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 between the contenders (SD, Chi) and the rest, with the Twins square in the middle.
Team overviews
Respective league ranks in parens
| Cubs | Twins | |
| wOBA | .298 (14th) | .307 (12th) |
| UBR | 3.4 (3rd) | 0.4 (5th) |
| UZR | 3.8 (7th) | 7.9 (5th) |
| DRS | +6 (4th) | -1 (11th) |
| SP FIP | 4.06 (11th) | 5.28 (14th) |
| RP FIP | 4.53 (16th) | 3.75 (8th) |
The Twins starters have a whopping 6.06 ERA. Yowza. They've had terrible luck with HRs, but it's mostly a underwhelming pitch to contact staff.
Position players
The biggest contributer by far has been Josh Willingham, who has posted a .286/.408/.573 line in 223 PAs, good for a ,421 wOBA and 19 wRAA. Joe Mauer is also having a pretty good year, which surprised me. Most of what I remember about Mauer these days are injuries and complaints that he's not hitting as well as he should. The big problem is his power (he's slugging .419) and the fact that to avoid further injury he's been spending time at 1B and DH, which cuts into his value. Justin Morneau is struggling in the return from his concussion injury. The power is still there (.500 SLG) but his OBP is sitting right around .300. I can't seem to figure out how to find team batting spots by position, but they've had plenty of negative offensive production from pretty much their infield with the likes of Jamey Carroll, Brian Dozier, Danny Valencia, Alexi Casilla, and quasi-backup 1B Chris Parmalee all struggling. Joe Mauer, of all people, has had the most value on the basepaths this year.
Defensively, CF Denard Span and RF Ben Revere are tops on the team, while LF Josh Willingham mitigates his powerful bat with shambolic defense in LF. Mauer is a pretty good defensive catcher when he can actually play there. Unlike infields of Twins past, Casilla, Valencia, and Dozier are not so good defensively.
Notable injuries
Mauer sprained his thumb a few days ago and did not play in the last series. He's doubtful to play tonight and is scheduled to be "re-evaluated" today. SP Carl Pavano was injured (surprise!) last week and is out indefinitely. SP Scott Baker had TJS in april and is donezo for the year.
For the Cubs, Welington Castillo begins his rehab assignment today in AA. Soto is still out recovering from knee surgery. The timetable had him starting his rehab this weekend, but he's not ready yet. Soriano will get rest for his bad knee by DH-ing this series, and he says he's looking forward to returning to the field once it's over.
Pitching Matchups
As usual, ERA, FIP, xFIP, ZiPS FIP in parens.
Friday: Travis Wood, LHP (4.56, 6.19, 4.10, 4.27) vs P.J. Walters, RHP (3.69, 5.17, 4.11, 4.75), 7:10 PM CT
Travis Wood has had a bit of a HR problem in his small sample of starts this year (30% HR/FB). He did manage to keep the ball in the yard against the anemic Giants offense in his last start, striking out seven and allowing one run in seven innings, which of course earned him the loss. 2012 Cubs baseball!
Walters was a break-in-case-of-emergency starter for the Cardinals for several years, and made his way over to Toronto in the Colby Rasmus trade. He pitched a single inning for the blue Jays, then signed a minor league deal with the Twins this offseason. His ERA this year is mostly thanks to a crazy strand rate. He spends a lot of his time working out of trouble.
Saturday: Jeff Samardzija, RHP (3.13, 3.04, 3.25, 3.95) vs Scott Diamond, LHP (1.86, 3.57, 3.03, 4.37), 1:10 PM CT
I had to stop for a second and figure out if the Twins had retreaded the Diamond that was a former Cub (and even more former Rangers top prospect), but that was Thomas Diamond. This Diamond was a rule 5 pick from the Braves that the Twins made a trade to keep around. He's very much a pitch to contact guy with a projected strikeout rate of 4.76 K/9. He's made six starts this year and only walked four batters, so his control must be pretty good. I wouldn't look for that number to go up this series.
Shark looked rocky in his last start, walking five batters and striking out six in five innings against the Giants. Luckily it was the Giants offense so the twelve baserunners in five innings only amounted to two runs. He had a solid stretch of seven starts where he never walked more than two batters, so hopefully this was just an aberration. He hasn't given up more than three runs in a start since April 19.
Sunday: Ryan Dempster, RHP (2.59, 3.34, 3.54, 3.95) vs Francisco Liriano, LHP (6.46, 4.63, 4.27, 4.08), 1:10 PM CT
Dempster finally got his first win, three months into the season after a 10-0 blowout of the Brewers. It was a nice bounceback following his shellacking by the Padres offense (and the wind at Wrigley). We'll see how much longer he's pitching in a Cubs uniform.
Liriano lost the plate last year (5.02 BB/9) and that trend has continued this season (5.67 BB/9). It's a bummer for the Twins, who could have really used him as a trade piece. He was demoted to the bullpen back in May and continued walking people all over the place, but in the two starts since he returned to the rotation he managed to keep the walks down. It probably helped that he was playing the Royals and A's, however.
Comments
I’d take a flyer on Liriano if we want to buy low on some guys at the deadline. We don’t have Rothchild to straighten out the walks anymore, but Bosio really helped Shark. Ya never know…
jtsunamiQuote Reply
Josh, I would recommend a Hope Monster chasing the two stick figure dudes while they sing the praises of Joe Mather. I would find the money to buy that shirt.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/06/08/crap-of-the-week-phil-rogers/
MishQuote Reply
Thomas Diamond is notable only in that any game from last season will have him turn into a top-of-the-rotation starter. Even OOTP 12 is not immune.
PezcoreQuote Reply
@ jtsunami:
Thepstien’s been buying low, selling high with some success (David DeJesus) and some failures (Ian Stewart). It was modus operandi in Boston and it’ll work well in Chi-town too. Liriano will need to be packaged carefully not to shatter in transport.
I’d love to see them throw in the Japanese Two-Bagger if he’s still around. He was projected to do great things when he came in.
PezcoreQuote Reply
This Guy With The Cool Name and Liriano for Soto and Rafael Dolis
PezcoreQuote Reply
Cubs —> second round of bidding with Jorge Soler (if that IS his real name)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Interesting….
@ Pezcore:
Is that the guy who broke his leg early last year and missed the entire season?
joshQuote Reply
cashner’s getting sent down after saturday’s appearance for ~1 month to stretch out
GWQuote Reply
So… “next round of bids”, does that mean the agent for Soler is telling each team the other team’s bids? If not, why would anyone increase their original bid?
jtsunamiQuote Reply
josh, shot you a few recs in the beer thread
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
I wonder if Cashner would do better if he cut down on his velocity a bit. Chapman did, and he’s completely transformed.
ACTQuote Reply
Did Chapman do it on purpose?
DoogolasQuote Reply
@ Doogolas:
This article says it was a conscious decision to improve his control. He made statements before the season started that he would concentrate more on control than velocity.
ACTQuote Reply
@ ACT:
It’s amazing that he still throws 98-101 taking some off for control.
MuckerQuote Reply
GBTSQuote Reply
Aroldis is tied for 8th among NL pitchers in fWAR and is tied for 10th in rWAR. With 30 innings pitched.
ACTQuote Reply
@ ACT:
I don’t know why teams encourage their guys to throw as hard as they can. That has always seemed counterproductive to me. Why does everyone have to be Nolan Ryan?
joshQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
I know what you mean. I get antsy.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
It makes sense every now and then to just throw it by the batter, but that should be in moderation. The pitcher’s goal should primarily be to deceive. Although I don’t know how much damage a fastball induces versus a curve or a slider. I think the latter two are performed with lots of arm stress even if the velocity isn’t as high.
Mobile RiceQuote Reply
@ Mobile Rice:
Not sure either, but even just in terms of pitching. Like you said, rear back and put a little more on it occasionally, but seems like there are a lot of guys with all speed, no control.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
It seems like they all pitch for the Cubs too.
MuckerQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
Except the Cubs pitchers are “no control, not much speed, either.”
ACTQuote Reply
@ ACT:
That’s how they take teams by surprise and something something World Series.
joshQuote Reply
@ ACT:
Minor omittance on my part, sorry.
MuckerQuote Reply
Cubs, Yankees, DODGERS (?) and Braves are early favorites in the race for the 26-year old Cuban, asking price 1 Billion Dollars
PezcoreQuote Reply
Pezcore wrote:
Soler is 20. Didn’t they do some pretty sufficient checking on that in the offseason, because he was originally “18” and then after some fact checking they figured out he was 20.
Also, Chapman hardly throws 98-101 anymore. He’s averaging 97. 😛
Good point about velocity though. I think there are plenty of guys that could benefit from that. And Fangraphs did a little thing about Halladay about how that’s exactly what he does. He generally doesn’t blaze it up in the mid-90’s, but when he’s in trouble he’ll reach back and get a couple extra MPH on his pitches.
DoogolasQuote Reply
I get why pitchers throw fast when they are young, it’s to get the big bucks. Reaching triple digits looks a lot better than mid 90’s. You would think pitching coaches would tell them to bring it down though once they get signed.
WaLiQuote Reply
@ WaLi:
Probably right, but it seems like control is something that guys should work on early. In high school, it probably gets almost everyone out to throw 100 down the middle, but they aren’t doing themselves any favor not learning how to throw young. Just what it seems like to me. Similar to how hitters can develop bad habits when they are young and the competition isn’t as good that lead to large holes in their swings and such.
joshQuote Reply
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
GBTSQuote Reply
Pitching to contact isn’t working for the Twinkies so far.
ACTQuote Reply
Great catch by Mather
BerseliusQuote Reply
With a matchup like this, I was expecting more of a pitchers’ duel.
ACTQuote Reply
Holy tits, Bryce Harper hit a bomb tonight.
GBTSQuote Reply
So much for Santana repeating his no-hitter. 4 HR in 5 innings
BerseliusQuote Reply
Soriano lazily legs out an infield single on a bum leg
BerseliusQuote Reply
I was ready to catch Parmalee, but he didn’t come through my TV.
SVBQuote Reply
I really don’t understand that Jed Lowrie/Mark Melancon trade in hindsight. At all.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
(dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
@ Berselius:
His FIP for the day is 12.02.
ACTQuote Reply
Jamey Carroll —-> AGGRESSIVE BASERUNNING I recently enjoyed.
SVBQuote Reply
Strasburg is good at throwing baseballs.
GBTSQuote Reply
Where the hell has Mish been?
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Why don’t you eat up and we’ll tell you?
GBTSQuote Reply
More like Slow-mit!
GBTSQuote Reply
@ mb21:
I think he mentioned awhile ago that he had some big work stuff going on, followed by a trip.
SVBQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
If not for the pitch count, he might have gone on to challenge Kerry/Roger’s record.
ACTQuote Reply
Ian Stewart is now above the Mendoza Line.
ACTQuote Reply
@ ACT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjjZGyYcH9E
GBTSQuote Reply
@ ACT:
TOOTBLAN.
SVBQuote Reply
@ SVB:
What the hell was he thinking?
ACTQuote Reply
Gameday is wrong. It says Castro flied into a doubleheader. That didn’t happen, right?
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Oddly, that’s exactly what happened.
ACTQuote Reply
@ mb21:
He chimed in on video games though. He has priorities.
joshQuote Reply
The Cubs bullpen is bad. Just real bad.
joshQuote Reply
This bullpen isn’t very good at holding leads.
ACTQuote Reply
@ ACT:
The Cubs had a lead?!
/faints
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Sori!
ACTQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
False. Have.
GBTSQuote Reply
SORI!!!!!!
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
Wow, wish I could have seen that one. Sounded like a bomb.
joshQuote Reply
It was. wow.
WaLiQuote Reply
@ josh:
Looked like one too.
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
I hope all the American League teams in need of contenders are watching right now.
joshQuote Reply
@ ACT:
Brenly made some excuse about how a runner judges best as can based on trajectory and the sound off the bat. I guess Stewart is a little hard of hearing. Can’t blame the Metrodome anymore.
@ josh:
Nice to see Soriano doing well, IMO. (not just for the potential trade value to an AL team)
SVBQuote Reply
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2012_06_08_chnmlb_minmlb_1&highlight_content_id=22131375&c_id=chc
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
@ shawndgoldman:
Holy hell! Pat said 2nd deck. That was clearly in the 3rd.
joshQuote Reply
@ shawndgoldman:
If that was the one of Soriano sending a baseball into orbit, it was a highlight I recently enjoyed.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Wow. Not quite Glenallen Hill far, but pretty far.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
Well Soriano had a bunch of stands in the way of that one.
How long does hittracker take these days to get their stuff up?
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
@ josh:
If that had been in Chicago, it probably would have gone through a window.
SVBQuote Reply
SVB wrote:
Since we’re talking rooftops…
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
this.
(dying laughing)
SVBQuote Reply
Byrd —> DFA imminent.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Cubs calling on their “MVP” to close out the game.
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
Alfonso Soriano is one albatross I’m going to dearly miss.
DoogolasQuote Reply
Appears that if we win, someone will get their first save of the year.
SVBQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
That doesn’t affect the money we’re sending Boston does it?
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
SVB wrote:
SVBQuote Reply
@ SVB:
I feel the need to point out that this is not necessarily true.
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
@ shawndgoldman:
I don’t think so…I thought the BoSox are only responsible for the prorated league minimum.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Cubs.
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
El. Oh. El.
DoogolasQuote Reply
Oh geez (dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ shawndgoldman:
One of us is going to be responsible for the jinx tonight. (dying laughing)
SVBQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Right, so the Cubs pay whatever is beyond that. The question is whether or not this affects his salary? If it goes down, I think the Cubs send over less $. Right?
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
Isn’t this a situation where Marmol would make sense? You have a high likelihood of losing the game, unless you get a strikeout or three. He might walk the winning run in, but isn’t he also more likely to strike out a few?
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
@ shawndgoldman:
I think if someone picks him up the Cubs can get some reimbursement, but I’m not entirely sure.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
This is truly a futility series.
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
I loved that shift from Sweum.
DoogolasQuote Reply
Did the Twins Dozier used to play major college football? Or am I mixing him up with someone else?
SVBQuote Reply
shawndgoldman wrote:
Just wanted to say I had the exact same thought.
DoogolasQuote Reply
@ Doogolas:
Shut you guys right up.
Now we have Marmol in reserve to walk the bases full in the 10th.
SVBQuote Reply
5 triples in tonight’s game
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
That sucks that he dropped off the cliff like that. He was solid. I guess it’s good the Cubs got what they could off him before his value sank further.
Clevenger…..might not be very good.
joshQuote Reply
Didn’t get Marmol in fast enough?
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
No, left Camp in to do his Marmol imitation.
SVBQuote Reply
@ SVB:
MVP MVP MVP MVP
🙁
SVBQuote Reply
Soriano only shows up when we lose. This is the equivalent of a guy not knowing when it counts. Like a pitcher who gives up 2 runs and loses 2-1. That’s why soriano sucks.
DoogolasQuote Reply
@ Doogolas:
I think the blame clearly goes on Tony Campana. He’s basically a clubhouse cancer. Cubs winning —> Campana in the game —-> Cubs lose.
joshQuote Reply
josh wrote:
You know it’s probably a combination really. Between campana being IN the game and then Soriano being a lazy bum, we really just had no chance tonight. The fact we even made it 5 innings without giving up is a miracle in and of itself.
DoogolasQuote Reply
@ josh:
NO you don’t understand. He’s such a great clubhouse guy that when they put him on the field he spends *less time in the clubhouse* and the team gets worse.
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
@ Doogolas:
Which Cubs beat writer/columnist are you channeling right now? I’m having a hard time choosing. (Though I’ve eliminated Bruce Miles.)
SVBQuote Reply
@ SVB:
It’s more a combo of them as whole and how they just need to find the most ridiculous ways to blame whoever they think it’s fun to pick on.
DoogolasQuote Reply
M’s have a collective no-hitter through 7. Unfortunately, their offense hasn’t supplied a single run in support.
ACTQuote Reply
And, just as I type that, ESPN updates the score and the M’s have one on the board.
ACTQuote Reply
So I didn’t watch the game tonight except for highlights. How did the winning run score? I assume infield single.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Apparently the M’s starter, Kevin Millwood, was pulled with a groin strain.
ACTQuote Reply
Pryor is so afraid of blowing the no-hitter, he refuses to throw strikes.
ACTQuote Reply
@ Doogolas:
Preferably a past hero, since that increases the drama (that “hero falls from the highest heights” storyline that’s been circulating since ancient Greece and probably before). Unfortuantely, Soriano has been done to death, and damned if that guy doesn’t take any insult hurled at him and somehow turn it around to make himself even more likeable as a person. So you have to strike that balance of past hero/high expectations and guy who cracks under pressure. Milton Bradley was like an underhand softball pitch to those guys.
joshQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Solid line drive.
joshQuote Reply
@ ACT:
Who is Pryor pitching for?
joshQuote Reply
My friend was trying to say that Twins fans had it worse off with Morneau than Cubs fans with Soriano. It probably seems bad with Morneau, but his contract was one year shorter and only $80M, and so long as he hits his projection this year, he’ll have that. Really, except for the fact that he basically missed all of last season, Morneau had a good run. He’s bad now, but that’s kind of how it goes.
It’s not even close, in terms of value.
joshQuote Reply
RE: Soriano’s Homerun.
Agreed, that might have hit a building across the street. If the wind was blowing out, it may well have landed on the roof. That was a hell of a hit.
joshQuote Reply
Combined no-hitter!
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ josh:
Yeah. It’s just so infuriating. And to your point about Soriano, that’s exactly why I’ll miss him so much. He’s just the most likable guy, even the way he carries himself on the field. He might be the only guy I know of whose home run pose involves smiling. Every. Single. Time. He has a big smile on his face when he knows he connects and it’s awesome. And the fact that he doesn’t do the same little hop-thing after each one is cool too cause it always feels kind of spontaneous like he’s just super happy he did something good, as opposed to showboating (which I actually don’t mind at all). Add to that how he takes every criticism completely in stride and he’s just a super likable guy. And unlike Milton Bradley, he’s an albatross I’ll miss dearly.
DoogolasQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
This play was really damned close.
ACTQuote Reply
So Sori’s blast was 443 ft and would have been a HR in 29 of 30 stadiums according to HitTracker……..WTF? What stadium would that blast not have been a HR in?
MuckerQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
I just looked at that. That was his first inning home run. His triple decker only comes in at a true distance of 418.
Wow, I am both confused and impressed.
GBTSQuote Reply
The Reds’ Billy Hamilton (A+) has 69 steals in 57 games. He makes Tony Campana look like Bengie Molina.
ACTQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
Seriously? Man, that’s a mindblower.
MuckerQuote Reply
@ ACT:
I remember when he was drafted and I wanted the cubs to take him after Brett Jackson but I think he was taken before they had a chance.
mb21Quote Reply
@ ACT:
There weren’t any really good angles but I’m not surprised that the umpire called him out.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ josh:
I’m surprised you found a Twin fan willing to bitch about Morneau’s contract instead of Mauer.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
It was almost directly into deep left…maybe it was hit so high that it would’ve hit some of the catwalks in the Trop and been ruled a ground-rule double (dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
I was reading the ESPN Chicago article and it said the homer off the batter’s eye was only 431 feet. If he hit it to straightaway center as we saw, then it’s possible that the ball bounces up against Tal’s Hill in Houston and over the fence…so there’s the one possible park where that ball isn’t a homer.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube wrote:
(dying laughing) Fucking Houston.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
Yeah, he’s always bitching about Morneau, come to think of it. He’s from MN, so maybe he gives Mauer a pass for being local. Whereas Morneau is a dirty Canadian.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
Speaking of, looks like Prettyboy is in the game today.
joshQuote Reply
Man, I’m getting tired of this Baker/LaHair platoon. I’ve said it before, but I don’t see why Stewart gets to bat against lefties but not LaHair.
ACTQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
the polo grounds
GWQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
greg rybarczyk had it at 443
GWQuote Reply
ACT wrote:
Stewart sucks vs everyone. LaHair has a noticeable drop off.
It’s stupid. The only guess I have is to hide LaHair vs lefties as much as possible to keep his numbers looking as sexy as possible. But I mean, teams are gonna notice that. So it seems stupid. Probably because it is.
DoogolasQuote Reply
@ GW:
That was my first thought too (dying laughing)
BerseliusQuote Reply
Is there a feed for the game somewhere on the webs?
joshQuote Reply
Doogolas wrote:
Yeah- just exactly this for me. I know that it would be really good for the Cubs (and for him) if he could get palmed off on some American League team where he didn’t have to run on those hurt legs all the time.
But I will really miss him. I like just about everything about the way he plays, except that I wish his legs still worked right.
UrkQuote Reply
Perfect game ——> Blown.
joshQuote Reply
@ Urk:
Me too. The guy is hateproof. There have been times where I got frustrated, but it’s like hating a puppy. Can’t be done, not for more than a few seconds at a time.
joshQuote Reply
@ GW:
Maybe they figured it would hit off that stupid flag pole?
Rice in limboQuote Reply
josh wrote:
Comic it.
DoogolasQuote Reply
I want to stab Bob when he rambles this ridiculously much. As soon as he says, “I know there’s…” I want to gouge my eyes out.
DoogolasQuote Reply
@ Doogolas:
What does he know? Maybe I don’t want to know.
joshQuote Reply
This is a hilarious at-bat.
joshQuote Reply
josh wrote:
About video film and stuff. And that swinging at the first pitch is for stupids.
DoogolasQuote Reply
@ Doogolas:
Everyone who’s ever homered on the first pitch still didn’t shut him right up.
Rice in limboQuote Reply
@ Rice in limbo:
There’s no way to stop that particular flow of bullshit
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
As much as I like Bob Brenly, he can be absolutely infuriating.
Also, Shark is doing his best Brandon Webb impression today. Jesus. His GB% is just under 60 today.
DoogolasQuote Reply
(dying laughing) @ LARBUDDY
(dying laughing)
Rice in limboQuote Reply
Well played, Mauer.
Rice in limboQuote Reply
BABIP fairy hates Shark.
DoogolasQuote Reply
Hey, Jeff: just because the Twins pitchers like to play polite and pitch to contact doesn’t mean you have to, as well.
ACTQuote Reply
F7 is leaking runs.
Also…
http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/10833/soriano-blast-officially-not-as-far-as-it-seemed
I used their hit tracker to check Minute Maid’s outline and that one homer to straight center lands on the warning track on the hill or off the top of the wall. Silly Houston indeed.
Rice in limboQuote Reply
Has anyone else been having huge issues with MLB.tv this year?
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
Pitchf/x makes it seem like F7 is trying to pound the ball in on the hands but the Twins’ bats are still muscling the ball out. Guess they need a new game plan.
Rice in limboQuote Reply
Wow F7 sucks today.
Rice in limboQuote Reply
@ shawndgoldman:
I use the MLB audio, it’s been good and bad.
F7 sucking or bad luck? Doesn’t look so good for him today.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
It’s a little of both. Bloops, infield hits, not to mention all the mistake pitches he’s serving up to the hitters. I counted four or five line drives but I haven’t sorted through the play by play.
Rice in limboQuote Reply
That inning was awesome.
Rice in limboQuote Reply
@ shawndgoldman:
Just this weekend for me, otherwise it’s been great
BerseliusQuote Reply
John Gaub ——> Cardinals
GWQuote Reply
Free Verlander game on mlb.tv. Time to watch some real baseball.
ACTQuote Reply
Verlander once again starting out with his fastball in the low 90’s.
ACTQuote Reply
#1 pick, here we come!
BerseliusQuote Reply
“sources suggest” that Soler ——> Cubs
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/yanks_may_lose_cuban_to_cubs_8h0Gby4RclwIi6AbxavbMI
BerseliusQuote Reply
Verlander strikes out the side.
ACTQuote Reply
that article is from 2 days ago, making it even dodgier (dying laughing)
BerseliusQuote Reply
Cashner is Marmol-esque so far.
ACTQuote Reply
I didn’t even realize the Cubs had called up Asencio (dying laughing)
BerseliusQuote Reply
Soriano really likes DH’ing.
ACTQuote Reply
Oddly enough, so does Jim Thome.
ACTQuote Reply
Verlander throws 4 straight at 100 mph.
ACTQuote Reply
He just hit 101.
ACTQuote Reply
Why is Dice-K wearing a skin-colored mask?
joshQuote Reply
On a team this terrible at hitting, Bryan LaHair is not a platoon player. He’s just not. Not when the other half is Jeff Baker. Players who are OPSing nearly 1.000 need to play every day. It feels like the Cubs are facing a lefty every other game lately, but not playing one of your only two good, fun players is not a good idea. And it’s not like Randy Johnson or CC Sabathia is starting. You play LaHair against Scott Diamond, dammit.
I still haven’t seen anything to suggest that Sveum is a better manager than Quade. Not that either can do much with the talent that’s been here lately, but still.
JQuote Reply
J wrote:
.
Damn right.
.
.
Forrest GyphQuote Reply
Didn’t see the game. What was up with f7?
mb21Quote Reply
(dying laughing) Forrest Gyph (dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
He TRANSFORMED from Bumblebee back to a beetle.
WaLiQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Nothing, according to FIP.
ACTQuote Reply
It’s nice to see the Angels creeping up on the Rangers. I was worried that the race in the AL West would be extremely boring.
ACTQuote Reply
@ ACT:
Obviously he was a little unlucky and he walked only 1, but he also only struckout 1. It wasn’t a good day for him.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
No, I didn’t see all of it, but he seemed to be missing his spots.
joshQuote Reply
@ WaLi:
What kind of beetle? That seems like a pretty strange transformation, either way. It’d be like saying a squirrel transformed back into an aardvark. Besides, there are some badass beetles out there:
The harlequin beetle. Just the body is about 3 inches long, and the legs are longer than the body. They’re great climbers.
joshQuote Reply
@ mb21:
As long as he never gives up any home runs, I can live with a 1:1 K/BB ratio.
ACTQuote Reply
@ josh:
Other bad ass beetles:
SVBQuote Reply
This one used to be bad ass. Having once owned a ’68 microbus, I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPDLX0koXFs&feature=player_embedded
SVBQuote Reply
SVB wrote:
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ ACT:
It’s not the ratio that leads me to believe he had a bad day. It’s that he struckout 1 batter while facing 20 batters and allowed a shitload of hits. As I said, I didn’t see the game so it’s possible they were all line drive smashes and it’s possible they were all bloop hits. I don’t know. It doesn’t mean anything as far as his next start goes.
mb21Quote Reply
I was looking up some stuff on the Twins. I completely forgot that Kirby Puckett died suddenly a few years ago. He was forced to retire when he went blind in one eye. I wonder if that’s why his numbers dropped suddenly. Now I’m depressed.
joshQuote Reply
Apologies for the site being low on content over the past few days. Aisle 424 has been on vacation and I’m out of town until tonight.
mb21Quote Reply
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
I found a fun new template in Lucid Chart while working on a grant proposal. 🙂
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
Here’s the link if the img thing is broken:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/U6OzHS6ntbf1qNXHRJdknyutfXHFIZ3tc5iq2V64yABXoKJZbUi6QePHs9E7PRpPc2M4WSFnT9U
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
@ mb21:
I’ve been too wrapped up in the excitement of this series to write anything. I skipped dinner last night in atonement.
BerseliusQuote Reply
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
Is that img link working now?
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
@ shawndgoldman:
No, it says forbidden.
joshQuote Reply
@ shawndgoldman:
Nay, m’lord.
Re: F7, it sounded like he gave up quite a few hard-hit balls so he was likely missing his spots.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ shawndgoldman:
Some image that you linked is working, but is too big to see on my phone
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ shawndgoldman:
I saw an image displayed earlier, but not anymore.
I’ve had no trouble with the img link except when posting an image from a server that doesn’t allow hotlinking.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
gar…. apparently google docs is not good for sharing images. Let’s try Skitch:
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
We’ll find out tomorrow how badly the Cubs overpaid for Jorge Soler
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ shawndgoldman:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X_Ot0k4XJc
Rice CubeQuote Reply
(dying laughing), well done Shawn
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ shawndgoldman:
Oh I see the problem. Unicorn setting is way too low.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Humberto Quintero might just be an asshole.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
That program is very sensitive to the ratio of unicorns to leprechauns
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
Oh, I didn’t see the Paul Sullivan widget.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Cubs on pace for worst record in franchise history
This is a year!
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
(dying laughing)
BerseliusQuote Reply
Heyman on the Cubs pending fire sale
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/jon-heyman/19304729/rivals-expect-cubs-to-be-at-center-of-trade-dealings-anyone-but-castro-could-go
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
True.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
Fire sale?
http://www.hulu.com/watch/1296
ACTQuote Reply
What was the result of that play? Did Quintero get called for interfering with a baserunner?
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
@ shawndgoldman:
I don’t recall, but apparently you can sit on a guy or knock a guy off a base without much penalty these days.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ shawndgoldman:
Nope.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Thunderdome is the only rule of law on the basepaths.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
I can’t wait for someone to sweep the leg.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
IRL 1 – 1 CRO
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
That’s Casey Blake’s move.
GBTSQuote Reply
Apparently I have GIF’d every play of Starlin Castro’s career. (dying laughing)
GBTSQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
You need to gif the one from last inning, that was a great spin and throw that he made look easy.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Don’t tell me what I need to do.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
Hilarious. Good luck with your blog.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Probably won’t be able to see that one though as it wasn’t a run-saving play or anything like that, but I still thought it was cool.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Im sorry if this is too late for consideration, but if Castro is the cubs infield captain (with all the responsibility that carries per the “Handling Starkin Castro” installment) then who is the captain of OV?
bottleasmokeQuote Reply
Runs!
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Cliff Lee is going to have to wait at least another start for his first win.
ACTQuote Reply
Castro pulled a homer.
ACTQuote Reply
@ bottleasmoke:
Roy Orbison?
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Average speed at work.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
I liked the part where Dempster struck Mauer out.
ACTQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
“Average” (as KG and scout use it) is a scouting term. It means a 50 on the 20-80 scale. 50 is actually faster than most players; e.g., Bryce Harper is 50-55 (“[h]e’s an average runner to a tick above”).
ACTQuote Reply
Demp ——-> 3rd in the league in ERA.
ACTQuote Reply
Apparently the Cubs won’t feel this game is complete until it has an obligatory 9th inning rally.
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
ACT wrote:
/truth
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rizzo with 2 HR’s today according to Len, and Jackson with one too.
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
@ shawndgoldman:
The Children Are The Future-Cubs Minor League Update brought to you by “Whatever I hear Len say during the broadcast.”
shawndgoldmanQuote Reply
Dumb cubs couldn’t even pull off the sweep. Pathetic
WaLi22Quote Reply
No homeruns for Soriano today? I’m disappointed. Notice how he only homers when the Cubs eventually lose the game late? Typical.
joshQuote Reply
@ shawndgoldman:
Yeah, I remember being outraged at that play. He clearly laid on him. WTF? Now I’m pissed off all over again.
joshQuote Reply
Lincecum got clobbered again. ERA now sits at an even 6.00.
ACTQuote Reply
I’m beginning to think Dale Svuem is a particularly bad manager, and not good with PR.
PezcoreQuote Reply
This was a non-fuckup I recently enjoyed:
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=22188317&c_id=mlb
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Pat thought it was a bad time to go for the runner, given that the Twins were down by 4 at the time, but it looked closer than they made it seem on the radio.
joshQuote Reply
@ Pezcore:
You’re probably right. But this team is also pretty bad.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
I don’t know how you quantify it but it seems like the coaching staff was able to at least improve the defense, in particular Castro seems to be better (even though he does have brain farts). If a manager is supposed to emphasize the fundamentals and keep the peace in the clubhouse then I guess he’s doing okay so far…
Rice CubeQuote Reply
The Cubs have made a huge improvement in defensive efficiency since last year. Some of that is surely personnel changes (Stewart > Ramirez), but some of it might be coaching, as well.
ACTQuote Reply
@ ACT:
Castro is much improved, and Thoyer definitely looked for guys who could play D. Isn’t DeJesus a natural center fielder? Soriano also has improved, which is more surprising, though with his injury, that might decline some.
Speaking of D, I watched the last play on this reel several times in other formats and it looked like Dee Gordon was safe, but the super slo mo seems to justify the call at the end: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=22186709&topic_id=17392054
joshQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
So this was on Fox TV, right? Yet it’s front page at Yahoo Sports. My question, why report this crap? Yup, Quintero is a loser, it’s a dumb thing to do, especially on TV, but is it newsworthy?
SVBQuote Reply
@ SVB:
True, reporting that a baseball player is an asshole is a bit like reporting how wet rain is.
joshQuote Reply
@ SVB:
Probably the racist thing.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Racism does tend to get media attention, e.g., John Rocker
joshQuote Reply
new shit: http://obstructedview.net/projections/updated-end-of-season-projections.html
mb21Quote Reply