According to Paul Sullivan, the Cubs are going to shift gears with regards to what they're doing at 3rd base. You're not alone if that doesn't make any sense. Sveum says they are "shifting gears" on playing time for Vitters. Valbuena to get bulk of starts down stretch. — Paul Sullivan (@PWSullivan) August 30, 2012 About 10 days ago this …
Darwin Barney defensive highlights
Since Darwin Barney set the single season record for an errorless streak at 2nd base last night, I figured we might look back at some of his best plays. Thanks to mlb.com we can do that. As I was looking through these last night I was surprised at two things: there weren't as many outstanding defensive players as I thought …
What would make you give up on the Cubs?
Aisle 424 wrote last week about the paucity of fans at U.S. Cellular at the conclusion of the White Sox' sweep of the Yankees, and it got me to thinking. It got me to thinking so much I actually used the word paucity in a sentence. But mostly it made me ponder the possibility of the same thing eventually happening to …
Brenly Nearing Broadcasting Free Agency; Kerry Wood Coincidentally Available
Bruce Levine writes today that Bob Brenly's contract with WGN TV is up after this season and hypothesizes that he would be quite popular if he reaches the free agent market in the offseason. One viable options for Brenly could be a spot calling Arizona Diamondbacks games. Brenly, a fan favorite who managed the Diamondbacks to a 2001 World Series …
Sox Fans Are Weird
I'll never understand how Cubs fans and White Sox fans can technically be from the same city. Last night, the Sox had Chris Sale taking the mound as they went for the first sweep of the New York Yankees at home in 21 years. 26,319 people showed up to watch that. That's less than 65% of capacity. More than one …
Seeking Rock Bottom: Pitcher K’s
Ahh… the Hendry Era. The Cubs were always winning, the best players were beloved by the media and treated with respect by the front office, player acquisitions were always based on sound analytical wisdom, and Order prevailed in its eternal conflict with Chaos. Wait, what’s wrong with these…? /cleans fogged up sepia-tinted Transitions Lenses It’s all this damn Texas sunlight. …
2012: Worst Cubs Team In My Life
A couple weeks ago I showed that the current Cubs offense was performing as poorly as any Cubs team in history. Their 77 wRC+ (at the time and still today) was tied for second worst in their history. wRC+ is but one metric that measures offense. It's based on Tangotiger's wOBA. Baseball Prospectus has a similar value based on their …
A reasonable contract extension for Starlin Castro
#reminder { background: #BECDC6; padding: 6px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 12px 8px 12px; } Contest reminder: Don't forget to enter our contest to win The Essential Games of the Chicago Cubs DVD set. It runs through Sunday, August 19. The news last night that the Cubs are working on a contract extension for Starlin Castro actually gives us something Cubs-related …
Phil Rogers is not a Crane Kenney fan
#reminder { background: #BECDC6; padding: 6px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 12px 8px 12px; } Contest reminder: Don't forget to enter our contest to win The Essential Games of the Chicago Cubs DVD set. It runs through Sunday, August 19. Phil Rogers wonders why, if the Cubs were cleaning house in the front office this week, Crane Kenney still has a …
Oneiri Fleita Out
The Cubs’ front office restructuring continues. Last week, longtime scouting director Tim Wilken was promoted, or simply reassigned if you are of a cynical bent. Today, Bruce Miles breaks the news that fellow holdover Oneiri Fleita is out as VP of Player Personnel. Indefatigable Brett has a responsible rundown. Irresponsible Speculation Perhaps the front office googled him and realized that …