I was looking through our media library, and it looks like the only pictures we have of DeJesus in the system are of him in a Royals uniform, his wife, and his ridiculous truck. That's pretty much summed up his year as a player. He didn't do anything in particular to raise anyone's ire, but never really distinguished himself either. …
The Top 20 Cubs performances in a 2012 game
I was curious which players had the best games in 2012 for this shitty team we follow. I used Win Probability Added (WPA) from Baseball Reference to compile the list. There's no reason to write more of an introduction than that so here they are. 20. Travis Wood, .395 WPA Despite Wood's up and down season, he ended up having …
Hoyer: we will have financial flexibility
“We will have financial flexibility,” Hoyer said. “We’ve been diligent to make sure we do have flexibility and we’re efficient going forward. We’ll obviously be active in the free agent market. That’s a big part of our research and work now is evaluating free agents. We have some money to spend and we’ll focus on it heavily.” – Jed Hoyer …
Brett Jackson has more strikeouts than Darwin Barney
Brett Jackson has struckout 53 times in 125 plate appearances. Darwin Barney has struckout just 50 times in 540 plate appearances. Jackson has more strikeouts on the Cubs than all players but Alfonso Soriano, Bryan LaHair, Starlin Castro and David DeJesus. By the way, can we stop referring to Castro as a contact hitter? How many times have you heard …
Alfonso Soriano is overpaid
The other day The Hardball Times wrote that Alfonso Soriano is not overpaid. I'm a big fan of anyone who doesn't talk about Soriano in a way that makes him seem like he's a lazy, overpaid player. However, THT relied on fWAR, which uses UZR as its defensive metric. His 2007 UZR is so high that my iPad probably won't …
Alfonso Soriano, Gold Glover?
Everyone has been focusing on Darwin Barney's record breaking errorless streak, but yesterday was the first that I had heard of Soriano's. He hasn't made a single error all season and even noted Soriano critic Bob Brenly has praised his defense this year. So does he really have a shot? The thing that helps him the most is that the …
Cubs upset Alfonso Soriano won’t waive no-trade clause
This is getting old. Cubs personnel are disappointed that Alfonso Soriano won’t waive his 10-and-5 rights to go to the Giants. The outfielder doesn't want to play in a colder climate that could adversely affect his hitting. If this is true, why can't the Cubs just shut up about it? Sure, they'd probably try to trade him, but what fucking …
Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Marmol clear waivers
This was just a matter of time since no team would clear them, but both Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Marmol have cleared waivers. This means the Cubs are free to trade them to any team interested. Soriano could help a number of teams. He is hitting .264 with 21 home runs and 71 RBI, with all of the homers coming …
Starlin Castro’s Lineup Spot
Contest reminder: Don't forget to enter our contest to win The Essential Games of the Chicago Cubs DVD set. It runs through Sunday. This has nothing to do with talent, as Castro has as much of it as anyone in baseball. This comes down too mind frame and plate approach. In my mind, Starlin Castro is as good a 2 …
Biannual Facepalm – 8.12.12
Superfriends, amalgamate! The Superfriends added a new member to the Hall of Justice this week, poaching Padres scouting director Jaron Madison for the same position with the Cubs. Fomer scouting director and draft boss Tim Wilken is being promoted to a special assistant to the GM, and the Cubs are working out a contract extension. Adolfo: Starlin Castro needs to …