The Cubs lost to the Giants yesterday after Carlos Marmol toyed with a mixture of wildness and hittability to blow a ninth-inning tie. That's probably the nail in the coffin full of nails.
Did Jorge Soler murder a baseball last night?
Yes.
Do the Cubs have a game today?
Yes.
Quote I didn't see coming.
"I think the most progress is definitely the defense. For the most part, we've had a couple ugly games, and for the other 130 games, we've played pretty solid defense, especially up the middle with Starlin Castro and Darwin Barney and David DeJesus and even Alfonso Soriano. For what his legs can do, he's played heck of a left field."
Low-flying fighter jet video of the day
Stat of the Day
The Cubs are 51-82 this year.
/Lucchino
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/view.bg?articleid=1061157571
the defensive improvement has been nice to see.
@ Berselius:
Conclusion: Theo hates stats?
Bill may just be difficult to work with. He seems stubborn and terse when he disagrees with people. Maybe Theo and Bill disagreed on the level to which scouting opinions need to be considered when viewing stats? Maybe they disagreed on viability of defensive metrics, or how they would construct their own proprietary measurement of defense? There are all sorts of places where even stats guys can disagree and James has shown that he can be an ornery cuss when he doesn’t agree with a methodology.
Taking that plus the Red Sox’s ability to splash mud on anybody who has left the organization, this might stem from Theo and Jed disagreeing on what pizza toppings they should order one day at the office.
@ Suburban kid:
Maybe Theo didn’t like his JFK theory in the crime book.
@ Aisle424:
anchovies or GTFO
This was our 1200th post since forming the mega blog. Good work, team.
I think it has a lot to do with Carl Crawford. Henry and Lucchino hated that contract and didn’t want Theo to do it. Bill James wasn’t as much a fan of the contract as Tom Tippett was so my guess is that’s a huge factor in this.
mb21 wrote:
I seem to remember the story was that ownership were the ones pushing for Crawford
@ mb21:
I don’t know, the pizza thing sounds more plausible.
I’m sure I’m not the only one biting my nails waiting for this Joe Mather leadoff at bat.
@ Berselius:
No, John Henry was even vocal about it after the two sides agreed to terms. It’s later been revealed that Henry and Lucchino also didn’t want Daisuke or Lackey, but I wouldn’t trust that since it’s after the fact. However, before they signed him those two did not want Crawford.
Theo claimed that “everyone else in the organization” wanted to sign Crawford a year later, but I don’t believe that either. Regardless, Theo has even admitted that ownership wanted nothing to do with Crawford.
Nats and Cubs hitters don’t want to work today.
Hustle double from Castro
COME ON SAPPELT
All the Cubs swinging at balls at their face, which is just as well because this ump would call them strikes.
That was a bomb
Sappelt is the 49th player playing for the Cubs this year (dying laughing)
Series preview up
http://www.obstructedview.net/previews/series-preview-chicago-cubs-at-washington-nationals.html