We've yet to show the projections for any of the outfielders and since I've been going around the horn, we'll start with left field. I'm breaking this into four posts: one for each position and then one for the backups. Despite a .289 OBP last season, Alfonso Soriano managed to post a .325 wOBA, which was good for league average …
Daily Facepalm 3.9.12 – Volstad Good, Soriano Good, Marmol Bad
Rotation battle news Chris Volstad followed up Jeff Samardzija's strong outing with three solid innings of his own yesterday. Volstad struck out three, walked none, and allowed one hit. Spring training stats don't mean much (especially just three innings for each guy), but as far as we can tell things are very up in the air for the last two …
Fun with Photoshop
Actually it's fun with GIMP as I didn't buy Photoshop, but I thought I'd share this in an unOV so I don't derail your regular conversations about politics and Game of Thrones. Enjoy! Indy Theo Parody
Daily Facepalm 3.8.2012 – ST Cubs Not Entirely Depressing
Cubs win! Cubs win! Cubs win! The Cubs brought their spring training record up to the .500 level with a win against the vaunted Kansas City Royals. Shut up, someone could vaunt about them. But yesterday the main vauntworthy performance came from Jeff Samardzija, who faced just nine batters in three shutout innings in his effort to join the best …
Players told to get sleep or else
MESA, Ariz. — Theo Epstein laid down the law at the Cubs Convention, stating firmly the organization would no longer tolerate players who enjoy the nightlife at the expense of getting a good night's sleep. "It's been a factor in ruining some careers," the team president said. "And I'm sure it's been an impediment to the Cubs in winning. … …
Projecting the 2012 Cubs: Paul Maholm
Next we move to the newest Cubs starter, Paul Maholm. Maholm stat-gathered 13.9 fWAR (11.1 rWAR) in his seven seasons with the Pirates, but it seems like he's been around a lot longer. Some years he was the defacto ace of the staff, and during his tenure he was certainly the most consistent member of their rotations that featured the …
Spring Training Game 3: Rockies @ Cubs
Rockies Lineup Dexter Fowler, CF Jordan Pacheco, 1B Michael Cuddyer, RF Ramon Hernandez, C Casey Blake, 3B Brandon Wood, SS Tyler Colvin, LF Chris Nelson, 2B Wilkin Castillo, DH Pitcher: Guillermo Moscoso Cubs Lineup David DeJesus, RF Marlon Byrd, CF Blake DeWitt, 2B Alfonso Soriano, DH Ian Stewart, 3B Junior Lake, SS Anthony Rizzo, 1B Welington Castillo, C Brett Jackson, …
Projecting the 2012 Cubs: Ryan Dempster
We haven't looked at any of the pitcher projections yet, so we might as well start with the longest tenured starter on the squad. Last year, Dempster looked utterly awful in the first month of the season. He had some terrible BABIP and HR luck but was generally being hit hard. However, after his first 6-8 starts or so he …
Spring Training Game 2: A’s @ Cubs
A's Lineup Eric Sogard, SS Collin Cowgill, CF Seth Smith, LF Jonny Gomes, DH Josh Reddick, RF Brandon Allen, 1B Wes Timmons, 3B Landon Powell, C Josh Horton, 2B Pitcher: Bartolo Colon, RHP Cubs Lineup Tony Campana, CF Darwin Barney, 2B Starlin Castro, SS Bryan LaHair, 1B Jeff Baker, RF Reed Johnson, LF Steve Clevenger, C Blake DeWitt, DH Josh …