I was tempted to begin this column with the almost-obligatory lyrics from "War," a No. 1 hit song in 1970. But when Edwin Starr sang that war was good for "absolutely nothing'' (say it, say it again), he was recording a protest against actual warfare. My protest, on the other hand, is about something much more widespread, threatening and serious. …
Cubs Minor League System Ranked #10 by John Sickels
John Sickels has the Cubs minor league system rated #10 in his latest rankings. Last year they were 20th. The Cardinals are #1, the Pirates are #5, the Reds are #15 and the Brewers are #23. 10) Chicago Cubs (20): Another system that has improved quickly. Strengths: hitting at the top: Javier Baez, Albert Almora, Jorge Soler, Dan Vogelbach is a …
Spring Training Broadcast Schedule Announced
Less than one month until Chicago Cubs baseball is on the air! WGN Radio will broadcast nine games. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the rest are covered on Gameday Radio, as was the case last year. No word yet on any televised games, though I would be surprised if any are non-weekend games.
DBacks Want To Trade Upton or Kubel by Friday
Folks involved in this process believe that the D-Backs want to make a decision on trading Kubel or Upton by Friday.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 23, 2013
Some minor MLB rule changes for next year
This ESPN blurb lists three relatively minor rule changes for the upcoming season. Here's the highlights Coaches and managers are now allowed to bring an interpreter when conferencing with a pitcher. The article implies that this rule is mostly due to Yu Darvish. Due to the recent trend in teams having two hitting coaches, teams may now have seven managers …
Milton Bradley charged with 13 misdemeanors
All around nice guy Milton Bradley has been busy lately. Bradley denies the charges against him, brought by his soon-to-be ex-wife (the two are in the middle of a contentious divorce, no doubt brought on by the fact that he’s around the house quite a bit more often now). Milton Bradley is probably not a good person.
The worst first ballot hall of famers vs. the best ones not make a 2nd ballot
Good stuff. SP Sandy Koufax 50 C Johnny Bench 72 1B Willie McCovey 61 2B Jackie Robinson 59 3B Paul Molitor 73 SS Ozzie Smith 73 LF Lou Brock 43 CF Kirby Puckett 48 RF Dave Winfield 59 Total: 538 SP Kevin Brown 64 C Ted Simmons 47 1B Jon Olerud 54 2B Lou Whitaker 71 3B Buddy Bell 62 …
2013 Cubs ZiPS Projections
The Cubs ZiPS projections for 2013 are available on Fangraphs now. The Cubs are projected by ZiPS to have, in shortstop Starlin Castro and first baseman Anthony Rizzo, to have a pair of basically All Star-type players who are also just 23 years old. Those are good kinds of players to have — especially for a team that isn’t likely …
Derrek Lee: The Joe DiMaggio of Doubles
While fiddling around in Baseball-Reference (my Christmas gift to myself was a subscription to Play Index), I came across something very curious: Derrek Lee is the all-time record holder in consecutive games with at least 1 double. I'm not saying that the streak (which is 8 – there are a hundred or so 7 game streaks) is as untouchable as …
Hall of Fame ballot updates on BTF
Repoz has a running total for Hall of Fame ballots. So far, nobody would get in. Biggio and Bagwell are close. Only about 13% of the total ballots from last year so a long way to go yet.