Earlier this week MLB owners reached an agreement with the MLBPA on a new collective bargaining agreement. There was never any doubt as to whether it would get finished, which is nice considering the work stoppages in the NHL in recent years, NBA’s current lockout resulting in many missed games (maybe an entire season) and even NFL’s long lockout this …
Cubs open to trading Matt Garza
We learned awhile back that the Cubs would listen to offers on any of their players so I had really wanted to avoid writing about specific players until a credible rumor surfaced. However, Matt Garza is one of the most valuable players the Cubs have and I read elsewhere a few days ago that the Cubs are talking to other …
New Rules, Same Superfriends, No Problem
Major League Baseball has managed to complete a new collective bargaining agreement without a strike, a lockout, or having to have Todd Ricketts turn a hose on anyone. It’s not quite turning water into wine or raising the dead or anything, but it’s pretty damn amazing. In fact, now that they have the CBA all figured out, maybe we should …
Cubs managerial candidate test
The Cubs managerial candidates are going to be put to the test in their interviews with the Superfriends. This will be no ordinary interview where Jim Hendry asks them what their favorite donut flavor is, this is going to be some hard-hitting, real-life game situation stuff that will undoubtedly face the new Cubs manager once the season begins. Once again, …
Reality Check
As Cubs fans we’re used to not getting good news. If some player leaves a game early we’re trained to think it’s a career ending surgery that will lead to Aaron Miles or Neifi Perez taking over full time. If the team is leading we think it’s only a matter of time before they’ll be losing. If they get a …
Offseason Roundtable, Part 1: The One Where We Discuss Z, Theo, and Cashner
Every now and again, we here at Obstructed View like to get together in a chat room and discuss our favorite Star Wars characters and how George Lucas is ruining them, but we also sometimes talk about baseball and the Cubs. In this portion of our latest discussion, we talked about Theo, Carlos Zambrano, and Andrew Cashner. mb21 : I …
More on compensation for Theo
We’ve talked a bit about compensation for Theo Epstein here and it’s been discussed a lot all over the internet. I thought it would be interesting to compare what the Marlins gave up for Ozzie Guillen to what the Cubs might have to give up. The Marlins sent the White Sox as compensation for hiring Guillen Jhan Marinez and Osvaldo …
Compensation for Theo Epstein
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wrote that the compensation talks between the Red Sox and Cubs were set to begin soon. Apparently Ben Cherington has already been told he will be the new GM so Theo is gone from the Sox one way or another as I expected. There’s no take back here. While it’s been suggested here that …
In Theo We Trusty (or something)
The Cubs signing of Theo Epstein is all but officially official. The Cubs have a penchant for blowing things that seem certainties, so until this is finally final and Theo is standing up at a podium with Tom Ricketts grinning from ear to ear, I know it should be wise to temper my enthusiasm. But I can't help myself. I'm thrilled. I'm …
What kids?
Every year the Cubs struggle the masses come out and say the Cubs should play the kids. It happens every single time. It happens when a veteran is struggling. It’s happened a lot as the 2011 season has progressed. Who exaclty are the kids on the Cubs? Generally speaking, we refer to kids as being younger than 18. Often times …