Did The Cubs Win? OSS: Cubes strikeout 14 times, and put Russell into the game. Three Up 1. Starlin Castro went 2-4 with a double and a strikeout. 2. Nate Schierholtz walked and doubled in 2 runs. 3. Anthony Rizzo is good, even when he isn’t that good. He went 1-3 with a walk, but still saw 23 pitches, which …
Cubs 4, Brewers 0 (4/28/14)
Did the Cubs Win? OSS: The Cubs play their most complete game of the season against the “best” team in baseball. Three Up 1. Jason Hammel was absolutely sublime all game. It seemed like he had the best control of his pitches out of any Cub in the past 3 years – especially the low outside corner against righties. Hammel …
Cubs 5, Diamondbacks 7 (4/24/14)
Did The Cubs Win? OSS: Cubs celebrate 100 years of Wrigley Field in fitting fashion. Three Up 1. Jeff Samardzija was brilliant (again). He deserved to win (again). He didn’t win (again). 2. Hector Rondon has to be the best Rule 5 pick of the past 5 years, right? A short reflection of the past Rule 5 drafts: 2013: too …
OV Daily Facepalm
WBBM favorite to land Cubs radio broadcasts, WGN radio's slow march to doom continues WGN exercised an out clause in their deal last year in an attempt to renegotiate, since they're supposedly losing a ton of money on Cubs broadcasts. According to the Trib's Ed Sherman, WBBM is now viewed as the front-runner. It feels odd seeing the Tribune reporting on …
Starlin Castro out 7-10 with hamstring injury
Starlin Castro will be sidelined for the next 7 to 10 days after suffering a hamstring injury yesterday. The good news is that rather than getting an extended glimpse at Javier Baez playing shortstop, the Cubs may go with Emilio Bonifacio and Darwin Barney. How excited are you now? I'm sure we'll see Baez at shortstop, but I'd hope he'd …
Quiet Optimism
So, we've got the team. My best guess at the 25-man roster (Wins Above Replacement – Myles): Position Player WARM C Castillo 1.5 1B Rizzo 3.0 2B Valbuena 1.0 SS Castro 2.5 3B Olt 1.0 LF Lake 1.0 CF Sweeney 1.5 RF Schierholtz 1.0 4OF Ruggiano 1.0 5OF Vitters 0.5 UTIL Barney 1.0 UTIL Roberts 0.75 2C Kottaras 0.5 #1 …
2014 Assume the Position: 2B
2014 Assume the Position: Catchers First Base 2013 Assume the Position: Second Base Last Year 2014 Career (MLB) Name Age (2014 season) AVG OBP SLG wOBA Oliver wOBA AVG OBP SLG wOBA MLB Barney 28 .208 .266 .303 .252 .279 .246 .293 .336 .278 AAA Watkins 24 .243 .333 .379 .325 .281 .211 .268 .237 .233 …
Javier Baez to play some 2nd base this spring
I think most of thought that if Javier Baez had to be moved off shortstop, which seemed an almost certainty after he was drafted, that he would shift to 3rd base. He made himself into a decent enough shortstop to stick there through the minors and some even said he could stick. It still seems like he'll probably have to …
Cano – Barney = 78 Runs
I was reading the solidly-above-replacement-level Yankees blog rlyw.net this morning, and I came across a very interesting table. It listed the Runs Created at 2B for each team this year. I won't reproduce the whole list (seriously, check out that blog, it's interesting), but I share one thing: NYY: 123 RC CHC: 45 RC That's a difference of 78 RUNS. It's …
2013 Cubs Prospects Review: Marco Hernandez
Marco Hernandez is 6-0, 170 pounds. He was born September 6, 1992 in the Dominican Republic and currently plays shortstop. The right-hander bats has been known for his defense and is a switch hitter. The Cubs signed Hernandez during the July 2009 international signing period. He was signed on July 17th and was not included in Baseball America's Top 25 …