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  • samardzija-cubs

    How much is Jeff Samardzija worth? 69 Comments

    With news that the Cubs have tried to extend Jeff Samardzija beyond his arbitration eligible seasons not once, but twice, I thought it might be a good idea to look into how much he's ...
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    2013 Cubs Projections: Starlin Castro 121 Comments

    Before we get to Starlin Castro's 2013 Cubs Projections, I wanted to talk a little bit about something else in regard to Castro. An awful lot has been written about Starlin Castro ...
    Ian Stewart

    2013 Cubs Projections: Ian Stewart and Luis Valbuena 50 Comments

    Our 2013 Cubs Projections series continues with a look at 3rd base. The starting job is Ian Stewart's according to Dale Sveum, which leaves Luis Valbuena as a back-up, but even ...
    darwin-barney

    2013 Cubs Projections: Darwin Barney 56 Comments

    Continuing our series, it's time to look at the 2013 Cubs Projections for Darwin Barney. Last spring Barney talked about hitting for more power. We knew he wouldn't be a power ...
    Rizzo

    2013 Cubs projections: Anthony Rizzo 3 Comments

    A little over a week ago, we started our 2013 Cubs projections series by looking at Welington Castillo. The plan is to just go from catcher to 1st to 2nd and so on. Up today is Anthony ...

    2013 Cubs ZiPS Projections 4 Comments

    The Cubs ZiPS projections for 2013 are available on Fangraphs now. The Cubs are projected by ZiPS to have, in shortstop Starlin Castro and first baseman Anthony Rizzo, to have a pair ...
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    How much is Ryan Dempster’s Trade Value? 117 Comments

    Ryan Dempster entered the 2012 season in the final year of his contract. He was coming off season in which his ERA had ballooned to 4.80, but his FIP and xFIP were in line with what ...
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    Does Alfonso Soriano have any trade value? 55 Comments

    The simple answer to this question is that he does not have any trade value, but simple isn't good enough. That's especially true when you're talking about a player who ...
    Michael Bowden

    Projecting the 2012 Cubs: Michael Bowden 15 Comments

    Yesterday the Cubs traded Marlon Byrd to the Red Sox for Michael Bowden and a player to be named later. Bowden was drafted in the 1st round (47th overall) in 2005. He was the last of ...

    Marlon Byrd is not a .091 hitter, and other observations about slumps and trade value – UPDATED 34 Comments

    We're all disappointed by the production so far of many of the Cubs offensive players, most notably Marlon Byrd and Geovany Soto. Byrd has a wOBA of .091 on the season, and Geo ...
    starlincutout

    Projecting the 2012 Cubs: Backups 77 Comments

    We've already published the projections for some of the backups along the way. Jeff Baker's was posted with the infield backups and the two possible back-up catchers were published ...
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    Projecting the 2012 Cubs: Chris Volstad 104 Comments

    It looks like Chris Volstad has the last rotation spot locked up. If you looked up "serviceable" in a dictionary there would probably be a picture of Volstad next to it. ...
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    Projecting the 2012 Cubs: Jeff Samardzija 58 Comments

    Since Jeff Samardzija is now a "near-lock" to make the rotation, per Dale Sveum. Let's take a look at his projections for 2012. Just about everyone projected him as a ...
    clevenger

    Position Battles: Back-up Catcher 108 Comments

    The Cubs roster is mostly set with a few exceptions. Welington Castillo and Steve Clevenger are battling it out for the back-up catcher spot. There's been this invented competition ...
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    Projecting the 2012 Cubs: Center Field 34 Comments

    Marlon Byrd is entering the final year of his contract and will earn $6.5 million in 2012. He's been a very good producer for the Cubs relative to what he's been paid. He's ...
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    Ballhawks can take 2012 off 69 Comments

    One thing I've noticed while looking over the projections the past couple months is just how little power the Cubs have. Their starting lineup is practically filled with singles ...
    starlincutout

    Projecting the 2012 Cubs: Left Field 159 Comments

    We've yet to show the projections for any of the outfielders and since I've been going around the horn, we'll start with left field. I'm breaking this into four posts: ...
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    Projecting the 2012 Cubs: Paul Maholm 239 Comments

    Next we move to the newest Cubs starter, Paul Maholm. Maholm stat-gathered 13.9 fWAR (11.1 rWAR) in his seven seasons with the Pirates, but it seems like he's been around a lot ...
    projectionsheader

    Projecting the 2012 Cubs: Ryan Dempster 84 Comments

    We haven't looked at any of the pitcher projections yet, so we might as well start with the longest tenured starter on the squad. Last year, Dempster looked utterly awful in the ...
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    Projecting the 2012 Cubs: Shortstop 27 Comments

    Shortstop is the last infield position we have to look at it and it's without a doubt the most exciting position. If you look at Starlin Castro's fWAR you can't help but ...