Pierre has expressed an interest in the press to play elsewhere, due to many factors. Such as Wrigley is not the most conductive ballpark for his slap happy talent, but also due to the way fans treated a struggling Jacque Jones at the beginning of the season.  Juan is Not the only one expressing his feelings of testing the waters as Ramirez has made it be known that he too plans on taking offers from other clubs thus nullifying his current Cub contract that will pay him 22.5 million over the next two seasons.  This seems as quite a shocker to some as Hendry had a verbal agreement to re-up with ARam at the All Star Break, but a monster second half by Ramirez has opened up the flood gates of potential offers from clubs desperate for offense and a third baseman.

The recent reports that have been circulating Chicago that BOTH Aramis Ramirez and Juan Pierre are preparing to jump ship this offseason are fueled by monster second half seasons: 

What some don’t know is that both Pierre and Ramirez have expressed a devotion to manager Dusty Baker calling him the “best manager” they’ve played for.  It’s a trait that Dusty is known for, being a player’s manager, nevering throwing a player under the bus for the media to blame, instead taking the blame himself or pawning it off as a bad break.

So I pose the question would you re-up Dusty for another year to keep Ramirez AND Pierre OR do you chance it that money will talk to at least one of the two (probably Ramirez) and sign a new manager?  

Some blame Wood and Prior’s injuries on Dusty’s overuse in 2003 but that’s not just.   Wood had serious arm troubles before Dusty ever arrived on the scene, the original abuse blame should go to a playoff desperate manager Jim Riggleman and general manager Ed Lynch in 1998.  Kerry suffered the consequences of overpitching on a young arm and poor mechanics (much like the 2006 Twins’ Liriano) thus enduring a Tommy John surgery that cost him all of the 1999 season and some of the 2000 season.  He missed a month in 2001, yet still put up great numbers when starting.  Then in 2002 and 2003, Kerry pitched like the Cubs always thought he could, absolutely brilliant.  That’s when Kerry signed his 3 year deal with an option in 2007 that the Cubs will decline this offseason for 3 million dollars (instead of an option for 13.5 million).

As for Prior, he’s suffered some very “odd” injuries that are not as neatly explainable as Kerry Wood’s have been.  First was the “calf injury” that the club shut him down in 2002 with, then he pitched a complete 2003 season before having achilles tendon problems as well as being run over by Marcus Giles that cost him time in 2004 , in 2005 he was hit with a line drive that fractured his arm the cost him substancial time, while 2006 he’s missed time due to shoulder problems.

Concerning replacing the starting CF and 3B, the Cubs do have a vesting interest in former CF Gary Matthews Jr who has just displayed a career year in the hitter’s ballpark in Arlington, Texas.  What’s even more scary is that the 32 year old Matthews is looking at 2-3yr deal worth 6-8 million per year.  Outside of Matthews, Felix Pie is the closest thing we have to a centerfielder, except Pie isn’t ready to handle a MLB starting leadoff job but could play defensively in CF.  The 3B the Cubs have had their eye on for quite a while is Joe Randa, even back to his Kansas City days before Ramirez became a reality.  Randa would only be a stopgag and insurance to 3B Scott Moore whom the Cubs do have high hopes for.

The Cubs are shopping Jacque Jones this offseason but aren’t excepted to get an overwhelming offer, that’s why Matt Murton and Ronny Cedeno are being shopped around this offseason along with several young pitching arms.

While second base may seem like a position to fill in the upcoming off-season, if you have actually been able to stomach the final two months of Cubs baseball you will have seen that Ryan Theriot is a player who should be given the second base job in 2007 and should become a staple at the top of the Cubs lineup. Read more… »

Well I’m a little late to report the move of the West Tennessee DiamondJaxx to Knoxville (really it’s Sevierville), Tennessee. It ended a nine year run between the DiamondJaxx and the Chicago Cubs and behind the scenes it’s a pretty hairy situation.  The DiamondJaxx owner, Bob Lozinak, has threatened to move the team for the past few years.  Just this past offseason, Lozinak came close to selling the DiamondJaxx to a group from Orlando, Florida who wanted to move the club to ya guessed it, the Orlando area.  The deal fell apart much like it had the year before. Lozinak decided to keep his team despite losing close to a half million dollars the last three years in Jackson, Tennessee.  But reports are again surfacing that Lozinak has agreed to sell the team to the same investing group based in Orlando that has attempted to purchase the team for the past three years.

 The Jaxx were in a poor situation, not only were they close to two accomplished AAA teams in Memphis (Cardinals) and Nashville (Brewers) but the city of Jackson never really supported baseball or the team.  After the grand opening of Pringles Park in 1998, attendance had gone down dramatically.  To the point now where Pringles Park is constantly one of the of the lowest draws in all of AA despite a good product being placed on the field.  For the last two years, the Jaxx have been good on the field, winning their division in 2005 but no one has been in the stands, marking last place attendance figures in the Southern League in consecutive years.  In 2005, the Jax drew 105,800 fans (1,556 per game).  The Jaxx poor fan following still showed in 2006 despite increased promotional gimmicks, drawing just 95,486 fans (1,404 per game), the lowest attendance in the Southern League.  The next closest, Huntsville (Alabama) drew nearly 1,000 fans more per game.  And anytime you draw less than 3,000 fans per game, then the owners have to start dipping into their own pocket.

On the other side of the spectrum, the Tennessee Smokies located in the mountains near Knoxsville, Tennessee, have a strong fan base that supports the product as seen in their high attendance figures despite the team on the field.  This year the Smokies were 4th in attendance figures, drawing 255,906 fans or 3,763 fans per game.  The Smokies saw this as a great opportunity to not only increase their already high park numbers but increase their promotions as several top Cub players had put in rehab stints for the DiamondJaxx the past few years. 

The Cubs who had been working with Lozinak, just finished out a four year agreement, decided this was the perfect time to bail out.  The DiamondJaxx just don’t draw the fans for the Cubs liking, and Chicago really wanted to avoid the drama that is following the Lozinak financial woes.  So the Cubs were willing to move to the opposite side of the state, even if it meant that fans from Illinois will have to travel an additional six hours to watch the AA team.  At least with flight times, a rookie prospect in AA can make it to Chicago in 90 minutes via a direct flight.

You can bet the departure of the Cubs affiliation with the West Tennessee DiamondJaxx tempted owner Bob Lozinak to sell his team even more as he’s financial obligated to stay in Jackson.  Just before the 2006 season, Bob Lozinak signed a three year extension with the City of Jackson to keep the team there through the 2008 season.  It involved penalties that called for $500,000 if the team left after the 2006 season or a $250,000 penalty after the 2007 season.  But the contract held a stipulation that if Lozinak lost “considerable amounts of monies” after the 2006 season, he could move the team without fine.  Unfortunately for Lozinak he lost money but not enough to move out without penalty.   

 Here’s a look at the AA Cubs new home, Smokies Park:

The park was built in 2000, just two years younger than the former home of Pringles Park in Jackson and seats 6,400 fans.  The dimensions are your stand 330 down the lines and 400 to straight away center.  The park is built on a hillside, with a KOA campground above it, so if you were lucky enough, one can actually watch a game for free while there camping (you’ll save on lodging).  There is an oddity with the minor league park though, there is a parking fee of $3 and the tickets are a little higher than most parks in the area, but that’s probably to help the taxpayers recoup some of the 19 million they sunk into the complex.  It’s a nice stadium, and I suggest everyone within the area to make it to as many games as possible.  Go Smokies!!!