OSS: Carl Newhouse isn’t a very good pitcher, and the Cubs as a collective aren’t a very good hitter. Three Up 1. Anthony Rizzo went 2-3 with 2 walks. It’s hard to ask for a lot more than that. 2. Emilio Bonifacio went 2-4 with a walk and a double. He also stole a base and was caught stealing. Bonifacio …
Journeymen of Tomorrow: 4/3/14
Did the Cubs Win? Cubes 3 @ Pirates 4 (16 innings) OSS: Cubs tie it up in 9th, blow it in 12th, and kiss it goodbye in 16th. Three Up 1. Luis Valbuena‘s single in the top of the 9th tied the game, part of a 3-6, 2 BB day. Even if Olt doesn’t seize 3B, we should really start …
OV Daily Facepalm
Aroldis Chapman hit in face by line drive There was a scary moment in last night's Reds game, as Aroldis Chapman was hit in the face by a line drive. Trainers from both teams rushed to the mound immediately (and his father too from the stands), and he was taken off the field in a stretcher. Reports say he never …
Quiet Optimism
So, we've got the team. My best guess at the 25-man roster (Wins Above Replacement – Myles): Position Player WARM C Castillo 1.5 1B Rizzo 3.0 2B Valbuena 1.0 SS Castro 2.5 3B Olt 1.0 LF Lake 1.0 CF Sweeney 1.5 RF Schierholtz 1.0 4OF Ruggiano 1.0 5OF Vitters 0.5 UTIL Barney 1.0 UTIL Roberts 0.75 2C Kottaras 0.5 #1 …
Better Know a Cub: Jose Veras
As GW astutely pointed out, the 2014 Cubs are headhunting directly from the 2013 Astros bullpen. On the surface, that sounds terrible. In practice, the Cubs have poached the only two good members of that pen, for a collective $5 million and change. $4 million of that this year will go to Jose Veras, the "closer" of the Astros last …