#Cubs signed former #Marlins Chris Coghlan to minor lge deal. $800G if make majors, $250G in PA bonuses. Can opt out on 6/15 if not in MLB — Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) January 15, 2014 Coghlan won the Rookie of the Year voting in 2009, when he slashed .321/.390/.460 (aided and abetted by a .368 BABIP). Since then, he's taken turns being …
Are the Cubs 29th of 30?
The topic du jour in the Cubs Blogosphere is the Passan "hit" piece on the Cubs. To whit: Brett's take: Let’s be clear on some things: no one could, or should, argue that it isn’t deeply disappointing that the Cubs are where they are right now, in terms of big league competitiveness. We’re five years removed from the last relevant …
Ken Gurnick: Professional Asshole
I'm not going to link it, because that would be giving him publicity he doesn't deserve. Instead, I'll just copy and paste Gurnick's "reasoning" behind his HOF ballot. KEN GURNICK, Dodgers beat reporter Morris Morris has flaws — a 3.90 ERA, for example. But he gets my vote for more than a decade of ace performance that included three 20-win …
John Sickels’ Top 40 Prospects, by position
John Sickels whittled his Cubs prospect list from 49 to 40. Here's the list, not sorted alphabetically or via actual ranking, but just by what position they play. First Base Rock Shoulders Daniel Vogelbach Second Base Arismendy Alcantara Gioskar Amaya Logan Watkins Shortstops Javier Baez Gleyber Torres Third Base Kris Bryant Jeimer Candelario Mike Olt Christian Villanueva Josh Vitters* Centerfield …
Why I Wouldn’t Post Masahiro Tanaka
When the MLB strongarmed the NPB into this new posting system, we heard a lot of arguments as to why Tanaka would still be posted. 20 million dollars is a ton of money, even if it isn't the perhaps 75 million that the Golden Eagles were on track to get. However, as of late, the President of Rakuten hasn't really …
Better Know a Cub: Jose Veras
As GW astutely pointed out, the 2014 Cubs are headhunting directly from the 2013 Astros bullpen. On the surface, that sounds terrible. In practice, the Cubs have poached the only two good members of that pen, for a collective $5 million and change. $4 million of that this year will go to Jose Veras, the "closer" of the Astros last …
The Case for 7/$140 on Choo
Let me preface this article with the admission that I'm really not sure I still believe Shin-Soo Choo is worth 20 AAV for 7 years. Perhaps that's just the market, but it's a lot of money (and would be the first contract exceeding 100 MM for a player never even voted in an ASG). However, I think you can make …
Better Know A Cub: George Kottaras
George Kottaras and Theo Epstein have a history. Acquired in 2006 for 5 starts of David Wells, Kottaras spent the first few years of his career as a top catching prospect, with great patience, moderate pop, and the ability to play passable defense. As time took hold of George, he lost most of those talents, and all of his star …
Free Agent Contract Prediction Contest!
We already have a contest trying to determine who will sign with the Cubs. I thought this one would be similarly interesting. It'll also be very simple. I'm going to ask everyone to guess the total dollar amount (including posting fees, if applicable) that each of the Top 5 free agents receive. We'll play golf style, where the winner is the …
Semi-annual Facepalm – 11.21.2013
Fielder who can't field now Ranger with no range (h/t to Sam Miller for that headline) Huge trade, both in landscape and girth, as Detroit swaps Prince Fielder for Ian Kinsler from the Rangers. This is a really interesting trade, and one that I think makes both teams better. First, the outlays: Detroit gets Ian Kinsler (16/16/14/11/12[5]). They also send …