Castellanos on waivers Alex Castellanos was just put on waivers for the second time this year. I wrote about it the first time, concluding: I'm not saying that Castellanos could ever start for the Cubs (though I'm not sure he's not better than Sweeney), but he makes so much sense as the RH side of the CF/RF platoon, someone who could …
OV “Daily” Facepalm
Ted Lilly Added to Cubs front office Ted Lilly signed on with the Cubs FO as a special assistant, and should be around as an instructor in spring training as well as doing some scouting and stuff during the season. Even though he struggled with injuries last year and retired this offseason, he might still have been good enough to …
“Daily” Facepalm 11.26.13
Anything happening with Samardzija? Tom Loxas reported that the Cubs and Jays might be close last weekend, but since then nothing as happened, and other sources (i.e. Julie's) say not much is happening. I don't really see much happening either. Still, Loxas's sources seem to think that the Cubs want to get some resolution on Samardzija before Thanksgiving/the Winter Meetings Cubs …
Semi-annual Facepalm – 11.21.2013
Fielder who can't field now Ranger with no range (h/t to Sam Miller for that headline) Huge trade, both in landscape and girth, as Detroit swaps Prince Fielder for Ian Kinsler from the Rangers. This is a really interesting trade, and one that I think makes both teams better. First, the outlays: Detroit gets Ian Kinsler (16/16/14/11/12[5]). They also send …
“Daily” Facepalm – 11.3.13 : Deckchair removed from Titanic
Brad Ausmus to manage Tigers Ausmus is currently in Detroit finalizing the deal. Hopefully the contact includes a clause requiring Ausmus to smoke five packs a day to ensure continuity with previous leadership. Gammons originally quasi-connected the Cubs with Ausmus weeks ago, though it was unclear whether there was actually any interest or if it was just Gammons making an …
Daily Facepalm 7.10.13
Cubs 'closing in' on deal with Taiwanese RHP Jen-Ho Tseng MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez says the Cubs are close to a deal with the Taiwanese pitcher, who is ranked 29th in mlb.com's list and 23rd on BA's. For a while he projected to be the #1 prospect in this year's class, but he scuffled a bit this year. GW points out …
Alvin’s open letter to Theo Epstein after a content editor gets through with it
The other day, Alvin Yellon satisfied many of us with a classic example of his stupidity. Like many, Ryno has had a lot of fun with this. Here here is (the rest of this is from Ryno). Just for fun, I decided to look at Alvin’s open letter as an editor. All bits and hyperbole aside, I wanted to see …
Daily Facepalm 6.10.13 – Welcome to the Cubs, Edwin Jackson
Edwin Jackson finally arrives The 'real' Edwin Jackson showed up for the first time this season, striking out eight while allowing one run, one walk, and four hits in seven innings. More importantly, his fastball averaged 94.78 on the day, much closer to his career avg of 95 mph than the paltry low 93.x mph he had been throwing earlier …
Daily Facepalm 5.30.13 : It’s Dioner Navarro’s World, We’re Just Living In It
"The Dioner Navarro Game?" Navarro demolished White Sox pitching to the tune of 3 HR and 6 RBI yesterday. In his only PA in which he didn't hit the ball into the stands, he drew a walk and later came aroudn to score with the help of a Matt Lindstrom wild pitch and a single by pinch hitter Ryan Sweeney. …
Daily Facepalm 5.29.13 – Edwin Jackson’s velocity and other news and notes
Edwin Jackson had a good/crappy night For the first time, Jackson looked like the pitcher the Cubs were expecting when they signed him to a four year deal. He hit 97 on the Sox gun (which Len and JD suggested may have been a little hot) with his fastball. Though the game ended up getting rained out, his pfx numbers are …