No game to talk about yesterday, so this will be a quick little hit on how the top FA of 2014 have performed so far. 1. Robinson Cano – .326/.396/.370 (109 wRC+) Cano hasn’t exactly done the heavy lifting for the Mariners, but Smoak, Zunino, and Ackley have been more than sufficient so far. 2. Jacoby Ellsbury – .362/.423/.447 (152 …
Series Preview: Philadelphia Phillies (1-2) at Chicago Cubs (1-2)
Cubs HOF Ryne Sandberg returns to Wrigley for the Cubs home opener. The Phillies opened the season with a 14-10 win against the Rangers in which included a Jimmy Rollins grand slam and Cliff Lee picking up a win for giving up eight runs in five innings. Team Overviews These are 2013 numbers, NL rank is in parens Cubs wRC+: …
Series Preview: Pittsburgh Pirates (52-32) at Chicago Cubs (36-47)
The Pirates now have the best record in baseball. Let that sink in for a second. Will they be able to avoid the second half collapse that they suffered in the previous two seasons? They've got a big hurdle to clear right now in the middle of the season, as four of the five pitchers expected to be in the …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (0-0) at Pittsburgh Pirates (0-0)
Well, here we go with another season of Cubs baseball. The Cubs open the season in what is probably the most beautiful ballpark in baseball (it's certainly one of the top 30). At least, beautiful when the weather forecast isn't 40s and raining. The Pirates aren't the punching bag they used to be – they've finally gotten over the hump …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (15-29) at Pittsburgh Pirates (20-24)
The surging Cubs could extend their streak to 12 in a row in a series against the Pirates. At least they'll get to lose in a beautiful ballpark. The Pirates are coming off a series loss at home to the Mets, and just DFA'd former future face of the franchise Nate McLouth. Team Overviews NL Rank in parentheses Cubs …
Daily Facepalm: 2.10.12 – Uber-facepalm edition
Self-directed facepalm AC and berselius posted new Daily facepalm posts one minute apart from one another. So now they are merged. Those responsible have been sacked Mish Mash Let's face it, half the content on this blog is just stuff Mish posts, so today is a look back at Mish's contributions to the world of Obstructed View and beyond. If …
Series Preview: New York Yankees (39-28) vs Hapless Victims (28-40)
Before I get to previewing this bloodbath, I just want to mention that it was fun to watch the Cubs take three of four from their little brothers to the north. Team Overviews Teams stats with respective league rankings in parens. Yankees Cubs wOBA .353 (1st) .318 (6th) UBR -1.9 (9th) -7.1 (16th) UZR 11.6 (3rd) -15.5 (15th) SP FIP …
These Cubs Are Not the 1997 Marlins
Dave Kaplan wrote a post on the CSN Chicago site where he poses the question: Will the Cubs follow Marlins’ blueprint? I clicked on it because I thought maybe, just maybe, he would have some information from speaking with Jim Hendry or Tom Ricketts or anyone within the Cubs organization that would indicate the Cubs were actually considering such a …