Did the Cubs Win? (image c/o bleacher nation) Chicago Cubes 0 @ Pittsburgh Pirates 1 One Sentence Synopsis: Cubes gonna Cube, Bonifacio going to TOOTBLAN, and Cubs go 0 for 11 with RISP. Three Up 1. Jeff Samardzija was very good, going 7 scoreless frames. He walked 2 and allowed 5 hits, but only fanned 3. He was bailed out by …
Better Know a Cub: Mike Olt
Mike Olt is a strong man. He's a patient man. He's a man with a good glove. And he is a man almost wholly written off in some parts. He's a man with undeniable warts and undeniable talents; this is a quality he shares with everyone in baseball not named Mike Trout. Most importantly to me, he's a man who …
OV Daily Facepalm
Aroldis Chapman hit in face by line drive There was a scary moment in last night's Reds game, as Aroldis Chapman was hit in the face by a line drive. Trainers from both teams rushed to the mound immediately (and his father too from the stands), and he was taken off the field in a stretcher. Reports say he never …
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 …
OV Daily Facepalm
Lots of HRs, lots of walks Baez and Olt both hit bombs off of Randy Wolf (video here and here), a not uncommon occurance for Randy Wolf. Olt later hit another bomb against against a Mariners reliever. Likely fifth starter James McDonald issued five walks in 2 2/3 innings in his start last night. First round of cuts The first round of …
OV Daily Facepalm
WBBM favorite to land Cubs radio broadcasts, WGN radio's slow march to doom continues WGN exercised an out clause in their deal last year in an attempt to renegotiate, since they're supposedly losing a ton of money on Cubs broadcasts. According to the Trib's Ed Sherman, WBBM is now viewed as the front-runner. It feels odd seeing the Tribune reporting on …
OV Daily Facepalm
BA Review of Cubs international signings Ben Badler put up a recap of the Cubs international signings over at BA ($). Most of it is just a collection of scouting stuff we saw back at signing time, but still a good read since I don't remember any of it. Most of what seems new to me is where the signings are …
Mike Olt says his vision is OK now
The Cubs are hoping Mike Olt can, at some point, take over 3rd base and put up some of the impressive numbers he did prior to 2013. He had a horrible season in the minor leagues last year and it's been blamed on a vision problem that he had after a concussion last winter. He says he's fine now. “I …
Quiet Optimism
So, we've got the team. My best guess at the 25-man roster (Wins Above Replacement – Myles): Position Player WARM C Castillo 1.5 1B Rizzo 3.0 2B Valbuena 1.0 SS Castro 2.5 3B Olt 1.0 LF Lake 1.0 CF Sweeney 1.5 RF Schierholtz 1.0 4OF Ruggiano 1.0 5OF Vitters 0.5 UTIL Barney 1.0 UTIL Roberts 0.75 2C Kottaras 0.5 #1 …
BP’s top 10 Cubs prospects + consensus Top 14 prospects
The BP list came out, and it's a great read. Here it is, but a sub is required. I recommend getting a subscription; it really is great work. I won't share any of the bits besides the Top 10 list: 1. Baez 2. Bryant 3. Almora 4. Soler 5. Edwards 6. Alcantara 7. Johnson 8. Vogelbach 9. Villanueva 10. Candelario …