By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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While this blog headline isn’t true — I love bacon, and don’t really eat salads — I wish I could tell you that Paul Bako wasn’t a Cub again.
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The back-up catcher that MLB.com so politely described as “defensive minded” is back. He’s another left-handed bat, though, I guess … sorta … though his career batting average is .231 (for the record, it’s .240 against right handers).
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I know, Henry Blanco was far from an offensive juggernaut. He hit .167 for the Cubs in 2007 (he was hurt, right?) but rebounded to hit .292 last season, and got neat arm tattoos at the age of 36.
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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“Mariners” right-hander Aaron Heilman to the Cubs for Ronny Cedeno and Garrett Olson. The trade just annouced by the AP moments ago.
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Heilman’s journey from New York (Mets) to Seattle was quite short-lived. I wonder if the Mariners said, “Hey, we don’t really want you,” or if they let him search for housing a coast away first.
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Heilman is one of those stars that formed and never really shined as brightly as the Mets hoped. He was a first-rounder, and attempted to be a starter, but wound up in the bullpen.
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I’m really puzzled by this one, because I thought that Olson (a left-handed reliever) was one of the guys that the Padres wanted for Jake Peavy and the Cubs went and got him. I know Cedeno was also in the deal. So calling Heilman “bait” for Peavy doesn’t seem even remotely in the ballpark.
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By Matt Veto, mveto@qconline.com
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The New Year has done little to break my lingering disgust for the Chicago Cubs’ display in October, and I’ll say upfront, I’m still somewhat puzzled over the current state of this team.
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However, out of my winter slumber I come to satisfy VetoPower Blog friends like “Robbie” who has diligently kept me informed on Cubs’ off-season happenings, and for a caller dubbing himself only “R.W. from Colona” who craves more Cubs coverage, and perhaps more specifically (from the tone of his message), less Cardinals coverage.
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The second, I cannot help my Cubs fan compatriots with, as the Cardinals Caravan rolled into town last week bringing many interesting stories to the Q-C that deserved the ink. If only the Cubs would bus to the area.
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At that Cardinals Caravan event, I stood quietly taking notes — my Cubs fandom taking a beating, as Al “The Mad Hungarian” Hrabosky began a pre-emptive 2009 assault on the Cubs. He said Chicago is again being considered a favorite, but suggested to the group of Cardinals fans that “when you think about the `Cubs’ all you need to know is the last two letters.”
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