In the midst of watching Clemson blow it as the better seed in the NCAA tournament, but the news from the comments in the last post showed that Jordan Wicks and Eli Morgan had been optioned to Iowa. We knew going in that the Cubs had an inordinate number of useful relief options, yet very few of them, ironically, were …
A Post-Tokyo Cubs Reset
OK, so the Cubs didn’t do as hot as they could have in Tokyo. Those two losses count and won’t go away, so now they have to make the most of the remaining 160. I could just copy-paste what I wrote last time, but maybe just click over and see. Since the Cubs couldn’t even split (though I’m happy they …
2025 Cubs Season Preview
We sort of teased this in the last Dreamcast, but there’s still a couple weeks until the Cubs play in Tokyo, and maybe we should at least look at the schedule as it is now, pending rainouts, rescheduling, and other strange happenings. As it stands now, the Cubs will play their 162 games just like everyone else, and the PECOTA …
Pre-Cactus League Cubs Position Player Group
It wasn’t that long after I wrote this that a few names came off the scrap heap list, but then the Cubs decided to do something for their bench bat after all: The Cubs have agreed to a contract with 40-year-old free agent Justin Turner, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Patrick Mooney of The Athletic notes that the deal is a …
The Scrap Heap*
This requires an asterisk because there are certain players remaining on the free agent market that could still be quite useful, but given the proximity to spring league play and the Cubs own accelerated schedule in preparation for their little jaunt to Japan, it makes sense to get most of the critical additions in camp before full squad reporting on …
2025 Pitch Meetings
Before the Cubs ramp up for spring training in a couple weeks, I had taken a look at the roster as it stands, and the many questions marks still to figure out for just the rotation alone. No matter if they are pitchers or position players, with so much time between now and the opening series in Tokyo, and so …
The Consolation Roster
For reasons that generally come back to the Dodgers being a really good team with lots of money, the Cubs lost out on a couple of would-be realistic targets that chose LA as their preferred destination. I suppose not coincidentally, the folks at MLBTR started pondering a salary cap (as are many folks in various discussions), not to mention rules …
Gearing Up For 2025
Figured we could use a new post, what with not having written anything since last year (technically). First item of business is the arbitration exchange deadline, which is on the 9th (Thursday as of this posting). Most of the arbitration-eligible guys on the Cubs have either been shipped out or settled with, but Justin Steele, Nate Pearson, and the newly …
Team-Building Exercise
Today is a pretty important day, whether you want to help preserve whatever this democracy is now or you want to try to burn down Parliament (don’t do that last one, didn’t work out so well for the last guy). I already did my civic duty but since it’ll be a while before we know what happens, I thought I’d …
The Quest to Exceed Mediocrity
The Dodgers overcame their bajillion injuries thanks to the talent they amassed with a very enviable and ludicrous payroll. We can’t even poo poo that because it’s kind of what we wish the Cubs would do, and while the Cubs aren’t the Pirates or the A’s, there is a gulf between their payroll and those at the top. Granted, a …