It is getting close to awards time. That means you are going to see the think-pieces come out soon where people will lay out ballots for MVP that don't comport with reality; for instance, there is a guy on twitter right now that has Yadier Molina as the current front-runner (with a calculation of 8.5 WAR this season – I …
Cubs Minor League Recap: 4-16-14
Guy insulted me once, I pissed in his gas tank, car never drove straight again. Iowa Cubs Alright, Matt Szczur was 0-4. I’m tired of writing of that so unless otherwise noted, Matt Szczur was 0-4. Arismendy Alcantara said he was tired of not hitting and hit. He was 3-5 with a double and triple. He scored twice, drove in …
Minor League Recap 4-10-14
Three of the Cubs four minor league games got underway this afternoon while Daytona played tonight. Iowa Cubs Matt Szczur was 2-4 with a strikeout and run scored. Arismendy Alcantara doubled and had 2 hits in 4 plate appearances. Javier Baez isn’t getting a lot of hits, but he hit his 2nd home run of the season and was 1-4 …
Series Preview: Pittsburgh Pirates (4-2) at Chicago Cubs (2-4)
These guys again? After taking the opening series from the Cubs, the Pirates went on to take two of three from the Cardinals. They beat up on Cards starter Shelby Miller in the first game, and the Cardinals returned the favor against Liriano in the second. They won a close game on getaway day with Edinson Volquez somehow outpitching Adam …
Minor League Recap 4-5-14
Iowa Cubs It was a long night for the Iowa Cubs as they were beaten 11-1. Matt Szczur was 1-3 with a walk, run scored and a strikeout. Arismendy Alcantara was also 1-3 with a double. He also had an error. Javier Baez was 0-2 with 2 strikeouts and was thrown out of the game arguing the check swing strikeout. …
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+: …
OV Daily Facepalm
McDonald hurt, fifth starter competition winding down James Mcdonald threw two pitches in his start yesterday, the second one to the backstop before being pulled from the game. The Cubs are calling it shoulder soreness, which is not great news for McDonald as he only pitched in six games last year because of shoulder problems. It looks like Chris Rusin …
Better Know a Cub: Jason Hammel
After the Cubs missed on Masahiro "We think he's a No. 3 Starter – Cashman" Tanaka, the Cubs went to a fall back plan. They signed Jason Hammel to a 1-year, $6 million dollar deal. Hammel, who has been good at times and bad most others, is a classic pump-and-dump candidate a la Feldman/Baker/numerous others. Do you remember the Scott Hairston …
2013 Cubs Prospects in Review: Jake Arrieta
With 409 professional innings under his belt, Jake Arrieta isn't a prospect. As one of the major acquisitions over the past 12 months, however, and as someone who remains more potential than performance at this point, we felt it was worth it to take a look at his 2013 and try to get a sense of what he may or …
JOT: Cubs Minor League Recap 8-16-13
St Louis Cardinals 0 @ Chicago Cubs 7 How 'bout that Jake Arrieta, huh? I'm starting to think we won the Feldman trade. Arrieta tossed 7 shutout innings against the cards, allowing only 2 hits and 2 walks against 7 Ks, and was dominating. Someone asked Keith Law on Twitter if Arrieta could be "a GUY" (which, can I say, …