Can the Mets Teach the Cubs a Lesson?

Yes, this is a baseball blog, too. I've been a little Illini-heavy lately, but since they're out of the NCAA tournament, you'll be hearing a lot more about the Cubs. But first, a few words about the Mets. Hmmm...that sounds confusing, but I promise that it'll all shake out by the end of this post.

Yesterday, the Mets released lefthander Oliver Perez, eating the remainder of his $12 million contract. This came just days after they released second baseman Luis Castillo, eating the remainder of his $6 million contract. Two thoughts:

1. Remember last year at the trading deadline, when there was a rumor that the Cubs and Mets were discussing a deal that would have sent Carlos Zambrano to New York for Perez and Castillo? I'm not sure how much truth there was to that story, but considering how well Zambrano finished last season and that Perez and Castillo appear to be finished, we Cubs fans can thank our lucky stars that the trade never actually went through. Kudos to you, Jim Hendry!

2. Now let's see if Hendry can follow the Mets' lead and earn some extra kudos from me by eating some of the Cubs' bloated contracts (I'm mostly thinking of this one).

Trading Day

Good movie, featuring an Oscar-winning performance by Denzel Washington. Why is this on a sports blog? Oh, you said trading day, not Training Day - sorry, my ears are a little stuffed up. Allergies.

Getting back to the trading deadline, the Cubs bid farewell to beloved left-handed bulldog T. Roosevelt Lilly, Esq., and (s)crappy infielder Ryan Theriot, who are now property of the L.A. Dodgers. I'll miss Lilly, but I'm sure he won't miss the Cubs putrid offense, which stuck him with the lowest run support of any starter in the NL and left him with a 3-8 won-loss record that in no way reflects how well he pitched. As for Theriot, I'll miss his career OPS+ of 83, his penchant for baserunning blunders, and fans who wear his jersey in a non-ironic way. In return, the Cubs are out from all but $2.5 million of Lilly's contract and any financial obligations for Theriot this year and next, which amounts to a few million bucks. Also, they received a couple of minor-leaguers we'll never hear from again, and Blake DeWitt, he of the career OPS+ of 93 and much lower salary. DeWitt is a better hitter than Theriot, so I'd say the Cubs did OK personnel-wise and in clearing out some salary room for next year, assuming DeWitt is a better baserunner and defender than Theriot (a pretty safe assumption).

In other news, it looks like there's a market for lunatic starting pitching. Mets GM Omar Minaya proposed swapping left-handed headache Oliver Perez and once capable second baseman/leadoff hitter Luis Castillo for Big Z. On the books, the salaries would have essentially cancelled each other out this year and next, but the Cubs would have been rid of the contracts after 2011 (instead of 2013 under Z's deal) - sort of a copy of the Hundley for Karros/Grudz deal Hendry engineered before the 2003 season. I'm not sure what to think about this one. On one hand, it would be nice to cut our losses and get out from under the weight of one of the team's "untradable" contracts, considering 2011 is shaping up to be a lost year anyway. On the other hand, this would be a classic "sell low" move by Hendry (see Hill, Rich, and Pie, Felix), driving down the return on a once-valuable investment to basically nothing. I'm leaning towards actually agreeing with Hendry on this one and trying to rebuild Z's value - the guy was a staff workhorse (and a really good pitcher) for so many years. Unless he's just cooked from all those innings. Crap, I can't decide how I feel about this trade. When does college basketall start?