John Brattain writes at The Hardball Times:

Does anybody find it odd that Sammy Sosa has yet to be linked officially with anabolic steroids? The evidence of his juicing consists of: a corked bat (which by extension makes Billy Hatcher, Graig Nettles, Wilton Guerrero, etc. juicers as well), an odd performance in front of the Senate committee where he feigned a lack of ability to speak in English (while it was lame, I would not speak in such a situation unless I could in my mother tongue, either), an affidavit describing a conversation he had regarding amphetamines, and an extremely muscular physique.

And that is it.

. . . .

For the time being, I’m perfectly willing to state that Sosa’s four seasons averaging 61 HR and his career 609 are the genuine article.

Read the rest.

"Jim Boylan was named coach of the Bulls for the rest of the season, he's hoping to improve on Scott Skiles' 9-16 turn to start the season, and a Myers-led run that didn't have a chance to begin with, and somehow still ended up even worse than it should have been," writes Yahoo! Sports' Kelly Dwyer.

I thought Skiles had done a good job to turn a mediocre team into a good one the past few years, but his substitution patterns always puzzled me.

Based on a quick review, there are no current Chicago Cubs players linked to performance enhancing substances in the Mitchell Report. There are, however, a number of former Cubs discussed, along with rumored acquisition target Brian Roberts. Sammy Sosa's name is absent, other than a brief mention that he declined to answer Mitchell's questions.

Larry Bigbie told Mitchell that "Roberts admitted to him that he had injected himself once or twice with steroids in 2003." Roberts declined to meet with Mitchell.

The Daily Herald's Bruce Miles says there is reason for optimism in the Cubs' use of relevant statistical analysis. The Cubs cited Kosuke Fukudome's OPS in its press release and Jim Hendry referred to Fukudome's on-base percentage during a conference call with reporters. It's a start.

With fellow lefty reliever Will Ohman gone in a trade, the Cubs decided to keep Neal Cotts on the roster. The Cubs and Cotts agreed on a one-year contract to avoid arbitration, reports MLB.com. The AP says the deal is worth $800K, $25K less than he made in 2007.

Cotts struggled in five appearances in mid-to-late May, allowing 9 runs in 6 innings, resulting in his demotion to Iowa, as he had options remaining when the Cubs decided to recall Sean Marshall. In 50 innings for Iowa, Cotts had a 4.83 ERA, as he walked too many batters (30), but most of those difficulties occurred while he was in Iowa's starting rotation. After returning to the bullpen, Cotts had a 2.67 ERA in 27 innings over 18 games, though he still walked too many (15).

This deserves a longer article, but the topic is so worn out, it's hard. The Cubs have non-tendered Mark Prior, allowing him to become a free agent. Four years ago, the Cubs could be said to be Prior's team, given his stature on the mound and in front of the microphone. What followed was seemingly endless spring training Prior watches. There will be no "Prior Watch" in 2008. But I will be watching him, hoping he can come back with some semblance of success from the significant shoulder damage he sustained.

Seeking the most expensive corner outfield combination in MLB history, a side benefit of adding a left-handed hitter who can sell ballcaps and jerseys in Japan, the Cubs appear to have succeeded. The Cubs will announce tomorrow that they have signed 30-year-old Kosuke Fukudome to a four-year contract, a number of media outlets are reporting.

Salary figures have not been released. Carrie Muskat says $48M. Paul Sullivan says $50-56M. ESPN says $48-56M. So it appears that Fukudome will make as much as or more than Derrek Lee ($13M per), despite coming off an elbow injury that required surgery and limited him to half a season last year. Combine that with Alfonso Soriano's $13M in 2008 (escalating to $18M per by 2010) and you have a very expensive outfield even if the third outfielder -- Felix Pie? Matt Murton? -- makes minimum wage.

Given the alternatives for starting outfielders, Fukudome appears to have been the best option available. For the second year in a row, Jim Hendry outbids everyone for that best option.

Joe Aiello of View from the Bleachers looks at whether the Cubs were cost effective in 2007. Rich Hill, at least, was cost effective.

Good and bad out of the Winter Meetings in Nashville:

Bad: Felix Pie, Sam Fuld, Tyler Colvin, and Jeff Samardzija are "untouchables," according to Jim Hendry. All four are nice prospects, but why would any of them be off-limits in a trade?

Good: Lou Piniella says that Ryan Dempster does not have a starting rotation spot locked up. Kevin Hart, Sean Gallagher, and Sean Marshall will get opportunities as well.

Bad: Ryan Theriot has locked up the starting shortstop spot for 2008, according to Piniella. If Dempster is going to have competition, why won't Theriot? What harm exists in letting Ronny Cedeno compete for the starting job in spring training?

Good: The Cubs are exploring a trade for Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts, reports the Baltimore Sun. Roberts just turned 30 and has had .305, .264, .285 EqA's the past three seasons with good defense. Another Cubs Blog has more on Roberts rumors.

Good: A number of teams are interested in Mark Prior, hopefully driving up the asking price.

Who Knows?: The Cubs obtained Twins relief pitcher Tim Lahey in today's Rule 5 draft. Lahey, 25, had a 3.45 ERA in 78.1 innings in double-A last year, with 56 K's and 33 BB's. Another Cubs Blog has more on Lahey. The Cubs lost swingman Randy Wells, who had a 4.52 ERA in 95.2 innings for triple-A Iowa last year, striking out 101 and walking 41.

The Cubs are intent on acquiring a left-handed hitting outfielder this offseason. Here's one available: Corey Patterson. Patterson, now 28, hit just .269/.304/.386 for the Baltimore Orioles in 2007.

Apparently Omar Infante was not meant to wear a Cubs' uniform after all. Off to Atlanta he goes, along with the out-of-favor Will Ohman. In exchange, the Cubs get 22-year-old right-handed relief pitcher Jose Ascanio. Ascanio had a 2.54 ERA in 78 innings in the double-A Southern League in 2007. He had an impressive 71 K's against just 18 BB's. He also pitched in 16 innings for the Braves, allowing 9 runs.

Ohman was set to make $1.6M in 2008 and Infante would have made something similar.

So Jim Hendry turned Jacque Jones into a young major-league ready fireballing reliever, giving up Ohman in the process but also dropping salary. Well done.

For their part, Braves blogs Talking Chop and Chop-N-Change both like the deal from their perspective as well, noting Ohman's excellent road ERA over the past three seasons.

NFL Football

"Chicago Bears at Washington Redskins"

Thursday, December 6, 2007
7:00 pm - 10:30 pm, NFLNET

(source: Tivo listings)

Our Opinion: Cable firms should hold line on NFL

Sample:

FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal reports that Kaz Matsui is about to sign a three-year, $15M contract with the Houston Astros, even though the Cubs made him a similar offer. I understand that Matsui is a fine fielder (quite good, in fact, according to Baseball Prospectus' numbers), but a) he had just an 87 OPS+ last year; b) he has a 82 OPS+ for his career; c) he's 32; d) the most games he has played in a season in his four-year MLB career is 114; and e) the Cubs already carry second basemen like Tony LaRussa carries LOOGYs. As Wrigleyville says, the Astros are saving Jim Hendry here.

Meanwhile, a couple of the other division foes are signing Cubs' rejects to multi-million dollar contracts. The Brewers sign the catcher who lost his starting catcher on a playoff team to the guy just getting some filler time in September, for $4.25M no less. And the Cardinals may be smart, but they did just sign Cesar Izturis to be their starting shortstop.

Shawon Dunston is eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time this year. With a career adjusted OPS 5.5% below league average, he is not going to make it, or even come close. But he will be remembered. Writes Baseball Prospectus's Jim Baker (sub. req'd): "When somebody does something better than the very best people in his field, it's pretty jarring. Remember the first time you saw Dunston make a throw from shortstop? Didn't your eyes just about unhinge from their sockets? Dunston is already in the Arm Hall of Fame. It's one of the many satellite Halls of Fame located near but not in Cooperstown, New York."