Garza has a rough outing
While the Cubs starters have been impressive in their short outings for far this spring, Matt Garza ran into trouble in the second and had to be pulled after walking in a run or two. He's mostly just working on his fastball and changeup, and batters were sitting on it. He told Muskat:
I’ve been trying to keep myself on a strict program with just fastballs and changeups. It’s tough especially with hitters going up there ready to hack and looking for fastballs. I got myself in trouble more than anything. That’s what it was. It’s not anything I’m too concerned about. Just a bad day and I’ll get ready for the next one.
Concepcion signing officially official
The Cubs officially signed Cuban League rookie of the year Gerardo Concepcion to a 5/6 contract. $3m is a signing bonus, and the other $3m will be spread out over the course of the deal. Kevin Goldstein says that he'd rank Concepcion ninth in the Cubs system (8th in his published list, which was before the Cubs acquired Rizzo).
Opening day tickets
Hardball times mini-preview of the 2012 Cubs
Here's Hardball Times copy editor Joe Distelheim's article. I wish HBT would go back to having Harry do these. It's one thing to criticize how the Cubs got to the point where they are now (and there are certainly plenty of things to criticize). But it looks like this one got away from the author, who took many opportunities to get slams in on many former Cubs players, most notably Aramis Ramirez and Kosuke Fukudome, and even broke out Brenly's god-awful stat-gathering quote.
Is there a Cubs game today?
The Cubs play the Reds at 3:05 PM CT today. Pat and Zonk have the call on WGN radio. Paul Maholm makes his Cubs debut today, and Jeff Samardzija will also get some innings in today to build on his impressive start to the Cactus League.
Today's lineup
CF Marlon Byrd
3B Ian Stewart
1B Bryan LaHair
SS Junior Lake
Pitching staff speculation of the day
Casey Coleman "closed out" yesterday's game, leading to some questions about whether he might get a bullpen role this year. He's developed a new slider that's a "strikeout pitch", which is something his strikeout rate could certainly use. If by some crazy twist of fate Samardzija makes the rotation (or at least stays a starter) Coleman might get his spot. Someone else who could get bullpenned, Samardzija or no, is Randy Wells. IIRC Paul Sullivan was beating that drum during yesterday's broadcast. I think that Wells is still the best of the rotation candidates after Maholm, and take last year's numbers with a Milton Waddams sized grain of salt due to being rushed back from injury. But there isn't a huge difference between any of those guys vying for the spots.
Bunt tournament news
David DeJesus beat Castro to advance to the final four of the bunt tournament. DeJesus will face Welington Castillo and Paul Maholm will face Casey Coleman leading up to the championship on Friday.
Other tournament news
I've set up an Obstructed View NCAA Bracket Group over on ESPN. Winner gets a free 1-week subscription to the blog.
The Cubs rotation, per Chris Bosio
Good work by RC. We just need GBTS to put Alvin in the background somewhere.
Aisle424 wrote:
I should have made sending me a check for $50 the reward for winning the bracket challenge.
I added today’s lineup to the post
I submitted a UV on fantasy baseball, whomever is the gatekeeper of such posts.
Has Jackson played CF yet? I thought that was what he projected as.
@ GBTS:
We’re all the gatekeepers. We read the posts, huddle together in our offices, make sure they represent the type of stuff we want on our blog and then do nothing for awhile in honor of being lazy.
Unobstructed View from GBTS about fantasy baseball: http://www.obstructedview.net/unobstructed-views/discredited-fantasy-baseball-ii-attack-of-the-chones.html
mb21 wrote:
It was a real pain in the ass to set up. WordPress had to come to each of our residences and install iron gates that we had to open to allow for UV’s to be posted.
I apologize, b. I posted that HBT link before reading it. (dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
Is anyone else getting the “RussianCupid.com” ad banner? At least there’s no Pizza Hut involved.
@ GBTS:
I think I’ve seen it a few times
From one of the Yardbarker sidebar links
http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/cubs_signing_of_cuban_pitcher_makes_them_favorites_for_landing_jorge_soler/10283029
Not sure how A ————> B here
Louis: [possessed by Vinz Clortho] I am The Keymaster!
Dana Barrett: [possessed by Zuul] I am The Gatekeeper!
(dying laughing)
I guess I should have mentioned I was also setting up an OV Discredited Tournament bracket.
I’ll just join yours, B.
@ Berselius:
It’s called jump to conclusions. Isn’t there a jump to conclusions mat image somewhere?
There’s an OV NCAA bracket?
@ GBTS:
They don’t tell me anything around here.
Aisle424 wrote:
Good idea. I thought about that last night and then I started thinking about cats.
I didn’t see a single Garza pitch go faster than 90 mph. Was he taking something off on purpose?
@ mb21:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=jump+to+conclusions+mat
@ ACT:
He could have just been working on his changeup on those pitches. The gun was kind of funky yesterday anyway.
Len Kasper is calling the game on WGN today, not Pat
Did the NCAA ever explain why two of the play-ins are for 14 and 12 seeds instead of having them all play-in for the 16 seeds? Seems kind of weird.
@ Rice Cube:
It’s the NCAA.
@ Rice Cube:
I prefer it that way. Teams that win their conference tournaments (i.e. 15s and 16s) should get in. Period. Let the “last four in” play the extra game.
If someone who worked for me ever quoted Bob Brenly in support of some position they held, I would fire them on the spot.
@ mb21:
Sure, but it’s still weird even for the NCAA. It’s like they’re intentionally rewarding two teams for being a 3 and a 5 seed even though they’re not really that good.
I think they should have a play in for the number 1 seed. Kentucky vs Iowa.
@ GBTS:
I agree in principle with that, but why not make them play-in as 16 seeds and reward the actual conference winners with higher seeds? I guess that would turn into an argument about whether one of the last four in is actually better than a conference champion.
Better yet, Kentucky vs North Carolina. Loser goes home.
@ mb21:
It should be a best-of-25 too.
I like that the fantasy baseball thread is called “Attack of the Chones”. Has anyone voluntarily drafted Chone Figgins in the past three seasons?
@ Rice Cube:
Because that would royally penalize the #1 seeds.
@ GBTS:
Players probably wouldn’t be able to jump by the 11th or 12th game in the series. It’d be like watching the WNBA.
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7675730/penn-state-nittany-lions-trustees-cite-failure-leadership-joe-paterno-firing
@ Rice Cube:
I suspect Mish will want nothing to do with the league this year. (dying laughing)
@ Berselius:
It’s like people at Penn State are brain damaged.
@ GBTS:
At least.
@ Rice Cube:
Watching Iowa basketball is like watching the WNBA.
Rice Cube wrote:
You raise the blade, you make the change
You re-arrange me ’till I’m sane
You lock the door
And throw away the key
There’s someone in my head but it’s not me.
@ Rice Cube:
Maybe we could convince them all to drink some delicious kool-aid. Special Jim Jones recipe.
@ Rice Cube:
I’m thinking we’ll learn in a few decades that PSU was testing some experimental drug on their students and that it did in fact cause them to be stupid. I fear the entire student population will be on welfare by the time they’re 26. These people are obviously not going to succeed in life.
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@ WaLi:
Download | Convert YouTube to MP3
Song will be in my head all day now
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
What is this I don’t even
@ GBTS:
That’s Paula Deen getting hit in the face with a frozen ham.
@ mb21:
You’re welcome.
@ mb21:
Love Pink Floyd, mb. Now that song will be stuck in mine.
Also, I don’t follow college sports much so my OV bracket is purely the favorites winning all the way through. (dying laughing)
@ GBTS:
I held my nose while entering…err…entries. (dying laughing)
@ Mish:
Ooops, wrong fantasy thing. (dying laughing)
@ Mish:
You’ll probably win then
Speaking of Floyd, i just downloaded an album called ‘Zabriskie Point’, which is a soundtrack they did for some European film in the early 70s, maybe an album or two before they did ‘Echoes’. According to Wikipedia, Jerry Garcia wrote a number of songs for the film, but I just have the Floyd stuff. It has quite a a number of bits and pieces which were later incorporated into Dark Side of the Moon. I love the 69-72 Floyd era.
Be offline for res of the week, heading to a conference. Which is a smart sounding way of saying:
@ AB:
That’s a good one. They re-released the soundtrack back in the 90s and it had some additional songs that were in the movie, but not on the original soundtrack. I think Grateful Dead’s Dark Star is on there. I have the files on my computer. Do you want the Garcia/Dead ones?
Floyd’s my 2nd favorite band of all time behind The Dead. Their early stuff was their best, but I also enjoyed the later stuff (with Roger Waters). The post-Waters Floyd wasn’t very good, but I did get to see them in concert a few times and I loved that.
The Score is reporting that the Cubs forced the creators of the Cubs World Series video game ad to remove three specific scenes: one with Ronnie Woo Woo, one with Steve Bartman, and one involving a goat. This seems to me to be a good thing.
I didn’t know this, but according to Wiki, L’america by the Doors was written for that movie, but didn’t make the final cut (later released on The Doors LA Woman album)
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
Nice to see them show some class.
@ mb21:
Anything they do to distance themselves from this fucking sad sack “tradition” that’s followed this team since the 1980′s is a good thing.
new shit: http://www.obstructedview.net/commentary-and-analysis/ballhawks-can-take-2012-off.html
@ mb21: yea definitely I'm with you, I love all Pink floyd (even 'Final Cut') but the stuff before Echoes is the most interesting. Theres a couple boots out there with full orchestral versions of 'Atom Heart Mother' and 'Cymbaline' (probably my favorite Floyd song) from 70/71 that sound outstanding.
AB, I can upload those songs, but want to make sure they’re off the server as quick as possible. Shoot me an email so I can let you know when I’ve uploaded them.
By the way, do you have Tree Full of Secrets? http://www.hokafloyd.com/CD2/ATFS/A_TREE_FULL_OF_SECRETS%20.htm
email: dmick89 [at] gmail.com