What was supposed to happen by the end of May, er, in February, er, in December of 2008 -- you get the idea. The sale of the Chicago Cubs from Sam Zell's Tribune Company has been dragging along at a sloth-like pace for as long as anyone cares to remember. Judging by this past weekend, though, it appears the finishing touches of the sale are coming to fruition.
Zell's group has agreed to sell the Cubs to the Ricketts family -- who made their fortune through TD Ameritrade -- for what is reported to be close to $900 million. The only remaining steps are that the sale must be approved by the rest of the baseball owners and then by a court (because the Tribune Company is operating over Chapter 11 bankruptcy).
The Chicago Cubs were the best offensive team in the National League in 2008. Statements like these are usually regarded as opinions, but it remains an absolute fact. There's no way to argue against it.
In 2009, the Cubs' offense has pretty much sucked. It's fairly tough to argue with that as well. Naturally, Jim Hendry -- the Cubs general manager who decided that 97 regular season wins was somehow a mirage and the ridiculously small three-game playoff sample meant the team needed to get more left-handed in the offseason -- fired hitting coachGerald Perry Sunday. The move reeks of CYA at its very worst, although with no real ownership in place, it's hard to see when Hendry will ever have to be accountable for his mistakes. Still, there's no way Perry was to blame for the '09 offensive woes.
Through the first 36 games of the season, it's been quite the bumpy ride for the Cubs. They've gone through as much adversity as they faced during the entire 97-win campaign that was the 2008 regular season. There have been myriad injuries, a suspension, many players suffering through extended slumps, excessive booing by the fans, bullpen meltdowns, and a much, much tougher division.
And yet, Lou Piniella's troops are 21-15. You know what their record was after 36 games in 2008? An identical 21-15.
Whether it's Steve Trachsel, Corey Patterson, Felix Pie or Rich Hill, the Cubs and Orioles seem to really enjoy talking trades with each other. It makes a bit of sense, considering Jim Hendry and Andy MacPhail worked together as members of the Cubs front office for several years, because they probably feel very comfortable with each other and like many of the same players. The most recent rumor is utility player Ryan Freel.
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Cubs are interested in the services of Freel, who was acquired in the offseason by the Orioles. Freel is a bit frustrated with sitting on the bench for the O's, and he's still owed over $3 million this season.
Sunday night, Milton Bradley pulled up lame on his way to third base after a Ryan Theriot base knock. He clutched his groin and the Cubs immediately removed him from the game -- said to be a precautionary measure. In the short term, the tweaked groin ended up being a blessing in disguise for the Cubs. Reed Johnson was inserted into Bradley's spot, and he made an unbelievable grand-slam-saving catch just a few minutes later.
Moving forward, though, Bradley's injury during the first week of the season is sure to draw the ire of the Cubbie-hating public and many Cubs fans alike. We know about his injury history, after all, and the Chicago media had a feeding frenzy on Jim Hendry when he granted Bradley with a three-year, $30 million contract this past offseason.
FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Chicago Cubs.
A magical regular season that yielded the most victories for the Cubs franchise since 1935 sent them to the postseason for the fourth time in a 11-season span. Unfortunately, 2008 ended the same way 1998, 2003 and 2007 did -- in disappointment. The Cubs head into 2009 hoping to wipe the slate clean and get over any fake curses they are allegedly saddled with.
You know, for trade talks that are supposed to be dead, there is still an awful lot of talk in Chicago about Jake Peavy coming over from the San Diego Padres. The Cubs were involved pretty heavily in talks with the Padres all winter about possibly prying the ace away, but San Diego's asking price was too high, and the Cubs never pulled the trigger.
Of course, just because the Padres didn't deal Peavy during the winter doesn't mean he isn't going to be the first contract on the trading block if San Diego stumbles out of the gate. That's why it was really nice of Peavy to stoke the fires after shutting the Cubs down in Arizona on Sunday.
You know, getting traded once can probably be quite the ordeal for a baseball player. If you've been in a city for a while, you've more than likely bought yourself a home, and maybe you're married with kids so packing up all your stuff and moving across the country can't be easy. Both Aaron Heilman and Garrett Olson have gone through this type of thing recently, as Heilman was sent from New York to Seattle in the J.J. Putz deal, and Olson left Baltimore for Chicago in a trade for Felix Pie only ten days ago.
Well hopefully neither player put down a security deposit on an apartment in either of their new cities because they've both been traded again. This time, for each other.
As baseball's offseason slogs along at a molasses-like pace, the Jake Peavy-to-Cubs rumors just won't die. Whether it's actual reality or just pure conjecture at this point is hard to tell.
What was supposed to happen by the end of May, er, in February, er, in December of 2008 -- you get the idea. The sale of the Chicago Cubs from Sam Zell's Tribune Company has been dragging along at a sloth-like pace for as long as anyone cares to remember. Judging by this past weekend, though, it appears the finishing touches of the sale are coming to fruition. 
The Chicago Cubs were the best offensive team in the National League in 2008. Statements like these are usually regarded as opinions, but it remains an absolute fact. There's no way to argue against it. 
After the Cubs finally broke their crippling eight-game losing streak Tuesday, they made a 
UPDATE: The Cubs ended up 
Sunday night, 
You know, for trade talks that are supposed to be dead, there is still an awful lot of talk in Chicago about 
You know, getting traded once can probably be quite the ordeal for a baseball player. If you've been in a city for a while, you've more than likely bought yourself a home, and maybe you're married with kids so packing up all your stuff and moving across the country can't be easy. Both 
As baseball's offseason slogs along at a molasses-like pace, the 
