Did the Cubs Win? OSS: The Cubs play their most complete game of the season against the “best” team in baseball. Three Up 1. Jason Hammel was absolutely sublime all game. It seemed like he had the best control of his pitches out of any Cub in the past 3 years – especially the low outside corner against righties. Hammel …
Cubs 5, Diamondbacks 7 (4/24/14)
Did The Cubs Win? OSS: Cubs celebrate 100 years of Wrigley Field in fitting fashion. Three Up 1. Jeff Samardzija was brilliant (again). He deserved to win (again). He didn’t win (again). 2. Hector Rondon has to be the best Rule 5 pick of the past 5 years, right? A short reflection of the past Rule 5 drafts: 2013: too …
Cubs 9, Diamondbacks 2 (4/22/14)
(A note for the reader: I’m home today with a sick little one. She’s asleep, so I’m writing this while watching Season 3: Episode 6 of Breaking Bad (titled: Sunset). There will be spoilers if you haven’t gotten this far). OSS: Hammel dominated, and Olt finally had a no-doubt home run. BBA: I like Walter’s new partner, but really what …
Cubs 2, Reds 8 (4/20/14)
OSS: Carl Newhouse isn’t a very good pitcher, and the Cubs as a collective aren’t a very good hitter. Three Up 1. Anthony Rizzo went 2-3 with 2 walks. It’s hard to ask for a lot more than that. 2. Emilio Bonifacio went 2-4 with a walk and a double. He also stole a base and was caught stealing. Bonifacio …
Cubs 4, Cardinals 6 (4/14/14)
OSS: Edwin Jackson dodges the first bullet and gets hit by the second. Three Up 1. Junior Lake, sure. He went 2-4 with a triple. Pretty cool. 2. Mike Olt, why not. 2-3, with a double and an RBI. 3. Anthony Rizzo hit a home run! It was fun, because we had a lead before Grim Death took hold of …
Cubs 7, Pirates 8 (4/8/14)
OSS: Despite a heroic performance by Starlin Castro, the Cubs give a winnable game to the Pirates (again). Three Up 1. How could it not be Starlin Castro? A three-run dinger in the 3rd tied it up, and a and a 6th-inning dinger brought the Cubs within 1. All told, Castro went 3-4, 4 RBI, 2 R. It was his …
Too-Soon Update
With the first 6 of the All-Pennsylvania Cup over, I thought I’d look at some stats to see where the Cubs stand so far. Some caveats: it’s still crazily early to draw any real conclusions about the season. For one thing, there is no real interconnectivity. For instance, to connect Miami and the Cubs, you have to follow this loop: …
Cubs Free Agent Contest: No One Wins!
Most of you have probably flushed this down your memory hole, but OV set up a free agent prediction contest last fall. Participants were given 50 prediction units and allowed to place them on anyone they thought the Cubs might sign. The details aren’t important, frankly, since not a single person correctly predicted any Cubs signing. A few of the …
Journeymen of Tomorrow: 4/1/14
Did the Cubs Win? (image c/o bleacher nation) Chicago Cubes 0 @ Pittsburgh Pirates 1 One Sentence Synopsis: Cubes gonna Cube, Bonifacio going to TOOTBLAN, and Cubs go 0 for 11 with RISP. Three Up 1. Jeff Samardzija was very good, going 7 scoreless frames. He walked 2 and allowed 5 hits, but only fanned 3. He was bailed out by …
Dave Cameron on draft pick compensation
Dave Cameron points to a study on value of draft picks which is pretty straightforward – i.e. here are the values you should price into a FA signing. But what I found more interesting was this tweet For those who didn't see it last year.The Must Trade suggestion post.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.ph…Perfect for those who don't want to be QO'd. — David Cameron …