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In the off-season between 2008 and 2009, Geovany Soto was riding high. The Chicago Cubs catcher had just won the National League Rookie of the Year award, having socked 23 home runs and posted an .868 OPS in his first full season of Major League work. Perhaps in retrospect, the young backstop rode a little too high. He came to camp in poor shape, and admitted during the season to a ...

Throughout history, birds have been symbols. In the Bible story of Noah and the ark, a dove heralds the first sighting of dry land after the long flood. Even before Edgar Allen Poe forever linked the raven to all things macabre, it stood as a foreboding sign. Eagles represent freedom, doves symbolize peace, hawks typify tenacity, and cranes embody grace. Unfortunately, a Byrd of a different feather is soon to fly into ...

I had originally meant to begin this series of articles immediately after the New Year, the better to lend them relevance and immediacy. However, in mapping out the process, I felt it urgent enough to begin now. I plan to provide, for each projected 2010 Cub and for a few key extra players, profiles with predictive and informative value. Readers should expect brief reviews of the player's 2009 campaign. These will be ...

On Tuesday, the New York Mets agreed to a four-year contract with free agent outfielder Jason Bay. According to reports, the deal will pay Bay roughly $66 million. The pact has drawn mixed reactions. Supporters cite Bay's righthanded power, patience and even surprising speed: he has 66 stolen bases in 80 career attempts and has posted at least two triples in every full season of his Major League career. Critics point to ...

New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman intends to add a starting pitcher before the new year, according to the New York Post. As the Post reports, if he and Chicago Cubs GM Jim Hendry can find common ground, that pitcher may be Cubs right-hander Carlos Zambrano. Before this rather salacious rumor gains too much steam, it should be noted that the roadblocks to an eventual trade are many. First of all, ...

As a devoted Chicago Cubs fan for more than a decade now, I have long been keenly aware of the plight of Ron Santo. Santo, who was a key cog during the Cubs' quasi-revival in the late 1960s and early 1970s, now broadcasts Cubs games for WGN radio, and so remains (alongside Ernie Banks) the face of the Cubs franchise, some 35 years after the end of his illustrious career. Unlike ...

Cubs nation, our long national nightmare may at last be over. After two full fruitless months of maneuvering toward a deal, Chicago Cubs GM Jim Hendry has found a suitor for disgruntled outfielder Milton Bradley . Bradley is headed to Seattle, in a trade that will net the Cubs starting pitcher Carlos Silva and $6 million in cash. Silva, who will turn 31 in April, had two consecutive seasons of misery in ...

For Chicago Cubs GM Jim Hendry, for Texas Rangers GM Jon Daniels, and for free-agent outfielder Marlon Byrd, the last 48 hours have made an interesting, interwoven series of impacts upon the tone and tenor of the MLB offseason. Lost amid the flurry of Monday's higher-profile deals, free-agent outfielder Mike Cameron agreed to a two-year pact with the Boston Red Sox. It may have rated as third-string news on a day that saw three ...

The baseball world is abuzz tonight with talk of the apparently imminent blockbuster trade between the Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies and Seattle Mariners. Reportedly, the deal is all but done, and it will include Toronto ace Roy Halladay, as well as Phillies star left-handed pitcher Cliff Lee, who will go to Seattle in the deal. If and when it happens, the three-team swap will be both momentous and fascinating. It ...

The Winter Meetings are all but over, and a myriad of top arms moved during the annual MLB swap meet. Randy Wolf signed with the Milwaukee Brewers for three years and just under $30 million. Andy Pettitte, the second-best left-handed starter on the market (after Wolf), returned to the Yankees on a one-year deal. The Orioles acquired Kevin Millwood from the Texas Rangers. Relief pitchers Matt Lindstrom, Chris Ray, LaTroy Hawkins, ...