Magg$, Magg$, Magg$…
Where will he land next season? Both the Sun-Times and Tribune have reported that the Cubs currently have a low interest in the right-handed slugger due to 1) their inability to dump Sammy Sosa, and 2) their hopes Jason Dubois will continue to experience the same success at the big league level that hes had in the minors:
The New York Mets and Baltimore remain the only two potential suitors with the financial wherewithal to give Sosa a contract extension to his liking. Sosa has veto power on any deal. Both the Mets and Orioles are pursuing Carlos Delgado, leaving Sosa as a last resort. Free-agent outfielder Magglio Ordonez remains available, but if the Cubs are interested, they're not in any hurry to sign him.
Maintaining he's not necessarily through making moves, Hendry believes the club is still strong enough to contend.
"I'm optimistic we can compete with the club we have right now," he said.
I, for one, do not share this optimism, as I expressed in the comments to this post, from the folks at 1060 W. Addison. In fact, I'm willing to bet that Mr. Optimism will be replaced by his sister, Mrs. Dismal Frustration sometime shortly after the 20th game of the season when the Cubs - once again - show an inability to consistently break above the 4-run threshold. And that prediction comes directly from Mr. Pessimism thankyouverymuch.
From the pages of the Sun-Times, and as already noted below on this blog:
As for free-agent outfielder Magglio Ordonez, the Cubs will consider him only if Sosa is traded and they don't get an outfielder in exchange. They haven't even investigated Ordonez's physical status with his troublesome knee. That will only happen if the time comes that Sosa is gone and Ordonez makes sense. For now, Hendry is happy with a left-field combo of Todd Hollandsworth and Jason Dubois.
As I already noted below, that is frustrating in light of last years offensive struggles and the departure of the team's leading rbi, run, and hr producer. On the other hand, I'm now less than confident in the status of Magg'$ knee after reading about the shock wave treatment he opted for in Europe instead of the more conventional surgical procedure (originally found via Desipio Media Ventures):
"In the United States, I don't think the words 'shock wave' as a treatment really makes anybody confident yet, but we have shown that by using shock waves we can have the same success as surgery, and it's non-invasive," Schaden said. "Because of that and our history, I think Magglio was quite enthusiastic."
Most players would be. Schaden offered Ordonez what he says conventional treatment could not-the chance to avoid surgery and cut his recovery time in half.
"He's a great doctor and a great guy," Ordonez said Tuesday on the phone. "I always felt comfortable."
If Ordonez had not sought the alternative that took him to Europe, where the treatment is approved, Schaden predicted U.S. surgeons would have drilled a hole into Ordonez's femur to begin the same type of healing the shock waves would have. Understanding the process is complicated, but basically the electric charge induces the production of different proteins and stimulates blood supply to help bones recover and grow.
"It's impossible to measure, scientifically, but in general we can expect to cut up to 50 percent off the recovery time," Schaden said.
In the case of Ordonez, that reduced his rehab time from six months to three months-to December rather than March. For a free agent such as Ordonez, the difference still could mean millions as a handful of teams, including the Cubs, maintain interest.
Good news travels fast across the Atlantic. Since treating Ordonez, Schaden has heard from representatives of other U.S.-based athletes wondering about the latest in spark-plug technology abroad.
Having studied the controversial treatment for 10 years, Schaden was on the ground floor of the development of a device called an Ossatron. The medical profession refers to the process as extracorporeal shock-wave therapy (ESWT), and it is approved in America only to treat tennis elbow and heel spurs.
Using a machine similar to what commonly is used for ultrasounds, doctors locate the bone and apply 3,000 pulses of electric shock waves for 20 minutes. Patients are put under anesthesia to avoid the pain.
Ordonez already had been anesthetized because Schaden had repaired a torn meniscus that he detected upon reviewing the former Sox slugger's MRI. Schaden stressed Ordonez would have gone to Austria regardless of the meniscus tear because his knee had been afflicted with bone-marrow edema and required shock-wave therapy.
Because the bone does not swell, Schaden says edema occurs when liquid seeps into the marrow after the type of trauma Ordonez sustained to his knee.
In America, the procedure is considered "on the periphery of mainstream orthopedic treatment," said Sherwin Ho, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine.
"We're not sure what the shock waves are doing to the tissue," Ho said. "Most of us born and raised in the U.S. are a little more rigid and want to see the science behind [the shock-wave therapy]."
Of particular concern to me is this:
"It's impossible to measure, scientifically, but in general we can expect to cut up to 50 percent off the recovery time," Schaden said.
And this:
In America, the procedure is considered "on the periphery of mainstream orthopedic treatment," said Sherwin Ho, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine.
"We're not sure what the shock waves are doing to the tissue," Ho said. "Most of us born and raised in the U.S. are a little more rigid and want to see the science behind [the shock-wave therapy]."
So, essentially, they blasted his knee with electric shock waves, and apart from empirical data on exactly what is happening to the tissue, send him on his way with a clean bill of health?! Would this be the medical equivalent to banging the electrical thingamajingy when the darn thing ain't working?!
Perhaps there is another reason (apart from Sosa and Dubois) the Cubs aren't desperate to grab Ordonez.
In any event, other suitors may also drop out of the low-interest Magg$ sweepstakes. Apparently Mike Cameron has once again changed his tune and appears resolved to make the switch from center to right to accommodate Carol$ Beltran, which has a bearing on Magg$ (again via Desipio):
In a meeting with Mets brass in October, Cameron volunteered to switch to right if the Mets secured Beltran. But he began having second thoughts just before the New Year's.
"I had reservations about it for the simple reason of I've never done it before," said Cameron, who did not exactly sound thrilled about his new position last night. "The one thing we came to terms with [yesterday] was I'm here to do what's in the best interests of the ballclub and try to put this team back on the map."
Asked how hard it is to move, Cameron, who takes immense pride in his fielding prowess, replied, "Imagine someone coming in and telling you to do something different than you've always done. It's hard because I've always worked hard to excel at a certain spot."
If the Mets do stick with Cameron in right, that likely takes them out of the Magglio Ordonez sweepstakes.
So if that's true, who else is left to bid for Magg$? Houston still needs a center fielder, the Orioles, Tigers, and Cubs are also potential suitors, but none of these teams have expressed considerable public interest in him. Perhaps the Cubs could land him for a year with a contract that is heavily laden with incentives. Would that be worse than offering tightpants nearly 2 million for next year?
I think not.
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