It was reported yesterday that the Cubs signed Jeff Samardzija and James Russell to avoid arbitration. The Cubs signed Matt Garza yesterday and earlier this week they signed Luis Valbuena. Those were the only four players the Cubs had eligible for arbitration.
The Jeff Samardzija contract is worth $2.64 million and they signed James Russell for $1.075 million. Totals for arbitraiton eligible players are below, along with their projected WAR.
| Player | Contract | WAR |
| Matt Garza | $10.25 | 2.6 |
| Jeff Samardzija | $2.64 | 1.5 |
| James Russell | $1.075 | 0.9 |
| Luis Valbuena | $0.930 | 1.0 |
CAIRO still projects Samardzija to have some innings in relief due to him being a reliever as recently as 2011 so you can adjust those numbers however you'd like.
My first thought about the James Russell contract was that it was a slight overpay, but that's a fairly good projection for him. I'll have to look more into that in the near future. Also surprised by the Luis Valbuena projected WAR. You can tell how little I've paid attention to the details so far.
In other news, the Cubs expect to complete the signing of Carlos Villanueva soon. Dale Sveum mentioned today, but Bruce Miles suggested otherwise.
MLBTR also notes that Jed Hoyer said that Darwin Barney is part of their long term plans. I figured as much since it's unlikely a team would be willing to give up what a light hitting, great fielding 2nd baseman is worth the Cubs.
Paul Sullivan is apparently surprised enough to tweet that Theo Epstein said the Cubs would essentially take the best player available when they pick 2nd in this year's draft. Sullivan doesn't own a thinking cap.
Rice Cube has a blog up about the Cubs Convention and the Cubs plans to renovate Wrigley Field. Brett has some pics up over on Bleacher Nation.
A couple of stars passed away over the last couple days. Earl Fucking Weaver died of a fucking heart attack at the fucking age of 82. Robert F. Chew passed away on Thursday. Chew played Proposition Joe on The Wire.
Joe will be missed. Very missed. We liked Joe. A hard man not to like.
RIP Stan the Man
That’s 2 HOFers to die in one day.
GW wrote:
I seem to remember their aborted plan involved spending ~$300MM and having the state match that with another $300MM (or similar figures).
So it isn’t big news that they are going to pay for renovations themselves, since they were always going to pay that much.
It’s not really big news that the state and city are not contributing, seeing as this has been their stance for some time. I guess what is news is that the Ricketts have officially acknowledged that they will never get public investment money for this.
Well, Tom, just put this chapter to rest and welcome back Sammy Sosa. You don’t have to wait for everyone else to do it. The Cardinals did it with it McGwire. It’s already started to happen. Why get on board at the last minute?
aside: http://www.obstructedview.net/news-and-rumors/dale-sveum-on-brett-jackson.html
@ dmick89:
I think he’s trying to tread carefully as to not piss off a- the set of fans who think Sosa is the devil and b- the set of fans who think Sosa isn’t the devil. From a PR point of view it is kind of tricky. He can’t just invite him back with pomp and circumstance when the issue is still so controversial. What I am glad for is that he is actually thinking about it.
Rice Cube wrote:
Good point. Even if it was without pomp and circumstance, say, throwing out the first pitch of a game or singing the stretch, he’d probably get far more boos than cheers. That would not help the situation.
@ Suburban kid:
I mean, as the owner he could just be like “Fuck all y’all” and have the ceremony and have Sosa’s flag flying on the foul pole even if 50% of the crowd hates it. I’d find that hilarious.
it’s now just 22 days until pitchers and catchers report to Mesa.
h/t —–> Alvin
(dying laughing) at Rant Sports’ latest headline: “Chicago Cubs’ 2013 Off Season Acquisitions Probably Aren’t Enough…”
Way to go out on a limb there, guys.
Regarding the WBC, one nice thing about it this year is that there is almost no risk for the Cubs, since Italy probably won’t last long.
I suppose that is also a bad thing about it too.
Since I’m too lazy to do it, is anyone here gonna do a roundup on the whole renovation thing? Or are the details still forthcoming?
@ uncle dave:
#ShamelessSelfPlugAndAlsoForBN
uncle dave wrote:
There’s not much different than what we’ve seen before. The big change is that they’re going to add that patio in the LF corner and they are claiming they’ll pay for it themselves if the city lifts all the restrictions the bitchy neighborhood puts on it.
@ Aisle424:
Seriously. They’re squandering the massive profits from their snake oil business.
I know Theo said once that he wanted the Cubs to reach out to Bartman, so maybe they should just bring Bartman and Sosa back on the same night. That way Sosa wouldn’t get as many boos.
@ mikeakaleroy:
Given how stupid people are these days the Cubs may have to install metal detectors at every entrance and scour the rooftops for would-be snipers.
Awesome discussion guys, I’m RIVETED
@ Suburban kid:
Perhaps you can regale us with stories of attending George Washington’s inauguration?
With the 31st/32nd selection of the 2013 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers select Margus Hunt, DE, SMU.
@ mikeakaleroy:
My job is to read comments and throw you guys the occasional thumbs up or down. I don’t actually comment that much or create any valuable content here. It’s YOU guys who are falling down on the job not me.
As to historical inaugurations, I can’t remember any before Reagan, although I might have watched earlier ones.
@ Suburban kid:
I’m sure there are several here that wish MY job was just to watch and not comment. I just throw out shit that’s funny in my head at the time. Problem is, most everyone here is waaaay funnier than I, and I know absolutely zero about stats, so I’m screwed coming and going.
Well, someone is a negative Nancy today.
@ SF 49ers:
This is good, right?
@ mikeakaleroy:
Ryno?
The Negative Faget Point Bandit comes by from time to time.
@ Rice Cube:
6’8″, 280, 82″ wingspan, could run the 40 around 4.6. If he were 22, he’d probably go top 15. If he had been playing football longer than four years and were 22, he’d probably go top 7…and this is a good year for defensive line.
With good coaching, yeah, very good.
@ mikeakaleroy:
Shut up, cunt.
@ SF 49ers:
Well then, go 49ers!
I also thought the draft was a few months from now, so I assume this is a wish rather than something that actually happened…
@ Nancy:
@ mikeakaleroy:
Your gay.
I suppose the negative faget pointing would be more annoying if we were allowed to trade in our faget points for sweet OV swag.
@ Rice Cube:
The draft is April 25-27. Just our current prediction.
I figured Ryno would come around after the 49ers reached the Super Bowl. You’re missed around here.
dmick89 wrote:
The Cubs should change their name to Crickets.
@ dmick89:
Thanks. What’s funny is that I came here today to start draft talk. It’s been nearly 20 years since I cared about a Super Bowl and I’m usually in Senior Bowl mode right now.
@ GW:
That’s not even what happened.
I do feel a little vindication about my Kaepernick assessment too.
Suburban kid wrote:
@ Ryno:
Since you left, your scouting report on F7 has been more or less vindicated. No gloating on that front?
Happy birthday & etc.
@ GW:
Good point. Ryno was behind that pick from the start.
@ GW:
Honestly, I never thought there was anything special about that one. All I ever said about him was that he had the pitches to be what he is becoming now. He just had too many factors working against him for me to want to go out on a limb at the time.
I love Bill Clinton.
mikeakaleroy wrote:
That’s pretty much how I roll, too.
@ uncle dave:
The ampersand redundant with “etc,” since it is a stylized form of “Et.”
Bam! 6 years of English education and 7 years as an editor has culminated in this moment.
This is like winning the Oscar for me.
@ mikeakaleroy:
We appreciate everyone’s comments. Especially in the offseason when there isn’t anything to talk about.
@ Akabari:
(dying laughing)
@ Ryno:
I dunno, you were behind him even when he was putting up Rafael Dolis-type peripherals in the low minors and KG and others were falling all over themselves to say “I told you so” regarding him being a bad pick.
@ GW:
I guess. It seemed pretty obvious when you watched him pitch that the movement and velocity was there, as well as the athleticism and repeatable delivery. And because of all that, I never bought into the poor numbers. Something didn’t jibe there.
I’ve been wrong a LOT more than I’ve been right, and it’s really nice when guys like JefF7 and Kaepernick make me look like I know what I’m talking about.
I thought Ryno was nuts there for awhile.
New comic: http://www.obstructedview.net/comics/off-season-thoughts.html
@ Berselius:
I like this.