Quade's Quarreling Cubs

Aramis Ramirez launching a pitch for the Chicago Cubs.. 

Courtesy of FantasyPhenoms

Earlier this week, Chicago Cubs Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Silva were involved in a dugout argument during a spring training game that following an opening inning that included three errors.

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110302&content_id=16793978&vkey=news_chc&c_id=chc

Supposedly, Silva, who was making his first spring start, made a general comment that Ramirez may have taken offense to. Based on his poor performance (.247 average) last season, perhaps the once prominent third basemen should be focusing on his offense at the plate as opposed to in the dugout.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ramirar01.shtml

Needless to the say, the Cubs have had their fair share of clubhouse problems over the years. Just last year, former ace pitcher Carlos Zambrano threw a tantrum in the team dugout that resulted in a suspension for the team that allowed him to undergo anger management treatments. Surely, this suspension really seemed to have a negative impact on his performance, starting only 20 of his 36 games pitched.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/z/zambrca01.shtml

Not too longer after the incident, manager Mike Quade, who is currently in the midst of his first spring training with the Cubs, called a team meeting in order to address the issues that occurred. Surely, these could very easily come back to haunt the Cubs later on in the season.

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110303&content_id=16802916&vkey=news_chc&c_id=chc

If the Cubs hope to do anything remotely successful for the first time since their last World Series win in the 1908, they’ve got to do something about their team chemistry issues. No matter how much money they spend, the problems are not simply going to go away.

If the Cubs wise up, Carlos Silva could be walking batters elsewhere sometime soon. 
Courtesy of CubbiesCrib

The resolution to this problem could actually lie within getting rid of some money, or payroll to be more exact. Trading the overpaid Carlos Silva could not only get rid of some payroll ($11.5 Million in 2011), but also possibly get rid of a clubhouse cancer that might be bringing the team down.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/silvaca01.shtml

Thankfully for the Cubs, the massive contract of the Aramis Ramirez will be freed up at the end of this season after he exercised his player option for at least one more season with the club.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101104&content_id=15999450&vkey=news_chc&c_id=chc

Year in and year out, the Cubs just seem to throw money out there, giving them a $123.3 Million payroll for 2011. Regardless, they failed to have a winning record last year, and have had nonstop clubhouse problems that they thought disappeared with the 2009 trade of Milton Bradley.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/2010-roster.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bradlmi01.shtml

The Cubs have been going about putting a baseball team together the wrong way; if they ever hope to start winning, they have to start investing money into good clubhouse players who actually play well enough for the money they deserve and act their age.