As long and tedious as this disappointing season has been, I'm still kind of surprised that it's now ending. Given that I haven't written a post in over a month (other than a quick aside about Marvin Miller's legacy on Labor Day), it's safe to say that I haven't been paying much attention to watching the Cubs circle the drain. I …
Series Preview: Reds (65-52) at Cubs (52-65)
The Reds have had a great season, and all they have to show for it is looking up at two teams above them in the standings. At least they have a relatively solid grip on that last wild card spot, though that (thankfully) isn't as great of a position as a team would like. Joey Votto is having another MVP-worthy …
2014 Contending Cubs, Part 2: Depth
We've taken a look at the 2014 Cubs Payroll as part of this series and we learned that it's unlikely the Cubs are going to have enough money to buy themselves a championship. They'll have about $25-35 million to spend this offseason, which is a considerable amount, but not large enough to sign multiple big-name free agents. In order to …
2014 Contending Cubs, Part 1: Payroll
I thought it was about time to take a more thorough look at the 2014 Cubs and eventually discuss ways in which they could contend. The first thing to look at is how much money the Cubs may have to spend, which means we need to know how much money they currently have on the books for 2014. Cots Contracts …
Series Preview: Milwaukee Brewers (43-61) at Chicago Cubs (48-55)
I've been out of the country for the last two weeks so I didn't catch any games, since they were all on at 2 AM or so. I feel SK's pain. I did catch the last few innings of last night's game and was amused to hear Len and JD talking about how this is the first time in a while …
Anatomy of an Ace Pitcher
Now that the trade deadline is almost here, baseball fans are excited to see who might be dealt, and what prospect might be had. Invariably, people are looking for the "impact bat" or the "ace pitcher." When we talk about an ace, though, people can have different definitions of the word. For some people, it might just be the best …
Cubs listening to offers for Jeff Samardzija
Source says #Cubs indeed listening on Samardzija, adds, “asking price high as expected.” — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 27, 2013 The Cubs are listening to offers for any player on their roster. If they were not, they would not be doing a good job. Even the most valuable player in baseball is available for the right offer. The asking price …
Jeff Samardzija seems open to talking long-term contract after the season
The Cubs have locked up two of their core talents in Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo already. There have been rumors about the Cubs interest in locking up Jeff Samardzija, but it hasn't happened. Samardzija isn't thinking about it, but he certainly seems open to the idea. "I haven't thought about that too much, to tell you the truth," Samardzija …
A Jeff Samardzija Extension
Let's talk about a possible Jeff Samardzija extension for a bit. ​Jeff Samardzija has been mentioned in some trade rumors though I find it unlikely he'll be traded. He's in his first year of arbitration this season and has two more before he can file for free agency after the 2015 season. The Cubs have a few options: Give him …
Series Preview: Anaheim Angels of Disneyland (43-45) at Chicago Cubs (39-48)
On June 9th, the Cubs (25-35) and Angels (27-36) had very similar records, and things weren't looking so rosy for the Angels. Since then they've begun digging themselves out of their hole, going 16-9 over that span including two road series sweeps…and climbed into third place in their stacked division. Angels Cubs wRC+ 109 (5th) 89 (23rd) BSR -2.8 (17th) …