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<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec--><!--sizeo:5--><!--/sizeo-->Ticket to minors looms for Cubs' Joey Gathright<!--sizec--><!--/sizec-->
May 8, 2009
BY GORDON WITTENMYER gwittenmyer@suntimes.com
HOUSTON -- It took a month of on-again, off-again baseball, with their depth stretched to the limit much of that time, for the Cubs to give up the luxury of a speed specialist for a better-balanced bench.
To make room on the roster for pitcher Randy Wells to start tonight, the Cubs plan to send speedy outfielder Joey Gathright to the minors this afternoon -- if he accepts the assignment -- when the waiver period on him expires, sources confirmed Thursday.
Gathright, who's hitting .214 in 14 at-bats, has enough service time to refuse the assignment and become a free agent, but he would give up the remainder of his $800,000 salary. The Cubs have discussed the move with Gathright's representatives the last two days after putting him on waivers.
The immediate beneficiary appears to be infielder Bobby Scales, the career minor-leaguer who made his major-league debut Tuesday at 31. When Scales joined the club Monday, he gave the Cubs more than one backup infielder left of first base for the first time this season.
Wells makes his major-league starting debut tonight in place of injured Carlos Zambrano (hamstring).<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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Good. He's a speed specialist who routinely makes bonehead running mistakes, not a lot of value there.
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i try to give hendry the benefit of the doubt on most things, but even that signing perplexed me.
Wang.
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<!--quoteo(post=36357:date=May 8 2009, 08:34 AM:name=veryzer)-->QUOTE (veryzer @ May 8 2009, 08:34 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->i try to give hendry the benefit of the doubt on most things, but even that signing perplexed me.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This is what we get for allowing Lou to make the roster decisions
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Hendry does a good job with trades and a great job at retaining our own star players, and Lou is a good clubhouse guy who doesn't put up with shit, which I love, but I think they have both proved they are horrible personnel decision makers.
So far I'm not sure its possible for them to have fucked up the bullpen situation any worse and we still have 3 guys that are almost completely worthless in there (Patton, Cotts, Fox). I also think pretty much everyone on the planet knew keeping Gathright over another infielder was a bad idea and it took them a full month of playing with a short bench to do anything about it.
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He's gonna refuse that assignment.
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I'm not so sure he will. He would be giving away several hundred thousand dollars, because no one else is gonna pay him anymore than the league minimum. After his season last year and shitty defense and baserunning this year (the two things he is supposed to be good at) I'd be surprised if anyone put him on their big league club at all.
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<!--quoteo(post=36371:date=May 8 2009, 10:31 AM:name=Fella)-->QUOTE (Fella @ May 8 2009, 10:31 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->I'm not so sure he will. He would be giving away several hundred thousand dollars, because no one else is gonna pay him anymore than the league minimum. After his season last year and shitty defense and baserunning this year (the two things he is supposed to be good at) I'd be surprised if anyone put him on their big league club at all.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Could be true. Or he could gamble and try to get an everyday/semi-everyday job on a shitty team to try to up his value for a contract next year. Either way, with Fuk playing the way he is, we don't have any sort of need for him on the MLB level right now.
Also, Scales should be sent down for Blanco, we need another SS, we've got 1B, 2B, and 3B covered with what we already have.
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<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->With the Orioles reportedly wanting to move utility man Ryan Freel, they could find a suitor with the Cubs, according to FOXSports.com, which cites Major League sources in reporting the two teams are in trade talks.
The Web site said if the Cubs acquire Freel, who has about $3.3 million left in his 2009 contract, they'd likely part ways with 28-year-old outfielder Joey Gathright. The Orioles, according to FOXSports.com, are believed to be talking with other clubs, too.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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Freel would be nice, but I'd still like another SS.
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<!--quoteo(post=36404:date=May 8 2009, 01:21 PM:name=deputymayor)-->QUOTE (deputymayor @ May 8 2009, 01:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <!--quotec-->With the Orioles reportedly wanting to move utility man Ryan Freel, they could find a suitor with the Cubs, according to FOXSports.com, which cites Major League sources in reporting the two teams are in trade talks.
The Web site said if the Cubs acquire Freel, who has about $3.3 million left in his 2009 contract, they'd likely part ways with 28-year-old outfielder Joey Gathright. The Orioles, according to FOXSports.com, are believed to be talking with other clubs, too.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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I would like to have Freel...he has kind of sucked recently, but he can play IF and OF IIRC.
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I've wanted Freel ever since it was announced he wanted out of Baltimore a few weeks ago. He can play all of the outfield spots and be another option at 3B if Fontenot can't work out there(he's looked better of late though), and he still has decent if not very good speed. He could replace Gathright as the pinch-runner specialist, but also with the ability to play the infield and swing the bat a little bit. I'd love this move.
@TheBlogfines
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For sure, Clapp. Plus, it'd be a 2 for 1. We'd be getting Freel <i>and</i> Farney.
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." - George Carlin
"That was some of the saddest stuff I've ever read. Fuck cancer and AIDS, ignorance is the scourge of the land." - tom v
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<!--quoteo(post=36417:date=May 8 2009, 01:55 PM:name=Runnys)-->QUOTE (Runnys @ May 8 2009, 01:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=36404:date=May 8 2009, 01:21 PM:name=deputymayor)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (deputymayor @ May 8 2009, 01:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <!--quotec-->With the Orioles reportedly wanting to move utility man Ryan Freel, they could find a suitor with the Cubs, according to FOXSports.com, which cites Major League sources in reporting the two teams are in trade talks.
The Web site said if the Cubs acquire Freel, who has about $3.3 million left in his 2009 contract, they'd likely part ways with 28-year-old outfielder Joey Gathright. The Orioles, according to FOXSports.com, are believed to be talking with other clubs, too.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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I would like to have Freel...he has kind of sucked recently, but he can play IF and OF IIRC.
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He hasn't sucked, he's hit like Theriot. He's Theriot with the ability to play 2B, 3B, and OF.
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