"Unbelievably Stupid"

...about sums it up.

Till game time.

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Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 12:09pm
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Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 12:14pm

believe you can listen here.

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/chicago/play

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 12:29pm

...frustrated

but believes there's lots of progress behind the scenes (infrastructure, scouting, etc) that will pay off down the road, but knows most fans don't care about that.

...get out of the mindset of spending a little extra on veterans and hope everything breaks right. Focus on building a solid nucleus.

plays up how much fans enjoy watching young players come up

everyone's game change planned in draft, after a certain point couldn't look for HS upside guys with 1st round talent in later rounds

says he likes Castro even more now that he's been around him, cites defensive improvement and hard work, still hiccups along the way. "Moving his feet much better"..."this kid cares"...

at the plate, Castro is a work in progress...5 years away from his prime.

can't blame Rudy, recites the importance of on-base percentage and working the count and just wanted a unified voice....said it already started in the minors. Rudy very good at the mechanics but wanted to shift the nature of the conversation.

Rizzo - "almost ready"...wants full season of at-bats at AAA level (162 games, not AAA season). Has to stay consistent with his hands, but has the right mental approach.

Submitted by big_lowitzki
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 12:43pm

**wants full season of at-bats at AAA levels (162 games, not AAA season).**

So he'll get called up in 10 days or so? He currently has 153 games at AAA.

Submitted by The Joe
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 12:46pm

Also mentioned that there wasn't a clear place for him yet...

Though LaHair is certainly making it easier.

Submitted by big_lowitzki
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 1:03pm

Because we love small sample sizes around here:

LaHair in June: .280/.333/.560 OPS: .893

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 2:27pm

I think it's smart to keep Rizzo down a bit and see how LaHair does with a couple more months around the league. He had 3 strikeouts yesterday but the line you're showing is pretty good and shows that maybe he's adjusting to the adjustments. If he starts to get hot again, it just gives theocorp a little more to work with, and God knows, this team needs all the help it can get.

Submitted by tem99
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 2:35pm

Sample Size Issues abound, but...
vs. LHP: 111/250/222
vs. RHP: 348/419/660

IMHO he's got a tremendous amount value given his production/salary ratio but platooning him is probably the right answer. Though please don't read this as an endorsement of Baker as the short side of that platoon :)

Submitted by big_lowitzki
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 2:49pm

BR has him at:

vs. LHP: .107/.242/.214

But regardless... its only 33 plate appearances. The Cubs are terrible. There is little/no reason to put him out there every day against LHP and see what he can do.

Submitted by tem99
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 3:16pm

Agreed. There's nothing more to lose at this point. May as well answer the question conclusively not being able to hit LHP. Allows them to build around that next year and finding a lefty masher, and there should a large number of them available relatively cheaply.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 5:17pm

there's always a reason, even if it's one many of us disagree with...

by not playing him against lefties, it leaves other teams wondering if he's good against lefties (much like most of us on this board) and the hope/desire/curiosity if he is good could be more valuable than watching him flail away at sliders.

I'm not saying I agree with that, but there could be some of the thought process. My guess is Sveum is just trying to win some games and thinks Baker vs. lefties is a better option.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 12:53pm

let's hope!!!

Submitted by tem99
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 12:31pm

Theo doing his best to buy himself a few extra days with Rizzo.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 1:26pm

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

full quotes from Theo on Rizzo

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 1:29pm

fun read

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/2...

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 4:02pm

a.gallaraga disagrees with the list...that's a personal/history call rather than a team call, though.

Submitted by fullykräusened
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 1:44pm

I got a chance to watch the Peoria Chiefs play the Snappers last night in Beloit. Javier Baez sure has a lot of motion at the plate. Stride, cocking the bat, leg kick--like Victorian clockwork. But this seems to enable him to wait back and then generate a quick swing. He hit two balls hard, one for a ground single to left and one foul past third, and the ball makes That Sound when he squares it up. Defensively, he showed range and a strong arm, but last night he made Castro look like Mark Belanger glove-wise. Three errors. One was on a tough do-or-die slow chopper, but the others looked like he was preparing to throw before getting the ball in his glove.

Dustin Geiger added two more errors, one on a hustling but ill-advised throw to the plate on a hopeless swinging bunt. The other was on a slow hopper that he played off to his side; I figure he's been playing baseball since he was six and all of his coaches said to get in front of balls like that. He and Yasiel Balaguert looked a little overmatched against some strong Beloit pitching.

Zeke DeVoss looked solid. He was steady in the field, though he also played a grounder off to the side but got away with it. He's very fast and looks smaller than the 5'10" he's listed at. Obviously a candidate to be the Tony Campana/Sam Fuld/Augie Ojeda/Doug Dascenzo du jour in 2015. He does work the count, so that helps.

Michael Jensen, who has been pitching very well, was the victim of the five errors, though he also let a few Snappers pound the ball. He has good stuff, as do the two relievers, big Larry Suarez (reminded me of a cross between Ferguson Jenkins and Lee Smith) and wiry Felix Pena.

I should add that it's a great time at the Snappers ballpark. It's pretty basic compared to Peoria, Kane County, or Davenport, but for $9 ($7.50 in advance), you get a "box seat" of molded plastic with arms and back--sort of a giant booster seat--very close to the action. Tuesdays have the best discounts: Hot dogs, popcorn, and pizza slices are $1, and 12-oz Leinie's are a buck and a half. "Roll Out The Barrell" and "The Gang's All Here" at the stretch, a hog-calling contest, "cheap" gas in Rockton, and you can't beat fun at the old ballpark.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 2:00pm

thanks for the info...

rooting for DeVoss, because fast guys that actually get on-base are neat, but seems a little overmatched right now in just the low minors and the defense thing.

Submitted by tim815
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 3:00pm

I was there as well.

Did you think ZeVo's double before his double down the RF line was fair? Also, did you think Baez was off on the wild pitch in the seventh? Either he was going, or he is crazy-quick on pitches in the dirt. It was called a wild pitch, which would indicate they thought he waited until it got away before running. Also, Baez nearly took the pitcher with him on his single in the seventh.

Submitted by fullykräusened
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 5:00pm

tim815-

I think that first one was foul by about six inches. Couldn't tell on the Baez play, because I was watching the ball. I did think he was going to get picked off at second (later that inning? don't remember) and got lucky when the throw to third was in the dirt.

Rob-

I know what you mean, but at least he looked comfortable last night. Rooting for him too.

Submitted by tim815
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 5:31pm

Almost got picked at first. Shoulda been.

Submitted by artskoe
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 2:48pm

Did this COCO clip get Rudy fired?? Beware Bosio!

Submitted by Cubster
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 3:53pm

Team CoCo could have paid more attention to some of these...more mascots than you can shake a stick at.

Ike the Spike made the final 4

http://www.milb.com/milb/fans/mascot_mania/y2...

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 5:09pm

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft/ch...

Re: Trying to sign 25th round pick Rhett Wiseman and was it a back-up plan to not signing Almora
Not really, because if Almora doesn't sign, his $3.25 million disappears from their draft pool. That said, I don't see how Almora will turn down a bonus in the neighborhood of $3 million. I think Wiseman is a totally separate consideration, albeit one who fell because he's going to be a very tough sign. We don't know how much the Cubs will have to play with because they haven't officially signed any of their first 10 picks, but they might be able to scrape up $1 million and make a run at Wiseman if they want.

Re: Ranking Correa
I'd put him behind Profar and Machado and on the same level as Lindor. This comes from someone who sees Hamilton and Baez moving off shortstop eventually.

Re: Mid-Season Top 50 list
That list usually comes out right after the Futures Game. In the past, we haven't included current year draftees. Not sure if that will change because the signing deadline has been moved up to the same time. Anyway, if we do include them, I'd say the first eight picks (Correa, Buxton, Zunino, Gausman, Zimmer, Almora, Fried, Appel) would be possibilities. I doubt we'll include all eight, though. My over/under would be four, with Buxton and Correa locks.

Re: 2013 draft
I think it's comparable to the 2012 crop, which was below average. The college bats aren't anything special (again), and I don't see pitchers to rival the Appel/Gausman/Zimmer trio. There are some interesting high schoolers, but no one lights me up like Buxton, Correa or a healthy Giolito do.

Submitted by artskoe
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 5:39pm

Sully sez Dodgers or Detroit have best chance to land Dempster. Who should be in Theocorp's sites to get in return?

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 6:06pm

Matt Kemp or Prince Fielder.

Submitted by tim815
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 6:22pm

Psha.

Kershaw or........ Kershaw will work.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 6:09pm

Top 20 Dodgers Prospect List
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/12/5/2612...

Top 20 Tigers Prospect List
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/10/30/252...

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 7:00pm

doug fister here we come.

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