The Cubs play the Sox tonight! Do you know how excited I was about that? I only knew because I saw Carlos Zambrano was available in my fantasy league and I saw his next start was against the White Sox tonight. Oh boy! Pointless manufactured drama! The battle for a made-up corporately sponsored trophy that may or may not actually …
Series Preview: Iowa Cubs of Chicago (29-42) at Chicago White Sox (35-38)
I’m surprised to see the White Sox with a near-.500 record. Last I remember seeing any news of them, they were mired in a crappy start to the season, and new acquisition Adam Dunn was redefining the definition of a disappointing free agent signing. They were 10-18 in April, and were completely overmatched by their competition in the second half …
TOOTBLAN and rundown silliness
Had a bit of fun with this rundown of Brett Gardner in the Yankees-Cubs game at Wrigley Field on Saturday. Officially I think it’s a 1-3-4-3-4-2-6 putout. Based on a conversation I had elsewhere, I wonder if it’s possible to have a “pi” putout. Pi from memory is 3.14159265358979 and the digits allow for every position on the diamond to …
2012 Cubs Payroll Outlook
Mercurial Outfielder asked recently if I’d taken a look at next year’s payroll. Turns out I had done so about a month ago and had forgotten. In that piece I didn’t show any tables, but figured I’d go ahead do that here. MO mentioned that Gordo has been saying the Cubs payroll will be around $120 million next year so …
Jeffrey Ross Roasts Ryan Dempster
After the game yesterday, we headed down to the Vic Theatre to see Jeffrey Ross. If you have never seen Jeffrey Ross perform (and you don’t have delicate sensibilities), he is pretty damn funny. He generally can be found doing the celebrity roasts that Comedy Central has brought back from the Dean Martin days. It turns out Ryan Dempster …
42,218 Cubs Fans Out of 42,219 Thrilled By Cubs Beating Yankees
I witnessed a fascinating thing on Friday afternoon at Wrigley. Yes, the game was awesome and we’ll get to that, but the truly fascinating thing was getting a chance to see a real life Yellon interacting in its natural habitat. Most people know that Al Yellon has been a season ticket holder in the bleachers for years, always sits in …
Zambrano willing to waive no-trade clause
It’s not too surprising to hear that Cubs players are going to be more than willing to get out of Chicago, but Carlos Zambrano had been insistent in the past in his desire to stay with the Cubs. Not so anymore. “If they come to me and want to trade me, obviously it’s because they don’t want me here anymore,” …
Series Preview: New York Yankees (39-28) vs Hapless Victims (28-40)
Before I get to previewing this bloodbath, I just want to mention that it was fun to watch the Cubs take three of four from their little brothers to the north. Team Overviews Teams stats with respective league rankings in parens. Yankees Cubs wOBA .353 (1st) .318 (6th) UBR -1.9 (9th) -7.1 (16th) UZR 11.6 (3rd) -15.5 (15th) SP FIP …
Replacement for Craney Kenney: Tom Ricketts doesn’t care if it’s a baseball guy and good for him
This comment yesterday from Tom Ricketts has become big news: “I’ve never bought into the (idea) that I should have a baseball guy to watch my baseball guy and his baseball guys,” Ricketts said. “Then what do you get? A baseball guy to watch the baseball guy who’s watching your baseball guys?
Cubs compared to their projections
Back in April I compared the Cubs players to their projections and intended to do it once a month. Instead, you get once every two months. Or if we averae the 2+ months of the season you are getting it once a month. So there. Name PA wRC Proj wRC Diff Reed Johnson 69 15.3 6.3 9.0 Jeff Baker 92 …