When I wrote about Matt Garza's trade value last month I showed that it's not that high. Aside from the Cubs kicking in some money to cover the rest of his salary this year, the Cubs couldn't expect to get all that much in return. People have consistently told me I'm wrong. Apparently some anonymous GMs were on record (can …
Brewers and Phillies prepare offers to keep Greinke and Hamels
The Brewers are willing to offer Zack Greinke around $100 million over 5 years while the Phillies are prepared to offer Cole Hamels an equally large contract extension. Greinke and Hamels were likely going to be the two best starters available at the deadline if their respective teams made them available. My first thought was that this was potentially good …
When to evaluate a trade
Evaluating trades becomes a topic of interest as each trade is made. Before the trade we're analyzing the rumors of what teams would be giving up and getting in return. Some people are content to make baseless claims about the quality of the trade when it happens, during the contracts and after it happens. Some are content to look at …
Rumor: Dodgers interested in Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza
According to Jon Heyman the Dodgers are the most likely destination for Ryan Dempster and the Dodgers might also be interested in Matt Garza. The Dodgers are talking to the Cubs about acquiring either one of their two coveted starting pitchers, Ryan Dempster or Matt Garza, sources say. The Dodgers have long been known to be targeting Dempster and are seen as a favorite for him. …
Obstructed View’s Top 20 Cubs Prospects
1. Brett Jackson OF AAA The Math — The 23 year old, 2009 1st round pick has a slash line .261/.339/.494. Astronomical strikeout rate (33.8%), but he still has a 114 wRC+. The Good — Despite the K's Jackson has still been a productive player. He gets a ton of XHB's with his speed and has plenty of pop from CF. …
How much is Darwin Barney worth in a trade?
Before we look into Darwin Barney's trade value, I was thinking I wouldn't be that confident in the numbers below. Most of the time I am, but for someone like Barney I'm not. At all. Why? Because of Placido Polanco. To understand why you can check these two links out. IN the first link written after the 2006 seaosn, Tangotiger …
Let the Piling On Starlin Commence in Three… Two… One…
Shit is about to come down on Starlin Castro, and it shouldn't be shocking to anyone that the source of the impending storm is located in a Paul Sullivan piece in the Tribune. Whether he is trying to stir the pot purposefully is a matter of opinion, but whether he is doing it intentionally or not, this pot is getting …
Dale Sveum’s First Half MVPs: Shawn Camp and James Russell
NEW YORK — Who's your first half Most Valuable Player for the Cubs? Manager Dale Sveum picked relievers Shawn Camp and James Russell. Camp was 2-4 with a 2.86 ERA and one save, while Russell was 2-0 with a 2.43 ERA entering Sunday. Russell had a 2.30 ERA in 101 games since the start of 2011, the second-lowest mark by …
Matt Garza last year and this year
Last season Matt Garza enjoyed a breakout season. His strikeouts increased. His walks decreased. He kept the ball on the ground and therefore in the park a lot more often. He was even so lucky last year that he allowed only 7.7% of his fly balls to leave the yard. While Fangraphs had him with a cool 5.0 WAR, Baseball …
Castro: "I don't have to change"
After some talk about Bobby V's criticism of Castro's focus last year, the Hobbiton Press has some quotes from Castro about the new hitting coach and whether he'll change his approach. "I don't have to change," he said. "The walks and those kinds of things, they're coming. I try to be more patient, but right now, the pitchers are throwing …