No game to talk about yesterday, so this will be a quick little hit on how the top FA of 2014 have performed so far. 1. Robinson Cano – .326/.396/.370 (109 wRC+) Cano hasn’t exactly done the heavy lifting for the Mariners, but Smoak, Zunino, and Ackley have been more than sufficient so far. 2. Jacoby Ellsbury – .362/.423/.447 (152 …
Cubs 4, Cardinals 6 (4/14/14)
OSS: Edwin Jackson dodges the first bullet and gets hit by the second. Three Up 1. Junior Lake, sure. He went 2-4 with a triple. Pretty cool. 2. Mike Olt, why not. 2-3, with a double and an RBI. 3. Anthony Rizzo hit a home run! It was fun, because we had a lead before Grim Death took hold of …
Cubs 4, Pirates 5 (4/11/14)
Did the Cubs Win? OSS: James Russell marches onwards towards his ignominious release. Three Up 1. Starlin Castro continues his hot start to the season with a 3 single day. He scored a run and hand an RBI. 2. Travis Wood deserved the win here, but we’ll get to that later. He allowed 1 run (that Schlitter inherited), walked 3, …
Cubs 7, Pirates 5 (4/9/14)
OSS: Twin Towers Topple Tons of Tiny Traducer Taters Three Five Up 1. Junior Lake wanted more playing time. After a conservatively-estimated 800-foot blast onto whatever street comes after Waveland, he just might get it. Sure, he didn’t have the most totally productive day, but if you hit a ball as far as Lake did, it’s easy to be wooed. 2. …
Cubs 7, Pirates 8 (4/8/14)
OSS: Despite a heroic performance by Starlin Castro, the Cubs give a winnable game to the Pirates (again). Three Up 1. How could it not be Starlin Castro? A three-run dinger in the 3rd tied it up, and a and a 6th-inning dinger brought the Cubs within 1. All told, Castro went 3-4, 4 RBI, 2 R. It was his …
Too-Soon Update
With the first 6 of the All-Pennsylvania Cup over, I thought I’d look at some stats to see where the Cubs stand so far. Some caveats: it’s still crazily early to draw any real conclusions about the season. For one thing, there is no real interconnectivity. For instance, to connect Miami and the Cubs, you have to follow this loop: …
Journeymen of Tomorrow: 4/4/13
Did the Cubs Win? Cubs 3 @ Pirates 2 OSS: Hammel was nails all game, and Bonifacio + Olt provided all necessary offense. Three Up 1. Jason Hammel pitched a great game. He allowed 2 hits and a walk over 6.2 innings, fanning 5. Great start for Jason. 2. Emilio Bonifacio had a double, a single, and a stolen base. …
Journeymen of Tomorrow: 4/3/14
Did the Cubs Win? Cubes 3 @ Pirates 4 (16 innings) OSS: Cubs tie it up in 9th, blow it in 12th, and kiss it goodbye in 16th. Three Up 1. Luis Valbuena‘s single in the top of the 9th tied the game, part of a 3-6, 2 BB day. Even if Olt doesn’t seize 3B, we should really start …
Journeymen of Tomorrow: 4/1/14
Did the Cubs Win? (image c/o bleacher nation) Chicago Cubes 0 @ Pittsburgh Pirates 1 One Sentence Synopsis: Cubes gonna Cube, Bonifacio going to TOOTBLAN, and Cubs go 0 for 11 with RISP. Three Up 1. Jeff Samardzija was very good, going 7 scoreless frames. He walked 2 and allowed 5 hits, but only fanned 3. He was bailed out by …
Better Know a Cub: Mike Olt
Mike Olt is a strong man. He's a patient man. He's a man with a good glove. And he is a man almost wholly written off in some parts. He's a man with undeniable warts and undeniable talents; this is a quality he shares with everyone in baseball not named Mike Trout. Most importantly to me, he's a man who …