Iowa It was a sloppy game for the Iowa Cubs as Vitters, Rizzo and Cardenas each committed an error. Brett Jackson went 1-5 with a triple and Nate Robertson continued his inspired campaign to be released within the first month. Smokies Rain Out Daytona There's just no way to sugarcoat it- Hayden Simpson was awful tonight. His final line was …
Minor League Update: 4-8-12
Iowa Cubs Brett Jackson had another multi-hit game as he went 2-4 and he also walked again. He's walked in 3 consecutive games, which he'll do frequently. Through his first 3 games he's an impressive 5-11 with a double, triple, and has 3 walks. He's also driven in 3 and scored 3. Jackson will strikeout a lot and he's done …
Minor League Update 4-7-12
I'm really liking that the minor league season has begun at the same time as the MLB season this year. It's usually a week after MLB starts. Iowa Cubs Josh Vitters was 1-3 again. He also walked again. I'm not holding my breath, but if Vitters could learn to become more patient he'd suddenly have quite a bit of value. …
Minor League Update 4-6-12
I'd like to make this a daily feature here at Obstructed View, but have you looked at the minor league rosters? I'd suggest you avoid doing so if you haven't looked already. I'm not going to tell you about the game. Who cares if the Daytona Cubs won? I'm not even sure they do. Maybe there are a few fans …
Random Opening Day Thoughts
This current roster couldn't even bring a smile to an easily excitable child. If you look at the lineup we'll see most frequently it's a little depressing. Darwin Barney. Bryan LaHair. Ian Stewart. Marlon Byrd. David DeJesus. Some of them have some value, but who is going to watch a game to see those guys in action? I'm a half …
Did the Cubs really add that much depth?
Over on Cubs Den (a really good blog), John talks about how the Cubs have quietly built depth to give them trade flexibility. I want to look at his bullets one by one because I just don't agree with the conclusion that John is reaching. John is attributing this depth to Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer too, which is another …
Daily Facepalm 3.27.12
Practice Game Recap Paul Maholm had a good outing, striking out six over five innings and allowing no runs. Carlos Marmol also pitched a scoreless inning in his first outing since having an MRI on his neck for a hand problem. Castro drew his first walk of the spring. Is there a Cubs game today? The Cubs travel to the …
Some thoughts on opening day starter and Brett Jackson
Dale Sveum decided to go with Ryan Dempster on opening day. There's little doubt that Matt Garza is the superior pitcher, but Dempster is still pretty good himself and it's not like Garza is awesome unless we look only at last season. Even if we do that, he only looks awesome when we look at his defense independent pitching stats. …
Ask OV: Cubs Fans Anxiously Waiting to Watch [Insert Name] in Centerfield vs. Red Sox
The questions have been rolling in ever since our debut of Ask OV last week so we are definitely going to have to hire an intern or something. I mean, first I had to do the Facepalm yesterday and now this. It's gotten to the point where I'm thinking of bringing MB back on board (at half-pay, naturally). But for …
Daily Facepalm 3.23.12 – Too many DUIs edition
Practice game recap The Cubs pounded the rangers 11-4. Soriano, Mather, Jackson, and Ian Stewart all homered. Matt Garza threw 81 pitches in five innings, but could have gone deeper had Darwin Barney not committed two errors in the fourth inning. Marcos Mateo left the game with an injury and there's no word on how serious it could be. They …