Castro's Quest

The Savior knocked out 3 hits including his 9th home run last year and is up to 190 hits. That's 10 hits shy of the magic 200 mark for the math impaired. He has 15 games to do it, which I don't believe will be a problem unless Q-Ball decides he needs another life lesson on the bench. By my back of the envelope calculations, if he stays healthy, he's on pace to reach 3,000 hits by age 36, sometime during the 2026 season.

No pressure.

- Baseball America took to some list making and recently rated the Cubs 2005 draft as the worst of the lot. A look at the 2006 draft, the first under Tim Wilken sees them moving up 5 spots.

$11.5 million investment in Tyler Colvin (1), Jeff Samardzija (5) has yet to pay off.

That year the Cubs lost their 2nd, 3rd and 4th round picks by signing Bob Howry (Type A), Scott Eyre (Type A) and Jacque Jones (Type B). Their 1st round pick was protected since it was in the top half of the draft. Other notable (notorious?) picks from that draft were Steve Clevenger, Jacob Renshaw (traded to Orioles for Trachsel), Chris Huseby ($1.3M bonus, released by Boston in August), Marcus Hatley, Matt Camp and Blake Parker.

- I've been trying to put together useful draft lists over at Wiklifield and have roughly gotten through 2009-2011. I think the 2009 one has some nifty information. You can now see bonus info that I can track down plus where the prospects are now. There's also a partial Cubs Draft Bonuses list that has started to come together. As I get more information inputted, the more it will fill out.

- Baseball Prospectus now has normalized sortabe minor league stats, although I'd prefer they defaulted to TAV rather than BWARP, cause who the hell would trust minor league fielding stats?

- According to Shawon Dunston Jr. and Arizona Phil, players report for Arizona Instructs this Thursday with the first game being next Friday, September 23rd.

- Poor John Gaub last night...makes his major league debut and is flawless in his first inning. Be nice to go out on a high note, but alas, Q-Ball decides to go a second inning with him and he ends up letting the first two runners on and they score.

- Tuesday's lineup

Castro SS, Barney 2B, Ramirez 3B, Pena 1B, LaHair RF, Soriano LF, Byrd CF, Soto C, Dempster P

vs.

Phillips 2B, Renteria SS, Votto 1B, Bruce RF, Alonso LF, Stubbs CF, Francisco 3B, Mesoraco C, Leake P


Cubs still in the 7th spot and going the wrong way.

- Smokies will battle Mobile (DBacks affiliate) in the Southern League Championship starting tomorrow. Marco Carrillo is the game 1 starter.

- Aramis Ramirez said that he wants a multi-year deal and is open to it being with the Cubs. That should make the offseason decision easy enough. Cubs should choose to exercise his $16M option, he wil then opt to void it and then the Cubs can offer him arbitration. He certainly won't accept it and the Cubs can get a first or second round pick for him if he signs elsewhere. And they still can try to negotiate a multi-year deal if they wish.

Tags: 
Starlin Castro
Cubs Notes
Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 3:25pm
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Comments

Submitted by big_lowitzki
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 4:08pm

Cashner made his first appearance since April and got his two outs including a strikeout.

Cashner pitched a few days ago - on the 9th.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 4:20pm

thanks

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 4:26pm

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/page/rumblings...

Stark throws Mark Shapiro's name in the ring.

trivia question is a good one too...

Now that Adrian Beltre has reached 2,000 hits, he and Michael Young make the Rangers the fourth team which currently employs active 2,000-hit teammates. Can you name the other three? (Answer later.)

I got 2 of them.

Submitted by big_lowitzki
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 5:31pm

Yankees are the easy one.

I couldn't come up with the other two.

Colorado is actually really close (Helton, Giambi only 54 hits away).

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 5:52pm

I got White Sox, missed Reds, guessed Cardinals but Berkman not there yet.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 4:31pm

Quade says Dempster might get 3 more start to get 200 innings for 4 th straight season.

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 8:22pm

So that's why he didn't take Dempster out after 6 innings tonight. Way to go Q-ball, putting selfish interests ahead of the team's actual needs.

UPDATE: highest pitch count of the year for Dempster, 124 and rising, and most walks in a game this year. On verge of blowing any shot we have of coming back in this game, Q sits in the dugout counting his brain cell.

UPDATE 2: 129 pitches through 7. Dempster gets a brain dead Jay Bruce looking on a called 3rd strike, stranding runners at 1st and 3rd. Q greets Dempster in the dugout and asks if he can go all the way.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 8:23pm

I'm all for Q-bashing, but losing is for the greater good.

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 7:31am

classic comment - have you ever considered doing a blog?

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:48am

183.2 IP now

should start Sunday vs. Houston 9/18
then either the 9/23 or 9/24 vs. St. Louis
if he starts 9/23, he'd get the final start of the year vs. Padres on 9/28

Submitted by navigator
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 9:29am

Operation 200 IP
AKA Operation 5.00 ERA

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 4:46pm

Still viable (=playing somewhere) 2006 draftees are Colvin (1), Samardzija (5), Clevenger (7), Parker (16), Latham (29), Samson (34), Smith (35) and Hatley (39).

I only see Veal (2) still viable among Stockstill's class of '05.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 4:56pm

Marquez Smith didn't sign from that draft, selected again in 8th round the following year. They drafted M. Brenly in 2005, but did not sign and redrafted in 2008.

I'm gonna guess Latham is released by next season. 24-year old in Daytona not doing anything and an influx of talent on its way. Can't imagine Samson being around much longer either.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 10:49pm

Latham was booted out of the organization for reasons unknown (to me) and he missed the 2009 season. Since his return last year he has had control issues, but maybe they still like his arm.

Samson is the guy who reminds me of Theriot, although he doesn't steal bases. Smokies mgr. Brian Harper seems to like Samson and has given him over 300 PAs in spite of competition at short from Gonzalez, Lake and Mota. It's true that Samson hasn't hit much in two seasons in double A.

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 11:21pm

It had to do with this...

The Idaho Statesman - Dec 06 11:22 PM
Jordan Latham, a pitcher during the Boise Hawks 2007 season, was arrested early Thursday morning for DUI and leaving the scene of an accident after the car he was driving hit a bump and launched into the front porch of a house at 22nd Avenue and Blaine Street, Boise police said.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 9:02am

That must have been quite a bump... hope it wasn't a person.

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 11:49pm

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 3:46pm.
Still viable (=playing somewhere) 2006 draftees are Colvin (1), Samardzija (5), Clevenger (7), Parker (16), Latham (29), Samson (34), Smith (35) and Hatley (39).

I only see Veal (2) still viable among Stockstill's class of '05.

==================================

VA PHIL: Cubs 2006 6th round pick RHRP (ex-3B) Josh Lansford (Carney Lansford's son) is still active in the OAK organization.

BTW, Josh Lansford's brother Jared is also a pitcher in the OAK organization.

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:17am

A couple of items of note regarding the Cubs 2006 draft...

The 2006 draft was notable for the Cubs not having any picks in rounds 2-4, and then giving significant "over-slot" bonuses to a number of draft picks, including 5th round pick RHP Jeff Samardzija and 11th round pick RHP Chris Huseby (both eventually got "1st round money"), 14th round pick OF Drew Rundle (who got "2nd round" money"), 22nd round pick 3B Jovan Rosa and 34th round pick INF Nate Samson (both got "5th round money"), and 20th round pick RHP Kevin Kreier and 29th round pick RHP Jordan Latham (both got "6th round money").

Jordan Latham and Marcus Hatley were two of the last so-called "Draft & Follow" draft picks to sign with the Cubs. (3B Jovan Rosa and RHP Cedric Redmond were the other two).

The "Draft & Follow" rule allowed an MLB club to draft a player and then retain the rights to that player until a week before the next year's draft, as long as the player was eligible for selection in the next draft. So it applied mainly to JC players. ("Draft & Follow" was abolished starting with the 2007 draft). Now clubs retain the rights only to college seniors with no eligibility left until a week prior the next year's draft. (TCU RHP Steven Maxwell is the only unsigned 2011 draft pick the Cubs can still sign up until a week before the 2012 draft).

Latham threw in the mid-90's at Fitch Park in the days following the 2006 draft, but opted to return to the College of Southern Idaho for the 2006-07 school year when the Cubs didn't meet his bonus demands (and he was set to transfer to Arizona State if he hadn't signed in 2007). But the Cubs did eventually relent, and gave Latham 6th round money ($100K) to sign just prior to the deadline in May 2007.

Hatley was a JC outfielder (Palomar JC) with a power-arm (and zero secondary stuff) the Cubs converted to a RHP after he signed in May 2007, and then he had TJS in 2009, so it has taken him a while to develop.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 5:03pm

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/i...

Red Sox come to Wrigley next year.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 5:17pm

up 'n coming GM candidates

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110...

Submitted by Hagsag
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 5:25pm

Az. Phil, are you seen the Instructional roster yet?

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 6:32pm

soriano still sucks at LF. neat.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 7:32pm

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/i...

Japanese clubs scouting LaHair, ready to make offer if he's a free agent after season.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 7:35pm

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...

AAA pitching coach talks about some of the arms in Iowa. Cubs.com piece so it's all flattering.

Submitted by navigator
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 9:01pm

Too bad we didn't need them this season.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 9:48pm

That reQuade quote is priceless... it's like someone else is controlling the playing time.

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 7:43pm

Just to make it clear regarding Cubs AZ Instructional League team, players report to Fitch Park this Thursday (9/15), and the first league game (for the Cubs) is A WEEK FROM Friday (9/23).

The Cubs are scheduled to play 20 AZIL games (10 home & 10 road), everyday Monday-Saturday (no activity on Sundays).

MIL & CIN first games are this Friday 9/16 and they play each other four times before there are any other AZIL games involving other teams scheduled. Then CLE & SD play their first games next Tuesday 9/20, OAK, LAA, and AZ play their first games on Thursday 9/22, SF, TEX, and CUBS play their first games on Friday 9/23, COL, LAD, and CHW play their first games on Saturday 9/24, and KC and SEA play their first games on Monday 9/26.

MIL last game is on Friday 10/7, SEA & SD last games are on Saturday 10/8, LAD & CLE last games are on Wednesday 10/12, CHW, TEX & AZ last games are on Friday 10/14, CUBS, LAA, SF, COL, and OAK last games are on Saturday 10/15, and CIN & KC last games are on Tuesday 10/18.

The Mariners play the fewest number of AZIL games (10), while the Reds play the most AZIL games (26).

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 7:46pm

fixed

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 7:36am

Since we all seem to be okay on your overall player reporting, can I just make a suggestion that you don't leave out the attendance figures by mistake. I think you did that once last session. It was a huge gaffe but I let it go since there is no micropayment requirement on this site yet.

Submitted by Jace
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 9:11am

YEah, that really pissed me off too.... :)

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:10pm

What happened is, the Cubs asked me not to report the attendance for that game, because it was embarrassingly low.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:12pm

surprised they didn't just tell you to report the paid attendance :)

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:42am

Ryno's Iron Pigs take Game 1 over Columbus in International League finals.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats...

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 7:38am

If Ryno did QBall, would we bash him?

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 9:29am

I doubt we would as much. I also doubt that he'd require it as much.

Rumor is (and I think the rumor is perpetuated by Ryno himself) that he has read some of the "sabermatic books".

One quick check I did on how that was working out with him... the guy who closed last night's game, isn't always used at the closer, and has pitched as many as three innings in a relief outing. In fact, 11 guys got 48 saves for the Iron Pigs this year, seven of them three or more. Those same 11 guys combined for 41 holds. Of the top three guys, the highest percentage of games they finished was 64%. Marmol, for comparison has finished 83% of his games.

For the uninitiated, one of the tenets of sabermatically managing is to use your best reliever in the most important situation, regardless of inning.

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 10:03am

you'll find that your relief observation scales to almost every AAA/minor team and it rarely has much to do with situational closing or pressure situation relief appearances.

btw, you realize he managed a AAA team of starter bats that were almost all 26-32+ years old and an average age of about 28? not that it's a bad thing, you play with what you got...but he's run a vet-heavy-playing-time team this year.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 10:37am

Have you also noticed how crappy a lot of those vets are?
When your best player is Brandon Moss....bleccchhh.
How'd they win?

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:10pm

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team...

jeebus, how did they win?

not only is it mostly old, but not particularly good on offense. They did have D. Brown for about 174 PA's, although he didn't do very well.

pitching did well, particularly the relievers. They had V. Worley for a bit and then mostly the Les Walrond's of the world. Think P. Aumont (22 IP) and R. Feierabrand are the only sort of prospects, although I know little about their system.

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:24pm

yeah, pretty much the pitching. weak bats all around except for columbus and durham in the IL.

it's still weird seeing durham out, but they did lose desmond to the majors. columbus took them out.

-edit- columbus lost some players to the bigs, too...oh well...woo playoffs.

Submitted by big_lowitzki
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:40pm

jeebus, how did they win?

The brilliance of Ryne Sandberg?

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:42pm

clearly.

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:51pm

they would have won 20 more if they hired j.zuleta to rub the bats down with fruit.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:59pm

Bwahahaahaa!! "Hats...for bats...keep bats warm.."

Submitted by navigator
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:26pm

Moneyball.
POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2011 · 31 COMMENTS
Moneyball, the movie, is an absolute mess of a film, the type of muddled end product you’d expect from a project that took several years and went through multiple writers and directors. Even good performances by a cast of big names and some clever makeup work couldn’t save this movie, and if I hadn’t been planning to review it, I would have walked out.

http://meadowparty.com/blog/?p=1861

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:29pm

"Peter Brand, a.k.a. Paul Antipodesta"

winning.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:32pm

89% at Rotten Tomatoes so far

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/moneyball/

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:35pm

either way k.law lays out pretty much every fear i had for the film...and more...as a fan who knows how baseball works rather than coming at it as a casual film fan.

i've gone from "maybe" based on earlier reviews to "pass."

Submitted by navigator
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:34pm

Yikes

"I wasn’t as concerned with the script having Beane trade Carlos Pena to Detroit for a reliever and some money (as opposed to the actual three-team, seven-player deal including Jeff Weaver and Jeremy Bonderman) as I was with seeing Pena, an intelligent, gregarious person, depicted as a sullen Latino player."

K Law

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:44pm

A little known fact about Moneyball is that a completely different film (Hendry!) was orginally planned, but the actor signed to play the lead died before the picture could be completed.

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:53pm

worst heart attack death acting ever in Norma Rae...great film, though.

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 1:11pm

Hendry hires an area scout.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:56pm

oh my! next you'll tell Jim Morris didn't really throw a fastball on the side of a road to register the speed.

anyway, if you're looking for a documentary, then people will certainly be disappointed.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 09/14/2011 - 12:59pm

Tell me if this bit rings true to anyone:

Howe is nothing but a holier than thou obstacle for Beane whose entire motivation for his stubbornness is his desire for a contract extension - a hopelessly tired plot device that makes for a one-dimensional character.

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