From Brett: According to KTAR in Arizona, Mesa Mayor Scott Smith had some interesting thoughts on the disintegration of the ASU/Cubs plan to share the new facilities being built for the Cubs in Mesa. According to Smith, contrary to ASU’s accusations, it was the University, and not the Cubs, who became unreasonable and difficult to deal with. Smith says that …
The Manager's Record from the Bill James annual
One of the first things I do when I get the Bill James Handbook is look at what's called The Manager's Record. It includes several statistic that the manager controls and it's a good way to compare a manager to what the league average manager did. There are some issues though. The personnel on the team makes a huge difference …
Projecting the 2013 Cubs: Bill James
I enjoy looking at the projections for the upcoming season when they're released. Sometimes I enjoy it more than others. If the Cubs are going to be good I'm excited. When they aren't, not so much. This is one of those years. Despite that, Berselius and I have posted projections for the Cubs going back to 2007 so we'll do …
What we know about the potential Dan Haren trade
I've been a bit under the weather the past week so I have read very little Cubs related news with the exception of what's been posted on this site. I know Berselius mentioned something about people on his twitter feed being upset at the Cubs for failing to complete another trade. If I understood him correctly, they argue that this …
Season in review: Darwin Barney
I don't really know why, but whenever I think about Darwin Barney I want to pronounce his name with a Boston accent. I guess it makes it more fun to think about Dahwin Bahney rather than what Barney is actually capable of producing. He returns for his 2nd full season though he's probably not the one who should be starting. …
Javier Baez injures thumb, probably done in the AFL
Javier Baez injured his thumb on Saturday and is likely not to play again this season. CHICAGO — Shortstop Javier Baez, the Cubs' top prospect, may be done for the Arizona Fall League season after injuring his left thumb on Saturday. Baez, who was playing for the Mesa Solar Sox, was removed from Saturday's game after suffering the injury. Jason …
Cubs Winter League Update
The leagues that take place after the MLB regular season are referred to as the Winter Leagues even if they don't play in the winter. The Arizona Fall League (AFL) will be over before winter rolls around, but it's included in the winter leagues because it's just easier. The Cubs have 7 players who have played so far in the …
Cubs offseason begins now
The end of the World Series marked the start of the baseball offseason. We'll hear tons of rumors over the next few month, some of them may even have to do with the Cubs. Most of them won't and most of them will be nonsense, but it's still fun. In the past this time of the year was quite busy. …
Season review: Starlin Castro
Starlin Castro was one of four players to play in all 162 games in 2012. Adam Jones doing it is not all that surprising. He's relatively young. Ichiroi is a bit surprising considering his age and poor performance while in Seattle. Even more surprising is Prince Fielder. Despite playing in 4 more games this season, Castro had 24 fewer plate …