This isn’t a Gordo cash flow story about the Cubs being cheap on payroll, nor is it a judgement on Theo/Jed’s fiduciary prowess. Baseball salaries are weird things because the final figures depend on more than just performance. Service time, the market at the time of the contract, and even past salary all play a role, but when you look …
My Small Brush With Tony Gwynn’s Greatness
Tony Gwynn was probably the best pure hitter I’ve ever seen play in my life. I also saw Pete Rose and Wade Boggs play, but those are the only two I would consider an argument about and I believe Gwynn was better. He was always one of my favorite players even though he was a member of the 1984 Padres …
Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 11
Starting Pitchers Andrew Heaney Heaney has almost everything I look for in a pitching callup. He’s a premium prospect. He has a track record of high strikeouts, low walks, and reasonable groundball rates. If and when he gets the call for the Marlins, he’ll be pitching for a National League team in a good park for pitchers. The only hesitation …
MLB Draft: Why The Cubs Like Kyle Schwarber, A Statistical Look
The MLB draft starts tonight at 6 pm CT. As all the mocks and rumors are being tied up, something of a consensus has been reached about the Cubs’ intentions with the fourth overall pick. The conventional wisdom runs something like this: High school lefty Brady Aiken won’t be available. The Astros are once again being frustratingly vague about their …
2014 MLB Draft Day One ***UPDATED***
9:10 AM: I’ll update this thread as the day goes on. I don’t promise to update frequently, but I’ll try. GW and I have a friendly wager for $25 going to charity that if the Cubs take Micahel Conforto that it will be for no less than $100,000 under the slot value. Baseball Prospectus and Perfect Game have a mock …
Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 9
The Waiver Wire team returns after a holiday weekend. Position Players Gregory Polanco Well, I was wrong about the Pirates sacrificing some arbitration dollars to boost their meager playoff odds when I recommended Polanco about a month ago. The super-two cutoff is on it’s way, though, so your chances to pick him up are slipping away if you were wiser …
Yoan Moncada Stats and Video
Yoan Manuel Moncada Olivera has long been hyped as the next big thing in Cuba during a distinguished amateur career. He was born May 27th, 1995. He’s a switch-hitter who primarily played third base in international tournaments as a youth, but mostly second and a bit of shortstop with Cienfuegos in Serie Nacional. There’s a good chance that he’s seeking …
Yoan Moncada: The Next Great Cuban Defector?
Since it has become socially acceptable to speculate on which Cuban great will be the next to play in the Major Leagues, allow me to throw in my two cents: Yoan Moncada. Unlike Alfredo Despaigne’s case, there’s good reason to think it could happen soon. Yoan Manuel Moncada is a switch-hitting second-basemen who played for Cienfuegos alongside Jose Abreu and …
The Cubs Suck Because of You (and Me)
Rick Morrissey is the latest media member to jump on the Cubs for having the audacity to do marketing this year to sell tickets. I know I have been less than kind to the Cubs when they pull bullshit moves like rolling out a cuddly cartoon bear instead of actually making the major league team any better, but I’ve also …
Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 7
After complaining last week about the lack of impending callups last week, they have started to come quickly. Starting Pitchers Rafael Montero Called up by the Mets. Though not thought to have premium stuff, he has been consistently successful throughout the minor leagues with good strikeout rates and great control. He’s a flyball pitcher, but should be able to get …