If Cubs Trade Bradley, Could Zambrano Go?

Milton Bradley was suspended for the rest of the season by the Chicago Cubs and he still has two years left on his contract and more then $20 million owed to him. It will be hard to get a team to take his contract and/or eat all of that money. Sure, the Cubs could probably trade him, pay most of it, and get little in return, but they need to formulate a plan to get the most in return. How can they do that? Well, Carlos Zambrano could be packaged with him, but would this work?

Carlos Zambrano and Milton Bradley are both vocal and emotional players. Sometimes that emotion can get the best of them, so they are risky players to obtain through a trade. They are both owed a lot of money and signed for multiple years. What teams would be interested in them and who could afford their contracts? Lastly, if a team meets both of those requirements, what players would the Cubs receive?

I scanned through the teams and it seems like the New York Mets would be the best fit. MLBTradeRumors.com offered a scenario earlier this week that maybe an Oliver Perez for Milton Bradley trade could work out for both teams. Perez had a pretty nice 2nd half in 2008, but looked horrible in 2009. The Mets need an outfielder and maybe Perez just needs his mechanics re-worked. I don't know if a trade like that, even though it would work just in money terms, but if you add Zambrano, maybe the Mets may let go of a player like Jose Reyes or Luis Castillo. Reyes is a great fantasy player, but they were hoping that he would develop into a superstar, which he has not. He has been out nearly 75% of the season this year and his injury affects his speed, his value to the team would drop. Luis Castillo is a nice 2nd baseman, he's getting a little older and the Mets could be looking to get rid of him. Zambrano would help them secure a top-tier pitcher for their pitcher-friendly new stadium.

With the ownership finally looking like it could be finalized this off-season, the Cubs may try and get some new blood in the organization. It has yet to be seen if Tom Ricketts will be a free-spending owner, since it has been rumored that most of his net-worth is tied up and may not be the "Mark Cuban-esque" owner that most Cubs fans want.

This upcoming season may be the last season for Lou Pinella as the manager of the team and if you eliminate Zambrano and Bradley from the team, it could be a good move. Pinella hasn't seemed as fired up as he was the first couple years with the team. I don't know if that is a great thing for the team, but the remarks and comments by Big Z and Bradley has distracted the team and put the spotlight on them in a negative light. If the Cubs can move both players in one move and get 40 cent on the dollar, I would do it. Zambrano is a good pitcher, but he is so inconsistent and emotional that you never know what you're going to get. For the long-term success of the team, as a Cubs fan, I would support this move.

I Give Up: A Manifesto Of A Pissed Off Cubs Fan

This post may be epic and wordy, but I have a lot to get off of my chest. I have stuck by the Cubs through thick and thin, but I am at a point where I may sell my "fanhood" to another team, just like the Cubs have tried to sell the team for the past 24 months. In the following post, I am going to explain why I'm pissed, what the Cubs can do to win me back, why I'm allowed to question my loyalty as a fan, and what the future holds for the Chicago Cubs.

Listen, I am 28 years old, I've been through some thin years as a Chicago Cubs fan. I know some people older than me have had even worse experiences than me, but you got to enjoy Jack Brickhouse and Harry Carey longer, so we're even. The last six years, as a Cubs fan, have been probably some of the best years an Cubs fan could realistically ask for. A few division championships, a few playoff wins, but not one World Series appearance. I know that if a Cubs fan rarely believes that his team has a chance to win the World Series. There is always hope, but you have visions of Steve Garvey, Ivan Rodriguez, and even Augie Ojeda go through your head and grounds your hopes.

This is why I am pissed off. Jim Hendry started off his career as a GM very well. He got pieces that the fans wanted and made everyone excited about the future of the Cubs. We finally had someone that wanted to go out and win right now. That may be the underlying problem with everything that is wrong with the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs haven't manufactured any great talent out of their farm system in years. Mark Grace was the last great player to come through the farm system. They have lacked the expertise to develop their own players, so they traded their young pieces away for mediocre talent in return. If a team is always in the playoff race, young talent will not have the time to develop at the Major League level. My examples are Rich Hill and Felix Pie, I know neither of them are winning post-season awards right now, but they didn't have time to develop. Rich Hill bounced around the minors and Chicago the last few seasons. He dominated in the minors and had trouble pitching in Wrigley. Pie also bounced around between Iowa and Chicago and was mostly kept around to make Alfonso Soriano comfortable. They were both traded to the Orioles for scrubs and I hope they flourish in Baltimore.

Which leads me to another reason that I am pissed. Why does Jim Hendry always trade with Andy MacPhail in Baltimore? I know that MacPhail was his boss when he was first with Baltimore, but this personal relationship has severely damaged the Chicago Cubs. If they are such good friends, why was it so difficult to pry Brian Roberts away from him? A rumor floated around for about two seasons that they were in trade talks, but nothing ever happened with that, but somehow we ended up with Ryan Freel and Garrett Olsen? Hendry needs to quit being so chummy with MacPhail and talk with other teams when trying to improve the Chicago Cubs.

Ownership changes have drained this team of any emotion. The players knew that they had to play the entire season with the players already on the team, since they couldn't add any more payroll because of the sell of the team. Injuries hit the team and Geovany Soto, Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, and Carlos Zambrano were all missed time at the beginning of the year. The team lacked emotion and even a Lou Pinella rant couldn't bring them out of their funk. They attempted to get Jake Peavy from the Padres, but couldn't take on his salary, which lead to the White Sox getting him at a discounted rate near the trade deadline. I'm not saying that Peavy would have won the NL Central for Chicago, but it could have showed the players that management wanted to do everything to win. With no major additions to the team at either trade deadline (I'm sorry John Grabow doesn't count), the Cubs slipped down the standings as the Cardinals added Mark DeRosa and Matt Holliday. This ownership change happened at the absolute worst time, since this team was a right-fielder and a dominant closer away from at least a Wild-Card spot.

The Cubs have one of the worst farm systems in all of the Major Leagues. They have been signing Type-A and Type-B free-agents the last few seasons and don't have many blue-chip prospects. Josh Vitters could be their lone future star, but Wellington Castillo and Tyler Colvin both look promising. The problem there is that Vitters plays 3B and Castillo is a catcher, two positions that the Cubs have a small need for. Colvin could turn into a player that they could use, but they are currently tied up in a few bad contracts in the outfield and there isn't any room for him. John Grabow, Rich Harden, and Kevin Gregg are all Type-A free agents and if they sign with a team, the Cubs could get that team's first-round draft picks. Jim Hendry was smart in keeping them, even if they have no interest in re-signing the trio. This could help restock the farm system and build this team from the ground up. If only they had the minor league managers and instructors that could develop any of that talent.

I am allowed to question my loyalty to the Chicago Cubs. They are the only team that I have ever rooted for, but they have let me down in a way that I wasn't ready for. Selling the team at this point, when their team has elite talent, is such a horrible ending to this team's arc of improvement. I believe that they need to blow up the team. I said it, I didn't think that I would get to this point, but just ride out the contracts, trade the pieces away that you can get young talent in return, and give me a product on the field that I can feel good about myself while cheering for you. Milton Bradley's attitude and racially-filled paranoia added with Zambrano's lack of focus and his inability to sound like he even cares, has made me dislike this team. Give me players like Kerry Wood, who was willing to take a pay-cut to stay with the Cubs out of loyalty. I don't know if I am at a point where I can see the greed in the players eyes, but there is something that I don't like about this team.

I'm not asking for a World Series, I'm not asking for an NL Central crown, just give me a team that looks like they are trying and you will have me as a fan of your team for as long as you'll have me. If any players read this, go out there, run out ground balls, slide hard into double-plays, dive for foul balls, and have fun out there. The season is officially over at the end of the regular season, you'll have plenty of time to be lazy this off-season.

Griffey Jr. To The Cubs?

Ken Giffey Jr. has been a superstar since he was old enough to put on a uniform. He has done just about everything you can do in baseball, but the most important thing, win a championship. Griffey is currently a free agent and he doesn't have many more years left to accomplish this goal. His trade to the Chicago White Sox late last season is an indication that he wants to play for a contender. The Chicago Cubs need a left-handed power bat, could Griffey Jr. be reunited with his old skipper in Seattle?

The Chicago Cubs haven't made it a secret that they are in the market for a left-handed power bat to solidfy their line-up. The rumors suggest that Milton Bradley will be their guy, but Griffey would be a great addition to the Cubs. The outfield for the Cubs will be a rotation of Alfonso Soriano, Joey Gathright/Felix Pie, Kosuke Fukudome, Reed Johnson, and possibly, Bradley. Trade rumors have been circulating around Felix Pie the last two seasons and early returns say that they have lost interest in developing the prospect. By signing Joey Gathright to a contract, the Cubs sealed Pie's fate. Chicago needs to add more defense to their squad and Soriano and Gathright aren't great in that department. Fukudome has a cannon arm, but he batted below the Mendoza line doing down the stretch.

Ken Griffey Jr. is a cheap option for a secondary left-handed bat in the lineup. He can fill the role that Jim Edmonds played for them last season. He can spell the outfield and can give you an extra lefty to face a tough pitcher. He would also be a great pinch-hitting option off the bench. He can use him in situations where they could say Gathright for pinch-runner duties, something that they saved Ronny Ceceno for last season. He would give the younger players a role model in the clubhouse and he could possibly be signed for around $2-3 million.

Jim Hendry, the Cubs GM, has made some nice trades and signings over the past few seasons, but I think signing Ken Grffey Jr. would be a step in the right direction. Not only would Griffey be comfortable playing for Pinella, but he had some of his best seasons under him in Seattle. I understand that he was in his prime during that period of time, but he doesn't have to play everyday and Pinella is smart enough to use him to best suit his skills.

The Chicago Cubs need to win the World Series this year and they need to add players that are hungry. Ken Griffey has played nearly 20 seasons and he is starving. Wrigley Field would be the best place for Junior, I know he has hit enough homers there against them in the past.