Draft Pick Watch is On

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 2:09am

- The Dodgers have won 40 of their last 48. This has nothing to do with the Cubs right now except it gives me an opportunity of our old friend LaTroy Hawkins after serving up the game tying home run.

- Back to the Cubs, they've lost 13 of their last 17 and have moved into a tie for the 4th draft pick with the Brewers, in which they own the tiebreaker.

Pick Team .PCT GB
1 Houston .328 --
2 Miami .387 7.0
3 White Sox .387 7.0
4 Cubs .433 12.5
5 Milwaukee .433 12.5
6 San Francisco .437 13.0
7 Philadelphia .442 13.5
8 Angels .445 14.0
9 Minnesota .449 14.5
10 San Diego .450 14.5

You can always find that table on the left sidebar by the way. While I'm mostly wrong in my predictions, I didn't do too badly this year. I surmised that the Cubs could probably make a run at .500, but once they start trading off pieces, they'll be near the bottom again. Now they never quite got to .500, but their run differential was pretty close for awhile and then once the trading began, the freefall was inevitable. Of course at this point, they're a lot closer to the 13th spot (3.5 ahead), then the 2nd spot (5.5 behind), but I think we're all confident in their ability to tank the rest of the season. I think the 4th or 5th spot is the most likely, although I wouldn't put it past the Marlins to make a decent run...they have some decent youth that's been playing much better of late.

Tags: 
Cubs News of the Moment

Comments

Submitted by jacos  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 7:04am  
"The former Cubs manager was in a particularly good mood, noting he finally could walk to the mound without boos erupting en masse, a byproduct of the summer malaise at Wrigley in the final weeks of Year Two of the rebuild. "They love me," Baker said. " 'Come back, Dusty, we didn't mean it. We love you. I'm a big fan of yours.' I'm like, 'Where were you a few years ago?' " ---Paul Sullivan article

Submitted by Old and Blue  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 7:42am  
Nice to see Soriano with his 13 RBI two game set there. I bet he's really been flashing that big smile of his a lot in NYC lately.

Submitted by Ryno  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 9:51am  
I don't miss him.

Submitted by Charlie  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 10:02am  
I miss parts of the 2003-2005 roster, but I don't miss Dusty.

Submitted by Cubster  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 11:06am  
I don't miss Neifi either

Submitted by crunch  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 2:35pm  
i can't wait to not miss d.barney getting 600 PA a year, myself.

Submitted by The E-Man  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 2:59pm  
Which makes me wonder why the fuck can't Travis Wood bat in-front of Barney with 100 pts higher of OPS and 40 points more BA? I just don't understand the "baseball rule" of hitting the pitcher 9th no matter they might be a better hitter.

Submitted by billybucks  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 8:35am  
Doesn't anybody in the AL know how to throw a slider low and away?

Submitted by Rob G.  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 8:43am  

expanded replay with manager's challenges is being discussed

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/owners-con...

Submitted by CubbyBlue  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 12:08pm  

Nice with the GIF, Rob! LaTroy's like the opposite of Singletary.

Submitted by Rob G.  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 12:47pm  

It's the anti-Zambrano...F. Liriano does not take his hitting seriously.

http://deadspin.com/francisco-liriano-gives-z...

Submitted by Mike Wellman  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 2:53pm  

w/ lineups like yesterday's on the eve of an off-day (resting key regs for the final push or what?!?) raises legitimate suggestions of tanking for sake of draft position, imo...forget winning the occasional home game, is scoring a run or two now & then too much to ask @ the prices they charge?! *#@% 'd-mac' was hitting in the low 200's here!

Submitted by Ryno  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 9:40pm  
The way I see it, the guys in uniform are obligated to put forth a good effort to win games. The guys in the front office are not obliged to put effort into winning games when the goal is to rebuild. SO I suppose I agree with you that it is bad form to intentionally throw games. To be clear I don't think the Cubs are intentionally throwing games. They currently have, like, 3 major league ball players. Cut them some slack.

Submitted by Mike Wellman  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 2:55pm  

on the other hand, not sure how many 'key regs' this team actually has, come to think of it...

Submitted by Mike Wellman  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 2:58pm  

finally, which is more stimulating: watching paint dry or listening to dale sveum on the pre/post game?

Submitted by Carlito  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 6:26pm  
Absolutely without irony I had to consider this question for a minute or two. Which basically says it all.

Submitted by Rob G.  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 3:18pm  

http://www.thecubreporter.com/2007/04/01/rip-...

so anyone with computer/database savvy, know why I get this error?

EntityMalformedException: Missing bundle property on entity of type comment. in entity_extract_ids() (line 7693 of /home/thecubre/public_html/includes/common.inc).

Seems to be affecting all articles that were imported after we moved to our own site...they were all working for the most part for awhile I remember.

Any help would be appreciated....

Submitted by Old and Blue  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 5:24pm  
I don't know drupal, but typically a bundle is related to content, and in this case it looks like there is a malformed XML file somewhere, probably a configuration file of some kind, and it isn't mapping to a schema correctly.

Submitted by Rob G.  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 5:53pm  

thanks for the tip, gives me something to look into further.

Submitted by Old and Blue  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 6:34pm  
drupal being php, it could be that during your migration an important file had some parameter changes. Stack overlflow website is your friend, along with google: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10023653/g...

Submitted by Rob G.  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 7:45pm  

thanks for the help....

Submitted by crunch  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 4:27pm  
soriano goes 4-5 today (all singles)...only 1 RBI, though 10-14 in his last 3 games...4hr, 1 double

Submitted by billybucks  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 4:48pm  
Checked out the NYY box score -- Phil Hughes (4-12, 4.97 ERA) and Joba Chamberlain (WHIP 1.63, ERA 4.70) both pitched, and are now god-awful.

Submitted by crunch  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 5:30pm  
future cub starter, phil hughes, you mean...joining ejax on the "cheap compared to stuff" contract swooping. seriously, i wouldn't be surprised to see hughes or timmy tim tim timmay tim on 2-4 year deals next season.

Submitted by Newport  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 5:59pm  
Timmah goes where the weed goes. Well.....medicinal will be legal 1/2014, so who knows. Maybe they will add declining pitching skills to the approved conditions list.

Submitted by crunch  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 6:25pm  
i wonder if he even still smokes since he's now "born again." to my knowledge he hasn't said he wasn't...nor would it exclude him from being "born again." either way, i hope the cubs stay away from both of them...but i imagine they'll be signing some kind of "name brand" starter to go with ninja/ejax/arrieta/carlos manuel (paulino) villanueva

Submitted by crunch  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 6:56pm  
olt 0-4, 2Ks ...starting to get a bit alarming. he was on the upswing before leaving TEX, but he hasn't even put together back-to-back promising games in iowa. .127/.179/.253 in 84 PA.

Submitted by Carlito  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 7:17pm  
Those are shit numbers.

Submitted by Rob G.  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 7:30pm  

Those are Kris Bryant and Javier Baez fighting for third base next season numbers.

Submitted by Rob G.  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 7:31pm  

...and the rest of the story

Gif of LaTroy taking a comebacker off the family jewels the batter before giving up the HR

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-...

Submitted by jacos  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 7:46pm  
Wasn't a line drive, walk it off.

Submitted by jacos  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 7:45pm  
Super Bears! Super Bowl!

Submitted by Carlito  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 9:17pm  
How common is it for a MiLB shortstop to crank 30hr in a season at any level(s)? Baez is a monster ... Jeez.

Submitted by crunch  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 9:54pm  
25sb 5cs, too. his Ks are the only alarming part of his batting game right now...

Submitted by Old and Blue  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 7:23am  
At his age I'd hardly call it alarming. Everything I've read about him says he is working hard on that part of his game, too. I'm kinda surprised, though, that Theo hasn't gone ahead and offered a ten year contract to the kid.

Submitted by Rob G.  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 2:07am  

considering how uncommon it is in the majors in 162 games, I'm guessing "not very" is the correct answer. Baez is a bit older than these guys, but here's what I found.

Sheffield hit 28 between AA-AA at age 19, 83 games at SS, 49 at 3B

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

Ripken Jr. hit 25 at age 19 in AA, but he actually played mostly 3B

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

A-Rod hit 21 at age 18 over 3 levels

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

if you want a cautionary tale, B. Wood hit 43 at age 20 between Hi-A and AAA (mostly Hi-A in the very hitter friendly California League)

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

Joel Guzman was a big-time prospect for the Dodgers, hit 23 at age 19 between Hi-A and AA

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

Submitted by Cubster  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 11:04pm  
Some really good pitching in the system tonight including: CJ Edwards for Daytona: 5IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 3K and at KC, recent draft picks Tyler Skulina started with 3IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 4K and Rob Zastryzny with 3IP, 2H, 0R, 2BB, 4K. At Boise, with a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the 5th...Dillon Maples pitching, so far with a line of 5IP, 1H, 0R, 2BB, 9K

Submitted by crunch  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 10:15pm  
meanwhile in AZ...7th rounder d.garner and 12th rounder t.clifton are having a crap outings...which isn't anything new for them in their short careers so far.

Submitted by WISCGRAD  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 8:07am  
With all of the caveats about sample size, etc. this years pitching draft picks are doing very well overall. Clifton and Garner are struggling, but Zastryzny, Skulina, Masek, Frazier, Wilson, Godley, Graham, Wagner, and Ihrig are all doing very well in the early going. Position player prospects are not doing well overall. Bryant has been great, Hannemann was doing well prior to the injury, and Brockmeyer is hitting very well, especially for a catcher, at Boise, but the rest aren't impressing yet. Here's a quick overview: 1) Kris Bryant - obviously doing very well 2) Rob Zastryzny - Combined 2.21 ERA in 20 IP between Boise and KC 3) Jacob Hannemann - .780 OPS in 60 ABs at Boise before getting injured 4) Tyler Skulina - 1.20 ERA in 15 IP at Boise, though struggling a bit in KC 5) Trey Masek - 1.20 ERA in 15 IP at Boise 6) Scott Frazier - 1.47 ERA in 18 IP at Boise 7) David Garner - 7.15 ERA in 11 IP at Arizona, he is struggling 8) Sam Wilson - 0.59 ERA in 15 IP at Boise 9) Charcer Burks - .356 OBP and 5 SB in 23 games at Arizona, but only ONE XBH! 10) Zack Godley - 2.37 ERA in 19 IP at Boise 11) Jordan Hankins - struggling, just a .616 OPS in over 100 ABs at Boise 12) Trevor Clifton - struggling with a 12.46 ERA in 5 games at Arizona 13) Trevor Graham - 2.25 ERA in 16 IP at Arizona 15) Michael Wagner - combined 2.61 ERA in 17 IP between Arizona and Boise 16) Cael Brockmeyer - solid .836 OPS in 26 games for Boise 17) Kelvin Freeman - .706 OPS in 98 ABs for Arizona 18) Giuseppe Papaccio - .801 OPS at Arizona, but just .642 OPS at KC 20) Zak Blair - just a .580 OPS at Arizona 22) Kevin Brown - just a .213 BA in 89 Arizona at-bats 23) Tyler Ihrig - 1.04 ERA in 17 IP at Arizona 24) Tyler Alamo - only 14 ABs so far at Arizona 28) Brad Renner - just 4 IP so far at Arizona, but no runs allowed 30) Zak Hermans - 3.52 ERA so far in 7 IP at Arizona

Submitted by Carlito  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 8:41am  
This is awesome. THANK YOU for the format!

Submitted by The E-Man  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 12:54pm  
Nice. Thanks! Since you started, maybe do a "gotten back in trades" one too?

Submitted by WISCGRAD  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 9:09am  
I'd be happy to do that actually, but anyone have good advice on where to find an accurate transactions list for the Cubs? The one on Cubs.com is terribly incomplete. Rizzo/Cashner, Zambrano/Volstad, etc. aren't even on there! I've used retrosheet in the past, but that is sometimes incomplete as well and I think only goes through the end of 2012.

Submitted by QuietMan  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 11:37am  
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/2...

Submitted by crunch  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 1:51pm  
nice work AZWiscgrad

Submitted by Jumbo  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 5:56am  
http://mlbfarm.com/prospects.php?team=CHC&yea...

Submitted by QuietMan  on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 11:13pm  
The Smokies’ skipper said during his postgame press conference that right-handed pitcher and Cubs prospect Trey McNutt – who has been sidelined with an undisclosed injury since June 28 – ran into a roadblock after tossing a scoreless inning and allowing three hits while striking out one in his second appearance with the AZL Cubs. “McNutt was getting real close,” Bailey said, “and then in just the last day or two something showed back up but in a different spot.” http://smokiesonradio.com/2013/08/15/injury-u...

Submitted by Arizona Phil  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 2:02am  

Why was Roney Alcala moved from the VSL Cubs to the DSL Cubs this week?

1. The VSL season starts & ends about three weeks prior to the beginning & end of the DSL season;

2. The VSL Cubs were swept by the VSL Mariners in the VSL Championship series last week, so their season is over;

3. Th DSL Cubs had a roster opening;

4. The DSL Cubs will almost certainly be in the DSL playoffs that start in about ten days; and

5. Alcala was the VSL batting champion & RBI leader, and so he can probably help the DSL Cubs in their pursuit of the DSL Championship. 

BTW, the DSL Cubs have the second-best record in the DSL, and that's a 35-team league (25 MLB clubs have one club each in the DSL, and five MLB clubs have two DSL teams).  

Submitted by Old and Blue  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 1:35pm  
Things are looking up when I see a name getting attention that I've never heard of.

Submitted by Cubster  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 8:22am  
A-Rod's new nickname: A-Rat http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-5759880...

Submitted by Cubster  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 8:32am  
Pretty interesting video interviews with Buddy Bailey, Smokies manager after yesterdays win on Baez 8th inning HR. He discusses much of his roster. Also video interview with starter Nick Struck, still making mechanical adjustments. http://smokiesonradio.com/2013/08/15/baez-pow...

Submitted by Carlito  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 8:50am  
http://youtu.be/-6tKWtPSGLI

Submitted by QuietMan  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 12:34pm  
Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet 3. Christian Villanueva, 3b, Cubs Team: Double-A Tennessee (Southern) Age: 22 Why He’s Here: .458/.519/1.000 (11-for-24), 2 HR, 7 2B, 7 RBIs, 6 R, 3 BB, 2 SO, 0-for-1 SB The Scoop: When the Rangers traded Villanueva and righthander Kyle Hendricks to the Cubs last year to add Ryan Dempster, the move made sense for Texas, where Villanueva was blocked by Adrian Beltre and Mike Olt. One year later, Villanueva is again blocked by Olt—though Olt’s struggles have certainly narrowed the gap between the two—with Kris Bryant, Jeimer Candelario and potentially Javier Baez also competing with Villanueva to be Chicago’s third baseman of the future. At some point, that could make Villanueva trade bait once again. For now, he’s one of the hottest hitters in the minors with a .305/.351/.543 slash line since the all-star break. His 36 doubles are a career high, and his 16 home runs are one off the 17 he hit two years ago in the low Class A South Atlantic League. 9. Kris Bryant, 3b, Cubs Team: high Class A Daytona (Florida State) Age: 21 Why He’s Here: .444/.469/.852 (12-for-27), 2 HR, 3 2B, 1 3B, 7 RBIs, 4 R, 3 BB, 9 SO The Scoop: If you ever wanted to see College Player of the Year and No. 2 overall draft pick Kris Bryant don a cap featuring a sunglasses-wearing cartoon bear, then here’s your chance. You’ll want to act quickly, though, seeing as he’s launched two homers and gone 4-for-13 (.308) in his first four games for the Daytona Cubs. At three minor leagues stops, Bryant has hit .333/.381/.679 with 16 extra-base hits (including six homers) in 24 games as a professional. 10. Javier Baez, ss, Cubs Team: Double-A Jackson (Southern) Age: 20 Why He’s Here: .370/.433/.704 (10-for-27), 2 HR, 3 2B, 5 R, 7 RBIs, 3 BB, 6 SO, 2-for-2 SB The Scoop: The hottest hitter in the Southern League has been on quite the tear. Baez has eight multi-hit games in his last 12. He’s 7-for-his-last-7 on steals and he’s reduced his at-one-point obscene number of errors, committing nine errors in 34 games at shortstop in Double-A (.944 fielding percentage). While that’s still more miscues than the Cubs would like to see, he has made significant strides at converting chances into outs, as attested to by his poor .922 fielding percentage at high Class A Daytona, where errors tended to occur in bunches. http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/prospec...

Submitted by Cubster  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 12:53pm  
Phillies calling a press conference for 1:30pm, CST (2:30pm Eastern), Managerial Change! Go Ryno Go...

Submitted by QuietMan  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 1:03pm  
Danny Knobler‏@DannyKnoblerCBS Ryne Sandberg will be the next Phillies manager, source says.

Submitted by Cubster  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 1:20pm  
The Phillies come into Wrigley for a weekend series August 30-Sept 1st. Tom Ricketts just lucked into the hottest ticket in town before the football season starts.

Submitted by Old and Blue  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 1:38pm  
I wonder how long the standing O will be the first time he goes out to the mound. Sure, he'll get cheered during the lineup exchanges if he presents them, but not everybody will be in their seats, etc., for that.

Submitted by Cubster  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 12:58pm  
Edwardo Sanchez back to Iowa to make room for Arrieta who starts today

Submitted by Cubster  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 1:21pm  
muskat tweets... Villanueva accepts shift in roles. Says being versatile can be "a pain in the butt" but admits it's kept him in the big leagues

Submitted by Cubster  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 1:23pm  
Charlie Manuel is the first manager fired in 2013. I think that's pretty late into the year for no firings.

Submitted by Cubster  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 1:26pm  
link to live video of Phillies presser at 2:30pm Eastern http://wapc.mlb.com/phi/play/?c_id=PHI&conten...

Submitted by Cubster  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 1:37pm  
Tears in his eyes, Reuben Amaro Jr starting presser. Manuel speaks next at conference. Manuel gone but will remain in Phils organization (he hasn't accepted this role yet). Sandberg offered the job on an interim basis through the remainder of season. Sandberg has accepted. Juan Samuel will be their 3B coach.

Submitted by Cubster  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 1:34pm  
I'm thinking...Sandberg beats out Quade for the Phils job in 2014.

Submitted by Rob G.  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 1:58pm  

good luck Sandberg...no idea if he'll be better than Sveum, but I doubt he could be worse.

Submitted by Old and Blue  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 2:22pm  
Cubbery being what it is, he'll be stunningly good.

Submitted by tem99  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 2:35pm  
Not that I love Sveum or anything but it's pretty hard to blame him given his roster choices. The Cubs roster is just downright brutal.

Submitted by Ryno  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 3:06pm  
We're a long ways away from worrying about the manager.

Submitted by Rob G.  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 4:47pm  

I don't blame him for the record. i blame him for his general bad baseball decision making. Is he passable as a manager? Probably... 

Would a trained monkey or a well-programmed computer simulation get the same results? Not really sure...

He's just there, which is probably fine, but doesn't get me too excited.

Submitted by crunch  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 2:46pm  
newly called up k.wong gets the start at 2nd for STL

Submitted by jacos  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 3:10pm  
Ryno "interim" manager. no love.

Submitted by crunch  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 3:20pm  
junior lake swinging a bat sure brings back memories of sammy sosa...only with 1/4 of the actual power behind the results... he's pretty convinced he can hit 40+ homers if he swings hard enough to separate his shoulders on every offer.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 3:39pm  
crunch, if you like guys who don't get good rips in PA after PA, Castro is your man.

Submitted by crunch  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 3:43pm  
i just like how almost every j.lake swing has a 50/50 chance for an oblique injury or a torn hip ligament.

Submitted by Cubster  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 4:05pm  
speaking of injury... Muskat updates them:
Cubs pitcher Matt Guerrier underwent surgery Friday to repair the flexor mass in his right arm, and he will be sidelined six to eight months. Dr. Timothy Kremchek performed the procedure. Acquired from the Dodgers in the Carlos Marmol trade, Guerrier was 2-1 with a 2.13 ERA in 15 games with the Cubs. The right-hander does not have a contract for next season, and he said before the procedure that he would like to come back to Chicago.
The Cubs did get good news on outfielder Brian Bogusevic, who has been rehabbing a strained left hamstring since July 15. Bogusevic was expected to join Triple-A Iowa to continue his rehab, and he could be activated soon. The outfielder has been playing with the AZL Cubs in the Arizona League. In six games, he was batting .286 (6-for-21), and he has played center field in four of his six games.
Infielder Luis Valbuena, sidelined since Aug. 3 with a strained right oblique, has been able to swing a fungo bat, but has yet to hit. He is able to play catch from a short distance.
Outfielder Ryan Sweeney, on the disabled list since June 30 with a left rib fracture, has been able to hit in the batting cage. He's expected to return in September.
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...

Submitted by jacos  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 4:07pm  
Just wait until Lake starts juicing.

Submitted by crunch  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 3:24pm  
cubs lead off the game with 3 walks in a row...as hitters, not pitching. rare.

Submitted by crunch  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 3:25pm  
...and then sureholds screws up the streak with a 2 run single. bum.

Submitted by Rob Richardson  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 3:27pm  
You know sometimes a hit is as good as a walk.

Submitted by Cubster  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 4:14pm  
and Barney gets an intentional walk to get to the pitcher...Cards must be ignoring their advanced scouting (even though Arrieta out on a fielder's choice)

Submitted by crunch  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 4:14pm  
5th IBB of the season out of the 8 slot...artificially inflating his ob%, but he needs any help he can get.

Submitted by John Beasley  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 4:23pm  
Jake Arrieta: Actual baseball pitcher?

Submitted by Carlito  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 4:53pm  
Things can change ... But right now that looks like one hell of a trade.

Submitted by crunch  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 6:55pm  
8th soriano HR... 2-2 on the night...4 rbi...top 3rd.

Submitted by crunch  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 8:33pm  
bryant + vogel 2-4 (singles) c.black 5ip 8h 1bb 8k, 1 r/er

Submitted by Jackstraw  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 8:52pm  
So is Arrieta a two-hit one-hit wonder; or a one-hit, two-hit wonder?

Submitted by Carlito  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 9:00pm  
He's got some tools! I hope Arista signs him to a 4 album developmental deal.

Submitted by crunch  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 9:40pm  
he was the O's opening day starter last year...he's always had the stuff...it's how it comes out of his arm game-to-game and inning-to-inning that's been his knock. if they can work this kind of magic with him maybe they should make a run at phil hughes in the off-season.

Submitted by billybucks  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 9:46pm  
Javy Baez walk-off HR!

Submitted by crunch  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 10:14pm  
mike olt walk-off HR! i mean...0-4, 1K sigh.

Submitted by Carlito  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 10:15pm  
Omg that hurt. Bad.

Submitted by crunch  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 10:20pm  
he's doing crazy bad...like, bad enough that if it wasn't mid-August he'd probably be sent down. he's sporting an OPS around .430 as a cub since the trade...which requires no ob%/slugging split because that's blindingly obvious suck.

Submitted by Carlito  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 10:39pm  
Well CJ Edwards better keep plugging on because without him I'd say we "got f%cked at the auction" to quote an English as a Second Language tape a friend of mine has, explaining how to use that particular F word in context. Funniest language training tape ever - and it was not trying to be. Olt however is not funny and Grimm is grim.

Submitted by crunch  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 11:14pm  
olt will most likely still be a top-5 cubs prospect come list-maker time (probably 3/4 on more than a few lists). he's better than what's going on now. his D is good...good arm...power...but what's going on since he came over the cubs is mindblowingly awful. fwiw, valbuena and d.murphy are under club control next year and both will probably be back...valbuena (3rd/2nd) and murphy (3rd/SS/2nd)

Submitted by Carlito  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 11:13pm  
I want him to succeed. I understand that he may ride the momentum of his previous rankings, but this whole year is just a mess and that is a very bad sign. Beaned in the head, hits like crap, vision problems, nonfucntioning tear ducts, this isn't standard baseball stuff. If has the weird stench of a bad head injury or psychological effects from the beaning or both. I'm very concerned regardless of how he is ranked. That said maybe we don't get him in the trade if he wasn't struggling. But this doesn't just appear to be growing pains and slumps. This seems more serious.

Submitted by Old and Blue  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 6:33am  
Me being a glass half full kind of guy, maybe instead of doing some time in Arizona or something, the Cubs should give him a little time off after the summer and see if they can focus (no pun intended) on getting those eyes fixed. He may just come back ok.

Submitted by Carlito  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 7:02am  
Glass full or empty I think I'd agree he needs a rest more than he needs to plow thru this mess. But we'll see. I REALLY want that dude to be a success for the Cubs ML team. I take no measure of satisfaction in freaking out about his struggles. It totally sucks. I think a rest is in order and some medical attention on those eyes or whatever. Maybe a spa! ;)

Submitted by The E-Man  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 10:38pm  
We'll see?? or, hopefully he'll see. Better.

Submitted by Carlito  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 11:15pm  
I would love to see Murphy at 2B with that pop. How's his D at second?

Submitted by crunch  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 11:17pm  
dunno...all i know he's an "average at best" SS type and he seems to handle 3rd fine. he's played a good bit of 2nd in his minor/majors, though.

Submitted by John Beasley  on Sun, 08/18/2013 - 8:17am  
A lot of small sample sizes. The one season where he played 200+ innings at 2B was for the 05 Royals, and UZR hated him there. However, in most years with even smaller sample sizes, like the 04 Royals, the 08 A's, and the 12 Marlins, each in less than 100 innings, he has nice-looking UZR numbers. At the end of the day, he's probably OK to hang at 2B, but he's sure not going to be Darwin there with the glove.

Submitted by Carlito  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 10:14pm  
The kid is ridiculous. Wow.

Submitted by Cubster  on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 11:28pm  
video of Javier Baez walkoff HR tonight plus a direct hit with the Gatorade cooler. Seems that his swing brought him to one knee, then he took his time getting out of that position (to admire the homer)? http://smokiesonradio.com/2013/08/16/video-ja...

Submitted by Carlito  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 7:28am  
I have no problem with that . . . He clearly lost his balance a little even after dropping to a knee. But more importantly his running out of the box promptly had no meaning whatsoever. It was either a homerun a single or an out. The winning run was half way home and Baez run was meaningless. I think there is way too much focus on whether a guy looked at his HR or flipped his bat etc. Soriano (a serious veteran I know) is the absolute worst I've ever seen. And he never gets retaliation. I think it's gotten a little silly. There is follow through on the bat with a decent swing and the days of hitting it that far but somehow ignoring it, putting your head down and sprinting are gone, that is if it ever happened. The player needs to gauge the hit, but again HD TV makes it look more vivid. Anyway just something I've been thinking about after watching pitchers plunk guys this year and watching the replay and trying to figure out what was so offensive about a players subtle reactions to the home runs. (Meanwhile Soriano basically hits the ball, makes a dinner reservation, sets up a table and toasts himself with fine champaign before trotting like a Russian Diplomat from the 19th century) I think a young Mets player was the subject of some serious retaliation against the Braves or something and I couldn't see what he did at all. It's all ridiculous.

Submitted by Arizona Phil  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 12:06am  

"Seems that his swing brought him to one knee, then he took his time getting out of that position (to admire the homer)?"

link

Submitted by crunch  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 12:50am  
j.blanton (LAA) 128.1ip 174h 30bb 104k, 6.03era/1.59whip 28HR (2 tonight) ...last 3 outings, 6ip 13er (3, 6, 4) ...owed $7.5m next year (+$1m buyout for 2015) and has been working as long relief since late july...ow.

Submitted by John Beasley  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 9:24am  
And yet that's only the 3rd-worst contract on the team ... 4th if you count that the about-to-be-fired manager has 5 more years left on his deal, too.

Submitted by Carlito  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 9:41am  
That really puts perspective on things; too much f%cking perspective! http://youtu.be/Fx9EDv_hgeM

Submitted by Old and Blue  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 1:47pm  
Miguel Tejada suspended for 105 games for using Aderall? My God man, Starlin Castro desperately NEEDS the stuff. Why would they ban something half the population under 30 is taking?

Submitted by crunch  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 3:44pm  
speed is a long ignored part of the game...neifi was straight up addicted to the stuff...derek bell, too. it became a major issue when that kid in BAL spring training dropped dead after loading up on a mixture of stuff years ago. steve bechler - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Bechler ephedra is on the banned list now, btw.

Submitted by jacos  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 5:05pm  
Dale pulls Castro after letting run score on infield fly rule catch with bases loaded.

Submitted by crunch  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 5:34pm  
he would/should have been out on a more accurate throw, but castro totally took catching the ball in shallow LF (about 20 yards from 3rd base) for granted. the worst part is the runner + 3rd base coach seemed to predict this would happen and the runners from 1st/2nd also advanced to 2nd/3rd on the play. totally taking a nap on that one. http://cdn0.sbnation.com/uploads/chorus_image...

Submitted by Old and Blue  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 6:18pm  
Ask Bud Selig for an exception to the no aderall rule, stat!

Submitted by The Joe  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 6:24pm  
Actually there is an exception, but Tejada forgot to renew his exemption.

Submitted by crunch  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 6:34pm  
it's not like getting an exemption is hard...MLB has 8-12% exemptions. there's 105-130+ players in any given year with an exemption since they started handing them out. i kinda wonder why more people aren't all over this if they wanna abuse speed...i'm looking at you c.ruiz.

Submitted by Old and Blue  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 7:15pm  
Is aderall a kind of speed? I don't actually know much about it, other than they seem to give it out like candy to kids with attention deficit disorder, which Castro seems to suffer from. Either that or he's partying a lot.

Submitted by crunch  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 8:28pm  
adderall is the speed of choice in most sports...and most of our society (well, if you don't count caffeine). also, lulz castro

Submitted by crunch  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 6:02pm  
soriano 2-4 (singles)...no RBI SB, too.

Submitted by Rob G.  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 7:48pm  

Sveum seemed to handle it well, take him out, make your point...then hopefully put him back in tomorrow.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 8:27pm  
Agreed Rob. I've been a Castro supporter. I know he's had a crap year, but the freaking mental mistakes, bad fundamentals, and.poor atbats have got to stop. I damn near leapt out of my chair when he pulled that crap today.

Submitted by Charlie  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 9:24pm  
Frustration with Castro is really mounting. It's pretty difficult to explain his struggles at the plate this year, aside from simply restating the obvious.

Submitted by Ryno  on Sun, 08/18/2013 - 8:43am  
I think Sveum yanking Castro sends the right message, not just to Castro, but to anyone wanting to play for Sveum.

Submitted by Cubster  on Sun, 08/18/2013 - 8:56am  
fox coverage of castro coming into the dugout after the gaffe http://wapc.mlb.com/chc/play/?c_id=chc&conten...

Submitted by crunch  on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 10:26pm  
olt 0-3 (no Ks) grimm 7ip 4h 0bb 8k, 3 r/er rosscup 1ip 1h 0bb 3k (3.2ip 2h 2bb 10K)...all but 1 out via the K in his short AAA career, 14.5 K/9 between AA/AAA (47ip/76K) baez 1-3 (double), 1bb 2k bryant 2-5 (single, double) vogel 1-3 (single), 2bb i.pineyro 5ip 8h 2bb 4k, 6 r/er

Submitted by WISCGRAD  on Sun, 08/18/2013 - 9:58am  
OK, here is a breakdown of the players the Cubs lost and gained in trades since Epstein/Hoyer took over. Players Lost Tyler Colvin: Solid .858 OPS in 2012, but has spent 2013 in AAA DJ LeMahieu: Utility infielder for Rockies with .701 OPS in two seasons Sean Marshall: Solid set-up man in 2012, but has spent most of 2013 on DL Carlos Zambrano: 4.49 ERA in 20 starts for Marlins in 2012, spent half of 2013 in Phillies minors before being released in July Andrew Cashner: 4.27 ERA out of the bullpen in 2012, 3.27 ERA in 20 starts for Padres in 2013 Kyung-Min Na: Struggled badly in 2012 and was released, not playing in 2013 Chris Carpenter: Has battled injuries with Red Sox and struggling in minors in 2013 Aaron Kurcz: 3.04 ERA out of bullpen for Red Sox AA team Marlon Byrd: Struggled with Red Sox in 2012 before being released and then suspended for PEDs, having a rebound year with .847 OPS for Mets in 2013 Paul Maholm: 3.54 ERA in 11 starts for Atlanta in 2012, but just 4.41 ERA in 20 starts in 2013 and now on DL Reed Johnson: Just .663 OPS in 2012-13 for Atlanta Geovony Soto: Combined .641 OPS in 2012-13 for Texas Ryan Dempster: 5.09 ERA in 12 starts for Texas in 2012, 4.50 ERA in 24 starts for Red Sox in 2013 Jeff Baker: Limited ABs as utility player for Tigers, Braves, and now Rangers in 2012-2013 Blake Lalli: AAA catcher for A’s and now Brewers, limited big league ABs Tony Campana: AAA outfielder for D-Backs in 2013, doing well, but only 12 ABs in bigs Alberto Gonzalez: Struggling badly in AAA for Yankees Drew Carpenter: Went from Cubs to Rockies to Angels to A’s in 2013, playing in minors Ian Dickson: 5.15 ERA for Nationals A team Brent Lillibridge: Utility infielder and AAA player for Yankees Hisanori Takahashi: Struggling in AAA for Rockies Scott Feldman: 5.18 ERA in 7 starts for Orioles Steve Clevenger: Only played in 18 games so far in Orioles minor leagues Carlos Marmol: 4.00 ERA in 9 IP for Dodgers Scott Hairston: Terrible (.560 OPS) for Nationals since trade Matt Garza: 3.86 ERA in 5 starts for Texas Alfonso Soriano: 1.020 OPS for Yankees so far Guillermo Moscoso: 4.73 ERA in 13 IP for Giants **Note: Cubs Still Owe Nationals PTBN in Scott Hairston Trade Players Gained in Trades Tyler Colvin Trade Casey Weathers: Terrible 6.62 ERA in AA in 2012, hasn’t played in 2013 Ian Stewart: Sucked, got injured, released Sean Marshall Trade Ronald Torreyes: .711 OPS in A in 2012, .642 OPS in AA in 2013 until traded to Astros for international bonus slots Dave Sappelt: .671 OPS in 150 ABs for the Cubs in 2012-2013, and has not impressed at AAA either. Travis Wood: 3.69 ERA in 51 starts for the Cubs in 2013-2013 Carlos Zambrano Trade Chris Volstad: Terrible 6.31 ERA in 21 starts for Cubs in 2012, currently in AAA for Rockies Andrew Casher Trade Zach Cates: 4.23 ERA in 20 starts for Daytona in 2013 Anthony Rizzo: 2.3 WAR in half season in 2012, 2.3 WAR so far in 2013 Theo Epstein Trade Jair Bogaerts: Released just a few months after the trade, not playing anywhere in 2013 Marlon Byrd Trade Michael Bowden: 2.95 ERA in 30 games for Cubs in 2012, 4.60 ERA in 20 games in 2013 Hunter Cervenka: Did well out of bullpen for A and A+ in 2012, and has 3.25 ERA across A+ and AA out of the bullpen in 2013 Paul Maholm Trade Jaye Chapman: Struggled in 2012 and to start 2013 before being shut down following hip surgery Arodys Vizcaino: Still recovering from TJ surgery, may pitch in Arizona Fall League Geovany Soto Trade Barret Loux: 4.84 ERA in 16 starts for AAA in 2013 Ryan Dempster Trade Christian Villanueva: Has a .799 OPS in AA in 2013 Kyle Hendricks: 10-3 with a 1.85 ERA in 21 AA starts in 2013, recently promoted to AAA Jeff Baker Trade Marcelo Carreno: Injured, has yet to play in Cubs system Blake Lalli Trade Anthony Recker: Cup of coffee with Cubs in 2012 but then lost on waivers, back-up catcher for Mets in 2013 (.629 OPS in 100+ ABs) Tony Campana Trade Erick Leal: 2.98 ERA in 45 IP for Arizona League Cubs in 2013, still just 18 years old Jesus Castillo: 17-year-old on Cubs Venezuela team in 2013, 4.26 ERA in 19 IP Ian Dickson Trade Henry Rodriguez: Just 4 games for Cubs and 3 games for AAA Iowa in 2013 Scott Feldman Trade Jake Arrieta: 3.56 ERA in 7 AAA starts, and 2 great starts for Cubs so far Pedro Strop: 2.41 ERA in 19 games out of Cubs bullpen Carlos Marmol Trade Matt Guerrier: 2.13 ERA in 15 games for Cubs out of bullpen before getting injured and lost for season Scott Hairston Trade Ivan Pineyro: 3.18 ERA in 6 starts for Daytona Matt Garza Trade C.J. Edwards: 1.84 ERA in 4 starts for Daytona Justin Grimm: 6.04 ERA in 5 starts for AAA Iowa Mike Olt: Struggling with .397 OPS for AAA Iowa Alfonso Soriano Trade Corey Black: 3.21 ERA in 3 starts for Daytona Players Owed Yet 1 or 2 PTBN from Rangers for Matt Garza PTBN or Cash from Giants for Guillermo Moscoso PTBN or Cash from Yankees for Brent Lillibridge PTBN from Rockies for Hisanori Takahashi PTBN or Cash from Yankees for Alberto Gonzalez Future Considerations from Rockies for Drew Carpenter PTBN from Nationals for Scott Hairston For many of these deals, the sample size is simply not sufficient yet or the players are too young to really evaluate the trade. But overall, here are my thoughts, for what they are worth: 1) The Cubs haven't really lost anything in these trades that they didn't know they were going to lose (e.g. Marshall, Garza). Virtually none of the prospects they have traded have shown much promise and many of the sell-high guys like Feldman and Maholm have regressed since they left. 2) The Cubs also saved money in lots of the deals or gained international signing bonus money, and that is not considered above. 3) A few of these returns have really sucked. Weathers and Stewart have been worthless. One wonders the point of guys like Bogaerts and Carreno. And Sappelt is running out of time to show something. 4) Many of these trades look really good in the early going. Travis Wood, Anthony Rizzo, and Pedro Strop are major contributors to the big league club. Arrieta is on is way up. Michael Bowden has had some decent innings out of the bullpen. Kyle Hendricks and Christian Villanueva are top prospects in the Cubs system. C.J. Edwards is dominating. Black and Pinyero are doing well in limited time so far for Daytona. Hunter Cervenka is doing well in the minors. 5) The jury is still out on a few of these. Zach Cates has been just OK so far. Grimm has had a few bad outings for AAA. Olt is really struggling. Chapmn and Vizcaino are both injured. The two kids the Cubs got for Campana are still teenagers and a few years away.

Submitted by Charlie  on Sun, 08/18/2013 - 10:54am  
Thanks for this! I'm sure it took some time. I'd completely forgotten about several of these players.

Submitted by waveland  on Sun, 08/18/2013 - 11:35am  
this is the kind of thing I'd hope for but don't expect from the commercial sites; great work

Submitted by The Joe  on Sun, 08/18/2013 - 12:59pm  
Thanks. That helps put things in perspective.

Submitted by Hagsag  on Sun, 08/18/2013 - 10:08am  
Great job Wiscgrad.

Submitted by The E-Man  on Sun, 08/18/2013 - 2:54pm  
Nice going, and thanks, WISC! I think that Travis Wood has to be the most valuable commodity of all their moves to date. What would their staff look like without him? He has kept the shitty team in so many games without much run support to speak of. As a bonus, he is a terrific athlete, and has a higher OPS and BA than Darwin Barney.

Submitted by Carlito  on Sun, 08/18/2013 - 3:25pm  
Why would ANYONE throw a first pitch near the strike zone to Miggy?

Submitted by crunch  on Sun, 08/18/2013 - 3:58pm  
dale adds another useless ejection to his career record. ...and somehow j.russell got ejected, too.

Submitted by crunch  on Sun, 08/18/2013 - 6:32pm  
4 years left on Arod's contract...and the GM is afraid to talk to (or about) him because he might be sued by him. fun times.

Submitted by crunch  on Sun, 08/18/2013 - 6:47pm  
vogel + bryant with b2b HRs...nice. s.baker 3ip 3h 0bb 0k, 1 r/er

Submitted by crunch  on Sun, 08/18/2013 - 7:40pm  
DUMPSTER!!!! throws behind arod...2 inside...then HBP. girardi is the maddest i've ever seen him...by a long shot. BOS fans are in love. HUGE "Yankees suck" chant going on. warnings immediately issued.

Submitted by crunch  on Sun, 08/18/2013 - 7:48pm  
...then dumpster loses a 2 run lead. tie game. it's only the top 2nd...this game could get interesting.

Submitted by Carlito  on Mon, 08/19/2013 - 1:04am  
Dempster's behavior was inexplicable . . . I think he is my second least favorite player behind A-Rod. I mean honestly what was he trying to prove? Ultimately he succeeded only in lighting a fire under A-Rod and the entire Yankee lineup. Oh and losing the game after A-Rod takes him deep. Nice job Demp, I'm sure your teammates are thrilled with your adolescent vigilante crap. You are the voice of a generation . . .

Submitted by crunch  on Mon, 08/19/2013 - 1:51am  
it seemed to be a personal message...unless the team "not so secretly" wanted it...and if it was more of a team thing, then it almost assuredly was coming from the locker room, not the management/coaches/etc. j.lackey has been especially vocal about arod the past few days. no matter how you cut it, though...it was pure revenge that was personal brought on by something that had nothing to do with dumpster or the rsox team.

Submitted by Carlito  on Mon, 08/19/2013 - 2:05am  
I suppose it could have been a "you beat us all those years and you were cheating" at bat. Which would kinda make sense given that rivalry. If Dempster did it of his own I think it was idiotic. If he was following instructions, which might be likely given his persistence, I suppose I was too harsh. But I guess we'll never know. My problem with it is it actually backfired in a bunch of ways. And also I cannot stand "you can't trade me I was napping and now I'm mad" Dempster. Given last year's trade deadline episode and things like today, I think he might be less mature than people give him credit for . . .

Submitted by jacos  on Mon, 08/19/2013 - 7:02am  
A misguided Dempster also had Manny Rameriez come in and give pre game speech to the team.

Submitted by Carlito  on Mon, 08/19/2013 - 7:24am  
Well, that pretty much says it all. Thank you sir!

Submitted by Rob G.  on Sun, 08/18/2013 - 10:15pm  

Cubs move to 4 games from the 3rd spot in the draft...also just 4 games from the 13th spot with a lot more teams in-between though.

Submitted by crunch  on Sun, 08/18/2013 - 10:30pm  
is it april yet? ...i mean, is it april 2015 yet?

Submitted by jacos  on Mon, 08/19/2013 - 10:47am  
Braun slanders urine collector with terrible allegation- "he's a cub fan" http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ryan-braun-tried...

Submitted by Ryno  on Mon, 08/19/2013 - 11:49am  
The PEDs seemed to have also enhanced the performance of his mouth.

Submitted by The Joe  on Mon, 08/19/2013 - 1:26pm  
Cub Fan is bad enough, but he also called him antisemitic. Damn.

Submitted by The E-Man  on Mon, 08/19/2013 - 1:53pm  
That is such baseless, embarrassing bullshit. Now even more so.

Submitted by Old and Blue  on Mon, 08/19/2013 - 1:04pm  
From the tweet box: "Brett Jackson's woes at AA Tennessee continue. Hitting just .179 with 20 strikeouts in 56 at-bats." Time to convert him into a pitcher. And bring him up!!

Submitted by The E-Man  on Mon, 08/19/2013 - 1:52pm  
See, "E-Man Tim Wilken rant # 9" to reinforce your bewilderment and anger on how Wilken plowed through the red flags...

Submitted by Newport  on Mon, 08/19/2013 - 2:10pm  
The Jesus has been traded to the Nats.

Submitted by Old and Blue  on Mon, 08/19/2013 - 2:14pm  
Whoever the PTBNL is, bring him up!

Submitted by The E-Man  on Mon, 08/19/2013 - 2:14pm  
NO-ONE MESSES WITH HIM! Well, that's convenient for him this week. I'm sure that's the bright side...

Submitted by Cubster  on Mon, 08/19/2013 - 2:51pm  
Per Ken Rosenthal tweet:
Cubs save about $2.5M w trade of DeJesus to Nationals - about $1M in salary, plus $1.5M buyout. Bogusevic, Sweeney close to coming off DL.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/washington... and Bob Nightengale tweet:
The #Nats likely have no intention on keeping DeJesus in 2014 since he has option for $6.5 million or $1.5 million buyout,
...Brian Bogusevic will be activated from the DL.

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  • jdrnym 5 hours 52 min ago (view)

    AZPHIL, has there been official word as to whether the 26-man roster has been extended down to the minor league levels that previously had 25-man rosters? Can't really think of a reason why that shouldn't be the case...

     
  • Arizona Phil 10 hours 48 min ago (view)

    Another possibility for a "26th man" in 2020 would be a young pitcher selected in the Rule 5 Draft who has big league upside but who is clearly not yet "big league ready," or a pitcher who is out of minor league options who might not be quite MLB ready.

     
  • Cubster 12 hours 54 min ago (view)

    Just sign Rick Reuschel and lets move on

     
  • crunch 13 hours 36 min ago (view)

    "Buster Olney of ESPN reports that Scott Kazmir will throw for MLB teams this week.

    The 36-year-old Kazmir hasn't thrown in the majors since the 2016 season, but he recently told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that he that he hit 90.9 mph with his fastball during a bullpen session."

    someone put another bottle of left-in-the-car warm water under the cubs hot stove and let's get this one done!  woo!

    sigh.

     
  • crunch 1 day 4 hours ago (view)

    bryce harper ruined that bat dragging thing for everyone after his ejection years ago at the junior college world series.

    also, hurrah for baseball making it's return.

     
  • JustSayin' 1 day 4 hours ago (view)

    College ball started Saturday.  Umpire egos in D1 baseball are not that much smaller than in the pros, so of course there was a controversy.  In the late innings of a game in the weekend's biggest series (Michigan vs.

     
  • crunch 3 days 2 hours ago (view)

    the news is mostly based on a Baseball America article from the 11th (behind a paywall)...so the gist of it is rather legit rumor-wise, though it's still too far in the future to call it a 100% done deal.

    btw, the cubs have been strongly linked to pursuing christian hernandez for quite a while.  the BA writer that wrote the article about the cubs links has been following c.hernandez since he was a 14yo talent and is quite familiar with him.  that signing probably is in the bag.

     
  • Wrigley Rat 3 days 5 hours ago (view)

    I don't know much about this website, but they are speculating that the Cubs may sign two of the top International Free Agents available during this signing period: https://www.cubshq.com/print/news.do?id=16441&isNe... Does anyone know if this sounds legit?

     
  • Arizona Phil 4 days 9 hours ago (view)

    Minnie Minoso was playing in the Mexican League (as a DH) at age 47 and Julio Franco was playing in the Mexican League (as a DH) at age 49, so Mexican League teams clearly do not have a problem with signing older players. 

    And of course the ageless Satchel Paige was still working as a SP in AAA (with the Miami Marlins) into his early 50's (and prior to that he pitched in MLB as late as age 46).  

     
  • crunch 4 days 9 hours ago (view)

    b.colon has signed to a mexican league team.  woo old dudes.  he turns 47 in may...believed by some to be older.

     
  • Cubster 4 days 18 hours ago (view)

    Replacing someone like David DeJesus?

     
  • crunch 5 days 11 hours ago (view)

    mark grace returns to chicago as an analyst/on-air-talent for Marquee.

    he won't be part of the main game calling crew, but will be doing support content during games.

     
  • Eric S 5 days 14 hours ago (view)

    Increasing levels of smoke concerning a possible Arenado/KB trade

    https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2020/02/13/cubs-reportedly-are-absolutely-motivated-to-try-to-acquire-nolan-arenado/

    Get Arenado to agree to push back his opt out a few years or so down the road and this could work out nicely for the Cubs

     
  • Arizona Phil 6 days 5 hours ago (view)

    Jason Kipnis (like Brandon Morrow) was a post-2019 Article XX-B MLB free-agent who signed a 2020 minor league contract, so he gets a $100K retention bonus and an automatic June 1st player opt-out if he is not released by 12 PM (Eastern) on the 5th day prior to MLB Opening Day or added to an MLB 40-man roster or MLB 60-day IL by 12 PM (Eastern) on MLB Opening Day. 

     
  • Arizona Phil 6 days 5 hours ago (view)

    The Cubs have signed post-2019 second-contract minor league FA catcher Jordan Procyshen to a 2020 minor league contract and he has been assigned to AA Tennessee.  

     
  • Dolorous Jon Lester 6 days 7 hours ago (view)

    Q could be subbed in for any of those too

     
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