The Untouchables (h/t @thecubreporter) head to Pittsburgh to lose in beautiful PNC Park. Pittsburgh improved itself at the deadline by adding former foes Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick to the squad. The Pirates picked up Lee for an unranked by BA A-ball first baseman, and Ludwick was acquired for a PBTNL. The Cubs largely failed to improve their farm system, …
Batman-abbreviated Series Preview: Iowa Cubs of Chicago (42-63) at St. Louis Cardinals (55-50)
I was going to write a longer preview, but I got sucked into this whole “Batman Equation” thing that was running around the internets today I tried reproducing the result, but the plotting software did not like the equation very much (laughing). In my mathematiciany opinion, the Batman logo probably does solve the equation….but it’s not the only …
Series Preview: Iowa Cubs of Chicago (42-60) at Milwaukee Brewers (54-49)
Team Matchups NL ranks in parens Cubs Brewers wOBA .316 (7th) .322 (6th) UBR -11.6 (16th) -3.6 (13th) UZR -17.7 (13th) 4.7 (5th) SP FIP 4.07 (10th) 3.71 (7th) RP FIP 4.05 (14th) 3.65 (5th) It’s almost comical how bad the Cubs are at baserunning. There’s almost a win’s difference separating them from the Brewers, who are the 4th worst …
Series Preview: Florida Marlins (43-48) at Iowa Cubs of Chicago (37-55)
After three days of not losing, the Cubs are back in the saddle again to play out the string on the rest of the season. The Marlins have had a roller coaster of a season so far. As recently as June 1 they had a 31-23 record and were two games out from the division lead. June turned out to …
Series Preview: Iowa Cubs of Chicago (36-53) at Pittsburgh Pirates (45-42)
I was going to write a longer preview for this series, but I saw the Cubs probable pitchers and gave up. Friday: Rodrigo Lopez Saturday: TBA Sunday: Ramon Ortiz Saturday will probably end up being Dempster as he threw a bullpen session yesterday and was reportedly feeling good. Though I guess it's possible he could produce a human infant in …
Starlin Castro is an All-Star
Sean Marshall, Carlos Marmol, or maybe Aramis Ramirez might have been better picks but I’m happy with this selection. Good for the kid. The NL roster: StartersBrian McCannPrince FielderRickie WeeksJose ReyesPlacido PolancoRyan BraunLance BerkmanMatt Kemp PitchersJoel HanrahanRoy HalladayCliff LeeCole HamelsTim LincecumMatt CainBrian Wilson‘s BeardRyan VogelsongTyler ClippardJair JurrjensClayton KershawHeath BellJonny Venters Reserves Justin UptonChipper JonesStarlin CastroBrandon PhillipsJay BruceJoey VottoTroy TulowitzkiGaby SanchezHunter …
Series Preview: Chicago White Sox (40-42) vs Iowa Cubs of Chicago (34-48)
Somehow the White Sox are hovering around .500 despite the vortex of suck that is their offense. As @rotopat pointed out on Twitter yesterday, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has more hits against LHP than Adam Dunn does this year. Since everyone cares so much about the Crosstown Cup, the Cubs either need to sweep or win two out of three …
Series Preview: Reigning Champs (44-34) vs Iowa Cubs of Chicago (32-46)
I knew that today’s first game is a makeup game, but I was wondering how that worked out. The “typical” schedule, at least as I have always assumed it, was more or less that each team played a home and away series against the teams not in their division over the course of the season. The rest are filled in …
Series Preview: Iowa Cubs of Chicago (30-44) vs Kansas City Royals (31-44)
For a while there it looked like the Royals might contend in the weak AL central. Much like the Cubs they got off to a decent enough start to the season and had a winning record as recently as May 14. Then they reeled off two five-game losing streaks in the span of two weeks and that was that. They …
Series Preview: Iowa Cubs of Chicago (29-42) at Chicago White Sox (35-38)
I’m surprised to see the White Sox with a near-.500 record. Last I remember seeing any news of them, they were mired in a crappy start to the season, and new acquisition Adam Dunn was redefining the definition of a disappointing free agent signing. They were 10-18 in April, and were completely overmatched by their competition in the second half …