The Baltimore Sun has reported that the Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles are close to a deal that would send Rich Hill to the East coast. The move, which has yet to be finalized, would send Hill, 28, to Baltimore for a player to be named.
If you would have asked any Cubs fan in 2007 if they would trade the left-handed prospect to a team for a "player-to-be-named", they would have given you a Bobby Knight-esque reaming. in 07', Hill was filling the missing piece to the starting lineup and was beginning to shore up the Cubs rotation. That season, Hill went 11-8 with a 3.92 ERA in 32 starts in his first full year of action.
But now, Hill seems to be out of options in the Major Leagues, after a Rick-Ankiel-Forgot-How-To-Find-The-Plate 2008 season (he walked 18 batters in 19 2/3 innings for the Cubs and 44 walks in 47 2/3 innings for the Cubs rookie league).
The Orioles President of Baseball Operations, Andy McPhail (who previously worked with The Chicago Cubs in the late 1990's and early 2000's) and Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry have completed three different trades in the past four seasons that have sent highly-towted prospects to play at Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Corey Patterson, Felix Pie and now Rich Hill).
I guess Andy McPhail can't get enough of the Cubs' once-upon-a-time prospects, and to Cubs fans, this may be a blessing in disguise.
This move is probably a good one for both sides (Rich Hill and the Cubs). Hill was one of my favorite Cubs in 2007 but I've pretty much given up on him at this point. Hill pitched awful last year. He seems to have completely lost it. It's one of those things that happens in sports that you can't really explain. He had good command throughout his minor league career and in the early part of his major league career. Now he can't get the ball over the plate. Perhaps a change of scenery will help.
ReplyDeleteSeriously does it matter? The Cubs are cursed.
ReplyDeleteDear Bayside,
ReplyDeleteYour obviously a man of GREAT intelligence, thank you for your exquisite sense of writing ability shown in the post above! Keep up the good work and good luck being a "professional softball player".
Cheers, RL
I'm just hoping that Rich Hill can find Baltimore on the map. Seems like he can't find anything these days, for example, strike zones.
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, it's going to be a different look for the 2009 Cubs. As a Chi-Cubs and Iowa Cubs fan it is going to be a really different look not seeing Kerry Wood, Felix Pie, or Rich Hill, amongst others on the 2009 Cubs.
Read a story about Derrek Lee and a new video about the history of the Chicago Cubs that will benefit Project 3000, a UI initiative to find all 3,000 people in the U.S. affected by Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA). Lee's daughter has the disease and it looks like it will be a very worthy and beneficial cause.
ReplyDeleteHere's the link: http://mystateline.com/content/fulltext/?cid=46841.
I wish Pie would've been given more consistent playing time, I think there is a good chance he'll develop into a decent player if he's on the field every day in Baltimore. As for Hill, I see this trade talk, and I think, "meh." But I do hope we get at least something OK for him.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to lie, wasn't a very big Rich Hill fan. He just kinda fell of towards the end. The Cubs have a lot of dominating options in the starter roles now, so they should be more than capable of eeking out a few wins without him.
ReplyDeleteCharlie, thanks for the link. That is a great cause for D-Lee and his young daughter!
ReplyDeleteMan, what a difference a year makes for someone like Hill. I have a feeling he isn't going to make a comeback as a home-run hitting center-fielder either.
ReplyDeleteBut to put that background in: just go to layout and then page elements. Go to the header bar and click on edit. It has a place where you can put an image in. It takes a little tinkering getting the right sized image that looks good, but I'm sure you'll find something
Rich did not finish his development by this current juncture, which is chicago was hoping. The team needed him to be ready now, since we are built to win now, not in 3 years. Rich is a quality player and can still help a ball club however he would not be able to contribute this year. My take is it is a good move, and in short, good riddence
ReplyDelete