If the Ricketts had fired Jim Hendry immediately upon taking ownership, what would the Cubs’ drafts have looked like in 2010 and 2011? Would Javier Baez have been a Cub?
2013 MLB Draft: who do you take?
The first round of the 2013 MLB Draft is on June 6th and we haven't written much about it lately. A few days ago in the comments, jtsunami (think it was him) mentioned that he might lean more toward Kris Bryant because of his 80 power. For those not familiar with the scouting scale, players are graded on a 20-80 …
Cubs “shifting gears” because we have to
According to Paul Sullivan, the Cubs are going to shift gears with regards to what they're doing at 3rd base. You're not alone if that doesn't make any sense. Sveum says they are "shifting gears" on playing time for Vitters. Valbuena to get bulk of starts down stretch. — Paul Sullivan (@PWSullivan) August 30, 2012 About 10 days ago this …
Revisiting the Cubs offseason transactions
Since the Cubs changed management this past offseason I thought it might be fun to look back at the transactions and see how they've turned out so far. Keep in mind these are a final analysis. There's still much time left for some of these deals to look different than they currently do. I considered breaking this into parts, but …
Minor League Update: 4-8-12
Iowa Cubs Brett Jackson had another multi-hit game as he went 2-4 and he also walked again. He's walked in 3 consecutive games, which he'll do frequently. Through his first 3 games he's an impressive 5-11 with a double, triple, and has 3 walks. He's also driven in 3 and scored 3. Jackson will strikeout a lot and he's done …
Daily Facepalm – 2.18.12, Evening Edition
Neverending Story Remember when we were on the 5-yard line in the Theo compensation talks? Remember when Bud Selig said he'd get involved if a decision hadn't been agreed to by sometime in November? Remember when he said the same thing about December? January? Remember two weeks ago when were told Bud would have a decision by week's end? Rememer …
Checking up on the Cubs top prospects, part 2
Yesterday we looked at the Cubs prospects ranked 11-20 and today we’ll look at the top 10. You can read about how they were doing a month ago if you’d like. 10) Alberto Cabrera, RHP, Grade C+: Another live arm that needs polish. Cabrera was promoted to AAA Iowa because of injuries. He didn’t fare well in Tennessee and has done …
Midseason look at the Cubs top prospects, part 4
Over the last week we’ve looked at the top 20 Cubs prospects according to John Sickels and how they’re performing this season. We’ve also looked at 15 or 16 additional players worthy of some discussion for one reason or another. Many of the 2010 draft picks, especially the high school ones, have very little playing time to their name. Few …
Midseason look at the Cubs top prospects, part 2
A few days ago we looked at Sickel’s Cubs prospects ranked 11-20 entering the season and how they’ve done so far. This time we’ll look at the top 10. 10) Alberto Cabrera, RHP, Grade C+: Another live arm that needs polish. Cabrera made 9 starts for AA Tennessee and then was promoted to Iowa. I’m pretty sure the only reason …
Checking up on the Cubs top prospects
I have always wanted to write more about the minor leagues, but whenever I start to do so I have failed to keep it up. As a result, I’ve mostly stopped writing articles about minor league players unless it’s relevant to the big league team. I know there are at least a few of you who closely follow the Cubs …