Tony Campana is wholly unlike any other Cub in recent memory. Campana is incredibly fast, maybe on the 5 fastest players in baseball (including the minors). To give some perspective, Campana stole 30 bases last year; he only drew 38 starts, and stole 21 bases during those games. If we eliminate the 9 SBs he had from pinch running and …
Better Know a Cub: Alberto Cabrera
Rob Deer is known as one of the masters of Three True Outcomes. If Deer didn’t hit a home run or draw a walk, Rob Deer was striking out. Alberto Cabrera was the Rob Deer of pitching in 2012. He faced 99 batters in the MLB in 2012. He let one take him deep, walked 18, and struck out 27 …
Better Know a Cub: Michael Bowden
Michael Bowden was a bit of a mirage last year. Drafted with the 47th overall pick in 2005, Bowden hung around the Boston organization for 7 years, never really showing a whole lot in the majors but nearly always dominating the minor leagues. Michael would hang around the bottom of the BA Top 100 prospect lists from 2007 to 2009, …
Better Know a Cub: Scott Baker
There is one thing that Tom Ricketts loves above all others, and that is starting pitchers named Scott. He signed Scott Feldman to a one-year, $6 million pact, but the true bargain of the 2 Scotts he signed this year is Scott Baker. Baker signed a $5.5 million deal + incentives, on a one-year “prove it” deal. He signed up …
Better Know a Cub: Scott Feldman
The offseason following the 2012 has been relatively busy for the Cubs, almost of which has been trades and signings they didn’t make. One of the signings they did make, however, was bringing over Scott Feldman on a one-year, $6 million deal. I don’t really get it. Scott Feldman is a fair injury risk, missing a good chunk of time …
Better Know a Cub: David DeJesus
David DeJesus is an interesting player. Although he’s never hit more than 13 home runs in a season, he’s always been a pretty useful player. He is not a prototypical RF because he has little power, but he’s not a prototypical leadoff guy because he has no speed. He’s a true #2 hitter; David will put the ball in play, …
Better Know a Cub: Luis Valbuena
Luis Valbuena came to the Cubs in 2012 off of the waiver wire, one of a dozen or so pickups the Cubs’ had during the infancy of last season. Unlike most other wire pickups, though, Valbuena was a position player, and one that would see quite a bit of action in a Cubs’ uniform in 2012. Originally from the Mariners …
Better Know a Cub: Travis Wood
Travis Wood is traveling in the wrong direction. Wood made his debut in the majors in 2010, throwing 102.2 innings of 3.51 ERA ball. He wasn’t lucky, either: his FIP was 3.42. As an age-23 season, it was quite impressive: he even threw a 3.31 K/BB ratio in there for good measure. He hasn’t repeated his good fortune since. In …
Better Know a Cub: Darwin Barney
Darwin Barney is an odd duck. He doesn’t get on base all that often (.299 OBP last year, .305 career). He has no power (7 HR last year is more than double the amount he has hit in any other year of his professional career). He doesn’t walk (5.6% last year, 2.4% less than the league average). He doesn’t steal …
Cubs sign Anibal Sanchez
According to Bob Nightengale, the Cubs have signed Anibal Sanchez to a 5-year, $75 million-ish contract. And the #Cubs turn out to be the second mystery team of the day, reaching agreement on five-year deal with Anibal Sanchez — Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 13, 2012 5/75 is a really good contract for someone like Sahchez. More on this later.