Chicago Sports Then and Now

On Thursday, the Cubs and closer Carlos Marmol agreed to terms on a one-year, $2.125 million deal for the 2010 season, a payraise of over $1.5 million from 2009.  The agreed upon figure was the exact midpoint between Marmol’s asking price of $2.5 million and the Cubs’ original offer of $1.75 million.

Marmol is happy about his new deal

Marmol was named the club’s closer in August of last year, going 11-for-11 in save opportunities and leading the team with 27 holds for the season.  He will likely not have to compete for the job this season, as former closer Kevin Gregg was not offered a new deal and signed with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Marmol becomes the seventh arbitration-eligible Cub to re-sign before reaching a hearing, with infielders Jeff Baker and Mike Fontenot, catcher Koyie Hill, right-handed pitcher Angel Guzman and left-handed pitcher Tom Gorzelanny agreeing earlier in January, and left-handed pitcher Sean Marshall agreeing to a $950,000 deal last week.

With those players signed, the only outstanding arbitration-eligble player for the Cubs is shortstop Ryan Theriot.   Theriot is asking for $3.4 million in 2010, while the Cubs have countered with $2.6 million.  Either way, “Riot” will be getting a significant raise from his 2009 salary of $500,000.  If it gets to that point, the hearing will take place sometime before February 21.   Read the rest of this entry →

Cubs fans will be seeing a lot of that image

The Cubs’ playoff hopes for the next few seasons took a major hit on Tuesday when the St. Louis Cardinals re-signed left fielder Matt Holliday to the richest deal in their history.  Holliday, who hit .353 with 13 homers and 55 RBIs in 63 games with St. Louis last season, signed a 7-year, $120 million deal, the biggest contract this offseason by nearly $40 million.

In an offseason full of little moves made by the Cubs, the Cardinals outdid them with one big one, as they secured themselves protection for the best hitter in baseball for the better part of the new decade.  The Cubs cannot be considered favorites to win the NL Central in 2010 or 2011 now, as St. Louis’ core of Pujols, Carpenter, Wainwright and now Holliday are locked up through then.

While the Cubs’ 1-2 punches of Lee and Ramirez and Zambrano and Dempster are solid, they are no match for what the Cardinals now have to offer.  So while the next two seasons on the North Side will likely be a competition for the NL Wild Card, there is reason to be optimistic for the future.  Two main reasons stand out: Read the rest of this entry →

And that'll do it...

While watching the Cubs 7-2 loss to the Dodgers on Thursday night, I had an eerie feeling of déjà vu.  While it was in a different city, with a different player at the plate and a different player on the hill, I felt I was watching the exact same scenario unfold.

A grand slam by the Dodgers to all but end the Cubs’ chances of a deep playoff run.

In 2008, it came in Game 1 of the NLDS at Wrigley Field.  The Cubs led 2-0 thanks to second inning Mark DeRosa home run when the Dodgers came to bat in the fifth inning.  Ryan Dempster proceeded to walk the bases loaded (his fifth, sixth and seventh walks of the game), before giving up a granny to James Loney on a 1-2 pitch.

Just like that, the energy was sucked out of Wrigley Field, and even though the Cubs were only trailing by two runs, you could read the same expression on everyone’s faces: “Not again.”  The Cubs lost that game 7-2 as well, never led the rest of the series, and were swept out of the playoffs for the second straight season.

Fast forward back to Thursday night.  Read the rest of this entry →