Next we move to the newest Cubs starter, Paul Maholm. Maholm stat-gathered 13.9 fWAR (11.1 rWAR) in his seven seasons with the Pirates, but it seems like he's been around a lot longer. Some years he was the defacto ace of the staff, and during his tenure he was certainly the most consistent member of their rotations that featured the …
Spring Training Game 3: Rockies @ Cubs
Rockies Lineup Dexter Fowler, CF Jordan Pacheco, 1B Michael Cuddyer, RF Ramon Hernandez, C Casey Blake, 3B Brandon Wood, SS Tyler Colvin, LF Chris Nelson, 2B Wilkin Castillo, DH Pitcher: Guillermo Moscoso Cubs Lineup David DeJesus, RF Marlon Byrd, CF Blake DeWitt, 2B Alfonso Soriano, DH Ian Stewart, 3B Junior Lake, SS Anthony Rizzo, 1B Welington Castillo, C Brett Jackson, …
Projecting the 2012 Cubs: Ryan Dempster
We haven't looked at any of the pitcher projections yet, so we might as well start with the longest tenured starter on the squad. Last year, Dempster looked utterly awful in the first month of the season. He had some terrible BABIP and HR luck but was generally being hit hard. However, after his first 6-8 starts or so he …
Spring Training Game 2: A’s @ Cubs
A's Lineup Eric Sogard, SS Collin Cowgill, CF Seth Smith, LF Jonny Gomes, DH Josh Reddick, RF Brandon Allen, 1B Wes Timmons, 3B Landon Powell, C Josh Horton, 2B Pitcher: Bartolo Colon, RHP Cubs Lineup Tony Campana, CF Darwin Barney, 2B Starlin Castro, SS Bryan LaHair, 1B Jeff Baker, RF Reed Johnson, LF Steve Clevenger, C Blake DeWitt, DH Josh …
Daily Facepalm 3.5.12 – Random state laws edition
This week in state laws Lots of discussion in the comments this morning about state liquor and marriage laws yesterday. Apparently WaLi tried to get drunk and marry his cousin yesterday, and needed to make sure what states he was allowed to do that in. Is there a Cubs game today? The Cubs play an A's split squad today at …
Spring Training Game 1: A’s @ Cubs
Rodrigo Lopez gets the first Cactus League start today at 2:05 pm. Starters generally pitch a couple innings their first start and then build up after that. You can click here to get Gameday. I wish I could write something about how important it is to get off to a good start, but I can't. Not only is it mostly …
Luke Scott is racist
We already knew Luke Scott was a dumbass and probably already assumed he was racist, but now we have proof of it. The article stresses Scott’s relationship with his teammates, particularly the Latinos and African Americans. I searched the article for the phrase”I’m not racist. I have a black friend. See?” but I surprisingly could not find them. Felix Pie …
RED ALERT! Soriano Might Lead Off Some Games and Prove the Mayans Were Right!
As expected, the idea that Dale Sveum is kind of thinking about maybe, possibly considering the idea of potentially occasionally batting Alfonso Soriano in the lead-off spot has sparked the kind of panic that one usually associates with one of the Airplane! movies. Of course, the level-headed media that is famous for never over-reacting to things like they're the ones spending …
Are some players rushed to the Major Leagues
The guy I used to run The Hawkeye State with and who now helps run The High Porch Picnic, another Hawkeyes blog, asked me a question on twitter yesterday. I've always wanted your opinion: Did Corey Patterson not work out because he was awful, or because the Cubs rushed him? It's not something I've thought all that much about for …