I think I want to see another few years of this version of the postseason before I start lobbying for one of AC’s fun ideas to change things up. What I am sure of, at this time, is that the NLCS was a lot of fun to watch. Even if I’ve been a little bored with three-true-outcomes baseball, when the …
First Look: New Cubs Pitchers
View PostPatrick Newman and The Japan Times on NPB posting fees
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 …
Masahiro Tanaka Stats and Scouting Report, Why the Cubs are Interested
Masahiro Tanaka is among the leaders in who the OV crowd predicts the Cubs will sign and not too surprisingly, we've already learned they are interested. According to Phil Rogers, Tanaka will be the Cubs top priority this offseason. There's good reason for that, but I wanted to compare him to some other Japanese pitchers, as well as taking a …
Cespedes, Darvish, and Puig, Oh My!*#&%!
Yoenis Cespedes hit two home runs for the A’s Tuesday night. Yasiel Puig hit two home runs for the Dodgers. Yu Darvish didn’t pitch, but no matter, he’s still on pace for 320+ strikeouts this year. The Cubs’ plan following the 2011 season was to make a run at a slew of international free agents. That started with Darvish, an Iranian-Japanese phenom …
Cubs Groundball Rate: Snorting Bosio’s Magic Sinker Dust
Prior to the season, I was set to write about how the Cubs were gradually amassing a bunch of fly-ball heavy pitchers. I never ended up getting around to it, but I'm not one to let a mediocre (or wrong) idea die, so I'll give you the condensed version: From 2010 to 2012, among pitchers with at least 280 innings pitched, …
Series Preview: Texas Rangers (8-5) at Chicago Cubs (4-8)
Team Overviews Here are how the teams stacked up in 2012. Respective league ranks in parentheses. Rangers Cubs wRC+ 105 (4th) 80 (16th) BSR 1.0 (8th) -8.1 (14th) UZR 13.7 (5th) 30.5 (2nd) DRS -6 (10th) -7 (7th) SP FIP- 90 (2nd) 108 (13th) RP FIP- 83 (2nd) 116 (16th) The Rangers are a great team. They lost a …
Daily Facepalm 4.3.13
Draft bonus pools announced Not shockingly, the Cubs have the second largest bonus pool at ~$10.5m. The Nats have the lowest at ~$2.5m due to their low draft position and losing their pick for signing Rafael Soriano. Cubs sign Ryan Sweeney The Cubs signed OF Ryan Sweeney to a minor league deal and have him stashed in Iowa. He could see …
Some minor MLB rule changes for next year
This ESPN blurb lists three relatively minor rule changes for the upcoming season. Here's the highlights Coaches and managers are now allowed to bring an interpreter when conferencing with a pitcher. The article implies that this rule is mostly due to Yu Darvish. Due to the recent trend in teams having two hitting coaches, teams may now have seven managers …
Cubs sign Kyuji Fujikawa
The Cubs signed 32 year old Japanese free agent Kyuji Fujikawa to a 2-year deal worth $9.2 million. The contract includes a vesting option for 2015 depending on games finished that be worth either $5.5 million or $6 million. Word on the street is that this guy sits in the 92-94 mph range and can touch 95-97 depending on which …
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