Trade

Pulled off a medium magnitude trade. I shipped Michael Cuddyer and Carlos Marmol to North Texas for Joel Pineiro and Jake Fox. Cuddyer was having a nice year so far (.276/11/39/42/4) but is always an injury risk. Marmol was getting loads of holds but was very inconsistent. Pineiro (6/3.44/42/1.18) gives some stability to my starting pitching was has been racking by injuries and demotions (3 opening days guys are on the DL). Fox takes the place of Cuddyer and hopefully will continue his hot hitting and might qualify at third soon.

Trade

A couple weeks ago I pulled off a trade to fill a major gap in my lineup. I moved Magglio Ordonez and Khalil Greene for Kurt Suzuki and Andruw Jones. Ordonez was doing poorly and although he still has something left in the tank, my lineup was stacked with outfielders. What I needed was a catcher. Shoppach wasn't getting the at-bats he needed; Suzuki will step in nicely with his over .300 average and everyday play. Greene and Jones were throw-ins but Jones is somewhat more valuable given his much better stats and the fact Greene is on the DL with mental disorders.

Week 4 Update

Back from vacation and I find my team sitting in the cat bird's seat. My starting pitching continue to struggle so I might have to do a deal for another starter.

Week 2 Review

Stank it up in week 2, losing 3-7. The week's MVP was Ryan Ludwick again, posting a 4/3/10/0/1/.417 line. The LVP was Mark Fontenot with absolutely nothing.

Week 1 Review

I got a nice 8-4 victory in week 1 of the 2009 eMLB season. I took the offensive stats 4-2 losing the HR by a single dinger. Ryan Ludwick and Justin Morneau provided the power and RBI's while Carlos Gomez provided some speed. I took the pitching stats by another 4-2 score, losing the wins category by a single point. Carlos Marmol got 3 key holds and a save (to go with saves from Frank Francisco and Kevin Gregg. Fausto Carmona and Ricky Nolasco stunk it up out of the gate while Rich Harden and Erik Bedard did great. The week's MVP goes to Ryan Ludwick who put up 4/2/5/1/2/.389 while the goat is Lastings Milledge who got sent to the minors.

Rest of 2008 Draft

7 - Carlos Gomez, OF - I needed some speed and Gomez could deliver. The only issue is playing time.
9 - Kelly Shoppach, C - My starting catcher. The Indians lineup is still up in the air, but 25 HR' and 70 RBI's are easily obtainable.
10 - Kevin Gregg, RP - Mandatory handcuff for Marmol. One will close, the other setup.
11 - Joel Zumaya, RP - Will this be the year for Mr. Guitar Hero? He will be in the mix to close, but I expect him to setup.
12 - Randy Wolf, SP - A solid starter when healthy, he is my 6th man in the rotation.
13 - Mark Fontenot, 2B - Finally picked up a second baseman. Fontenot put up good numbers last year but might not be the full time starter. I will probably need a backup.
14 - Sean Marshall, SP/RP - Yet another Cub. Marshall is a good pitcher that can't seem to stick in the rotation or bullpen. His RP/SP eligibility gives me some more flexibility.
15 - Jerry Owens, OF - Taking another chance on Owens this year. If he gets the starting leadoff gig for the Sox, he could put up very nice numbers.
16 - Roy Corcoran, RP - In the running for the Mariners closer spot. If he gets it, he will be a nice saves value pick, otherwise I hope he gets some holds.
17 - Anthony Reyes, RP/SP - Hopefully will start, but might have to wait for an opening.
18 - Taylor Teagarden, C - A nice high-reward backup for Shoppach.

2009 Draft

Recap of the first five rounds.
1 - Justin Morneau, 1B - I was looking to trade down, but couldn't get a deal done so this pick became a toss up between Morneau and Berkman. I went with youth since their stats are very similar.
2 - Ricky Nolasco, SP - I traded down in the second and picked up another 3rd rounder. Nolasco had a great 08 season. My primary target here was Edinson Volquez but he went two spots before me. Nolasco only had two less wins and a twenty less strikeouts, but a lower WHIP.
3a - Carlos Marmol, RP - Marmol put up an insane 11.78 K/9 strikeout ratio last year. I figure at least 45 saves for the Cubs this year.
3b - Max Scherzer, RP/SP - A bit of reach for this promising talent. He is slated to be in the rotation but qualifies at RP so I have lots of flexibility.
4 - Frank Francisco, RP - I took Francisco over other available closers due to his great K rate (11.84/9) and the fact that the Rangers should be better this year.
5 - Erik Bedard, SP - Was playing hurt last year on a terrible Mariners team. I expect a return to 180+ K's.

I don't have a 6th or 8th round picks. I will be looking to flesh out my empty roster positions in the later rounds.

Winter Meetings Trade

I made a minor move in the eMLB Winter Meetings by getting SS Edgar Renteria from The NJ Mets for my 8th round pick. I don't have a lot of confidence in my current shortstop, Khalil Greene and Renteria is a good veteran that comes cheap. If Greene bounces back, great, if not, he rides the pine all season.