65-97, Come On Cubs!

[TheBigBomber]

APRIL LEADERS



AMERICAN LEAGUE LEADERS:

Batting Average: Randy Winn (ANA) .426 BA
On Base Percentage: David Ortiz (MIN) .515 OBP
Home Runs: Juan Gonzalez (CLE) 11 HR
Runs Batted In: Juan Gonzalez (CLE) 30 RBIs
Runs Scored: Manny Ramirez (BOS) / Cristian Guzman (MIN) 27 Runs
Extra Base Hits: Gabe Kapler (TEX) 17 EBH
Outfield Assists: Mark Quinn (KCR) 4 Assists

Earned Run Average: Scott Schoeneweis (ANA) 1.86 ERA
Wins: Pedro Martinez (BOS) / Jeff Weaver (DET) 4 Wins
Strikeouts: Pedro Martinez (BOS) 46 K's
Walks/9 IP: Mike Mussina (NYY) 0.93 W/9 IP
Saves: Jonathan Papelbon (BOS) / Pat Neshek (MIN) 6 Saves
Complete Games: Many Tied (All) 1 CG



National League Leaders:

Batting Average: Russ Davis (SFG) .410 BA
On Base Percentage: Lance Berkman (HOU) .515 BA (Jose Vidro, .481)
Home Runs: Chipper Jones (ATL) 9 HR
Runs Batted In: Russ Davis (SFG) 29 RBIs
Runs Scored: J.D. Drew (STL) 30 RBIs
Extra Base Hits: Chipper Jones (ATL) 18 EBH
Outfield Assists: 4 Tied (ALL) 3 Assists

Earned Run Average: Livan Hernandez (SFG) 2.45 ERA
Wins: 5 Tied (ALL) 4 Wins (Charlies Nagy, 4)
Strikeouts: Kerry Wood (MON) 42 K
Walks/9 IP: Curt Schilling (ATL) 0.96 W/9 IP (Jon Lieber, 2.05)
Saves: Huston Street (MON) 7 Saves (Joe Borowski, 3)
Complete Games: Greg Maddux (ATL) 2 CG

[TheBigBomber]

Dye Goes To The Big Bombers



After weeks of negotiation, the Yankees and Royals came to a deal involving Jermaine Dye & Mariano Rivera. Both sides came out on top.

Kansas City Royals Receive:

SP Ted Lilly
SP Jose Contreras
1B Andy Philips
RP Jose Mesa
CL Mariano Rivera

New York Yankees Receive:

SP Cal Eldred
RF Jermaine Dye

The Yankees were aching for a capable right fielder, since Moises Alou & Paul O' Neill were aging and they couldn't perform as well as the Yankees wanted so they went out and traded. Jermaine Dye begun taking over right field for New York and there excited. Cal Eldred's great start in Kansas City was overlooked by New York as he was thrown into triple A right when he got there. For Kansas City, they got exactly what they needed. Jermaine Dye was just taking up some space since there outfield was perfectly secure. Ted Lilly took over the fifth starting position in the rotation for the Royals. Jose Contreras will stay in AAA even though he's 30. Andy Philips really was not needed in the trade and will stay in single A for the rest of the year. Jose Mesa was given some innings but performed badly and was put back into triple A. But the centerpiece of the trade is Mo, he's their new closer, a very needed closer. A great trade for both teams.

[ewing6]

come on cubbies

[TheBigBomber]

Sweeney Out 7 Months, Santana No-Hitter



APRIL IN THE M - L - B! It's been filled with tons of excitement and lots of "WOA'S!"

Johan Santana proved his dominance against the Anaheim Angels when he allowed no hits. He no-hit ANAHEIM! It was his complete game of his career and his first shutout. Johan had some trouble last year and is having the same kind of trouble this year but the no-hitter brought hopes up. He was flirting with a perfect game going into the seventh but a full count to Darin Erstad changed that when he was walked. That took out the perfect game but the no-hitter remained and Johan won it for Minnesota. Too bad his ERA continues to fluctuate.



In other related news, Larry Walker hit his 300th homer and earned his 1000th RBI. Dean Palmer hit his 300th while John Olerud got his 1000th RBI. Juan Encarnacion's 24-game hit streak was just ended on the 29th.

42-year old starting pitcher Mike Morgan ended his career by racking up his bat which means he retired. He gave the MLB 20 hard worked seasons and pitched 2700 innings total.

39-year old starting pitcher Jeff Fassero also retired, his career ERA stands at 3.95. Jeff's record stands at a nice even 100-92. He decided to call it quits after he separated his shoulder which pretty much was a career-ending injury.

The Big Cat, Andres Galarraga ended his career earlier this week, days after the Orioles released him. The Big Cat will definitely be remembered and could end up in the Hall Of Fame one day. His career numbers were 366 homers, 1299 RBIs, and a .290 BA. It was great to have you Andres.

A new Hall of Famer was inducted this year, Mr. Jack Morris. His career was fantastic as he pitched 18 seasons of beauty. 3824 innings pitched, 254 wins, a 3.90 career ERA, and 2478 strikeouts. Let's not forget his 175 complete games. One of the best of this era.

[TheBigBomber]

B ... B ... Bere Is Outta Here
Adding To The Pen

We did absolutely everything to get rid of Jason Bere. We got absolutely NO offers so we decided to throw in prospect reliever Felix Sanchez. The offers were not plentiful but we got tossed a few. One team even tried to give us a 39 year old, we closed negotiations before they could pick up the phone. We weren't getting anywhere so we sent out a message saying that we would take offers for relievers. More offers did come in but 35-year old Dave Veras and 32-year old Hector Carrasco were very unappealing.

After a day or two, I got paged an offer from the Oakland Athletics. They were willing to offers hot-shot reliever, Chad Bradford. The righty is in his second season at 27 years old. I think his main prize is his signature pitch. It's amazingly sweet, and he does like no other which may fool fellow batters. He had trouble adjusting to big leagues but he's here and according to scouts he does not give up hits and does not walk many. He does have problems with strikeouts though. Even though he's pitched 3 innings of 9 run ball this season, we want to give him a shot to bloom in our 'pen which is struggling to stop runners from scoring. The deal we came up:

Oakland Athletics Receive:

RP Felix Sanchez
SP Jason Bere (11 days injured)
2.5 million to cover Bere's salary

Chicago Cubs Receive:

RP Chad Bradford
RP Mike Magnante

Magnante is a 36-year old reliever who we asked for since we were also send over 2.5 million bucks. That was to pay for Bere's salary which Oakland did not want.



(Oh I'm BACCCKKK!)

[HeraldSports]

Kansas City Royals Receive:

SP Ted Lilly
SP Jose Contreras
1B Andy Philips
RP Jose Mesa
CL Mariano Rivera

New York Yankees Receive:

SP Cal Eldred
RF Jermaine Dye

dude the Royals fleeced the Yankees in that trade...


good job on this, good read

[TheBigBomber]

APRIL SHOWERS, MAY FLOWERS



May is much better than April, not by a lot but good enough to get our record at an even .500. The problem is that we didn't think Bradford was quite ready for the major leagues so we gave him some minors time and he will get some innings in June. The starting rotation continues to have struggles and the 'pen ain't doing great either. Our bats don't nearly match up to last year but Vidro continues his hitting. Sammy is having trouble getting contact with the ball.

The pitching improved over last month, especially our ace. Charles Nagy proved why we signed him. The 35-year old has been smoking hot all throughout May. His season ERA stands at 3.56 but his ERA in May was at 2.99. Along with his low number of walks which is 14, Nagy leads the league yet again with 8 wins and only has one loss. His health is causing some problems and a major injury could come at some point, hopefully it won't though. Next up is Jon Lieber, can I just say that last year was a fluke. So far he has a 5.22 ERA and has a 4-3 record. The only good thing about him is his small amount of walks which is second to Nagy team-wise. Zambrano's trip to the minors worked out for the best. Ever since coming back, Big Z has pitched 20 innings of 6 run ball in his 3 starts. Tapani on the other hand couldn't handle the load. Rich Hill has been fantastic in May which brought his season ERA down to 3.68. He has struck out 72 batters in 66 innings and maintains a 4-4 record. Mark Prior on the other hand is THE WEAKEST LINK! He has pitched dreadful in the 5th rotation spot which is making us think of going down to a 4-man rotation but we'll have to play out June before we make any sudden decisions. We're going to make some changes to to the 'pen though. Chad Bradford & newly acquired, Mike Magnante will both pitch in the majors. Cordero & Tavarez will take some time in the minors.



Onto our batting lineup. The middle of our lineup is absolutely terrible. Let's start from #1 to #8. Orlando Cabrera is leading off but is having some trouble. His .270 BA isn't terrible but we except a little more from the leadoff. The good thing is his 6 homers and 31 runs. Along with 6 stolen bases and 28 RBIs. Batting second is the magnificent, Jose Vidro. He's been nothing but perfection with his .341 BA, 3 homers, 24 RBIs, and a .425 OBP. Now onto the horrible 3-5. Starting with Cliff Floyd who was supposed to be a great number three for us. He hasn't, he's done just the opposite. A .253 BA is not appealing and 8 homers is a little bit too low. The clean-up man, Sammy Sosa. I gave him so much praise last year but this year he deserves so much hate. His average stands at .232 among the worst contact hitters in the majors. The only thing he can do is smack homers, which he has 11 of this year. He leads the team with 30 RBIs but he can and should do better. A disappointment to the Cubs so far. Then there's Ryan Klesko, trading for him could have been the best decision we had done and last year it was, but now its biting us in the ass. Right now neither us nor the Padres are really benefiting from that trade. Klesko is batting at .233 with only 18 RBIs. Sad, just sad. Our 6-8 is the complete opposite of the 3-5. Bill Mueller has been great yet again batting at .324 with 5 homers and 21 RBIs. Got to love Mueller. Rondell White is batting at .312 along with 6 homers and has scored 31 times. He will be batting third from now on with Floyd batting eighth while Klesko and Mueller will swap position spots. Lastly, we have Scott Hatteberg, another player we turned into a superstar. His .302 average has been impressive and he has cranked 4 homers smacking in 26 RBIs.



... And The Standings



CALENDAR:

Here's how we did in May, pretty much all the games.



(Fergie is going on next post , trade after amateur draft. )

[TheBigBomber]

FERGIE GONE, BAYLOR RETURNS



After a year and two months of GMing for the majestic, Chicago Cubs, Fergie Jenkins will make his leave. Don Baylor announced his return after the doctors cleared him for all injuries of that devastating rail incident. Baylor said he is excited to take this Cubbie team and turn them into a playoff team. Fergie was reached for his final comment as a Cub manager:

"I was really excited when Jimmy gave ME the call to come GM this Cubbie crew. I thought it was a joke to be honest but Jimmy said it was for real. Of course hearing the news about Baylor was sad. I am honored to have served as a Chicago Cubs player and coach. It's been the time of my life managing this staff and all my players. Sammy and Joe B. have been amazing to work with, those two were with me through thick and thin and I thank them for their hard work. GO CHICAGO!"

Baylor was not reached for comment but is very excited to be on the job. Sammy Sosa and Joe Borowski were disgusted with this news since they were close friends with Fergie. The expression of the Cubbie fan's face looks sort of like this.

[AthleticsFan2k8]

11 Home Runs for Sammy Sosa, nice job.

[TheBigBomber]

.232 BA, not so nice

[TheBigBomber]

MAY LEADERS



AMERICAN LEAGUE LEADERS:

Batting Average: Randy Winn (ANA) / Cristian Guzman (MIN) .361 BA
On Base Percentage: Manny Ramirez (BOS) .440 OBP
Home Runs: Juan Gonzalez (CLE) 20 HR
Runs Batted In: Juan Gonzalez (CLE) 58 RBIs
Runs Scored: Cristian Guzman (MIN) 57 Runs
Extra Base Hits: Miguel Tejada (OAK) 31 EBH
Outfield Assists: Carl Everett (BOS) / Kevin Sefcik (TBD) 6 Assists

Earned Run Average: John Maine (BAL) 2.26 ERA
Wins: Pedro Martinez (BOS) / Mario Ramos (TEX) 7 Wins
Strikeouts: Pedro Martinez (BOS) 76 K's
Walks/9 IP: Mike Mussina (NYY) 1.21 W/9 IP
Saves: Kazuhiro Sasaki (SEA) / Billy Koch (TOR) 13 Saves
Complete Games: Runelvys Hernandez (KCRl) 4 CG



National League Leaders:

Batting Average: Vladimir Guerrero (MON) .365 BA (Jose Vidro, .341)
On Base Percentage: Lance Berkman (HOU) .453 OBP (Jose Vidro, .425)
Home Runs: 3 TIED (ALL) 16 HR
Runs Batted In: Albert Pujols (STL) 54 RBIs
Runs Scored: Luke Scott (HOU) 50 Runs
Extra Base Hits: Chipper Jones (ATL) 36 EBH
Outfield Assists: 3 Tied (ALL) 5 Assists

Earned Run Average: Octavio Dotel (HOU) 2.69 ERA
Wins: 3 Tied (ALL) 8 Wins (Charlies Nagy, 8)
Strikeouts: Randy Johnson (ARI) 86 K(Rich Hill, 72)
Walks/9 IP: Curt Schilling (ATL) 1.17 W/9 IP (Charles Nagy, 1.72)
Saves: Takashi Saito (LAD) 16 Saves (Joe Borowski, 11)
Complete Games: Greg Maddux (ATL) 3 CG

[TheBigBomber]

Yeah I think youve noticed I havent updated this bad boy in a long time, I've barely gotten a chance to be on the forums. Its not dead FYI but idk how long it'll take for an update. Ive been and about (got a job) so its kinda tough for me to update too much, but I have high hopes for an update in the next week. So for any dedicated readers, no fear, Im still here but this not a top priorty, Ill just get to it when I can.

- TheBigbomber

[TheBigBomber]

YOU JUST HIT THE LOTTO, UH OH UH OH



Okay, okay we over exaggerated. Houston did not actually win the lotto, not nearly close to it but they got real lucky. On the first of May, just like us, Tampa Bay was getting tired of Wilson Alvarez's useless starts so they put him up and an offer was made by the Houston Astros. That was the only offer given. Tampa Bay was fully capable of replacing Alvarez so they said why not. The offer made by Houston included Todd Self, a future contact beast and Nate Bland, a man fully capable of controlling the ninth. The deal was inked quickly and Wilson Alvarez packed his bags for Houston.

Tampa Bay Rays Receive:

RF Todd Self
RP Nate Bland

Houston Astros Receive:

SP Wilson Alvarez

Carrying a 5.60 ERA and 23 walks in 30.1 IP with only 26 Ks, Alvarez was expected to boost his game. In his first start, he gave Houston a whooping 8 innings allowing ONLY 2 runs striking out 9 batters and walking 3. His amazing performance was put to waste by a Billy Wagner blown save. Next time out he didn't do as well, probably due to the face of the 11-day gap between starts. He gave Houston 5 innings of 5 run ball not striking out a single batter and walking 2. Houston was able to overcome the 5 runs and win the game. His last start of the month came on May 22nd. He gave Houston 7 innings of 7-run ball striking out 6 and walking ONLY 1 to achieve his first win since April 27. Alvarez gave Houston a much needed boost while Bland and Self are rotting it up in the minors. A win for Houston but not quite a lottery win!

The other big trade made was a 10-player deal between Milwaukee and Anaheim. Ron Belliard was dominating the majors and caught the eye of the Anaheim Angels. With horrible depth, Milwaukee had no choice but to shop off Ron Belliard. Anaheim shot out a deal including Jose Nieves, Pat Rapp, Dustin Moseley, Jorge Fabregas, Glenallen Hill, Larry Barnes, and Alfredo Amezaga. Anaheim was wowed, they got a replacement for Belliard and much needed depth but Anaheim was getting second thoughts so they asked for Calvin Maduro as well. Milwaukee asked for Toby Borland and Matt Hensley. That solidified the deal.

Milwaukee Brewers Receive:

3B Jose Nieves
C Jorge Fabregas
SP Pat Rapp
RP Toby Borland
RP Matt Hensley
CF Alfredo Amezaga
1B Larry Barnes
LF Glenallen Hill
RP Dustin Moseley

Anaheim Angels Receive:

2B Ron Belliard
SP Calvin Maduro



Many other minor trades were made but shall not be discussed.

(, there we go, im a little rusty so bare with me, if ive made any mistakes or anything just tell me!)

[metsguy234]

ok, this isn't funny, don't make these dynasties, go to out in left field, please just stop it. And BigBomber, thats wow, I mean if your going to add the Fergie Jenkins or the Don Baylor factor, thats just wrong. So please for the sake of the forum, just stop.

[ewing6]

ok, this isn't funny, don't make these dynasties, go to out in left field, please just stop it. And BigBomber, thats wow, I mean if your going to add the Fergie Jenkins or the Don Baylor factor, thats just wrong. So please for the sake of the forum, just stop.

what are you talking about?