Rob G.'s Archives
Kid K Calls it Quits
It was hinted at on twitter last night that big Cubs news was coming today and news did come.
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Game 36 Thread - Maholm vs. Lohse
For the sweep!!!!
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Game 35 Thread - Dempster vs. Westbrook
The Cubs NL Central barnstorming continues with a trip to Missouri. NL ERA-leader Ryan Dempster tries to secure his first win against a Beltran-less lineup.
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Game 32 Thread - Garza vs. Wolf
Cubs go with the right-heavy lineup against struggling southpaw Randy Wolf.
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Game 31 Thread - Maholm vs. Hudson
Soriano sits because of a sore knee and an OPS in the .500's.
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Game 30 Thread - Dempster vs. Delgado
Ryan Dempster, he of a 0.95 ERA on the season, goes tonight in search of his first win in his last 13 starts. That win was versus the Nationals last year on August 11th. It's his 5th start of this season and he hasn't given up an earned run in 14.1 straight innings.
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Game 29 Thread - Samardzija vs. Hanson
As Cubnut pointed out on Twitter the other day, the Cubs have fallen into an alternating win-loss pattern since April 24th. Unfortunately, today is the day to bet against them.
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Game 26 Thread - Maholm vs. Billingsley
Right now, the Cubs have 14 Home Runs on the year, Matt Kemp 12...the race is on. If you're in the area, apparently there are some $4 tickets available thanks to the wonders of dynamic pricing. I'd certainly pay that to see Kemp and Castro play.
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Game 24 Thread - Samardzija vs. Arroyo
Same lineups that were suppose to play yesteday.
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Cubs Best and Worst of April
A look at the have and have-nots down on the farm.
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Game 23 Thread - Volstad vs. Worley
The Cubs have won 5 of 8 and are now proudly just the 5th worst team in baseball. A win today and the Cubs win their second straight series.
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Game 20 Thread - Halladay vs. Maholm
So is Halladay vs. Maholm a mismatch or the biggest mismatch ever?
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Game 19 Thread - Volstad vs. Lynn
Cubs go for the sweep? Holy s@#$%!
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Cubs Recap for April 23, 2012
9th inning dramatics at Wrigley and the Cubs have won 2 of 3. You probably don't want to go any farther back than that though.
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Game 17 Thread - Garza vs. Garcia
The Cubs get their chance to make up some ground....I can't even finish that sentence with a straight face. How about? Cubs get the World Champs again and a chance to lose another series. Better.
Iowa already played today and loss to the Cardinals AAA affiliate, Memphis 6-2 at home. Jay Jackson with yet another poor outing, 5 IP, 4 ER, 0 K, 1 BB, 8 H. B. Jackson goes 2/4 with a SB, Rizzo 2/3 with a 2B and a BB and W. Castillo 1/4 with an RBI. The other minor league matchups include:
Dallas Beeler vs. Chattanooga (Dodgers): Soto 6, Watkins 4, Ha 8, Ridling, Mota 7, Burgess 9, Samson 5, Brenly 2, Beeler 1
Zach Cates vs. Lakeland (Detroit - Jacob Turner happens to be starting): Szczur 8, Torreyes 4, Perez 9, Rohan 5, Jones 3, Andreoli 7, Silva 0, Noble 2, Alcantara 6
Jose Rosario vs. Lansing (Toronto):Devoss 4, Zapata 9, Cuneo 3, Hoilman 0, Davis 2, Easterling 8, Darvill 5, Hernandez 6, Gonzalez 7
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Recent comments
Bill (view)
A good rule of thumb is that if you trade a near-ready high ceiling prospect, you should get at least two far-away high ceiling prospects in return. Like all rules-of-thumb, it depends upon the specific circumstances, but certainly, we weren't going to get Busch for either prospect alone.
Sonicwind75 (view)
Right on schedule, just read an article in Baseball America entitled "10 MLB Prospects Outside The Top 100 Who Have Our Attention". Zyhir Hope was one of the prospects featured. It stated that he's "one of the biggest arrow-up sleeper prospects in the lower levels right now."
Not sharing to be negative about the trade, getting a top 100 prospect who is MLB ready should carry a heavy prospect cost. But man, Dodger sure are good at identifying and developing young talent. Andrew Friedman seems to have successfully merged Ray's development with Yankees financial might to create a juggernaut of an organization.
Sonicwind75 (view)
I suspect Brown will spend some time in the bullpen due to inning restrictions. Pitched only 93 innings last year and career high is 104 innings in 2022. I would expect them to be cautious with a young player with his injury history.
Childersb3 (view)
I wanted Almonte gone last week, but that was before Merryweather went down and Little got demoted. Almonte in his last 5 appearances has gone 4.1 IP with no ER or Runs. NO hits, 3 BBs and 8 SO. He did hit 96 with his 2S FB in AZ on Tues.
I don't see Jed waiving him when we have injuries all over and guys with options that can be sent down.
I probably won't like the move Jed makes, but he can't play the "let's hope no one wants his 1.7mil remaining deal and we can hide him in Iowa" card.
That's why I think the current Bullpen stays as is and Wicks goes to Iowa.
I don't like that, but that's the fix I see.
We'll find out soon enough!!!
TarzanJoeWallis (view)
Teheran minor league deal is done, per MLB.
TarzanJoeWallis (view)
Based on Phil’s sound analysis it sounds like a no brainer for Almonte to be placed on waivers as today’s roster move. We shall see.
Arizona Phil (view)
I suspect Counsell/Hottovy will use the piggy-back extensively, with Taillon and Hendricks pitching as the "pig" (and with a very short leash) and some combo of Wicks, Brown, and Wesneski (whichever two do not start) as the "backers."
Keep in mind that Keegan Thompson has a minor league option available, and if Yency Almonte is not outrighted by 4/26 he cannot be sent to the minors without his consent after that date. Almonte is out of minor league options, so I am talking about him getting outrighted to the minors if he is not claimed off waivers, and if he is claimed off waivers, the Cubs save the pro-rated portion of his $1.9M salary, which helps lower the Cubs 2024 AAV.
Dolorous Jon Lester (view)
Totally agree. The 26 man roster very rarely consists of the 13 best position players and 13 best pitchers.
Dolorous Jon Lester (view)
Based on what Jed has done in the past, I’d say the plan is to
-give Hendricks another few starts
-give Taillon some runway ot get his season underway
-Mix and match in the bullpen and see what sticks
Jed usually doesn’t do a whole lot of waiver wire plays in-season, at least early in the season. He only reallly did that after he blew up the rosters in 21 and 22 because they needed bodies (guys like Schwindel, Fargas, etc).
I think he’s a little handcuffed by a full 40 man in that he can’t really maneuver much with giving anyone showing ability at AAA (R Thompson/ Sanders/ Edwards etc). Brewer has the most tenuous grip there, and we will see what kind of chance he gets. Other than his spot, there isn’t a ton of 40 man wiggle room.
I’m very curious to see what happens with Brown now that Taillon returns. Bullpen? Wicks to Iowa?
Childersb3 (view)
Pro teams have to play their "big money" guys if they are healthy and not "locker room" issues.
The Cubs wanted to deal JHey off well before they bought him out. They just didn't want to pay him to play for someone else for that long. Jed did give him 20+mil to play for LAD last yr.
Jed might also let Kyle walk at some point this year. Similar scenario to JHey, except Jed thought Kyle was going to be good/solid in '24!!
You'd think Smyly is in the same book as well. Same with Neris (he's a 1yr vet RP, so he's not really in this convo too much).
That's ~35mil between those three and those three are going to get opportunities until at least late June) over younger guys even if their performance is "iffy".
But, Jed is going to play Taillon a lot. They have to try and justify that contract and hope a veteran works out.
So, Taillon, Imanaga, and Hendricks are locks for the rest of April and probably May.
Assad, Brown and Wicks handle the last spots until Steele is ready.
Now, you're question has real merit when Steele comes back. That will interesting if Brown is still good and Hendricks is still bad. But Taillon is entirely safe as long as he's healthy.
And the bullpen moves were "money" based as well. Smyly has actually been okay. But he hasn't been clearly better than Little. Little had one bad outing. But Smyly makes 9mil. If they needed another RHRP and one of Little and Smyly had to go, it was going to Little. But that doesn't mean Smyly is one of the best 13 arms for the team.