By: Kevin Anderson
For those of you who don’t know me, I am a Chicago White Sox fan. This, however, does not mean I don’t follow the team on the north side. As a writer, I feel I should finally post some Cubs information. I owe it to Chicago, Bears fans who are Cubs fans and to my grandma, who pretty much fell over when she found out I was a Sox fan.
So hear it is Cubs fans:
- Rudy Jaramillo becomes the Cubs new hitting coach
Dropping from 1st in hitting in the National League during 2008 to 10th in 2009 calls for a change (get the hint Ozzie). 14 years as the Texas Ranger hitting coach (1995 to 2009), coaching 3 AL MVP’s in Juan Gonzalez (1996, 98’), Ivan ‘Pudge’ Rodriguez (1999) and Alex Rodriguez (2003) and the Rangers winning the 2006 batting title should get you some very loud praises. I don’t think the Cubs could have gotten a better coach in Jaramillo.
It is necessary to point out the aging Cubs players in Derek Lee, Alfonso ‘Skip’ Soriano and Aramis Ramirez. Remember: You can’t teach old “dog” new tricks. We’ll see in 2010.
- Greg Maddux is hired as GM Jim Hendry’s Advisor
I will say this right now: Greg Maddux is one of the most dominate, pure MLB pitchers of all time. He didn’t use or need the juice. He did it with mechanics and his smarts. I have always admired his ability and how tough this guy was.
That’s beside the point though. Adding Maddux as an advisor will add a spark under the Cubs pitching staff and scouting. Carlos Zambrano is not what he used to be, but they said the same thing about Maddux. He pitched in the Majors until he was 42 years old. Hopefully he can get Zambrano in line and take him under his wing to become everything Cubs fans think he is.
Will Zambrano listen? Does he even want Maddux’s opinion?
Stay tuned.
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