Technical Difficulties I know that many of you are struggling with the question of whether life is worth living in the wake of yesterday’s Darwin Barney trade. Know that OVBlog is dealing with the same struggle. Hold fast, you patient ones. We will get through this together. (Alternate theory: evil genius Brett is planning to shut down the entire Cub …
DFP: Neil Ramirez and Rusney Castillo
Did the Cubs Win? Nope. Dropped two of three to the Cardinals this weekend. Huh? The Cubs sent Neil Ramirez to Iowa over the weekend, citing the need to rest his arm, which strikes me as extremely odd. Ramirez has been arguably the best reliever on the team, but has not been overused by anyone’s definition of the word. I …
DFP: The Lost Generation
I’m in the minority around here when it comes to fretting about the Cubs leaving WGN next year. My argument is basically that being on basic cable around the country when no one else is has a huge impact on a team’s future bottom line, even if that impact is less today than it was twenty or thirty years ago. …
DFP: Welp, It Begins
Update Your Depth Charts Darwin Barney —> DFA Emilio Bonifacio —> Activated from the DL Tsuyoshi Wada —> Cubs Arismendy Alcantara —> Time to play Mike Olt —> Iowa Jorge Soler —> Iowa Albert Almora —> Tennessee Jacob Hannemann —> Daytona Moving Too Late The Yankees acquired Chase Headley yesterday for Yangervis Solarte and Rafael De Paula (maybe). I really …
DFP: Future Pen vs. Future Rotation
Neil Ramirez scoffs at such amateurish pantomimes. Daniel Lewis Day The Cubs signed pitcher Daniel Lewis out of the Cape Cod League yesterday. Lewis is 23, but took four years off to serve in the Air Force. He was reportedly reaching the high-90s on the Cape. Mark Gonzales has more. The one interesting takeaway for me is that this is …
Daily Facepalm 7-21-14
Did The Cubs Win? Nope. Swept by the Diamondbacks this weekend. Anthony Rizzo is devising innovative ways to help the Cubs lose close games whilst performing admirably. Rizzo hit three homers in the series and is now tied for the NL lead with Giancarlo Stanton. Race To The Top Speaking of which, the Cubs now have the third worst record …
Daily Facepalm 7-18-14
Is there a Cubs Game Today? Yes. Finally. The Cubs are on the road in Arizona. JOT Update Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Addison Russell, and Jorge Soler all homered last night. Baez started at second base last night. He looked OK. There were a couple of batted balls that a player with great range would have at least gotten closer …
“Daily” Facepalm 7-16-14
All-Star Game The AL won the All-Star Game last night 5-3. Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo were both Doolittle’d. The game was mostly a Derek Jeter fawning session. Adam Wainwright did his best to undermine that narrative by saying that he grooved one to Jeter to start the game. It might have worked, too, had he not been quoted on …
OV “Daily” Facepalm 7-12-14
Did the Cubs Win? Yes. (h/t Aisle424) In Soviet Russia, Prospects Block You Yesterday in the comments it was suggested that perhaps it’s time to send Mike Olt back to AAA and see whether he can sort some things out there. Uncle Dave pointed out that Olt is more or less blocked at both AAA and AA by better prospects, …
OV “Daily” Facepalm 7-9-2014
Happy Arismendy Alcantara Day! Of all the strange consequences for prospects under the current CBA, perhaps the strangest is this: the less potential a prospect has, the quicker he is likely to make the majors. If your goal as a prospect is to get to the “Bigs” as soon as possible, the sweet spot is being good enough to contribute …