Rather than ranking players on upside with little attention to downside, I'd prefer a system that takes both into account. Uncle Dave has mentioned here before the rankings that Hockey's Future does just that. Everybody loves to ranks prospects. They love to rank anything, but for baseball fans, ranking prospects is fun. I've generally felt that something was missing with …
Who Needs Two? Face Value Cubs Tickets Available
We just held our ticket draft last night and there is no way I'm going to use ALL of my allotted tickets this year, so I thought I'd give you fine people a shot at tickets for face value with no Ticketmaster fees. My seats are now in Aisle 409 Row 5, and I think they actually are the best …
100 Walks
Here's something interesting I discovered today: Starlin Castro has exactly 100 career walks. Here's the breakdown: 29 in 2010 35 in 2011 36 in 2012 63 in Wrigley Field 6 in Great American (next highest) 55 times with the bases empty 12 times with just a man on first or just a man on second (next highest, tied) 0 times …
Random crap
I've had a very sore neck, back and shoulders for the last couple of weeks so I haven't written much over that time. It's still not 100% and I'm beginning to feel as though it never will be. But I am good enough that I can spread my infinite wisdom to our readers. You're welcome. Jeff Samardzija was named the …
Jed Hoyer during SABR GM panel
Jed Hoyer had some interesting things to say during the GM panel at SABR. ON THE ROLE OF SCOUTS Hoyer: "The scouts they know that I have an analytical bent, and that my bosses have that. The worst thing you can do is change their mindset. You're hiring them for their eyes and their instincts, and you want them to …
Top Ten Rejected 2013 Cubs Slogans
The Cubs unveiled their new marketing slogan the other day and simultaneously churned Twitter into a furious snarky froth with "Committed." Frankly, I think "Committed" is right up there with "It's a Way of Life" as most mockable slogans the Cubs have come up with under the Ricketts. It took Twitter about 10 seconds to start making insanity references and …
Dale Sveum tries to compliment someone
He's [Brian Bogusevic] been the Joe Mather of camp so far — Dale Sveum I'm pretty sure Dale Sveum meant this as a compliment, but saying someone is the Joe Mather of anything is kind of the opposite. I'll just repost what I already did about Mather. Joe Mather was the worst player in baseball last year. Baseball Reference only thought …
Spring Training Roster Battles: Hitters
The Cubs have played 13 spring training games so far, giving most contenders to make the major league squad 15-20 PA. Here's a breakdown of each battle so far: OQ = Opponent Quality Catcher Castillo (17 PA, 9.3 OQ): .267/.353/.467, 1 HR Navarro (16 PA, 8.9 OQ): .214/.313/.429, 1 HR Clevenger* (17 PA, 9.0 OQ): .333/.412/.333, 0 HR *1 game …
How much For a Win?
I was curious how much a win costs, so I crunched some numbers for last year. I based thin on Cot's contracts information with no idea how accurate that information is, but I figure it's close enough for my purposes. team league W L payroll cost/win WSN NL 98 64 $92,534,929.00 $944,233.97 CIN NL 97 65 $87,826,167.00 $905,424.40 NYY AL …
Better Know a Cub: Brett Jackson
How long does it take to change your swing? Is it even possible to change in your 20's? The answer to these 2 questions will probably tell you all you need to know about Jackson's future with the Cubs. Brett Jackson was drafted in the 1st round of the 2009 draft, at 31st overall. He worked his way up many …