Have you ever wondered how Mike Quade would refer to characters in the Star Wars universe? Us too. In honor of the upcoming Star Wars Night at Wrigley (and because we need another thread), we are happy to present Mike Quade’s nicknames for your favorite Star Wars characters: Luke Skywalker: Lukey Han Solo: Lo Princess Leia Organa: Orgy Chewbacca: Chews …
Add Mark Shapiro's name to the list
Jayson Stark has heard from an executive that Indians President and former GM Mark Shapiro may have interest in the Cubs general manager job. We’ve heard lots of famous names connected with the Cubs’ general manager gig. Well, here’s one fascinating name we haven’t heard: Indians president (and longtime GM) Mark Shapiro. According to people in the game who are …
Bud Selig is Mad Everyone Knows He's an Unfeeling Asshole
Bud Selig is none too happy with the Mets. Apparently, Bud wanted to deny them the ability to wear NYPD, NYFD, and other first responders’ hats in favor of the the MLB sanctioned hats (which are on sale now, by the way!) and have them just shut up and do what he said. It was, I guess, wrong of the …
Aramis Ramirez and "performing when it counts"
The Cubs and Aramis Ramirez have a mutal option for 2011 at $16 million, but it’s unlikely he exercises that option. Ramirez is looking for more than a one-year deal and as the best free agent 3rd baseman he’ll easily get a multi-year deal on the free agent market. It’s hard to say whether or not the Cubs will offer …
The hunt for a new GM
Shortly after Jim Hendry was fired I wrote about why every big name GM, current or not, is a candidate for the Cubs job. If they are, so is everybody else. The reason I wrote that is that the GM who wins a World Series with the Cubs is going to be the most popular GM in history. He can …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (64-82) at Cincinnati Reds (71-75)
The Cubs played the Reds just last week, and five of the six starters from that series are pitching this series. I’m just going to make a few minor tweaks to the last preview (laughing). Team overview As always, these are team stats with NL ranks in parentheses. Reds Cubs wOBA .322 (4th) .315 (8th) UBR 14.2 (1st) -11.4 (16th) …
2011 Minor League Wrap Up, Part 2
I figured now was a good time to post something about the Cubs top prospects since it’s past the midway point in the full minor league seasons. The short-season teams just got under way. I’m using Sickel’s top 20. I’m breaking this into three parts. I’ll cover 11-20 here and then 1-10 while the final part will focus on players …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (62-81) at New York Mets (70-73)
Have the Cubs even played the Mets this year? I can’t remember (laughing). Apparently the Cubs took two out three from them behind strong performances from Demp and Z. Team Overview Cubs Mets wOBA .315 (8th) .322 (5th) UBR -11.4 (16th) 1.0 (8th) UZR -9.1 (10th) -44.5 (16th) SP FIP 4.23 (12th) 4.12 (10th) RP FIP 3.87 (9th) 3.91 (12th) …
Cubs Help George Lucas Continue to Ruin Star Wars
When I saw Star Wars when it first came out in 1977, I thought it was the best thing than man would ever do. As I grew up and saw the next two movies in the trilogy, it only solidified my belief that George Lucas was a frickin’ genius. If only he had known when to just quit at the …