I don't have much time today, so this will be a short preview. The Brewers are in bad shape, with several players (Chris Narveson, Mat Gamel, Marco Estrada, Alex Gonzalez, various catchers) out, Aramis Ramirez and Ryan Braun banged up, and others (Weeks) underperforming. The Cubs might be looking ahead to their next series with the Twins, who are in …
2012 MLB Draft Notes
It wasn't that long ago when you couldn't find much coverage of the MLB Draft. I remember a few years ago how easy it was to navigate through Google to find exactly the information you're trying to find. It's not like that anymore. Everybody covers the draft. Searching Google for specific info results in far too many hits to be …
The 45%: When Theo Epstein Is Wrong
During Theo Epstein's introductory press conference, as well as the many rounds he made to various radio and tv shows, there is one line that I remember more than any other. if you do a great job, you're right 55 percent of the time. Of the many hours Theo spent talking with people about the Cubs on that day, I …
Series Preview: Milwaukee Brewers (1-2) at Chicago Cubs (1-2)
The Brewers dropped their opening series to the Cardinals, losing to Jaime Garcia and Lance Lynn in three relatively high-scoring games. The Cubs, meanwhile, did their best to try to have the bullpen/defense blow late leads in all three games against the Washington Nationals. This will be Aramis Ramirez's first appearance in Wrigley not wearing a Cubs or Pirates uniform. …
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 …
Daily Facepalm 3.12.12 – Garza struggles
Garza has a rough outing While the Cubs starters have been impressive in their short outings for far this spring, Matt Garza ran into trouble in the second and had to be pulled after walking in a run or two. He's mostly just working on his fastball and changeup, and batters were sitting on it. He told Muskat: I’ve been …
Another shitty Cubs season in review: Carlos Pena
Carlos Pena signed a 1-year, $10 million contract with the Cubs last offseason. We knew a few things about Pena: he wasn’t going to hit for average, he would take a lot of walks and have a solid OBP and he would hit for some power. The league batting average last year was .255 and Pena hit .225. Pena’s OBP …
Can the Oliver projected standings be right?
At the bottom of The Hardball Time’s Oliver forecasts page they have the 2012 projected standings. They were updated yesterday, but I know this was done before the Brewers signed Aramis Ramirez. National League Central Team Wins Losses CIN 90 72 STL 88 74 MIL 86 76 CHN 82 80 HOU 65 97 PIT 62 100 Oliver projects 1.2 WAR …
Pujols is Coming, Tra La Tra La…. Wait, No He Isn’t…
The Winter Meetings are always fun. Especially now that Twitter is a part of the rumor mongering, the GMs and agents can’t do anything without it being tweeted to a breathless horde of followers watching their tweet stream far more intently than they have watched their own children do anything. “The Cubs are in on Pujols.” “The White Zone is …
What the Cubs have to consider at the Winter Meetings
We haven’t talked a lot about what the Cubs need to do this offseason. When the season ended they were without a GM so it made no sense. After they hired Theo and he assembled his front office it was difficult to know which direction the Cubs may go. There have been indications they’re willing to trade anybody and everybody, …