The Cubs stumble into their next opponent having lost all three series so far this year. They'll face the Marlins and their hideous HR structure. Thank DeRosa that this series is being played in Miami and not Chicago – the media firestorm with Ozzie's return after suspension from his recent comments and the mere existence of Carlos Zambrano would be …
Did the Cubs really add that much depth?
Over on Cubs Den (a really good blog), John talks about how the Cubs have quietly built depth to give them trade flexibility. I want to look at his bullets one by one because I just don't agree with the conclusion that John is reaching. John is attributing this depth to Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer too, which is another …
Some thoughts on opening day starter and Brett Jackson
Dale Sveum decided to go with Ryan Dempster on opening day. There's little doubt that Matt Garza is the superior pitcher, but Dempster is still pretty good himself and it's not like Garza is awesome unless we look only at last season. Even if we do that, he only looks awesome when we look at his defense independent pitching stats. …
Cherry Picking
In the final 14 appearances one season, he threw 74 innings, allowed only 50 hits and posted a sparkling ERA under 2. After the season fans were excited about what this pitcher could do the following year. Ignored in those 74 innings was 1) he walked a lot of guys, 2) was considerably lucky in that his BABIP and HR/FB …
The future Cubs
In a couple years the Cubs infield will include future stars like Hee Seop Choi, Bobby Hill and Brendan Harris. Sammy Sosa will be joined by Corey Patterson and David Kelton. Before long Nic Jackson will take over in CF while Patterson replaces Sosa. Future Hall of Famer Kerry Wood will be at the top of a rotation that includes …
Daily Facepalm 2.13.12
Cuban outfielder update The Cubs are apparently no longer in on Cespedes, according to Joe Frisaro. He and KG have heard from sources that the Cubs are making a "big, big push" for 19-year old Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler. According to Frisaro the Cubs are willing to spend $27.5m, though it is unknown over how many years. Here's BA's report …
Cubs sign 6 of 7 arbitration eligible players
The Cubs had 7 players who were arbitration eligible and on the day that teams and players must exchange arbitration figures, the Cubs signed all but Matt Garza. The Cubs’ six other arbitration-eligible players all agreed to one-year deals. DeWitt, who batted .265 in 121 games last season, will make $1.1 million in 2012, while Baker, who batted .269 in …
Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have been busy
The Cubs were having a rather quiet offseason until December 23rd when they traded Sean Marshall. In a span of one month they’ve traded Marshall, DJ LeMahieu, Tyler Colvin, Carlos Zambrano, Andrew Cashner and Kyung-Min Ha. All of them except Ha were on the team’s 40-man roster. A new front office trading current players is nothing new. On July 5, …
Does Zambrano trade tell us about a possible Soriano trade?
Since Carlos Zambrano was traded two days ago I think all Cubs fans have wondered what it might mean for Alfonso Soriano. The Cubs were willing to eat almost all of Zambrano’s contract in trading him. We know that Tom Ricketts has given Theo the go ahead and clean house even if it it requires the team to send truckloads …
The 4th Annual (and final) How Good Has Carlos Zambrano Been In His Career Post
In 2009 I wrote that Carlos Zambrano cannot win with the media or fans. It turned into an article about just how good Zambrano had been in his career with the Cubs. Despite that, it had been done with much hatred toward him. The following February I turned it into an annual piece. The 3rd Annual article was written here …