I WANNA ANOTHER

For the third time in about a week, a Cub player has gone off on the manager.

This time closer Kevin Gregg got into it with Dale Sveum.

Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago writes that the meltdown may have been partly miscommunication by Gregg on the other two pitcher incidents and partly Gregg giving up 4 runs to Atlanta in yesterday's 9th inning. It also boils down to Gregg being threatened by Sveum's comments that he would use Pedro Strop in save situations in September. But after making that statement, Sveum kept Strop in the 8th inning role. So why was really Gregg upset?

Gregg was signed off the scrapheap by the Cubs after the season started; no other team wanted Gregg. After Friday's appearance, Gregg hit a $500,000 contract bonus for appearances. Not bad for a guy who may not have played at all this season. But Gregg, who is 35, has no job guarantee for 2014 so he may have been defensive about his situation.

During his Friday interviews, Gregg made some strong comments to the media.

“A professional courtesy would be nice," he said in response to the question about Strop becoming the new closer.  “I expected to be treated a little bit better than this, but they have decisions to make. When they want to go in a new direction, they can treat the players how they want. Unfortunately, we’re under their control. It’s not necessarily how I would have done it.”

Gregg was a former teammate of Strop's in Baltimore. He was asked about Strop's ability to become a closer. “Can Pedro close next year? I don’t know. They’re going to have to take the chance and see. Is September going to be a telltale sign of what’s going on? No, it’s not the same baseball this time of year.”

A follow-up question Mooney reports was: Is your issue with Epstein or Sveum?
“Unfortunately for Dale, I think it’s guilty by association,” Gregg said. “But I think the decision — from what I understand — is from above. And they want to see what they have for next year. And they’re going to use 10 games to figure out if Pedro can close next year.”

 Afterward, Gregg was pulled into the manager's office by Epstein who was not happy about Gregg's comments. Epstein told his closer that he felt "disrepected" by his comments, demanded an apology and said he would make a decision on whether to release the pitcher. "Unfortunately, there was miscommunication or Kevin misunderstood. But he ran to the media and that was his decision. I told him, as a man, I didn’t respect that,” Epstein said.

Gregg then started to make some apologies to the media, but it seems clear that Esptein's approach to player issues is to snap back and threaten to release them on the spot ("the Boston way?") Epstein's reaction shows that he may not have a good handle on player relations since he could not recognize that Gregg was upset with his manager's comments that personally affect his job status and livelihood. Epstein took Gregg's actions as being disrespectful to him (personally) which is not how human relations departments deal with high pressure employees.

Gregg and his fellow veteran pitchers are upset with the Cubs and the front office. Epstein has put together another year of a bad roster. It is frustrating for players who want to win to know that they do not have enough resources to win.

But this latest dust-up shows that Epstein is still more focused on his plan and his process than actually solving immediate problems. For example, releasing Gregg with 10 days to go in the season serves no purpose but to signal to other free agent players that the Cubs management does not address player concerns in a rational manner.

Also, if Gregg was not in Epstein's 2014 plans (since he signed Fujikawa to be the closer anyway), why did he trade Gregg to another team by the July deadline? Yes, a 35-year old reliever may not get back much in return, but he was a bona fide closer and contenders would pay something for that insurance. Instead, Gregg remained oddly a Cub for the entire season.

Gregg in 60 games played (50 game finishes), he is 2-5, 3.45 ERA with 32 saves and 1.383 WHIP. Strop, in 34 games played (6 game finishes), he is 2-2-, 2.78 ERA, with 0 saves and 0.928 WHIP.

There is no doubt that an organization should look to the future in meaningless September games. If the Cubs wanted to try out Strop at closer, there is nothing stopping Sveum from doing it. However, professionalism in the locker room would dictate that Sveum should have told Gregg first so he would not learn it from the media (which clearly happened in this case).

This incident is another strike on Sveum's record as well. A manager is supposed to be the communicator in the locker room. Sveum failed to do so in regard to the Gregg situation. It quickly escalated into a media circus and upset Esptein, his boss, who seems more focused on image than results.

The fall out of the incident is that Gregg will not be back in 2014. Strop will be given a try out at closer during spring training. And many potential second tier free agents may question whether Chicago is a good place to land this off season.

MOST VALUABLE ASSETS

While the Cubs are pushing hard Matt Garza in trade talks, is he really the most valuable asset the Cubs have to trade?  No, he is not. He will be a free agent at the end of the year. He is a rental player to a trade partner. He wants a significant raise next season from his current $10.5 million contract.  As in previous posts, Garza will not generate the number or quality of prospects in a trade.

Who are more valuable trade chips?

1. Travis Wood. The Cubs lone All-Star has the added advantages of being a left handed starter, and team control to 2017. He is arbitration eligible after this season. So he is a quality and affordable starting pitcher. He would bring back the most talent in a trade. However, is he more valuable to the Cubs to build a long term starting rotation?

2. Jeff Samardzija. The Cubs consider him "ace" material. He is a free agent in 2016. Like Wood, he is arbitration eligible but affordable to most teams. He would bring back more talent than Garza in a trade, but the front office is signalling that they want to keep Samardzija long term.

3. Dioner Navarro. Most contenders look to add a missing component to their bench (back up fielders or quality pinch hitters). Navarro has excelled at the latter. He signed a one year $1.75 deal with the Cubs so he is a free agent after this season. But being a catcher plus a switch hitter makes him a valuable commodity to the right team.

4. Kevin Gregg. Most contenders also look to bolster their bullpens for the final drive in September. Gregg has experience in set up and closer roles (even though his last five outings have been less than stellar.) He is also a free agent at the end of the season so he is a good choice for a contender who just wants insurance for this season.

5. Luis Valbuena. He may be the most versatile Cub to reach the market this year. He can play three infield positions. He bats left handed. He is a free agent in 2017 and arbitration eligible next year. He could be a valuable bench player on a contending team who has possible injury issues with its starters.

6. Carlos Villanueva. He is also versatile in that he can start and throw long relief. As staffs wear down this summer, a team may seek more live arms to get through the dog days of August. Villaneuva fits that role. He is signed for next season at a reasonable $5 million salary for a 5th starter so that should bring in an extra prospect in a trade.

7. Jeff Russell. He would have been more valuable, but during recent "show case" games he struggled. The amount of work may be catching up to him. However, he is a lefty reliever with experience that some teams need in order to compete in the latter stages of a pennant race.

It would not be surprising that at least half of these 8 players are traded by the Cubs before the deadline.

MORE BULLPEN BLUES

If Kevin Gregg was angling to stay with the Cubs after this season, he is the only person catching a break today.

The Cubs announced today that Kyuji Fujikawa, the $9.5 million closer signed through 2015, will undergo Tommy John surgery. This means Fujikawa will be out for the rest of this season and probably all of 2014. Fujikawa was signed in a two-year deal because Carlos Marmol's large contract expires at the end of 2013.

With Scott Baker, Shawn Camp, and Arodys Vizcaino already on the disabled list (with Baker and Vizacaino listed on the 60 day DL), the Cubs current pitching staff has very little parts for next year.

The current bullpen is Alex Burnett, a waiver claim; Rafael Dolis, an up and down AAA reliever; Carlos Marmol, who playing out his contract; Kevin Gregg, a released free agent pick up; Hector Rondon, a Rule 5 player that has to be kept on the full season roster; James Russell, who is on pace to meet Camp's wear and tear 80 game appearance mark; and Carlos Villanueva, a good starter who was put into long relief when Matt Garza returned to the roster.

Prior to today, the only bullpen pitchers who would be a lock to return next year would have been  Russell and Villanueva (with Rondon being assigned to AA). Now with no closer set for next year, Gregg becomes an immediate candidate.

RESPECT AND REALITY

Some long time observers of the Cubs doldrums believe that the players find playing on the North Side a comfortable summer job. There is little pressure to succeed because there is no accountability for poor play. There is a culture of losing which is accepted by everyone surrounding the team.

Then there are those who believe the Cubs are a) a good team that is just unlucky; b) has talent but is snake bitten in critical game situations or c) is a good product that should be respected by the fans.

ESPN Chicago reports that Kevin Gregg is one of the latter's prophets. When asked about being a potential trade chip, Gregg was snippy with his answer.  “I almost look at it as a little disrespectful to the guys on the team that are here because this is a good product,” Gregg said. "This isn’t like we’re getting our butts kicked on a daily basis and they’re looking to clean house. ... To be looking at what the future holds in June or July is worthless to me.”

Gregg's assessment of the Cubs as being a good product is wrong. The Cubs are 20-30, that is only a winning percentage of forty. The Cubs are on pace to lose 97 games. Those are not objective markers of being a "good" team.

Gregg should be happy that he may be a "wanted" player. His career peaked in 2010 with the Blue Jays when he got 37 saves. He continued on his journey man role to Baltimore. He was cut after last season. He hooked on with the Dodgers in spring training but never made the team so he was released.  Gregg is 34 years old and had lost his closing duties until the desperate Cubs needed someone to fill their shaky bullpen. He had come in to throw strikes in the 9th. He is six for six in save opportunities.

The trade deadline is more for massaging rosters than block buster deals. Contending teams are always looking to shore up their bullpen for the last two months. If Gregg continues to perform well, he will be a sought after commodity at the trade deadline. He may not like the idea of moving to another city, but that is the life of a journey man pitcher.

GARBAGE OUT GARBAGE IN

This is one of those days when a team takes out the trash and replaces it with fresher trash.

As expected, the Cubs activated Darwin Barney from the DL. Steve Clevenger was put on the 60 day DL to open a spot on the roster for Kameron Loe, a Mariner relief pitcher who was waived last week by Seattle.  Loe was not very good in Seattle this season.

The Cubs opened up some bullpen spots by optioning Rafael Dolis to Iowa and designating lefty reliever Hinsanori Takahashi for assignment. The Cubs have 10 days to trade, release or waive Takahashi. Takahashi appeared in 3 games for the Cubs, leaving with a 6.00 ERA and 1.667 WHIP.

Kevin Gregg replaces Takahashi in the bullpen. Gregg was released from the Dodgers at the end of spring training. Gregg pitched in 40 games for Baltimore last season, going 3-2, 4.95 ERA, 0 saves, and 1.695 WHIP.

Further, the Cubs designated Brett Lillibridge for assignment. Lillibridge had one hit in 24 at-bats (.042).  The Cubs then claimed from San Diego infielder Cody Ransom. Ransom, a .215 career hitter, has played with seven teams over 10 seasons. He played in five games with the Padres this season, going hitless in 11 at-bats. In 2012, for the Brewers he batted .196, 6 HR, 26 RBI, .93 OBP. Previously, he was with Arizona. He hit .269, 5 HR, 16 RBI.

None of these new Cub players are building blocks for the future. These are more used sandbags thrown against the rising tide of defeat.

BULLPEN WOES

The Cubs bullpen imploded over the weekend. New closer Fujikawa will go on the DL with arm issues. Marmol was demoted and not restored to the closer role. Camp took that spot yesterday and allowed the Giants to make a patented come-back victory.

As a result, the front office is scrambling to find late inning relief. A bucket of TUMS is not enough.

The Cubs signed relief pitcher Kevin Gregg to a minor league deal on Sunday.

Last season, Gregg went 2-3, 4.95 ERA, 1.695 WHIP, zero Saves in 40 games for Baltimore.

Gregg was one of the last cuts this spring training with the Dodgers. Gregg saved 23 games and had a 4.72 ERA with the Cubs in 2009. Along with the Cubs, he's spent parts of ten seasons with the Angels, Marlins, Blue Jays and, most recently, the Orioles. He's racked up 144 saves and a 4.13 ERA for his career.

This is another journeyman signing that the Cubs have fixated on. If the Cubs are looking for performance from 4 years ago, that is an unrealistic hope. It also shows that the Cubs have no confidence on any of the AAA pitchers inherited from the old regime.

The Cubs also picked up Kameron Loe off waivers from Seattle. That is not much to talk about here.
This season, Loe pitched in 4 games, went 1-1 in 6.2 IP, 10.80 ERA, gave up 6 HR, and had 1.80 WHIP. No wonder he was waived.

As a career, he is 33-41 with 4.44 ERA with 4 saves out of 22 save opportunities, with a 1.42 WHIP.
Again, marginal relief numbers and not those of a quality closer. 

Gregg and Loe transactions show the Cubs are grasping at straws now to fix their bullpen woes.