Riding an eight game losing streak and consecutive sweeps on the west coast, the Cubs continue their upset bid to take the number one pick away from the Houston Astros. The Reds, meanwhile, are two and a half games ahead of the Cardinals and the still hanging in there Buccos. For all the slagging I like to do on the …
Let’s play “What if”
Starlin Castro has established himself at the big league level and he's going to get better. How much so? Who really knows, but even if he never got any better, he's still an above average shortstop currently making league minimum. Anthony Rizzo hasn't established himself as Castro has, but he's more than shown in his first couple months with the …
Paul Maholm on possibility of Pirates trading for him
Paul Maholm was asked about rumors the Pirates may be interested in him last night in Pittsburgh and he had this to say: “It would be ironic to leave as a free agent and then they wanted me back. There are rumors, and we will see how it turns out. My next two starts are against them. It should be …
Series Preview: Carlos Zambrano (43-46) at Chicago Cubs (36-52)
To judge from all the negative buzz I've seen around the interwebs heading into this series, you'd think that Zambrano is starting all three games and Cubs fans should boo the crap out of him. However, he is slated to start zero games in this series. Which is a bummer, because I love watching Z pitch. Team Overviews (NL ranks …
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 …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (29-49) @ Atlanta Braves (41-37)
The red hot Chicago Cubs travel to Atlanta fresh off sweeping the super-talented Houston Astros. The Braves lost 2 of 3 to the Nationals over the weekend. Teams at a glance Stat Cubs Braves wOBA .297 .317 wRC+ 80 (16) 98 (5) UZR 2.5 (6) 35.7 (1) BsR 1.2 (7) 6.0 (2) SP ERA 4.32 (15) 4.22 (12) SP FIP …
Series Preview: Boston Red Sox (31-32) at Chicago Cubs (21-42)
Wait, the Red Sox have a losing record? That was a surprise to me. Pythagoras disagrees with their record, as they have a +26 run differential, second in the AL east and 4th in the whole AL. If their non-winning trend continues they might have to watch out for some sleeper cell cultists. Luckily the Red Sox are playing the …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (19-38) at Minnesota Twins (22-34)
The Cubs will face one of their main rivals for the #1 pick in the draft. Since 424's been on vacation I'll post a mini reverse standings to see how things are currently shaking out Team L-W GB San Diego 39-19 — Chi Cubs 38-19 0.5 Minnesota 34-22 4 Seattle 33-26 6.5 Oakland 32-26 7 Things have separated a bit …
A 2013 Cubs Contender, Part 2
About 10 days ago we looked at what the Cubs have in terms of guaranteed contracts and we also signed Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza to long-term extensions. Since it's been 10 days I'll post the most relevant information here and we can move forward. Our roster We already have $54.3 million committed, but only the following players under contract …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (18-32) at San Francisco Giants (27-24)
The Cubs start a ten game road trip with a visit to Pac Bell Park (or whatever the hell they're calling it these days). At least this series, unlike most west coast series, will only have one super late game (tonight's). Unfortunately the Cubs will miss Tim Lincecum, who seems to have transformed into a lesser pitcher. Maybe Jeff Samardzija …