AGRI Biz

Other than Carlos Marmol, who has yet to blow a save since he was proclaimed the closer late last season, this Cubs team offers little in the way of relief. Sure, there is Sean Marshall, but he can't pitch every day.  But the "cure" to the bullpen woes may not be solved by another Jason Frasor or Heath Bell rumor. It may be eased if the team can figure out how to score ...

So far, so good. Without the great Joe Nathan, the Minnesota Twins are off to a good start and his replacement, Jon Rauch, is four-for-four in save situations. Now, granted, the sample size is very small and there's a heck of a lot of baseball yet to be played. Meanwhile, I wasn't being pithy when I said the "great" Joe Nathan—he truly is one of the best closers in the game, no doubt. But ...

This is a much larger issue than simply Yankees-Red Sox, of course. The issue is that the pace of baseball is apparently too slow and the need to decision to establish rules to speed the game up.   Umpire Joe West should take this idea and apply it to his country singing. Talk about painfully slow and dull. But I digress. We need to quit trying to find fault with the game.   West ...

Look, when you're a long-suffering Cubs fans like myself, you have to find your success's where you can. So, when I heard the news that the Cubs passed the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees for the highest non-premium average ticket, I shouted: "We're Number One! We're Number One!" OK, so this isn't much to get excited about. In fact, it hurts because going to Wrigley Field is just ...

Even from the writer who told you that the Cubs' pitching is the teams' Achilles heel, I will not say "I told you so." That's right, for even with the White Sox, who I picked to win the AL Central this year, they may have won easily but you won't hear any gloating. Why? Repeat after me, IT'S ONLY ONE GAME. I know, Carlos Zambrano was horrible and the defense was bad. ...

MLB.com's Barry M. Bloom reported that Cubs skipper Lou Piniella had this to say following the team's win over Arizona is the final game of the preseason on Saturday: "I think the Cubs, their time is coming to win the World Series. Hopefully, it's very, very, very soon." As someone who's been waiting for 40 years, I sure hope it's soon, too, Lou. I actually like Lou's World Series chatter. For too long, ...

While it’s early in the tenure of new Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts and any opinions formed thus far are based on an admittedly small sample size, the only apparent difference between the Chicago Tribune and Ricketts is a face with the name.   That is important, but it’s even more important to have an owner who wants to win the World Series and isn’t afraid to let everyone who works for him ...

As regular readers of my stuff know, I am not a backer of Jim Hendry. In fact, I think he is one of the worst GMs in baseball. Sure, his teams have enjoyed more success than some other Cubs general managers of recent vintage—but I think an increased payroll may have something to do with that. Plus, it is not exactly a challenging baseline that has been established. Look at this $140 million ...

The Chicago Cubs have announced their final roster decision, with the 38-year-old Kevin Millar being released in what Jim Hendry called a "tough" decision according to a Tweet from Paul Sullivan. Making the cut as the team’s 25th man is Chad Tracy. The competition had come down to Micah Hoffpauir, Sam Fuld, Millar, and Tracy. But with Hoffpauir and Fuld still having options available, the decision really was between the affable Millar and Tracy. So why was ...

Every year it's the same old story. "Insert name here" can't find a team willing to meet the demands of the player who was once a star. This year, it's Jermaine Dye that is among those still without a team. Look, sometimes these guys need to understand that they are not the players they once were. Sometimes they need to accept a minor league contract or far less money than they were ...