The Pirates now have the best record in baseball. Let that sink in for a second. Will they be able to avoid the second half collapse that they suffered in the previous two seasons? They've got a big hurdle to clear right now in the middle of the season, as four of the five pitchers expected to be in the …
Matt Garza’s trade value
It's assumed by many that Matt Garza's trade value is high enough that he will almost certainly be traded. As I was last year, I remain unconvinced. Before we get into his actual trade value, the Cubs have three options with Garza. Trade Qualifying offer at the end of the season Sign extension The first two are connected and the …
What the hell am I missing? Can the Cubs contend in 2014 or 2015?
Over the last two or three days, I've read a few articles that have mentioned that the Cubs could contend as early as next season. I don't want to single anybody out, because I have a lot of respect for both of these writers. The first time I read it, I thought "what the hell?". The second time I read …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (28-39) at St. Louis Cardinals (44-25)
I had to stop and ask myself if the Cubs had even played the Cardinals yet this year. Two and a half months into the season, the Cubs and Cardinals have only played a two game series back in May that they split. This is probably a good thing for the Cubs win-loss record (or a bad thing, depending on …
Daily Facepalm 6.10.13 – Welcome to the Cubs, Edwin Jackson
Edwin Jackson finally arrives The 'real' Edwin Jackson showed up for the first time this season, striking out eight while allowing one run, one walk, and four hits in seven innings. More importantly, his fastball averaged 94.78 on the day, much closer to his career avg of 95 mph than the paltry low 93.x mph he had been throwing earlier …
Wrigley Talk Friday Podcast – Crosstown Cup, Run Differential and Whither Jeff Samardzija – 5/30/13
Tim, Adam and Julie talk about the just concluded Crosstown Cup series, potential trades or extensions of our starting pitchers (particularly Jeff Samardzija), and wonder what the hell is going on with the Cubs having a +11 run differential and a record of 7 under .500. Listen to internet radio with Wrigley Talk Friday on BlogTalkRadio
Series Preview: Arizona Diamondbacks (30-23) at Chicago Cubs (22-30)
The DBacks lead the NL West division with a record of 30-23, which would be good for fourth place in the surprisingly competitive NL Central. The Cubs are movin' on up, and now have a comfortable three game lead on the Brewers for fourth place. We're not Number Five! Let's see if they can continue to promote the ephemeral momentum …
Series Preview: Cubs (19-30) vs White Sox (24-24) – Two Teams, One Cup
Tim did a good job recapping his feelings about the so-called "Crosstown Classic" on Friday. I don't have much more to add, except that the Barrett-Pierzynski fight is one of my top ten favorite moments in the past decade or so of Cubs fandom (also making the list – Zambrano ejecting an umpire, Cubs four game sweep of the Brewers …
Matt Garza Debut game thread and mini series preview
Here's a preview of today's game. I'll add info on the rest of the series later tonight. Pitching Matchup Matt Garza, RHP (-,-,-,3.63) vs Wandy Rodriguez, LHP (3.25, 125, 3.99, 3.73), 6:05 PM CT Garza is finally back! He looked sharp in his rehab outings, capping it off with a six strikeout, zero walk six-inning shutout in Iowa his last …
Cubs under contract for 2015
With the Anthony Rizzo signing, I thought it'd be sweet to show you the "Cubs Core;" players under team control for 2015 (when we should EXPECT a competitive team instead of just hoping). Anthony Rizzo: 2021 Starlin Castro: 2020 Welington Castillo: 2017 Edwin Jackson: 2016 Luis Valbuena: 2016 Travis Wood: 2016 Darwin Barney: 2016 Jeff Samardzija: 2015 James Russell: 2015 …