Sources: Cubs ink Lieber to 1-year deal By Ken Rosenthal The Cubs, turning to an old friend, have signed right-hander Jon Lieber to a one-year contract, according to major-league sources. Lieber, who turns 38 on April 2, was the last Cub to win 20 games, going 20-6 in 2001. He spent the past three seasons with the Phillies, but missed the second half of last season after suffering a ruptured tendon in his right foot. The signing of Lieber could signal a trade of right-hander Jason Marquis or the return of righty Ryan Dempster to the bullpen. Lieber will be in the Cubs' rotation, sources say; otherwise, he would have signed with another club. The Cubs already appear set with five starters — Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Rich Hill, Marquis and Dempster. Marquis, who went 12-9 with a 4.60 ERA and pitched 191 2/3 innings last season, has two years and $16.25 million remaining on his contract. Lieber was 3-6 with a 4.73 ERA last season when he suffered his foot injury on June 24. He had opened the season on the disabled list with a strained right oblique. His last season with the Cubs was 2002, when he suffered an elbow injury that forced him to undergo elbow-ligament transplant surgery and miss the entire '03 season. The Yankees signed Lieber to a two-year deal after the Cubs declined his option, and he made the move look good by winning 14 games in '04, tying him for the team lead. He signed a three-year contract with the Phillies following that season. He is 129-121 lifetime with a 4.28 ERA.
^ No big loss there. He's 38 and injury prone. I'm still ok going into the season as is. There is just nothing out there that is a must do situation. No one still available is that much better that what is currently on the roster.
AHAHAHAHAHAHA suckers. and good riddance to one of the most worthless excuses for an astros' pitcher i've ever seen. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...ers/stories/011108dnsporangsider.2a866b0.html Texas Rangers could add pitcher Jennings Source says Rangers are close to deal with veteran right-hander 12:02 AM CST on Friday, January 11, 2008 By EVAN GRANT / The Dallas Morning News egrant@dallasnews.com The Texas Rangers appear to be closing in on a deal to add veteran right-hander Jason Jennings, a Dallas native, to their starting rotation. Jennings, who turns 30 in July, visited Rangers officials in Arlington earlier this week as talks grew serious. On Thursday, a source said the sides were close to a deal. The last hurdle may be a physical. Jennings is coming back from a torn elbow tendon that kept him from pitching after August 20 last year. General manager Jon Daniels acknowledged the club is still looking at pitching depth but declined to comment on Jennings. Bringing Jennings into the mix could add depth on one level but create more competition on another. Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla are assured spots in the rotation. Brandon McCarthy and Kason Gabbard were expected to pitch in the Nos. 3 and 4 spots, with the fifth spot open. If Jennings is healthy, it could force McCarthy and Gabbard to compete with rookies Luis Mendoza, Armando Galarraga and A.J. Murray for two spots in the back of the rotation. Jennings had an awful time last year due to the elbow problems. Tendinitis forced him to the disabled list after two starts. He returned after missing six weeks but was shut down for the season after tearing the elbow tendon in August. He finished the season 2-9 with a 6.45 ERA. Jennings won 16 games for Colorado in 2002, his first full season in the majors, but he has not had a winning season since then. He was 9-13 with a 3.78 ERA in a career-high 212 innings in 2006.
If Jennings rebounds from his injury and has a decent season (on par with a typical number 3 or 4 type pitcher) then joke's on us. Prob won't happen with Texas (poor decision to go there but may be the only one) I understand the Astros' reasoning for letting him go, but do not necessarily agree with it. That's not to say they should have resigned him, but they could have explored the possibility. They were willing to take chances on other recovering-from-injury pitchers like Prior and Benson. And fans can be quickly forgiving. Didn't seem like they expressed any interest at all, but maybe they did and were only willing to go one year, which he refused (but the Rangers were willing to do). If that's the case good riddance.
I have a feeling that the Astros inquired but that Jennings had no interest in staying in Houston. The price tag isn't so high that the Astros wouldn't have made a run at him if he was interested in staying and healthy.
Does that officially make the Jennings trade the worst in Astros history? I was willing to hold off on thinking that if he re-signed with us and actually gave us some production. Poopura's legacy. Edit: I just realized I am replier number 666 in this thread. Thus, confirming what I already know about myself.
I'd think the worst trade in Astros history would have to involve the Astros dealing a better than average player in the deal, which in this case means no.
Astros sign two minor leaguers http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/...t_id=2350547&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou HOUSTON -- As the offseason enters its final stages, the Astros announced two more Minor League signings on Friday: outfielder Nick Gorneault and right-handed pitcher Runelvys Hernandez. Both were invited to Major League Spring Training. Gorneault, 28, hit .261 with 19 home runs and 59 RBIs in 128 games for Triple-A Salt Lake in 2007. He also made his Major League debut with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim last season, going 0-for-4 with one run scored and a walk in two games. He led the Pacific Coast League in RBIs in 2005 with 108 while hitting 26 home runs for Salt Lake. Hernandez, 29, was 1-7 with a 4.35 ERA over 17 starts at the Triple-A level between the Pawtucket Red Sox, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees and Indianapolis Indians (Pirates). In Dominican winter ball, he posted a 4.91 ERA over six games (three starts) for Leones del Escogido. Hernandez was 25-33 with a 5.38 ERA over 78 games for Kansas City during four seasons (2002-03, 2005-06). Hernandez will compete for a spot in the starting rotation. The Astros also announced that Gary Ruby will serve as the pitching coach and Keith Bodie as the hitting coach at Class A Salem. The club also named D.J. Boston the hitting coach at Rookie League Greeneville. Additionally, John Patton will serve as the athletic trainer for Class A Lexington this season. Fan Fest/College Classic: College baseball returns to Minute Maid Park with the 2008 Houston College Classic from Feb. 29-March 2. With the opening of the college baseball season being moved back two weeks beginning this year, the three-day tournament moves back in the calendar from mid-February, when it has been scheduled in past years. With the new date for the Classic, Astros FanFest moves to a one-day event on Saturday, March 29. FanFest will be held in conjunction with the club's exhibition game against the Detroit Tigers on 1:05 p.m. CT that day. The purchase of a ticket for the Astros-Tigers game also gains fans admission to FanFest. The University of Houston and Rice University return for their annual participation in the College Classic. Three Big 12 teams are competing this year: the University of Texas, Texas Tech University, and the University of Oklahoma. The University of Tennessee rounds out the six-team 2008 College Classic field. Rice (No. 6) and Texas (No. 8) are both ranked in the top 10 in the preseason poll of Collegiate Baseball. The schedule of games for the 2008 College Classic, along with ticket information, can be found here. Jennings a Ranger: Jason Jennings' brief and forgettable tenure with the Astros came to an official end on Thursday with the announcement that the right-hander had signed a one-year deal with the Texas Rangers. Jennings told reporters that this time last year, his elbow was hurting and he was "starting to get concerned," but because he was just traded to the Astros, "I didn't want to make a big stink about it." "I was just hoping it was tendinitis, but as the year went on it got worse and worse," he said. "I finally had to get it taken care of, and now I feel great. It's fun to play catch again. Last year, it wasn't fun to even play catch." Jennings was 2-9 with a 6.45 ERA for the Astros in 2007 and missed three months with an elbow injury that eventually required surgery. "I just want to prove that what people saw last year was not me," Jennings said. "I was fighting through injuries, and we underachieved as a team. I underachieved. I feel I can pitch better. I did in Colorado -- a workhorse that gets us deep in the game." Clemens team addition: Roger Clemens added a new lawyer to his legal team on Thursday, according to spokesman Joe Householder, who works with Rusty Hardin, Clemens' primary attorney. Lanny Breuer of Washington, D.C.-based Covington & Burling LLP is the co-chair of Covington's White Collar Defense and Investigations practice group. He specializes in white-collar criminal and complex civil litigation, internal corporate investigations, congressional investigations and other matters involving high-profile legal, political and public relations risks. "We're delighted to have a lawyer of Lanny's ability join Roger's team as we move forward in trying to work constructively with the congressional committee," Hardin said. Said Breuer: "It is an honor for me to join Rusty Hardin in representing one of the greatest pitchers and athletes of all time."
Runelvys could turn out well. A good signing in the sense that it's not just low-risk, it's no-risk and high-reward.
For any of you that might have hoped to sign Dotel as a set up guy, he signed with the White Sox today for 2 yrs/$11 million... http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-whitesox-dotel&prov=ap&type=lgns I would have like to have him, but not at $5.5 million per when he hasn't pitched a full season since 2004.
Hey guys i have been out of the country for a while, so could you guys please catch me up on what the Astros have done so far this season (players lost and acquired.......and whats up with tajeda, does he have a chance to play this upcoming season) thanks in advance.......
i doubt Tejada will be anywhere else but Houston on opening day..but we'll see lineup goes like this, though the order may be different: Bourn Matsui Tejada Berkman Lee Pence Wigginton Towles they added Jose Valverde to be the closer and found other arms to round out the bullpen. still in need of a #2 starter unless someone has a career year.
I can't wait until you hit free agency. I'll negotiate your deal and we'll clean up. I just need you to get some B12 from Roger Clemens.
