A-LEAGUE

From Cubs.com:

Guzman, who underwent Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery in late 2007, has gone 2-0 with a 2.86 ERA in five starts, striking out 15 and walking seven over 22 innings for Magallanes in Venezuela. He threw five shutout innings on Oct. 30 against Oriente and he also went six innings on Nov. 12, also against Oriente, giving up two earned runs.
...
Hill is pitching for Aragua in Venezuela, and has gone 1-2 with a 7.45 ERA in six starts. The left-hander lasted one inning in his latest outing Tuesday, giving up five earned runs on three hits and three walks. He has given up 19 walks over 19 1/3 innings.

Justin Berg, another Cubs prospect, has gone 0-1 with a 9.88 ERA in 10 appearances, giving up 15 runs on 16 hits and 11 walks over 13 2/3 innings while striking out 10.

Cubs shortstop Ronny Cedeno, who also is playing for Aragua, has batted .246 with two home runs and 10 RBIs in 16 games. Outfielder Sam Fuld has hit .296 for Aragua with two home runs and nine RBIs in 25 games. He's batting .423 in his last 10 games with 11 walks.

In action in the Dominican Republic, Jake Fox was leading the league with a .413 average in 20 games with two home runs, 12 doubles and 24 RBIs for Licey.

Lou Speaks

From the Trib:
On Marmol as closer:

"The best way to handle that is to let them go to spring training and compete," Piniella said. "I'm comfortable with Marmol. He's pitched very well here the last two years. And the other kid saved 29 games this year for the Marlins, so not bad."

"No, I'm not going to take anything personally," he replied. "Why should I?"

While Piniella said he hadn't heard or read Dempster's comments, "The consensus here is that it was misinterpreted, basically," Piniella said. "I thought the team was prepared. We just didn't play well. What are you going to do?"

Piniella said there was no difference in how he prepared the team in October. "Get the team ready to play, and at the same time let 'em play," he said. "That's all you can do. I mean, getting a team ready to go to the postseason is not like taking a college exam. Basically, it's going over reports and preparing them as much as possible for your opposition. But, look, you've got to execute on the field."

"That question gets asked all the time," he said.

Is he tired of answering it?

"I'm not tired of it," he said. "But before you make changes or contemplate making changes, you've got to have somebody who can do that."

Piniella said no one on the current roster was a better option than Soriano, though he left the door open for an off-season move. "If we were to add somebody who's a leadoff hitter per se, then you can look at it," he said. "Unless we add somebody, it won't change.

"Put it this way: If the season started tomorrow and Soriano was my leadoff hitter, I'd be perfectly content."

From the Daily Herald:

Mark Teahen: Reports, coming initially out of KC, had the Cubs interested in trading for the left-handed hitting Teahen, who can play both outfield corners as well as first and third base, where he could spell Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez from time to time. The Cubs do like Teahen, but I'm told his name isn't as hot as has been played. (Let's remember that we hear about trade rumors all the time, and then one comes out of nowhere, such as the Gregg trade.) I'd be worried about Teahen's OBP, which went from .353 in 2007 to .313 this year. Teahen did hit 15 homers for the Royals, so he does have some pop.

Rafael Furcal: Contrary to popular belief, the Cubs do have a budget, and they're coming close to reaching it. I don't see how Furcal fits, money-wise. Besides, the Cubs have a shortstop in Ryan Theriot, who had a .387 OBP this year. Furcal would solve the Cubs' leadoff situation, and he's a better fielder than is Theriot, but I wouldn't bet on the Cubs signing him.

Brian Roberts: This took up everybody's time last off-season. The Cubs can sign him as a free agent next fall, so they seemingly wouldn't have to offer old friend Andy MacPhail and the Orioles as much as they did last year. If Andy comes calling, Jim will listen, but I don't see the Cubs initiating a hot pursuit.

This and that: The Cubs added three minor-league pitchers to their 40-man yesterday: Mitch Atkins, Justin Berg and Marcos Mateo. One surprising name left off the list was lefty Donnie Veal, who now is eligible to be taken in the Rule 5 draft. That may well happen, but it's hard to see the erratic Veal sticking with a big-league club all year. I still remember the hue and cry a few years ago when the Cubs lost lefty Andy Sisco to the Royals in the Rule 5. As it turned out, that didn't hurt the Cubs at all. Atkins was the minor-league pitcher of the year. Mateo passed Jose Ceda by, allowing the Cubs to trade Ceda for Gregg. Speaking again of trades, the Cubs almost have to trade righty Jason Marquis, especially with lefty Sean Marshall pushing for a full-time job and with the Peavy talks not dead yet. No doubt the Cubs will have to eat some of Marquis' $9-plus million salary for 2009.

Cubs to open new Yankee Stadium
There was already some talk of this last week, and it's a couple days old, but there's not much else going on.
From Cubs.com:

The Cubs will be the first to test the visiting team setup at the new Yankee Stadium in 2009.

The Cubs and Yankees will play the first exhibition games at the new Yankee Stadium on April 3 at 6:05 p.m. CT and April 4 at 12:05 p.m.

"The Cubs are thrilled to be the Yankees' first opponent in the new Yankee Stadium and are honored to take part in this historic event," said Cubs chairman Crane Kenney. "[Cubs manager] Lou Piniella and eight of our players had the honor to partake in All-Star Game festivities that helped say farewell to Yankee Stadium last summer, and we look forward to participating in the opening of the Yankees' new ballpark next spring."

The managers of the two teams have links to both clubs. Piniella played 11 seasons for the Yankees and was a member of two World Series championship teams in 1977-78. He also was the Yankees' manager from 1986-88. The Bombers are managed by former Cubs catcher Joe Girardi.

From the Trib:

Well, this is really getting interesting now.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella disputed Ryan Dempster's comment that the team "underestimated how prepared you have to be" entering its best-of-five playoff series against the Dodgers.

"Look, the team was prepared," Piniella told WMVP-AM 1000's "Waddle and Silvy Show" on Wednesday.

Though likely unintended, Dempster's statement reflected poorly on Piniella, who as manager is responsible for getting his team ready for the postseason. Piniella pointed to the lack of offense as the main culprit for the Cubs' collapse, and reiterated they need more left-handed hitting to balance the lineup.
"It's very much alike, one through eight," he said. "It's right-handed, it's power-hitting and it's not very quick."

Add a left-handed bat and athleticism, "and the whole thing changes," he said.

While everyone has an opinion on what happened in October, Piniella said "the bottom line is we didn't play good baseball."

December 1 deadline for bids

From the Daily Herald:

Bidders for the Chicago Cubs have until Dec. 1 to submit offers, Major League Baseball said Wednesday after a meeting of its ownership committee.

Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, said representatives of four bidders have met in New York in recent weeks with officials from the commissioner's office, MLB's Internet company and the sport's new television network.

The team was put up for sale in April 2007 when Tribune Co., the Cubs' owner, announced it was being acquired by real estate developer Sam Zell. DuPuy said the latest deadline was set by the Tribune Co.

"Bids are expected the week after Thanksgiving," DuPuy said. "Mr. Zell claims the team is for sale and they're moving forward."

Looks like Cubs out on Peavy

From Cubs.com:

The Cubs aren't too strong of a player after re-signing right-hander Ryan Dempster to a four-year, $52 million contract on Tuesday. The starting rotation was the No. 1 priority and now includes Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Rich Harden and Jason Marquis.

Because of escalating contract commitments to players and because the team's ownership situation is in flux, the Cubs don't have much room in their 2009 budget for Peavy and have other issues to address. The team is in the market for a left-handed-hitting outfielder and a veteran reliever.

A source told MLB.com earlier on Wednesday that the Cubs headed into the offseason knowing they could either sign Dempster or acquire Peavy, but not afford both pitchers.

If Towers could get another team involved, then perhaps Peavy could come to Chicago. The right-hander has a hefty price tag. He will make $11 million in 2009 and is owed $63 million over the remainder of his contract.

From the Daily Herald:

"One year didn't get him four," Hendry said. "Five years of being around Ryan Dempster got him four.

"There's way more than just 17 wins on the board involved here. This is a special guy that is totally into trying to bring the Chicago Cubs a world championship. You win a lot of baseball games with this guy on your ballclub."

The Cubs sure did this season with the 31-year-old right-hander, who went 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA in 33 starts. Dempster set a career high and tied for third in the National League in wins, ranked fourth in the league in ERA, and earned himself a trip to the All-Star Game.

"It's huge for us; it was such a priority," Hendry said. "Ryan did a terrific job - just a phenomenal season that he had. He's all about winning. It was imperative that we kept him in house."

And they did it for less than the market would have produced had Dempster actively searched out a better deal.

"No doubt in any of our minds that Ryan would have exceeded this deal three or four weeks from now with the way the market is for starting pitching," Hendry said. "From Day One he told us that he wanted to stay."

Sully ponders what happens next

From the Trib:

With Ryan Dempster's $52 million contract taken care of, Hendry is still trying to find a way to fit Padres ace Jake Peavy into the picture. The Cubs are the sole remaining bidders for Peavy, who could be the final piece of a dream rotation that already includes Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden and Ted Lilly.

"It's going to take a while," Padres GM Kevin Towers told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "They have a couple of players to pick from that we are interested in, but anything with them is going to potentially involve a third or a fourth team. We're focusing only on [the Cubs]."
...
If the Cubs can't get Peavy, they will turn to Plan B-45-year-old free agent Randy Johnson, who would be a one-year fix. That obviously would push Jason Marquis to the bullpen, where he hasn't fared well. Marquis is owed nearly $10 million in '09, the final year of a three-year, $21 million deal, making him difficult to trade.

The Cubs also are interested in free-agent shortstop Rafael Furcal, who is seeking $10 million per year for three or four years after hitting .357 in 36 games for the Dodgers in 2008. Furcal's agent said they have spoken to the Cubs, but it's "nothing serious" yet.

Dempster says Cubs weren't ready for playoffs
Julie posted some of this in the Dempster sidebar diary, but I thought it worth mentioning here, too.

From the Trib:

Asked if Piniella's "100-year" comment had any merit, Dempster repeated his assertion the Cubs simply weren't prepared.

"I think sometimes we almost expected it, go out there and play hard and we're good enough and just expect it to happen, and we'll win this series and then the next one and all the excitement will happen once we get to the World Series," he said. "Maybe L.A. was just a little more prepared for us than we were for them."

Dempster also suggested the Cubs' 52-26 record at Wrigley, the best since 1935, created a false sense of security.

"It almost felt like it was just going to be a given that we win Games 1 and 2 and move on and go from there," he said. "You still have to play the games. You have to put the uniform on, go out there and compete. If anything we've learned that."

We've hit the inevitable rut that lurks before us every off-season. Not late enough for the Winter Meetings. Not late enought for the Free Agent Frenzy. To early to look forward to Spring Training. No decent rumors floating around.

We here at LOHO are nothing if not sensitive to your needs and short attention span. Lo, I present this edition of the OBD.

Follow me below the jump for all your entertainment needs.
It just wouldn't be an OBD without a mention of Pirates. And look! They're getting bolder by the day!

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Pirates who seized a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million in crude oil anchored the ship within sight of impoverished Somali fishing villages Tuesday, while the U.S. and other naval forces decided - for now - against intervention.

Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that it will join the international fight against piracy, and Somali officials vowed to try to rescue the hijacked Saudi oil supertanker by force if necessary.

Okay, grabbing a few millionaire yachts and drug-lord dinghies is dangerous enough in this day and age; God knows that pirates don't get the health care coverage they deserve. But a supertanker?!?! That's really over-acheiving. I wish you people would show that kind of initiative around here.

And there's a global fight against piracy? Who knew? And where do I sign up? For the pirate side, I mean. AAAARRR!

In other news, Lance Armstrong fears for his delicate sensibilities (and probably his remaining testicle):

The seven-time Tour champion, who is making a comeback after three years in retirement, said in an interview in The Guardian on Tuesday that he is concerned about his safety.

"I don't want to enter an unsafe situation but you see this stuff coming out of France," said the American rider, who has many critics in France. "There're some aggressive, angry emotions. If you believe what you read, my personal safety could be in jeopardy."

Yes, because that's what the French are known for: being agressive and violent. Take that, Germany.

First in line to jump Lance? Sheryl Crowe.

You might not think that a guy who gets his finger hacked off by a lawn chair is lucky, peanut gallery. And in most cases, I would agree with you. Unless the chair is made by googlillionaire Martha Stewart. And the guy is magician, who like, REALLY needs the use of his hands! And also, is a hand model.

No, I'm not making this up.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- A hand model and magician blames a Martha Stewart-branded lounge chair for snipping off a bit of his livelihood.

In a lawsuit filed Monday against Kmart Corp. and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Patrick Albanese said he was moving the chair when the front tubular legs collapsed, crushing a finger between one of the chair legs and a bar on the base.

Sigh. This kind of feel-good story warms my heart and almost makes me want to go back to being a lawyer.

Someone upstairs likes us: a brand new "Will It Blend?"

5 songs in heavy roation on my iPod:

Daughter: Loudon Wainwright
Grey in L.A.: Loudon Wainwright
I'm Yours: Jason Mraz (trust tree!)
Rock Star: Pink
You Should Never Think: Robert Pattinson (I know, I know. TRUST TREE!)

QOTD: What song would you forever banish from the airwaves?

I vote for whatever that horrible new Beyonce "song" is. My God, is that woman not talented.