Celebrity Rehab

OK, one more thing about Milton Bradley. I've been thinking about this idea about making Milton Bradley and Carlos Zambrano room together on the road. Tell me that wouldn't make a great reality series.

I got quite a few responses about this, and here are the ideas coming in...

*One potential name for the series could be "Powder Keg."

*Another person suggests making it a season of "Celebrity Rehab." The rehab would just be physical rehab instead. Let's face it, both players are likely headed to the DL at some point.

*The show could include challenges like other reality shows. A few suggestions: "The Mike Fontenot toss," "How far can you throw the towel (or the Towel Drill)", and "How many family members can you e-mail before hurting your arm?"

*Another suggests hiring Larry Bowa as a coach this season to keep an eye on those two guys, and having him host the show. That would make it a rainbow coalition explosion tri-fecta.

Paging Sam Zell. Don't you have a media empire that could use a guaranteed hit?

Alvin Dark

He was the third baseman for the Cubs in 1958 and 1959. Dark was a pretty decent hitter (lifetime .289) and solid fielder, but he was best known for his baseball savvy. After his playing career (he retired in 1960) ended, he used that baseball savvy to manage two teams to the World Series (needless to say, neither of them were the Cubs). His San Francisco Giants won the 1962 NL Pennant, and his 1974 Oakland A's (with former Cubs Billy North and Ken Holtzman) won it all.

Dark's most memorable game with the Cubs, however, was the day that two balls somehow ended up in play at the same time. You can read that story here.

Alvin Dark is celebrating his 87th birthday today (January 7). Happy birthday, Al.

The Cubstiva

Former JOBC Fan of the Week Derick Lehman dropped me a line this week to let me know he was featured on a South Bend TV station last year, shortly after he debuted his Cubstiva for the world here on JOBC.

Here's the video...

Milton Bradley

The Chicago Tribune (who should know) is reporting that Milton Bradley will sign a three year contract for $30 million today.

While I must admit that his stats are pretty impressive (I'm a big fan of that .436 on base percentage), and I can see how a little more fire in the clubhouse wouldn't be a bad thing for this team (I think they should make him room with Zambrano on the road--just as a social experiment to see what happens), I'm having a hard time with that $10 million a year price tag.

In Milton Bradley's Game of Life, the doctor only makes $20,000 (at least in the version I have in my closet). Should this Milton Bradley really make 500 times more? Maybe they should hire both guys. Milton Bradley the baseball player ends up on the disabled list a lot, while Milton Bradley's doctor really works cheap.

Mad Dog

Bill Madlock was known as Mad Dog throughout most of his baseball career, but when he was with the Cubs, his teammates called him Buns. Click on his Cubs nickname to read how they came up with that name.

He's celebrating his 58th birthday today.

Birthday wishes

No, it's not the former President's birthday. If he were alive today, it would be the birthday of his former baseball coach at Yale, Ethan Allen.

Allen wasn't just a college coach. He was also an outfielder for the 1936 Cubs. You can read his really interesting story here.

It's also the anniversary of Hack Miller's birth. Hack may only be the second most famous "Hack" in Cubs history, but he shared more than a nickname with Hack Wilson. His story is here.

Holy crap, they traded DeRosa

I'm having a hard time understanding this move because DeRosa was one of Lou's favorite players, and for that matter, one of mine. My guess is that they decided that his value will never be higher, and he'll be a free agent after this coming season, so they might as well get something for him now. Scout.com analyzed this trade from both the Cleveland and Chicago side, and it's worth a read. It sounds like we might have gotten a couple of pretty good prospects. (Something the Cubs usually don't do.)

The Cubs also acquired Aaron Miles yesterday. I know Miles hit .317 last season, but he has never been one of my favorite players.

Hendry promised more moves, so let's see what else he has planned before we bash him too much.

But still...I really liked DeRosa and I'm sad to see him go.