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How to compete for the World Series in 2023

In Commentary And Analysis, Uncategorized by andcounting134 Comments

Even though the postseason format will be virtually unchanged, the 2023 MLB regular season is going to look a whole lot different, and the scheduling changes could make the postseason even fairer and more exciting. But the changes in scheduling, coupled with the way the 2022 postseason played out, will inevitably change the way teams from the A’s to the …

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The Roster Check Before the Storm

In Commentary And Analysis, Major League Baseball, Minor Leagues, Transactions by Rice Cube96 Comments

The Cubs did make their transactions prior to the nontender deadline, and the 40-man roster is at 37 for the moment: As we said in prior posts and in the latest Dreamcast, there were some very obvious nontender candidates, and it wasn’t too surprising to see the three names on the announcement. As stated in Bastian’s rundown, VizcaĆ­no was on …

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Quick Cubs Roster Check

In Commentary And Analysis by Rice Cube53 Comments

By the time this publishes the Cubs might decide to finally designate Jason Heyward for assignment, but for now he’s safe on the 40-man roster, which will likely also be updated soon: Per the prior status check, the roster should be at 36, but for some reason I’m counting 37, and if we remove Esteban Quiroz and Jared Young as …

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The Catch(er) of the Day

In Commentary And Analysis by Rice Cube36 Comments

Now that Dusty Baker has won the World Series since most of the world outside of Houston, Texas, refuses to acknowledge the team he managed, trades can be made with impunity and we’re less than a week from full blown free agency (though teams can sign their own outgoing free agents, like the Mets just did with Edwin Diaz). Before …

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The Cubs Should Probably Keep Ian Happ Around

In Commentary And Analysis by Rice Cube12 Comments

The Gold Glove Awards were doled out today, and one Cubs All-Star (the only one to get a finalist spot if I’m not mistaken, sorry Nico Hoerner) got himself the prize: Never mind the irony that a gold plated glove wouldn’t be able to very effectively catch a baseball, but apparently this was well-deserved for Ian Happ, both by the …

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Do Something!

In Commentary And Analysis, Major League Baseball by Rice Cube24 Comments

I think I want to see another few years of this version of the postseason before I start lobbying for one of AC’s fun ideas to change things up. What I am sure of, at this time, is that the NLCS was a lot of fun to watch. Even if I’ve been a little bored with three-true-outcomes baseball, when the …

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The Still-Too-Early Cubs Free Agency Pitch

In Commentary And Analysis, Major League Baseball, News And Rumors by Rice Cube25 Comments

The postseason thus far has brought us plenty of fun and exciting moments and equally intense discourse, but generally, even if the best team doesn’t always win the World Series, getting a shot into the postseason field is the goal. So it makes sense to discuss how the 2023 Chicago Cubs will be constructed to pull off a purported upset …

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Way Too Early Roster Cleanup

In Commentary And Analysis by Rice Cube33 Comments

Having just done a new podcast episode with our favorite jabronis (jabronii?), and with the Wild Card series concluded by the time most of you actually read this shit, I figured it would be good to take a look at the roster as it stands now and figure out exactly how many spots we can realistically expect to be open …