I’ve not wanted to say anything because I didn’t want to jinx anything, but I’m starting to get a little bit more optimistic about the future of the Cubs under Tom Ricketts and Co. Believe me, I am not ready to go and start wearing an “I *heart* Ricketts” sandwich board and ringing a bell, but there have been a …
How much is Starlin Castro worth over a 5-year extension?
Yesterday I posted two polls. The first one was about whether or not you thought the Cubs should extend Starlin Castro and the second one was for how much. Before we get to the results, I wanted to run the numbers using projections. (click the link below to read more)
Should the Cubs extend Starlin Castro's contract?
I’m mostly curious to see how much you guys think Starlin Castro is worth over the remaining 4 years of club control. There are two polls below. The first one is a simple yes/no question. If you answer no to the first one, do nothing else. If you answer yes, please answer the second poll. I’m going to assume the …
The Cubs should not call up Brett Jackson
I’ve been reading a lot of things from fans the last few days about how silly it is that the organization may not call up Brett Jackson when rosters expand. I know we all want to see him play and it’s not like this team has anything to lose by playing him in terms of production, but they do have …
Dear Carlos Zambrano, Please Join My Team
Dear Carlos Zambrano, I know this has been a frustrating year or three for you. It’s been a frustrating year or 103 for Cubs fans, so we can relate. I’d like to help alleviate your frustration. I want to formally invite you to join my kickball team. You see, every year my employer holds an employee appreciation day, and one …
Want to know when a statistic is useless?
Aramis Ramirez leads the Major Leagues with a .427 batting average in August while teammate Reed Johnson is fifth at .400. Ramirez is tied for tops among any Cubs player in the month of August, dating to 1946. Shawon Dunston batted .427 in August 1991; Bill Madlock hit .425 in August 1975; and Manny Trillo hit .409 in august 1986. – …
Brett Jackson and strikeouts
I had planned to put something more thorough together for today, but was too lazy to do so. Instead, I’m just going to list the guys who the highest strikeout percentage since 2006 (minimum 1000 PA) followed by their minor league strikeout rate. Sometime when I’m not lazy, I’ll add to it. For MLB numbers, I’m using Fangraphs. For MiLB …
Jeff Samardzija and James Russell
Non-closers don’t have a whole lot of value and that will remain true for both Jeff Samardzija and James Russell, but both of them have quietly put together strong seasons in relief for the Cubs. Russell was a starter early in the season and was banged up before moving back to the pen. Since then, he’s thrown 41 innings through …
Cubs Already Losing
This could become a series, but for now we kind of just needed a new thread.