For the second year in a row, the Cubs have selected a pitcher from Missouri with their second round pick. Last time around it was Pierce Johnson from Missouri State. This time it’s 6’3″ lefty Rob Zastryzny from Mizzou. Could this be the start of another run on pitching from the Cubs? In 2012 they took 7 pitchers in …
Cubs Draftee Profile: Kris Bryant
Welp, that was a bit of a surprise. As had been predicted by a few folks (notably, Aisle424), the Cubs passed over one of the big college arms and selected Kris Bryant at #2 overall. I think we can be more confident in their candidness regarding their preference for position players over pitchers in general in the draft. Unfortunately, we …
2013 MLB Draft: Live Draft Thread- Surprise! Cubs Take Kris Bryant
Draft Coverage The 2013 MLB Draft kicks off at 6pm on MLB Network. The first two rounds are tonight. Pre-draft coverage is already underway. Unfortunately, Greg Amsinger is hosting rather than Brian Kenny. And as always, it seems, the guys who really know what’s going on are more or less marginalized. Peter Gammons, Harold Reynolds, and John Hart are at the main table. …
2013 MLB Draft: Pre-Draft Rumor Mongoose-ing Thread
Schedule The 2013 MLB Draft starts at 6 pm CT, with coverage on MLBN kicking off an hour before that. The first two rounds take place today, with 3-10 coming tomorrow, and the remainder on Saturday. If this year is anything like last year, top players will go in the first few rounds, followed by a bunch of signable college seniors …
JOT: Cubs Minor League Recap 6-5-13
Programming Note Would people derive some benefit from my inclusion of yesterday's major league game in these? If so, I can start doing those as well, but I'm just assuming you follow the Cubs enough to know what happens day by day at the MLB level. Triple A wasn't scheduled, Double A and A+ were postponed. Kane County Cougars 8 @ …
2013 MLB Draft: Jonathan Gray Tests Positive for Adderall
Does Adderall Add to the Fastball? Two days ago, the news broke that Jonathan Gray was one of two players to test positive for Adderall in tests administered by MLB to the top 200 propects in the draft. Adderall is an amphetamine. There is a decent chance (I would say in the neighborhood of one in three) that Gray is selected …
Starlin Castro still confident despite performance and being dropped to 7th
Yesterday Starlin Castro was dropped to 7th in the order because he had pretty much sucked for the last week. He's been pretty sucky at the plate all season for that matter. Despite that suckiness, Castro remains confident he'll get back on track. "It's a little bit tough in the beginning right now," Castro said. "I know it won't be …
Cespedes, Darvish, and Puig, Oh My!*#&%!
Yoenis Cespedes hit two home runs for the A’s Tuesday night. Yasiel Puig hit two home runs for the Dodgers. Yu Darvish didn’t pitch, but no matter, he’s still on pace for 320+ strikeouts this year. The Cubs’ plan following the 2011 season was to make a run at a slew of international free agents. That started with Darvish, an Iranian-Japanese phenom …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (23-32) at LA of AAA Angels (25-33)
The Cubs head to LA for a short 2 game series against the Angels, who are fresh off being swept in a four game series by the Astros. I’m not kidding. Seven of the Astros’ twenty-one wins this year have come against the Angels, which tells you pretty much all you need to know about how their season has gone. …
JOT: Cubs Minor League Recap 6-02-13
New Orleans Zephyrs 7 @ Iowa Cubs 6 Hey, a Kevin Kouzmanoff sighting! A fair amount of offense in this one. He had the third-best day at the plate, but Brett Jackson's 1-5, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 1 homer performance has me the most excited, as it was 3/4 of the way to the Brett Jackson Cycle, which we haven't …