OV Pic of the Day: Dempster Doesn't Have a Good Poker Face

You might have to change up the “Cubs Lose” tag here and there or else it’ll bring up every blog post ever posted on this site.

[quote name=Rice Cube]You might have to change up the “Cubs Lose” tag here and there or else it’ll bring up every blog post ever posted on this site.[/quote](dying laughing)

Quade post game remarks:
“So, now, it’s a matter, I mean put the negativity behind us. Play with some freaking intensity and continue to work on playing the game the way we need to play. And we’re not. And that’s what we’re looking for and it’s not universal. We’ve got to clean up some specific areas.”

He was then asked about the performance of his vets, he said, that he likes Marlon’s intensity and Rami has been playing great. He then went on to say how mad he was that Starlin lost a pop-up in the sun. He said Cassie and Barn play together every day and that can’t happen. It was as if all is great but the problem with this team is Cassie’s intensity and focus. He came in late and gave the impression it was because he had been talking to certain players. Sounds like he bitched Cassie out for Dempster’s bed shitting and the 9-1 loss.

[quote name=mb21]You guys were talking about the lack of a plan in the last thread. I first noticed it in late 2009. It was right about the time Tom Ricketts took possession of the club and, as Selig stated, was responsible for the decision making. They haven’t had a plan since then and they don’t now. It’s bizarre. It’s almost like they started thinking they had a plan for a hundred years and lost so fuck it, let’s not have a plan and see if we win.[/quote]
Well, I thought the plan was to go young and shed payroll, but then the Garza trade happened and the farm went south, so I’m thinking they have a plan but don’t know how to execute it right. The draft made me sort of happy, so let’s see what happens.

They just played Quade’s remarks at the very start of the presser which were made before the previous comment I made:
“I was disappointed in the start and I needed to talk to the kids in the middle of the diamond about that. Demp wasn’t as sharp as you wanted. But we set a bad tone and we’ve got to stop. The ball is in the sun, they’re communicating. Cassie thought he had that all the way. It’s just, I look back at this whole game and look at that play. And the sun’s been in the same damn spot for however long Wrigley Field’s been here. Those are the kinds of mistakes, there are certain ones you’ll accept. Those are other ones that have to be taken care of. “

[quote name=melissa]I’ve been to Wrigley numerous times and I wasn’t aware that the sun is always in the same spot. Interesting.[/quote]http://www.isthesunalwaysinthesamespotatwrigley?.net

I think Cuie may have had too much sun or something today. His comments are kind of nonsensical.

Cassie should never lose pop-ups in the sun. Do they not have daylight in the Dominican? The truly sad thing about all of this is that Mike Quade actually believes they lost that game because his 21 year old short stop lost a ball in the sun.

[quote name=melissa]Cassie should never lose pop-ups in the sun. Do they not have daylight in the Dominican? The truly sad thing about all of this is that Mike Quade actually believes they lost that game because his 21 year old short stop lost a ball in the sun.[/quote]

(stolen meme)

I don’t think the dropped pop-up was that big of a deal, I was at the game and the sun was pretty unforgiving. He probably makes that out 90% of the time, but maybe Xenu shined a laser pointer in his eyes from deep space or something. Quade shouldn’t be trying to pin this on one play though.

[quote name=Rice Cube]^ I saw the pop-up fail and pretty much dismissed it because the sun was blasting down on the entire stadium. Sometimes shit just happens but it’s unfair that Castro seems to be getting crap because Dempster had a bad day.[/quote]

Of cours e it’s unfair but Quade is a joke of a manager. He has a different set of rules.

I hope NOBODY is a Quade supporter. The guy is in over his head managing a major league baseball team. I hope he’s not here next year

[quote name=ACT]From what I heard (I listened to the game on the radio) it seemed that Castro failed to call for help from Barney when he lost the ball.[/quote]
I don’t know if you’ve seen the replay but he was under the ball, it was just off his glove. It may have even hit his glove. It wasn’t as if he never had the ball, he just lost it at the last second when it was too late to tell Barney to take it.

[quote name=melissa]I don’t know if you’ve seen the replay but he was under the ball, it was just off his glove. It may have even hit his glove. It wasn’t as if he never had the ball, he just lost it at the last second when it was too late to tell Barney to take it.[/quote]
That was about what I saw from left-center. I don’t think it hit his glove though.

Oh and now we know why all the veterans supported Quade. He’s a veteran guy. Won’t lash out at them.

Remember this quote from Soriano?

“We like to know when we play,” Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano said Monday. “We asked him in Atlanta, ‘Let us know when we play, and when we have a day off.’ And he said, ‘Yes,’ but he never did it. That doesn’t make everybody comfortable.

“[Mike Quade] is different. If you’re off on Friday, he told me like two or three days before. So that makes me play more hard for him, because he has a lot of respect for me. And he knows what he wants, and he knows how to treat the players.”

So according to Soriano he plays harder for Quade because Quade tells him when he has a day off coming up??? Is this so Sori can go find some women the night before and be up all night?? What a joke. Nice job admitting that you didn’t play hard in 2010 under Lou.

Popups always pass directly through the sun the same way too. No variance whatsoever at Wrigley.

You know, on an astronomical level the Sun might always be in the same spot. We need Shawn to come back and write an Unobstructed View on Quade’s postgame interview.

Look, as much as I loathe Mr. Mouth Diarrhea, it’s not his fault he can’t do anything with the shitfail roster Hendry gave him.

[quote name=GBTS]You know, on an astronomical level the Sun might always be in the same spot. We need Shawn to come back and write an Unobstructed View on Quade’s postgame interview.[/quote]
That would be awesome.

[quote name=Rice Cube]That would be awesome.[/quote]I wonder at what speed Wrigley would have to be moving to keep the sun static in the sky.

[quote name=melissa]I agree. I just don’t like to hear him blame a 9-1 loss on his shortstop losing the ball in the sun. I also don’t like the only player on this roster that matters being the fall guy. Castro could use an actual Manager that might foster his development, Quade isn’t that guy.[/quote]Yeah, but we should expect that from Quade from now on. It’s at least the third time he’s shouldered Castro with blame for a loss based on an inconsequential mistake.

There are two very different conversations going on right now. (dying laughing)

I’m talking about rotation though, not orbit. I think if Wrigley was moving due west at the speed the earth rotates, it would cancel out the sun setting. You might have to make an adjustment for latitude, although conceptually I would think the rotation of the earth at Chicago is the same as the equator, like two points on a vinyl record.

Fucking Quade.

Do we have a Shawn signal?

[quote name=Mish]I believe in geocentric models of the solar system?[/quote]
Infidel.

[quote name=Mish]I believe in geocentric models of the solar system?[/quote]Galileo’s theories were so good we decided to cut them short.

/Pope Quade

More from Miles, re: Quade talking up Castro’s mistake:

My Twitter and email are abuzz already. I’ll get the full story up soon and maybe some quotes here for those who didn’t see postgame.

It’s not playing well with the public.

[quote name=GBTS]Fans this season refuse to eat up the lazy/selfish memes we see every year. See Sullivan, Paul.

That something about how awful people view this team, they’re too upset to gobble up the bullshit.[/quote]It seems so. I wonder if they didn’t completely expose themselves with the Bradley invective. At some point, it seems Cub fans realized that the emperor was not wearing any clothes.

[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]It seems so. I wonder if they didn’t completely expose themselves with the Bradley invective. At some point, it seems Cub fans realized that the emperor was not wearing any clothes.[/quote]Eh, I think you’d see the same old reaction if it were Z or Aramis or (God forbid) Soriano. I refuse to believe that the average fan has been enlightened.

More likely, they all have about one thing to be jazzed about this year and it’s Starlin Castro. They just don’t want some bald old circus freak shitting on their lone bright spot.

Goddamn it, I hate these Pics of the Day. This used to be the only Cubs blog I could reliably read watching games a day behind from the UK, since nobody ever actually talked about what the Cubs were doing unless it was to make fun of somebody flubbing a play (which was never really a surprise).

Granted, the Cubs losing isn’t really a surprise either… But I for one despise this new trend towards timeliness. Like all Cubs fans, I am happier to remain buried in the past and stupidly hoping for the future.

Well… I guess now that Wednesday’s game has been ruined for me, I might as well look at the funny gifs.

[quote name=fang2415]Goddamn it, I hate these Pics of the Day. This used to be the only Cubs blog I could reliably read watching games a day behind from the UK, since nobody ever actually talked about what the Cubs were doing unless it was to make fun of somebody flubbing a play (which was never really a surprise).

Granted, the Cubs losing isn’t really a surprise either… But I for one despise this new trend towards timeliness. Like all Cubs fans, I am happier to remain buried in the past and stupidly hoping for the future.

Well… I guess now that Wednesday’s game has been ruined for me, I might as well look at the funny gifs.[/quote](dying laughing)

At this point, I’m so disenfranchisd with this…errr…franchise that I can admit the only reason I keep in touch with the Cubs is so that I can be relevant here on this blog. (dying laughing)

Listening to Quade’s comments now, and…this guy…

[quote name=fang2415]Goddamn it, I hate these Pics of the Day. This used to be the only Cubs blog I could reliably read watching games a day behind from the UK, since nobody ever actually talked about what the Cubs were doing unless it was to make fun of somebody flubbing a play (which was never really a surprise).

Granted, the Cubs losing isn’t really a surprise either… But I for one despise this new trend towards timeliness. Like all Cubs fans, I am happier to remain buried in the past and stupidly hoping for the future.

Well… I guess now that Wednesday’s game has been ruined for me, I might as well look at the funny gifs.[/quote]Why do you hate the PoDs? The content is always the same as the other posts. If you have a question, ask, I’m sure somebody would be glad to answer it for you. This blog has some of the smartest baseball guys I’ve ever convo’d with. I don’t really understand the hate.

[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Jim Thome is 4 HR away from 600. Here’s his swing from 596, and check out Delmon Young’s face in the background. (dying laughing)

[/quote]I think that’s Delmon Young.

[quote name=Muckey]I think that’s Delmon Young.[/quote]‘Tis.

[quote name=Muckey]Why do you hate the PoDs? The content is always the same as the other posts. If you have a question, ask, I’m sure somebody would be glad to answer it for you. This blog has some of the smartest baseball guys I’ve ever convo’d with. I don’t really understand the hate.[/quote]I think fang posted that with tongue firmly in cheek.

[quote name=Muckey]Why do you hate the PoDs? The content is always the same as the other posts. If you have a question, ask, I’m sure somebody would be glad to answer it for you. This blog has some of the smartest baseball guys I’ve ever convo’d with. I don’t really understand the hate.[/quote]Pretty sure hes saying the PoDs reveal the games outcome, as opposed to 95% of the other content here.

Local sports radio says the Cubs are the only team in baseball who have not won 3 straight games this season.

Holy shit. Just hearing Glanville’s rendition of TMOTTBG…wow. Shambolic.

[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]This should’ve been a fanpost.[/quote][quote name=GBTS]Pretty sure hes saying the PoDs reveal the games outcome, as opposed to 95% of the other content here.[/quote]Correct. Although the other 95% also mostly says “Cubs Lose”, so maybe I’m overreacting.

[quote name=fang2415]No, it should have been a fanshot. WOULD SOMEBODY FINALLY DO A POST EXPLAINING THIS PLEASE[/quote]Don’t tell me what to do.

[quote name=mb21]I only read about the first 10 to 15 comments, but from what I can gather, Starlin Castro missed a popup that he was standing right underneath of. Sun of not, he should catch it. Is that why the Cubs lost? Of course not, but the guy missed a popup.[/quote]Right, but that doesn’t justify Quade dedicating his entire postgame to talking about it and even pointing that play out as the turning point in the game. Especially when Dempster tossed 86 pitches in just 3 innings.

Just to be clear, I’m not defending Castro for dropping a popup; I’m simply saying the Cubs lost because Ryan Dempster shit the bed and the offense was entirely impotent, not because Castro lost a popup in the sun in the first fucking goddamn inning. I would expect a MLB manager to able to say something like that instead of pinning the loss on a 21 YO kid. Dempster is supposed to be the leader of the staff and Quade mentioned him once in his entire postgame mouth-shitting.

I haven’t seen it, but I was under the impression he lost it in the sun? How is that his fault? It happens all the time.

Castro has played at Wrigley for a year, he should know by now that the sun is always in the same place. His manager informed him and the whole world of this scientific fact.

[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Also neglected in the postgame were Peña’s misadventures of today.[/quote]
Veterans’ privilege.

The “the sun is always in the same place at Wrigley, and it always has been” remark is just stultifying. It doesn’t speak to Quade’s baseball acumen, though. It just provides further proof that the best thing Quade can do from here on out is to speak less.

A lot less.

[quote name=GBTS]I haven’t seen it, but I was under the impression he lost it in the sun? How is that his fault? It happens all the time.[/quote]Here it is: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=17099541
Both TV and radio announcers thought Barney had a bettter angle to see the ball, for what it’s worth.

And here are Q’s comments: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=17098585

[quote name=ACT]Here it is: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=17099541
Both TV and radio announcers thought Barney had a better angle to see the ball, for what it’s worth.[/quote]Hmm. I’m not sure who has the beter angle, so I’ll defer to the announcers here, and if Castro couldn’t/didn’t recognize that, then that’s a mental mistake–but it certainly doesn’t speak to a lack of intensity, which is what Quade was saying.

What I don’t get is why he seems to imply that Barney is at fault. Q admitted (around 6 minutes in) that after Castro called him off, Barney was right to give way.

I admit, I do find it odd that Quade is so fixated on that one play.

I think Demp was mostly the victim of bad luck (.700 BABIP). He didn’t help himself with the 3 walks, though.

[quote name=ACT]I admit, I do find it odd that Quade is so fixated on that one play.[/quote]I agree with that, but managers aren’t the smartest people around.

[quote name=mb21]The same reasons Carlos Zambrano’s name doesn’t come up after his regular fuck ups is the same reason Dempster doesn’t get criticized by the manager. He makes a lot of money and for the most part those guys are treated differently. Castro makes no money and he gets the blame. Right or wrong, that’s how it is for every team. You aren’t going to piss off the guys making the most money.[/quote]So evil will triumph because good is dumb. (dying laughing)

[quote name=ACT]I think Demp was mostly the victim of bad luck (.700 BABIP). He didn’t help himself with the 3 walks, though.[/quote]
Line drives lead to higher BABIP…I admit I didn’t actually see more than the two well-smacked balls in the first couple innings off Demp (left after the Cubs were down 6-0, it was too damned hot) but I think you can only explain part of it away with the luck thing.

Also looking at the replay it seems Castro is a bit lackadaisical to the ball, sort of trying to ole’ it at the end. It was a pretty pathetic play, but the sun was really bad. I didn’t think too much of it until Dempster went into bedshitting mode.

[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]So evil will triumph because good is dumb. (dying laughing)[/quote]

[quote name=mb21]Maybe, but I know if I’m manager and someone misses a popup I’m calling timeout and bringing out a starting pitcher who has the day off to replace him for the rest of the inning just to embarrass him. I’d probably even bring in a lefty starting pitcher to play SS the rest of the inning, but I’m an asshole. After reading the comments here, here’s what the story is to me: Starlin Castro missed a popup. Don’t care about anything else. Starlin Castro missed a popup he was standing underneath.

Yeah, that’s going to happen over the course of a career, but it’s still a ridiculously pathetic play when it happens.

“Sun in the same place” is apparently what he said, but you all know what he meant and he’s absolutely right. Starlin Castro should know how to play the sun at Wrigley Field after 2 years. I mean, the Cubs play day baseball. If we don’t expect him to figure the sun out after 2 years, what the hell kind of expectations should we have? Should we expect he’ll make every single play? Of course not. Even the easiest plays are going to be screwed up, but those easy screwups are going to get the manager’s attention.[/quote]Okay, but then why not point out Peña’s frolics at 1B today? Did those not matter?

The Cubs didn’t lose because of that, but obviously the manager is going to single that play out and he should. That play right there is the 2011 Chicago Cubs. No, it’s the 2009-2011 Cubs. Make a gif out of that and put Cubs on it and it’s perfect.

[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Okay, but then why not point out Peña’s frolics at 1B today? Did those not matter?[/quote]
No, in case you hadn’t noticed Castro is always terrible and whatever Quade says is right. (dying laughing)

[quote name=mb21]The Cubs didn’t lose because of that, but obviously the manager is going to single that play out and he should. That play right there is the 2011 Chicago Cubs. No, it’s the 2009-2011 Cubs. Make a gif out of that and put Cubs on it and it’s perfect.[/quote]Personally, I think Dempster almost shattering his ankle trying to jump the dugout rail does a better job. (dying laughing)

[quote name=ACT]Yup, but pitchers don’t have that much control over how many liners are hit against them (or, more accurately, the skill level in allowing line drives differs little between pitchers at the MLB level). Also, there were some really soft hits in the first inning. Really, unless you think his true talent BABIP level was around .700 (which is absurdlyhigh), you have to conclude he had quite a bit of bad luck, even if this wasn’t a good performance.[/quote]
Sure, but when they’re squaring up on you that well, you’re doing something wrong hehe.

[quote name=melissa]No, in case you hadn’t noticed Castro is always terrible and whatever Quade says is right. (dying laughing)[/quote]Where have I ever said Castro is terrible? Find it and post a link here, because you know god damn well I’ve never said it.

[quote name=mb21]He called him off and then barely went after the ball. [/quote]
I don’t know what you mean by “barely went after the ball.” He was under the ball to make the play had his glove there and narrowly missed it because he couldn’t see it at the last moment. This was not a play of poor effort. That is just false and misleading.

[quote name=ACT]I think it’s fair to point out that it’s advantageous to the pitcher if the hitters haven’t seen him before.[/quote]If the batters haven’t seen him before, then this team is worse-coached than even I think it is.

[quote name=Rice Cube]I see Brett Jackson got the day off today.[/quote]Hopefully that means he’s traveling to Chicago.

[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]If the batters haven’t seen him before, then this team is worse-coached than even I think it is.[/quote]I meant they haven’t faced him. Video is no substitute for the real thing. What did you want him to do, bitch out his team for not getting more hits?

[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]And Quade is a guy who is paid to see the big picture and not fixate on one fucking play in the first fucking inning like he some kind of OCD case. Instead he fanatically protects his underperforming vets at the expense of two young MIF. Again, Peña made two errors on one play today, and that didn’t even make onto Rain Man’s radar.[/quote]I’m afraid that if you’re going to pay as much attention to what the manager says as you do you’re going to be going through this the rest of your life. Quade hasn’t said anything that Lou hasn’t said and Lou didn’t say anything Baker didn’t say who didn’t say anything Baylor didn’t say.

I watch the Yankees a lot and read their post games and Joe Girardi says the same dumb shit. Saying dumb stuff is a requirement for a manager. As frustrating as that may be for you, it’s that way with all managers.

Most importantly, I couldn’t care less what he says. What he said today had zero impact on how they played and will have zero impact on how they play going forward. He can go out and there and literally take a shit on the players for all I care. It will have no impact whatsoever.

[quote name=ACT]I meant they haven’t faced him. Video is no substitute for the real thing. What did you want him to do, bitch out his team for not getting more hits?[/quote]No, but that “we’ve never seen him excuse” might have flown in 2000, but it shouldn’t fly now. Sure video isn’t like the real thing, but no one should be as surprised as the Cubs seemed to be. Hell, Quade even said it in the presser: two or three guys just seemed completely fooled all day long.

[quote name=mb21]If by under the ball you mean about 6 feet away from it, then yes, I agree. I don’t know if he lost it in the sun or not. It looked to me like the typical miscommunication between the middle infielders. I could be wrong. Doesn’t change the fact it’s a shitty play and that it shouldn’t happen. Also doesn’t change the fact that it’s one of those plays that happens and it doesn’t reflect on the talent level of Castro.

But it is going to be a play a manager criticizes.[/quote]Fine, then why not also criticize the hamfistedness of Peña? Why fixate on Castro and Barney?

MO out.

[quote name=mb21]He called him off and then barely went after the ball. I don’t care if he lost it in the sun. It doesn’t make Castro a bad ballplayer by any means, but you’re nuts if you think a manager isn’t going to single that play out. It was a shitty play. He should single it out. Starlin Castro is a big boy who is going to be art eligible after next year.[/quote]
I don’t think he barely went after the ball. It looked like it was carrying toward first-base more than he thought, and he lost it in the sun. Simple. Happens to the best players.

I wouldn’t call it a “shitty play.” I’d call it an unfortunate result of playing on a cloudless sunny day. Castro obviously cares about the game, so I think it’s going a little overboard to say he simply gave up. I truly doubt that.

Personally, I find it troubling that Quade singled out Castro on that play. What about all the crap plays Soriano makes? What about the countless balls he slows down for because he’s within 50 yards of the wall? What about his complete inability to work a pitcher or master the strike zone? Why is he immune to criticism?

To me, going after Castro is easy (and, given that he was the team’s lone offensive All-Star, not very smart). He’s young, he’s kind of timid. It would show a lot of balls if Quade were to say, “Fuck this. Soriano, grab some fucking bench. We’re starting Campana.” Or Reed Johnson. Or if he were to storm into Hendry’s office and say, “Get that fucker out of here. Get me Brett Jackson.” Or Tyler Colvin. Or fucking ANYONE who had a semblance of an idea how to play the game anymore.

Ok, deep breaths… deep breaths…

My bottom line: Alfonso Soriano is 500x more problematic than Starlin Castro. Singling Castro out last year seemed like smart discipline. Today, it seemed completely off-base and almost bullying.

It was a shit play. I’m glad I missed it. But, once again, Castro is the most interesting player on the field. Maybe that’s Quade’s frustration, because he expects more from Castro, but the kid seems a little lackadaisical. It was typical shitty Cubs defense.

I just watched the replay for the first time and I don’t think he gave up on it. I think he lost and took a guess where he thought it would be and when he picked it up at the last second, it was too late to do anything about it.

It was a quintessential Cubs play so I can;t blame Quade for saying what he said. The man has to be frustrated. He’s been dealing with this shit all year long and he doesn’t have the luxury of just mailing in a Pic of the Day post with some quippy attempts at zingers tacked on and calling it a day.

Should he have dealt with Castro about the play? Absolutely. Should he have singled the kid out on a day when nothing went right for the team? Probably not, but it’s understandable. Does Quade talk too much and give way too much ammunition to anyone who doesn’t like his message? Abso-fucking-lutely.

Short of blowing off the press (which always plays really well with those guys), there is almost nothing Quade was going to realistically say that would make anything any better. So he thought he’s school Castro a little bit in the hope that it would sink in and the kid would learn from his mistakes. Whether that play was a teachable moment that was caused by Starlin’s focus is completely debatable, but as MB pointed out, that is the lot of a young minimum wage earner in the big leagues.

So, what have we learned today? The team sucks, Quade sucks, and nothing is going to change any of that in the near future. We knew all of that already. So today is nothing new at all.

actually, I yhink timid is a good word.

[quote name=mb21]I think part of that is there’s no reason to play all that hard for this team. From what I’ve seen, which isn’t all that much, he plays as hard as anyone on the team, but no player goes all out 100% of the time. As much as we’d like them to, it’s not happening.

As for Quade’s comments, I don’t mind them because they have no impact on the game. Like I said, Starlin Castro is now almost through his 2nd big league season. He’s likely the only player on this roster that has a chance of being around for a contending team. I’d probably be more demanding of him as well.

I know I couldn’t care less if Carlos Pena makes a couple errors. He’s gone after this year and this year is pointless so who cares?[/quote]I agree. Sori, Pena and Rami are more or less irrelevant. And those guys aren’t going to change, but Castro might.

What blog did you run, Josh?

I’m not depressed. I don’t take it as seriously as I once did and that’s because this team is so frustrating.

Just saw an article titled Cubs call on defense to back Zambrano on my reader and I laughed.

It was called The Obligatory Baseball Blog and was buried in a small corner of the web. No one read it, according to Google Analytics. Part of why I quit is that all the other Cubs blogs knew way more about baseball and minor league stuff than I could ever hope to. I’ve only recently started figuring out stuff like wOBA and UZR. I’ve learned a lot since I started reading this blog. I got away from the Cubs for a about five years while I was in college because i couldn’t get WGN in the south. I got back into it in 2003. Living in Chicago and going to a bunch of games got me more hardcore back into it. But I probably just need to back off.

Speaking of, did anyone end up catching his big solution to the Ramirez problem? I tried to tune in, but I missed it. Also the Ramirez for Inge swap is out: Tigers DFA’d him.

[quote name=Aisle424]He would call Ramirez into the office and (very politely, of course) tell him that if he doesn’t waive the no-trade clause, he won’t be playing much after July 31st in favor of Baker, LeMahieu, Flaherty, and/or Vitters.

Dave Van Dyck said it wouldn’t work because Aramis doesn’t care. Fucking Phil Rogers had to be the voice of reason.[/quote]
Out of curiosity, what did Phil Rogers say?

It’s not fair to ask Quade to take the cyanide tablet when Hendry is the one to blame if he can’t make a trade happen. If Rami won’t go, then he won’t go and you let him go at the end of the year, no big deal.

[quote name=josh]It’s not fair to ask Quade to take the cyanide tablet when Hendry is the one to blame if he can’t make a trade happen. If Rami won’t go, then he won’t go and you let him go at the end of the year, no big deal.[/quote]
I actually suggested that they play him up until August 31 (the waiver deadline) and then shut him down for the season if they have no intention of bringing him back.

Here’s ESPNChicago on the Quade stuff y’all were arguing about earlier. Ol’ Copernicus (dying laughing)

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/columns/story?columnist=greenberg_jon&id=6788918

Speaking of getting balls lost in the sun/lights and overpaid bad defenders, Vernon Wells just had a major epic fail on a line drive right to him. I’m still amazed that the Angels just swallowed his entire contract like that.

I’m setting the outrage meter of Wood, Reed and Dempster playing craps (after an epic fail day) at “negative three”…

Is that the same hotel that they hold the convention at?

I thought it was at the Palmer House, but I could be wrong.

[quote name=Aisle424]I don’t remember exactly. I just remember being flabbergasted that he was the one making any lick of sense.[/quote]Phil Rogers also did say it was unfair that Mark Buehrle would be ranked lower by Elias in free agency than Ricky Romero.

As far as keeping the sun in the exact same location at Wrigley, you’d also have to move latitudinally to compensate for the Earth’s tilting as it orbits, in addition to moving about a thousand miles per hour (at the equator, less in Chicago). Also, though the Earth’s orbit is technically elliptical, it is only very mildly elliptical and actually assuming a circular orbit gets you pretty close, which is why that stuck for so long. It’s only when you are trying to predict the exact location of the other planets that circular runs you into trouble. But that would just mean you’d have to have more variable speed. It’s probably better to use some kind of global positioning unit and computerized tracking to keep the sun locked in one position, rather than crude speed estimations, as the slightly ovular orbit will throw it off as time goes.

/Not an astronomer but worked for them

[quote name=Jame Gumb]Yeah, I half assed it.[/quote]
I was expecting more, honestly.

And it looks like the Big 12-2 will put a stop to the LHN airing high school games.

At this rate, Texas ———> Independent pretty soon

[quote name=Jame Gumb]Keep your expectations low and you’ll usually be pleasantly surprised.[/quote]That’s what I tell the ladies.

[quote name=mb21]http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/texas-longhorns/20110720-longhorn-network_s-plans-to-televise-high-school-games-now-on-hold.ece[/quote]

We’re for the conference.
– Dodds

(dying laughing)

The thing now is that Texas has no leverage. They had it before all this shit went down last summer, but not anymore. The Big 12 isn’t lasting any longer than 5 years. There is no longterm plan and no conference can survive these days when one or two schools get so much richer than the others. The Big 12 was doomed the moment it was formed. Texas may have been able to extort something out of the Pac 12 or even the Big Ten last summer (more likely having success doing so in the Pac 12).

Regardless of what happens, Texas is going to take a hit because they didn’t act first last year. They have no leverage. They can’t go independent. I suppose they could, but it would be suicide. I had thought for awhile that Texas would end up in the Big Ten, but they don’t want the drama that comes with Texas. My guess is if Texas were to ever join the Big Ten it’s in combination with Notre Dame joining at the same time. I think Notre Dame eventually joins the Big Ten, but probably not within the next years, which is when Texas is going to have find a new home.

[quote name=mb21]The thing now is that Texas has no leverage. They had it before all this shit went down last summer, but not anymore. The Big 12 isn’t lasting any longer than 5 years. There is no longterm plan and no conference can survive these days when one or two schools get so much richer than the others. The Big 12 was doomed the moment it was formed. Texas may have been able to extort something out of the Pac 12 or even the Big Ten last summer (more likely having success doing so in the Pac 12).

Regardless of what happens, Texas is going to take a hit because they didn’t act first last year. They have no leverage. They can’t go independent. I suppose they could, but it would be suicide. I had thought for awhile that Texas would end up in the Big Ten, but they don’t want the drama that comes with Texas. My guess is if Texas were to ever join the Big Ten it’s in combination with Notre Dame joining at the same time. I think Notre Dame eventually joins the Big Ten, but probably not within the next years, which is when Texas is going to have find a new home.[/quote]
Yeah, I was really disappointed with Texas’ decision to remain in the Big 12-2.

The Big 10 didn’t make much sense geographically, but our academic profile was perfect.

The Pac 12 made a little sense geographically if OU, aggy and Tech came with us, and the academic profile was a pretty good fit.

[quote name=mb21]I think Texas fucked themselves last summer.[/quote]
I think so too. I thought that immediately. My only hope is/was that they had a greater plan I hadn’t considered, but I’m starting to think they let the “We’re Texas” shit go to their heads.

Texas is going to bring in more money than any school in the country over the next 2-3 years, but then they’ll start dropping down the revenue list.

The Big 12 will fall soon. When it does, teams will be scrambling to find conferences. The teams that jump first will land best.

I love my alma mater, but I’m not sure they thought this through.

That was a legitimate concern, as the backlash to fucking over Tech and aggy would have been big.

Now that the Pac 12 expanded, though, Texas is out on a limb. They have nowhere to go.

The Big 12 should have been trying to lure TCU and Utah to the conference the second all this talk started.

Cubs opened up their “lead” for the #2 spot by jumping 1.5 games away from KC. Also within 5.5 games of #1 Houston entering this weekend’s series.

Sweep!

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/6783415/rick-reilly-nebraska-big-ten-primer

[quote name=ACT]People act as though all Quade does is rip Castro. He’s praised Castro quite a bit in the past, and even recommended him to the All-Star team.[/quote]Good point, and it’s not like Castro didn’t screw up. Maybe Quade shouldn’t have focused on that so much, but I think Castro can handle it.

[quote name=mb21]I’ll update the reverse standings in a couple hours.[/quote]
In the meantime, just look at this:

[quote name=mb21]I’ll update the reverse standings in a couple hours.[/quote]
(dying laughing)
I just did it.

[quote name=Jame Gumb]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kassP7zI0qc[/quote]
For those wondering, this is basically a cop being an idiot.

[quote name=Mish]tl;dw[/quote]
So the cop says, “Do you love me?” And the driver says, “No, but that’s a real nice ski mask.”

junkstats Jacob Peterson
Ryan Howard: .247 / .342 / .452. Chad Billingsley: .258 / .343 / .452

In my day we used to stare at the sun on ground balls and still make the play.

[quote name=Ryne Sandberg]In my day we used to stare at the sun on ground balls and still make the play.[/quote]#playedtherightway

[quote name=Mish]#playedtherightway[/quote]
With scorched retinas?

The sun was definitely in different spots though. Even I think Quade’s a dumb ass for that.

Pitchers also used to know how to hit home runs. It’s just that they’d be called on to bunt, instead because that was their role..

We can demand things here?

[quote name=melissa]Quade ripped Castro last season down the stretch and said he was benching him. Quade even admitted that Castro was probably just fatigued but wanted him to sit and “think” about what he’d done. I obviously don’t like Quade or what he said about Castro, part of the reason would be that he goes out of his way to defend the lackadaisical play of veterans on this team. It seems like scapegoating when he blames the middle infield for a game that the team lost 9-1. Castro is the only player on this roster right now that actually matters and when the manager blames him for the team’s poor performance people are going to take notice. Do you believe the manager publicly blaming Castro for losses will make him a better player? Quade said that he was glad to have the team he broke camp with back after the all-star break and things aren’t going the way he thought they would. After the Florida series, Quade blamed the umps, after losing to the Phillies, he blames Castro. Is the trainer next?[/quote]I think you’re just making WAY TOO MUCH out of what Quade says. I don’t much care if he spreads the criticism around, but I think he has. He’s also been much less prone to overreaction than Lou was. If Lou was manager Dempster would have been in the bullpen after his first 4 starts, Pena would be a platoon player, Ramirez would have been benched early on, Hill would be playing as much as Soto and so on. I’m not a fan of Quade, but the truth is that he’s probably better at managing a roster than Lou Piniella was with the Cubs. Mostly though, I just don’t care what he says.

[quote name=dylanj]that ryan howard deal is going to beat out Sorianos for worst deal ever given to a hitter[/quote]As bad as Soriano’s deal is, it’s not even the worst deal in baseball right now. According to ZiPS going forward, you get this:

Name, Projected WAR going forward, Value, Money left on contract, difference

Howard: 10 WAR, 49 M, 137M, -88M
ARod: 19.6 WAR, 102 M, 186M, -84M
Vernon Wells: 3.4, 16, 72, -56
Soriano: 3.2, 15, 65, -50
Johan Santana: 4.4, 21, 69, -48
Teixeira: 16.2, 81, 126, -45
Zito: 2.8, 13, 57, -44
Lackey: 6.1, 29, 72, -43
Werth: 16.2, 81, 118, -37
Bay: 3.7, 17, 45, -28

(For those wondering, the players who just missed the cut are A.J. Burnett (-24), Carlos Lee (-24), Carl Crawford (-18), Adam Dunn (-16) and Nick Markakis (-13).)

[quote name=dylanj]castro is a big boy, i dont think he will wilt. my biggest issue is when Quade said that the veterans were playing pretty damn good. Because they arent.[/quote]Agreed about Castro being a big boy. If he can’t handle a little criticism then he simply isn’t a Major League player. I’m guessing Quade was referring to Ramirez, Pena, Garza, Marshall and maybe a couple others when he was talking about veterans. He obviously ignored some who have sucked, but Quade was pissed off when he was talking.

the only other thing is castro dropped a pop up in the sun. that happens to but put the game on that play while ignoring the fact that dempster shit the bed every single inning is bullshit.

[quote name=dylanj]the only other thing is castro dropped a pop up in the sun. that happens to but put the game on that play while ignoring the fact that dempster shit the bed every single inning is bullshit.[/quote]Dropping popups are going to happen, but it’s also going to piss off any manager when it does happen. It’s a god damn popup. You learn how to catch those when you’re 4 years old. But stupid mistakes are going to happen. That’s baseball, but when you make one a manager is going to be pissed.

I think Bill James supposedly had some input into the Crawford deal. I think he did some study on how speedy players age.

[quote name=mb21]That’s good because I wouldn’t have gotten to it until now and our readers demand timeliness.[/quote]
Except for Fang. He likes to be blissfully unaware.

[quote name=dylanj]that ryan howard deal is going to beat out Sorianos for worst deal ever given to a hitter[/quote]
Jason Werth says False.

I think Barney’s had at least one pop-up fail this season too. You know they’ll happen here and there, but it’s annoying as hell.

I like that idea, JMan. Beltran is a free agent after this year, right? What kind of contract do you think he’s worth?

That’s about what I was thinking, dj, but I imagine some team will offer him 3 or more years. He’s currently at 60 WAR in his career, which makes him a Hall of Famer (more than likely). I imagine some team wouldn’t mind capitalizing on having a Hall of Famer on their roster. Don’t’ know if you can, but it wouldn’t surprise me.

[quote name=mb21]That’s about what I was thinking, dj, but I imagine some team will offer him 3 or more years. He’s currently at 60 WAR in his career, which makes him a Hall of Famer (more than likely). I imagine some team wouldn’t mind capitalizing on having a Hall of Famer on their roster. Don’t’ know if you can, but it wouldn’t surprise me.[/quote]
Also having a big year too; if he was coming off another injury-filled, 60 game season, his price would be suppressed but so would the expectations of him being healthy.

If Aramis Ramirez drops a pop-up, his 2012 option vests.

I could see Lance Berkman on a one or two year deal.

He’s a free agent after this season from what I can tell (Cots). I haven’t heard anything about him not wanting to play for the Cubs. Have you?

Think the Dbacks want Darwin Barney?

[quote name=GW]Think the Dbacks want Darwin Barney?[/quote]
Sure, but Jim Hendry doesn’t want to trade him. Not that that means anything right now, but that’s what he said.

[quote name=Rice Cube]Sure, but Jim Hendry doesn’t want to trade him. Not that that means anything right now, but that’s what he said.[/quote]I read that yesterday and just laughed. I don’t know if he was serious or not, but if the Cubs GM thinks Darwin Barney is untouchable, he needs to be replaced immediately. I don’t even care who you hire. Hire Al Yellon for all I care.

holy shit, i kept hearing there was no way we were going to land him. I also read a scout wondering why anyone would draft him (dying laughing)

[quote name=Mish]Brad: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/the-chicago-cubs-need-less-jim-hendry//quote
Hey look, Brad wrote something that wasn’t satire! (dying laughing)

so after this year we will have

Bour
The Great one Jr
Vogelbach
Hoiliman and maybe Rock Shoulders for 1B talent

and if the cubs dont sign Rock Shoulders shame on them. I want to see that name in the linescore

[quote name=mb21]As bad as Soriano’s deal is, it’s not even the worst deal in baseball right now. According to ZiPS going forward, you get this:

Name, Projected WAR going forward, Value, Money left on contract, difference

Howard: 10 WAR, 49 M, 137M, -88M
ARod: 19.6 WAR, 102 M, 186M, -84M
Vernon Wells: 3.4, 16, 72, -56
Soriano: 3.2, 15, 65, -50
Johan Santana: 4.4, 21, 69, -48
Teixeira: 16.2, 81, 126, -45
Zito: 2.8, 13, 57, -44
Lackey: 6.1, 29, 72, -43
Werth: 16.2, 81, 118, -37
Bay: 3.7, 17, 45, -28

(For those wondering, the players who just missed the cut are A.J. Burnett (-24), Carlos Lee (-24), Carl Crawford (-18), Adam Dunn (-16) and Nick Markakis (-13).)[/quote]
btw mb, love it when you come up with info like this at a moment’s notice. keeps me reading every word.

[quote name=Mish]I’ve been toying with scenarios where the Cubs can legitimately put together a contender for 2012, but man, the FA class has a steep drop off after the Top 3 guys: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/03/2012-mlb-free-agents.html

I don’t even know how it’d be possible if the Cubs had plenty of payroll room and prospects to trade (sell the farm to acquire both Upton/Shields, then throw money at one of Reyes or Fielder and CJ Wilson?), but given the state of things, I find it damn near impossible.[/quote]
You’d need huge bounceback years from Soto and Soriano. Plus a perfect storm of guys like Jackson, DJ, and Carpenter, to come up and become a major contributors, and at least 7 or 8 WAR net gain from free agency (Prince + CJ).

I’ve been toying with the idea of comparing the 2006-207 situation to this year’s and that’s basically what happened that year, with a similarly bad team. Of couse, the Lee and Ramirez bouncebacks were part of what propelled that improvement, and those were much more likely than a Soriano return to form.

The Cubs free agent signings that year added about 17 WAR, which is impressive. The majority of that coming from Soriano (7.0), Derosa, (3.0) and Lily (3.6).

The marginal benefit is what you’d need to calculate – Lilly replaced Maddux (3.0), Soriano replaced Pierre (3.0), Walker replaced Walker / Neifi / Theriot (0, basically). So the marginal benefit of those 3 signings alone was 8 wins alone.

I’m rambling here – I really need to put something together around the anatomy of the 2006 rebound, and see if it’s realistic to hope for something similar this year.

Edit: I love that JP’s name gets replaced with (dying laughing) automagically. I’m guess the blog software learned to do that on its own… it’s thinking.

[quote name=GW]btw mb, love it when you come up with info like this at a moment’s notice. keeps me reading every word.[/quote]Thank Dan Szymborski for that one. Did I not link it? http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/insider/news/story?id=6663584

[quote name=ACT]Or, to put it another way, when you add Barney’s batting, fielding, and baserunning runs, his number is a tiny bit above average.[/quote]I don’t understand it either. League average wOBA is .319. Barney’s is .310. He’s a plus fielder and plus runner. I think the idea that you can’t trade him is silly if Hendry is sincere, but Barney is a productive player.

[quote name=mb21]Thank Dan Symborski for that one. Did I not link it? http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/insider/news/story?id=6663584/quote
(dying laughing) well, I don’t have insider, so my point stands.

[quote name=GW](dying laughing) well, I don’t have insider, so my point stands.[/quote]I read that the day he published it and bookmarked it thinking I’d write something about it at some point. Maybe I linked to it. I can’t remember. The Soriano contract is bad, but it’s not close to the worst one in baseball. You’ve got about 5 or 6 guys in the Soriano range, but nobody comes close to Howard and A-Rod.

New shit: http://www.obstructedview.net/chicago-cubs/articles/mike-quade-has-lots-of-excuses.html