The first day of the draft is over, which means we've only seen 60 selections so far and have 39 rounds to go. I thought I'd post a roundup of the stuff we posted yesterday and then talk abou a few of the best available players that should be taken sometime today. The second day of the draft begins at …
Bobby Ojeda's Left Arm
Bobby Ojeda has written an article that's been published on The New York Times. He talks about the pain he went through just to pitch and how he hid it from the coaching staff. It's a fantastic look at what I'm guessing a large number of pitchers go through in their lives. The pain for Ojeda began when he was …
Power hitters should be bunting more frequently
I figured we could use a new post and it seemed like a good time to point out how power hitters are failing to maximize their production. Many of them are shifted against these days, even right-handed batters. The obvious way to put a stop to this is to bunt. All you've got to do as a batter is get …
Q & A With Phillies Blog "That Ball's Outta Here"
We were contacted by Phillies blog "That Ball's Outta Here" to do a Q&A, and you can read our answers to the Cubs questions over at their site. Ethan was kind enough to answer a few questions of our own about the Phillies 1. What can the Phillies do to improve their offense? Watching a few Tom Emansky hitting videos …
National League Power Rankings, 4-28-12
At the beginning of March we did a pre-season NL power rankings and plan to do this every few weeks once the season starts. DJ is taking part in these now too so there are 5 really smart and knowledgeable people. These are probably the most accurate power rankings you'll ever find. You shouldn't even question them since they are …
Ramblings about strikeout rate and the silliness of pitchers batting
A few days ago Rob Neyer pointed out how three true outcomes (TTO) are increasing and wonders if something should be done about it. For those who don't know, the TTO is a walk, strikeout or home run. It's most of the plays that don't require the involvement of any fielder. Everyone knows that strikeouts have increased over the years. …
What’s the correct call here?
Your browser does not support iframes. The ball is clearly fair. The umpire clearly signals the ball dead. The Dodgers played through the dead call and the Padres did not. I'm also positive had the sides been reversed (Dodgers on the bases) the Padres would have been the team that played through the dead ball call. So what we have …
Cubs 6th Best Since 2007 In Free Agent Signings
Matt Swartz has published a very interesting article about buidling an organization. I've said for several years now the idea that the Cubs under Hendry just handed out contracts like candy was ridiculous. Yes, there were some bad contracts. Name one GM who has been around for a decade without some bad free agent contracts. The Cubs current President gave …
Pre-Season NL Power Rankings
Throughout the season we'll be publishing our NL Power Rankings. We won't do this each week and maybe not even every other week, but we figured there's going to be little to talk about with regards to the Cubs so we needed as many alternatives as possible. We also plan to invite someone each time to take part in it. …
Who do the Cubs trade for Theo Epstein?
The Cubs hired Theo Epstein 4 months ago and it was about that time that we were told the two sides were on the 5-yard line regarding compensation. I can only assume that Ken O'Keefe is running the offense. Every week we're told that Bud Selig will resolve the compensation issue soon. Each week goes by without a resolution. Recently …