Wait, the Red Sox have a losing record? That was a surprise to me. Pythagoras disagrees with their record, as they have a +26 run differential, second in the AL east and 4th in the whole AL. If their non-winning trend continues they might have to watch out for some sleeper cell cultists. Luckily the Red Sox are playing the Cubs and not one of their much more formidable AL East foes.
Team Overviews
Respective league ranks in parentheses
| Sox | Cubs | |
| wOBA | .331 (3rd) | .298 (14th) |
| UBR | -0.9 (11th) | 3.4 (3rd) |
| UZR | 13.8 (4th) | 3.8 (7th) |
| DRS | +35 (2nd) | +1 (4th) |
| SP FIP | 4.43 (10th) | 4.00 (11th) |
| RP FIP | 3.74 (8th) | 4.74 (16th) |
Aside from injuries, it looks like the Red Sox main problem this year has been starting pitching. Their top three pitchers have pitched well but have significant ERA-FIP splits, and the back end of their rotation (Buchholz, Bard) has been a mess, to be putting it lightly. The Cubs maintain their lead for the worst bullpen in all of baseball. Toronto is 0.2 points back, and they're far ahead of everyone else.
Injuries
It's been a while since we did a injury status roundup for the Cubs, so here it is
- Ian Stewart hit the DL due to more problems with his wrist. They're talking like he might have nerve damage, which I would guess means surgery and thus no more Stewart this season. He's a good bet to be nontendered in the offseason. I still like the trade though. Stewart still had a lot more upside than Tyler Colvin.
- Geovany Soto is rehabbing from his knee surgery and could be back next week. He's playing for the I-Cubs and the team wants him to get a few full 9 inning outings behind the plate before they bring him up.
- Lendy Castillo has been out for a month with a "groin strain". I have heard zero news since then, it sounds like they have him in the top secret Rule 5 Rehab Center.
- Blake Parker and Marcos Mateo are done-zo for the year with elbow problems
- Alfonso Soriano *should* be on the DL, as he's had knee problems for the past month and has a hard time stopping while running. His bat is doing just fine though.
The Red Sox have had injury problems of their own, especially in the outfield
- Kevin Youkilis is day to day with a sore ribcage, and is expected to have limited availability in this series.
- Berselius vendetta target Carl Crawford has been out the whole season due to wrist surgery in March. He just started a throwing program and the Red Sox hope he'll be back after the all-star break.
- CF Jacoby Ellsbury dislocated his shoulder in mid-April, and is on the 60-day DL. He's rehabbing in Florida right now and could be back before the all-star break. It's too bad the notoriously lazy Aramis Ramirez isn't the gritty youngster that Ellsbury is. He took 8 long weeks to return from his shoulder seperation. If Ellsbury took that long he wouldn't have been back until….today.
- CF Jason Repko managed to emulate Ellsbury by separating his other shoulder only a week later
- Marlon Byrd was brought in to stop the bleeding, and he posted better numbers than he did in Chicago, but still was awful enough that they had to DFA him anyway.
- OF Cody Ross broke his foot in mid-May, and could make his way back next week
- SP John Lackey is out for the year with TJS. This is probably an addition by subtraction situation though, considering how awful he was last year.
- Theo compensation RP Chris Carpenter is out indefinitely with elbow surgery
- Former A's closer Andrew Bailey had thumb surgery and hit the 60-day DL to start the season. He could be back around the all-star break
- Former White Sox closer Bobby Jenks had multiple back surgeries this offseason and might be done with baseball. The Red Sox are supposedly trying to buy out his contract.
- Former Cub Rich Hill made seventeen appearances before hitting the DL again. He could be back in July
- Former Cub Mark Prior is pitching well in Pawtucket and could get a call-up soon.
Position players
David Ortiz has been the main force in the offense, posting a .405 wOBA in 265 PAs, good for 19.1 wRAA. It looked like he might be on the decline a few years back but he got right back to where he was earlier in his career. Here are his yearly wOBAs since joining the Red Sox in 2003 – .400, .408, .418, .427, .448, .372, .340, .380, .405, .405. The dude can hit. Luckily without the DH the Cubs might not see much of him this series. Or maybe we'll get to see his statue impresion at 1b, especially with Youkilis ailing. The biggest negative contributers to the offense are the glove-focused SS Mike Aviles and surprisingly Kevin Youkilis, who has posted only a .293 wOBA this year. Marlon Byrd had the largest negative effect on the offense, posting -5.1 wRAA in his relatively brief time with the team.
Aviles has been the best baserunner on the team, and not surprisingly Ortiz has been the biggest negative on the basepaths. Without Ellsbury, this hasn't been a particularly SB happy team. No one is in double digits.
Adrian Gonzalez is the best rated defender on the team, but he's been spending a lot of time in RF lately so that's mostly gone. Pedroia is a good defender, and some of the no-bat guys the Red Sox have filling in for their injured outfield can at least play defense.
Pitching Matchups
ERA, FIP, xFIP, ZiPS FIP listed for each pitcher
Not surprisingly both weekend games were picked up for national broadcast, but I'll be stuck watching the Rangers obliterate the Astros on Saturday.
Friday: Daisuke Matsuzaka, RHP (4.24) vs Ryan Dempster, RHP (2.31, 3.27, 3.56, 3.92), 1:20 PM CT
I just listed Matsuzaka's projected FIP since he's only made one start. It seems like he's been injured forever, but he did manage to make eight starts last year before getting TJS in June. He's been making rehab appearances in the minors since April, and while he managed to keep his walks down (his main problem in the majors) he gave up a ton of HRs. He had a decent debut against the Nationals last week, striking out eight but allowing four runs in five innings, and only walking one batter.
Could this be Dempster's last start? Given the lack of news around this team that's all the beat writers have been focusing on. After the breathlessly reported conversation that Theo and Dempster had in the stands a few days back there was a lot of speculation. It was defused the next day by claims that they were just talking about charity events, but later reports said they certainly did talk trade scenarios. Dempster was originally going to start on Saturday but they flipped him and Samardzija to give F7 and extra day of rest, which they said they were going to to with F7 all season. If they trade Dempster, the sooner the better both because he has more value now (more starts to give) and because some other pitchers on expiring deals (Hamels, Greinke) might hit the market in the next few weeks. I still think the Cubs are better off keeping him around and trying to get the picks, but they should definitely shop him.
Saturday: Jon Lester, LHP (4.57, 3.66, 3.82, 3.66) vs Jeff Samardzija, RHP (3.96, 3.09, 3.39, 4.11), 6:15 PM CT (FOX)
The ERA-FIP splits on these Red Sox starters is especially baffiling when you consider how good their defense is. Lester hasn't been too unlucky BABIP-wise – he has a .316 BABIP but is a ground ball pitcher. His strand rate sits at a Volstad-esque 64.6%, so maybe he's also having trouble in the stretch. He's also had problems striking batters out this year. He has 6.92 K/9 following three seasons where he averaged more than strikeout per inning. According to Fangraphs's pitch values, a big difference could be that he lost the handle on his cutter. Early in his career it was his best pitch, this year it looks like it's his worst. He's been throwing a lot less of it, accordingly.
Samardzija was hammered in his last start, giving up eight runs in 3.2 innings to the Twins. I wasn't too surprised, as he had made comments before the game that he was going to pitch to contact because of the dimensions of the park or something. Listen, Jeff, if something ain't broke don't fix it. Just do what you've been doing in every other start. It's safe to say that seems to be working. Hopefully he learned that lesson.
Sunday: Josh Beckett, RHP (4.14, 3.78, 3.89, 3.92) vs Paul Maholm, LHP (4.91, 4.76, 4.41, 4.21), 7:00 PM CT
I thought the Tigers would be all over Paul Maholm but he pitcher very well, striking out seven in six innings and allowing two runs. The bullpen promptly blew the lead for him but the suddenly Jaramillo-less Cubs offense managed to come back with a booming display of scoring on two conscutive errors by the Tigers SS. His outing pushed his ERA and FIP below 5 for the first time this season, so he's got that going for him.
Beckett has always been stingy with walks, but has been especially so this year. But like Lester he's also seen a significant drop in his strikeout rate, going from averaging ~8.3 the past few seasons to 6.5 K/9 this year. I'm also extra confused by the chicken and beer complaints with him last year, because his final ERA and FIP were 2.89 and 3.57, respectively. I guess he must have just pitched poorly down the stretch. Or maybe he's a system SP, ala Tom Brady (laughing). Never change, Boston sports fans.
@ Berselius:
i still want to believe. stewart has never had much of a contact%, but he draws walks decently and so he shouldn’t need a massive BABIP to get a survivable OBP. and with an ISO near .200, that’d be good enough. (he’s putting up a .134 ISO this year with a GB% of 56.5% — impressive!)
i’m even willing to toss out last year. the guy had a linedrive% of 11%. that’s little league. something wasn’t right.
this year his LD% is up to 16% anyway — and with a .270 BABIP he’d be hitting near .240 with a .330 OBP. that’s good enough — he’s been a 2 WAR player like that in the past. but his BABIP is .242 and so i think some bad luck may be playing a role. his swing% and K% is down, so it’s not like he’s hacking.
dunno. inclined to let him keep playing and see. but i’m getting soft.
@ gaius marius:
GM, I agree with you that there’s plenty to be excited about in his past numbers. But if he has major nerve damage in his wrist he’s pretty much screwed. Maybe I’m being overly pessimistic about how long it would take for him to recover from a surgery, but the comparison point in my head is Derrek Lee’s wrist problems from a few years ago. It took him over a season to really recover. Do the Cubs really want to wait it out as Stewart is getting relatively expensive, arb-wise?
Berselius wrote:
true dat and i agree there’s no point waiting for a 2 WAR player to get expensive.
@ Berselius:
A non-tender wouldn’t be a bad idea, but if they do sign him again next season after that, don’t they only get a small paycut because of how salary scale works? I thought that was why they had to pay Samardzija $2MM.
Berselius wrote:
not much danger of that at this point
@ Berselius:
Depends on what the alternatives are and if Stewart is blocking anyone in 2014, assuming that next year is essentially a loss due to the wrist surgery recovery. They could sign him to a 2-year deal that gives him some security but at a discount. (Of course, my idea of contract reality has been thoroughly debunked lately.) (dying laughing)
@ GW:
Relatively is a nice and vague term (dying laughing). He’s making 2.2m this year in his second year of arb (he was a super two). The Cubs have two more years of control if they want him. I don’t think he makes much less than that if the Cubs keep him around. That’s still four times as much as Vitters, Valbuenea, etc would be making.
Then again another $4-5m for two more years on teams that are likely to be awful is pocket change anyway for this team.
O’s are scouting Soriano
@ Mish:
Mish, don’t you turn on the water when you get in the shower?
@ SVB:
I just get in and spray myself with cologne.
Newest TV spot, with some new footage:
@ Berselius:
Exactly. And I think he had this wrist injury last year too, right? Not sure if it’s really a risk or not, and probably Vitters/Cardenas/Valbuena will start the year at 3B anyway.
meh, either way, but this seems like a “value” sign. Injured guy that showed promise…
@ gaius marius:
Also
@ Mish:
Still single, eh?
@ Berselius:
The Orioles love Cubs castoffs.
Sox Lineup
Podsednik (dying laughing)
Pedroia 2b
Gonzalez (RF)
Ortiz 1b
Youkilis 3b
Salty C
Sweeney cf
Aviles ss
Dice-k p
Cubs today
Campanarama
Castro
DeJesus
Adolfo
LaHair
Clevenger
Barney
Valbuena
Dempster
I’m glad to see Valbuena getting starts at 3b with Stewart out. I figured we’d be subjected to tons of Jeff Baker flailing at RHP
@ Berselius:
Is that real?
Ortiz at 1B? Should the Cubs just bunt down the 1B line all day?
@ Berselius:
Me too, but I thought we’d see Cardenas there first. Guess his .906 fielding% in the minors at 3rd has convinced the Cubs that he’s only a back up?
@ Mucker:
Assuming they know how to bunt.
@ Rice Cube:
I thought they had the bunt contest in spring training? That didn’t help?
fixed
@ Mucker:
Boston is going to play a shift when everyone but Soriano and LaHair are up.
Ortiz plays way in at 1B. Gonzalez plays at 1B, Podsenik and Sweeney adjust accordingly in the OF.
Hope Ortiz doesn’t get hit by a liner.
@ Mucker:
http://www.famouspictures.org/mag/index.php?title=I_Want_To_Believe
@ SVB:
Good point, I forgot about Cardenas. Really all I care about is that it’s a lefty and not Baker (dying laughing)
@ Mucker:
I think he bunt popped out yesterday but that’s probably just an isolated incident. The pitchers have been pretty lame at bunting too.
Didn’t help Campana
They could also always bunt it to 3B and hope that David Ortiz sucks at catching.
Wow, I didn’t know Mateo was out, and I didn’t realize how bad off Parker was. Wait, who is Blake Parker?
@ josh:
You know, BLAAAKE Parker.
http://deadspin.com/5918678/charles-peanut-tillman-scornfully-responds-to-local-teachers-anti+bears-math-homework
(dying laughing) at the first comment
@ GW:
(dying laughing) that’s amazing.
btw, i’ve never heard aviles described as anything but barely competent at ss. he was supposed to be the offensive portion of the timeshare with nick punto.
Campana is a shitty bunter.
@ GW:
I thought he was supposed to be an all-glove guy for some reason. Makes them getting rid of Lowrie even more puzzling.
@ Berselius:
He was a bit uneven as a Royal. I think that weird stance throws people off and makes them think he must be good.
I love the idea of a Stewart and Vitters platoon at 3rd. I don’t think either can play everyday so this seems a perfect time to maximize the value of each. This assumes Stewart isn’t out for a long time.
@ mb21:
How about Valbuena or Cardenas and Vitters platooning?
The mediocrity is imminent!
http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/6/15/3089583/boston-red-sox-theo-epstein-failures
@ Nate:
That would work.
@ Mish:
So that’s what happened to Rob Neyer.
MLB audio is especially crappy today.
Campana has great speed, but even when he gets terrible jumps he somehow manages to draw equally terrible throws from catchers
Maybe Campana ought to straight steal home too. So what if there are 2 outs. Is DiceK fast to the plate? I can’t tell on Gameday.
I wish he’d try to steal home. Might as well.
OK. Don’t try to steal home now, Campana.
Dice-K doing Dice-K things
First pitch fastball was pretty predictable.
I tuned out for a sec midway through LaHair’s PA. Can’t believe that he walked, he was swinging at everything
Accidentally clicked on the tickets link on MLB.com earlier. Bleacher seats were listed as $140 each. Holy crap, is that right? I thought bleacher seats were the cheapest.
This is a splendid AB by Valbuena.
@ josh:
I think this is one of those super platinum-ruby-sapphire games so it’ll be much more expensive than usual.
Dempster!!
@ Rice Cube:
Right, it just seemed like the bleachers would still be the least expensive, not the most. But I dunno, those are probably more popular.
That’s a painful way to finally get on base again.
@ josh:
It doesn’t make sense to you and me because we’re logical.
@ josh:
Berselius (I think) did a thread on this early in the season–about the “dynamic pricing” of bleacher tickets.
@ SVB:
I think it was 424, he’s been all over the ticketing stuff
josh wrote:
Bleacher seats haven’t been the cheapest in many, many years. This year, they set a price floor of the original face price, but the tickets go up in cost as more are sold. This series has the most expensive price for bleachers that there is at $140 (before taxes and fees). They started at $72 each.
The White Sox series had them going for about $100. I wasn’t even thinking about it leading up to the Tigers series to see if those jumped up at the last minute, but they were holding around $78 or so (up from an original price of $52) last I checked a couple weeks ago.
@ Aisle424:
Ok, I knew they were varying the price quite a bit, but didn’t realize they were charging so much more for bleachers.
@ Berselius:
It was a 50-50 guess on my part if it was you or 424. Honestly, I can’t remember who writes what even 10 minutes after I read it, but sometimes I at least retain some of the content! (dying laughing)
Dempster wants to win today (dying laughing)
when did dempster learn to be such a good hitter?
@ Nate:
Maybe he’s trying to tell Theo he wants to go to a NL team (dying laughing)
Nate wrote:
Didn’t you hear? Rudy Jaramillo was fired. Now just sit back and watch as Darwin Barney becomes Ricky Weeks.
jtsunami wrote:
@ jtsunami:
Rickie Weeks’s BA/OBP/SLG .164/.302/.286
Compared to that, Barney is Ryne-f’n-Sandberg
@ SVB:
B usually includes a star trek face palm (dying laughing)
THoyer have to be ecstatic. 12 MLB scouts in the house, according to The Score, and Dempster is pitching his ass off.
@ WaLi22:
It is the quintessential facepalm. No other facepalm captures its essence as well as that one.
@ Berselius:
Because after he expresses his disdain for the situation you know he’s going to take out his frustration on a bunch of Jem Hadar.
KG’s having fun with people asking dumb Cubs questions this afternoon
https://twitter.com/#!/Kevin_Goldstein
@ Rice Cube:
I’ve actually only watched maybe two episodes of DS9 (dying laughing). Though nerdy friends in the know say it’s easily the best trek iteration. Now I’m kind of leery about it though. I used to love TNG but watched a bunch of episodes a few years back and largely disliked it.
@ Berselius:
My wife likes DS9 the best. TNG is okay but can get a bit stale.
@ Berselius:
The wife and I tried to watch TNG. I kept trying to justify why I liked it. But man, it’s not that good. Maybe it got better later? More likely, it was just something to watch. The ritual of watching it, or something.
@ Rice Cube:
There are some good episodes, but the writing is so spotty. Doesn’t help that I dislike most of the characters (or at least, they’re writing). Picard is great, Geordi and Worf sometimes great, but I despise Riker, Troi, and various Crushers. Though I mostly just feel bad for Wil Wheaton.
SVB wrote:
I’m the one that doesn’t write much of anything.
@ josh:
The later seasons were much better. And to be fair The Inner Light was probably one of the top 10 greatest TV episodes ever by any show
@ Berselius:
The Best of Both Worlds FTW.
@ Berselius:
Someone should seriously just make a list of the best episodes. It’s probably been done.
@ josh:
There are plenty of episode guides out there. Many I’ve seen have Darmok as the best (or one of the best) episodes, but I’m kind of meh on it
@ Rice Cube:
Best of Both Worlds was okay, one of their better ones. Off the top of my head I’d put Yesterday’s Enterprise and Inner Light ahead of it. I could probably think of a few more if I thought about it. It was certainly one of the most epic ones in scope.
LET’S ALL LAUGH AT ENGLAND
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Too busy laughing at Holland and Italy
@ josh:
I think UPN or whatever it was called ran the top 10 TNG episodes right before the series finale.
The holodeck ones were usually kind of lame, but I liked most of the two-parters. The one with Scotty is probably one of my favorites.
@ Rice Cube:
Ugh, holodeck episodes were the fucking worst
Also, obligatory
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
What happened too Wayne Rooney? Injured?
@ Berselius:
This is good stuff. My weekend is starting to take shape.
Speaking of holodeck, wasn’t there at least one or two episodes with that one minor character who was really super annoying? I guess those were days when the rest of the cast was on vacation?
The good news is that Netflix has every Star Trek series on instant play so you can always see all the good ones and avoid the bad ones (dying laughing)
I liked a couple of the obscure ones, like “Schisms” and “Conspiracy”.
@ Rice Cube:
Conspiracy is a fun episode
Richard Roper found the new Adam Sandler movie to be the worst movie he has ever seen, in case you guys were wondering:
http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/movies/13146305-421/pervs-will-be-pervs-in-thats-my-boy.html#.T9q-KQG093E.twitter
@ josh:
Even more baffling, Samberg begged Sandler to cast him in the movie. WTF, Samberg
@ Rice Cube:
That’s what we were doing for a couple weekends, just watching them back to front. I thought there might be something to be gained form continuity (she’s never watched Star Trek). Half way through the second season we basically quite watching completely. So I was thinking maybe finding a few of the better ones would convince her that my childhood loves aren’t all retarded.
@ Rice Cube:
Saw Conspiracy. I swear their budget had to be $50 in the first season.
Sounds like Marmol is going to get the shot at a save with a 3 run lead
@ josh:
I think you have the right idea for a non-Trekkie…watch the best ones, then fill in the blanks if you are still interested. Most of the episodes are standalone although there’s loose continuity.
Berselius wrote:
Cubs lose
Sounds like Valbuena made an incredible play
@ Berselius:
Cubs were in the shift and he made a great diving stop to his right and made a strong throw for the out
And he just made an error on an easy play (dying laughing)
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/06/15/bryce-harper-is-a-conservative-hero/
@ Berselius:
Incoherent. Actually, calling it that is an insult to incoherency.
It’s Quiakles.
@ Berselius:
I dunno about you, but that was the most entertaining article I read all day. (dying laughing)
Suck it, Simmons.
Small sample size, but Dempster > Red Sox
The prevailing rumor is that this is his last start before a trade. I actually think he has two more starts with the Cubs and they trade him just after the ASG.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
What did Gene do this time?
I, for one, hope Demp stays around until the All-Star break. I mean, someone has to represent the team, and he’s the only one having a good year (except maybe LaHair; 1B competetion is weak this year, save Votto, but it would be weird to have a platoon player representing a team for the ASG).
@ josh:
No that was for that whitebread Masshole Bill Simmons.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/06/cubs-to-sign-paul-blackburn.html
$300 over slot (dying laughing)
@ Aisle424:
The State of Michigan just moved to ban that. It says “vagina” on it.
Oh man, Dempster is today’s top pitching performer, and the top hitting performer, according to espn.com.
@ Berselius:
(dying laughing)
That’s a clown column, bro.
(dying laughing) @ this comment:
@GBTS That’s true, but the idea behind socialism is awesome. It just never works in practice on large scales. But since the MLB is only 30 teams, it’s small enough scale to work beautifully.
Booya.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/derekj/21-gifs-for-kate-uptons-20th-birthday-r76
Beckett’s missing his Sunday start.
Really looking forward to this White Sox/Dodgers game. What do you guys think, should I listen to Hawk or Scully? I’m torn.
@ Aisle424:
Wow, that makes my forgetfulness so much worse! Sorry dude.
@ josh:
Wasn’t that the penultimate post on ACB, before Jack Benny?
@ Berselius:
Soy Castle? What’s that?
@ GBTS:
I’m pretty sure you’d enjoy Scully better.
@ GBTS:
Hawk. Scully has lost a step while Hawk is at the top of his game. (dying laughing)
@ mb21:
Plus with Hawk I also get Stoney Pony, instead of just Scully going on and on by himself about really interesting things.
Anyone see Zambrano’s line this evening? 2 IP, 3 H, 6BB, 4ER, 3K, L 76 pitches. Ouch.
@ SVB:
Second outing in a row in which he’s gotten creamed. Frankly, I was expressing skepticism of his “transformation” even before those starts.
Incidentally, Z’s had back problems recently, and Ozzie has instructed him to stop swinging for the fences in batting practice.
Carlos Pena: 0-1, 4 walks, 4 runs. Now at: .187/.347/.338.
If there any Rays fans still around here I just picked up tickets to each of the 3 games the play in kc on the 25th through 27th. Sweet seats too. I’m excited.
@ GBTS:
Scully needs a little more “he gone” in his broadcasts. But there’s no way he can match Hawk when it comes to home runs.
http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/id/8057999/theo-epstein-chicago-cubs-too-patient-their-rebuild
I don’t know how many of you read the ESPN blogs, but this entry made me facepalm a bit.
Adam Dunn just captured the Major League lead in homers.
Dunn had 3 plate appearances and accomplished all three of the Three True Outcomes. Typical.
Just out of curiosity, has OV topped 170 yet?
@ Berselius:
Dude, we watched Inner Light. Wife loved it. Sublime.
Incidentally, when I was a cab driver, my coworkers all thought the bar in town named “Sublime” was pronounced “Sub-Lime,” as in “This place is below a lime” except one dude, who incidental to the incidentals, loaned me Master and Commander, a very good book.
Cab driving is weird.
\clown story
A’s released Manny Ramirez. Why the Flapping Hell they signed him in the first place, I don’t know.
Just got centerfield seats for Hellickson/Strasburg on Wednesday. Quite pumped.
@ ACT:
I wonder if anyone has ever won the TTO triple crown, as Adam Dunn is on pace to.
Looks like Ruth did it 4 times. Mantle once. Too lazy to look up whether anyone else did.
Couldn’t agree more with this: http://www.insidethebook.com/ee/index.php/site/comments/let_the_ped_issue_die_already/
@ Rice Cube:
(dying laughing). Can’t polish the turd that was the roster/farm system they received. Given what they spent on Concepcion and Soler you can’t really complain that they haven’t spent money, though you could take issue with what it was spent on.
I am pretty pissed at Theo for not signing Pujols to a 5/30 deal though. Gotta spend that money! (dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
@ mb21:
I liked the seemingly random mention of Claude Lemieux. I was in Toronto once and saw a homeless guy with a sign that said “Will hit Claude Lemieux from behind for food”. I wish I had some loose change then.
/cool story bro
lineup vs LHP Lester
RF Reedz
2B Barney
SS Castro
LF Adolfo
1B Baker
CF Mather
C Castillo
3B Valbuena
P Shark
@Blogfines just pointed out on twitter Rizzo and BJax both have monster reverse platoon splits this year in AAA. 1.154 and 1.076 OPS respectively
@ mb21:
tickets for the tb game in philly friday are $6. i think i’ll go.
New people pissed off at the Cubs: http://www.obstructedview.net/chicago-cubs/arizona-state-university-president-calls-the-cubs-liars.html