Doubleheader Preview: Chicago Cubs (4-8) at New York Yankees (7-6)

In Series Previews by berselius

Rain turned this short series into a day-night doubleheader. The two teams will meet again in mid-May, and hopefully we won’t have to get bummed out yet again by seeing Tanaka on the mound in a Yankees jersey. Aside from Tanaka, the Yankees also picked up Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, Kelly Johnson, Brian Roberts, and Jacoby Ellsbury this offseason. I guess …

Top 10 2014 Free Agents – The Story So Far

In Commentary And Analysis by myles

No game to talk about yesterday, so this will be a quick little hit on how the top FA of 2014 have performed so far. 1. Robinson Cano – .326/.396/.370 (109 wRC+) Cano hasn’t exactly done the heavy lifting for the Mariners, but Smoak, Zunino, and Ackley have been more than sufficient so far. 2. Jacoby Ellsbury – .362/.423/.447 (152 …

Cubs 4, Cardinals 6 (4/14/14)

In Uncategorized by myles

OSS: Edwin Jackson dodges the first bullet and gets hit by the second. Three Up 1. Junior Lake, sure. He went 2-4 with a triple. Pretty cool. 2. Mike Olt, why not. 2-3, with a double and an RBI. 3. Anthony Rizzo hit a home run! It was fun, because we had a lead before Grim Death took hold of …

Better Know a Cub: Jason Hammel

In Better Know a Cub by myles4 Comments

After the Cubs missed on Masahiro "We think he's a No. 3 Starter – Cashman" Tanaka, the Cubs went to a fall back plan. They signed Jason Hammel to a 1-year, $6 million dollar deal. Hammel, who has been good at times and bad most others, is a classic pump-and-dump candidate a la Feldman/Baker/numerous others. Do you remember the Scott Hairston …

Theo Epstein On Building Under the Current CBA

In Commentary And Analysis, News And Rumors by GW38 Comments

Theo Epstein was interviewed on WEEI Thursday night (partial transcript). He shared thoughts on a variety of Cub-related topics alongside musings about the Red Sox. There was nothing really groundbreaking in his comments, but they were infused with an undercurrent of pessimism similar to that which you’ve been picking up around these parts since the current CBA was ratified in late 2011. We're two …

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Cubs Lose Out on Tanaka

In Commentary And Analysis, News And Rumors by GW29 Comments

The Cubs’ primary free agent target of the offseason is now off the table. Masahiro Tanaka agreed to terms with the Yankees today on a 7 year/ $155 million deal. Ken Rosenthal broke the news this morning, following up with the tidbit that the Cubs were indeed among the finalists. Phil Rogers hears the same, that the Cubs were in …

Masahiro Tanaka posted, Cubs won’t be outbid?

In News And Rumors by dmick8988 Comments

The Golden Eagles will post Masahiro Tanaka and David Kaplan says that one source told him the Cubs will not be outbid. I just spoke w/an MLB source who believes Cubs will not be outbid on Tanaka. He also said convincing Tanaka to come to Chgo will be hard. — David Kaplan (@thekapman) December 24, 2013  

Why I Wouldn’t Post Masahiro Tanaka

In News And Rumors by myles111 Comments

When the MLB strongarmed the NPB into this new posting system, we heard a lot of arguments as to why Tanaka would still be posted. 20 million dollars is a ton of money, even if it isn't the perhaps 75 million that the Golden Eagles were on track to get. However, as of late, the President of Rakuten hasn't really …

Patrick Newman and The Japan Times on NPB posting fees

In Commentary And Analysis by dmick8935 Comments

The Japan Times published an article yesterday about how the new posting system agreement puts Rakuten (Masahiro Tanaka's team) in an unfavorable position.  The Eagles were widely expected to post Tanaka this offseason, but the newly agreed upon system, complete with a $20 million cap on posting fees, seems to have the team rethinking things. “First of all, discuss it …