in arms about this, Brandon, but my best guess is that a person who gets paid to play baseball saying a process that ended with a six-year, $72.5-million contract extension was a "slap in the face" made some hard-working folks who make five figures a year a bit offended. Just a guess.

Or there's this: Phillips is a very good baseball player. He's a deserving All-Star, but that's where it stops. Joey Votto is an MVP-caliber, elite-level superstar who is more than two years younger than Phillips.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with being honest, so I'll be honest in return to Phillips. Believing he should be compensated even in the same ballpark as Votto is laughable. Votto is hitting .319/.436/.506. Phillips is at .266/.320/.414. The only stat this season that says Phillips is superior to Votto is RBI, and he has Votto's NL-best on-base percentage to thank for that.

For what it's worth, Votto supported his teammate and said it makes him like Phillips even more -- due to the honesty factor instead of not speaking his mind. And there is something to be said for that. I don't personally have a problem with Phillips' speaking his mind, either, but he's unbelievably overrating his value. He's fairly compensated. I am glad Phillips admitted that it's a "good slap in the face," because anyone can feel free to slap me in the face with over $70 million as many times as they want.

The who knew ? was sarcastic.

Phillips is a pain in the rear end.

rusty2 wrote:The who knew ? was sarcastic.

Phillips is a pain in the rear end.

Oh, I knew it was sarcastic. Just posting a reminder of what probably "ruffled some feathers."

He didn't sign with the Indians, but JOE won't have far to go to see him play:

Cuban star Abreu gets $68M from White Sox in record-setting deal

Cuban first baseman Jose Abreu has come to terms with the Chicago White Sox on a six-year, $68 million contract that is the richest deal ever signed, pending a physical, by an international free agent, besting the six-year, $56 million contract the Rangers gave Yu Darvish in January 2012. Abreu, who will turn 27 at the end of January, is a big-bodied (6-foot-2, 250-plus pounds) first baseman whose only asset is his righthanded bat, but his talent at the plate has earned him the sobriquet “The Cuban Barry Bonds,” with some suggesting that he is one of the best hitters in any country in any league.



Abreu, whose , while contract will not count against the White Sox’ international signing limit, defected in August, established residency in Haiti and was cleared to sign with any major league team in late September. He hit .382/.535/.735 with 13 homers in 42 games in his final season in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, the island’s top league. That season was interrupted by his participation in this year’s World Baseball Classic, during which he hit .360/.385/.760 with three home runs. Abreu’s signature performance, however, came in the 2010-2011 season (Serie Nacional is a winter league). That season, he hit an outrageous .453/.597/.986 with 33 home runs in 293 plate appearances, a performance that former Baseball Prospectus statistician Clay Davenport calculated would have translated to a .380/.493/.806 line in the major leagues and a 70-plus homer pace over a full season (thus the nickname).

Abreu won’t put up those kinds of numbers for the White Sox. Indeed, you can find plenty of scouts who have doubts about his ability to hit major league pitching. However, you can also find plenty who think that Abreu will be an immediate star in the major leagues. Given the recent success of his countrymen Yoenis Cespedes, Yasiel Puig, Kendrys Morales, Yunel Escobar, Jose Iglesias and fellow White Sox Alexei Ramirez and Dayan Viciedo (not to mention Aroldis Chapman, who gives us an idea of the quality of the pitching in Cuba), all of whom came to the majors as younger and less-accomplished players, I find the latter easier to believe.

An extensive (and effusive) look at Abreu by Grantland’s Jonah Keri in February 2012 put Abreu’s ceiling at “Miguel Cabrera” (effectively: the best hitter in baseball) and his more likely major league level at Ryan Howard, who, at the age Abreu is now, hit .268/.392/.582 with 47 home runs. Indeed, the one thing the scouts are nearly unanimous about with regard to Abreu is his power, which is widely described as elite. With Abreu playing 81 games in hitter-friendly U.S. Cellular Field, 30 home runs seems like a lock. The question is how much average and how many walks (and hit-by-pitches, a significant aspect of his on-base percentage in Cuba) will accompany those home runs. Given that, his worst-case scenario might be Pedro Alvarez, who led the National League with 36 home runs this year, but with a .233 average and .296 OBP.

The White Sox could certainly do worse, and if Abreu comes anywhere close to those projections, $11.3 million a year for a middle-of-the-order bat in his age-27 to -32 seasons could look like a bargain, particularly for a team that is desperate for offense. As I wrote in our “Wait ‘Til Next Year” series, Chicago’s offense was the source of all its misery in its just-completed last-place campaign. With the major league free agent pool thinning out due to the new trend toward contract extensions, and few if any expendable trade chits in the system, the White Sox needed to get creative. Incumbent firstbaseman Paul Konerko, coming off a .244/.313/.355 performance, takes $13.5 million off the books this winter as a free-agent and designated hitter Adam Dunn will remove an additional $15 million from the team’s payroll after the 2014 season. Their possible or certain departures and the resulting money saved means Abreu couldn’t be a better fit.

Abreu and 22-year-old rightfielder Avisail Garcia, who hit .304/.327/.447 in 168 plate appearances after coming over from the Tigers in the three-way deal that sent Jake Peavy to Boston, give the White Sox hope that their emerging young rotation, led by lefties Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, and Hector Santiago might actually get some run support in 2014. To have acquired those two pieces before most teams have even lit the hot stove is impressive work by Rick Hahn, who was promoted to general manager a little less than a year ago. With Chicago coming off a 99-loss season in which they were outscored by every team except the Marlins, Abreu’s contract comes with little risk despite its record-breaking value.

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Red Sox reach World Series

Koji Uehara was named the MVP of the American League Championship Series after closing out Junichi Tazawa’s win as the Boston Red Sox advanced to the World Series with a 5-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers in Game 6 on Saturday. Uehara became the first Japanese to win the MVP ...

White Sox introduce slugger Abreu to Chicago

Twenty-six-year-old first baseman signs six-year, $68 million deal

By Scott Merkin / MLB.com | 10/29/2013 3:25 P.M. ET

CHICAGO --

When Ken Williams watched Jose Abreu during an open workout in the Dominican Republic about one month ago, the White Sox executive vice president had an unprecedented reaction.

"Well, he's the only player that I've seen work out and then play in a game that I wanted to give a standing ovation to," said a smiling Williams after Tuesday's press conference to announce Abreu had joined the White Sox via a six-year, $68-million deal.

The 26-year-old from Cuba receives a $10-million signing bonus and is set to be paid $7 million in 2014 and '15, $10 million in '16, $10.5 million in '17, $11.5 million in '18 and $12 million in '19. It's the biggest deal in franchise history in terms of total money.

According to Barry Praver, Abreu's agent, the powerful first baseman can opt out of his contract when he first becomes eligible for arbitration and opt into arbitration despite the White Sox maintaining control over his contract. Abreu becomes the 17th Cuban native to suit up for the White Sox, joining teammates Alexei Ramirez and Dayan Viciedo, who provided valuable insight to general manager Rick Hahn in this recruitment process.

Already known as a plus-plus player on the power end, Williams hearkened back to that Dominican workout, stressing that Abreu will do more than just hit home runs.

"It was the most professional exhibition of hitting and really defensive work the way he went about things. It was professional. It was focused. It was geared to not just impress, but impress the right way," Williams said. "One of the things that we did not want to entertain was a guy who was just one dimensional. This guy is a hitter.

"You will see him hit the ball to right-center field as hard as Dayan Viciedo, for instance. It's a low-maintenance swing that requires very little effort. The power comes easy, comes naturally. It's just an impressive skill set."

It was impressive enough for the White Sox to stay focused on negotiations with Abreu in what Praver described as a competitive two-week process, starting from the time when teams were asked to submit their initial offers. Eight organizations were serious contenders, and Praver mentioned that five finalists made offers in the $60-million neighborhood.

Praver would not confirm if the White Sox were the highest bidder.

"I'm not going to get into the specifics of what deal he took," Praver said. "It was competitive and he had choices."

On Tuesday, Abreu showed off his No. 79 jersey, which is the number he wore in Cuba after his mother, Daisy, picked it for him when he asked her to select a number that would stand out. The 6-foot-3, 258-pound player made his debut with Cienfuegos in the Serie Nacional (Cuban National Series) in 2004 at age 17, and he hit .453 with 33 homers, 93 RBIs, a .597 on-base percentage and .986 slugging percentage in 2010-11.

But it wasn't until Abreu batted .360 with three homers and nine RBIs over six games for Cuba in the 2013 World Baseball Classic that he fully realized Major League Baseball success was a possibility. Abreu liked that the White Sox were interested in him from the beginning and understood that he'd receive unique support from Viciedo and Ramirez during the expected adjustment period.

"I have to give a lot of thanks to the Cuban players who are playing for the White Sox who created this atmosphere where I feel comfortable coming here," said Abreu through translator and White Sox director of public relations Lou Hernandez, with White Sox and Cuban legend Minnie Minoso sitting a few feet in front of them. "Having spoken with them about the White Sox, about the organization, it makes things easier and made the decision easier. I'm thankful to them for giving me that perspective.

"So much has been said about my power and the home runs I hit, but more than hitting home runs, when I'm at the plate, my mindset is to make sure I do what's needed for the team, whatever is needed at that moment, whatever the team needs of me. That's my strategy of play. I'm not thinking of home runs more than anything, it's just delivering what I'm asked to do."

Although Hahn certainly wasn't going to put Chicago's reshaping process squarely on the shoulders of Abreu, the slugger may very well stand at the center of this team's turnaround. He will help the team compete in 2014, but more importantly, he will join the likes of Avisail Garcia and other players still developing in the Minors to give the White Sox a strong young core to sustain success.

This acquisition cost the White Sox money, but not players or Draft picks, a point Hahn brought up during a conversation he had with White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and Williams.

"What we're doing here is reallocating resources we cleared off last summer and devoting them to something we felt was the long-term benefit," Hahn said. "No doubt it is a bit of a leap of faith. But at the end of the day, you have to trust your scouts. You've got to trust your objective evaluation process, find out about the makeup and the fit. And Jerry gets that.

"He's fully cognizant and fully aware of the risk. At the end of the day, he knew this was something that was going to make us stronger for the long term, which is what he wants."

White Sox recognized Abreu's Miggy-level potential

With high hopes, Chicago signs Cuban slugger to six-year, $68 million contract

Phil Rogers By Phil Rogers | Archive10/29/2013 7:00 P.M. ET

CHICAGO --

There were no screaming headlines when the Chicago White Sox traded for Paul Konerko, nor when they promoted Magglio Ordonez from Triple-A one August or when they selected Auburn University first baseman Frank Thomas in the 1989 Draft.

But sometimes the excitement comes before the first swing of the bat. That certainly was the case when the White Sox announced the signing of Cuban first baseman Jose Abreu before a packed house at U.S. Cellular Field's Conference and Learning Center on Tuesday.

How crowded was it? Between reporters, lawyers, friends of Abreu, White Sox officials and invited club employees, there were more than 100 in the room.

There wasn't this large of a group present when scouts and executives gathered for the 26-year-old slugger's two-day showcase earlier this month at the Yankees' facility in the Dominican Republic, and that's saying a lot, because Abreu attracted multi-person delegations from most of the 30 franchises.

It's a sign of Abreu's potential to generate numbers like Konerko and Ordonez -- if not Thomas and Miguel Cabrera -- that White Sox general manager Rick Hahn identified in marking him a must-have player, ultimately signing the slugger to a six-year contract worth $68 million.

Expected to hit third or fourth for Robin Ventura, Abreu will become the first No. 79 in team history and third in Major League history, behind pitchers Justin De Fratus and Jean Machi.

"I'd like to thank the White Sox for allowing me to wear 79,'' Abreu said through an interpreter. "The story behind the number is that I asked my mom to pick a number for me. She identified a number that people would remember who 79 was, what 79 had done on the field. So my mother picked the number. I wear it for her.''

A right-handed hitter who will probably be listed at 6-2, 250-260 pounds, Abreu played five seasons in Cuba's Serie Nacional, and was introduced to some North American fans in an article written by Jonah Keri for ESPN's Grantland website. The headline on that February 2012 story was: "The Best Hitter You've Never Heard Of,'' with the subhead: "Jose Abreu is putting up godlike numbers in the closed-off world of Cuba.'' Other fans may have witnessed his performance in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, in which he went 9-for-25 with 3 home runs, 6 runs and 9 RBIs in six games for Cuba's team.

Because the ballparks are smaller, the pitching pool not as deep and the season much shorter, there is no apples-to-apples comparison between baseball in Cuba and baseball in the American League Central. But we can say this for sure: Abreu out-hit Yoenis Cespedes and Yasiel Puig in his native country, and both have been Major League sensations.

In Abreu's best season, 2010-11, he batted .453 with a .597 on-base percentage, .986 slugging percentage, 33 home runs and 93 RBIs, and he only played in 66 games after missing 23 with bursitis in his shoulder.

No wonder seven other teams are believed to have gone into the final round of bidding against the White Sox, with the Red Sox and Rangers reportedly among the most aggressive.

Hahn says he and his front office staff identified Abreu as the one free agent who could help the White Sox patch up the team that lost 99 games in '13, with the potential to remain in his prime throughout his six-year contract.

Team owner Jerry Reinsdorf's affinity for Minnie Minoso prompted the team's signing of a handful of Cuban players in the last decade, with Jose Contreras and Orlando Hernandez on the 2005 championship team and current players Alexei Ramirez and Dayan Viciedo. Reinsdorf authorized an aggressive pursuit of Abreu, which included firsthand scouting from former White Sox GM and current executive vice president Ken Williams.

This was Hahn's first major deal, and he expressed his interest early to agents Barry Praver, Scott Shapiro and Bart Hernandez and stayed in touch, upping the ante several times before agreeing to terms two weeks ago. "There were times you had doubts about the ability to get this done,'' Hahn admitted. "But we stayed regularly in touch with them and never felt in the dark. That helped my level of anxiety.''

This is not to say that the anxiety has gone away. There are skeptics out there that point to flaws in Abreu's mechanics and so-called "slider-speed'' bat. They suggest that he will struggle to succeed against pitchers who throw in the high-90s and have the ability to command an array of breaking pitches.

Hahn says there is "a calculated risk'' associated with the signing. But he quietly dropped a reference to the "Davenport Translations'' during his news conference, which is code for: "Are you kidding me? This guy is the next Miguel Cabrera.''

Clay Davenport, a co-founder of Baseball Prospectus, devised a system to project Major League performance based on stats from other leagues. He nailed his projection on Cespedes' rookie season with the Athletics, so why not let him take a crack at Abreu?

The Davenport numbers for that white-hot 2010-11 season suggest that Abreu would have been capable of putting up this slash line in the Major Leagues: .381/.495/.809. He wasn't as good the next season, but still hit .394 with 35 home runs in 87 games for Cienfuegos.

Hernandez, an agent with experience as a Minor League player, cites Andres Galarraga and, yes, the Tigers' Cabrera, for Abreu's potential. Both Hahn and Hernandez praise Abreu for being an intelligent hitter, not just a slugger.

"To me, he's the best hitter who has ever come out of Cuba,'' Hernandez said. 'He's as accomplished as you can get. He has a fundamentally sound approach, very balanced at the plate, and he's a smart hitter.''

Hahn says he doesn't expect Abreu's bat to put the White Sox back together again after a slow, steady descent from the '05 World Series. He's a core piece, just like right fielder Avisail Garcia (acquired from Detroit in the three-team Jake Peavy trade). The task will now become filling in the holes around the new guys in the middle of the order.

Hahn made Abreu his first signature signing because Reinsdorf wants to compete with the Tigers in the AL Central. Life around U.S. Cellular Field just got a lot livelier, and that wasn't going to happen if the White Sox didn't take some risks.

If they were right about good ol' No. 79, the return will be enormous.

It's early! The season has not started yet! He hasn't been on Cellular Field turf!

As I figured, Abreu's comparisons to Frank Thomas are already starting to make the rounds.

I think the comparisons to Thomas may be warranted but the comparisons to Miggy are a bit of a stretch in my opinion. I really believe that Abreu is a .300 , 30 doubles, 30 homers, 100 rbis type of hitter even for the major leagues. I'd be disappointed if he weren't.