I was curious which players had the best games in 2012 for this shitty team we follow. I used Win Probability Added (WPA) from Baseball Reference to compile the list. There's no reason to write more of an introduction than that so here they are. 20. Travis Wood, .395 WPA Despite Wood's up and down season, he ended up having …
OV Playoff Roundtable
If this past season has taught us anything, it's that Obstructed View should be your go-to source for any baseball-related predictions. As we prepare to watch the Red Sox, Indians, Marlins, and Phillies battle in the playoffs, it's time to update those. Aisley, DJ, and The Enigmatic AC were unavailable, which is probably a good thing because I'm tired of …
Profiles In Rebuilding- The Cleveland Indians
After Theo and Co. were hired at the end of last season, Cubdom was collectively filled with a sense of manifest destiny. A majority of us, I think, breathed a sigh of relief and started channeling our inner Alvin. Finally, a front office on the vanguard, saying all the right things about performance evaluation, rebuilding the organization from the ground …
One of the Finest Days in Cubs History: September 27, 2003
Here we are, in a Cubs baseball season that was deposited into the septic tank of history approximately 150 days ago. If you can name the Cubs current starting rotation, well, that’s just sad. Get a life. The Cubs underperformed major-league caliber baseball again today, but let’s forget about that and find something else to think about. We could celebrate …
Hoyer: we will have financial flexibility
“We will have financial flexibility,” Hoyer said. “We’ve been diligent to make sure we do have flexibility and we’re efficient going forward. We’ll obviously be active in the free agent market. That’s a big part of our research and work now is evaluating free agents. We have some money to spend and we’ll focus on it heavily.” – Jed Hoyer …
It Turns Out Chet Coppock Still Exists and He Doesn’t Like Theo
Sometimes I just can't help myself. I'm a weak man. I admit it. I know I shouldn't always order my cheeseburger with bacon on it, but I do. I know I could do just as well with a single scoop of ice cream, but go ahead and eat it straight out of the container and then wonder how the container …
Starlin Castro will end up with 4 years of arbitration
Although I reference that the Cubs did sign Castro to an extension, perhaps it wasn't clear that this was written as if Castro would instead go through the arbitration process. This was the time at which I read these articles. This is something I've been meaning to write for at least a month, but just haven't gotten around to it. …
Season in Review: Jeff Samardzija
Now that Jeff Samardzija's season is over, let's take a moment to look back and express amazement that for about half the season Samardzija was the guy you most wanted to see on the mound for the Cubs. Well, assuming you weren't rooting for the Cubs reverse standings position. Here's his final numbers on the season. Player GS IP …
The Cubs will probably avoid losing 100 games
The Cubs currently sit at 58-89 even though 2 weeks ago it looked like a sure thing that they would lose 100. But after the Cubs have won 7 of their last 11 games it's now looking unlikely. Baseball Prospectus has the Cubs going 6-9 over the rest of the season which would put them at a cool 64-98 on …
Season in review: Ian Stewart
During the Winter Meetings the Cubs traded Tyler Colvin and DJ LeMahieu to the Rockies for Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers. Stewart would replace the departed Aramis Ramirez at 3rd base and would instantly be an upgrade defensively. That much we were sure of. Whether or not he would hit the ball much was something we'd learn throughout the season. …