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Is There a Plan?

In Major League Baseball by Rice Cube19 Comments

At the beginning of this offseason, we knew the Cubs needed the following: And that was just the bare minimum. A few weeks later, with many big names coming off the board, the Cubs still need: That really depends on how much you think Cody Bellinger bounces back to at least solid-to-All-Star level production, what you make of Jameson Taillon’s …

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Correa to the Giants

In Commentary And Analysis by andcounting15 Comments

We didn’t need a banging garbage can to see this coming. Carlos Correa and the San Francisco Giants have agreed to a 13-year, $350 million deal with a full no-trade clause giving the free-agent shortstop and admitted baseball cheater an $8 million/year pay-cut from last season with the small-market Minnesota Twins. Sucks getting old, doesn’t it? Plenty of teams, including …

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The Evolving Narrative

In Commentary And Analysis by Rice Cube108 Comments

I will start by saying that social media is great for many things, despite the efforts by certain proprietors of websites to destroy it or make it totally not fun. It helps us connect with friends and fellow fans, it makes folks of authority and celebrities more accessible to us mere peasants, and it allows us to learn more about …

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Avoid Being Average

In Uncategorized by Rice Cube29 Comments

There was a tweet from Marquee’s Tony Andracki (cool dude) that probably caused several aneurysms the other day, and Brad on Twitter attempted to put it into context: If we assume that Seiya Suzuki takes a step forward after an adjustment year and Cody Bellinger can at least find some kind of a groove, then it does look a bit …

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Let the Dominos Fall…Please?

In Uncategorized by Rice Cube243 Comments

Among other rumors flying around, the big one that got everyone’s interest was this bit from Kaplan (and others): Whether you believe it is because the Cubs don’t want to deal with another season of losing/biblical losses, or that Papa Ricketts’ heart grew three sizes that day and Tom got an advance on his allowance, the consensus once again is …

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2022 MLB Winter Meetings Reset

In News And Rumors by Rice Cube130 Comments

The Winter Meetings go from Sunday to Wednesday this week and I’m guessing plenty of texts and conversations have been conducted even before everyone arrives in San Diego. Ken Rosenthal on his Athletic mailbag podcast suggested that the new CBA seemed to give teams more confidence to spend, which accounts for the higher-than-usual price tags we’ve seen for the relievers, …

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First Names Off the Board

In Uncategorized by Rice Cube3 Comments

Here we are, the week after Thanksgiving and before the Winter Meetings, and very little has happened not just for the Cubs, but for all of MLB. I think we don’t have to officially freak out until after the Winter Meetings have concluded, or maybe not even until Spring Training since the rhymes-with-schmollusion is delaying free agent deals in recent …

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Dreamcast 53: Ode to an Overhaul

In Podcasts by Rice Cube80 Comments

Berselius joined me tonight to talk some Cubs free agency (or at least we fantasized about spending all the Ricketts’ money) and we also built a relatively realistic dream team should Jed Hoyer remember how to be aggressive in building a good team we actually want to watch. Hopefully some signings happen soon after the Friday nontender deadline, lest the …

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Do Something!

In Commentary And Analysis, Major League Baseball by Rice Cube24 Comments

I think I want to see another few years of this version of the postseason before I start lobbying for one of AC’s fun ideas to change things up. What I am sure of, at this time, is that the NLCS was a lot of fun to watch. Even if I’ve been a little bored with three-true-outcomes baseball, when the …

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The Still-Too-Early Cubs Free Agency Pitch

In Commentary And Analysis, Major League Baseball, News And Rumors by Rice Cube25 Comments

The postseason thus far has brought us plenty of fun and exciting moments and equally intense discourse, but generally, even if the best team doesn’t always win the World Series, getting a shot into the postseason field is the goal. So it makes sense to discuss how the 2023 Chicago Cubs will be constructed to pull off a purported upset …