Position players report to spring training today
Speaking of which, Mets manager Terry Collins is bitching yet again about players not reporting earlier than their report date. Pouliot summed it up well in the post
And that’s just not right. MLB and the MLBPA negotiated reporting deadlines for a reason, and no player should be pressured to show up early. Besides six weeks is more than enough time for a position player to get ready for the season.
At least I haven't heard any rumblings about this with the Cubs. Though I guess part of that could be that all but four players are already in camp anyway.
Is there a Cubs game today?
No.
Bosio ♥ Volstad
Gordo wrote a piece on Chris Volstad this morning. Bosio thinks that Volstad is "a needle in a haystack" and is "a beast out there". He's looking good so far this spring. No word on whether he is in the best shape of his life.
Twitter exchange of the yesterday
@sitrick2 Eh I don't see that happening
— jonahkeri (@jonahkeri) February 22, 2012
@jonahkeri @sitrick2 You're vastly underestimating the Chicago media. Remember how quick the media/fans turned on Sosa?
— Berselius (@STAnteater) February 22, 2012
@STAnteater @jonahkeri @sitrick2 it was as if 1998 never happened. It was "we always hated you", very odd.
— Harry Pavlidis (@harrypav) February 22, 2012
@sitrick2 @harrypav @STAnteater If that's the case, don't follow the idiots. Enjoy the Cubs on your own terms, that should be good enough.
— jonahkeri (@jonahkeri) February 22, 2012
Truth.
The knives will be out for Soriano, but once he's gone The Shire will move on to a new target. Thoyer has to be the obvious choice.
Roy Oswalt is going somewhere today
He's making an announcement today and supposedly he's not going to the Red Sox or Rangers, who were his main suitors. The Cardinals were also in on him, but my gut actually says he's going to announce his retirement. Unless Bruce Levine's mystery third starter was Oswalt. Given the way this offseason has gone, we'll find out that he's signing with the Diamondbacks or something #mysteryteam
Cubs bunting contest bracket
Via Bruce Miles
Obstructed view bunting contest
Started here.
Jed Hoyer on Clubhouse confidential
Brett at Bleacher Nation has a good breakdown of Hoyer's appearance on the show last night. He havily implied that the Cubs will do more trading/rebuilding over the course of the season (not really news).
The Will Ferrell version is better. (dying laughing)
What’s the obsession with late 70s pomp rock?
“Is Ron Donald any relation to Ronald McDonald?”
“Unlikely, sir. They spell and pronounce their names differently.”
Bosio has a high opinion of Bosio.
@ Suburban kid:
Would you ask Tom Petty that question?
Who are the four laggards? I assume Soriano, Castro, Cardenas because they
live different countriesare lazy Latins, but who else?@ mb21:
Probably true (dying laughing). The post is fixed.
@ mb21:
He was quite a beast.
The only way it’s possible to do that is to not read a single article about the Cubs all season long. Even I will probably read a few.
@ Suburban kid:
Per Bleacher Nation, it’s Castro, Soriano, DeWitt, and Jae-Hoon Ha
@ Suburban kid:
Probably Ramirez. The media hasn’t been told that Ramirez signed with the Brewers yet.
@ mb21:
Maybe I shouldn’t have included a tweet that advises people not to read our website (dying laughing)
@ mb21:
False. 75% of the Chicago media celebrated when Aramis Ramirez left town.
@ Berselius:
I’m one of those people who just doesn’t care when they get there. I figure they know better than anyone how long it will take for them to get ready so as long as they show up by that time I don’t care. Maddux has mentioned several times in his career how spring training is at least 2 weeks too long.
It turns out Cardenas is actually from Florida, not South Carolina.
@ Berselius:
Bet you they will anyway.
#reversepsychology
I think Sully’s new target will be Castro and I think it will start this year.
See the papers taped to the wall to the right of the bunting contest? Those are pages on bunting contests from the MLB rule book.
@ mb21:
And that’s for pitchers too. Position players usually need even less time.
@ Suburban kid:
That’s good. He doesn’t have to worry about a green card then.
@ mb21:
Me too.
@ mb21:
Ugh, I think you’re right.
@ Mish:
Mish, I cancelled out that negative faget point with a green one. I think it’s awful how everyone hates you here.
@ Berselius:
Exactly. I figure all these Cubs who showed up January are going to be dead fucking tired by May. They’ll be in late-season form by Opening Day.
@ mb21:
I wonder if this new front office will do a better job of protecting their talent from the media.
@ Mish:
Mish, I gave you a positive faget point as a self esteem building exercise.
MIsh does catch a lot of shit around here. All in good nature and I have to admit the Batman stuff cracks me up.
mb21 wrote:
MB is just trying to build character
@ Berselius:
I miss Calvin and Hobbes. Thank goodness the comics are still in syndication.
Volstad’s grit and determination are what make him such a great player. Ice water in his veins.
@ mb21:
I don’t think Mish cares if it is a negative faget point or a positive faget point. He just wants all the faget (points) any way he can get them. He is sad when faget points cancel each other out.
It would be nice if there was a counter that showed total faget votes, that way if you cancel out a faget point it says “2 votes” or something, but the +/- would be at 0.
Jslip1 wrote:
It’s also because he’s white. It’s a known fact white people hustle more, they show more grit, they’re scrappier and they just get it.
I can’t even imagine this running in a newspaper today. There’d be a Congressional hearing.
Mucker wrote:
Probably my favorite C&H of all time:
WaLi wrote:
Don’t presume to tell me if I care.
@ Suburban kid:
As they say, internet imitates life. Or is it life imitates internet? It could go either way.
@ mb21:
I don’t really mind anything, really, but I do find it hilarious when some of my more innocuous posts have -7 faget points. As I’m sure this one will approach. (dying laughing)
@ mb21:
I agree, MB. Castro will be the target, and it’ll happen early on.
@ GBTS:
This is on my office door.
@ GBTS:
Forbidden!
@ Mish:
If Mish is Batman, then perhaps the negative faget point bandits are a superstitious and cowardly lot.
That’s not my name.
/buntingcontest
@ AndCounting:
Took me a minute, but I got it.
I would have gone with
I think Marmol is 1st target of the media(sullivan) once soriano is pushed off the team. They will assume he will be lights out because of lost weight and pitch selection changes.
@ mb21:
Mish’s Star Wars theories are the only reason I come here. That and to write and delete posts correcting other people’s grammar.
@ JMan:
Yeah, but Marmol has already failed to live up to expectations. It’s Castro’s “hype” that will get the newshounds’ hackles up. Although, personally, I’m going to vote on Garza, who will have a great year in terms of FIP, but will have a low win-loss record, which the media will blame on his lack of leadership.
@ Rice Cube:
That is my favorite C&H of all time. That or the one from my avatar.
@ Berselius:
How is this not the one from your avatar?
@ Berselius:
It’s especially funny now that I have sarcastic offspring.
I don’t think Sullivan or any of the media members will pick a target based on merit. It will just flow naturally from how available and congenial the players are in general as spring training and the season go on. Soriano is always the natural target, but his reactions are always so moderate that they take the fun out of writing about him. And as much as they color their writing about the guys they despise, none of it has any teeth unless there’s an event for them to exaggerate. With Soriano, there’s never much more to report than the dropping of balls and the striking of outs. Unless he loses his temper or demands a trade or something, there’s nothing for them to go on. If Soriano does stay on the team for any length of time and ugliness happens? Hobbiton will assemble the mobs.
Castro is probably the most likely guy to have some type of newsworthy incident for Sullivan and company to attack, but until he gets a little more comfortable with speaking directly to reporters, I don’t think they’ll go after him too fiercely. And there has to be enough negative public sentiment toward a player before Sullivan can really do anything too detrimental to anybody. He’s not that good. It’s not like he can just create hatred out of thin air. All he can do is fan flames that are already burning. For whatever reason, rape allegations aren’t enough to make people hate Castro yet. If he forgets how to hit baseballs, that will change.
@ AndCounting:
Didn’t Soriano recently say he’d only want to be traded to a contender? That’s gotta be a spark.
@ ACT:
Forbidden
Also…(dying laughing)
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/02/23/bryan-lahair-is-in-the-best-shape-of-his-life/
AndCounting wrote:
This has always been the chicken or the egg type situation with the Chicago media.
@ Rice Cube:
Does it work now?
@ AndCounting:
Jesus, win.
@ ACT:
Thank you for unforbidding it.
@ Rice Cube:
At this rate he’ll be able to hit a HR on a check swing by 2014!
@ WaLi:
He’ll be able to send bowling balls into orbit with telephone poles soon enough.
Oswalt ——-> going back to bed, wake him up in a few months
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/02/roy-oswalt-may-sign-midseason.html?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=twitterfeed
http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/7965/russell-hopes-to-fill-void-left-by-marshall
Couldn’t make it past the headline.
@ ACT:
All Russell really meant was that he’s getting Marshall’s locker.
@ mb21:
I love how Mariano Rivera always just shows up whenever the hell he feels like it. Who’s going to tell him he’s doing it wrong? http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/yankees-closer-mariano-rivera-absent-day-training-camp-gm-brian-cashman-tells-ready-article-1.1025553
(dying laughing)
Holy shit: http://www.buzzfeed.com/hgrant/this-is-what-crazy-looks-like-via-text-messaging?s=mobile
@ GBTS:
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
I almost lost it at “Do you honestly not want to see me anymore?”
@ GBTS:
Scary, but I don’t believe it’s real.
But I really did like the come to ur door please line. Does that work for stalkers?
@ mb21:
Yes.
@ mb21:
Why not? There’s thousands of needy psychos out there.
@ mb21:
I think I have an idea, but you’ll need to open your front door in about 10 hours to find out.
@ mb21:
Eh… unfortunately, I actually find that pretty believable. I’ve known people to do crazier, if possibly a little less persistent. (dying laughing)
@ Suburban kid:
Because too much of it was hilarious. I laughed out loud at at least a few things she supposedly said. I supposed it’s possible it’s real, but I think it’s humor and it was damn good humor.
Also, it’s entirely different than the way I’ve stalked people (dying laughing)
How did this Calvin and Hobbes thread get derailed?
@ mb21:
Crazy people are funny.
@ ACT:
It’s reminiscent of this Dr. Seuss classic that I read to the boy every now and then:
@ mb21:
I think most of it was real, but he probably deleted some of his reponses to her and some of her replies to make it funnier.
@ Rice Cube:
Butter side up is just logical. The Zooks are idiots.
@ ACT:
The Zooks for the most part had better weaponry, though. I wonder how such an idiotic, illogical country could be so technologically advanced. They must have really good spies.
Anyone else watch Survivor here?
@ bubblesdachimp:
Looks like we need to update that list of weird things bubbles likes
@ fang2415:
(dying laughing) I was thinking the same thing.
ChicagoCubsOnline @TheCCO Reply Retweet Favorite · Open
(@BruceMiles2112) #Cubs Sveum says DeJesus is his likely leadoff hitter and LaHair is the cleanup man. For now.
Per Miles:
LaHair —–> Cleanup
DeJesus —–> Lead off
DeJesus’s Wife —–> still hot, wondering if tweeting on an elliptical counts as a workout.
Okay that last one is per Kim’s twitter feed.
Is liking Survivor that weird?
@ bubblesdachimp:
No.
@ Mish:
I guess we know who won the bunting contest.
@ Rice Cube:
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
@ bubblesdachimp:
Even Wilson ran away.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
(dying laughing)
Position players haven’t gone yet.
Ughhhhh…
Survivor is a great game.. I dont think i would last very long.
@ Rice Cube:
Damnit, now I have eye of the tiger and Rocky in my head.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
This is my favorite so far. But they’re all really good.
@ WaLi:
(dying laughing). I also.
Cameron is dreaming here, but I’m not sure I’d mind the Cubs doing this:
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/roy-oswalt-and-the-must-trade-clause/
I have no doubt that MB would mind, though. (dying laughing)
jus thad to explain someone the DUI laws in virginia becasue he is planning on driving somewhere to get plastered and he wanted to know how safe it was to drive back
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
@ bubblesdachimp:
Yes, the safety risks of driving drunk do vary considerably from one state to another.
…
Most of MO’s comments are showing up blank for me. I think there have been other comments presumably with images that appear blank as well.
Braun======> Suspension overturned
Mlb feels bad he has herpes
STDs FTW!
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/140213003.html
@ fang2415:
Well in VA you get an automatic ten days in jail for a DUI
@ WenningtonsGorillaCock:
Overturned on a technicality! Go team DRUG USE!
@ bubblesdachimp:
I know someone who won Survivor, but I’ve never watched an episode and never will.
@ mb21:
This is really the only reason I know about the show. I hate reality tv.
@ Suburban kid:
Hotlinking
@ mb21:
I’m with you on that one.
I like Survivor
@ josh:
I guess I like some of the true crime stories, but Survivor, Amazing Race, Big Brother, The Bachelor and all that other shit is garbage. I don’t even have to watch them to know that. The previews make them look so fucking bad I cannot believe they even air it.
@ mb21:
No shit…. Do you mind me asking who?
Also Paul Maholom had the best take on Braun imo
paul maholm @paul_maholm Close
I think the whole process of confidentiality has taken on a whole new meaning. Especially when u have statements and votes public.
Agh, never mind.
I bet Rick Astley struggles with Lent.
@ bubblesdachimp:
Danni Boatwright. She’s married to Casey Wiegmann who was from Iowa and attended the University of Iowa. He’s a longtime NFL player and lives in Kansas City.
Josh probably doesn’t think she’s hot. (dying laughing)
@ Suburban kid:
I gave this a faget point because I am having the same issue, not because I am taking pleasure in your struggles. I can’t speak for the other faget point though.
@ mb21:
Shes hot. Not Kim DeJesus hot but hot. Not Chelsea from Season 23 (imo the hottest survivor ever) but still very hot
@ mb21:
I have no opinion.
If she doesn’t have six to eight legs and an exoskeleton, I’m probably not thinking about her right now.
@ josh:
That’s kind of hot, I guess.
@ Suburban kid:
Beyonce is their leader.
@ josh:
Wtf????
@ GBTS:
The Pope shits in the woods.
@ bubblesdachimp:
Ah you meant risks in addition to killing children and shit. You’re right, he should get out of VA and go for it.
@ josh:
Arthropods can be sexy. I guess.
@ josh:
This could explain much
@ GBTS:
I gave the other faget point, because I was taking pleasure in his struggles. (dying laughing)
I have no idea why MO’s pictures aren’t displaying. The tags are right.
Must be something wonky with the picture URLs themselves.
@ Aisle424:
I can see them all. Maybe you guys forgot to turn off your browsers’ MO filter.
@ Aisle424:
Maybe the site has hotlinking disabled? GBTS and MO were linking from the same domain and I saw neither one’s pictures show up.
@ fang2415:
I assume they all feature Gary Coleman and Lance Berkman.
@ Aisle424:
Probably misses his old glasses.
@ GBTS:
I’m not gonna dis you on the internet
Because my mama taught me better than that
Everyone watching Lin v. LeBron tonight be careful. If Tebow is in attendance, ESPN may actually ejaculate onto you through the television.
Oh my fucking God. On CTL they are having a discussion “who had the best Cubs career: Wood, Zambrano, or Prior”. Not a SINGLE PERSON PICKED ZAMBRANO.
Mish wrote:
Jesus Christ, what the fuck?!?! Why, why why why . . . are you watching CTL?
@ GBTS:
My TV was on CSN as I was firing up my PS3 to play Uncharted 3.
Ryan Braun got real lucky
Looks like Ryan ZImmerman is going to be off the board now.
Back to C&H, I always was a big fan of this one too:
Rice Cube wrote:
This is what I assumed it was. If a site has hotlinking enabled a picture won’t display on another domain.
Apparently Lake, Soriano and Castro haven’t been confirmed to show up as of 4:20 PM Central. Any updates? Or are they still being lazy?
@ GBTS:
The sun obviously takes the red-eye back to Boston so that it can rise in the east.
Rice Cube wrote:
Soriano and Castro are lazy, despicable pieces of shit who should just GTFO and go back to Dominica.
I’m sure Lake has a good excuse.
(dying laughing)
Just found out Junior Lake is black. He should GTFO too.
Oh my fucking God. On CTL they are having a discussion “who had the best Cubs career: Wood, Zambrano, or Prior”. Not a SINGLE PERSON PICKED ZAMBRANO.
No palm or face is big enough to express my feelings right now.
@ 26.2cubfan:
You should slap as many people in the face as possible until you feel satisfied.
Bunt off footage:
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?tcid=mm_chc_vid&c_id=chc
I can’t tell if they count where the ball first lands or where it stops rolling.
I doubt they use the first land approach. It doesn’t make any sense that way.
I mean, would you really encourage the batter to bunt the ball in the air to land in the 40-point area?
I think you’re right that you don’t want to bunt it in the air.
I don’t really expect them to bunt it in the air because that would cause way too many problems in a real-game situation. I guess it’s common for a bunter to just deaden the ball in front of home plate and to either side of home plate. If they get it in the 30 point zones it’s probably harder for the catcher to field it and turn quickly to start a double play. If the bunt is strong enough to get into the 40 point zone, the corner man has to charge it as it would be out of the reach of the catcher and probably the pitcher too. The red dot represents “no-man’s land” I suppose.
They must have some kind of stipulation to make sure that the bunt doesn’t get too far past the 40 point zone because if it goes too fast, the corner man barely has to charge it.
Just thinking out loud, don’t mind me (dying laughing)
@ Mish:
@ Rice Cube:
Interviewing with the entomology department tomorrow to be a student. Trying to pack in as much knowledge as I can. Little time for sentence subjects.
Also +5 points to the person who can tell me the name of the song playing in that photo of George.
+5 more if someone finds the youtube of the original.
@ Rice Cube:
There was also something where you had to call it, or you got bonus points for calling it. If you bunt in the air to the 40point zone, you’re probably going to end up with it rolling out of that zone, at least most of the time.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Wasn’t it The Greatest American Hero theme?
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Is that the one with his answering machine message?
@ Rice Cube:
Since it was 4:20 they were probably smoking a joint with Soto.
@ 26.2cubfan:
That’s ridiculous. How can everybody be so stupid? Unreal.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I’d answer, but you can’t give me 5 points.
@ Rice Cube:
I should at least get the first 5 bonus points for that.
Josh get 5 points, Rice gets -5 for posting a youtube other than the original
I get the vague sense that nothing in the bunt game corresponds to anything remotely resembling how you’d actually want someone to bunt in an actual game.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Funsucker.
Coincidentally, The Greatest American Hero theme was one of the first soundtracks to the infamous Theriot Files series
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Considering the bunters are bunting against batting practice meatballs, I would say that you are correct.
OTOH, the Cubs will be really good at something that no other team is really good at.
@ Rice Cube:
Well, part of it is learning how to position your body and aim the ball. The more repetitions you have doing it, the better you should be in a game situation. Although I would think that you’d get more out of balls that were thrown in the 90s than the 60s. Maybe they’re using a pitching machine?
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Can I trade them in for a plastic spider ring or what?
@ josh:
You get five free tokens to play the bunt game. They can also be redeemed for three tokens to play the pitching version, a.k.a. the towel drill.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I think they should get 1000 points for bunting it in the air to the pitcher’s mound.
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
(dying laughing) I had forgotten about that.
@ mb21:
Only if it makes Garza collide with Darwin Barney.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Generally, you want to bunt down the line (in fair territory), and get it far away from the catcher. The point zones seem to be structured with that in mind.
@ Rice Cube
By that logic, you might as well get rid of batting practice, too.
I mean maybe, just maybe, these coaches know how to do their jobs. I’m inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.
@ ACT:
Maybe, just maybe, people with nothing better to do speculate about things.
@ josh:
Just show them this and they’ll give you a full scholarship
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Awesome. I’ve been trying to figure out how I could convince my doctor to give me Tommy John Surgery.
Bubbles likes the Cubs current manager
@ bubblesdachimp:
Lies make baby Jesus cry.
@ josh:
I just like the nice things he has said about soriano
@ ACT:
Well, of course you don’t get rid of practice (dying laughing) The point that Josh made is a good one because you want to have the players prepared with the right stance and the right technique to deaden the ball into the right spot, but in game situations, unless the other team is fine just throwing meatballs and conceding the sacrifice, you’re not going to see that same 70-mph meatball when you’re bunting. Kind of like how pitchers avoid throwing batting practice fastballs in actual games where the goal is not to build the opposing hitter’s confidence. I think the pitches are delivered by a coach or a pitcher and not a pitching machine, as it’s likely that part of the exercise is to learn how to pick the ball up from a pitcher’s delivery and not a set point on a pitching machine.
You still have to get into a good rhythm (with batting practice) and get a good technique going (with buntfest) but I think MO’s point stands that it’s going to be different in a game situation. But I will not presume to tell you what he thinks of bunt practice.
Palm < -------> Face
http://www.obstructedview.net/chicago-cubs/daily-facepalm-2-24-2012.html