John Grabow News

Jim Hendry said he considers the just concluded general managers meetings at the O'Hare Hilton fruitful and said that the abbreviated format seemed to encourage even more dialogue between GMs than the usual spread-out, longer sets of meetings in the past.

Yeah, and he's holding up some of the decisions the Cubs might make as the hot-stove season gets started in earnest with the general managers meetings this week at the O'Hare Hilton.

There's no question Rich Harden and Reed Johnson would prefer to return to the Cubs in 2010, and in a perfect world, Jim Hendry would probably re-sign both.

Two days after the World Series, and nothing has happened so far to harm or help us.

Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly had hoped the discomfort he felt in his left shoulder would go away once he had a chance to rest, but it didn't, and on Tuesday, Lilly underwent a left shoulder arthroscopy and debridement.

Outfielder Reed Johnson and pitchers John Grabow, Rich Harden, Kevin Gregg, and Chad Fox are eligible to file for free agency now that the World Series has ended.

A whisper leaked out of Arizona on Wednesday that Chicago Cubs' left-hander Ted Lilly underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery on Tuesday and isn't expected to return until April.

Bruce Levine of ESPN 1000 is reporting that the Cubs and reliever John Grabow are in the midst of heavy talks for a multi-year deal.

As you might guess, left-handed setup relievers don't get many photos taken. So, this one in a Pirates uniform is the best one available of John Grabow.

If you have ever read Baseball Prospectus' Baseball Between the Numbers , or a similarly analytical baseball text, the argument against standard pitching statistics is not new to you.

First of all, here's a link that will help us establish a proper frame of reference.

Apparently, I underestimated how many questions would pour into my inbox this past week.

Written by Alan Robinson Thursday, 08 October 2009 10:06 PITTSBURGH - They said the losing had to stop, and it didn't. They said the familiar pattern of a player getting good and then getting gone would stop, and it didn't. Instead, the losing didn't slow down for the Pittsburgh Pirates, it increased.

Observations on the Cubs the day after it all ended: Don?t expect the Cubs to have their entire winter held hostage by Milton Bradley , as they did with Sammy Sosa in 2004-05. The situations are different.

Hey, Chicago Cubs, you've just finished short of first place for the 113th time in franchise history! Where are you going next? It ain't Disneyland.

The 50th anniversary of the production of the last Edsel arrives in November, just in time for the beginning of the Milton Bradley sell-off. Bradley turned out to be the Cubs ' version of the Edsel, a concept that may have looked OK on paper but ultimately turned into a critical and commercial flop.

It's been a little weird this week for Rich Harden and John Grabow. They are two of the Cubs' four free agents-to-be, and one has already begun talks about returning, while the other is taking a wait-and-see approach.

The White Sox won 8-7. Browse more photos>> Dr. James Andrews performed labrum surgery on Jose Ascanio this morning, the Post-Gazette reports .

"I can't deny that it's a bad feeling to lose the player. Congratulations to the Twins.

Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly began a campaign to keep free-agent outfielder Reed Johnson on the team when he walked into the interview room at Wrigley Field Wednesday wearing a blue T-shirt that said, "With Reed, we will succeed." "I'm trying to bring him back," Lilly said.