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 …
The Cubs Wanted My Opinion… So I Gave It
The Cubs sent me a survey about their recent Season Ticket Holder event they held about a month ago. You may remember it from such posts as this one. They wanted to know how well they were perceived and if it had helped to persuade me to renew my season tickets. Most of it was grading various aspects like the videos, the …
Is there any coal in the Cubs hot stove?
This is a guest post by SVB. Both Myles and dmick have noted some constraints in their ability to write recently, so I’m writing in an attempt to give Myles and dmick a break, as well as to prevent another unloadable 200+ comment thread from developing. Don’t worry, I won’t become the Jay Leno (or even the David Brenner) of …
Mark Prior Retires
Mark Prior officially announced his retirement today at the winter meetings. Sadly, this was a move a long time coming. Prior threw his last big league pitch over seven years ago and has been trying to make it back ever since, but his body just couldn't hold up. Despite everything that has happened since the 2003 season, Prior and Sosa have remained …
More on the potential MLB and NPB posting system
There may or may not be an agreement between Major League Baseball and NPB as far as a new posting system goes. A few days ago it was reported that the two had reached an agreement, but were just waiting to sign the final deal. Berselius wrote about this potential deal a few days ago. Anyway, the big issue is what …
NPB Posting Fee system changes and Masahiro Tanaka
Word on the virtual street from NPBTracker's Patrick Newman says that MLB and NPB are coming to an agreement on the new posting fees for Japanese players, with a hard limit of $20m. I'm kind of surprised that the NPB owners agreed to this, and wonder where their slice is. Maybe they'll get a percentage of whatever the contract is as …
Daytona Cubs named Baseball America’s 2013 Minor League Team of the Year
In what seems to me to be a fairly unsurprising choice, Baseball America named the Daytona Cubs as 2013's Minor League Team of the Year. The article is free here, and absolutely worth a read. The important part: The season included special moments such as shortstop Javier Baez’s four home run effort on June 10 against Fort Myers. Matt Loosen …
Cubs sign George Kotarras and other notes
The Cubs have signed backup catcher George Kottaras. George Kottaras settles with #cubs. $1.075M plus incentives. — Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 3, 2013 The Cubs acquired Kottaras the other day and Myles wrote about him shortly thereafter. When you combine a poor batting average with an a noodle at backstop, you can make the case that Kottaras should linger in …
Non-tender deadline is today
The Cubs have 11 arbitration eligible players and today they have to decide which ones to tender a contract to. Those 11, and their projected salaries (Matt Swartz) are below. The service time for each player is in parentheses. Jeff Samardzija (4.028): $4.9MM Nate Schierholtz (5.078): $3.8MM Travis Wood (3.004): $3.6MM Darwin Barney (3.053): $2.1MM Daniel Bard (3.079): $1.8625MM James …
Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury
Remember to vote for the Hall of Fame here at Obstructed View. Jacoby Ellsbury's agent, Scott Boras, has said that he wants Carl Crawford money for his client. Crawford, who signed with the Red Sox after the 2010 season got $142 million over 7 years (that's the benchmark for Boras for his newest client). Is that a reasonable goal for …