Hope you're enjoying the series...

Hope you're enjoying the series...
kolten wong rumors heating up for the cubs, too. i could live with that. giving nico hoerner 600 ab's a year sounds absolutely terrible after what little he did last year.
WSCR online reporting that the Cubs are going to watch lefty Carlos Rondon pitch. They desperately need another lefty that breaks down with the regularity of my Comcast service.
imagine being so toxic that you go from a no-doubt 1st or 2nd year HOF'r to having to try for it in your 10th year...and then imagine doubling down on the toxicity every chance you get a chance to redeem yourself.
every time he's called out, even for minor stuff, he piles on more and then complains that people that have an issue with him are "cancelling" him for no good reason.
he deleted a slew of "those people that stormed the capital are great people" posts pre-election so he has some kind of self-awareness in that skull of his somewhere.
I'm all for removing him from the ballot. His bloody sock already made it. That was enuf.
Ranting about how the elections (both his and the other clown's) were stolen.
I hope he ends up one vote short next year, just to really rub it in.
currently he's throwing a tantrum and demanding to be removed from the HOF ballot for 2022.
Will Schilling storm the HOF with a mob?
schilling denied (71.1%, 16 votes short).
some people did nazi that coming.
no one inducted this year...aram got 1% of the vote so he found more than 1 vote out there (4 votes). latroy hawkins got 2 votes for being a solid dude to other people (very friendly with the press and pretty much everyone)...sosa got 17% of the vote...
schilling/bonds/clemens are going in their last eligible class in 2022...could be a hell of a "controversial" class...but bonds/clemens need to find 50+ votes.
Arizona is allowing fans in the stands for indoor NHL hockey games but it's too dangerous to let players following protocals; at least more so than hockey fans, to practice outside in a controlled environment. Wonder how much of that is coming from MLB ownership trying to get a late start and pro-rating player salaries. Stall and save some money until more fans are allowed to attend later in the year.
few hours away from HOF announcements (6pm EST, unless leaked early).
schilling seems to be the only guy with a legit shot this year and i wouldn't be surprised to see no one get elected...
big up aramis rarmirez getting at least 1 known vote on publically shared ballots.
"MLB will hold its first-ever pre-draft combine from June 20-28 in Cary, North Carolina.
The combine will take place at the USA Baseball National Training Complex, with top draft-eligible college and high school players invited. As part of the combine, the top-88 prep players will take part in a tournament through June 26th consisting of eight games."
cactus league officials are requesting MLB delay spring training because of elevated COVID cases + deaths.
their summer peak was 70-80 deaths a week and they're currently at 140-160 deaths a week.
things should be trending down now that most of people that wanted to kill relatives in order to have turkey dinners in NOV/DEC seems to have peaked.
$$$$ for trump's defense fund.
But they got $600 a few months back. Each! That was an unexpected windfall.
Can't wait to see us acquire a 17 year old, 16 year old, 11 year old (all in the 15-30 range of Blue Jays prospects) and one of the shitty Jays surplus OFs. Randal Grichuk jerseys will be the new hot item among Cubs fans.
things are a little tight, we have to be patient with the ricketts family finances.
when TD Ameritrade was fully/completely sold in october they expected to get 26 billion dollars of value on the transaction, but it only got 22 billion dollars. the massive slew of millions that didn't fully come to realization on the ricketts side of that sale stings.
Trade Hendricks? Cant be true. We're "going to be competitive this year."
Sell the team, Ricketts family.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
©The Cub Reporter 2021. The Cub Reporter is in no way affiliated with the Chicago National League Ballclub.
Comments
if Kansas City were to beat
if Kansas City were to beat the Cardinals this would be more fun for me, but a Giants win does make all the Dodgers fans I'm around sulk, so that's nice.
I know I do this every year,
I know I do this every year, but I'm in a 12-team Fangraphs Ottoneu league and we're down some owners. Let me know if you're interested. $10 fee to Fangraphs for the year and we all paid in $40 last year for prize money, but the $40 is negotiable. Year-round activity...
http://ottoneu.fangraphs.com/rules
http://ottoneu.fangraphs.com/support
http://www.csnchicago.com
http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/cubs-shutting-...
Russell done with AFL after today.
"The Cubs feel like Russell
mlbtr says Joe Madden has
Hopefully you are renting
It begins...
Smoke... fire?
Maddon’s agent, Alan Nero,
Maddon’s agent, Alan Nero, tells Topkin (Twitter link) that he expects Maddon will manage a team in 2015. Friedman tells Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter) that his new team, the Dodgers, will not be among the suitors regardless of Maddon’s newfound availability.
Exciting!
Rumor that Dodgers won't pursue him as manager, but then some were speculating he may be GM.
Peter Gammons @pgammo 9m9
if the cubs spend millions of
I believe they will be doing
we've already been through
we've already been through the "spend a little on a manager rather than a lot on players" fan distraction/placation thing
I know better than to reply, but Lou was hired the same offseason they signed Soriano, Lilly and DeRosa. Cubs were top 3 in payroll by end of his tenure.
Maybe he meant Dusty?
would be just as wrong...
would be just as wrong...
don't be scared...i don't
wrong end of the emotion
wrong end of the emotion spectrum...
pay Maddon whatever he wants, Cubs can afford it and he's good at his job.
yeah, it's jokes.
I'd like you to finally come
*insert reply*
My favorite Lou moment --
Well that's a perfect
Well that's a perfect description of Bob Brenly if I ever heard one.
Cubs had two great years under Lou, he was just too old to care to babysit when they stopped winning.
4-23-2008 at Colorado: Manny
4-23-2008 at Colorado: Cubs trailing 5-4 going into top of the 9th... Manny Corpas is the pitcher (he was the Rockies closer at the time)... one-out single by Derrek Lee... Felix Pie pinch-runs for D-Lee.... A-Ram two-run HR puts the Cubs ahead 6-5... Kerry Wood blows the save in the bottom of the 9th, but the Cubs win 7-6 in 10.
According to WSCR
"include more than manager
"include more than manager duties"
I was thinking events coordinator. He does like his themed plane trips.
@RaysBaseball 32m32 minutes ago
Maddon instituted 33 theme trips. The @Ken_Rosenthal/Nerd trip in 2012 was one of the most memorable. #ThankYouJoe
https://twitter.com/Buster
https://twitter.com/Buster_ESPN/status/525764...
Rival executives believe that if Joe Maddon winds up with the Cubs, the Rays will investigate the issue of tampering.
Madden is the best person
"Joel Sherman of the New York
if i were to guess
if i were to guess
Cubs, Phillies......then maybe Blue Jays, Rangers(yeah I know they just hired someone), Twins (Twins aren't gonna pay that much).
Mets and Tigers also being
yeah, guess I could see
yeah, guess I could see Tigers getting rid of Ausmus. Mets made sense and was team everyone jumped on besides Cubs, but they've been rather adamant all day that they're not making a move, but that could change of course. Cubs on the other hand have been completely silent about it today.
Is Maddon really that much
it's a manager, no one has
it's a manager, no one has yet to devise a great way to really evaluate one vs the next in any tangible way. But we know he can succeed with young talent, we know players love playing for him, sure does love defensive shifts, is a really sharp guy.
Not saying Renteria isn't any of those things, and that Maddon wouldn't make some head scratcher moves here and there, but the track record and reputation are certainly there.
"He was everything we were looking for," says Friedman. "Smart, passionate, a background in player development and an understanding of objective decision-making. His positive attitude was the antidote for years of negativity."
He was runner-up for Red Sox job btw when they hired Francona before 2004.
Don't expect a set lineup either (The lineup is almost never the same for the Rays. Because the roster is built for versatility, and Maddon is wired for creativity, they've had 128 different ones in 141 games, and this one is about to be No. 129.)
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9727219/a-u...
I never read "The Extra 2%", and I'm sure the focus is on the front office, but imagine there's some good insight on Maddon in there.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Extra-2-Strategies-...
Thanks Rob - all managers
The Cubs reportedly will keep
finally, someone is making
Why the hell are the players
...a challenger appears
Twins paying 5/25 for Madden
Maddon was the ideal fit,
Maddon was the ideal fit, open to ideas from the analytics-minded front office and popular with players for cultivating a loose clubhouse atmosphere while thriving on competing with the payroll behemoths in the American League East.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/25/sports/base...
If they hired Maddon, the Cubs, with their losing history, would be happy if he could forge the same kind of legacy in Chicago that he described for himself from his time in Tampa Bay.
“That I did my job and was successful,” Maddon said, “and that we created a culture that didn’t exist before.”
The "Culture"
Reading the various internet
I believe it's a dream come
I think Renteria was much
I know how you feel, and I
I'm honestly not trying to be
The Cubs have assigned INF
The Cubs have assigned INF Danny Lockhart to the Mesa Solar Sox (AFL) effective Monday (10/27), replacing INF Addison Russell. It has not been reported yet if Lockhart will be on the MSS Active Roster or Taxi Squad (in which case he can play only on Wednesdays and Saturdays). OF Bijan Rademacher is presently on the MSS Taxi Squad and he is really rakin', so he could be promoted to the Active Roster if Lockhart is assigned to the Taxi Squad.
Lockhart is the son of ex-MLB infielder Keith Lockhart, who is an Area Scout (Georgia) with the Cubs. Danny played HS baseball in Georgia, so he was both scouted AND signed by his dad.
Danny Lockhart was at Instructs this past month where he played both 2B & SS, but he can also play 3B. The Fangaphs article by Kiley McDonald from last week regarding the Cubs minor league system erroneously stated that Danny Lockhart and Gioskar Amaya were being converted to catcher at Instructs. Actually it was Amaya and Jordan Hankns. I was there every day, and Lockhart never got anywhere near the Tools of Ignorance. Not that Lockhart can't try catching sometime in the future, but it hasn't happened yet. But he is a very good utility infielder, fundamentally solid both at the plate and in the field, a decent hitter (albeit with virtially zero HR power), slightly above-average speed, and a reliable & versatile defender (2B is his best position).
Also, mlb.com shows RHP Loiger Padron among the Cubs playing in "offseason leagues" (Venezuela). However, Padron was released by the Cubs at the end of Minor League Camp last March and is presently a free-agent. Apparently mlb.com has him listed as a Cub because the Cubs were his last MLB organization (he did not pitch in the minors in 2014 after being released by the Cubs).
In addition, mlb.com erroneously shows OF Junior Felix Arias as one of the Cubs playing in an offseason league, but he actually is a member of the Cincinnati Reds organization and is one of their better prospects. (Baseball America rated Arias as the Reds #14 prospect coming into the 2014 season).
Are you a Leo (Durocher)?
Terrible news
wow. unbelievable.
I just read this news and
Condolences to our rivals,
Really awful news.
Truly sad
Top 15 draft prospects for
Top 15 draft prospects for 2015 per Law
1 LHP Brady Aiken
2 RHP Mike Matuella (Duke)
3 SS Brendan Rodgers (HS)
4 LHP Nathan Kirby (VA)
5 LHP Kolby Allard (HS)
6 RHP Walker Bueller (Vandy)
7 RHP Kyle Funkhouser (Lou)
8 OF Nick Plummer (HS)
9 SS Dansby Swanson (Vandy)
10 OF Alonzo Jones (HS)
11 RHP Mike Nikorak (HS)
12 OF Daz Cameron (HS)
13 SS Richie Martin (Fla)
14 RHP Kyle Cody (Ken)
15 RHP Cody Ponce (Cal Poly)
Ow, we want the funk
Never offer an empty gesture
@Buster_ESPN on Joe Maddon:
lack of any comment from Cubs
lack of any comment from Cubs front office seems telling...
Mesa/Salt River 3-3 tie,
http://www.fangraphs.com
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/sunday-notes-m...
Musings from Maddon back in Sept, but published yesterday
“Offense hasn’t benefited at all from any of the new discoveries in the game,” said Maddon. “It’s only been injured by it. Along with the subtraction of PEDs, there’s informed data on pitching and defense, which has really slanted the field in favor of that area of the game. There are also accelerated bullpens. Look at Kansas City’s bullpen, Oakland’s bullpen, Baltimore’s bullpen. Specialization has really taken over.”
~snip~
“There are a lot of ways to look at how you might augment your offense, but it can’t just be nine guys working a pitching staff over,” said Maddon. “If your goal is to get a starter out of a game, that might be the last thing you want to do. You see a lot of 95-plus out of the pen now, and some of those guys have quality secondary pitches. I think it’s become easier to build bullpens, and it’s rare a team has a bad one.”
I don't really understand the
that the idea of trying to
that the idea of trying to get the starter out of the game by running up pitch counts and going to the inferior pitchers in the bullpen is quickly being phased out..bullpens are getting better.
and that an offense needs to be more than 9 guys working a pitch count, need some speed, contact hitters, etc, etc, etc...
But working the pitch count
Well...the Cubs had a very
I don't have a sharper
Right. The old strategy of
That's what I'm talking about
Not just getting pitch count
In Olney's podcast Keith Law
Only when Olt is playing.
Who is Olt again?
I think we all felt that way,
I think we all felt that way, but I'm sure it's something he can work on. I doubt Bruce Bochy was a great tactician his first few years either, takes some time to develop if you haven't been in the hot seat. Also tough to assess when the primary goal of last season had nothing to do with winning games.
That being said, #HireJoeMaddon
I'm a firm believer that a good manager is like a good blackjack player. Just play the odds and if the talent is there, you'll get on a hot streak and be up a few hands. It's the managers that need to be too clever or double down on Neifi Perez that bug me. A manager that is entertaining is a plus too...afterall this is entertainment, people take it far too seriously.
Remember the good old Hendry
when you get a new staff
Ha
seems like whenever anonymous
The tweet in the sidebar
http://www.suntimes.com
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/22482...
good memory
Maybe 2007 or 2008 playoffs go better, maybe not. Bochy does manage a bullpen pretty well, not sure if I could identify anything else remarkable about him.
World Series getting tied at
World Series getting tied at 2-2 is the best thing in the baseball world, because it means there will be a Game 6, and if there's a Game 6, that means there could be a Game 7 tomorrow.
What a damn fun postseason.
I'll root for the Royals tonight, just for the Game 7 possibility.
is there any way to forfeit a
is there any way to forfeit a game? Only thing Giants can do tonight is burn through pitchers.
Peavey on the Cubs is a deal
Agreed. Also I don't think he
agreed to what? As if there's
agreed to what? As if there's anything the Cubs would do that would make any of us stop rooting for the team.
You wouldn't stop rooting for
WrigleyRicketts family patriarch spends huge sums of political money trying to burn down the country.Some people just want to see
the world burnJake Peavy in a Cubs uniform.Yeah, Cardinals fans.
Bam!!!! Be sure to tip your
I saw the protest as metaphor
I actually thought Peavey was
a lot of people in the "big
This Tim Hudson guy worries
@MDGonzales
@MDGonzales
Cubs outright OF Ryan Kalish and INFs Chris Valaika and Josh Vitters to Iowa; RHP James McDonald elected free agency
i thought it was shaping up
Renteria just honestly had no
wont be having that problem
I'm in 7th fucking heaven!!