The Cubs have agreed to contracts with Sean Marshall and Chad Tracy



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One player in this photo became famous, not long after it was taken, for something off the field. But exactly what is happening here is somewhat of a mystery. Follow me after the jump for the story.

The player I’m referring to, obviously, is the Cardinals‘ Curt Flood, who, after being traded to the Phillies after the 1969 season, filed suit against baseball, claiming he couldn’t be treated as property and dealt against his wishes. The suit eventually reached the Supreme Court in 1972; you can read the entire Supreme Court opinion here. They upheld baseball’s anti-trust exemption — something Congress keeps saying they’re going to get around to revoking, but they never do. Incidentally, that opinion is famous in judicial circles for another reason — Justice Harry Blackmun, a huge baseball fan, was assigned to write the majority opinion and put over seventy names of baseball greats from the past into it.

Now, about the photo: your first clue is the right sleeve of Glenn Beckert. What’s that patch? It’s the Illinois Sesquicentennial patch, worn for the 150th anniversary of Illinois statehood in 1968 by Chicago sports teams. (I also especially like the umpire in this photo — remember when they wore shirts and ties?)

So, now we know the photo was taken in 1968. The Cardinals played nine games at Wrigley in 1968 and Flood played in all of them. The short sleeves eliminate the two April games, and Flood didn’t reach base in one of the four August games. In two of the other three August games, when Flood reached base once, he was stranded at first. In the other, he advanced on a wild pitch, unlikely to have resulted in a photo like that one.

We’re left, then, with June 28, 29 and 30. On June 30, Flood reached base once on a single, but advanced to second on an error — again, no photo like that could have resulted. On June 29, there’s a possibility in the first inning, after a Flood single, he was erased on a double play, but that doesn’t look like a DP pivot.

That makes this photo from June 28, 1968; Flood singled in the first inning and stole second. The Cubs lost the game 9-5; at the time, the loss made their record 31-41, ten games under .500. The 1968 Cubs are the only team in franchise history to come from ten games under .500 and finish with a winning record (84-78).

Remember, you can buy this photo and many other Cub and Chicago-related photos on eBay; search for items from seller “suntimesphotoarchive”.

Alright, I may have gotten a little excited with the title.

The Oakland Athletics have signed free agent pitcher Ben Sheets to a $10 million, one-year contract.

At 31 years old, Sheets has spent a considerable amount of time on the disabled list. In fact, he didn’t even pitch in the majors last season since he was recovering from elbow surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon.

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Jim Thome won’t have to wait too long to return to U.S. Cellular Field, as he’ll be showing up in his spankin’ new uniform on April 9, 2010 when the Minnesota Twins come to town for a three-game series.

The former White Sox slugger has agreed to a one-year deal with his ex-AL Central rival for a reported $2 million plus incentives. Thome, 39, will add some pop to the lineup along with another left-handed bat to the already threatening order including reigning AL MVP Joe Mauer, 2006 AL MVP Justin Morneau, and Jason Kubel, who hasn’t won an MVP, but could get an award if landing on the DL was a contest.

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All signs point to the Chicago Cubs staying in Mesa, Arizona for spring training. With the Mesa City Council blowing out any doubt of its commitment to the team, all that remains is for Ricketts et al. to sign off on the deal.



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Today it was announced that Tyler Walker signed with the Nats for less than a million a year. Look at this guys stats – what am I missing? [...]



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St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa says that if his his team were still in playoff contention August 31, he will put Mark McGwire on the active roster for a day to make him playoff-eligible to appear as a pinch-hitter in the postseason.

Seriously? The guy is 46 years old and nine years removed from the game. And an admitted steroids user.

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First, please stop snickering at the word “shaft.”

Moving on…

Andre Dawson was the only legend voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this afternoon. The Hawk received 420 out of 539 votes for 77.9% — 2.9% more than the 75% needed to be inducted. [math whiz]

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Matt Holliday‘s free agent worries are over.

The displaced outfielder agreed to a seven-year, $120 million contract to stay with the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday in a deal that includes a no-trade clause. He’ll be hitting behind super hero first baseman Albert Pujols and playing left field for the defending NL Central champions.

Holliday has managed at least a .300 batting average for five consecutive years, but kicked extra ass after being traded away from the Oakland Athletics to the Cards last July, hitting .353 with a 1.023 OPS in the cleanup spot behind Pujols.

Speaking of Prince Albert, how the hell are the Cards supposed to dish out all this cash to Holliday, pay Pujols $30 million a season, and still keep their payroll in the $100 million range? Magic?

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