Cubs right-hander Ryan Dempster, an obvious trade candidate, would be even more likely to be moved if the team signed righty Matt Garza to a contract extension. – Ken Rosenthal Does anybody understand this? I don't see what extending Garza has to do with whether or not the Cubs try to trade Ryan Dempster. Matt Garza is under club control …
Cubs acquire Hunter Cervenka to complete Marlon Byrd trade
The Cubs and Red Sox completed the Marlon Byrd trade today as the Cubs acquired Hunter Cervenka. Cervenka is a 22 year old in A ball with a minor league ERA of 5.97. He has struck out over 8 batters per 9 innings, but he's also walked 7.2 per 9. I'd write more on this, but I'm afraid what I've …
Is Sveum seriously the best that Thoyer could have done?
The pitchforks and torches are out among many Cubs fans (and even the media) after Dale Sveum bunted with two men on and nobody out with a nonpitcher at the plate not once but twice late in yesterday's game. Even worse, ont of those cases was with the Cubs second best hitter, Starlin Castro. Sveum seems to have a fetish …
The Children Are The Future-Cubs Minor League Update Sponsored by Ortho Home Defense
Iowa Anthony Rizzo just keeps mashing as he hit his 12th HR of the year. When he gets here and LaHair moves to LF it might be an interesting offense to watch. Brett Jackson got on base once and made the most of it by stealing 2 bases. Jay Jackson has been moved to the bullpen and has done well …
What's wrong with Carlos Marmol?
Between 2007 and 2011, Carlos Marmol threw 382.1 innings and allowed a ridiculously low 218 hits. He allowed only 21 home runs and struckout 540 batters. That's the good Marmol. During those same years Marmol threw 23 wild pitches, hit 39 batters and walked 241 of them. Despite a high walk rate, he still managed to have a higher than …
Soriano, his Bat, and Momentum
Hitting a baseball is all about momentum. Momentum is a vector describing a "quantity of motion" or in mathematical terms p (momentum) = mass * velocity. In a closed system, momentum is conserved. Conservation of momentum means that the harder you throw the ball, the harder the ball will bounce back. Think in the case of throwing a ball against …
Short Series Preview for a Short Series:
The Cardinals are good. The Cubs are not. Here's a look at the matchups for this quick series in St. Louis Monday: Ryan Dempster, RHP (1.02, 2.16, 2.80, 3.83) vs Jake Westbrook, RHP (1.76, 2.79, 3.20, 4.00), 6:05 PM CT This is a matchup of pitchers who have gotten off to fantastic starts to the year. You have to give …
We Are Shocked…SHOCKED!… To Learn Tom Tunney is in the Rooftop Owners' Pockets
In today's edition of Obviously Obvious Item of the Day, the Sun-Times has come right out and quantified what everybody familiar with the Cubs' relationship with Chicago's 44th Ward has known all along: Alderman Tom Tunney gets a tremendous amount of financial backing from the good people who own the rooftops across from Wrigley. It is also no secret that …
Matt Garza and Cubs extension talks going well
Ken Rosenthal has said that the Cubs and Matt Garza are discussing an extension and the talks are going very well. It's been awhile since we've taken a look at what kind of contract Garza may be looking at so we'll try to do that today. The league ERA is right at 4 over the last 2+ seasons so I'll …
The Children Are The Future-Cubs Minor League Happenings Sponsored by Select A Seat
Iowa Brett Jackson had a few days off and returned to strike out 3 times in 4 AB's. He is really scuffling right now. Rizzo on the other hand went 3-4 and has done about all you can do in AAA. Chris Rusin continued his strong season striking out 7 batters in 8 scoreless innings. Having a sub 3 ERA …